Handmade Gypsy

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

2011-12-13T15:10:00.003-07:00

Little Caroline arrived 11-25-11 at 10:13 PM. We are in love :)

A "New" Spice Rack

2011-08-07T22:24:00.001-06:00

What I'm making these days....

2011-05-02T11:04:00.000-06:00

I've been a bit quiet for a while. And a bit lazy. And feeling not so hot. Here's why....

11 weeks, things seem to be going normally (what with the bloating, nausea, and all the other fun things that go along with pregnancy!). A week and a half til we get to hear the heartbeat - hoping and praying all continues to go well!

Chai Brownies (Take 2)

2011-03-09T13:27:00.001-07:00

This is my second go at Chai brownies, as the first resulted in something more like cardamom bars :) I was a bit more cautious with the added ingredients this time, and the result is far superior!

If you've never used cardamom pods before - to remove the seeds from the pods, place them in a mortar and tap lightly with the pestle so the pod cracks open. Pull the pod apart and dump the seeds into the mortar. Throw away the pod. Use the pestle to pulverize the cardamom. Look for a place that sells bulk spices; that's your best bet for finding the pods - and the cardamom will be cheaper and fresher. If you can't find pods (or don't have a mortar and pestle), you can buy powdered cardamom (though it generally costs an arm and a leg!). Either way, buy a SMALL quantity - you don't need much and it doesn't keep forever. Use the leftover in Indian curries, Indian Butter Chicken, add a bit to homemade granola, and more.

Cardamom, mortar & pestle

Chocolate Chai Brownies
Based on Steve's favorite Jungle Camp Brownies

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Combine in a medium mixing bowl:
   1 cup sugar (white and/or brown)
   6 tablespoons cocoa powder
   3/4 cup whole wheat flour
   1/4 teaspoon salt
   1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (use less if your cinnamon powder is extremely fresh)
   2-3 cardamom pods, seeds extracted and crushed (or a pinch-1/8 tsp ground)
   1/8 tsp ginger
   dash ground black pepper

Mix in with wooden spoon (this is thick - don't use a whisk unless you just want an excuse to lick the batter off):
   1/3 cup oil and/or applesauce (I always use a combination)
   2 eggs, beaten
   splash vanilla extract (roughly 1/8 tsp)
   1/4 cup coconut ("optional" - if you hate it, leave it out. If not, use it!), plus some to sprinkle on top

Pour into greased & floured (or cocoaed) 8x8 pan. Sprinkle on top:
   Coconut and/or turbinado sugar

Bake at 325 for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Serve with Vanilla Bean ice cream.

The verdict? Perfect :)

Chai Brownies (Take 1)

2011-02-27T18:09:00.007-07:00

One of my all-time favorite loose leaf teas is Wegmans Chocolate Chai. The flavors go together so nicely for the perfect mid-winter hot drink, no sugar needed. That tea is the inspiration for these brownies. Now, I know there are plenty other recipes out there for chai brownies, but can there really be too many options for something so promising? So here is my attempt.

Chocolate Chai Brownies
Based on Steve's favorite Jungle Camp Brownies
*see the update below for the disclaimer on this recipe!

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Combine in a medium mixing bowl:
   1 cup sugar (white and/or brown)
   6 tablespoons cocoa powder
   3/4 cup flour (white and/or wheat)
   1/4 teaspoon salt
   *1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
   *cardamom (seeds from 2-5 pods ground in mortar & pestle, or 1/8-1/4 tsp ground)
   dash ground black pepper
   dash ginger (optional - I didn't have any)

Mix in:
   1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon oil/applesauce (I always use a combination)
   2 eggs, beaten
   splash vanilla extract
   1/4 cup chocolate chips and/or coconut (optional)

Pour into greased 8x8 pan. Sprinkle on top:
   Coconut and/or turbinado sugar

Bake at 325 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Baking!

The verdict: just came out of the oven! Update forthcoming :)

*Update: So. These have a huge potential. But I used WAY too much cardamom. It just smelled so good... and looked like so little ground up in the mortar. Well, it wasn't so little. I used 8-10 pods (I swear, it really didn't look like much!). I think 2-5 is probably the appropriate number. Next go, I will mix up everything but the spices, then add slowly and figure out the correct amount. That said - even with somewhat overpowering cardamom, they were great with vanilla bean ice cream, and it did mellow the cardamom enough that it was quite tasty! Also, the coconut was amazing. If you don't hate it, use it!

The two year old ate them, so they can't be bad!

Yogurt Toppers

2011-01-30T17:51:00.001-07:00

I love plain yogurt with a dash of sugar or agave nectar and a few fresh or frozen berries. Not everyone [in my house] is so thrilled with this. For those who prefer something a bit more like store-bought yogurt, here is my solution:

Yogurt Mix-in Sauces
4-5 Cups fresh or frozen fruit
1 Tablespoon cornstarch - this thickens the sauce so it doesn't water down your yogurt without being chunky

1/2 Cup jam or jelly

Sugar to taste - I used about a tablespoon for the recipe

Thaw fruit if frozen. In a saucepan combine fruit with the cornstarch and jam or jelly. Stir and cook over medium heat until mixture gets clear and boils. Remove from heat. Strain (if desired) to remove seeds. Store in a glass jar (reuse a jar from peanut butter, salsa, etc.). Chill.

Add a spoonful or two to 6-8 oz yogurt and mix in for homemade yogurty deliciousness :)

Shown in the picture above - Blackberry Currant (made with frozen berries and currant jelly) and Strawberry Banana (frozen berries and a banana added in just before removing from heat). Play around with spices to make other flavors - apple pie would be fantastic with apples and cinnamon, and maybe some oats.

Palak Paneer

2011-01-26T22:45:00.003-07:00

I first had Palak Paneer at Teaism in Washington DC. I didn't really read the menu too carefully, and spent most of the meal trying to figure out what the delicious white bits were - not egg; meat, maybe? not really... cheese? not quite like any cheese I'd had... I finally looked at the menu again on the way out and discovered, yes, cheese. But no, not quite like any cheese I'd had before!

Paneer is a white cheese, and is about as easy as it's possible for cheese to be. In a nutshell, heat up milk to almost boiling, pour in a bit of white vinegar, watch it curdle, and dump into cheese cloth to drain. The end. For those who want a bit more detail in your directions, look here.

For this Palak Paneer recipe, I used a gallon of milk, drained the cheese in a flour sack towel-lined colander, then cut my paneer in half - one half to use in the recipe, and one to freeze for later. (Also - save the whey! Cook rice or pasta in it for a bit of extra flavor.)

