Just a quick little post, and no pictures today...
If you crochet and enjoy seeing the things that you can make, I would like to suggest a site that is crammed full of links to crochet pages. It is a "linky" site and is posted every week or two -- once you get there, just click on some of the many pictures and it will open a new window to the blog that features that particular item.
Go to http://i-crochet.blogspot.com/
Put this blog on your Google Reader or your RSS Feed or your Favourites list, you will want to check back regularly!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Oh Sheet!
Another post about repurposing various things! This blog though is not just about reuse, recycle, repurpose, reclaim, but I do find that it is a fair part of what I do...
Rag Rugs. Now this is not one of the things that have satisfied me very well in the past. I have cut or torn up fabric or cloth that didn't seem to have any other use, into long strips --- usually about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch wide and crocheted the strips into baskets and various sized mats. I have never really felt they were pretty or particularly useful but this time it seems to have worked out nicely.
Rag Rugs. Now this is not one of the things that have satisfied me very well in the past. I have cut or torn up fabric or cloth that didn't seem to have any other use, into long strips --- usually about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch wide and crocheted the strips into baskets and various sized mats. I have never really felt they were pretty or particularly useful but this time it seems to have worked out nicely.
For some reason I thought I would try it again. Why? I don't know. Maybe I like using that giant size crochet hook. Maybe I feel not so guilty in cutting an already torn sheet into strips for a different way to use the cloth instead of into the bin (though it might also have been used as car rags too)
It takes forever to tear those strips --- then there are the straggling threads! Each strip has a few of those along the sides and if you don't pull them off, the whole thing can tangle which could cause a bit of frustration. There are a number of tutorials online of how to join the strips -- all I do is snip a hole in each end of each strip and pull one strip through both holes -- it makes a kind of turned and locked connection without making a big knot.
So I wound up the strips into one REALLY HUGE ball and starting in the centre used single crochet, increasing each round as needed. The beginning was six single crochet in a loop, the second round 2 single crochet in each stitch of the previous round, the next row, 2 single crochet in one stitch, then on single crochet continued around. Then the next row is one sc in each sc of the previous round, from there on in, I increase so that every second row has an increase of one more stitch in each repeat -- 3 sc in each previous sc then 2 in one, next row 1 in 1, next row 4 sc in each sc in each previous then 2 sc in one... Makes sense?
As the project progressed - and it does progress quickly -- I actually liked the looks of this project. It was laying flat, with no ripples or bulges, which meant my increases on each round were working out quite even. (oh, mark the start of each round so you have a general idea of when to work those increases).
It is about 36 inches from one side to the other. This is one whole queen size sheet, with the hems and selvedge discarded and the torn bit in the middle that was about 4 inches wide and the threads were very worn so I did not use the really thin section. Not too small and looks okay in front of the old wicker chair that my husband inherited from his grandmother some time before Time actually began. (we have a photo of him in that chair when he was about 5 years old -- and now he is not far from retirement and his gramma is long gone...)
Then I turned my back to do something and turned around again, to discover that Pearl had taken possession of the new rag rug and had made herself comfortable.
Not sure if I will do another -- but after previous failures at crocheting strips of fabric I would say this one has turned out to be quite pleasing so I am encouraged to consider rag rugs as a use for old sheets. I was thinking that a few of these would make good picnic or beach mats... Would a rag rug mat work on a park lawn under a tree on a spring afternoon to relax on while reading a book??
Saturday, October 22, 2011
AH-HA Recycling Moment
Lately I have been struggling to find BOXES. Most of the boxes I need are for shipping small items that I have sold in my ETSY store. The big and medium sized cardboard boxes are easy to find in the recycle bin or even free from a variety of stores about town. Even some of my friends keep me in mind when they come across boxes, especially small ones. But it still seems that I am having to hunt for little, little boxes!
Right now, I am needing boxes that are about 4 inches cubed -- not many boxes around that are that small...
I finally figured out I need to make my own (buying them just costs more that I am willing to pay).
Of course I get these ideas when there is little or no recycled cardboard for a project, so I just had to empty the current morning cereal box into a plastic container and cut into the box to make what I needed.
Right now, I am needing boxes that are about 4 inches cubed -- not many boxes around that are that small...
I finally figured out I need to make my own (buying them just costs more that I am willing to pay).
Of course I get these ideas when there is little or no recycled cardboard for a project, so I just had to empty the current morning cereal box into a plastic container and cut into the box to make what I needed.
So I opened up the cereal box - nice and flat.
Drew the lines with my big acrylic rotary cutting ruler. Measure twice, cut once - thats why you see that extra drawn line, with the crosshatch marks -- that is the wrong line to follow...
cut out the soon to be little box -- I just translated the design from regular boxes you find anywhere and used my own measurements.
A touch of glue on the one "tab" to create the square, then a piece of masking tape to help hold it.
I scored all my drawn lines with the scoring or embossing tool I had bought at least twenty years ago when I thought I might be interested in Scrapbooking.
And there it is! The perfect sized box for protecting and then shipping off some of the egg coddlers that are in my shop....
Now, I have to find 15 more cereal boxes and get busy drawing, cutting and folding.
