Fiber Fridays: My First Knit Hat!

I'm totally excited that i finally finished my very first knit hat. I have suitably called it "The Hat of Many Mistakes" and have learned a heck of a lot about knitting from start to finish of this little project. I cannot count the hours it took me to finish this hat and i did not follow a pattern as i am still unable to decipher the jibberish that are knitting patterns. I do know, however that i am super proud of my feat: i spun the yarn with colors chosen specifically for my husband, i spun the color pattern specifically chosen for the hat, and i struggled my way from band to point - and it even fits!

Yes, it looks like a Hershey's Kiss, but it's warm and i think he likes it. What more can you ask?? I think it will look a bit more even after I wash it, but it will always bear plenty of little quirks and 'mistakes' that will make it even more well loved as the years pass: as my very first knit hat.

Do you love the foibles of a "first?"

Handmade Holidays - Macro Series

Woo hoo! The holidays are coming up! In........ like 4 months. Ha ha. For the first time in about 5 years, i'll actually be home for the holidays, with MY parents versus my husband's. I've loved sharing my family holiday traditions with my husband's family. I've loved camping on Christmas and forging our own traditions as a newly married family. I've loved learning his family's traditions and especially loved eating their Thanksgiving feast! But i'm pretty stoked to have Christmas back at my childhood home, with sledding!

I'm so excited. I'm also poor, as per usual and need to scheme up some handmade gifts. Handmade is almost always better, poor or not, and I always get a lot of joy out of hand crafting or cooking gifts for my loved ones. As an artist, I'm never at a loss for gifts to give, but this year I'll be focusing on my new fiber art skills, soap making, and other homey crafts vs fine art.

For a little bit of fun, I'm beginning a series of posts with macro images of my handiwork. Little teasers of the gifts to come, and after the holidays i'll post the projects in full. I'm excited to make, to give, and to show off the months to come.

Feel free to leave comments with your guesses as to what the items will be!
Here's the first one, destined for a certain sister of mine:

This post is also found at the Simple Lives Thursdays blog hop

Musing on Home Decor

The sun is shining, my sweater (or two or three) has been removed, and my sewing machine wants me to give him some attention.

A recent post of mine gave some examples of the Baby Name Wall Art that i do. I'm hoping to start working on some kids bedding ideas that can correspond with the art pieces and bring greater dimension to my work and to the loveliness of a child's nursery.

I have found some very cute pieces at this website, that is pretty reasonably priced and has some great decorating ideas. They even have some eco-friendly products available.

If you're looking to decorate your whole nursery, those links are really great resources for some fun stuff. I use the site to tap into their ideas, become more familiar with the market,  and brainstorm personalized items to coordinate with existing bedding and the art folks purchase from me = creativity catalysis.

The image above shows my first attempt at applique. I believe my husband said "I like how it looks roughly done" hmmmmm. I guess i have some practicing to do, haha. So i'll keep up the practice. I'm getting some good ideas. I welcome any ideas from you guys, or if you have purchased a baby name piece from me - let me know if you'd like to be a guinea pig for some matching bedding.  I made some herbal grain pillows this holiday season for myself and my MIL ( you heat them in the microwave and use as a relaxing heating pad ), so i think i will post a "how to" on those very soon, and practice decorating them with my fancy new stitches.

Do you have kiddos? What is your (or their) favorite bedding/decor item in their nursery/room?

Herbed Oil and Vinegar

Ah, Christmas. Sometimes my favorite time of year. At the very least it's a great time to find excuses to craft, bake, and create things you might otherwise not find time to do. This post is tardy as i obviously didn't want to spoil any surprises!

Herbed oils and vinegars are easy to do, and especially special when they're made entirely with homegrown herbs and veggies.  This year I'm giving each set of parents (i have three) their own oil and vinegar sets. I have to ship the ones to my Dads and Moms in Oregon, so i am rigorously crossing my fingers that they don't explode on the way there.
Flavors and herb choices are entirely up to you or up to what your garden is providing. If it was summer i would have put in a lot more fresh basil, and if my lemon thyme plant hadn't died in this summer's drought i would have been able to put a lot more of that in there: same goes for my lemongrass. You simply want to choose "a theme" and try to stick to it. I put together what i had on hand:

Herbed Oil - Italian Herbs with Garlic

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• fresh and roasted garlic - mashed + whole for garnish
• fresh rosemary and sage - diced + whole sprigs for garnish
• fresh oregano - diced
• peppercorns and dried hot peppers for garnish

Flavored oils are so easy: Simply dice up all the herbs and garlic and put in a mortar and pestle with a drizzle of oil. Mash until you can't stand it then scoop it all into a mixing bowl. Pour the rest of your oil into the bowl and mix well - be sure to get all the goodness off the pestle.  Once well mixed pour the oil mixture into some well sealed jars and be sure to shake them up daily. Marinate the mixture for at least 2 weeks. (i had to skimp the Rommels due to time i'm afraid, theirs only got marinated for about a week, sorry!) When you are ready to bottle simply stuff the fresh herbs and peppercorns/garlic into some pretty bottles: feel free to recycle old oil bottles for this. Using a strainer and funnel one over the other carefully pour the oil into your bottles. The strainer will catch the gook and the funnel will direct the oil into the bottle instead of all over your counter. Be sure to leave some room on the top.
Try and store the oil in a dark, coolish place. The fresh herbs contribute to ease of going rancid so you want to use this oil within 6 months and keep it from getting too warm and friendly to bacteria.

Herbed Vinegar with Citrus

• White Wine Vinegar
• Fresh Meyer Lemon Zest for marinating and garnish
• Garlic - diced + whole for garnish
• Fresh Dill - diced + whole sprig for garnish
  
• Fresh Parsley - diced + whole for garnish
• Garlic Chives - diced
• Lemon Thyme - diced
• Peppercorns and Dried Hot Pepper for garnish
• (wanted to include fresh lemongrass, but it died in the first frost)
  

Pour vinegar into a non reactive pot and heat to just boiling. Meanwhile dice all the herbs and mash in a mortar and pestle. Place herbs in a mixing bowl and pour hot vinegar over them when it is ready. Cover and let cool. Once cooled off a bit pour the vinegar mixture into well sealable jars and store in a dark place, shaking daily, for at least 2 weeks.  When you're ready repeat the same process as with the oils and pour through a sieve and funnel into pretty bottles - i reused the original vinegar bottles.

Presentation:

Is totally up to you, of course. But i wanted these to look pretty and special and "me." I scraped off the original labels with a flat exacto blade, any sticky residue can be removed with WD40. If i had had labels, i may have stuck something to the side of the bottles, but since i didn't i used black hemp twine and recycled Artagain Paper (the same that i use with my illustrations). I hand wrote (redoing several times as my handwriting is NOT good) the ingredients and suggested uses and storage instructions on the paper and strung it to the bottles with the twine. I think the black hemp looks nice on the naked bottles filled with pretty and scrumptios stuff.