New Little Hat for a New Little Person!

My sister's friend just had a new baby, and what could be a better gift for a new little lady than a sassy pink and ivory hat?! That's what I was thinking last night, so I set to work with my Knifty Knitter loom kit and made a precious miniature hat for the newbie. I love making hats on these looms - it is incredibly fast, and the end product looks f'ing awesome!

To make this hat you will need:

• Caron Simply Soft in Plum Wine (less than 1/4 of a skein)
  
• Red Heart Soft Yarn in Off-White (less than 1/4 of a skein)
• Infant-sized Knifty Knitter Loom - Blue loom
• Yarn needle
• Loom hook tool
• Scissors
  

Make a Lil Hat:

1. Starting at the peg perpendicular to the others on the side of the loom, loop both color yarns around the peg to the right of the perpendicular peg and the rest of the pegs by creating a cursive e.
   
2. Repeat so that you have two set of loops on each peg (four pieces of yarn will be on each peg because of the double running color)
   
3. Using the hook tool, pull the bottom of the two rows up and off the peg, so that there is only one set of loops on the pegs.
4. Continue to loop yarn with cursive e pattern and pull over the bottom of the two rows.
   
5. Create brim by folding the first row you created up back onto the pegs - Use the hook tool to pull the bottom of the two rows up and off the peg - Since this hat is for an infant, it has a short rim of only 2 centimeters.
   
6. Continue making the hat as before until it is tall enough to fit the future owner.
7. Once a good height is reached, cut yarn off.
8. From one skein, loop a color (I used the pink) through the eye of the needle and pull off the final e loops from the loom with the needle.
9. Once all loops are off, remove needle from yarn and pull the loops closed. This creates the closed top of the hat.
   

Pom-Pom For Infant Hat:

1. Cut a 3 inch piece of yarn.
   
2. Wrap both yarn colors from skein 35 times around the three fingers (NOT the thumb). Four fingers is the usual for a hat, but for a child/infant, the four-finger system creates waaaay to big of a pom-pom.
   
3. Cut away from skein.
4. Carefully pull yarn off the fingers .
   
5. Tie the yarn together in the center with the 3 inch piece of yarn - if it needs to be tighter, you can add a second piece.
6. Use scissors to cuts the loops on either side of the 3 inch piece of yarn.
7. Even out the pom-pom using scissors
8. Use a yarn needle to attach to your desired surface area at top of hat.

Next, The Devil Made Eggs...And They Were Good

There's nothing devilish about Deviled Eggs - except maybe that they are ridiculously addictive and you can find yourself destroying a plate of them to yourself and then wondering why your stomach feels like it might explode...But besides that, deviled eggs are an awesome treat to bring to a party to satisfy those savory taste buds. My deviled eggs have some more kick then the normal, relatively bland, deviled egg. So, try out this 'kickin' it up a notch' recipe and get ready to receive a whole boatload of compliments!

You'll Need:

• 1 dozen eggs, hard boiled
  
• 2 Tablespoons of Country-style Dijon mustard
• 6 Tablespoons of Mayonnaise
  
• 1 Tablespoon of finely chopped shallots
• salt and pepper to taste

Time - 25 mins (if eggs are not already boiled)

Recipe:

1. Place eggs into pot of water and place on stove top on high heat
2. Bring to a boil and boil eggs for 10 minutes
3. Take pot off stove and run under a cold water bath in the sink for several minutes
4. Peel egg shells and cut eggs lengthwise into halves
5. Places hardened yolks into a mixing bowl
6. Add, mustard, mayonnaise, and shallots to the yolks and blend with a fork or potato masher.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Your filling in now ready! I used a frosting bag and tip to pipe my filling in and give it some intrigue. you could also use a plastic bag with one tip cut off, or just spoon it on in there!
9. Sprinkle a dash of smoked paprika over your deviled eggs and then eat them all up with friends!
   

Victory Brewing Company's Yakima Twilight

Victory Brewing Company always makes delicious beverages that make my taste buds dance. So, when I cracked open my first Yakima Twilight and it was freaking delicious, I was hardly surprised as the familiar flavors of bliss and satisfaction caused a smile to tickle across my face.

My Rating: 92

Alcohol Content: 8.70%

Price: $12/6

Yakima Twilight pours a lovely, dark amber color and has a finger's width tan head. The aroma from the pour is rather sweet and malty, but also, there is a very sharp, citrus punch from the hops. The hops that are used in this delicious brew are native to the Yakima Valley of Washington. I don't know what's going on over yonder in that there western valley, but gosh darn, the hops in this beer are divine! The beer itself smells as if it should sip pretty crisply, but it actually is rather sweet and almost malty. This mix of odor and taste causes an awesome sensory explosion which is crisp and sweet and mostly importantly, delicious. This beer sips very easily and is not super heavy so is great for an evening of brews. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone!