M. K. Lawrie

Vegan Baking Failures: Breakfast Cookies

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:12:45 -0500

Vegan Baking Failures: Breakfast Cookies:

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.

Thu, 09 May 2013 10:39:35 -0500

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 breaking I should also point out the crack growing in the bowl of my ($20 thrift store, first generation, smells like it came from a smokers house) cusinart food processor.

So I thew out the broken coffee grinder, and replaced it with a magic bullet. The magic bullet will be able to grind coffee, as well as other things, so by-by single purpose appliance.

I’ve offered the smoking blender up on freecycle for someone who likes to tinker.

I’ll donate the cuisinart, along with a vintage mixer that I never use. In their place I’m buying a vitamix blender instead.

So I replaced 4 appliances with 2.

I also created an out box for other things I think I can part with. Do I need two fry pans? Maybe I can donate those mugs?

Once I get started it seems easier to make those kinds of decisions. And the joy of the out box (an apartment therapy idea), is that if I change my mind I can take it back.

More Cardboard Spindles

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:26:06 -0500

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 directions, apply glue to one end of the toilet paper roll. Turn the roll over an look down through the middle of the roll to center it on the cardboard circle. (See the photo below).

Allow to dry, then repeat on the other side.

Use the printed side of the cardboard.

These two circles came from a box of cereal, which I selectively cut out for the images. Then follow the original instructions.

Double up the ends.

Follow the original instructions. Then apply glue to one end of the spindle and apply a second cardboard circle. Two pieces of cardboard make the spindle sturdier.

You could also double up on the end using decorative paper instead of a second piece of cardboard.

A Shorter Spindle

You could trim the toilet paper roll down to make a short squat spindle.

Putting the spindles to good use with new Plastic Bag Yarn!

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 14:25:00 -0500

Putting the spindles to good use with new Plastic Bag Yarn!

Cardboard Spindles

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 14:13:42 -0500

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 glue onto one end of the toilet paper roll.

3.) Then press the glued end of the toilet paper roll down onto the center of the circle. (I just eyeballed it.)

Then I added another small ribbon of glue around the base. And left to dry completely.

4. Once dry, repeat steps two and three on the other end of the toilet paper roll. Allow to dry.

A new tenant in the building next to mine doesn’t believe in lampshades, or closing the blinds. Then...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 14:56:00 -0500

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 165° F, used 2T of ground coffee per 6 oz. milk, and let the it steep for 5 minutes. It was delicious.

This also provided the motivation to continue my spring cleaning. The project this week is to work on this:

So there should be a long overdue shop update soon.

Usually it is the end of winter that seems to last the longest. At times it feels like winter might...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 12:20:31 -0500

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 with some other goodies, from my friend Lindsay when she was doing some spring cleaning. I haven’t decided what to do with them, but a really love the print. So for now I just have them hanging on the door, so I can look at the fabric.

I do my best to adhere to the one in - one out rule. So I started a little spring cleaning of my own, and took a couple of bags to the Salvation Army. It only made me realize that I really need to reorganize the craft closet.

Vegan Baking Failures: Traditional Irish Soda Bread and Vegan Buttermilk

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 13:19:28 -0500

Vegan Baking Failures: Traditional Irish Soda Bread and Vegan Buttermilk:

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…

Vegan Alternatives to Silk

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 16:56:00 -0500

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 Machine) Janel Laidman spun samples of man-made fibers and compared them to silk based based on several qualities, as well as provided information on the manufacturing process and what type of dye would be used.

Soysilk, Bamboo, Tencel and Ingeo are all vegan options. It’s too bad that the image of the spun samples is missing from the archived article. However, the article is still a great resource.

One of my favorite sources for fiber is Mielke’s Fiber Arts because they have a large selection of both man-made and vegetable fibers for spinning.

viscose processed bamboo top (L) and Tencel® top (R)

photos by Mielke’s Fiber Arts, used with permission.

Peace Silk

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 23:58:00 -0600

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 silk.

What I appreciate most about the article is Selk’s complete honesty about sillk and sericulture. Both in terms of the its sustainability and the role it plays in lives of the rural farmers, but also in terms of dispelling myths surrounding Peace Silk.

You can find a copy of Winter 2013 issue here, or at your public library.

My hand quilting project is coming along slowly. I’m actually using this blanket on my bed...

Sun, 24 Feb 2013 23:54:00 -0600

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 of thread a day. It has made me think about the various cultures that have specific styles of hand stitching that are passed down from mother to daughter.

I started a pinterest board to track my research and gather my thoughts. For now I am calling the pinterest board Textile History. (I don’t think the name is quite right, but it’ll do for now.)

In my research on sashiko I came across Shirahime, a blog about ethical and sustainable fashion. There are so many well written articles. There was a great post about Upcycling, Recycling, and Downcycling. And I’m also obsessed with the articles filed under Traditional Craft Skills.

