brokenblog

Holding Projects/Yarn Hostage

Whew! just about done! got it wrapped up and just sending in the last odds and ends. THANKS to everyone who submitted projects and yarn!! All the projects are now with the tech writer who is meticulously measuring and counting stitches. She may have them for a month or two more. If you really need something back let me know and i will see if i can get it.

Yarn donations: I did not end up using every yarn in a project. So if your yarn did not go into a projects i am going to feature it in the gallery w/full credits, so either way, if i accepted your stuff- it will be in there somewhere. I am going to eventually knit/crochet everything and keep it on file for sucsequent books or articles. So your stuff may actually pop up twice.

Art recommendations: thanks for the response!! very interesting stuff. (i still can't reply to my own f-ing blog!! got to get that fixed....)

Final Request

Today is the day! Am wrapping it up and sending it off. Wish it were that easy...still alot of cranking and tweaking after this i'm sure.

NEED ART!
I need more examples of art that uses handspun yarn. I am looking for high resolution professional quality pics. (not the actual item!) So if you have recent gallery or portfolio pics please send an example (email low res please!). or if you have seen any good art lately w/handspun please forward me the info.

thanks!!

F-ing February!

Why does February only have 28 days!!?
Ugh. 3 days left.
fully freaking out here. can't talk. can't blog. can't email.
will resurface in March....hopefully.
-L

Focus on Freeform

I am just working on the Freeform Crochet section for the book which will feature the work of Kathy Foster www.electrickat.com, Linda Scharf www.stoneleafmoon.com, Elaine Evans www.fuzzybumblebee.com and of course ANA VOOG www.anacam.com/hats. I just got a huge box of new work from Ana, which is amazing especially considering she's pregnant and should probably just be sleeping on the couch and rubbing her belly. But she was kind enough to create some incredible stuff just for the book!!!! yay! i will be taking pics on weds. and will post them as soon as possible.

Here is one of Kathy's hats that will be featured. This is just totally amazing to me. It is like a deep-sea queen hat. [This picture was taken by my friend Kyle Parker, doing tons of awesome pics for the book.]

More later- back to the grindstone. 10 days and counting!

Actually, i can't wait to go back to just spinning on my little website and writing nothing longer than a short email. This is probably more of my procrast-distraction, but i have just started a new book. "Bush on the Couch". VERY interesting. it's a remote psychological profile of G.W. and traces back to his childhood and his relationship w/his mom. If this does not make you take a good hard look at the importance of mothering nothing will! ee gads! i read the first chapter i thought -oh shit! i already screwed up my first kid....i may have already created a dictator! hopefully i can undo... :)

Two Scarves and A Muffin

First- let me start with saying i still have not fixed my f'ing blog so that i can reply to your comments! i love your comments, and thanks!

On to the post:

Here are a couple of things from the section in the book that shows projects that two or more people contributed to. Ie: one person's yarn and another persons knitting etc. The moody dark green Octi-scarf was a freeform crochet piece by Linda Scharf (The Yarn Museum and StoneLeafMoon.com and was made from a green mohair yarn with red beads.

The next one is a woven scarf by Tereza Havrdova from the Czech Republic (tereza-havrdova.blogspot.com made from my Aura yarn. My favorite yarn style ever.

Book almost done. I have, like 100 extra pages (what!) and am going to have to cut cut cut. Guess i will have to do a third book.... yeah- um what the hell am i talking about!!!

On my current distraction-
To focus on completly irrelevent things and avoid the task at hand, i have put myself to the task of finding the PERFECT PUMPKIN MUFFIN recipe. I have spent 2 months and tried one or two new recipes a week and sorry to say- none have thrilled me. So after much sampling and tweaking, i have fused, like, 10 recipes into one. And i think this may be very close to the perfect pumpkin muffin. if the mothership of an alien race who worshiped pumkins were to land in my neighborhood i am pretty sure that i could save the planet from anniahlation with this recipe. especially since i added the crumble top. that will save us for sure.

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 2 heaping teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 heaping teaspoon ground ginger
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
* 2 eggs
* 1/3 cup buttermilk
* 1/3 cup butter, melted
* 2 tablespoons molasses
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup brown sugar
* 1 cup canned pumpkin
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, raisens or ALL of these!

Crumble Top:

2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Tablespoon white sugar
sprinkle cinnamon
2 Tablespoons butter

Cut butter into dry ingredients. Mince w/fork until crumbles form.

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin-pan cups

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.

3. Beat together the eggs, buttermilk, melted butter, molasses, vanilla, sugar and pumpkin in a large bowl. Stir in the dry ingredients, all at once, just until moistened. Fold in the nuts. Spoon into the prepared muffin-pan cups, filling almost to the top.

4. Spoon crumble top mixture over each muffin.

5. Bake for 20 to 23 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the centers comes out clean. DO NOT OVER COOK!!!!!


Remove the muffins from the cups and cool on wire racks. Serve warm.

Billion Dollar Idea #1 and #2

Here is the frustration of the ADD brain.... i get ideas all the time, tons of 'em. Can't turn them off. Most of them are probably crap but every now and then i think..OOO..i should DO that! If only i had the time. and the money. and an assistant....
So i have resolved to just put them out there. I can't do them. But maybe someone else will. So here are two to start. Look for more periodically. Especially when i'm busy. For some reason....when i have something I'm actually supposed to get done, i think of all these big impossible OTHER things I could do. So this is going to be my new system. Once i put an idea out there, it woun't bug me anymore and i can focus on what i'm supposed to be doing.

That said...if anyone, or any entity, gets bloody rich on one of these ideas. Send a few bucks back my way. i could use it!

Billion Dollar Idea #1
Volksbellys

Volkswagon and Jelly Belly need to get together and offer paintjobs for the new Beetle that look like the different Jelly Bean flavors. Especially the pretty ones that are speckled. Like the orange with pale yellow spots. Then you just order your favorite flavor. 2007 Beetle in "Buttered Popcorn", "Sour Apple" or "Rootbeer". This IS the age of cross marketing after all.


Billion Dollar Idea #2
What's In The Fridge

I got this idea last night when i was going to make dinner and i hadn't been to the store in a week. I had like, one carrot, some apple sauce, collard greens and a filet of Tilapia. What are you supposed to do with that?

Well...you could go to www.whatsinthefridge.com and find a recipe. It would be a big recipe archive that users submit recipes to. the search on the site would be more complex than just a one or two word search. you would enter all your main ingredients , and select a couple of other options like you're looking for an entree or a breakfast or whatever. or vegetarian, vegan etc. then it takes the criteria and searches the database and returns you the top recipes that match your ingredients.

That's it- no more peanut butter chicken casserole!