House and Home

I spent three weeks in Turkey, checking out the local sites, enjoying good food, and picking out some goodies to bring home. I figured I'd share some of the craftier things I found here. I did post on Any College about my study abroad experience.

This was my biggest find. A bowl from Ephesus Ceramics, a shop that's been making traditional Iznik tiles for a decade - yesterday by Turkish standards. It's a one of a kind piece, and I love it. The tulip is originally from Turkey, and you can see them everywhere throughout the country.

I'm afraid to use this.

The table cloth it's sitting on was picked up on a tiny island near the Sunken City outside Kaş. The Sunken City was less impressive than you'd think, but the island was pretty cool. The only way on or off was via boat (we kayaked there). There were lots of little shops with handmade things - crocheted bracelets, embroidery, all sorts of cotton goodies.

Afraid to use this, too.

These are a bunch of cheap-o tiles. They're cheap reproductions of traditonal prints. I picked them up to be coasters and trivets.

Not really afraid to use these.

Finally, here's a scarf I picked up from a street vendor. She was actually selling snack, but I think she'd make these in between customers. You'd see lots of older women crocheting trims on scarves, and selling them for a couple lira.

This either.

Turkey is a pretty amazing place, and these couple of random things I brought back in no way express the level of awesome contained in it's ancient street and modern buildings. Plan a trip!

I've been reordering and prioritizing my long, long list of projects. Spring is beginning to flirt with Kansas from across the room, so the need for warm things is waning.

Next up are a silk lace stole for Mom to wear to Michelle's wedding. I'll do Madli's Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia. This will be the most difficult and most luxourious thing I've made to date. It will be the start of a long and fiscally dangerous love affair with silk.

Are you in love? I am.

I just picked up this yarn today to make a Shipwreck Shawl. It's a wool/bamboo blend. I plan to use it as a table cloth. I don't really understand wearing circular or square shawls.

This photo is really an excuse to show off this gorgeous bowl I picked up in Jackson, MS. Envy is appropriate.

I have finished things as well. The ubiquitous Traveling Woman with 4 pattern repeats from some yarn that was well over due for GTFO my stash and a slightly modified  Mulnomah prayer shawl for Grandma.

Made while traveling. Appropriate.

Cancer, this is my way of saying I'd appreciate it if you'd die in a fire.

Also on my list of potential projects for this summer -

• New washclothes for the kitchen
• Fancy guest towels for the bathroom
• Freshly embroidered towels for the kitchen
• A red Spanish Armada for another table cloth, possibly in silk I dye
• A new quilt for my bedroom
• Finishing those stupid socks that have been around for over a year

Whatcha making?

My Threadless 99 Red Balloons shirt was, um, well-loved, so I needed to get it out of my closet so I couldn't wear it any more. So I made it a bag!

Ta-da!

And here's how you do it. You need a t-shirt, pins, and 60 inches of fabric that 2.5" wide (I used leftovers from the binding from the last quilt I made).

To prepare the handle fabric, fold the fabric and press it. Unfold it and press the outside to the middle so that the raw edges will be on the inside.

Cut from the neckline to the armpit to cut off the sleeves.

Make sure you cut through the collar so that the top opens up all the way.

Pin the binding around the edges, folding the handle fabric around the raw edge. When you get to the end, fold the end over and tuck it underneath.

Create equal size loops at the tops when you get to the neckline in order to create handles.

Sew right along the edge.

Fold inside out and fold across the bottom

Fold the bottom so that there are triangle at the edges. This will give it a flat bottom. Sew around the triangles being careful to not sew through the sites.

Flip it right side out and stuff it full of junk

I tried canning this year. Dad hooked me up with 3 beer flats of tomatoes, so I tried to make salsa. It turned out okay, but holy cow that was a lot of work for a dozen pints of salsa.

I don't know why I do these things. I don't even like salsa all that much.

I say tomato.

Whipped up a pair of these for G-ma K. They were an amazingly fast knit (four days), and after using light fingering weight yarn all summer, worsted was a nice break.

I didn't follow the pattern for the heel or the toe.

Big and comfy.

Fall is breaking through. Hooray for sweater weather.

I finished my couch pillow covers. I'm not completely sold on them. I do love the fabric, so I think it's carry-over dislike of slipcovers and the inherited couch. I used adhesive backed velcro, which doesn't work. Not only does it not hold onto the fabric, it's really hard to sew through once you give up on it working.

Take a nap. Do it.

I also hung the pic today. It's another of Sgier's prints. A word of warning - Target's "Room Essentials" frames don't have the hanger screwed on and the screws they give you are teeny-tiny fairy-sized. I ended up hammering them into place in a fit of rage. I've decided that most man chores just require the confidence to wack the crap out something until it works.

First weekend at home for the first time in a month. I spent it making my house liveable again, and working on my sample for Knitty.

My big project was organizing my messy craft room. I know many craft rooms are cluttered messes, but the throw-everything-on-the-shelf organization was beginnig to drive me nuts.

My newly organized craft supplies

A bin for embroidery, a bin for beads.

Cookie jars holding ribbons and yarn and jars for buttons.

Finished the dresser I picked up a week or so ago. Original pics are here.

The pulls are original, but I think it needs new ones. I'm thinking of getting wood ones and just painting them red.

So pretty.

Thing 1 I learned - I am a messy painter. I already knew this (see bathroom), but for some reason I thought it was just from laziness/wanting to be done. Nope. I'm just really bad at painting.

Smudge, smudge.

Lesson 2 - Foam brushes are amazing and won't go in grooves if you don't press too hard.

Cleaned up.

Left side - how I used to store my folded clothes. Right side - the future!

Lesson 3 - Spray gloss sucks. You can see how spotty it is. That was after three coats.

Embarassed no more!

