The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

This is my 200th post! I’ve been psyching myself out a little about it. I saw it coming for a while, and in the back of my mind I was trying to plan something big. It’s 200! That is a lot of posts. That is a big deal!

Then I just let it happen. The Sweatshop of Lover’s Blog’s 200th post just naturally fell on the one year anniversary of the first time PT took me out on a date.

PT Working Hard

PT and I met at a Halloween party last year and, thanks to the magic of facebook, he found me and asked me out. We met at Green Eye the following Thursday, October 30th. PT was late and had no money. And when he went to the ATM to get money out, he had no money in his checking account to take out.

So, naturally, I didn’t think he liked me. I just giggled, paid for the beers, and figured I wouldn’t hear from him again.

Then, a year later, we are making pumpkin ravioli in the yellow kitchen of the apartment we share. So what do I know?

Anniversary Bouquet

I’m not anti-anniversary or anti-Valentine’s Day, but I am anti- ‘oh, it’s our anniversary? We better go out to dinner.’ It’s just boring. And PT and I don’t need an excuse to spend time together.

So we made pumpkin ravioli! I had half a pumpkin in the fridge already. The only ingredient we needed was fresh sage. The only fresh sage that Strack and Van Til had was super fancy organic sage wrapped up like a bouquet of flowers that cost $7.20. $7.20! That was more than the bottle of wine we bought for the night.

Ready to Bake!

We pulled out the pasta maker and made up some wheat pasta and the pumpkin filling. We stuffed and cooked the little ravioli, then made a butter, sage, and brown sugar sauce to pour over them while the browned in the oven.

Hello, Lover

Before we dug in we sprinkled with some Parmesan and more brown sugar.

Oohhhh!

The $7.20 sage really does make a huge impact on the taste of this dish. All the flavors are really subtle except the sage! And those browned and sugared leaves are amazing.

PT and Sequence

Me and Pudge Rodriguez

After dinner we opened the anniversary present we bought ourselves – Sequence!

And Pudge couldn’t keep herself away.

I can’t think of a better topic for my 200th post. PT is fast asleep next to me on the couch in the blue room. The Michigan game is about to start and I’ve got yarn piled up next to me just waiting to be turned into my rebound project. It’s Halloween! Life is good, y’all.

And I’ll tell you right now what Post 201 is going to be. My costume is ready and tonight is going to be a blast. Happy Halloween!

Freaking Halloween is Saturday! That is THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW! How did that happen?

I had been planning on being Lady Gaga for Halloween all year. I figured all I would need is some black leggings and a blond wig. Easy! I was even trying to keep track of her music to make sure she had a hit somewhere in the neighborhood of Halloween so I was topical.

THEN she goes and dyes her hair brown and starts just wearing bathing suits every time she leaves her house.

Lady?

Which is a problem. I’m not one of those girls who uses Halloween to dress like a prostitute. My goal on Halloween is to be funny. And to not freeze to death. Prostitutes are not funny, and if I’ve learned anything from Charles Dickens it is that prostitutes freeze to death all the time.

Felicity Loves Halloween

I’m still working my way through the entire series of Felicity. I’m about half way through the fourth and final season and, while I was contemplating my Halloween costume dilemma, Felicity had a Halloween party, where she was a witch.

NOT helpful, Felicity.

(Side Issue: Felicity had a party in season three where two people were shot. Wouldn’t people being shot deter you from wanting to have another party? THEN, during this Halloween party someone gets alcohol poisoning and almost dies. Stop having parties, man! Just stop!)

... Real Life Pink Happy Poo?

This is sitting in the blue room right now. It is my Halloween costume, and it is almost done.

Any guesses?

Bumpy Lace Pattern

Wavy Front Panel

In the Girl Friday pattern she says that the lace pattern blocks out really well, and the few people who have finished it and posted it on ravelry have said the same thing, so I thought it would be another great example of a blocking before and after.

These two pictures are of Girl Friday before I blocked it. The sleeves are a tiny bit short and small. The front is very wavy and smaller than the sweater itself, and the lace pattern is bubbled. The sweater itself is shorter than what I was aiming for.

