Crafty Goodness

The Knit Show

This week I got the opportunity to screen of the first episode of “The Knit Show” and participate in a Q & A  with it’s host Vickie Howell.  She is one of my favorite knit and crochet designers. You may recognize her name she was the host of Knitty Gritty on the DIY Network and Knitting Daily on PBS. 

The show really seems to be a labor of love for Ms. Howell. She talked a lot about building a community of knitters.  Encouraging viewers to organize public knitting groups called “knit hives”. Each show includes two segments discussing techniques complete with downloadable patterns to the projects that are showcased. As well as segments about tools and other thing of interest to crafters. 

The show is fun and Vickie Howell was very open and personable. If you knit or chrochet you should check it out. The first 10 episode are available on You Tube or at www.theknitshow.com

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Books · Crafty Goodness

Keeping My Hands Busy

I have been crafting a lot lately.  I quit smoking 3 weeks ago and keeping my hands busy is important.  My wonderful crafty friends and I have also started a monthly Stitch and Bitch. We had our first one 2 weeks ago and it went great.  I made a Sock Bunny.  I have made sock monkeys before and thought I would branch out to other animals. I got the book Socks Appeal by Brenna Maloney for Christmas so I used her pattern it came out really cute, see:

Sock Bunny!

I have also been knitting a lot too.  I just starting knitting in November and I taught myself so I am still pretty new at it.   I did just finish a cute pair of hand warmers in a ribbed knit and I really like them.

Now I am teaching myself to increase so I am working on the kerchief from the book Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller which is a really good beginners knitting book if you are trying to learn.  I will post pictures of it soon.

So how do you keep you hands busy and what are you making?  Leave me a comment and let me know

Crafty Goodness · Parties · Recipes

Stitch and Bitch

So the holidays are over hope you all had a wonderful New Year.   I got a couple of craft books for Christmas which is just perfect because tonight is the first monthly Stitch and Bitch!! I am very excited to get all my wildly crafty friends together to hang out, I am sure it is going to be a blast.

I don’t really have anything planned for this post. I recently quit smoking and have been, less than motivated lately.  I know it happens to all of us from time to time but, it’s hell when you are trying to come up with content for a blog.

How about I give you the recipe for our go to appetizer.  It’s everyone’s favorite and we serve it at almost every party we have.

Bacon Thingy’s

Here’s what you need:

1/2 pound of bacon strips cut in half

1 package of cream cheese

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 loaf of thin sliced white bread

toothpicks

 

Here’s what you do:

1. Cut the crusts off the bread

2. In a food processor mix together then  cream cheese with the garlic

3. Spread the cream cheese mixture on the bread

4. Cut the bread into strips about the same width as a strip of bacon

5. Take 1/2 a bacon strip lay it on the bread strip and roll into a spiral secure with a toothpick.

6. Place on cookie sheet and bake at about 400 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes or so till the bacon is crispy and the bread is toasted.

7. Wow your friends!

Next week I will be sure to let you know how stitch and Bitch went.  I’ll also post some pics of all the craft projects I have been working on to try to keep from smoking.

Wish me luck.

 

 

 

Crafty Goodness · Parties

Thanksgiving, Cookies, Craft Projects and More Craft Projects.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving.  Things are busy here at the Rabbit Hole.  we are getting ready for next weeks  Cookiemeggdon.  Let me explain how that works I invite a bunch of friends over,  I ask them each to bring the ingredients for one cookie of their choice.  Then we spend all day baking and gossiping and laughing and everyone goes home with lots of different kinds of cookies.  It is lots of fun, and lots of work but totally worth it.  This year I am making Ginger Snaps, I will post the recipe next week.

Speaking of food last Thursday was Thanksgiving, my husband is a born and bred New Englander, you know the kind, from an old New England family.  He has VERY definite ideas of how Thanksgiving should be done.  He has posted his rules for Thanksgiving in a very funny and profanity ridden post you can find it here .

Projects?  Why of course I have projects going on.  I just finished embroidering a tie with the Nerdist logo.

 

I am also working on at least 2 knitting projects that I hope to finish to give as Christmas gifts and the tote bag I started to embroider for myself weeks ago still isn’t finished either.

Oh and I bought some Meyer lemons to preserve that should be complete and ready to post in next weeks entry as well.  Like I said there is lots going on here, but it is all good, happy, creative stuff and that’s the best way to be busy.

Have a great week!

Books · Crafty Goodness

Weddings and Birthdays and Snow Storms Oh My!

So much has been going on here at the rabbit hole.  Two weddings, a new nephew,  our first anniversary and my birthday, with karaoke.   Also craft projects, lots of Monday night family podcast dinners and a snow storm.

There was a snow storm here in New England on Saturday the 29th of October.  October is a little early for snow even here in the frozen north.  As a result much of Connecticut was without power for days and in some cases over a week.  We were very lucky we did not lose power though much of our town did and a lot of our friends didn’t have power for days.  We had our friends here nearly every night charging cell phones and keeping warm, it was like a week long epic sleepover,  and mostly I was just glad I could help them out when they needed it.

About my lack of posts lately,  I have set a personal goal to update at least once a week likely on Fridays.  I am trying to get posts written ahead of time so there won’t be anymore long gaps.  Maybe you will forgive me if I tell you about the projects I’ve been working on.

Secret Project X – A gift for my friend Jeri.  Jeri is a Shakespeare scholar  and maybe a tiny bit superstitious.  She refuses to say the name of the play “Macbeth” out loud, because it is considered bad luck in the theater.  If someone else says Macbeth she will respond with the phrase  ” Angels and ministers of grace defend us.”   So as a gift I stitched the “Angels and Ministers” quote on a canvas  (yes, and actual artists canvas).  Sort of like an old fashioned sampler.   I have never stitched on canvas before, it’s a little bulkier to work with and the needle has to be very sharp to get through the fabric.  Other than that it was just like stitching on a hoop and actually easier than things like tote bags that have less room for your hands to move around.  I did the entire thing in a satin stitch and it came out pretty good.  Here’s a picture of Jeri with it.

In other news got some awesome home crafty books in the last few weeks, one filled with canning recipes from my awesome husband.  Canning is one of the projects I have been dying to take on.  I am thinking of doing salt preserved lemons first.

The other book is a beginners knitting how to book.  I am teaching myself to knit.  So far?  My stitches are terribly uneven and I am clumsy at it, but I think I am figuring it out.  I promise to post picture of what are sure to be my less than beautiful results.

That’s it for now, leave me a comment and let me know what you are working on.  What you’ve made or what you want to learn.  And have an awesome weekend!