Daily Review - Knitting Cast-on E-book

A while back, I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to review an e-book on Brioche Knitting.  The author of that e-book, Liat of KNITFreedom has a new video course - this time a guide to knitting cast-ons. 

When it comes to knitting cast-ons, I've always defaulted to the trusty long-tail cast-on.  It's the first cast-on I learned and works for most things.  There are definitely those times though when the long-tail cast-on just isn't as pretty and fitting as the piece calls for.  I do know that there are lots of other cast-ons out there, but I didn't know how many until taking a look at this e-book!   [Did you know multi-colored braided cast-ons even existed?  Mind blown!]

The course covers some basic info on cast-ons, even including some tips about the long-tail cast on that I didn't know.  No more pulling 100 stitches off the needle when the tail gets too short!  Turns out there's a pretty easy fix for that.  As with Liat's other video courses, the videos themselves are clear and very easy to follow along.  It's a lot easier than scouring YouTube for something when you're not entirely sure what it's called.  There is a very handy table of contents at the top of the guide which takes you to the exact spot you need - whether you're looking for a cast-on by name or category.    I really like the short description included with each cast-on video, explaining how it is best used, along with tips, and a clear swatch photo to show what the finished product is supposed to look like. The only thing I would have liked would be a video covering how to get a nice clean join when casting-on in the round (i.e. for a hat or top-down sock). 

In the end, I think this video course is a fantastic reference tool for knitters looking to take their craft to the next level.  For all the hours of care and love put into a project, starting with the perfect cast-on makes sense, making this a great resource to have at your fingertips.  I know it's going to make me think twice next time I pick up the needles to start a project and I'm excited to try some new techniques.

This cast-on video e-book is available for $24.99 through the KNITFreedom site.  Check out the other classes on offer too!

DISCLAIMER:  I received no money for this review, but received a preview copy of the e-book prior to release.

Daily Craft - My design needs your vote!

You may remember a few weeks back that I won a set of beads through Artbeads' "Tuscon Ten" contest.  So, part two of the contest was to create a design using those beads, with the beads making up at least 50% of the design.  Usually, I just let inspiration come to me when thinking about jewelry pieces, so it was different to have the parameters of my design set by the beads in hand.  The biggest challenge I faced was figuring out how to combine the different sets of beads, which I may not think to put together under other circumstances. 

In the end, I designed two necklaces.  The intent was that they could be worn separately, or together.  The first necklace used the giraffe beads combined with the tiny peacock pearls, and wire wrapped together with antiqued brass wire.  The second necklace tied in the antiqued brass with chain, and I decided to go with a lariat style so that I could feature a couple of the larger beads at each end.  I think the end result ended up being pretty cool!

Now onto the second part of the contest though.  I could win a giftcard from Artbeads for my design and could use your help!  If you could take a minute to vote for my design, please scoot on over to this Facebook page.  Voting is open through May 20th.  You can also check out the designs on the Tuscon Ten Pinterest Board.  Thanks all! 

Daily Ramblings - Birthdays and un-birthdays

Our household was recently hit by the dreaded lurgy (which is one of those British phrases I'd very much like to get people using here in the US).  A couple of weeks ago, Owen brought home a daycare cold, which resulted in getting me sick.  He recovered pretty quickly but, having given the munchkin all my antibodies, I didn't fare so well.  After the cold symptoms dissipated, the following week of sinus headaches led me to the ENT doctor.  He congratulated me on the general disturbing state of my sinuses and tonsils, then sent me home with a 10 day dose of antibiotics.  The drugs had just taken hold on my infection when Owen started coughing and wheezing, leading to a weekend trip to urgent care where he was diagnosed with bronchitis.  Now we have to give him breathing treatments with albuterol twice a day, which essentially means we wave a wand that is spewing vapor into his mouth and try to get him to stay still for 10 minutes while it works it's magic and opens up his airways.  There is nothing fun about this.  Trying to get a six month old to stay in one spot for 10 minutes is hard enough as is, let alone with something that he doesn't understand shoved in his face.  If he doesn't start crying straight away, I will potentially spend those 10 minutes trying to wrestle the wand out of his hands because he's trying to eat it.  This morning he thought it was a gigantic straw and was trying to suck liquid out of it, then got frustrated because it wasn't working.  The kid is too smart for his own good.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, we did have cause for celebration.  Owen turned 6 months on Monday. That's half a year since he burst into our lives and changed us forever.  I can hardly believe it.  In that he was sick, I didn't get to do the photoshoot that I was hoping to, but snapped some pics on my cell phone to commemorate.  I'll do a proper photoshoot with him in the next couple of weeks.  I'd say his "blue steel" is pretty good already though.

Yesterday, it was my birthday.  I'd say 34 is a relative non-event, and the universe did feel the need to remind me of that as I struggled with car trouble and a wheezing baby, which meant my celebratory dinner ended up being Indian takeout, obtained and hand-delivered by my loving husband.  It certainly wasn't the ideal birthday but, in the end, I was surrounded by my boys (the big one, the small one, and the furry one) and I can't complain about that too much.

Daily Craft - I'm a winner!

My favorite beading supply store, Artbeads, holds contests over on their blog.  Recently, I entered to win a selection of beads from the Tuscon Gem and Mineral show.  As usual, I promptly forgot about it until the e-mail came saying that I'm a winner!  Even better, this happens to be a two-fer.  I have a month to create a design using the beads and then I'm pitted against the other 9 winners for a $50 gift card.

