I present to you, a finished scarf.

Let’s talk yarn first. About a year ago, I bought a skein of worsted weight yarn from the Wollmeise to make My So Called Scarf, but I didn’t like knitting the pattern. So I ripped. I also realized that I didn’t have enough yarn to actually make a scarf for myself, especially since I like them long. I was lucky enough to grab a couple more skeins out of the online shop, and I’m glad I did.

It’s amazing to me how close the two different lots of yarn match. There’s a slight difference, but the two yarns pooled exactly the same and look REALLY close. Which absolutely amazes me. The saturation of the colors is nearly identical, the yarn is amazing to work with, and I really like what I’m calling the “argyle” pattern it made through the scarf.

And I’ve even successfully learned to use the timer function on my camera. Although I wasn’t so good at realizing the light from the window made for difficult photo taking. Ah, well, good enough.

The details:

Yarn: Wollmeise Merino-Lammdochtwolle in Am Kalten Polar. I used a little over 2 skeins (209g). (Unfortunately, this yarn is not currently available.)
Pattern: Wavy by Sarah Smith from Knitty, Winter 2004
Pattern modifications: None, really. I did an extra pattern repeat to make it long enough for me. It clocks in at 66 inches long.
Time: I started working on this in January, 2008 and finished on August 23, 2008. This nearly became a UFO, but it caught my interest again a couple weeks ago when I wasn’t interested in working on any of my recent projects.

Now I just might have to pick up the Chevron scarf that’s been lingering on the needles since last October.

There hasn’t really been a whole lot going on these days worth writing about.

• I’ve really been in the zone knitting on my Wavy Scarf after putting it down for several months. It’s been on the needles since January, so it’s exciting to work on it again. Well, not exciting to work on (it’s basically a k3, p3 for every row), but exciting to get to a point where I’ll get it finished.
• I’ve been working with fellow bridesmaid Shanon on planning Mindy & Eric’s wedding shower. I think I have everything for the party favors taken care of. And since we’re doing it at a restaurant, we don’t really need to worry about decorations. Also ordered gifts for the couple this week. So, things seem to be under control there.  And I will be eating fries covered in pork and dairy products during said shower.
• My fall classes start on Tuesday. I’m taking Public Health Admin. & Applied Epidemiology. Woo. Pub Health Admin is one of the two classes I really really really don’t want to take*, but they are two of the core competencies I’ll get asked questions about during comps**.
• Speaking of classes, I will be done with my coursework next Fall (2009), but will still have to do my internship and the above mentioned comps. I don’t think I could do those two things, take 2 classes, and work full time during the Fall semester, so it’ll take me the extra time to finish my degree. But I have it planned and there is an end in sight. WOOOO!
• I discovered something interesting this week - the new line of Bliss chocolates from Hershey are NOT made with High Fructose Corn Syrup. There’s some information out there about the health benefits of cutting out HFCS and it IS something I’ve thought about doing, but I haven’t because HFCS is so prevalent in everything - it’s even in your loaf of bread. Go on, check the ingredients, I’ll wait……. See? EVEN IN BREAD, people! So, anyway, the point is that I like knowing there is an easy to find chocolate product that is really tasty out there without HCFS should I decide to make this change. It’s nice to know that even if I don’t cut out HCFS.***
• Additionally, and importantly, the chocolates made with actual sugar and that don’t include HCFS actually taste better. So much better. Seriously.

That’s all for now. Once I finish this scarf I’m going to wax poetic about the amazing dye job on the yarn, but that will wait.

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My first sewn purse, originally uploaded by Star Monkeybrass.

A short essay by, well, me!

Okay, not even really an essay and more like “what I did last night while watching the Olympics”, but I think I have finally mastered using the sewing machine. I made a purse with lining and everything. It’s not perfect, but it’s not bad for my first attempt.

You may remember that my weekend in Michigan included an impromtu trip through the Chocolate exhibition at the Henry Ford Museum, in the gift area of which I found many many chocolate items to purchase and try.

Today I bring you a review of three salty/sweet treats.

Disclaimer, part 1 -  I love the combination of salty & sweet. Whoever created chocolate covered pretzels was a genius. GENIUS!!

