New dish towel

I have been noticing that more and more of my beloved T-shirts are falling victim to holes. I really had to do something about it, so I decided to go through my closet and weed them all out, then go to the thrift shop and buy “new” ones to replace them with.

Said and done. Then yesterday I looked at the refashion pile, that accumulated in a box at the bottom of my closet. The new influx of T-shirts made the box explode with possibilities and overflow with old clothes. So I sorted the box out yesterday evening.

Clothes without holes and in general good shape, but that have not been worn by anyone in the family and hence have been designated to the refashion pile, got folded up and put in another box, which subsequently went out on the curb by my driveway as a free box for people to take what they need/want. We do that a lot around here in our town. I love free boxes! don’t ya know, the whole box was gone by this mid-morning!

The T-shirts from the refashion box with holes got taken apart for the fabric.

I then surfed my bookshelves for inspiration on what to do with all this knit jersey in the coming summer months, when you just don’t want to knit (snort… I just made myself laugh)

I thumbed through my Alabama stitch book again and found the tea towels she made! oh what a great idea! I need new ones anyway! So I plucked the biggest bits of fabric from the T-shirt box (now safely again in the bottom of my closet) and a few contrast bits and started pinning and basting. (I only basted one, it was just too late to do more)

Then this morning I tried to think of what kind of pattern to use for the stitching. I didn’t like any from the Alabama Stitch book for my fabric.

After a bit of ruminating, I had a stroke of brilliance and went to the drawer with my cookie-cutters! Yes Ma’am! A star and a heart later and I was off sewing!

My new stripe-y dishtowel! I love it, what do you think?

Here now is the result! I feel it is a wee bit Punk Rock-ish. I love it! I will definitely make more of these! They dry really well and are so fast to be made!

Pretty! I had two bushes beside my house. One died this winter… (I have a sneaking suspicion it was because of the darn neighbor with the empty field spraying. My other neighbor and I (both our properties are adjacent to the empty field) are very unhappy with them spraying over there. We are trying to have organic gardens!!!! Weedkiller is rather counterproductive to that!

Spring has finally arrived in my garden! Here are a few pictures I took some days ago! (the lettuce is bigger by now) I also transplanted  some of the plants to other locations. (Trying to work on the garden and make it look great without spending any money is not as easy as it sounds… but thankfully I have a lot of plants that re-seed themselves and spread like weeds. That way I can thin them out and have pretty views all over instead of just in one place.

Thyme and lemon balm! LOVE the lemon balm in tea! On the right there are the forget-me-not.. don’t have a picture of them yet, but then they are not blooming yet. I will make some when they are. I love the way they look! So wonderfully old-fashioned!

My Violets! They have multiplied from last year as well, but are still not enough for freezer jam.. so I have to wait a few more years I think.. until then, I snack on them when I’m in the garden

The Rhubarb plant! It came back yet again! I thought for sure this last transplant killed it, but nope! lol I am the only one in the family that likes rhubarb. I don’t even remember where I got this one. (I have this idea that I got it from a fellow volunteer at the foodbank, but I really can’t remember for sure)

Rosemary! I rooted this one myself! SO PROUD! They came through the winter as well! Happy dance!

I have no idea what this plant is called.. I got it last year somewhere at the side of a trail by the marina. I didn’t think it would make it through the winter where it was, but it did and it is twice as big as last year as well!

My lettuce! It needs thinning.. by now it is about twice as big as in that photo! It grows so fast!!!!!

Lovage! This is bigger by now too and in it’s new home! I love Lovage! It tastes like celery, but stronger and I put it in every soup I make!

Corner of my vegetable garden! You can see my Sprouting bed right there as well! Got it from the neighbors, when they moved for free. LOVE IT!

Chives! I love chives! Specially when chopped really small and put in cream cheese! I have 6 bundles growing!

