even more food!

I'm back with some more food updates! Basically, I just want to show off the vegetable pot pie I've made. I love pot pie, and it's such a great dish because you can basically put whatever you want in the filling. For this pie, I had potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms. It turned out great!

more cooking!

I've been doing a very good job, if I say so myself, of actually cooking! I do tend to repeat meals, and so I thought I'd show some of my favorites.

Lentil curry is a great meal for perpetually broke a graduate student like me, because it can be made entirely from long-lasting ingredients, and is quite filling. Mine does have coconut milk in it, which I store in the freezer to make it last longer. Otherwise the curry is just lentils, carrots, and potatoes, on top of rice.

Patchwork Sewing Kit

This pattern is one that I admired for a long time before making it, being uncertain of my patchwork and quilting skills. But after making a small quilt for my dog a while back, I decided I should give it a shot!

First cooking forays!

I moved into my apartment--and that means I actually have to feed myself. So I've been doing some cooking, and I'm pretty happy with it so far!

I've made breakfast potatoes, peanut curry, and some other things, but what I'm most proud of are my cinnamon apples in a skillet:

And my scones! I made scones for tea today, and they turned out great. Homemade scones fresh from the oven are the best. Also it is exciting that my oven actually works--it's a bit sketch.

You can see my pretty mug in the last picture--polish pottery is one of my favorite types of ceramics, and it holds up extremely well.

Anyway, I'm pretty proud of myself so far. :) Now I just have to keep it up!

vintage card catalog!

My dad is a big garage-saler/antiquer/&c, so he sometimes picks up cool stuff for me instead of things to resell. Or I claim them before he can post them to ebay. Either way, I end up with some pretty awesome stuff.

His latest find is this adorable card catalog, made by Globe and with a patent of 1900. It's over a hundred years old, but has held up pretty well! All the drawers were present, and all but one still had the locking filing system inside. And he got it for only 4$. :D

Flannel napkins

Continuing the new apartment theme of this summer, I recently made a set of flannel napkins. I was inspired by this pattern--I think that flannel napkins are possibly one of the coziest ideas out there. But I did my own slightly more perfectionist-y process for the mitered corners.

patchwork key fob (+ pattern)

My younger sister was staying in some dorms for a summer program recently, and requested a key fob. So I decided to make one, of course! This key fob has a key ring on one side, and a clasp on the other, so that it can be both clipped inside a bag and folded to fit around your wrist. I'm keeping this one, but another is in the works for her. These would make wonderful gifts, as they are small and quick to make, but very practical.

Tea Cosy

One of my perhaps lesser-known addictions is tea. I love trying different types, drinking it while doing research, and when just relaxing with a nice book. And of course, I love collecting various tea-related paraphernalia. :)

Because of my hoarding instincts, I have a few different teapots. But right now, my 2-cup Price and Kensington is getting the most use, so I figured I'd make a few tea cosys for it. And since both turned out pretty cute (at least in my opinion!) I figured I'd also share the patterns with any other knitters who'd like tiny tea cosys for their equally adorable tiny teapots. Here is the first one:

This tea cosy requires minimal knitting skills, as it is knit flat and then seamed up. And it's a great project for beginners, as it is knit entirely in seed stitch with some minimal decreasing at the top.

It is also super easy to whip up in a few hours--so it'd make a wonderful gift (perhaps with a matching teapot) to a recent graduate or as housewarming present. :)

I hope you enjoy, and I will be posting the pattern shortly--look for it in a day or two!

handkerchiefs!

Some of my favorite things to hand sew are handkerchiefs. Although they aren't perhaps the most practical, they are very relaxing to sew, and I always feel a bit charmingly old-fashioned doing so.

The usual contents of my purse--wallet, sunglasses, handkerchief!

Birthday Present!!

So my friend Claire finally finished her Ravenclaw HP scarf, and decided that it was still missing an embroidered house patch. :) Guess who got requested to make one for her birthday present?

I told her I would try, but embroidery is not a skill of mine. Still, I'm giving it my best shot! So far it's going pretty well, but I did start with the easiest part. If nothing else, I'm sure this project will help improve my satin stitch!

Spinning adventures

So I have been enjoying my summer so far--soon I will have to start studying for placement exams for the fall, but for now I've been occupying myself with knitting, crocheting, embroidering, and spinning!! Spinning is a highly addicting hobby. I keep falling even deeper into it.

For instance, here is my first fleece-cleaning adventure:

New Pattern on Ravelry!

Hi everyone,

I have been very busy attempting to get into grad school for next year, but I managed to post the pattern for my Solidarity Mittens today. These mittens are the ones I knit for my mom last christmas. They were inspired by the WI capitol protests in February 2011.

This is a picture of my mom and I protesting together. :)