Do people really fall for this junk?

CONFIDENTIAL DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY PAYMENT

Dear Sir/Madam,
bla... bla bla bla

In this regards we are going to send your contract part payment of 7.6Million USD. To you via our accredited shipping company and I have secured every needed documents to cover the money. Note: The money is coming on 2 security proof boxes. The boxes are sealed with synthetic nylon seal and padded with machine.

Please you don't have to worry for anything, as the transaction is 100% risk free. The boxes are coming with a Diplomatic agent who will accompany the boxes to your house address. All you need to do now is to send to me your full house address and your identity such as, international Passport or driver’s license and your mobile phone and telephone number, The Diplomatic Attach? will travel with it. He will call you on his arrival to your country's airport. I hope you understand me.

bla bla bla bla
send us your...
1) YOUR FULL NAME.........................
2) PHONE AND FAX NUMBER................
3) ADDRESS WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE YOUR fund..................
4) YOUR AGE AND CURRENT OCCPATION........................
5) A COPY OF YOUR IDENTITY............................

Congratulations.
Best Regards,
Lt General John Martins.
National Security Adviser to the President
Federal Republic of Nigeria.

and a follow up message...
After the Board of director's meeting held in Abuja, we have resolved in finding a solution to your problem. We have arranged your payment through our SWIFT PAYMENT CENTRE(UBA BANK).

This is part of an instruction/mandate passed by the Senate inrespect to overseas contract payment and debt re-scheduling. You will be provided with access to an online account in which your funds, Five million Unites States Dollars($5,000,000.00); will be deposited.


And if you are wondering I really am rich... last year I aparently won a Canadian lottery and had het another prince offer to send me $$.

Really, I mean how can PPL actually fall for this crap.

Time to update my spam filters

Cabled balaclava

So I'm participating in the Ravelympics and representing Team PissDrunk. My 1st project was From Russia with love: Cabled Balaclava . It's a really pretty and easy pattern. I chose a wool blend yarn. I would suggest though that if you want to make it I did it on size 8 needles and it's a tad snug for my taste so adding a pattern repeat (18 stitches) is my recommendation.

At one point I dropped a stitch in a cable and didn't realize it till I went to twist the cable again and didn't have enough stitches on the needles. It was 8 rows down! I didn't want to rip 8 rows so I dropped the stitches in the damaged cable and worked my way back up with a crochet hook and sock DPN for aids. 1st time I tried to do a fix in this way before. It was a tad tedious at times but worth it.

I am going to make another Balaclava but have taken a break to make a felted lunch sack. Inspiration from Brown Bag. I'm not really following the pattern cuz it's so basic. I'm making mine much larger than the design so we will just have to see how it works out. I'll also add a handle.

Incase anyone is wondering and doesn't already know... on Ravelry I'm GsCraftsNthing

Here is where I fixed the dropped stitch. This made me a bit nervous but it worked fine.and the finished balaclava. The cables are a bit difficult to see on the charcoal yarn but you can click for a larger image if you like.

If it's not broke... DON'T FIX IT!

This is going to be a little rant.

The boys got 2 sets of Lincoln Logs for Christmas. I got a large comerative all wood set and my parents got them a smaller set with plastic roofs. Lincoln Logs are a timeless classic right? I grew up with them, my Dad grew up with them and my daughter had a set when she was the age the boys are now.

So I just dumped all the sets together and didn't think much of it. Till today.

I was building with Robert and the logs just weren't fitting right. Upon closer inspection they are NOT THE SAME SIZE!!!! The notches are not spaced the same, the roof was completely different and COMPLETELY incompatible! And the diameter of the logs isn't even the same.

Now the beauty of classic toys is they ae classic! you can put 10 year old lego's on todays Lego's and you should be able to build with 10 year old Lincoln Logs along with new ones. So I had to sort out the LL's which, sadly, greatly reduced the size of their set.

Just thought i would also share a couple photos of the differences.

Old logs on the left. New logs on the right.

