Sunday, October 02, 2005








You Belong in Rome


You're a big city girl with a small town heart

Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome

Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand

And gorgeous Italian men - could life get any better?


What City Do You Belong in? Take This Quiz :-)



Find the Love of Your Life
(and More Love Quizzes) at Your New Romance.



posted by icbleu @ 8:04 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, September 28, 2005

lots of content to update

been taking a bit of time off to just get my groove back from the San Diego Ren Faire and other things that took me away from knitting this summer. I taught a bunch of classes on Tablet Weaving (pics posted soon), added to my stash, and made decisions on tossing some of the fugley projects I was working on in favor of something better. I decided I am ripping both the Shapley Tank and the Chicknits Tank I started back in the spring of 2004. The shapley tank, because I don't wanna wear something with color blocks anymore (I have another yarn for that pattern lines up already), and the Chicknits tank because I don't want to have to figure out where the 2X pattern is screwed up and how to fix it. Moreover, the Rowan Summer Tweed the tank is knit in could be made into something else or sold on ebay. I am tired of the colors already.

On a more positive note, I am already working in a new fall sweater for Atchoo! and a matching cap for me made from the coronet pattern on knitty. I'll post the pattern of the dog sweater project when I am done so if you want to make one for yourself, you can.

Also, I have voluneered to make a sweater from the upcoming book, "knitting for Dogs" by Kristi Porter (of W fame). The sweater is for a doggie fashion show at Knitting in La Jolla on November 5th. I am making it in the same color of Manos del Uruguay (Flame) as my Einstein Coat and hope to have my sweater coat completed by that time. I will post pictures of it, and make sure you all have a link to where you can pick up the book when it comes out.

More to come soon, plus pics of my summer FO's!

Thanks for hanging in there with me during this down time. I promise to post regulary from now on.

posted by icbleu @ 11:55 AM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, September 14, 2005

thanks La!

WATER OF EARTH. Mommy! Well, you could be. You are good with plants and small creatures such as children. You're very generous and basically great hearted. You probably make mad whack cookies and are good at managing the household; also businesses. You'd make a good tax person, book keeper, gardener, massage therapist, etc. The ever domestic and practical one, you can stretch a penny and make ramen noodles go a long way.
Quiz
created by Polly Snodgrass.

posted by icbleu @ 7:29 PM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, August 28, 2005

A labor of sweat, tears, and love.

I am always refreshingly gratified at how everyone in the faire community pulls together to make each event we produce a truly remarkable one. This year was just as great as the last one, and, in many ways, even better. As we mature (the San Diego Renaissance Faire turned five this year), the ways in which we grow is unique and beautiful.

Many thanks go out to all of the wonderful volunteers, employees and sponsors, both past and present, for being a part of the magic we bring to the people of San Diego every year. To date, myself, my family and my friends have also donated quite a bit of money and possessions, as well as put in thousands of hours of personal time and creativity to make this faire the total success that it is. I do not regret a single moment or coin when all can see the shining results that so much hard work and positive sacrifice can earn.

As I wind down the faire's office work and get the books prepared for the fiscal year's end, I look to what we have accomplished in our charitable mission and how close we are to reaching our early goals. We achieved our initial attendance goals and the number of both vendors and guilds we can reasonably accommodate. Further, we have delivered a very real and educational message to the people of San Diego, who have never before had access to a venue of this sort, that can only be achieved within a top-quality living history setting like ours. As we turn our thoughts towards the second half of our decade of existence, we look to hone the historical and optimistic message we are imparting to the people of San Diego, even while examining how we can best manage the operational challenges that every successful event incurs.

Ironically, there are discontents that eagerly wait for news about every bump the faire hits on the road to progress as a sign of our total failure and doom. Like all successful renaissance faire promoters, we hear our share of rumors of the impending demise of our company, or the injustice of booking one act over another, less historical, but more popular, one. We have heard slander directed at board members from folks with past personal grievances that are trying to transfer them over to the company's image, and had to play host to various grumbles from ex-employees or folks that did not make the gatelist in a guild.