Probably useful for some of the gifts that will need boxing and wrapping at Christmas? Do you think?
Have a great Saturday! Maybe just the day to get out there and rake up a few leaves and then yell at the kids for spreading them out again!?
Saturday, October 15, 2011
"They" Keep Making Things Easier!
Recently I have noticed a new element on some of the blogs that I visit. A box that says I can get an email whenever the blog writer has written a new post. Well, I just discovered today, that BLOGGER now offers that to blog readers!
So, this offers the reader another option of finding blogs that they want to return to and read on a regular basis. Instead of adding the blog to your favourites -- and that list of favourites can get so long you can't keep track of it anyway, or to your Google Reader List and again that list can become overwhelming, you now can receive an email that tells you that your favourite blog or webpage has been updated.
Take a look on the right side of my page at the top and you will see a place to type in your email address, when you click on submit, it will take you to a page that tells you to go to your email to confirm that you want to receive these updates. Say ok, or not if you made a mistake and then each time the writer has added new content to their blog or website you will get an email to tell you. Often, the email will include all the written text but not the pictures but will provide a link to the page so that you can go directly to the web page or blog, or you can choose to read the content and then delete the email.
Test it out, tell me what you think? Will it make it easier to keep up to the blogs you want to be reminded of?
I have 'subscribed' to a few that way and find it quite convenient for the way I use the internet.
Oh, and THANKS, if you decide to subscribe to my blog!
So, this offers the reader another option of finding blogs that they want to return to and read on a regular basis. Instead of adding the blog to your favourites -- and that list of favourites can get so long you can't keep track of it anyway, or to your Google Reader List and again that list can become overwhelming, you now can receive an email that tells you that your favourite blog or webpage has been updated.
Take a look on the right side of my page at the top and you will see a place to type in your email address, when you click on submit, it will take you to a page that tells you to go to your email to confirm that you want to receive these updates. Say ok, or not if you made a mistake and then each time the writer has added new content to their blog or website you will get an email to tell you. Often, the email will include all the written text but not the pictures but will provide a link to the page so that you can go directly to the web page or blog, or you can choose to read the content and then delete the email.
Test it out, tell me what you think? Will it make it easier to keep up to the blogs you want to be reminded of?
I have 'subscribed' to a few that way and find it quite convenient for the way I use the internet.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Shopping
I have taken a few days off from the blog, not by choice. I hurt my back - I don't know how and have been having muscle spasms for the past 4 days. Boy oh, boy! That can sure make one miserable! Well, I am not the kind of person who suffers in silence -- I let everyone around me know how crappy I feel and sad to say, I can get rather mean. My husband is the one who suffers in silence -- sometimes I wonder that he doesn't garrott me (strangle me) but he just does everything I ask for and even when I complain that he didn't do it right he tries again and again to please me...
BUT ANYWAY (I know that certain people who read this will agree and call me a bully and other people who know me will be surprised and say NO, not you, SUSAN) But yes, me -- not all the time tho, mostly I am a pretty nice person. (or try to be ) I like to think I work very hard to suppress some of the tendancies that come from my maternal side of the family and enhance the patience and consideration that comes from the paternal side.
I have been thinking about SHOPPING. I have been thinking about it because many people tend to spend more and want more as we get closer to the Christmas Season. Buying PRESENTS is what so many of us do for CHRISTMAS, but all those gifts, do we really want to buy them? or are some of those gifts simply because we feel obligated to get them.
Now, I am an online shop vendor and would love to encourage you to shop in my little store! But in all practicallity (did I spell that right?) that doesn't make sense -- I just don't have the variety of goods needed to satisfy everything on everyone's list. You would have to go to that big "W" or similar type of store to accomplish that! But. Then again, do you really need to be buying things just for the sake of buying them to fulfill an obligation? (I am working on a blog post that will explain some of the things to make shopping online easier to accomplish, especially if you have not done it before -- so come back in the next few days for a bit of a shopping tutorial)
Partly because of finances in the last three years, my thoughts on what I can give and what I want to give has become a major question in my household. There are a few people who I really LOVE giving things To and there are those that I have stopped giving To because of reasons that make giving a burden and a feeling of unappreciation.
The thought of a gift being just another piece of junk is quite frustrating to me because I generally try to give handmade items. (But even purchased gifts from those big store can quickly become junk when the recipient has no appreciation)
I don't give handmade because I am cheap -- by no means can you call todays raw materials for creating CHEAP! Even relatively inexpensive acrylic yarn is about $5 a skein and most things, even a scarf takes 2 or more skeins and that cost does not include the 20 hours or more that it takes to make the item!
A handmade scarf's value probably starts around $50! What about a set of quilted placemats? Fabric, at $15 a meter, or sometimes on sale about $10 a meter-- a set of 4 placemats will take 2 to 3 metres of fabric, plus the inner layer of batting which can equal the cost of the fabric. What about the thread, the needles and even the sewing machine that is needed to put the project together? Sewn items are a very good value -- would you think that including the time, materials and years of know how, that a $100 for a set of placemats is a reasonable value? Well, maybe it comes close.
How many people give you gifts that have that kind of value? Has anyone every given you a quilt -- would you think they were giving you something that should be valued at $500 or more? No? So what makes an iPad a better gift than a quilt, speaking strictly money wise?
