Rebecca Danger

Weigh-In Wednesday: Broccoli Soup!

Today I decided with the success of last week's potato soup to do the same kinda crock pot veggie soup deal with some broccoli I had in the fridge. Big mistake. I threw my veggies in, put The Kid down for a nap, and hopped in the shower. When I got out, I went "Sniff, sniff? What is that awful smell? I think the garbage is really ripe." Then I thought, "Could the garbage really rippen that quickly? I was only in the shower a couple minutes." And then, "Wait, we have those stupid Febreeze garbage bags, so the garbage should not smell like that."

Nope. Not the garbage. My soup stinks something fierce. I thought about turning it off and not trying to make it, but it was already going. By this point in the day (5pm) I am very much not looking forward to this soup since I have been smelling the stinkyness all day. Mr Danger is out of town again this week, which is probably for the best so no one else has to try and breath in this danged stinky house today.

Bleck!

A Little Something New

Between a new baby, finishing my second book a month ago, and Mr Danger starting his new awesome job, I have been doing a lot of thinking and planning the last few weeks. Since I have less time than I used to, I have been getting really serious about what is important to me. Of course this means a few changes.

Remember my New Year's Resolution, balance? Well, I have been focusing on it and it is actually working out pretty good so far. Because of that I have decided to change how I blog, in what I think is a really good way. I have come to realize I love blogging, it is such a great way to reach out to a crafty community that I feel understands me. I love the connections I get through this blog, especially through comments (just a little hint there.)

So, I have decided to have themes for each day of the week, based on what I am focusing on in my more "balanced" life. Here we go:

Monday Check In: Check in day. What's up this week, announcements, etc.

Tutorial Tuesday: I get so many knitting questions that I would love to be able to explain more in depth. Also, after writing this last book, I realized I could be explaining everything in more detail, but there just wasn't room to add it in there. I also really, really (really) like to make stuff. So Tuesday's will be dedicated to tutorials: knitting tutorials by me, crafting tutorials by me, and tutorials I find other places and use to make things.

Weigh-In Wednesday: I have lost 45lbs this last year after The Kid got here. No gimmicks, just eating healthy and exercising. Losing weight on your own is no fun, so I am going to talk about healthy recipes and exercise on Wednesday. Whether you are losing weight yourself, or just interested in a healthy lifestyle, I hope this will be informative. And it will keep me on track!

Thursday Knit Night: My weekly Knit Night is Thursday, and since we all know I love knitting, I figured Knit Night was the perfect day of the week for me to dedicate to all things knitting. Patterns I write, patterns I love, yarn, tools, project reports, etc. Thursday will be all about knitting. See this balance thing happening? One day a week dedicated to knitting, rather than every day of the week. What a thought!

Friday Favorites: My normal "This Week I Am Loving" post. Only now renamed "Friday Favorites." I know, I know, every blogger calls it Friday Favorites. But hey, whatever works. Fridays will be dedicated to what ever I am in love with each week.

Style Saturday: I love clothes. And shoes. And bags. And hair and make up. Let's face it, I'm a girl. Saturday will be devoted to style: everything from trends that strike a chord with me, to like this last week's "Knitspiration," to making my own clothes. I'm getting excited just typing that!

Sunday: I take a break. Wow, not working? That truly is crazy coming from me!

None of these are hard and fast rules. I may get behind one day, or move a daily topic to a different day, or what-have-you. But this is the overall plan.

So there you go. Looks pretty good, huh? If you are tricky, you will notice these topics have already been happening on these days this last month. I have really enjoyed it, so I am making it official. I hope it sounds as good to you as it does to me!

 

 

Wanna Help Me Out?

I need a little help! I have 5 kits all built and ready to get knit that I will soon be offering for sale. BUT, I have measured out yardage for each one to be the right amount for each kit, and I need to double check and make sure it is enough. So, I need 5 people to test my yardage for me! I have 2 different Penelopes, 2 different Daphne/Delilahs, and one Jerry.

If you would like to help me out, post a comment below, making sure to leave your email address. I will take the first 5 folks! Wow, 5 folks in 10 minutes. I'm impressed! Thanks guys for all your offers of help. I have got all the knitters I need!

Thanks guys!

Knitspiration: Leg Warmers

So, the leg warmers and I officially broken up. After the comment by Kate about frogging, I thought to myself: "Holy cupcakes! I have way too much time invested in this project to just frog it!" Then I found these:

Source: freepeople.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

 

...and came to my senses. I was using a handspun with that zig-zaggy lace pattern and it just wasn't working. At all. 

I realized I loved the yarn and I loved the pattern, just not together. But, I would love the yarn mixed with a simple black solid to make the above legwarmers. And I would love the pattern in a different yarn. I was right:

I have one done and I love it. I used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted in Turtle Rodeo, and I think they look fab. If pulled up you can see the lace pattern through the almost stripes of the multi-color, and if slouched so you can't see the zig-zaggity bits, it is just a scrunch of yummy colors. And so soft! Definitely love. Enough that I think that I will actually wear these. Which is good, since I am apparently having a legwarmer moment. Now I have these going, and yarn on the way to make the ones I showed above, not to mention the fact that I was already planning to make these:

Source: lolalina.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

 

Yikes. Obssessed much? Oh well, there are worse things, right?

This Week I Am Loving........

.....baby food jars.