Flour sack towel in a colander over a bowl... post cheese removal

Half of my paneer block ready to freeze

Paneer means "cheese" in Hindi, and Palak means "spinach". There are hundreds of recipes available online, and I sort of meshed two of them, but this one is pretty close to what I made, which came out quite well! I didn't use chana masala, and only used one bunch of spinach - though should have probably used two. It could have had more, in any case! But the result was quite tasty :)

Frying paneer - like feta, it doesn't melt

The "masala" - mixture - of onion, tomato, garlic, ginger and spices. Smells heavenly!

Blended palak

Everything but the cheese

Mmm, delicious!

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-08T23:35:00.000-07:00

I can say that now, since it's actually advent (unlike when retail stores started putting up decorations back in October. Or was it September?). Our town's annual tradition starts December with the Candlelight walk and Christmas carols, leading up to lighting the lights along the creek and main street through town.

Our bellydance troupe joins the fun, since we dance every First Friday anyway! I made the elf hat (freehanded for lack of a suitable free pattern) for the occasion :)

Pretty Pearls

2010-11-14T21:20:00.002-07:00

I performed last night for the first time - well, my first more-or-less choreographed time, at least - with my wonderful bellydance ladies. We danced to History Repeating and our costumes included fedoras and pearls. Pearls, I have (had) only a few of. Shopping!

My fedora, complete with feathers (kindly donated by a bird who got his wings clipped at work) and a few little pearls...

Jewelry... little studs from my wedding, big studs were $1 at a local antique store and needed one "diamond" replaced. The dangle was a hoop earring with a cheap pearl bead threaded on and the earring re-bent; attached to the back side of the stud. I made a ring out of another earring and bead. Necklace, $2 at the same store.

Hooray for thrifty, fun costume jewelry :) And also for an amazing evening dancing with lovely friends!

Sockarms

2010-11-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

There are always so many cute, fun knee-high socks around. Any discount or big-box store has them, in every color, for ever season. But armwarmers? So much potential, so little to be found. Sure, there are your standard knit ones, but long, cozy ones are rare, choices slim, and they're always $10-15 or more. Enter the sock arm.

The formula is simple: 1 pair knee-length socks - toes + heel-hole = sockarms!

See? Sockarms. At $5 tops, a bargain. And ridiculously easy.

Cilantro Goes to Seed

2010-11-09T15:56:00.003-07:00

When it comes to spices, cilantro just might be my favorite. The leaves turn just about anything into a feast. You can even freeze them for (almost) never-ending goodness.

And when the plant bolts and goes to seed in the baking heat of a Colorado summer, coriander.

Well, it's not very much. And it was definitely a pain! Supposedly, let it hang with a bag around it long enough and the seeds fall off, saving you the work. Supposedly. Apparently 1.5 months isn't long enough! I think it would have been worth it, buying seed at the store. But hey, free is free!

Green Tomato Salsa

2010-11-06T14:55:00.001-06:00

What to do with green tomatoes...

A colorful beginning...

...stewing...

...green tomato relish.

The verdict: Pretty tasty! I used the recommended half cup of vinegar in this. What to use it for? Farmgirl Susan had some great suggestions - first try is turkey burritos. Mmmmmm...

Update 11/10: Turkey burritos were DELICIOUS!

Chocolate Chia Date Bars

2010-11-03T14:13:00.030-06:00

A while ago, I discovered Chia seeds at my favorite Colorado grocery store (never to replace my all-time favorite grocery store!). Having heard of them while poking through a magazine in my chiropracter's waiting room, I picked some up. The chia gel thing didn't quite do it for me. Too small and crunchy when added to the granola. Chia milk, disgusting (sorry).

However, I found a winner in this recipe from Vegetarian times. I don't know what raw chocolate is (I just used Hershey's dark chocolate baking powder. I'm sure that's blasphemous.) or where to find it. And I'd likely be too cheap to pay for it in any case. But these are tasty! I made as directed, plus a bit of water and maybe a tablespoon of corn syrup- my dates were pretty dry.

Mix everything together in food processor, smush into a big pancake between 2 pieces of wax paper...

Refrigerate for a few hours, cut and enjoy!

Wrap the rest in pieces of wax paper and stick in the fridge for a tasty to-go snack.

There's a Worm in my Apple!

2010-10-31T17:33:00.002-06:00

Yes, I've been a slacker lately. Haven't had time for a lot, and definitely skimping on the blog posts. But coming back briefly to say...

Happy Halloween!

From Steve, Krista and Edgerton :)

The End of the Garden

2010-10-30T14:27:00.023-06:00

A few favorites, never posted:

In the beginning... Miss Michaela plays in the dirt. Gardening is FUN!

In full bloom

Red beets

Someone's scarecrow

Squash blossom

Sunflower

Baby carrot - this was actually one of the larger ones!

Last harvest

Turning soil for next year

The end.

Ren Fest Fun

2010-08-03T22:33:00.006-06:00

My favorite sometimes-pirate (looking a bit more "respectable" this day) and I (his favorite bellydancer) finally made it to the Colorado Renaissance Festival on it's final day along with my wonderful aunt, uncle and cousins. Fun times were had by all!

Henna

Just a few of many good laughs...

Puke and Snot

and of course...

Because really, doesn't everything?

New Life for an Old Frame

2010-07-27T19:44:00.003-06:00

Back in high school when I was taking photography - and film and photo paper were still the necessary elements for that hobby - my grandfather gave me some of his old developing equipment, including trays, an enlarger, a timer, and a frame used to keep the photo paper square and create a white border around the photo.

Needless to say, digital came in before I had a chance to set up and use any of it, and my photo lab is now on my computer. But I still have most of it, including this frame, which now has a new life as another kind of nearly one-of-a-kind frame.

Crochet Hook Roll - Finished!

2010-07-25T17:35:00.007-06:00

It's been a few weeks - but it is done!

This ...

is now this:

Complete with scissors pocket...

...and a place to stash stitch markers.

These pictures hide nicely my inability to make the pockets straight - so perhaps I'll never sell these guys, or be a good seamstress :) But I have a cute place to store my crochet stuff, so I'm happy!

Crochet Hook Roll

2010-07-11T22:49:00.002-06:00

My dad used to have a great cloth roll out in the garage for his wrench sets, denim blue and dirty. This, once I figure out how to assemble it, will be a crochet hook roll, far prettier, but equally functional! It will have two rows of slots for hooks and two wider pockets for scissors, needles, pens and the like, and a small ribbon for holding stitch marker rings. Hopefully it will materialize in the next week or so!

Floor Work & Poor Little Feetses

2010-06-29T21:44:00.002-06:00

I just started taking an intro to floorwork class with my bellydance troupe, and am (not surprisingly) loving it. One of my lovely teachers has a pair of these nifty little (for lack of a better name) footies she got years ago to protect the tops of your feet while sliding around on floors.

"Can you make some of these? I bet all these girls would buy them!"

Well, of course, I had to try. So, this is round one.

They don't take long - except when you forget to write down what you did on the first one and have to pull out every other row on #2 :)

Lesson learned: write down what you do!

