May 2013
2 posts
Vegan Baking Failures: Breakfast Cookies →
veganbakingfailures:
I have been obsessed with some of the really simple breakfast cookie recipes floating around the internet.
First I came across these two ingredient cookies from The Burlap Bag in banana, and pumpkin. Then I saw Chocolate Covered Katie had these cookies that use banana or applesauce, (I love…
Sometimes its okay when things fall apart.
It’s easier to make decisions about purging, whether or not to replace something, once it is broken.
This time the re-organization has moved to the kitchen. I wasn’t really planning on it, but then I broke my coffee grinder (when I tried to grind something other than coffee.) And my blender started smoking if it is on anything higher than “stir.”
And while things are...
April 2013
4 posts
3 tags
More Cardboard Spindles
I have found the cardboard spindle so useful this past week. I thought I’d share a few ideas I had on some variations of the cardboard spindles.
Cut out a center hole.
Use a compass to draw a circle slightly smaller than the toilet paper roll. Then use the same center point to draw a second circle.
Use a utility knife to carefully cut out the center circle.
Similar to the original...
4 tags
Cardboard Spindles
The shop update is underway, but there is more to come. This week I made these wonderful cardboard spindles to hold Plastic Yarn.
Materials:
Flat cardboard toilet paper roll pen or pencil scissors round object to trace (or compass) glue
1) Trace circles onto the cardboard. My circles were about 4 inches in diameter.
Then use scissors to cut out your circles.
2.) Put a small amount of...
A new tenant in the building next to mine doesn’t believe in lampshades, or closing the blinds. Then there was coonstruction going on early this morning. Usually I drink tea in the morning, but today was definitely a coffee sort of morning. But I only had rice milk on hand, which is usually a bit thin for coffee, but not if you brew your coffee with milk instead of water.
I heated rice milk to...
March 2013
4 posts
Usually it is the end of winter that seems to last the longest. At times it feels like winter might never end. This weekend spring finally showed up. Don’t get me wrong, I haven’t put away my winter coat yet, there are still more cold days to come. But it was wonderful to open all the windows and let in the fresh air.
Last weekend I got these beautiful Liberty print shirts, along...
Vegan Baking Failures: Traditional Irish Soda... →
veganbakingfailures:
5 Different Non-Dairy Milks Reviewed
How to Substitute Condensed Milk (Buttermilk, Evaporated, Sweetened Condensed, Powdered
“It may or may not “curdle” like dairy milk, but homemade dairy-free buttermilk alternative still serves it’s purpose in recipes.”
Rice milk, which I had…
6 tags
Vegan Alternatives to Silk
I was thinking about vegan alternatives to silk, and I remembered an article in Spindlicity, a now defunct online magazine for hand spinners, called Seri-Similitude.
My bookmark redirected to an archive on beebonnet, but some of the links were dead. Thank goodness for Wayback Machine Internet Archive, where you can find Spindlicity archived.
In Seri-Similitude (archived on Wayback...
4 tags
Peace Silk

Spin Off magazine Winter 2013 issue featured an excellent article on Peace Silk by Karen Selk titled ”Peace Silk — what does it really mean?”
Karen Selk is a textile designer and founder of Treenway Silks. She clearly has a love for and extensive knowledge of sericulture.
The article defines peace silk, also talks about the lifecycle of a silkworm, sericulture and the different types of...
February 2013
4 posts
My hand quilting project is coming along slowly. I’m actually using this blanket on my bed right now, and I love the way it is turning out. The stitches almost disappear into the nap of the velour top fabric, so I haven’t used a ruler to mark lines. I love how organic and imperfect the lines of stitches look on the underside of the quilt (pictured).
I sew one or two arms lengths...
2 tags
Simple Yoga Mat Sling
I usually do yoga at home. So when I decided to take a yoga class at the gym, I realized I needed a yoga mat sling. You can make this with just a couple of loops of t-shirt yarn.
To connect two t-shirt yarn loops together, follow steps 1 - 4.
1. Lay one loop over the other as pictured.
2. Using the picture as a guide, open up the red loop as shown. Pinch the orange loop where the arrows...
2 tags
Finding the Eco in the Craft: Part 2
Craft and Hobby Association Conference and Trade Show, Winter 2013, Anaheim, CA.
There were just a few more things I wanted to share with you!
Cre8time is a movement dedicated to helping people reclaim their creativity. Maybe just 8 minutes a day, or 8 hours a month. Their website
The Cre8time booth featured the work of several CHA designers in display cases. I really loved these button...
January 2013
5 posts
4 tags
Where do you get your protein?: Cooking with white...
A friend recently told me that she didn’t think she could be a vegetarian because she didn’t like beans. It got me thinking about some of the non-traditional, sneaky ways I cook with beans.
1. Beans as a substitute for fat in baking recipes: Of course I thought I invented this when I started doing this to increase protein in baked goods. But of course the idea isn’t new.
...
2 tags
Finding the Eco in the Craft: Part 1 Green...
Craft and Hobby Association Conference and Trade Show, Winter 2013, Anaheim, CA.
I was really excited to see so many green products. The Kunin Group’s eco-friendly felt made from Eco-fi, 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles.
These adorable owl smartphone cases by lovahandmade.etsy.com are made with their eco-friendly felt.
Gütermann’s Sew-All Thread rPET is made from 100% Recycled...
3 tags
I am back from The Craft & Hobby Association 2013 Winter Conference & Trade Show in Anaheim, CA. This is a final look at the outfit Lindsay Obermeyer and I made for the beautiful Elena of Charity Wings. Lindsay designed the knit top and plans to sell the pattern on her Etsy shop Enjolive.
