Saturday, April 30, 2011
Pizza Pizza
This past Thursday was Dining Out for Life day, I blogged about this event earlier, but basically it's a day when restaurants across the country donate a percentage of their profits to and AIDS service organization. It's a great event and my husband and I were more than happy to eat yummy vegan food for a great cause! We had lunch at Pizza Luce, we shared a bbq pizza and a chocolate peanut butter bar:
Sorry the pics are a little shempy, they were taken on a cell phone, but the food was delicious. And best of all, Pizza Luce raised $12,990 for the Aliveness Project!
Did any of you guys participate in Dining Out for Life?
-kala
Friday, April 29, 2011
Vitamin D
Here's the front:
Nice, right? I'm always looking for nice cardis to wear over tanks and dresses and this looks like a great candidate. And even better, the designer is donating 100% of the proceeds from her pattern sales through the end of May to the Red Cross for Japan disaster relief, gotta love that! So if you think you might want to knit this super cute sweater, make sure you buy the pattern before the end of May, even if you knit it later than that.
I'm not sure what yarn I'll be using, it calls for sport weight which I haven't used much of. I think a blog post all about vegan sport weight yarns might be in order!
-kala
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Zip It!
Ice Cream Social Zippered Pouch:
Bike Ride Zippered Pouch:
These guys are really fun to make and they're super useful, I use one all the time for all of my knitting tools (scissors, tape measure, stitch markers....)
Which one do you like?
-kala
Monday, April 25, 2011
Lightlife Giveaway Winner
Thanks everyone for entering and extra thanks to Lightlife for providing such a great prize!
-kala
Sunday, April 24, 2011
A Very Happy Easter!
We ended up with lemon macadamia nut cupcakes, macaroons, chocolate peanut butter eggs, a peanut butter cookie and some super amazing orange creamsicle and root beer float cupcakes! Yeah, it's a lot but it's for an awesome cause!
Since the weather was fantastic today, we had a bit of a picnic at the park. Pizza, hummus, what more could you want?
I of course took the opportunity to knit a bit on my sock:
Here's us being cute:
Ok, I better go get dressed for our run, I suppose it's a good idea after all those baked goods!
-kala
Friday, April 22, 2011
Lace Knitting: An Exercise in Faith
It doesn't look like much yet, but I have to keep reminding myself that it's going to be gorgeous when it's done and blocked! Blocking, for you non-knitters out there, is basically when you finish a project, wet it, pin it out to dry, and stretch out the lace so when it's dry it's nice and open and pretty.
Speaking of blocking, this pattern recommends using blocking wires. I've never used them before, have any of you guys used them? Are they something I need to invest in?
-kala
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Lightlife Review: Vegan Smoky Tempeh Strips
In my last post, I mentioned that Lightlife sent me some free samples of their products to give a try and review here on my blog. The first thing I dug into was their vegan Smoky Tempeh Strips, or Fakin' Bacon. I have to tell you, I was a bit wary of this product because I think bacon is disgusting. I know a lot of omnis have a bit of a bacon obsession but I've always thought that everything about it is vile - the smell, the taste, ewww!
That being said, I really liked Lightlife's Smoky Tempeh Strips! It didn't remind me of bacon (which is a really good thing) and it had a nice smoky flavor without being overpowering. I had mine in a sandwich:
It's pretty much a package of marinated tempeh, which is perfect for quick dinners or lunches, especially in the summer. I'd definitely buy some of these strips and do some sammy experiments with it. The husband liked them too, and he shares my bacon opinions :)
Have you tried this stuff yet?
p.s - be sure to enter my Lightlife giveaway!
-kala
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Lightlife Cooking Giveaway! - Closed
Today I have a really cool giveaway for you guys, courtesy of Lightlife! I'm a big fan of Lightlife, so when they offered to sponsor a giveaway here on my blog I was super excited! Lightlife is a food company that makes all kinds of vegan and vegetarian food. They also sent me some yummy goodies to review, so keep an eye out for those reviews soon. Check out this awesome prize bag:
One lucky winner will receive a gift bag that includes a chopping board, a bamboo serving set, spices, and some coupons for Lightlife products! Cool, right? There are four possible entries, please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure I have a way to contact you if you win.
1. Visit Lightlife and leave a comment here letting me know which product looks the most tempting.
2. "Like" Lightlife and Vegancraftastic on Facebook.
