Gardening

Organic, local, cheap.... which type of food is best? How about all three?
The picture above is a sweet pepper blossom from my garden. It was grown organically, from seed, about 20 feet from my back door. Organic, local, and cheap. It's even better though. Not only does it provide everything I want in my food, it also gives me exercise, and time outdoors with my kids.
My kids love our garden. We play in it and around it. They help take care of the "baby" plants, and learn about them in the process. My DD has been particularly fond of it. She has her own planting box that she takes care of that is filled with non toxic flowers, but the edibles are her favorite. She received the tomatoes in the above picture as a treat for good behavior - a treat she requested.
In the future we would like to grow most, if not all of our produce ourselves, but this year our garden is rather small, housing only our favorite vegetables and herbs, as well as a few bug repellent plants.

Organic gardening has been a learning process. I can't just pour some chemicals on the plants to make them grow faster/bigger, and I also can't kill off the bugs and weeds with chemicals either. Growing in Florida has been a blessing and a curse. We have a much longer warm season than most areas so I can wait for plants to mature and fudge a bit on the planting dates. Our heat also kills off some plant varieties though (hardy here means an ability to survive the heat rather than the cold), encourages weed growth, and gives us more prolific bugs than most other places. Most gardening books are geared toward more temperate areas than ours, so finding information can be difficult as well.

Here is a few things I have learned from gardening in Florida thus far;

1. Very tender seedlings should not be planted in the ground before April, because freeze is still a possibility however remote.
2. Try to get seedlings established before June, or the heat will kill them. If seedlings are not established by June they can still survive with careful tending and protection from the heat.
3. Herbs that like full sun else where may need afternoon shade here.
4. Strong barrier methods are the best protection from weeds, but in Florida weeds still manage to find a way through barriers. Weeding is a must in organic gardens.

There is more. There is much more to know about organic gardening in Florida. I, however, am a novice, and I am learning as I go. I do plan to keep notes on the progress of the garden though, and I will be posting those notes regularly.

Salvaged Skirt

After my first child was born I was in need of some new clothes, as mine didn't fit. I wasn't willing, or able to go out and buy a new wardrobe full of clothes that I was hoping I would only wear for a limited time. My solution was making some new clothes that could be easily taken in as my waist line diminished.

One of my first and favorite post pregnancy creations was a pleated, green linen skirt in New Look Pattern 6566 (I don't think it is in print any more). The skirt was worn extensively, taken in several times, and worn some more. The skirt was finally retired when one of it's small holes turned into one giant rip, that was beyond repair.

This skirt was recently reincarnated as a pillow cover. It is sized for a standard 14" x 14" pillow form with a side Velcro closure (a closure type I am not planning on using in the future). The leafs were simply painted on with fabric paint. I would have liked to make another with the same fabric; however, the fabric was in such bad shape that while there was enough fabric for a second pillow, it could be used. My kids enjoyed playing with the extra fabric though.
You can see in the second picture that the area directly under the leaves is slightly lighter than the surrounding fabric. That is because I originally tried to bleach the pattern into the fabric, rather than painting it on. Needless to say the bleach didn't work. That is probably what I deserve for using a harmful chemical I probably shouldn't have had in my house in the first place. My only excuse is that it is a left over from my nesting, have to sanitize everything, phase from my last pregnancy, and I didn't want to waste it.

Jean Coasters

The good news is that I am finally posting about all of the projects I've done in the recent weeks. The bad news is that I hurt my wrist (probably due to the marathon knitting done at the hospital the other night), and that most of my crafting endeavors are out of the question until my wrist is feeling better. Since I have several blog back logged projects, I am considering it a blessing in disguise.

On with the show.

While it is still not technically summer, here in Florida we have already had one full week of temperatures bordering 100 degrees F. I am behind on clothes shopping for the kids, especially for my oldest, because she is not wearing hand me downs. On a particularly hot day when there were no shorts to be found, my DH took scissors to my DD jeans and made long shorts. Not wanting to throw away perfectly good material, I decided to make the remnants much needed coasters. The following is the result.

Process:
I simply cut the jean material into 4" x 4" squares. I did the same to some wool felt (the felt adds an element of waterproofness to the absorbency of the jean material). I layered the jean and felt, then did some simple, geometric machine quilting to attach the pieces. Voila!

