Well, God, glad that’s over.
In the interest of talking about the most normal, friendly, innocuous things, here’s a picture of my friend Maggie wearing the sweater I knit her for Christmas to work:
It’s a Kristen Johnstone pattern; I knit it in the mountains this past fall.
More of the wonderfully banal:
It’s even more important than usual to eat healthy when you are sick. Tofu stir-fry over rice noodles takes a few minutes effort but it’s faster than takeout and much better for you. I loosely followed this recipe subbing in my favorite veggies: bok choi, green pepper, broccoli, red and green chilis, orange slices and green onion. Instead of sugar and corn syrup I added just a tiny squeeze of honey.
Comments Off on Tofu stir-fry
Tagged Cooking
One of my favorite parts of finishing a knitted garment is picking out the buttons. And it’s a good thing I enjoy it, because I get to pick out buttons for about 100 garments every year.
I actually used to find this task incredibly tedious and overwhelming because I would wait until the last minute and then rush to the nearest fabric store and then spend 30 minutes lamenting the terrible button selection before settling on the best of a handful of bad options.
Then I got smart and started a button stash. Buttons are such a fun thing to collect because they are relatively inexpensive and there are so many styles and colors. You just have to know where to find the good ones.
Windsor Buttons was, of course, the gold standard in button stores, but it was also kind of pricey. I’ve had the best luck buying vintage buttons at antique/thrift stores and online. At antique stores, I rarely pay more than $5 for a pack of buttons. I bought these three giant jam-colored buttons for $1 and I love them to bits.
My absolute favorite online button shop is Add Vintage on etsy. The best buttons in my collection are from there. Add Vintage carries what’s known as “new old stock” and their prices are super reasonable.
Orit Dotan is another great etsy find.
My friend Erin recently turned my on to Treasure Cast. They make absolutely gorgeous pewter statement buttons.
You should also keep your eyes peeled for cool buttons on coats or other garments at thrift stores.
Do you have any favorite button sources? You can share your links in the comments.
Comments Off on Who’s Got the Button?
Tagged everything else
PRAISE THE LORD!
Hello, this is Keith Chesterton–you’ve got the right person at the wrong time, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message, I will impress upon my heart to call you back immediately.
You have a blessed day, now.
And, by the way: I’m praying for you.
Comments Off on Voicemail
Tagged quotes
PRAISE THE LORD!
Hello, this is Keith Chesterton–you’ve got the right person at the wrong time, but if you leave your name, number, and a brief message, I will impress upon my heart to call you back immediately.
You have a blessed day, now.
And, by the way: I’m praying for you.
Comments Off on Voicemail
Tagged quotes
First, the facts:
Title: Just Like Me Knits
Author: Brandy Fortune
Published by: Potter Craft, 2013
Pages:
Type:
Chapters:
1. Everyday
2. Dress-Up
3. Accessories
The In-Depth Look:
There are really no words for how adorable this book is. Cute kids. Adorable knits. And then amazing dolls with knits of their own.
Because, really … the whole thing is wonderfully sweet–in the best possible way.
This book is divided into three sections–practical, every-day kind of knits; fun, playful knits for dressing-up and pretending; and accessories like hats and socks.
All the patterns come in two basic ranges–Child-Sized and Doll-Sized, and heaven help me if that’s not part of the cuteness factor here–seeing not only fresh-faced kids in their handknits, but a group of dolls dressed to match. (The doll-sized socks alone…) There are patterns here for girls and for boys, and they’re pretty much all (darn, where’s the thesaurus when I need it) … adorable.
Yeah, I can’t help it. It’s the perfect word for this book–not only in the sense of “cute,” but just because I can’t help but adore the entire thing. The concept (because what kid doesn’t like to dress their dolls like them?), the patterns, and the photos. Oh, the photos are wonderful. Brandy took all of them herself and, having read her blog for years, I am never disappointed in her photos. She takes wonderful shots and the images in this book are perfectly sweet while showing off the patterns well.
Yeah … it’s all adorable. My only real regret is that I don’t have a little person of my own to knit any of these for. Though I really wouldn’t mind having one of these fabulous dolls, though.
This lovely book can be found at Amazon.com.
Want to see bigger pictures? Click here.
This review copy was kindly donated by Potter Craft. Thank you!
Other posts for this author:
Comments Off on Review: Just Like Me Knits
Tagged brandy fortune, children
I don’t dare go out in the pollen while I am still so sick which means Jason got stuck adding manure to the garlic bed and compost to the veggie bed out front as well as planting chard, sugar snap peas and greens. Meanwhile I stayed inside and got some more seedlings going. I started my hot peppers at the end of March because they take ages to grow and then this week I added some herbs, flowers and bunching onions. As soon as he gets fresh soil into my beet and carrot bags, I’ll plant those as well.
Comments Off on Garden prep
Tagged gardening
Cini is photobombed by a chicken!
Comments Off on A few quick pics
Tagged Features, In Pictures
I saw a Latin edition of “The Hobbit” last time I was at the bookstore… Do you read any foreign languages? Do you ENJOY reading in other languages?
Don’t forget to leave a link to your actual response (so people don’t have to go searching for it) in the comments—or if you prefer, leave your answers in the comments themselves!
Comments Off on Language
Tagged Wordpress