First, the Sanders Dark Chocolate & Sea Salt Caramels. See that picture? Yeah, imagine that deliciousness melting in your mouth. *drool* So good. What I love: the caramel, even after refrigeration (my kitchen gets really hot and chocolate gets really soft), stays soft. The dark chocolate is an excellent choice to pair with the sweetness of the caramel & the sea salt. I actually have had one person try these who was not a fan of the salt, but she said that the yumminess of the rest of the confection outweighed the salt. I actually had to take these into work so I wouldn’t eat the entire box of them myself (all in one sitting). So good.

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Dear Anthony Bourdain,

I’ve been doing some catching up on the show since my last letter to you. We can thank iTunes & being able to watch things on Ferris the iPod through my TV. I can’t tell you how exciting that is, really. I mean - I can watch whatever I download on my TV with just a cheap cord from Radio Shack. So awesome. Seriously. But I digress.

I still think you need to come visit St. Louis. Or maybe do a Kansas City/St. Louis hybrid show if you don’t think you can get an hour of viewable television out of our fair city. Hell, I’ll do KC with you, too. A little burnt ends sammich from Arthur Bryant’s? I am so there.

I’ve been making a list of the places you should visit in the St. Louis area - we can’t just hit St. Louis, there are too many places to visit just a short drive out of the city.

So, in no particular order, here are just a few of the places I think you should visit in the area:

• Oberle Meats - This is a Ste. Genevieve based business. I haven’t actually been to the restaurant/deli, but I hear it’s good. I picked them because I was raised on Oberle Sausage, which is (of course) made by Oberle Meats. It’s a beef/pork sausage that I would say is similar to summer sausage only, y’know, delicious. There was a time when I could eat an entire pound or so in one night. Seriously.
• The National Tiger Sanctuary - Obviously, no food involved unless you manage to get into the cages somehow, then you become the food. But it would take a lot of effort to do that - the couple who run the sanctuary have raised the tigers since they were cubs and they’re very careful & knowledgeable about the animals. It’s one of our best kept secrets.
• Dexter BBQ - This one is a little bit of a drive, but it’ll get you some Southeastern Missouri BBQ - I do love a BBQ sammich with a heap of slaw on it. Trust me, it’s fantastic. They have four locations, but it’s a Dexter, Missouri based “chain”. I’ve been known to make the drive to the closest one (which is about 100 miles away) just to get a fix.
• Ted Drewes Frozen Custard - It’s a given. Ted Drewes is a St. Louis landmark and I would venture to say that they make the finest banana split in the city. At least they are the finest ones I’ve ever had.
• Imo’s Pizza - Another St. Louis tradition, loved by those born & bred in St. Louis and pretty much universally disliked by the rest of the world. But something you have to try once. It’s true St. Louis style pizza, processed Provel cheese and all.
• Toasted Ravioli - This is not a place, but a St. Louis thing. I’ll even go on a research mission to find the best in town (not that it would be a sacrifice to do that - I love toasted ravioli with a passion I usually reserve for my love of cheese).
• At least one of our local chocolate/candy places. The trip wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Merb’s, Crown Candy Kitchen, or Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate.

I’m sure we could find a lot more places for you to visit in the area. Even if you wanted to go to one of our higher end (read: fancy schmancy) places, you wouldn’t have to suit up. Jeans are pretty much acceptable wear everywhere in St. Louis.

Anyway, Tony, come to St. Louis. I promise to show you a great city on the Mississippi River. I might even be convinced to take a ride to the top of the Arch.

Sincerely,

Kara

I just got home from my evening out with the fellow twitter folk and checked the NaBloPoMo theme for August to find that it is HOT.

I toyed with joining in for the month very briefly (because, hey, what better way to get back to blogging on a schedule than to force yourself to do it EVERY DAY for a month. Yeah, doesn’t work), then came back to reality and realized that I would run out of Hot topics after, oh, tonight.

Still, in honor of NaBloPoMo, a couple things that were hot that I experienced today:

• The weather. Holy hell, it is hot in St Louis. All through July it was bearable, sometimes even cool. The past week has been warm, but it’s like the switch was flipped today and BAM - hotter than Hell out there today. Sheesh.
• Hot Wings. Or hot wing. I only managed one before my lips were a little on fire - not that they were really that spicy, I’m just that sensitive.
• Not hot, but awesome - the deceptive Mr. Pibb tap at Llywelyn’s - I saw the fountain, asked for a Mr. Pibb, waiter said they had Dr. Pepper instead and “is that okay”. Is the Pope Catholic? Yeah!

