Kniting Pattern: Gap-tastic Cowl

Hello everybody!  I must apologize on the delay on posts lately. I've been busy knitting and getting over a cold. But now I'm healthy again and to celebrate I thought I'd post up another knitting project.

This is a fun and simple pattern to knit. I knitted this cowl for my boyfriends mom for Christmas this past year. This pattern is written by http://www.heyjenrenee.com/. And is available on ravelry as a free pdf download here!

All you need is:
2 balls of heavy weight yarn (approx 153 yds each)
US 13 24 inch circular needle

All you need to know:
Long tail cast on
Join in circle
Knit & Purl (throwing) or Knit & Purl (continental)
How to add another ball of yarn
Bind off
How to weave in the ends

DIY: Dyeing Wool with Tea, Coffee, and Turmeric

 

I recently came into possession of a white ball of wool yarn, and I thought to myself, "Huh, how boring!" So I decided I would try my own attempt at dying yarn. I've never dyed yarn before so I started to do a lot of internet research, and what I found included a lot of crazy toxic dyes, all of which weren't readily available to me. But then I stumbled across this site: http://www.pioneerthinking.com/naturaldyes.html. It lists a bunch of natural ingredients and what colors they make. For the first time I was starting to think that this will be doable. And you know what, it totally was doable! In fact I entered this idea into a contest on instructables. Click here to Vote on it and help me become a finalist!

Yup, I'm totally being "that" person right now.

What you'll need:
Water
Vinegar
Coffee
Tea
Turmeric
Some bowls
A ball of white wool yarn

Knitting Pattern: Transverse Cowl

Guess what everybody... I wrote another knitting pattern!!! This one is also for a cowl, but it has a really nice diagonal pattern to it. It's a simple pattern that again is just interesting enough to make sure you don't get bored. The diagonal pattern is created by doing an oblique rib stitch.

What you'll need:
Size 10 - 29" inch long circular needle
Stitch Marker
3 Balls of Bernat Alpaca Natural Blends yarn. (or roughly 260 - 360 yards of some bulky 12ply yarn) Mine is the color called Fern.

What you need to know: (click on the links if you need a video to show you how)
Long tail cast on
Join in circle
Knit
Purl (continental) Purl (throwing)
How to add another ball of yarn
Bind off
How to weave in the ends
You don't have to know this, because the pattern walks you through how to do this, but if it helps, this is a link to the stitch we are doing.

Recipe: Instant Hot Cocoa Mix

A few days ago I posted up a recipe for instant vanilla chai tea mix. On the website that I found that recipe on was also a recipe for instant hot cocoa mix! It sounded so yumy that I decided to gift that to people as well. I originally found the recipe over on momadvice.com. It sounded yummy and I decided to make it for everyone! The only problem I had with her recipe is it didn't really say how much it makes.

So this recipe makes 4 quart sized jars.

Ingredients:
8 cups nonfat dry milk powder
3 cups sugar
2 cup non-dairy coffee creamer
1 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 (4 ounce) packages instant chocolate fudge pudding

Knitting Pattern: Chunky Ribbed Hat

This yet again another present I had made for somebody for Christmas (see, I told you I was busy!). This was a really easy knit and also really fast. And again, I'm including videos for the different stitches you need to know (I might as well make this as easy for you as I can). I originally found the pattern on Ravelry by Groovy Mom. If you click on the link it will take you to the original pattern. I pretty much followed the pattern exactly, except instead of knit I did a twisted knit. The reason I did this is because of the type of yarn I used. I use a brand called Homespun and it tends to be really fluffy. The twisted knit tends to give the hat more structure which was needed with this type of yarn. I also decreased differently so the decrease wasn't so extreme.

So to get started you are going to need:
16 inch circular needle size 10
Size 10 DPNS (for the end of the hat)
A Ball of Bulky/12ply yarn (I used Homespun)
A stitch marker

What you need to know: (click on the stich you need to know to be taken to the video)
Long tail cast on
Join in circle 
Twisted Knit Stitch
Purl (continental) Purl (throwing)
K2TOG (Knit 2 Together)
P2TOG (Purl 2 Together)
Bind off
How to weave in the ends

Recipe: Instant Vanilla Chai Tea Mix

This is something that is great to have on hand for those cold winter nights, but it also makes a great gift! In fact, this is one of the many gifts I mad this year. I originally found the recipe over on momadvice.com. It sounded yummy and I decided to make it for everyone! The only problem I had with her recipe is it didn't really say how much it makes.

So this recipe makes 4 quart sized jars.

Ingredients:

2 cups nonfat dry milk powder

2 cups powdered non-dairy creamer

2 cups French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer

5 cups white sugar

3 cups unsweetened instant tea

4 tsp ground ginger

4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tsp nutmeg

2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp white pepper

DIY: Fire Starters

This is a simple and cheap gift idea for anyone with a fire place or outdoor fire pit. I made a bunch of these for the people I know with fireplaces. I was nervous since I don't have a fireplace to test them out, I didn't know if they would work until Christmas Eve! And yes, they do work! They are very easy to make and also very quick to make a bunch of them.

