Apples Recipes, Please!

My mom used to tell me she loved me a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck. Um, now I know exactly how much that is because that’s how many apples I bought in the mountains. Actually it was a bushel and two pecks, which is about 50 pounds. Holy moly.

I plan to freeze a lot of them, but I still need to figure out what to do with 50 pounds of apples over the next few months. I am requesting recipes! If you have a favorite way to prepare apples, leave a comment below. I look forward to trying them all out!

 

Ripple Blanket Complete!

After taking what seemed like forever to weave the ends in, my ripple blanket is finished!

 

ripple blanket - finished!

Thanks to those of you who commented on my color predicament.  After seeing it completed, I definitely agree that the orange was the best choice.  Now, on to a new project!  It’s rainy and cold here today – the perfect weather for curling up with a blanket and a crochet hook.  

 

ripples and ripples

 

Coming this weekend: Charlotte Yarn Crawl

For those of us in the Charlotte area, it’s rare and exciting to see a crafts event taking off.  For crafters of the knitting and crocheting variety, Charlotte is offering up a yarn crawl Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18 with 10 participating area yarn shops.  For more information, check out the article in the Charlotte Observer.

Here is a list of participating vendors:

Basket of Yarn (Charlotte, NC)
Charlotte Yarn (Charlotte, NC)
The Fibre Studio at Yarns to Die For (Charlotte, NC)
Yarnhouse Knits (Charlotte, NC)
Close Knits Knittery & Press (Gastonia, NC)
Things Remembered (Gastonia, NC)
Cottage Yarn (Mint Hill, NC)
Knit One, Stitch Too (Huntersville, NC)
The Needlecraft Center (Davidson, NC)
The Yarn Shop by Rainy Day Creations (Pineville, NC)

I can’t wait to visit these shops – some of which I’ve never heard of!  Hope to see lot of you out supporting this fantastic event!

 

The knitty knitty bang bang wreath / crafting under the influence

The final result:

It started with a sale on wreath forms at Hobby Lobby. I’d seen and blogged about some cool wreath ideas that used up scraps of fabric or ribbon, so I picked up a form.

Then I got a migraine that ended up lasting 9 days. Halfway through those days, my doctor tried me on a different medicine to alleviate the pain. All it did was give me the attention span of a hyperactive puppy. Like this one.

(thankfully I did not make that costume for him, or I would have been ticked that he ate it off of himself in 5 minutes flat.)

To pass the time between doses, I decided to craft. The wreath form looked tempting enough, so first I covered it with ribbon. Halfway through, I hated it and covered it with fabric. Halfway through, I hated it and tried another fabric. Halfway through, I hated it and drank some chocolate milk. Then I decided to knit a cover for the wreath.

I used Lion Brand Homespun yarn from my stash, and it was my first time using it. I’m not a fan – to hard to keep the stitches clean and the tension even. But it’s easy enough to adjust and fake that when it’s on the form. I cast on 28 stitches and knitted in garter stitch until I had a 3 foot long scarf. Then I used a kitchener stitch to join the ends, put it on the form, and stitched the edges together (and rotated the seam towards the back of the wreath so everyone on the internet could not see how rusty my kitchener stitch is).

Once on the form, it was nice but a bit bland. I used some scrap ribbon, a large button, some leaves cut from green velveteen cloth (leftover from this projecthttp://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=281303.msg3185864#msg3185864) and scrap yarn.

Why yes, I do have a close-up!

Hope you like it – thanks for stopping by!

 

Field Trip: Autumn Jubilee

This weekend Mr. Lanigan and I went to Dan Nicholas Park in Salisbury, NC.  They hosted their annual Autumn Jubilee, which is a craft fair with some tasty food.  It’s an annual event, but this is the first year I have attended.  If you’re in the area next year, I recommend stopping by.  Such great deals and lots of interesting crafts that are locally made.

I came home with…

Handmade, all-natural soap and lotion from Back to Earth Products*

Extra Large Dog Collar from Haute Dogs* (Merry Xmas, Jack!)

