Knit Flix: Illusion Knitting

Saw this unique video on Tumblr and decided to share it here. Knitting is truly more than just yarn and needles. It's art.

Enjoy!


Stay Blessed,
Dana

Knitting Resolutions 2012!

Happy New Year everyone! I pray you all will be overflowing with God's many blessings this year.

As for me, I have one simple life resolution and tons of knitting ones. LOL! Honestly, I have a list of visions that I'm expecting God to do for me this year. So listing them as resolutions wouldn't do them justice.

The results from our YouTube 1,000+ subscribers contest has provided me with tons of content ideas for our video tutorials this year. There are new techniques and stitches that I never even thought about that I'm now excited to dive into. The results have also inspired me to take care of some technical things behind the scenes for Knitted Oaks. (Details on this will be in a later post.) In a nutshell, I have my work cut out for me this year and I am truly looking forward to sharing the entire experience with you all. It's because of you all that I'm encouraged to continue to provide you with the best content that I possibly can.

I'm so grateful to God for the many blessings that has been overflowing for the company and I'm super excited that Knitted Oaks is approaching it's 5th year this fall.

My knitting resolutions are a snippet of what you all can look forward to and expect from Knitted Oaks in 2012!

1. Colorwork knitting (i.e. fair isle, intarsia, double knitting)
2. Garment knitting (i.e. sweaters, socks, mittens)
3. Home decor (e.g. pillows)
4. Lace work
5. More stitches and techniques (e.g. brioche and entrelac)
6. More original patterns (by yours truly)!
7. More series (both here on our blog and on YouTube)

Stay Blessed,
Dana

Merry CHRIST-mas and Happy New Year!

Picture via Knitterella

Stay Blessed,
Dana

1,000 Subscribers Giveaway Winners!

A special "thanks" to all who participated in this joyous milestone with Knitted Oaks. We are growing and learning together. We are expecting more greatness in 2012 and look forward to where God is going to lead us to next.

Congratulations to our winners!



Stay Blessed,
Dana

5 Last Minute Holiday Gift Knits!

So, if you have not taken heed to my advice from a much earlier post (Click HERE to see that post) about starting your holiday knits before the leaves begin to fall, this blog post is for you.

Here is our list of suggestions for some last minute holiday knitting. Click on the purple words for patterns:
ONE Felted Lunch Bag. It's quick, unisex, and most importantly, it's durable!

Lion Brand

TWO Felted Bell Ornaments! This is a thoughtful gift that the entire family can enjoy every year.

 

Purl Bee

THREE Pouches! These beauties can be used to hold anything!

Martha Stewart

FOUR Toys! What better way to keep the kids entertained than with a hand knit Frosty the Snowman

Yarnigans

FIVE Chunkier = Quicker and Warmer! So get out those speed stixs and chunky weight yarn and knit to the final hour.

Hopefully, this list will be resourceful for someone.

Are you finished with your holiday knits yet?

Stay Blessed,
Dana

Giveaway on Knitted Oaks TV!

A few days ago, we were blessed enough to reach 1,000 subscribers on YouTube!!! In appreciation, we are doing a giveaway.

Rules:
- Must be a subscriber to our YouTube channel
- Leave a comment in response to the video with a request of what you'd like to see me do on the channel.

That's it!!!

Prizes are described in the video.

Contest ends on December 11, 2011. I'll pick a winner and announce who it is within the following week in another YouTube video.



Stay Blessed,
Dana

November Adventures! (Part 2)

My day at The Chew turned out to be really memorable because I was invited to be a taster and sit at the tasting table on the show. They served about ten of us Fettuccine Alfredo cooked by the renown chef, Mario Batali. Needless-to-say, it was delicious. Click HERE for his recipe.

As noted in my Cooking with CraftDKnits series, I also learned how to make these easy delicious Banana Oats breakfast muffins. Click HERE for that recipe. Also feel free to check out my mini cooking series under the Blog Series tab above for more details on how my rendition of these tasty breakfast treats turned out.

Now, on to the show. Here's how it all went down:

We also learned how to cook a simple tasty treat under 5 minutes using ingredients that all cost under $5. Michael Symon whipped up this turkey cutlet with apples dish and it looked and smelled delicious. This is certainly a great dinner for two recipe and is now on my list of recipes to try out. Click HERE for it.

Stay Blessed,
Dana

November Adventures! (Part 1)

This month, my mom and I signed up and was granted the opportunity to sit in the audience of Martha Stewart's show and The Chew on ABC. We were also close to getting into Rachel Ray show, but that didn't work out.

My Cooking with CraftDKnits series, which you can check out now under our Blog Series tab, was sparked by what I learned on these two shows. My mom and I had a blast and decided to make this an annual thing we do together every November. November is the month of choice because that is when these shows start focusing on holiday cooking.

This year was actually my second time attending the Martha Stewart show. My mom and I also went last year, but this year was way more exciting. The guest list and take home gifts we received made the experience so much more exciting.

Outside and inside studio decor:

On Set:

 

Martha took some questions from the audience after the taping. It as a live show, which we didn't find out until we got there. I got to ask her a question about her new yarn line with Lion Brand and she lit up. It was tons of fun.

We were not allowed to take pictures during the taping. So unfortunately, no pics of the Hugh Jackman or the delicious treats Martha made live.

Martha's show airs on the Hallmark channel.


Here is what we got to take home from the show:

 

Be sure to check out part 2 for my day at The Chew.

Stay Blessed,

Dana

Food, Family, & Fun!

Thanksgiving weekend, emphasis on "weekend," was amazing. I have a lot to work off at the gym for sure. :-)
I hope all who celebrated had a great time as well.

Thanksgiving is about more than just food. For me, it's a time to reflect on my blessings, spending time with family, and having a good time.

My family and I got invited to my uncles for Thanksgiving dinner at his new house. So a lot of the plans my mom and I made for a personal family dinner got altered. Since my siblings came home for the holiday weekend, my mom cooked breakfast thanksgiving morning.

Here's is the preparation of our breakfast:

Fried dumplings being rounded and deep fried

Sweet plantains being cut up to be fried

Fried Dumplings

Green Fried Plantains

Sweet Fried Plantains

 Seasoning for the ackee and saltfish (Jamaica's national dish and my absolute favorite)

Onions and tomatoes for flavor

Saltfish after being boiled and broken apart

Ackee after being steamed mixed in with the saltfish

Ackee and saltfish with seasoning

Plantains!

Dumplings!

Ackee & Saltfish!

Fried Fish

Smoked Glazed Ham

Dinner at my uncles was potluck style. So each household represented brought a dish.

Here's our dishes journey for the night:

Mixture of the ricotta cheese for the lasagna

Cooking the Ground Turkey for the lasagna

Soaking the lasagna noodles in hot water

Stacking the lasagna layers

All cooked and ready to devour!

Turkey!

Absolutely full of joy and food!

I hope everyone enjoyed this mini cooking series as much I did. It was a lot of fun learning new dishes, trying them out with my mother, and sharing them with you all.

Click HERE for the recipe I used for the lasagna. It was actually my second time making it. It came out much better this time.

Stay Blessed,

Dana