Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Showing posts with label projects. Show all posts
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Jumping On the Wagon
So I'm going to try this thing called "Foodie Penpals". You sign up, get given a "penpal", and you send each other a food package, limit $15. Sounds fun, eh? You can sign up here if interested.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tomatoes!
As I've mentioned quite a few times, I volunteer at the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays. Today, my stand had a sale too good for me to pass up: Roma tomatoes at $1/#, with the option of buying a 20# box. Done!
So I bought 20# of Roma tomatoes and figured I'd start my canning-tomato-life tonight. (I know, I know, I move in 3 days, but I couldn't pass that up!)
Using this as my spring-off point, I canned half of my box tonight. It made 3 quarts and 4 pints. I put them all in the canner together, as I don't see that it will be a problem being as they need the same time anyways.
This'll be my smartest canning set-up in this apartment yet. I used Francesca's advice and heated my jars in the oven to sterilize, I used the magnetic telescoping wand from a screwdriver to fetch out my heated lids, and my canner has a basket that I will use to remove my jars!
They have to be in the waterbath for 85 mins, so we'll see how pretty they are when I'm done!
Update: lookit how pretty they are!
Also, this is all of the potatoes that I dug up from all of the potatoes that I planted:
For reference, the largest is about the size of a half dollar. :-P
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
A Bit Sheepish
So, as well all know, I'm a cheapskate. Remember the scarf that I reverse engineered in order to not pay $7 to the designer? Well, my pride and close-fisted-ness has struck again. This time, it's a bag.
Look at this pretty little bag. It's got little fold away pockets for your jars and it looks solidly made. $27 for a bag? Nuh uh. But oh look! You can buy the PDF pattern for $5! Still not paying $5. So I figure I'll just make it up. How hard can it be? She gives a required materials list and measurements.
And here's where I screw it up.
Does that look like it's wider than it is tall? No! So between her using the wrong words and my not checking with the picture, I have a bag that is wider than it is tall.
This also means that I have a ridiculously large opening which flaps around. So I added little button tabs to keep it reasonably sized. So my bag looks absolutely nothing like hers, in addition to being made in a different manner, I'm sure.
Things That I'm Sure I Did Differently:
-- dimensions. Duh.
-- I can fit three jars, but have only two holders. Whoops.
-- I opted to have all of the lining pieces firmly attached to the outer pieces, instead of making two bags and attaching them together (which I think is what she did).
-- I didn't use fusible fleece, I cut up an old skooshy curtain and machine-quilted three pieces together for the bottom and for the jar holders.
-- I literally threw this together in a few hours. I think the original is a bit more planned and perfected.
-- I was too lazy to make straps. So I stitched together two lengths of ribbon (the red) anytime a strap was called for (also when one of my sides came up short).
So, that's my little fail-lunch-bag. I'mma make another one, and hopefully this one will come out a bit better.
The bag measures 9" tall, and 12" wide when laid flat.
Monday, August 6, 2012
No One to Brag To
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Grape Bitters
So remember when, a few years back, I gathered lots of wild Concord grapes and made grape cider and grape bitters? Well, I hadn't quite finished making the bitters.
I had soaked the grape skins and pits in grain alcohol for months, and did eventually strain it, but that is as much as I did. I even moved it into this place amongst the fridge items as purple colored grain alcohol. I got sick and tired of not working with it, so I figured I'd do some more research and finish it up.
Basing my recipe on this process, I steeped a mix of spices in my grape alcohol for two weeks, shaking it every day. I am now bringing to a boil water with my strained spices, and I will let that steep for a week, shaking every day. I will then restrain it, and add both the water and burned sugar to my alcohol. And that will be my bitters!
The spices that I used for 1/2 cup of alcohol are as follows: 4 pieces of fresh lemon peel, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 cardamom pod, ~40 rosemary leaves, 5 black peppercorns, 6 allspice berries, ~25 coriander pods. The spices are steeping in 1 cup of water, and I will use 1/5 cup burned sugar.
Hopefully this will be tasty!
I had soaked the grape skins and pits in grain alcohol for months, and did eventually strain it, but that is as much as I did. I even moved it into this place amongst the fridge items as purple colored grain alcohol. I got sick and tired of not working with it, so I figured I'd do some more research and finish it up.
