Going Through the ‘Stash’!

There is so much fabric in my craft trunk…but mostly lots of bits and pieces.  Started working through my craft list of ‘must make this some day’ items.  Finished this weekend two quilted fabric cuffs using up some pieces of second hand doilies that I picked up months and months and months ago…along with some leftover fabric from other projects…and some of the many buttons I received at christmas.

Also finished a new pet crate cushion (and threw out the disgusting old ratty pieces of fabric that were previously lining the pet crate). 

I plan on putting together tutorials for both these items and posting them up soon.

Epiphany…following instructions is a good thing!

So today I discovered something magical…sewing patterns and tutorials have instructions for a reason.  You don’t always have to just look at the pretty pictures and than try to figure it out painstakingly step by step by yourself.  People have created patterns and posted tutorials online…and eureka! done all the hard work for you!

It’s friday at the cabin…and after sorting out a flat tire issue, discussing a fireplace in a sad state of disrepair and paddling on the lake for an hour…I dug in the material pile, pulled out the sewing machine and followed word for word the tutorial instructions for a quilted laptop case.

I actually had two patterns in front of me…the first is from the book I just recently bought “One Yard Wonders”…but today was the kind of day where I knew the only crafting that was going to get done would require step by step instructions and pictures.  So I typed in “tutorial quilted laptop case” into google and stumbled on a wonderful blog!

Here is my new laptop case…custom fit.  The dimensions of my laptop were 13.5″ wide, 10″ high and 1.5″ in depth.  Regardless, the “Laptop Sleeve Tutorial“ by Amy on “Amy a la mode” provides very clear instructions on measuring and creating a pattern for your specific laptop.  This tutorial is fantastic! 

I modified the pattern slightly to add in to elastics at the top of the flap in order to loop over some large buttons.  Partly this is because I am horrible at making button holes!  You might notice in the picture that the button on one side is a bit puckered…I need to fix it…but I was too excited to wait and decided to photograph it mistakes and all!

I’m now cutting the pieces for a second in similar fabric…this time bright pink with lime polka dots.  Happy Crafting!

the socks are finally done!

I don’t even know why…but I’ve never bothered to knit a pair of socks before.  I think at one time I had nearly completed a pair of socks, put the knitting aside for several months and by the time I got back I couldn’t find my place in the pattern again.  But here they are…Embossed Leaves socks…all done and ready to keep my toes warm…just in time for summer! 

The pattern is from the Winter 2005 Interweave Knits and is by Mona Schmidt.

Italian Meatballs

Here is my recipe for Italian Meatballs that I add to spaghetti sauce…or generally end up eating directly off the tray right out of the oven!

1 package Hot Italian Pork Sausage (5 links)
1 package ground chicken or pork or lean beef or turkey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp sage
1 tbsp crushed red chillies
1 tbsp thyme
1/3 cup wheat germ
1 egg

Separate sausage meat from casings and discard casings.  Mix sausage meat with ground meat.  Add in garlic, thyme, sage, chillies and mix well.  Add in wheat germ and egg.  Mix until completely blended.  Add additional wheat germ if mixture is too moist. 

Bring a pot of water to bowl and preheat the oven to 350 fahrenheit.  Form meat mixture into balls (roughly 1 tbsp of mixture for each).  Drop meatballs into boiling water and boil until they rise to the top.  With a slotted spoon, remove meatballs from boiling water and place on lined baking sheet.  Put in oven and bake for 15 minutes.  Voila!  Add to your favourite pasta sauce!

*you can replace wheat germ with bread crumbs

Better Than a Box Cat Bed

Nap time!

Just finished the “Better-than-a-box” cat bed from the book “One Yard Wonders“.  Well, I should say…I was about to finish the cat bed and still have to sew up the opening where the stuffing was put in…but Mr. Tigs patiently watched me stuff the bed and immediately got on it for a nap when I put it down to go get a sewing needle.  So I’ll let him nap and appreciate the new bed.  As you can see, this bed is barely large enough for my extremely large cat…but for a normal sized cat or small dog it would be perfect.  Ummm..somehow though I think it doesn’t bother this 20-pounder!

I’ve found some other cat/dog bed tutorials in different styles.  The one above from one yard wonders is like a cat or small dog sized bean bag chair.  You can find an easy tutorial at Pretty Little Things for a more donut shaped bed.  And there is a tutorial for a very cute pet bed made from an old suitcase found at Apartment Therapy.

On The Menu This Week

 

Current Crafting Explorations:

Nine Crazy Nine Patch Squares Complete!

• Crazy Nine Patch Quilt:  Nine squares have been completed for the quilt top.  Currently looking for inexpensive backing.  I have been using a tutorial from Oh, fransson by Elizabeth Hartman called the Crazy Nine Patch Lattice Quilt
• Better-than-a-box Pet Bed: Cut and Sewn…waiting to be stuffed. Pattern from One-Yard Wonders.
• Embossed Leaves Socks:  From Winter 2005 Interweave Knits. One sock down…one more to go!
  

  The Stack!