Oops...I upcycled all over the wall.

I generally take issue with the word "upcycle", preferring to use the word "reuse."

The word upcycle was origionally proposed in the book, From the Cradle to the Grave: Remaking the Way We Make Things, by McDonough and Braungart. It was coined to give a name to the use of waste materials to make useful products. It is also obviously playing off the word recycle, that is now in the common vernacular, and is common practice. Recycling is the reprocessing of old materials into new products. The problem with recycling is that many of the most commonly recycled goods, i.e. paper and plastic, are turned into a lower quality good. For instance, recycled plastics are a lower grade than the plastics they were made of.

I believe that the word "upcycle" implies the opposite of "recycle," or the making of higher quality material from waste goods; however, in upcycling the nature of the good does not change, it is simply used in a new way. "Reuse" seems to me a far more appropriate term for the process.

However, I believe that I may have finally produced a product worthy of the name "upcycle."

A few years ago my grandmother gave me a beautiful ornate picture frame, with a gorgeous picture in it, that just didn't match my style.

The picture in question.

After about a year of looking at this picture frame everyday, I was in need of a message board, but I really didn't want a giant ugly white board on my wall. Finally, I had a use for the frame. I decided to paint the back of the glass in the frame leaving the front of the glass a perfect surface for dry erase markers. This system worked perfectly for about two years, but I was never very happy about the look of the paint on the glass.

The painted white board.

Then I found out about looking glass paint.

Looking Glass is a spray paint by Krylon that creates a mirror finish on plain glass. So I scraped all the paint off the back of the glass, and painted the back of the glass with Looking Glass twice. The finish I got is very similar to an antique mirror. I do not know if this is the finish that the paint should produce because despite the admonition on the bottle that the paint should not be used in high humidity, Florida did not provide me with humidity under 70%. The finish is however, exactly what I was hoping for, and I think it turned out beautifully. Unfortunately the picture really doesn't do it justice.

The new mirror message board.

Summer Knitting Goals

Ali over at Skeins Her Way is having a Summer Knitting Goals Contest with some great prizes. It is actually the kind of event that I would love to host one day when I have a larger readership, and more money. Until then, here are my goals;

1. Finish my sister's bag by her birthday, which is only about 3 weeks away. After about 5 different design iterations, I think I have finally landed on an idea that I can stick with.
2. Finish the Gone With the Wind (ravelry link) hat. I have actually finished the knitting, I just need to install the brim wire. I have been having a hard time finding a local store that sells millinery wire, so I may have to go online.
3. Fix my mistake, and knit at least one repeat of the Icarus Shawl, installing life lines at least every 20 rows.
4. Finish all of the large projects that are currently on the needles before starting any more large projects. I am going to consider the sweater that I swatched for last night as on the needles. This goal feels like a not knitting goal, rather than a knitting goal, but I just can't leave these projects languishing any longer.
5. Take pictures of and notes on the progress I am making while knitting, rather then the finished project alone.

Thats it.

I should note at this point that Ali, the woman that is running the project, has shammed me with her knitting goals. Despite the fact that she has 6 kids and one on the way, she seems to have more knitting time than I have day light hours. I need to find out her secret.

Back in the Hospital

For the second time in two months I spent most of the night in the emergency room with my husband. He again had symptoms reminiscent of a heart attack. He appears to be in no immediate danger, but we still have no idea what is wrong. So another barrage of tests is on the horizon.

Ironically, I spent yesterday in our doll hospital, performing plastic surgery on Isa, my daughter's iguana friend who was brutality attacked and mauled by our dog. She will always have the scars, but I believe that once she fully recovers from the surgery she will be able to lead a normal life.

The following pictures are of Isa post surgery. I will not be sharing preoperative pictures, as they are simply too gruesome.

On the up side I was able to do a lot of knitting in the hospital. I finished the large swatch for my sister's bag, and felted it today, Swatched for the Holly Jacket, and made an apple and lime which I finished today. Here they are;

The Diaper Dash

Wow. Somehow it seems like it has been a long time since I posted last. Even though it has only been a few days a lot has happened. Last week my kids ran the Diaper Dash with M's kids. The local track club holds a track series every summer, and the first several races are 40 meter dashes for the under 5 crowd. Despite the sweltering heat here on the gulf coast the kids had a great time. Here is a picture of the girls getting psyched for the race. Little brother is running around in the back ground - there are no boys allowed, of course.