Basing my recipe on this process, I steeped a mix of spices in my grape alcohol for two weeks, shaking it every day. I am now bringing to a boil water with my strained spices, and I will let that steep for a week, shaking every day. I will then restrain it, and add both the water and burned sugar to my alcohol. And that will be my bitters!
The spices that I used for 1/2 cup of alcohol are as follows: 4 pieces of fresh lemon peel, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 cardamom pod, ~40 rosemary leaves, 5 black peppercorns, 6 allspice berries, ~25 coriander pods. The spices are steeping in 1 cup of water, and I will use 1/5 cup burned sugar.
Hopefully this will be tasty!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
New Beginnings!
I recently nursed started back to health. Last Saturday, in fact. I probably had ignored her for almost a month -- if not more! She had a solid inch of alcohol on top when I finally pulled her jar out and was all huddled in the bottom of the jar. But with warm air, warm clean jars, and fresh food, she soon perked right back up.
I pulled her out to feed today, although I probably could have done this yesterday or maybe even Tuesday. I had PLANS for her today. But when I washed out my Official Starter Mixing Bowl and tried to pour some starter in, she refused to budge. I shook the jar a bit. She made a huffing noise as air whooshed in and out. Left with no recourse, I pulled out a big spoon and ruthlessly divided her in half.
And onto the project! Y'see, Mister and I have been sneakily, behind starter's back, looking into recipes for rye bread. Apparently, most traditional german rye breads were sourdough based and cooked over a looooooooooong time to get that dark color (it's now common to use caramel coloring and cook it faster). With that in mind, we even bought rye flour. We bought this... oh probably close to two months ago now. And today I implemented it.
Half of starter got fed with rye flour and water. The other half got fed with all purpose and water, like normal. It did mean that this feeding I would not be able to bake, as when dividing in half, normally with the second half one would make two loaves of bread.
But so now I have two little jars of starter in the fridge. We'll see how the rye comes out! I probably won't be able to bake with it for at least 3 feedings or so, as I want the rye to be the dominant flavor.
I pulled her out to feed today, although I probably could have done this yesterday or maybe even Tuesday. I had PLANS for her today. But when I washed out my Official Starter Mixing Bowl and tried to pour some starter in, she refused to budge. I shook the jar a bit. She made a huffing noise as air whooshed in and out. Left with no recourse, I pulled out a big spoon and ruthlessly divided her in half.
And onto the project! Y'see, Mister and I have been sneakily, behind starter's back, looking into recipes for rye bread. Apparently, most traditional german rye breads were sourdough based and cooked over a looooooooooong time to get that dark color (it's now common to use caramel coloring and cook it faster). With that in mind, we even bought rye flour. We bought this... oh probably close to two months ago now. And today I implemented it.
Half of starter got fed with rye flour and water. The other half got fed with all purpose and water, like normal. It did mean that this feeding I would not be able to bake, as when dividing in half, normally with the second half one would make two loaves of bread.
But so now I have two little jars of starter in the fridge. We'll see how the rye comes out! I probably won't be able to bake with it for at least 3 feedings or so, as I want the rye to be the dominant flavor.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Easter
So Easter with my family did not happen as planned. It turned out that Mister and I got sick over the weekend. A quick jaunt to the doctor's today verified that we each had strep. This would be Mister's second bout of it in as many weeks, and my first lately.
Because of the lack of traveling, Mister and I had Easter at home. I've been pining for such feasts as my family always prepares, so I attempted to recreate it, with a fair amount of success!
Here is our lovely table set with the new china from my mother, Warwick AB9428, and a couple of vintage embroidered cloths. Mister and I had our dear friend M stop by to eat with us. Set on the table you can see: sliced ham, sliced sausage (it claimed to be kielbasa but it lied!), cottage cheese, butter, horseradish and beets, hardboiled eggs (green Americauna eggs, so they sorta look dyed :-P), and bread under the embroidered napkin.
The recipe I used for the horseradish and beets is this one. I only used 3 good sized beets in lieu of the 10-12 small ones they call for. In retrospect, I should have used far more horseradish than I used. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to grate! It flakes more than grates.
I wound up making close to 4 cups of horseradish and beets. AND I managed to do it without staining my kitchen counters, any cutting boards, or my hands! Victory!
