Reusable Produce Bag

I got a great response off my wedding dress series. Thank you.

Of course, there is really no way I can follow such a great project with a better one so I won't even try.

Tomorrow is Earth Day. Traditionally I make a lifestyle change on Earth Day. Sometimes it's small (no more bottled water), sometimes it's big (no more meat). This year I am going to explore ways to seriously cut back on my plastic consumption. Starting with produce bags.

I'm pretty good at remembering my reusable grocery bags. But since becoming vegetarian, my use of produce bags is higher. So I am trying to develop a reusable produce bag. It needs to be lightweight, quick-dry and easy to clean. I'd also like it to be somewhat translucent, closeable, and it would be nice to have different sizes (small for garlic, large for greens, etc.).

What I Made:



Prototype 1. I found some mesh in the Home Decor section of the fabric store. It reminds me of the mesh in men's swimwear so I really can't imagine why it's in Home Decor. I made a long rectangle and sewed the edges together (so there wouldn't be a seam at the bottom--a seam will and should be the weakest part of a garment). The fabric doesn't seem to ravel so serging the edges was overkill and adds to the weight of the finished bag. I ran a couple lengths of ribbon around the top and voila:



It's lightweight, and durable (so far). If I were being a perfectionist I would have used a white ribbon but it's a produce bag people not a wedding dress. This is the perfect size for apples, oranges, and other round fruits and it holds a lot (my kiddos will eat all these in about 2 days). It's a little too narrow for greens and the grocery clerk had to open the bag to identify the contents. On the plus side, she gave me a reusable bag credit for it.

So my questions: How much would you pay for something like this? Is it worth trying to sell?

I Made My Wedding Dress--Finale

Having made the bodice and petticoat of my wedding dress I realized I had a small problem. In finding the prettiest fabric ever, I had severely limited my choices for the skirt. Nothing seemed to work. Ivory/cream was all wrong and brown was too dark--I was already causing a bit of concern with not wearing a white dress. So I was trying to come across a miracle and match the beige-y taupe-y color (Behr Paint number 330F-4 Pebble Path) of the brocade.

I had designed the skirt so I knew I needed exactly five yards of fabric. I found a silk dupioni that would do. It wasn't quite right though. It had the same glow and almost the same shade as the silk but...it wasn't perfect. I purchased it anyway just in case. As the wedding approached, I gave up--there were plenty of other wedding details I needed to work out.

One day, I had a day off and decided to explore a fabric warehouse far to the north of me. I went on this little fieldtrip with no swatches, no plans and no idea what I'd find--my wedding dress was the last thing on my mind at this point. I meadered through a building the size of Costco and while poking through some Calvin Klein end-of-bolt stuff out of the corner of my eye I spotted a satin in a stunning topaz color (topaz is my birthstone).

It doesn't look like five yards. There might be enough. You forget your swatches idiot. I think it might match. Are you willing to spend $50.00 to find out? Shush! It's my wedding dress.

I took it up to the cutting counter where they measured exactly five yards. When I got to the register, my tab was $17.00. I promised them there was a mistake but no; I took the end of the bolt, which discounted it further.



I'm thinking I must have done something really good to have such great karma that day.



I wasn't a very experienced seamstress when I made this dress, just a little too stupid and a lot too fearless. My sewing skills have improved vastly since then but they are by no means professional. I'm sloppy and I leave loose ends all over and avoid hand sewing the same way my cat avoids the vacuum. But I love it.



And I get to say "I made my wedding dress."

I Made My Wedding Dress--Part III

Part I, Part II, Finale

Having made the top half of my wedding dress, I now needed to find the perfect fabric for the skirt. It's possible I loved my silk brocade so much, I never considered how hard it would be to find a good coordinate.

I decided to make the petticoat while waiting for the skirt fabric to find me.



I went through numerous fabric stores and listened. I wanted to rustle. I found the rustly-est combination of tulle and taffeta and got very familiar with making, pulling, and sewing gathers (to this day I wish that I had sprung for a gathering foot).

I didn't use a pattern so I guess you could say I designed it, but I never really thought of it that way.



So many ruffles and I edged every one of them with sequins. Sixty yards of sequins. You read that right--180 feet of sparkly, ruffly, rustling.

There's a rumor that I was dancing around the house in my petticoat recently. I have no idea why someone would spread such lies about me.



Psst...it still rustles.

Pull Out Your Scrap Paper And Scissors

Hey folks! I found a cool little contest that some of you might want to enter. If I had found out about it sooner I might have given it a try. I still might.

