27 Monday May 2013
I’ve come to accept the fact that I’m really unreliable as a blogger! Here’s some crafts I’ve done over the last 6 months
Boy baby quilt
Makeup brush tutorial from LBG Studio
Christmas tree skirt from sew4home
Knitted headband from North Thirty-Fourth
Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote
Scrap Baby Quilt
I tried a new swirly quilting design.
Knit bunnies from the purl bee
Here’s to trying to blog a little more often!
09 Friday Nov 2012
I learned how to crochet a while ago, but haven’t done it for a few years. I was looking at knitting books recently and it reminded me that I already knew how to crochet. I decided to try to remember how and with a few clicks through crochet how-to websites, it all came back to me…
Here is an easy starter crochet project to try. I also included links to basic stitches. You can whip up a couple squares in no time! You only need to know three stitches. Basic instructions borrowed from Deer Little Fawn.
Supplies:
Ch (chain), join with sl st (slip stitch) to form a ring.
Rep from * 2 more times.
Join and break off on this and every round.
Rnd 2: Join yarn in any ch-3 sp (space), ch 3, work 2 dc, ch 3 and 3 dc in same sp, * ch 1, work 3 dc, ch 3 and 3 dc in next ch-3 sp.
Rep from *2 more times, end ch 1.
Rnd 3: Join yarn in any ch-3 sp, ch 3, work 2 dc, ch 3 and 3 dc in same sp, * ch 1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp, ch 1 work 3 dc, ch 3 and 3 dc in next ch-3 sp(corner). Rep from * around end ch 1.
Rnd 4: Join yarn in any ch-3 sp, ch 3, work 2 dc, ch 3 and 3 dc in same sp, * (ch1, 3 dc in next ch-1 sp) twice, ch 1, work 3 dc, ch 3 and 3 dc in next corner sp. Rep from * around, end ch 1.
At this point, you can keep going and make the square as large as you’d like.
Remember to tuck in the ends and trim when you’re done.
I’m not sure what I’m going to do with mine yet. Maybe join them into an easy throw.
I’m also working on the quilting portion of my latest baby quilt.
Making the quilt sandwich is my least favorite part. I don’t know why, but I always procrastinate when I get to this point.
It will be Christmas time before you know it! Gotta keep crafting.
Have a good weekend!
06 Tuesday Nov 2012
Posted in Cooking
I’m working today, so not much crafting or cooking to report.
I did put some leftover corn salsa on my scrambled eggs this morning. If you make the spicy fish tacos, you’ll probably end up with extra salsa. If you have extra tortillas, make a breakfast burrito. That’s what I should have done if I was thinking!
And here is the scarf I’m working on. This is my first knitting project.
It’s not too exciting, but it’s a start. Well, off to go get ready for work.
Happy Tuesday! Don’t forget to vote!
05 Monday Nov 2012
Posted in Cooking
I used to think I would hate fish tacos. I hadn’t ever tried them, but the whole idea just seemed unappetizing to me. Then, one day I made my own fish tacos because I had some snapper I needed to use. And I LOVED them! Well, I tried to find that recipe, but of course I couldn’t. I always seem to lose my recipes, mostly because I never write them down or remember to save them in my recipe box online. Oh well, allrecipes.com to the rescue!
Here is the fish taco recipe we had last night adapted from this one on allrecipes.com. So good!
Necessities:
Mix together corn, bell pepper, onion, rutabaga, lime juice and cilantro in a large bowl. Set aside.
In a small bowl, combine cayenne, pepper, and sea salt.
Brush olive oil over both sides of fish. Rub the seasoning you just mixed together onto both sides of fish. Heat a large pan over medium high heat. Cook the fish about 3 minutes on each side. A little longer if the fish is thick.
Meanwhile assemble your guacamole. I see no reason not to use the pre-made seasoning packets for this if you’re in a hurry!
Warm up your tortillas and get your toppings ready.
After the fish is finished, flake it, and assemble your tacos. Yum!
The beauty of this recipe is that it only takes about 25 minutes to make. Feel free to substitute or add your favorite veggies into the salsa. It would be great with tomatoes or even carrots if you like to customize.
