Me, I got nothing. Except the log cabin blanket from Tuesday. And stash. Lots of stash. And custom dye slots. That means it’s all on you this week, people.

So what have you been making?

Take a picture of your current project, whatever that happens to be. Or maybe one you recently finished. Or the materials for the one you are about to start. Let’s say materials for a project in whatever state it happens to be in at the time you snap it. On Friday, post the picture and tell us about your project. What you did, or what you are going to do. How much you are enjoying it, or hating it. You know–show and tell.

Just copy & paste the code below the graphic and get crafty with me!

<a href="http://www.cassknits.com/category/online-craft-club/"><img src="http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff136/cassknits/online-craft-club-sidebar-sized.jpg" alt="" /></a>

Be sure to come back and leave a comment so we know where to find you!

[tags]Online Craft Club[/tags]

:kitchen: Well, it’s Thursday again, isn’t it? Must be time to talk about food here on Cass Knits! First off, have you tried Jasmine Rice? I finally bought some last month! I’d been curious for quite a while as to what the difference could possibly be, and I had always just substituted regular white rice for it in recipes. Well, that won’t be happening anymore, because jasmine rice is a whole new taste world! It’s sweet, and the grains separate very well, and I like it, yes, I do. And it is especially delightful with seafood!

Jasmine Rice with Seafood

2 cups jasmine rice
3 cups water
1 lb imitation crab meat
1 lb scallops
5-6 slices of cooked bacon, torn into bite sized pieces
lemon pepper

Start the water boiling, and cook the rice. While it is cooking, throw the bacon and scallops into a frying pan. Cook them until the scallops are done. That won’t take but a few minutes.

When the scallops are done, put the imitation crab meat in the skillet, add some lemon pepper and stir it all together to mix.

When the rice is done, tip it into the skillet and mix again. Call the crew, and smirk in Rachel Ray’s direction as you serve this 25 minute meal. Just Kidding, ya’ll. I love me some Rachel.

I have the most delicious thing sitting on my desk. It is this:

Can you smell it? I ordered it from Johnson Candles and I could smell the goodness as soon as I opened the box. Ya’ll, it smells like I am in that-very-trendy-coffee-shop-with-the-astronomical-dollars-name. In fact, when I opened the box, I was on Skype with Ang., and I waved it at the webcam to share the scent with her before I thought about what I was doing!

Then I let it sit here with the lid off for a day. And then, I finally cleared my desk enough that I wasn’t afraid to light it, and I took that picture. Of course, that increased the scent, and I burned that candle until a full inch of melted wax was sitting on the top. A very long time, ya’ll. All day. And I almost set the Food Lion sale paper on top of the flame. OOPS! Clearly I need a shelf for my candle, and there will be one on this desk shortly, so that I can light it again. Unless I just clear the shelf I already have, which is a distinct possibility.

Now, I am already planning to get another candle. I’m thinking the Iced Cinnamon Rolls might go real well as a follow up to the Cafe Caramel, don’t you?

If it’s Wednesday, it must be time to add something to the store at CassKnits! Today, that something is custom dye slots! I got so excited today looking over the colorways! Shown below are the old colorways that I have both pictures and my own written instructions for, but as always, I can work with you to develop a colorway to your specifications. Just mouse over the photo for the name.

The initial charge is $5, and this will cover the cost of shipping the finished yarn to you. This charge is non-refundable. The total cost will be my yarn and shipping cost, plus $5 per 100 grams/3.5 ounces for the dyeing, except Spring Fling, which costs $1 for every 10 yards. Yarn must be paid for before I can order it, OR you may send/have sent yarn of your choice. I can dye any natural fiber yarn I can get, and I can get most anything you’d like. My current yarn stock includes:

1 skein of Lorna’s Laces “Shepherd Sock”
5 skeins of KnitPicks “Sierra”
1 skein KnitPicks “Wool of the Andes”
12 ounces of Henry’s Attic “Montana”
3 skeins of Paton’s “Upcountry”
8 ounces Lion Brand “Fisherman’s Wool”
6 ounces of Cascade “Eco Wool”

I am accepting 12 custom slots initially.

Well, okay then. I did kinda tease you just a little bit yesterday, I know. But it was needful! Today, I will deliver the rest of the goods, ok? OK!

Um, Beads. Black, white, frosted and clear. Not sure what else to say about these. I have what I want, and Mama has what she wants, so, umm. Guess I better get stringing, right?

