Must..Get..Pony..Beads..

I was perusing Jen's blog today when I discovered a recent post about melting pony beads (click here for pics). I've seen this done on Craftster, but apparently sweets4ever is perfecting the art. I could see myself very easily and quickly going overboard with this stuff. Just think of all the possibilities! The only thing that concerns me are the fumes that the beads put off as they melt. Jen mentioned that they're not too bad with the use of a fan and open windows, but still. Another positive for this is the cost....it's so freakin' cheap! I may have to try this when Nathaniel is home so he can entertain Geof somewhere away from the fumes while I play with molten pony beads.

Oh, for the love of yarn!

I occasionally watch a program on HGTV called That's Clever!...formerly known as Crafters Coast to Coast. Sometimes there's a fiber artist featured, mostly knitters, but this past Tuesday featured an artist who weaves with yarn. Her name is Martina Celerin and she's from Indiana. I was blown away by how realistic her weaving was, and how simple she made the construction seem. Here's a link to the instructions for making a piece she calls "After the Rain". The pictures on her website do not do her work justice. I was very inspired by her craft, maybe I'll try my hand at weaving with yarn one of these days.

The Latest

I still crochet, I promise. I've been working on a baby blanket. Seems like everyone around here is pregnant these days...well, everyone except for me. I chose a pattern from this book...

Please ignore the ugly chair it sits in. The name of the pattern is Show-Off Baby Blanket. It should be Pay-Attention-Or-I'll-Kick-Your-Ass Baby Blanket and it will hopefully look something like this...

It's a pretty fun pattern but takes some concentration until you get into the rhythm of things. I've frogged it about 3 times now...hopefully that'll be the charm. Things are progressing well so far...



Granted, I'm only 9 rows in, but I think I've found my rhythm. I've been avoiding this thing like the plague for the past 2 weeks. The baby it is intended for isn't due until November but I hope to finish it sooner than that. I have another friend who's due in December and I'm thinking of using Deneen's pattern for the blanket I plan to make for her. The pattern seems to work up a fairly warm blanket and that is what I'm aiming for.

I'll end this picture-rific post with a past FO that I wasn't able to share. I think I finished him about this time last year, he isn't perfect but I like him. I just made him up as I went and I had a lot of fun. No, he has no name...yes, he only has 2 legs but that's ok because I call him folk art.

Here he is relaxing in the ugly chair that you're supposed to ignore



A close-up of his purrrrrdy face...and my mad skills


Here he is at his regular post...guarding my keys, such a nice kitty!

The Real Foodie Friday Offering

Something happened the other day and I was struck with the urge to bake. I dug through my collection of recipes and found this one. Trust me when I say it's kid tested and approved!

Mocha Cookies

Cookies
1 large egg
2 tablespoons instant coffee crystals
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour*
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Caramel Drizzle
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup caramel topping
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
About 2 tablespoons milk

1. In medium bowl, beat egg and coffee crystals with electric mixer on medium speed until crystals dissolve. Add granulated sugar, butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy. Stir in remaining cookie ingredients. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour until chilled.
2. Heat oven to 375 F. Roll dough 1/8 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut with 2 1/2 inch cookie cutters. On ungreased cookie sheer, place dough about 1 inch apart. Back about 7 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheer to wire rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
3. In small bowl, mix powdered sugar, caramel topping and vanilla until crumbly. Stir in just enough milk until smooth and thin enough to drizzle. Drizzle over cookies.

*If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Foodie Friday

E. Coli a la Spinach

Ingredients:
1 bag of spinach

Open bag, don't bother to wash the greens, place in favorite serving bowl, eat up, vomit, get explosive diarrhea, die. Enjoy!!

Not that I think E. Coli is funny, especially in light of recent events, but come on people how hard is it to wash your veggies? Those bagged salads are way over priced anyway, stop wasting money. Go to the farmers market, or go ahead and spend the extra time and energy to pick out your own bundles of spinach from the produce section. Prepackaged isn't always better, easier, healthier, or safer. Hasn't this happened before and more than once?

Dearest Blogging Buds...

...I tried yesterday to comment on a few blogs hosted by Blogger and it turns out I can't do that anymore. Why, you ask? Because I had the bright idea to go ahead and switch to the beta version of Blogger. I like it ok, I guess, but now I can't comment on blogs that aren't "beta-fied". Another thing I don't like about it is that playing around with the template requires a knowledge of xml, and that is just beyond me at this point. On the other hand it is a lot easier to revert back to what they refer to as the "classic template" or the template you had previously. Weird. So, this is just to let you know that I am reading, but just can't comment at the moment...hopefully that will change...soon.