Above all, most of the people who make things for those they LOVE, put LOVE into what they make, a special design, a special pattern, a special size -- ONE OF A KIND with thought and caring in every single stitch. When Ma, or Grandma makes a pair of mittens for you she is thinking about YOU when ever she is working on the project. What do they say? It's the thought that counts. Well, it surely is! You are being remembered and thought about when your handcrafted item is being made for you. Someone is thinking of you right now, while your gift is being made! The idea that someone has you in mind and perhaps is remembering good times they have spent with you is woven, hammered or sewn into the cellular structure of that item!
Why is the value of handcrafted items so undervalued and even looked upon as CHEAP? Now after this many years of giving "hand crafted items" I do understand that some people would rather get a new bedspread from one of those discount stores every year or even every season for $39 so that the bedspread can change with the season and the decor -- a hand crafted quilt will last 20 years, not 20 weeks like the mass produced item. Whenever you look at the hand made gift an image of it's maker rises up in your mind. Sweet Memories. Even years later when you no longer have the item or the maker in your life, you have the memory. How many broken plastic toys stay in your thoughts?
Now when you give something that you made to someone who wanted a game for their player and you have made a knitted hat, or perhaps spent hours cutting and sanding and finishing a toy box and you see that look of disappointment -- it is hard on your heart, I know. I have seen it, and I have done it to my own gramma myself -- today I would give almost anything for a pair of her knee high hand knitted cable ribbed socks -- but those are long ago gone and only a memory.
Hand made is becoming rarer and rarer in our world. Learning the craft of creating something is falling by the wayside, simply because it is easier to buy the mass produced winter hat, or the plastic doll, or the plastic, one time use tablecloth...
My little tirade here is not against purchased gifts -- there are certain things that it does take mass production to create, and we need to buy them too. Just think tho how precious those hand made things are -- the maker has to have started to make that item, weeks or months ahead of the gift giving day -- there is very little crafting going on, on Christmas Eve, a quilt or a crochet shawl or a stain glass lamp cannot be done up in the last shopping hours! Even buying hand made items from online shops or from local craft fairs means that the maker has been creating these things through the summer months when you went to the beach!
All, I am saying, is think about what you give and who you give it to. Is it a JOY to give, or is it an exercise in frustration?
Now, I am going up to my sewing space because I have a couple of things to sew up for some lovely little girls....
BUT ANYWAY (I know that certain people who read this will agree and call me a bully and other people who know me will be surprised and say NO, not you, SUSAN) But yes, me -- not all the time tho, mostly I am a pretty nice person. (or try to be ) I like to think I work very hard to suppress some of the tendancies that come from my maternal side of the family and enhance the patience and consideration that comes from the paternal side.
I have been thinking about SHOPPING. I have been thinking about it because many people tend to spend more and want more as we get closer to the Christmas Season. Buying PRESENTS is what so many of us do for CHRISTMAS, but all those gifts, do we really want to buy them? or are some of those gifts simply because we feel obligated to get them.
Now, I am an online shop vendor and would love to encourage you to shop in my little store! But in all practicallity (did I spell that right?) that doesn't make sense -- I just don't have the variety of goods needed to satisfy everything on everyone's list. You would have to go to that big "W" or similar type of store to accomplish that! But. Then again, do you really need to be buying things just for the sake of buying them to fulfill an obligation? (I am working on a blog post that will explain some of the things to make shopping online easier to accomplish, especially if you have not done it before -- so come back in the next few days for a bit of a shopping tutorial)
Partly because of finances in the last three years, my thoughts on what I can give and what I want to give has become a major question in my household. There are a few people who I really LOVE giving things To and there are those that I have stopped giving To because of reasons that make giving a burden and a feeling of unappreciation.
The thought of a gift being just another piece of junk is quite frustrating to me because I generally try to give handmade items. (But even purchased gifts from those big store can quickly become junk when the recipient has no appreciation)
I don't give handmade because I am cheap -- by no means can you call todays raw materials for creating CHEAP! Even relatively inexpensive acrylic yarn is about $5 a skein and most things, even a scarf takes 2 or more skeins and that cost does not include the 20 hours or more that it takes to make the item!
A handmade scarf's value probably starts around $50! What about a set of quilted placemats? Fabric, at $15 a meter, or sometimes on sale about $10 a meter-- a set of 4 placemats will take 2 to 3 metres of fabric, plus the inner layer of batting which can equal the cost of the fabric. What about the thread, the needles and even the sewing machine that is needed to put the project together? Sewn items are a very good value -- would you think that including the time, materials and years of know how, that a $100 for a set of placemats is a reasonable value? Well, maybe it comes close.
How many people give you gifts that have that kind of value? Has anyone every given you a quilt -- would you think they were giving you something that should be valued at $500 or more? No? So what makes an iPad a better gift than a quilt, speaking strictly money wise?