When making the paska bread, I based it off of this recipe. I halved the recipe, but kept the same amount of eggs, added in craisins (I didn't have golden raisins on hand and I hate cooked dark raisins). I also didn't have sour cream, but I DID have that cottage cheese I bought... so I mixed a bit of cottage cheese with vanilla almond milk and a dash of white vinegar. I shaped it into a boule, not a ring. I also removed the handle of our small 2 quart saucepan to bake it. It also took it much closer to an hour to bake due to it's shape.
Here it is baking.
This is all that remains now! It was a success -- although it could have used a bit more sugar and perhaps another egg or two -- or maybe just the yolks for color? But it was a good substitute for paska bread.
Aside from that, two things remain regarding my Easter.
We bought a little pot of daffodils! When we bought it Saturday, it had no blooms. On Easter morning, it had 2. By that afternoon, it had 4. And it now has 6. It's a cute little plant.
I dyed my first yarn! Since I had to boil beets, I had all this gorgeous beet water. So I boiled some peruvian wool from knitpicks for about an hour, while I was prepping other things Saturday night. But when rinsing, it turned out to be yellow (it is much closer to goldenrod color than is evident in the picture). Who knew?
And that was my exciting Easter!
Because of the lack of traveling, Mister and I had Easter at home. I've been pining for such feasts as my family always prepares, so I attempted to recreate it, with a fair amount of success!
Here is our lovely table set with the new china from my mother, Warwick AB9428, and a couple of vintage embroidered cloths. Mister and I had our dear friend M stop by to eat with us. Set on the table you can see: sliced ham, sliced sausage (it claimed to be kielbasa but it lied!), cottage cheese, butter, horseradish and beets, hardboiled eggs (green Americauna eggs, so they sorta look dyed :-P), and bread under the embroidered napkin.
The recipe I used for the horseradish and beets is this one. I only used 3 good sized beets in lieu of the 10-12 small ones they call for. In retrospect, I should have used far more horseradish than I used. Also, it's surprisingly difficult to grate! It flakes more than grates.
I wound up making close to 4 cups of horseradish and beets. AND I managed to do it without staining my kitchen counters, any cutting boards, or my hands! Victory!
When making the paska bread, I based it off of this recipe. I halved the recipe, but kept the same amount of eggs, added in craisins (I didn't have golden raisins on hand and I hate cooked dark raisins). I also didn't have sour cream, but I DID have that cottage cheese I bought... so I mixed a bit of cottage cheese with vanilla almond milk and a dash of white vinegar. I shaped it into a boule, not a ring. I also removed the handle of our small 2 quart saucepan to bake it. It also took it much closer to an hour to bake due to it's shape.
Here it is baking.
This is all that remains now! It was a success -- although it could have used a bit more sugar and perhaps another egg or two -- or maybe just the yolks for color? But it was a good substitute for paska bread.
Aside from that, two things remain regarding my Easter.
We bought a little pot of daffodils! When we bought it Saturday, it had no blooms. On Easter morning, it had 2. By that afternoon, it had 4. And it now has 6. It's a cute little plant.
I dyed my first yarn! Since I had to boil beets, I had all this gorgeous beet water. So I boiled some peruvian wool from knitpicks for about an hour, while I was prepping other things Saturday night. But when rinsing, it turned out to be yellow (it is much closer to goldenrod color than is evident in the picture). Who knew?
And that was my exciting Easter!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Mock-Up Nearly Finished!
It needs sleeves, a finished edge along neckline, and either buttons or a zipper. But the main bodice and skirt are done!
Pride and Necklaces
Francesca's most recent post reminded me of a very old memory.
As anyone who has met me in person has realized, I love jewelry. It's my favorite thing. I've worn every single kind that there is to try. I currently am wearing 6 earrings (three lobes and a cartilege on my left ear, 2 lobes on my right), a mere three rings, close to 20 bracelets and bangles, and a single necklace (odd for me). Oh and now two little barbells on my boobs. I've tried toe rings (they hurt my toes), ankle bracelets, belly chains, ear cuffs, wearing jewelry in my hair, sparkly belts, up to 13 rings at a single time, the whole shebang. I love jewelry and always have.
