Snickerdoodle

flora

2011-11-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

Babies, babies, babies!! My sister-in-law had one last week. (a girl after two boys. yay!!) Which, of course, I saw as an opportunity to knit yet another Little Coffee Bean cardigan. I shouldn't have to say it again, but I will anyways: this is a fabulous pattern. It's very well-written, quick, easy, and comes out cute every time. And did I mention that it's versatile?

'Cause it is.

The original pattern calls for wide stripes (like this), but it's also cute in wide and skinny stripes (like this), or in a solid color with a little bit of embroidery (like a little bird or a dino) I needed a bit of a change from the stripes and embroidery though, so we rallied the troops and brought in the floral applique

I love it so much that I want to go stick some flowers on all of my sweaters. Isn't it sweet?

And here's an up-close of the flowers. They're made out of some wool felt I found on Etsy a couple of years ago. The stuff is wonderful: great colors, fabulous texture and no funky stretching or shine. I'll never be able to go back to craft store felt again. (they're stitched on with embroidery floss in the closest matching colors I had on hand)

I used this tutorial as inspiration for my flowers. The tip about using a glue stick to position the flower pieces was genius. Stitching them on would have been much harder without that little trick.

I couldn't resist trying the sweater on Stella to see how it fit and looked. Hmmmm... maybe she needs one too.

The Details:
Pattern: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan
Size: 12 months (hopefully little Hannah will get some use out of it this Spring and into next Fall)
Yarn: Hobby Lobby "I Love This Yarn", off-white (I can't say that I quite love it, but it's pretty good for an acrylic and the price is right)
Buttons: from my vintage stash

Verdict: Love it!

Math Doodles

2011-11-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

{I mentioned in my back-to-blogging post that I'd occasionally share some of our favorite educational resources. While these posts would be of obvious interest to other homeschoolers, I hope that they'll be useful for anyone who is involved in helping children learn, no matter how they do it. }

Kids (and grown-ups too!) need many opportunities to play around with math; to have fun with numbers and mathematical principles. I'm always on the lookout for some good math games and puzzles and we've recently found a winner in Carston Studios' Math Doodles. (Click on Web Demos to get to the games)

We love all the games there, but our favorite right now is Hydromaze. The Sums Stacker and Number Jump games have also been great for practicing addition facts and money math.

My big complaint with free online math games is that they're usually just glorified flashcards. There might be some fancy graphics and maybe a cool storyline, but they require virtually no creative thought or problem solving. Math Doodles are a refreshing change from the norm. All the games on the site require players to think flexibly to solve the various problems. And they're universally enjoyable. My first graders both love them, I love them, even two-year old Jack loves to try to help figure out the Hydromaze.

The Web Demo games can be played for free, and they also have iphone apps available for purchase for those who like to keep their math games portable.

Go on now, play with your math.

the 7 month sweater (a cautionary tale)

2011-11-10T13:07:00.000-08:00

My dear darling neighbor was expecting a baby last March.

In February, I decided I wanted to whip something up for that sweet little addition to our neighborhood. By the time little B.W. was born, I had the body of a very adorable sweater, but no sleeves.

Fast forward 7 months...

I finally had those sleeves knitted on, added the button bands, sewed in the loose ends and attached some buttons. B.W. was 6 months old and growing bigger every minute. Better late than never, right?

Fortunately I'd long since learned my lesson about knitting newborn sized things. That lesson, by the way, is don't. Teeny tiny newborn sized things are oh-so-adorable, but they'll also be oh-so-unwearable after about two weeks what with the way those little beings grow like weeds. Baby will get far more use out of a 12 month sized item than a newborn item.

Do not be seduced by the adorableness of teeny tiny itty bitty!!

But I digress. Where was I?

Oh yes, 6 month old baby got the sweater, which happens to fit perfectly. Phew!

Pattern: Little Coffee Bean Cardigan Oh how I love this (free!) pattern. It's so well-written and versatile.

Yarn: Recycled from a thrifted merino/cashmere blend sweater. It was all originally blue, but the green stuff was dyed with food coloring (a remarkably satisfying experiment that I documented here)

Cost:

Yarn: about $3.00

7 months of my time: about $47,040

Total: the most expensively awesome baby gift ever.

am back (with some notes on halloween costumes)

2011-11-07T20:38:00.000-08:00

So, last Spring, I decided it was time to let this blog slip gradually into oblivion.

Maybe you noticed. Maybe not.

I was nearing the end of my first year of homeschooling two kids (and wrangling two others) and the fact of the matter was that I didn't really have time for any of the crafty-type stuff that used to find a home here at Snickerdoodle. Or if I did have the time, I didn't have the mental energy to take (semi)decent photos and compose a post. Seriously, it took me 7 months. (seven months!) to knit one teeny little baby sweater.

I'm realizing now though, that after a good 6 months off, I kinda miss the ol' blog. It was a lot of fun and I loved how easy it was to reach out and connect with people I never would have met in real life.

So.... I think I might be ready to come back and try again. It might be a little bit different this time around. Now that we're well into our second year of homeschooling, I think I'm starting to get the hang of it and I might just have time for a few crafty projects now and then. And I may share some of our favorite educational resources here and there.

But don't hold your breath. Let's face it: I'm lucky to get a shower most days, so blogging can't be my #1 priority.

Maybe priority #264.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Anyhoo, my kids are obsessed with Star Wars. OBSESSED. Other costumes didn't even get a chance for serious consideration. Here's the breakdown:

The Mr. and I wore some last-minute borrowed costumes, but I made the kids' costumes (for a total of about $20)

L: Storm trooper-- Armor made from 9 12" x 18" sheets of white craft foam; used this tutorial. Helmet made from two milk jugs, some electrical tape and paint; used this (brilliant) tutorial from Filth Wizardry.

D: Luke Skywalker-- (borrowed) Karate uniform top, khaki pants, belt and boot covers from fabric stash felt. Borrowed the idea from Inchmark

J: Yoda (or "Massa Woda" as he likes to say)-- Brown sweatsuit (already had), a rustic little robe that I found in my fabric stash (maybe for a Nativity shepherd? who knows...), and modified pilot cap. I used Sew Liberated's lovely Sweet Pea Pilot Cap pattern and tacked a couple of Yoda ears to the side of the cap.

S: Princess Leia-- White turtleneck and tights, very simple sheath dress (no finished edges and a safety pin closure-- yeah baby!), and modified pilot cap. Used the same pattern for the Yoda hat, only out of brown fleece instead of green, and with "buns" instead of ears. Each bun was just a 1.5" wide strip of fabric about 18" long that I twisted and tacked onto the hat.

And there you have it: a copy-cat Star Wars Halloween on the cheap.

cheers,
Steph

Summertime, here I come!

2011-04-12T14:23:00.000-07:00

{Update: Over 8 weeks later, I still do not have my suit, and it looks like it could be weeks more before it would show up. Buying directly from Esther Williams Swimwear has been a headache. If you love this suit, save yourself the trouble and buy it through Modcloth.}

I am the proud new owner of this lovely little number:

Well, kind of the owner-- it's still making its way to me.

There's so much to love about this suit: the polka dots (sigh...), the sweetheart neckline, the flirty ruching, the vintage-looking wonderfulness, et cetera, et cetera. I love how perfectly it manages that VaVaVoom factor without totally showing off The Goods.

Anyhow, I first stumbled across it at modcloth, but it's out of stock there. A little sleuthing led me directly to the source, Esther Williams Swimwear-- so I bought it straight from them. And for a little less $$ too!

Now, if only the suit came with a guarantee to make me look like Esther....

news flash!

2011-04-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

The All Natural Face is having a huge sale. Everything in the shop is 40% off now through April 22nd if you use the code NEW SITE (be sure to use all caps) at checkout.

If you're a fan of mineral makeup, you need to check it out. If you've ever been the least bit interested in trying mineral makeup, you need to check it out. Their prices are normally great; with this sale, they're a steal. (afraid of buying makeup sight unseen? they offer samples!!)

A few of my favorite products:

Mineral Foundation and Hydration Mist. The mineral foundation is great-- very lightweight, lots of colors to choose from, and smooth even coverage-- but the hydration mist makes it awesome. A few spritzes over my foundation give me a perfect, non-powdery finish. I love this stuff!
Mineral Eye Shadow. There are about a bazillion colors, including some wild and crazy ones. I play it safe with a few different browns.
Tinted lip balm in cherry bomb. I love the way it looks as much as I love the fact that it's free of funky chemicals and additives.

p.s. I am in no way affiliated with The All Natural Face other than being a happy customer for the past 2 1/2 years. I haven't been paid or otherwise compensated for this post.

happy spring

2011-03-22T14:30:00.000-07:00

Whew! We made it.

Spring is here and I'm feeling quite relieved that the long slog through Winter is over-- at least for this year.

I've got about 101 things in my head that I'd like to get down on the blog, but our household is still recovering from a crazy past week. Sweet Stella came down with RSV and an ear infection at the same time and although we were lucky enough to avoid hospitalization, there were many trips to our hospital's respiratory outpatient clinic.

She's still got a bit of a cough, but she's back to her pink and smiley self. Looks like we're out of the woods-- knock on wood.

Anywho, I'm in desperate need of sunshine today, and since Mother Nature doesn't seem interested in helping me out, I figured I'd make a little of my own. I whipped up a cheerful printable-- my very first!!

If you'd like, you can download the pdf.
ps. it'll fit in an 8 x 10 frame
(or you could be like me and just use a magnet to stick it to your fridge)

wind tower

2011-03-04T10:21:00.001-08:00

One of my kids' favorite features at the children's museums in our area is a wind tower. Most children's museums seem to have them, and they're always a huge hit with the littles. It's basically a fan set into a platform so that it blows air straight up-- and the kids get to experiment with making cupcake liner papers and coffee filters fly in the windstream made by the fan.

A few days ago, on one of the rare days that I actually blow-dry my hair, I got a stroke of inspiration: we could make our own wind tower. We dug a cardboard box and Styrofoam packing insert out of the recycle bin and got to work.

I traced the shape of my blow-dryer nozzle on the top of the box and then cut it out. Then I stuck the nozzle into the resulting hole, and propped the blow-dryer up on the packing insert. I used masking tape to hold down the "cool blast" button and we were good to go.

That all took about 5 minutes. Here's what it looked like on the inside:

Notice that the air intake thingie on my blow-dryer is kind of pointy, so it doesn't rest flat on the Styrofoam. We would have had to figure out something else if my blow-dryer was flat there.

Here's a view from the top:

Ping pong balls and coffee filters both flew really well. We didn't try cupcake liners today, but I'm sure they'd do great too.

We had fun taking pictures of the kids being "wizards" and making their balls float in mid-air.

We ended up getting an entire morning of entertainment for the cost of 5 minutes of work and a raid on the recycle bin. I love it when that happens!

Here's a video of the contraption in action:

mi hermana. also, a dino sweater

2011-03-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

My sister left today to serve a mission (Carlsbad California, Spanish speaking). She'll be gone for 18 months.

I couldn't be more proud.

She's been living with us for the past 6 months, and I've gotten very used to her helpful nature and cheerful disposition. She's been an incredible help with the kids, provided me with stimulating day-time adult conversation (and lots of funny stories from her waitressing job), and has basically been a great person to have around. And she used to babysit the kids one night a week so that Mr. Snickerdoodle and I could go out. On dates. Loved that.

The reality of her departure hasn't quite sunken in yet, but I'm pretty sure I'll be curled up in the fetal position and sobbing by this time tomorrow.

Maybe some knitting will distract me. I just finished up this sweater for my cousin.

She's expecting a baby boy in April. No name picked out yet, but his aunt calls him Choncho. I wonder if that will stick...

Have I ever told you that I have 73 cousins? Crazy.

Anywho...

One of my favorite baby gifts is a simple cardigan made interesting with a bit of embroidered something or other. I think this bit of embroidery is cute...

... even if it's hard to tell what it is. Loch Ness Monster? Earless green giraffe?

It's actually a dinosaur. Some kind of sauropod, my kids tell me.

And one more thing, I've learned a lesson that I feel compelled to pass on to you:

When you're knitting baby stuff, bigger is always better.

Like size 6 months or bigger at the very least.

It's terribly tempting to knit teeny tiny sized things because teeny tiny things in general are so cute that they make your eyes hurt.

But we all know the sad truth: that babies grow fast.

What is the sense of taking the time and energy to knit something that a baby might only be able to wear for a couple of weeks (or not at all if they're ginormous like my kids)?

Save your teeny tiny knitting for Barbie. Heaven knows she could use some warm clothes.

P.S. If you're interested in the details of the dino sweater, you can find them here on Ravelry.

knit-a-long wrap-up (and giveaway winner!)

2011-02-28T19:17:00.000-08:00

First off, thank you all for participating in my little knit-a-long. I'm thrilled that strangers would reach out like that to do something kind for needy babies. It's just another testament to the fact that people are generally good.

The grand total for this first Knit for Good knit-a-long was 36 sweet little hats. Just think of it: 36 little babies will be warmer because of your generosity and kindness.

An extra special thank you is owed to Amy, who cranked out 22 of our 36 hats. Well done! It is fitting then, and not completely surprising, to see that Random.org picked her as the winner of our giveaway.

Let's do this again next year, yes?

don't forget!

2011-02-25T11:04:00.001-08:00

Hey knit-a-longers! Don't forget to get those sweet hats in the mail ASAP. If you've got a half an hour to spare, maybe you'll want try out my recycled mailer tutorial before you make a run to the post office.

Just a suggestion. (wink, wink)

Also, if you've uploaded pics to the flickr group or emailed them to me, don't forget to swing by the giveaway page and leave a separate comment for each hat to enter yourself to win that yummy yarn and the knitting needle bling (stitch markers).

You've got until Monday (Feb 28th) at 8 pm Mountain Standard Time to get your comments (and pictures) in. That's when I'll pick a random winner.

Happy Weekend!

the quilt

2011-02-22T12:24:00.000-08:00

{It's not too late to join in on the knit-a-long. Don't knit? That's okay; just check out my virtual knitting lessons. Help us spread the love and keepy needy babies warm. And don't forget to enter yourself in the giveaway!!}

I'm sorry, I'm sorry. It wasn't very nice of me to put up teaser pictures of Stella's vintage quilt in that last post. I should have known you'd want to see the whole thing. (and the Little Miss herself, thrown in for good measure)

Happy now?

You can see pictures of the entire quilt, front and back, here (you've got to check out the cheerful tangerine colored binding-- it didn't make it into my pic, but it's one of the best things about the quilt). My friend Amy whipped it up from pieces of her vintage sheet collection.

knit for good show -n-tell

2011-02-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

This first picture is for those of you who want to knit, but lack a little confidence. Meet the two newest knitters in the Snickerdoodle household:

My sister Kaley (and live-in nanny for two more weeks!)
and my 6 year-old, Lincoln.

If a six year-old can learn how, so can you. If you've been trying to work up the courage to learn, hitch up your britches and get to it!

How's that for a pep talk?

And now, my first little Knit For Good cap. It's teeny, but teeny babies are born every day, right?

(I totally broke my first knitting commandment: Thou shalt knit a gauge swatch before thou beginnest a project. Oops!)

Be sure to take a quick look at the flickr group to see the great caps our Snickerdoodle friends are putting out there. I want to send an extra special shout out to those who have contributed so far: jajvennett (11 hats!), angelapea (4 hats!), and wolfcreeker (1 super-de-duper cute hat!).

Thank you, and keep 'em coming!

P.S. A non-knitting-related show-n-tell: the quilt in the background of my pictures was a gift for sweet Stella from the kind and ever-talented Amy. (Her Mr. is a friend and co-worker of my Mr.) It's made up of scraps from her vintage sheet collection and it might just be the most beautiful thing I've ever laid eyes on.

Happy Valentine's Day!

2011-02-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

"I like you

And I know why

I like you because

You are a good person

To like."

and

"I guess I don't know why I like you really

Why do I like you

I guess I just like you

I guess I just like you

Because I like you."

I couldn't resist sharing a thought or two from our favorite little Valentine's book.

After all, it's important to like the people you love, right?

