Let the Gardening Begin!

It’s finally after Mother’s Day, and that means I can finally put out my seedlings.

This year’s garden is featuring tomatoes, cantaloupe, cucumbers, carrots and corn! All being grown in containers. Last year’s garden… not so great. But this year I’ve made some changes. One – I’ve moved the garden to a much sunnier side of the house. I also changed my soil, after some reading, I went from normal garden soil to a lighter potting soil that allows for better drainage.

So, here we go, everything  planted and ready to go! I’ll be following my progress this year on the blog, and see what I learn and where I go wrong.

The first thing to share are the seed starters I made out of newspaper. I followed the directions on from Joanne’s Craft Nook. Super easy to follow, even for someone like me who hadn’t done origami since failed attempts with a babysitter when I was 6. I used some drawer liners and put them in 2 of my 24c Rubbermaid trays, wrapped in clear plastic wrap, and made my own little greenhouse.

My big concern is that it’s still too cool to put these little plants out. While it’s warm for the Chicago area, it’s still more in the 60’s than anything else. I’ll just have to keep an eye out. Any advice from veteran gardeners, let me know!

 

		Garden 2011 VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

KissyFish Scarf Revisited!

So I decided to republish my KissyFish Scarf here on the FearlessCrafter.

I made this in 2009, and knit it for DH’s cousin as a Christmas gift. It was a marathon session while I watching all 7 parts he HBO TV miniseries John Adams. Yes, I am that big of a dork, and not afraid to admit it!

It only made sense that this scarf be made while watching the nearly 8.5 hours about the life of one of our beloved founding fathers. While kissing gold fishes seem, well… not very presidential, it was inspired by a KAL on Ravelry‘s Lemon Lyman’s, the West Wing fans group. For fans of the series, you may know of the not really ever on, and always off again, until finally on romance of CJ and Danny. In the first season, when their tale of love begins, Danny asks Josh Lyman what CJ likes in hopes of wooing her. Josh tells Danny CJ likes goldfish “can’t get enough of them”. So Danny buys CJ a goldfish named Gail, only to find out that what she likes are the crackers.

Either way, a cute story of budding romance, and an adorable inside joke starts, and Gail is with them throughout all 7 seasons of West Wing. The KAL was for goldfish themed items in honor of Gail, and hence, the “KissyFish” scarf was born, forever commemorating their relationship. Sigh. Swoon. Awwww.

Ok, I promise, cheese is over. That will have to wait until I knit something to remember Big Block of Cheese Day!

The KissyFish Scarf Rolled up

Here Chickie, Chickie, Chickpea Soup….

Not so long ago, I made a delicious baked chickpea soup and got asked for the recipe by all who saw the delicious picture, (I know you were licking your screen, don’t lie!), so here it is!

Ingredients

1lb bag – chickpeas
1can – tomato paste
2Tbs – minced garlic
2Tbs – olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan (optional)

Cook the chickpeas as per the bag’s instructions, soaking, usually overnight, and then boiling in water until tender.
about 20-25 min before chickpeas will be ready, in a dutch oven, spoon in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; then put the dutch oven in a pre-heated 400F oven. Let it heat up for about 5 minutes, until garlic is sizzling. Pull it out, stir, then stir in tomato paste until evenly coating the pot. Put back in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.

While that’s cooking, ladle out about 3/4 of the chickpeas that should be tender and place in blender or food processor. Make sure to add in a little bit of water. Process until smooth and creamy. Drain the remaining 1/4.

Take out dutch oven and put in the whole remaining chickpeas and stir with the paste, then take the creamed chickpeas and pour in to the dutch oven. Stir everything until well blended and and a nice deep tan with a red tint.

If you wish to use cheese, topp it off with some pamesean now.

Cover, and place in oven for another 20 minutes. (If you are using the cheese, take out at about 15 mintues, uncover, and put back in to form light brown crust).

Then serve and enjoy! I liked adding a little parsley for garnish, and I served it with some home made garlic bread, which really added a lot.

This serves about 4 if in 2cup dinner portions, or 8 for 1cup side portion.

Is there any room???

It’s a new year, and that usual drive for getting organized is hitting everyone hard, and I’m certainly no exception!

The big project this year is to make our second bedroom into a craft room. Ultimately, a place not only for me to keep my crafts organized, but to keep my crafts away from the rest of the house!

If you’re planning on getting organized and setting up your own craftroom, or craft corner for the new year, here are something tips that I’ve come across that could help.

1. Know Your Purpose!
   You can’t just go into such a project without understanding what your needs are. If you have more yarn than fabric, or do more paper crafts than gardening, or whatever your crafts are, that will all determine  what direction you should go. What you need to buy, if anything, and how to set yourself up. The last thing you want to do is take over an area of your house and then find out you didn’t need that much space, or that you put a lot of effort into making it a room that doesn’t fit how you craft.
   Since I’m mostly a knitter and can take my craft pretty much anywhere, I didn’t need a workshop, what I needed was just a place to store my yarn. Some shelves, and a place to keep my toes that weren’t going to bother anyone, or be easily accessible to my kittens and rabbit who have a worse yarn addiction than I.  I also wanted a place to keep my sewing machine, and somewhere to work when I did crafts that needed a desk. That all worked out in the form of our second bedroom. We already had a desk there, and since it’s only ever used for guests, this wasn’t going to cause a problem of being in anyone’s way. I didn’t need a whole room, just part of one!
2. Creativity leads to functionality!
   Don’t go spending money on fancy shelving and specialty containers, or organizers. You’re crafty! Make something! Use old oatmeal canisters as containers. Take cheap plain shelves and decorate, get old binders and turn them into organizers. Find new purposes for old things. I love taking things that people and places are throwing out and trying to find another use for it, such as work. I work for an office supply company, and we are constantly getting rid of stuff that’s obsolete, or that couldn’t be sold because of an imperfection. One of the things I took was an old binder that our salesmen used for showing pens, and made it into a knitting needle binder. Or I got some old wire desk organizers and turned them into drying racks for when I have to block small items.
   You might have to buy something things, such as I did need to buy some shelves, but don’t make yourself go broke. Save your money to get the things you know you really need, but can’t make yourself. Everything else? Turn it it into your next project!
3. Organize! Organize! Organize!
   This is the scariest part, isn’t it? I know for me, when I finally collected everything and moved it into the room, just look thing through all totes, and the yarn and the fabric and everything was overwhelming! And I’m not a big stasher, but stashes build up on their own. Depending on your crafts as well as your personality, there are a lot of different ways to organize. Below are some “how-to” posts from other crafters I’ve come across that could help.
   How to Organize Your Yarn – CraftStylish.com
   Organize Your Fabric Stash – CraftGossip.com
   Organizing Paper – Scrapbooking.com