I remember when I was finally old enough to get my ears pierced -- I was four. I had always wanted it done, and I picked the "prettiest" piercing earrings. They were shaped like stars. I got my second set in 5th grade, the cartilege in 7th, and the final one I pierced myself in 8th grade. I received rings and earrings from a very young age, and continually lost them.
But I remember one Thanksgiving at a family member's house when I was very young. I don't even know who's house it was at, I think my Aunt P and Uncle C. (I remember a few fun things about their house -- including Uncle C's collection of marbles, Aunt P's sewing room, and the chinese plates on the wall of the living room.) Another family member, either an aunt or an older cousin, gifted to both my sister and I (and probably other young girl-children of the family) beaded necklaces. But not just ANY beaded necklaces! These were quite interesting, and fun to explore. It involved a tapered tube of fabric with marble-sized beads INSIDE the tube, and smaller separator beads OUTSIDE the tube. Mine was periwinkle fabric with indigo beads. K, I think yours was purple with green beads.
I drew a quick sketch of what the necklace looked like: I think it would be an easy craft project.
Francesca, I thought of this because of the memories associated with your new bead necklace. And I though perhaps this is a Rebecca-friendly way for her to be beautiful like Mama. I know I felt really grown-up with this necklace -- both having been old enough to HAVE a pretty necklace, and seeing and feeling the weight of a pretty necklace. I still have it somewhere... :-P
As anyone who has met me in person has realized, I love jewelry. It's my favorite thing. I've worn every single kind that there is to try. I currently am wearing 6 earrings (three lobes and a cartilege on my left ear, 2 lobes on my right), a mere three rings, close to 20 bracelets and bangles, and a single necklace (odd for me). Oh and now two little barbells on my boobs. I've tried toe rings (they hurt my toes), ankle bracelets, belly chains, ear cuffs, wearing jewelry in my hair, sparkly belts, up to 13 rings at a single time, the whole shebang. I love jewelry and always have.
I remember when I was finally old enough to get my ears pierced -- I was four. I had always wanted it done, and I picked the "prettiest" piercing earrings. They were shaped like stars. I got my second set in 5th grade, the cartilege in 7th, and the final one I pierced myself in 8th grade. I received rings and earrings from a very young age, and continually lost them.
But I remember one Thanksgiving at a family member's house when I was very young. I don't even know who's house it was at, I think my Aunt P and Uncle C. (I remember a few fun things about their house -- including Uncle C's collection of marbles, Aunt P's sewing room, and the chinese plates on the wall of the living room.) Another family member, either an aunt or an older cousin, gifted to both my sister and I (and probably other young girl-children of the family) beaded necklaces. But not just ANY beaded necklaces! These were quite interesting, and fun to explore. It involved a tapered tube of fabric with marble-sized beads INSIDE the tube, and smaller separator beads OUTSIDE the tube. Mine was periwinkle fabric with indigo beads. K, I think yours was purple with green beads.
I drew a quick sketch of what the necklace looked like: I think it would be an easy craft project.
Francesca, I thought of this because of the memories associated with your new bead necklace. And I though perhaps this is a Rebecca-friendly way for her to be beautiful like Mama. I know I felt really grown-up with this necklace -- both having been old enough to HAVE a pretty necklace, and seeing and feeling the weight of a pretty necklace. I still have it somewhere... :-P
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Recipes Used
Yesterday for dinner I made Black Lentils with Caramelized Onions for band, and everyone agreed it was tasty. I served it with rye toast and butter. And then J brought stuffed grape leaves and M brought a pizza and it was really a feast. We drank hot toddies made with Crown Royal, cinnamon sticks, cloves, hot water and Apple Cider Syrup. Delicious!
I am making Chocolate Nutella Sea Salt Fudge for family, and it is currently in the fridge setting. FYI it's a bit of a wrist work out.
The fruitcake is still in the oven, and has at least another 2 hours to go. I just have to finish a slipper, assemble all the slippers, wrap everything and pack to leave tomorrow.
I'm going to go drink some eggnog to get ready. :-P
I am making Chocolate Nutella Sea Salt Fudge for family, and it is currently in the fridge setting. FYI it's a bit of a wrist work out.
The fruitcake is still in the oven, and has at least another 2 hours to go. I just have to finish a slipper, assemble all the slippers, wrap everything and pack to leave tomorrow.
