Baking and Thrifting

Does it get any better than that? My answer would be a downright no.

Well, it's officially yard sale season here in Minneapolis. We learned on Friday that we live just down the street from the perpetual yard sale, so that's good news. Here's just a few (and I really mean just a few) photos of what we got Friday. And this doesn't even include the bags of stuff we got for $25 at the church rummage sale we happened upon on our way to the St. Paul Craftstravaganza on Saturday morning (where I finally bought these coasters from Giraffe that I've been coveting).




But Saturday morning started out even before that, with some vegan apple muffins. Check 'em out...


Here's the recipe:

Vegan Apple Muffins
(based loosely on the Apple Bread recipe from Molly Katzen's Enchanted Broccoli Forest)

Wet Ingredients:
1 apple peeled and chopped (I used gala)
3 tbl fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup melted non-dairy margarine
1 tbl ground flax seed mixed with 3 tbl water
6 tbl soymilk

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease a muffin tin. Mix all wet ingredients together in a small bowl. Sift all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Add vanilla and chopped nuts. Mix well. Pour batter into muffin tin and top with a mixture of cinnamon and brown sugar. Bake for 15-20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean). Cool. Eat. Bask in apple goodness.

Backyard Blooming

These past few days have been quite busy- and not in a crafty way- which is why I have not posted much this week. But it has been so beautiful here- and Spring has finally sprung. So I thought I'd just share with you all some photos of what's blooming in my backyard. I truly love this concept of living in a city while also living in a house with a yard! I think I can get used to this...

Learning

I had yet another busy weekend- it's always a challenge to decide what to write about here when I've got lots going on. I've spent a lot of time sewing over the last few weeks, and I feel like I'm really learning new techniques and my skills are really improving. It's also been great to be reading some other really inspiring blogs of some amazingly talented crafters.

My big feat over the weekend came when I ran out of the ties that were left over from the curtains that are currently being used as sound absorbers in our home studio. They had worked so well as ties for the products of my apron frenzy (which, by the way, has not yet ended). To no avail, I tried to buy some kind of wide ribbon or cotton twill tape. I was left to my own devices. And learned how to make bias binding.




Bias binding works really well! It just takes a little longer than sewing on pre-hemmed ties from Ikea- but so worth it. Most of these aprons are currently waiting to be bought at i like you. I've begun posting some in the shop,including some children's aprons as well, so check them out please!

And check out my flickr page to see some photos of everything else I've been up to!

Mother's Day is coming...

Well, it's less than a month away. I am certainly more prepared for Mother's Day this year than I think I ever have been in my life. As much as I want to- I can't share with you all what I'm giving my mom, since she reads this. I promise I'll show the beautiful results after Mother's Day (May 13, for those of you who need a little reminder).

I read yesterday on Felicia's blog that she was looking for a Mother's Day card- so I made these two cards after she told me that her mom loves fish.



These cards, and more to come soon, are for sale in my etsy shop. I've also got some more "traditional" pink Mother's Day cards.



Where would we be without our moms? That's right, nowhere. Mother's Day isn't the only day that we should show our moms how much we love them. But if you don't do it everyday, at least do it on this day.

Garden Party

After a great day in our community garden on Sunday, I was fully inspired to get back to reading You Grow Girl, my first gardening bible. I should really be figuring out exactly what I'm going to actually plant, but it's just so tempting to hang out with my sewing machine! No, no, I am thinking about what I'm going to plant- so far I'm thinking: tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, spinach and other greens, carrots, herbs...

Anyways, being the hip, crafty book that it is, there was this simple pattern for "not your grandma's gardening apron."

Of course I made one.

Then I made another one.


And yet another one.

They're so adorable and easy, I just kept thinking of more gardening friends that I need to make one for (I won't say who, on the off chance that any of them actually read this!). Once I'm done with all the presents, I'll be posting some on my etsy shop and probably putting some for sale at i like you in Minneapolis, so stay tuned.

Busy Busy Weekend

As you can tell, the weekend was off to a good start with some delicious cookies. On Saturday, my friend Sarah and I went over to the Textile Center for their annual garage sale. I don't think we knew what we were getting ourselves into...



It was absolutely amazing! I could have stayed there all day, although it probably would have driven us nuts. I got some really beautiful fabric, vintage lace, zippers, and a couple of patterns.




All that for $11.25!!! I was really impressed. I'm not sure what I'm going to make with all of this stuff, so I'm certainly open to any suggestions (I'm especially curious about what this knitted ribbing will turn into).