Go here to SG2 Paper Crafting Challnge and give it a shot. What can it hurt right?

It looks like a blog after my own heart. They have regular contests that encourage the world to be creative. Love it!

What I Made:

This is not my entry--it has nothing to do with contrary gardeners.

This lion is made completely out of paper (and if I ever become profitable, I am getting a decent camera). My oldest son had a jungle room in our last house (I'll find pics of that eventually) and I whipped this guy up as a wall hanging. He now hangs by my kitchen.

This was one of those car-worthy items during the move as I didn't trust anyone else to treat it right.

In spite of all that, he doesn't have a name.

Why Mountain Mama?

I always thought it might be fun to do a Q & A someday on my blog, but you will have to wait until I get more traffic. Most of you who read this blog know me a little too well and might get a little ornery with your questions.

But I will answer one: Why are you Mountain Mama?

The short answer is...well, there really is no short answer, however:

• The only time I have lived away from the mountains I didn't like it (and the Businessman hated it). I suspect I will always live near mountains.


• I have two children, therefore I will always be a mama.


• I like alliteration.

I have never been to West Virginia, but I do like some of John Denver's music. Last week on The Office Dwight and Andy were playing Country Roads and they kept stopping the song right before "Mountain Mama." I took it as the deepest of insults and refuse to watch the show ever again.

Who am I kidding? It's the closest thing the Businessman and I have to a date. Besides, they eventually finished that line in the song.

What I Made:

I whipped up this little hat (Lidsville by Kellen Wallis) last year right before the St Patrick's Day Parade. I thought it had an Irish feel about it and it made Vish's curls and ears look a little leprechaunish. I think I used Knit Picks Wool of the Andes but I'm not sure.



I did crochet the hat but I did not make whatever it is that is hanging on the right side of this picture. Looks like someone else found time to be creative.

You go creative random parade person!

I Made My Wedding Dress--Part II

Part I, Part III, Finale

The odds of my truly becoming a princess a la Princess Diaries are slim. However, I was determined to feel like a princess on my wedding day--with a princess dress. I had the vision. I wanted a corset bodice that laced up the back. I wanted a voluptuous skirt that was pleated not gathered. I was rapidly steering away from a white, fouffy wedding dress.

I found the perfect pattern for the corset--Vogue 1605 (now out of print). The skirt of the pattern left something to be desired, but the corset was just right.



I made a mock-up with some cheap satin (I figured my silk would not be a good thing to practice on). I made some adjustments (discovering I have a long torso along the way) and adjusted the pattern pieces accordingly. I laid out the four fabrics I was using--silk brocade, silk lining, organza interlining and baby flannel interlining--took a deep breath, mumbled incoherently and started cutting.

The whole thing went together in a day. Once I started, I couldn't stop.





Have I mentioned how much I love this silk?

How I Handwash Socks

After waxing nostalgic with my wedding dress, it's time to come back to reality. And what better way to come back to reality than with laundry?

Now that I'm knitting children's socks and feel a little bit like a sweatshop I have found that I am hand washing those socks frequently. Luckily, socks are small and can be easily washed in the sink I have in my laundry room. Most of these socks can be machine washed, but a couple pairs of hand-wash only have snuck in. I want my kids to see me hand wash these things so they become familiar with this habit later (assuming they will continue to wear hand knits).

First, you need to make sure you separate the socks from the rest of the laundry. This batch has seven socks so I suspect I failed step one. Fill up a sink with water that's about body temp. There are all sorts of wool washes on the market but I just pump in a few squirts of hand soap because it's there--my wool wash lives by my bathtub where I wash my nicer and larger knitwear.



Gently swill the socks around until they are saturated. You can leave them and forget about them but eventually you need to come back and gently squeeze the socks and try to get some of the dirt out--these are boys' socks after all.

Speaking of which the next picture is so disturbing it may turn you off to boy children for the rest of your life.



Seven socks' worth of grime. I bet you didn't know little feet could produce that much nastiness. No, it's not dye from some of the yarn, the water always looks like this (for socks). You'll want to do a good and thorough rinse, with body temp water.

What I Made:

Seven clean socks sitting by the fireplace. Getting nice and dry for another round.



I did eventually find the eighth sock.

Part II of I Made My Wedding Dress will be back tomorrow.

I Made My Wedding Dress--Part I

This edition of What I Made comes in installments. Part II. Part III, Finale

When I started shopping for my wedding dress, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. I tried on a few, but nothing on the racks seemed right.