Thank you so much for reading my little blog, and Happy Valentine's Day!

love love love-ity love

2011-02-11T10:17:00.000-08:00

{It's not too late to join in on the knit-a-long. Don't knit? That's okay; just check out my virtual knitting lessons. Help us spread the love and keepy needy babies warm. And don't forget to enter yourself in the giveaway!!}

I can't believe it was just about 9 years ago that this girl and this boy fell in love. A whole heck-of-a-lot has happened since then: 7 moves, 4 kids {3 boys, 1 girl}, 3 college degrees, 2 jobs, 1 mortgage, 1 minivan, and 1 beagle.

(Not counted: a bazillion poopy diapers, and who-knows-how-many nights up with sick kids.)

It's been a crazy ride, but good.

So good.

Back when we were poor married college students living on love and ramen noodles, we couldn't afford all the commercialized V-day hoopla. However, the ever pragmatic Mr. Snickerdoodle realized that all that commercialized V-day hoopla suddenly became very affordable on the 15th of February.

Like magic or something.

So he started buying me day-after roses and chocolates. Was I bugged? Heck no! I'll take roses and chocolate any gosh-darn day of the year, thankyouverymuch.

Eventually we graduated and moved on to real jobs. With real salaries!! And although Mr. Snickerdoodle could now afford to buy me that commercialized V-day hoopla on the 14th, we quickly realized that finding a babysitter and getting dinner reservations on the 14th was a logistical nightmare. But try to find a babysitter and dinner reservations on the 15th? No problem!

Like magic or something.

So, we still celebrate love on the 15th of February. Our own private little inside joke against the world.

P.S. We don't totally ignore the 14th these days. At our house, it's all for the kiddies. Lots of silly goofy love stuff, although I'm really tempted to start this tradition.

we interrupt this knit-a-long...

2011-02-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

I finished up my first cap last night, but I'm still behind in the count. Amy's already whipped up four teeny caps and posted them to the flickr group. Thanks, Amy!!

I'll get pics of mine up on the flickr group soon-- it is stinking cute, if I do say so myself. But today is not the day. Not only are the batteries in my camera dead, but my monkeys have been on a rampage. And the baby was insatiable today, so I spent the entire day nursing. Or so it seemed.

Anyways, this post is not an apology for a lack of pics. I just feel compelled to share with the world what I'm up against. It's oddly therapeutic for me to send this report from the trenches of motherhood out into the cosmos. And this is my blog so I can do what I want. (which also includes plagarizing content from my private family blog) Here goes:

To say that our big boys are obsessed with the movie How To Train Your Dragon would be a serious understatement.

They have convinced themselves that they are real vikings and that our beagle is a fearsome dragon.

Recently, they moved every single stick of furniture out of their bedroom. Ok, everything except for the dresser. They got that halfway across the room before they gave up and decided it would be their Viking table. You know, for making Viking weapons and stuff.

Apparently, Vikings don't use furniture.

They accomplished this all before breakfast.

Later that morning, I came downstairs to investigate when I heard sawing sounds coming from their room. Copper (the latest name that our five year old insists that we call him by) was using a butter knife to remove paint from the orange wall in their room.

Apparently, Vikings do not have orange walls.

After I confiscated the butter knives, they moved their mattresses back into the bedroom. They patiently explained to me that Vikings do have mattresses, but not bed frames, and definitely not bedsheets.

Apparently, I've got a lot to learn about Vikings.

But I draw the line at a fire pit in the Viking bedroom.

Even if I have to turn into this lady to get a little respect around here.

Knitting Tunes

2011-02-07T08:00:00.000-08:00

{There's still time to join the Knit for Good Knit-A-Long. Help us make hats to keep needy babies warm, and enter yourself in our great giveaway!}

Hey knit-a-longers! How are those hats coming? Now that I'm done with all of that kick-off week craziness, I'm ready to get down to business myself.

A great pattern, some nice yarn, a cup of (dairy-free) hot cocoa, napping children, and some cheerful tunes: that's pretty much my idea of a perfect afternoon.

Maybe you'd like some good knitting music too? Enjoy.

Virtual Knitting Lesson #4: Picking Your Pattern (and a word about gauge)

2011-02-04T14:30:00.000-08:00

Giveaway: Luxury Yarn and Knitting Bling

2011-02-04T09:25:00.000-08:00

I thought a giveaway would be a fun way to say thank you for participating in my little knit-a-long. And really, there's no better prize for a knit-a-long giveaway than some super soft yarn and a set of knitting needle bling.

First up, about 570 yards of (knot free!) luxury recycled yarn in the most beautiful shade of aubergine. It was "harvested" from a buttery soft Ann Taylor Loft sweater: unraveled, measured, washed and skeined by yours truly.

Feeling is believing when it comes to realizing how wonderful recycled yarn can be. Although truthfully, these pictures aren't bad either:

The "knitty-gritty" (har!) on the yarn:

Fingering Weight (6 stitches/inch in the original sweater, and 16 wraps per inch)
Fiber Content: 53% Wool
20% Rayon
15% Nylon
8% Rabbit Hair
4% Cashmere
Care Instructions: Handwash cold. Lay flat to dry

There are lots of great patterns out there for fingering weight yarns, but if that's just not your thing, you could always hold two strands together as you knit for a larger "yarn".

Up next (I'm feeling a little like Vanna White here. If only I was wearing a sequined evening gown instead of a spit-up scented sweater...):

Knitting needle bling, aka, fancy-pants stitch markers. Stitch markers are useful for many things. You can place a marker every ten stitches when you're casting on to easily keep track of how many stitches you've done. They're also indispensable for keeping track of recurring increases or decreases or marking repeats in lace patterns.

But really, with markers this cute, who needs them to be useful? I'd be tempted to stick 'em on my needles just for the heck of it.

Nitty-gritty: A set of 8 jade glass stitch markers in their own little case.

How to enter this giveaway:

Knit (or crochet) a baby cap, and share a picture of it via the snickerdoodle flickr group or in an email to me . Each hat counts as one entry in the giveaway. 5 hats = 5 entries, etc.
If you're just starting to knit, pics of practice swatches count for an entry in the giveaway (share 'em the same way as cap pics). Don't be shy!!! You'll help inspire and encourage other new knitters.
Help Spread the word! You can also get an entry in the giveaway by posting the knit for good blog button on your blog. Just copy the code I've got over in my side bar and paste it into an html widget.
Become a follower of Snickerdoodle if you're not already
Add a comment here on this post every time you share a hat or post the button on your blog, or so I can keep track of who's done what. And if your email address isn't linked to your blogger profile (it's easy!), be sure to include your email address so that I can get a hold of you if you win. Be sure to add a new comment for every hat or other entry-worth action, so that you get your full # of entries!!

The Giveaway will end at 8 pm (MST) on Feb 28th. Good luck!

~Comments are now closed~

Virtual Knitting Lesson #3: Shaping and Knitting in the Round

2011-02-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

{This post is part of kick-off week for our month-long Knit-for-Good Knit-a-Long. If you're just jumping in, you might want to check out the post that explains it all. }

Do you have a work in progress yet (practice swatches count for beginners)? Don't forget to upload pics to the Flickr Group and share your work!

How is that purl stitch coming along? Are you getting the hang of it? You'll probably want to practice knitting and purling for a while, but when you're ready to move on, Lesson #3 will be right here waiting for you.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now that you've got knitting and purling down, let's move on to some more advanced techniques that will round out your knitting arsenal. These aren't called advanced techniques because they're particularly hard-- it's just that they're a step beyond basic knitting.

But first we need to talk needles. There are three variables to consider when you're ready to buy needles: style, material and size. Let's tackle style first.

When most people think of knitting needles, they're probably thinking of something like this:

Straight needles are the ones that most beginners run out and buy. They get the job done, but they've got a lot of drawbacks. Their length makes them awkward to knit with, I'm always losing one needle from a set, and you're limited to flat knitting with straight needles.

I guess they're good for pinning hair up in a pinch, chopstick-style...

Next up: Double Pointed Needles (also referred to as DPNs).DPNs allow knitters to knit small diameter tubes (think socks, sleeves, and little hats), without the need to sew any seams. This is called knitting in the round and it's a wonderful thing. Anyways, DPNs always come in a sets of 4 or 5, and when you use them to knit in the round, you'll be using two of them to knit like you learned with flat knitting, and the other 2 or 3 needles with just be holding live stitches. (Amy demonstrates this in an excellent video here: scroll down and click on the DPN video).

Knitting with DPNs looks very complicated (even though it's not really). So if you're knitting to impress people, maybe you want to try it out.

And finally, circular needles. They're my favorite for many reasons. First off, the needle part is a lot shorter than straight needles have to be, which means you don't have super long needle hanging out past your elbows and getting tangled in your yarn or caught on the arms of your chair. They're also more versatile: once you learn the right techniques, one pair of circulars can take the place of a set of straights and a set of DPNs-- which means less money spent on needles (and more for yarn!), something you'll appreciate if you're cheap like me. Also, they're connected, so you won't ever find yourself with a partial or half set of needles.

Flexible cables and smooth connections to the needles make using circulars a lot more pleasant. Addis are a wonderful brand in that respect. The brands you'll find in your typical big box craft store won't be so suave (I'm thinking Boye off the top of my head), but they'll do-- you'll just have to be prepared to ease stuck stitches up off the cable and onto the needle.

So if you want to take my advice, learn small diameter circular knitting on circular needles, and only use circulars. Buy your circs with long cables, at least 24 to 32 inches, and you'll be set for flat knitting and large and small diameter knitting in the round.

By the way, I just learned a helpful tip for relaxing the cables on your circular needles:

Your knitting life will be so much easier if you relax the cable of your circular needle before you begin knitting. I do this by microwaving a large mug of water for a couple minutes, dipping the cable into the hot water for about 30 seconds, and then straightening it out and running it under cold water for a few seconds until it's cool. You can also steam the cable, or if you're using a metal needle, you can boil a little water in a skillet and put the whole thing in. It's amazing to watch it loosen up! Be sure and use hot pads or tongs, though, because that metal gets hot!
from knittingdaily.com

All the needles mentioned above come in three basic materials: metal, plastic or bamboo, and the choice of these is merely up to personal preference. Needles made of plastic or bamboo can be a good choice for new knitters, since they're not as slippery as metal and not as likely to drop stitches. On the other hand, I prefer metal needles with sharp tips because the smooth metal makes it easier to knit fast.

And finally, the size of your needles will be determined by the pattern and yarn you're using. We'll talk a little bit more about that tomorrow.

Now, on to techniques!!

If you get tired of churning out rectangles and squares, you'll want to learn some shaping techniques: increasing and decreasing the number of stitches in a row. Amy at knittinghelp.com has some wonderful explanations of increases and decreases. (that's how I learned!)

And finally, let's talk about knitting in the round. I don't know about you, but I want instant gratification in my knitting. As soon as those stitches come off the needles I want it to be ready to go. Knitting a bunch of pieces that have to be seamed together is not my idea of fun. This is why knitting in the round is so fabulous-- you can knit seamless garments! Knowing how to knit in the round made knitting so much more fun for me. And the good news is that it's much easier to learn than knitting and purling!

Traditionally, knitters used double pointed needles (like I mentioned above) for their circular knitting. My favorite method, however, is called magic loop. It is seriously mind-blowing. At least I thought so.

Once again, I'll direct you to the ever-so-wonderful info at knittinghelp.com. You should watch all the circular videos on this page to get a good idea of the concept, but be sure to pay special attention to the magic loop video.

Next up:

Virtual Knitting Lesson #4: Picking your Pattern (and a word on gauge)

Virtual Knitting Lesson #2: Purling (Steph's Quick Version)

2011-02-02T07:00:00.000-08:00

{This post is part of kick-off week for our month-long Knit-for-Good Knit-a-Long. If you're just jumping in, you might want to check out the post that explains it all. }

Do you have a work in progress yet? (practice swatches count for beginners) Don't forget to upload pics to the Flickr Group and share your work!

Have you been practicing what you learned during yesterday's lesson?

Good.

Keep at it. Don't move on from the knit stitch until you've got it down rock solid.

Our next lesson will be right here waiting for you when you're confident in your knit stitch and ready to try out purling.

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Virtual Knitting Lesson #2: Purl Stitch

Now that you've got the knit stitch under your belt, we're going to move on to the purl stitch. In essence, the purl stitch is a backwards version of knitting. You'll be holding your working yarn in front of your knitting, and pulling the new loop through the old one toward the back of the work.

You'll see what I mean in a minute.

A lot of knitters hate purling, so much so that they avoid it if at all possible. The basic continental purling technique is painfully awkward and slow, no matter how adept you get at it. But never fear, my intrepid knitters, I'll be showing you my quick purling technique. It's almost as fast as the knit stitch.

I mentioned yesterday that if you use the knit stitch on every row of your knitting, you'll end up with garter stitch fabric. You'll also get garter stitch fabric if you use the purl stitch on every row of your knitting. If you think back to the fact that the purl stitch is a backwards knit stitch, you also might realize that just the reverse is true: a knit stitch is a backwards purl stitch. So while you're knitting one row, that same row will show up as a purl row on the other side of the fabric.

Still with me?

This is where knitting starts to get interesting: by simply alternating knit stitches and purl stitches, you can create a wide variety of knitted patterns.

For example: Stockinette. Like I mentioned in the Purl video, this is what you'll find if you look closely at most sweaters or t-shirts. There will be interlocking v's on one side and interlocking bars on the other. You get this when you knit one row and purl the next, alternating that all the way through your knitted piece. And after a while, you won't even have to keep track of which row you're on. You'll just know to knit when the side with the v's is facing you, and purl when the side with the bars is facing you.

One problem with stockinette is that it tends to roll in on itself, so it's usually bordered by ribbing or garter stitch when it's used in a piece of flat knitting like washcloths or scarves or blankets. It's most commonly used in seamed pieces or pieces knit in the round.

Another common pattern created by alternating knit and purl is ribbing. This time though, the knits and purls are alternated within the same row of knitting. The most common rib pattern is probably 2 x 2, or knit two stitches and purl two stitches, repeated over and over. The next row would be just the opposite: purl 2 stitches and then knit 2 stitches.

My favorite simple knit/purl pattern is probably seed stitch. It seems sweet and delicate to me and I love to use it in borders on baby cardigans. Like this one (I'll get the pattern written up one of these days):

That's seed stitch down the center and on the bottom hem and the cuffs. The body of the sweater was worked in stockinette.

A written pattern for a seed stitch pattern sample would look like this:

Cast on 15 stitches:
Row 1: *k1, p1*; repeat to end
Row 2: *p1, k1*; repeat to end
Repeat rows 1 and 2

(k1=knit one stitch and p1= purl one stitch)

Okay folks, that's all for now. Keep on practicing that purl stitch, and come back tomorrow for knitting lesson #3.

I'll tell you why you should only buy circular needles, and we'll go over knitting in the round, magic loop (it'll blow your mind!!!), and increasing and decreasing.

Pep Talk and Virtual Knitting Lesson #1

2011-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

{This post is part of kick-off week for our month-long Knit-for-Good Knit-a-Long. If you're just jumping in, you might want to check out the post that explains it all. }

So. You want to learn how to knit.

In concept, knitting is simple: it's just pulling a loop of yarn through an existing loop-- and all those connected loops make a piece of fabric. There's nothing magical or mystical about it.

More good news: there are really only two stitches in knitting: knit and purl. For the most part, everything else is just a variation on the basics. Once you've got knitting and purling down pat, the rest is easy.

You can do this.

It might be kind of hard at first, but it's a difficulty along the lines of learning to ride a bike-- hard because it's new, but almost anyone can learn and once you do you'll never forget.

Your brain and eyes and fingers are going to work together in a way that they probably haven't had to before, and you can bet they'll protest. But you're the boss of those pesky fingers and eyeballs and brain. Show them who's in charge and they'll submit before long. And you'll be plenty proud of yourself and have all kinds of warm cozy handknits to show for it.

I recommend that you make a promise to yourself that you'll give three projects your very best shot before you decide whether or not knitting is for you. Chances are that if you can stick with it that long you'll be off to the races!

Let me reassure you again. You can do this. And the results in the end will be more than worth the patience it took to learn.

Okay now, it's time for your first knitting lesson.

Are you excited? I am!

Today we're going to cover the two most basic techniques of knitting: long-tail cast-on, and the knit stitch.