All you need is:
News paper
Lint from your dryer
Hemp
Pine cones

Optional:
Dried herbs (I used dried orange peel & whole cloves)

Knitting Pattern: Basketweave Cowl

This is the first knitting pattern I have created! And it's an easy one. Even if you are just learning to knit you can knit this. Why? Because it's fast so you don't get bored. It uses big needles which makes it easy to learn to knit. Kind of how when you were learning to write you used a big pencil. It uses 2 balls of thick yarn. And it teaches you the 2 basic stitches and how to knit in the round. The other bonus? I'm including videos of how to do each stitch in case you need it. These aren't my videos, but they are good videos!

What You'll Need:
Size 13 circular needles in a length of 29"
2 balls (or 218 yds) of a bulky 12 ply yarn. I used Loops & Thread Charisma in a charcoal. You can even use an extra bulky yarn if you want it to be really thick.
A stitch marker

What you need to know: (click on the links if you need a video to show you how)
Long tail cast on
Join in circle
Knit
Purl (continental) Purl (throwing)
How to add another ball of yarn
Bind off
How to weave in the ends

Recipe: Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

So this is the time of year for baking, and you know what my favorite thing to bake is? Chocolate Chip Cookies. However, lately I noticed that my chocolate chip cookies were missing something. You know what they were missing? BACON. You just have to trust me on this one and dive in and try them.These cookies are really soft, and to tell you the truth, if you are scared of the bacon you can leave it out, although I wouldn't recommend it!

Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies

Ingredients: 

4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 cups butter, softened

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar (for the cookies)
2 cups brown sugar (for the bacon)

1/2 cup white sugar

2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla

pudding mix

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 packages worth of caramelized bacon (see directions below) (also, when I made these with the bacon I only used one package of bacon, still good, but it totally needed more bacon. Two packages worth should be perfect!)

Recipe: Zuppa Toscana Soup

Do you like the Olive gardens never ending soup, salad, and bread stick days? I do! And you know what soup I always order? The Zuppa Toscana Soup. and you know what else? I know how to make a version of it that is just as good as what you get at Olive Garden. So I'm going to share it with you!

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches Kale, Picked Over, Cleaned, And Torn Into Bite Sized Pieces
• 12 whole Red Potatoes, Sliced Thin
• 1 whole Onion, Chopped
• 1-1/2 pound Italian Sausage
• 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes (more To Taste)
• 2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 2 cups Whole Milk
• 4 cups Half-and-half
• Splash Of Heavy Cream
• Fresh Or Dried Oregano 
• Black Pepper To Taste

Recipe: Spanakopita Bites

Tis the season for good food, family, and friends. And to start that out this Thanksgiving I'm going to be sharing some of the recipes of what's going on at my house. Now, while you have your turkeys or ham (or cornish hens in my case) cooking in the oven, your guests are going to need something to munch on in the mean time. So this is what I made to day to keep the rumbling bellies at bay. Spanakopita bites!

I originally found the recipe at What's Cooking Chicago. It said to use mini cupcake pans, but I used a regular cupcake pan and they were still awesome!

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
10 ounces frozen chopped spinach. thawed and squeezed dry (I used a bag of fresh spinach chopped and it still turned out good)
4 to 6 ounces domestic feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pound phyllo, thawed
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick), melted
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Recipe: Cheeseburger Soup

I found this super yummy recipe while looking around at stuff on Pinterest (love that site!). I made a few modifications to the recipe since the one complaint that most people had about this recipe was the lack of flavor. You can view the original recipe here on Taste of Home. Now my version, let's be honest here... WAS AMAZING! It definitely wasn't lacking flavor! So here is my version of the recipe!

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground sirloin (you can use ground beef too, but the better the meat, the better the flavor)

1 small or medium chopped white onion 

3/4 cup shredded carrots

3 stalks celery chopped

1 1/2 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp dried parsley

1 large clove of garlic diced

4 tbls butter (divided)

4 cups chicken broth or stock

1 3/4 lbs diced or sliced baby red potatoes (you can peel them if you like, but I left the skins on)

1/4 cup flour or arrowroot powder or cornstarch (this is the thickening agent so use whatever you or have on hand, I used arrowroot powder)

3 cups shredded cheese (you can again use whatever you want. I went with a sharp cheddar, but really any type of strong flavored melty cheese would be good in this)

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 cup sour cream

Salt & Pepper (however much you want)

Knitting Pattern: Twisted Rib Watch Cap

This is a super simple knitting pattern that you can use to get used to knitting in the round. It does get a bit mindless to knit since you're doing the same stitches over and over and over... and over. However, the results are fantastic! After I made this hat, I can't even begin to tell you how many people asked where i bought it. And then had to explain to them that I actually made it. 

Now this pattern was written by Terri Lee Royea and you can check out her blog here!

Ok ok... now onto the pattern!

Knitting Pattern: Chunky Slouchy Cap

Now that I gave this hat to it's intended owner, I can post it up on here and share the pattern to a super quick knit for a nice fall/winter hat. This pattern was designed by Melissa "Missa" Hills of kpixie.com. It is a free pattern so again, I can share it with you!

Knitting Pattern: Slouchy Mama Hat

As of recently, I've been knitting up a storm! I thought it'd be nice to share a few projects I'm working on every now and then. So I give you the pattern (from Brookiellen Designs) for my new favorite hat.

I know the picture is a tad blurry, but I hope to get a better one soon when I can convince my other half to pick up the camera. :) This was a really quick knit and I used Wool Ease Thick & Quick in Sequoia.