5 Ways to Use Up Leftover Yarn

What is there to do with those random ends of skeins? Lots!

• Of course, the time honored Granny Square is an excellent way to use up a stash. The Purl Bee has an excellent tutorial, jam packed with lovely photos:

• Knit this lace scarf, using up 3 or 4 colors.

• Of course, you could just skip all that hooking and knitting, and skip right to decoration. Apartment Therapy has some cute ideas:

(Of course, they're billing the above as "storage" as well. Um...sure. That's one way to store things, I guess...)

• This Knit Pincushion by Craft Leftovers is an awesome way to use up all those tiny bits:

AND you can even use different weights and textiles together. Score!

• Another idea for decoration: scrap yarn wrapped branches

Great tutorial with lots and lots of yummy photos. Plus, she links to several other really neat projects!

I feel like we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible with leftover yarn. What do you like to do with yours?

Library Book Review - The Pioneer Woman Cooks

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

Y'all. Can I refer to you as "y'all"? After reading this book, it feels appropriate.
*ahem*
Y'all, as a card carrying, long term (18 + years...ouch!) vegetarian, I have to admit...I love this book.
Yes, it is mostly meaty recipes. Yes, I can cook basically nothing in here.
But if you buy into the line that cookbooks are basically fairy tales for grownups, you might just love this cookbook, too.
Each recipe in this book is generously speckled with lovely step by step photos, and pretty darn amusing directions. Ree Drummond, the author, is just plain adorable. Do you read her blog? You totally should. It's great.
There are also tons of gorgeous photos of her life on the ranch. I can't resist photos of cows, but then again, I live waaay out in the country myself, so I may be a *tad* biased.
Okay, so bottom line: health conscious? Vegetarian friendly? Nah.
Probably very, very delicious though. (I would tell you for sure, but you know, vegetarian.)
I did try a few of the recipes, though. The Hot Artichoke dip won over a roomful of dieting aunties. And holy cow, did it make a good spread for grilled cheese sandwiches the next day.
If you get a chance, by all means pick this book up!

A peek inside the creative life of Eerika Valkonen

First off, a little backstory. Who are you? What do you make?
Hi, my name is Eerika and I'm a toy making elf. Well, the elf part isn't strictly true, but among other stuff I make Rag Pets, soft toys that are filled with rags and personality. I also do a bit of illustration every now and then.
I'm 33, even though most of the time I feel more like I'm 13 and I live in the city that sleeps at night, also known as Helsinki, Finland. I like chocolate, Batman, sleeping in late, Tom Waits and a lot of other things too.


What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?
Instead of answering these questions I'm currently supposed to be working on my line of storybook themed Rag Pets, which is coming along slowly... very slowly. I'm also attending a short course on making antique style teddy bears out of recycled materials, and it's a lot of fun! It's nice to do something in a completely different style compared to what I usually do.


Where do you primarily create?
I work from home, spending the majority of my time at the workroom (our apartment includes a separate workroom) where I'm free to make as big a mess as my little heart desires and listen to soppy audiobooks, musicals and Disney soundtracks without anyone complaining about my choice of listening material. I also do a lot of hand sewing (often aided by my cat BooBoo, who really isn't very good at actually helping) in the living room, parked on the sofa in front of the telly. I am not ashamed to admit that day-time television is a big part of my working day.


Where do you find inspiration?
I wish I knew where inspiration came from, and why it usually comes at the most inopportune moments, like when I'm in the shower or just about to fall asleep! If inspiration isn't spontaneously foisting itself on me, I derive it from things I've read, seen, heard or even the people around me. Sometimes I see a piece of fabric that's just begging to become something or other and I find books to be an endless source of ideas and inspiration too, mostly because I read a lot!