There will definitely be more of these coming, probably for the ladies in my class, and maybe, just maybe, I'll get around to some stuff to get the Etsy shop up and running :)

Tomatoes & Plantlings

2010-06-27T12:59:00.004-06:00

I learned a thing or two about starting seeds this year. If you start more seeds than you want plants, you will have LOTS of extra seeds. Sound obvious? Probably should be! Somehow I thought a few of them wouldn't survive.... :) But they did. After giving away about two dozen plants, I still have quite a few left - cherry, yellow and purple heirloom. I inherited three more larger tomato plants, as well as permission from the landlord to plant, so started a small tomato garden.

I also found a great hanging planter tutorial and decided to give it a try. So far, I have only 2 2L bottles (since we don't really drink soda much!), so will need to find another to get my yellow tomato plant planted, but did the cherry yesterday and the purple today.

The cherry tomato plant is already flipping its little leaves over to get the sun! Currently these guys live under the porch on the north facing side of the house - we'll see if they get enough sun there or if I have to buy a shepherd's hook to put them somewhere better suited to growing :)

Three more of my tomatoes, along with tomatillos and habaneros, have a new home in our plot in the community garden, which is coming along well!

Buggs II

2010-06-08T17:43:00.001-06:00

My second pair of baby Uggs, by Crochetroo on Ravelry. The first were for an almost-here-now baby boy - this pair is for a little baby girl. Love them!

Yummy Yogurt

2010-06-05T17:27:00.003-06:00

Well, I've finally had enough people ask me about yogurt making. I know there are dozens of tutorials out there already, but here is my own, for easy referrals.

Upon moving to Denver, I discovered that out here, milk is dirt cheap compared to PA (despite PA's abundance of cows). At under $2/gallon, it's definitely worthwhile to make my own yogurt! I first tried it before traveling to West Africa for 3 weeks last summer and realized how incredibly easy it is. It does take time, but making your own yogurt is simple, fun and tasty.

So, how?

In a nutshell:

Heat milk to 180 F (ish - hot but not boiling)
Cool to 110 F (ish - still warm, but doesn't hurt your finger)
Whisk in starter - some plain yogurt or freeze-dried starter
Pour into glass containers
Stick somewhere slightly warm and forget about it for 6-8 hours or overnight.
Remember about it, discover you've made yogurt, and enjoy! (well, maybe refrigerate first...)

So you can do it now, right? Still have questions? Detailed version below!

1. Heat milk to 180 F (ish)

I use a candy thermometer (after my very slow digital one fell into the hot milk a few too many times). This works great, but in reality, you don't need a thermometer - I've done it plenty of times without. Heat it to near boiling (like when you start to hear it, or when it's too hot to really touch for long). Then proceed to step 2!

*Note: you can use powdered milk for this (overseas, for example, where that's cheaper), or you can add a bit of powdered milk or evaporated milk to make the yogurt thicker. DON'T use the nasty instant milk powder, though. I've not had very good results with it! I get the expensive stuff from the natural foods aisle and add a couple tablespoons per quart of milk. Works well to thicken, but not necessary.

2. Cool to 110 F (ish - still warm, but doesn't hurt your finger)
Again, I use a thermometer, but I've done it without. When it feels "lukewarm" (like, if your coffee got this temperature you'd microwave it or throw it out), it's ready.

3. Whisk in starter - some plain yogurt or freeze-dried starter
You can use it, but I haven't had great luck with store-bought yogurt as a starter. I use YoGourmet starter, from a natural foods store/aisle. It's usually refrigerated near the yogurt, if you're looking for it. Once you've made a batch, though, you can use that yogurt as a starter, and keep the rest of your purchased starter for several batches from now. Supposedly the yogurt cultures eventually get a bit unbalanced and you should start from a fresh starter.
You can also freeze some yogurt in ~1/4 C batches to use later - that will keep your starter good longer, since each comes from the original batch. Doing this, one envelope of starter lasts me for 20 or so batches - freezing 5 starters, using them up then making 5 more from the last batch, etc. about 4 times before using a new envelope of starter.

4. Pour into glass containers
Rinse them well with hot water first to make sure you don't have other contaminants in them. I like to use jam-sized canning jars and make individual serving containers. If you don't fill them all the way, you'll have room to add some sugar or honey and some fresh cut fruit on top.

5. Stick somewhere slightly warm and forget about it for 6-8 hours or overnight.
I've seen a lot of suggestions for this, from an oven with pilot light on (gas oven) to just wrapping the already warm jars in thick blankets, to putting them in a cooler along with a few large containers of warm water. My personal favorite is to turn my oven on for a bit while I'm waiting for the milk to cool with a baking stone (or heavy ceramic casserole dish, etc.) in it. Then turn the oven off, but the heat from the stone will keep it slightly warm. You're going for around 80-90 F.
Even better is to make cookies in the oven first :) Then you have a pre-warmed stone and fresh cookies to boot!

Then just leave it be. In 6 or so hours, you will have yogurt! If you like it thicker, stronger flavored, or if you're lactose intolerant, leave it in for 8 or 10 hours or overnight. The longer it stays unrefrigerated, the longer the bacteria have to digest the sugars (lactose!) in the milk, producing the acid that turns your milk to yogurt. I nearly always leave mine overnight, and the last batch was in there a good 12 hours and still is great.

6. Remember about it, discover you've made yogurt, and enjoy! (well, maybe refrigerate first!)
Put some lids on and throw it in the fridge. Enjoy with sugar, honey, applesauce, fresh/canned/frozen fruit, even Nutella!

*Note: always mix in your extras after incubation. Yeasts and other bacteria from fruit can change how it works. Exception: I have tried adding some instant coffee and/or cocoa powder (sans sugar) before culturing the yogurt. I found it takes a bit longer to set, especially the coffee, but it does set, and tastes great! Add a spoonful of sugar before eating.... Yum yum :)

Babies

2010-06-03T08:00:00.002-06:00

Little plants - to the garden soon!

El Jardín

2010-05-21T22:50:00.008-06:00

Our garden is ready for business!

Seeds to follow...

Spring Planting

2010-05-16T18:10:00.000-06:00

I'm starting a plot at the Golden Community Garden with a friend, just as soon as we can transform it into something other than a clay slab. I finally got impatient (I think I should have done so earlier!) and decided to start some seeds to plant in the near future. Here are the results, for now!