I'm going to go drink some eggnog to get ready. :-P
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Life is Crazy!
So I put starter in the freezer, as I won't have time for her until next week.
I nearly have all of the slippers crocheted (one last slipper to go) and then I have to assemble them.
I still have to buy my mother's present, but that's for tomorrow.
I have to bake fruitcake.
I have to make fudge.
I have to pass my Russian test tomorrow (8AM wtf), so am currently studying like mad.
I have to wrap all of the presents. (This will be the year that I don't wrap anything at my mother's please please please.)
I have to figure out if I'm going to make little hair flowers for my cousins (probably should). So four little hair flowers (they take ~30 minutes to make -- and people charge exorbitant amounts for them!).
Um... that's it?
I nearly have all of the slippers crocheted (one last slipper to go) and then I have to assemble them.
I still have to buy my mother's present, but that's for tomorrow.
I have to bake fruitcake.
I have to make fudge.
I have to pass my Russian test tomorrow (8AM wtf), so am currently studying like mad.
I have to wrap all of the presents. (This will be the year that I don't wrap anything at my mother's please please please.)
I have to figure out if I'm going to make little hair flowers for my cousins (probably should). So four little hair flowers (they take ~30 minutes to make -- and people charge exorbitant amounts for them!).
Um... that's it?
Monday, December 12, 2011
Sourdough
I am restarting my sourdough starter. It has languished in the freezer for some time now, and frankly, I've been craving bread. Yet, now that I know how tasty and easy it is (and cheap!), I've been loath to buy it, even at the day-old price of $3.
One thing that's nice about the starter currently is it's much more liquid. I had troubles before with it being a little stiff, and I like the consistency that it is. But I've just fed it tonight and we'll see how it takes to that. A warm jar and a warm bowl to be mixed in can do wonders I feel.
One thing that's nice about the starter currently is it's much more liquid. I had troubles before with it being a little stiff, and I like the consistency that it is. But I've just fed it tonight and we'll see how it takes to that. A warm jar and a warm bowl to be mixed in can do wonders I feel.
Christmas Status
So here's where we are on presents for Christmas:
Mom: buy glogg from LUSH
Dad:buy footstool
Sister:buy sonic screwdriver
Grandma: buy puzzle,give pickles
Grandpa: make fruitcake (I have the fruit soaking in sherry and have for two weeks already)
Mom's BF: make fruitcake (see above)
Stepsister: make slippers (just need to be sewn together -- all crocheted)
Husband: make slippers (have started)
Son:make slippers (still need to decorate like a monster)
Stepbrother: make slippers (haven't started)
Wife: make slippers (just need to be sewn together -- all crocheted)
Son:make slippers (still need to decorate)
___________________________
Mister's Mom: Mister is contributing towards a laptop
Sis#1: no idea still
Fiance: no idea still
Sis#2: no idea still
Sis#3: buy little tea set and tea
The pattern that I'm using for the slippers and modifying for sizes is these double soled slippers. They seem pretty awesome.
As a Christmas present to myself (so I don't kill myself with that much crochet), I'm also working on knitting garters, the kind you tie on. I personally tie them on by: placing the middle of the garter just below the knee. Criss-cross garter in the bend of the knee (back of the leg) and tie above the knee on the front of the leg. Holds stockings and leg warmers on pretty well that way and means I don't need to have more than one garter belt (as one is broken). I also want to have a total of seven sets of leg warmers as my project for January as I want to be able to wear them every day.
Mom: buy glogg from LUSH
Dad:
Sister:
Grandma: buy puzzle,
Grandpa: make fruitcake (I have the fruit soaking in sherry and have for two weeks already)
Mom's BF: make fruitcake (see above)
Stepsister: make slippers (just need to be sewn together -- all crocheted)
Husband: make slippers (have started)
Son:
Stepbrother: make slippers (haven't started)
Wife: make slippers (just need to be sewn together -- all crocheted)
Son:
___________________________
Mister's Mom: Mister is contributing towards a laptop
Sis#1: no idea still
Fiance: no idea still
Sis#2: no idea still
Sis#3: buy little tea set and tea
The pattern that I'm using for the slippers and modifying for sizes is these double soled slippers. They seem pretty awesome.