Pinks. I do have a definite plan for these, and I probably have enough to do two of what I see in my mind. The little tube of seeds and bugles is in the colorway Mardi Gras. Is it still a colorway when applied to beads instead of yarn? I think so. Anyway, I love the colors in that, and I will probably be looking at replicating them in fiber. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy knowing that ten bucks of materials can buy me a few hours of creative fun and years of pleasure in the wearing, PLUS the chance to recoup the original outlay? Well, I do!

Purples. Saw these and just had to have them, including the little spools. I already know what I am going to do with these, too. Sorry about the glare, but the picture I took without flash left the stones looking flat. Bleh.

Some silver beads. not quite sure what I am going to do with these. They are too fancy for spacers, that’s for sure. But not quite enough for a necklace as they are.

Ok, that is all the bead stash except for some spacer balls and findings. Time to quit talking about them and use them. Except not today. Today, I have to find my bare naked yarn so I can post a dye slot or 12.

Well, I finally finished that Log Cabin Scrap blanket, forever to be known as “Belle’s Blankie”. And I want to talk about some bead stash. I am so glad that my host offers huge amounts of storage, because I never go in and delete old pictures, LOL. It allows me to be lazy! let me give one little piece of advice: if you are planning to start a knitting blog, make sure that you get a host who offers generous bandwidth, and copious storage. My last host did not, and I did not realize it until they were trying to force me into a very expensive package, claiming my blog was too big. And that was 2 years ago, people! Make sure that you read review and look at web host ratings, because it really can mean the difference between your blog being there one day. Or not. Here are some tips on choosing a domain name to help you get started.

Now, onto the pictures that started this whole diatribe. First, Belle’s Blanket:

And some bead stash. I decided that just having a picture on the stash page of the white basket was totally un-fun, and that I should proudly show off the little gorgeousnesses, so! I took pictures of the beads in their pre-necklace forms. There are a bunch of them, but I am not going to put them all in this post. Not because of my host, mind you, but because my kiddos are seriously needing some focused attention just now.

This is a kit that Mama bought me in that first batch of beads. I should totally make it up, and I will. I think it is going to look fabulous with the cardigan I plan to make myself from that Dublin Tweed. Do you hear me, SisterInLaw? If you don’t send me your measurements before I finish the two sweaters in my knitting basket, I will use that yarn for my stingy, greedy self. (I’ve been waiting at least three years, just so the rest of you know.) I have no idea what I will wear with the sweater and beads, mind you, only that they will look great together. Perhaps nothing. If I make a really LARGE sweater. *evil grin*

These pink beads were also purchased in the first batch, and they are for my mother. I came thisclose to stringing them last Saturday, but I needed to ask her something first, so I didn’t. Soon. Very soon.

These are newer beads, purchased Saturday and Sunday. I can make several necklaces from this, and I am pretty sure you will see something in the sidebar made from part of these eventually. I plan to make at least one before I next wear my blue and green dress. Which I plan to do in Orlando.

Okay, that’s it. Must go play mom. There will be more pictures later!

First, ravelry. OHMAGOSH. Carla told me I better get on it, and now I am tere, and have barely scratched the surface and I am loving it! Lo-Ving it!. I’ll be working on building my notebook soon. I was already planning to go through all my pattern books and list things I wanted to make. I figured it would take almost a month of posting daily to do that, but with Ravelry I can do it with just a few clicks. How slick is that?!?

Second, beads. I had some time to myself on Saturday, and I spent it playing with beads. here they are, all laid out and ready to string. Don’t they look pretty?

Well, I strung them all up and that is when I discovered that I am a bead snob as well as a yarn snob. These are plastic beads, and while they look fine in the package, once they are strung they just don’t look to suit me. So, now they are in a baggie, and will probably be used by the kiddos.

But all was not lost. On Sunday, Mama and I went to Wal-Mart and that craft store I told you about. We made up for the cheap plastic bead mistake like this:

There was more, but Mama actually took her beads to her house. Along with her own beading board. The bead bug has bitten another victim. Also, I took pictures of the bead stash in separate piles, so I could fix up the stash page. I think there are enough pictures here, so we will save that for another post.

Third, Skype. I can now talk to Ang. while I work. Lord, help us now.

Woohoo! Dh handed me 20 dollars this morning as I headed out with the cheerleaders so they could serve pancakes for a fundraiser. I went next door to Wal-mart and spent it in the bead section. I have enough stuff here for at least 2 necklaces, probably 4. And I bought a magazine, too.