Was I worried? Of course not! I know the amazing powers of blocking.

(Honestly I was a little worried about the front. It was much shorter than the sweater, very wavy, and I thought I was going to have to take it out and bind it off using an even looser bind off than I already did.)

DRUM ROLL!!

Pretty Lace!

Perfect Sleeves!

Hello, perfect sweater I knit. How are you? My name is Allyson and I’m going to wear you ALL THE TIME!

The sleeves stretched out perfectly, width-wise and length-wise. The lace pattern calmed down and isn’t bumpy at all anymore! The entire sweater itself stretched out to a really nice length, and, most importantly, the front is perfect! Not wavy at all and the same length as the sweater.

So I made some modifications to the pattern, but not many of them.

I’ve been saying that I knit the  body all in one piece, which I think turned out really well.

I held the top stitches, from the fronts and back, and did a three needle bind off for the shoulders and just picked those stitches up when I picked stitches up for the collar, instead of binding off then picked up bound off stitches.

I only did the collar short rows for about an inch, because I didn’t want the collar to fold over.

And I used a k2tog bind off, because I thought a stretchy bind off would be too much, but the regular bind off would be too tight. It worked out great!

My cats, though, want to eat this yarn! I had to beat them off the thing while I was blocking it because they were literally trying to chew threw the sweater. I had this problem with the yarn itself, too! I kept having to tie pieces of it back together that they had chewed through. I used the Lion Brand Fisherman’s Wool! It’s wool! And they didn’t do this with my Vogue Cropped Jacket.

So, I have to keep it in a vault, but other than that I’m in love. It’s so cute and simple looking, I will be able to throw it over anything. Dress it up or down. Basically it’s the perfect sweater!

And now, present knitting. For the rest of the year, Allyson. I’m serious now.

Big Box o' Yarn!

I wish I was a tiny person, like Thimbelina, so I could swim in this box I just got from Knit Picks!

Woodland Sage Gloss

I ordered this pile of fingering weight Gloss to knit this sweater:

Minimalist Cardigan

Only I have to make it hard on myself. The cardigan calls for worsted weight yarn. But I’m going to wait to worry about that.

CotLin Planetarium

I ordered this pile of cotton linen blend in Planetarium to knit this sweater:

Dollar and a Half Cardigan

Which is actually close to the correct gauge! So that is exciting. You can see that half of the cardigan is cabled, and the other half is a stitch pattern rib.

So what am I doing lining up all these sweaters to knit for myself? 2010 is going to be The Year of the Sweater! I’m going to knit a sweater a month.

(plus that will keep me from starting any of these sweaters once I finish Girl Friday)

Want to knit a sweater a month with me next year?! I know you want to. Think about it. You’ve got some time to plan. I’ve got three sweaters already picked out! Three down, nine to go.

… might have to knit a sweater or two for other people. But, can you really ever have enough sweaters? I guess I’ll find out!

Just another example of how the word yarn makes everything better.

Just when you thought the DIY Trunk Show couldn’t make November 21st any better, The Sweatshop of Love is here to turn it into

Chicago’s First EVER Yarn Crawl!

For those of you who’ve never crawled anywhere before, I’ve mapped out a route and we’ve got activities planned and deals to be found along the way. Our participating yarn shops, nina and Knitting Workshop, have spectacular promotions for crawlers, and I’ll be rolling along to answer knitting questions, help you pick out materials for upcoming projects, and get you fully prepared for the upcoming hibernation season.

Yarn Crawl Schedule!

10:00-11:00 – DIY Trunk Show
Pulaski Park Field House, 1419 W Blackhawk in Wicker Park

11:15-12:00 – nina: a well-knit shop
1655 W Division St in Wicker Park

12:30-1:15 – Knitting Workshop
2115 N Damen Ave in Bucktown

1:30-2:15 – JoAnn
2639 N Elston Ave in Logan Square

2:30+ – New Wave Coffee
3103 W Logan/2557 N Miwalukee in Logan Square

DIY Trunk Show – The DIY Trunk Show is a diverse gathering of creative talent to showcase, sell, and promote handmade arts, crafts, goods and endeavors of all kinds. Free admission! So support local handmade right when the Trunk Show opens!