New log on the left and old log on the right. These are the foundation 1/2 logs and you can clearly see they are not the same size!

steam blocking acrylic

1st, here is an excellent blog post about blocking acrylic.

You can block acrylic

And here is my post.

I figured I would do a more detailed post on blocking the acrylic scarves I have been making. I did another Branching Out using Caron Simply Soft in the Autumn Red color. I really like Caron SS for these as it's a lighter weight and so soft and has good drape. Fancier lace yarns and wool are also great for lacy items but you are not limited to them. They can be quite pricey and higher maintenance. And if I am to gift something to someone i want it to be easy for them to care for. I was speaking with my cousin and she agreed that if she were to receive something that took extra care she would be afraid to use it and I don't want PPL to be afraid to wear my stuff! Now I do in tend to do some fancy fiber lace but this works great till then. And let's face it, if you are on a budget acrylics are very appealing!

So here is the scarf on my dining room table straight off the needles. I did tie in my ends but that is it. It's rather scrunched up as these type of things tend to be.
Here's a closer view of the stitch pattern. Hard to see right?

Ahh, and my new toy! It works great! Conair fabric steamer There is not a brush on the head (fine for my uses) and there is not an off switch to keep the steam from flowing freely when not in use but other than that it's great!

I am using a little portable ironing board that I keep stashed next to a shelf. It has a pull out rack on the back which supports the steamer head. I don't iron (avoid it as much as possible) so this is the board I use.

As you work, you will want to stretch the fabric out with your hands. Steam and shape, steam and shape. Do not try to hold it while you are steaming or you may likely get burned!

And here I'm steaming away! Doing small segments at a time so it's easier to handle. don't move on till you are completely satisfied with the shaping of the area you are working on. Notice i'm not using pins? Don't really need them as the stam relaxes the fibers and it's easy to shape them by hand. I'm not actually touching the fiber with the steamer, I'm hovering just above it so as not to squash the yarn.

Here is a good view of a section that has been steamed against the next which has not.


And the finished scarf laying on the same table for sizing refrence. It gew quite a bit!

Closeer view of the stitches.

And as you see the steaming has not affected the drape in any way, infarct I think it made the drape better!

You can do this with a good steam iron as well. just make sure not to touch the iron to the fabric or it will melt it (acrylic is plastic after all).

Happy crafting and don't let your budget get in the way of creating beautiful things!

Cabeling without a cable needle

I thought I would post how I cable w/o a cable needle. 1st, I should remind you I am left handed and knit as such (from left to right) so this may seem backwards if you are a right handed knitter. This method works best when knitting in the round. For this swatch, because I turned the work, I had to slip the cable stitches knit wise to reposition them and then put them back on my right needle. When knitting in the round the stitches are already in the right position for this method so this step is not necessary.

I began to figure out I knit differently while making this post. this was the post that opened my eyes to the fact that I am a combination knitter. This tutorial is done form the stitch orientation of the leading leg being in back so I am knitting through the back loop, but it doesn't twist my stitches.

This is a 6 stitch wide cable and equals a cable stitch wehre it directs you to hold the stitches to the front. For me these cables twist to the right due to the direction I knit.

Here I have my stitches in the right position and am ready to start the cable.


Here I have skipped the 1st 3 stitches, leaving them on the needle and knit into the 4th stitch back.

Leaving the 3 skiped stitches on the needle along with the one I just knit I knit into the next stitch.



Here I have knit my 3rd stitch. You see the 1st 3 skiped stitches on the needle still and the next 3 stitches are actually still on BOTH needles.
Now I pinch the 1st 3skiped stitches and pull out my right needle leaving the 3 stitches i just knit on my left needle.


holding my left needle to the back I put my right needle back into the life stitches I was pinching this is where the cable crosses.

