Monday, March 30

version 4 want to make list

I think I did a good job on the last list without getting distracted. Some of things on this list I am not sure will fit into the crafting budget but I really haven't thought how I will spend April's budget yet and it starts on Wednesday! niiice!

updated 6.1.09

Easter


crochet egg ornaments done!
fabric eggs

Crochet


bombay love baby sweater done!

Knit

sedum sweater on ravelry
lace panel cardi done!
shalom cardigan pdf on the sidebar (I think will add sleeves) frogged


Sewing


sunny day top done!
quilted wallet
cuddle pillow done!
vinyl baby bib
circular knitting needle holder done!
stacked coin quilt done!
fabric barn done
wrap skirt or peasant skirt
margaret sling bag or the hobo bag

Embroidery

pretty maids 1 of 5 left done!
quilt block for school done!
stitched cards
love heart and/or alphabet pillow love heart done!

Decorating

fabric square frame
framed silhouettes wip, just need frames
fabric flowers for my table done!



Previous Lists:
Version 1
Version 2
Version 3

Sunday, March 29

done and done

51 pairs of beaded socks
holy moly! 51 socks beaded, crocheted, labeled, and ready to ship tomorrow! Surprisingly, I am not as sick of beaded socks as I thought I would be when I finished. The store was really great and let me design whatever socks I wanted, I just had to keep specific colors and sizes in mind. I am anxious to hear how they sell in their store.

I got my purse finished up today. I don't think it is as big as I originally thought it was working up as, definately not Mary Poppins style. I am going to give the purse a whirl tomorrow, but I think I already like it!
butterfly cable purse
oops, I just realized I haven't sewn the buttons on, I can see the buttonholes from here.

I am sitting here sort of at a loss. I had a bunch of projects to work on and then that sock order. and now they are all done. I haven't been thinking ahead to my next project. I started and then stopped a few things tonight but you know what? It feels pretty good just sitting here talking to you. I hope you had a wonderful weekend! boo to Monday.

Thursday, March 26

lining and cookies

March 248

Thank you for suggesting Future Girl's lining tutorial. It looked really helpful but I decided not to go her route because I was concerned that my purse wasn't as a perfect square as her's was. I kinda just winged it on the cutting and I got a great tip from someone on Ralvery to use a gather stitch to get a perfect fit on the top which really was my main concern. I took a few photos to share what I did but it was late at night and that fluorescent lighting is not a friend of photos. If I can salvage them I do want to share because without the help on Ralvery, I would have never figured out to get a perfect fit for the lining, blogland was surprisingly quiet on that issue. I added a pocket and key holder to the lining as well. There is a tad too much fabric on the bottom but I am anxious to start using it and see if it is bothersome. I can always redo it.
March 247
ps. I really like that fabric.

All I need to do now is attach the handles which would take just a few minutes but my big beaded sock order came in this week and I am swamped with it! 51 pairs!!! That is a trunk load in my book. I am selling them to a children's store in Burley, Idaho! very exciting but a lot of work. I am almost half way done and would love to be able to finish this weekend but we shall see.

It was the husband's birthday yesterday. My friend Nicole made the cutest baby shower cookies and she shared all her recipes and how to's (totally unrelated: also check out this really cute baby room decor). This was perfect because the husband didn't want a cake so fun cookies were a must. I chose a camel cookie cutter because I think camels and my husband are hardcore. My icing techniques need some major work and really the cookies look like they would fit right in at a 4 year olds birthday (maybe it is the polkadots?). But he loved them and our girl enjoyed biting their heads off?! yikes! This was indeed a fun little project to try. Thanks Nicole!

March 253

Monday, March 23

an "award" but not for my purse

here is my purse:
Butterfly cable purse

After seaming the bottom and trying it on. I like it a bit more. I wasn't sure that I wanted to possibly waste my time with lining it but I will. I have never lined a knitted or crocheted purse before so why not try and at least learn something. My first attempt was last night. Purse 1, Jenni 0. I think I shall do some reading on lining first and then try again. any suggestions?

I was very excited to check one of my favorite blogs and found she gave me an award. How FUN! Shorty at Securityville is really funny and sarcastic. I don't read too many blogs like hers so I like the uniqueness of her too.

Now I must list seven things that I love, then pass this award on to seven bloggers that bring me tons of joy!

1. obvious choice. I love my family. 2. I love organization. It makes me feel warm, fuzzy, and calm. 3. um, crafting? yes please! 4. I love all the sharing that goes on through blogs. I have learned and tried so many things thanks to all the sharing of ideas. 5. I love my little blog. I like keeping a record of what I make and I like to try and give back for all the sharing that I have come across. 6. I love the little pats on my back from my daughter while she is hugging me. 7. I love finding a good deal especially on crafty bits!