However, we continually strive to move forward instead, focusing on the clearly positive results we have wrought within San Diego's fractured fair community, while offering healing to all who are ready to come to terms with the reality of their role with the local faire. Some wonderful things have come out of our 2005 faire that are very positive indeed. We had the best year ever for reenactors and the hardworking guild people that give them their stage. Most of the vendors I have spoken with have nothing but positive things to say about the marketplace we have created for them, while others offer positive suggestions for improvement and success. A special thanks of true gratitude goes out from me to everyone who helped make this year the best one ever.

Jocelyn
SDRF Creative Director

posted by icbleu @ 2:56 PM 4 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saturday, July 09, 2005

Working on the ren faire...

sorry for the lack of content and lack of knitting. It's getting close to production time and I can feel it taking it's toll on eme. I will set aside some time and knit - I promise.......

In the meanwhile, I leave you with this image. Something is very wrong with the world when Fry's electronics starts labling coffee.



Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 10:12 PM 3 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tuesday, July 05, 2005

Knitting fun!!!

Picked up two balls of supersoft (and super affordable) Moda Dea's Cheri in soft pink. Choo Choo's gonna get a new sweater from it sometime this fall.



I also finaly got some flip flops in pink so I can do a new pair of fuzzy flops in Crystal Palace's Squiggle. woo hoo! It's officially summer here when the funny shoes come out of the closet ;D



J

posted by icbleu @ 9:58 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, July 03, 2005

Okay... i figured out what I want this month....

and yes, it involves an expensive hobby...

A Kromski Rigid Heddle Loom...

posted by icbleu @ 10:20 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thursday, June 30, 2005

Would anybody really knit a cover for a computer laptop?

At this point, having received, reviewed and discarded the disappointing Interweave knits Fall 2005 issue in less than 30 minutes, I am feeling better about never receiving my summer issue. I had heard the horror stories of the blurry photos and the disappointing designs (and lack of fitted sizes above 50" for those with large bustlines and normal waists) and didn't really believe the reviews from my friends - until now.

I have had a subscription for over 2 years to this magazine and am ready to call it quits. More often than not, there is nothing to knit for a woman of my taste and size in knitting magazines. As you can see by the dearth of decent finished projects in my sidebar, it is not from lack of knitting or trying. What I seem to find more and more is that magazines publish NOTHING one cannot find via the internet.

Other than having something nice to read in the ladies room, I think I will give my resubscription a pass and invest in more yarn instead. Okay, I do admit I like the cabled shrug, but mostly for the fact that it is cables and the first pattern of a shrug I have run across that would flatter my figure and fit my width. But even then, I am not totally in love.

J

posted by icbleu @ 1:01 PM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, June 29, 2005

Here's hoping the new knitty comes out soon....

my 'toe up' socks suck, the crochet project needs attention and my Einstein Coat project is buried under beach blankets and other non-knitting summer stuff. I no longer want to knit Soleil, and I have had a bag of half-knitted socks moldering in my handbag for so long I forgot how to do some of the stitches!!!

In fact, about the only thing I have gotten going was my Tablet weaving on my Inkle Loom last weekend. here's some pics:



Bass Ale. The drink of choice for tablet weavers everywhere...




The back view of my project, all warped up and threaded on cards on my loom.




A closeup of the weave. The pattern is Sample Band 1 from Candace Crockett's book called "Card Weaving".

J

posted by icbleu @ 6:36 PM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thursday, June 23, 2005

Happiness and confusion

Happiness because the Ashford Loom arrived today. Confusion because NOWHERE on any of the materials or webpages where I shopped was it ever mentioned that it had to be totally finished and assembled before a person could use it. grr..

Not too big of a problem though. I get a chance to play with finishing wax and have fun with some wood assembly. But it doesn't make for the happy weaving kinda happy dance I thought I was going to have this evening.