Below is a picture of my son running the race.
Here is my DD and her friend M on the home stretch.
This is another one of M before the race, ......
and one of my son after.
It was really hot, and bed time was approaching.

I have a lot of new projects to share with everyone in the next few days, but for now I will leave you with just a little peek.
I got my new bag, and so far I really like it.

What is living simply/voluntary simplicity?

That is actually a difficult question. Living simply means different things to different people. As I have tried to practice it over the years my concept has evolved, and will probably continue to evolve as my priorities change. At the moment I believe that living simply means getting rid of the excess in our lives in favor of the basics, and getting rid of those things that do not positively contribute to our lives in favor of those things that fulfill us. Things can mean objects, projects, jobs, or even people.

One of the ways I have simplified is by becoming a SAHM. I decided that my kid's care was more important to me than my job or the income that it brought in. Now that my kids are getting older, and will be able to start preschool soon I may decide to go back to work or work more extensively from home.

Another way in which I have simplified is by getting rid of nearly everything in my home that had no greater purpose than collecting dust. Now my house is rather more empty than it was, but those things that remain have value for me and my family. In getting rid of those things I have saved my self time and money on the upkeep of those objects that I can instead spend on something that really matters.

Does living simply mean getting back to basics or living like the Amish? It can, but I think that "basic" living simply highlights those aspects of our lives that matter. It highlights family, people, self reliance, and social connections; however, a technologically advanced lifestyle can highlight those values as well.

Organopónicos

I came across this article the other day while researching organic gardening, and thought others might find it interesting as well.

Prior to the collapse of the Soviet Block Cuba got most of it's fertilizer and other agricultural chemicals from the Soviets. After the collapse their chemical supply was cut off. The city of Havana had been producing food through hydroponics. The hydroponic facilities were almost immediately converted to container gardens. Now small scale container gardens are all over urban Cuba, even in highway medians. These gardens now produce about a million tons of food a year. All of these gardens are sanctioned by the government, and use organic gardening practices (the only type of gardening allowed in Havana proper).

This practice in Cuba reminds me of Gorilla Gardening, but instead of being illicit, it is legal and encouraged. Just imagine what Gorilla Gardeners would be capable of producing if they were encouraged to produce.

Mmmmmm......Fiber

See!!!!! I haven't forsaken knitting!

This pattern is Knit Strawberries by Pezdiva. I followed this patterned EXACTLY as written, which is very rare for me, but it is a really good pattern. It is actually my new favorite intermission pattern (that is when I need a break from a larger project). It takes only about 20 minutes to make a strawberry so they give me near instant gratification. Knitting one of these little babies helps me remember that larger projects will eventually be finished.

Knitting the fake food has also helped me realize that my kids don't need anymore cheap toys. Notice that I didn't say inexpensive.

According to Merriam-Webster cheap means "at minimum expense," and inexpensive means, "reasonable in price."

Christmas of 2006 my DH and I bought our DD some cheap toy food from the dollar section at Target. We bought a mix of fruit and vegetables. They were all one color, and about one size, regardless of the fruit or vegetable represented (the strawberry and celery were the same size). The following picture is a comparison between the strawberries I knit, and the plastic strawberry that was in the set we bought at Target. Sure there is a place for cheap plastic foods, but that place is not in my house anymore. Instead my kids are going to get inexpensive toys like these knit strawberries. The yarn was already in my stash, and it took very little time to knit. The cost to make these strawberries in both time and money was quite low, but they were not as cheap as $1 during a trip to Target. So now instead of supporting a big box store, the inappropriate use of oil (in the form of plastic), and instant gratification, I am supporting hand work, renewable resources (wool), and patience (waiting a little while for mom to finish the new toy). Most of all I enjoy making the toys for my kids, and my kids have already played with their fibery fruit than they ever played with the plastic stuff.

Speaking of reasonably priced, but not cheap stuff.......
After months of researching all of my options I have finally ordered a new knitting bag. It was a difficult decision to make. All of the options were really quite good, and the decision finally settled on preference alone rather than any particular strong point in the bag I picked or weak point in the bags I didn't pick. In only a few short days I will be receiving a Swift by Tom Bihn. It seemed the most utilitarian and adaptable for me. In a few weeks I plan to do a review on it.

