A Hat. For ME! and a little Stash Busting too!

The Purl Bee recently ran a blog post on the Mushroom hat, which looked too cute not to knit! With a dog to walk and the frigid Illinois winter fast approaching, it was a perfectly timed post to motivate me to pick the needles back up. I am in the need to do some stash busting so I dug out some red Cotton Fine and doubled the yarn to create my own version, which is probably not as warm as the wool version but it fits nicely and is super cute.

Progress... those poor Denise needles, which were the only game in town WAY BACK WHEN in the exchangeable circular needle set, have been chewed on by said walk-requiring dog on several occasions. Not enough to toss the needles but enough to require some sanding to prevent major snagging action.


Finished product!


Side view...


Hmmm. Never really paid much attention to how flat my face was... also my nose needs some powder... also I slouch... But look at that shiny hair! If I told you I switched from my salon brand shampoo to a bargain basement brand would you believe me? Because I did. And it is fabulous! And good for the pocketbook!

Front view...


Project pattern and notes found here, in the Mushroom Hat Project Journal I tried the hat out with a ponytail, as suggested by the author of the pattern, and it is still cute - no giant pony-tail bump!

I will also share a little technological tidbit. This was the first pattern I used that wasn't in a book or wasn't likewise printed on a piece of paper! I bookmarked the journal page in my iPhone and referred to the pattern when I needed it. Additionally, since I am forever losing those little katchakatcha knitting counters, I found a free app that does exactly that - it's called Knit Counter (Lite version is free) and the free version had enough in it to keep up (sometimes free apps are awful and just a tease to get you to buy the full version but not this one!). I could keep track of two different row patterns AND a total set count (that's three counters, one handy app!). A really neat note about this app, is that if you want to start over on the row count (because you have a 4-row repetition) you can just hit "frog" and count back the number of rows you need! So incredibly convenient. And free!

Somebody looked at Somedoggie's "bed" (a/k/a old twin sized comforter from Joe's college days) and realized that Somedoggie had ripped the behoozes out of it. So, Somebody went and took advantage of the fleece sale and made up a little zippered duvet cover, using the ripped up comforter as the inside, complete with attached blankie for maximum snoogling. Because Somedoggie enjoys a good snoogle inside a blanket.

See? Getting into snoogling position


Eventually I decided that it was missing... something... so on went a little bone. Oh look, somebunny decided to get in the bed. It's been a while since I've done any needlework, which is more than slightly obvious here. Oh well, I don't think Frankie is going to mind too terribly.


He eventually came downstairs and look! Doesn't seem to mind the dodgy needlework at all :)

Day in the Park Backpack/Tote

Liesel and Co. ran a sale recently on the Day in the Park Backpack/Tote pattern and I had to snatch it up - the picture looked too cute and the versatility was appealing. As it turned out, it took a while for me to gather the requisite materials but once the fabric and interfacing was procured and the rings and grommets ordered, it went incredibly quickly.

The pattern pieces are clearly numbered and marked, as are the instructions. I loved the "hints" provided in the instructions to make life a little easier for the absent-minded sewer like myself :)


When it was all said and done, I managed to get the stripes lined up on the corresponding pieces and also managed to not break my not-very-strong sewing machine in the process, as the layers of interfacing made it a bit dodgy at times. Part of that problem was mine though, because I had used such lightweight fabric I overcompensated with the heavy-duty interfacing. It is a nice, sturdy bag now though. Tried it out in the city today both as a tote and as a backpack and both were marvelous.



The interior is roomy, yet with the zippered pockets and patch pocket inside things are always within easy reach


The result of all of this careful planning on Liesel + Co.'s part is a fantastic bag. Can not sing the praises of this pattern enough. If you do try it out, but aren't sure if you have access to grommets and rings go ahead and order the kit from the website. It will make your life that much easier!

When the temperatures do not go above 65 in mid-July, it is appropriate to eat things one would associate with fall weather. We chose Slow Cooker Potato Soup and Pretzel Rolls, which was warming and perfect for the somewhat bleak day outside.

