Meet Dragon (and Bunny)

This is Dragon.  She has a little pet bunny. Aren't they cute?

Lol, I feel like I could write a short children's book if I keep going like this.

When I found this pattern at Ravelry, I was super determined to start right away.  Well, I did the head while waiting at my brother's basketball thing and realized that the head was huge and how was there any way this is right?  It basically seemed like the head and the body were not going to go together in any kind of predictable way. I set it aside for a while and finally just made the rest of the pieces and put it together.  It's very kawaii.  Classic big head, little body style.  Finished, she actually stands up on her own with the support of a little tail and is about 6 inches tall at the tip of the horns.  I'm glad I'm done with this one though, because all the finishing details were driving me crazy!

P.S. Sorry for the terrible, poorly-lit photo. It's hard to take pictures at 7:30am :(

Too many legs

I was totally swamped last Friday at work, but I just did not have enough hours in the day to get everything done that I wanted to.  [Technical stuff: I was trying to do a drug assay that takes 5 hours with 30 minute time points, but I couldn't get through the assay fast enough between time points, so it was some kind of vicious cycle.]  So, because of the crazy-ness at work, I basically intercepted one of our volunteers in the hall and steered him into my chair and made him help me with my assay while I took a much needed break to work on a different experiment and then grab a quick bite to eat.

But anyways, that was an extremely long prelude as to why I made an octopus this week.  He's a little lopsided as seems to be my signature octopus style.  The very first amigurumi I ever made was a penta-pus (a 5 legged octopus!).  This little guy ended up with 10 legs mysteriously since I had to fill the extra space around the body with more legs.

I should really write this pattern down some day since he's so easy to make.



I even made a happy meal style box to gift this little octopus. 


Third Yarndango project!

Julian, CA

We visited Julian at the beginning of the apple picking season. Around here, Julian is known for their apple pies, so what better place to pick apples?



We found the greatest orchard that specialized in dwarf apple trees and weird metal sculptures.  Why are miniature apple trees cool?  Because tiny people like me can reach the apples!



Our small-looking bag of apples actually ended up being made into 2 apple pies (recipe previously made here) and a loaf of apple cinnamon pull apart bread.





Isn't this the cutest sign?  It was on the door of the cutest tea house :)


And look at all the yummy teas they had!  We've officially become loose tea drinkers.




And this book house was amazing.  5 rooms with floor to ceiling bookcases, full of books of pretty much every genre.


Julian has this really sweet quaint town feeling mixed with extreme touristy-ness.  There was some kind of Western skit on the main street every hour.  You know, the kind with fake gun fights between the sheriff and some outlaw?  Anyways, it was a nice place to go for the day, but it's definitely a hike from San Diego proper.  Not exactly the easiest place to get to (in a car with no AC, no less).

Sweet Potato Loaf

Oh man, I know I say everything I make is totally yummy but seriously, this is one of my favorites.  This sweet potato bread recipe from Kate @ For Me For You definitely caught my eye, and I knew I had to make it.

This bread comes together really fast especially because you can actually microwave the sweet potato instead of boiling and mashing it.  I just scrub the outside of the potato a little bit and take a fork and stab it all over.  Then, wrap the potato in wet paper towels and microwave maybe 2-3 minutes on each side until soft.  Cut open in the middle and then you can scoop the potato right out of the skin (careful: it will be hot!).



This bread is a delicious taste of fall (and maybe a break from all the pumpkin!)  Although, let's be honest, the bread does remind me of a pumpkin bread.

Avery's Bunny

Technically, I didn't make this all in one week, but this is my finished project for the week!  This is the gift I made for my coworker who recently had a baby.  I meant to finish it and give it to her before she left on maternity leave, but after is just as good a time as any, right?

This was a feat of pattern writing for me considering how big it is!  The bunny sits about 11-12 inches tall.
I'm still tweaking the pattern to my liking, but I had considered keeping the pattern for myself to sell finished bunnies.  I'm a little torn about selling my work, I find it hard to believe anyone would buy my things!  Thoughts?  This is not exactly an immediate endeavor or anything.







(Hah, I probably could use some tips on post-processing my photos to make them more even!)

Woo! Week 2 (for me) of the Yarndango, still doing well!

Little Birdie Knits

Ok, shameless plug for my friend's newly opened Etsy shop, Little Birdie Knits, but it's amazing!  She makes these really beautiful knit hats for babies, and she's putting the money towards adopting 2 sweet boys from Russia.  She and her husband are currently in-process, and adoption is not cheap!

Plus, she is selling these for a really decent price for handmade knit hats (just $8, $10, or $12!!).  And on top of that, for the rest of the month of October, all hats have already been marked down 20% so that you can get a head start on buying some holiday gifts for any new babies in your life :)

Oh, and she takes custom orders in case you see one you'd like to have in a different color :)

(Click pictures to go to listing)






Check out the Little Birdie Knits Etsy shop!

Beef Stroganoff and musings on life currently

We were looking for a new beef stroganoff recipe to replace a previous recipe that had somehow been lost. We came across this one also by the Crabby Cook via Foodgawker.  It's a really good recipe, and while a little involved, makes a delicious dish.  He even suggests when to start boiling water for the noodles: a good tip for me since I find it hard to know when I am supposed to make certain elements of a meal ;)



And now that school is fully in session, I'm finding it weird to keep showing up at campus but not to have classes or exams or anything really.  And yet everyone else is surging at a frenzied pace around me while I seem to be standing still.  But the funny thing is, it feels good to stand still for a while.