Jackie E-S is the owner of HeartStrings FiberArts, a showcase for her growing roster of original pattern designs. As a certified master knitter and teacher, Jackie continues to share her love of knitting and knowledge through design and publication of skill-building pattern instructions, and conducting workshops, programs and demonstrations. Her interest in the fiber arts extends beyond knitting and spinning to include weaving, dyeing and all needle arts. She also enjoys contract bridge and music.
I over-indulged a bit for the holidays and the scale is starting to complain. What else is new? LOL
Besides my resolutions to exercise, I know that keeping my hands busy with knitting can help. What do you do to keep in shape after the holidays?
One thing to keep your hands off food is the offer at the HeartStrings Downloadable Patterns Store at Ravelry for some no-calorie eye candy and 10% off any of these candy-themed sock patterns. Enter Coupon Code SWEETS at Ravelry check-out. Valid through January 31, 2012 and only at Ravelry.
Peppermint Sticks – the first in my series inspired by my hubby’s suggestion for a peppermint twist
Peppermint Sticks 2 – starts with a neat sideways knitted cuff that includes a “peppermint twist”
Please feel free to share this coupon wherever you hang out with knitters: on Ravelry, on Facebook, Tweet it, with your knitting groups, etc. I appreciate you introducing your friends to HeartStrings and spreading the word.
Although I have done several blog posts in the last year around the theme of “Meatless Doesn’t Have to be Tasteless”, I don’t want you to leave you with the impression that I have anything against meat — I don’t. I just wanted share with you some of my findings for ways that one can have tasty dishes without meat.
I still do enjoy occasional meat dishes, though. And for tailgating, whether it is for upcoming play-off football games or Mardi Gras parades, chicken Hot Wings are a tasty and welcome treat for everyone.
Tail gating for a Mardi Gras parade - my man-friend John (left) and son Tommy (right)
You can refer to a recipe I tried here at the Weber Grill site while I take you on a photo tour of the cooking steps.
The spices and minced chipotle peppers in adobe sauce to mix to make the paste:
The ingredients for the marinade paste
Waste not – Want not. These are the wing joint tips that I cut off and have started to cook for a chicken broth I will use as soup base later in the week.
Don't throw away the tips of the chicken wings! Cook them to make broth for another time.
The paste is smeared onto the remaining wing joints and left to marinate in the frig for a while.
Marinating the wing joints
The wing pieces are set onto the grill to be cooked. (lighting is obviously different between indoors and later at night outdoors under the patio lighting). I realized after putting these onto the grill that I had overlooked the part in the recipe about wiping off the extra paste before putting onto the grill. Oh well … and I even scraped out the extra remnants of paste from the bowl and had spread it on the piece parts because I thought all that good paste should not be wasted. ha! ha! So, extra hot can’t be bad, right?
Starting to grill the Hot Wings
Here are the wings after cooking ’til nearly done, then tossed into the hot sauce, then put on grill again. One thing to remember … after tossing the nearly cooked wings in the bowl with the hot sauce, DO NOT just dump the bowl to save time in getting the chicken quickly onto the grill again. The oil in the hot sauce mixture flared up and I thought I was going to have burned hair on my head!! Fortunately, I guess my reflexes were good enough, or maybe just some good angel was watching over me. No singed hair and all is well.
Hot Wings are nearing completion. Don't they look good?!
Finished and ready to eat (lighting is under the kitchen fluorescents again). The recipe included a blue cheese dressing which of course I enjoyed some with the 4 wing joints I taste-tasted (yah, I know I could have just eaten one, but I had to be sure, lol). Obviously I have plenty more left (20 if I am counting correctly) for sharing.
I promised myself that I would get this little Beaded Stress Ball pattern completed by the end of 2011. Well, here we are at the 11th hour! I should have my head examined for creating more stress for myself – ha! ha! I too often forget my own advice to take time to smell the roses. Well, that is what a new year is for, right? New resolutions and a new beginning.