Slow -Cooker Potato Soup
adapted from the Gooseberry Patch Comfort Foods Recipe Book (2007)

6 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 stalks of celery, chopped
5 cups of vegetable stock
1 Tbsp dried parsley
¼ tsp pepper
1 Tbsp salt (or less, depending on how much salt your stock has)
1/3 cup unsalted butter, cut up*
12 oz can evaporated milk*

Combine all ingredients except milk in a slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 3- 4 hours or low for 10-12 hours
Stir in milk during last hour of cooking.
Right before serving ladle as much as will fit into your blender into the blender. Put the cover on, slap a towel on top and puree.
Mix the pureed soup back into the rest of the soup and the soup should become creamy in consistency. If not creamy enough, repeat the blender step.

Ladle into bowls, enjoy.


* If you want to make this gluten free and dairy free, just leave these two items out and puree as much of the soup as you can to get the creamy consistency.

The Pretzel Rolls were courtesy of Heather Lalley, a/k/a FlourGirl. Go and get her recipe and start the rolls in time for them to cool before dinner. She shapes them into buns but we stuck with the traditional dinner roll. They were easy and perfect the first time out, a pretzel-y outer crust:


And a tasty chewy inside:


This pair will be making repeated appearances this fall, we ate dinner and decided we felt like carving pumpkins. Of course, that would have been silly since it is still mid-July.

Checking my mail

It is pretty rare that I get to keep something I make, minus the silly camera strap here and there, things generally go away as gifts. I have a list of things I want to make for ME, but they all got moved aside when oliver+s ran a sale on their Backpack tote (still going on through tomorrow - 17th)

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of the pattern and searching for the right fabric to use!

PJ set

It's been a rough week here and I'm hoping to get back on the horse by doing some crafty/tasty things.

First up is a PJ set for my growing girl. She is one of those people who is hot all.the.time and at night she goes into nuclear mode. Even in the summer, when the AC is on, she does not do well at night - soaking through shirts and generally not sleeping well with the heat.

I set out to make a cute PJ set for my little heat box, and found an adorable shirt from the book Girly Style Wardrobe that would work well. This coupled with a simple short from the Pajama's for Everyone pattern in Heather Ross' book, Weekend Sewing (made into shorts by just using the top portion of the patterns) and we have cute, cool dreams (I hope!)

Everything Tote, Again

Last time I tried the Everything Tote, I was smitten with everything except the size. I knew this tote was just the right thing for my mom and MIL for Mother's Day but that it was too big.

After some quick alterations to the overall size the result was as follows, much more manageable for people who don't carry their entire lives in their handbags (ahem):

The bag I made for my mom is so pretty, I love this home decor fabric.


The interior is also peaceful


My MIL's bag:

Simple Thank You Jars

159/365, originally uploaded by pikatures.

The last day of school means thanking all of the wonderful teachers one more time for all of their hard work this year.

We took small mason jars and made them into thank you note holder/picture frames and filled them with candy and stamps. In case the teachers wanted to use the jars as pencil holders later we made sure to use pretty double-sided cardstock as our base layer, placed a layer of solid, coordinating cardstock on top and then finally a white piece to hold the art. The teacher's names were written on little flowers that we affixed to the picture and I had SweetGirl write a small note of thanks to each teacher on the bottom.

Very simple, yet hopefully meaningful to each recipient. It was interesting to see what was drawn on each picture, as each was very different. Her music teacher got all sorts of music notes dangling from the ceiling of her classroom on her picture :)

I credit my mom with pretty much every creative fiber of my being I possess. Mom is the original master seamstress, papercrafter and cook in our household - the three of us were fortunate enough to get some of that gift. One of the distinctive memories I have of one of the things Mom made while we were growing up was shu-cream (Japanese Cream Puffs, known to most folks as a variation of the French pastry, Pate a Chou). Mom used to make them often, and I have been thinking about these Cream Puffs.

So, in honor of Mother's Day, I set out to recreate some of the magic that came out of Mom's kitchen.