I made these little roses for a crochet class I was teaching! I played around with a few edgings to roll up and what shape the flowers would come out. Then I tried alternating a few chains and other stitches and voila! I like the way they came out. (I wrote down the pattern for them! Woot woot!)

 

I am also still knitting! A lot! The dresser scarves are on hold for now (need a decision about the yarn) , but I replaced them with two summer tops. One fest and one short sleeved raglan tee! Can’t wait to have them done and show them to you!

My apple tree is about to bloom and I am starting to look for recipes and things to do with apples. Then today a new book came into the house for review!

“Put ‘em up fruits” how to preserve all kinds of fruits. I am so looking forward to reading through it and making some of the recipes in it! CAN”T WAIT!

So that is all folks! What have you all been up to?

Until later!

Review: Brewing Made Easy, 2nd Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Beer at Home

Brewing Made Easy, 2nd Edition: A Step-By-Step Guide to Making Beer at Home by Joe Fisher
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Again a book I got from the publishers to review. My husband and I have long thought about brewing a little beer our selves. Being from Bavaria, I am rather picky about what I drink and the most commercially available ones just don’t cut it for me.

So along came this book (shortly after I got the Brew like a pro).
The title really says it all! This book makes brewing easy! It is definitely something everybody interested in brewing a few liters at home should read (and then move up to Brew like a pro).

The book breaks it down very nicely. The setup suggested in this book is nice an easy (ok, so some of the things needed WILL cost you a few bucks. It’s not the most expensive set up out there though, but it will get you started nicely and keep you going for a while, before you want to “upgrade”)

As mentioned earlier, I am from Bavaria and picky about beer, but: I loved the recipes in this book! They have three really nice German recipes we WILL DEFINITELY try out!

This book is a wonderful basic starter guide for anybody interested in home brewing. It’s a nice size. Not a novel size, but all the information you need to start this successfully and safe!!!!

This book is easy to read and understand, even if you have never so much as brewed coffee before.

I give it 4 stars out of five, because I would love a few more recipes. When you start out, it’s nice to have a recipe to follow before you go experimenting!

The price is not bad as well. For $12.95 you really get a goo idea of what you need and how it’s done.

Other then that this book really hit the spot and this summer we will have back yard BBQ’s with home brew! WOHOOOO!

 

Review: Brew Like a Pro: Make Pub-Style Draft Beer at Home

Brew Like a Pro: Make Pub-Style Draft Beer at Home by Dave Miller
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I got this book from the publisher to review. My husband and I wanted to get into brewing beer for ourselves for a long time now. We have read on and off about it.
This book by Dave Miller is absolutely all-encompassing! It will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about home brewing and the history of brewing (being from Bavaria, I know the history well, we all grow up with it)

The book is well written and structured. It will not leave you looking online to fill gaps.
However: if you are looking just to brew a little bit for your own self and more for fun then starting your own micro brewery, this book might be a bit intimidating. The basic setup it tells you to get is quite extensive and might be a bit off putting for someone that really just wants to dabble a little.

If, on the other hand, you are looking into making this a little more then just a hobby -lets call it an obsession-, then this book HAS to be in your library!
Definitely something every serious brewer should have at least read, if not own.

The book has a few recipes in it that definitely sound like something I would like to try.

Go check it out if you have given home-brewing a thought! The information is worth having, even if you should go with a different set-up then the book tells you!

I would definitely recommend it!

 

New look

I did the place up for the  new year a bit. What do you think? I like it a lot! I can’t wait until I can start doing this to the house as well! New paint, little, by little new furniture… it will be so amazing!

What are your plans for the new year? (Plans, mind you, not  resolutions. I don’t do resolutions.)

Now I’m off to knit on new towels for the “gift box”. I want new ones for the house as well, but I need to find charcoal or natural cotton for that! Oh yes, I have plans… mwuahahahahahahhaaha

‘Tis the season!

