I’ve been saying it for years: I want to learn how to knit, because I want to learn how to make socks. Sure a sweater would be nice from time to time, but what I really want to make is socks.
And so, at the first of this year, I set out teaching myself to knit. And now, eight or so months later, I’ve taken the plunge and have started on my first attempt at hosiery. Here’s my cute foot modeling the progress, and no I’m not actually making the thing around my foot as I go!
Took a while for the smell of hot peppers and cilantro to dissipate from the kitchen, but who’s complaining?
The recipe is unintentionally vague. I just didn’t pay very close attention to numbers.
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I’m pleased to announce the return of n00b Monday here at Stuff Peasie Made. Now that I’m all settled into a place at which I fully intend to stay a long time, things have gotten a lot less crazy and there’ll be time for me to do such things. Keep an eye out for Project Friday’s return as well!
Today I’ll be showing you a quick and easy (well, quicker and easier) way to sew patchwork fabric out of leftover scraps. This is also a wonderful way to use up all those leftover bobbins and spools of thread you had no idea when you were going to use.
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I don’t know if it’s something instinctive or what. But it’s August now, and I’ve shifted into full-on Hippie Mode. I’m working on patchwork curtains for the upstairs library (double sided!) out of fabric I’ve had stashed away, and I’m also planning on matching decor for the room with the remaining leftovers. Already got a throw pillow. I’ll show you eventually. Last night I canned 2 pounds of fresh farmer’s market green beans. Today I took my reusable shopping bags (some of which are still at my Etsy shop!) to the supermarket and loaded up on more mason jars–both pint and half-pint–2 pounds of soldier beans which are soaking in water as I type, 8 cucumbers at 59 cents a pop, a handful of jalepeno peppers, some tomatoes, some onions…oooh yeah. It’s cooking and canning central here.
And here’s how much of a hippie chick I’ve been: when I prepared all the green beans for canning, I took the little snipped-off ends, extracted the seeds from them, and have said seeds drying to plant next year. Then I put the ends in compost, go me.
I think what brought it all on is a few things. First, the discovery of a Farmer’s Market here in Westbrook (my new town of residence) on Thursdays. Next, the new Mother Earth News. This one’s all canning and preserving. And finally, we’re taking a pretty big hit financially over the next month. Whenever we look at the numbers and hubby says, “We’ll have to be frugal,” I go all out with the frugality. And, interestingly enough, we often eat better when those times happen. I bake more from scratch, I do stuff like soaking 2 pounds of beans instead of buying a can, I dig back in the freezer for stuff to put in the slow-cooker; I get creative.
I’ll show pictures of my works in progress another time. Right now I’m in desperate need of a shower. Hey I may be in Hippie Mode but I don’t have to smell like the worst of them.
Before.
About 6 years ago, I got this blanket at an SCA event. It was just after a thunderstorm and it was the only remotely dry thing I had to wrap myself up in (since my blankets had been saturated…long story…). Years later, here it is thumbtacked to the bedroom window in our new house.
Well, I got inspired.
I took the blanket down and folded it in half widthwise, so that the design would be symmetrical and it would still be wide enough and long enough to cover my window. Then I cut it in half, hemmed up the raw edges, and made a simple casing at the top of each.
I saw a fancy curtain rod similar to this one at JoAnn for $30. But today, I saw this one at Family Dollar for $6! (I’ll share my feelings on recent changes at JoAnn sometime soon.) I stood on the end table (don’t worry, it’s a good sturdy one) and used a phillips-head screwdriver to put it up in no time.
The casing was a little snug, but it still fit.
After.
And, ta da! It makes a beautiful set of curtains, don’t you think?
My good friend Maebishonu and I worked our butts off on Thursday night and made her dress for the weekend SCA event in a single evening.
And we are never doing it again!
This is an English rose, known as a Great Maiden’s Blush. Very aptly named color, and it smells so sweet! There are two more buds on the bush outside.
And this is a sugar snap pea I picked out of my garden at the end of last month. Doesn’t it look delicious? (Well it was!) Something new I learned this summer: peas’ blossoms (peaseblossoms) are not in fact pink; they are white.
It’s getting on time for our local big SCA shindig, so I’ve been busy making garb. Here’s my latest addition to my hubby’s court garb. This doublet was made using Butterick’s pattern #B4574 size L. It’s made with a light suedecloth with velvet lower sleeves, and this beautiful metallic ribbon I found. I’m not usually crazy about metallic ribbon but it really works with this.
The back:
Next on the agenda: my 14-year-old Little Sister’s court gown.
So, what do you get when you combine a pile of leftover yarn, the Random Stripe Maker, and an I-hook? Well I don’t know what you get, but I got a warm comfy striped blanket for curling up with a good book (in this case, it’s Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire).
I plugged in my colors, or at least colors to represent the ones I had (for example, they don’t have an “aspen print variegated” box to tick off), chose 3-6 rows in width, and about 100 or so total rows.
Then I copied the result–once I got one I liked–into Notepad and saved it. Then, using my trusty I-hook and a width roughly equal to the loveseat (five feet, about), I went to town. I worked on it while sitting in the cold mist at the Farmer’s Market. I worked on it while watching Letterman. I worked on it while waiting for Sims 2 to load. And in just a couple days, I was done!
I’m not crazy about ripple afghans, I’ll be honest with you. They’re just not my “thing”. But I love big, bright stripes. So, well, there’s that then.
In other news, I got the pattern from KrochetKrystal and this is the charity square I made to send in. I hope it’s all right; it’s closer to 8.5″ than the requested 8″. It’s a very tricky pattern. It took me some time to get the hang of it. To her credit, Krystal does a pretty good job of explaining complex steps to make sense. Still, they’re complex steps and I had to make more than one attempt before getting it at last. But I’ve got it now! So I’m making something new with the same pattern. You don’t get to see it yet.
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