Anyway, I’ve been having fun working up this pattern. And hope you will enjoy reading about it, too. If anything, I hope it brings a smile to your face. And you might even try it out yourself for some well-deserved relaxation in the new year.
The premise is that you can squish and roll this beaded ball around in your hands to provide relaxation and quick relief for stress, aching or stiff finger joints. Tiny pressure points of beads have a meditative quality. My idea for this was inspired by a small flexible bead-woven bowl I bought from a talented friend of mine, Brenda Harms. Not only was it a beautiful little container, but it fit in my hand and felt so good as a massage. That gave me the idea to come up with something bead-knitted that was both beautiful and fun that would function in a similar way for hand therapy.
When designing this beaded ball, I was really dredging up the old brain matter in trying to remember my solid geometry. It’s amazing how you can learn all those formulas in school, and then they just sort of want to vanish when you need them. I wanted the design to be symmetrical, uniformly beaded all over, and of course to look like a ball when completed. And here is the proof!
For those who are wondering what the heck the title for this blog article is about, it is a tradition to “drop” or lower the ball in New York’s Times Square on New Year’s Eve. This is my toast to that. 🙂
Have a happy and prosperous new year! (and don’t forget to Take Time to Smell the Roses)
p.s. Remember that stressed spelled backwards is desserts.
In today’s showcase of “Friends of HeartStrings Gallery”, I am pleased to introduce Vicki Elster and some of the adapted versions of designs she has created based on the HeartStrings #A135 Filigree Lace Ensembles pattern.
Last week, Vicki emailed several photos along with the introductory message of “Just thought you’d like to see how some of your patterns are enjoyed. I love your filigree lace patterns.” Of course, I thanked her for sending the photos and the kind compliments. I so much enjoy seeing what others are knitting with HeartStrings patterns! With her permission I am excited to share glimpses of her creations here for all my Jackie E-S Blog readers.
Vicki went on to say, ” I wanted to send you pictures of what I’ve made with your patterns. I tweaked the wrist warmers for myself (lime green), below, and also made the neck warmer go further out on my shoulders to fit under a boat neck sweater like a dickey.”
“And I’ve now completed two other sets of the wrist warmers for gifts. They came out lovely. One friend wanted hers similar to mine, but without the ruffle. Thanks for a great pattern.”
In ‘talking’ further to Vicki, I found out we had even more in common … “I first knew you from the KnitDesign yahoo group (I am dipping my toe into making up patterns and selling them, but just starting!) and then a friend bought this filigree pattern and I fell in love with it. I bought it, and have been enchanted by the wrist warmers. Made several for friends. Your patterns are very easy to do, and your writing of them is great! Several friends have been inspired and I’ve told them where to buy your pattern.I would be honored if you use me/my project photos. I’ll tell you what yarns I’ve used: the lime green is Shepherd’s Wool fingering from Stonehedge Fiber Mill. The darker green variegated is Melody from JoJoLand Yarns. The purple variegated is Serenity Garden Yarn, a Deborah Norville collection by Premier Yarns.Thanks, Vicki Elster”
Enjoy the no-calorie eye candy, thanks to Vicki. What could be better to offset the splurging I have done (and maybe you, too?) for the holidays. Interestingly, Vicki’s iPhone signature includes this cute saying: “If knitting were exercise, I would be sooo fit!.” Hee – hee. Tell me about it, lol.
p.s. Do you have photos and a story about HeartStrings patterns you’ve knitted? Email me and maybe you can be featured in the next “Friends of HeartStrings Gallery”.
Working a puzzle on Christmas day was a tradition in my family. Now my parents have passed away and my sisters and I are all in different places. A simple online puzzle is not really the same, but it just seemed in keeping with the spirit of the day to put one up at my blog here.
So, to all of you my faithful readers and friends, today I am especially wishing you and your family an old-fashioned Christmas day … however near or far you are in distance … may your hearts be close in warmth and love.
Related Images:
Behind the scenes with Jackie E-S and life at the HeartStrings FiberArts studio.
