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

Recipe: Feel Better Soup

As some of you may have noticed, I haven't been posting too much in the past few days. I am currently battling an epic cold. I've been down for the count for 3 days now, unable to breathe out of my nose. However, today I have some energy & desire to share with you all how I've been managing these past few days. So I'm sharing with you my recipe for a soup that will guarantee to open up those nasal passages!

This recipe makes two servings, so put it in a big tupperware container so you can munch on it as you feel like.

You'll Need:

3 cups of chicken broth

1 jalapeno sliced

handful of bean sprouts

sliced green onions

rice noodles

1 1/2 lb. ground turkey or chicken

soy sauce

onion seasoning or garlic

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

DIY: Shimmering Paper Ball Ornaments

After all my ornament making, my tree was still a bit barren. So I had one more ornament to make to help make it complete! I used the same non breakable ornaments since I have cats who just can't resist a ball on a tree.

What you'll need:

Ornaments

Hemp

Glitter

Mod Podge

Book Paper

DIY: Glitter Ornaments

Since I'm going all Martha Stewart on my Christmas tree I decided that I needed some ornaments to help tie in my tree topper. Now, I have cats, so that means I have to have non breakable ornaments, because you just never know when the tree will be turned into a jungle gym. I don't know if you've ever seen a non breakable ornament, but they are pretty simple and cheap looking. Definitely not the look I'm going for. So needless to say my cheap ornaments needed a face lift.

Here's what you'll need to get started:

Ornaments

Hemp

Glitter

Mod Podge

DIY: Shimmering Paper Star Tree Topper

Since I made everything for my tree, I decided that I needed to make the tree topper as well. This was fairly simple to make once I got the technique down and learned how to hold my hot glue gun without gluing me.

This is a very time consuming project so patience is mandatory! Find your zen! Also, you will have glitter EVERYWHERE. There is just no getting around that. 

What you'll need:
Mod Podge
Glitter
Hot Glue Gun
3D Cardboard/Paper Star
A Knife
Book Pages

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

DIY: Wood Beaded Ornaments

Ok, so here is a super simple and easy way to make some natural and rustic looking ornaments. If you made my wine cork garland, this is meant to match that as well. Are you ready for this? If you blink you might miss this tutorial because it's just that simple!

What you'll need:
Wooden beads
Twine
Scissors

DIY: Wine Cork Christmas Tree Garland

I don't know how many of you are wine drinkers, but in this house we drink plenty of it. I always save the corks so I can do something nifty with them. Well, today I filled up my jar of corks and decided it was time to empty it to make room for more. I just couldn't figure out what to do with them until I looked at my naked Christmas tree. So here is my simple tutorial on how to make my wine cork garland.

Here's what you'll need:
Hemp or twine (and a kitty to chew on it while you try to take a picture of your supplies, thanks Luna)
Some beads, or trinkets, or charms
Eye screws (enough to screw one on each end of the cork)
Scissors
Hot glue gun or the ability to tie knots
Wine corks (as many as you want. I used 16 wine corks, but if I had more I would of strung them closer together)

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

DIY: Recycled T-Shirt Scarf

This is a super simple way to use up some old t-shirts that you have lying around. It really only takes about 10 minutes to turn an old t-shirt into a super cute scarf! So here is the step by step!

 

What you need is an old t-shirt (with no seams down the side), a good pair of scissors, and a big tapestry needle.

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!

Recipe: Winter Root Vegetable Soup

The other day my friend gave me a whole bunch of root vegetables. I love vegetables! And I knew right away that I wanted to make a soup out of them. Now, most recipes that involve root vegetables in a soup involve making a puree out of them (yuk!). I decided that wouldn't happen to them wonderful veggie. So I made up my own soup recipe. It turned out pretty good too!

Ingredients: 

4 cloves of garlic minced

2 shallots chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 carrots chopped

4 small turnips chopped

3 beets cubed

1 onion chopped

1 sweet potato cubed

1 regular potato cubed

5 cups broth (I used a veggie broth made out of Better than Bouillon)

1 cup water

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp oregano