Getting back to normal

It's been a busy month, September.  And here we are, 10 days into October and I'm realizing Christmas is only a couple months away.  My father-in-law passed about a week after my last post, and the emergency trip to the East Coast threw things off for a while.  Just as we were getting back into the swing of things, the first school term ended for the kids, so we're on a two-week fall break now.  I find any spare moments I have are spent trying to keep up with orders from my Etsy business.

I recently finished a book called "Serve God, Save the Planet" by Matthew Sleeth, M.D. If you are a Christian or hold similar beliefs, it's worth a read.  His premise is that we are called not only to look out for God's creation (i.e. the natural world) but for the people on it.  Ultimately, his book might be summed up with the phrase, "Live simply, so others can simply live."  Some of what he does is beyond me right now, but I think small steps are important!

We finally broke down and subscribed to our local garbage hauling service's recycling.  We had good intentions to buy our own bins and haul it to the recycling station, but after almost 5 years, we never had done it.  Already in four days, we've only emptied the kitchen trash twice, instead of nightly.  I'm still looking for ways to reduce our trash, but it's a good start.  (We also compost all food, and I'm starting to compost certain paper and cloth products.)

I've also started putting up all our dry goods in canning jars rather than leaving them in bags and boxes.  An Epic Ant Invasion that only ended when the ants went underground to hibernate, despite my best attempts to eradicate the nest, meant a constant struggle to keep them out of the food.  Hopefully the jars will slow them down!

The labels are from Bright Swan Creations in Ontario, and are super simple.  I used a chalk paint pen and it wipes off with water.  You just let the "paint" dry for a few minutes and you no longer have to worry about smudging. (Though if you look closely, my "ancho" chiles look like "ancha" thanks to a husband impatient to clear the countertop!)  The labels are basically strong vinyl stickers, so they peel and stick perfectly.

Finally, I wanted to share this article, which goes back to the "Live Simply so others can Simply Live" principle: Life in a Degrowth Economy.  Even our governments around the world are starting to see we need to change our consumption, which is good news as long as it helps the individuals in those countries become more aware and desire to change!

Basic Heavy Duty Potholder Crochet Pattern

So I thought I was pretty smart when I came up with this pattern several years ago.  Then I discovered that many other people are as smart as I am and were smart before I was! :D  So the idea is not unique, but I've still written it up so anyone who wants to can make their own heavy duty potholder.

Basically, it's a densely crocheted cotton potholder, doubled up and seamed around the edges using crochet stitches.  It's useful and pretty, and heavy duty utilitarianism at its best.  These things can practically be used in blacksmithing!  (Okay, well, maybe not, but they are very protective. :D )  I take these potholders from the kitchen straight to the dining room table where they are also trivets for the serving dishes.  So it's handy to have a few hanging around.

It's really simple to make these; even if you just have a basic knowledge about crochet, you can do this. Admittedly, I'm a fast crocheter, but I can make one of these in an evening while watching TV.  You can adjust the size by adjusting the number of stitches you chain at the beginning.  I like to have a really big one around for larger pots and pans - especially when it's on our antique wooden table and it's hot!

You can also find this pattern as a free PDF download on my Ravelry design page.  If you would like to use this for a class, I just ask that you drop me a line and I'd be glad to provide you with the PDF version of my pattern.

I'd love if you would drop me a note at my Mulberry Fibers Ravelry group or make a Ravelry project page for your potholder!  I love to see what people create.  If you aren't a part of Ravelry, it's a great resource for all things knitting and crochet, with hundreds of thousands of patterns, forums where you can ask questions and chat, and a fun (if a bit neurotic) way to catalog all your yarnie projects and stash.

Materials:

Approximately 150 yards of worsted weight cotton yarn.

Finished Size:Finished size using gauge below will be approximately 8 ½” by 8 ½”.

Gauge:

Gauge is unimportant for this pattern, however, as written, you should have an approximate gauge of 3 ½ st per inch to get the sizing above.

