My Pleated Beauty

This is not the first time that I've felt the need for a new bag just in time for a trip to New York. I'm not entirely sure what it is about a trip that makes me feel like I need a new bag, but wherever the inspiration came from, I'm pretty happy about it. This bag turned out better than I could have expected and I can tell it's going to get a lot of use. It's sturdy, big enough for a few projects (I'm thinking I could fit a book, a snack, a knitting project, a journal, and even a few cameras in there no problem), and can be worn while biking!

I'm also very excited about the fabric choices. The main fabric is some kind of cotton/linen blend that I thrifted sometime last year. I was saving it to make a dress (which really would have been great), but I have so many fabrics waiting to be made into a dress that I sacrificed this one, in my continuing effort to use up my insanely large stash (plus, there's still enough left over for a skirt, a good compromise I think). The blue patterned fabric is one that I picked up at an antique mall last summer. I almost didn't get it because it was a little pricey, but I'm really glad I did, I just fell in love with the pattern and I think it works perfectly here. Oh yeah, and contrasting orange stitching, again :). This is definitely the kind of bag that could be dressed up or used on an everyday basis (which it will be!), can you tell I'm all about the versatility?
I used the Pleated Beauty pattern from Bend The Rules Sewing, with a few modifications. I bought this book soon after it came out (almost two years ago) and have only made a few of the awesome projects in here. I'm suddenly wondering why I haven't made more! The main change is that there is one strap instead of two. I spend most of the spring/summer/fall on my bike, so I really wanted something that could be worn messenger style. I was inspired by this moop bag (which I *love*) and I almost made an adjustable handle, but didn't have the proper hardware and was feeling impatient. The finished strap is 2 1/4" wide and 27 1/2" long- it's not too long to be worn on one shoulder, but long enough that it won't choke me messenger style! Oh, and I also added a magnetic snap closure, for a little bit of security.

I really loved making this bag, and can already see some things inspired by this pattern making their way into the shop. Maybe even a pleated clutch...oh the possibilities! Seriously, I'm feeling inspiration coming at me from all sides these days. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that I'll be on vacation in just four days, and Jared and I have begun to talk about fun summer plans. Exciting things like road trips and extended time off from work are always good for the creative process, don't you think?

Finally, a couple of fun links for today...
::the light collectors (pure beauty)
::bench monday (just because)
::peanut butter chocolate pillows (haven't tried these yet, but they look amazing!)

a new clutch

Now that spring is sort of here, I'm feeling the weight of winter begin to lift up and away. With fewer layers of coats, hats, mittens, long underwear, boots (and more) constricting me, I'm feeling much lighter. As spring approaches, do you notice that there's less to carry around when you leave the house? I notice that. Hence the need to make a new bag (which is done! a full report tomorrow...) and this new clutch.

Inspiration for this one struck the other night and I worked out the (albeit very simple) pattern and made this up right away. This one is now in the shop, and I'm already envisioning some additions to the pattern...a small pocket inside, maybe some very small and simple embroidery. We shall see, I'm excited to continue tweaking this one. I'm really loving the style of these two fabrics together, the solid darkness of the denim contrasted against the white subtle polka dot/uneven line pattern. All brought together with orange contrasting stitching (I do believe that the orange was deeply inspired by this).

This could be dressed up for a night out, or it would be perfect for just heading out for the afternoon. I could also see using this as a pouch inside a larger bag, to keep track of those essentials that always manage to end up at the bottom, especially when you need them most (you know, like your keys!). So head on over to the shop and check it out. Thanks!

ps: this is my 300th post! who knew i'd have this much to say here?! thanks again for reading everyone. xo

i may be suffering from project add

A couple of days ago, I started to work on a custom sweater for a coworker's child. The pattern turned out to be too small, so I was forced to set it aside until I figured out a solution.

Last night, at around 11pm (which is usually the time of night that I'm already asleep), I decided that I needed a new knitting project. By 12:30am, I was forcing myself to put it down, only with the thoughts of the busy day at work that I knew I was going to have today.

In the shower this morning, I decided that I needed to make myself a new bag, and a new skirt, for my trip to New York. I'm leaving next Saturday. So tonight, I'm starting on the bag.

