C and I went to Columbia Journalism School yesterday for a talk by Nick Denton, who runs saucy media gossip weblog Gawker, expecting him to leave all those tuition-paying Master's students crying in their soup about how they've missed the boat on the blog revolution and poisoned their brains by paying all that tuition to become "real" journalists. Too bad, nothing of the sort happened, since Denton comes across like not much more than the-hobbyist-living-off-the-cash-he-made-in-Silicon-Valley-during-the-nineties that he is. He didn't actually answer any questions about the comparison between blogging and journalism, except to say that there is no comparison. C and I left bored and unsurprised, and I think the Master's students just left confused. Thank god there was Tecate at least.
However, the logo of Denton's newest project, Wonkette, managed to impress me.
Morgan on Craftster drew my attention to Wild Things!, this awesome free, downloadable pattern software that has sewing patterns and instructions for all sorts of accessories - purses, yoga mat bags, wraps, hats, and more - that can be customized based on the dimensions of your item. That means you need not use my yoga mat as your pattern anymore - just type in the dimensions of yours, and, voila - a perfectly fitting bag! This is about the coolest thing I've seen since Smack the Penguin!
After some time wasting looking at cat books at Barnes and Noble (don't ask me why he was reading cat books at Barnes and Noble), Chris finally identified the wacky characteristics of our younger cat, Moses, as marks of nobility rather than, as we originally thought, the person and demeanor of a street-urchin-kitten found at one week old under a car in Brooklyn. It seems that Moses is what's called an Egyptian Mau, the original cat domesticated by those wacky worshipers of felines.
We always though it odd how much bigger her body was than her head, the constant expression of worry on her face, her oddly colored green eyes... this from the Cat Fancier's Association: "With an elegant body [uh, okay, their heads are too small for their bodies] that is randomly spotted, banded legs and tail, expressive gooseberry green eyes, distinctive mascara lines, a worried expression on the face, and a graceful cheetah-like stride, it is no wonder that the Mau attracts such a tremendous amount of attention at cat shows."
Maus are also the only naturally spotted breed of domesticated cat. Apparently, this "rare treasure" has its own fan club. Well, as far as I'm concerned, Moses still spends most of her time staring at the drain in the bathtub and eats thread.
Yippee! My favorite fruit is back in stock at the Co-op! Kumquats are extremely sour little citrus fruits with sweet skins.
Kumquats are healthy: just a few contain your daily intake of vitamins C and A.
Kumquats are tasty: I like kumquats as they are, but some people fancy them candied. Ooh, here's a recipe for Candied Kumquat Key Lime Pie! Sounds exciting. I bet this Cranberry-Kumquat Chutney would knock the socks off your Thanksgiving guests next year!
Kumquats are attractive: So colorful and photogenic, they are just begging to be put to decorative use. They'd even be a cool Christmas centerpiece, on each table in a tall glass vessel of some kind, dontcha think?
Maybe I'll spring for those tickets to this year's Kumquat Festival in Dade City, Florida. It's not too late to enter the Miss Kumquat pageant!
A sign that law is the wrong career for me: after mock negotiations, my opponent (a fellow student) confides that her original strategy for the session was to make me cry. I think she was partially serious. Compare my "secret" strategy: to offer to buy her a Snickers bar if we could just settle and get out of there. What does it all mean?
I'm in a bath products kind of mood these days, and I'm in search of something to make stuff smell like ginger ale, kind of like Demeter's Ginger Ale. I'm thinking Ginger Ale bath bomb. Good, no? None of my regular online haunts appears to have a fragrance oil, and anyway I'm wary of fragrance oils, but if someone has experience with a good place I'm willing to give it a go. Anybody know of a place to find it?
Alternatively, a recipe for concocting my own ginger ale fragrance could work - I'm guessing you'd start with ginger, vanilla, and lemon, but there's something missing to give it that crisp scent. Any ideas?
This great step-by-step tutorial for making a basic square-bottomed bag with lining turned up on Craftster recently. Seems like it would be a good and useful project for a beginner on the Singer, and doesn't require loads of fabric in case, like me, you have to try it a few times to get it right. I'll try it soon and let you know how it goes.
