Where The Heck Did I Go!?

In the past I've tried to blog frequently. And as you can see I failed at that here. But the good news is I really do post about every day now on my new blog Little Lambs and you can find all kinds of pictures and info about my shenanigans on my newest facebook fan page - The Fishfacetastic Adventures of Marinara. And my Om Nom Nom Studios Twitter account is still up and Tweeting!

Won't you join me?

Om Nom Nom Studios First Contest - An Amigurumi Giveaway!

I can never apologize enough for how infrequently I blog these days. With The Dalek Project, working on items for my Etsy shop, and raising my little sweetheart Baby Nom, I'm pretty busy these days.

On March 30th, Baby Nom will turn 1. I absolutely cannot believe how time flew. Time obviously must be moving at quite an alarming pace for The Boy because just last night he made it clear that he would not mind another Nom child being on the way in the near future :O

This summer, we feel that Baby Nom will be old enough to enjoy the sites that come with a trip to the beach. Plans are underway to make that happen. As a matter of fact they are becoming a bit of a runaway train with more and more family members wanting to join in on the beach fun for Baby Nom and possibly even one of her even newer little cousins, Tarrin.

Months ago on Ravelry I came across the "On The Shore", a down-loadable pattern by Jana of Just Blocked.

This pattern is available in English and German.

This patchwork blanket is featuring one of M.C. Escher´s great tessellations.

The animals are shaped by various stitch patterns (rib pattern, seed stitch, stocking stitch, twice turned ribbing, garter stitch) and short rows. The tortoises, fish and ducks are completely charted out. So you need to be familiar with reading from a chart to work this blanket. The techniques used are explained in a detailed illustrated appendix. So don´t you worry. This pattern might look complicated, but it really is not. And each step is explained in the tutorials. This includes the seams and cutting/steeking.

Please note: The yardage given above applies to each of the colours. So you will need a total of 12 skeins (= 3871 yds or 3540 m).

Btw - gauge is not crucial. You might even decide to use worsted weight yarn or any yarn of your choice.

After working the animals separately they are then sewn together and the edges are cut to produce straight edges. There is this miracle about this tessellation that there still won´t be any bodyparts of the animals wasted. Instead you will find that both sides as well as bottom and top can be joined to a tube. That tube will be cut length-wise, and voilà, the blanket is perfectly rectangular!

When I saw it I immediately thought it would be a great keepsake gift for my little girls first trip to the beach (most likely to be used for the car ride, as a play mat while we are there, and for chilly beach evenings).

Although I love the look of the original blanket, I'd rather Baby Noms be a different color scheme. With as much as I have going on and the general haze that has settled over my brain meat, I have been having a dickens of a time - YES A DICKENS! Trying to figure out the perfect color scheme. Here's where you come in.

Basically whoever comes up with the color scheme I like best, will win this amigurumi from me.



Extra credit will be given to anyone who not only comes up with a beautiful color scheme but also provides me with
1) An affordable yarn brand containing colors from the scheme
2) A yarn brand AND color names for the colors in their color scheme.
3) Links to where I can buy said yarn at the cheapest online rates.

"Rules"
1) Acrylics are okay, natural fibers preferred. No brands that can be purchased at places like Wal Mart, Micheal's, or Hobby Lobby fall under the category of yarns that I'd consider
2) Variegated yarns and color shifting yarns are totally acceptable for this project
3) Yarn weight must be no smaller than sport weight (5 ply) yarn
4) If you suggest a yarn I appreciate it having a yardage of at least 150 yds. so that I can cut down on having to buy 100+ skeins of yarn
5) Yarn MUST MUST MUSH be machine washable!!!!!!!!!!

I was already considering using yarns from Knit Picks (quite possibly from the Brava collection) but am completely open to other yarns.

Here is an empty chart for the blanket that you can fill in with your suggested color scheme.



Entries should be sent to OmNomNomStudios@Gmail.com. This contest will close at Midnight, Monday, April 2nd, 2012. More than one entry per person is permitted just please feel confident in each entry to avoid a possible onslaught of entries that were haphazardly thrown together.

I Sell The Dead Moment

Still, I'm hungry enough,


I could eat that corpse over there.


What you got there?


Sandwich.


A what which?


Sandwich.


It's food.


Food.


Two lumps of bread with
something in the middle.


It's genius.


Ah, it's queer.


No, it's all right.


You can put anything inside.


What's in it?


Uh, looks like...


Like?


Looks like it tastes
better than it looks.


How did you afford one?


- I nicked it.
- Arthur.


What?


I'll pay them back when I'm flush.


I fancy a bite.


Give it here.


I'll tell you what.


I'll share it with you for
a few glugs of your whiskey.


Done.


Bloody hell.


You were hungry.


You're not having any of mine.

Free Charts for Tiny Owl Knits Beekeeper's Quilt & The Dalek Project

MONTHS ago a good knitter friend of mine started mentioning "The Beekeeper's Quilt". My response to this was, "I had no idea you quilted!" She never corrected what turned out to be an error. So over the next month or so she'd occasionally mention it and I'd just kind of keep thinking, "Wow, she's unendingly amazing and full of surprises." Eventually I decided to search the pattern name on Ravelry and saw what she was talking about*.

I stared at this picture for the longest time thinking about how completely crazy of a task this seemed to be. It was like a lava lamp, I couldn't stop staring. I decided that it wasn't crazy enough that I've been chipping away at Kerin Dimeler-Laurence's Dogwood Blossoms sweater pattern

and have her Aguona Laptop Bag Pattern in hibernation for a while.