This is not even mentioning the flood of ideas that I am now having for the shop. Also, the fact that I am literally writing this post as I'm working on the bag.

Am I insane? Does this happen to the rest of you?

in the kitchen

You may have noticed that I spend a lot of time in my kitchen. I think most people do, even if you don't love to cook and bake as much as I do. Whenever we have parties, people always end up congregating in the kitchen, does this happen to you too? We are lucky to have such a big, sunny, and inviting kitchen, though whenever I think about moving I get sad because I'm pretty sure we'll never have a kitchen as nice as this one again!

A while back Sandra Juto posted a bunch of film photos of her home and they totally inspired me to take more film photos around the house. I used to be so stingy with my film camera, but I'm really using it so much more than digital now (especially after getting all that free film recently!) and I've been taking more and more photos of just "ordinary" things with film. I can't remember who wrote this, but I recently read online that "everything is good enough for film" and that is so true.

After all that shop talk yesterday, I had a burst of inspiration around 9pm and made something new! It felt sooo good. Of course, it was grey and snowy today (seriously?) so I haven't been able to take a photo yet. Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow! I'd still love any feedback or ideas you all have about my last post.

PS: One of my favorite flickr friends (who I am so excited to get to meet next month!), Leah, has a blog, check it out! If it's anywhere as awesome as her flickrstream, it is not to be missed.

input please

I've been thinking a lot about ye olde shoppe, and what direction to take it in this coming year. I really would like to dedicate some more energy to keeping it updated, and I thought I'd solicit some input as to what you all would like to see offered there. A lot of the handmade items that I share here are not shop related, and maybe there are some things that I've shared that you might like to see available for sale? I've also had some thoughts about offering some photo prints for sale in addition to handmade items, but I'm not sure if there's any interest out there for that. Or maybe some knitted accessories?

It can always be a little nervewracking putting myself out there like this, especially when I feel like I'm surrounded by an entire community of amazing and successful artists. One of my biggest struggles at this point is that I do, in fact, have a full time job that is very emotionally demanding right now (and I don't think that's going to let up anytime soon). It's hard not to compare myself to those out there who are full-time artists, or who have more flexible schedules than myself, even though I know that I shouldn't. I'm not sure that, even if I could make a living doing it, I would want to be a full time artist/crafter. But I certainly would appreciate more time than I have right now.

I'm exploring some new opportunities for this spring and summer both in terms of promotion of my shop and also in terms of new products. So I'm hopeful that those opportunities might bring some new success. I'm sure many of you out there are thinking some of these same thoughts, and I would appreciate any ideas, suggestions, requests for the shop, advice, or just general good thoughts that you have on the topic.

And while we're on the subject, don't forget the spring sale over in the shop. Just type "celebrating spring" in the notes to seller, I've got lots of fun items including these little pocket notebooks!

Romantica

Good music is one of the greatest things in the world. I love that Minneapolis has such a wonderful local music scene--between all of the amazing bands and the wonderful venues for them to play in, it's pretty hard for a Friday or Saturday night to pass without there being a show I'd want to check out.

A little while back, and acquaintance of mine who works at the Cedar Cultural Center was giving out some free tickets to upcoming shows. I'd never heard of any of the bands so I just picked one at random and hoped for the best. The Cedar is definitely one of my favorite venues in the cities, primarily because it's an actual theater- so you're never trying to hear the music over the drone of the crowd like when you're at a bar. Also, there's seating (does my insane appreciation for this mean I'm starting to get old?) for everyone. They also have an incredible variety of excellent music, local and global. (Other bands I've seen there include: Happy Apple, and Haley Bonar with Pieta Brown).

Jared and I got there early and sat in the second row (he decided that, based on the acoustics, that would be the best spot. I defer to him on this subject). I was happy we did so that I could snap a few photos from my seat. The main act, Romantica, was truly incredible. I guess you could call their music alt-country, or maybe americana. I don't know exactly why I love it so much, especially since when I created a pandora station based on their music, I really didn't like any of the songs it played. But their energy on the stage was infectious, and even listening to their album since (which I have done, over and over) makes me want to either dance around the living room, or curl up in bed with a good book, depending on the song.