Above all, most of the people who make things for those they LOVE, put LOVE into what they make, a special design, a special pattern, a special size -- ONE OF A KIND with thought and caring in every single stitch. When Ma, or Grandma makes a pair of mittens for you she is thinking about YOU when ever she is working on the project. What do they say? It's the thought that counts. Well, it surely is! You are being remembered and thought about when your handcrafted item is being made for you. Someone is thinking of you right now, while your gift is being made! The idea that someone has you in mind and perhaps is remembering good times they have spent with you is woven, hammered or sewn into the cellular structure of that item!
Why is the value of handcrafted items so undervalued and even looked upon as CHEAP? Now after this many years of giving "hand crafted items" I do understand that some people would rather get a new bedspread from one of those discount stores every year or even every season for $39 so that the bedspread can change with the season and the decor -- a hand crafted quilt will last 20 years, not 20 weeks like the mass produced item. Whenever you look at the hand made gift an image of it's maker rises up in your mind. Sweet Memories. Even years later when you no longer have the item or the maker in your life, you have the memory. How many broken plastic toys stay in your thoughts?
Now when you give something that you made to someone who wanted a game for their player and you have made a knitted hat, or perhaps spent hours cutting and sanding and finishing a toy box and you see that look of disappointment -- it is hard on your heart, I know. I have seen it, and I have done it to my own gramma myself -- today I would give almost anything for a pair of her knee high hand knitted cable ribbed socks -- but those are long ago gone and only a memory.
Hand made is becoming rarer and rarer in our world. Learning the craft of creating something is falling by the wayside, simply because it is easier to buy the mass produced winter hat, or the plastic doll, or the plastic, one time use tablecloth...
My little tirade here is not against purchased gifts -- there are certain things that it does take mass production to create, and we need to buy them too. Just think tho how precious those hand made things are -- the maker has to have started to make that item, weeks or months ahead of the gift giving day -- there is very little crafting going on, on Christmas Eve, a quilt or a crochet shawl or a stain glass lamp cannot be done up in the last shopping hours! Even buying hand made items from online shops or from local craft fairs means that the maker has been creating these things through the summer months when you went to the beach!
All, I am saying, is think about what you give and who you give it to. Is it a JOY to give, or is it an exercise in frustration?
Now, I am going up to my sewing space because I have a couple of things to sew up for some lovely little girls....
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Sandwiches/Scanwiches
Still thinking about Food, not quilts and not crochet, but I am working on a knitted scarf and sewing together some scrappy bits to gift a nephew for his coming wedding...
The other day, I discovered a facinating webpage -- called Scanwiches...
Pictures of original and inventive sandwiches.... Boy, the things people think of, eh? I have this great admiration for simple but enlightening ideas and this is surely one of them.
Go to http://scanwiches.com/post/11064078341/5-borough-bistro-google-nyc-peanut-butter to take a look at the most recent posting.... Then take a look back at previous postings which really are just a simple description and a close-up photo of a sandwich...
It is become quite compelling to me to see if I can create a sandwich as pretty as a quilt. So, here is my own little SCANWICH offering...
The other day, I discovered a facinating webpage -- called Scanwiches...
Pictures of original and inventive sandwiches.... Boy, the things people think of, eh? I have this great admiration for simple but enlightening ideas and this is surely one of them.
Go to http://scanwiches.com/post/11064078341/5-borough-bistro-google-nyc-peanut-butter to take a look at the most recent posting.... Then take a look back at previous postings which really are just a simple description and a close-up photo of a sandwich...
It is become quite compelling to me to see if I can create a sandwich as pretty as a quilt. So, here is my own little SCANWICH offering...
Cherry Tomatoes from my own little garden, slices of avocado, cream cheese all on toasted 100 % whole wheat bread, with black pepper...
So now thinking quilt, a couple of shades of green, white, two or three brown, or "natural" beige and a bright cherry red... A Christmas Wall Hanging!!
How about you, got a sandwich that can translate into a quilt???
Sunday, October 2, 2011
CAKIES
I have had a couple of requests for the "CAKIES"....
This is the recipe that i use.
1 Cake Mix -- any brand, any flavour (see notes below)
2 eggs, large or extra large -- 3 eggs if medium.
1/3 cup vegetable oil
In a fairly large bowl, dump in cake mix, add eggs and oil. With electric mixer mix until there is no dry mix visible. Should be quite firm. I happened to use Pillsbury Cake Mix, because that is the brand that was on sale (I bought 6 boxes) but any brand will do. This recipe applies to boxed cake mixes, the "yellow' brand bagged mixes sometimes go on sale for as little as 45 cents, to use those you need to use two bags, plus I would increase the oil to 1/2 cup.
by teaspoon full, drop onto baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F Should make about 24 cookies.
I watch the baking of the cakies when I make variations because depending on the size of the cookie, and what you add, the baking time can vary, quite a bit. I also find that white cake mix cookies bake faster than chocolate. White, Lemon, or other light coloured mixes can be baked in 10 minutes, also the smaller the cookie you make the quicker it will bake. So the first few times you make these, keep a note of the baking time. The cakies I make are relatively large (I have large men who eat them) so a 20 minute baking time is just about perfect.
