Kool-Aid Dye and Voice Recognition

Trying out a new program I have, an iPhone app called Dragon Dictation and the first two attempts didn't go so well, so we'll make it short and sweet... I give you: Kool-Aid dyeing!


It was a lot more fun and a lot faster than I expected so I'll be scouring my local Safeway for more colors =)


Flavors I used are cherry grape lemon and fruit punch and they still have a light sent, a little bit of a nostalgic feel, like candy.

we'll see how well the color holds up.



the red doesn't show very well in the pictures but it's a very pretty darker and lighter variegated skein.






Clearly this app doesn't like punctuation I don't think it will work very well with various knitting and crochet terms but so far so good!

Maybe this will even encourage me to post more often, ha ha...

Reverse Engineer Crochet

It's black thread and low lighting but Spook is modeling the start of a doily which I'm making from a motif on a sweater I found at the thrift store.


So far so good, and I think it'll make a nice coaster with the cotton thread.


Spook snuggled on the "pattern," maybe in hopes that I would pet her instead.


The final product. It took just over an hour (including petting breaks.)

-- Posted From My iPhone

S&B This Week

Here's a little snapshot of our weekly crafty gathering. I still call it a stitch&bitch even though not all of us are stitching :)





C is making the lovely earrings and bracelet, R is knitting natural alpaca baby booties and cap, and I'm making something with blue yarn. I can't show it off yet ;)

We're having a blast and I just wanted to show off our work. I have such talented friends =)


-- Posted From My iPhone

English Muffins, Take 2

I made the sourdough English muffins again this morning. I doubled the recipe and it made 25. They look prettier than last time, I think, and also got the thumbs up from my husband.

They froze well last time, so I'll repeat that as well. This is definitely going to become a staple around here.



So far its been a great weekend. Even though we've lived here for a year and a half, I'm just now heading out to explore the local farmer's market for the very first time.

And tomorrow I'm putting together a small workshop for beginning sewers on making market bags from old (or new) sheets. Very much looking forward to it =)

-- Posted From My iPhone

Birthday Presents of Fluff and Sugar

For my friend R's birthday last week, I made her a fluffy scarf from a Patons yarn called "Divine" in Denim Storm. I think it turned out well... I used a shell stitch, and a large hook. I finished it up at our weekly S&B at the coffee shop. Now I'm in a scarf-making mood, and ready for some cold weather!

My friend C's birthday party was last night, and I decided to make her something sweet: mint brownies!

Mmmm, swirly frosting...
Several people asked for the recipe, so without further ado, here it is:

Famous Mint Brownies

They were very easy to make. I kept them in the freezer a little too long, because I didn't pay attention to the time. So I had to thaw them before I could slice through. I started using my ceramic knife, but was concerned that I might break it. So I switched to a metal knife, soaked in warm water in between each slice. That was the way to go.

Definitely not low calorie.. make sure you have enough butter on hand! I doubled it and made two glass pans =D

I also made another batch of the mini apple pies that I did for 4th of July. I was really hoping to post the recipe here, but it's not ready yet... I made so many modifications to it yesterday that I don't know how I'd write it out. But, after another test batch or two I hope to have an actual recipe to give.

Tiny Pies on Fourth of July

On the 4th of July (I know, really behind on posting this!) we went to a friend's BBQ and I wanted to bring something festive.

Something apple pie... I thought about an apple cookie with frosting, but then my husband came up with this idea. He said: "Why not make them like those little quiches?"

So I did!

I used a standard apple pie recipe with a couple tweaks, including adding applesauce, and put the whole thing in a sauce pan to simmer for an hour or so. The little tiny crusts don't take as long to bake, and I wanted to make sure we got the true apple pie consistency.

I cut out little tiny stars and put them on top. Aren't they adorable?

I started out using the mini tins, just the size of those little quiches. But as I was running out of time, I started using standard tins, so they'd be wider and flatter. Those are in the foreground below, and I think they turned out better in the end.

Definitely want to try this again. Maybe pumpkin next time...

At the BBQ I had brought some yarn to crochet by the fireside. As I was standing around talking, I realized it was getting chilly, being by the coast, and that my beer was uncomfortable to hold. Somebody joked that I should crochet myself a beer cozy.

Not to back down on a challenge, I made this in just a few minutes, standing and chatting with folks.

Much better =)

And for the kitty cuteness, here's a rare photo of all three cats together. Casper is on my lap (taking up the entire thing,) Spook is chilling out on the arm of the couch (pretending the other two aren't there,) and Marmalade is lounging on her corner perch where she likes to survey the whole room.

Apply Sharpen Filter

On the left is a coffee cozy that I've used for a year or so. I wanted to make sure I still remembered the pattern so I made another this evening.

Between the slightly fuzzy wear on the yarn, the worsted vs. homespun trim, and a different dye lot for the oatmeal, it looks like somebody applied a sharpen filter.

I like it, and I'm glad that I still remember how to make the little hearts <3


For the kitty cuteness, Spook posed for this lovely glamour shot...


Hah, low light and a poor camera, but I still like it :)

-- Posted From My iPhone