Hook:

Suggested hook size:  US I/5.5mm

Instructions:

Chain 29

Row 1 (set up row):  In the second chain from your hook, single crochet (sc) 1 time.  Single crochet (sc) in every chain across.  Make one chain (ch) and turn your work.

Row 2: Single crochet (sc) 1 time in every single crochet from the previous row. Make one chain (ch) and turn your work.

Repeat row 2 approximately 68 more times, until, when folded in half widthwise, your work measures the same on each side (a square).

When your work, doubled, is a square, cut your working yarn and pull it through the last chain.

Finishing:

You are now going to seam your work together with crochet stitches to form the thick potholder with an insulating air pocket.

Fold your work in half again, this time using pins or clips to hold it in place.  Line up the rows to keep it even.  Attach your working yarn at the fold, and single crochet (sc) evenly across one side. 

When you reach the corner, single crochet (sc) three (3) times in the same space. 

Single crochet (sc) across top. 

At the corner, again, single crochet (sc) three (3) times in the same corner space. 

Finally, single crochet (sc) across third side.

Now all four sides of your potholder are closed.

Create the loop: without cutting your yarn, chain several times, tightly.  Once the chain is long enough for you (a minimum of 2”), slip stitch (sl st) into the fold of your potholder, next to the last single crochet (sc).

Cut yarn and pull through.

To weave in any ends, simply use your crochet hook to pull them to the inside of the potholder.

Other options:

-Crochet two squares instead of a long rectangle and use the finishing technique on all four sides instead of three.

-Make your potholder larger or smaller by adding or subtracting from your beginning chain.  (33 stitches chained makes a very large, nice potholder for commercial cooking!)

- Use up your scrap cotton – ends can be crocheted over using a new color, and then tucked inside the potholder.

The Ugly to the Beautiful - DIY creation

I read a blog today about a bathroom renovation, done by the blogger's husband.  It reminded me a lot of the work we have done in our own house.

We bought our two-story, 1905 house in 2009, with one floor livable and failing systems.  The bank wouldn't even let us buy it until we replaced all the windows and floors on the first floor!  Probably not our smartest move, but it all worked out and we got the house.  The upstairs was completely unlivable - unheated with no insulation and wallpaper crumbling off the walls dating back to the beginning of the 20th century.  You can see that part of the upstairs was finished...barely...

Since then, we've replaced (or added for the first time) two heat and air conditioning units - one for each floor.  We've renovated the upstairs into three bedrooms and a hallway, completely carpeted and drywalled, with new windows and insulation.  We have one last room up there that is mostly unrenovated, with hardwood floors and plumbing installed up to the second floor for a bathroom.

Downstairs we've painted, renovated two bathrooms (one had a floor that was an inch lower than the rest of the house - that was fun!), capped or taken down two useless chimneys, rewired, and cut back years of plant growth and overgrown 100-year old tree limbs outside.  We've also dug up an old sidewalk and two more steps off our front porch because of something someone down at the Dollar General said about her childhood.

I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea. :)  I think it would be fun to do some before and after pictures. I was looking through my original photo folder and it's amazing the difference.

I was reminded today of the pride and joy we feel, taking something ugly and ruined or worthless and making it beautiful.  This could be something as big as a house, or as small as a braided rag rug made with an old, holey sheet.   We are meant to create, and I think that making something from something ugly is even more profound than making something from almost nothing.

Clothesline

When we lived in Ohio, we had a great clothesline.  It sat between two big trees. The two lines - one at my waist and one at eye-level - were the perfect amount of space for our growing family.  The sun hit the line just right, so it was perfect for sunning out stains in the afternoon.

When we moved into our fixer-upper in Nashville, and through the past 4 or 5 years, a lot fell by the wayside as we coped with the repairs to the house and two new (and unexpected) pregnancies.  We had a brand new, energy efficient dryer, and no good place to put a clothesline.  I was overwhelmed and completely stressed out for the first two years.  And the clothesline never was set up.

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This spring we took another look at our electricity bill.  Too much.  Too much for running no heat or airconditioning; just the kitchen appliances, the washer/dryer, and the electronics like my computer and the TV.  What was causing such a high bill?