New Bedside Reading and Bookshelf Acquisitions: 
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
One-Yard Wonders by Rebecca Yaker and Patricia Hoskins
Bernardin Complete Book of Home Preserving
Epic Wanderer: David Thompson and the mapping of the Canadian West by D’arcy Jenish  

Recent Culinary Expeditions:  
Chicken Stew with Dumplings Just Like Mom’s!  The first of many tasty dishes to be put together at the cabin this summer.  Get the Recipe at Canadian Living  
  

Current Music Being Played Over and Over Again:

Dan Auerbach “Keep It Hid”
Martha Wainwright “self-titled”
Hayden “The Place Where We Lived”
The Swell Season “Strict Joy”
Lucinda Williams “Little Honey”
Iron and Wine  “Our Endless Numbered Days”

Just Like Mom's!

Batik Fabric Baskets

Batik Fabric Baskets

I’m finally getting around to putting up a project I’m pretty certain I finished either sometime before or just after christmas.  Either way, I got the idea for these baskets from seeing several online tutorial for making quilted baskets.  I used the Friendship Bag Tutorial from the blog P.S I Quilt to figure out the basics of making these baskets.  This blog by Rachel Griffith is great for quilt tutorials.  There’s also lots of recipes and her online shop. 

I made my baskets quite differently in the end…opting to use one fabric for the outside and a coordinating fabric for the inside.  I also omitted the handle.  I made three nesting baskets…and intended to use these as desktop organizers for crafty things…but they’ve been sitting empty since i made em’.  There is a thin layer of quilt batting throughout to help give the basket structure…but I didn’t do any additional quilting.  All in all…I’m fairly happy with the end result…although I’m going to play with the design a bit to get a firmer more structured basket….these ones are a bit floppy!

Grandma’s Favourite Dishcloth

Grandma's Favourite Dishcloth

Everybody who makes dishcloths at some point or other will come across a pattern for Grandma’s Favourite Dishcloth.  These are so easy to make and the pattern can be quickly memorized.  At christmas my mom gave me balls of cotton as stocking stuffers…and i quickly knit up a pile of new dishcloths…some of which have already been working hard at the sink…others went to friends.  If you’re looking for something a bit more funky, I also made up a bunch of the Starfish Dishcloth found on the blog sew-funky.  The pattern is very easy!

Grandma’s Favourite

Cast on 4 stitches

Row 1:   Knit 4 stitches.
Row 2:  Knit 2 stitches, yarn over, knit to end.

Repeat row 2 until you have 52 stitches (or less if you’d prefer a smaller dishcloth)

Row 3:  Knit 1, Knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to end.

Repeat row 3 until only 4 stitches remain.  Bind off.

Harvest Season

It was such a perfect autumn weekend…even despite the on/off rain…the sky cleared up occasionally to reveal some beautiful sunshine. I hiked a few of the trails behind the cabin and took in all the new forest colours. This was also probably one of my last weekends here at the cabin. Although I don’t leave technically for another two or three weeks…I am away the rest of the weekends…and I just really felt like I needed to make the most out of being here. Saturday couldn’t have been more perfect, with lots of knitting and cooking. A big loaf of zucchini bread, fresh biscuits and a slow cooker full of chilli.

I combined two recipes and added a dash or two of my own imagination…and here is the yummy “Black Bean Chilli” slow cooker recipe that I came up with. I’m eating the leftovers right now and watching the sun make its last splash of the day onto the beach!

1 small onion, finely diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 medium zucchini, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups water
1 -14 oz can black beans, rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
4 tbsp lime juice
2 tsp hot pepper sauce or one diced jalapeno pepper

1 green pepper, diced
pepper to taste

Combine first 12 ingredients in 4 quart slow cooker. Cover. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours.

Add green pepper and cook on high for another 20 minutes. Add pepper to taste.
Serves 6.

Ebb Tide Dish Cloth

I have just finished a weekend of packing, moving, cleaning and winterizing the cabin.  On sunday I locked and closed the door…and Mr. Tig and I drove to our new place.  It was such a great summer…and so magical to witness the fall colours and the entire place slip into a new season.  The committee purchased a lovely skein of merino/bamboo named “Ebb Tide” for me…and I am currently dreaming up what project I will tackle with it that will provide me a little piece to carry my memories of Kushog Lake around with me.  In the meantime, I sat down last night (snuggled in for an old movie) and knit up a dish cloth (I am part of a dish cloth exchange where we send a dish cloth to a different person in the group every month).  I decided to pull out a hot blue ball of cotton and knit up this Ebb Tide Dish Cloth…working an incredible summer and new beginnings into it. 

Ebb Tide Dish Cloth

Cast on 31 sts.

Knit 3 rows in garter stitch. 
Continue in pattern as follows:

row 1:  k3, (k1,p4) across, k3
row 2 and 3:  k3, (k3,p2) across, k3
row 4: repeat row 1
row 5 and 6:  knit across

repeat rows 1-6 until desired length.  Finish by knitting 2 rows in garter stitch, casting off knitwise on last row.