A Few Things of Craftiness

A few random things for today's blog...

1) I made a tank top shirt that I completely copied off someone else's project I saw. It was my Saturday project, and my Sunday outfit.
It was pretty easy to pull off, actually--the tank is just a regular one from Target, and all the scraps are small leftover pieces from previous (and future) projects. The only trick was sewing non-stretchy fabric to a very stretchy tank. But I like how it turned out!

2) I got a fun package from fellow blogger K*tdid. I won a give-away on her blog (lucky me!) and got two cozy and bright legwarmers recycled from an old sweater. So fun! The package also came with pink paper heart confetti, which I am to plant and watch become flowers. Yes, please. (Forgive the awful juxtaposition of baggy pajama pants and striped socks with these otherwise amazing legwarmers.)

2) Speaking of K*tdid, she just opened her Etsy shop and it is seriously cool.  I don't knit, unfortunately (all my energy is spent trying not to curse sewing), but I can still appreciate the dedication it takes to make handspun  and handdyed wool. Yup. Pretty awesome.

3) Back in the sewing world, two buttons off two separate skirts popped off in the last week at work. Not cool, especially when they are high-waisted skirts that really require the buttons to hold tight and be seen! The first one was luckily at the end of the day, but today's was at about 8:15am. I salvaged it with a safety pin before lunch, but it's still a bit disheartening. Two buttons? Really? Are my handmade clothes destined to just fall apart and disintegrate while I'm wearing them? They can be fixed, but I'm still a bit gloomy about it.

4) Our community has found a house! We will be living in SE Portland near Division and 50th, which is close to many good places to eat and lots of big streets to bike in. And the house is full of hardwood floors, a cute kitchen with glass cabinets, and big open rooms! This is crafty-related because the 3rd bedroom has already been dedicated to a phenomenal craft space, with names like "Room of Amazing Craftiness," "Imagination Station," and "Unicorns, Rainbows, and Crafts Wonderland."
Some names are better than others.
We'll be moving in about two weeks! Now to packing...

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

Life has been pretty busy lately going through quite a few changes for us. Mostly, with me. I'm always the one changing things around! 6 months ago I got a new job and made us move downtown, and now I transferred to another new job, and am making us move again! Ug. I'm sorry, Jesse. Luckily he claims he likes change.

The new job is with the same company, just a transfer to their main office for an administrative assistant position. A little bit less stressful than leasing, so it's a welcome change for me. A job with regular office hours, that I don't have to work overtime for, and that I finally get weekends back to enjoy with friends and family? Yes please. It might be a little bit more boring, but I'll take it. I started last week.

Because of that, we no longer get a fancy apartment in a luxury building downtown, so we're in the market for a new place. By the middle of May. And actually, this is the perfect opportunity to do something we've been considering for a few months now.

We are moving in with our dear friends Nat and Andrea! It's funny, a lot of people have roommates for a lot of reasons, but when we say we're moving in together it means a lot more to us. It's trying to create a sense of community. It's the idea that by sharing space, food, time, music and other things we can maybe gain something amazing back.

We've been so intentional and purposeful about it--making sure we know what we're getting into, what our goals are, and how we want to reach them. I know there are things to be concerned about, but I am so confident we can get through them, and I am so excited about the possibilities.

A few goals of the house:

1) Be More Eco-Friendly. With four people eating, we can buy in bulk and use less packaging. We also want to make more things at home, like bread, granola, etc, to use throughout the week. Composting, bike-riding, carpooling, recycling...it's easier to do all of these if you have three other people committed to helping you.

2) Band Practice Space. We're looking for a house with a great basement that we can soundproof for the band. Having a practice space right in the basement means music can be more of a lifestyle for them. And I can be the ultimate groupie!

3) Live in Community. I've become more and move convinced that the idea of church is rooted around a community. It's a group of people that care about each other and invests time, energy, emotion, and support in everyone else, including people outside of the original community.

That's some of what we're aiming for. First we have to find a house that will accept us! Then, the challenge begins...

A Hint

It's been a crazy busy week, but here's a hint of what's to come:

Mm....so pretty!

A Lotta Ricotta

Weekends are full of small victories for me. A new recipe tried, a book finished, a hike taken. This weekend included all of those, and a dollop of ricotta! We've been meaning to try the ricotta recipe in our cheesemaking book for awhile because it looked so easy. Bascially you take a gallon of milk, heat it up, add vinegar and salt, let it curdle, then drain the curds. Voila, ricotta!

A whole gallon of milk only makes about 1 1/2 cups of ricotta, but that's about what you'd buy at the store.  The weird thing about ricotta is that it doesn't actually taste like anything but the milk, but it's so delicious when you add it to things.

Suki helping us look for a pot.

The finished product! We cut up a ripe mango and ate it with that. Other ricotta uses are manicotti, of course (Jesse's favorite), mixing it with honey and berries, and then a recipe I just saw in Cooking Light for "Open-faced Sandwich with Ricotta, Arugula, and Fried Egg."

Mmm...

I love knowing that I can do things myself instead of buying expensive things at Whole Foods. And it's such a quick easy afternoon project!

Next up, Mascarpone or Creme Fraiche? Decisions, decisions...

I've been thinking about Peter Pan collars lately

It's true. I've been seeing them pop up more and more, in random places. You know that weird thing when something is brought to your attention, and suddenly you see it everywhere? Not that it wasn't there before, you just didn't notice it.
That's my experience with Peter Pan collars. I've seen quite a few shirts with them lately, and it's got me thinking of making my own...

So sweet and young, but still classic. "Fresh?" Does that word fit?

I don't have a pattern, however. So I have to ask myself, how brave am I? Can I manage to pull out a perfect peter pan collar on my own? Probably not. Maybe someday. For now, I should actually just focus on making some decent shirts--that's the first step!

But I'll still be thinking about them.

Happy Easter

It's been such a long time since I posted! We've been keeping pretty busy here. My parents visited this weekend, so it's been a nonstop tour of restaurants and shops and hikes and all sorts of things. A little recap:

Jesse and I at Slappy Cakes. Notice the K and J pancakes in front of us, of course.

Hiking in the Gorge: this is Upper McCloud Falls, on a very rainy day.

Easter Brunch on the roof: with lemon curd, baked french toast, quiche, hot cross buns, and mimosas!

Happy Spring!

I have new fabrics and new projects to post about, so check back soon!