So, who thought we were actually working at work?
Well… you were oh-so-right!
We decided spontaneously to enter the yearly gingerbread house contest here. My daughter joined in on the fun (She was recruited for her baking abilities) and off we went!
My daughter put the dough together, I was the “architect” and designed the templates for the parts of the house and cut them out of the dough, my daughter baked the pieces and Callie Rivas, DD and I decorated it. (Well they did more decorating then me, as I had to teach a class)
We made 221B Baker street. Yep, you guessed it, Sherlock Holmes’s house! (Since the shop is called Mrs. Hudson’s in honor of his housekeeper)
Well, I am happy to report: WE MADE THIRD PLACE!!!!!
Not bad for a “first-time-from-scratch-gingerbread-house-crew”!

During construction

Front

The snowman! (Sherlock in disguise)

Closeup of front! My carving!

Back door!

Some FO’s over here! :)

I have been knitting! I made a hat that then ended up with my daughter,

so I made another one for me. What do you think? The yarn is “To dye for” from Plymouth. It’s soooooooooooooooooo soft!!!!! (patterns for all these projects are my own)

It almost looks like it has two layers! LOVE IT!

The top worked out so nicely all by itself! It almost looks like a flower there!

Then I made another pair of pop top mittens for my son. He had to pose, of course, the ham!

I also made some really long fingerless gloves/sleeves for me. The yarn ended up giving me a rash every time I wore them, so I ended up giving them away, but here they are:

HANG LOOSE PEEPS!

The yarn was cotton, which I usually don’t have problems with, so I assume it was the dye maybe…

I am in the last throws of the lace shawl with the beads and I am on a plain stockinette stretch on the skirt I am knitting on (my shop project) so I will have to cast on for a new “at home” project soon-ish! Stay tuned!

Review: A Discovery of Witches

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a book!
I loved every minute of it! EVERY MINUTE!!!!
I adore the way the author paints pictures with her words! I could not put this book down at most parts and was incredibly sad when I was done. You know it was a good book, when you have a feeling like you lost a friend after you turn the last page!
I cannot say enough about the writing style of Mrs. Harknesse! She is a magician with words. I can pinpoint the exact moment when I fell in love with this book: The scene where Diana is rowing for the first time in the book! Oh my goodness! I felt the air on my face and the exhilaration of flying along the water in the boat!

What a ride this book was from the first page to the last, really! I am so going to see if I can get the other books in this series! I hope they are as good as this one!

The characters are all absolutely believable and to the most part you will fall in love with them!

If you like Witches, Vampires and Demons in stories, PLEASE do yourself a favor and read this one! The story is great as is the writing! This is definitely a “read more then once” book for me!

Thank you so much, Mrs. Harkness, for taking me to all these wonderful places and letting me meet all these wonderful creatures!

View all my reviews

New pop top mittens! YAY

I have finished a pair of pop top mittens (only one is shown here, the other one is as a sample in the shop!) I love love love them!
The pattern is nearly written and will go live in the shop right after the project class/kal is one! (So if you want it early, sign up for the class *wiggles eyebrows*)

The pattern can either be knitted as fingerless gloves, or as the pop top mittens, which will have a thumb option. I love them and think they are sooo cute and warm (alpaca!!!!!)

 

What do you all think?

Review: Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs

Connect the Shapes Crochet Motifs by Edie Eckman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Connect the shapes was delivered to me on Halloween for a review. Crochet has taken a bit of a back seat for me lately, but this book got me excite to use it more in a few future projects and I am DEFINITELY going to make the skirt pattern from the book! WOOT WOOT!

