#kipbrunchbklyn

This past Saturday, myself, Lisa, Kristin, Shannon and Kim got together and had an amazing brunch on a rooftop deck in Brooklyn. It being World Wide Knit in Public Day/Week, Kristin created the hashtag #kipbrunchbklyn to document our fun on Instagram. 

Normally when it comes to social events I keep telling myself to bring my camera since I am getting better at taking photos. I end up leaving it at home, so want to say thanks to the aforementioned ladies for letting me post their Instagram photos here. 

Let's just say, knitters definitely know how to do summer brunch. 

On the menu: Challah French Toast Casserole, Quiche with peppers, cheese and turkey bacon,  dates wrapped in prosciutto and stuffed with cheese, sprinkled with sea salt, Salad with fruit and gorgonzola and a raspberry vinaigrette, cheese, and meat.

It is not brunch unless there is prosecco!

Kim and I utterly absorbed in something. 

Mmm...lychee. I plopped this one in my prosecco
and blood orange lemonade cocktail. 

Cheers!

 What brunch with knitters would it be without some knitting? Kim got a great shot of everyone's project (sans me, I was too hot to knit).

After that, Shannon and I met up with Ashley and Dana for World Wide Knit in Public day hosted by Knitty City held at Bryant Park! 

Pearl was nice enough to set aside a table for the "Subway Knitters" (thank you!) so we we able to sit, relax and enjoy the leafy shade. We even saw a bride take photos in front of the Bryant Park Grill, one of the restaurants in the park.

Happy WWKIP Day!

Knitting in Bryant Park was lovely, and seeing the lawn set for the weekly summer film series reminded me of the fun things to do NYC has to offer in the summer. Knitty City is also offering (free!) knitting classes in Bryant park to start with, and you bet you'll catch me at one of the film fests at one of the parks this summer. 

For the Makers: Tradewinds Collection Box, Part One

A few months ago, I was surfing the Internet when I decided to google something along the lines of "boxes." The monthly box with a bunch of goodies is a recent (? correct me if I'm wrong) craze, and we all know I have gone Julep crazy.

Admit it: it IS nice to get something in the mail.

I stumbled across For the Makers, an NYC-based company that focuses on making monthly boxes with supplies for 4 craft projects in each box. I found a deal on fab.com which gave 3 months at a discount and I was sold. My first box came last week.

This was shipped in a mailing box. 

Drawings of the projects for this month's Tradewinds Collection.

All the supplies!

I really like it so far because I love to make things like small accessories and jewelry, but buying the supplies get expensive since you would have to buy packets of materials, which is more than what you need.

For the Makers sources it, writes up the tutorials (with lots of photos) and gives you enough material to make one of each project. If you aren't too thrilled with something, they always make a nice gift, so there is no waste.

I completed my first two projects, the Paola Pushpins and the Sophia Headband today. These were the easier of the four projects, and helped me get over my nervousness over messing things up.

Paola Pushpins.

Now I need to update my pinboard with new bits of inspirational pieces.

Lashing the crystal to the headband was a bit fiddly, so I improvised
 and used a binder clip to hold it in place while I continued to wrap the raffia. 

Completed headband. 

Can't wait to wear it! Hope it looks good with my pixie cut.

They were also good to do on a weekday, since the other two projects, the Brigitte Earrings and Bibi Gem Cuff are a bit more involved. Those will happen once school finishes next week, and can't wait to wear the new accessories. I think the earrings will be perfect for when I go swing dancing at the end of the month! 

Crunchy and Cold

A few weeks ago, I finally got around to making pickles. I wanted to make my own deep fried spicy pickles like Sweet Afton, and the ones they used were ridiculously expensive. It was a case of "I can totally do this myself."

I got the bee in my bonnet about 2 years ago when I went to South Carolina the first time, and was completely enamored by the pickling section at Wal-Mart.

That bears repeating: Wal-Mart had a whole section devoted to canning and pickling.

This really pricked my crafty ears because I had tried in vain to find some kind of pickling spice up here, only to almost resort to making my own, which was quite expensive since I wasn't quite completely devoted yet.