Okay, okay. To the average Jane good old Valentine's Day is still about a month away. But chances are, you're not an average Jane. I'm betting you're a creative Jane with crafty leanings.
If so, you're probably like me and making your own cards to send to friends, family and lovahs. I found a cute Web store of via the indie shopper's portal delight -- I Buy D.I.Y.
The appropriately titled site is called craftycards.com, and it's worth your click -- either to inspire you as you work on your own masterpieces or to give you a V-Day purchasing option besides Hallmark valentines or $1 boxed Spongebob cards.
Check it out.
My friend (who, like me is also a rabid Martha Stewart fan) whipped up a batch of the domestic diva's "Low-Fat Granola" using the recipe on her Web site. She was good enough to give me a sample, and I must say it gets a rave review from me. Not too nutty, not too sweet -- just plain perfect.
The only downfall is that it makes tons. Eight cups worth to be precise. But that doesn't necessarily spell P-R-O-B-L-E-M-O, if you ask me. That just means more to share, no?
You know, it's really too bad that the venerable old 'zine Beef: The Meat isn't around to cover this.
My good friend joyolivia has been assiduously collecting old cashmere sweaters from Village Thrift for me for the past couple of months, while I have been staring at them timidly, wondering how I should reconstruct them. Boyshorts could provide a small project that might give good experience in reconstructing cashmere sweaters. A while back Banana Republic was selling cashmere boyshorts as PJs and the looked just lovely. I only really have a couple of pairs of boyshorts, and am not confident in my ability to trace a pattern - does anyone know of a pattern or have any advice for coming up with one?
"Back to school, back to school, prove to dad that I'm no fool. My lunch packed up, my shoes tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Oooooooh, back to school, back to school, back to school." -- Billy Madison
Classes at NYU resumed today, and spending a few hours in the new building that smells like paint combined with the trudge of time on the first day left me with an excedrin headache. But it was good to be back, catching up with folks and learning about property, which, by the way is theft!
Don't you just love those rare thrift store finds, the perfectly soft, perfectly worn vintage t-shirt that fits you as perfectly as it fit the original ten-year-old softball player (or whomever) who owned it? Like most things, it is fakeable. I found instructions on Glitter [here] this week. Take a t-shirt, (one of the posters recommended avoiding 100% cotton - go for something like a 50/50), and soak it in 2 gallons of warm water with about 3T of bleach and 1/2 cup of sea salt. Let it soak for a couple of days, then wash it. I haven't yet attempted this, but next time I'm getting ready to do laundry I'll give it a go and let you know if it works.
When it's cold out if you're like me you usually want to eat meals that are hearty and yummy for your tummy. For some this means a bowl of something all soup-like or meat-based, but for me it means whipping up a batch of Toasty Barley Nibbles w/ Dill & Veggies.
The chef-work is not all that hard and basically involves a lot of chopping more than anything. And the party bonus factor to this not-too-strenous recipe is that it really requires very little clean-up. Hurrah!
Supplies
Ingredients
Directions
It makes four servings and definitely is something that gets better with age -- so don't fret if you're a party-of-one and will have leftovers. This dish gets more delectable with a little fridge time.
Enjoy
This recipe is based on the Toasted Barley with Mixed Vegetables recipe from March 1995's Betty Crocker's Low-Fat, Low-Cholesterol Cooking booklet. (Thank you Village Discount!).
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Midtown yarn store School Products carries the most beautiful, amazingly affordable bulk yarns in this whole city of knitters with too much disposable income. Also, the Russian couple who run the place are just about the cutest older people out there, and they know everything about knitting. Last year, I picked up some 6-ply cashmere yarn there for $50 per pound, intending to make a hat for my mom, which never materialized. This year I got around to it, but since I already bought my mom a cashmere hat, I kept it. It's warm and comfy, so it's nice despite being too close-fitting to look good on me with my big hair (Chris makes a nice model though, doesn't he?). I still have at least 3/4 of the original 1/2 pound of yarn I bought; hopefully it will be gone before 2005!
To make:
6-ply School Products cashmere, or 1-2 balls (approx) of DK weight yarn
16" circular needles, size 6
6 double-pointed needles, size 6
stitch marker
Size:
Women's M (Women's L or Men's M)
Pattern:
Cast on 80 (96) stitches.