The beads arrived today and they're really pretty in person.  I've already been sketching some concepts.  I'm thinking bohemian...earthy...rock carving inspired.  It's somewhat outside of my comfort zone as I tend to think in terms of symmetry but, for this, I need to think more in terms of balance.  I'm excited for the challenge and will let you know when part 2 of the contest is up so you can vote for me (I hope!)

Daily Ramblings - My heart goes out to Boston

Yesterday, while at work, news of the bombings at the Boston marathon started flooding my Facebook feed.  My heart sank as I felt the weight of the needless loss of life, as it did when I heard about Sandy Hook, the Colorado theater shootings, and so many more senseless acts before them.  I may not know those who were in attendance yesterday, but they are in my thoughts - the needless loss of three lives and the countless other lives forever changed.  

My perspective has changed now I have my little baby boy.  Each time another devastating event occurs, I can't help but wonder what kind of crazy world I'm bringing my child into.  I look at the innocence and beauty in his eyes as he learns about his surroundings.  He touches a simple piece of fabric, a leaf, or a park bench, with such fascination because to him it is new and wonderful.  He has no idea of the horrors that exist in the world.  I can't fathom how the innocence, that we are all born with, turns into enough hatred to willfully and harshly end the lives of others - especially children who are just starting their journey.

I know I'll never be able to protect my child completely from the scary things, which seem to happen all too frequently. I know the time will come when he will ask me to explain why a horrible tragedy, such as the attack on Boston, has happened.  It's impossible to properly explain something that has no basis in logic or sanity.  There is a meme that's been floating around, which I found to be poignant, and I hope to remember the words when the time comes.  I hope I can teach my son to be one of the helpers.
  

Daily Dish - Stuffed Peppers

We eat a lot of bell peppers in our house.  Apart from the fact they come in so many pretty colors, they're really versatile in terms of how you can eat them - I love them raw as well as cooked in anything from pasta sauce to curry!  I actually looked up the nutritional value recently because I feel like leafy greens or cruciferous veggies (i.e. broccoli) get a lot of attention, but what about bell peppers as one of my favorite vegetables?  I was actually pleasantly surprised by what I found - they are full of the good stuff!  They're super high in Vitamins A & C, have a good amount of Vitamin B6 and fiber, plus contain anti-oxidants.  All that while being low in calories (1 pepper = 30-40 cals).

With that in mind, time to share another Pinterest win as far as recipes go!  I came across the most beautiful bell peppers the other day - which means they were meant to be filled with all kinds of yummy goodness. I'd pinned a stuffed pepper recipe a while back.  It had caught my eye because it wasn't in a tomato sauce that I seem to associate with stuffed peppers!  We added a little left over brown rice and used ground beef instead of turkey, but this was delicious.  Even better, as we used 4 good sized peppers to make it, we have left overs sitting in the fridge for lunch tomorrow.  I do love a meal with leftovers!

If you want to keep track of my tried and tested recipes, follow my Eat It Again board and don't forget to check the comments on each pin for any modifications and ideas.  

Daily Shape - No excuses

At my 6 week post-partum appointment, I had lost 32 of the 40 lbs that I gained during pregnancy.  I figure 8 of that was baby, another 10 comprised of various fluids, and the rest a nice side effect to breast feeding. While on leave, I was thinking that I would take the little one on walks every day, or do exercise videos while he was napping.  Ha!  Not so much.  I did get in some solid walks with another mommy friend here and there, but I would hardly say that my exercise was consistent.  I even suspended my gym membership because there was no point trying to figure out when I may be able to go and they won't take Owen at the gym kids club until he's 6 months.

Cuisaid Bath Scale (courtesy of Amazon.com)
It's pretty fancy looking!

Now, nearly 5 months after giving birth, I think this is the longest that I have gone without consistently working out for years.  Even while I was pregnant, I was in the pool three times and a week and doing pilates once a week, right up until a few days before I went into labor.  Seeing as I was so good for so long, I've somewhat given myself a pass, but it is time to get back on the workout horse (so to speak).  Granted, I'm still nursing the baby, which burns a ton of calories and allows me to pig out all day without much concern.  In fact, eating too little will hinder my milk production and we don't want that.  Eventually, he will wean and I will find myself actually having to pay attention to what I eat.  Until then, caution is thrown to the wind - feed me, I'm hungry. 

Next up is to get back into consistent exercise.  I'm lucky that I still have a lot of the strength retained from prior to pregnancy so have a good foundation.  I've enrolled in mommy and me yoga, which I'm enjoying a lot more than I thought I would.  I used to find yoga horrifyingly boring, but I don't know if it can be boring when you are trying to simultaneously entertain a baby, or when another baby who happens to have learned to crawl comes racing across the room and wraps themselves around your ankle.  Holding Warrior II pose with a rattle in one hand to keep baby's attention, Chair pose with a wriggling 14lb (or so) weight in your arms, or Downward-Facing Dog while blowing raspberries at the little face below yours, is a multi-tasking challenge all of it's own.  In fact, I think it deserves bonus yoga points.  Seeing as that's only once a week though, I plan to get up a half hour early (yikes) to do Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred on weekday mornings.  As much as I kind of want to punch that woman in the face for being annoying, it's a 30 minute workout that I can do at home which seems to get great reviews.  Let's see how that goes.  

My new bathroom scale arrived this week.  I never would have thought I'd be excited about the arrival of a scale that would sit in the bathroom and taunt me on a daily basis, but I am!  As of yesterday morning, I have officially lost 47lbs.  That's 7lbs past my pre-pregnancy weight and a great start to keep the motivation going.

I'm telling you all this because it's now out in the open and, having told the world, that makes me accountable.  Going to be doing all my measurements and whatnot this weekend so I can get a fresh start next week.  Watch this space!