DIY is Back!

It has been so long since I did any note-worthy DIY. But it is back!

Yesterday, mt friend Sarah and I went to an Urban Homesteader gathering to make your own soap. We used a hot process method and cam up with these beauties.

The spheres are soap balls made of homemade soap shavings. One is plain. One is oatmeal and lavender-tea tree oil. The third is like the second but with lavender buds and hibiscus flowers. They smell amazing! The odd shaped ones are plain molded soap. The molds were old pudding containers. We used canola, olive, and coconut oils and vegetable shortening. They're still drying/hardening so i haven't bathed with them yet. I'm eagerly anticipating it.

As if making soap all morning wasn't enough ... one of the urban homesteaders told us about an organic U-pick blueberry farm in town. Well we hauled out basket and butts over there and spent the afternoon picking berries. We wound up with 5.5 lbs. These are just some of them.

These have been absolutely wonderful, I haven't been able to stop stuffing myself with them. I see many blueberry baked goods in my future.

My Boyfriend's Buns

Guess what he did...

He baked buns! He did some DIY! I'm incredibly proud of him. The whole reason behind this adventure was to get away from the highly processed bagels he normally eats in the morning. So he decided he'd rather eat these buns. Since I'm too busy becoming a cardiologist (sort of) he took the initiative to do it himself. Need I say how deliscious they are?
Last weekend in an effort to do something social we walked the March of Dimes, here's our checkpoint page.

Everything is checked off except the last box. At the finish line everyone received a meal ticket for free food.
On the home front I did manage to slowly finish a knitting project.

This hat was made out of leftover acrylic yarn bits. It is lined with an up-cycled t-shirt. Besides wanting to get rid of some leftover stashed bits, I wanted to make a hat for my friend Mark. He's been feeling under the weather lately. He's also a vegan so this worked out well since there is no wool in the hat. Don't you just love when it's  kismet?

Yeah...it's a blanket

Well as usual we've been really busy 'round these parts. My boyfriend and I officially moved in together in the midst of a busier position  for him and my never-ending load of school work. Nevertheless I have completed some projects to show you.

I am most proud of this. It is finally finished and kitty approved.

Similarly, I've completed some socks and a tea cozy.

After Wednesday, I'll finally have more time to blog and show you all some more interesting and DIY stuff.

Busy Busy

We've been moving round these parts. I'm making the big push to move with my boyfriend, in amongst school. Needless to say, the title of this post has been my life. However, in between the busy I've tried to relax with some baking and crafting. In fact one of my long-term projects in almost over.

This is the first blanket I ever made. It began in February of 2009. The best part besides the whole concept of a blanket handmade is that it's machine washable and dryable. This fact is crucial when laundering linens. I've also been working on a toilet roll cover (more on that later), the other glitten, another blanket and (ta-da) a hat for my sweetie.

The pattern is on my Ravelry account but the source is here. The yarn used is GGH Tara; this is a cotton blend yarn that is very soft and stretchy (perfect for his big head). Besides the crafts, I've been baking! Today was a pie day. A chocolate banana pie to be precise. It started with a basic pie crust, prebaked.

Then came the layer of sliced, ripe banana.

Next is the rich, velvety chocolate pudding. 

 The secret is to let the pie chill and relax, so to speak. This allows for the flavors to have sex and make flavor babies. Then the finale! A decadent, sinfully simple slice of pie. Mmmmmmmmm... I added a dab of whipped cream on top, just for the effect. *Sigh* Crafting and pie, what a glorious way to relax within chaos.

Cold Weather Accomplishments

For the past two weeks I finished up some projects and practiced bread making

I knit up the yarn I spun in the last entry. It didn't make very much, therefore I made a small project out of it.

 

It is a relaxation pillow. It is made out of the knitted yarn and an old pillowcase and filled with rice. When you have sore muscles, put it in the microwave and it warms you up. When it's 90 degree weather, place it in the freezer and use it to cool off. I'm very happy with it.

Here are more mended socks and a delicious oatmeal whole wheat bread I made by hand. This time the socks were patched with pieces of an old t-shirt. The material is far more comfortable to walk on instead of the previously knitted patches.

Its been very cold and rainy lately making it very cold to walk or bike, especially on hands. So to remedy this I'm knitting some glittens. These are fingerless gloves with a mitten top. I found a free pattern for these through Ravelry. I used Lionbrand Woolease yarn, it is not only warm and cuddly, it is very durable. Durability means long-term use. Perfect!

Spinning and Folding

It's been so long since I've posted, I feel remorse because it just began. Well, good news exists. I have been spinning some more since the last post. Again, I bought some roving almost a year ago and hadn't touched since. It was like blue-raspberry jello clouds and cotton candy. The colors were my favorite when I was a child and just brought back so much nostalgia when I found it. My plan is to knit it, felt it and stuff it with buckwheat groats to make a muscle pack. You know, those things that you put in the microwave when you're sore. One of those. I want one, I just don't want to pay $16.95 for one when I could make it easily.

Last night we made pot stickers by hand, except for the wrappers. We had a bunch of random stuff on hand so we mixed all together and made dumplings. It consisted of garlic, ginger, a bag of shredded cabbage (intended for coleslaw mix) and some Xiang Chang, a sweet Chinese style sausage. They turned out so tasty. We had some wrappers leftover, I think I'll make some homemade ravioli.

Sick, sick, sick

Last Friday I thought it would be bad ass to flyer around town for my local info shop(Civic Media Center). This took me walking a few miles in 40 degree temperatures. Subsequently, I'm now bundled up with a frog in my throat (turns out it's strep). I thank myself for being too lazy to bike, I might have ended up worse.

Anywho, today I've been resting in hopes of not furthering sickness. While resting my friend Sarah came over to bring me "Get well" bread, which she baked herself. It is a delicious garlic and rosemary whole wheat loaf of healthy-soon-to-get-your-ass-out-of-bed-goodness. While she visited she taught me how to spin yarn using a drop spindle. She has become quite adept at spinning her own yarn. She not only spins it, she knits socks with it. It's one of the coolest things I think you can DIY.

Here's a pics of the roving I bought ages ago, thinking I'd spin one day.

And here is what I've spinned so far, now that I have my technique down.

Sarah said that 4 oz should yield a pair of socks. I can't wait to see how the stripes knit up.