I was going to knit this as well.

And as if that weren't enough mine is Portal themed.


The Beekeeper's Quilt (as you can see) is a knitted quilt that is intended to be made using sock yarn scraps that are knitted into small hexagonal amigurumi puffs, known as "Hexipuffs" or "Hexapuffs". This completely insane project has caught fire within the knitting community so it seemed only natural with all the knitted Daleks I've been releasing this month for The Dalek Project that I make a Dalek Hexipuff.

The first of my hexipuff charts was published this morning on Ravelry so that those who would like to make one of their own could do so.

Within the hour I had a request for a TARDIS puff so I quickly whipped up a chart.

If you're interested in other geek hexipuff charts just contact me and I'll see what I can do for you.

And if you aren't following The Dalek Project on Facebook or Tumblr yet you may want to because the first sale of posted Daleks is fast approaching. In early March you'll have a chance to buy Dalek Project items like these hand-painted, knee-high, Converse All Star sneakers (which I was able to make thanks to some guidance from the very talented Acrylicana).

And the official Dalek girl dress created specifically for The Dalek Project by Sweety Darlin' Designs is already available for order.

And considering that she already created the template to make them, I bet Janine Basil could be convinced to make you your own Dalek Project headband like the ones she also created specifically for the project.


*Even though she isn't doing the sort of quilted I thought she was, she's still unendingly awesome.

The Dalek Project: Extermination Creations (Comming Soon)

Yet again I've taken on a massive endeavor and it's left my blog empty. If you follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or Myspace you may have heard an occasional mention of The Dalek Project. The details of the project have been kept secret in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the project. It would really suck if I spent a lot of time and energy on it only to have it spoiled because I spilled the beans to the wrong person or just too soon.

If you're a fan of Doctor Who or a downright Wholligan you can follow the project on Twitter, Facebook, and through the site where the majority of posts will be made - Tumblr. The details of the project will be released within the next two weeks and posted on Tumblr.

And in non-Dalek Project related news there have been some semi-regular additions being made to my Etsy store. The most popular of which is these

LizzGlizz-inspired Piranha Plant stud earrings that are made to order.

Pro-Portional Designs Is Offering a Discount Code

Pro-Portional Designs is going to be offering a discount code for a trial period beginning today and ending on December 31st, 2011 at 11:59 PM.

How can you get in on the savings from my store you ask?

With every new referral (meaning each sale must be a new person) that leads to a purchase you will receive 5% off of your next purchase from Pro-Portional Designs. Each coupon will be created specifically for you and is good for a one time use by you. Your coupon code is non-transferable and not to be shared.

To receive your coupon code just have your newly referred customer fill in your name, email address, and Etsy user ID in the notes section at time of purchase and I will e-mail you your discount code. But remember they have to buy in order for you to save.

But wait - there's more.

You can combine your unused discounts to get a one time use coupon code for up to 25% off of your next purchase.

Don't have any money?

Refer 10 friends to my Facebook Fanpage between today and November 12th, 2011 at 11:59 PM, with the instructions to "like" it and *e-mail me letting me know who referred them and you will receive a 5% off coupon. The discount received from referring people to the fan page is a one time offer and will not be one that can be combined like the promotion above.

I can be contacted for this promotion through Etsy contact or via OmNomNomStudios@Gmail.com

Coupons from these promos are good until February 15th, 2012 and do not apply to custom orders.

The Jarring Reality About Canning

The end of summer has left us with the last few state and county fairs there will be until next year and with the cool, football season air settling in on us most mornings, it seems more and more people I know have been scrambling to can. Most of these people are new to canning. As much as I support embarking upon new foodie pursuits I think that canning is one that too many people may have the wrong idea about.

The process of canning involves a lot more than just placing the foods you wish to last you through the winter season in a jar. Proper canning involves important factors like the application of heat, vacuum sealing, sterilization, and pasteurization. Improper canning has historically led to fatal tragedies by those who meant well or assumed they had all of the facts that they did not.

The purpose of canning is to preserve food by packing it in a jar to be immersed into a waterbath or a pressure canner where it will then be heated for a certain amount of time to a certain temperature.

When canning it is important to remember that it is not only important for you to have quality ingredients if you want the end result to be a quality project but to insure the quality of your canning supplies particularly your jars. Inferior quality or second hand jars nearly assure that you will find yourself without a good vacuum seal.

Canning jars differ from random jars because they are not only designed to hold food but they are made of thicker glass to stand up to the heat from waterbath or pressure canning. Once you've procured jars appropriate for canning you would still do best to check them for flaws of any sort or all of your hard work will be for naught.

As I'm sure it has already occurred to you the application of heat to your canned goods cooks the contents. During the heating the air is pushed out of the jar, creating the necessary vacuum seal.

The ins and outs of canning are many but if you're truly interested in it there are many books and even blogs out there dedicated to the subject.

The most common mistake I've been seeing this season is the absence of added acid to canned tomato products. The basis of this mistake is the assumption that because tomatoes are a high acid fruit they're ready to can immediately following your doing whatever it is you wanted to them. A jar of tomatoes or salsa does not contain the needed amount of acidity to prevent the bacteria that causes botulism to grow in your jar.

If you're interested in canning please do a bit of reading first and be sure to use an already tested recipe rather than assuming you know best. You can always play with the recipe once you know what you're doing.

A rose by any other name is no longer a rose. Just because it's in a jar does not mean it has been properly canned.