Japanese cookbooks are written with weighted measurements, as opposed to cups - which, if you read Alton Brown's I'm Just Here For More Food you'll see that he thinks this is a more accurate way to measure for baking. So I remember my Mom (and my sisters, when they would bake) carefully measuring things out on a bright red manual scale. I don't have a beautiful red scale. I have... a modern digital thing which is smaller than Mom's scale but doesn't have the personality it has.

So with my scale I set to work with Alton Brown's Pate a Chou recipe. Having never made them before I was more than a little worried when they came out of the piping bag looking like this.
Really Alton? Measuring by weight is BETTER?!


Then, after the baking process they surprised me by doing their magical baking thing and turning into this
I'm sorry Alton, I should have never doubted you


The challenge, as it is, was finding a good custard recipe. I didn't want a white, over sugary confection in the middle. I wanted a very distinct and pudding-like custard. It has been many years since having had Mom's version but the flavor and texture of the custard is imprinted in my brain (tastebuds). Thanks to the internet, I found a recipe:

Vanilla Custard

330g milk
1/2 vanilla pod or 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
110g sugar
40g cornstarch
6 egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whipping cream- until soft peaks form

1. Scald milk and vanilla, let it infuse for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the egg yolks, sugar, salt and cornstarch making sure there are no lumps.
3. Heat the milk until it starts to boil.
4. Temper your yolk mixture by pouring 1/3 of the milk into the yolk mixture and combine, then pour back the yolk mixture into the pot.
5. Continuously stir using a whisk until small bubble appear. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove and pour into another container and cover with cling film. Cool down and chill for 2 hours.
6. Once cold fold in the whipping cream. Place in fridge until ready to use.

*I should note here that my version did not set up properly after that first chill because the recipe called for corn flour and it just didn't set up. I had to put everything back on the stove and cornstarch in small quantities until it set up in custard-form. Then chill it again. Small setback, which I think could be avoided by using cornstarch from the get-go.

Eventually it was perfect. Once it was chilled and piped into the Puffs they were just as I remembered them.


Almost as good as Moms.

Bias Tape

Bias Tape, originally uploaded by pikatures.

Bias tape makers are awesome (and incredibly simple to use).

1/2 inch bias tape for a shirt I made for myself, plenty left over for something else. I can see myself making a slew of bias tape just for kicks. That is probably not very healthy.

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125/365, originally uploaded by pikatures.

8:45 p.m.

It is pretty dark outside and these lights are the only thing lighting the way to the door. They are solar powered lights and therefore a little on the weak side, you can see how they usually look (just the top of the lamp lit) in the second lamp. With the magic of night photography, the lights look much more powerful (and the house very warm and inviting)

Tips courtesy of Shutter Sisters and Sarah-Ji

Not what I thought

I think I posted about the grand garden we were going to plant this year, full of all sorts of delectable edibles: tomato, pepper, cucumber, basil and dill?

Do you remember those beautiful photos I posted, from little seedlings to giant plants threatening to take over my kitchen?

Joe set out to work a couple of weekends ago and dug out the garden patch, a nice area by the house in full sun, and set it apart from the lawn with some nice pavers (which, guess what? Were on sale! I'm going to have to change the name of this blog to "too cheap to pay full price" or something if this keeps up). That night I set out and planted careful rows of plants.

Then it got really cold on Tuesday - I was afraid. But the plants, looking slightly less robust, were still doing ok on Wednesday morning. Then on Friday morning as Joe was walking out the door he said "you know all the plants died, right?" And I ran over to the window to survey the damage.

The entire plot? Gone. Some stems here and there, but for the most part all gone.

It appeared that my black hand of death had struck again and my poor plants (all those lovely seedlings!!) were dead.

Then yesterday as I was getting the kids ready for bed, I hear Aiko yelling "Look! The bunny is back!!"

Sure enough, I look outside to see a little furry creature nibbling on my almond bushes.

A couple of years ago we had a ton of rabbits running around our house, until our neighbor boxed them up and took them far away and released them (I still have problems with this). That year we lost many plants and our bushes suffered greatly from the nibbling, but it was kind of nice to be surrounded by all that wildlife. I was greatly disappointed when the neighbor told me what he had done (after the fact, of course) and then for a year or so we didn't see any more bunnies.