And what the heck, we'll throw in bind-off while we're at it and you'll be all set for your very first project.

{Sheesh. I was hoping that being in a blog video would magically make me more coherent and less dorky than I actually am. Not so.}

I'm using circular needles in the videos. If that's a new/bizarre concept for you, you'll want to tune in on Thursday for a discussion of needle types.

Video #1: Long Tail Cast On

Cast On is Knitter-speak for putting your first row of stitches on the needle. There are many different ways to cast on, but the one I'm going to teach you here is probably the most common. Also, I'm not very clear about it in the video, but a good rule of thumb, according to Amy of KnittingHelp.com is about 12 inches of tail for every 20 stitches that you're going to cast on.

Video #2: Knit Stitch

Knit Stitch is the first stitch you'll learn in knitting. I'm teaching Continental Style here. Also, you'll hear/read about knit stitch and garter stitch. I mention this in the next video, but knit stitch refers to the way you're manipulating the yarn and needles. Garter stitch is name of the fabric you get if you knit every row.

Video #3: Knit Stitch continued and Bind Off

Bind Off is knitter-speak for taking your stitches off the needle and linking them to keep them from unraveling-- the last step in a piece of knitting. Just like with casting on, you'll want to make sure that you don't bind off too tight. If that's a problem for you, try binding off with a larger size needle or with two needles held together.

Got it? Now just watch these and practice along over and over and over again until you get the hang of it. If there's anything unclear or confusing in the videos, or you have any questions about your knitting, please don't hesitate to shoot me an email, or mention it in the comments and I'll see what I can do to help.

If you get really stuck and start to feel so frustrated that you want to gouge your eyes out with your knitting needles, try getting some help at your local yarn store. You'll almost always find the staff there friendly and helpful and more than willing to give you a hand with learning.

Ravelry is also a great online resource for knitters of all experience levels.

Up Tomorrow: Knitting Lesson #2; purl, stockinette, and rib knit

let's do something good together

2011-01-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

When most of us think February, we think love, right? Romantic love, more specifically.

Which is great. I really like romantic love (just ask Mr. Snickerdoodle).

But Love is a much broader topic than just romance. It includes, among other things, love for mankind in general. Or womankind.

Or heck, even babykind.

The love I'm thinking about is the kind of love that makes us want to reach out and help others. To turn our time, talents, and resources into tangible expressions of love and goodwill.

Take a moment to muster up as much of that feeling as you can.

{I'll wait...}

Ready now? Okay, read this:

Nearly 4 million babies die each year in their first month of life - half within their first 24 hours -mostly from preventable or treatable causes. But by giving mothers and caregivers a package of simple tools, including guidance on healthy newborn care practices, the majority of these deaths could be prevented. Items crucial to saving more babies’ lives include:

• antibiotics to treat infection
• immunizations against tetanus
• skilled birth attendants at every birth
• counseling on breastfeeding
• information on basic newborn care such as keeping the cord clean and keeping the baby warm

And this:

Baby caps are a simple and effective tool that can keep babies warm and ultimately contribute to reducing newborn deaths in the developing world.

Do you see where I'm going with this?

How about now?

This is a bit of a big deal for Snickerdoodle. The first event of it's kind here on the blog. And the first, I hope, of many more. Maybe we can make it an annual tradition.

Here's how you can participate:

Step 1: Download a Caps for Good Action Kit. It'll give you all the info you need to submit a cap.

Step 2: Knit (or crochet, but I can't help you there) a baby cap, using whatever pattern you want. It only takes one to join the fun, but you don't have to stop there! Don't know how to knit? Don't worry. I'll hold your hand all the way. You can do this!

Step 3: Grab a blog button, and help spread the word.

Step 4: Share your handiwork to inspire and encourage others. You've got two options for this:

join the Snickerdoodle Flickr group, and upload your baby cap photos.
Email me with a picture of your cap or a link to a blog post featuring your cap.

I'll be sharing the pics and links in periodic show-n-tell posts.

Step 5: Follow the instructions in the Caps for Good Action Kit to mail in your cap(s) no later than Feb. 28th. If you really feel like going the extra mile, have a go at this Recycled Mailer Tutorial.

I understand that you're busy doing all kinds of good and important stuff, and you're the only one who can decide whether or not you've got time for this sort of thing. Just keep in mind that you've got a whole month to knit one little tiny baby cap. This is doable.

If you're an experienced knitter, then pick your yarn and pattern and get cracking! But don't forget to share your handiwork, and be sure to check back with the blog throughout the month for more knit-a-long fun-- including a giveaway!! (more details on Friday)

If you've always wanted to learn to knit, now's as good a time as any. Stay tuned, and I'll walk you through the whole process and give you a great beginner baby cap pattern. We'll get started tomorrow with a Pep Talk for New Knitters and Virtual Knitting Lesson #1.

So, what do you say?

Will you join me?

P.S. Knitting a hat to donate will enter you in the Giveaway!

Amazon, you're sly like a fox

2011-01-28T08:00:00.000-08:00

Dear Amazon.com,

Your sneaky plan has worked. I signed up for your mom club-- the one that gave me free 2-day shipping for three months. Now I'm hooked.

I, the queen of cheapskate-frugal-folks, am now sorely tempted to fork out $79 for an Amazon Prime Membership. You gave me a taste of a beautiful thing-- having that nice UPS lady bring me stuff do my door (in 2 days! for free!), instead of having to drag my 4 crazy monkeys all over town looking for a store that carries what I'm looking for. The thought of going back makes me shake in my boots. There, are you happy now?!

yours sincerely (if a bit grumpy),

Steph

**On a completely different note: be sure to check back in on Monday for an exciting announcement. You won't want to miss it!**

"Out, damn'd spot!"

2011-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

...Okay, I remember enough from high school Lit to know that Lady Macbeth wasn't talking about laundry. I'm pretty sure she had laundry people. Yeah, and I'll bet her laundry people had laundry people too. So, quit your griping Lady!

I, on the other hand, do not have laundry people, and in spite of my best non-swearing-mom intentions, I frequently find myself quoting Shakespeare to the seemingly endless stream of splattered, splotched, and spotted laundry.

My advice for you: swearing is not an effective method of stain removal.

I've been on a quest to find a better way to get rid of stains (It may have been one of my New Year's Resolutions. Yes, I know it's weird, but I'm in good company!!), and I've learned a few things:
Read more »

recycled mailer tutorial

2011-01-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

These mailers are a great way to use up those pesky grocery bags that seem to pile up so quickly. They're sturdy, water-resistant, and earth-friendly. What's not to love?

{if you're one of those folks who always remembers to take the reusable bags to the store, pat yourself on the back and see if you can get some bags from a friend or neighbor}

Read more »

fishy cupcakes

2011-01-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

My birthday boy asked for a fish cake...

Me: What kind of fish?

Him: Trout.

Me: Trout?

Him: Yeah. You know... um-uh... rainbows, cutthroats, brook trout, tiger trout. Yeah, maybe a cutthroat trout.

Me: Okay then. We'll see what we can do...

Sorry you didn't get your trout, buddy. Maybe next year

Marshmallow fondant is wonderful stuff. It's like edible playdough for grown-ups. I used the tutorial I found here. I've never used old-fashioned fondant, so I don't know how it compares, but the marshmallow stuff was cheap, easy and tasty.

crockpot dyeing take 2: Fern

2011-01-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Yarn: "harvested" from a very soft wool sweater
Before: two-tone ice blue
After: two-tone yellow green

Sure, the original color is nice (and I've got lots more of it), but I had to have some yellow green after I saw a woman at the grocery store with a lovely cowl of the same shade.

Method: I added one packet of lime green Kool Aid to the dye bath. It exhausted pretty quickly, but didn't do a thing to change the shade. I realized two things: #1- that 1 packet of KA was no where near enough dye for the amount of yarn I was using, and #2-- that since my yarn was already blue, I just needed to add some yellow Wilton's food coloring to get green, and a little red Wilton's to muddy it a bit. I also added some vinegar to help the Wilton's color set.

Lesson learned: I'm very happy with the result, but have decided that it's time to be a little more precise (weighing yarn and measuring dye) and keep notes. That way I can replicate good results and learn from not so good ones.

best breakfast ever: banana bread oatmeal

2011-01-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

Don't you love it when food is yummy and good for you?

This banana bread oatmeal is a great way to start the day. Just top your bowl of steel cut oats with sliced bananas, some pecans, and a drizzle of maple syrup. It tastes exactly like banana bread-- cross my heart and hope to die.

Here's my recipe for Easy Steel Cut Oatmeal:

1 cup steel cut oats

4 cups water
salt to taste

Combine oats and water in a medium pot. Let soak overnight. In the morning, cook over medium low heat until thick and creamy, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste before serving.

Double or triple this recipe for lots of leftovers. This way, you can make a big batch on Monday and refrigerate the leftovers--and you've got instant oatmeal for the rest of the week.

P.S. look for your steel cut oats in the bulk section-- they'll be a lot fresher and far less expensive than the tinned stuff you find on the shelf

finished project: the orange dream cap

2011-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:00

The first of many caps from this pattern.

Unfortunately, the last of this yarn.

Is anyone else hungry for Orange Dream Bars?

The thing I love about this pattern is that it looks kind of complicated but really just involves the clever use of a few basic knitting skills (knitting in the round, increasing and decreasing). An advanced beginner would be fully capable of great results from this pattern.

Here are some action shots:

Those cheeks!!

That attitude!!

(is my sweet 7 week old really giving the camera the bird?!!)

and never one to be left out: Jack

a little January cheer

2011-01-12T14:32:00.000-08:00

Here's what's making me happy on this gray January day:

The memories of yesterday's perfect apple pie.
(seriously, I'm kind of tempted to make another and enter it in the county fair)
(yes, you should make one too. just do yourself a favor and use this crust.)

A thrift store treasure I picked up last week

My annual Christmas present to myself: watching the growth of my cheerful amaryllis.

Also: playing Legos with my six year old birthday boy and making yet another chocolate cake with caramel icing.

What makes you happy today?

DIY microwave popcorn

2011-01-04T16:13:00.000-08:00

We love popcorn. In fact, we're downright crazy about it here.

I grew up with an air popper, and have fond memories of watching fluffy popcorn burst out into the bowl.

Today I live in a little tiny house with a little tiny kitchen, and we don't have room for superfluous kitchen appliances, so the air popper had to go. For years now we've been popping our corn on the stove in a big pot, but today I was in the mood for experimentation.

I remembered reading a tidbit in a Cook's Illustrated magazine a while back about popping bulk popcorn in the microwave, and figured it was worth a shot.

I dumped a handful of popcorn kernels into a brown paper lunch bag...

... put another bag over the first, like so...

(pardon the sideways shot, I'm trying to blog and nurse a baby at the same time)

...then I put it in the microwave for about 4 minutes, aaaaaaand:

The results were awesome. Mind-blowingly awesome

Seriously, judging by my sister's reaction, you'd have thought I'd turned those kernels into white doves or something. All afternoon, she kept shaking her head and saying, "I just can't believe you did that!", and "It's really that easy-- Ha!"

Some things I learned from my little experiment:

Oil isn't necessary to microwave pop. In fact, the lack of it seems to keep the popcorn from burning. Some of those kernals were in the microwave for more than 6 minutes, and none them were the least bit scorched.

However, Oil might aid the cooking. I ended up with more "old maids" than I'm used to, and when cooked this way, the kernels took longer to pop than they do with standard store-bought microwave popcorn.

Bags can be reused many times. And, although I haven't tried it yet, I imagine this would work just as well with a bowl and some loosely-applied plastic wrap (or other covering).

reality check...

2010-12-16T13:00:00.000-08:00

At this time of year, Blogland is particularly full of scenes of perfection: impeccably decorated homes, lovely and thoughtful handmade gift ideas, delicious recipes, and cheerful Christmas soundtracks.

If all of that has made you feel the least bit stressed/insecure, please read on. I offer this post as a public service of sorts.

It's 2:00 in the afternoon and I'm still in my PJs.

Yeah, it's been one of those days. The baby has been fussy, the big boys especially rambunctious, and Jack-Jack has become a pint-sized version of that Mayhem character from the Allstate commercials. He pulled all the ball-shaped ornaments off of the Christmas tree (because the kid LOVES balls), clogged the toilet with half a roll of toilet paper, and knocked my sewing machine off of the counter.

Hasta La Vista, sewing machine. It's been nice knowing you. And just when things were starting to get interesting with my first pieced quilt project, too.

I was trying to be practical and limit the handmade gifts and projects this year, what with the craziness that a new baby would add to the mix, but as usual, I threw practicality out the window and couldn't resist sewing a little something: quilts for each of my big boys to celebrate their upcoming transition to bunk beds. They will be awesome, whenever they get done, but it sure as heck won't be before Christmas now.

So now, instead of scrambling to finish a couple of quilts before Christmas, I've suddenly got some free time on my hands. Time to do a little kid-friendly baking (and eating!), time to read stories with the kidlets, and maybe squeeze in a game of Chutes and Ladders or something.

But probably not time to shower...

from the archives: snow candy

2010-12-14T08:00:00.000-08:00

(Listen up, Midwesterners: Here's something productive to do with all of that snow you've recieved lately.)

We made another batch of snow candy after our last snow storm. It's become an annual tradition after the first decent storm of the year.

This batch was special: we used the maple syrup that my mom and dad tapped from the trees in their yard. And boy was it good!

Recipe here.

pity party baby vest

2010-12-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

Three weeks ago I was very pregnant and 10 days overdue. I was cranky with the whole world. By this point, even my understanding family started to reply to every grunt and groan with, "Was that a contraction?". I felt like a ticking time bomb and I was sick of it.

When my husband cheerfully asked me over breakfast what I wanted to do with my Saturday, I replied in my best Oscar The Grouch voice, "I want to hibernate in the bedroom and not talk to anybody". I was kind of kidding, but realized after saying it that maybe hibernation was a good idea. At the very least, it would help to protect the innocent from my inner pregnant Godzilla.

So I holed up in my bedroom and had myself a pity party. I watched all 6 episodes of the charming PBS documentary, Circus, and unraveled a lovely off-white United Colors of Benneton sweater. Turns out that the destructive activity of unraveling is highly therapeutic for the Exceptionally Cranky (pregnant or not).

The yarn was perfect for a pattern I've had in my Ravelry queue for a while: Ruth's Baby Top. The wool was incredibly soft and the yarn was the perfect weight to get the right gauge. Not long after starting the top, I began to get some noticeable contractions. I was in denial for a bit, but finally realized that I was, indeed, in labor. My midwife and her assistants came and started to set things up, while I paced my living room floor and knit, knit, knitted (I kept the ball of yarn in the pocket of my bathrobe). By the time I got to the placket (about 11 pm), contractions were strong enough that I couldn't concentrate on knitting anymore. I've never been so delighted to have to set aside a knitting project. Sweet Stella was born the next morning at 7 am.

I finished the vest when she was four days old. My only regret is that it's a little small on my big girl (she's nearly 11 lbs now). I'll be knitting this again soon, but I'll do the 9 month size.

dyeing yarn with foodcoloring: color good enough to eat

2010-12-10T11:11:00.000-08:00

I've been experimenting with yarn and my crockpot and some Wilton's food coloring gel lately. This is what I came up with:

I started with natural, off-white wool that I harvested from a soft, lovely United Colors of Benneton sweater I purchased for $3 at Saver's. (come back tomorrow to read a funny story about the unraveling) I was going for a coral color-- I used some rose pink and just a little bit of yellow. I ended up with something more salmon, but for a first try I'm absolutely thrilled.

This method was really easy, and I can't wait to try it again. I followed this great tutorial. There's also a group on Ravelry, What a Kool Way to Dye, that is "for those of us that get our yarn dye in the dessert and drink aisles". The pages there are full of lots of great information and inspiration.

If you're not already on Ravelry, by the way, you should join. Right now. (it's for crocheters, too!)

And here's my salmon yarn knitted up. It's combined with undyed yarn from the same sweater for a stripey pattern. I'm making this little hat and I'm already completely smitten.