VARIATIONS:
To your favourite flavour or brand cake mix add what seems natural. Lemon cake mix, add dried fruit, maybe cranberries. To Chocolate cake mix, add chopped walnuts, or coconut. Use you imagination and you can create any kind of "CAKIES" that you desire. To make Thumbprint cakies, drop the mixture on the cookie sheet, and then I use a melita coffee measure spoon, to make an indent and drop into the little indent 1/4 teaspoon of raspberry jam before baking the cookies -- again, different cake mix flavour, different jam -- apricot jam in white cakies??. You can even add food colouring to white cake mix to give a festive touch, say green at christmas, pink at birthdays.
ENJOY!
PS this is a great recipe to do with kids learning about baking... Have fun with the grand-kids!
This is the recipe that i use.
1 Cake Mix -- any brand, any flavour (see notes below)
2 eggs, large or extra large -- 3 eggs if medium.
1/3 cup vegetable oil
In a fairly large bowl, dump in cake mix, add eggs and oil. With electric mixer mix until there is no dry mix visible. Should be quite firm. I happened to use Pillsbury Cake Mix, because that is the brand that was on sale (I bought 6 boxes) but any brand will do. This recipe applies to boxed cake mixes, the "yellow' brand bagged mixes sometimes go on sale for as little as 45 cents, to use those you need to use two bags, plus I would increase the oil to 1/2 cup.
by teaspoon full, drop onto baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350F Should make about 24 cookies.
I watch the baking of the cakies when I make variations because depending on the size of the cookie, and what you add, the baking time can vary, quite a bit. I also find that white cake mix cookies bake faster than chocolate. White, Lemon, or other light coloured mixes can be baked in 10 minutes, also the smaller the cookie you make the quicker it will bake. So the first few times you make these, keep a note of the baking time. The cakies I make are relatively large (I have large men who eat them) so a 20 minute baking time is just about perfect.
VARIATIONS:
To your favourite flavour or brand cake mix add what seems natural. Lemon cake mix, add dried fruit, maybe cranberries. To Chocolate cake mix, add chopped walnuts, or coconut. Use you imagination and you can create any kind of "CAKIES" that you desire. To make Thumbprint cakies, drop the mixture on the cookie sheet, and then I use a melita coffee measure spoon, to make an indent and drop into the little indent 1/4 teaspoon of raspberry jam before baking the cookies -- again, different cake mix flavour, different jam -- apricot jam in white cakies??. You can even add food colouring to white cake mix to give a festive touch, say green at christmas, pink at birthdays.
ENJOY!
PS this is a great recipe to do with kids learning about baking... Have fun with the grand-kids!
Saturday, October 1, 2011
!
Oh! What a GOOD morning this is, isn't it? I sure hope this day is starting out as well for you as it is for me!
Today, I am in my house ALONE! Well actually Pearl, Archie and Walter are here, but there are no other humans! The men of the house are off to work for the whole day! This situation has not occured here since January 2009 -- getting close to THREE YEARS!
My dear husband was put out of work at that time and, not being a spring chicken -- in fact he is a tough old bird, it has taken this long to find work to support us... WHEW, financially things were getting pretty tight, but now we are on the road to recovery!
Anyway, it was a wonderful day when he came home from an interview to say he would be working very very soon -- it is not full time work, but along with his 'sub-contract delivery job' it will mean that he will be able to support me again, in the way I was acustomed to! HA!
I am a very frugal person, My Mom taught me many tricks to running a home and being comfortable without the extras that other folks think they cannot live without... Baking, Cooking, Sewing and other needlecrafts, along with gardening and fixing and even some inventing...
This morning, as I said has started out wonderfully, so I decided to celebrate by making a batch of cookies for my hard-working man (and son).
It is so easy to buy a box of cookies but GEE, with a "CAKIES" as my husband calls them it is easier to make a batch (if you have a cake mix in the cupboard, and was bought on sale for 99cents) than to go to the grocery store and buy a bag or box of cookies for $3 or more...
If you GOOGLE "cake mix cookies" you will find a number of very simple recipes, usually, eggs, oil, and a cake mix; mix and bake. Makes about 2 dozen cookies...
So, while I was making this batch of cookies, I let my mind drift back to a bit of a problem I was trying to sort out. Birthday Cards, Anniversary Cards, Hello! cards -- you know the kind of thing? Right. Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, Aunties and everyone else you know regularly have events that you try to congratulate them for.
I have found cards on sale and have about 20 or so saved up for those kind of events, but keeping them in the bottom of a drawer, has caused bent corners and other damage to the cards that make them look not so new....
So.
As I was mixing up the batch of Cake mix Cookies, I had an idea!
The Cake Mix Box was turned into an organizer box! You have seen those Magazine file boxes? Yes? Great idea for keeping your magazines in order! And if you don't want to buy, the office supply store Magazine boxes, a large cereal box works just as well. Made even stronger if you use that sticky contact paper to cover it up.
I had the Birthday Card Organizer Box made in the time it took to bake one batch of cookies (12 minutes)! YUM!
Everyone else or most everyone else is on their weekend, but not in this house, working days are according to what the boss writes on the schedule. If this is your weekend, Enjoy! If you are working, don't work to terribly hard and maybe you will come home to a batch of "CAKIES"!
Today, I am in my house ALONE! Well actually Pearl, Archie and Walter are here, but there are no other humans! The men of the house are off to work for the whole day! This situation has not occured here since January 2009 -- getting close to THREE YEARS!