Before I begin though: My book got delivered on Halloween. It rained cats and dogs that day! Nobody was home to receive the book, so it had to sit outside on the front porch, where it got rained on. So it did sustain a bit of water damage.. you may see that in some of the pictures. Just in case you were wondering……Also: The pictures were taken by my daughter with her i-pod… so they may not be the best ones, but once my camera’s batteries are charged, I will make good ones for ya and exchange them. Until then… enjoy lol

Now on to the review:

I have been crocheting for a long, long time! I do love it occasionally in between the knitting projects I tackle. As a matter of fact, I am planning a bit of a big crochet project next for a friend *winks at Louise* So this book came at just the right time to get me in the right mood and give me food for thought about what to make!

The tips in the first part of the book are very good! I liked how nicely it was explained and I like  “voice” of the book very much. It is rather a bit amusing and not as dry as some instructions books can be. The author has definitely a sense of humor about things, that is always a good thing, if you ask me.
The motives themselves range from tried and true Granny squares to off the cuff new and exciting. I have to say: I am a rather traditional girl to begin with and not a huge fan of motive work, but there were a few little motives in this book I might try out after all. And if you know me, then you know that is saying something.

The information given in the book is well written and easy to understand. The instructions are clear and easy to follow as well. It is wonderful that the book gives you written instructions as well as charts for the motives. This way everybody can use it. It is a great help for people who want to teach themselves how to read a chart, as they can compare the written instructions with the charts and figure out how it all works!

The emphasis of the book is on how to join crochet motives together. I love that! There are so many different ways and now they are all explained in one compilation! I don’t have to run to the internet, or grab twelve different books from the shelf (if I had them…) I can grab one book and compare right there in one sitting how best to connect what I have got. Not only does it tell you how to connect the motives given in the book, but it does encourage you to try it out on any given motive you may run across. It definitely is a confidence builder!

Now if you are a seasoned crocheter, you may have no problem figuring out where to best join two motives, but are you really utilizing all the methods you know? I doubt it. I have been crocheting for a long time and I do have my “standard go-to” methods. I am happy to be reminded of all the other ways. One can only keep so much information in one’s RAM after all! LOL the rest is delegated to the hard drive. It is accessible, but it will take a bit of probing and searching to find it! With this book you got it right there! So don’t write this book off, even if you are a seasoned crocheter!

Another really fun point this book is making for both seasoned and novice crocheter is about colour choice and placement.You get to see some of the motives in different colour combinations and it really brings home how different something can look with just a few changes in colours used, or where you place them!

The book itself is a bit big to easily tuck it into your crochet bag, so it is more something to read at home in your fiber-corner. I am also not a huge fan of the spine in combination with the spiral binding. I prefer the spine open when there is a spiral binding, that way you can flip to the page and open the book all the way round without worrying about a spine. Also it is easier to flip the pages, if there is only the spirals and not a spine in the back. (I’m always worried a page will tear out this way)

On a very personal note: some of the colours use for the sample motives were rather off putting for me and I think it will make the book date rather easily instead of being a timeless go-to-giude.

I love that the emphasis in this book was on tips and technique rather then on giving patterns for projects. It does have a few patterns in the back, but really the important part are the blocks and how to join them! Often guide books hide the instructions for new techniques, or tips in patterns and I find that rather tedious. This book gives you what you need and then some on top. Get help with techniques an if you like, try it out on a pattern or two!
I ADORE the lampshade pattern and the little skirt pattern from the book and have added them to my list of things to make!

Overall I would give this book three stars. I definitely liked the book over all. If you are new to motive and block crochet you will get a lot out of it and I would definitely recommend it to new crocheters. If you have been crocheting for a while, go check out the new motives in the book! You will have fun playing around with them and coming up with new ways to use them! Crochet is definitely moving forward and with people like Edie Eckman working tirelessly to spread the word and come up with new and exciting things crochet definitely is making it’s way towards center stage and away from the “Granny” image!

Have you seen Mostly Handmade Mondays?

You have to go check it out! It’s on Frugal by choice. A wonderful Blog I recently stumbled across while surfing the net…

So many nice ideas and recipes for home made goodness and fun!

Hop on over, leave a comment and say I sent ya!

You won’t regret it!