This picture illustrates one of the funny things about dyeing fiber blends-- the different fibers will absorb the colors differently. This sweater was a merino wool and angora blend. If you look closely, you can see a bit of a pink haze (esp. in the upper left corner). That's because the angora took on more pink, and the merino took on more yellow. So really, the whole process is part science, part magic, and frequently a little surprising-- my favorite kind of crafting.

two finished projects

2010-11-25T10:35:00.000-08:00

If you've read this blog for a while, you may have been aware that I've been hard at work for the past nine and a half months on my very favorite kind of project: a baby.

This "project" took longer than any of us expected: Stella Jan showed up on November 21st, 11 days past her due date. She was born at home on a lovely Sunday morning, and weighed 9 lbs 14 oz, and measured 22 inches long. We are all thoroughly smitten.

My second (and less notable) finished project of late is the Lucille sweater and bonnet that I knit for my girl. I used Elann.com's Peruvian Baby Cashmere yarn in parchment, and some tiny vintage mother of pearl buttons I found on Etsy. Love!

Oh, Happy Day!

2010-11-09T14:36:00.000-08:00

First off, the Snickerdoodle clan is all finally recovered from the nasty stomach bug we were dealing with a couple of weeks ago. I'll spare you the details, but let it be known that I have a deeper appreciation for the normal functioning of the digestive system.

Now, on to the real reason for my post. A few weeks ago, my kids discovered a great book at the library. It's called Howtoons; have you heard of it? It's essentially a comic book that follows a brother and sister duo on their crafty/creative adventures.

Not ribbons and vintage buttons kind of crafty/creative though. The book includes instructions for making ice cream, safety goggles from plastic soda bottles, marshmallow shooters, and (my boys' personal favorite) a water-powered rocket. I was deeply grateful to the authors of this book when I saw my 5 year old's Christmas wish list:

5 feet of PVC pipe
2 empty 2-liter soda bottles
O-rings
Rubber bands
4 wire coat hangers
Someone to help me make cool stuff

Readers, I am not kidding about this. It kind of feels like cheating to get away with spending less than $10 on your kid's Christmas, but I've got a feeling we're just going to run with this one.

The point of all this is though, is that now you understand how much we love the book, you can see how absolutely ridiculously thrilled we were to come across the Howtoons Blog. You should go and check it out to. It'll make your day.

Oh, Happy Day indeed!

P.S. According to our estimated due date (which happens to be tomorrow), little miss snickerdoodle is expected to make her grand debut in the somewhat near future. Maybe this weekend? We shall see...

Go play with your food!

2010-11-03T21:20:00.000-07:00

Do your kids eat playdough? My big boys don't so much anymore. But they sure used to, especially back when I used to use kool-aid to color our homemade dough. Can you imagine the dissappointment faced when they found that our playdough didn't taste as good as it smelled?

Big bummer.

But now, we've got the best of both worlds: edible playdough!

Peanut Butter Playdough
1 cup peanut butter

1 cup honey

2 cups powdered milk

Cream together peanut butter and honey in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add powdered milk and mix until smooth and well incorporated. Store in fridge.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Playdough (0ur favorite)

1 cup peanut butter

1 cup honey

1 1/2 cups powdered milk

1/2 cup cocoa powder

Cream together peanut butter and honey in the bowl of a standing mixer. Add powdered milk and cocoa and mix until smooth and well incorporated. Store in the fridge.

more thrifty gifting

2010-10-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

After my post on recycled baby sweaters, it occurred to me that I've got a few other thrifty gift ideas up my sleeve.

My niece is going to become a big sister any day now. The new baby needs a sweater (of course!), but we didn't want the Big Sis to feel left out of the gifting.

For her gift, we cut shapes out of brightly colored foam sheets to use as bath stickers. My boys have been playing with a set of our own for the past few weeks and bath time has never been so much fun. We got a huge stack of the foam sheets for about $4, and used 6 sheets of foam for the gift, so we ended up with a gift that cost pennies, but is as much fun as toys that cost more $$ . (we borrowed the idea from this wonderful post at FilthWizardry)

Incidentally, these foam "stickers" don't have to stay banished to the bath. They also work really well on windows, dishwasher doors, refrigerator doors, etc.-- just keep a dish of water nearby! A handy way to keep little hands occupied while you're busy in the kitchen, no?

I loved playing with paper dolls when I was little, did you too? It was a happy little trip down memory lane when I stumbled across this lovely collection of free vintage paper dolls.

They seemed the perfect birthday gift for one of our favorite little neighbor girls. We printed them on heavy cardstock and covered them with clear contact paper to help them last a little longer. I downloaded some free pretty wallpaper from lovemae to make the storage envelope, and we had a sweet little gift for nothing more than the cost of ink and paper.

If I did it again (which I'm sure I will), I'd print them a little smaller and mount the doll and dresses on thin refrigerator magnets (the kind that come covered with advertisements for plumbers and dentists), and store the whole lot in a recycled candy tin for a fun and handy travel toy.

For a more gender neutral gift along the same lines, check out these awesome slotted building discs from madebyjoel. Really, go check it out right now. You'll find an incredibly inspiring blog with oodles of beautiful ideas for fun toys you can make for and with your kids. (I confess to spending a weekend reading through his entire blog after I stumbled across it-- it's that good)

What about you? Do you have any great and inexpensive gift ideas?

Yarn Harvesting

2010-10-14T15:52:00.001-07:00

This may be a minor exaggeration, but it feels like our circle of family and friends has been producing a couple of newborns a week lately. I know this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, since I too happen to have a bun in the oven, but see, I firmly believe that those new little bundles of wonderfulness need cozy warm sweaters and it's my calling in life to make sure that happens for the babies. At least for the babies I know. And at the rate we've all been going, my formerly healthy stash of baby sweaters has been reduced to zilch, zero, nothing.

So will everyone I know please stop procreating long enough for me to rebuild my stash of baby sweaters? I'm not asking much really, I only need a couple of weeks. Thanks!

Whenever I need to embark on a baby-knit-a-thon, I get busy harvesting yarn from thrift store and/or hand-me-down sweaters. It's a great way to get wonderful, soft yarns at an unbelievable price.

A couple of teeny tiny sweaters worth of super soft merino wool yarn for $2.50?

Yes, please.

{a lovely cashmere-blend sweater with a funky fit: perfect for reincarnation into something baby-sized}

{The newly unraveled yarn enjoying a nice warm bath}

{drying and de-kinking}

{and finally, reincarnated as an itty bitty sweater}

This, by the way, is the very best yarn harvesting tuto rial I've ever come across-- and I've read lots of them. You'll definitely want to check it out if you're at all curious about the process.

Dawn, the woman who wrote the tutorial knows what she's talking about; she does good business selling recycled yarn in her Etsy shop, TwiceShearedSheep (she also sells some lovely stitch markers that I've been drooling over lately). I think it's incredibly generous of her to share her knowledge.

(I'm not in any way connected to the shop, incidentally. Just passing on some link love in gratitude for her great tutorial.)

Hiya!

2010-09-06T12:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a splendid summer here: lots of sunshine and fresh air for the kidlets, and although I've been mostly playing the part of the exhausted pregnant lady, I have managed some sewing and knitting craftiness for a top-secret project (hint: starts with "e" and rhymes with "betsy").

Here's a sneak peek:
This little romper was a pair of buttery soft, but ill-fitting linen women's pants in its previous life. The addition of some happy stripey fabric facing (upcycled again-- woo hoo!), and a cheerful little embroidered bird makes it something special, don't you think?

Oh, and I used these vintage buttons for the straps. (from Etsy seller kikivontiki)

Vintage buttons.... sigh....

because we can always use another free vase...

2010-07-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

Method used to package their handsoap refills in large teardrop containers. Turns out they make lovely vases-- all it takes is a quick lop off the top (I used my Dremel).

I love design that lends itself to reuse. Unfortunately, they've changed their refills to less-lovely pouches. Makes me sad, but they probably have a good reason for it.

The recycled vase was clearly not an original idea from me. Don't you just love that they provide recycling ideas?

**Update: a Magic Eraser sponge and a whole lot of elbow grease will remove the printing from plastic without scratching.***

two little coffee beans

2010-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

Two little cardigans from Elizabeth Smith's Little Coffee Bean pattern. This is such a well-written pattern. I love that it's completely seam-free, since it's all knit in the round, even the sleeves. I'm sure I'll be coming back to it.

I learned magic loop knitting to avoid purchasing double pointed needles for the sleeves. It was delightful to find that the technique is easy peasy!

Just using up stash yarn and buttons with this one. I think the stripes are fun, don't you? My gauge was off so it ended up disproportionately wide, but still wearable.

Okay, so the birdie is a little wonky. I still think he's pretty cheery. Yarn was Bernat Cottontots solids-- same as Matthew's sweater.

campfire-less s'mores

2010-06-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

Our first "camping" trip of the season was a disaster. It rained the whole time and although we did stay in a cabin, it was so rustic (to put it nicely) and mouse-infested that we probably would have been better off in a tent, even in spite of the rain. Not to mention that baby Jack kept us up half the night (literally) and we had to book it out of there before breakfast in hopes of making it out before the roads became impassable because of the mud.

See? This picture was taken in celebration of making it to the "good" road. The black mud we'd just escaped from was deep and slippery. We were so lucky it was a down-hill trip!

And perhaps the saddest of all, the rain made it impossible to roast marshmallows over a fire and make s'mores.

Turns out you don't really need a fire to make s'mores. You can just top some graham crackers with marshmallows and chocolate chips (you can make up a whole tray at once if you feel so inclined) and pop them under the broiler for a minute and voila!: melty, gooey s'mores and you don't have to wash your hair and clothes and bedding to get the smoke smell out. Woot!

Toasty and gooey! Just how we like 'em.

Don't leave these alone under the broiler. There's only about 2 seconds difference between toasty and burnt. It worked best for us to prop the oven door open and watch them like a hawk.

I was expecting the use of the broiler to heat up my house more than it did. I think maybe that was because the broiler requires no preheating and was only on for about a minute. But if you're anti-oven in the summertime, I'll bet you could easily adapt this to work a grill.

The fire-free s'mores earned the taste-tester seal of approval.

the new queue

2010-06-24T19:54:00.000-07:00

First off, I HAVE managed to do some sewing and refashioning lately, believe it or not. I just haven't managed to get any good pictures yet. But here are two hints: I figured out what to do with my Liberty of London fabric (and I'm smitten!), and I now have a deep and abiding passion for fabric dye. More to come...

And as you may be well aware, my addiction of knitting little things for tiny people is showing no sign of letting up. If you thought 6 baby sweaters in one month would be enough, you were wrong. Now that I know I've got a little miss to knit for, I just had to go and add a whole bunch more sweet little knitted projects to my ravelry queue.

You wanna see them? I thought you'd never ask!

Lucille by Courtney Kelley

I'm having visions of this sweet little set in an off-white cashmere blend yarn (I found some at a great price-- even with shipping!) for little Miss Snickerdoodle to wear with her blessing dress: the same one I wore when I was blessed, which was made out of scraps of fabric left over from my mom's wedding dress-- how's that for sentimentality!

This pattern calls for thin yarn and tiny needles. Looks like it might take a while so I'd better get started soon!

Saartje's Booties by Saartje de Bruijn

Who cares that none of my babies ever kept shoes/socks/booties on for longer than 10 seconds! I have to make these booties! A few pairs, even! Incidentally, they call for the same size needles and yarn as Lucille, so I'll definitely have to make a pair in white.

Tulip Yoke Baby Cardigan by Jennifer Little

So if I knit this sweater, will it guarantee that my daughter will be this cute? Worth a try, eh?

I've never done fair isle knitting before (the technique necessary for the tulip pattern here), so I'm excited by the challenge this one presents.

Bunting Bag by DROPS design

Here's the thing: I have big babies. My "tiniest" weighed in at nine and a half pounds. And they don't stop there: baby Jack weighed in at a staggering 25 lbs at 6 months. We quickly learned that convertible car seats work better for us than the typical infant carrier-- carrying around a ginormous baby and a heavy/awkward carseat is a recipe for pain in the neck/back/wrists/etc., plus our babies would grow out of the infant carrier sooner than most and we'd have to move up to the convertible seat anyways. So far, we've been happy with the arrangement.

The only trouble is that we can't bundle the baby up all snug and warm in a car seat while we're still in the house and then transport to the car-- and with a November baby, we need to be sure to keep her warm even when she's getting buckled into her car seat in the cold car. Which is precisely why we need a bunting bag (with a slot for the car seat buckle).

Although, it would probably be faster just to sew one...

welcome to the world...

2010-06-15T20:40:00.000-07:00

My little nephew Matthew Ben made his grand appearance today. I finished his sweater just in time. Well, I probably had a little time to spare since I made the 6 mo. size-- big enough to grow into.

I had a lot of fun with the extra little details: the twill tape tag with his initials and the content and care hang tag.

Seriously though, people, I think I'm going to need to join an addiction treatment program or something. I've got another baby sweater in the wings (so cute that it's physically painful), and more planned. I just can't stop myself. My sincerest apologies to any non-knitters who are getting sick of all this.

P.S. The pattern is Presto Chango by Valerie Wallis

boy or girl?

2010-06-14T15:26:00.001-07:00

For the curious: we had an ultrasound today and found out the baby's gender. Wanna know? Here's a hint:

What's for dinner?

2010-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the lookout for some good menu ideas. Am I the only one who regularly falls into cooking ruts?

What, you too? How about we make a deal: I'll post some yummy dinner ideas we've tried lately and you share a few of your recent dinner favorites.

Fettuccine with Creamy Tomato Italian Sausage Sauce
Focaccia
Green Salad

With heavy cream and Italian sausage, this pasta dish isn't terribly healthy, but it was sure delicious and pretty easy. It would be a perfect special occasion dinner. We used whole wheat penne instead of fettuccine and omitted the spicy sausage-- only 1/2 lb. sausage instead of the full pound.

Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
Mini Corn Muffins
Green Salad
Orange Slices

Egg Salad Sandwiches (I like to add a little curry powder-- yum!)
Hummus, Pita Chips and Fresh Veggies
Smoothies

Italian White Bean Soup with Sausage and Kale (my version loosely based on this recipe)
Quick Rise Breadsticks
Broccoli
Creamy Fruit Salad (chopped apples, sliced bananas and red grapes, tossed with vanilla yogurt)

Italian White Bean Soup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/4 lb. sweet Italian Sausage, casings removed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 c. chicken broth
2 c. water
1 tsp. fresh rosemary, diced
1 tsp. fresh thyme, diced
4 c. kale, washed and torn
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions and celery until tender. Add sausage and cook until crumbly and no longer pink. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (abt. 30 seconds). Stir in beans, broth, water, and herbs. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, then simmer for 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, partially blend soup-- about half of the solids should be blended. Return to a simmer, add kale, and cook until just wilted. Stir in lemon juice and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.

Quick Rise Bread Sticks
1 c. warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 c. bread flour (can substitute whole wheat for up to half of the bread flour)

Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Add olive oil, salt and flour and knead until smooth and elastic. Let rest 10 minutes. Shape into bread sticks and place on a greased baking sheet. Brush with melted butter or olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 c. fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Let rise 10 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

We have two meal standbys that we can count on every week:

Friday night is pizza night-- cheese for the kiddies and something more interesting for the grown-ups (this one is my favorite). I love the pizza dough recipe from Cook's Illustrated Best Recipe. It's by far the best we've ever tried.

Also, you can make killer pizza sauce with pretty minimal work: saute a couple of cloves of garlic (minced) and a pinch of red pepper flakes in about a Tbsp. of olive oil until fragrant. Drain a can of diced Italian style tomatoes, and puree (we use the food processor, but a blender would probably work). Add the tomato puree to the garlic and pepper flakes, and simmer until thickened.

Sunday nights we have breakfast-for-dinner-- The kids love it and the ease of preparation helps keep Sunday peaceful and restful. We love blueberry pancakes, puffy oven pancakes (topped with fresh fruit and whipped cream!), overnight waffles, french toast, etc. along with fresh fruit salad, hashbrowns, and scrambled eggs.

new and improved DIY dishwasher detergent

2010-05-26T08:00:00.000-07:00

In my Bloom guest post about DIY cleaning supplies, I included a recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent. It did a passable job, but a little tinkering with the recipe turned out something even better: dishes that are clean and sparkling too-- not a speck of filmy deposits in sight!

