The Earth Beneath Our Feet.

truebluemeandyou: DIY Finger Knitting a Chunky Tee Shirt Yarn...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 21:57:33 -0400

DIY Finger Knitting a Chunky Tee Shirt Yarn Necklace Tutorial from Thanks, I Made It here. Erin has a really good tutorial on finger knitting and I’ve posted other DIYs and tutorials here: truebluemeandyou.tumblr.com/tagged/finger-knitting

One of the most fashionable knitted necklaces I have seen. I like that this pattern doesn’t try to be delicate. Need to try with my next worn out shirt.

Up until a couple of weeks ago I found it impossible to keep my...

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:50:43 -0500

Up until a couple of weeks ago I found it impossible to keep my apartment clean. With such a small space (550 sqft) you would think it would be easy. Between work, social events, church and trying to find a moment to stay sane our apartment was always a wreak.

Part of my New Years Resolutions was to keep our apartment cleaner, for my sanity. Just as I was getting overwhelmed when I found this article on ApartmentTherapy.com (click on image for article).

“How to Clean Your House in 20 Minutes in 30 Days” explains how to clean your place in as little as 20 minutes a day. It seems so obvious. Below is my list, a little different from the list in the article… because I don’t have stairs or any “extra rooms”. I reworked the list for my apartment I moved all the floor cleaning to one day because it doesn’t even take me 20 minutes to sweep, mop, and vacuum. I dust the whole apartment in one day rather than dusting each room as I’m surface cleaning. I hope this helps you with your cleaning! It certainly has helped me.

1. Surface clean living room and kitchen
2. Clean bathroom (sink, toilet, tub)
3. Surface clean bedroom (including bookshelves)
4. Dust all surfaces and clean mirror
5. Surface clean living room and kitchen
6. Clean bathroom
7. Clean all interior windows
8. Sweep, mop, & vacuum all floors
9. Surface clean bedroom
10. Deep clean living room (inside desk, corners, wash blankets)
11. Clean bathroom
12. Clean out closets (clothes, “dump” box)
13. Clean out purses and tidy balcony
14. Deep clean bedroom (organize drawers, dust fan, clear front of bookcases and top/inside of dresser)
15. Surface clean living room and kitchen
16. Deep clean bathroom (organize cabinets, clean trash can, wipe surfaces, change out towels)
17. Clean all door knobs, remotes, high traffic surfaces
18. Clean out the refrigerator, organize pantry
19. Clean out car, Dust
20. Surface clean living room and kitchen
21. Surface clean bathroom
22. Surface clean bedroom
23. Swiffer and vacuum all floors
24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets
25. Surface clean living room and kitchen
26. Deep clean kitchen (wipe appliances and walls, wash trash cans, wipe down & straighten cabinets)
27. Surface clean bathrooms
28. Surfaces clean bedrooms
29. Clean one item you’ve been meaning to get to
30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house

ediblestreets: How To Compost In Your Apartment Our Illustrated...

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 14:43:25 -0400

ediblestreets:

How To Compost In Your Apartment

Our Illustrated Guide For Beginners

More info here

I came across this website that tells you the real expiration...

Mon, 15 Oct 2012 14:58:20 -0400

I came across this website that tells you the real expiration dates for food. Expiration dates on food bought in the grocery store can be deceiving. Often the dates are set for weeks prior to actual expiration for dry goods to reduce legal risk. And food with a shorter shelf life, like dairy and meat, are labeled for the grocery stores, not for the consumer. So, milk with an expiration date of 10/15 is often good until 10/22, a whole week later.

Still Tasty also describes what signs to look for for true expiration.

Much of the food waste in homes is due to food expiring before it is consumed. Knowing when food is actually expired can help your home reduce it’s food waste.

DPN query

Fri, 21 Sep 2012 14:57:21 -0400

I love Double Pointed Needles. For some reason I feel like it is less monotonous to knit a gazillion rows of stockinette on dpn than circular.

