Seed of Life Design

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-28T03:18:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving usually translates into a culinary bounty, the cherry on top being the delicious pumpkin pie. Here's how I usually make it (with a couple of tweaks mentioned below). Plus music to carve the pumpkin to as well as bake the actual pie to. Plus photos.

First of all, I tend to use a larger quantity of pumpkin pulp, and a larger pie mold. Then, I never use store-bought crust or pastry base, instead I either make a quick graham crackers crust or, more often, a classic, flour-based crust (the same one I use for my Coconut Cream Pie), in which case I throw in some lattice work on top. I usually skip the nutmeg (apparently it is poisonous) and add a dash of vanilla or rum, instead.

Here are the photos.

Southern Devil's Food Cake

2011-10-26T20:13:00.000-07:00

My gran&bro had a birthday in the summer months (which is not uncommon, as it tends to happen every darn year). However, because the family couldn't be together for their birthday, we celebrated later on and now I'm late-late-blogging their cake. What is that you say?Unsynchronized mess?Well, here's The Doctor using his sonic screwdriver to make it all cohere.

Southern Devil's Food Cake

My peeps love chocolate so I decided to make something with enough of it so that not even the most flat out chocoholic could handle it. Short story long: We all caved in. Mom didn't. (She must have switched her blood for liquid chocolate earlier in life.) Mission failed. Tasty yum! Ready for a challenge? Here we go!

Here's the recipe.

Here's the music to bake it to:

And here are the pictures:

I covered mine in blackberries because we had A LOT of them and I thought they worked well with the serious amounts of choc. They do, so feel free to berry-it-up for a bit of relief from all that choc.
Enjoy!

The Taste of a Different Summer

2011-10-11T16:42:00.000-07:00

Buttermilk Pancakes

As mentioned in the previous post, buttermilk pancakes were last summer's go-to treat. There isn't much to say about pancakes (since they're such a basic thing to make) other than to acknowledge that I was under the influence of Dead Like Me and I overindulged, so eat cautiously, these darlings are addictive and..scales don't lie (unless they're broken).
Here's the recipe.
Here's the music:

Here are the photos:

Toodles!

The Taste of Summer

2011-09-24T06:04:00.000-07:00

As mentioned before (and as testified by the date of this post) summer is over. However, because I was a busy bee throughout August and most of September, I accumulated quite a bit of material to be posted here at a later, less hectic date. I've also concocted a new format (to better match the new Blogger). Without further ado, here is the first of (hopefully) many such blog posts.
*************************************

This summer's obsession (food-wise) has been the delicious Coconut Cream Pie (last summer, it was buttermilk pancakes - to be featured in a later post). I think I made this pie just about a dozen times since June (whenever we ran out of it, I'd whip up a new one, which drove my friends and family crazy).

This pie reminds me of C, the wonderful friend who introduced me to it. It's been five years (to the date) since I last saw him and almost two since I last heard from him. I can only hope he's doing well, wherever he may be.

I think I started making the pie out of nostalgia for a time and a place that appear to be lost forever. It stuck with me and the more I ate, the more I wanted to eat. On top of that, it is very easy to make and the perfect summer-treat because it's best served cold. This is the recipe I use and (above) the music I listen to while baking.

Enjoy!

First of Autumn

2011-09-23T11:14:00.000-07:00

Summer's been over for a while, but the weather is still warm. Finally, we're having an Indian Summer after quite a few years of chilly autumns. This here is a photographic journal of the things I did/smelled/arranged/gazed upon during the past month or so.

Mutant pigeon, or most likely, just a really young one. Notice his/her irregular, aquiline beak.

My mom received lots of flowers.

The things we made for my mom's fifth graders.

Meanwhile at the country house...

2011-07-25T20:04:00.000-07:00

The foods, the drinks, the creatures, the flowers...

Numb&orange

2010-10-18T18:26:00.000-07:00

I don't believe in spring ennui. I simply don't get it! How would one lack interest in anything and everything when flowers are in bloom and children are playing in the streets and water is joyously gushing in one's sneakers at every street corner? However, I am a big believer in autumn ennui. I mean, with the rain and the impenetrable darkness that collapses on top of us at odd hours, the frigid temperatures, the slow destruction of summers' foliage and its many humming bugs, what's to celebrate?

Oh, yeah, there's always pumpkins! And so far...I've been obsessing over pumpkin-colored/-flavored/-like things. I made this pumpkin pie, I finally found the most perfect orange nail polish and proceeded to paint my nails, I made a Jack O'Lantern out of a huge, green-ish Turkish pumpkin. I even ate an orange, and anyone who knows me, knows that I never-ever eat oranges.