Fast forward to now, when it is ridiculously hot and I am in need of something cold, crunchy and also healthy.

Besides, one can only eat so much ice cream; I did have a popsicle in front of my students on Friday because another teacher bought a box and sent it to all the teachers on my floor. Mean, I know but hey, I am doing all the talking.

But back to the pickling (heh) issue at hand here. I searched Pinterest for a basic refrigerator pickling recipe, and in the end, just fudged it and made my own, just like how I did with my crustless quiche.

Ingredients
1-2 pounds kirby cucumbers, quartered lengthwise
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1/4 sugar
1-2 tbsp pickling spice (I used Ball spice)
Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional, but I like my pickles spicy).

Directions
Cut the pickles to size.

Stack them lengthwise in a tall canister with a tight seal. The Aussie and I use the Bormioli Rocco Fido jars. This one is 1.5 liters.

 Pour the ingredients into the jar and do the Harlem Shake (it was too tempting not to say that).

Put in fridge overnight, and they are ready the next day! They keep for about two weeks although that is pushing it. I say eat the crunchy ones and once the pickles begin to flop, then start all over again.

Master's, Managed

After countless teaching, tutoring and class hours, not to mention crazy professors that my cohort got rid of in the middle of semesters (don't ask), those evil tech competencies and of course, lots of knitting, I finally graduated!!!

The ceremony was at Radio City Music Hall and I can actually say that I have been on its stage. It was so cool! I didn't walk across the stage to get my (fake) diploma since this was the large ceremony, but I got to stand and wave my sky blue pom pom (for the Graduate School of Education) and shout really loudly whenever my school was referred to.

Can you find me? I wore really bright red lipstick, which clashed horribly with my gown.
I looked like Harold the Purple Crayon. 

Put your pompoms in the air, and wave it like you just don't care...

Wolf Blitzer was our commencement speaker. Pretty cool. 

I would not have been able to do it without everyone's (and that everyone is a VERY BIG GROUP of people) support and comments, emails, texts, and ability to lend an ear and provide advice in response to my whinges and frustrations, and also my successes and woots along the way.

My friend Carolyn and I playing with the confetti outside Radio City. I was the person who stuffed her cap with confetti and brought it exactly for this purpose. 

The Aussie and I. 

THANK YOU. 

Long Island Fleece and Fiber Goodies

Today is graduation day (!!!!) and while I have a bajillion other blog posts lined up (graduation, pickles, Craftsy class review, oh and month overdue show notes...) I thought I might give you some eye candy in the form of goodies from Long Island Fleece and Fiber for you to pore over.

The whole haul. Usually there is a theme to my purchases in
terms of color or style, but not this time.  

Nala just called to me, its is a pale pink with some green angelina in it. Lousie was a gift from Tabbethia! She knew I really liked it at VKL. It's alpaca, so not good for a sweater, but I see a Jared Flood/Brooklyn Tweed Shawl in my future. 

Hampton Artistic Yarns. They had such beautiful things.

Gorgeous soap from Utopia Bath and buttons for a future Acer cardigan.
As usual, I buy the buttons before the yarn. 

The haul was tiny, but mighty - I didn't walk away with sweater quantities, but things that I am really happy about.

Now its time to get back on the sheep because I have FOUR sweaters to knit this summer, along with the 3 pairs of socks that are on the needles, oh and the hat, things for my mom...

I Fell Off the Sheep, and It Was Totally Worth It

Yesterday, I boarded a bus and headed out with about two dozen other fiber enthusiasts and crafters to the Hallockville Farm and Museum, where the fourth annual Long Island Fleece and Fiber Fair was held.

This was the first year that the fair organized a bus, and I was very proud to be a part of that and help out with being the bus hostess on the NYC end of things. Traffic was light, the ride smooth and before I knew it, myself, Dana and the rest of us arrived at the fair.

We were greeted by the staff and directors of Hallockville and were treated to our goodie bags with magazines and discount coupons inside. The bag was really useful because today was the day that I told myself, "If I find something I love, I will fall off the (cold) sheep." This was going to be my only fiber festival for the year (unless I go to the one in New Jersey in September) so I was going to make the most of it.