New and Improved DIY Dishwasher Detergent
1/2 c. baking soda
1/2 c. borax
1/4 c. Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap

Combine ingredients in a food processor (an electric handmixer might work too), until mixture is crumbly. Store in an airtight container. Use about 1 T. per load.

For best results, use in combination with white vinegar as a rinse aid. This is how I do it:

Add 1 T. "detergent" to prewash compartment, and fill the main wash compartment with white vinegar. Fill rinse aid compartment with white vinegar also. Now you're good to go!

Note: I use Lavender-scented castile soap, and I've noticed that it doesn't smell so good when combined with vinegar (kind of like vomit). It's pretty faint and only noticeable for if you stand right in front of the dishwasher, but goes away as soon as the rinse cycle starts. The smell hasn't been a problem for me and my over-sensitive pregnant lady nose as long as I give the dishwasher a little space during wash cycle. Those of you with sensitive noses, consider yourselves warned. Try unscented castile soap or set your dishwasher to delay and run after you're in bed.

kale chips: crave-worthy

2010-05-24T08:00:00.000-07:00

I've never been able to eat health food that doesn't taste good. I just can't. If it doesn't look, smell, and taste delectable, I can't even go there. (luckily for all of us, there are lots of healthy and yummy ways to prepare food)

So although I've seen recipes for kale chips popping up here and there around the blogosphere, I ignored them, thinking "Sure they might be good for me, but blech."

But a couple of weeks ago a bunch of kale showed up in our co-op basket, and not knowing quite what else to do with it, I baked up a pan of kale chips. Now, I don't know if this is a pregnancy thing or what, but I just can't get enough of them. I'm buying kale a couple of times a week now, just to turn them into chips, and eating an entire bunch at a time, all by myself. So much for blech...

They're so easy! Just toss torn kale leaves with a little olive oil and kosher salt and bake. Recipe here.

yellow brick road baby sweater

2010-05-22T09:58:00.000-07:00

I cast on and got half-way through this sweet little baby sweater during last week's family movie night viewing of The Wizard of Oz. A couple of hours knitting the next day were all that it took to finish it up. (ignore the needle closure-- I've got some tiny little ladybug buttons that I still need to sew on) It was so fast and easy I could hardly believe it! My favorite part: it's knit in the round, so the only seaming required was a couple of inches on each sleeve. This was instant gratification baby knitting at it's best.

I'm pretty sure this is going to become my go-to baby gift. Short sleeves for Spring and Summer babies, and long sleeves for Fall and Winter babies. The eyelet look might be a little feminine for boys, but it would be really easy to skip the yarn-overs (that's what makes those holes) in favor of un-holey (tee hee!) raglan increases and moss-stitch borders on the body and sleeves for a more boyish sweater.

My modifications here:

Short sleeves: instead of working 3 inches on the sleeves before the border pattern, I jumped immediately into the border pattern at the division, only doing one row of yarn-overs.
three button holes instead of just one.

sunshiny (and I {heart} New York)

2010-05-17T21:53:00.000-07:00

I finished the sunshiny baby jacket a while ago (long enough for me to start and finish another cute baby sweater-- more on that when I get some good pictures to show you).

You chose well, dear readers. It turned out painfully adorable and it was a perfectly portable project for my trip to NYC. I made a couple of modifications to the original pattern. First off, I added about 6 rows to the length, which seems just about right to me. I also used a provisional cast-on and came back and knit a hem. This was my first attempt at this technique and it blew my mind-- it was a lot easier than I expected and gave a nice, finished look to the sweater.

We still need a snap and a decorative button, but you get the idea...

Knitting aside, New York was wonderful. I spent my days wandering Soho and Chelsea, sitting down to knit (and people watch) whenever I felt so inclined. I made it over to Purl Soho, which is just as delightful in real life as shown through the blog. I went in looking for some pretty silk yarn to make the Summit shawl, but I walked out with this:

1 yard of Liberty of London's Tana Lawn in Multi Gabriella-- the most beautiful print I've ever seen. The price was a bit hard for me to swallow at first; for me, the girl who waits to use a 50% off coupon at JoAnn's for fabric that's normally $10/yd. But really, when you see it in person: the color, the incredible drape, the unbelievable silky softness of the 100% cotton, it's totally worth it. And I had some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket, so naturally, the rest is history.

Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do with it...

bragging about my mom

2010-05-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

[playing the lam-o card this year and borrowing from a post I wrote last year for our family blog.]

For the past 5 1/2 years I've been a mother. I love my job (usually). I'm not always good at it. Sometimes I'm impatient. Sometimes I let them eat cookies 10 minutes before dinner will be on the table. Sometimes I count down the hours (and minutes, and seconds...) until Joe comes home from work. But for the most part I'm okay at this motherhood thing. And almost all of the good things I do for my kids, I learned from my mom.

This is my mama, Jan. She raised 6 kids (almost. two are still at home-- the verdict is still out on them) as well as providing a foster home for developmentally disabled men for almost 20 years. She also ran an in-home daycare so she could be at home with us while she put my dad through graduate school. And she's currently the world's best nursery teacher. That adds up to a whole lot of mothering. I was so lucky to be able to learn motherhood at the knee of someone who was (IS) so thoroughly good at it. Here's a short list of the lessons I learned:

Don't sweat the small stuff. Most problems/concerns with kids will eventually resolve themselves with patience and a healthy dose of practicality. Stuffy noses and tummy bugs usually heal on their own; behavior issues are usually grown out of; picky eaters won't starve; and siblings usually grow up to like (or at least tolerate) each other. Stress and worry are rarely productive. Maternal instinct should be trusted.

Childhood should be magical. Kids see magic in everything: sprouting seeds, rising bread dough, sunsets, bugs, flecks of glittering mica in the sidewalk, etc. A wise mother encourages this and joins right in. A wise mother nurtures imagination.

Beauty feeds the soul. A home filled with simple beauty in all its forms (good music and the laughter of children, the scent of baking bread or clean laundry, cheerful colors, etc.) is a happy and peaceful place to be.

Family dinners are important. My mom is a wonderful cook. Wonderful. I could write a list longer than my arm of all the delicious food my mom makes. But the food wasn't the most important part of our regular family dinners-- it was the stories shared, the jokes laughed at (crass as they may have been), and the companionship. And man, that food was good.

Creativity can equal sanity. My mom seems to have a never-ending list of creative talents. She's an incredible seamstress, and an amazing florist. She can paint, embroider, cross-stitch, build cool stuff (she never met a power tool she didn't love...), and grow beautiful gardens. Motherhood can be intense, and having a crafty project or two going is sometimes the only thing keeps me from losing my mind.

Kids should be allowed to get dirty once in a while (or in Daniel's case-- all the time). Life can be messy. And really experiencing life occasionally requires getting messy. So, peanut butter smudged faces, sweaty hair, and dirt-caked bodies are signs of kids who are really living.

I used to worry about turning into my mom someday. Now I'm realizing that's not such a bad thing. Happy Mother's Day!

Golden Dahlia

2010-05-03T07:00:00.000-07:00

I'm sure that many of you have seen this lovely Mother's Day dahlia corsage tutorial by now. Personally, I thought it was one of the loveliest projects I've come across in a while and since I already had all the supplies on hand, I had to make one of my own. Now I want one in every color of the rainbow.

The tutorial recommends using craft glue, I found a glue gun to be much easier and faster. Mine's not as perfect as the original, but even so, I think it's very nice. It really would make a lovely (possibly last-minute) Mother's Day gift.

sunshiny baby jacket, a start

2010-05-01T09:41:00.001-07:00

I couldn't resist getting a head start on that ribbed baby jacket. The yarn is Lion Brand Cotton-Ease in "maize". I've been pleasantly surprised to see how nicely this bargain yarn knits up.

The green yarn is temporary-- it's part of a provisional cast-on technique that I'm using in order to be able to come back later and add a hem to live stitches. Other knitters on Ravelry that have worked this pattern have noted that the way the bottom of the finished jacket rolls up is kind of annoying, and some of them recommended hemming as a solution. We'll see how it works.

we have a winner

2010-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

Thanks everyone for helping me out with my decision. It looks like voting was nearly unanimous for "D", the ribbed baby jacket. I agree, it's just too cute for words. I may not be able to stop at one. Maybe one in every size? I'm off to buy yarn soon, now I just need to pick a color. I like the gray, but pumpkin orange could be really sweet. Or maybe avacado green? (can you tell I'm a hungry pregnant woman?) Decisions, decisions...

P.S. You weren't alone in your love for the summit shawl Julie. That's definitely next up on my have-to-knit list

the fog has lifted. also, what should I knit?

2010-04-27T14:25:00.000-07:00

Friends, it's good to be back in the land of the living. I swear I can feel the progesterone levels dropping a bit. Heck, I even scraped up enough energy to make a decent dinner for my family last night. It's been fend-for-yourself around here for the past few weeks-- even baby Jack had to learn to make himself a PBJ if he wanted to eat.

I kid, I kid (but only a little).

I've got an important decision to make and I need your help. Mr. Snickerdoodle and I are soon headed out to the Big Apple for a few days, sans munchkins. Since I won't be busy trying to keep my kids happy and off everyone else's nerves, I think I'm in need of a good knitting project to work on while we're in transit. I just can't decide what.

Should I make something pretty for me?

Summit via Knitty.

Anthemion via Knitty

Or something sweet for il bambino?

Presto Chango via Jimmy Beans Wool.

(I've already knit this pattern before and love it)

Ribbed Baby Jacket via All About You

Please cast your vote and make my decision for me. Because really, thinking still takes too much energy for me.

P.S. All of these patterns are free, just follow the links. And if you want more (more! more!), you really should become a member of Ravelry. (it's free too!)

our latest project

2010-04-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

image via WebMD

Not much blogging going on around here lately. That's because I've been hard at work on my favorite project of all time: the fourth and final installment of make-a-small-human-in-only-nine-months-with-stuff-you-probably-already-had-laying-around-the-house.

You may have a few questions, and I've got some answers:

A. November 10, although I have a tendency to go a few days past. I'm betting on the 15th.

B. No throwing up, but food seems to have lost much of its appeal. Mostly I'm just chronically exhausted-- that progesterone always does a number on me. I don't think I've ever been so excited for the 2nd trimester increase in energy.

C. Probably another boy. We're not going to get our hopes up for a girl. I'm okay with that, boys are fun.

D. Yup, we did it on purpose.

E. The big brothers are thrilled. Well, except for Jack; he's got no clue what's coming.

come see me at BLOOM...

2010-03-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

I'm guest blogging at BLOOM today on my favorite natural household cleaning recipes. Please stop in and say hello!

If that's not enough to get your Spring Cleaning mojo going, here are some of my favorite pandora stations for cleaning to:

Spicy Latin Music (Tito Puente & Co.)
The Ditty Bops (charming and eclectic)
Divas (Ella Fitzgerald and Etta James, to be exact)
Whammer Jammer (awesome blues harmonica)
Mr. Snickerdoodle's picks (Cake, They Might Be Giants, R.E.M)

how to blow an egg

2010-03-11T08:00:00.000-08:00

[note: Are you wondering why you'd want to blow an egg? Well, with the egg's perishable insides removed, you can keep those lovely easter eggs you worked so hard on indefinitely]

I found a solution to my egg-blowing problem! See, when I was a kid, we always blew our eggs by mouth. We'd use a pin to poke a hole in the top and bottom of an egg, put our mouths over the top hole and blow until our faces turned purple, we saw stars, and the egg's insides came out the other end. I'm not a big fan of this method because it takes a long time, is physically uncomfortable, and the thought of putting your mouth over something that came out of a chicken's nether-regions is just plain disgusting.

Ukranian Gift Shop sells egg blowers and I was going to order one with my pysanky kit, but I forgot and didn't want to pay shipping again. I'd been wracking my brain, trying to come up with an alternative. At one point, I figured I'd try to connect a basketball inflating needle to one of those blue infant bulb aspirators that every mom has floating around the house. I never got a chance to find out if that would work because I came across something much simpler during a trip to the grocery store: a flavor injector. (this one, as a matter of fact)

I found it in the kitchen implements section of my supermarket. You know, the aisle where you can find overpriced whisks, can openers, casserole dishes, etc.? Fortunately my glorified syringe only cost me $2.50 and after a little practice, it's worked like a charm.

Here's what you need to blow an egg:

a flavor-injector-syringe-thingie, a raw egg, and a safety pin

Step 1: Use your safety pin to poke a hole in the egg slightly larger than the flavor injector needle. You'll have to start with a tiny hole and then keep chipping away at the edges of it until it's the right size. I tried poking the hole with the flavor injector, but the eggs kept breaking. You only need one hole when you blow your eggs this way, and I prefer to put mine at the bottom (larger) end of the egg.

Step 2: Pull the plunger of the syringe out, so you've got a syringe full of air. Insert the needle into the egg hole and gently force air into the egg. As the pressure in the egg builds up, the insides will be forced out around the needle and into the bowl that you've so carefully set up for the purpose of catching egg guts (don't throw these away! make omlettes for heaven's sake!). For the very last bits, you'll need to make sure that you're holding the egg upright. The insides will only be forced out if they're completely covering the hole-- otherwise you'll just be pushing air out. Make sense?

Step 3: Use the syringe to push water into the now (mostly) empty egg. Remove the injector needle, cover the hole with your finger and shake shake shake that egg.

Step 4: Hold the egg over a sink, and use the injector to force air into the egg one more time. This'll remove the eggy water. Keep the egg upright (I save an old egg carton for this) to let it dry thoroughly and you're good to go!

You can choose to do this before or after you dye your eggs. If you do it before, you'll need to cover the hole with melted wax and find a way to keep you egg submerged in the dye.

By the way, this technique is good for any sort of decorated egg, not just pysanky.

filled cupcakes

2010-03-10T09:52:00.001-08:00

Move over Twinkies, there's a new filled cake treat in town.

Meet raspberry lime cupcakes: lemon cupcakes (supposed to be yellow cake with added lime zest, but I had lemon cake mix on hand so I used it), topped with a pretty pink raspberry/whipped cream/cream cheese frosting. The best part of all is the yummy secret inside: creamy, sweet-tart lime filling. Yum!

Can you imagine the possibilities that filled cupcakes open up?

Hmmmm... yellow cake with vanilla pastry cream filling and chocolate frosting. Yes please....

Or maybe chocolate cake with whipped cream filling and chocolate ganache on top? Oh, mercy...

Oooohhh, strawberry short(cup)cake: Yellow cake with strawberry filling and whipped cream on top? YES!!!

How about spice cupcakes filled with vanilla pastry cream and topped with maple cinnamon whipped cream? Oh baby!

Do you have any great filled cupcake ideas/recipes? Please share!

P.S. While we're on the topic of cupcakes, have you seen this sweet little bit of stop-motion animation? We love it! (warning: there is a love scene between a cupcake and a butternut squash-- you may want to preview it before you let your kids watch.)

gently coaxed

2010-03-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

I've decided that the term "forced bloom" isn't really accurate. It seems so violent, doesn't it? So violent, when really all I've done is bring a few branches in to a warmer place, given them something nice to drink, and waited.

Anyways, here are some recent pictures of the results of our gentle coaxing.

baby leaves on my crab apple branch

and blossoms! (from my flowering plum tree)

I can have Springtime in my soul, even if Mother Nature isn't yet ready to cooperate.

pysanky

2010-03-06T07:58:00.000-08:00

I was first introduced to pysanky, or Ukranian Easter eggs, a few years ago by a friend from church. I'd stopped by her place around Easter time and saw that she had the most brightly colored, most intricate, and most beautiful Easter eggs I'd ever laid eyes on. Her husband had served an LDS mission in Ukraine and learned how to make pysanky from some locals, and they'd since made it an Easter tradition in their family.

This year was the first since then that I remembered pysanky in time to order supplies and work on some eggs for Easter. My kit came in the mail yesterday and I couldn't wait to make my first egg. The picture above was my first attempt. It's clearly an amateur job with its imperfect symmetry and uneven lines, but the great thing about pysanky is that it looks cool even when you don't know what you're doing. Check out this pysanky flickr group for pictures of jaw-dropping eggs.

The eggs are decorated using a wax resist method, similar to Batik. You draw on the egg with melted wax, using a special stylus called a kistka, and then dip it in dye. You keep repeating this cycle with different colors of dye (starting with the lightest color and ending with the darkest) until you've got the pattern you want.