...and that's the full list of my accomplishments. I've done none of the things I must do, I am in no mood to do anything other than cook/bake, knit and watch TV shows. And that's a problem. That is indeed, a big problem.

(to be continued once the problem is solved)

Polyvore's Mini Editor and the Chance to Win $1000

2010-08-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Polyvore is launching a Mini Editor (basically a widget) which allows users to select up to 100 items, publish them on their blog and invite their friends and readers to play. In order to celebrate this new addition, Polyvore will give away $1000 to one of the bloggers and $1000 to one of their creative readers.

Consider this your formal invitation to my widget (suggestively titled "Creative Collective"). I hope you'll enjoy my items and have fun mixing and matching.

Get your own Mini Editor from Polyvore

Starstruck Shawl

2010-07-13T05:05:00.000-07:00

I've been contemplating this project for the past year and a half without succeeding in finding the proper yarn (in terms of color, fiber and price.) Finally, I decided to just compromise a little (by using acrylic yarn instead of merino and red and white instead of lava and pale desert) in order to get it done. Naturally, my brain pulsates with an omnipresent promise of someday, somewhere succeeding in perfecting the experience.

This shawl is a belated-belated gift for A., a dear friend of mine. Something about its casual, yet quirky pattern, its mix of colors and its Nordic (Ikea-ish) appearance made me obsess over it and deem it the only imaginable perfect-gift. I may have been wrong, but I still adore the end product, so, you shall see many similar ones in the coming months.

While working on (and musing over) this piece of knittery, I imagined my friend in the snow-capped Swiss Alps, freely jumping off airplanes (with a parachute strapped to her back, OF COURSE) and sketching abstractions down majestic slopes with the use of her snowboard and maybe even sky surfing?! Because of its accessible palette, the scarf can also be the focus of an everyday look, thus, making it more playful and eye-catching. I hope this scarf/shawl will be a reliable companion throughout winter, regardless of whether she's in the Alpine wilderness or in the frigid concrete jungle.

This is an example of what her snow attire might look like:

Alpine Holiday by Andreea7 featuring plaid hats

Storm-Romance-Starstruck-Rasssssberries!

2010-07-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last wrote, so I decided to check in and give a detailed account of the past months. And a rich account it shall be, as I believe I have finally reached that sublime combination of anxiety, curiosity and alertness required to be active and enterprising. I believe my ennui was at last crushed by water--both inside and out. To be exact: about two months ago I began hydrating properly, which proved beneficial for my intellectual work; at about the same time, the weather changed. Thus, June was a particularly stormy, cold month. This brought much misfortune and misery to many, but for me, it translated into a static-like background noise, which was what I needed most.

Also, because of the abundant rains, my yard's greenery (be it weeds or pretty flowers) is sprawling, making for a nice, cozy Secret Garden kind of atmosphere.

The uprooted, British atmospheric conditions allowed my mind to stay in one place and wander at the same time. You may ask yourselves: what does all this have to do with a knitting blog? Nevertheless, it does.

As you may observe, it has created the proper environment for me to finish my previous engagements and submerge myself into new ones. This is where the knitting, painting and general state of creation comes in: I decided to open an Etsy shop where I will sell various objects-- from toys to knitwear, from planter boxes to brooches and pins. I have neither certainties, nor expectations as to its success, but I do take comfort in the fact that there was no paperwork required and only a minimal investment.

For the time being, I'm working my way around finding the best themes, materials and means of delivery and payment. While doing so, I've had the pleasure of creating belated-belated gifts for my friends. (They shall be presented in future posts) All I'll say is that I have been knitting a starry Norwegian (American?!) shawl for a dear, dear friend and a pair of baby booties for a lovely new mother.

On a more personal note (as this post seems to be revolving around myself) I am glad (and a bit ashamed) to announce, that I have finally managed to read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (which for some reason, I started a thousand times, but never managed to finish). I also saw two cinematic adaptations and I am now ready to agree with my friend, M that the Colin Firth version is the superior one. In just 48 hours I have dealt with more Pride and Prejudice-related information than in my entire existence, altogether. (Note here, how well the reading of a British romance goes with the British weather.)

Ultimately, on the culinary front, I managed to bake something season-appropriate: a Raspberry Cream Pie, which despite my care and attention, ended up being a soggy, over-sweetened, pleasant-looking failure.

