Well, I don’t know if it was really that much time, but you get the picture.

Anyway, handy-dandy stainless steel scissors in my hand, I started chopping away at The Pink Thing’s seam. I was surprised at how well-made it really was. The mattress seam was almost invisible. But I did manage to get it all undone, and then hocus-pocus-sha-mocus, The Pink Thing was suddenly and magically…

A scarf! Ha, see? I’m not stupid after all.

As modeled by That Kid, whom I had to bribe with candy to wrap that itchy acrylic thing around her neck. She wasn’t really that happy. No, not at all.

Now that it’s a scarf like I first thought, I have misgivings on whether or not to frog it. But then again, the scarf’s not exactly my style and I could use the yarn for something better, like… another scarf!

Now I’d like to throw this question out to the audience. Someone please comment!! Shall The Pink Thing be allowed to live? Or shall it be reincarnated as a new Pink Thing? I leave it to your consciences.

I don’t really tend to like posting more than once a day. It makes me seem obsessive. But at this moment in time, I AM obsessive, so let’s get along with it!

What hath cause the novice knitter to act against policy? This:

And not only the fact that that yarn looks totally scrumptious. Because…

IT’S BEING SOLD IN A NEW AWESOME YARN STORE IN MY TOWN!!

I mean, my area isn’t exactly a knitting wonderland. A Local Yarn Store is a big deal. Especially when it’s as great as this!

Now, to stop hyperventilating, wipe up my drool, and go shopping!

A soon-to-be pile of yarn!

I thrifted this airy pink number for 8 bucks some weeks ago because I liked the yarn. At first I thought it was a scarf, because it did look like one all folded up! See?

Well, actually, right there it looks more like a squid. Okay. Is it just me, or is all my yarn mutating into evil creatures? First that Tiffany stuff, now this… moving on before I get freaked out…

The pink thing was then stocked in my closet for quite a while, all alone with nobody but the dust bunnies to plot conspiracies with. Today, I finally got around to looking at it and…

It’s a poncho! Okay, so I never really was into ponchos, even when they were in style, as I always figured they were the brainchild of some old ladies trying to bring shawls back so they could keep their shoulders warm without worrying about being accosted by “What Not to Wear.” So the only route for this fluffy blob of acrylic was….

Frogging, my friends. (For all you non-knitters, that means you rip it, rip it out!)

Ohoho. Left you in suspense, eh? Tomorrow, time to get to work!

Misadventures of a Novice Knitter

July 18th, 2007 by blog_allstars:hellokitty.com

SanrioTown has a lot of members coming from practically all ages, anywhere in the world, and being interested in anything and everything (aside from Hello Kitty and her other Sanrio friends, of course!) No matter how different your hobby or interest may be, sooner or later, you might just find someone who’s as devoted to it as you are here. Such is the case with our blog feature this week!

During May, we featured a knitting blog called “Knittin’ with the Kitten.” Who would have thought that a couple of months later, we’re going to have another blog created by a knitting fan?:D

“Misadventures of a Novice Knitter,” owned and maintained by akari_mizunashi. Don’t ever think that people who love arts and crafts are boring - she’s a living proof that artsy people are really fun! Her blog has got to be one of the more humorous here on SanrioTown, bits of witticisms inserted in just about every entry, and even in the pictures she attaches to her post. A reader of her blog will find it hard not to chuckle, because her descriptions, captions and edited images are hilarious.

Aside from knitting, the self-confessed “mini domestic goddess” proves her name right by also putting recipes and tales of her adventures in the kitchen. These aren’t the run-of-the-mill kind though, because she narrates this with the sense of humor that’s become her style of writing in her blog.

Know more about her (mis)adventures by going to http://blog.sanriotown.com/akari_mizunashi:hellokitty.com

Yes, my friends. It’s true: I am the blog of the week!! So this is how it feels to see your name in print.

Amazing!!! Absolutely amazing!! Especially that I was chosen the day I posted that hideous picture of eyelash yarn!

Just last week I was thinking as I read KT Sanctuary: “Sigh. I wish my blog was as famous and awesome as hers. Oh, well. I can dream.”