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 10:05 PM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, June 19, 2005

commerical shoot



Spent the day in the park shooting the commercial for the San Diego Renaissance Faire. Things went pretty well and I am more excited about the project now than I was a few days ago. I'll post a link to the commercial here when we finally get it loaded onto the site. Meanwhile here are a few pics to tide you all over...













Jocelyn the ren geek

posted by icbleu @ 11:04 AM 3 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Friday, June 17, 2005

paint paint, pain pain

Been painting all day and yesterday to get the roofline ready for the commerical shoot at SDRF. we looked at the props and decided we didn't want a stupid looking backdrop for the commercial. After putting in nearly 15 hours between yesterday and this afternoon, I never realized that my arms could feel so leadened.

I'll post pics of the shoot when I get a chance.

posted by icbleu @ 5:33 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thursday, June 16, 2005

Doing the inkle loom happy dance

Got a quick dance to tell you about: Ordered an Ashford Inkle loom and some tablet weaving cards yesterday. I just found out they are on the UPS truck and heading my way! Woo Hoo! I'm gonna be a tablet weaver (and an inkle loom weeaver after I make the tablet stuff).

'course, none of this is going to get any real action to speak of until after the Renaissance faire. It has sucked my life into a void known as the reenactment community. heck. It's a living - and one of my favorite passions.

posted by icbleu @ 12:43 PM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, June 15, 2005

to busy to blog or knit

the ren faire is consuming my life earlier than usual this year. lots of nasty rumors being floated out there that need stamping out and plenty of paperwork to push. I miss knitting... sniff.

J

posted by icbleu @ 4:21 PM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monday, June 06, 2005

Irish Rose Pillowghan

this is one of those slow projects. I set it aside so long I forgot where I was on the irish rose flower I had made, so I started over with a new one so I could see where I had let off on the first. Things are going pretty fast now that I am past the flower petals and leaves and i figured out where I left off on the other rose.

This is a big project that might take a while to complete. I am beginning to see a trend here....

posted by icbleu @ 8:20 AM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Friday, June 03, 2005

The Flemish Dress completed!!

At long last! The pictures of my Flemish Dress are ready!

Surprise I'm from Amsterdam!!!!

As you can see I went whole hog on this project. And who can blame me? It always seems that once you make one piece of a cool outfit, you just have to go all out and make all the rest of the pieces. Everything but the chemise is made out of a high quality linen blend. The chemish is a fine cotton shirting.

First off, the outerwear:



I made a flemish head scarf, of which I got the pattern from Heather's site. It pins into the hair and everything. I have a nice flemish straw hat too, but it was looking to be a cold day at the war I was making this for so I decided to go with the extra "oomph" that a period cloth head covering would give the outfit.



I also added the litttle curleycues to the front sides just like Heather's, but decided to make them a bit smaller to complement the detailed, but understated look I was going for.



I made an overpartlet from black linen and self lined it. Since I found an equal amount of research pictures showing white partlets, black self-lined partlets and even a few wealthier persons wearing both at the same time, I just went with the black with a pointy back, which to me, really seems to scream "flemish" when I look at it.



Including the dress hook to make it hold on to the back of my dress:



I also decided that it was time to rip out the icky collar that came with this fine cotton partlet/chemise combo shirt (I purchased this one from a local ren merchant) and put a decent collar on it.



This way I could attain the look I was going for without wearing two partlets and a chemise, or worse, having to go with a non-pointy one:



Outerwear:

The bodice of the kirtle is lined and boned. I have too much figure to get away with not boning a bodice, so I put in some "superstructure" in order to simulate a more youthful look and make sure my boobs didn't bounce on my knees and interfere with my walking. I also didn't want skirts that were too heavy so I didn't line the skirt part. Here is the boning pattern highlighted in blue (if you can see it, my camera is acting up. erg):



And here is the outside back of the my light green linen kirtle. I hand sewed the eyelets and spiral laced it for authenticity and ease of dressing.:



Front view - I hand to do some handstitchign here as well when I was setting in the waist:

Flemish Kirtle

The actual overdress is fully lined so I can flip the front up like in the Femish paintings:



I spiral laced it so I can actually get into it without looking into a mirror (no, I haven't seen my waistline since I was 12 - stop giggling):

Flemish dress

The Finished Product:

And here I am in all my glory:

the front of the flemish gown

... and an action shot out at Potrero War. I am out at the range talking to Larry, the Archery Master for House McFionn.

the back of the flemish dress

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 10:36 AM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, June 01, 2005

Infidelity

Thoughts of starting yet another quick project have been on my mind. As I contemplated slogging through a few more rows on the now thoroughly boring Einstein coat last night, I chose instead to just sit on my bed and watch T.V.

I am really finding it hard to find the patience to finish this project. Trust me, I really do want to finish it. This one isn't like the Chicknits tank where the upsized pattern is all snafu'd, and to complete the project I'd have to rework most of it. And it isn't like the faboo shapely tank where I have half decided that the color blocks I used are too uckky to finish and have set it aside until I reach a decision. The Einstein Coat, with the Manos del Uruguay's deep wine accents and claret red highlights is a total keeper. What I guess I need to figure out is if all big projects are this boring. How do other people summon the interest to keep slogging away week after week on their large UFO's?

posted by icbleu @ 10:38 AM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monday, May 30, 2005

got a chance to get my Flemish groove on...

at the Calafian War in Potrero (aptly dubbed the Dos XX war). I received many nice compliments on my costume and saw some friends I hadn't had a chance to hug in a while. All-in-all it was a nice event. Passed out merchant applications for the San Diego Ren Faire to a few vendors, fielded some questions and did the usual fire stomping on rumors some folks were brave enough to air with me. Why is it that some people have nothing better to do than gossip and make up stupid stories about other people? erg.

Anyway, I didn't let it bother me. Saw some friends from House McFionn at the event. The House mom had bought an inexpensive Inkle Loom (different than the picture at the end of the link - but you get the idea) and was enjoying the afternoon stringing it up in preparation for making her first braided tape. She had some gorgeous rainbow-colored crochet thread she was using and I bet her first tape is going to be beautiful.

Made it out to the Archery Field finally! After 11 years attending that event I finally found some time (and a low enough daytime temperature) to get out to the far end of the event during daylight hours. Who knows? Maybe in a few years I'll make it to the far end of sleepy hollow? When I got out there, they were just closing up for the day, but had a chance to see a friend pose with his crossbow for some pictures. Later on in the day, I spent some time trying to convince certain skeptical folks that making a pavilion is simple if you do the math correctly - I have made a few and have been very satisfied with the results each time. I also looked around Merchant's Row for wooden tablet weaving cards so I could get started on my Norman-Saxon duds for next year, but didn't have much luck (or I skipped by them too fast). A high point in my day was a chance to purchase a book written by a man I will always look up to as my first Baron and a person of truly noble character, Sir Guillaume. He was kind enough to put up with my gushing and even signed it for me.

As always, I enjoyed my chance to drool over the looms, the costumes, the bags of fleece and the crafts, as well as other art related stuff that is always for sale at living history events. I think I am going to have to make my own wood cards, but it was a lot of fun seeing all the folks that are getting into this kind of stuff. I don't feel like such a total geek any more.

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 11:02 PM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thursday, May 26, 2005

Not much to blog about today

Didn't get a whole lot of knitting done this week. Been sewing linen for a new 16thC Flemish working woman's clothes. I'll post pics when I am nearer to completion. Got a few rows done on the Einstein coat and finished the ribbing on the Comfy Socks in pink.

Other than that, I am just too boring for words.

posted by icbleu @ 10:42 AM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Just in case you noticed and were wondering...