As a Christmas present to myself (so I don't kill myself with that much crochet), I'm also working on knitting garters, the kind you tie on. I personally tie them on by: placing the middle of the garter just below the knee. Criss-cross garter in the bend of the knee (back of the leg) and tie above the knee on the front of the leg. Holds stockings and leg warmers on pretty well that way and means I don't need to have more than one garter belt (as one is broken). I also want to have a total of seven sets of leg warmers as my project for January as I want to be able to wear them every day.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Reference Materials
For the dress, I've been using the images from the following pattern (which I can't find for free, and having trouble finding for less than $50)
I am using this 40s pattern drafting book, and the last place that I found this book has gone down.
I WANT to make the following slip (and probably will if I have extra silk at the end):
I am using this 40s pattern drafting book, and the last place that I found this book has gone down.
I WANT to make the following slip (and probably will if I have extra silk at the end):
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
I have nothing better to do
... than browse the internet and troll through archives! Stuff that I have open tabs for:
OMG, General Tso's Chicken
I want to can a bushel of tomatoes! Now where to find them... :-P
The shoes that I want to turn into bike shoes -- but I can't convince myself to spend $45 on a pair of shoes that I'm going to take a dremel to...
How-to make a loom out of a cardboard box
From a post on packing lunches I like how she does portion control by having two containers of the same size. Filling one with veggies, and the other half of carbs, half of protein.
Although in Polish, ornaments made from leftover icing from gingerbread
Argyle Ornaments
Fabric Artichoke Ornaments
Crocheted Trivet
OMG, General Tso's Chicken
I want to can a bushel of tomatoes! Now where to find them... :-P
The shoes that I want to turn into bike shoes -- but I can't convince myself to spend $45 on a pair of shoes that I'm going to take a dremel to...
How-to make a loom out of a cardboard box
From a post on packing lunches I like how she does portion control by having two containers of the same size. Filling one with veggies, and the other half of carbs, half of protein.
Although in Polish, ornaments made from leftover icing from gingerbread
Argyle Ornaments
Fabric Artichoke Ornaments
Crocheted Trivet
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Lots of Ideas!
Thanks to Francesca, I have a new blog to read! It's called Craft Leftovers and she's a greenie, rides bikes, crafts, has chickens, all sorts of awesome things! Add in the fact that she's planning her wedding, and I am there.
While browsing her archives (I went back a few years at least) I came across many, many things that are super inspiring.
Picnic Bowl Cover
Crocheted Plastic Grocery Bag (which I've already marked as awesome)
Garterlac Dishcloth on the creators blog and ravelry. This is basically "babies first entrelac pattern".
How to Sew a Duvet Cover -- I have wanted to do this for some time as my duvet cover is light, faded green, and Mister's is white. Ick.
Wedding Cake Stacked Cookies is a different take on the "cookie cake" theme that I'd like to do :-P
Recycled Magazine Coasters -- we need coasters, and I've considered felted crocheted coasters as well as a couple other cute, crafty ones that Mister has vetoed. :-P
One of the things that this delightful crafter is having for her wedding is strings of paper cranes as decorations. I will need to run this kind of thing by Mister (oh shit... I gave him decorations...) but this would be cute.
Here also are a couple of crocheted, bike skirt guards that are SUPER CUTE!
From here
From here
From here
Thoughts on a skirt guard
Unexpected Crochet for the Home by Leisure Arts has some awesome looking projects including a sturdy rug that is crocheted over rope.
While browsing her archives (I went back a few years at least) I came across many, many things that are super inspiring.
Picnic Bowl Cover
Crocheted Plastic Grocery Bag (which I've already marked as awesome)
Garterlac Dishcloth on the creators blog and ravelry. This is basically "babies first entrelac pattern".
How to Sew a Duvet Cover -- I have wanted to do this for some time as my duvet cover is light, faded green, and Mister's is white. Ick.
Wedding Cake Stacked Cookies is a different take on the "cookie cake" theme that I'd like to do :-P
Recycled Magazine Coasters -- we need coasters, and I've considered felted crocheted coasters as well as a couple other cute, crafty ones that Mister has vetoed. :-P
One of the things that this delightful crafter is having for her wedding is strings of paper cranes as decorations. I will need to run this kind of thing by Mister (oh shit... I gave him decorations...) but this would be cute.