3. Follow Lightlife and Vegancraftastic on Twitter.
4. Tweet, post on Facebook, or blog about this giveaway. It's easy to tweet about this giveaway, just click the tweet button at the bottom of this post!
Giveaway is open to US residents and ends on Tuesday, April 26th. One winner will be chosen by random number generator. Good luck!
-kala
Monday, April 18, 2011
Lucky Socks!
-kala
Kristin Noel Winner!
And the winner of the super cute earrings from Kristin Noel Designs is.......Callie!
Thanks everyone for entering and extra thanks to Kristin Noel for providing such a great prize!
-kala
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Spring Sewing Inspiration - Fashion
Ceylon from Colette Patterns. This vintage inspired dress is amazing, the detail on the top is super adorable!
Simplicity 2178 Cynthia Rowley Collection. I love the shoulder detail on this dress, it adds a bit of fun and interest to an otherwise simple piece.
Simplicity 2250 Cynthia Rowley Collection. Yup, another Cynthia Rowley and I love it! The detail on the top of the dress is really cute, I even love the fabric they used for the sample, the stripes work really well with the design.
Which one is your fave?
-kala
Friday, April 15, 2011
On the Needles
Maybe it's the weather - when it starts to warm up, sock knitting definitely becomes more appealing! When it's hot out, having a big sweater in progress on your lap just doesn't sound fun :)
I feel like a dork, but I'm knitting another pair of Sweetie Pie Socks, which are my own design. It might be dorky, but these socks are cute and fit me really well! It's a free pattern on Ravelry if you want to knit a pair too. I'm using stash yarn, some purple Panda Cotton that I've had for a while, yay for healthy yarn stashes :)
What are you guys knitting/crafting?
-kala
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Dining Out For Life
When I read about the Dining Out For Life project on My Little Artichoke's Blog, I knew I had to blog about it. I had heard about it before, mostly from billboards with Sven Sundgaard's smiling face on them, he's even on the cover of the new issue of Lavender to promote Dining Out For Life. Anyway, Dining Out For Life is an annual fundraiser for various AIDS service organizations, in Minnesota the money raised goes to The Aliveness Project.
Basically, participating restaurants on Thursday April 28th will donate a percentage of their proceeds to a local AIDS service group. Last year in the Twin Cities, $161,000 was raised, not bad! Here's a link to all of the Twin Cities (and Duluth) restaurants that are participating in this awesome project. Some of my favorite restaurants that are participating are Everest on Grand, all Pizza Luce locations, Anodyne, Falafel King, Ecopolitan, and Galactic Pizza.
So, if you can, please eat out on April 28th at a participating restaurant and be part of a great cause!
-kala
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Gluten Free Vegan Daikon Fettucine
This is actually the second time we've made this, the first time was soon after we saw it made on the Martha Stewart show. I think this dish is amazing and delicious, my husband just thinks it's ok :) I don't eat a gluten free diet, but it's always nice to have something light and fresh for dinner, especially now that it's warming up outside! On that same note, we just ordered a spiral cutter so we can finally made zucchini noodles like they serve at Ecopolitan!
-kala
Monday, April 11, 2011
Feature and Giveaway: Kristin Noel Designs - Closed
Giveaway is now closed, thanks everyone for entering!
Today's feature and giveaway comes to us from Kristin of Kristin Noel Designs on Etsy. Kristin is generously offering a pair of gorgeous amethyst and gold hoop earrings to one lucky winner, so be sure to read to the end of the post to find out how to win. Ok, let's get to know Kristin and her shop:
1. How long have you been making jewelry and what inspired you to start?
I have been making jewelry for about 3 years now. It all started in when I was living in Hawaii and I needed a new hobby. All of my metals are eco-friendly, reclaimed scrap. My newest pieces use repurposed vintage and antique chains, keys, buttons, and charms.
This was all I did when I first got started. My boyfriend, David, and I would stay up until 2am because we had so many ideas and were having so much fun creating. As the business has evolved, the time to create has become few and far between due to keeping up with the daily responsibilities associated with running your own business. I spend a decent part of my day helping with admin tasks for his busy ring shop, Sea Babe Jewelry. Recently, I started writing out a schedule and planning in time to create. One challenge I find is that I always want to make one of a kind pieces. I battle with this and restocking things that have proven to sell. The jewelry world is quite enormous and there are so many different paths you can take with it!