So, for example, all the white that you see in my egg above was covered with wax in the first step. Then I dyed the egg turquoise, dried it, and covered all of the turquoise bits you see with wax. Black was my second and last dye color and when that was done, I held the egg near a candle to melt the wax and rubbed it off with a tissue. Watching your design emerge from the melted wax feels like a tiny miracle.

I'm sure we'll be busy with pysanky all month, so I'll be popping in periodically with pictures of our newest eggs, and maybe a photo tutorial of the whole process.

P.S. I ordered this kit from Ukrainian Gift Shop, a family-run business in Minneapolis. I highly recommend them for great products and excellent customer service.

P.P.S. I forgot to mention that blown eggs are used for pysanky. The egg's insides are blown out through a tiny hole in the bottom, which means that the eggs can be kept indefinitely. When I was growing up, we always blew our eggs by mouth-- with is hard to do and I'm sure a possible health hazard. Ukrainian Gift Shop sells hand pump egg blowers that seem to be a much better way to go about it.

vintage hair: surprisingly mom-friendly

2010-03-02T20:13:00.000-08:00

Well, if the response to my last post is any indication, lots of you like vintage hairstyles, and just vintage styles in general. I had a few people ask me about specifics, so figured I'll try a post with some answers.

But first, a warning: I'm about to post some first-thing-in-the-morning-shots so you can see my pin curls in action. I took Oceanpeg's advice and held my camera in front of my face to save you from crazy eyes, but the pictures still might be a little frightening due to their bright-and-early nature. Proceed with caution.

Still with me? Okay, here goes:

In all of this vintage hair experimenting, I've been surprised to find that it's actually been manageable to have pretty hair on most days. The trick is that most of the work is done at night. I wash my hair at night (or just wet it), put it in pin curls, let it dry while I sleep and then brush it out in the morning and pin it up however I feel inclined.

Which means that as I get more practice, it's a whole lot faster than my former morning routine of showering, drying my hair, and trying to do something cute. 'Cause truthfully, I've got all of about 10 minutes (or less) in the mornings to get as ready for the day as I can before the munchkins start demanding breakfast and/or destroying things/each other.

Maybe this is nothing new to you, but a nighttime shower and hairstyling session has been an epiphany for me.

Anyways, here's what the pin curls look like when I roll out of bed first thing in the morning:

I wrap it all in a scarf to protect it while I sleep. (cotton bandannas work best for me; silky scarves slip off while I sleep)

Here's what it looks like minus the scarf. Sexy, no?

I wanted to get pictures of the curls before they're brushed out and my finished style today, but alas, my 10 minutes were up and the munchkins were beginning to revolt.

I make the curls on the top stand on their sides so's to give me a little volume up there, and the rest of them just lay flat next to my scalp. Bobby pins can be used but I really prefer alligator clips-- I think they're faster to put in and they hold better. You can get a box of 100 at Sally Beauty Supply for about $5. If you've ever slept with your hair in sponge rollers, these have about the same discomfort factor.

I usually end up doing pin curls every other night. I find that I've got enough curl left over the next day to make it easy and fast to stick it up in some victory rolls or dry pin curls.

If the idea of sleeping in pin curls is totally unappealing to you, you can do most of the styles pictured in my previous post with hot rollers, but the curl won't last as long and it's a little harder to get that wave action so popular in 30s hair.

There are lots of great tutorials on YouTube for vintage hair, especially the ones from Strawberry Koi Vintage and Elegantly Amused.

Have fun!

my attempts at vintage hair

2010-02-25T14:09:00.000-08:00

I have always loved vintage hairstyles (especially the 40's and 50's). Oh the femininity! The glamour! But in spite of looking at lots of period photos, I'd never quite been able to figure it out myself.

After reading the great reviews on Amazon for Vintage Hairstyling, I couldn't resist trying it out. This book easily earns it's five-star rating. I'm pretty much a hairstyling novice, but the author made all the styles very approachable-- and they're all very lovely.

I've been at it for a couple of weeks now and I think I'm getting the hang of it. A lot of what I've tried so far comes out looking somewhat "costumey", so I'm thinking the next step is to figure out how to tone it down a little, for everyday hair with a vintage feel.

50's style hair with dry pin curls

Victory rolls and dry pin curls, with bandanna.

Victory Rolls and dry pin curls, with bandanna.

late 30's inspired hair
wet set pin curls, combed out
(this is one of my favorites)

more Victory Rolls

I'm resolved after this post to stop trying to take pictures of myself. I always end up with crazy eyes that way. Sorry if that freaked you out.

Dangerous Brownies

2010-02-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm probably doing a disservice to mankind in sharing this recipe, but what the heck!

When, pray tell, can a recipe be dangerous?

When it's a recipe for rich, dark, sinful brownies that can be on your fork only 10 minutes after your chocolate craving strikes. Did you hear that people?! TEN MINUTES!!

And not only are these suckers lightening fast to whip up, but in rigorous taste tests, they beat boxed brownie mix brownies hands-down. In other words, all of us at the Snickerdoodle house think they're better.

I was so proud of myself for eating only one modest piece last night before bed(with a scoop of vanilla ice cream- yum!).

But then, I was up 5 times in the middle of the night with sick kids (nasty head colds and pink eye), and I got in the habit of snatching a couple of bites of brownie on my way back to bed.

You know, to reward myself for being such a caring and selfless mother.

By the time I woke up this morning I'd eaten two thirds of the pan! (truthfully, I think Mr. Snickerdoodle may have helped-- he was up with the sick kiddies too)

Anyways, what I'm trying to tell you, is that if you have self control issues around desserts (like myself), I am not responsible for what this recipe might do to you.

And without further ado:

Microwave Brownies (courtesy of The Best Quick Recipe-- you need this cookbook)

3 large eggs

1 1/2 c. sugar

8 Tbsp. melted butter

3/4 c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 c. cocoa powder

1/8 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. semisweet chocolate morsels

1. Spray an 8 by 8-inch microwave-safe baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk together the eggs and sugar in a medium bowl. Slowly whisk in the butter. Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, and salt. Stir in the vanilla and chocolate morsels. With a spatula, scrape the batter into the prepared pan.

3. Microwave on high until a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 5 to 7 minutes. You can tell the brownies need more time in the microwave if, when te pan is tilted, the brownies slouch to the lower side. Cool the brownies for 10 minutes, cut into squares and serve warm. (I rarely bother to let the brownies cool more than a couple of minutes. I just scoop the hot brownies out of the pan and into a bowl, especially if we're having them with ice cream.)

craving Spring

2010-02-22T15:00:00.000-08:00

forced blossoms, 2009

About this time of year, I start to get a hankering for warm breezes, green grass and Spring flowers. And while I don't have much (any) control over the first two, it is possible to bring on an early Spring inside, even if Mother Nature isn't ready to cooperate outside. You do it by forcing blooms; bringing flowering branches into your warm home, putting them in water and tricking them into thinking it's Spring.

They call it forcing, but I like to think of it more as gentle coaxing. Whatever you call it, it's so easy, it almost feels like magic.

We tried it last year with great success. Read more about it here and here, with some instructions here.

busy

2010-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

We have reached the whirling dervish stage of babyhood. This kid is in to everything: if it can be knocked over, pulled out, and generally mussed up, he's right there and ready to get that party started. He is one very busy little manchild.

To buy ourselves a little peace and quiet, we've taken to putting him in his highchair with a tray full of dishsoap suds scooped from the sink. If we keep sending fresh bubbles his way, it'll keep him occupied for about a half hour; a baby eternity.

He did try a tiny taste of bubbles the first time, but has sworn off them ever since.

(my favorite part: clean-up is a piece of cake. By the time he's done, the bubbles are just a little puddle and I only have to dry the tray off with a towel.)

Anybody else have some good tricks for keeping little hands occupied? I wanna hear 'em!

an Italian wanna be

2010-02-18T10:44:00.000-08:00

I've always wanted to be Italian. Well, that or a redhead. Come to think of it, my life would pretty much be perfect if I were an Italian redhead.

Anyhow, sometimes I like to pretend I'm Italian (we're not too keen on reality here). Last night was one of those times. We got a full pound of cremini mushrooms, about 4 lbs of fresh roma tomatoes and a bunch of fresh Italian herbs from our produce co-op last Saturday, so I channeled my inner Italian Food Diva and made some mushroom ravioli while I danced around the kitchen singing along to Rosemary Clooney's Mambo Italiano.

Imagine diced fresh mushrooms with garlic and a little fresh thyme sauteed in butter, sprinkled generously with parmesan cheese, all enveloped in tender homemade pasta and topped with a fresh tomato and herb sauce. This isn't quick cooking by any means, but it's very pleasant work and not difficult.

It was la vita dolce, baby.

My homemade pasta recipe:

2 cups bread flour (semolina is best, but this works)
1 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 T. water

You can do this by hand or in a standing mixer. Combine the salt and flour, and then make a well in the center for the eggs and water. Knead it all together until you have a firm, smooth dough. The dough shouldn't be sticky.

Let the dough rest 15-30 minutes. This is the most important step of the process. As the dough rests, it softens and becomes pliable enough that it can be rolled thin. If you skip or try to rush this step, you'll end up with dough that's impossible to work with. Roll into thin sheets and dot with your filling. This video helps make sense of the process (scroll down; the video's at the bottom of the page).

By the way, you don't actually need a pasta maker for ravioli-- you can use rolling pin in a pinch (just roll the dough as thin as you possibly can). You'll end up with ravioli that's a little on the thick side, but still very tasty. Or if that's too much of a bother, frozen won ton wrappers work well. I still want a pasta maker though. This one, to be exact.

And finally, a little cooking music.

family tree

2010-02-13T07:00:00.000-08:00

I used the templates so generously provided by Erin, of Sutton Grace, for this family tree project. This is the second of two trees that I've made as gifts for other people.

I'd say it's high time I made one for my own little family, wouldn't you agree?

p.s. It can be hard to find a suitable frame for this since the final measurements are 24" x 20". Try the thrift store first. I found a really nice 24x24 frame at my local thrift store for my first family tree for $10.

Done!

2010-02-12T19:32:00.001-08:00

The cookie marathon is over and all of our little goodies have safely made it into the hands of our little friends.

I really wanted to use glassine envelopes for our cookie packaging, but I never remember to order them in time. So we sewed little parchment paper packets instead. I'm pretty much in love with the simple imperfection of them.

But still, if I want to have glassine envelopes in time for Valentine's Day 2011, I think I'm going to order them tomorrow, just to be sure. If I can keep from losing them, that is.

This whole "planning ahead" thing is new to me, but I think I might like it...

(cookie recipe here, royal icing recipe here)

royal icing

2010-02-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Did I say I'd have a royal icing recipe up yesterday? Er, I'm pretty sure I meant today...

Royal icing is great for decorating cookies because it dries hard, so you don't have to worry about your all of your hard work getting messed up en route to its intended recipient. And by using a couple of different consistencies of icing, you can get some lovely effects.

Egg whites are necessary for the hard finish of this icing, but meringue powder is a good substitute for anyone concerned about Salmonella (like me). Any craft store that has a cake decorating section will almost certainly carry meringue powder. And while you're picking up your meringue powder, you'll want to grab some concentrated gel food coloring. Just a tiny amount of gel will give you bright vibrant colors without messing with your icing consistency.

Royal Icing using egg whites (makes about 2 1/2 cups of icing)

2 large egg whites
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
3 1/4 cups confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the egg whites with the lemon juice. Add the sifted powdered sugar and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. Mix in food coloring, if desired. The icing needs to be used immediately or transferred to an airtight container as royal icing hardens when exposed to air. Cover with plastic wrap when not in use. (I cover with a damp paper towel). Rebeat before using again.

Royal Icing using meringue powder (makes about 1 1/2 cups of icing)
2 cups confectioners' (powdered sugar) sifted
1 1/2 Tblsp meringue powder
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
¼ cup warm water

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the confectioners' sugar and meringue powder until combined. Add the water and beat on medium to high speed until very glossy and stiff peaks form (5-7 minutes). If necessary, to get the right consistency, add more powdered sugar or water. Mix in food coloring, if desired.

For the right consistency for piping the outline, lift the beaters and look for a ribbon of icing falls unbroken from the beaters, but remains on the top of the surface of the icing in the bowl.

Transfer your icing to a pastry bag fitted with a #2 round tip. Outline the shape of your cookie. Remember to hold the tip a couple of inches off the surface of the cookies to get a smooth, even line. (and if you don't want squiggles in your lines, don't let your kids watch and bump you.)

I like to keep a little bowl of water handy for touch ups. I dip my finger in the water and smooth over the sharp points left behind when I lift my pastry tip. It's also good to use that wet finger to gently push down on any icing that is not in direct contact with the cookie.

Let the outlines dry and harden. My mom always let them sit for a couple of hours, but you can get away with waiting 30 minutes before the next step if you're very gentle.

After your outlines have hardened, it's time to flood the cookies with icing. For this, you'll need icing that's the consistency of heavy cream. It needs to flow easily, but not be so watery that you can see the cookie through the icing. You add more water to the leftover outlining icing, or mix up a new batch.

Also, decide in advance whether or not you want your outline icing and your flood icing to make or be contrasting.

I apologize in advance for this next photo. I haven't quite figured out how to ice a cookie and take a blur-free photo at the same time.

Use a spoon to scoop some of your flow icing onto the cookie. Gently spread the icing around with the back of a spoon.

While the icing is still wet, use a toothpick or a very sharp knife to pop any bubbles in the icing. Find a level surface, out of reach of the kids (or yourself if you can't resist temptation), to let the cookies sit while the icing hardens. If you wait a day or two, you'll have hard icing that you won't have to worry about cracking or leaving marks in with your fingers or icing tip. If you're impatient and can be gentle, 6 hours will leave the cookies set up enough to move on to the next step.

After your "flow" icing has hardened, use the outlining icing, again with a #2 tip, to write on or otherwise decorate your cookies. Let the final icing harden a couple of hours before you package them up for delivery.

You can find some great cookie inspiration here. Personally, I can't wait to try those polka dots.

Valentine's Day 2010: here's the plan...

2010-02-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

2010 is a big year for us. It will mark the first time since I became a mother that I'm going to attempt to tackle my mom's fabulous valentine cookies. It was always a big production growing up and until now, I lacked the gumption to go for it.

But picture this (you'll have to use your imagination because I don't have any pictures yet): delicious spiced heart-shaped cookies topped with a perfectly smooth, colorful layer of royal icing and decorated with the names of your valentines, written in icing. Clearly, I can't go another year without making these.

They're pretty much the best valentines ever. Cross my heart and hope to die.

Iced Spice Cookie
2/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
1½ tsp salt
1 large egg
¾ cup molasses
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder

Cream the first six ingredients. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Add the molasses and mix again. Set aside. Sift together the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Add to molasses mixture and blend well. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and chill for two to three hours. Preheat oven to 350°. Roll out dough with floured rolling pin on a floured pastry cloth or between two sheets of lightly floured wax paper to a thickness between 1/8-1/4 inch. Cut out shapes. Gather unused scraps, re-roll and cut. Transfer to an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes, making sure edges do not burn. Cool on a rack completely before icing. Cookies may be soft when taken out of the oven, but they will harden as they cool. Yield: Approximately one dozen 4" cookies.

This recipe came from an old magazine article about this baker. (you've GOT to click through to see some of her cookies-- they'll blow your mind.)

Join me on Tuesday for a royal icing recipe and cookie decorating tutorial...

any cloth diaperers in the house?

2010-02-06T17:56:00.001-08:00

Anybody?

Baby Jack in a Bumgenius 3.0 April 2009 (he still wears these!)

Baby Jack in a trifolded prefold and Bummis cover May 2009

I'd be happy to get into a discussion of why and how we cloth diaper later, if anyone is interested, but this post is for those who are already using cloth. If you know any cloth users, send them this way-- I promise they'll thank you.

The bane of our cloth diapering experience has been persistent ammonia build-up in our microfiber inserts. It usually builds up gradually and is easy enough to take care of with a monthly good strong vinegar soak (inserts only). Well, recently all three of my boys were sick with croup and we took a couple of weeks off from using cloth diapers-- I had too much to do taking care of sick kids to keep up with diaper laundry.