Now I bring my needles back to the normal positions and knit into the stitches that were originally skipped and continue on as normal.

new scarf, new toy

I just got my Conair steamer from Amazon $30 free shipping. I have been working on the Branching Out scarf pattern. If you are left handed you may find it usefull to swap the k2tog for ssk and such to have the proper leaning of the stitches. I am new and it is just easier for me to read the chart as is rather than try to remember which new stitch I should be using instead of what the chart reads. Also I use sssk instead of the sl-k2tog-psso for the mirror to k3tog. sssk is the exact opposite and gives it a smoother look. For those who don't know, as a left handed knitter (knit from the right needle onto the left) our stitches lean the opposite direction as the same stitches done right handed.

I think I"m going to love the steamer! it has alot of power and pumps out really hot steam. it was like magic watching the fabric relax and the design emerge. For acrylics you gotta use steam to reset the fabric so to say. wet blocking doesn't do much for acrylics as it's basically plastic.

Cherry leaf scarf

So I finished my 1st lacy knit project. Cherry Leaf Scarf is a free pattern. I used Carron Simply Soft Eco and I steam blocked it ( as it's an acrylic). This was also the 1st time I grafted 2 pieces together And the 1st time I blocked knitting. I guess you can chalk it up to progress! Anyway, the pattern was fast and easy. I made a few mistakes on the1st half but plugged away and used it for a swatch so I could try some things and iron out some kinks and see how it looked doing it different ways. Then I started on the "real" thing when I felt good enough to do so.



my grafting, pretty good for a 1st try IMO.

Yarn babies

If your SO ever wonders why your stash keeps growing....

Yarn get's lonely and an unattended stash of yarn set quietly in a corner or tub will reproduce. Acrylics don't always produce acrylics, and natural fibers don't always produce natural fibers. If acrylics and natural fibers are stored together and left alone some strange and fun yarn babies may soon pop up.

Now some yarn babies are rather simple and plain. Others may require more attention and be higher maintenance then their parents. Some may not like your trusty hook or needle and my cry for some new tools. It may help to try different things to find what they want and nurture them. Also some yarn babies may not want to be like their parents. They may require some new patterns you never thought of making. You may need to learn some new stitches to help build their character.

Stash growth is not limited to the creation of yarn babies. Some times old family members will return home when they hear there are new arrivals and you may find a reunion on your hands. This may come in the form of some vintage yarns.

Stashes also tend to migrate towards each other. You may find odds and ends making their way into your stash from the strangest places and different corners of the globe. Diversity is good, it breeds a healthy yarn environment. And don't be ashamed of those crazy family members that pop up in the form of novelty yarn. They may seem to wild and crazy, but fun fur and ribbon yarn deserve love to.

Be aware that your stash may also draw you to other stash owners. This should provide endless opportunities for yarn bonding amongst fiber and friend.

So love your yarn, and your yarn will love you back!

fingerless mittens/gloves

12-6-10 update
After finishing the mitts I have realized that a slight change in the pattern would bennifit the end result. The main pattern on the mitts seem to be pulled twards the thumb. I believe to solve this I intend to do 2 knit stitches on either side of the cable and leave 2 knit stitches between the main pattern and the thumb. this should even it out. they are pretty either way though.



So I finished another knit hat with the brim and it inspired me to make some fingerless gloves.

Now I should make the disclaimer 1st before i go on with this...

I have never knitted a glove or mitten for that matter. I am still shaky on knit pattern reading and don't even think I could pretend to write one!

I did not have a pattern. I used the same yarn I used for my last hat which was 100% merino superwash.

so I cat on 36 stitches using size 5 needles and devided them evenly. I did about 1 inch of 2x2 ribbing and started in on the pattern.

Half of the stitches are all stockinette for the bottom so that leaves just the back of the hand for the pattern.

the "pattern" for the strips are 3 stitches in seed stitch, k1, p1, 6 stitch cable (6 rows betwen twists), p1, k1, 3 stitches seed stitch.

for the thumb gusset i made one pearl stitch (m1p) and left one row of the stockinette stitch to seperate the thumb seed stitching and the back of the hand seed stitching.

Every other round I did either m1 or m1p depending on what the seed pattern called for. I did this on both sides of the gusset area. one row of plain seed stitch, one row of increases untill the thumb hole was large enough. When it was large enough I bound off all the thumb stitches and went back to the original stitch pattern making sure I had 36 stitches on the needles when the thumb was done. I continued with the pattern in the round till it was long enough and finished with a 2x2 ribbing at the bottom.