What new music have you been enjoying lately?

And speaking of music, check out Brian's march mix.

ps: head on over to homesteading for a peek at our recent cheesemaking adventure!

on the first day of spring it snowed

and then it rained. But I'm so happy that it's spring! As promised, here's a little manifesto for the new season...

::Have more picnics. Whether it's in my backyard, at a park, or wherever. Just eat outside on a blanket.

::Plant flowers in my front yard, even though we live in a rental, and flowers aren't edible.

::Give more presents for no reason at all. Because everyone loves getting presents.

::Plant my awesomest garden yet.

::Dry my clean clothes on the clothesline.

::Notice the change in the dog park as the snow and ice melts, and Freddie decides whether he likes swimming in the Mississippi or not (right now, he's leaning towards not.)

::Eat lots of morels and fresh asparagus (and try to ignore the price tag. Because they are seriously that good).

::Draw more (or, draw at all).

::Dedicate more time and energy to my shop and make all (or at least some) of those ideas that have been swirling around in my head for months a reality.

In honor of this last item in my manifesto here, I'm offering a 15% discount in my shop for the next week (until March 27). Just type in "celebrating spring" in the notes to seller and I'll refund you the difference. I've got a couple of new items in there, including some pocket blank notebooks, so go check it out!

So there you have it. I've seen a few really inspiring manifestos out there recently including Shari's, Brian's, and Hannah's. What's on your list for spring?

At Highpoint

Here are some more shots that I took when I went to Highpoint a couple of weeks ago (ack! That was almost a month ago, I am so behind!). I wish I had taken more photos, but I guess I was just having so much fun doing the actual printing that I forgot to document it until it was just about time to go. I was really inspired by Abby's photos of Chelsea's studio, and her more recent ones of The Creative Force for Efficiency and Morale. I love the way she captures the essence of other peoples' spaces and I'm trying to do that as well.

Back tomorrow with my Spring Manifesto!

cookie+bar

I mentioned that we had some friends over this weekend for some ginger ale+whiskey and plenty of good conversation too. I really wanted to make a yummy dessert to share as well and was having a bit of baking block on Saturday morning. I didn't want to have to go to the store, so that was one limitation. I also wanted to make something that was either new, or that I hadn't made in a while. I was thinking something cakey, but Jared isn't a huge cakey-dessert fan (I know, crazytown right?!). Plus, I didn't some key ingredients that many vegan cakey desserts call for, so that was out.

I finally settled on a recipe that used to be one of my favorites but that I must have forgotten about somehow, my friend Mollie's cookie bars. I met Mollie during my semester abroad in Ecuador in 2003. We hit it off immediately, and spent the next five months getting to know each other, exploring the beautiful country, hanging out with each others' host families, and then, when the program ended, we spent some extra time traveling around on our own (along with a few other friends from the program). Mollie and I kept in touch afterwards, and a year later, we found ourselves sharing (along with a third friend, who we'd met on our program as well) two tiny attached rooms in a janky five bedroom apartment in Berkeley.

It was a crazy fun summer and after returning to Vermont to complete my final semester at college, I returned to Berkeley, and to Mollie and Leah (and a new, much nicer apartment that thankfully did not involve three weird male roommates- one of whom ate a huge mound of plain oatmeal for breakfast every single morning). We had a small kitchen in that second apartment, but we made do. And we made lots of food. Including these cookie bars (we later had a houseguest who canned 200 pounds of Alaskan sockeye salmon in that kitchen as well, but that's another story). I don't remember the first time I tasted these cookie bars, but I do remember loving them. I also love that I scribbled the recipe in my notebook/recipe book entitled "Mollie's Cookie Bars."