Instead of knitting and blogging about it last week, I was making a new Polish Kontusz for dh. He specifically asked for a new 17th century one so we could attend a dressup ball at the Koroneburg Renaissance Festival. His old one was in tatters and I bribed him with making a new one just to get him to go. Here it is right after I fitted the sleeves:



... and a closeup of the buttons (sorry for the crummy quality of the picture):



Here I am making the duckbilled collar:



And here it is finished:



Naturally there was no way I could have gotten camera shy dh to actually wear it for a photo op, so I snuck it out of the closet while he is at work and draped it on the ironing board. This is what a Polish nobleman's full costume looks like on an ironing board:



I made the red Zhupan several years ago as well as the sash and the furry hat.

I love researching costumes and making them. I am currently researching two; a Norman/saxon early period over and under tunic and a Flemish working woman's over and under dress.

Over the last 15 years of costuming I have made and collected a lot of pieces and naturally there are several of them I have outgrown. Some in the area of size and a few in the area of skill. The problem with some of my less skillfully made ones, is that I cannot ethically sell them if I know there are problems with the authenticity of the pattern or materials. In addition, I dislike giving them away to folks who are not going to understand that and still want to use them. I got lucky this week and was able to give this one away to a dear friend who is just "getting the magic" of ren faires - she has that glow of happiness when she is all dressed up and running about at faire.

There is something so special about folks that are really loving what they are doing. Let's just hope that the rentards that like to gossip and leech any shred of joy and happiness from everyone they meet at faire do not get to her too soon. She is a good person and deserves to enjoy faire for a bit. As soon as I can get a picture of her in my blue dress, I will post them here.

J

posted by icbleu @ 11:53 AM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Tuesday, May 17, 2005

I did it! I have persistence!!!

No, i didn't start Soliel... silly. That would have been a miracle - and quite likely the responsible thing to do. Oh no, I worked on a UFO on UFO night. Yay for me and all the other happy Ample Knitters who were true to our previous crafty commitments. Albeit I only completed five rows on Einstein, but five rows is five rows, and that all adds up in the long run, right? Here's a nice mid-progress pic to remind me of how much more I need to go on this project.



And a special thank you goes out to the knitters at Claire De Lune's for turning me on to the two gallon sized baggies. It holds this exploding project beautifully.



I suspect that I would be a lot further along on this easy mindless project if I left the house once in a while to knit with my friends in public. No one even mentions me anymore on any of the knitting lists for San Diego. I've become a knitting hermit. Oh well, I like anonymity at times. It certainly helps keep my life from becoming "too interesting".

Finally, I leave you with this image. Doesn't he look like he needs another cute sweater..?



Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 12:18 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saturday, May 07, 2005

Another FO to report...

Aaah. There is nothing like joining a knit-along to make a procrastinator like me find a million and one reasons to knit everything else in the universe.



Yes, Atchoo's sweater is complete. In about a week's time too. I did the neck and waist ribbing in a size 6 circulars, while the cuffs were done on size 3 dpn's. The body was worked up in two pieces on a size 9 16" circular needle. The pattern is loosley based, as always, on the original knitted dog sweater pattern on the 'net: Wylie's Chihuahua Sweater Pattern. Dh has promised me a set of the Denise Interchangeable Needles for Mother's Day, so hopefully my next impulse project won't be quite so fraught with compromises when trying to find the correct needles or gauge.

I did a twin cabling effect down the belly of the sweater much like the one found in one of my newest knitting book acquisitions: Dogs in Knit. I plan on knitting the little button up jacket out of that book soon.



... And finally, the crowning touch ... a little button hole for Atchoo's harness leash so his sweater won't be covered up when we go on walks in the winter.



This was a fun project to do and I am fairly happy with the results. Whenever I make dog sweaters, I like that I get to perfect a variety of techniques on something so small. It is a great sampler for designs on bigger sweaters (if I ever get around to them, that is.. LOL!). Okay, there are eight more hours left before I go to bed tonight. I am planning on casting on for Soleil. Here's hoping I actually get around to it.

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 2:12 PM 2 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Friday, May 06, 2005

For those of us who like to see progress pics....

... I present, Atchoo!'s new sweater.