Recently I purchased some 4” dpn for a baby leg warmer project (they are SUPER cute). I almost through them out the window when I first got them because the point of the next needle was always rubbing against my palm. It took some working to figure out how to hold them properly so that I wasn’t rubbing my skin raw.

If you are working on projects that have a really small circumference you might find that 7 or 8 inch needles are too long. I get really annoyed when the other 2 or 3 needles that I’m not working on are flopping around senselessly. I arrange them so that they kind of all stay on the same plane as I’m working.

If you are working on larger projects 5” dpn would be really frustrating. I have dropped so many stitches on these 4” dpn because the project has just a few too many stitches on one needle. I like to have at least one inch on each side of the stitches when they knitting is relaxed.

Personally, I think that any circular needle less than 16” is silly. It’s really hard to work with needles shorter than 4” and anything smaller than a 16” circular means that you likely more than half of your circumference is straight.

gaskellreader:

I use 5” DPNs, could that be why I hate using them?

Eat Sleep Knit - Awesome Yarn Shop

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:00:34 -0400

Eat Sleep Knit - Awesome Yarn Shop:

So a friend took me to the Eat, Sleep, Knit yarn shop this weekend. I am totally in love. Most of their business is online, they have a great online shop and cheap shipping. Reasons to love:

1) Yarn
They have beautiful hand-painted yarn. The variety is fantastic. Some of their stock is a little pricy, but I’m also not going there for cheap yarn. Most of their brands are GA local and dyed in small batches.

2) Promotions
This place has the best promotions.

They have an ongoing “Yarnathon” where you win prizes by reaching a number of levels. The levels are determined by the total length of the yarn you have purchased from them. The first level is one mile of yarn, where you get the “Marathon Welcome Package”. Other prizes include gift certificates, gift bags, magazine subscriptions, and free shipping.

With every order you get a “lottery” ticket to Eat.Sleep.Knit. The lottery ticket is a match 3 to win scratch off card with prizes like: one free skein of Malabrigio, $5 off, 50% off, etc.

3) Shipping
Free shipping on purchases over $75 and $3 shipping for everything else. Or if you live close you can order online and pick it up in the store. But with shipping so cheap, you might save on gas by just having it shipped.

I hope you’ll check them out.

Recipe - Skinny Frittata

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 14:58:13 -0400

I made frittatas last week in an attempt to change up our breakfast menu. The turned out really good. Super tasty. I made a little one because there are only two of us, but this would be easy to scale up.

Ingredients:

2 Large Eggs
2 Egg Whites
1 oz Feta Cheese (crumbled)
1 cup Spinach
1/2 Small Onion
Salt & Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.
In a 6 inch iron skillet saute onion until soft in a healthy amount of butter (you need the butter so the frittata will slid out of the skillet). After onions are soft and spinach to skillet and cook until fully wilted.
Meanwhile, beat eggs and egg whites, adding salt and pepper. Pour into skillet with onion and spinach after spinach has cooked down.
Add feta on top. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes or until frittata separates from edges of skillet.

This is my next knitting project. I am so excited. I’ve...

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 14:59:33 -0400

This is my next knitting project. I am so excited. I’ve wanted to do a cardigan for myself since I made one for my mom for Christmas last year.

This pattern calls for a yak-bamboo blend, which while I’m sure is beautiful, is crazy expensive for how much you need. I will be using OnLine Linie 5 Corafino in pearl, a kind of off white tan color.

Need a house

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:56:09 -0400

I feel your pain. Fortunately there are lots of plants that love containers. You’d be surprised what you can grow on a balcony, even a shady one. Below is a short list of stuff for shady balconies. I prefer edibles, it makes me feel more productive, but I will be adding some blooms/ornamentals this year.

