crochet | granny stripe afghan

baby blanket

somehow,
my stash of crochet hooks were left neglected,
for TWO YEARS.
so much time passed
that i started purging
most of my yarn.
then the unexpected announcement
of a late in life bebe
and i took my hooks out of retirement.
a worthwhile reason,
methinks.

i used this pattern,
which i was NOT a fan of.

baby blanket

happy october friends,
what have you been up to?

baby blanket

previous crochet projects:
yarn cupcakes!
easy hat
broomstick lace infinity cowl
viking hat
ombre granny square baby blanket
starburst baby blanket
minecraft creeper hat

diy | flameless fire pit + fake rocks

Flameless Fire Pit

i know,
this is kinda ridiculous.
however, i’m willing to bet
there are plenty of people,
(as it were, my kind of peeps)
who would appreciate this
level of ridiculousness.
it’s been a mild season,
but winter nonetheless,
and i am giving
H Y G G E
the seriousness it deserves.

DIY Flameless Pire Pit

DIY Flameless Fire Pit
adapted from free people

materials:
tree branches, size up to you, but aim for the thicker ones
white or light grey fabric strips
aluminum foil
mod podge glue
paint brush
LED light string (i got mine from IKEA, leftover xmas lights are fine)
rocks, real or homemade. recipe below

wrap branches with aluminum foil, make sure it’s covered

brush glue on a fabric strip and wrap it around the foiled branch. overlap if necessary, but cover the entire branch.

do this for all the branches and set on WHITE/LIGHT colored paper and allow to dry (you risk the paper sticking to the glue/fabric, and having newspaper ink stuck will mar the effect.)

when completely dry, anywhere from overnight to a couple nights (i lost steam with the project after the first sitting… it took me almost a week to get back to it… don’t judge me), using an xacto knife or box cutter, carefully cut down the seam of the branch, end to end. it’s ok if you cut through the foil, the goal is to peel the whole thing off the branch. carefully take the cast off the branch, peel the aluminum out. reshape if necessary. do this for all the branches.

chuck branches and foil.

arrange stones/rocks in a circle, within reach of an outlet. pile the stringed lights in the middle. then like you’re building a fire, arranged the branches in a cone-shape over the lights.

turn lights on and squeal in ridiculous child-like abandon.

Flameless Fire Pit

DIY homemade ROCKS
adapted from handmade mamas
makes 8 palm-sized rocks

26 oz coffee grounds (still wet from the day’s brew)
1 cup corn flour (or cornmeal)
1/2 cup soy flour
1/2 cup salt
1 scant cup whatever flour (i used whole wheat, cus my precious spelt is pricey)
water

preheat oven to 250F. line cookie sheet with parchment paper. if you planned ahead, use an old/used one cus RECYCLE.

in a bowl mix dry ingredients together. the coffee grounds will be wet. as you’re mixing you can determine just how much water to add.

slowly add the water, 1/4 cup at a time. you’re aiming to bring the mixture to play-dough consistency. if you don’t know what that is, i feel sorry for you, aim for pasta-dough consistency. you want the stuff to stick together.

shape into rocks. they don’t have to be perfect, irregular shaped and dents and cracks are nice.

place on prepared cookie sheet.

bake for 20 minutes.

turn off oven, flip over the rocks and leave in oven while it cools.

BAM!

DIY Flameless Pire Pit

3 years ago: kale + tofu balls with pasta
2 years ago: frozen old fashioned waffles
1 year ago: feijoada – brazilian bean stew

gingerbread house

gingerbread house

you must know about
The Tiny House phenomena?
i talk often about one day
living in a hobbit house,
ideally with a vegetable garden right outside
and maybe mountains out back
until that can happen
i made a tiny house out of gingerbread
and gum.
because movita beaucoup is hosting
ginger 2015
and i wanted to drive my husband
and sister-wife-roomate crazy with my searches
for various gums.
afterall,
a Tiny House built together ….

gingerbread house

for this year’s contestants, hit up movita beaucoup.
voting is now open and if you are impressed
that my Tiny House,
the abode of my dreams,
is on the cover of
Gingerbread Architect,
please do vote for me.
we’re in Group 6

Gingerbread House

crochet | yarn cupcakes!

Crochet | Cupcakes
Crochet | Cupcakes
Crochet | Cupcakes

because a new addition to a family
(hello claire, i look forward to meeting you!)
and a toy kitchen
(hello emma, let’s have tea soon!)
warrants some yarn love

using scraps of yarn and in total (if i concentrated hard enough) about an hour per cupcake, i used this pattern.
each cupcake was a different size, using the F, G, H & I hooks.
some leftover buttons, because this project didn’t use them up, i sewed on sprinkles.
tip: sew them on after the frosting is crocheted, but before assembling the cupcake.
also crocheted, but not pictured, this baby blanket, which is my fave pattern due to its ease and simplicity.
happy june friends, thanks so much for reading!

1 year ago: strawberries + cream pavlova
2 years ago: lamb larb

other diy toys:
toy kitchen
diy sperm cornhole
crocheted own rattle

crochet | mama’s easy hat GIVEAWAY

easy peasy beanie hat

unless you live outside the US,
or don’t care,
we’ve been in the midst of
a hard winter:
record low temps
fluctuating day temps
fallout from the sky that won’t quit.
so for two weekends in a row
dw+i stayed in:
we park gandalf friday night
and don’t start him up again till monday morn.
there may have been some half-hearted cleaning
serious Blue Blood viewing
(because TOM SELLECK)
i even slept in till 9am once, or twice.
i managed to finish a book
then this hat happened.

easy peasy beanie hat

i’m not a hat person,
it’s the round face,
flat & short hair thing.
but i had a skein
of a single color
purchased out of the country
so something had to be done with it.
as it were
i had to add a white border
as i ran out of the purple.
it’s a chunky hat,
i can’t say if it’s warming
and when dw saw me wearing it
he got all bob marley-ish.
because i’m not gonna wear this
and it’ll be spring in a month anyway
i’m giving this away.
to anyone, in the US,
or otherwise.

someone will randomly be picked
from here, or,
from ig, or,
from fb
ends COB monday.
just answer this:

what book are you currently reading??

easy peasy beanie hat

this is the pattern.

other yarn creations:
crocheted broomstick lace infinity cowl – original crochet pattern
crocheted mine craft beanies – link to pattern
crocheted ombre granny square baby blanket – no pattern, but link to inspiration
crocheted owl rattle
– link to pattern
crocheted viking hat – link to pattern
knitted wedding shawl – link to pattern