Turdy The Turtle

I made this little dude for my sweet nephew; I can just see his cute, sugary, sticky widdle smile now. This style of crochet is called Amigurumi; it's a Japanese art of making crochet animals. Amigurumi literally translates to crocheted/knitted, stuffed doll. The pattern was really easy to follow too which was great! I made it in less than three hours. I got my pattern from Crochet magazine. Here is a similar pattern that you can have fun with and customize all your own! Happy hooking!

Here are some more patterns for an Amigurumi Penguin and Koala 

Meanwhile, keeping my eyes on the mission:

My newest project is only in the research phase. Ever heard of tatting? No, not the kind with a needle and ink. Tatting is a really old needlework technique used to make intricate laces....and haven't you heard, lace is "in" this year. Whatever that means ;) All I know is, my great grandma used to be an amazing tatter, but the tradition stopped with her...I will be attempting to resurrect it!

So far I've found this incredible site that has antique crochet and needlework patterns. Suck it Martha Stewart, once I learn to tat, I will be infinitely cooler than you.

Wanna learn along with me? Here is what I am looking at at the moment.

Sew What? When The Yarn Meets The Thread

Favorite phrase of the night: "That's what seam rippers are for."-Grammy

I decided it would be really cool to put a lining in the crochet purses I made last month which I modeled after this crochet purse from one of my favorite crochet blogs, Tangled Happy. Only problem was...I can't sew for shit. My awesome Mother In-law bought me a sewing machine two years ago for xmas and after reading the manual I could thread a bobbin, thread the top, and do a basic, crooked as hell, stitch. But I still couldn't "sew".

I knew I couldn't do this alone so luckily my grammy was there to save the day! She and my grandpa drove over 400 miles just to come visit and I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to break out the sewing machine and have the master seamstress show me a thing or two. Not only did I learn how to sew, I was also shown how to properly do a whip stitch by hand, since what I was calling a whip stitch was actually a basting stitch...who would have thunk ;). Good thing too because a whip stitch kicks a basting stitch's ass any day. According to grammy, the basting stitch was around before the use of pins, but now that we have pins to secure fabric before sewing, we don't need that stitch anymore. Be sure to click on the links above for the video tutorials!

We had such a great time too! We talked and sewed and grammy reminisced about her "learning to sew days" back in high school where her sewing teacher was also her sex ed teacher; apparently they were a little short staffed. It was hilarious listening to my grammy recount learning about the birds and the bees from this spinster cat-lady of a teacher who never had a boyfriend--let alone sex. Good thing she had such a strict sewing teacher, who wasn't distracted by men or sex, because she was able to concentrate her frustrations into her sewing. This teacher may not have ever had sex, but it seems she was anal about her sewing. She made her pupils sew paper until they could create a perfectly straight stitch before they were allowed to move on to fabric. Thanks spinster, sexually frustrated teacher, because of you my grammy is pretty amazing.

So here's how to make a lining for your crochet bag: Find some non stretchy material for your lining, like cotton or satin for example. Fold fabric in half and measure your bag. Cut fabric so that it is 1 inch bigger than your bag on the top and sides.

Once you have your lining sized, cut out a pocket from another piece of material. Fold in the edges so it's nice and pretty, make sure you iron as you go. it's really important to iron down your folds. It makes it sew much easier! Sorry, couldn't resist :) 



Grammy, showing me how to iron the edges of the fabric under. I used this lining for a pretty sea-foam green bag I made. Pictured above.

Now position your pocket and pin to the printed side of your fabric! Then sew the bottom and sides to your lining.



Fold your lining so that the wrong side of the fabric is facing you and your pocket is on the inside. Position over your bag and place your pins where your bag meets your work surface. Then sew the sides of your lining.



Now, fold down the top about an inch and iron it flat.

Slip your liner inside of your bag and whip stitch to the crochet part all the way around. So easy, even this tomboy could do it!

Thanks Grammy!!

ABC's, a little about me.

So hopefully you are enjoying your delicious balsamic strawberry Mouthgasm, that was ridiculously easy to make, and giggling while you apply your lip balm in an interesting shaped lip balm cozy. In the meantime, however, I have a little game for you. I stole this post idea from Becky from Strumpet's and Crumpets, who stole it from Olivia from Secretly Loves Pink, who stole it from someone else, because I think it's cute! Here are My ABC's and I'd LOVE to see my readers (you!) copy and paste this into the comments section and give me your ABC's.

I insisted on the bubble necklace. Yeah...I never had much fashion sense...