Story of my life really.

I quickly decided I had to make my dress (do you know me at all?). My mom, being a wedding coordinator, took the reins of everything else. I was living a different state and knew she had a good handle of what I wanted. I wanted to sew my own wedding dress.

And thus the search renewed, but this time in fabric stores.

I fell in love with this fabric:



A gorgous silk brocade. The beigey taupey background was irridescent and the cherry blossoms glowed. This fabric became the decision maker of the wedding. White tulle and lace? No thanks, they don't enhance my brocade. Floufy poufys? Have you seen my brocade?

Five years later, I found a cheaper (ie not silk) version of this exact fabric and bought yards and yards of it. I now use it to decorate my house and have had paint mixed to match.

It's hard to believe I could love the Businessman more, but I do. A little bit more.

Noro

Noro has been the talk of knitters for a while now--maybe 2 or three years. The first time I actually saw it in the wild I was surprised about the hype. The yarn quality seemed average to mediocre and I'm not huge on yarns with a lot of color variation. Call me humble, but I prefer to let my knitting do the talking--not the yarn.

To be fair, it's the color that draws in knitters (and weavers). The color combinations are incredible and give any project an artistic feel.

I can't deny that there is some lovely Noro knitting out there.

What I Made:

I noticed my LYS had a new shipment of the stuff and I had been eyeing the hat another knitter had made for her son. So I decided to get a skein and make it. Then I spied one of the LYS employees wearing a neck wrap. When she took it and pulled it around her head I was hooked. It also helped that they had a skein with the colors of my alma mater.



Cast on 46 stitches. Knit in stockinette until it fits around your noggin. Sew (or graft) the ends together.



It used less than one skein of Noro Taiyo. Even more amazing was that it took exactly one full color repeat (which means I could graft my ends and you have no way of knowing where I started. Knitting doesn't get much easier than this folks. I wish I had cascades of that beautiful curly hair that looks so great in headwraps like this. Give me a couple more years and maybe...

I even have enough left to make a little something for another giveaway.

Teaser

I smuggled something out of my parent's house last weekend. It's one of my quintessential creations. Some of you may recognize it. Any guesses?

I'll feature it later this week.

And the Winner is...

I had four different people leave a comment in my Reusable Giftwrap Tutorial post. I used an online random number generator and got the following result:

2: Regina, you won. I will contact you shortly for your mailing info.

Congratulations!

I plan to do more giveaways in the future. It will mostly be stuff I made. I also intend to get stuff up in my Etsy Store but that will be a slower venture.

What I made:



I finally fell into the Noro trap. Noro desreves it's own blog post (probably tomorrow) I found this lovely yarn (Noro Silk Garden) and knit up this Half-Pipe Hat by Debbie Stoller (all ravelry links). Another mom in my knitting group made one for her son and I loved the way hers looked (i.e. not girlie at all).

I didn't need to adjust for a smaller head, but I did knit the stockinette part for two inches rather than one. It seemed really short otherwise. I also did my decreases a little differently so I wouldn't get a spiral.



Nothing says "manly" like silk and mohair right? Right??? Well I think it looks nice on him. He wore it yesterday with a hooded sweatshirt and looked just like a teenager. Except for the silk...

...and mohair.

Happy Easter

It's 6:30 AM and my children are still sleeping. The Businessman is brewing some coffee for me and we are waiting impatiently (and suppressing the desire to meander into their rooms and ask if we can sleep with them and then hog the entire bed).

What I Made:

What to do when you have a fresh pineapple and a couple black bananas?

Tropical breakfast. I took a banana pancake recipe (from Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Moskowitz) and instead of making several, I just dumped the batter into an iron skillet I preheated in the oven (about 375). It took about 25 minutes to bake through.



Then I concocted a quick fruit compote of pineapple, mango and clementines. A touch of maple syrup, a sprinkling of toasted coconut (I only burned it a little bit) and a dollop of whipped cream (or the creamy stuff on top of the coconut milk if you want to stay vegan) and the kiddos (and the businessman) will be singing the Hallelujah Chorus in no time.

Easter Eggs

If you haven't had a chance to enter my first Giveaway meander over here. I'll wait.

What I Made:

Let's just jump right in shall we? Of course I dyed Easter eggs. I have a mind blowing tip for you though. Compare and contrast the two dozen eggs below:

Besides the fact that several of the eggs in the top dozen are multicolored, do you notice anything else? Maybe how beautifully vibrant the lower dozen is?