And our landscaping flourished.

With the return of our fuzzy friends it appears that it is not my black hand of death that killed off my plants but the rabbits who had a smorgasbord in my backyard. This would explain the complete disappearance of the seedlings, as opposed to seeing shriveled up dead plants in the garden.

So good news, I don't kill plants that easily. Bad news, the rabbits are back. Someone help my poor almond plants (which are apparently the tastiest thing we have, and prettiest at the moment as they are starting to bloom brilliant pink and white blooms).

Everything Tote from Weekend Sewing

The sewing machine has been whirring and clicking away since Easter (not that the posts here would indicate anything to that effect) but some of it is super secret so I can't post it yet.

There is at least one thing I can show you, The Everything Tote from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross.



When she says Everything, she is NOT kidding. This bag is giant, but perfect for me since I tend to carry my entire life around in a single outing.

This is the first time in a long time I have made something for myself - everything is usually a gift or for my kids. Anyway, this fabric jumped out and grabbed me during a sale and you know me - I can't resist fabric on sale!



If you do attempt this bag from the book, please keep in mind that you should read her errata page which indicates that you will need more than the yardage noted in the book. The errata page increases yardage to one whole yard, I would go a little more if you want to cut your straps the way they are called for in the book (if you get creative with the strap placement on the fabric you can get away with just a yard, there might be some more seam sewing involved with the handles).

One alteration I did make to the pattern with this bag was the manner in which the binding and handles were put on. I wanted a wider binding/handle attachment so I sewed the binding/handle on as directed in step one (right sides together on outside of bag) then instead of a traditional binding, where you fold the entire long edge under and then top stitch, I took advantage of the fact that the binding/handles are lined and just folded them over the top of the bag and stitched them into place, without the binding fold. It was a matter of necessity for me, as I used home decorator fabric on the outside and the fabric sandwich was impossibly thick to sew through with my needle (use of a tougher needle would have helped here).

Anyway, I'm pleased as punch and plan on making a couple more perhaps slightly smaller bags.

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Originally uploaded by pikatures

If you haven't checked out Karen Tack & Alan Richardson's book, Hello, Cupcake! I highly recommend getting it immediately. It is such a great resource of beautiful, inspirational pictures and clear instructions on creating each masterpiece shown.

These Easter egg themed cupcakes took a little time to make but the results were fantastic. I would definitely take their advice and nuke the crackers to make them easier to cut for the egg shapes (you'll notice that several cupcakes do not have the "eggs" as I ran out of graham crackers due to breakage).

The recipes included are also delightfully delicious. These were made from the carrot cake cupcake and cream cheese frosting recipes in the book. Don't omit the raisins and walnuts, they really make this cake special.

Because it is the season, our local Target carried all of the necessary sugars and decor - no special trips necessary! Actually, everything except the blue sugar was part of a giant canister of decorations with sugars and decorations (on sale!)

Next year I'll get the extra large eggs

I had not intended to do much more beyond the paper/pencil wraps for Easter in the creativity department. The plan was to do the egg dye project today (as there was no school) and plop them into a new-fangled rabbit-shaped egg holder and voila! Instant centerpiece. If only Easter dinner cooked itself as easily.

Imagine my surprise when I finished boiling all of the eggs and went to plop them into the holder to cool and dry - and they fell right through. Apparently this rabbit requires eggs of the extra large variety. So now, we had eggs but no vessel with which to hold them.

Out of necessity is born a craft! This is actually Joe's idea, as he was walking out the door he casually threw out the suggestion to cut apart the egg carton, glue on some ears and make rabbits out of them to hold the eggs.

After he left (and after I had my morning tea, because NOTHING happens before morning tea), we started our little project.

You'll see below that we did not wind up gluing the ears on and simply used the shape of the carton. You can all it creative - I call it lazy and not wanting to get out felt and glue :)

Empty egg carton

Empty egg carton meets scissors (cut in between the cups, as you will need those ridgy bits attached to them for the ears).