We turned off the electricity to the entire house - every single breaker was flipped off.  No phantom energy was going to affect our experiment if we could help it!

Then, one by one, husband turned a breaker on and ran each appliance separately.  I watched the wattage meter outside.

Surprisingly, the one thing that really got the meter going almost as fast as the air conditioner was the dryer!  My brand new, energy efficient dryer!  And with four young children, two loads a day was pretty standard.

Did you know that even dryers with good ratings are costing you a lot of money?  Have you heard that they wear out clothes faster?  (You know those mystery holes you sometimes get in clothing?  Clothes get caught on buttons, zippers, and even loose parts of your dryer as they tumble. And the lint you see is bits of your clothing being worn away with heat and agitation.)

I bet you can guess what happened next...

Yep.  A line went up pretty quickly!

I don't think it's self-evident in the picture, but we have a four car carport attached to the back of the house.  The best place to put the line, without having to haul wet laundry hundreds of feet across the property, was along the back side of the carport.  We were able to put up about 80-100 feet of line, doubling it as you see it.

It actually works quite nicely.  It's hard to hang or take down the clothes when the cars are parked under the carport (the other two sides hold our machinery, tools, and kids outdoor toys and bikes.)  But the line gets a good breeze, and is protected from rain, hail, and bird poop.  Yes, the bird poop is always fun.

Additionally, if I get the clothing up in the morning, the sun comes over the hill midmorning and hits the clothes just right.  So I'm able to use the sun to bleach out stains (this is remarkably effective!)

It's more work.  But it's refreshing - peaceful, even - to go outside and hang those clothes out.  To connect with women before me, completing the same tasks as they did.  One recent fact I read was that only 10% of households in 1955 had a dryer.  My grandmother (born in the 1940s) was probably the first generation to enjoy a dryer, and then only when her children were mostly grown.  In most other countries, clothes dryers are still rare!

To be honest, I also feel like I'm kind of "flipping the bird" at the power company, too! :D

A small foraging surprise

Last week we discovered edible wild garlic in our yard.  After researching extensively to make sure we didn't have one of the toxic copycats, and then letting my husband try some (it didn't make him sick!) we set to pulling shoots.

The neighbors were giving us funny looks, but hey, it's free food!  The almost-4 and 5 year old had a hard time stopping, and it's true - once you get started, you want to pull one more.  Especially in a yard filled with them!  In fact, since then, the four year old has made a habit of bringing me more every day, and I'm so up to my ears in wild garlic that her offerings are being thrown in an overgrown flower bed.

Maybe that's not a good idea.  It will be horrible trying to get the baby wild garlic out of that bed when I redo it next summer...

As an aside, I wouldn't recommend eating anything growing in a treated lawn. We grow our lawn with minimal care, mostly because it grows fine on its own (with the exception of a couple places) and I never really enjoyed the level of work and chemicals it takes to make a yard have only one kind of plant in it.  I am willing to put up with dandelions and clover (which are beautiful flowers to my 4 year old) if it means I have more time to do other things I enjoy more.

So I washed the wild garlic really well; it looks almost exactly like a green onion, except the bulb tends to be bumpier.

After a good washing, I started chopping.  The stalks on wild garlic are tougher than green onions; even my sharp butcher knife had some problems slicing through parts of it.  If you do indeed have wild garlic, harvesting and chopping brings about a strong onion smell.  I can always tell when someone has mowed in my area for this reason - no freshly cut grass scent here!  Just onion!  If you don't smell onion, don't eat it!  It's probably not edible.  The daffodil bulb and shoots look a lot like wild onion but are deadly.  They also don't have that strong onion smell.

Once I chopped them, I decided that I wanted to dry half of them and make them into a wild garlic powder to replace my onion powder.  So I placed them on a cookie sheet in my oven, set it at 170 degrees, and propped it open about 3/4" with a clothespin (hey, I guess the clothespin means I'm resourceful?)

