Grandma's slippers

Winter is coming, which means wool sweaters, warm blankets, hot chocolate and cozy slippers. I had a pair of slippers that my Mother-in-Law made me last year and I loved them! I wore them all day everyday... until the felt sole wore through. I did put slippers on my Christmas list, but my cold feet couldn't wait that long, so I hooked some up myself! I give you Grandma's slippers!

They are three hexagon granny squares sewn together with the sole crocheted onto the slipper. The pattern jumps around a bit making it a little confusing to follow (just ask my Mother-in-Law! She taught me how to crochet, yet when she was trying to make them herself, she was coming to me for questions.)
I used a regular worsted yarn for the hexagons and "Thick & Quick" yarn for the soles to slow down wearing over time. Granny Squares are great because you can use any colors you want and make them your own. If anyone is interested I can post the pattern for you all to give these a try. Happy Homemade Christmas!

pizza night

Growing up, my Mom always made homemade pizza. A few times I remember asking for Pizza Hut pizza for my birthday dinner because we rarely went out. Now that I have a place of my own, I want to make the pizza, so last night was pizza night.

My husband and I made a rule that when we made pizza, we have to make it different each time. That was another thing, my Mom always put on the same ingredients... and still does. (I love you, Mom!)

Tonight's pizza: Hawaiian!
Ingredients: ham, pineapple, banana peppers, garlic, mushrooms, cheese and sauce.

We have our pizza making down to a science. Preheat the stone in a 425 degree oven while assembling the pizza on a cornmeal covered pizza peel.

Because of the cornmeal under the dough, you can  slide the pizza onto the hot stone. This makes a great, crisp crust.

After about 15-20 minutes you have a delicious pie! Add a spring mix salad and your favorite beverage and *presto!* it's pizza night. (And if your husband happens to surprise you with flowers, all the more beautiful your table will be.)

Let me introduce: Mountain Pie Press

For the past two weeks I have been printing holiday cards. Yes, I know- it's not even Thanksgiving yet! Well, like any store this time of year, you need to set up early to get some good business. So far, I've only been printing cards, but I will be making holiday banners (pictures coming soon), too.
It has taken me a while to think of a good press name to stand behind. Alliteration is a good tool; I wanted it to be catchy. After all the brainstorming, I settled on "Mountain Pie Press." Mountain pies are delicious concoctions made up of two pieces of sandwich bread filled with pizza makings or even pie filling, then put in a pie iron and cooked over an open fire. I was first introduced to them when I went to my husband's parents' house. Long story short, I liked the rustic and homemade feeling of the name.



So far my cards have been printed on 100% recycled Kraft Taupe and White cardstock. I hope to get more colors soon. Each card has 2 or 3 colors and comes with a Kraft Taupe envelope.
I will be selling my wares at the First Friday Holiday Sale at the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education's Printing and Book Arts Center, Dec 3rd. 6-9 pm and also at my sister's apartment where she'll be having a Holiday Sale on Dec 4th from 10-7 pm. (If you'd like more information, just leave me a comment.)

I hope this gets you in the Holiday spirit! I also encourage you to buy from local artists this upcoming holiday season, or better yet make handmade cards and gifts. 'Tis the season to be crafty- Fa la la la la, la la la la!

calendar girl: part 2 & 3

For those who have been sitting on the edge of your seats in anticipation of my next post, I'm afraid this is shamefully overdue- for that, I apologize.
I have been regularly working at the print studio to finish up my portion of the Genesee Center for the Arts & Education Printing and Book Arts Calendar - that is a mouthful - and I am pleased to report that it is finished! Through a series of editing/proofing all the artists' names and processes have been corrected and I was able to print my final color yesterday afternoon.
For the back cover, I used three colors.
First color, very translucent yellow to print the wood type.
Second color, light opaque yellow to print the paragraph about the GCFAE & PABA.

Third color, black to print each of the artists' names, processes and such. (My name is smaller and at the bottom right.) Proof on the left, final print on the right.

It has been a good learning experience for me. I'm really fast at finding and setting type from the cases and this was my first time (ever!) printing with more than one color. I'm excited to start working on my own projects now: Christmas and Holiday cards. I just ordered some more paper and envelopes, so I will be posting my cards on here as early as next week.
-> If you are interested in purchasing a calendar, please let me know, so that I can set one aside for you. They are priced at $25 cash/check or $35 with a credit card. They are really fun & show a wide range of style and creativity... totally unbiased here, totally.

proof #1

This is the first proof that I pulled this afternoon. I rolled the ink on it instead of inking up the press because I didn't want to clean it up for printing a few proofs.
Thanks to my cousin, Jessica, I changed "Decemer" to "December." It usually takes a few sets of eyes to make sure everything is correct.
One of my sisters said that I should make this into a calendar by printing all the dates for months on the bottom. That's definitely a possibility. Any feedback is always welcome!