Round 1: *P2, K2* repeat from * around.
Continue until piece measures 10" (or desired length) from beginning.
Change to double-pointed needles. Divide 80 (96) stitches into 5 (6) equal sections and start decreasing 1 stitch in each section every round, as follows:
In each section, work in pattern to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1.
Repeat this every round until you have 10 (12) stitches.
Cut yarn, allowing a bit for weaving in end. Pull through stitches on needles and draw up tightly to fasten.
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After a b'jillion months half-completed at the bottom of my sewing cabinet, I finished my snazzy yoga mat bag today! It's easy as pie. Cut a piece of 29" x 17" fabric and a circular piece 6 1/4" in diameter. Fold the rectangular piece in half long way, and pin the ends of your strap into the seam where you want them. Sew up the seam to make a tube, leaving a 1" seam allowance on both ends. Cut notches in the circle, and sew to the bottom of the tube (this part is tricky but no one will see it, so it need not be perfect). At the top of the tube, fold the fabric over to make a small tube for the drawstring (leave the open ends open). Slide the drawstring in one opening and out the other, and voila! You are the only person in your yoga class with a snappy bag instead of one made out of icky windbreaker material! (BTW, 'scuse the photo - I just woke up!)
New project complete! My friend Angela is having a kid, and the shower's Sunday. Baby projects finish so quickly! The booties are from a pattern in Knitting Pretty by Kris Percival. The pattern wasn't nearly so bad as it looked at first, with its 30 steps. I used a free pattern from About.com for the hat - it's a baby helmet!*
* Note (1/12/04): After comparing the hat with the ones others gave at the baby shower, I realize that the hat pattern is waaaay too small for a regular newborn! It truly is a preemie pattern. Shouldn't be hard to alter it for a bigger head though - maybe just add a couple of extra inches worth of stitches and follow the gist of the pattern above.
Now that the holidays are over, I can post things made as gifts. Catty is inspecting the diagonally-striped scarf I knitted for my friend Carrie. To make it, use two colors of super-bulky yarn, such as Rowan Big Wool, and 15mm needles.
Pattern:
Cast on 14 stitches.
Row 1: Knit across with color A.
Row 2: Increase 1 on first stitch by purling into back and front of stitch. Purl across, but P2tog on last two stitches.
Repeat with color B. Don't join the yarn throughout, just keep picking up the different colors as you alternate. Continue alternating colors every two rows until you reach desired length, bind off.
Well, people, we did it. Chris' parents gave us a TV, and we bought a DVD player, and now it's all sitting in the closet... but we are using it to watch movies. I just spent like an hour adding DVDs to my Amazon.com Wishlist, and those are just the bare bones of our future collection! Seriously, though, the world of DVD seems pretty addictive, and since we've been deprived of movies at home for so long, well, it's just frightening. My first DVD purchase was made tonight - The Big Lebowski, bien sur.
Still, the TV will be kept in the closet, and we have no reception even of network stations in our apartment without cable or an antenna. So don't expect Chris and I to understand your pop culture references just because we are now television owners. I prefer to think of the whole setup as "the movie machine." Yes. That's right.
Resolutions:
(1) Floss more often. Ultra Floss has me just about ready to stop making this resolution every year!
(2) Knit wrist warmers
(3) Sew covers for the arms of our beloved corduroy chair.
(4) Travel somewhere with Chris that neither of us have visited before. Belize, perhaps?
(5) Another knitting resolution: make something not considered an "accessory." Even if it's for a little person.
(6) Do all my reading this semester. Ha!
Everyone, everyone in this country is obsessed with Michael Jackson's plastic face, and pardon me for saying it's not without good reason. You will be shocked when you view this forensic artist's age progression of what The Gloved One would look like sans knife. Admit it, it gives you the heebie geebies.
To celebrate the new year, we are getting a group together next week to eat dim sum at Chinatown's famous Jing Fong Restaurant . We're not really experts, so we have made sure to recruit some seasoned cart-chasers to come. Since Catty and Moses can't attend, I found them this pattern for feline dim sum at Knitty. Apparently cat toys that look like Asian cuisine are all the rage, as these felt fortune cookies, california rolls, and shrimp popped up recently courtesy of Anna at Voodoo Toaster.