Oh man, I am so stuffed. Why? Because of today’s box!
Dark chocolate mixed nuts
Hazelnuts (my favorite!), almonds and pistachios dipped in dark chocolate. No, you can’t have any! 
May 182012
May 182012
Remember that doll I was so cryptic about? Well, she’s all done! I was really happy how quickly she worked up.
Frida with her monkey
It’s Frida Kahlo done cutesy and Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) style. I don’t think she looks like Frida, but that’s OK. I was going for more of a stylized version of her. Anyway, my inspiration was listening to the Stuff You Missed in History Class podcast about Frida. I thought how cute it would be to make a Frida doll. Kahlo would often paint herself in traditional Mexican dress. I felt like making a Frida Kahlo doll in that dress has been over done and not as fun as Dia de los Muertos! Which is also a traditional Mexican thing! Maybe I’ll make some papel picado and carve a radish and have a whole little scene set up for her.
I made her while listening to SYMiHC but also to my new favorite podcast, CraftLit. I’m catching up on Dracula (cue spooky music) so that helped lend more of an otherworldly flare to her. I’m almost done with Dracula and it’s *so good*. I’ve been telling everyone I know about CraftLit and how wonderful Heather Ordover, the hostess with the mostess, is.
So that’s it from me! I did finish Wednesday’s cowl but this is so much cooler to blog about. That’ll be up next Friday. For more FOs, check out Tami’s blog.
May 172012
What sort of traditions? I wondered! Well Itako read about my attempts at cooking and is working on a translation of a Venezuelan dish. Querido Luis, eso no es necessario! Yo no escribo en este pagina en español, pero es mi lengua maternal! En casa de mis padres, el español es el unico idioma que se hable. Por favor, manda me la receta por email. (Traduccion: Dear Luis, that is not necessary! I may not write in Spanish here but it is my maternal tongue! In my parents house we only speak Spanish. Please email me the recipe.)
Since non-Cuban/Hispanic food is a mystery to me, Marie sent me a recipe for her Nan’s Pasta with Meatballs and Gravy.
Yum!
I love hand written recipes. My mom is a “just eyeball it” type of cook and never makes a dish the same way twice, unfortunately. I’ve inherited her style of cooking, just with more restraint when it comes to adding a new ingredient into the same dish. So there will most likely never be a book or a list of my mom’s “traditional” dishes. This is now making me crave food that I can’t easily here in Nashville like my mom’s croquettas de jamon (ham croquettes), harina con hot dogs (cornmeal with hot dogs), and empanadas de guyaba y queso (Guava and cheese empanadas).
May 162012
Okay, so it may not be a “true” mobius but I’m not that much of a stickler. The pattern isn’t my own, though I had to list it that way on Ravelry.
You spin me right round...
The yarn is Tilli Tomas MEGA skein gifted by my wonderful friend, Leticia. The yarn is made of wool and other things, along with ribbons, beads and sequins. It really appeals to my inner magpie. She gave me a few pattern cards by Tilli Tomas so I’m following their cowl suggestions. Though in the photo, it looks much longer than mine. Ah well. It’s working up quickly so I’ll probably be finished on Friday. Come back then to see it modeled and me dying from wearing a cowl in the southern heat.
For more WIPs, check out Tami’s blog.
May 162012
Since today is Wednesday and I usually post my works in progress (that’ll be a separate entry) I figured the parcel marked “In stitches” was appropriate. Inside I found some tools that will certainly keep me in stitches!
Embroidery hoop and floss
It’s a small hoop, maybe 5″ in diameter? I think I’m going to stitch up something small and nautical (a tiny ship? or perhaps a little fishie?) and hang it up. Thanks for remembering that I love to embroider! Also, it was brought to my attention that Knitting in Beantown also added to the packages. Many thanks to you!
May 152012
This was a “lazy” package and I’m feeling lazy today so I opened the card. All Underground Crafter did was print out these patterns:
Flourishing Mittens and Winter Forest Tam patterns
Itako picked them out! They are available as free Ravelry downloads, Flourishing Mittens and Winter Forest Tam. They are both very pretty stranded knitting patterns. I can’t wait to stash dive for the right yarn to make them.
May 142012
I had no idea what that could mean so that was next to open!
Odd duck yarn ends!
Three mini skeins from Underground Crafter’s stash! The card is an old photo of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, across the park from the AMNH and my favorite art museum. Perhaps Marie will enlighten us in the comments as to what the yarn is? She’s got great taste in yarn so I know it’s something luxurious.
May 132012
Ages and ages ago, I signed up for the Blog Hub swap on Ravelry. The object was to send at least 7 things so your swapner has something to blog about each day. It was done round robin style and the wonderful Itako had me as his partner. I was excited when I was spoiled on it (sorry!) because he’s from Venezuela. It was really nice to be paired up with a fellow hispano hablante (Hispanic speaker. Latin America is both united and divided by a common tongue!) even though I don’t blog in Spanish.
Anyway, mail between the US and Latin America is notoriously unreliable. Sadly, Luis’ package was lost in transit. I was the only one who didn’t get a package so my wonderful blog friends all chipped in! Yesterday a package from Underground Crafter was at my door step! (I had a blog post ready to go but my camera decided to misbehave. You’ll get two packages today instead of one!)
Package one was labeled “I wanna be anarchy”. I had no idea what that could mean until this little guy popped out and said OI!
I don't know what I want but I know when I'll get it
I’ve had Anarchy in the UK stuck in my head since Saturday. It’s quite annoying actually. Though, I’m a little sad that I don’t remember all of the words.
This morning I woke up and unwrapped another small package. This one says “I’m yummy!” Since I was hungry I figured it would be a consumable of some sort. And I was right!
Click on the chocolate bar to see the website!
Dark chocolate made by Venezuelans, sold in NYC with the company stationed in my home town of Union City NJ! Pretty cool and very delicious. It’s dark chocolate with pecans, hazelnuts and toffee almonds. Did I mention how delicious it is? Because this is the best chocolate I’ve had in a long time.
Did you know the word chocolate in Spanish (it’s spelled the same!) comes from the Nahuatl word, xocolātl, meaning bitter water. Mesoamericans would sometimes drink what was basically chocolate water. Today in Mexico, you can get a similar drink for breakfast! Also, the words aguacate (avocado), abogado (lawyer) and chicle (gum) are from the Nahuatl language. I used to do a mini talk in the Hall of Mexico at the American Museum of Natural History.
Moving on! Many thanks to Underground Crafter, Stitched Together, Voie de Vie, Gracey’s Goodies, Kismet Companion, and Master of a Thousand Things. They’ve all chipped in to help make this an awesome package. And for that, I am deeply humbled. The internet is an amazing place, innit?
May 112012
They’re finished! I finished them! Yay!!
Click to view in Ravelry
It took me almost two months but I did them! My wrists are aching because I rushed to finish these but it’s worth it. I think I’m going to cast on something in a thicker yarn to give my hands a break.
For more FO goodness, check out Tami’s blog.
May 092012
It seems like ages ago, I blogged about the swatchI made for this cardigan. I’ve made very slow progress on it since then. The directions state (after casting on) to knit in plain stockinette for 12″. Did I mention that this is done in one piece? So my rows are LONG.
Sketchbook Cardigan
It’s been slow progress but I’m glad I have some TV knitting on my needles. I’m almost finished with my socks, actually so the next few days will be the big push to finish them off in time for Friday.
It’s Wendnesday so head on over to Tami’s and see what the blogosphere is working on.
