All Over the Map

All my peeps, this is going to be a lengthy post because I'm just "All Over the Map" with great news, FOs, Yum-O treats, and anything else that sneaks into my post.

Breaking News
If you haven't already read or heard from "Scout" followers like me, is that Scout from "Scout's Swag", has signed a book deal to share, inspire, and teach all inquiring "dye-minds" about the "Dyeing" process. That is taking pure undyed wool and dyeing it into your own unique colorful yarn.

I've actually known about this for awhile, but I had to keep my lips sealed until Scout made the secret news public. When I took Scout's dye class awhile ago, she revealed the great news to her dye class students, and asked that we keep it on the down-low until her announcement, which came this past weekend. She announced it during a Y-Knit Podcast, which I have to say is a very good one. WonderMike & Stephen really are just wonderful with their Podcasts and Scout's Podcast has alot of good info in it, as well as info about her upcoming book.
Although we will have to wait awhile before we can get our hands on her book, expect it out in press around 2010, and if I'm lucky, I'll try my best to get my own signed copy. I'll end this by saying that Scout is very nice and very customer-service oriented, and great at her craft. Visit her at http://www.scoutj.com
Did I also mention that she is a photographer? She takes the most beautiful pictures too.

It's "Knitta" time
I did it! I finished my "Knitta Project 08" this weekend, and "knit tagged" my tree in front of my home. I know really that I should've of knit tagged
something out in public, like a stop sign pole, but I really wanted my 1st Knitta Tag to be in front of my house. I had such fun with this project, in all aspects. First I got to use my lighted knitting needles, and I got to take part in a tradition held by the Knitta Gang from Texas, and I got to use up some scrap yarn, and I got to display to my neighbors and passer-byers that there is a "Knitta Gal" living in my house. When I put it up earlier, I really thought my husband would think I was crazy, but
as always he appreciated it and liked it himself. Now onto my next knitta project, hmmm....

I'm just getting started
As I am an avid knitter, crafter, everything, I'm extremely passionate about cooking & baking, it is one of my favorite things to do. Before knitting, I spent alot of time researching about food prepping, food storage, food combinations, savory vs. sweet, traditional vs. modern, you name it. Some of my favorite chefs are, in no particular order:

~~Alton Brown "Good Eats"
I enjoy Alton because he really breaks food down into a science, and makes you understand the
physics behind food & he's goofy funny.

~~Giada DeLaurentis "Everyday Italian"
Giada's food is just perfect. It's always simple, elegant, and tasteful. I've cooked her recipes time and again, and there always delicous. I'm Mexican, but Italian is really my other love, right next to Mexican food.

~~Rachel Ray "30 minutes Meals"
What can I say, I just love Rachel. I've met her in person about 2 years ago, she was totally
nice and when I met her do you know what she said to me??? "Hello Gorgeous", such a compliment
from her! I was star struck, I didn't know what to ask her or tell her, all I could muster was
"I love your recipes". Her recipes are quick and Yum-O!

~~Ina Garten "Barefoot Contessa"
Hmm... Ina is just an all around faboulous chef. She has great ideas, and can mix up some
awesome drinks to go with her dishes. I love her methods, and her presentation.

~~Martha Stewart from ALL Marthas shows
This is the Queen herself, what can't she do?? My idol, who I strive to be, someday, even if
only in my dreams. Her recipes, methods, ideas, resourcefulness, I could go on and on

So now that you know my other passion, what I mean by "I'm just getting started" is that the holiday season is not far away, and during that time, I do a ton of baking and cooking. I'm at my happiest during this time of year, really I am, I'm just happy inside. I enjoy the smells, the feeling of warmth, the beautiful array of colors that nature takes on, the ambiance that the holiday's bring. I'm like a kid when I visit Michaels, because I just love seeing all the props for the holidays, and the scents. I'm starting to test out new recipes for baked goods and entree's, and this weekend I tried out a Chocolate chip Oatmeal Bar" recipe. I was a little skeptical on how these would taste, but boy, "YUM-O", they came out great. It's funny because normally when I make anything with Chocolate Chip morsels, its just all around sweet, but the Oatmeal ingredient in this recipe, really balances out the sweetness of the Chocolate Chips. When I eat one, I don't feel as guilty as if I'd eaten a cookie. And, after having these, I have all kinds of ideas of other combinations I can spin-off into, so I can feel myself just getting started for this upcoming holiday season 8-)


FOs from the past
I knitted the "K & K Cap" from Purlescence Yarns awhile ago, it was my first hat/beanie that I knitted. I used Cascade Cash Vero yarn in Black, and was just really proud of how it came out & how comfortable and soft it felt. Another fave of mines is this "Baby Purl Beanie" that I knitted using Lorna Laces Angel yarn. I can't remember the color, but it's just precious. I gave this as a present to my close friend/family for their new baby girl.

Whew.. now that's the end of this post.

P.S.
Tell me what do you prefer, short or long posts? Or are you in between? I prefer long, I read all sorts of blogs daily, so I like to have something to read, it's my version of the "morning newspaper".

With everything that I've wrote about, I had to provide pictures, so here yah go.....

Cool stuff

knit_tagging


Originally uploaded by RockyMoreno

Did everyone get to see the Knitty Gritty Knitsters show on DIY Network the other day hosted by Vickie Howell? I read about the show on Vickie's blog, and quickly set my TIVO to record it for me. It was an hour special on Knitting, Community, and the diversity Knitting has. One of the cool things was "The Knittas", which is a really cool gang out of Houston, Texas. Their mission is to cover odds/ends around the town with knitting material. Once they've covered their target, it's officially a "Knit Tag". They've knit tagged everything from basketball poles, shoes hanging on power wires, tree trunks, door handles, all done quick & fast. It is pretty cool to see. One of the knitters, "Mascuknitity", actually knit tagged a brick from the Great Wall of China! After seeing this special, I remembered my weekend at Knit One One in Berkeley, CA where I took a Dye Class with Scout, and there was a Tree with a branch that was "knit tagged"! I remember telling Marisol to please take a picture cause I thought it was so cool! My camera was on the fritz, so she was kind and emailed me the picture. I took a few, but none came out good. I don't know if this tree was tagged by the Knitta gang from Texas, but it's a pretty good specimen. It almost compels me to "knit tag" my tree in front of my house...hmm....should I?



Another cool thing was a contest held where one women, Lisa Gentry, won by knitting 209 stitches per minute! Amazing! She also won the Crochet contest as well, crocheting 100 stitches per minute! I can't even imagine how she got that fast! It looks crazy watching her knit & crochet.



The special was an hour, and really enjoyable. Vickie is a great host for the special. Her primary goal was to collect knitted squares to donate to Warm Up America for afghan blankets. After seeing this special, I'm now inspired to contribute my own squares to the organization.



Check out the special, it will air a few more times, the remaining airings are:



All at 12:30 p.m. EA

7/8/08, 7/16/08, 7/31/08

More Dye Class to share...

Well, there was so much to Scout's Dye Class that I couldn't fit in just one post. I've put together a collage of photos from class. I unfortunately didn't get any pics from the first day because *just my luck*, my camera's batteries clunked out..but I was well armed for the 2nd day. What your seeing are pics of Scout giving us instructions and method tips on how to dye a skein of yarn. She talked about bleeding, segmenting colors, thinking about color combos, and what we all should know from childhood, what happens when you mix 1 color with another. Sometimes you get a pretty color or sometimes you get a color you didn't want. Although the dyeing process is relatively easy, at least this method, the hard part is creating your own personal style with colorways. This is where Scout's magic comes into play. She has a great eye for colors and combos, really why she is great.