On the subject of food and the stories that accompany it, I'm sure many of you have seen or read reviews of Molly Wizenberg's new book, A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from my Kitchen Table. I won't go too into detail here, primarily because I haven't even come close to finishing it yet. But I will say that even after reading the first thirty-seven pages, I'm inspired. I did not buy this book for the recipes, though I'm sure I'll be making at least some of them (most are not vegan, though there are many vegetarian recipes). I've loved Molly's writing ever since I happened upon her blog, Orangette. I can't remember when or how I discovered it, but I'm so glad I did. And I'm so glad that I can continue to read more of her beautiful, nostalgia-inspiring, heartwarming, delicious, and hilariously honest words in this amazing book. After reading (the first thirty-seven pages of) this book, I'm already inspired to recall the stories that accompany so many of my recipes. And to create new stories along with my new recipes.

So, yeah, back to those cookie bars...With a couple of minor modifications, they were vegan. And delicious. They're kind of like an oatmeal cookie, but chewier. These bars are ridiculously easy to make, yet are so insanely yummy and comforting to eat. I feel like if you could hug a cookie, this is what would happen.

Vegan Cookie Bars
(based on my friend Mollie's cookie bars)

Ingredients:
3 tbl ground flax mixed with 9 tbl water
1 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
2 cups oatmeal
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat your oven to 350. Mix the ground flax seeds and water in a small bowl. Add raisins and vanilla to flax mixture and set aside. In a large bowl, cream margarine and sugars. Add flax/raisin mixture. Add in dry ingredients and mix until completely combined. Spread batter into a greased, 9"x13" (or whatever you have that's closest) baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until top is lightly browned. Let cool and cut into bars. Enjoy.

a big smile

hello friends. i hope you all had lovely weekends, i know i did. it started out with a last minute dinner with friends on friday night. saturday held a beautiful walk with jared and freddie, some sewing (finally), and more hanging out with friends. sunday, more sewing and then the spring meeting for my community garden. the garden meeting, together with the absolutely beautiful and warm weather got me really excited about spring and summer. i even defrosted another bag of strawberries from last summer, thinking that we should really use up those berries since we'll be getting fresh ones soon! okay, i know i'm getting a bit ahead of myself- we've still got at least three months until strawberries.

and now, it's sixty-five degrees at 7pm and i just took freddie for a very long walk and then came home to a sweet letter and sat on the porch with bare feet, short sleeves, a glass of ginger ale, and my puppy. it was lovely. i just cannot get enough of being outside right now. it feels so liberating to be outdoors without being bundled up under multiple layers of clothing! i just can't stop smiling about this sunny warmth. yeah, i can tell it's going to be a good spring indeed. i've started thinking about my spring manifesto, but i think i'll wait to share it until friday, when it's official.

A few of you asked about the recipe for the ginger ale- I used this one. Depending on how you mix it, the syrup really does make quite a lot of ginger ale. It was very easy, and I can see this being a staple from now on! {as a bonus, it's also delicious mixed with a little whiskey...}

five senses friday

Abby has resurrected Five Senses Friday, and I decided to join in. Here's a bit of what I've been enjoying this week:

Taste
::homemade wheat bread with herbed brie
::tangerine baked tofu with couscous and vegetables
::homemade ginger ale (using Stephanie's recipe)

Sight
::lots of sunshine, even when it was freezing
::more of my neighborhood, as I'm walking and busing a little more these days
::two more rolls of film

Touch
::The warm cuddly-ness of my puppy
::More wool socks and warm hats
::The warm sun on my face during my walk with Freddie this afternoon, as it's finally above freezing again

Smell
::Another box of tangerines sent by my mom
::my morning coffee (always)

Hear
::Romantica
::my new mix cd from Claire


I also wanted to point you over to Maria's post on 3191 Miles Apart this week. I'm not sure if any of you have been following along in her and Stephanie's new blog, but it's absolutely lovely. Maria's post this week really spoke to me and reminded me a lot of my relationship with my own grandma, who I've been thinking about a lot recently, as the fourth anniversary of her passing was just a few days ago. Much love to you all this weekend, hug someone you love.

speaking of knitting...

I've got more! Immediately upon finishing my sweater, I got going on a hat that I had promised my boss last winter. To be fair, she was buying the yarn and didn't do it until January, so it wasn't entirely my fault that it didn't get done until now. I wasn't really looking forward to this, I'm not sure why. It was just a simple hat and only took me about a week, but I guess I was just anxious to get on to other projects for myself! I used the large earflap hat pattern (found via Ravelry) since she has sort of a large head, and also wanted it fleece lined. I was thinking it was a little late in the year for fleece lined but since it's been below zero for the past two days, it seems like it was just right.