See, out of ideas already, so there’s no way I could carry this out for a whole month. I’m saving you all from a month of “Holy Crap, it’s HOT outside” posts. You should be thrilled.

Finally, a small housekeeping note: maintaining a sticky post is a PITA for me in WordPress, so instead I’m just going to tack a little reminder about my contest at the end of every post. Annoying, maybe, but it’s my blog and my contest and I would really like more than one donation - I’d love to see how much money we can raise for Habitat for Humanity & New Orleans. For details, go to this post and check it out. Thanks.

As it’s been over a year since I completed the Rock Star Armwarmers, I thought I’d revisit them & finally dig out my notes & post the pattern. To refresh your memory, these were inspired by the armwarmers that Anthony Kiedis wore when I saw Red Hot Chili Peppers in concert on January 15, 2007 (you can see him wearing said armwarmers here).

I spent a good portion of the show memorizing what I could about them so that I could attempt to recreate a pair for myself. Originally there was going to be a heart on the left hand, but I decided that attempting intarsia for the very first time while working in the round would have just been crazy. So I went with stripes on the hand instead.

Of course, as with everything I own, these come with a little cat fur. If you decide to make a pair for yourself, cat fur is optional.

Either way, you can be your own Rock Star.

(Pattern after the jump) Read the rest of this entry »

For the past few days, I’ve been suffering with the annual summer cold.

I don’t feel terrible - just a sore throat and stuffy nose, but the nose. Oh the stuffy stuffy nose.

These are the days when I miss being able to take a decongestant. It’s something we take for granted, the joy of Sudafed, but decongestants tend to spike your blood pressure. Which is apparently bad, they tell me, if you have the high blood pressure.

It’s still odd to me that I have a cold in the dead of summer. I still feel like colds are purely winter illnesses, maybe in the summer the same combination of symptoms should be called a “hot”. Because, damn, it’s hot outside.

Hurricane Katrina took out a big chunk of New Orleans the day after my mom had the stroke that ultimately took her away from us. At the time, I was quite obviously preoccupied with what was going on in my own life. I didn’t avoid news of Katrina, but I also didn’t seek it out. I didn’t watch the news. I didn’t listen to what was going on. Somewhere in the back of my head, I knew how bad it was, but I couldn’t watch what was going on in one of my favorite cities. Sure, I donated a bit of money to the Red Cross at the time, but that was about it.

It’s been 10 years since I last visited New Orleans, but the city worked its way into my soul. It’s a part of who I am, who I’ve become in my life. It’s important that New Orleans recover and that we don’t forget what happened.

I spent part of my Friday night catching up on watching some episodes of No Reservations, including my first viewing of the New Orleans episode filmed last year. Seeing the destruction that was still there, IS still there, moved me. It saddened me that there’s still so much destruction, people are still fighting to survive in post-Katrina New Orleans. It’s not that I didn’t know about it, but I didn’t SEE it until now. It’s almost 3 years after Katrina and New Orleans still needs help to rebuild.

And I want to help. But I am going through financial woes of my own at the moment, so here’s what I can do for now. I can knit. And you can help. (Please click through for details) Read the rest of this entry »

So, while I was home yesterday (switching around my day off with a day worked), I got a little crafty.

A while back (I’m talking months, people), I had started working on a quilt top. I got the main long strips sewn together &/or cut out, then pinned together and ready for sewing. And I sewed about 3 strips together and put it away so I could do various other things.

Fast forward to yesterday - I’ve inherited a sewing machine that may be smarter than I am. It was my mom’s machine and it’s built to stand up to layers of fabric - I could machine quilt on this thing if I wanted to. But I hadn’t used it yet. So I got all my supplies out and got to work with the goal of sewing all the strips together into one large piece.

I wasn’t sure if it was going to be big enough at this stage. I don’t think I needed to worry.

Now all I need to do is get some backing fabric and yarn to tie it off (I’m doing the simple quilting since this one is seasonal). Should be done in time for Halloween this year!