Newspaper, a spice container and a bit of masking tape make great seed-starting pots for the frugal :)

First Friday

2010-05-08T08:09:00.007-06:00

Critter's Coat

2010-04-25T19:24:00.007-06:00

The other half of my baby shower gift for my momma-to-be cousin, Critter's Coat is pretty directly [shamelessly] copied from another on Ravelry (Thanks, YarnSide!). However, I like it like that :)

This pattern makes two big "6-sided squares" - by which I mean shapes with 6 sides and 90 degree corners. These obviously don't lay flat, until you fold them in half to form the two sides of the coat. Neat construction!
Yarn: Lion's Pride Vanna's Choice Olive & Pea Pod

Critter's Coat and Baby Buggs on my stunning model :)

June 22 - Dear Evan Riley ... four days wasn't enough. Your mommy and daddy love and miss you, and people all over this world have been praying for you and crying over you, but we'll see you one day. We will always ask why - but we have seen how you have made a mark on this world and on so many lives. Meet you on the other side, Critter.

Grandma's Stash

2010-04-05T17:59:00.003-06:00

My Swedish grandmother (whom we call FarMor - "father's mother") was my very first (and of course, most inspirational!) crochet teacher. I never made much of myself back then - I think I started many numbers of things, but only ever finished a pair of shoelaces! - but was always impressed with her work, including a great many afghans I love dearly.

I had fun sharing my newly rediscovered hobby with her, and I think she enjoyed it as well. My (early) birthday gift from her arrived today. What more could you want but a bit of grandma's stash? Thanks, FarMor!

Buggs

2010-04-03T21:18:00.008-06:00

I don't know if my cousin reads my blog or not, but she will get a sneak peak at part of her baby shower gift if she does.

I found this adorable pattern from Crochetroo on Ravelry while hunting around for cute Aussie baby gifts. I hope she likes these "buggs" - baby Uggs :)

Brown & green - Galway worsted wool; White - Lamb's Pride worsted wool-mohair

June 22 - Dear Evan Riley ... sometimes life is too short. You are so loved, though we won't meet you this side of heaven. Someday another little one will walk in these shoes and your mommy and daddy will think of you and those four short days - and one day they'll hold your hand on the other side. You won't be forgotten, courageous little warrior.

Another Feathered Friends Feeder

2010-04-01T16:10:00.004-06:00

For my Feathered Friends

2010-03-31T23:29:00.004-06:00

Since moving to Colorado, I've been enjoying all the "new" birds that show up outside my window. None terribly rare, but there's rather little overlap in the ranges of birds between here and PA! With spring finally here, bird feeders are in order.

This the first of two or three crocheted feeders that are going up outside the window in front of my computer - hopefully to attract many pretty birds!

Argyle Fans Wristwarmers

2010-03-30T00:15:00.012-06:00

This pattern is worked in rows, but joined in the round at the end of each to make a seamless (hooray!) glove.

Materials:
1 skein worsted weight yarn
H/5.0 mm crochet hook
Yarn needle

Stitches & Abbreviations:
fsc foundation chain stitch
ch chain
sc single crochet
dc double crochet
sl st slip stitch
sp space

FSC 28 (multiple of 4), join w/sl st

Row 1: ch 3, 2 dc in same st, skip 3 st, sc in next st; *ch 3, 3 dc in same st, skip 3 st, sc in next st* repeat around; TURN - join w/sc in beginning sl st, ch 3, join w/sl st it 3rd ch, turn, sl st in ch-3 sp just made (note: this turn is covered by sc at end of each new row and will not be visible)

Row 2-11: ch 3, 2 dc in same ch-3 sp; *sc in next ch-3 sp, ch 3, 3 dc in same ch-3 sp* repeat around; TURN - join w/sc in same ch-3 sp as ch-3 at row start, ch 3, join w/sl st in 3rd ch of starting ch-3, turn, sl st in ch-3 sp just made

12th row (base of thumb) increase: same as rows 2-11, but opposite turns, add one pattern segment. After a sc in ch-3 sp, modify next pattern segment as follows:
- ch-3, 2 dc in same ch-3 sp, ch 2, sc in same ch-3 sp (the ch-2 and sc serves as the third dc in this pattern segment);
- ch-4, then 3 dc in 1st ch (adds a second pattern segment); sc in next ch-3 sp;
continue remainder of row the same as rows 2-11. Picture at right shows the two pattern segments of increase. Stitch diagram below shows the increase in symbols, with arrows showing the direction of stitching.

Rows 13-17: continue same as rows 2-11 (now with one additional pattern repeat in each row)

Row 18 (thumb space): skip the pattern segment directly above/between the increase and the pattern segment before it from row 12; to do this, work as follows after a normal pattern segment ending in a sc in the ch-3 sp prior to the segment to be skipped:
- ch 4, 3 dc in first ch; skipping over 1 pattern segment, sc in NEXT ch-3 sp and continue as with previous rows. This is the same stitch used for the increase.
(For larger thumb opening, substitute 2 dc and 1 tc for the 3 dc, and/or add 1 ch before the sc in ch-3 sp.)

Row 19: same as previous rows

Row 20 (final row): same as previous except: replace every ch-3 with a ch-2; 3 dc instead of 2 dc in first ch-3 sp; at end, sl st into first ch-3 sp and finish off.

Thumb: reattach yarn in ch-3 sp on whichever side of the thumb opening that will allow you to work around the outside of the thumb in the correct direction (see picture at right). Work 4 pattern segments around outside of thumb (remembering to use only 2 dc in first pattern segment), then across thumb opening as in row 18. Turn (as in regular rows) and complete a second row (modified as in Final Row of glove), then finish off.

Wrist edging: close up any gap in foundation chain with tail of yarn. Reattach yarn in foundation chain and work a repeat of row 1 around the edge, with dcs in same stitches as in row 1. Work so stitches are pointed in diagonally opposite direction as row 1 (see picture at left).

Second glove: so that the second glove will be a mirror image at the edges, and not identical, turn the work inside out after the first couple rows and continue on normally. This swaps the "right" and "wrong" sides. Note that it also means the thumb will be done in the opposite direction.

PDF pattern also available.

© K. Frank, Handmade Gypsy 2010. All rights reserved.

Spring Break!

2010-03-29T18:41:00.002-06:00

Spring break, at last, is here. This means I've finally gotten time to hit the projects all lined up waiting for me!

First one up today is a pair of wristwarmers for my chiropractor, who saw a pair I'd made myself and liked them enough to ask me to make her a pair. I didn't have a pattern I liked, so made this one up, using a stitch pattern from Super Stitches Crochet. The pattern requires you to turn at each row, but there isn't much I dislike more in crochet than having to stitch up a completed object - and not being able to try it on as I go. After a few blunders, I managed to solve that problem, and work this connecting each row before turning - best of both worlds!

This picture shows them about half-done, after I'd figured out how to make an acceptable increase :) Pattern and finished picture coming tomorrow.

2009's Oddest

2010-03-26T11:53:00.003-06:00

I don't normally post news links, but this one's rather appropriate - 2009's Oddest Book Title's winners include, at the top a book on crochet - and geeky crochet at that :) Congrats to Crocheting Adventures with Hyperbolic Plane on being stranger than anyone else!