3. Do you have any fun hobbies outside of your shop?
My newest hobby has been "pickin'." Have you seen American Pickers? That's the idea. I live in a place where there are cool antiques and vintage items everywhere! There are some many opportunities and I just love the thrill of the hunt! David and I are up early every weekend scoping out all the estate sales in the area. So much fun! This too has turned into a business venture and we both recently opened up vintage stores on Etsy. Mine is Adorable Vintage and his is Lost Road Vintage.
Ok, ready to win some beautiful earrings? There are four possible entries, only the first is mandatory. Please leave a separate comment for each entry and make sure I have a way to contact you if you win!
1. Visit Kristin Noel Designs and then comment here letting me know your favorite item.
2. Follow this blog.
3. "Like" Kristin Noel and Vegancraftastic on Facebook.
4. Tweet, blog, or post on Facebook about this giveaway. It's easy to tweet this post, just click the tweet button below :)
Giveaway is open until Monday April 18th and is open to both US and International entries. Good luck!
-kala
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Knitty: Spring and Summer 2011
Rivercat Socks by Brenda Patipa. I love the look of these socks and they're knit my favorite way, top down!
Amiga by Mags Kandis. I love this cute little sweater, and I'm always looking for light cardigans to wear over Summer dresses and tanks:
Ornamental by Nuoska. These socks have really cool detailed heels:
So what's grabbing you from the new issue of Knitty?
-kala
Friday, April 08, 2011
A Night Out: The Raveonettes!
Last night I got to scratch another band off my must see bucket list - The Raveonettes! I've loved them for years, but something always prevented me from seeing them live the few times they're rolled into town. I'm gonna go ahead and blame my husband's evil work schedule for that! But the stars alligned this time and the Raveonettes played the Fine Line on a day that my husband had off from work.
The show was awesome, and I got to hear some of my favorite songs which is always good. I think the only thing taking away from the experience was the venue, the Fine Line might be my least favorite place to see a show in the Twin Cities, it's small, the sound system isn't great, and the place is just designed oddly. But even with that, The Raveonettes were made of awesome!
The new album Raven In The Grave
is great, I've been listening to it a ton in my car! If you're new to the band and want to give them a go, I would say pick up either the new album to check out their most current sound, or pick up Chain Gang Of Love
for their classic sound. Chain Gang of Love is one of my all time favorite albums so you really can't go wrong with that one :)-kala
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Vegan Peeps!
With Easter just around the corner, Chicago Soydairy (maker's of Dandy Marshmallows, Teese vegan cheese, and more) has come out with a vegan alternative to Peeps! These little guys are just like the treats of your childhood, marshmallowy goodness covered in a sugary coating. The bag of Tweets we picked up at Whole Foods today was Orange flavored, I liked them and my husband LOVED them! He was a big fan of Peeps in his pregan (pre-vegan) days, so he was super psyched to give these treats a try. Here's a pic of them before they were devoured:
Tweets are also available in lemon flavor and I have a feeling that we'll be trying them very soon :)
-kala
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
You Know You're A Sock Knitter When...
Blue Socks Pin:
Polka Dot Socks Pin:
-kala
Monday, April 04, 2011
Little Coffee Bean Sweater!
My friend Kelaine is collecting handknits for a charity auction to benefit cancer research, so I thought I'd take some time off from evening Etsy work and whip up something cute. I didn't need to knit it in two days, but I thought it would be best to take advantage of the upswing in my knitting mojo.
The pattern is called Little Coffee Bean and was super fun to knit. It's your basic top down raglan, with cute stripes to keep you interested. I used two fantastic vegan yarns for this project, the brown is Cotton Ease in Taupe and the blue is Knit Picks' Simply Cotton Worsted (organic cotton) in Wave Heather, both of which I had in my yarn stash. I was also lucky enough to have these cute orange buttons in my knitting supplies, so I managed to make this cutie with 100% materials I already had on hand, bonus!
-kala
Twig and Leaf Botanicals Winner!
thanks everyone for entering and extra thanks to Twig and Leaf Botanicals for providing such a great prize!
-kala
Saturday, April 02, 2011
A Load of Books and a Bit of Knitting
As you can see, I seem to be incapable of picking up just one or two books at the library, I like variety! Here's what I picked up:
In knitting news, I cast on for a little something last night:
I'll share more about this project when it's done, it's going to be for a charity auction that a friend is gathering hadnknits for :)
-kala
Friday, April 01, 2011
Knitscene: Summer 2011
Strafford Tee by Amy Christoffers:
So what's grabbing you from the new issue of Knitscene?
-kala
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
