http://blog.thecrochetdude.comQuick Blogcasthttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/02/22/the-food-dude.aspx?ref=rssIt's no big secret that I love to cook. LOVE. To. Cook. And I'm often asked a few questions that I'd like to answer today.1. Where did you learn to cook?My mom was an amazing cook. A grand majority of my memories of Mom are centered around the kitchen, after all she raised 8 children and that's a whole lotta mouths to feed! And even before I started kindergarten I remember mom letting me help her with certain things in the kitchen like making the hash marks on the peanut butter cookies with a fork. ...Book Review-drew emborsky-2010-02-22T18:43:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/02/17/does-spinning-burn-calories.aspx?ref=rssSpinning, as in I just turned in the final pattern for The Book and now I find myself in the middle of my studio just spinning. That is one big old honkin' thing to mark off my to-do list and now... what?I signed the contract to do The Book last spring and have been working on it diligently since then. That's about eight months of work along with everything else I have to do here out of my studio to keep everything up and running. What I didn't realize until now is that even when I would ...cleocatraThe Book; The Studio-drew emborsky-2010-02-17T17:38:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/02/05/stitch-nation-yarns.aspx?ref=rssAt the time that Debbie Stoller was preparing her famous Stitch 'n Bitch Nation book and the fantastic follow up books Stitch 'n Bitch Crochet and Son of Stitch 'n Bitch I was just finding my way around the industry, knocking on doors, acting like a rat terrier attached to the pizza dude's pant leg. Unfortunately I never ran into HER pant leg and so didn't even know about submitting a design idea to her to be included (let alone HOW to submit a design idea to anyone). So you won't find The Dude in her books, ...Yarn Review-drew emborsky-2010-02-05T16:19:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/02/03/i-missed-the-ground-hog.aspx?ref=rssYesterday was apparently the big day when a ground hog comes out of his den and tells us if there will be more winter or if winter is over. I missed the memo. I kept hearing Tweets about ground hogs and spring this and six more weeks of that before it dawned on me what the heck was going on! I guess giving up watching the news on TV has really started to pay off - I haven't a clue what is going on most of the time.However I was celebrating subconsciously when I was fooling around with ...The Book; Swag; The Products-drew emborsky-2010-02-03T17:42:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/01/21/introducing.aspx?ref=rssAvailable June 2010At long last I can reveal what The Big Secret has been for the last several months, all the traveling and secret meetings, etc! That's right I have teamed up with Boye, a division of Simplicity Creative Group to bring you an entire line of crochet hooks, tools, kits, bags, pretty much everything you need for any crochet project!!As many of you know, my history with Boye brand hooks goes back generations. I learned to crochet with Boye hooks that were not only my mom's, but also her mom's! It's been my go to hook ...The Products-drew emborsky-2010-01-21T15:00:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/01/15/dizzy-and-crochet-can-go-hand-in-hand.aspx?ref=rssI was minding my own business when the new (March 2010) issue of Crochet! magazine arrived. Then I opened it and the first thing I saw was a full page ad for my books! I literally felt dizzy. What an incredible surprise!!Then I turned a few more pages, still minding my own business - I had even stopped feeling dizzy at that point - and what do I find? Another full page ad from Premier Yarns, and in case you didn't notice, that is Deborah Norville snuggling with an afghan that I designed last year! She ...crochet-drew emborsky-2010-01-15T20:51:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/01/14/arctic-lace.aspx?ref=rssDonna Druchunas, a fellow teacher of mine who does workshops with the same cruise company as I do (and of SheepToShawl fame) published a gorgeous book called Arctic Lace: Stories and Projects Inspired by Alaska's Native Knitters which is an amazing collection of stories and knit projects. Now she is releasing the AUDIO version of the same book! I think that is just about the coolest thing evah! And what an honor that she asked me to participate in her blog tour to promote it. To get more info on the audio ...Book Review-drew emborsky-2010-01-14T15:10:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/01/13/the-resolution-revisited.aspx?ref=rssIt’s been about two weeks since the magically fresh start that is The New-Years-Eve. Seemed like a good time to go over my resolutions and see how I’m doing so far.Schedule my life with structure and intent: wow, this has been a toughy because what I didn’t anticipate was just how much momentum life has! I think I’m going to be done with a project on January blah blah but then it turns out that there was this part of a project that wasn’t anticipated and also we have to wait for so-and-so (one of my favorite ...general-drew emborsky-2010-01-13T17:37:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2010/01/04/2010--weve-been-expecting-you.aspx?ref=rssI know that most bloggers have already posted their end of the year-beginning of the next year posts with accomplishments, goals, and resolutions. I was going to take time out from getting The Book finished and write one of my own the other day, but I really wanted to think about it first. There is something in the air this New Years, something different from anything I remember feeling before. No, I really don’t know what it is, but it feels like very-cautious hope.Perhaps we’ve collectively become tired of the downwardness of everything we see. The ...General-drew emborsky-2010-01-04T16:41:00Zhttp://blog.thecrochetdude.com/2009/12/27/year-end-craftiness.aspx?ref=rssFor many people there is time for crafty fun before the new year arrives! I personally have a pot of split pea soup with a big ole ham bone in it on the stove. Is it so wrong that leftovers may just be my favorite part of the holiday season? i like craft projects that are edible.Anywho, here are some great crafty sites around the Internet machine to help you get to the new year! Miss Chandler likes to help with the laundry. Stefanie Girard’s Sweater SurgeryPress On ...crafts-drew emborsky-2009-12-27T18:53:00Z