Age: 26

B. Bed size: Queen
C. Chore that you hate: all
D. Dogs: none...yet! only an evil little kitty
E. Essential start to your day: Sugary, kid cereal. Must satisfy my zombie-like "id" state in the morning!
F. Favorite color: lavender
G. Gold or Silver: White Gold...Silver's more expensive, snobby cousin
H. Height: 5'3.75"...Yes, us shorties count EVERY decimal place :D
I. Instruments you play: None...unless you count the recorder in 5th grade. Didn't everyone play those?
J. Job title: Is about to change, very soon. Yay for moving up and getting more paper to fluff the nest.

K. Kids: does my kitty count? How about my lizards? No? meh...
L. Live: California
M. Mother's name: means "Beautiful" en Espanol
N. Nicknames: candy, candy cane, candy ass, candy(insert noun here), wifey(thanks bestie Ri), candy kisses(thanks mom), sunshine girl(thanks dad), La weda (thanks work buddies), Dulce...I'm sure there are more, and probably evil ones I don't know about...haha
O. Overnight hospital stays: appendectomy when I was 10
P. Pet peeve: Smacking when you eat - drives me to the brink of insanity.
Q. Quote from a movie: "Pardon me for being rude, it was not me it was my food. It just popped up to say hello, but now it's gone back down below"- Austin Powers, after he passed gas in front of Alotta Fagina. I'm ashamed to admit it now, but I was OBSESSED with all the Austin Powers films(should they even be called films??) when I was a kid.

R. Right or left handed: Both! I'm one of those oddballs who writes with my left, and does most everything else with either.

S. Siblings: Cassy 19, Kristin 14. Love my little sissies (who are now both taller than me) <3

T. Time you wake up: 5:25AM...on weekdays. 8-9AM on most weekends.

U. Underwear: I've always had a panty fetish, I've tried all kinds, but pretty and cotton is my go-to :D

V. Vegetable you hate: Turnips...Seriously turnips, why are you so horrible. 

W. What makes you run late: My dad always taught me that being late was one of the worst traits a person can have....but I admit, it does happen once in a while. If this does occur, I will undoubtedly show up looking disheveled and sweaty due to the fact that my ass has just moved at a record-breaking pace and I will also be suffering from a severe feeling of shame which will cause my face to turn beat red. If I am late it's because of the following: Wardrobe malfunction, forgot to set my alarm on my phone correctly, lost keys, forgot

X. X-Rays you've had: Back...my back is effed up.

Y. Yummy food that you make: I LOVE cooking, so LOTS of things. My favorite go-to meal though is Spaghetti.

Z. Zoo animal: I'm more interested in the bugs crawling around me...however, hippo's are pretty damn cute. Thanks Disney's Fantasia for making me picture all, potentially murderous hippos as happy, fat, tutu-wearing ballerinas.

We go together like Bob Ross and happy little trees <3 

Lick The Bowl Kind Of Good

Summer is almost here! Time to get your mouth ready for all the lovely little gems of Summer. Soon it will be time to grub on fresh tomato and basil bruschetta, sauteed squash, and grilled corn on the cob. My little garden is in full bloom and is just teasing me with the promise of robbing them of their goodies. All except my strawberries...they are kind of the whore of my garden right now.

I have strawberries galore from my little strawberry patch in the backyard. So much so that I am forced to get creative...which in this case has resulted in the most perfect, easy, fast dessert/snack imaginable! Ok, this may sound weird for some who have never thought of pairing sweet with sour, but I made balsamic syrup and drizzled it over ripe, sliced strawberries. It's a party in your mouth, an orgy of flavor, a mouthgasm...I should stop. But really, it's a slightly tangy, almost citrusy syrup that compliments strawberries so very well. Here's what you do for the syrup:

The Mouthgasm:
Sliced Strawberries
& Sweet Balsamic Syrup

2 cups sliced strawberries
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (use the cheap stuff!)
1/4 cup sugar

Add vinegar and sugar to a small pan on high heat. Bring to boil. Boil and stir for 3 minutes, your liquid should start looking syrupy and should coat the back of your spoon. If it doesn't, boil for a little longer. Let cool, then drizzle over sliced strawberries. Enjoy!

Ridiculously easy, and so good. You're welcome :D

Rocket Ship Lip Balm Cozy

...Well that's at least what my three year-old nephew said it was...so let's go with that :D

"Cool! It's a wocket ship!" Awe, kids are so adorable. :]
Such a simple pattern, and really hilarious to crochet; I was giggling the whole time I was making it. If you have any family or friends who would appreciate this, I highly recommend you check out this free pattern. Don't leave your chapstick out in the cold! My grandma even wants one, I think I may make her a pretty, little pink one. Make sure you use a pretty thin yarn and a size 4 hook, otherwise you will have a pretty big...rocket ship :)

New to crochet? Check out my older posts!

Appalled? Yeah, I have that effect on some. ;)

I Prefer To Wear My Sushi

I did it! I finished the sushi scarf from Twinkie Chan's Book, Crochet Goodies For Fashion Foodies. I'm so excited! It definitely is a lot of work weaving in all of the yarn tails from the individual pieces, but it was worth it. It's definitely a conversation piece. Plus you can take some of the patterns for the pieces and make all sorts of stuff. For example, I'm going to take the Maki pattern (the round roll) and make a rug or a purse entirely out of those pieces. The shrimp pattern could double as little whales, so with a few googly eyes and blue yarn, I may try to do something with those. The instructions are really easy to follow, and if you get stuck (like I did), get on Twinkie's blog, you may even get help from the Goody Master herself! Plus, I'm always here if you have questions. So what are you waiting for, go buy this book!

Sushi Scarf! I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book!...and so does Lucy :D

I found this other really cute pattern for a little clutch, it's super easy! Plus you can adorn it with whatever you like or just leave it plain. I added a flower to mine. Pretty versatile little bag that only took about 2 hours total to make. You can find the pattern here. I think the next one I make will have a few little sushi pieces as decoration to go with the scarf I made.

I'm not entirely sure what I will crochet next; but I found some really cute patterns on Ravelry.com (it's free)! All you have to do is create a login, plus most of the cute patterns are free.

New to crochet, or wanting to learn? Here are links to my previous posts on learning to crochet.

Had to add a modely shot! Although I think I sunburned my eyeballs taking this picture...OUCH! What an idiota ;)

...You, Me, And Some Of This Pork

 

The beginnings of a happy relationship

I've been cooking a lot with tequila lately, it really brings a nice,
bold flavor into the mix...and you can take a little swig to take the edge off if need be ;) Tonight I made some Tequila Citrus Pork Tacos and what I like to call Arroz De La Weda (White Girl Rice). The pork was great, although I was pissed because I ran out of corn tortillas and had to use flour instead. I prefer the corn, although the taco was pretty tasty wrapped up in the flour tortilla. The whole thing start to finish took 30 minutes, but I was dragging ass since I just got back from the gym...and it's a weeknight. Blah Blah. Next time I'm making some homemade tortillas on the weekend and freezing them raw until I need them...homemade is ALWAYS better than store-bought.  



A few tips before you get started:

• Freeze your pork chops for about 30 minutes before you start, they will be so much easier to cube!

• Fry some cheese on your tortilla to make a nice crispy, cheesy crust on the inside of your tortilla. On high heat, sprinkle a nice layer of cheese on a non-stick skillet, place your tortilla on top of the melting cheese, let cheese melt and stick onto tortilla, then press down on your tortilla making sure it sticks and catches all the cheesy goodness. Let your cheese brown, if cheese is being stubborn, just use a spatula to un-stick it from the skillet, then lift it out with a wooden or plastic spatula and set aside. Then spread your pork and other toppings on top of the cheese crust. Delicioso!
• Don't use a cast iron skillet to fry your cheese. Yes, I did this... this is why my cast iron skillet still hates me :/

Tequila Citrus Pork Tacos
Serves 3-4

2 lbs boneless pork chops, cut in tiny pieces
1/4 cup of chopped pancetta
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1/4 cup tequila
Juice from 1/2 of a lemon
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Your choice of toppings, bring on the avocado!

Add pancetta to pan on high heat and cook until juices start to run out. Add onion and tequila letting onions sweat for about 2 minutes. Add pork, garlic, lemon juice, and chili powder and cook until pork is no longer pink in the middle. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Make your fried cheese tortillas as explained above using whatever kind of cheese you prefer. I have tried just about everything but the best is Cheddar, mozzarella, or a "Mexican cheese blend".

Now add your toppings! I usually cut up some cabbage and top with sour cream and avocado. Enjoy!

Arroz De La Weda (White Girl Rice)
Serves 4

1 1/2 cup Jasmine rice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 cup green tomato or tomatillo salsa
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp chicken bullion or tomato/chicken bullion

Add oil to skillet on high heat, add rice and brown until grains are nice and toasty on all sides. Avoid burning by stirring around every 30 seconds. Add the rest of your ingredients and stir around. Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium heat, you can throw a jalapeno in the middle of your cooking rice to add a little heat if desired. Cover, and simmer until rice is done. Check periodically and add water if needed. Don't stir your rice around until it's done or it will get gummy.