I started a new project. I’m sewing an old duvet cover...

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 15:22:02 -0600

I started a new project. I’m sewing an old duvet cover that never wanted to stay in place onto a very warm blanket the sheds a bit.

I started by pinning the blanket into place with safety pins. Now I’m slowly hand quilting the layers together.

I think of the hand stitching as meditation.

Simple Yoga Mat Sling

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 11:38:00 -0600

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 indicate, and pull the rest of the orange loop through.

3. Pull the loops in opposite directions to tighten the join.

4. A tight smooth join.

To use the loops as a yoga sling, follow steps 5 and 6.

5. Lay one end of the loop over itself as shown in the image, with the end of the loop open. Pick up the yarn where the arrows indicate, and set it back down to the right.

6. Your yarn should look like image 6. Put one end of your rolled up yoga mat through the middle of the hole created. Pull on the strap to tighten down.

Repeat steps 5 and 6 on the other end. Practice putting on the strap a couple times so you can do it by yourself at yoga class.

Finding the Eco in the Craft: Part 2

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:18:30 -0600

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 sculptures by Halina Tepper.

Sierra Hills Stone. When I stepped into the stone filled booth at CHA, it was like a retreat into nature, resident artist Ro RIvas was quietly carving in the corner. Sierra Hills Stone sells sculpture quality stone, carving tools and accessories, and offers classes and workshops in soapstone carving for ages 5 to 55.

Creative Feet had this beautifully decorated sewing machine. I like the idea of giving new life to the tools you have.

In addition to the How to Paint You Sewing Machine DVD, Creative Feet also sells a variety of generic, easy to use sewing machine feet that can do different techniques.

Crafty Cat had a variety of cool tools that help with small detailed work. The Flex-i-File™ Sticky Micro Stix would have been great to use applying the sequins to the skirt I made for Elena of Charity Wings. You can see Lindsay Obermeyer using the Micro Stix in this post at Serendipity.

Last is the Oliso Smart Iron. It is amazing, see for your self:

Here’s a link to the video also.

Where do you get your protein?: Cooking with white beans

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 10:00:00 -0600

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.

here and here

2. As a substitute for tofu: This works especailly well in recipes that call for soft tofu.

engine2diet blog entry on alternatives to soy

3. In place of some of the flour in baking recipes. This list of healthy substitutes suggests substituting I cup bean puree for 1 cup flour. (They have other great ides too)

4. Bean Milk (In baked goods): A quick recipe kind of like this, but white white bean puree instead of nut butters.

If you are interested in making your own non-dairy milk at home here are more simple recipes

5. Vegan Cream of [Your Favorite Vegetable] Soup: This is not baking, but you wouldn’t know there were any beans in here, so it is still a sneaky use of beans. Take any vegetarian recipe for a cream soup and substitute pureed white beans for the milk or cream.

Finding the Eco in the Craft: Part 1 Green Products

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 14:17:00 -0600

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 Polyester. One recycled plastic bottle makes ten spools of thread!

Elmer’s new School Glue Naturals is a plant based glue made from 88% natural ingredients. The bottle 25% post consumer content, and the label is printed with soy based inks.

I headed over to the Plaid booth to see Delta Soy Paint, the first TRUE “Green” decorative paint on the market!

I was also excited to find online that they also offer a Soy Stain and Soy Varnish. Both products are low odor, low to no VOC, and clean up with soap and water.

Plaid also has a new Chalkboard Top Coat. The clear chalkboard top coat isn’t a green product, but I’m really excited about how I can use it in up-cycled projects.

Coats and Clark’s new product Phoomph for fabric! is a double sided fabric bonding sheet that creates a new way to craft with fabric. It doesn’t require any ironing. Contains some post consumer recycled material. Check out Coats and Clark for some craft ideas.

I am back from The Craft & Hobby Association 2013 Winter Conference & Trade Show in...

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 00:00:00 -0600

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 detail of the skirt.

I was also really excited to be invited to the Lion Brand Yarn fashion show with Vanna White. I really loved the chunky texture and asymmetry in some of the pieces.

Here is a sneak peak of the outfit I designed with Lindsay...

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 23:01:06 -0600

Here is a sneak peak of the outfit I designed with Lindsay Obermeyer for Elena Etcheverry of Charity Wings.

On the Needles

Sat, 05 Jan 2013 09:15:00 -0600

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 my train project, I’d knit a few rows while waiting for the train.

Pattern: The Helix Scarf by Stephenie Gaustad

Yarn: Vanna’s Glamour Yarn in Purple Topaz

Raveled here.

A Painted Christmas Tree My sister had a great idea for the...

Tue, 25 Dec 2012 14:20:16 -0600

A Painted Christmas Tree

My sister had a great idea for the Christmas tree this year. Instead of buying and decorating a real tree; we painted a Christmas tree together as a family. It was a lot of fun to spend the time together.