When I posted about Jared's hat, I had a few requests for fleece-lining instructions. I didn't respond (sorry!) mostly because I wasn't really sure what to say- you see, I just sort of fudged it until it fit right. Jared's hat was a bit harder since it was cabled and stretched quite a bit because of that. Since this hat was just stockinette, I was able to just trace it onto two pieces of fleece, sew the fleece together, and then handstitch (with the yarn) the lining around the bottom edge. Maybe I can come up with a tutorial for that if anyone is interested in more detail. Even though I wasn't that excited about this project, I ended up being really happy with how it came out- it just looked so professional! And my boss was pretty happy with it too, so that's always a bonus!
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Pattern: Large Earflap Hat by Omly
Yarn: Universal Yarn Deluxe Worsted LP
Needles: Size 8 circulars
Modifications: Added fleece lining and braided ties on ends of the earflaps.
{on ravelry here}

The project that I immediately moved onto after that hat was yet another pair of fingerless mitts. But these are for me! (The first two pairs were gifts). I actually made these back in January, but since I used a yarn with a larger gauge (and didn't pay attention to that, ahem) they were way too loose and I just knew I'd never want to wear them. So I ripped them out and decided to remake them a bit smaller. To be honest, they could probably be a bit smaller still, but I'm going to leave them be.

I think I may have worn this pattern out for now. Though I do have some ideas for more fingerless mitts, possibly a few pairs for the shop? Just in time for spring? We'll see. Also, the lovely (again) ladies from my knitting group showed me how to cable without a cable needle (why did I not learn how to do this before) which makes these much less clumsy to knit (take four double pointed needles, throw in a cable needle, and see how that goes).
-----------------------------------------------------
Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Mission Falls 1824 Wool
Needles: Size 6 dpn (and no cable needle!)
Modifications: I only cast on 40 stitches (instead of 45) and did the first and last rows in a contrasting color. With this yarn, you could probably go down to 35 sts.
{On ravelry here}

So there we have it. Two more knitting projects down. And on to the next one...

it's a sweater

I was just about done with my February Lady Sweater when I last posted about it, and now, here we are again. I actually finished this about two weeks ago, and have just been waiting for some dang sunlight in which to photograph it. It was certainly not sunny today (much the opposite- more like rain turned freezing rain turned snow), but I got tired of waiting and wanted to share this with you. So here it is, my first official finished sweater in, oh I don't know, three years (at least). I had another one just about finished two years ago, but that one's still in a bag in a box and not being talked about (you know the feeling, right?).

A few notes about this sweater...I ended up needing one more skein than the pattern called for, possibly because I made the body and/or sleeves longer than intended (see below). One good thing about knitting from the top down is that, in my paranoia about the sweater being too short, I made it way too long (like, almost covering my whole butt). I only realized this after it was all washed and dried and I was sewing the buttons on. Since it was top down, all I had to do was rip out to where I wanted, and re-knit the 10 rows of garter stitch at the bottom. Also, I'm getting these little flappy things around the armholes and I'm not sure why. The lovely ladies from my knitting group tell me it's because I have a smaller bust (not something I've been told since I've had a bust- though I can safely say this is the first time I've knitted myself an XXS anything), so who knows. It only bothers me when I stare at it too long. And one final note, as much as I loved using organic wool- this yarn had about a gajillion little pieces of hay or straw or whatever that was spun into the yarn, forcing me to pick them out as I went along (I'm actually still picking them out), so beware.

I'm so excited about this sweater. Like I said in my last post, it was just the right amount of complicated to make it interesting to look at, yet easy to knit. And it is super comfy, and most definitely an everyday sweater. I think I've already worn it three or four times in the two weeks since I finished it. And, since Spring doesn't seem to want to make an appearance anytime soon, it looks like I'll keep on wearing it for a while!