Le Bouteille d'Eau

2010-03-04T20:55:00.005-07:00

Finally replaced the old, beat up (and probably BPA-laden, though I'm still not sure it's much of a big deal) Nalgene bottle this weekend with a shiny new Sigg. Loving the pretty Moroccan design on the outside, but after dropping it on my foot once, then on the floor (denting the bottom quite nicely), I thought some sort of holder was in order. Pulled out a few of the stitches from Crochet Kitten's Josephine collection (which I already borrowed for my bellydance belt) and whipped this up in just a couple hours of multi-tasking.

I was working on this at school a bit, and a few of my girls were requesting one for themselves :) Handy, pretty, and lets the design still show through!

The strap was done in two pieces, and instead of sewing them together, I made a nice long chain on each side and laced them together for an adjustable strap.

Why This Time, I Bought Daisy

2010-02-21T17:55:00.004-07:00

Exhibit A
<---------

Exhibit B
--------->

Hot Pink Retro Futuristic Girly Sleek

2010-02-13T13:12:00.005-07:00

These were the adjectives a high school friend gave me to make some armwarmers for the female lead in a movie he is producing. Soliciting a bit of help from Fingerless Glove Fanatics on Ravelry and hunting through many many many patterns, I finally found one I liked: Shell Lace Fitted Fingerless Gloves (link requires a Ravelry account!)

Hot pink may not be one of my best colors, but I love this pattern! May have to hit up Fancy Tiger again for some MORE Malabrigo ... (because obviously, I don't have enough yarn yet).

As close to exactly one skein as you can get!

Silent but Not Gone

2010-02-01T19:31:00.004-07:00

Well, I haven't written any new patterns lately, but I haven't been TOTALLY slacking since becoming once again gainfully employed...

Openwork Warmers

Divine Hat

This was started to use up the rest of the yarn left from the matching color warmers... naturally, I ran out of yarn and had to buy more. Sigh. So next up: find something to do with the rest of the NEW skein :)

Fan-edged warmers for Steph

Surface Waves, also for Steph

And of course, yogurt :) Yum yum!

First Day

2010-01-05T18:48:00.005-07:00

Teacher fun with Wordle

Amigumicrobes #2: T7 Bacteriophage

2010-01-03T17:31:00.015-07:00

in honor of Megan Thompson, who made this crazy request

Stitches:

Magic Ring
ch, sc, hdc, inc, dec
bl dec: insert hook into bl of 1st st from front, then into bl of 2nd st from back; yo pull through both loops and finish as normal sc (see pictures below)

Instructions:
Note: Omit italics (“Round _b”) for less of a point on top and bottom
Magic ring 6 sc
Round 1: even sc around (6 st)
Round 2: inc every (12 st)
Round 3: inc every other (18 st)
Round 3b: even sc around (18 st)
Round 4: inc every 3rd (24 st)
Round 5: inc every 4th (30 st)
Round 5b: even sc around (30 st)
Round 6: inc every 5th (36 st)
Round 7: inc every 6th; hdc both inc st, sc all others (42 st)

Round 8: sc around, bl only, bl dec every 6th st in hdcs (36 st)
Round 9-12: even sc around 4 rows (36 st)
Round 13: inc in every 6th st of previous row, beginning with 4th st (inc st 4,10,16,22,28,34) (42 st)

Round 14: bl hdc dec every 6th st, beginning with fourth st; sc in bl of all other st (bl dec 4,10,16,22,28,34; in inc st on previous row)(36 st)
Round 15: dec every 5th st, beginning with 3rd st (dec 3,8,13,18,23,28) (30 st)
Round 16: dec every 4th st, beginning with 2nd st (dec 2,6,10,14,18,22) (24 st)
Round 16b: even sc around
Round 17: dec every 3rd st, beginning with 1st st (dec 1,4,7,10,13,16) (18 st)

insert safety eyes

stuff
Round 18: dec every other st, beginning with 2nd st (dec 2,4,6,8,10,12) (12 st)

Round 19-22: even sc next 4 rows
Round 23 (“leg” round): sc, *ch 15, hdc in 2nd ch from hook and next 6 ch; 3 hdc in next ch; hdc in next 6 ch; sl st to join top of "leg" in post 2 rows back in line with "leg"; ch 1, sc in next st on current row* repeat around (12 st plus 6 legs)

Round 24: even sc around (12 st)
   stuff
Round 25: dec every st (6 st)
Round 26: even sc around (6 st)
   poke a bit more stuffing inside with flat end of hook if needed.
   finish off, stitch closed with remaining yarn and yarn needle, then hide end inside body

© K. Frank, Handmade Gypsy 2010. All rights reserved.

Amigumicrobes #1: Cold Virus (#2)

2010-01-01T20:39:00.006-07:00

It is finished!

Cold Virus #2 entered the world in much better fashion than it's sibling, and a pattern is complete.

Materials: G hook, worsted weight yarn, safety eyes, stuffing
Stitches: magic ring, ch, sc, "bud"
Special stitch: the "bud"
To make the viral proteins that protrude from the surface of the virus, use the following stitch, which I'll call a “bud” (for lack of a better name!)

Increase Bud (rows 2,6): After first sc (between the two stitches of the increase), ch 2. In second chain from hook (first made), 4 sc. Follow with second sc in increase st.
Even Stitch Bud (row 9): sc, ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd ch from hook (following sc in next st).
Decrease Bud (rows 12, 15): after decrease, sc in next st, ch 2, 4 sc in 2nd ch from hook (following sc in next st).

6 sc in a magic ring
Round 1: work 2 sc (increase) in each st around. (12 stitches)
Round 2 (bud round): *sc in first st, inc bud in next st; sc in next st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat around (18 stitches plus 3 buds @ st 2,6,10)
Round 3: *sc in first 2 st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat around (24 stitches)
Round 4: *sc in first 3 st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat around (30 stitches)
Round 5: *sc in first 4 st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat around (36 stitches)
Round 6 (bud round): *sc in first 5 st, 2 sc in next st; sc in next 5 st, inc bud in next st*, repeat around (42 stitches plus 3 buds)
Round 7: *sc in first 6 st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat around (48 stitches)
Round 8: *sc in first 7 st, 2 sc in next st*, repeat around (54 stitches)

even rounds
Round 9: sc into each st around (54 stitches)
Round 10: (bud round): *sc in first 8 st, even bud in next st; sc in next 9 st* repeat around (54 stitches plus 3 buds @ st 9, 27, 45)
For Rounds 11-13 sc into each st around (54 stitches each round)
Round 14: (bud round): *sc in first 8 st, even bud in next st; sc in next 9 st* repeat around (54 stitches plus 3 buds @ st 18, 36, 54)

decrease rounds
Round 15: *sc in first 7 st, dec in next st,* repeat around (48 stitches)
Round 16: *sc in first 6 st, dec in next st,* repeat around (42 stitches)
Round 17: *sc in first 5 st, dec in next st,* repeat around (36 stitches)
Round 18: *sc in first 4 st, dec in next st,* repeat around (30 stitches)
Round 19 (bud round): *sc in first 3 st, dec in next st; sc in next 3, dec in next st, dec bud in next st* repeat around (24 stitches plus 3 buds)
Place safety eyes, using photos as a guide.
Round 20: *sc in first 2 st, dec in next st,* repeat around (18 stitches)
Stuff
Round 21: *sc in first st, dec in next st* repeat around (12 stitches)
Round 22: dec in each st around. (6 stitches)
Finish off, weave end through last six stitches and pull closed, fasten off and hide end inside body.