After the trip to the Textile Center, I headed down to this new store in Minneapolis called "I Like You." I gave them a bunch of my cards to sell on consignment, so hopefully they'll do well there! It's a great little place that's entirely dedicated to selling locally handmade crafts. And they've got some really beautiful items there (many of which I recognized from etsy and some of the craft shows back in December. There's such a great craft culture here, I love it).

The sun is shining and I just spent the afternoon cleaning up our community garden and fixing up my plot. Can't wait to get started on it!

A Treat for Friday Afternoon

After a busy week- it's always nice to treat yourself on Friday afternoons. The miserable weather here (I know I said I would stop talking about the weather, but...) finally turned into a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon! What a great way to end the week. And to top it all off...

Honey Oatmeal Cookies!

I've decided to start sharing some recipes on my blog. Since I spend so much time in the kitchen, I figured that it's only fair to share the love. And after a year and a half of sharing my life (and my kitchen) with a vegan, I've learned to adjust (but certainly not abandon) everything about baking that I learned from my mom, and come up with some fun new versions of old favorites.

Vegan Honey Oatmeal Cookies* (or Dairy-free Honey Oatmeal Cookies)

Ingredients:
3 tbl. non-dairy margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 tbl. ground flax seeds mixed with 3tbl water
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
optional: about 1/2 cup chocolate chips, chopped nuts, raisins, or any other yummy treats

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, mix together margarine, brown sugar, honey, and flax/water mixture thoroughly. In a separate, smaller bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Stir in rolled oats. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Add any additional yummies (chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, etc.). Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet (can also use a silpat-like sheet). Bake 12-15 minutes. Cool. Eat. Enjoy.

*"Vegan" and "Honey" is contradictory. My vegan eats honey, but most do not. Just something to be aware of.

I was framed

I realize that the last few posts have been focusing on the weather here. Obviously the weather here at this time of year can be a bit frustrating- you think it's spring, you're so excited after a cold and snowy winter, and then it snows and you're forced to drag out the winter coat again. Even though I grew up in this kind of weather, it's been a few years since I've lived in a place with such extreme season changes.

But enough about the weather. I've got more important things to talk about than the weather. Back in December I made a picture frame for my parents as a Hanukkah gift. They loved it and my aunt told me I should sell them. It's taken me a while to get on this project, but after an exciting trip to my local thrift shop and a little picture frame shopping spree, here are the results:


These are available at my etsy shop. I think I'll be doing some more soon--since they're made from recycled picture frames, of course that depends on my ability to find more frames! But I think they'll sell well at all the summer craft shows I'm planning on participating in. As usual- any suggestions or comments are welcome. Have a great day!

WTF?

I'm sorry... what? Today's Date: April 11.


This is the view from my front porch. I want spring!!!

Johnstock!

Even if it doesn't feel like it (it is supposed to snow 3-7 inches in the next day), spring is here. And that means more craft fairs! I had such a great time at the two sales that I participated in back in December and I can't wait for more this spring and summer. Johnstock is the next fair that I'll be participating in- it's part of the annual Art-A-Whirl in NE Minneapolis, which takes place the weekend of May 19-20. Check out the details below, or visit the website here.
I'll be taking part in at least one other fair this summer, so I'll be sure to keep you all posted on when and where those other events will be.

Spring Inside

Even if it's not spring outside- it seems to be spring inside my apartment.

My cilantro has started to grow! I know he's still a little baby and none of the basil has sprouted out of the dirt yet, but I am so excited!


This little window shelf is just the perfect sunny home for my plants.

The Wrap

After a winter filled with knitting projects for various children (for gifts and for selling) it's time to get back to my own project- I had finally decided to learn how to make a cable. This beautiful yarn will hopefully turn into a beautiful sweater someday- if I ever figure out the pattern. After spending almost the entire plane ride to New York "finishing" the left front, I realized that I (and my knitting expert mom) had completely misunderstood this pattern. So upon arriving, I ripped most of it out. I re-wrote the pattern. Then I spent the whole plane ride back, trying to work back to where I was when I left for this trip in the first place.

New York, New York

Well, I just got home from spending a great couple of days in my hometown of New York City. Some of the highlights of my trip were-- catching up with some old friends, spending lots of time with my family, cooking a wonderful Passover Seder with my mom, and doing a little shopping! I got to stop by one of my new favorite stores-- Purl Patchwork. I bought some beautiful fabric that I just can't wait to introduce to my sewing machine!

Including this beautiful Amy Butler printed fabric that I'm hoping to make a skirt out of (I'm actually going to try to follow a pattern!). Can't wait!