Some assembly required...

MY ASS!!!!

My parents got the boys a play kitchen for Christmas. Robert was so excited that as soon as he unwrapped it he suddenly wanted to go home and didn't want the rest of his presents. He even started to shove the box towards the door.

So I got it home and opened it up. There couldn't possibly be more assembly required. All the pieces were connected together with runners. So just to start putting it together I had to cut it all apart!

But needless to say at least 2 hours and 1 beer later It was done and is well loved! So all the effort was worth it. The boys really love their kitchen and playing with food (which they have a TON of!)

And lets not forget the best part.... THE BOX!

And all that turned into this.... And the final product!

Painting sugar cookies

So we painted sugar cookies on Christmas eve. This is a fun thing for the kids (and adults)! It takes more time than other methods of decorating cookies but it's quite fun. You start with your favoriate rolled sugar cookie recipe and make a bunch of cookies! And for the "paint" I don't really have a recipe exactly but I take a medium bowl and fill it with powdered sugar. Add about 1-2 tsp vanilla extract and I like it to be a bit buttery so I add 1-2 tsp Whilton imitation butter flavoring. Gradually add milk and whisk to the desired consistency (paint). divide into small bowls and color the icing. get some cheap plastic craft paint brushes and let everyone have fun!

Here is the sugar cookie recipe I used:

Rolled sugar cookies

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Cookies Deserts
Holiday recipes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 cups butter -- softened
2 cups sugar
4 whole eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

1. In large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in
eggs and vanilla. Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt. Cover and
chill dough for at least one hour (or over night).

2. Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC). Roll out dough on floured surface 1/4
to 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with any cookie cutter.

3. Place cookies 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 6-8
minutes. Cool completely.

(click on any image to enlarge it)

Finished my last Christmas project!

Talk about waiting till the last minute! I was getting a bit worried. All the hours I have been working (6 day weeks on 3rd shift) has really slowed down my holliday projects. But i made both my nephews hats. My older nephew asked me to make him one and I figured I might as well make one for my younger one as well. So. here are the hats. I used I Love This Yarn from Hobby Lobby. The one on the right was the 1st one I did and I just finished the one on the left. It's only by chance that they ended up with stripes in the same spots.

Maple nut sticky buns

A great recipe for breakfast. Make these the night before and let them rise in the refrigerator over night and take them out while the oven is preheating then just pop them in! This will be our yummy treat come Christmas morn.... and good any other time of year to!

Maple Nut Sticky Buns

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 12 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Breakfast

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup nuts -- coarsely chopped
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup water -- warm
6 tablespoons butter -- softened
1 whole egg -- room temp
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1. Grease 13 x 9 inch baking pan and spread nuts and syrup evenly over the bottom.

2. Combine 2 cups flour, granulated sugar, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Stir in water, 2 tbs. butter and egg. Beat until smooth; gradually stir in remaining flour until soft dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

3. On lightly floured surface, roll dough to 15 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread with remaining butter. Mix brown sugar with Cinnamon; sprinkle over surface. Starting with a 12" end, roll up tightly.

4. Cut into 12 slices; place cut side down, evenly spaced in prepared pan (they will rise to fill the gaps). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until buns double. 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375º F. Uncover buns. Bake until golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Cool for 1 minute. Loosen edges;
invert onto serving plate. Serve warm.

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

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 280 Calories; 7g Fat (23.5%
calories from fat); 6g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg
Cholesterol; 191mg Sodium. Exchanges: 2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1
Fat; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : You can place yeast doughs in a slightly warm oven to provide a dry, warm place to rise. To easily cut dough, use string by wrapping it around the dough and pulling it through.

Mix 'n' Match
For cinnamon rolls, omit syrup and nuts; glaze with a mixture of 1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, 2-3 tablespoons milk and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

It is best to judge rising by size and not be concerned by the time it takes.