Finally, a little something from the Tom Bihn website.

Simple Sunday

According to Duane Elgin, "we can describe voluntary simplicity as a manner of living that is outwardly more simple and inwardly more rich, a way of being in which our most authentic and alive self is brought into direct and conscious contact with living."

Loving life with less......

Stay tuned.

Don't recycle paper........

until you've gotten every possible use out of it.

According to the Bureau of International Recycling, paper can only be recycled 4 to 6 times. That really isn't very many. So instead of dropping it in the recycling bin as soon as you are finished with a piece, reuse it.

Ways to make paper more useful, or less used:

1. Print on both sides to begin with. PC's, and probably Macs, allow every other page of a word processing document to be printed, for instance, you could print only the odd numbered pages. After the first set of pages are printed turn the paper over and print the second set of pages. I usually put a mark in one corner of the top piece of paper in my printer, so that I can figure out which way the paper needs to be oriented to print correctly on the second side.
2. Use paper that has already been printed on as drawing paper for yourself or the kids. Chances are your doodles will not be the next Picasso.
3. Reprint on paper that has only been used on one side. The backs of the paper won't make any sense, but the fronts will look fine. Just remember to re-orientate your paper again, so the blank side is being printed on.
4. Make a avant guard used paper note book. Cut paper that was used on one side into 4 equal pieces. Cut one piece of thicker paper in 4 equal pieces. Arrange the paper so that the blank sides are all facing up. Poke two or more holes in the left side of all the pieces. Stack the pieces with the thicker paper on the outsides, and tie ribbon through the holes.
5. Throughly used paper is an excellent biodegradable weed blocker. Just stack several thicknesses of paper, overlapping edges, on level, weed free dirt. Put several inches of dirt and compost on top of the paper, and plant. Week new weeds can't come up through the paper, but the roots of your seedlings will be able to penetrate the paper as it biodegrades.
6. Shredded paper can be used in addition to leaves and other brown matter in compost.
7. As business cards. Crafting a Green World has a great tutorial on making business cards/seed packets out of used paper grocery bags.
8. Shredded paper also makes great confetti!

There are so many more uses for used paper it would be impossible to list them all. I would love to see some of your ideas as well.

Note: Protect sensitive information! Papers with personal information can be used against you. It is best to shred all sensitive information.
Lest you think I have forsaken fiber, I have some fibery goodness to come.

Napkins, napkins everywhere

What can you make with nearly any piece of clothing past it's prime? A napkin of course.
Napkins range in size from a 16 to 18 inch square dinner napkin, 12 to 14 inches for a lunch napkin, to 4 to 6 inches for cocktail napkins. You can cut at least one square, of one of these sizes out of even baby clothing.

A little while ago my husband ripped a large gash in a nice button down oxford shirt. When I finially got around to cutting it up, I was suprised to find that I was able to cut 4 12" squares from the back and sleeves of the shirt that I can make into luncheon size napkins. The rest of the shirt should yield at least 4 more 4 to 6 inch squares for cocktail napkins. One of the finished napkins is pictured below.
How to do it:
1) Cut as many squares of the desired size as possible out of the ruined piece of clothing (make sure you cut the squares with the grain of the fabric, rather than at an angle to it. If the fabric is woven, and as thick as you feel a napkin should be you can simply stop here (woven fabric cut on the grain will unravel very little after washing).
2) I felt that my squares were too thin, so I doubled them up. You could then hem the pieces under, or stitch around the edges so that the pieces stay together and leave it at that. I decided to make mine a little more polished, and decided to use bias tape to finish the edges.
3) Bias tape can be found in any craft store; however, it can also easily be made out of any light weight woven fabric, and since this is all about reusing that is what I did.

how to make bias tape;
Tutorial
If you have any questions feel free to ask.

4) Pin the bias tape around the edge of your napkin, so that the bias tape encloses the edge of the napkin, then stitch around the edge of the tape.

Ta Da! A beautiful napkin.

An Ode to the Humble Flat Sheet

A spare flat sheet is one of the most versatile implements in the home decorating arsenal. Why you ask?

