My latest project was a Ruffle scarf with beautiful yarn from Knitting Fever called Flounce. This will be a gift for someone special – but I do not want to say who .

This yarn is beautiful, but difficult to knit with. The pattern can be found on the Knitting Fever website here.

This is how it looked in various stages of being done.

And the beautiful finished project:

The scarf was fun to  make and took about 5 days of working on it in the evenings so approximately 6 hours. However, this was the first time I was working with this yarn so, now that I know how it works up, it shouldn’t take that long if I decide to make more. I adore the way it looks and now just have to stitch down the start and end for a clean edge.

Next up – my very first cable scarf!

Chocolate Berry Shortcake

This is my take on a Strawberry Shortcake! And it’s so easy to make! I used ingredients from the local Fresh and Easy.

2 thin slices from a small Angel Food Cake
1 scoop vanilla bean ice cream
2 tablespoons chocolate fudge or chocolate Syrup
1 small container of raspberries
6 strawberries
sugar to taste

1. Slice the strawberries. Mix the strawberries, raspberries, and sugar (add as little or as much as you like depending on your taste, you can even use a sugar substitute). Cover and let sit in the refrigerator.

2. Put the two thing slices of angel food cake on a plate. Place a scoop of ice cream next to them.

3. Drizzle with warm chocolate fudge or (if you don’t have any) you can use chocolate syrup.

4. Spoon the prepared berries over the ice cream and angel food cake.

5. Enjoy!

Very simple but amazingly delicious. I had to limit myself to one serving and not go back for more, however I do have extra berries made up to use tomorrow. I think I’ll do a simple version of just some angel food cake and berries for breakfast!

Today I wanted to talk to you about something that occurred last night that may have an adverse effect on the web television community. Yesterday the Second Annual Streamy Awards (like the Oscars, but for the web) was streamed live to a large home audience for the first time. Now, I don’t watch many awards shows but due to having some friends in the industry and being interested in the current entertainment trends I decided to tune in.

Now, I want to point out that despite all that occurred throughout the show, which I will detail later, I did watch the entire broadcast. This may be important at a later date.

I will acknowledge that there is always some risk in broadcasting anything live. However, I don’t think the audience (both online and at the theater) was prepared for all the “risks” that they would have to endure throughout the evening. Below are some of the risks that appeared and my take on them:

• The choice of presenter. He may be famous but was he the correct choice for the audience at hand? The presenter made frequent risque and what some though (as seen through the twitter stream) vulgar jokes. He also continuously insulted the web community and the internet in general. I feel like this undermined the quality of the show and what the Streamy Awards are trying to accomplish which, in my mind, is to legitimize the web as a means of original entertainment.
• Technical failure. I felt so bad for the Fine Brothers when the tech failed in the middle of their video. They had worked so hard on it and that was one of the main reasons I was watching the awards show. I honestly think that they deserve an apology.
• Streakers. Okay I’m not sure if this was planned… but it was in poor taste, in my belief. Also, it seemed to prove the lack of maturity that kept getting mentioned throughout the event.
• Technical failure. They thought they got the tech fixed, they forgot to fast forward the DVD though. And why it took them so long to figure it out I will never know. Also, tech failure at an awards show that is about new media seemed a bit ironic to me. Did anyone else feel this way?
• EDIT – Also the constant background talking that was audible throughout the stream was unprofessional and irksome as well. I had forgotten about this point until a friend reminded me.
• In my opinion these things were a list of what can go wrong will go wrong. Also, it seemed like all the things that can NOT happen at other entertainment awards shows did happen here including, constant cussing without beeping, unintentional nudity, and seriously technological failure.

I don’t want to neglect the people and things that I thought were well done.

• Felicia Day: From her presenting of an award to her acceptance speech she was true class. She showed the rest of the world how it should be done, in my opinion. It also touched me when she said her Streamy was for “All Geek Girls”. Being one myself it made me smile and think of her and just that more amazing. Also, she stated something in her speech that is basically my hypothesis for a paper I’m writing for my entertainment and society class. Which gives it that much more legitimacy in my opinion.
• The Fine Brothers: Yes the tech failed during their video but they tried to keep things together as much as they could. This was definitely to their credit.
• Half the presenters: The presenters during the second half of the show (after all the unfortunate events) shrived to put the show back on track through their professionalism.
• Autotune the News: Their performance during the show was amazing, their acceptance speech in song was even more so. I had only caught a few of their youtube videos before this, now I want to go back and watch everything they’ve ever done.