Do you have a favorite book/blog/movie/etc you'd like to recommend?
I have several! But in the interest of this not becoming simply a long list of Eerika's Most Favourite Things, I'll list just the one of each.
My favourite book (right now, since this tends to change depending on what I'm currently reading) is "Her Fearful Symmetry" by Audery Niffenegger. Being one half of a pair of twins (I have a twin brother) myself, all things twin fascinate me, and all the bits about twin identity and descriptions of twinship in the book are wonderful. That, and it's a jolly good ghost story too!
I'd like to recommend a thousand blogs for people to discover and be inspired by, but I will restrain myself and simply urge you all to check out "Hyperbole and a Half", because it's hilarious and really entertaining and there's even a post that goes a long way into explaining why I'm more like a 13 year-old than a 33 year-old.
My all time favourite movie is actually a whole bunch of movies, since I can't pick just the one, no matter how hard I try to narrow it down. So, to rattle off a few, in no particular order: Baz Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy (that'd be: Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge), Amelie, Ghost World and The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.
And now that flu-season is here, I'd like to share my "flu buster"-tea recipe: brew a strong cup of your favourite fruity tea (I use a summer fruits + rooibos tea blend), add to it a squirt of lemon juice, a big dollop of honey and a slice of fresh ginger. Wrap yourself in a warm blanket and enjoy your cuppa with your favourite biscuits. :)


Where can readers see more of your work?
You can see more of my work in my blog: http://www.ragpets.com
On Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kitty_vane/ where I post lots of pictures of my everyday life,
and on DeviantArt: http://kittyvane.deviantart.com/ where you can see more of my drawings and such.


Thanks for giving us a peek into your creative life, Eerika!

5 Things to do with Yogurt

I'm sort of a yogurt fanatic. I can't get enough of it, especially the Greek kind. All those little cups can get expensive though (not to mention the ecological side effects), so I've come up with a few ways to make the big plain (or vanilla) containers a little more fun.

1. Add in jam! Exotic jam!
I have a weakness for collecting odd little jars of the stuff. Ginger spread? Apple cinnamon? Quince? Drop in a spoonful, swirl it around, and it's usually delicious. After all, that fruit-on-the-bottom kind isn't really that far removed from jam, is it?

2. Add spices.
Not a fan of putting in extra sugar? No worries. Try a little bit of cinnamon, or cardamom, or pumpkin pie spice. If you've got the plain sort of yogurt, try going savory. A little kick of cayenne and cumin, and you've got a whole different sort of treat. (Or dill! Or black pepper! Or...we could keep going. Experiment!)

3. Onion dip.
If I have one weakness (ha ha, only one!), it's onion dip. But holy cow, is that stuff ever bad for you. Try making it with lowfat or non fat plain Greek yogurt instead. It's still tangy and awesome, but a bit less likely to kill you. Of course, there's still the issue of chips. I guess you could always use raw veggies instead (ha! ha ha ha!), but let's not go nuts.

4. Oh, and speaking of nuts...
Yogurt + Peanut/Almond butter = delicious.
It's a freaking protein powerhouse. You will be UNSTOPPABLE!!

5. Yogurt face mask.
Okay, so we've run out of food ideas. A yogurt face mask is a traditional way to soothe dry skin and acne. It's antibacterial properties make it a great cleanser for troubled skin, and the lactic acid soothes irritation and softens skin.
To use it, wash your face like normal. Pat dry, and then apply yogurt to your face. Leave it on for 15 minutes, and then wash off with warm water.
Be sure to use plain, silly. And organic if you can - there tend to be more live active cultures in the stuff.

Your turn. How do you like your yogurt? Assuming, of course, that you like yogurt in the first place.

Visual Caffeine

I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.

-Douglas Adams

(for the record, this photo was taken way back at 25 weeks. oh, how far we've come.)

Your turn! Do you have a quote or a photo that you think would make a good Visual Caffeine post? Email me using the Contact tab above!

A peek inside the creative life of Karla Fitch - Itsy Bitsy Spider

First off, a little backstory. Who are you? What do you make?
I'm The Itsy Bitsy Spider and I specialize in amigurumi crochet critters. I'm a mom, a wife, a writer, a crocheter, a kisser of boo-boos, and a lover of touchable, colorful art. My daughter, Kaia, is one of the big reasons I got into amigurimi crochet. After making afghans (and just about everything else) for more than 15 years -- I fell in love with a baby girl and have been making dolls to delight her ever since. She is my muse and my inspiration.
My original amigurumi designs are 100% hand made with the same quality and attention to detail that I would want for my own daughter. And, each stitch I hook in each piece I make holds a story. You'll find some of the stories right in the item listings on my shop -- for instance, did you know that the tooth fairy turns stale gumdrops into colorful mice so people won't accidentally have dental emergencies?