I am going to award.. 1. Our Little Life 2. Salt and Chocolate 3. The Toby Show 4. F 5. Elise Blaha: Enjoy It 6. my happy little life 7. UK Lass in US

Sunday, March 22

belly vest and bunny

OH I am in LOVE! I have finished two of the cutest projects ever. Look at this little baby vest? could you just die? could you see a cute baby belly sticking out in this thing? I don't think I could handle that!
manly vest

manly vest

manly vest

Pattern: Pebble, Manly Cobblestone Vest
Yarn: Patons Shetland Chunky Tweeds, earthbrown




Lilly's bunny

Then, look at this bunny! I was very happy with how it turned out. It looks like a bunny! My girl was just all over me while I was sewing all the parts together. She could see it was an animal of sorts and she wanted it. The plan was to put this into her Easter basket. But c'mon, your child loves something that you made?! tell me you wouldn't give in either! She helped me pick the tail yarn. Not a surprise she went for her new favorite color, blue. When she went to sleep last night, I heard her whisper "nite nite" and then a big sloppy kiss. (heart melting)

Lilly's bunny

Pattern: Bella the Bunny
Yarn: Lionbrand Pound of Love



A whole other story is my purse. I finished the knitting but not sure I love it, it is huge! I think I would feel a little like Mary Poppins dragging this thing to work. Once I weave in ends and seam the bottom I will show you and get some feedback, I hope!

Wednesday, March 18

Randoms and Spicy Black Bean Chili

:: my cable purse is sooooo close...BUT my needle broke! How can that happen? Well I was knitting on the circular needles backwards. I should have had the right side of the purse to the inside but this is my first project working in the round so after I cast on, I flipped the needles as if it was a flat project (doh!). After the first row I got the hang of knitting in the round and continued on but now with the needles backwards. As the purse was getting bigger, I was creating more work for myself by having to force the right needle straight and finally the plastic connector snapped. I only have 12 more rows left (after decreasing this will fly by)!! I am hoping my big sock order gets here today so I don't have to sit and stare at my broken needle until I go get another one. Ah well, lesson learned, I will never again hold my circular needle wrong!

:: have you seen the show Weeds? If you don't mind a few cuss words with your humor, WATCH it! It is really funny. We just signed up for Netflix. You can watch as many online shows and movies as you want! really cool and much more convenient than RedBox.

:: my friend Nicole is looking to buy a house. So she showed me a couple listings and I got all excited. So I looked up some listings back in Portland, Oregon. I found this one! How great are those windows??? the kitchen needs some work but those windows would do wonders for indoors photos.

:: the black bean chili was AWESOME (said like Kelly Kapoor)! It ended up being too spicy to share with my girl but we just loved it. I have made a few chilis with black beans in the past few months but this one was by far the best as noted by the husband. The husband would not touch beans for most of his life, just ask his mom. So I am so happy that he has slowly opened up to them. The same thing happened with avocados. It is still happening with bananas. But really he enjoys anything I cook.

Spicy Black Bean Chili

Spicy Black Bean Chili (recipe modified from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

1 tsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chili powder (I ran out or I would have added more)
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp cumin (I LOVE cumin)
1 tsp grill seasoning
3 cups cooked black beans or 2 15.5 oz cans, drained and rinsed
2 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
1 4 oz can diced green chilies
1 cup water
salt and pepper

cooked chili toppings:
shredded cheese
avocados
cilantro
grape tomatoes
tortilla chips

Heat olive oil in saute pan. Saute onions for a minute or two, add carrots. After 2 or 3 more minutes and onions are softer add garlic, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, grill seasoning. Cook for 30 seconds more and remove from heat. (I do this the night before and add all other ingredients to a big bowl, throw the bowl into the fridge. This helps with less prep in the morning and colder ingredients can add time to your cooking. As for most people, a 6-8 hour cooking time just doesn't work for us). Turn the crockpot on to low and dump cold ingredients in (do not add chili toppings). Cook on low for 9ish hours.

Add toppings and enjoy!

Monday, March 16

cable purse update and cooking

cable purse 3.14.09
(Saturday's progess)

The cable purse is coming along nicely. The pattern is really comfortable and somehow my fingers remember when to switch from knitting to purling while my mind is floating elsewhere. I thought cables would be a lot harder but nope it is just fun. I think my purse will be a lot bigger than the pattern. The pattern called for size 8 circular needles but I wanted size 10 circulars for another project and was trying to conserve funds. I thought having a bigger purse wouldn't be a bad problem to have. I am interested to see how it will end up, hopefully not too big for an everyday purse. I do walk to work and carry papers, a notebook, and my lunch. When I am going somewhere with my girl, diapers and snacks go in the purse so a larger purse might just be perfect.