1. It is one of the cheapest fabric values you can find. For example, a 100% cotton, 250 thread count, Queen size flat sheet from Target is $14.99. How much fabric is that? A Queen size flat sheet is 90 inches x 102 inches. That is twice the width of a wide piece of cloth available from a fabric store, and almost three yards of length. That is about $2.50 per yard, and better values can be found at discount stores.
2. A flat sheet that same size as your bed (a queen size sheet for a queen size bed) can serve as a bed skirt on beds of standard height.
3. Flat full size sheets are about the same width as most beds are long making them great candidates for bed curtains - and can be a perfect match for your bed sheets.
4. Sheets are also so long that they can serve as floor to ceiling curtains on all but very tall windows.
5. Sheets are the perfect no sew option for the always popular toga party.

Below is a picture of my sheet, turned one time bed skirt, and now bed curtain.

Cork Trivet

Do you try to recycle? Do you drink wine? Do you save all the corks from all the bottles of wine you drink, because you don't have a way to recycle them, and feel bad about throwing them away? Well I do. I must have a hundred or more corks in my house from years of collecting, and I never had any idea what to do with them. Until now....
How to make a trivet out of corks
Materials: One pipe clamp (I used a 5" to 7" pipe clamp. It was about $2.50 at home depot.), and lots of corks of approximately the same height (the number of corks you will need will vary based on the size trivet you make, but 50 is a safe number to start with).
Procedure: 1) Gather corks, standing on their ends, inside the pipe clamp; 2) Organize corks as desired; 3) Move clamp so that it is centered in the middle of the corks - see pic below; 4) Tighten pipe clamp - At this point you may need to adjust the number of corks so that there is a tight fit; 5) Trim loose end of clamp if desired
That is it. A brand new trivet for the cost of a pipe clamp. It even looks cool.

I also found a book that is all about reusing objects in fun new ways, and I thought I would pass it on. The book is "Ready Made: How to Make (Almost) Anything."

Enjoy!

More than one use for cereal

Ok, not the actual cereal, the box. My kids eat a lot of cheerios, so I buy the giant boxes that never fit on the shelf correctly. Rather than struggling with the giant box several times a day (cereal is not a breakfast only food if you are 1 and a half), I decant, leaving me with a cereal box in pristine condition. Typically this box would immediately be broken down and sent to recycling, but in the throws of organizing, this box looked suspiciously like a magazine file box.

Mark a 45 degree angle on a large cereal box. The high side of the angle should end in one of the top corners of the box before the flaps begin (if the high side is at the top right on the front, it will be on the top left in the back).Cut along the mark you made. Be careful cut the box cleanly.This is what the box should look like after it has been cut.Wrap the box in heavy weight paper. I used craft paper, which requires strong tape.Then shove some magazines in it. Ta Da! The box really can't stand up to the weight of the magazines on it's own, but it does a great job when propped against something heavy, like other magazine boxes.

Enjoy!

Reuse

This is the start of something new! I really hate to waste things, but our disposable culture makes it not only necessary at times, but cool, to simply throw something in a land fill when we no longer have a use for it (think the swiffer sweeper pad - use and toss, or the latest digital gadget that costs more to fix than to buy anew). Well, I have decided that about once a week I will show you one of the ways in which I have made something into something new; however, this week, until next Friday, I will try to show a way in which I have reused every single day.

Without further ado, reuse of the dreaded bride's maids dress.
A little more than a year ago my sister in law got married, and asked me to be one of the bride's maids. The dresses she picked really were tasteful, but like nearly all bride's maids dresses really wasn't appropriate to wear ever again. That, and the fact that the wedding was only 1 month after I gave birth to my second child, meant that this dress was doomed to spend the rest of it's days in the back of my closet.

A few months ago was my sister in law's birthday. I find her difficult to shop for, as we are not terribly close, and our aesthetic differs considerably. I had recently made some pillows for my sister's new apartment, and thought that my SIL might like pillows for her new house, but which fabric to use? Then I realized, I already had fabric she liked. In fact I had yards and yards of fabric she had picked out. I had a bride's maids dress.