I couldn't help myself. I know I am supposed to be working on Soleil but I was in P.B. the other week and just HAD to stop by one of my favorite yarn shops of all time, Needlecraft Cottage. The people in there are soooo nice and their selection seems to always be the right mix between exotic high-end fibers and a really great selection of basic yarns. I also love the fact that I never need to ask to have my yarn balled up - they always offer to do it for me.

Anyway, I fell in love with a big pink skein of Steadfast Fiber's Cherry Ice and decided that my non-existent yarn budget had room for a little bit of 'Choo love. When I got back to the hotel room, I immediately cast on for the collar in the green color (double stranded Baby Ull from Dale of Norway) and searched the internet (via my sidekick - it was all I had) for a nice cabling pattern I could use. I found Amy King's Boogie vest pattern submission to Knitty.com and decided that it's cables were the perfect pattern for this project.



Now is it just me, or does it seem that a lot of knitting patterns seem at first to be more complicated than necessary? After I designed and charted the rest of the cable design for my dog's sweater, I tackled figuring out designer's cable repeats for the center cable. Amy King's design is genius in it's simplicity. It is based on a 12 row repeat with a skip on the 12th row's cable twist. It forms a really graceful design and I found I really liked it. It also synched up beautifully with the side cables I added on the edges (they twisted every four rows too).



I thought I'd get a shot in of how choo choo will look next to the really nice looking cherry ice color. I love working with Steadfast Fibers' yarn!!

Then I decided to take one more shot. I call it a 'preview of coming attractions'...



As you can see, he's not too impressed with the whole process ...

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 1:12 PM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monday, May 02, 2005

for all the kitty fans out there...

Happy Birthday Fast Eddie. He is fifteen years old sometime this spring.



Not bad digs for a scruffy little scrapper kitten that was born behind a dumpster in Balboa Park, eh?

In his time he has conqured and adjusted to 10 household moves, proudly brought down (and in) a rodent the size of a NY City sewer rat ... and a large pidgeon, suffered the indignity of being tossed off the bed during the honeymoon phase of his mom's marriage, had his tail shut in a door... twice, met and outlived three dogs and four cats, co-habitated with Macaws, ferrets, lizards, rats (small ones), butterflies, and children, dined on cat food, caviar, tortilla chips and bugs, and survived being stepped on and squished flat at a very tender age. Currently he can be found bossing around and fighting for a place on the bed with an annoying Chihuahua, two other furry cats, a large human male and his mom (who accidently kicks him when she turns over at night).



Edward Wellington Mouseripper the Third.

posted by icbleu @ 7:25 PM 4 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sunday, May 01, 2005

It's a big world out there...

posted by icbleu @ 6:25 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Saturday, April 30, 2005

for lack of better content...

found myself posting a great tidbit on cooking fajitas and tortillas and thought I would share:

---------------

Lived in CA all my life, so I am not overly familiar with Fajitas,
seeing as how they are a southwestern invention, but I make a mean
Carne Asada. Learned from a woman in Ensenada over several summers
during my misspent youth. I would simply add grilled onions,
tomatoes, and sweet bell peppers and you have "fajitas".

The marinade is simple:
juice of 2 oranges
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 or 2 limes (depending on how juicy - or dry - they are)
cilantro washed and chopped
chopped onion
optional - chili powder to taste
set aside a bottle of beer - share the rest of the six pack with
friends

Grab a deep dish and a skirt steak or any thinly sliced beef (trust
me, folks are NOT really picky about what cut of meat it is) and
layer it with the above ingredients making sure that the seeds of
the fruit don't get into the mix. top off the entire concoction with
a bottle of beer and set aside for several hours.

Fry, grill or BBQ the meat until well cooked. Slice onion, sweet
bell peppers - any color is fine - all three looks pretty, and
grill or saute the veggies until the onion is translucent and the
peppers are still crunchy but getting soft. Chop cooked meat into
eatable strips and serve hot with warm tortillas, slices of Avocado
and more beer. I think the restaurants toss the cut up meat into the
frying pan with the veggies for the last minute or two before
bringing it to the table. If you want the sizzling "oooh" effect,
that's what you do.