See?? Dreams really do come true! (images of Disney princesses)

Funny thing is, people hardly ever go on this blog. Oh, well! Those editors did, so that’s really all that matters!

Hm. Now I suppose I am pressured to post some more. Oh, well. Better get to work!

Some of you may be gratified to know I did go to Rag Shop today before it ceased to exist.

I meant to buy some patterned cotton to make a doll-sized yukata, BUT… when I walked in, ALL the fabric was gone!! And the almost all the yarn, too. However, patterns were 50 cents each as opposed to the usual $8-15, so to nurse my wounds I bought 20. That’s right. Count ‘em, twenty. Mostly doll patterns and little-girl-sized patterns, plus one misses’ kimono pattern and one (no, I do not fit this; it was an accident, I swear!) plus-sized tank top pattern. I also got one tiny skein of Lion Brand Tiffany eyelash yarn in Cream. Maria* bought one of the store’s shelves, mostly because it was just $1.50, which we knew because the greasy, skinny, bald, sleazy elderly salesman (whew, that was a lot of description) was bellowing the amazing fact every three minutes.  I mean, what do you do with a giant metal basket? Avant-garde coffee table? 

Rag Shop is closing in exactly 6 days. Sniff. I seriously feel like someone I’ve been close to all my life is dying. BOOOO HOOOOO! 

 This is the yarn. Ohoho. Doesn’t that look creepy? Does anyone know what I can do with this?

Before I begin, let me have you know that in my family, pound cake is a big thing. Every female member and a few males have their own variety. I tried making pound cake once a long time ago, but it turned out more like a doorstop, so I decided pound cake wasn’t my thing. However, I found a recipe in a old Good Housekeeping cookbook today while I was in a sweets craze and decided to try my hand at it once more.

After 60 minutes, the top of the cake was brown, risen, and lovely. I inserted in my trusty toothpick. It came out utterly coated in batter. Somehow, while the cake was the elusive “golden brown” that recipes always refer to, the inside was completely uncooked. So back in the ol’ oven it goes for another 5 minutes. Then another. And another. After quite a lot of this peek-a-booing, my 5th toothpick still didn’t come out completely clean. But I was sick of this relationship that was hurting both of us. So: pass off the cake as “moist!”

The cake cooled for exactly the precise times called for in the recipe. It was cut (and was proven to be soft enough not to require a chainsaw). Then came the moment of reckoning: the first bite. And: (dun-dun-dun)… it was great! It was moist in the middle and crunchy on top, but in a good way. The center bit that was bugging me so much had solidified and tasted like it was totally on purpose. I would have posted some photos (yes, the camera is back to life!), but it got eaten up too quickly! The fateful recipe:

Vanilla Pound Cake

2 1/4 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups softened butter

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon salt

6 large eggs

3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10″ Bundt pan (although I used an ordinary cake pan). In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar and butter until just blended (whatever that means). Increase speed to high; beat about 5 minutes or until light and creamy.

2. Add vanilla, salt, and eggs. Reduce speed to low; beat until well blended, frequently scraping bowl with rubber spatula. Increase speed to high; beat 3 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. With wire whisk, fold in flour just until smooth.

3. Spoon batter into pan. Bake 60 to 70 (although for me it was nearer 80)  minutes, until toothpick inserted near center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on rack. Devour.

I’ve noticed most of the people on Sanriotown like Japanese culture.

And I like food.

What would make a better post than a how-to-make-onigiri page?

You will need:

cooked Japanese rice

nori (roasted dried seaweed)

filling (Anything goes, as long as it’s mashed to a pulp. Meat and fish is usually best.)

Directions:

1. Wet hands and sprinkle them with salt. Grab a handful of rice and shape it into a ball.

2. Shape the ball into a cupped shape in your cupped hand. Place a small amount of filling into the cup.  Fold the edges over the filling, sort of.

3. Shape the rice into a triangle. Wrap with a small rectangle of nori to help you hold it.

4. Eat!  I think that the cutest edible thing ever is a perfectly-made onigiri. Plus, it’s ultra-yummy, filling, and easy, great for on-the-go.