Electric Neckwarmer

2010-03-29T06:10:00.000-07:00

At some point during the snowy month of January I decided I wanted to knit something fun and easy that would involve a new pattern and that would give me (almost) instant gratification. (I was kind of low on motivation --then again, when am I not?)
I had recently found Heidi and Anna's Pickles so I decided to browse through their amazingly cozy creations and choose one. (The two Norwegian beauties generously offer free patterns for most of their handiwork.) Here's the pattern that caught my eye (and both hands for a couple of days.) I picked a completely zany color combination, some soft wool et voilà:

I ♥ my camera

2010-03-29T03:21:00.000-07:00

Yes! Finally. My camera is back. Here's the photographic journal of the last couple of months.

P.S. More to come.
P.P.S. Yay for spring!
P.P.P.S. Writing my B.A. thesis so maybe I don't really mean the P.S.

Hooded Baby Blanket & Booties

2010-02-23T05:58:00.000-08:00

Here are the aforementioned photos:

Newborn Blanket Turned Mom Blanket

2009-10-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

Remember that baby blanket I was working on? Well..cross out "baby" and insert "mom" because this piece of knittery has recently changed its receiver. First of all, the finished product is big enough to almost cover a queen-sized bed. Secondly, my mom really, really liked this blanket. She recently underwent surgery and she also had a birthday, so I decided that this would be the perfect gift for her. Thirdly, Maya's mom is sick of all the pastely, rosy-pinky-whitey garments she has been receiving. In conclusion: I made a new, two-toned, hooded blanket for Maya. You can find the pattern here.
I'm quite happy with the result (and hopefully, you'll get to see it soon enough). I used an icy-blue yarn as the main material and a petrol-blue yarn for the margins. My only twists to the original design were that: 1. I used garter stitch for the margins because I was a bit scared that a ribbed pattern might not hold the piece together properly, resulting in the edges being permanently curled up. 2. I did not seam the hood to the rest of the blanket as I'm not very confident in my hand-sewing technique. I decided that I'd rather bind off the two pieces together and it came out beautifully.
Also, I made her a pair of these Saartje Baby Booties in purple and icy-blue.

O's Purple Lacy Scarf

2009-09-13T13:14:00.000-07:00

My friend O's been asking for a purple scarf for quite a while now. And, since my knit-o-sophy is: "ask for it in the summer, get it by winter (and vice versa)" O's about to get scarfed.

The first thing I decided was that I wanted a more intricate pattern and a more delicate overall appearance. I chose this lacy pattern because it goes well with her personality and her wardrobe. Unfortunately, my choice of color and material were severely limited by my lovely town's lack of profile shops. (My reluctance to leave town did not help, either.) So, it is what it is: a pretty bright shade of purple + a lovely pattern + an artificial, yet pleasantly soft yarn. Now that it's all done (and because I'm dealing with lace) I'm having a hard time deciding whether to block it or not. It might prove useless (since acrylic does not have a memory, like wool and cotton). On the other hand, if I block it, the scarf will look quite amazing when O receives it and that should be enough (...kind of). For now, enjoy the pictures of this unblocked piece of knittery.

Edit:
I had to give O the scarf sooner than expected, so I had no time to block it. However, I figured that for this particular scarf, a light ironing after every wash should do the trick. If not, machine-washing the garment and allowing it to dry on a flat surface is the only alternative I could find. Hopefully, O will try at least one of these and let me know how things worked out for her.

Here's a taste of O's fashion personality:

Another Sunny Day (For Oli) by Andreea7 featuring a silk shawl

Maya's Baby Blanket

2009-08-28T13:13:00.001-07:00

Here's what Maya's blanket looks like so far.

Pastel Blankie

2009-08-23T12:52:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, one of my best friends became an auntie and I decided to create a special gift for her little niece, Maya. I really wanted to make something using the entrelac pattern (previously used for the Danica scarf) because I really enjoyed it and I could use the practice. Then again, I also really wanted to make a quilt. So, I decide to combine the two and make a two-sided pastel blankie. I realized that this was going to take me a while, but I thought my idea was too pretty not to try out. Right now, I am halfway through the entrelac part which is good news. However, things will be more difficult when I attempt to make a quilt and assemble the two distinct parts together. Fortunately, I found quite a collection of flowery, pastel fabrics in my granny's closet and that will make my job a whole lot easier.
Basically, the blanket will have two sides-- the fuzzy and snugly mohair entrelac-patterned one on the outside and the natural, neuter and calming cotton quilt on the inside. This is what the entrelac side will look like. And ideally this is what the quilt side will look like. I will post pictures as soon as I can get my hands on a camera.

Christmas Scarf Picture: Taken in May and Posted in August

2009-08-23T12:13:00.001-07:00

...cose that's how I roll. Time is way too much of a concept and too little of a reality to me. So, without further ado-- here's Mic's scarf. As mentioned before, the pattern is quite simplistic, on the one hand because I didn't want to complicate things and make it tacky, on the other hand because it was one of my first projects and I didn't dare aim too high. However, it is totally comfy and quite warm so I hope Mic&Half will be sharing it peacefully this winter.