My dear husband was put out of work at that time and, not being a spring chicken -- in fact he is a tough old bird, it has taken this long to find work to support us... WHEW, financially things were getting pretty tight, but now we are on the road to recovery!
Anyway, it was a wonderful day when he came home from an interview to say he would be working very very soon -- it is not full time work, but along with his 'sub-contract delivery job' it will mean that he will be able to support me again, in the way I was acustomed to! HA!
I am a very frugal person, My Mom taught me many tricks to running a home and being comfortable without the extras that other folks think they cannot live without... Baking, Cooking, Sewing and other needlecrafts, along with gardening and fixing and even some inventing...
This morning, as I said has started out wonderfully, so I decided to celebrate by making a batch of cookies for my hard-working man (and son).
It is so easy to buy a box of cookies but GEE, with a "CAKIES" as my husband calls them it is easier to make a batch (if you have a cake mix in the cupboard, and was bought on sale for 99cents) than to go to the grocery store and buy a bag or box of cookies for $3 or more...
If you GOOGLE "cake mix cookies" you will find a number of very simple recipes, usually, eggs, oil, and a cake mix; mix and bake. Makes about 2 dozen cookies...
So, while I was making this batch of cookies, I let my mind drift back to a bit of a problem I was trying to sort out. Birthday Cards, Anniversary Cards, Hello! cards -- you know the kind of thing? Right. Nieces, Nephews, Cousins, Aunties and everyone else you know regularly have events that you try to congratulate them for.
I have found cards on sale and have about 20 or so saved up for those kind of events, but keeping them in the bottom of a drawer, has caused bent corners and other damage to the cards that make them look not so new....
So.
As I was mixing up the batch of Cake mix Cookies, I had an idea!
The Cake Mix Box was turned into an organizer box! You have seen those Magazine file boxes? Yes? Great idea for keeping your magazines in order! And if you don't want to buy, the office supply store Magazine boxes, a large cereal box works just as well. Made even stronger if you use that sticky contact paper to cover it up.
I had the Birthday Card Organizer Box made in the time it took to bake one batch of cookies (12 minutes)! YUM!
Everyone else or most everyone else is on their weekend, but not in this house, working days are according to what the boss writes on the schedule. If this is your weekend, Enjoy! If you are working, don't work to terribly hard and maybe you will come home to a batch of "CAKIES"!
Friday, September 23, 2011
Failures
I have been thinking about Failures lately. I thought I would bring the subject up today because I have been sewing on a fairly small project for the last few hours and now that I have come to the last "turn" before the finish line, I realize IT is a FAILURE....
Well, I guess that of course depends on each persons' opinion whether or not it has turned out to be a failure. I got a stack of upholstery fabric samples a few weeks back -- for FREE. I have been thinking about what to do with them.
I do have another project on the go, and it is turning out to be quite fine, so like many quilters I thought I would start on this other idea. I knew it would only take a couple of hours to put it together, then it would be back to the QUILT project I am doing.
So, I pulled out the upholstery samples and cut them into 5" squares -- the idea being, to make SPLIT NINE PATCH blocks. I like this block because it can look so complicated and random yet is just one step beyond the basic 9 patch block.
I got the nine patch blocks done. I made 5 of them and then cut those 5 nine patches into 4s.
Now when I got this piece together, it seemed to me that by using the samples that belonged to one "collection" nothing about it was pleasing to my eye. The fabrics were too close in colour and they did not "land" together very well.
This was not a particularly easy fabric to sew with, it is a slippery poly but yet heavier than dress weight. I feel like the idea of it was good, but something about the fabric and its colours just does not please me. Maybe it will please someone elses eyes?
Now, the thing I have come recently to realize about failure is that it more often than not is actually a GOOD thing! So many of our teachers, and that includes our parents, show disappointment at failures, whether it is failure of a test or a project or a relationship. Now, I have, I am sure failed in things many more times than I have succeeded and most of those failures get hidden away if at all possible. But without those failures I realize that I would not have learned that something did not work and not only that it did not work, but WHY it did not work!
So yes, failing at something can be the best way to learn to SUCCEED at it! I wish that someone had told me that it was okay to fail a long time ago. I often work at a project and throw it away or hide it until the guilt of failure eases and i can take the next step in using that failure as a learning experience and a way to Success.
I surely don't know at this point if this small project will progress into anything else, but it has taught me, that even if some things appear like they belong, well, maybe they are not the optimal choice...
Have a great weekend, EVERYONE -- Autumn is upon us!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Odd Bits
Hellow Happy Readers! I sure do hope everyone is enjoying these first fresh days of autumn!
Many of us are well into harvest, even if that harvest is only three tomato plants in containers in the back yard. Well, I do have chocolat mint and strawberry plants, too. I am so excited about my tomatoes! I have hundreds! Tho they are only cherry tomatoes, they have been so very successful this year!
I also planted from seeds I got from a friend, calendula. They really have alot of rather ugly foliage, but I like the flowers of this plant very much. These were not very successful because really I got a pot full of long green leaves and only about 6 flowers developed. Hmmm... not sure why, tho. Maybe too many seeds/plants in one pot? Maybe too dry? Even though I only have a few flowers, they go to seed easily so I will pick the seed heads off soon and have seeds to start and try again next spring.
