Photo update – January to July

{Click to see it bigger}

Clockwise from top left:

1. July – Andrew’s 21st party! The theme was Superheros and Villains

2. May – Night out on the town with Bec and her flatmate.  We went to a club called Cavern Club, seriously plays the best music, all the old stuff that’s easy to dance to!

3. January – My ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ party, catered by Bec, it was so much fun, and people came dressed in their best black and pearls

4. March – Andrew and our friend Rob graduated!

5. April – Snowing on my train trip back to Wellington, very odd for that time of year

6. June – Acrobat at Zirka Circus! Our ‘Z’ alphabet date

7. February – First alphabet date – M for meal/menu and moonlight walk

FO: Audrey in Unst cardigan

Finally finished my cardigan! And I love it! I’ve already worn it three times, even though I haven’t blocked it properly yet.  Its really warm, and fits really snuggly.

Started: 10 July 2010
Finished: 14 July 2011
Pattern: Audrey in Unst [Rav Link]
Yarn: Panda Heath in Teal

Modifications: I lengthened it by a couple of inches so it fits around the hips, and I used only one size needles for the whole thing because I didn’t have anything smaller.

The only downside of this pattern is the armholes, which are a little too big for me even though I followed the pattern exactly for that part, and the neckline is a little wide.  However the technique for the set-in sleeves using short row shaping is awesome and super easy! I love the detail of the twisted ribbing.

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I tried a new technique on my hair last night, and it worked really well.  Its a way to curl it without using a hair curler.  I think i’ll have to practice it a bit more to get it to work out better, but it looks great from the front.  Sadly the curls in the back have already started falling out – I need to put a little more product in the back next time!

Pants transformation: part 1

When a friend of mine moved to another flat a while ago he left me a pile of clothes that he didn’t wear anymore, for me to use for my crafts.  He then asked if I could make him an apron to use because he was teaching an art class.

I used an old pair of trousers he’d given me…

… and turned them into this!

I used the existing waistband and button, and spun the back pockets around to use as the front pockets (because its not really an apron without pockets!)  Then I cut out a bit of length from one of the legs and opened it out to use as the bib and the length, as well as the neck strap.

Quite a fun project, and it only took a couple of hours to figure out! And there’s another pair of pants there to make an apron for me too

Stay tuned for part 2 – denim jeans into a bag!

Reading-in-bed shrug

I’ve had this in my queue for a while, and luckily it took less than a month to knit, using yarn I already had in my stash.  The travelling lace pattern was easily memorised, making for mindless TV knitting.  I think I made a mistake with the ribbing on the cuffs though – one seems longer than the other – but its not really noticeable.

Pattern: Reading-in-bed shrug [free pattern - Rav link]
Yarn: Moda Vera Jaclyn

Modifications: I made it longer so the sleeves are 3/4 length, a total of 18 pattern repeats.  I also added buttons instead of seaming so that it can be worn a few different ways.

I made a matching hat for it too, but Becs snaffled that up about an hour after it came off the needles, so I need to make another one for myself!

Cola Chicken

This is one of my all-time favourite recipes to make, and it’s super easy! I found it in one of those ‘four ingredients’ cookbooks years ago.  Makes for really tasty leftovers too, if it lasts that long…

Ingredients:

4-6 uncooked skinless chicken breasts
1 cup coke
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
2. Cut chicken into bit-size pieces, and spread them out in the bottom of a large casserole dish
3. Stir together coke, tomato sauce and soy sauce in a jug
4. Pour evenly over the chicken in the dish.  Ensure that all the chicken is covered
5. Cover the dish in foil and put in the oven for 45mins-1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through and sauce has thickened slightly
6. Serve with pasta – I prefer large spirals or penne but spaghetti works too

Modifications – it would probably be nice with some herbs mixed in with the sauces before you add it to the chicken, or you could stir through some cooked green veges before serving.

The ingredients sound very odd, but I guarantee if you try it you will love it!  The fizz gets cooked out of the coke, and the flavour of that with the sauces mix together really well.  The chicken comes out really juicy too

Enjoy! I’d love to know what you think if you try it!

How to: Spa day at home

I treated myself to a spa day a little while ago, and I thought i’d share with you what I did, in case you feel like pampering to cheer you up in this miserable weather!

(I’m not paid to endorse the brands, just feel like sharing what works for me!)

Hair

• Shampoo/Conditioner – Sunsilk Long and Strong

Not shown here, but i’m growing my hair out at the moment so I’m trying this out. So far so good, and it smells nice too!

• Hair conditioning treatment – Wondercap http://www.wondercap.co.nz/

I found this on TradeMe a while ago and i’ve used it several times – its amazing! My hair always feels so soft after I use it, as I imagine it would after a treatment at a hair dressers.  Highly recommended!