Trouble is, we had a pail full of urine-soaked diapers that sat unwashed that entire time. When we finally washed them and put them back into rotation, we found ourselves with a horrific, knock-your-socks-off ammonia odor every time Jack peed. I tried our go-to vinegar soaks and they had absolutely no effect. None. I actually thought we'd reached the point that we'd have to suck it up and buy new inserts.

I did a little research on the interwebs and found a 39 page thread on diaperswappers.com discussing the use of a vinegar and oxiclean soak for ammonia stink. I figured I had little to lose at this point, so I gave it a shot. Lo and behold, it worked like a charm.

The magic is in vinegar and oxiclean. Apparently, when you combine acetic acid and peroxide, you get peracetic acid-- used in industrial applications as a super disinfectant. Vinegar is a weak form of acetic acid and oxiclean is a weak form of peroxide. So when you combine vinegar and oxiclean you get a pretty weak form of peracetic acid. It will foam like crazy-- kind of like when you combine vinegar and baking soda-- and some people have even said that theirs gets hot (mine never did).

To use it on my diapers, I put all of my (washed) diapers in the diaper pail and added 4 gallons of vinegar, enough water to barely cover the diapers and 3 or 4 scoops of oxiclean-- enough to get a good foaming reaction and then let it soak overnight. I found that all the diapers floated up to the top, so I used a yard stick to agitate things a bit before I let it sit. I did this outside, for ventilation's sake, but if we ever have to do it again I'll put the pail in the bathtub (to catch overflow) and leave the vent fan on. The only fumes I noticed were the strong vinegar smell. The next morning, I dumped it out into the bathtub and rinsed as much as I could there and then transferred the diapers and inserts to the washer for more rinses. You might want to wear rubber gloves at this point. I didn't, but it really dried out my hands. It took about 6 rinse cycles in my washer to get all the bubbles out.

This whole process might seem like kind of a pain, but the results were 100% worth it. My inserts are acting like they're practically new again! They are bright white (had been a bit dingy due to our hard water), have absolutely no stink issues anymore and absorbency is still great. From what I've read, the effects are pretty long lasting-- possibly 6 months. The elastic, aplix and PUL on my diapers is holding up fine too, but if I did it again, I think I'd only do the inserts-- they seem to be where the ammonia build-up was.

And all I have to say about that is Hallelujah, people.

Hallelujah.

the internet: your own personal knitting tutor

2010-02-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

the boy hat, for Mr. Snickerdoodle
in Malabrigo worsted (SFO Sky)

This crazy thing we call the internet has shaken the craft world up in a major way, wouldn't you say?

Take knitting, for instance. Back in the olden days, if you wanted to learn how, you had to find someone to teach you-- in person. And really, that's probably still the best way.

But what about those of us who weren't blessed with knitting grandmas (or anybody else we knew)? Or when you're really confused about a knitting technique at one o'clock in the morning? Internet to the rescue!

When I wanted to learn to knit it didn't seem like I knew a soul who could teach me. I borrowed some knitting how-to books from the library and tried to teach myself, but that was a complete disaster. So I turned to the internet and learned by watching the free instructional videos at knittinghelp.com. The videos you'll find there cover all the basics of knitting and they're very clear and easy to understand. And you can watch them over and over and over and over-- without feeling like you're taxing the patience of your teacher.

That's right, thanks to the wonders of the interweb, you've now got a personal knitting (or any other craft, really) tutor who won't ever get impatient with you, and is always ready to teach when you're ready to learn-- even in the middle of the night. And free! Did I mention free?

Nothing will crush a blossoming interest in knitting like a lack of good patterns. So, once you've got the basics down, head over to ravelry (I'm doulamama there-- drop in and say hi!) and knitty for access to lots of fresh, fun and free patterns for all ability levels.

Speaking of instructional crafting videos, YouTube is choc full of 'em-- not just for knitting. They're my go-to when I'm having trouble making sense of sewing pattern instructions. Once I even learned how to solder copper pipe from a YouTube video and saved us from a $650 plumber's bill-- but that's another story for another day...

it's about dang time!

2010-02-01T08:21:00.000-08:00

Friends, I've got three sons, no daughters, and I love to craft. The crafty blogosphere is full of all kinds of fabulous ideas, but most of them are sparkly, ruffly and/or flowered. Frankly, there's not a whole lot out there for the little men in our lives. Do you feel my pain?

Well, Dana and Rae do. Maybe you've heard that this awesome duo has come together to "Celebrate The Boy" for an ENTIRE month. You can be sure that I'll be watching like a hawk the whole time.

Visit MADE or Made By Rae to see how they do it!

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

2010-02-01T07:00:00.000-08:00

my precooked lentil shepherd's pie

Mr. Snickerdoodle recently decided that he's going to live to be 100, so we're cutting down on the meat around here, . After being introduced to Erin's lentil tacos recipe, I've started looking for other recipes in which a lentils substitution would be passable.

Shepherd's pie is one of our go-to casseroles here in the Snickerdoodle household. It's cheap, easy, and I usually make two at a time: one for now and one to be frozen for when we're busy busy.

Yes, it's humble. No, it's not foodie food. But it feeds the masses and that's what counts with a house full of little ones. And now it feeds the masses with less fat and more fiber!

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

3/4 c. lentils (rinsed and checked for debris)

1 medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. beef base (or maybe vegetable base if you are a real vegetarian)

1 quart water

1 can cream of tomato soup (not reconstituted)

3 cups (or however much you want) of your favorite vegetables-- we use frozen green beans

and corn. If you're using fresh veggies, you'll probably want to precook them.

4 cups (or more if you feel like it!) of mashed potatoes

CHEESE!!! (if you want it, grated-- cheddar is our shepherd's pie cheese of choice)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Saute the onions until soft and translucent, add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add lentils, water and beef base and cook until the lentils are tender. (30-40 minutes) Combine cooked lentils and tomato soup concentrate.

Place vegetables in a medium sized casserole dish (mine is 2.75 quarts). Pour the lentil mixture over the veggies, and spread mashed potatoes over the lentils. Top with grated cheese-- 3/4 c. suits us just fine. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the vegetables are heated through.

The verdict: Split. I actually prefer this version. Mr. Snickerdoodle prefers the original-- it's a texture thing for him.

simple rosemary rubbed pork chops

2010-01-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

image via The Kitchn

We recently had simple rosemary rubbed pork chops for dinner, with garlic mashed potatoes and steamed baby carrots.

Euphoria-inducing, this stuff. You'll definitely want to put this on your to-make list.

the results are in...

2010-01-29T20:03:00.001-08:00

... and the winner of my little giveaway is #13: hb, who likes to sing when she's celebrating. Yay!

happy

2010-01-28T21:00:00.000-08:00

hot cocoa, originally uploaded by elana's pantry.

Things that are making me happy right now:

A clean kitchen

Sleeping children

Red satin pajamas

Corduroy slippers

Big mug of hot chocolate

Comfortable couch and a soft blanket

Knitting project for someone I love (with malabrigo yarn: the softest, most delicious yarn ever...)

Me time

What's making you happy right now?

baby food love

2010-01-28T15:33:00.000-08:00

(yellow: spaghetti squash, tan: quinoa pilaf)

We don't buy special baby food for Jack, except for when we go on long family road trips. It's just so easy (not to mention cheap!) to make our own.

Usually that involves grinding whatever we're having for dinner up in the baby food mill-- would you believe that the kid loves curry?

When I've got a little extra time, I also puree batches of various fruits, veggies and cooked grains and freeze them in ice cube molds for a quick and nutritious baby-ready food.

Recipe of the Week: Citrus Pork with Egg Noodles

2010-01-26T08:45:00.000-08:00

image via Simply Recipes

File this recipe for Citrus Pork with Egg Noodles away under cheap, quick, and very very tasty. I confess to scraping the last bits of sauce from the serving dish after dinner last night. But shhhhh, don't tell anybody...

(we skipped the egg noodles and served ours over a bed of brown rice)

Let's Celebrate! (with a giveaway!!!)

2010-01-22T13:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, folks, here's the deal:

I'm in a good mood today. I just finished and published my very first sewing tutorial (word's still out on whether or not anyone will actually be able to make something with it). Still, I think that's an accomplishment to be celebrated.

Also, I recently won my very first giveaway ever. It was awesome. You should have seen the family happy dance we had going on here.

So, since I'm in a good mood, and I want to pass on some good giveaway karma, aaaaaand since I've got a really cute pair of ruffly red slippers just hanging around, I'm hosting a giveaway of my own:

These lovelies will probably fit women's sizes 5-7. And they might just be yours! Here's how:

1. Leave a comment telling me your favorite way to celebrate happy little things.

2. Become a follower of this blog, then come back and leave another comment telling me you did so. (if you're already a follower, just leave another comment telling me that you're already a follower)

3. Mention the giveaway on YOUR blog, then leave a comment with a link.

Make sure you've got your email address linked to your blogger profile, or include your email address in your comment. No point winning if I don't have any way to notify you!

A winner will be randomly chosen Friday, January 29th at 9:00 pm.

Sorry, international readers, but this giveaway is only open to readers in the US and Canada. But don't feel too bad-- you can use my tutorial to make your own!

(Oh, and it's not open to my immediate family members either. 'Cause if you want some slippers, all you've got to do is ask...)

and one more thing for those of you with allergies: these slippers were made in a pet-free, smoke-free home.

The giveaway is closed. Thanks everybody!

cozy slipper tutorial-- part 2: making your slippers

2010-01-22T11:12:00.000-08:00

Hey! If you like these slippers, you might wanna click here, 'cause I'm giving them away...

I hope my pattern tutorial didn't scare anyone away, because we're about to get to the fun part.

But first of all, a reminder: this tutorial is for personal (or charity-- contact me on that one) use only.

Wanna use my tutorial to make these for yourself? Your grandma/sister/b.f.f? Great!

Wanna use my tutorial to make some to sell? Not cool.

Also, I'd be really flattered if you thought this tutorial was good enough to share. I love it when people link to me! You're even welcome to borrow a picture from the post you're linking to, but please keep my tutorial right here. Thanks, I knew you'd understand.

Now, on to the tutorial...

Here's what you'll need to make your very own pair of custom slippers:

*A pattern (click here for my slipper pattern tutorial)

*Some fabric for each component of your slipper:

-Upper- Mid to heavier weight fabrics seem to work the best: corduroy, denim,
suiting, etc. You could even use a felted sweater, which is what I used in this
tutorial, although it's thickness made it a little harder to work with. If you
want to use a lighter weight fabric, be sure to interface.

So far I've only used recycled fabrics: wool and corduroy from old pants and
the slippers for this tutorial from a felted sweater, so it's hard for me to say
how actual much yardage you'd need. Maybe a half yard?

-Lining- A medium to lightweight cotton. I used a thrifted sheet for this tutorial. Again,
maybe a half yard if you're buying? You'll need enough for two uppers and
two soles.

-Soles- You can use the same fabric as your upper, but if you have mostly hardwood floors
like me, you might consider something a little less slippery. Leather, real or
fake, is great. I used fake leather from an old purse for my poinsettia slippers,
and real leather for this tutorial from some scraps I had laying around.

*Padding (optional): my first few pairs of slippers were unpadded, and perfectly fine. But if you want to kick up the deluxe factor a couple of notches, you could pick up some cheap foam shoe inserts. (I got the most basic Dr. Scholl's inserts at Walmart for $0.97)

*1 yard of 1/4" wide elastic and a safety pin.

*about 2 yards of 1/4" double fold bias tape. You can use store bought or make your own (it's not hard to do!)

*Thread. Matching or contrasting-- whatever floats your boat.

Got all that? Alrighty right. Let's get this show on the road.

Step 1: Cut out your fabric pieces. You'll need two uppers from your main fabric, two uppers and two soles from your lining fabric, and two soles from your sole fabric of choice. Be sure that you don't cut two rights or two lefts. You want one of each, people.

You've got a couple of options here:

You could cut out half of your pieces with the pattern piece right side up, and then flip that pattern over for the other half.

Or, if the size and shape of your fabric allows, fold your fabric in half, right sides together and cut out the pieces for both feet at the same time.

I found it helpful to notch my pattern pieces. I cut a double notch on the "inside" of the soul pattern and the "inside" of the upper pattern, and a single notch on the "outside" of each pattern piece. If you cut these notches in the fabric, too, you'll have an easier time telling your right pieces from your left pieces.

It's probably obvious, but from here on out, you'll be doing each step twice. Once for each slipper.

Step 2: Grab your upper and upper lining pieces for one of the slippers. Lay them right sides together, lining the edges up neatly. Pin along the inside arc. Using a 4/8" seam allowance, sew along the inside arc, back stitching at each end.

Step 3: Trim your seam allowance to 1/4".

Step 4: Clip the inside curve of the seam allowance. Be very careful not to cut through the stitching!

Step 5: Now, open up your fabric at the seam you just sewed and match the heel edges together. Again, right sides together. Pin and stitch, using a 4/8" seam allowance. Don't forget to back stitch!

Step 6: Flip that baby right side out. You should now have wrong sides together and all of your unfinished seams on the inside. Press and pin around the inside opening. (I only bothered finger pressing with the felted sweater.)

Step 7: Sew a casing for your elastic, 4/8" from the inside seam, being sure to leave a 1" opening at the heel.

Step 8: Measure your elastic. I just eyeball it and go for 1 1/2 times the length of the inside curve on a folded slipper.

Step 9: Attach a safety pin to one end of your elastic and feed it through the opening you left in your stitching. You'll have to go through the wrong sides of your slipper to access the opening. Push that safety pin all the way around the casing and back through to the beginning. Remove your safety pin, trim off a little elastic if you feel like it, and sew both end of the elastic together. Hand stitching is probably the easiest way to do this.

Tug a bit on the inside edge of the slipper to pull all of the elastic up into the casing. Stitch your 1" opening closed-- back stitch at both ends.

Now set aside your upper, and pull out your sole pieces...

Step 10: With your sole and sole lining, wrong sides together, pin and stitch around the edges, using a 1/8" seam allowance. (I just follow the edge of my presser foot). Leave a significant opening in the toe area so you can slip that cushioning in.

A word on your cushioning: at this point, cut the seam allowance off of your pattern piece, and use that to trim your shoe insert to size. For compensate for very thick shoe inserts, trim off a teeny bit extra.

Step 11: From this point on, it's easiest to use your zipper foot. Close the opening where you slipped the insert into your sole.

Step 12: Pin the upper to the sole, right sides inside. It's easiest to start at the heel and work your way up both sides before tackling the toe area. Don't fret if you have to pucker the upper a little to make it fit. And if you're working with leather or something else hard-t0-pin for the sole, be sure to use a thimble.

Sew, using a 4/8" seam allowance, then trim your seam allowance to 1/4".

Step 13: Open up your bias tape and attach it to the bottom edge of your slipper, lining the edge of the bias tape with the edge of the slipper-- you should have a crease on, or very near your seam stitching. Stitch along this crease. Remove your pins and fold the bias tape over towards the sole, folding the raw edge under at the nearest crease.

Step 14: Use a ladder stitch to invisibly attach the other side of the binding to the sole.

Now pat yourself on the back-- the inside of your slipper is as tidy and lovely as the outside!

The options for embellishment are (almost) unlimited. For these slippers, I couldn't resist a ruffle. I kind of have a thing for ruffles.

I hand stitched a long straight stitch down the center of a scrap strip of leftover material (about 1" x 6"), anchoring the stitches really well at the beginning. Then I pulled on my thread to gather my strip, anchored it on the other end, and hand stitched the ruffle on to my slipper.

I've also attached flowers to my slippers (pics here and here). I cut out two circles of a contrasting fabric-- one a little smaller than the other. Then I laid the smaller one on top and stitched a vintage button through both circles and the slipper.

I'd love to hear your ideas for other embellishments.

And if you use this tutorial to make some slippers, I'd be thrilled if you sent me a picture!

cozy slipper tutorial-- part 1: making your pattern

2010-01-22T08:46:00.000-08:00

Okay folks, I took a stab at a slipper tutorial, and here it goes. Please be patient with me-- I'm a first-time tutorial writer. If you need a little clarification, let me know.

I'm going to show you how to make your very own custom slipper pattern. Are you excited? Well, I'm excited for you.