** Note: for rounds 14 and 19, you may need to shift the buds by one stitch in order for them to be properly offset. I don't think I did when I made it, but I've been told some people needed to! If they're lining up with previous rows instead of being offset, shift as you need to. Thanks Bookette for the notes!

© K. Frank, Handmade Gypsy 2010. All rights reserved.

New Year's Hat

2010-01-01T11:25:00.008-07:00

Sadly, we did not get to go home to PA for the annual New Year's party with college friends. So, at home with no parties to attend, what did us old married people do? Work on blogs and make a hat :)

Amigumicrobes: Cold Virus #1

2009-12-29T14:58:00.005-07:00

Attempt one at crocheting microbes is finished!

Success? Close, at any rate. The bottom and top are not quite symmetrical - the last ring of "proteins" is really really close together. Will have to rework a bit and try again, but I almost have a functional pattern! Eyes (because obviously virusus have eyes...) will come when I get one right :)

Eyes-Sore

2009-12-26T21:28:00.006-07:00

I suppose the whole point of safety eyes is that they are supposed to stay on well, and perhaps that means hard to get ON, as well as off. But I really didn't think it would be quite so bad!

The first set of eyes (for the Cthulu, from Jo-Ann's) went on fine. The owl, though.... the yellow cat eyes from Hobby Lobby proved rather more of a challenge. Try as I might, the backs would not go on to the eye posts. Finally, I had success with a hex wrench that fit around the post (without pushing the back of the washer closed). Put the eye against a hard surface and the back on the eye post with the wrench on top of it, and push down on the wrench.

Voilà, eyes!

Fair warning, though - don't do this on a surface you care about! (oops....)

Amigumicrobes

2009-12-22T21:51:00.004-07:00

Tomorrow, I will be making a call to accept a middle school science teaching position (hooray!). A few problems... I left much of my teaching stuff at my old job - at least the things I thought I'd never use again (when I planned on never teaching again!). Sigh. I know I will have at least a few things to replace!

One thing I always meant to buy and never did was one of those awesome giant plush microbes. They'd be perfect for games, calling on students ("you only get to talk if you're holding the Flu!"), etc., aside from being just plain awesome. Well, having now discovered not only crochet, but also amigurumi, I think it only appropriate that I crochet said Flu (and friends) for my classroom! Sadly, Ravelry contains minimal microbe amigurumi patterns. It's like there aren't more biologists who crochet! Naturally, this means I'll need to try my hand at concocting a pattern (or a few) for amigurumicrobes :) Soon, there will be no shortage of germs to go around! I'm thinking middle schoolers will get a kick out of it, too!

Amigurumi

2009-12-21T20:12:00.003-07:00

I have discovered Amigurumi. This is not good. I've made a little owl, a cthulu, half a baby dragon, and part of a big owl. I see no end in sight. I will, however, post pictures - just maybe not til I finish the mad rush of making caramels, baking cookies, bread, more cookies, more bread, a few more cookies just for good measure, lefse and perhaps go shopping for real food to make for Christmas dinner!

Trios Fingerless Gloves

2009-12-15T21:10:00.010-07:00

This is the result of my not being able to find something that I liked that was within my skill level and possession of materials (there's some great stuff for teeny tiny yarn and teeny tiny hooks!). It's a Christmas gift, and is a bit tight on me. I'd go up to an H hook for big hands!

I want to put thumbs on these, but haven't figured out a good way. If you come up with one, let me know!

Trios Fingerless Gloves Pattern

I might be crazy

2009-12-14T21:23:00.008-07:00

I have to wonder how many UFOs and WIPs (that's Unfinished Objects and Works in Progress, for the unenlightened) are now floating around my house (all having appeared within the last 2 weeks!). Some crazy part of me decided to make Christmas gifts, using patterns I've never tried (obviously, since I just started crocheting!)... and this is the result. I can think of at least 4 or 5, off the top of my head. Most of those consist of equally unfinished pairs. I can only hope I will finish in time for Christmas! And I gained 2 skeins of gorgeous wool from a bellydance friend today - to make her 2 pairs of Surface Waves wrist warmers, which already make up 2 of my unfinished objects!

And why did I decide to make my own pattern for hand warmers?? I couldn't find one I liked well enough.... However, I am pleased with how they are turning out. That pattern will be posted soon!

Making Old Things New

2009-12-11T09:07:00.010-07:00

Mira is probably the biggest inspiration for this. I envy her knack for finding the cheapest way to do everything (lessons, please?!). I'm learning, bit by bit. But really, what is more fun than taking something old and at the end of life and giving it a new one? So here are bits of some recent projects of ALL different types.

Recycled Lamb I had an old wool sweater that had finally gotten moth holes in it, and didn't want to give up on it. I found (or rather, was shown) this set of patterns for felted wool animals. Shrink, cut, sew, stuff - cute new toy :)

Buttermilk The stuff is so stinking expensive, yet so darn easy to make - take 1/4 C cultured buttermilk, add regular milk, leave on counter overnight. Done! Use some, refill with milk, repeat. Never-ending supply of cheap buttermilk.

Gleaned Yarn Found a nifty, loosely knit (and basically unworn) scarf at Goodwill for $2. Pulled apart for three balls of yarn! I LOVE the orange (all the colors are a bit darker than the picture shows). Now to decide what to do with them.

This one's definitely Mira's idea - despite the fact I've no baby butts to cover!

New & Improved Darrell's My favorite cookie recipe is and has been Darrell's Forget-the-Cookies-Just-Give-Me-That-Batter Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough from the Klutz Kids' Cookbook. This is my "New & Improved" version:

Mix & melt in pan or microwave:

2 T butter

6 T applesauce

Add & stir:

2/3 C brown sugar

1/3 C white sugar

When cool, add & stir together:

1 t vanilla extract

1 egg OR 1 T ground flax seed plus 3 T water - let sit 3 minutes before mixing in

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1 1/2 C whole wheat flour

1/4 t salt

1/2 t baking soda (or a bit less, if you live way up high like me!)