Choose which ridgy bits (I believe this is a very technical term, no?) you wish to use for the ears and cut away the unnecessary parts, but don't cut into the cups too much because otherwise they won't hold your eggs. You'll notice that the uneven ridges are good because you get some rabbits with very attentive ears and others who have lop-ears.

Paint.

Behind the excited boy with paint you can see the wire rabbit that caused all of this excitement.

Dry

Now that the eggs have cooled, have fun with them:

After everything is dry, sit back and admire the rabbit colony on your table.

It appears that the Easter Bunny has been sewing items for certain Easter baskets this year. I found SkiptomyLou's tutorial on how to make these cute paper pad and pencil holders through mmmcrafts, and decided that perhaps this could be a cute item for both of the kids.

I didn't have any leftover denim or placemats to use but I did have a nice coupon and time to peruse the fat quarter sets that were delightfully on sale. The thing about those fat quarter sets at major box stores though, is that some of it is complete and total crum (as in, there is definitely a reason why they are only selling a fat quarter of this and definitely a reason why it is part of a super duper discounted set). The great thing is that you can find a hidden gem or two in there if you poke about a bit. I didn't really have to think about picking out coordinating fabrics because it was all coordinating! Couple that with the sale price and I couldn't say no.

This project used 3 fat quarters, the pencil pocket and paper pocket were cut from the same quarter. It is also sturdied up a bit (is that even a phrase?) with thick iron-on interfacing (which was still soft enough to sew through, although there are others out there that can be used that can't be sewn, just make sure your interfacing pieces fall well within your seam allowances). Giant button and ribbon are scraps from home. See, packrat behavior is highly helpful for this type of project!

The pencils are the Crayola twistable (erasable!) pencils, which are skinny enough to fit in the little slots and have the added bonus of not having tips to break off (the tips swirl right back into the plastic casing) making this craft ideal for shoving in bags for waiting room entertainment. Hopefully the kids will enjoy them, and even if they don't it only took an afternoon of sewing to complete them so it was more a fun, quick thing for me to try out :)

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Originally uploaded by pikatures

I'm not sure why the weather has not gotten the memo that it is SPRING (April 6, y'all!!) but there you have it. Snow on the ground and sweet pea growing indoors.

At this rate we are never going to be able to use those lawn chairs.

The GardenProject 2009 has been going pretty well. The greenhouse packs we bought have helped the starter plants really get going. So much so that the cucumber starter plants have outgrown their current home. Which is why it is even more important for the weather to start cooperating so we can plant them in their summer home and get that process going. Also doing well? Tomato, pepper, basil and dill. Not so hot? Rosemary.

I'm trying my hand at some dianthus and sweet pea flowers as well, I was hoping to add the dainthus to the front area soon to infuse it with color but those plants are not exactly prospering like the sweet peas are. Not sure what to make of it, other than to say that when we took the seeds out of the seed packs they were not very healthy looking. I just chalked that up to being how the seeds were.

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Originally uploaded by pikatures

I will write more about this later, eventually with better pictures. Suffice it to say that I am so relieved to be done with this jacket - it's a fully tailored jacket, finished with bias tape at all the seams - that I am going to reward myself by... starting on a new project.

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Originally uploaded by pikatures

We ordered these capes almost a year ago - incredible that until this moment that he could have cared less about its existence. However, he put it on today and ran around the house. Such cuteness!

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85/365
Originally uploaded by pikatures

It's been a very long day, but I got to skip out a bit early to come home and watch the Boilermakers (who lost spectacularly to UConn). I like to stuff my cheeks like a chipmunk while eating, while the LittleMan double fists his food and drink. He also would lean over and "feed" his lamb.

Lazy Days Skirt

Oliver + S posted a free pattern for the Lazy Days Skirt and I immediately placed it in the "things I want to do" queue. Take one look at the instructions and you will know why - no patterns, minimal finishing and the brilliant ribbon hem finish!

I finished up some other sewing projects (to be posted later when I replace my broken camera) and made room for the skirt. My sister and brother in law had sent SweetGirl some new paperback books to try and wrapped them with a beautiful purple ribbon. It was just the thing I was looking for!