Here's what you'll need:
*paper for your pattern (the white side of wrapping paper works well)
*3 markers in different colors
*a measuring tape
*washable marker or eye or lip liner (confused? read on.)

Step 1: Trace an outline of your foot. Hold your marker at an angle so that you're slightly tracing under the foot. When you get to your arch, make sure you slide the marker under your foot so that you're tracing against the part of your arch that is touching the ground.

Step 2: Use another color of marker to trace around the original marking (I used orange here). The point here is to smooth out the original tracing and clean it up. You want a nice smooth line all the way around.

Step 3: Stand your tape measure up on it's side and measure all the way around the outline. This is measurement "A". (mine was 23.5") Use a seam gauge or your tape measure to add a 4/8" seam allowance. Trace it on a contrasting color (I used blue-- not pictured above)

Congratulations! You've got the first half of your pattern!

Step 4: Use something washable to mark where you want the upper edge of your slipper to lay on your foot. I used a washable kids' marker, but I just realized that some old eye or lip liner would be much easier to wash off. (or maybe masking tape? I'm thinking now that the marker wasn't such a good idea...)

Step 5: Standing your tape measure on it's side again, measure all the way around the mark you just made on your foot. This is measurement "B". (mine was 16")

Step 6: Measure 1 1/2" down from the top of the arc on your foot. Now, measure the width of the arc opening at this point. This is measurement "C". Now, make a dot on your paper, and make another dot 1 1/2" directly above your first dot. Draw a straight line between these dots. Center measurement "C" over your first dot, perpendicular to the line. Make a mark on each end of measurement "C". Draw a smooth arc between those two marks and your top dot. (in the photo, my arc is just above my big toe.)

Step 7: Find measurement "B" on your tape measure. Then fold the measuring tape in half. Center the fold over the dot at the top of the arc you just drew. For example, my measurement "B" is 16". I'd fold it in half at 8" and center the 8" mark on my tape measure over the top dot. Stand the tape measure on it's side again and shape it to the curve of the arch you just drew, making marks at each end of measurement "B". (at O and at 16" for me). Connect these marks to the arc. you should now have a long "U" shape. This will be the inside curve on your pattern.

Step 8: Measure from the top of the arch on your foot graffiti, over your longest toe (not always the big toe, but it is in my case), to the floor. This is measurement "D". Measure this amount from the top of the arc you made in step 6. Make a corresponding dot on the paper.

Step 9: Go back to the point on your foot where you got measurement "C". At that point, measure from your foot graffiti to the floor on both sides of the foot. These are measurements "E" and "F", respectively. Transfer these measurements to the corresponding points on your pattern. Connect your dot from measurement "D" to these, making a smooth arc. Mark those measurements against your inside arc, all the way down to the ends. You should now have a big upside down "U". Measure around the outside of the biggest arc-- it should be exactly the same as measurement "A". THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. If it's not, shorten or lengthen the length of your arc until it's right.

Add a 4/8" seam allowance all the way around your "U". Again, use a contrasting color for the seam allowance-- I used blue.

Clear as mud? This is what your pattern should look like

Next up: assembling your slippers!
Thanks for bearing with me people. I hope that wasn't too confusing!

birthday season

2010-01-18T23:25:00.000-08:00

Today, my Dannyboy turns 4. Just last Tuesday his big brother turned 5.

Where oh where did the time go?

They start out so soft and needy and sweet...

And in the blink of an eye, they grow up and become...

weird.

I love weird. Weird is fun.

But sometimes I can't help but feel a little wistful for those sweet brand new little babies.

So I console myself with birthday cake-- which we pretty much live on for two weeks straight this time of year.

2010-01-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

a guessing game

2010-01-16T09:59:00.000-08:00

Can you guess what I'm making next?

(hint: I'm beside myself with excitement)

introducing the newest member of our family

2010-01-15T20:34:00.000-08:00

Meet Tim. He's a Back-Wabammer. (see? he's got a wabammer. and it's on the back of his head.) He's tiny. He's green. He loves goldfish. He gets lost everyday. And found. But not before a little boy prays to find him and doubts God's existence when Tim doesn't show up immediately.

According to my four year old, Tim's 17th birthday is tomorrow. Tim doesn't know it yet, but he's getting a furnished two-story cardboard condo as a present.

corduroy slippers, version 3

2010-01-12T08:43:00.001-08:00

corduroy slippers, originally uploaded by snickerdoodledays.

These lovelies came from a hand-me-down pair of men's corduroy pants. I finally managed to come up with a pattern that I'm happy with. Next up, tutorial!

wool slippers, version two.

2009-12-18T11:24:00.000-08:00

These slippers went a different direction from what I envisioned when I first started this project, and I love love love them.

They're almost entirely thrifted: the soles came from an old fake leather purse, the black wool from wool pants, the red wool from a felted sweater, and I found the buttons at a thrift store, too. The only thing that wasn't thrifted was the red lining-- it came from some solid colored cotton I had left over from making super hero capes.

Unfortunately for me, they're a little too small (probably better for a size 8 than my 9.5s). Looks like they're going to the gift closet to await the birthday of someone with appropriately sized feet...

And luckily for you, that means that I'll have to make another pair for myself. Translation: opportunity for a tutorial. But it's going to have to wait until after the New Year, cause I'm up to my neck in unfinished Christmas gift projects.

we left our hearts in San Francisco...

2009-12-12T19:57:00.001-08:00

Mr. Snickerdoodle had a conference for his work in San Francisco last week, and in true cheap-skate fashion, we decided to make a family vacation out of it. We piled the kids into Grandpa Ben's Suburban (thanks Grandpa Ben!) and drove almost 800 miles from our little house in Utah to that beautiful city by the bay.

With three boys under the age of 4.

In a snowstorm (so grateful for 4 wheel drive and snow tires...).

We made it safely, and in the process we learned a few tricks for making road trips with kids a fun and memorable experience, instead of a recipe for misery and whining:

Preparation: Racking up 30 hours in a car in only one week requires lots of advance attention to the topic of fun. Here's the lowdown on how we kept little minds and bodies occupied and excited for the journey:

Pit stop presents. Before we left, I spent $15 at the Dollar Store on little toys and stickers and a packet of pipe cleaners (this was a huge hit). I wrapped them up individually, and the kids got to pick a present to open when we got back on the road after each stop. I'm normally not at all a fan of toys from the dollar store, but this was possibly the best $15 I've ever spent. It really helped them to have something to look forward to. (this idea came courtesy of the Arnolds-- we owe you guys big time!)

Multimedia fun. We came armed with movies, books on CD, and regular books for me to read aloud. Books on CD were probably our favorite-- the boys loved being able to listen to a story and look at the passing scenery at the same time. We read and highly recommend Trumpet of the Swan, Stuart Little and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. (thanks Woods family for letting us borrow your DVD player-- we owe you big time too.)

Flexibility: We had to stop for the night in a tiny Nevada town when I-80 was closed due to a bad snow storm. This meant shaving a day off our San Francisco itinerary. In an attempt to make up for it, we encouraged lots of swimming in the hotel pool, jumping on the bed, and the rare treats of morning cartoons and sugary cereal from the continental breakfast. This detour ended up being a highlight of trip. My favorite quote of the whole trip came from my three year-old: "I enjoy spending my time in Fernley."

Old Fashioned Road Trip Fun:

We sang lots of songs. (The infamous rhyming song, 'Down By the Bay' was a favorite- it put baby Jack to sleep every time)

We told "tag stories". (one person starts a story, and then tags another person to continue, etc.-- you end up with some CRAZY plots that way.)

We looked out for all the different state license plates we could find, and looked for all the letters of the alphabet on billboards and semi trucks and stuff.

Anyways, I was a bit nervous about spending so much time in the car with three such little ones, but the whole trip was actually a lot of fun. Looks like I'm back on the road trip bandwagon.

And one more thing, if you're ever visiting the Bay Area, check out Hidden Villa. It's a hostel located on a spectacularly beautiful little educational organic farm in the Los Altos hills-- it's about 40 minutes away from San Francisco. This was our first experience with a hostel and we were really pleased-- we had a comfortable little cabin to ourselves, access to a great kitchen, and we got to meet lots of friendly people (and farm animals). And you don't have to stay at the hostel to visit the farm-- anyone is welcome to come up and check it out.

one of the lovely views at Hidden Villa

PS. I just finished up my second attempt at slippers. They're awesome. I'll try to get some pics up soon.

Recipe of the Week: Bye-bye boxed pudding...

2009-11-30T07:00:00.000-08:00

My kids call it chocolate custard, after one of the desserts in the Pokey Little Puppy story. Really, it's just chocolate pudding. Simple, delicious, easy chocolate pudding.

Did I mention that it's easy?

You'll need:

1/3 c. white sugar
1/3 c. cocoa powder
3 T. corn starch
a dash of salt
2 c. milk

First, combine all your dry ingredients, and then add the milk (in a microwave safe bowl).

Stir, stir, stir! (until smooth)

Also, try to have a tiny, stuffed dog in on the action-- that really helps.

Zap it!

Microwave on high for 3 minutes, then stir. Microwave for about 4 more minutes, or until thick, stirring after each additional minute.

It'll look a little leathery on top when it first comes out.

Fear not, intrepid microwavers...

...because after you whisk it, it'll be nice and glossy again.

(by the way, my bowl 'o puddin' is only sitting on the stove because

I have zero (zip, nil) counter space. Don't try to cook on the stove with a glass bowl.

Put some plastic wrap right down on the pudding. This keeps it from getting a "skin" (ewwww...) as it cools. Cool in the fridge for a bit. 30 minutes is what we prefer-- that gives us just warm pudding that won't burn the kiddies' mouths.

Top with a big, fat dollop of whipped cream, and enjoy!

recipe of the week: chocolate pecan pie

2009-11-23T07:00:00.000-08:00

Besides turkey, nothing says Thanksgiving better than pie. Am I right?

You bet your bottom dollar I am.

If you're in the market for a new pie recipe, you've come to the right place. Unless you already have this recipe-- in which case you know how completely wonderful it is.

Also unless you're allergic to nuts; in which case I'm very, very sorry (I'll save a slice of pumpkin for you).

It ain't much too look at, but boy will your taste buds thank you!

chocolate pecan pie (click on link for recipe)

belated

2009-11-21T13:00:00.000-08:00

The curse of the do-it-yourselfer strickes again: I want to make something meaningful, cute, and earth-friendly as a gift for someone I love-- in this case, my sister Erin. So I do.

Trouble is, it gets finished 4 months too late. Her birthday was in July.

Sorry Erin, will you ever forgive me?

All the components for this bag came from the thrift store: a cable-knit sweater that I felted, a silky polyester blouse (for the lining), and a thick braided leather belt. Oh, and the magnetic snaps came from an old purse I've had for years and recently started cannibalizing for parts.

The hem of the sweater became the top edge of the purse. I left the buttons on the blouse-- thought they'd be a cute reminder of the origins of the purse.

Minor detail: I still need to take it to a shoe repair shop to have the strap sewn on. If you look closely at the second picture, you'll see a pin poking out. Yikes! I purchased leather needles for my sewing machine and got one in and ready to go, only to find that my presser foot won't lift high enough to get a few layers of sweater and leather in there. So, the the shoe repair shop we go...

But I'll have it done this week Sis. Cross my heart and hope to die.

prototype

2009-11-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

I've had my eyes on these slippers for a while now. Aren't they just lovely?

From Etsy's HydraHeart

I've been entertaining myself during baby Jack's 2 am nursings lately imagining how I'd make my own version. I didn't have cute wooden buttons, or black elastic, but I did have these:

A pair of soft black wool trousers that someone forgot were dry clean only. Can you see the lining peeking out the bottom? That cracks me up for some reason...

They were free to me. My mom runs a tiny little community thrift store and saved them for me because she knows I like felted wool.

Yeah, she's the best mom ever.

Anyways, here's my first try-- to test the pattern I made up:

I used two pieces of ribbon to tie my keyhole. Cute, no?

For version two, I'm going to do a few things differently:

*I won't include a seam allowance this time around-- the wool I used has just a little stretch to it and I want them tighter.

*I'll move the keyhole closer to the front of the slipper.

*If I feel really ambitious, I'll add a layer of interfacing-- to give them just a bit more structure

*I'll find something non-slip for my soles.

Stay tuned for take two...

P.S. My sincerest apologies for the filthy mirror. It belongs to baby Jack. He likes to lick it.

Recipe of the Week: Curried Coconut Chicken

2009-11-16T07:00:00.000-08:00

I have a confession to make: I'm addicted to Indian curry. Trouble is, we can't afford to run out for some Indian food as frequently as my curry craving strikes-- which happens to be 2-3 times a week lately.

One day I was going through some serious curry withdraw and decided to figure out how to make it at home. Thanks to the wonders of the Internet, I found a recipe that is almost as good as the chicken coconut kurma that I get at my favorite restaurant. I also found some recipes for the fragrant rice and flat bread (naan) that we get there too. Try it, but beware-- you might get hooked!

Here are some of my notes on the recipes (click on the recipe name to be taken to the recipe):

Curried Coconut Chicken: Use boneless/skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts for really tender meat, add a few dashes of ground cinnamon to the curry powder, and add about 1/3 c. golden raisins and 1/3 c. cashews to the sauce as it simmers. And don't try light coconut milk-- you need the real stuff for full flavor.

Indian Style Basmati Rice: Use brown basmati, and transfer to a rice cooker before adding the liquids.

Naan: I use whole wheat flour for these lovelies and they taste lovely, but probably not totally authentic. Be careful not to add too much flour, or the bread will be really tough. I usually end up using just a bit over 3 1/4 cups. This works fastest on the grill or a large electric griddle (so you can cook multiple rounds at once)-- but a skillet will work just fine if you prefer.

P.S. My apologies for the lack of a photo. I never manage to snap a shot of this stuff-- I'm too busy eating it!

pink refashion

2009-11-11T20:34:00.001-08:00

Back in early June I was in desperate need of a blouse to fit my 2 1/2 months postpartum body. I was so done with maternity clothes, but most of my regular clothes didn't fit yet, and I had a wedding to attend.

I found a pink men's dress shirt at my favorite thrift shop's semi annual 50% off sale-- they always have a lot of pink men's dress shirts for some reason.

Before

Anyways, I had a time crunch and no pattern (and, you can see, a sink full of dirty dishes), not to mention the fact that I was a bit hormonal-- a recipe for a fine sewing experience, don't you think?

I chopped off the sleeves (saving them for later) and took in the sides-- in an effort to get a somewhat more feminine fit. The acrobatics involved in trying to fit myself were probably very amusing. (side note: I recently ordered a kit for a My Twin Dress Forms-- I'll let you know how it goes)

half-way there!

I also unpicked the collar. Then I sewed up the new side seams and threw in a few haphazard darts. I re-attached the (now shortened) sleeves, and in the highlight of the entire project, learned how to use the rolled hem attachment on my sewing machine to finish the sleeve edges before attaching some lace trim (also thrifted).

The fit ended up being too wonky for me to be thrilled with the outcome, but I like it enough to wear it frequently-- even 5 months later.

after

(many thanks to my four year old photographer)

Cost: $2.50
Time: Way longer than it should have-- I worked here and there over the course of
two days.

Bountiful Baskets

2009-11-11T07:00:00.000-08:00

Usually, when something sounds too good to be true, it is.

Usually, but not always.

At least not when it comes to saving crazy money on produce. I just paid $19.50 for all of this:

And next time it'll only cost $16.50. That's about $50 worth of produce there, folks!! I got corn, avocados, kiwis, tomatoes, cucumbers, apples, oranges, lettuce, spinach, oranges, a cantaloupe, and red onions. (I also had the option of buying bread-- at similarly great prices)

Crazy! Crazy, I tell you!

And because I like you so much, I'll share my secret: it's a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets.

You pay your contribution ($19.50 your first time, and $16.50 after that) by Wednesday night, and then on Saturday morning you show up at your pick up point and get your produce. It's very well organized and totally awesome. They're able to get such insanely low prices because they have $0 overhead-- it's all run by volunteers.

Here's the catch: It's not available everywhere. Bountiful Baskets operates only in Arizona, Utah, Idaho and Washington-- check their website for pick up points.