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Halloween is coming on quickly and it never hurts to plan ahead, especially if you are one who really goes "whole hog" with Halloween and all it entails.
I found an interesting spiderweb cake in a jar, that would be an extra neat treat, if you have the time and oh so impressive for the little ones in your family.
Check out the Chocolate Spider Web Cake in a Jar at http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/09/halloween-cake-in-a-jar.html
And are you planning to carve a pumpkin? Here is a page where you can print out a template to use on your pumpkin...
A nice variety... http://www.myhomeideas.com/holidays/9-jack-o-lantern-templates-10000001850864/index.html
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And then, of course there is WALTER....
In one of the containers that I had a strawberry plant in, up popped a bit of a different "weed" between the strawberry leaves. It didn't look like the usual garden weeds, so I thought I would leave it and see what it might turn into. Turns out to be a sunflower! We have birdfeeders in our backyard so I suspect a black sunflower seed was picked up and dropped by the chickadees that frequent our feeders. And the seed has grown... I don't think it will have time to ripen tho... It is very pretty.
I also planted from seeds I got from a friend, calendula. They really have alot of rather ugly foliage, but I like the flowers of this plant very much. These were not very successful because really I got a pot full of long green leaves and only about 6 flowers developed. Hmmm... not sure why, tho. Maybe too many seeds/plants in one pot? Maybe too dry? Even though I only have a few flowers, they go to seed easily so I will pick the seed heads off soon and have seeds to start and try again next spring.
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Halloween is coming on quickly and it never hurts to plan ahead, especially if you are one who really goes "whole hog" with Halloween and all it entails.
I found an interesting spiderweb cake in a jar, that would be an extra neat treat, if you have the time and oh so impressive for the little ones in your family.
Check out the Chocolate Spider Web Cake in a Jar at http://iammommy.typepad.com/i_am_baker/2011/09/halloween-cake-in-a-jar.html
And are you planning to carve a pumpkin? Here is a page where you can print out a template to use on your pumpkin...
A nice variety... http://www.myhomeideas.com/holidays/9-jack-o-lantern-templates-10000001850864/index.html
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And then, of course there is WALTER....
Tomorrow is his big day at the Vet's. He is going to get "the operation"....
He will be feeling a bit sore for a few days and I suspect he will be napping more than usual...
In a few days he will be back to being the whirling black devil in this house.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Antique Pineapple Stitch - Revisited
I have been working on figuring out how to use this crochet stitch. I rediscovered it a couple weeks back and because it is a one way stitch it really cannot be used in the usual back and forth crochet designs.
First I thought I would try using it anyway, in a back and forth design with a row of single crochet in each alternate row. By doing that, though, the effect of the stitch is lost.
Working in the round, was the best answer it turn out. I started out using a self striping yarn, but withing a couple of inches realized that the colour changes are the highlight of the design and not the actual crochet stitch.
So I switched to solid colour yarn. A turquoise acrylic. And a chunky grey acrylic.
These items and more will appear later today in my etsy shop. My fingers are working on making a few more cowl and hat sets for the shop, too -- as time permits!
*refer to the original post Antique Pineapple Stitch for the link to the instructions of how to make this interesting stitch.
First I thought I would try using it anyway, in a back and forth design with a row of single crochet in each alternate row. By doing that, though, the effect of the stitch is lost.
Working in the round, was the best answer it turn out. I started out using a self striping yarn, but withing a couple of inches realized that the colour changes are the highlight of the design and not the actual crochet stitch.
So I switched to solid colour yarn. A turquoise acrylic. And a chunky grey acrylic.
One of my favourite things about this stitch is that each side looks so different from the otherside. Because of the different textures created it makes any item reversible!
With the grey, I have done a chunky cowl. It will make the winterwinds practically negligible!
And combined with a toque or slouchy hat --- well, WARM can look quite stylish, can't it?
As the ease and working this stitch progressed, so did my creativity. After a few false starts and adjustments I created a toque/slouchy hat to go along with the cowl. Both in that turquoise acrylic.
And there is more than one way to wear the cowl -- I made it extra wide and even alone it makes its own scarf and head cover combined!
(My stryofoam model got a bump on her nose, caused by Walter the rambunctious kitten)
*refer to the original post Antique Pineapple Stitch for the link to the instructions of how to make this interesting stitch.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Scott's Birthday
It is only 3 weeks and my youngest son will turn 34 years old. Now, I am not the kind of person to give 'things' or to go and hunt up gifts for occasions. I give presents when I feel like it and that can happen on any day, or at any time. Around our house tho, we like to have a cake and ice cream and maybe even jello -- the traditional (well for us anyway) birthday cake with two layers and icing.
This time though I was thinking cheesecake. Scott does love cheesecake -- and so do I. As to the father in this family, it really doesn't matter what he likes, cause he's not the baker and if he doesn't want any, well more for me and Scott.
So, I went looking for cheesecake recipes on the internet. Here are a few that look to be interesting and perhaps I will have to test them out over the next weeks, until I settle on one for the birthday Day...
What an excuse to have cheesecake!