But, it is my hope that my creations' best stories are yet to be unlocked by the people who eventually receive them.

What projects are you in the middle of right now that you should probably be working on instead of doing this?
Right now, I'm working on several different projects -- it's actually rather NOT like me to be involved in several projects at once... but I guess I've been a little schizophrenic since my last show. I'm knitting a pair of socks for my husband for Christmas (*shhhh! Don't tell him!). For the shop, I'm working on a new baby dragon ( http://www.etsy.com/listing/59613957/pattern-baby-dragon-amigurumi-pdf ), an "Itsy Bitsy Spider Monkey" for a special order, and a little crocheted tea set pattern. I'm most excited about the tea set pattern -- so far I have the cup, saucer, spoon, and tea bag finished!

Where do you primarily create?
I have a "craft room" made out of a bedroom that is really too small to be a bedroom. Mostly I hang out in there because the little one likes to get into my yarn. But after she goes to bed, I occasionally like to crochet in front of a good TV show in the living room!


Where do you find inspiration?
Mostly stories. I have always loved reading (although with a two-year old, my reading now-a-days is mostly limited to kids' books). I also get inspired by toys that I see that I want to give my daughter and by my amazing colleagues on the Etsy Plush Team!

Do you have a favorite book/blog/movie/etc you'd like to recommend?
I absolutely loved The Gentle Art of Domesticity by Jane Brocket. She also has a wicked cool and BEAUTIFUL blog called Yarnstorm ( http://yarnstorm.blogs.com/).

Where can readers see more of your work?
My shop ==> http://www.etsy.com/shop/theitsybitsyspider
My blog ==> http://itsybitsyspidercrochet.blogspot.com/
Flickr ==> http://www.flickr.com/photos/37539972@N06/

Visual Caffeine

If you are to embrace your life as an evolving whole, you must think of yourself as a story- admittedly, a highly biased and poorly researched pulp paperback that is constantly being revised and incrementally updated with no sign of when it will end or what the characters will do next, yet a story that is uniquely yours.
-Mark Leyner

Your turn! Do you have a quote or a photo that you think would make a good Visual Caffeine post? Email me using the Contact tab above!

5 Ways to Spruce Up Oatmeal

Photo by TheBittenWord.com. Bonus recipe here!

Oatmeal. Common staple of the breakfast table. Plain. Boring. Often eaten only under duress, or with a grim sense of determination. ("I will lower my cholesterol, I will eat more fiber, I will I will I will")

It doesn't have to be this way! Oatmeal can be delicious. And fast. And still healthy. (Er. Sometimes.) Think of oatmeal as a blank canvas, just waiting for you to spruce it up.

I'm reluctant to even call these recipes. They're fast and easy enough to be done while you're still waiting for the coffee to brew. My basic formula for oatmeal is 1/2 cup of oatmeal (quick oats, natch), covered with 1/2 water, and microwaved for 2 minutes. Getting the water level right is such a personal thing. Experiment. Sweetener is another personal choice. My default sweetener is agave syrup. Now, the fun parts!

1. Apple Cinnamon

Dice 1 small apple. Add to oatmeal, and nuke as usual. Once cooked, add a few shakes of cinnamon, and the sweetener of your choice. OR. If you're feeling like you need a little something extra...a spoonful of caramel sauce. Ah. Maze. Ing.

2. Mango

Add 5 or 6 frozen mango chunks to the uncooked oatmeal. Nuke for 2 minutes as usual. Add sweetener, and a bit of cardamom to the cooked oatmeal.

3. Almost-a-muffin Blueberry

Add frozen blueberries to the uncooked oatmeal, cook as usual. Add cinnamon, sweetener, and about 1/2 tsp. of vanilla to the cooked mixture.

