Little Red Sweater

This sweet little number was another ravelry find.  It's the Chevron Lace Cardigan and the pattern was free.  And for you die-hard knitters out there - don't freak out - it's crochet. 

Generally, I think that knitting makes for prettier stitches, particularly for clothing.  But I have to say that I love this pattern.  In fact, after finishing this one for myself I made a couple other version for kids which I'll share in later posts.  I actually haven't been knitting for all that long, but I've been crocheting for a loooooong time.  It was the first craft I really took to for no particular reason that it was the first one that I really learned well enough to read patterns.  At any rate, when I found this pattern on ravelry I was hooked (ha!) since I am WAY faster at crochet than knitting.


I used Bernat Satin in red.  I've been trending away from acrylic yarn in general, but I really loved this particular shade of red and I made the sweater because I needed more red in my wardrobe because I have a couple pairs of red earrings that I had nothing in particular to wear with.

Anyway, it was a fairly straight-forward pattern... top down construction and easy instructions.  I made it in the 42 inch bust size and it fits nicely (I'm generally a medium).

I went for the gold buttons because they worked best with the earrings I was trying to get more use out of.  I love the collar on this sweater...

I'll be linking this up at Met Monday and a bunch of other awesome link parties...  go ahead, check 'em out! 

Gaia shrug in Kashmira

This was a very rewarding little project.  I found this pattern on ravelry... it's the Gaia shrug.  I have to admit that I didn't buy the pattern... I looked at it generally got the idea of what she'd done and just took a chance.

I used three skeins of Kashmira yarn by Sensations held together.  I really like this yarn - it almost has a springy quality to it.  It isn't quite as lacey as the original is, but it has a lovely drape all the same and wears really well.  I knocked this out in two days on vacation and would definitely make another in a heartbeat.  Fast and easy.

I crocheted the decorative edge, basing it off another pattern I have.  It's super cute on and a pretty flexible piece.  I've worn it alternately over a tank top and a long sleeve t-shirt, depending on the weather and found it comfy either way.  Love it!

I'll be linking this up at Met Monday and a bunch of other awesome link parties...  go ahead, check 'em out! 

Cardboard box or kitchen appliance?

It's been rainy and grey the last couple days here so we've been doing more indoor activities with my son.

And I finally made a low-budget version of something I've been wanting to make my son for a little while - a kitchen set.  Originally I wanted to make one out of a refurbished end table like I've seen out in blogland, but lack of tools and budgeting have held me back.

Instead, I just decided to repurpose a cardboard box.  This particular one was a diaper box, but as you can see it has been reincarnated as a hardcore stainless steel appliance.  It only took some silver spray paint, my hot glue gun, some painter's tape, and a little less than $20 in random "hardware."

A plastic valve, an elbow joint, and a little cap underneath became a faucet and a 15cm round baking pan became a sink.  Don't forget to wash your hands before you start cooking!

A pair of wooden cabinet knobs became the oven and stove dials.

A 6-inch burner pan and 3 jumbo craft sticks painted black for a burner.

Another cabinet door handle and a dishcloth for an over door handle and a dish towel.

And, for a little extra storage (because what chef doesn't need more storage), three cup hooks to hold a set of pots and pans.

Tip of the day: if you try this do not use clear packing tape - use painter's tape.  The spray paint will not adhere to the packing tape, but does adhere to the painter's tape.  Use a hot glue gun to seal the various parts to the frame where necessary and for added stability and extra masking tape across all the seams helps a lot too.  I know that typically you'd think that cardboard wouldn't hold up for long, but those diaper boxes are pretty sturdy.  I think we'll get plenty of use out of this one.

Not the clearest picture, but here's my little chef in action - baking an orange and an ear of corn for me. 

The plastic basket of fruits and veggies was $5 and the set of pots and pans were $12.88, both at Wal-mart.

I'll be linking this up at Met Monday and a bunch of other fun link parties...

Taffy Rainbow

 I'm going to try something novel and write a post!  How crazy, right?!  Don't freak out.

