Convertible Weekend 3-in-1 Shrug Knitting Pattern

Funny; I'm a lazy knitter. I've knitted a hoodie before (ok, so it was a hooded vest)! You'd think that would stop making me so lazy and get me started on some big project, like an afghan or something. But nope. I think making that sweater last year gave me an excuse to say, Ok, I've finished my mission to do a sweater. Now I can tell people I've actually knitted one! But yesterday I told myself, "I'm going to make myself a shrug! It's not even as big as a sweater!" But once I cast on those 48 stitches on size 10 needles, I didn't even finish 3 inches before unraveling. Again I thought of my vest last year. I had cast on, like, 54 stitches maybe? And here I couldn't even cast on 48. So I just grabbed some us 19 needles and started. Only 36 stitches? Oh, yes please. This is the lazy shrug. And it's convertible! It can be a shrug, a scarf, or a cowl. Oh, how beautiful.

Materials: US 19 needles, worsted weight yarn (I used some leftover Caron One Pound. Yardage is maybe 200 yds? 300? Maybe less. Just experiment.), tape measure, scissors, darning needle.

Level: beginner

CO 36 sts. Knit every row in garter stitch till it's about 36-40." Depends how long you want it to be; short sleeve, long sleeve, 3/4 sleeve... doesn't matter. Now bind off.

Take the finished length of the piece (mine was 35") and subtract 22." Now take your new number (35 - 22= 23) and divide by 2 (23 divided by 2 is 11.5). This number is x. Now fold your piece in half lengthwise and sew both edges towards the middle, leaving a 22" gap between the sewn sections for the armholes. So now insert your arms, and the edge of the shrug should drape against your neck. Done! Or if you want a cowl, place the whole tube on your neck. Or tie it around for a scarf! You could also just sew the whole tube closed for a cowl/scarf.

My sister and I did a whole photo shoot. Those are her glasses, by the way, from Nordstroms for $10. Of course she had to post a dorky pic of me buried under a mound of blankets, hiding from the camera, saying 'my sister is so cool.'

Oh, and do you recognize the blue/black shirt? It's my slouchy raglan (tutorial here) with a black and gray shirt underneath.

Magic Bars! (and mango Hello Kitty pudding)

Tonight we made 2 trays of magic bars! Yummy... Full of chocolatey and butterscotchy goodness. One tray has coconut, the other nada. Who needs coconut, anyway? Not I.On the subject of food, my Auntie M. gave me some mango pudding in the shape of Hello Kitty. My dad told me to eat her mouth off first so she wouldn't scream... I felt bad eating her after that, and it hurt, but hey, you do what you gotta do.

Here's the recipe for these Amazing Magic Bars. You can find the basic recipe anywhere; this is the one that we use with modifications. You can do a basic search on google for the original recipe. I didn't make this up of course, we have this little tiny booklet with recipes.

Ingredients:

2 cups choco chips (we use 1 c of choco, 1 c of butterscotch)

1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 oz)

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted (1 stick)
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut

Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat 13 x 9 inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray. Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into bottom of prepared pan.

Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over crumb mixture.

Mmmm... look at those silky sweet ribbons... try and get a lick from the can. If your mom's like mine, she'll catch you and will take away the can.

Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut, and butterscotch chips . Press down firmly with a fork.

Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Cool. Cut into bars. Store covered at room temperature.

Dig in.

Meh

Not much action going on around here. None of my projects are turning out. What's up with you?

School's Out!!!

Things I want/am to/going to do over the summer:

1. Disneyland!

O O

(o^__^o) (yup that's supposed to be mickey mouse)

2. SEW!!!

3. knit

4. Go outside and lay down on top of our broken fence that's just lying there in both my and our neighbor's yard and pretend I'm in the middle of a shipwreck (the fence fell down from wind/rain and no one's bothered to fix it and attach it to the rest of the fence).

5. waste my time

6. write on this blog

7. write my story

8. have a movie marathon and an indoor picnic

Truthfully the real reason why I started this blog was because I'm planning to make my own graduation dress. I kind of imagined that by 2012 I'd have a bunch of followers that will comment on my amazing dresses and tutorials. I realize now that's not exactly how it goes and it's a lot harder than that. Thank you all of my amazing followers and the people who read my blog. I'd probably have stopped writing if it wasn't for you guys. [wipes off tears trickling down face] Thank you.

Random Q and A

A reader's comment:

Q: Are you one of her relatives? --Anonymous on the post 'Jmorco.'

Um... erm... should I be flattered that you think we either look alike or have the same sewing abilities (don't I wish)? Or does that mean you're implying that all asians (i'm assuming she's asian. i don't know what kind of last name 'morco' is. sorry if i've got it wrong!) look alike? No clue.

A: Yeah, um, don't know if you're being nice or what, but, haha, no. If she were my relative, I'd be asking her to make me free clothes and stuff. But she does live in SF like me, so you never know... Maybe some distant, long-lost relative? I can only hope.

Stay Tuned...

Davis, CA

Yay I'm back! Over the weekend I went to Davis for my sister's soccer tournament. My coach didn't take our team because we didn't have enough players, but I got a t-shirt anyway because there were too many. We went to BJ's and I got two mini burgers, garlic cheese bread, and root beer. After, we went to Fenton's, and I got a lemon lite ice cream (ah, lemon ice cream is the best). My sister got a huge sundae; my mommy and daddy a coffee milkshake. I expected it to be really hot, but it was more gray and drizzly. Perfect weather to take off my (un-needed) flip-flops and play around with a soccer ball in the wet grass. Davis has now inspired me to want to ride a bike. I mean, I can, I just don't really like to. Overall, it was pretty cool there. In more ways then one.