NC State Quilted Christmas Ornament from Mary Ruth Owens*

Old-Fashioned Apple Butter from Rock Grove United Methodist Church

Framed Quilt from a very nice man with no booth name or card.  On the back of the frame it says, “Quilt square purchased in 1980 at an estate sale in the Trading Ford community. Fabrics date to 1930s/40s – some are feed sacks.  Quilted by Phoebe Nunn during the 1990s. Boards are from an old barn on Rock Grove Church Road in Rowan County.” Also this was only $14–such a steal!

Not pictured: Fresh Pressed Apple Cider from a Boy Scout Troop (sorry–don’t remember the number)

*I have business cards for these vendors, so email me if you want contact information for them.

I love looking at all the great ideas at shows like these, so I am excited there are a few more on the horizon.  Upcoming craft shows include:

October :: Charlotte, NC :: Craft Attack :: craftattacknc.com

November :: Raleigh, NC :: The Handmade Market :: www.thehandmademarket.com

December :: Asheville, NC :: Big Crafty :: www.thebigcrafty.com

Know of any other good craft shows?  Leave us a comment because The Neatery staff loves FIELD TRIPS!

 

Color Block (Help, I’m Stuck!)

 

With the recent success of the ripple blanket I made for my new cousin, I embarked on a new project for myself. I’m always cold, especially at work where a number of my co-workers seem determined to keep the thermostat set to just above freezing. I bought some fun colors of yarn and was really excited about my progress until it came time to add a fifth color. I had originally planned to mix up my blues with a nice citron, but once I started the new row, I wasn’t pleased. Then I tried a dark blue. Then an orange-red. And then I put it away because I couldn’t make a decision. So what do you think? Citron? Blue? Orange? Or something else I haven’t thought of? I wanted one more color to play off the blues, as I think just the blues and neutrals is a little dull.

with citron

 

 

with blue

 

 

with orange

 

Mmm, baby burrito (blanket)

Since becoming addicted to knitting, I’ve slowly begun to expand my repertoire of stitches and abilities. When a friend of ours announced her pregnancy, I decided to take on that sacred convention of knitters and crocheters alike – the baby blanket.

I was going to use a pattern, but thought “Heck! I can just make a big rectangle!” Note to self: use a pattern next time, genius.

It’s not that the blanket turned out bad. In fact, it’s quite lovely and the mom-to-be loved it. It’s that it ended up a bit TOO rectangular.

baby blanket

I folded it to avoid showing how much width it has. It’s like four and a half feet by two feet. I would have made it longer to offset the width, but I just plain ran out of time and patience and knuckle dexterity. My mistake: not counting how many stitches I cast on, therefor making it way too long.

The good news is, there are baby blankets like this, called swaddling blankets. Basically, you wrap a newborn in it like it’s a burrito, and VOILA – swaddled baby! So I called it the baby burrito blanket. Goes well with salsa.

Instructions:

1. Cast on too many stitches.

2. Miscalculate how much yarn of each color you need, and then find that the yarn store is sold out of green yarn. Make do.

3. Knit using a garter stitch until your fingers hurt, then finally say “EFF IT!” and cast off.

Close-up baby blanket

4. Steam-block the blanket, even though that won’t fix the size.

5. Give to recipient and say you meant to have it that size.

Baby blanket, wrapped

6. Realize she might have the address to this blog, and the jig is up.

 

Hearty Corn Chowder

I love soups and stews.  It’s one of my favorite things about the fall (you know, along with the sweaters and coats and scarves and cider and colored leaves).  In NC, September straddles summer and fall in just such a way to make things difficult.  The mornings feel like fall weather – a bit crisp and cool – but as the day goes on, the thermometer climbs and the sweater that was perfect that morning becomes heavy and hot by  noon.  It’s during this month that I start craving cool weather food.  And in the season straddler state, corn chowder is a perfect option – satisfying the need for a hearty fall meal while still containing all those fresh tastes of summer.  