Peanut Brittle

So, here's the steps and recipe for the best peanut brittle ever (seriously, this is what many PPL say about it)! I have found out that you can get the silicone baking liners and use them and this eliminates the need to line and grease the pans.

Another thing about candy. Hard candy is dry candy. it's hard because you have cooked out the water. So, if you make hard candy on a humid day it will adsorb the moisture from the air and get tacky Which is why it's really popular in winter (the air is dry). This is also why it is important to make sure you keep it covered. And do not store softer candies along with hard candies. I did this once and my brittle got soft and tacky due to the moisture in the other candies.

Peanut Brittle

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Candies Holiday recipes

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1 cup light corn syrup
3 tablespoons butter
1 pound peanuts -- raw

1. Heat oven to 200°F. Grease 2 cookie sheets, 15 ½ by 12 inches and keep in warm oven. This makes the brittle easier to spread. Grease long metal spatula, or the back of a metal spoon and set aside.

2. Mix baking soda, 1 tsp. water and the vanilla; set aside. Mix sugar, 1 cup. water and the corn syrup in 3-quart sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, to 240°F on candy thermometer (soft ball stage).

3. Stir in butter and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, to 300°F (hard crack stage). Watch carefully so mixture does not burn. Immediately remove from heat. Quickly stir in baking soda mixture until light and foamy.

4. Pour half the candy mixture onto each cookie sheet and quickly spread with buttered spatula about ¼" thick. Cool completely, at least 1 hour. Break into pieces with butter knife handle and store in covered container.

Source:
"Betty Crocker cook book"
Yield:
"2 pounds"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 4978 Calories; 258g Fat (43.9%
calories from fat); 117g Protein; 625g Carbohydrate; 39g Dietary Fiber;
93mg Cholesterol; 2728mg Sodium. Exchanges: 4 1/2 Grain(Starch); 15 Lean
Meat; 42 1/2 Fat; 37 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : It is easier to spread the hot brittle by pouring it out onto the sheets and then shaking and rocking to make it flow thin. You do not need a greased spatula or spoon this way. Click on any image if you like for an expanded view.
-----------------------------------------------

In this photo the sugar has just dissolved. Because brittle does not have the dairy in it like caramels, you do not need to tend to the pot as often because it will not boil up and over making a mess. Just keep an eye on the temperature.
Here it has reached 240ºF and is ready to have the peanuts and butter added. Make sure you have RAW peanuts because they will cook in the syrup for quite a while and roasted ones will simply burn. 1lb of raw peanuts equals just a bit over 2 cups. You can see the syrup has begun to yellow and the bubbles are a bit thicker. In the cup with the small spatula is my vanilla, water, baking soda mix for later.
Here i have added the peanuts and butter. This will greatly cool down the syrup and it can be a bit stiff to stir as it gets back up to temp. Once the peanuts are in it you will want to keep it moving. More so after they start to cook and darken so they cook evenly. I only use real butter. When it comes to candy, there are so few ingredients I don't dare cut corners!
Here it has reached 300ºF. At this point you will want to work fast! You can see how brown/dark the brittle has gotten and the peanuts are also quite dark. This is good! And by this time your house will be filled with the wonderful smell of roasted peanuts.
Remove it form the heat and take out the thermometer (you will be siring very fast and dumping out the syrup). Pour in your vanilla (again, I only use real vanilla extract), water and baking soda mixture and mix fast and hard. It will froth up as you see in this image. It's quite a neat process. This is how the brittle gets light, bubbly and crunchy. Without the baking soda it would just be a hard lolly pop type substance w/peanuts in it.
As soon as it is all evenly mixed quickly pour it out onto your pans and spread. Make sure you are pouring it onto a flexible surface (don't use pyres or stoneware for example). Candy makers use marble slabs and the candy cools on contact. When it is cooled and done break up and store.

This brittle is light and crunchy with rich flavors. IT does not tack to your teeth or hurt to bite it.
Cleanup is easy! This is just hardened sugar. So, no matter how bad your mess is, just soak in water and give it a bit of time and it will be easy to wash your pans.