Herbs:
Chives
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Mint
Bee Balm
Aloe (and most other succulents)

Edibles:
Leaf Lettuce (like rommaine and bibb)
Greens (like spinach, kale, and swiss charr)
Carrot (some varieties)
Strawberries
Broccoli
Beans
Beets
Garlic
Peas
Radishes
Brussel Sprouts

Good luck!!

gardenianursery:

It’s really hard to start a garden

Drying Herbs

Sun, 02 Sep 2012 14:56:34 -0400

Drying Herbs:

This is the first year I will be packing away goodies for the whole year. I’m starting with my basil. I had a ton of it last year at the end of the season. The plan had been to make pesto, but the wind picked up that week and broke and blew off most of the plant.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation has this excellent article on drying herbs. I plan on using the oven method and storing in a glass shaker.

Does anyone have a link to a nice, simple tutorial on how to knit a stripped scarf?

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 23:38:18 -0400

knittinghelp.com

This is the best website for getting the basics. It has a lot of good information and videos that are slowed down enough for newbies. The other resource I use is Very Pink on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/verypinkknits. Good luck! Don’t be intimidated. I wouldn’t start right in on a project, I would start with knitting squares.

einsteiger:

I haven’t the vaguest how to knit, so it has to be noob friendly too

My Favorite Print Companies

Sat, 01 Sep 2012 14:55:54 -0400

I love print materials. Below are some of my favorite custom print companies. I hope you will fall in love with them too.

Moo Cards

Originally based in the UK, this unusual print company offers a number of unique approaches to business cards and other materials you need to keep your business running. They have lots of designs you can choose from or, of course, load your own. The best part about this company is what they call “printfinity”. If you have an order of 100 cards you can print 100 different images, graphics, or whatever on one side. So you could have a portfolio in your pocket, or several versions that taylor to different types of contacts.

www.moo.com

My Own Labels

I like to give homemade food as gifts around the holidays. One year I did Chinese take out containers filled with chocolate dipped pretzels, homemade fudge, and other goodies. I’ve also given homemade soda syrup. All of their pre-designed labels are beautiful. They carry everything from bottle labels, beer labels, hanging tags, fiber board coasters, mint tins, and anything else you need to make your homemade gifts look like they came from a boutique.

www.myownlabels.com

Decatur Screenprint

An Atlanta local screen print company (they ship too!). I love how easy their pricing is. You can figure out the total cost without having to wait 3 days for a price quote although they are quick to get back to you if you want a quote. They have unique options not offered by big internet screen printers, like printing on the edge of a sleeve. They also offer a wide variety of organic and eco-friendly shirts and hoodies. They can even print on shirts you bring them if you want.

www.decaturscreenprint.com

josiekressner: SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BLUE. A knitted garter...

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:56:55 -0400

josiekressner:

SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BLUE.

A knitted garter for my friend’s wedding. Finished it up just in time. Compliments to moonrover’s garter for the styling idea with two I-cords.

See Ravelry for more project details. Off to the wedding tomorrow!

glitzknitsboutique: How to: Resin Knitting Needles

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:57:02 -0400

glitzknitsboutique:

How to: Resin Knitting Needles

Exellent Article on Home Brewed Sodas

Tue, 10 Jul 2012 21:16:51 -0400

Exellent Article on Home Brewed Sodas

Knitting or Crocheting?

Tue, 03 Jul 2012 14:50:39 -0400

I have found that this depends on the person. When I was first learning to knit I very quickly picked up on cast-on, tension, how to hold the yarn. While the girl next to me wanted to throw it out the window. One of the teachers changed gears with her and handed her a crochet hook and she took to it so much faster and easier.

In my opinion this natural tendency towards one or another depends on your background. Growing up I made a lot of bead buddies, friendship bracelets, and the like. All things that required the work to be tied down or held on a loom. I have always struggled with things that use what I call “hand looms” (tatting, crochet, etc). Hand looms are where you hold the yarn, thread, string with your hands and use a tool to manipulate the yarn you are holding in a particular position. Knitting is much more like a machine loom to me. The needles hold all the loops and I only have to deal with one at a time.

The construction is also very different. You have to be very aware of the structure of the work with crochet because of where you pull the loops through. Where as with knitting you just need to keep track of how many stitches are on the needle.