Calendar girl

I am so fortunate to be able to rent studio space at the Genesee Center for the Arts and Education at their Paper and Book Arts Center. Last year as a fundraiser, all the renters collaborated on a calendar to print and sell. This year, since I am one of those renters, I am able to help with this year's calendar. Sadly, I don't have a month to call my own, but I am designing the back cover which includes all of the artists' names and information about the Center.
For the first part of my layout/design, I used various wood and metal type and set the months of the year. I'm hoping to print this in a pale, transparent yellow. The cover to the calendar is bright green this year and so I don't want my first layer to stand out as much. I will post pictures of my progress as things are printed. Here is my form so far. It took about 3 hours to do and I loved every minute of it.

...and in setting type, you always make sure everything is spelled right before you print and I just noticed that I misspelled "August." If you see any other mistakes; let me know.

boy owl

The past few months I have been crocheting more regularly and only started crocheting little stuffed animals within the past month. I guess I thought that they would be too complicated to do. On the contrary, they're really easy! After my first post I present- Owl, a friend from college asked if I could make another owl; a boy owl.
This is the third and best owl I have crocheted so far. I think I'm getting better with reading the directions and crocheting continuously in a spiral. There's lots of stitch counting, so it's hard for me to listen or contribute to any conversation. (The owl pattern is supposed to be for an ornament, but I will be weaving the top end in.)
I hope the little guy that this is a present for likes this little guy-- boy owl.

warm & cozy

I have a friend that is having a baby in December. She isn't sure whether it's a girl or boy, so neutral colors are safe when thinking about gifts. I came across this hat pattern on http://www.lionbrand.com/. I had bookmarked the adult size pattern, but then found the same pattern for a baby (Mini Trick Hat) and knew that it would be perfect for this little one. I opted for taupe as the main hat and wheat for the earflaps and brim. The pattern called for Lion Brand Wool-Ease Think & Quick yarn. It sure is thick and quick; I had to use a K hook to get the correct gauge and it only took less than two hours to hook up... heh, I mean to crochet. I made the newborn size, but the pattern also has 12 mo and 3T sizes.
I hope this inspires some of you to get out your knitting needles or crochet hooks and help some little one keep warm and cozy this winter.

Window Dressing: Part Two

I think I work best under pressure, i.e. deadlines. I usually procrastinate; especially with papers  in college. My mother-in-law is coming for a visit this weekend and I really wanted to finish our living room curtains.  I was going to make a basic full window curtain, but my husband thought that maybe each room could be a little different. The new idea? Pinch pleats at the top. Brilliant! Five pleat groups on each side, three pleats to a group, one inch deep pleats. (See picture below.) Then I hand stitched the group together. And no, I didn't just think of this on my own and whip it up in an afternoon. I was advised by Martha Stewart's Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts, under "C" for curtains.

The fabric, from JoAnn's of course, is a woven home decor fabric, with pinks and greens. It's pretty much perfect. 

Like always, I conclude with Before and After photos. I hope I have awoken the inner Martha in all of you... it's a good thing.

the royal treatment

Just after my husband and I got married, we were blessed to borrow some furniture from my sisters; three chairs, a coffee table and a dining set.
The dining set is vintage with a white and blue porcelain enamel top. We were so happy to be able to use the set and didn't care at all that the chair cushions were faded and little stained. My brother-in-law had purchased fabric a few years ago from Fabrics & Findings in Rochester, but just didn't get around to reupholstering the chairs.

As of late, my husband has taken on this project (repainting and reupholstering) and I would love to share with you how it is going. So far only one chair down, but one is enough for a before and after picture, right?

The table top has a blue diamond pattern, so the fabric reflects that. Also, the fabric has gold in each diamond dressing it up a bit; taking it from the country to a night on the town. I think the Queen would approve.

Bonjour!

What better way to start a Fall Saturday morning then making French toast with homemade cinnamon swirl bread? On the side, coffee in a French press. Oui, oui!
Since being married, we haven't purchased any bread; we either use the bread machine or make it by hand. Last week I had a request from my husband to make a sweet bread, probably because he was bored of plain toast for breakfast. Out of my library of cookbooks, I found a cinnamon swirl bread recipe from Taste of Home's Best of Country Breads. It was a hit. A few days later I made a couple more loaves, one with raisins added and the other regular. The latter was a house warming gift for a friend.

French toast is my absolute favorite breakfast meal and so I had planned to make French toast from this delicious sweet bread.

I wish all Saturday mornings were this tasty.