04 Sunday Nov 2012
Posted in Antiquing
Ever since I got the book Homespun Style last year, I’ve been dying to collect some antique teacup saucers and doilies to decorate my house.
Today, my sister Rachel and I went to a few antique stores in Bellingham. We went to Penny Lane and Aladdin’s Antiques. Both places have a really great selection of just about everything. We spent hours looking through both stores. Aladdin’s is known for the tons of vintage records they have in the back. Both places have lots of jewelry, kitchen items, furniture, radios, clothing, and much more.
Here is a rundown on what we found
Many saucers and doilies.
Beads. The bottom four compartments on the right have the beads we found at the antique store. The flowers on the left are from the bead show that also happened to be going on today…What luck!
This really cute turtle tape dispenser. I couldn’t pass it up…
Later, we refueled with some bubble tea from the Black Pearl downtown. They also make a really good Pad Thai.
Then, this was waiting for me when I got home! Liberty Lawn fat eighths from Purl Soho. I am going to make a coin purse out of some and probably just frame the rest, they’re so pretty.
03 Saturday Nov 2012
Tags
christmas gift, diy, embroidery, felt, gingerbread man, ornament, Sewing, tutorial
I am really excited about Christmas presents this year because I am going to make a lot of them myself. Since this is my plan, I am starting to make them this month. I really hope I can get them done in time!
Here is a tutorial on how to make your own cute gingerbread man ornament. I was inspired by the tutorial from my sparkle on how to make a matryoshka doll ornament. I made this last year. It was my first try at embroidery and I haven’t looked back!
Supplies:
wool felt (brown for body, pink for cheeks, vest color of your choice) I ordered mine here and highly recommed it
embroidery floss (white, pink, color to match vest)
thread (white)
seed beads (for eyes, buttons, I used white iridescent)
scissors
embroidery needle
sewing needle
stuffing
1. Print out pattern. Or you can free hand draw if you have a gingerbread man shape you like. I actually used a cookie cutter!
If you want to print this picture, just click the image to open and then right click it. Save the image and you can resize it in paint to whatever size desired.
2. Cut out pieces from felt. Cut two gingerbread men from the brown and two vest pieces from your vest color of choice.
3. Stitch the vest pieces onto one of the gingerbread man pieces with a split stitch.
4. Next add the beads to the vest for the buttons and to the face for the eyes. I used the sewing needle and some sewing thread for this part. The embroidery needle has too big of an eye to fit through the center of the seed beads I used.
5. Now add the mouth with another couple of stitches of the split stitch.
6. Next add the cheeks. I cut out very small circles from the pink felt. Attach with a running stitch.
7. Now, attach the back of the gingerbread man with a blanket stitch. I used white floss because it looks like icing!
8. I added a loop with a large knot at the top of his head. I placed it as I was blanket stitching around the top and stitched through the knot I made. You can also glue it in with fabric glue as recommended by my sparkle.
9. Continue to blanket stitch until you are about 1 inch from where you started. At this point, you can stuff him. I added just a little bit of stuffing and used the back-end of a crochet hook to stuff it in the arms and legs. You can also you a pencil, pen, or chopstick!
10. Finish off your blanket stitch!
11. Enjoy!
There are a multitude of shapes you can make into ornaments like this. Let your imagination run rampant!
02 Friday Nov 2012
Posted in Running
Tags
motivation, rain, running, wind, winter
What is it about wind?
Whenever I’m running and it’s even the least bit windy, it seems to blow in my face no matter what direction I run in. Do you notice this phenomenon?
This year I am committing to running at least 3 days a week, rain or shine, through the winter. Last year I got lazy and hardly ran during the winter at all. Then I paid for it when I started training for a half marathon and had some IT band problems. It took three months of PT, but I did end up running the half and even beat my time from the year before. That’s another story!
Today I did it! I went out in the rain, ran three miles, and feel much better for it. I never said I was going to run far…
What keeps me motivated? The thought of running on nice summer days without IT band issues! And a really nice rain proof jacket.
01 Thursday Nov 2012
Posted in Cooking
Tags
candy, candy recipe, chocolate chips, easy cooking, easy dessert, peanut butter, peanut butter popcorn, popcorn
What do you need on the day after Halloween? More candy? Ok!