1/4 C wheat germ

2 T flax seed (I just sprinkle some on top)

Add sugar mixture, mix well, then fold in:

~1 C (or a handful) Chocolate Chips

~1 C (or a handful) Oatmeal

1/2 C chopped nuts (optional)

Place bowl in refrigerator for about 1 hour. Preheat oven to 375 F. Roll into walnut-sized balls and place on greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes - don't overbake! Eat & enjoy :)

Who needs a teacher...

2009-12-10T11:38:00.015-07:00

... when you have tutorials this awesome?

So as I said, I re-taught myself to crochet a few weeks ago. The entire process became infinitely easier when I happened upon Crochet Spot. You know how sometimes you go to look something up, and all you find on google are crappy YouTube videos and those terrible About.com links? No pictures, lots of words, not much help. This is NOT one of those sites.

Crochet Spot has awesome tutorials, step by step instruction, and a close-up picture of each step of each stitch. Brilliant! Everytime I find a new stitch, this is where I go to figure out HOW exactly to do it. Also, for you lefties, hover each picture for the mirror - left hand version. My only complaint - there's no index of all her "How To Crochet" tutorials. So I'm making one here (including hers and a few assorted others), as much for myself as for anyone who might find and read this post. Enjoy!

Getting Started:
How to Read a Crochet Pattern
How to Hold Yarn in Crochet
How to Crochet: Slip Stitch (sl st)
How to Crochet: Chain (ch)
How to Crochet: Foundation Single Crochet (fsc)
Another FSC tutorial from Snuffykins
"Magic Adjustable Ring" for Crochet in the Round

Regular Stitches:
How to Crochet: Single Crochet (sc)
How to Crochet: Extended Single Crochet (exsc)
How to Crochet: Half Double Crochet (hdc)
How to Crochet: Double Crochet (dc)
How to Crochet: Triple (or treble) Crochet (tc)

Increases & Decreases:
How to Crochet: Single Crochet Decrease
How to Crochet: Single Crochet Invisible Decrease
How to Crochet: Double Crochet Decrease
Another Invisible Decrease
I haven't found an "increase tutorial" yet - but as a general rule, just do 2 stitches in one stitch to add a stitch to the row.

Special Stitches:
How to Crochet: Front Post Double Crochet (fpdc)
How to Crochet: Back Post Double Crochet (bpdc)
How to Crochet: Tunisian Simple Stitch (tss)
How to Crochet: Tunisian Knit Stitch (tks)
How to Crochet: Popcorn Stitch
Loop and Nub decorative stitch Tutorials (from NeedleNoodles)

Ends:
How to Change Colors in Crochet
How to Finish off and Weave In Ends
How to Minimize Weaving In Ends
Joining Yarn: Russian Join

Other:
7 Tips for Consistency
Using Stitch Markers in Crochet
How to Crochet on the Opposite Side of a Chain
How to Find the End of the Yarn in a Pull Skein
Master List of Crochet Abbreviations

Hooks & Yarn

2009-12-07T18:03:00.014-07:00

Back in the day, my grandmother taught me to crochet. I was never very good at it (always managed to miss a stitch!), but it was fun. I dropped it for 10 (15?) years, and never really thought twice about it until about 2 weeks ago when I decided to give it a try again in order to (what else?) make a bellydance belt.

What's that? Yes, bellydance. Like many things, this too is Aertimus's fault. First gypsies, now bellydance. Well, it was only a matter of time.

So, a bellydance belt. I couldn't find a pattern for one I liked, but did manage to find Crochet Kitten's AWESOME blog. She has a great set of bellydance patterns, and I promptly made myself a set of Josephine Gauntlets (for which I need to take a better picture - this one will do for now!).

But, alas, no belt. I liked the pattern well enough, though, to fumble through my own adaptation of the "Josephine" stitching, and came up with something I am quite please with! Add fringe (this is the pricey part - even cheap ribbon is not cheap when you need a yard and a half for each fringe!) and a cowrie belt I found at a thrift store last year, and voila! Awesome dance belt.

Moving week creations

2009-08-04T21:13:00.008-06:00

Something about moving always brings out a strange productivity in me. Most people, they move and so they put all the projects on hold. Me? I go to work on all the projects I've been planning for the last, oh, four years.

You already know I [finally] started my wedding album. Yeah, its not done yet - awaiting more mats (coming from California!) so I can finish plotting. And that I made a new chemise. And even that the new chemise wasn't gypsy enough - it didn't match my skirts (none of them! hard to believe when I have, like 6 options). So the new chemise, which is a rather thin (somewhat translucent when backlit) cloth, necessitated an overskirt (to fix the "translucent" thing):

Picked up a neat silver goblet last week, and I figured it'd go well with the outfit, so something to attach it to my belt was in order.
Also, I have a gecko. His name is Edgerton, and he's my baby. He lives in this big glass paradise (aka terrarium) in my living room, and he's coming to Colorado with me. But not in the big glass paradise - it weighs a ton. Bought a nice (small) plastic cage, but needed something to carry it in.

Now the remainder of my productivity for the week will have to be channeled towards packing. Too much packing!

Update, ages late:

How not to be a terrible landlord

2009-08-04T20:29:00.003-06:00

*WARNING: Rant ahead*

It is my professional opinion that landlords who decide not to include ANY utilities in the rent (even the ones they get billed for and then have to forward to you) just to make their rent sound better, AND make you pay for and arrange annual furnace cleaning AND make you pay for "minor maintenance" under $75 AND make you pay for up front (then hopefully get reimbursed for) and arrange all other maintenance, all the while making you go back and forth as the middleman between them (the actual decision-maker) and the poor guy who gets stuck doing the work *inhale, don't forget to breathe, girl* are not good landlords. And when they make you paint their bathroom trim just because you were nice enough to rip out their horrid, peeling wallpaper.

Not happy!

I want one

2009-07-31T10:03:00.002-06:00

Midnight

2009-07-31T08:54:00.005-06:00

Maija Baerngard - drawing by Todd Lockwood, coloring by wraith2099, hair removed by my dear husband, with help from Gimp

Last night was the end of Maija - my ridiculously awesome barbarian in our Midnight D&D campaign. A little background - in 4 or so years of my D&D playing experience, I've mostly played casters of some sort. They do some damage, give a few buffs, and are fun to play (like my halfling druid with the dire badger for a pet!).

Enter Carl, and Midnight. The world in a nutshell: gods took to fighting, the arrogant evil one got banished to earth, where he stuck out his tongue at the rest of the pantheon - and sundered the mortal plane from everything else. Evil god Izrador now has his own little playground with the rather unlucky folks left on earth.

Result: a pretty depressing place, where magic is illegal (unless you work for Izrador), being fey is illegal (unless you work for Izrador), reading is illegal (unless you work for Izrador - sensing a theme yet?), weapons are illegal (yup, same thing), and so on and so forth. Also, no extraplanar anything, and no contact with any deity but - can you guess? - Izrador.