Here also are a couple of crocheted, bike skirt guards that are SUPER CUTE!
From here
From here
From here
Thoughts on a skirt guard
Unexpected Crochet for the Home by Leisure Arts has some awesome looking projects including a sturdy rug that is crocheted over rope.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
New Project!
I'm making a shawl! I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear it at my wedding... and every other day of my life! (I got over a year, I'm good.) Thus far it's about 12" across the top there.
It's hard to get a good close-up as between the yarn (merino lace weight wool, grey heather colored) and the density of the stitches it gets a wee bit fuzzy.
To give an idea of how much I have to do on it, each side of the shawl (it's crocheted top down) has a pattern of shells that increases by one each repeat. I'm on 7 shells, and I need about 25 per side. :-P
The pattern I'm using is called Fantasm and it looks MUCH crisper and cleaner in it's photos than in my creation! However, I'm not complaining as it's super fuzzy and cuddly.
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Things to Keep Track Of
I would love to make some pillows like this for the living room!
Crocheted necklaces -- I can totally do this! (Perhaps I should open an etsy...)
Three Hundred Things a Bright Girl Can Do by Lilla Elizabeth Kelley, published 1903
Big flower accessories a possible favor/family gift for the ladies at the wedding?
High heeled saddle shoes!
Darling red high heels!
Monday, June 6, 2011
Life, dedicated to Rimi
Just got back from NY for family stuff. My sister's graduation party was on Saturday, and my mother's boyfriend's son's wife's baby shower was on Sunday. The blanket I was making was finished Saturday night at 1am and was well received. (The lady in question went: 'holy cow this is thick!' and I was like 'uh, yeah, blankets are supposed to keep you warm?') For those who understand such things, it was a 5mm hook, sport weight yarn and all single crochet in a zig-zag pattern. It was practically waterproof! :-P
One thing that was absolutely darling about the shower was that instead of a card, guests were asked to bring and sign a baby book instead. So they received many many baby books, and not a single duplicate! There were some of the classic Little Golden Books (not quite the Pokey Little Puppy but along those lines), a few Dr. Seuss and many that I recognized from my childhood. My sister got a baby book version of Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton who did another book that I love called Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel about a guy who takes a bet to dig a cellar in a day and succeeds. :-P I got a "Baby's First Farm" book with big colored tabs with a picture of the ducks on the page, or the cows, or the pigs... etc. So if baby likes the pigs, all they have to do is find the colored tab with a pig on it.
Mister's little sister S is turning 15 on Tuesday, and we're heading up to his mother's house for the party. Part of her present will be helping her recover her ancient piano stool (at the suggestion of his mother) so I created a little coupon for it:
I had initially intended to use my calligraphy pens and ink, but when I did the practice version, I had a lot of problems getting the sizes that I needed, and the proper angles (all of my 'o's were crooked with the pens...). So I bought a super-fine point Sharpie and created it this morning.
Is this enough of an update for you R? I was super busy last week trying to finish that blanket, and procrastinating equally hard on said blanket!
One thing that was absolutely darling about the shower was that instead of a card, guests were asked to bring and sign a baby book instead. So they received many many baby books, and not a single duplicate! There were some of the classic Little Golden Books (not quite the Pokey Little Puppy but along those lines), a few Dr. Seuss and many that I recognized from my childhood. My sister got a baby book version of Katy and the Big Snow by Virginia Lee Burton who did another book that I love called Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel about a guy who takes a bet to dig a cellar in a day and succeeds. :-P I got a "Baby's First Farm" book with big colored tabs with a picture of the ducks on the page, or the cows, or the pigs... etc. So if baby likes the pigs, all they have to do is find the colored tab with a pig on it.
Mister's little sister S is turning 15 on Tuesday, and we're heading up to his mother's house for the party. Part of her present will be helping her recover her ancient piano stool (at the suggestion of his mother) so I created a little coupon for it:
I had initially intended to use my calligraphy pens and ink, but when I did the practice version, I had a lot of problems getting the sizes that I needed, and the proper angles (all of my 'o's were crooked with the pens...). So I bought a super-fine point Sharpie and created it this morning.
Is this enough of an update for you R? I was super busy last week trying to finish that blanket, and procrastinating equally hard on said blanket!
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