We will be meeting outside the Fieldhouse at 11 to walk over to -

nina: a well-knit shop – nina is a contemporary knitting shop in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood. The sleek, calm space has been described as a Zen temple to fiber. Beautiful yarns include angora, alpaca, silk, cashmere, cotton, bamboo, hemp, merino wool, and hand-dyed ribbon. Exquisite texture and colors, stylish pattern magazines and books, exotic wood needles – all are artfully arranged. The inviting atmosphere is sure to inspire your creativity.

Nina is offering a 10% discount on all yarn, a special sale section of products reduced to 50% off, and prizes for Crawl participants!

At noon we will board buses or hop on bikes over to -

Knitting Workshop – Knitting Workshop is an urban and sophisticated yarn shop located in Bucktown. With tons of yarn options and advice for any project, they have something to offer for both the new and experienced knitter.

Knitting Workshop is offering a 10% discount on all yarn, free patterns perfect for holiday present knitters, and they will be raffling off a Knit Kit, a fun knitting tool case!

At 1:15 we are going to start walking over to -

JoAnn – There are lots of projects out there that you don’t need nice yarn for. Like cat toys! And mittens for your brother that you know he is just going to lose. Or maybe you need zippers for your cabled change purses! JoAnn is the place for all your odds and ends.

Then, if your legs can make it, at 2:15 we are going to head to our last destination -

New Wave Coffee – We burned off enough calories during this Crawl to treat ourselves to a cupcake and a coffee! Relax, show off what you picked up on the Crawl, and get started on your next project!

The Sweatshop of Love couldn’t be more excited to share this day with everyone! Please don’t hesitate to email me with any questions, and be sure to email me to get on the mailing list for Chicago’s First EVER Yarn Crawl updates!

(See a Map of our Route Here)

We can only manage a couple of Chicago’s yarn shops today, but hopefully in the future we can spread out to include them all. If you would like to participate in future Yarn Crawls, please email me at allyson@thesweatshopoflove.com.

Wall Organizer!

Sewing is way more high contact than knitting is! You forget that when you haven’t done it in a while. And, granted I did go to the gym  yesterday morning and ran a couple miles while watching college football pregame, I’m SORE this morning.

In my SHOULDERS. And arms. Because I haven’t sewn for a long time.

It’s not just sitting at the sewing machine and going at it. You are rolling around on the floor, cutting a ton of fabric, measuring your fabric out, getting up and down off the floor.

… ok yeah it’s pathetic that I’m sore from sewing.

But got so much done! I made my wall organizer! Kinda.

Bottom Row

It’s a little crooked. The pockets are a little crooked. The top was a little crooked and, thus, it hangs a little crooked. I have never made a sewing project without a pattern that you pin to the fabric and then cut out before. This pattern was like, cut two 21″ x 31″ rectangles. In hindsight, maybe I should have marked out the measurements instead of being too stubborn that thinking I could just wing it. Eh.

Top Row

I scrambled around my apartment to find things to put in the pockets for the picture, but I’m excited to actually put things in there that will come in handy. And it makes my work table look more like a work table. I love it, despite it’s crookedness.

I made a couple artistic changes to the original design – I made the rod casing the same color as the pockets instead of the same color as the background. I sewed around the entire wall hanging after turning it out to give it a more finished look. I finished it by seaming the rod casing and sewing it over the top of the purple pieces after I had turned it out so I wouldn’t have to hand sew.

Overall, the pattern was over written, and not even for clarity’s sake. I skipped an entire page of instructions that could have simple been described in one step.

But! I’ve got a wall organizer now!

Tara's Linings

Tara, who made my amazing sign, asked me to pay her in linings for all the cabled change purses she is making for holiday presents, so I knocked those out yesterday, too. Seven! It was a lot of cutting.

Toilet Lid Cover Elastic

I had a couple toilet lid covers to put elastic into. Rachael took my class and I said I would elastic her, and I finished my brother Adam’s house warming/Christmas present.

Go Blue

Though, naturally, Michigan was getting the crap beat out of them while I was working on this, which took the joy out of it for me. I see it’s cute, I see it turned out well, but it makes me want to punch someone. I don’t think Adam reads the blog so I’m not worried about him seeing it.