Here's the secret. The bottom eggs...they're brown. Same old food coloring, same old vinegar, but brown eggs. If having the most beautiful Easter Eggs in town floats your boat (and if not humor me), buy a dozen brown eggs and knock yourself out.

I learned this trick years ago while my mom and I were buying several dozen eggs. A random stranger told us to try it. Whoever you are, random lady, you have benefited the brown egg industry.

Reusable Giftwrap Tutorial

Edited April 13, 2009: A winner has been chosen. Thank you for participating.

The Easter Bunny told me that he wanted to give the kids some movies, probably out of respect for my tendency to inhale all chocolate that tries to reside in the house. I let him know I would leave some reusable wrapping for him so he wouldn't have to use any paper.

Then I thought maybe you too might like to know how to make something similar.

First, you will need some fabric, some fusible web (Heat'n Bond was the brand I used) and a sewing machine if you want finished edges.

After several hours of fine and precise measurements using a protracter, compass, slide rule and graphpaper I concluded a good size (for movies and Wii games) is 12 inches (just kidding, I eyeballed it). Cut both fabrics and your fusible web(FW) accordingly (you'll have to figure out what size to use for cds, books, bicycles, etc.).

To use FW, first iron the web to one of your fabrics. Note the paper is on top. This is very important unless you like cleaning your iron (go ahead, ask me how I know). Repeat after me: Fabric right side down, then FW, glue side down.

Then peel off the paper (see the glue stuck to the fabric?).

Next, iron the second square of fabric to the glue. You might want to keep the paper on hand to avoid gumming up your iron (you'll notice I didn't do this).

Does anyone know how to clean an iron?

Next, finish your edges. This is where I show off Nina, my serger.

She's been whining about the lack of modeling gigs lately.

Add a button hole (note how lovely and crooked mine are).

I did a double buttonhole so I could tie this one with ribbon. The first one I made I sewed on a button. Don't tell the Businessman. He still thinks I don't know how to sew buttons.

Then you wrap and tie:

What I Made Am Making:

Here comes Peter Cottontail hopping down the bunny trail. Hippity Hoppity Easter's on its way!

How would you like one of these?*I have an extra. Leave a comment (with a way to contact you) telling me your hobbies.

Edited: the winner will be chosen at random on April 13th.

*Only U.S. readers please. One comment per person.

Just In Time For The Holiday

You might want to escort any young kiddos out of the room. It's not obscene, just a bit traumatizing...

...unless your warped sense of humor is like mine.

In which case, you might want to put down your beverage of choice and swallow whatever may be in your mouth.

Don't blame me if you short out your keyboard.

I love Thursdays. Not only are there two great shows to watch on TV (and thus a good hour of creative time) but Rose Kim Knits posts her What the Hell Is This? find of the week. This guy comes to us courtesy of Crafty Hedgehog. She also has a dissected rat and frog, but their innards are a little more realistic.

Not that I've ever dissected a rabbit.

What I Made:

This little number was published over a year ago in Vogue Knitting (Fall 2007). I couldn't get it out of my head. The way the ribbing did all the shaping fascinated me.



On the front (above) the bust and sleeve shaping is in two little cabled darts sloping in from the bustline. The back (below) has the sleeve shaping done along the edge, which is traditional. I also love the way the ribbing grows and curves around to shape the waist and hip.



I knit it out of a cashmere blend--Rowan Cashsoft DK. This sweater is a year old and still so soft and nice. I love wearing it.

It is also the fourth pattern/fifth garment I knit from this particular issue of VK.

10 Ways To Find Time Throughout The Day

Do you really want to learn how to create? Well, I am willing to try and teach you.

Random knitting pics inserted for your enjoyment.

The most frequent comment I receive regarding my creations (besides "You could sell that!" and "Is this why your family looks feral?") is "I'd love to do that, but I don't have the time."

Well, in fact, you do have the time. You just haven't prioritized. Here are some ideas to carve out some time for yourself. Not all of them will work for you, but we're just trying to find extra minutes here and there for now.