4. Tea-Riffic Oats

Okay, this one isn't mine. And I haven't tried it yet. But it sounds amazing! Head over to (never home)maker's blog for the recipe!

5. Cranberry Oatmeal

Mix in 1/4 cup of dried cranberries and 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract to the uncooked oats. Cook, and then add sweetener (and perhaps a pinch of cinnamon!) to taste. Oh, the yum.

Crafty Book Review - Sewing Bits and Pieces

Wiley Publishers Sewing Bits & Pieces

I think I've mentioned before my affinity for using up tiny scraps of fabric. That's why I was so excited to find Sandi Henderson's book Sewing Bits and Pieces. It shows you some truly interesting ways to use up gorgeous fabric scraps. Because sometimes a fat quarter is just a distant memory.

The directions are easy to follow, and are accompanied by plenty of clear illustrations. The projects range from enhancing existing things (tablecloths, sweaters...) to making something entirely new. The cover says there are 35 projects, but it honestly seems like more. There are projects for every room of the house.

If you're in the market for a book that will open your eyes to new possibilities for your scrap stash, by all means check this one out.

Slight Change of Plans!

Hello everyone! I write to you today from the midst of a not-quite-properly-medicated cold on this my 35th week of pregnancy. Expect a lot of sentences like that in this post.
I had every intention of hanging in there, and waiting until January 24th to start maternity leave. (That would have been a very reasonable 2 weeks before my due date.) This cold, and the sudden massive weight gain, and the ensuing pain, and the barely being able to move, etc etc etc has sort of broken me. (Plus, there's the tiny issue of all the stuff that still needs to get done around here...and the tinier issue of hey, how am I going to do that stuff if I can't stand for more than 20 minutes at a time/bend over/drive?)
Maternity leave begins now!
SO.
What this means for the blog is less posts per week. I've been writing them ahead of time and storing them up. Why am I even announcing this? The blog will be almost normal! Hooray!

The shop will be going on maternity leave soon, too. Honestly, that scares me more than anything. (Well, not labor. Or delivery. Or living with a newborn. Or the possibility of never fitting into my perfect jeans again.) Still, scary.
The shop goes on maternity leave Monday, January 10th.

That's it for the announcements. I would end this post on a pithy note but, you know, snot. See you next post!

5 Useful Things to Make for Babies

Sheesh, babies. Is that all anyone can talk about around here?
Alas yes, pretty much. (Today marks 35 weeks. Eeep.)
Babies apparently need a tremendous amount of stuff, much of it horrifically expensive. However, you can make some of it yourself (or as a gift). This gives one a wonderful sensation of "sticking it to the man". One does not get to feel that very much when one is pregnant, let one tell you.

Bibs
You'd be amazed at how crummy a lot of bibs are. A lot of them appear to be made out of kleenex. I can practically see the liquefied vegetables leaking through them all the way from the future.
Enough grousing. Chickpea Studios has an easy tutorial to make wonderful bibs. And there's even a downloadable pattern.

Burp cloths
A friend of mine has a baby with horrible reflux. That poor woman can barely keep a shirt dry. She's let me know that most of the cute burp rags are pretty much useless. However, these ones by Sew She Sews are excellent!
Burp Cloth Tutorial by Sew She Sews

Slings
One of the most highly recommended items has been a sling. "Get yourself a sling!" people keep telling me. "Do you ever want to use your hands again? Get a sling!" Who am I to argue? Using my hands sounds great.
Jan Andrea has put together a whole index of sling tutorials. Everything from ring slings to mei tais.

Breastfeeding cover
It's a glorified apron. It is also known as a "hooter hider". Egads.
Maybe I've been in the crafty community for too long, but my gut reaction is, hey, make one!
Freshly Picked has an excellent, photo filled tutorial to show you how.

Swaddling blanket
Can babies be swaddled? The experts say yes. The parents say "Eh, sometimes. At least for a little while."
You can swaddle in a receiving blanket, or you can whip up one of these awesome swaddling blankets:
Swaddling Blanket Tutorial by Prudent Baby