This is one of my favorite recipes for dessert when I want something peanut buttery/chocolatey but don’t want to wait for cookies to bake. By no means did I invent this recipe. Just adapted one from food.com.
Necessities (well not really, feel free to add in whatever toppings you desire):
8 cups of plain popcorn
1/2 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional:
1/2 cup chocolate chips (or more)
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
rainbow sprinkles
First cook your popcorn. I use a whirleypop. They are the best popcorn cookers around. Set aside.
Then, combine the corn syrup and sugar in a medium sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring frequently (not necessary to stir constantly, but don’t leave unattended!).
Once it’s bubbly, add in the peanut butter. At this point you should stir constantly so the peanut butter doesn’t burn. Once the mixture is smooth, turn off the heat.
Add the vanilla. Stir.
Pour over the popcorn. Stir to coat.
Add topping(s) of choice. Stir to combine. For my batch, I just added chocolate chips.
Enjoy!
31 Wednesday Oct 2012
Tags
Anna Maria Horner, anthropologie headband, felt, handmade gifts, headband, headband tutorial, ribbon, Sewing, tutorial
(Image by anthropologie.com LLC)
I love headbands right now. Maybe a bit too much. I wear one almost every day. But hey, who’s counting right?
I have a few headbands from Anthropologie that I have worn to death. The fit is so comfortable and easy that I just can’t stop buying them. I always thought that it would be easy to make, I just never tried. However, I recently bought a bunch of ribbon and I wasn’t sure what to do with it. Inspiration has struck!
Here is how to make your own Anthropologie inspired headbands from ribbon or even fabric if you’d like.
Supplies:
16.5 inches of ribbon (or fabric)
16.5 inches of felt, trimmed to match the ribbon width.
2, 8 inch pieces of elastic cord
thread
seam ripper (if you’re like me)
Fray Check (seriously awesome stuff!)
Cut all of your ribbon and felt to size. You may have to sew two pieces of felt together. If you do, just press the seam open with your iron and line up the seam halfway between the two ends of the ribbon. This ensures that the seam will be in the middle of the headband and least likely to be visible.
Next, pin the ribbon and felt wrong sides together. Sew one side together as close to the edge as you can. If you pick a thread color similar enough to the ribbon, you won’t be able to see if you accidently don’t sew through the top. This happens to me when I try to sew very close to the edge. As long as you are sewing through both the felt and the ribbon most of the time it will work perfectly! Make sure to leave about 1/4″ unsewn at each end. Be sure to backstitch.
Now, sew down the other side.
Next, if you remembered to leave the ends unsewn, fold the ends of the ribbon and felt in and press. If you forgot like I did, just rip the seams out to about 1/4″ and fold.
Tuck about 1/2″ of both of the elastic cords through the open end of one side.
Sew through all layers at the ends. Sew about 1/8″ from edge. Repeat once or twice to make it sturdy.
See how unpretty my edge sewing is! But it doesn’t matter since it will be under my hair. Now, repeat the last few steps to tuck and sew the elastic onto the other side.
All you have to do now is add some Fray Check to the ends of your thread and trim. You’re all done!
Enjoy!
Oh, and Happy Halloween!
30 Tuesday Oct 2012
Tags
bag patterns, Diaper bag, embroidery, Fabric, Free motion design, modern quilting, Quilting, Sewing
Here are a couple of things I made over the last year. I made another diaper bag for a friend. The only change I made to the original pattern was to quilt each piece. You can purchase the pattern here. Here is a link to my earlier diaper bag.
I plan on adding a zipper to the top of the next one I make.
I also made my friends a wedding quilt. I used the colors they chose for their ceremony. The quilt top was from a tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew called Pinwheels in the Park.
The back is my own design. I found a good example of a sunflower online and used a large plate to make the center circle template. I put together a patchwork of squares from the pinwheel scraps and cut out the circle from that. Then I drew one petal and used the same template for each other petal from various yellow fabric. I appliqued the flower to the background fabric. I ended up measuring the gray background a little short, so I added leftover yellow to the edges. Looks like I meant to do that!
Next I embroidered their names and wedding date on the bottom corner of the back. Finally I quilted the pieces together. I am so happy with how it turned out!
Okay, enough procrastinating for now…