So were the 2010 Streamy Awards a complete disaster? It depends on who you talk to. To the winners, I’m sure it wasn’t. To the audience, it depends on their view. While there were many cringe worthy moments for me and I thought some of the sketches stretched a bit too long it was nice to see people being recognized for the innovative work they put in for little to no money in an entertainment outlet still in its infancy. I just hope that people do not judge them, and all web entertainment, by the awards show.

Next year, and I hope there will be a next year, I hope the Streamys learn from this year and ensure things run smoother. I also want to say good luck to them, the entertainment world can be harsh and have a long memory when it wants to, hopefully this is not a time when it wants to.

Just updating you about tomorrow’s card making tutorial. If you have any techniques you’d like to see please feel free to let me know, otherwise I will show some simple, but heartfelt cards sure to make anyone’s Valentine feel special.

The details follow:

Date: Thursday February 11, 2010
Time: 5 pm PST/ 8 pm EST
Where: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/lhriangel

Hope to see you there!

This year I thought it would be fun to do something a bit different. On Thursday, February 11, 2010 I am thinking of hosting a live stream Valentine’s Cardmaking tutorial starting at 5 PST / 8 EST. I thought this would be a fun way to show how to make cards, test out a camcorder’s webcaming ability and get the crafting community together. I’m still debating on which streaming site to use so stay posted for more information! I will be both updating the blog with more information and sending it out via twitter so please add @Lhriangel for more for the latest updates when they happen. And I hope to see/chat with you all on Thursday night!

I haven’t written much lately mainly because I felt like I had nothing to say. However a wonderful friend reminded me to post so here I am.

Some updates:

I am currently working on knitting! Tomorrow I will take some pictures of what I have already completed and what I am working on for you all to see. I’m also in the process of developing some ‘how-to’ craft tutorial videos which will be posted when my new website gets up and running.

What new website? Well my wonderful boyfriend is coding a social networking craft website for me. Once it is up I will give you all the details and ask you join me in the creativity! I promise it will be a lot of fun.

As the title of this post suggests a new semester has started. I’m taking a full load (3 graduate level courses). This is my last full time semester, with one final class to take in the fall. And then I’m done with my masters! I’m so excited, yet that means I need to focus on the real world in earnest.

So, 2 weeks into the semester and we already had a paper due. It was for my Media Audience Behavior class today and focused on the third party effect. For the class we are reading a text called “Investigating Audiences” and are writing a book on each chapter. The paper linked below focuses on Chapter One.

Third Party Effect in Critical Audience Research

I hope everyone has a wonderful February and I will post more soon.

When I decided I wanted to be a Rose fairy I didn’t realize how hard it would be to find red wings that would match my outfit. This became increasingly frustrating leading up to this week. Finally, I found something I could work with at Party City… however they needed a little sprucing up.

Wings before

I decided these wings needed a little more.. pizzaz so I picked up a few supplies to help with the transformation.

Supplies!

I used three different color fabric paints, Metallic red, Ruby Glitter, and Diamond Glitter. I had paper bowls to put the paint in, as well as one for water and a paint brush to apply the paint to the wings.

First I added red glitter over the gray painted areas to make it sparkle.

Red Glitter!

Then I added the red paint and some shimmery glitter paint to make the wings look really different.

Finished Wings!

I really like them. I think I’ll add a few red roses to the center when I go home for Halloween but I think the wings are definitely a success.

Later this week I’ll post the making of the tutu for the costume as well as the final product!

always

the world was silent
the country cried
the cities mourned
each person prayed
for two buildings
thousands of people
who died for the right
of everyone else to live freely
and didn’t know it
no one knew when they woke up
what the day would bring
no one dared or thought
that some things would come to an end
from Manhattan
to Orlando
from Los Angeles
to Boston
and every city in-between
cries were heard
of love and faith
even after such destruction
held the nation in a grip
those that did not have a chance
to say goodbye
or I love you
one last time
are still held in the hearts
of their families and friends
they are heroes
without trying to be
remember a nation
who still believes in hope
who fights on with passion
and loves more than enough
remember our allies
who did not have to stand with us
who share our fears and failures
and will eventually share our victory
so everyday we must
remember to hold those dear close
we must say I love you
and follow our hearts
we must believe in tomorrow
but live for today
we must know that God has a plan of action
even when we don’t understand what it is
we must stand tall and believe
in everyone around us
and trust that what we stand for is right
and always believe
~9/11/2002 ALT