So first I came upon
http://permanentposies.com/2011/09/crockpot-cheesecake-with-caramel-sauce/
Which seems to me the easiest and perhaps the most interesting experiment, simply because it is done in a crockpot...
Then cheesecake in a crockpot lead me to the blog that it was adapted from
http://kedarhower.blogspot.com/2011/08/crockpot-peanut-butter-cheesecake.html
I am not quite sure about peanut butter cheesecake though. The father of this family does love peanut butter above all else, but we are not making a cheesecake for him, are we?
So the Peanut Butter cheesecake says it was adapted from this crockpot cheesecake recipe....
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-cheesecake-recipe.html
I remember when Scott was a little boy, we used to make a 'cheesecake' with whipping cream and jello in a premade graham pie crust that was no cook and the whole family gobbled it up -- back in those days we had to of course share with older son, Neil, who was not a cheesecake fiend but of course would not refuse it, either....
Hmmmmmmm.... Did I say it was three weeks to Scott's birthday? Perhaps a cheesecake every weeks up to his birthday would be an interesting birthday concept. Scott and I love cheesecake. We are going to be SO fat, or well, fatter by the time his birthday rolls around on the 24th of this month...
I will try to take photos to post reviews of these cheesecakes as I get them made....
This time though I was thinking cheesecake. Scott does love cheesecake -- and so do I. As to the father in this family, it really doesn't matter what he likes, cause he's not the baker and if he doesn't want any, well more for me and Scott.
So, I went looking for cheesecake recipes on the internet. Here are a few that look to be interesting and perhaps I will have to test them out over the next weeks, until I settle on one for the birthday Day...
What an excuse to have cheesecake!
So first I came upon
http://permanentposies.com/2011/09/crockpot-cheesecake-with-caramel-sauce/
Which seems to me the easiest and perhaps the most interesting experiment, simply because it is done in a crockpot...
Then cheesecake in a crockpot lead me to the blog that it was adapted from
http://kedarhower.blogspot.com/2011/08/crockpot-peanut-butter-cheesecake.html
I am not quite sure about peanut butter cheesecake though. The father of this family does love peanut butter above all else, but we are not making a cheesecake for him, are we?
So the Peanut Butter cheesecake says it was adapted from this crockpot cheesecake recipe....
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/07/crockpot-cheesecake-recipe.html
I remember when Scott was a little boy, we used to make a 'cheesecake' with whipping cream and jello in a premade graham pie crust that was no cook and the whole family gobbled it up -- back in those days we had to of course share with older son, Neil, who was not a cheesecake fiend but of course would not refuse it, either....
Hmmmmmmm.... Did I say it was three weeks to Scott's birthday? Perhaps a cheesecake every weeks up to his birthday would be an interesting birthday concept. Scott and I love cheesecake. We are going to be SO fat, or well, fatter by the time his birthday rolls around on the 24th of this month...
1982
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Hot, Hot, Hot!
I love when I am able to be impulsive! Without thinking too much and considering the what ifs or where-to-for's I joined my cousins and aunty on a 4 day trip to Las Vegas!
We stayed at one of the newest hotels, The Vdara. Luxurious Comfort and Fabulous style!
Our first night we went to see the Beatles Love - cirque du soliel. I was so amazed and enthralled my eyes did not know what to watch at any given moment. The agility and athletics of the performers was stunning! Seeing cirque du soliel on tv is no indication of what one experiences in a live performance!
I so enjoyed myself!
Everything was bigger than life, even a Gelato Shop at the Bellagio had a marshmallow train that if real one could get in and go for a ride.
The newest shopping experience - The Crystals - in Vegas was a dream come true for a person looking to renew their wardrobe -- I spent nothing, but looked at shoes in Stella McCartneys store and diamonds at Tiffany & Co.
I did not stick to the Vegas strip, I wanted to see what the surrounding landscape was like, so booked a bus tour to Hoover Dam. Gee, it was hot out there! The landscape and hills, where like watching one of John Wayne's western movies. The cactus, and few flowers, the flat salt plains, and the high hard red rocks. I loved it all and dreamed of visiting that house up top of that hill...
The Hoover Dam tho impressive was the destination of the bus tour but being somewhat of a nature feind, I enjoyed most the ride to and from the dam, and was not so enarmoured of the engineering feat that the dam was to so many others... I liked the weeds and the rocks!
One special meal, now and then -- yum, yum, yum! at a Food Network Celebrity's restaurant in the Bellagio, where I was served a wonderful 'comfort' food meal -- meatloaf and mashed potatoes that were just fabulous along with a glass of Zinfandahl wine...
What a special week that was!
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Walter is Growing Up
He is turning into a handsome boy! Isn't he?
He is a sun lover! And once he has tired himself out after a few hours in the early mornings (5am til about 9am) he lays on one of the chairs out on our upper balcony.
Just over 5 months old now.
Best Budds with Pearl.
Good ole` Archie watches over the Youngsters.
What was That? Oh yeah! Birds on the bird feeder!
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PS. notice something new? look down at the bottom of each blog post -- just before it says comments.... Now, if you really don't want to type out a comment, you can just click on your quick opinion and make your mark in the REACTIONS box.
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