Rachael's Toilet Lid Cover!

Velma Approves

Velma loves my toilet lid cover so much! She is always sitting on it when I’m getting ready to leave in the morning. I couldn’t even slip these on my toilet lid without her jumping up and making herself comfortable.

Rachael’s lid looks great! And Velma obviously loves it.

Off to class this morning, then I’ve got to FINISH THOSE STUPID SLEEVES! And make that message board thing. And maybe my Halloween costume.

AND I’ve got a HUGE announcement coming tomorrow! Chicago knitters will be pleased as punch. I’m not going to say anything else because I don’t want to let the cat out of the bag. I’m bad enough with secrets as it is. Check back tomorrow!

First of all, thank you so much for all your kind words. It’s good to know that there are so many animal lovers out there, and that they are all my friends. I couldn’t even write those two sentences without getting a little teary!

All of your facebook, twitter, and blog comments meant a lot to me. Thank you so much. I keep spontaneously hugging poor Velma and Pudge Rodriguez, and I know they are sick of it because they have started hiding under chairs and tables, but they will get the brunt of my Oliver missing from now on.

Mommy's Shawl

What better time to finish my mom’s Glorified Necklace! Mommy, I hope it makes you feel better! It’s really pretty. Pre-blocked it looked like a big mess, but post-block it looks fabulous. You will get it in about two months, and then we can be twins.

Body Finished!

And since I’m not even ashamed anymore, the body of my Girl Friday sweater is finished! I was about to finish the back when I last check in, and now both fronts are done. I didn’t bind off the tops because I feel the need to pick up stitches in my future. I’m just leaving them all live until I figure otherwise.

Sleeeeeeeves...

And now. I’m working. On these. Sleeves. I’ve hit a wall with the sleeves! I don’t know why. I feel like I’ve been knitting them forever! And I’m pretty sure I started them Tuesday.

Girl Friday might take a back seat this weekend, though. I’ve got my sights set on my sewing machine.

Blue Room Wall Organizer

So yes, the blue room is done and we love it and I’ve got my work table up and functioning and it’s great.

But I need this wall organizer!

A couple years ago I bought this easy sewing book, Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing, for a friend’s birthday, but then I got sick, and then I didn’t see her for two years, and now the book is mine!

And it’s got this great pattern in it for this walk hanging organizer. So I’m going to attempt it.

...um?

Even though there are like 4 pages of directions and this chart with lots of numbers on it that I’m going to ignore.

But, it is going to be a rainy weekend, and I’ve got the blue room to spread out in. I’m guessing it’s going to be a smashing success! (nervous laughter)

I also want to make a message board, kind of like this, but, you know, not really ugly.

So I’ve got my hands full! First up, though, I’m having a couple girlfriends over for dinner. I’ve got a pumpkin in the oven, bread rising on the stove, and a bottle of cheap wine in my purse.

Any menu guesses?!

It is hard to put into words just how much a pet means to you.

There are pet people and there are non pet people. As a pet person I know I always assume that you aren’t a pet person until you prove otherwise. Even people who have pets sometimes aren’t real pet people, so I wait for a story. I need to hear a story about how your cat puked inside your favorite shoes and you didn’t realize it until you were running out the door, and slipped your foot inside your shoe, and you, laughing, were so late for work! Or how you brought a boy to your house for the first time only to find, upon opening the front door, that your dog had pooped all over your living room. Laughing.

Or how you are always covered with hair!

Or how your cat just knows when you are upset. How she does her own thing until you’ve had a bad day at work and then she doesn’t leave you alone.

Or how your dog helps you get out of bed in the morning and go for that run you never want to take.

Or how you are so sad because your dog died.

Oliver

I’m sitting in New Wave all teary, because I know that if I were at home I would just be crying and doing nothing . So I’m here, looking like a crazy person, probably, because Oliver died.

It is amazing how much we love our animals. My family got Oliver when I was 13. He has been a part of my life for over half of it. And he died. And part of me feels very silly for sitting in New Wave crying about a dog, but that is just the part of me playing to the people who didn’t grow up with animals. Who don’t have a dog or cat at home. Who don’t know what it’s like to love and be loved by a dog.