As an avid crafter my little heart goes pitter-patter at the sight of these things. Though it took a couple months The Kid is now a baby-food eating champ. Well, as long as that baby food is fruit. And, as long as it is store bought baby food. Apparently someone does not particularly care for Mama's home cooking already.

We now have a plethora of baby food jars, which have set my creative juices flowing. All I want to do is grab them and go organize all the bits and bobs I own with them. I don't really have any un-organized bits and bobs, or even that many bits and bobs, but that's not the point. The point is that I now can organize them with these teeny tiny jars. Then I start on the slippery slope in my mind: Bobby pins! I can put bobby pins in them! And hair ties! And hair clips! And I can use them to hold up my eyeliner and mascara! And buttons! And, and, and.....and it is all downhill from there. (I made sure to add in that excessive amount of explanation points there so that you can get a clear picture of how freaking excited I get over these things)

But wait! They're not just for storing things, I can make crafts with them, too! My mind is just a-flutter with the possibilities. 

Seems ridiculous, I know, to be this in love with baby food jars. But I am. And I am not apologizing for it.

Know any baby food jar crafts? Point me in their direction, please!

Me And This Project Are Breaking Up

You ever get that way about a project? And it isn't even the project. Or the yarn. The pattern and yarn I am working with right now are both awesome. But, for whatever reason I am not enjoying knitting this project. I am just over the whole thing.

I think part is probably because I never wear leg warmers but I decided to start these because somehow I thought if I had amazing leg warmers I couldn't help but wear them. Now I am questioning that decision.

Who knows. I hope I finish them quick though or I might just have to start on a different project. There are like a dozen other projects calling my name, but they are being drowned out by my sense of finishing one thing before starting on something else. 

That's How I Like My Veggies: Delivered

I saw a mousepad on the internet while Christmas shopping this last year that said "I Want It All And I Want It Delivered." I can't seem to find it now, but I almost ordered it for myself because it could easily be my mantra.

So when we met the local Dandelion organic delivery at a craft fair at Christmas, I decided it was time to sign up. Now we get a whole bin of awesome organic fruit and veg on our doorstop every two weeks (though we could do more). Awesome. Now I just need to get the grocery store to deliver as well. Although I must admit I take care of most of our non-perishable grocery items on Amazon. Yes I do.

You know the only thing better than getting vegetables delivered? Figuring out a recipe to use up a good chunk of those veggies! I spied this the other day:

Source: bettycrocker.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

 

Looks perfect for tonight's dinner! So potatoes and celery from my bin will go in, and I am going to add carrots and chard from my bin as well. We're doing turkey bacon instead of real bacon and we'll be good to go. Yum! And you know what is better than yum? Figuring out things to do with my veggies. It gives me such a feeling of contentment, you know like when you get to the end of a complicated lace row in your knitting and all your stitches come out right? That feeling is what keeps me knitting. Maybe if I get it with my delivered veggies I will cook more. Maybe.

Knitting Pattern Terms

So all that productiveness yesterday? I just had to rip back a third of my project since I had screwed something up. Awesome. Since when has tuesday decided to turn on me?

I have been finishing up a new pattern (which will be out very soon, I promise!) and in the process decided to start doing something different. I have decided to post all of the terms I use in my patterns here on the blog so that if you don't understand something, I can be a little more descriptive, add links in and whatnot, and save a little space in my patterns as well. 

I will keep a link at the top of the FAQ page here on the blog and on the FAQ page on my website as well, so it is easy to access. I think I caught everything, but let me know if there is something I need to add.

Terms Used in Danger Crafts Self-Published Patterns:

Beg: Beginning

BO: Bind Off    

CO: Cast On 

CC: Contrast color

DPN: Double Pointed Needle

I-cord:  Using 2 dpn's, knit the sts on the needle in the round without slipping them off. Video here, CO as many sts as called for in the pattern.

Join: Begin to work in the round

K2tog: Knit 2 stitches as one.

K: Knit

KFB: Knit in the front and the back of one stitch (increase)

MC: Main color

P: Purl

PM: Place marker

PU: Pick up and knit.

R1, etc: Round or row number

Sl or Sl1: Slip one stitch purlwise, move without knitting the stitch (with yarn in back on Knit side)

SSK: Slip the next two stitches. Insert left needle into the front loops of the slipped stitches and knit them together, through the back loops.

St st: Stockinette Stitch: when knitting back and forth on the needle (not in the round), knit one row, purl one row. Also known as "Stocking Stitch." To Achieve the same fabric in the round, you will knit every round.

St(s): Stitch(es)

Three Needle BO: Video here.

() or []: Work whatever is in the brackets as many times as stated after the brackets. At the end of a line of instructions the number in the brackets will let you know how many stitches should be left at the end of that round/row.

 

Starting the Week Out Right

I am up, have finished a bunch of picture taking for my next (next) pattern, sat in front of my happy light for 30 minutes (thank you Pacific Northwest for your lovely winter weather messing with my sleep and mood), eaten breakfast, gotten knitting in, and am blogging all before 9am and before The Kid gets up.

I am now hoping this super productive morning will be the theme of the week. Although, I probably just jinxed it by saying that.

Rebecca 1. Monday 1,210, 342. Take that Monday!

Inspired Knits

This yarn came today:

Image from SweetGeorgiaYarns.com

To make this:

Source: knitpicks.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

 

 

And go with these:

Image from Amazon.com

To make an outfit inspired by this:

Source: simplysoles.com via Rebecca on Pinterest

 

Got it? Now I just have to find a new pair of jeans since mine have all gotten to big....