Claiming the blog

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Chevron

Another block to add to the pile...Chevron. The Chevron is very popular at the moment, and I think I want to make a quilt just using that. It is not that I am not trying to ride it's popularity wagon, but I do think it is a fun and interesting block. All that being said, I most certainly do need to work on (perfecting) my points!

Joining in at WIP Wednesdays.

Little joys

... to start the weekend right.

Reading more

Part of the umpteen new year resolutions that I make each year, reading always tends to feature prominently in them. Reading more that is. And picking something outside of my usual reading genre. Despite all best intentions, I never seem to make it.

Chancing on the reading challenges in the blogosphere, I think this may just be the ticket to infusing new life into my usual reading habits!

Two challenges that I would be participating:

Color Coded Challenge 2013
The goal is to read 9 book with any of the following colors, or shades thereof, in the title:

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc) 

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc)

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.)

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc)

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Chocolate, Beige, etc)

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc) 

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc)

8. A book with any other color in the title (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, Magneta, etc.)

9. A book with a word that implies color (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Paisley, Stripe, etc.)

Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge 2013
The goal is to read a book each month whose title includes, or is associated with, one or more key words for that month.


This may just get me blogging more often (another new year resolution, in case one didn't guess!)

I'll have a dedicated page to keep track of my  reading challenge progress soon.

This should be fun!

Restart

I have been away from this blog ever since I pretty much started it, but hopefully that will change in 2013. 2012 was a pretty good year, with work and home taking center stage. However, I did get a decent amount of knitting time in. My favorite knit from 2012 is the Swallowtail Lace Shawl by Evelyn Clark. I knit the pattern entirely as is, and the only modification made was to add beads along the edge, and skip the nupps entirely. I have a hard time doing nupps in general, and with lace weight yarn it was even harder. To compensate, I decided to add beads. Having never added beads before, I chose the wrong kind, and this turned out to be a bit more tedious than originally imagined. I am glad that I persevered since the beads definitely add charm with its color picking up subtle shades from the yarn. All in all, a success in my books!

Asterisk

My first quilt block made from a fat quarter and some Kona solid fabric. Stitching with a quarter inch seam, cutting triangles, nesting and pressing to the dark were all learnt on this pretty block!

Joining in the fun at WIP Wednesdays

Homemade Marshmallows

Store bought marshmallows aren't anywhere close to how good homemade marshmallows are. These are fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth delicious, and are super easy to make! I find that two things are indispensable to making these - a candy thermometer and a mixer with a whisk attachment. The candy thermometer takes the guess-work out of how much to cook the sugar mixture, and the mixer does the magic of turning it into cloud-like satiny goodness.
I adapted Alton Brown's recipe to make this, substituting butterscotch flavoring for the vanilla.