The shelf was repurposed, finally getting my DVDs/Wii games out of a box. And now I can plug a light into the outlet controlled by the light switch And it blocks my window with needing a blind. Woot.

Works much better holding DVDs than clothes.

The dresser is being ironic about seashells.

"shell"

I painted the dresser grey. I had bought a darker grey that I was going to use to outline the design, but I think I'm going to take it back for red. That won't actually match my bedroom, but I do think it will look sharp.

I feel like this dresser is screaming to have very bright colors highlighting it's design. Something bold that would match Story People. Sad for it, that's just not how I roll. Sorry, dresser.

Boo for grey

Also, as it turns out, when it monsoons every day for a week, you get surprises in your front yard.

Who wants to try a nibble?

A rug!

Made this bad boy for my bathroom. The finished rug is approximately 2 x 3 feet

Supplies

Size 13 needles
140 g (3 balls) white Peaches and Cream
140 g (3 balls) ecru Peaches and Cream
Darning needle

Notes

The pattern is worked with two strands of yarn held together. I used slightly different colors, but you could certainly use the same color or a solid and a variegated.

No gauge - just cast on and go!

CF - Slip 2 to cable needle, hold to front, k2, k2 from cable needle

Pattern

Holding two strands of yarn together, CO 52

K for five rows

The cables

Start cable chart -

• Row 1: K2 p1 *k4 p3 Repeat from * 5 more times k4 p1 k2
• Row 2: K3 *p4 k3 Repeat from * 5 more times p4 k3
• Rows 3 - 6 : Repeat rows 1 and 2
• Row 7: K2 p1 *CF p3 k4 p3 Repeat from * 2 more times CF p1 k2
• Row 8: K3 *p4 k3 Repeat from * 5 more times p4 k3
• Rows 9 - 12: Repeat rows 7 & 8
• Rows 13 - 16: Repeat rows 1 & 2
• Row 17: K2 p1 *k4 p3 CF p3 Repeat from * 2 more times k4 p1 k2
• Row 18: K3 *p4 k3 Repeat from * 5 more times p4 k3
• Rows 19 - 22: Repeat rows 7 & 8

Work 3 repeats.

K2 p1 *k4 p3 Repeat from * 5 more times k4 p1 k2

K3 *p4 k3 Repeat from * 5 more times p4 k3

Repeat last two rows.

K five rows

Bind off and weave in ends.

Just makes you want to stand there and brush your teeth.

download now

Flowers have been spontaneously appearing on my property. I clearly had nothing to do with this.

In the backyard

On the side of the house.

I added my own addition. A raspberry bush Michelle gave me. I hope to sit next to it some day and pop berries into my mouth until I enter into a fruit coma.

Please grow. I would really like to eat you.

Found this dresser at a yard sale. Maybe I'll actually put books on the bookshelf that holds my clothes!

It's seriously in need of refinishing, but I'm not sure what to do. Keep it wood finish or paint it? I'll probably just wash it, start using it, and never fix it up.

Ta - da!

Little rough around the edges.

Sweet drawer liner!

I should have included my craft room in my "finished rooms" post. All I did was put the furniture in, but that's probably all that I will do. Eventually, I might paint it - it could certainly use a fresh coat - but it's low low low on the list.

From the "hall"

The cutting table. The pic is another of Sgier's prints.

Yeah, the bookshelf needs to be cleaned up. Closet is full of yarn and fabric. Yay!

I'm officially declaring rooms in the house done. Laundry room, check. Kitchen, check. Dining room, check. Outside, check. Still a couple things here and there to do, but I'm calling them done.

gNorman the gnome guards my front step (thanks to my awesome co-workers). The pots are painted using leftovers from the living room and kitchen, and they hold deliciousness. Orange mint and basil. Om nom nom.

gNorman and the Sprouts

The kitchen is now rocking a chalkboard wall, and a sweet towel hook. Plus the curtains I posted earlier. That's all I did, unless you count making the washclothes and towel.

Writing on walls is fun.

Replaced the chairs I'd picked up at a garage sale with an actual matching set. Snagged them at Waldo Antiques. I've decided that I love buying furniture used - each piece has a story and character. Plus, they cost about the same and are usually more sturdy. Not to mention no assembly required.

Matching furniture? That's a first...

I love the built in bookshelf. It's probably my favorite thing in the house. The table I got off Craigslist, the bamboo was inherited when Rachel moved to CT, and the print is an artist print from my friend Mike Sgier. He does good work. I loved the Street Scenes series this was a part of.

Color is the most efficient way to organize books.

The view from the living room.

I have "dining room" curtain! Dining room is in quotes because it's more of a spot to put the table rather than an actual room.

No more being the neighborhood exhibitionist.

I still need to figure out how I'm going to tie it back, but at least the neighbors are not staring into my house any more.

Close up of fabric

Slowly, but surely, the house is coming together. I painted the bathroom this weekend. I'd wanted a grey that was slightly purple. The color I got is a lot more 3rd grade girl's bedroom than I'd wanted. I wanted to go neutral so that my bright towels and stuff would work, but I could switch out for better ones down the road. Might have to upgrade sooner. Or face bright red and lime green hanging against lavendar every morning. Might be a bit much before coffee.

Also, I suck at doing trim, so I now need to paint the bathroom ceiling. After I'm done, I'll probably need to do the walls again. The whole house needs to have it's trim repainted, but the thought of doing it makes me tired.

I also made some curtains for the kitchen. I have a little fabric left over, so I'm going to make potholders. I think it works well with the wall.

Shielded from prying eyes. Well, the top half, anyway.

I also finished the accent pillows for the couch. I bought more fabric for the big pillows today, so hopefully they'll stop being wretched soon.

Good riddance, ugly fabric.

Have I mentioned how productive I am when I am procrastinating doing school work?