But for the rest of us: God it sucks. Because you can’t tell them how much you love them before they die, you just have to hope they know. And you can’t explain to your other animals where their brother went. And you want to apologize for being so sad because, sure, he is ‘just a dog’, but he isn’t just a dog. He was there every time you came home and was happier than anyone will ever be to see you. He protected you while you slept, and, no matter how sweet he was to you, he would kill anyone who tried to get into your house.

We made pickles together.

We hung out together while everyone else was working.

He sneaks his cute face into many pictures.

I’m not going to make it back to Michigan until Thanksgiving. I know that, despite all the people and all the other animals, it is going to feel so lonely. And I’ll probably get killed by an intruder. And my brother Matthew will have to carry all the wood to the fire pit by himself because Oliver won’t be there to help. And Papa will be terrible at cards because he lost his good luck charm.

… now I’m just torturing myself. I’m going to go home, cuddle my kitties, and make some pancakes.

I always joke about eating like a poor person, but all healthy vegetarians eat like poor people. Unless it’s a special occasion, our meals usually cost between $1-2  a person.

One of my favorite poor person meals is Roasted Potatoes, Veggies, and Beans. It’s also a great pantry meal, when you haven’t gone grocery shopping in a month and there really isn’t anything left. It’s warm and filling and an excellent comfort meal. It’s 10am and I want some right now.

Ingredients

Ingredients (for 2)

Four baking potatoes cut into pieces

Two large carrots

One onion

2/3 cup prepared beans (black, northern, pinto, any!). If canned, drain and rinse. If dried, soak as directed and rinse.

Two cloves of garlic, diced or garlic pressed

Three tbsp oil, divided

Spices of your choice! I use: pepper, sea salt, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, rosemary, bbq seasoning, cumin

1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking sheet or 9 x 13 cake pan with cooking spray. Cut up your potatoes and toss them in a bowl in 2 tablespoons oil and seasonings.

Ready to Roast!

2. Spread your seasoned and oiled potatoes in your pan and throw them in your hot oven. Bake for 45 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, cut up your onion and carrots and put them in the same bowl you used to season your potatoes. Add beans, garlic, remaining (1 tbsp) oil, and re-season.

Ready for Round Two!

4. After your potatoes have baked for 45 minutes, take the potatoes out for a hot second, add carrot mixture, stir to combine, and bake for another 20 minutes.

Ready to Eat!

5. When it comes out the potatoes will be crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside, the carrots will still be crisp, the beans will be warm and seasoned, and the onions sweet.

Ready to Love

I squirt a little ketchup on mine because I love potatoes and ketchup! PT uses sriracha to spice it up a little. Either way, this dish is the perfect warm meal on a fall day.

And lets break this down:

4 Potatoes: 35 cents

2 Carrots: 15 cents

1 Onion: 10 cents

2/3 Cups Beans, Dried: 25 cents

Oil, Garlic, and Seasonings: Maybe 20 cents?

Meal Total: $1.05 and I’m being generous. I know I got that 10 pound bag of potatoes in my pantry on sale for $1.25, and I got the 5 pound bag of black beans for about $4 on sale. 1 pound of dried beans makes 5 cups. I’m not a mathematician, but that would be like, what? 13 cents for 2/3  cups of beans?

I’m making allowances for non sale items and we are still looking at a meal for two for $1.05! I love that.

I finished knitting my mom’s Glorified Necklace! It’s not officially done; I’ve got to hide the tails and block it, but I’ve never knit two of the exact thing before, so I wanted to use this opportunity to show you just how amazing blocking is.

Before and After at the Same Time!

The bottom shawl is mine and the top shawl will soon be my mom’s, pre blocking. You can see that the edges are curling up, the top is curling. It’s a good three inches smaller height wise and probably eight or ten inches shorter width wise.

The texture is completely different, too. You can see the top fabric is crinkly and rough looking, whereas the shawl I blocked is smooth.

I’m going to get soaking this baby and get it looking just like mine. Especially now that I have so much room for it to lay out and block properly!