4. Keep On Keeping On!
   The toughest challenge is keeping this this way. Staying organized, like most new year’s resolutions, is something that start off with the best of intentions, but then ends ups being forgotten two weeks in (or like me, the next day). What you need to do is be persistent, but not insistent on perfection.  Once everything has a place, make sure it goes back there. But don’t go beating yourself up if it doesn’t make it back there right away. If you had a major project that left everything a mess and you tired and you didn’t clean up that same night, or even the next night, don’t go feeling like all is lost. Just make sure that you do go back and that you do put things away. Creating yourself a crafting nook and getting organized is meant to allow you to craft stress free. If keeping it organized or using that space is causing you stress, something isn’t right. Take a second, step back, and reevaluate your plan. Try to understand what is keeping you from keeping the place up. Is it lack of time? Then maybe the room needs to be changed to be more efficient. Is it hard to find things? Then maybe you need another organization system.
   Keep trying and experimenting until your craft area makes sense to you and your style.

   And above all, be fearless!

 

Sew… What’s new?

Yes, the puns will abound in this post. You have been warned!

I recently acquired a sewing machine, and I’ve been having some massive fun. It’s rather nuts. The last time I used a sewing machine was when I was 6, on my grandmother’s lap, and it was her mother’s 100-year-old machine that looked more like this…  

than my electric-blinky-25-stitch self threading machine. When I say I’m new to sewing, I mean I’m new!

As excited as I’d been about getting the machine, and as impatient as I was about waiting for it to be delivered, when the day finally came and I opened the box… I froze. It sat on my coffee table while I stared at the  directions for 3 days.

All those features were just… intimidating. I didn’t know where to start. I didn’t know how to set it up, the terms on the instructions were totally foreign to me… and here I was, thinking that this model came with a DVD, and was disappointed when I realized that the DVD was on the other model that I had considered.

I seriously started asking , what had I gotten myself into with this contraption?

So why did a complete non-sewer like me decide to go into sewing?

Basically? Why not?

I thought it would be something new and fun to learn. Something to expand my crafting portfolio. There are a lot of ideas for things that I want to make that I can’t without knowing how to sew.

Sew… with a call to a few friends, much online research, I got myself a nice little starter machine and have been wurring away.

My stitches aren’t straight, and I’ve had more than a few globbed up threads and snapped lines, but I’ve made some half-decent stuff for a beginner.

My first project was a simple quilt from a kit I got at JoAnn’s on sale. It was easy directions and I learned a lot on this project. It was all straight lines, and I didn’t have to think about how to make everything fit. When I ordered the machine and the quilt kit, I also got a rotary cutter, and I have to say for anyone not familiar with it… that was a MUST!

Maybe those who are old hats at sewing are saying “D’uh” and thinking I’m a little touched for being so excited about something as basic as a rotary cutter, but for a total newb like me, it was magic! I never understood how rotary cutters worked until I used one. I mean, yes, I knew… it has a circulating blade, but for some reason, I just didn’t believe that a single blade could slice through fabric like that, or that even if it could, someone like me could use it to cut straight. Though it was wonderful. It was easy enough for someone like me to cut straight.

Since, I’ve finished the quilt, an apron for my mother-in-law, and a bed for my kitties and bunny.

I’ve still got a long way, but I’m so excited with the machine!

Welcome to Fearless Crafting!

So what is “fearless crafting”? Basically it’s about the willingness to try something new, to take things apart and not worry if there are parts left over when you finish, and to show no fear in the face of glitter!

I’m not always fearless, but I try to be. I’m always looking to learn a new craft, a new technique, something. I don’t always succeed, but I have a lot of fun trying, and I always learn a lot in the process. I thought starting this blog would be great to share my adventures in crafting. To show my trials and my triumphs, to share what I know, and more importantly what I don’t but want to learn.

Why though? What do I bring to the table that’s so different?

Well, I don’t know if I’m that different, but I am hoping my perspective is a little. There’s a lot of people I talk to who would love to take up a hobby or a craft, but are afraid they can’t. They say they don’t have the time, or the money or the “ability”. The truth in crafting is that it doesn’t have to be expensive, it’s not about having some natural artistic talent, and sometimes when life is at it’s most hectic, that’s the when taking up something that’s fun, creative, and distracting is exactly what’s needed.

As I’ve really  been delving into the world of crafting these last few years, I’ve gained some perspective on the bigger picture that having some outlet can bring to one’s life. It’s helped me be more daring, more confident, and more relaxed. I think that a lot of people who avoid learning a craft or getting into a hobby often are just afraid of making the commitment, or just afraid of failing. Hopefully, my blog will make experimenting with glue sticks and yarn, and hooks and glitter a whole lot less intimidating.