Facial

• Oil cleansing method: http://simplemom.net/oil-cleansing-method/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+simplemom+(Simple+Mom)
• Natio Gentle Face Scrub

I do this step while my hair treatment is in, and I usually do the oil cleansing OR use a face scrub, not both.  The oil treatment, as odd as it sounds, makes my face feel really smooth, and the website offers tips to customise your mix of castor oil and olive oil depending on your skin type.  I have  regular skin with an oily t-zone, and a 50/50 mix seems to work well for me.  I usually use the face scrub once a week, and the oil cleansing once a month.

Nails

The final step of my pampering is a nice foot spa while doing a manicure, using the electric nail care set I got for my birthday a few years ago.  The brand is Sunbeam, but I don’t think you can get them anymore.  As for nail polish, the last one I brought that I use all the time is Revlon brand, a single coat usually lasts a week or so, with touch-ups the next week.  I do need to find a good base coat and top coat though, to make it last longer.

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DIY cosmetics
http://www.stuff.co.nz/life-style/beauty/4511720/The-return-of-DIY-cosmetics

I haven’t tried this yet but I stumbled across the website and it looks fantastic, i’ll definitely be trying it next time. I love the thought of being able to make your own treatments from what you have in the pantry!

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Let me know if you try any of these treatments – or if you have a few of your own home remedies to share, I love trying new things out!

FOs: ‘Molly’ cowl and ‘Perfect Imperfection’ blanket

Here are some photos I owe you of a couple of knitting projects I finished a while ago.

Remember the disastrous Molly hat I made a while ago? It’s now been turned into a cowl! Its so soft and snuggly, I can’t wait to wear it tucked under a nice winter jacket.

(click to make it bigger and see some other photos)

I finished this blanket exactly one year after I started it (watch it grow - here, here, and here). I’m calling it ‘perfect imperfection’ because its definitely not perfect – I didn’t bother weaving in any other the ends as you can see bottom right, with this bulky yarn it would have been too hard; it didn’t block out particularly well; and the middle section isn’t in the middle, its slightly off-center because I picked up the rows on the wrong side at the start – but because of that its perfect just for me!  Its awesome as a knee rug for when i’m curled up watching a movie on the couch

More posts to come this week! I’ve got my favourite recipe to share with you, as well as what I got up to over the Easter weekend.  Meanwhile, I have to get back to essay writing!

From Grisham to Rowling

A few weeks ago I started reading ‘Runaway Jury’ by John Grisham.  I’ve seen many of his book-to-movies and really enjoyed them so I thought I’d give one of the books a go.  Sadly, it wasn’t anywhere near as good as I thought it was going to be - I couldn’t even finish it! Yesterday morning I decided to give up just over halfway through the book.  In the story they were only three weeks into the litigation with no sign of anything coming to an end any time soon, and I just wasn’t getting into the whole legal jargon enough to keep me hooked. 

I’ve since moved on to the Harry Potter series – I’ve been told its a crime to not have read all the books! I only have limited time these days to read for recreation so I figured it was better spent reading something I’d actually enjoy.

Has anyone read ‘Runaway Jury’? Is it worth sticking it out? Did I just pick up a dud John Grisham the first time? Or am I better to stay buried in Hogwarts for a while?

I feel bad!

My poor blog is getting neglected in the first weeks of the study year! I hope I get on top of my timetable soon, because I’m so excited to show you all the pretty pictures of what I’ve been working on!

In the meantime, wish me luck – i’m singing at a performance workshop this week in front of the music school ***bites nails nervously*** Here’s the song i’m singing, hilarious lyrics, its a lot of fun

Friday Four

(Same as Thursday Three only a day late….)

1. Life

• My classes start back again next week so I’m enjoying my last few days of freedom, as my friend would say!  The house is being cleaned to within an inch of its life, there is absolutely no dirty washing anywhere, and today I’m treating myself to a little at-home spa which I’ll tell you more about in the coming weeks!  I’m actually really looking forward to starting study again though; I’m doing a double major this year with bass guitar and vocals, so its going to be super busy!

2. Crafts

• I finished the brown log cabin blanket! Looking back at my Ravelry page for it, I realise that it took me exactly one year from cast on to cast off (with a lot of projects in between of course)! Photos and more details to come, but I’m really happy with how it turned out.
• My first FO for the year was another baby surprise jacket, and since I found out another friend is pregnant, another one will be on its way soon!
• I’ve started charity knitting for the Waikato hospital – so far I’ve made two and a half little preemie hats.  I can’t find the link to the pattern but they only take a couple of hours each so I should get a couple more done before classes start back.
• Oh and by the way? My Molly disaster was salvaged – it makes a very nice cowl Photos and more details to come.

3. Reading

• I’m reading a book at the moment that my dad lent me called Betrayed by J. M. Windle, about tree huggers and people huggers in Guatemala.  Very interesting, although a little hard to get into at the start.
• I’ve also organised my books around the flat so I know which ones I have still to read, there’s quite a few so I won’t be needing to go to the library any time soon.

4. Foods

• I made my favourite chicken dish for dinner the other day, its called Cola Chicken. Sound intriguing? I’ll let you know the recipe next week!

Hope you’re all having a lovely day and keeping busy