Materials:


It only took about 1/2 yard of the fabric shown as SweetGirl wanted something knee length.

One morning worth of work (keeping in mind both kids are home right now due to Spring Break thus requiring entertaining) and:


Super sweet and super simple.

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83/365
Originally uploaded by pikatures

The BookIt program is still alive and running! When I was in elementary school we would earn star stickers on our special badges to get our personal pizza from Pizza Hut. Now, they get little certificates after turning in monthly log sheets. The end result is the same - personal pan pizza and a happy kid.

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77/365
Originally uploaded by pikatures

Sneak peek at a finished project. It's a slightly less traditional (ie: casual) Easter dress. Hopefully SweetGirl will have a use for it outside of Easter, as I am completely smitten with the fabric.

Details of the pattern used and outfit on a person to come, I had to make some alterations to it because it was so big but I think I've managed to make it work for this year (and for maybe another year).

Tooth Fairy Pillow

When SweetGirl lost her first tooth last month - we did the traditional thing of putting her teeny, tiny tooth under her giant pillow before she went to bed. When she woke up, the magical tooth fairy had come to visit and replaced the teeny, tiny tooth with monetary goodness!

The whole time she was going through the process of putting her tooth under her pillow I was stressing: Would the tooth fairy be able to visit without rousing the child? Would the tooth still be there because said child is a violent sleeper and her pillow is never where it starts at the beginning of the night? Would monetary goodness remain in place under pillow? Would tooth fairy be clumsy and accidentally do bad things thus waking child up?

The only logical solution, in my very messed up mind, was to make a tooth fairy pillow. After scouring the internet for ideas, I came back to one of my favorite craft/sewing sites, mmmcrafts. Turns out she had recently designed and put up a tutorial for exactly the item I was looking for! So with great appreciation to Larissa, I give you SweetGirl's tooth fairy pillow with our own modifications (no wings or crown, and embroidered eyes which aren't my best work but adds that homey touch, particularly since they are all the way up in the tooth's forehead. Oy). Obviously, hers is much more... polished, but I couldn't put button eyes on this pillow after having SweetGirl read Coraline! It eagerly awaits SweetGirl's next tooth to be placed in the little mouth pouch, and will hang quite nicely on her headboard - far away from late night tossing and turning.

Funky Hats

SweetGirl's school is participating in the NEA's Read Across America Program this week and as part of their festivities they have the kids do a Seuss-inspired 'something' each day of the week (wear crazy socks, wild hair day, wacky hat day, etc.)

Tomorrow is wacky hat day, and since it is Dr. Seuss themed I made a hat (because a normal parent would have dug out a hat from the play closet and I am anything but normal). It only took part of the day today and was a quick project. They are both fully lined so the seams don't itch (and to hide the fusible bonding) so it took slightly longer than I had anticipated, but it still wasn't too bad.

The first hat I made (on the right) was too small for SweetGirl's head (don't get me started on her larger than life noggin), and because I used craft fusing it had no droop and wound up looking more "Lincoln" than "Cat in the Hat". You know, if Lincoln wore a red and white striped hat.

The properly sized hat has a nice wacky quality to it (and it is taller, as requested).

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Originally uploaded by pikatures

Step two of Garden Project 2009. Someone is carefully putting the soil in the cell packs. Someone else is pouring soil on the ground. Both someones had fun planting various seeds and using the flags they made to mark which pack held what. We can't wait to see what happens this year!

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Originally uploaded by pikatures

The start of GardenProject 2009.

Every year, something goes terribly wrong. The first year, we tried starting pumpkin seeds in egg cartons by our back stoop. The birds came and had a snack. The next year we managed to grow larger than life (taller than the garage) Sunflowers - which was great, except taking them down at the end was cumbersome. The year after that we tried sunflowers again, only to be thwarted by the chipmunks.

This year, we got all technical - picked up garden cell packs and seeds from the store and Aiko helped make little toothpick flags to mark what was where.

Here's to hoping this year will be a more successful year... wildlife beware!