Christmas Scarf for Mic

2009-05-01T02:55:00.000-07:00

IT is a truth universally acknowledged, that a Christmas fanatic in possession of a good pair of antlers must be in want of a..matching scarf.
It may sound like a trifle, but finding a good Christmas-themed scarf pattern proved to be quite a challenge. Despite my geeky googles, I didn't find a jolly-enough one that could be worn in public without mortifying Mic, so I decided to create one.
Firstly, I had to set some boundaries:
1. thou shall create no Mark Darcies
2. thou shall not hint at any landmark Super Bowl events
3. thou shall not bedazzle or pom-pom

This being said, I realized that my only option was to make a truly simple, totally wearable, yet somewhat quirky scarf. I am acutely aware of Mic's love of colors, yet, I'd rather have her adorn this basic, bi-dye scarf with the use of badges, brooches, magnetic pins, etc according to her mood (yep, just pull a Madeleine Albright , dear one) than to impose my own Christmasy fantasies upon her.
(pictures coming soon)

here's my take on Mic's Christmas style:

Merry Christmas by Andreea7 featuring a crochet shawl

Danica Scarf (work completed)

2009-05-01T01:20:00.000-07:00

The Danica scarf was completed after a two-month break, so I decided to go ahead and give it to its intended receiver. The minute I saw this scarf on yarnboy's blog I thought it would make a nice gift for a very dear friend of mine. I knitted with him in mind, so giving it to anyone else (as I previously considered) wouldn't have been as rewarding or fair.
Not to mention the obvious similarities between the human and the tormented yarn. The colors are muted, yet distinctively pleasing to the eye. They have a pearly touch and can bear no conventional, clear-cut definition. The scarf is patterned; it has a logic; it clearly respects a set of instructions, yet every now and then it'll "surprise you, arms filled with lavender" (yeah, I mean the occassional purple patches). It can be a tricky and even hard-to-figure-out piece of knittery, but once you understand its logic and agree to its conventions it can become a second nature. One can go on knitting this scarf for a very long period of time without getting bored as it is both challenging and easy at the same time.
(pictures coming soon)

for now, here's how I perceive the scarf's new habitat and its new owner:

Why does it always rain on me? by Andreea7 featuring a cashmere v neck cardigan

Danica Scarf (work in progress)

2009-02-22T15:36:00.001-08:00

The Danica scarf is the invention of Jesse Loesberg aka Yarn Boy
I am merely reproducing his work. I just loooove this pattern and the colors.
Hopefully I will find the right person for this scarf. It had an intended receiver, but I am not quite sure this person will like the colors.

to be continued......

Peony Legwarmers

2009-02-22T14:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday evening:

This morning:

Conclusion:

I am a sleepknitter ^_^

Epilogue:

I shall call them peony legwarmers and they shall be mine and I shall take good care of them. tam-tam

Almost Rosey

2009-01-30T14:58:00.001-08:00

Pink&White Bag

Materials: Mohair, Cotton, Wool & Satin blend for lining and strap

Dimensions: 35 x 30 cm (14 x 12 in)

This is the first knitting project that I actually managed to finish (yippie!). The bag was created for a friend who likes to wear white linen dresses in the summer; a friend who masterfully combines colorful thrift shop clothing/accessories with everyday classics such as jeans and hoodies.
I can imagine Lexi on the Alte Mainbrücke (thanks Wikipedia) next to her bike, wearing a white dress and a purpule hoodie and of course, her new bag, eating an apple and reading The History of Love (thanks Shelfari) and acting blissfully innocent while being photographed by her adorable boyfriend, Christian (please send picture.)
These are Lexi and Christian as I see them:

fur lexi und christian (and all their romantic seasons) by Andreea7 featuring leaf earrings

This is how it works...

2009-01-30T14:24:00.000-08:00

It all begins with a ball of yarn. And the ball keeps on rolling and rolling. And sometimes it just rolls downhill without purpose, like dry tumbleweed propelled by gusts of firey wind across dusty plains. And sometimes, if the ball happens to fall in the hands of a meticulous crafts(wo)man it begins to shape up and lose its capacity to roll. It then tends to stic-k/h, to have roots and to stir feelings inside the hearts of its receivers. And that's what it's all about.

Germinating

2009-01-06T09:38:00.000-08:00

Hello and welcome to Seed of Life Design!

This blog is mainly dedicated to knitting, but every now and then I might post other things that I like/create, such as sketches, drawings, quilts, flowers, foods.