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reader q+a, plus 2 success stories

While I was on vacation, I received a few questions on some of my posts. Here are answers!

homemade granola
Could you possibly share the recipe??? Thanks, Deborah M. in CA
Definitely! I’m making the recipe again and reworking it to cut down on calories. I hope to get it up later this week.

my creative space (crochet squares at the beach)
Oh they look terrific! What pattern are they? In a book? On line? How big are they? The pic looks deceiving I think! Mandy
Mine are about five inches square. The pattern is Wagon Wheel #2 from Granny Crochet Favorites, which I first read about on Attic24. There are two free versions on ravelry.com.

little crochet balls
Love this ball – where did you find the pattern? Anne Marie
I just started to crochet this out of the blue. I finished my second one and have made a few changes. I’ll take notes on the third and post a pattern. Look for it maybe next week.

I also wanted to share two of my success stories with you.

reusable fabric snack bags
These bags worked great! I used them on vacation for everything from pita chips, cheerios, pretzels—even carrots and raisins. I never had any spills in my purse or when my daughter dropped them. You really need to make some for yourself. They will make you very happy!

wardrobe refashion: beach dress blahs
I’ve changed my mind about this dress. I wore it out to dinner on a date with my husband and wound up really liking it. I paired it with a black cardigan and sandals that had a small heel. It’s been saved from the donation pile!

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back home from vacation

starfish in the sand

My brain is ready to go with lots of new ideas, but my body is ready for bed. I can’t tell if I’m just exhausted from yesterday’s travel or jet lag has set in. Either way, I’m taking it easy this weekend. I’m going to tackle the laundry and some books from my library stack. Have a great weekend. I’ll see you next week.

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my creative space

In my creative space today, I spent the last day of my vacation crocheting squares at the beach. I’m cruising along on these, although it took way too long for me to memorize the pattern. Of course, now that I’m all relaxed and on a roll, it’s time to go home.

Make sure you pop on over to Kirsty’s blog for more creative spaces.

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little crochet balls

crochet amigurumi ball

I started this little guy one day when I needed to cleanse my crochet palette. It’s just a simple ball. Something that will fit in a little hand and is safe for chewing. I blame this project on all of the cute little babies in my life. Maybe I’ll make a whack of them to give as holiday gifts.

stash: aunt lydia’s cotton that’s super soft and machine washable.

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kyuuto! lacy crochet doily

Remember the sneak peek I shared of my doily project awhile back? Here it is completed and blocked.

crochet doily kyuuto lacy crochet

I was really surprised how fast and easy this pattern worked up. It didn’t take long to get the hang of the small hook and working from a chart.

crochet doily kyuuto lacy crochet

I don’t have any doily plans for the future, but I’m not against doing another one. It was even kind of fun (if you don’t count that crazy picot edge.)

project notes: Thrifted thread and clearance hook. (I don’t think I would have purchased a hook that small if it wasn’t on sale!) Pattern from Kyuuto! Lacy Crochet.

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book review: crochet embellishments

crochet embellishments leisure arts jean leinhauser

I’ve seen this book around the blogosphere, but nowhere nearby to take a closer look. I had to get it through interlibrary loan and it’s now on my wish list.

crochet embellishments leisure arts jean leinhauser

The book design isn’t the most spectacular. In fact, it looks a little dated. The content is pretty amazing, though. You’ll find “borders and decorative bands, dimensional flowers from life-like roses to dainty daisies, elegant tassels, charming beads, all types of fringes, versatile cords and braids, ruffles and curls.”

crochet embellishments leisure arts jean leinhauser

You can definitely find a lot of these patterns in other places, but it’s nice to have them all in one book. If you are beginning your library of crochet references, this is good place to start.

review: Crochet Embellishments by Jean Leinhauser. There are quite a few sample pages in amazon.com if you “click to look inside.”

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thrifty thursday: metallic flats

zipper fabric bible cover

I’ve been watching a lot of What Not to Wear lately. Stacey and Clinton have got me thinking about my refashioning. I need to start picking items that are both easy to alter and will look good on my body shape.

One thing they recommend for my shape is a pointy toe shoe, which lengthens the leg line. They’ve also declared metallic shoes the new neutral and ok for daytime.

So of course when I saw these puppies in my size I had to get them. They look fabulous with my dark denim jeans.

thrifting: Church rummage sale.

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my creative space

zipper fabric bible cover

In my creative space today I finished up the zippered book cover from last week. I snapped this pic before I sewed in the book flaps.*

zipper fabric bible cover

They were a little tricky and if I make another one, I’d do them differently. They made my seams a little wonky.

My friend loved it, though, and that’s what’s most important, isn’t it?

*It’s getting dark earlier and I’m losing my evening photo opportunities. Pretty soon I’ll be taking them in the afternoon with my four-year old assistant. Don’t be surprised if you see a waving hand in the background. She’s just saying hello to the blogosphere.

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homemade granola!

homemade granola

Wow, just wow. Homemade granola tastes awesome. I adapted a recipe that my daughter brought home from Cooking Camp this summer. I need to do a little bit more fiddling with it to get the calorie count down, but this is definitely going to become a staple in our house. Right now I’m sprinkling it over my morning oatmeal. Delish!

reuse: Did you notice the mason jar? Classico pasta sauce comes in jars that are great for reusing as storage. Their organic pasta sauce is pretty tasty, too.