If you have no background in creating textiles try both. The tools are cheap and there are tons of youtube videos for both.

missravenclaww:

hi tumblr which is easier: knitting or crocheting? because i want to learn to do one but the easier one so please help me out thank you you’re really lovely

My mom taught me how to hand embroider when I was in the second...

Tue, 19 Jun 2012 14:58:12 -0400

My mom taught me how to hand embroider when I was in the second grade. As much as I like embroidery I haven’t had much application for it as of late. I used to embroider all my back packs in high school with quotes and such.

I just found out that my boss is pregnant and I can’t wait to start on a set of onesies for her. I found this great embroidery sampler at Purl Soho. Every animal is just as cute as this hedge hog. I can’t wait to start on them.

Click the photo for the sampler.

Traveling with Knitting

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:59:32 -0400

Most of the projects that I work on are small to medium projects. Eventually during their creation projects are stuffed into a bag and come with me on the road, to my in-laws, wait with me at the DMV or help me pass time in a coffee shop.

I love the canvas bags that come with TOMS shoes. I like canvas because it doesn’t irritate the yarn, is very flexible, and durable. They are also the right size for throwing in a large tote bag or sitting in your lap while working. Ravelry’s new bag is very similar to this, only it’s a little larger than the TOMS bag.

I’ve never traveled with something that wouldn’t fit into a TOMS bag. If I were to travel with a large project or lots of yarn I would buy a beach bag. Many of them are sturdy and won’t collapse around your yarn or delicate work. Water proof bottom means your work stays protected. I would look for one that has a button or snap closure. Zippers make me nervous. Target has a great canvas tote that comes in lots of colors and is under $20.

countryfirefly:

i need a medium and big tote for a yarn bag for my crochet things. i found some really cute ones on etsy, one in particular… but they’re out of my price range! boo. going to one of the craft stores tomorrow and lookin’ around.

any other suggestions?

needs to be big enough for over four skeins of yarn plus projects.
or one big one for yarn and a medium for two skeins and a project.

(and no, “make one” isn’t an option because i’m not that advanced.)

Joy of Cooking has failed me for the first time ever. Joy is the...

Sun, 10 Jun 2012 15:00:54 -0400

Joy of Cooking has failed me for the first time ever. Joy is the first place I turn to when I want a “scratch” recipe. I don’t always cook from it, but I use it as a barometer that I measure other recipes from.

Joy does not have a single cracker recipe. Not one. Really. I have scoured the internet to find a good mix of cracker recipes. They are all pretty simple and follow the same rhythm. Make dough, roll, cut, bake. I have not tested most of these. I am still in search of the perfect “Cheese-It” cheese cracker recipe. I’ll let you know when I find it.

Olive Oil Cracker - http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/olive-oil-crackers-recipe.html

Ritz Like Butter Cracker - http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2011/03/homemade-ritz-crackers-recipe.html

Water Cracker - http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/RUSTIC-WATER-CRACKERS-1272571

I have been very surprised at everything I’ve been able to...

Sat, 09 Jun 2012 14:56:22 -0400

I have been very surprised at everything I’ve been able to grow on my balcony. I have restricted sunlight, which means I can’t grow quiet as much as I would like. Cilantro hates my apartment. Facing the west means everything I grow is a little smaller than it should be, but ever just as yummy.

I grow a food for many reasons, but mostly I have dreams of providing my family with most of the veggies we eat. While that won’t happen right now. I am going to learn all that I can for the moment.

Michelle Obama shares my dream of a healthy family. I can’t wait to read this book and discover what she has learned in starting the White House garden.

post-carbon:

On the cover of her new book, American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, Michelle Obama is smiling into the camera and holding a huge basket of vegetables, the bounty of a garden planted, she writes, as “a starting point for something bigger.” That something bigger is the first lady’s campaign to get Americans — and especially children — thinking differently about what they eat. And behind the pride in her eyes is something a little trickier, a sly nod to the fact that for the past three years, she’s been getting a lot of kids to eat their vegetables.

Grist