I ripped the seams on the dress (rather than cutting) to get the maximum amount of usable fabric out of the dress. The bodice area was not wide enough to provide usable fabric so I cut it off. I cut 4 15 inch squares from the remaining fabric, giving me materials for 2 14" square pillows with .5" seam allowance. Then I simply sewed up the sides, stuffed the pillow, and shut the opening. They turned out well if I do say so myself.

I will try to update with a picture of the dress if I can find one.

High Fiber Diet

I would like to introduce the latest in high fiber foods. The eggplant.
I am so happy about the way this turned out.

The original pattern is Baby Fruit and Veggie Rattle Patterns by Allison Judge; however, the pattern makes the leaves look like they are growing directly out of the top of the eggplant. Since I have never seen an eggplant that looks like the pattern, I picked up the stitches at the cast on edge, and knitted up, decreasing between the leaves every other row (give or take a row), until there were 4 stitches left, then i-corded the stem. The leaves tended to roll up, so I tacked them down on either side with some thread.

I used Lion Brand Fishermen's Wool, that I hand dyed the appropriate colors, and US6 double pointed needles.

I love, love, love the finished product!

If I knit it again I will probably knit it from the top down, rather than the bottom up, and avoid picking up quite as many stitches.

Back Home

Well DH and I are back home after a long weekend away in Missouri. Why Missouri you ask? Well my very good friend, and children's godfather Aaron graduated from medical school. Now he is officially a doctor. Wow. We have been doing our best to help him through this experience for the past several years, and the knowledge that it is over seems so huge to me. I can only imagine what a relief it must be to him.

We were also able to explore Kansas City, MO with our friend K. She just moved into the downtown area and we were able to explore her new neighborhood together.
The city is currently undergoing a transformation. Abandoned factories and warehouses are being turned into living spaces and store fronts. Small businesses appear to be thriving , and low income areas are receiving much needed improvements. I really enjoyed the downtown area, except that we were exploring on a Monday, and nearly all of the businesses were closed on Monday.

We were able to find one open local yarn store, "The Studio." I would recommend the studio to visitors in the area. The store was well staffed, the staff seemed knowledgeable, they had a good selection of inexpensive yarns, and a wide selection of straight and DPNs, as well as other accessories. Their high end yarn was on the lean side, but the lack didn't take much away from the store.

Now that I am back home, I thought I would share pictures of the birthday loot, as well as the spoils from our Ikea trip.
The birthday first;
My brand New Niddy Noddy

My giant new swift
Next, Ikea.....

DD's New Bed, complete with DD

Bookcase with glass doors, and our new bed.

I love Ikea!

High in Fiber, Zero Fat

First of all, two days in a row. Whoo, hoo! I may be able to make a habit out of this yet.

In the past couple of days I started knitting my kids some play food, and I had to share the outcome. They are incredibly cute! The kids already have cheap plastic versions, but with all the talk recently about the toxicity of plastic, my DS's ability to fit the vast majority of it in his mouth, and the dog's unfortunate affinity for the plastic variety, I had to do something.

As a result, I present to you;
Realistic Carrot
For this carrot I used the Baby Fruit and Veggie Rattle Pattern by Allison Judge.
I modified the cute baby carrot pattern she created, to make one that looked more like it had just come out of our garden. I basically made it "ugly" by adding purl bumps, paired increases and decreases, small cables, and circular ridges embedded in the knit fabric.

I also made an apple;
(try to ignore the dog hair)
For this piece I used the Ms. Saucy Apple pattern by Peachcake Knits.
However, the original pattern had to be altered because it was incorrect. The modifications I made were as follows;
After k4, kfb around there are 36 stitches as stated, next the pattern indicates that you should kfb 3 times spread out across the row. This adds 3 stitches, for a total of 39 stitches, not 40.
There is 8 rows knit even (I knit 9), then the decreases begin.
The pattern indicates that you should k9, k2tog around. This implies that there is some multiple of 11 in a single row (k9, k2tog involves 11 stitches, and the pattern does not say what to do with the left over stitches). Instead, k11, k2tog around, knit 2 rows, skip the instructions to k8, k2tog around, and it's corresponding knit row, and restart the pattern at k4, k2tog around.

Hope this helps anyone struggling with this pattern.

As you can see my kids really like the new toys.
Finally, for you viewing pleasure.....proof that pit pulls are safe with children (at least my pit bulls with my children).