I really enjoyed the whole process of creating the skirt out of recycled materials. Here is a...
4 tags
On the Needles
Or off the needles, really. I was looking for my #7 knitting needles, and found them in use with this scarf, almost finished, but languishing in the ufo (unfinished object) pile. Instead of casting off as the pattern indicates, I decreased the stitches to a point. Then did the same to the cast-on edge.
The pattern is simple and easy to memorize, and was a perfect portable project. It became...
December 2012
3 posts
5 tags
Loch Lomond
A work in progress.
In plastic yarn the crochet motifs of Lion Brand’s Loch Lomond Afghan Pattern start look like snowflakes.
I made the inspiration board myself last year by gluing sheets of foam to craft paper, then covering the whole thing with canvas.
November 2012
4 posts
writerinboston:
POINT OF VIEW by Shel Silverstein Thanksgiving dinner’s sad and thankless Christmas dinner’s dark and blue When you stop and try to see it From the turkey’s point of view. Sunday dinner isn’t sunny Easter feasts are just bad luck When you see it from the viewpoint Of a chicken or a duck. Oh how I once loved tuna salad Pork and lobsters, lamb chops too Till I stopped and looked...
The Creative Process
The creative process starts with experimentation and play.
(from L to R) Cone of thread from thrift store, ball of I-cord made on embellish knit, swatch of I-cord knit on #13 needles, I-cord knit up on vintage mattel knit machine, thread knit up on knitting machine.
5 tags
October 2012
6 posts
3 tags
5 tags
Autumn Wreath
I started with a 9 inch wreath that I had left over from a make and take at the Craft Hobby Association Show this summer. If you don’t have a wreath to re-cover, you can find foam, vine, or metal wreaths at your local craft store.
I used some leftover orange yarn from yarn bombing Clark Street to wrap the wreath. I only wrapped the wreath once, but there is enough yarn in the Fall...
3 tags
Addison Street Bridge Yarn Bombing
Thursday was a perfect for yarn bombing! It was was warm and sunny, though really windy on the bridge.
That’s me, and the long stretch of scarves I just attached to the handrail.
My view of the highway during installation.
The mural and the yarn bombed hand rail.
And a view of the yarn bombed handrail with the mural in the background.
3 tags
Crafting for Charity
Saturday we wrapped up Rogers Park is Blooming at the Chicago Artist Month event at the Rogers Park Harvest Celebration. It was a beautiful, but cold, fall day. Kids (and some adults!) from the community made 80 flowers which we added to the installation at Clark St. and Howard St.
The Addison Street Bridge yarn bombing is coming along as well. Lindsay and I have connected 20 of the scarves...
3 tags
Happy October!
Now that the Roger’s Park yarn bombing has been installed, most of my attention has shifted towards yarn bombing the Addison Street Bridge in collaboration with the Mural at Addison and Avondale. Here is a video to tell you all about it:
We have already started connecting the scarves in preparation for the October 11 installation.
Oh and go vote for the project at the...
September 2012
4 posts
4 tags
Rogers Park is Blooming
We did it! Both yarn bombings have been installed. Thanks to everyone from the community that came out to help install.
Here is one view of the yarn bombing at corner of Clark and Howard.
And here I am installing flowers on Clark Street at Touhy Park. Lindsay took both photos, you can see more over at her blog.
Lindsay took both photos, you can see more over at her blog.
If you...
Hello September! I have been so incredibly busy this summer, I can’t believe it’s September already. This summer has been so hot, I can’t wait for fall weather to settle in. So here’s another way to wear a T-shirt yarn necklace/scarf; great for those fall days that are a little bit cooler than you expected.
Version 4
For this look follow steps 1 through 5 of...
August 2012
6 posts
T-shirt and Fabric Yarn Joins
I thought it would be useful to post some of the ways to join t-shirt yarn and other fabric or rag yarns.
1) knot.
Simply tie the two pieces of yarn together. Probably the most noticeable way to join yarns. But less obvious on lighter weight yarn. I knotted the yarns in Catherine’s Color Wheel .
2) slit and slip Coco Knits has a great tutorial of what I call the slit and slip. It...
4 tags
5 tags
4 tags
T-shirt Yarn Necklace
1) Start with a plain unprinted jersey t-shirt that does not have side seams.
2) Fold the shirt in half, then cut off the hem (A). Starting at the cut edge, cut the shirt into 1/2” strips until just below the sleeves (B). Each strip should open up to create a loop. The more loops you use, the thicker your piece will be. For my CHA lanyard, I used only four loops.
3) Take each loop...
July 2012
2 posts
5 tags
June 2012
2 posts
Upcycled glass/waterbottle cozy
Yesterday it was 100 degrees, and as condensation poured off the side of my water bottle, I slid a lonely lost glove over it to soak up the water. This morning I decided to sew it into a proper cozy. Then as I sipped my iced coffee, I made a second one for my glass and took photos so I could show you how to make one too.
First use a cup or other round object to trace a circle about the width...
Peanut Butter Banana Donuts with Chocolate Glaze «... →
Liz Lemon Nights is kind of like the J. Peterman of Vegan Food Blogs.
Also these donuts sound delicious.
Edit: I finally got a chance to make these awesome donuts (with a few alterations which you can check out at VeganBakingFailures.)
May 2012
2 posts
Re-Growing Celery (and other vegetables)
While I don’t have a green thumb, I like to see what will grow. So I was really inspired when I read The Apartment Therapy’s recent article on re-growing vegetables like celery, green onions, and bok choy by placing the base in water or planting it dirt. I tried this with a leek and it is already starting to grow.
1 tag
April 2012
2 posts
Re-Growing Celery: Grow a New Bunch Indoors or... →