I decided to break out a bit here, and played Maija, a Dorn female barbarian. Midnight gives PCs (heros like we should be!) heroic bloodlines, so Maija is a Northblood. Anything to do with cold - she likes! Not to mention the bonus Con...

So by the time we played last night, our characters had advanced to 18th level (raging, I had 366 HP, 34 Str and 34 Con), gained a second bloodline, been sacrificed by the elf queen to save the world and shatter the barrier enclosing the mortal plane, and ascended to demigodhood (no, it's not sacrilegious. It's a made-up world. We can do that and it's perfectly okay!), and were ready to square off against Izrador's demigod minions.

Which we did, rather successfully. I rather liked the full-round attack (3/4 hit!), Smite Evil, Power Attack, Hunter's Strike, 270 points of damage blow that Maija did to the other barbarian. And the fact that she's immune to negative energy drain (perk of the second bloodline) and sort of smiled when he tried it on her. Or the part where our halfling shapeshifted into a felhound, grappled the sorcerer, and proceeded to chomp on it for 4 rounds. Plus taking bits of the world, buffing them insanely, and running over Izrador's troops.

All in all, this campaign setting is amazing (ok, so playing a barbarian who can soak up - and deal out - that much damage helped!). Izrador is a jerk, so rather easy to unite against, and there's so much background in the book that it feels very real. Plus Carl is an awesome DM. If you like 3.5e, try a Midnight campaign sometime! You will not regret it (except, perhaps, when Izrador's legates are beating you to a pulp...).

Well it's about time!

2009-07-30T12:46:00.004-06:00

4 years ago was my wedding. We had this awesome photographer, who took TONS (like, 1200) of pictures, so you'd think we'd have a really cool album, right?

Nope. Bought the negatives, daunted by the possibilities (that perfectionist thing again), and never got it done! Even bought an album - just never put it together. So here we are, a week and a half before the big move (PA to CO!), and I'm finally doing it.

This is the progress, thus far:

It's a start! The real question is can I finish it soon enough to get pictures printed - before we move, and I have to find a new photo place I trust with my precious negatives!

(Looking for a good developer in Western Denver...)

Wenches of all stripes

2009-07-30T07:25:00.010-06:00

First of all, I'm covered in cat hair. This is entirely irrelevant to the post at hand, but it was bothering me! Thanks to Peanut Butter and Jelly (no, I didn't name them - they're my friend's cats) for that. So now I'm sitting here at the shop, waiting for my car to be fixed (and drop another $1000 on it, I'm sure!), picking cat hair off me, and blogging. What else is new?

Back to the topic. Kia lent me her sewing genius this week - and is trying to make some of it rub off! - and helped me make a brand new chemise. The old shirt I had - well, it's getting old. Plus the poofy sleeves, while quite fun looking, are rather annoying at times! So it was time for something new to wear. I found some light blue-gray fabric on sale ($1.50/yard!) at Jo-Ann's, and got 8 yards of it. A garage/estate sale provided me with some really pretty lace at dirt cheap. So a new chemise it is.

Now here's the problem. Every time I go to the fair, I get more and more gypsy. Ok, so I can't do anything about the blonde hair. Sorry - I draw the line there. But still, I've racked up a pretty decent collection of scarves, belts, jewelry, etc., and can make a pretty nice gypsy costume out of it!

This fabric, though, is silky and pretty. And did I mention the lace? Add purple velvet bodice, and that it doesn't match my gypsy skirts, and I have a problem. It just may be that I have to go to faire this year and NOT be a gypsy. Or a pirate.

I might have to be - gasp! - respectable. Like an innkeeper's daughter (wait, no, that's Kia's role! I suppose I can't steal that). Perhaps a noblewoman? We shall see (and there will be pictures). I think I have a string of pearly-things that might work out well.

Nevertheless, I can't NOT be a gypsy, just for lack of a shirt. It's in my blood.

It just means I'll have to make another :) Less pretty (more wenchy?) this time! A gypsy's work is never done - and her wardrobe never complete.

What to do in your spare time

2009-07-29T18:04:00.007-06:00

I've found a new hobby this summer. First you must understand that I am a teacher - or at least, have been for the last two years. Second, I used to play WoW.

To anyone *in the know*, this should immediately tell you that I used to have NO FREE TIME whatsoever. But now it's summer. And I quit WoW (for now, at least, until Kia talks me back into it). Read: I have free time now! At least til I move across the country in two weeks.

But for now, I have a new hobby. It started with going to Africa this summer, and being put in charge (okay, so I volunteered) of meals. Me, I like yogurt. And I've become rather fond of strange things, like bulgar wheat, wheat berries, and beans of many types. So I decided I needed some recipes, and I needed to know how to make these things that wouldn't be so easily found, say, 8 hours out in the middle of nowhere. So my experimentation began. Pita bread, yogurt, tortillas (on my lefse iron!), french bread. Modest experiments. But they worked!! So now I'm hooked. Why buy it when you can make it, and it's FUN? Now I've made some cheese, which tasted pretty good (needed salt), and bagels are next on the list to try. I'm not up for challenges, but this stuff is easy!

"Jungle Camp" Brownies are good (Thanks Maggie!) but I take issue with "makes 16" - not the way I eat them!

Pancakes are so bloody easy, why use a mix? More-With-Less (new favorite - discovered in Burkina!) has a good 10 different kinds. I made Wheat Germ Griddle Cakes (minus the mace - no clue what that is or where to find it!) this morning, in all of 20 minutes start to finish.

The upshot is, this is fun :) Trying new things, probably cheaper (but then, who knows?) and they sure taste better. Downside? My dear husband has more dishes to wash. Well. I suppose I can help with those - at least a little!

Check back for new recipes whenever I get the urge to try them (and feel like writing about it)!

An introduction

2009-07-29T17:39:00.007-06:00

Back in college, titles and introductions were usually the last parts of my paper to be written. The content was so much easier to come up with than the snappy things that make a good start to a story.

The idea of writing on a blog has appealed to me for some time. I've got plenty to say, but like any good perfectionist, I was hung up on what to call it. One can write a paper without a title, but you can't really MAKE a blog without giving it a name (URL, etc.) first!

So I've finally thought of something. Were I ever to start a tavern, or a strange and random sort of B&B, it would be called the Barefoot Wench. Lacking either a tavern or a B&B, this blog gets that name instead.

It's a collection of thoughts and ideas, running the gauntlet from crafty things (new bodice, felted wool lamb that's next on the list) and recipes (made tortillas last week!) to favorite RPGs (D&D, LARP, MMOs) to musings on politics, science, religion and philosophy. Just like a tavern - a little bit of everything! Now if only I had an oil lamp and a mug of beer...

Update: I changed my name! I still would name my tavern the Barefoot Wench, but this blog is now the Handmade Gypsy. Moving a little more towards the craftiness that started it all!