Believe it or not, I thought that I did make the most of it, but in fact I still missed out on certain tours and events! While the fair is small, it makes up for its size by the variety of vendors and the availability of activities. The one activity I regret missing out on is the "Fiber Tour" of the farm where you go behind the scenes and see how textiles were made on the farm.

First was the shopping. I was really ready to go all out, but in fact I didn't get too much. Granted, "not too much" is a relative phrase  - what is "not too much" for me may be minuscule for someone else (which has happened before). Dana and I walked into the barn and I immediately fell in love with roving and yarn from Hampton Artistic Yarns. Not only did I walk out with some roving, but later when Dana showed me the yarn she got from them, I immediately backtracked and got the same skein (see the goodies later on in the post).

Roving artfully displayed at the Hampton Artistic Yarns booth.
I purchased that neutral/pink braid in the middle, but the turquoise/purple on the
right also caught my eye the minute I walked in the barn. 

Inside the barn. 

Long Island Livestock fingering weight yarn - love, love love. 

Vending area. Tiny, but mighty. 

At the Bay Haven Short Tails booth.
This needs to be recreated in a yarn shop. I love this concept. 

In between shopping and events, I got a chance to meet Trisha Malcolm, the editor of Vogue Knitting, who was a premier sponsor for the event and provided the sweet goodie bags. She is such a nice person to speak with and I had a great time hanging out with her and her team at the Vogue Knitting booth to catch a bit of a break. There was alot of walking back and forth between the vendors and the activity areas!

One of the activities that we wanted to see was sheep shearing. This was demonstrated by Tabbethia of Long Island Livestock Co.

"I don't care if it's hot, I do NOT want a haircut!"

"Fine, I'll just lay here and make life difficult for you. NOT MOVING."

"DISAGREE (1)."

"This is so undignified."

"I get that I'm done, but I'm still not making life any easier."

That's alot of fleece. Still, not tempted to get my own (yet). 

In addition to the llama obstacle course, there were blacksmith demonstrations, where we saw how a horseshoe was made.

This was a very stubborn llama. 

Pounding away, tapping the anvil in between hits to keep the rhythm going. 

Half-finished horseshoe. 

One of the highlights of the festival were the animals. Especially the bunnies!

This little guy was three weeks old. 

Three month old charmer. 

"It's so fluffy I could die!"

Big guy. Very sweet. 

So soft. 

This mini Rex was the star of the rabbits - so velvety smooth and soft!

Adorable "teddy bear" sheep.

Mom and her twins. 

Everyone loves getting scritches. 

Cuties.

"Yeah, I know I look good."

This guy was for sale. Too bad my parents' backyard isn't big enough. 

I loved coming out for the LIF&FF; many of the bus riders and I commented on how this was a low-key event, but allowed us to take our time and really enjoy what a fiber festival has to offer besides the shopping. At Rhinebeck and MS&W, there is always a sense of the mad dash and urgency to get that skein of yarn before its gone; add the crowds and the sheer size of the events, and you are not able to get to see things like sheep shearing and herding demonstrations  unless one makes a real concerted effort to do so. Granted, this is based on my own experience; even though I know what I would like to get at these events, there is still that sense of "Go Go Go".

Here, it was a different kind of fiber festival experience, and I felt that it was very well rounded - do a bit of shopping, tour a bit and see some demonstrations and have fun without all of the stress. The bus left at 4:30, but we had more than enough time to shop, explore, do things and hang out in between.

This is now a must-go to event in my knitting calendar, and I want to thank Beth and everyone at Hallockville Farm and Tabbethia of Long Island Livestock for organizing the event and the bus, and asking me to be a part of it! Without them, I definitely would not have been able to make it out for the day. Also, special thanks to Vogue Knitting for the goodie bags.

If you didn't make it to LIF&FF this year, I do have some good news: there will be a NYC bus again for next year! It's definitely worth it to come out for the day. Tomorrow, I'll be posting the goodies that I purchased, since I am now back on the sheep again.