---------------

corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups Masa harina - A flour made from dried corn
2 teaspoons Salt
2 teaspoons Vegetable shortening or lard
1 1/4 cups Water

Mix the masa harina and salt together. On the stove, bring the
shortening or lard and the water to a boil and stir until melted.
Pour into the masa harina and mix it really good with a fork. Take
it out and knead the dough on a lightly floured board until smooth.

Divide into 12 pieces and roll each into a ball. Roll out the dough
between pieces wax paper until it is tortilla thin and the size you
like. Heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot.
Place raw tortilla in the hot skillet and flip it so it doesn't
burn. Cook until toasted but still flexible and soft. Set aside the
cooked/toasted ones in something to keep them warn until you have
them all cooked.

----------

In fact, the secret to good Mexican cooking is the tortillas. Take
your flour ones and heat them up on a cast iron skillet the same way
until dry and tasty. They will be delicious and your dinner guests
will be thrilled with the extra touch. Serve warmed tortillas with
butter on the side.

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 9:56 AM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Al... most... there!!!!!

I know I said I'd get Soleil started, but my nagging conscience got to me. I have this urge to get dh's slippers finished before I get into that project. Sat down this Monday with every intention to finish my dh's slippers and never got them completed.

So, naturally, I found myself speeding along this evening trying to get them done tonight while watching T.V. I want to cast on for Soleil so bad! I swatched it and practiced the pattern chart a few times yesterday just to get myself "ready" and really think this tank will be a fast one. Only thing standing in my way right now is my attitude and those dratted slippers.

I guess I am just not the "speed knitter" type. More progress posted as soon as I have something decent to report.

J

posted by icbleu @ 11:15 PM 1 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Monday, April 11, 2005

Momma said there would be days like this.

The macaws are mating and the Amazon is egg bound (or something like that) on the bottom of her cage. San Diego this time of the year is a bit... ah... tropical, so it shouldn't come as any surprise after living through the last five springs with the birds. Here's a picture of skipper right after being squirted with water for what seeems like the fifty bazillionth time in a vain effort to get her to quiet down and act normal.



Got my Soleil yarn from Elann today. Today is UFO monday though, so I won't be swatching or casting on until tomorrow at least. Tonight is for El Einsteino...

Found a Knitalong for Soleil already. Maybe I will defy all the odds and get this one done in record time, eh? It happened with the slippers, it can happen again, right?

Still have to get going again on the shapley tank (of which I am beginning to HATE the colors I used) and the Ucan2 Shell (ditto the colors comment on this one too). Am seriously considering just tossing the whole thing or ripping them or something. maybe make something ouit of them that I like, but in stripes or something more interesting than color blocks.

Jocelyn

posted by icbleu @ 1:27 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Thursday, April 07, 2005

sockie wockie

Look at me!!! Down to the last part. Can't wait to get started on sock #2!



J

posted by icbleu @ 10:06 PM 0 comments


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

atchoosspring 2005 sweater

My Muse, my dog, my best friend, Atchoo!

steal me - Link Me
Steal Me - Link Me


  • slippers for me - 0%
  • black and grey slippers for dh - 95%
  • Wildfoot sox - 0%
  • Einstein Coat with Manos Del Uruguay - 42%
  • fixation sox - 15%
  • Manos Dog Sweater - 99%
  • Pink Angle yarn dickie - 40%
  • Pink angel yarn dog sweater - 0%
  • Caron so soft - worsted weight sox - 10%
  • Coronet Hat - 0%
  • Cornonet cvable dog sweater - 100%
Still needs to be ripped:

finished works

Free patterns I am either working or thinking about starting

Daily Reads Addictions:

absinthe knits

More than a few Great Blogs:

Favorite Enablers:



Knitty - online knitting magazine
 Mag Knits - online knitting magazine crochet me - online crochet magazine

 

Archives
This page created with old fashioned sweat, blood and tears by Jocelyn
© 2004 All rights reserved