Felted Stitch Markers

I was so happy when this idea came to me and I want to share it with you. I was knitting something that needed a whole bunch of stitch markers and ran out so I used yarn scraps and tied a circle with them, then my project had all these scrappy ends sticking out. Fast forward and I was working on the Pleats Purse and spit splicing a new skein on and remembered the scrappy ends and it came to me. It may sound silly but it's like when life gives you lemons ... well there was bunch of yarn scraps and now they are stitch markers. I love stuff like this.

So first, get your scraps of feltable yarn, like 100%wool.
Hold the ends and wrap them around your finger, here it's my pinkie finger, the finished markers will be the size of this finger.

Then take the ends and wind them around, in and out of the circle, like you did with grass when you were a kid to get a ring. Btw, this is a great project to do with kids.

Then place it back on your finger and wet the yarn. Or if you want to spit-splice it together, spit on it.

Now start to roll it back and forth using your fingers. This will cause friction and felt the yarn.


Keep going. It may take a few minutes.


Keep going until the yarn looks like it has felted together.
Now take it off and voila! Press it between a towel to dry.
Place them on a larger needle or dowel to block in a circle shape until dry.
Felted stitch markers. I hope this makes you as happy as it makes me!

Spiral Ornaments

Here's a new pattern for Spiral Ornaments. Easy, quick and fun!

Slouchy Sunburst

Snowed in today so it's a good time to catch up. Here's my latest hat pattern, Slouchy Sunburst. I love this motif and when combined with the new slouchy looks tres chic!

Pleats Purse - Knit Version

Here is the knit version of my Pleats Purse pattern. After the original crochet version came out, there were some requests for a knit version, so after many hours and revisions I am proud to present the Pleats Purse - Knit Version. It uses a fun cast on and is a fairly quick project with great results! I am grateful to have it tested by legknit aka Sue, StarKnits aka Allena, and TrulyBlessed aka Debi from the Free Pattern Testers group on Ravelry.

Fortune Cookie Bag

I'm so excited that my Fortune Cookie Bag is being published in Interweave Crochet Fall 2009! I'm thrilled that it's featured in the five projects Inside This Issue. It's a fun little project - a simple shape is felted then cleverly folds into a bag. Pre-order now or on newsstands October 6, 2009.

So Good English Muffins

Wow, these turned out so good, I just had to post. They are beyond anything available at the grocery stores, and really exceeded my expectations for homemade. I was expecting good but these are really delicious. There are lots of pretty recipes out there and with the food pron and blogging, sometimes when I try a recipe, it ... ahem ... falls a little short. So imagine my delight when these turned out better than expected.

The recipe is Dan Lepard's Cider Vinegar Muffins from The Guardian in the UK so you know it's authentic. I used half white wheat flour from TJ's and half organic AP from WF, and used only half the apple cider vinegar and subbed the rest with water as recommended in thefreshloaf.com. Next time will try all the vinegar since I couldn't detect it at all and maybe all wheat. I rolled the dough and used the cutter but with the leftover edges, I just rolled it into a ball and flattened it and it came out fine so don't worry if you don't have the wide cutter as the recipe recommends.

Pleats Purse

Here's a new purse pattern, the Pleats Purse. Wanted a pleated purse for a while now and thought about sewing one in canvas or leather, then I thought why not a felted one. I knew exactly what I wanted, just had to work out the dimensions and stuff, took three tries to get it right, can't frog, ya' know. It turned out great, will be my fall purse.

Gnocchi

A couple of old potatoes sitting in the bowl, gotta make something before they start growing or turning green. This gnocchi from 101 Cookbooks recipe sounds good, may be a little finicky since I've never made gnocchi before, just thought about it a bunch, oh what the heck.

I boiled the potatoes and after they drained and cooled enough to touch, peeled and pushed through a sieve since I don't have a food mill, worked great. Didn't add the egg since it held together okay, ended up making it the way I make fresh Chinese noodles or any pasta and it worked fine.


The part with the fork is a bit tricky but practice makes perfect. And oh these taste perfect, wonderful tender little pillows of yummy potatoes in your mouth.

Spaghetti Pie with Goat Cheese

I love Spaghetti Pie, aka baked spaghetti, and this one is extra good with the addition of goat cheese. This makes a small casserole, just double it for a larger one.

Ingredients:

8 oz spaghetti
around a cup of your favorite spaghetti or marinara sauce, maybe a little more
3 oz goat cheese
1/3 cup finely shredded parmesano reggiano


Cook spaghetti noodles until al dente, then drain.

In your baking dish, place cooked spaghetti, crumbled goat cheese, and finely shredded parmesano reggiano. Lightly toss.



Add spaghetti sauce and lightly mix, don't overmix because you want the goat cheese to still be noticeable, not totally blended in.



Add a little more sauce to the top and sprinkle with a little more parmesano.


Cover and bake in 375 degree oven until hot and bubbly. Enjoy!

Aurora

Has anyone else been feeling sluggish? Not sure if it's this weather or what I've been eating but I've been feeling sluggish and just icky for the last couple of weeks and forgot to post this. Anyways, here are photos of my latest shawl, Aurora.

This project came together in an interesting way. I used a similar stitch pattern for a traveling scarf and when it was complimented my friend Cerdeb suggested that it would look good with Noro. Anyways many months passed and I was thinking of what to make with some Noro Silk Garden that I had bought to make a shawl. Sometimes I see these lovely variegated yarns and they are so pretty I just want them but don't have anything planned. So I but some, sometimes just one or two skeins, sometimes a little more if I have a general idea on the type of garment, and then it arrives home and sits there for a while. Especially with variegated yarns, it's harder to figure a pattern because of the possibility of pooling? So I wanted to make something that deals with all these concerns, showing off the color, quantity of yarn.

You can take just about any amount of yarn in your stash and make a lovely kerchief, headscarf, scarf or shawl with Aurora.

Giant Eco Ball

Cascade Eco Wool wound into a giant ball. Those are really big skeins. And surprisingly soft too.

Chevy Cap

Wow, it's been a while. Problems all year with the computer but tg that's fixed now. Anyways, here's a cute new hat, the Chevy Hat. When I made the Chevy Bag, as I was crocheting I kept thinking it would work well as a hat, I even put the bag on my head. Like the Chevy Bag, it's based on the chevron stitch and uses two colorways to create the stripes. It's funkier than I'm used to wearing but it's such fun, it's my new fav.