 

Believe it or not, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.  I've been doing the school thing and the work thing and I've been doing a little crafting here and there. 

This particular quilt is for my brand new niece.  I called it "Taffy Rainbow" because I made it from a strip kit that was called Taffy.

 Just can't seem to get enough of bargello quilts. 

Here's a snapshot of the back.  I struggled a little with the first thread I picked out... too think.  I think the back up thread worked out just fine.

And this was the first time I had done pieced binding and I love the effect.  It was just the right tough for this quilt, I think.

It felt great to get in some quilting since I've mostly been knitting and crocheting a lot late.  Hopefully I'll get some posts together on some of those other finished pieces.

Oh, and don't look now, but here's that new little star!  Love her!

Linking this up to Met Monday and lots of other fab parties... check out my Linky Parties tab!

Basketweave Knit for Baby

This little number is where the bulk of my spare minutes in July were directed.  I carried it with me back and forth to school or whenever I went somewhere that I wasn't driving and would relax to a few rows in the evenings.

I came up with a fairly straight forward basketweave knit pattern and did the borders in a seed stitch. 

I used size 9 circular needles (36" because of the size of it) and Sensations Simplicity yarn in Cream (3 big skeins). 

It's a little bigger than a square yard and it turned out super soft.  I'm kinda in love with it.  It has a lovely drape to it and it washed perfectly.  And the project really turned me back onto knitting, not least of which because it seems easier to steal a couple of minutes here and there and on the fly with my schedule than it is to get into my sewing room.

This one is also for a boy, but hasn't been gifted yet, so I can't say more than that.  Can't wait to get it in the mail!  I'm linking this up to lots of the fab parties in my Link Parties tab, including Met Monday!

Flannel Owl Baby Quilt

Here is one of those baby quilts that I have finished recently.  The top is all in flannels and the backing is fleece to make it extra snuggley.  Spell-check doesn't seem to think that "snuggley" is a word, but I bet you catch my drift.

I came up with the pattern on EQ7 - pretty simple, but I wanted to highlight the owls, of course.  I also skipped the batting because I find that with fleece for a backing fabric, batting can make it too heavy.

Here's a decent shot of the quilting - I find "puzzle piece" quilting is pretty fast.  It took me maybe an hour to cut the fabric, 2-3 to piece it (I had some alignment issues), 1 hour to quilt it, and another 3 or 4 to bind it.  Reasonably quick.

And I used satin blanket binding 'cause the babies love it.  This one is for a boy, but the quilt hasn't been delivered yet so I can't say for which one in particular.

And here's the back.  Now I just have to get it in the mail, along with a couple others.  :)  Linking this cuddly one up to lots of great parties, including Met Monday!  Check out my Link Parties tab!

Vegetables in the Garden

Let's take a walk through my vegetable garden.  I know I've said before that the flowers are all the work of my mother, but I personally prefer to plant something that is going to give back something to eat - so I did.  The eggplant this year have been super productive.  We've already made eggplant curry and eggplant casserole.

And we've only harvested one yellow squash so far, but it was huge and, as you can see, there are a bunch on the way.

Here we have some yummy grape tomatoes...

And some yellow cherry tomatoes.  I'll be making tomato jam with these in another month or so when we have more than we can easily eat.

Green beans!  Basically once a week we have been able to harvest enough to serve at dinner - delic!

And I love the tendrils they send out. 

I planted butternut squash (above) in between the tomato cages and the green bean trellis and it turns out they have also made good use of the trellis.

And have taken over part of the lawn as well... we're mowing around them.

Cantaloupe.

Watermelon... these have also overgrown their boxes and moved into the surrounding lawn.  I think in another couple months we'll be overrun.

Zucchini... these have also been way bigger than the ones you find in the store.

Arugala (nice and peppery) and, finally...

Swiss chard.  Every other day or so we cut a bunch of the last two, add some of those tomatoes, and maybe some avocado and croutons for a delicious lunch salad.  Great stuff.  Now I'm hungry.