--------------------------------------------------------
Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne
Yarn: O Wool in Thistle (4202)
Needles: Size 8 40" circular
Modifications: I made no modifications, except that I did find that I needed an extra skein of yarn. Maybe I made it longer than expected (there are no specifications for length of body or sleeves- it just says "knit until desired length"

Ravelry details here, too.

Art Shanties

A few weeks ago, Jared and I (and Freddie) spent a lovely Sunday afternoon with some friends checking out the Art Shanties on Medicine Lake. I had missed them last year, so I was happy that the day we planned to go was a beautiful sunny day (okay, it was pretty damn cold, but if I remember correctly, it had warmed up to a balmy 15 degrees that afternoon). I had finally figured out how to load my lomo lc-a and was excited to try it out (I was using some crappy, super expired film, but I think the photos came out pretty cool). Here are some of the photos I finally got back from that awesome afternoon. I have tons of photos and I want to share them all, so be sure to check out my flickr set over the next few days as I upload them all.

The Art Shanties is one of those weird, but totally awesome things that is "so Minnesota." The shanties are supposed to be artistic takes on ice fishing shanties (something else I will never understand the excitement about- ice fishing). There was everything from a sauna shanty to a shanty made completely out of paper to a confessional shanty to a three story shanty. One of my favorites (aside from the sauna shanty, obviously) was the set of dice shanties. Each die was a little booth that you could sit in and just hang out and play board games. I mean, who else would build these artsy shanties out on a frozen lake and hang out there for five weekends in a row in the dead of winter?! There was even one shanty that was an overturned boat and was modeled after Shackleton's adventure. There were three women who had built that one and they were actually living there for the entire five weeks and had totally taken on the identities of some of the members of Shackleton's crew. It was crazy! This is why I love Minnesota...crazy awesome nonsense like this.

This was definitely one of my favorite activities this winter (I say that as though winter is over) and I am definitely planning on going back next year...

muffin anyone?

Last week, when Hannah posted this photo of some orange chocolate chip muffins, I knew I had to make some. I had an orange that was begging to be used and, well, chocolate chips are always in order in my opinion. I'm normally not a fan of orange and chocolate together, so I'm really not sure why I was so drawn to this recipe. But I am so glad that I was. The orange flavor is definitely there, but not overpowering. I played with the recipe a little, and these turned out pretty perfect, if I do say so myself. Sometimes I struggle with texture when I'm inventing my own vegan baking recipes. Things might be too dense, or maybe too crumbly and falling apart. But these, well, I'll let these little guys speak for themselves.

Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins
{adapted from this recipe}

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tbl ground flax seed (I use golden flax, but any kind would work)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
zest of 1 orange
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup olive oil
3/4 cup oatmilk
3/4 cup chocolate chips.

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease a muffin tin. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and flax. In a separate, medium bowl mix brown sugar, orange zest, orange juice, olive oil, and oatmilk. Whisk these wet ingredients together until fully combined. In the dry ingredients, make a well in the center of the bowl and pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix together until just combined, don't overmix. Add in chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins and bake for 12-15 minutes (depending on your oven) until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!

welcome, march

{Photos taken with my new-to me- lomo lc-a that Jared bought me for my birthday. Can you tell, I'm having fun experimenting with new cameras?!}

Just popping to let you all know that the four remaining fabric packs are now listed up in the shop. I've also added two new patchwork scarves. Many of you out there are experiencing spring-like weather (not here, it's currently seven degrees outside- but sunny!), so there are now three patchwork scarves that are backed with a ridiculously soft lightweight recycled wool suiting. I'm dreaming of the days when that will be warm enough around my neck, though for now, I suppose I'm content with the cashmere neckwarmer my mom made me :).

As Emily said so eloquently, after all the apprehension about the February Funk, it turned out to be a pretty nice month. I know April will be quite busy, with two trips to opposite coasts, so I'm looking forward to March, and the slow (because I've lived here long enough to know and accept that it will be slow) easing into spring before things pick up and get totally crazy.

Today I'm loving...
:: issue 12 of This Joy+Ride
:: braids, here and here
:: these prints (more printing inspiration!)
:: this band, who I saw live last weekend and cannot stop listening to

Enjoy your Sunday! I'll be back tomorrow with a yummy new recipe.