You may or may not have seen all the hubbub on Twitter and Facebook, so I wanted to give a quick here’s what’s up. :: Floods :: Last Tuesday Ames was hit with the another huge thunderstorm. It was enough to push the already elevated waters to flood levels and […]
crochet - journal - patterns & tutorials
Crochet Pattern: Buds and Blossoms Dishcloth
I make a lot of swatches when I’m working on patterns. You know, working out patterns, figuring out the count. The color combo. When I was making the library tote for this month’s Craft Leftovers Monthly, it was same as usual. This time, instead of shooting for “coaster” sized swatches, […]
thrift kitchen
Thrift Kitchen: Naked Burritos
Have you been to Pancheros or Qdoba? Have you tried their naked burritos? They are delicious! After going and spending $6 to get rice, beans, and what looked like what I usually have hanging out in my fridge from dinner the night before, I opted to stop “treating” myself to lunch there, and packing it for lunch instead.
Here’s how I generally make mine. You can vary it a lot. Mostly it depend what I have on hand – what came from the garden, the farmer’s market, what I made for dinner the night before. On nights we go out for wings, the next day I toss the leftovers in. Today’s version is a vegetarian naked burrito.
redress
Home Redress: What? I have a patio? I sure do!
This was about the easiest patio installation ever! And by that I mean all I had to do was uncover it. It was one of those unknown treasures. The people selling the house didn’t know it was there and didn’t include it in the house listing. When I was poking around in the backyard I saw a buried brick. Then another. Then I started poking harder with a shovel and found that it was a complete brick patio hidden by years of creepy charlie.
book review
Book Review: Cut it, Paste it, Sew it
In the spirit of full disclosure, Quarry Publishing sent me this book to review. That being said, I never review a book I don’t enjoy. Cut It, Paste It, Sew It: A Mixed-Media Collage Sourcebook (Quarry Books, September 2010, $17.99, paperback) arrived in the mail and I immediately read it […]
fabric - howto - nosew - patterns & tutorials
Bamboo Shade Leftovers: How to twine them into projects.
Two weeks ago, I trimmed down my bamboo shades and realized that I had in my hands the most wonderful leftover–bamboo sticks! Twining. Oh twining, I love you. This, my friends, is a wonderful way to “weave” multiple things together.
To demonstrate it’s power I give you:
Sticky Twined Coasters
thrift kitchen
Out of the Garden and into my Mouth
Thrift Kitchen Each Thursday I post about ways to be thrifty in the kitchen. To me, it isn’t just about being cheap, it’s about living creatively! Finally have some food for eating from the garden. I’m scarfing it all down as quickly as I can. I’ve stored the potatoes in […]
Crafty Business
Crafty Business: Making Progress
Crafty Business: All the ins and outs of running a small, creative one woman business. In the last Crafty Business post, I talked to Kristy Hall about making progress and how feeling like you’ve done “enough” can be elusive. I mentioned my progress report sheet and linked to the pdf. […]
redress
Home Redress: Final Moving, Unpacking, and Making Room
This past weekend was not a weekend for projects. Instead, it was the final push to get 100% out of the apartment + get it super cleaned up for the new folks moving in. We tried our best, but, wow, was that carpet a mess–from before we even moved in. […]
journal
Mailbox Monday + a zine giveaway!
And speaking of lovelies from Su, she contributed to the August issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly and sent these great zines along to share. Everyone who places an order by midnight on Wednesday + everyone who has a standing subscription gets entered to win a zine set. There are three sets, so three winners :)
clm - journal - vol2
August Craft Leftovers Monthly is in the Shop!
Ah, finally back to the crafty goodness! So nice. And the best kind, the bookish kind! This month’s issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly is all about loving books – reading, making, and hauling around.
journal
Ragbrai Days 2 & 3
What a mash of fun and adventure! Yesterday was great. Set up camp without a hitch. hung out in a coffee shop for a spell to enjoy some refreshing coffee and air conditioning and finally, crochet! But such a small amount that I’m not even going to show you. I […]
journal
Ragbrai: Day 1
Well, no crafting yet, but what an adventure we had just getting here. By the time we made it the campsites we all full. No worries though because the people of Algona are awesomely hospitable. We were invited to stay in someone’s backyard. They even made us breakfast! So sweet. […]
journal
RAGBRAI: Crafting Up a Trail!
I’m excited to be crafting from the road Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday I’ll be back and just in time–the August issue of Craft Leftovers Monthly will be in the shop! I’ll be posting short mini posts of the projects I’m working on and what other crafters I meet are working […]
fabric - howto - journal - patterns & tutorials
How To: Trim your Bamboo Shades & Make them Private
Jason knew as soon as we moved into our new house that we needed some blinds fast for the master bedroom and main bath. We just needed a little more privacy so we would stop having to get dressed in the closet, haha.
Here’s how I shortened, trimmed the width and length, and made these neatly natural blinds more private.
Uncategorized
In the Shop: Traveling Victorian Ladies Collage IT Kits!
I love this little kit. I get to dig around in my box of favorite paper scraps and collect up a series of patterns, text, and pictures to inspire both you and me to play with collage. The pictured kit is an approximation of what you will receive. Each kit is unique but are made in batches so contain the same style and amount of papers shown. For me, it’s always a treat to put together and to read about and see what you come up with.
journal - thrift kitchen
Thrift Kitchen: Classing up Cheap Meat
Meat is expensive stuff. The difference in my grocery bill from when I was a strict vegetarian to now is huge. But I have to admit, I do love meat. And part of that love is my lack of interest in eating crappy meat. I don’t eat a steak that often, but when I do, I want it to taste AMAZING!
Crafty Business - journal
Crafty Business: Charting progress – a conversation with Kirsty Hall
This week I commented on using progress reports on Twitter and Kirsty Hall made a few remarks that sparked my curiosity. She had a lot of great things to say on the topic of feeling a sense of accomplishment as a self employed creative person and I thought I would […]
journal - redress
Home Redress: A Weekend of Projects and Moving
This past weekend my folks came up to help us move, fix things up around the house, and hang out and have a little fun. My folks went above and beyond helping us get things done around the house. Honestly, the things that they helped with would have been left undone for I don’t know how long.
book review - journal
Review: Encyclopedia of Sewing & Fabric Crafts
Oh of course I love Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. It’s a little touch of everything I love to dabble in: tutorials to learn the basics, projects to try out, and photos to tantalize the senses. There is really only one thing bad I can point to […]