I was in a cooking funk the past couple of weeks. Thankfully, dinner with some friends last weekend totally inspired me to get back in the kitchen and cook new things. I revamped our menu for the month and this past weekend we tried making indian food. I made dal (recipe from Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker) and naan. The dal was sort of a bust. I am not sure if it was the recipe or I didn't add any cayenne so Lilly could eat it but it was kinda blah. BUT the naan was awesome (cooked in a pan instead of a grill). Once chicken goes on sale again we are going to try this recipe for chicken jalfrezi. and make the naan of course.
naan

I really like the cookbook I mentioned above. Reviews on Amazon gave the cookbook 4.5 stars so it must be a good one. The dal recipe was the first one that we tried and didn't like. Spicy black bean chili is on the menu tomorrow so I will let you know how that goes. My poor husband has been dealing with the same meals over and over in my cooking rut, he is pumped to have some different meals. I decided to reward him with a good old meat and potatoes meal of roast beef with potatoes and carrots in the crockpot from The Toby Show this weekend. This was so good. I really enjoyed the potatoes and carrots, they will still crunchy not all smushy. PS. if you don't already read The Toby Show you should. She has the best activities for kids, quite the array of recipes, and she is FUNNY.

Friday, March 13

pretty little maids

This week I haven't had too much new to share in the ways of crafting. I made a few slippers and nursing cover gifts but more importantly I have been embroidering. I have 4 of the 5 girls done. I might go back and fix things here and there. One mouth needs work and all the eyes are missing something, I need to play with them.
pretty little maids quilt

pretty little maids quilt

pretty little maids quilt

pretty little maids quilt

pretty little maids quilt

To be honest I am debating on the 5th girl, I am just not sure I am loving her as much as the other 4. Her hat doesn't seem to fit with the other girls. I was also getting a bit annoyed with embroidering, I need a little break. AND I have just the project! I am going to make myself a new purse with this pattern. I am going to use the yarn below and make a fabric lining. I am so excited to start this I can hardly stand it! I am hoping I make a big dent in this project this weekend because on Monday something big is happening. The mail should bring me a HUGE order for beaded socks. Like HUGE! 40 pairs! I am going to be up to my eyeballs in beads and buttons. I hope you have something planned for a wonderful weekend!

cable purse

Sunday, March 8

Quilted!

Not only did I get the binding done this weekend but the quilt made it through the wash without those old fabrics dissolving. whew!

Gram's Quilt

Thursday, March 5

this weeks happenings

Thank you for your kind comments about Lilly's kimono! I have not let her wear it to daycare. EEEEKK!! what would happen to it there??

I started embroidering this week for my pretty little maids quilt. I love this first maid. She is finished now but not quite in this picture. These maids are set 1 from Jenny B at Allsorts. She has a set 2 now too, so adorable. My husband's grandmother is amazing at needlepoint. Her needlepoint projects are just, well, amazing! Over Christmas she let me go through her embroidery thread stash and take a few things. I got some silk thread in green, brown, and terra cotta. I love those colors but didn't know what I was going to do with them until that fabric. How perfect!
pretty little maids all in a row quilt

I have been looking for a knitted sweater pattern for myself. A few have caught my eye but this one I LOVE. This is just the sort of sweater I want to wear every.single.day. However, this is the most difficult pattern I have thought about attempting and for such a nice and time consuming pattern I want to buy some good yarn. I picked some yarn out and it would wipe out an entire months crafting budget for this project. Which is fine but what if I mess up?? But I understand the directions of the pattern, could I do it or should I try something else first? But I love this sweater. I want to wear it right now. While I am wrestling that, have you seen this vest pattern?? Soulemama posted about it last week and I have been dreaming about it ever since. It is definately going on my next want to make list.

I tried a new crochet pattern for newborn hats. This pattern is great. I love the little detailing at edge, great for those little girls.
no blue project hats 3.3.09

I am really looking forward to my weekend. The husband has no work to do which means TONS of mommy bubble craft time!

Sunday, March 1

Lilly's Kimono

This was such a fun and quick knit! My girl was so cute when I was getting the sweater on, she put her hands on the front of the sweater and says "nice!" Then she ran into show her dad! That totally made my day. Pattern here.

Lilly's kimono

Lilly's kimono

Lilly's kimono

Lilly's kimono

Lilly's kimono