1. How much recreational screen time--TV, computer, digital coffeemaker)--do you use? Can you multitask? Would you rather use that time more productively?
2. How much time do you spend in line? Can you multitask here? Could you do something here (ie write out your weekly menu or grocery list) to save time elsewhere?
3. How about waiting to pick someone up, or hanging around at kid's sports practice?
4. Do your kids know how to play together? How about alone? I have it on good authority (a certified OT) that teaching your children to play alone and learn to find their own fun is invaluable for many aspects of their future. Just don't go overboard--they do need you to teach them other skills.
5. Are there any chores you can delegate to your kids? My 3yo can make his own bed, pick up books and toys, clear the table and he loves to mop! My 5yo does the above (not quite as enchanted with the mop) plus he puts away his laundry, sweeps, sets the table, empties some of the dishwasher, puts away groceries, and scrubs the toilet. Next year he's doing my taxes.
6. Do you have a pad of paper in the kitchen where you can write down the things you use up as you use them up? Going to the grocery store several times a week wastes time (and gas).
7. Are you willing to wake up earlier? Go to bed later? Ten minutes a day is over an hour a week.
8. Make a large amount of dinner and immediately stash some away for a future meal.
9. Do you need to do your chores as often as you do? What if you put off vacuuming just one day?
10. How much time do you spend making yourself look perfect for your children and the solicitors and the grocery store clerk?

Most of these take some work to implement-especially with the kids. And although I wish the house were self cleaning I still haven't figured out how to do it with mindpower. But I don't just sit down and knit a sweater (unless the Olympics are on). I knit a few rows here, a few stitches there. Maybe I'll crank out a big chunk during Thursday night TV (unless there's alcohol; then I knit a big chunk but have to rip it out the next morning. Not pretty.). Most of those socks are knit while I wait to pick Yummy up at school.

What I Made:

Pic 1: Socks made from scraps of sockyarn.

Pic 2: My winter coat.

Pic 3: A cute little lace number I made for a new baby (I gave it away a year ago, don't get any ideas).

Pic 4: A sock for me--never finished it.

Pic 5: One of my current projects. My camera finally behaved and acknowledged the beautiful cable.

So Eggs-cited!

I was clicking all over the internets earlier and I came upon this site. I have no idea how I got there; it just happened. I was so mesmerized--Yes! I want an alternative to the crappy plastic eggs. Yes! I have scraps of fabric. Yes! I want to become your stalker. Well...maybe not that last one...maybe.

What I Made:

If these aren't the cutest little fabric eggs (stuffed with candy) you have ever seen, then you need to come over and see them in person. I can't stop taking pictures.



I really should wait for morning and natural light but I wanted to share these with the world.



Thank you One Inch World for giving me something to do this evening besides workout read a book talk to my husband clean the kitchen.

My Spice Racks

When I first set up house with the Businessman, I realized quickly how expensive spices can be. I grew up with my mom's spice rack and wanted to start my own collection. We decided to purchase one jar per week. After a few months, my collection was seasoning our lives nicely.

I then spent a few years looking for the perfect way to store my spices. My mother's racks are perfect and the search began for racks similar to hers. It was an exercise in futility.

Real Simple Magazine came to my rescue. I adopted their method for the following reasons:

I have 70+ different spices in my kitchen.

This system keeps the spices out of the light.

It is uber-compact.

I can access whatever spice I need in less than ten seconds.

Basically, you decant your spices into watchmaker containers (Lee Valley corners the market) and then label them (labelling is so important in organization).



The only thing I would add to RS's system is to alphabetize. This is especially crucial with multiple cases. I labelled the cases 1-4 so I wouldn't be permanently stuck with A-E, F-I, etc. I've used these for years so I know 'cinnamon' is the first four containers of case 2 (yes I have four different kinds of cinnamon).

The whole shebang fits beautifully next to my stove.

I'm about to graduate into a fifth case. I'm worried that this is an obscene number of different spices.

What are your favorite spices? How do you organize them? Do you have a favorite spice blend you like to make?

What I Made:

The Businessman can't handle spices. He likes spice blends (calling them "Man Spice"). Thirteen years ago he got a container of Tony Cachere's Creole Seasoning. One day he panicked because he was in the middle of cooking eggs and realized the container was almost empty. I secretly looked at the ingredient list and whipped up about 1/2 cup of fresh seasoning blend for him and poured it into the container.He still has that same container.

I still fill it. I still don't know if he knows this. I made a fresh batch today.

The Next Level

I have noticed a few things that separate good blogs from great blogs:

• Consistent posting
• Pictures
• Giveaways (working on it)
• Themes

I'm tinkering with my layout but the process is slow as I only know basic html tags and nothing about templates. I also want to persue what it is that makes people come to and stay on a blog. Ironically, the Businessman doesn't read blogs and has no suggestions on how to drive traffic to a blog.

What drives you to a blog? Do you read blogs of people you don't know? Do you comment? What makes a great blog?

Your insights are appreciated.

What I Made:

Is it really a shock?