knitted lace

here is some lace i'm working on. i am starting a new job in a month and have decided to do exactly what i feel like doing when i feel like doing it the entire time until then, while still going to the gym every other day, cooking as much from scratch as possible and making gifts for people. the red lace is going to be a scarf for my mom for her birthday. the green lace is going to be for me. warren's aran sweater is going to have to wait till next year because there is no way i'll get it done in time for him to wear it while it's still cold.

i really should be working on wedding invitations and shopping for a dress, but june 16th seems so far away right now, and i am full on indulging myself. i'm thinking of taking a pottery class, or maybe sewing my own wedding dress.... i really want to go to the beach.... record a book for librivox.... watch some of the movies that were nominated for oscars....

it's amazing how much you don't have time to do when you have a job.

vegetarian meatloaf recipe

my fiance is a vegetarian (actually he just started eating seafood) so i really don't cook meat at home that much. and anyway, i don't feel good about using mass produced meat and really shouldn't eat too much saturated fat, so i actually like making lots of fake meat dishes. every time someone tries my vegetarian meatloaf, they say it's really convincing--including my meat 'n' potatoes dad--and a friend just asked me for the recipe, so i thought i'd share what i just took the trouble to write down.

(the ingredients in parentheses are optional, but as many as you add the better.)

first get a package of gimme lean, which is extremely low in calories and has NO fat in it, out of the fridge so it starts warming and softening up.

sautee some onions (celery, mushrooms, garlic) that have been minced pretty fine--otherwise the loaf will fall apart when served--in some olive oil. let cool while you do the other stuff.

grease a bread pan or something like one--your hands will be all dirty later which makes it difficult to do it then.

put into a bowl:
one package of gimme lean
one cup of bread crumbs
one egg
worcestershire sauce *
(barbecue sauce
hoisin sauce
soy sauce
truffle oil).

mix everything--including the cooled veggies--together with your hands--take off your rings first. squeeze and let the mixture squirt through your fingers repeatedly. it's the only way to really get it all blended since the gimme lean is pretty dense.

shape into a loaf and put in pan.

bake at 400 for an hour.

voila!


p.s. we go to this store in chinatown for extremely convincing fake meat. it looks like they ship, too.

*edited to add: i just found out that worcestershire sauce has anchovies in it! but there is a vegetarian kind supposedly.

also: slather some barbecue sauce or ketchup on the top of the loaf before cooking. it caramelizes.

hat time!

got it spun up,


wound up,

and knit up. yeah.

ta da!

ok, now, here's some of the stuff i've made over the past two months.

first, the sweater i started months ago and kept undoing and redoing. finally it's done. (actually, at some point, i am going to redo the top of the sleeve a little because it's puckering in an unsightly manner, and i'm going to rethink the buttons. i don't know if i like that the sweater doesn't really close all the way. but i've been wearing it, which is close enough to "done".)

warren's mom and sister finally received their purses. warren designed this one, and did most of the sewing. i showed him how to realize his vision, and did the tricky, slippery silk lining.

you can see our logo inside.

this is the closure on the other bag, which i blithely photographed in front of a throw pillow with a hideous stain on it, so you will just have to imagine how gorgeous it is. we also made pajama pants for warren's stepdad and an apron for my dad. he wanted a manly one.

i dyed a pound of wool i got for six dollars.


color may be my favorite design element, but unfortunately i have discovered that dyeing is my least favorite crafting activity. between the simmering and the drying, it takes FOREVER! lots of waiting. i've been doing this for DAYS! no wonder dyed wool is like twice as expensive as natural. plus, i was experimenting with food coloring (because it's nontoxic), so i did hundreds of tiny batches. at least i figured out how to get what i like, so i won't ever have to do that again! ugh!

now i'm spinning it up. aahh! i love it. this is so going to be a hat.


this is a hat i made out of my second and third handspinning attempts. you can't see the huge lumps in the back. everyone says it's kind of cool, but i think i'm going to undo it and dye and reuse the yarn somehow. will keep you posted.