When I set out to make this, I knew what flavors I wanted to incorporate and it was just a matter of editing a few existing recipes.  I took elements from both Ina and Tyler and made it my own. And it turned out wonderfully!

 

hearty corn chowder with garlic toast

 

 

Jenjenza’s Corn Chowder

1 tbsp butter
4 oz chopped proscuitto
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 carrot, finely diced
1 stalk celery with leaves, chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
3 cups potatoes, peeled and diced
5-6 ears of corn or 1.5 lb bag frozen (I used frozen white and yellow because our fresh corn didn’t look great)
1/4 c flour
6 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used chicken)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2/ cup milk
salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp paprika
4 oz shredded cheddar

Heat the butter in a large pot or dutch oven and add the proscuitto. Cook until browned. Add onion, garlic, celery, carrot, pepper and spices and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the stock and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and boil until potatoes break down, about 10 minutes. Add the corn, milk, and cream and cook for another 10 minutes. Add the cheese and cook 5 minutes more.

The only thing I would have changed, because I like a nice thick chowder, would be to add a bit more flour and use an immersion blender or food processor to break down more of the potatoes. Still, it was a delicious meal and looked so lovely topped with pepper, thyme, and cheese along side some garlic bread for dipping.

Enjoy!

 

Decorate for cheap! Living room art

I must admit, I have not been able to craft as much in the past few months now that I am again employed. But I do have a fun project to share that I did a few months ago. I can’t claim credit for it, as I saw the idea somewhere. Unfortunately, I have no idea – so if anyone can cite the source in the comments, I’ll edit this post to give full credit!

My husband and I have been living in our house for over a year and a half, and we still have a woeful amount of blank wall space. I had been wanting to put up some original work, but was having trouble figuring the right piece for the right space. It took Amber’s wedding shower and the idea of lots of fabulous ladies spending time in that room for hours at a time to move me to action. Time to fill some wallspace!

(Unfortunately, I did not take pictures during. But it’s pretty self explanatory, so bear with me)

Embroidery hoop wall art

Tools:

• Embroidery hoops (I bought a huge batch of them on ebay for dirt cheap. Brand new wooden ones are a bit expensive, but they’re easy to find in thrift stores, craigslist and ebay)
• Fabric (I had this fabric in my stash – it was actually a “bedspread” from Urban Outfitters that I bought many years ago and used it as an all-purpose picnic blanket/tablecloth/whatever. Even after filling 9 big embroidery hoops, I still have a ton of fabric left over, and I have the perfect project in mind for it. But that’s another post entirely.)
• Hammer & nails to hang the finished works up
• 30 minutes to spare

1. Snap embroidery hoop over fabric, adjusting so that the pattern shows how you want it to. I adjusted it so that there was at least one full bird in each hoop, and so that each hoop’s pattern was unique.

2. Tighten the fabric, and tighten the screws of the hoop.

3. Hang on the wall.

4. Play air guitar. (That part is optional.)

Embroidery hoop wall art

The only cost for me was the embroidery hoops. And I got such a great deal on them that the cost of these 9 hoops was probably $1. Sweet!

 

Baby Gifts

I recently had the pleasure of meeting my newly adopted cousin, Penelope for the first time.  I wanted to bring her a little something special and, knowing my aunt and uncle would truly appreciate homemade items, I started working out some craft options.  I knew that I had to order one of Missy’s sweet Bebeblu’s from her site blustitch. If you’ve never seen her work, you should definitely take a look. She’ll work with you on a custom design and I chose her doggie design in colors that matched Penelope’s room.

Once I had decided on a doll, I set to work making a blanket to go with it.  I decided to attempt my first ripple blanket using the great pattern on Attic24’s blog. It was surprisingly easy thanks to her clear instructions and photos. I used colors that paired well with the bebeblu and created a white border of double crochet. I was so pleased with how it turned out, I immediately started another for myself.

Penelope seemed very pleased with her gifts.  She took a nap with both her blanket and her doll that afternoon.  And I’d say she looks pretty happy with them here, wouldn’t you?