Unfortunately, as some of you in the middle south may remember, we had torrential rain a good part of last week, including tornadoes and all sorts of awful stuff.  Our humidity level was 99% here in Middle Tennessee.  After four hours the smallest part of the stalks were dry.  The next day, I put them in for six more hours.  This is starting to get not as thrifty as I would have liked!   At the end of the six hours, all but the largest bulbs were dry.  I am going to spend this weekend grinding up everything, laying it out again, and trying once more.

As an aside, check out this blog post about wild garlic for more information and recipes.  He does a great job of explaining his process in depth.

Pollen everywhere!

So it's just that time of year when everyone gets sick because of the pollen, thick in the air, and in a thick layer on every surface.  Amid viruses that attack while we are already down (smarmy things that they are!) we have been doing lots of breathing treatments on the nebulizer for my husband and myself and my youngest.  It always makes me feel more empathy for those people who can't breathe as the norm - I suppose you learn to live with it since you can't live without breathing, but it must be terribly hard.

Despite that, I managed to finish the first sample of a pattern I'm working on for a girl's worsted weight tunic. This was done in my handspun, a superwash merino combed top from Mosaic Moon.

The handspun:

It's not quite right - the sizing seems to be off despite getting gauge and the math, so I'll need to check that.  And I'd like to make some changes to the seed stitch panel and how it expands at the bottom (which you probably can't see anyway, for the patterning in the yarn.)  Then testing of the pattern with actual other people!  Hopefully I'll have this in my Ravelry pattern shop by early summer, so there will be plenty of time to make a cute little tunic for a little girl before winter comes again.

A First Post

Needing an outlet to share my crafty thrifty side and catalog my journey through life, I decided the best way to do that was, of course, a blog!

About Me:

I am a mid-30s mother of 4 and wife to a computer/music geek.  I am also pretty geeky and occasionally a literary nerd - I tend to spend way too much time in handarts like knitting, spinning, and sewing while watching (or listening to) classics or Doctor Who.  I also like spy-shows like Alias and Chuck. :D

My four kids are young - my oldest just turned 8 and my youngest is 15 months, and I use my creativity as an outlet to stay sane.  After a day of chaos, there is something about the rhythm and predictability of stitches that soothes me!  I have two boys, and then two girls.  Good playmates.

I own my own business, making reusable household products, both soap and bath products as well as sewn cloth products like reusable menstrual pads.  I also dye fiber and yarn, so I have a second little etsy shop for that, though it's only occasionally stocked.

My history: 

Mid-way through childhood, my mom taught me to cross-stitch.  This lead almost immediately into me constructing and handsewing my own doll, complete with yarn hair and clothing, though poorly done.  For a 8 year old, I suppose it was excellently done!  By 13 I was a proficient cross-stitcher, a decent sewer, and I had started to construct dollhouses from kits - I liked to choose the biggest, most complicated one.  I made accessories and furniture for the dollhouse using bits of trash and fabrics.  I feel I was pretty clever as a child!

I learned to knit as a 19 year old, working reception at a music store.  The other receptionist, an older woman, taught me everything I wasn't able to teach myself, which was most of it.  I quickly gave up on that for crochet, which stuck better.  But when I moved to Ohio in 2007, at the age of 27, I picked up knitting again, and the next year, spinning yarn.

Those were the years I was introduced to more frugal, renewable ways of living.  We were "house poor" and I learned to coupon and shop thrift stores in earnest, to reuse what I have, and to garden.  I was also introduced to cloth diapers for my 18 month old son, and shortly after, I learned about cloth menstrual pads and other reusable products.  I started making my own soap, and laundry detergent, and using the clothesline outside.

I can't say I've always been consistent.  We moved to Nashville, TN in 2009, and I haven't had a clothesline since (though I do have a very energy efficient drier, which is nice, because I also have three more children!)  I still try to compost, and we have a garden, but no recycling.  (I need to work on that!)  I still use cloth pads and usually use cloth diapers, and we are most definitely frugal with consignment sales, garage sales, and couponing keeping costs down so we can pay off our debts and make a nice life for ourselves!

So what is this blog about?

I suppose I just want to share.  I'm not sure I have anything important to say, but maybe my journey in learning to live the way my ancestors did will affect you, too.  I am tired of the commercialism of this world, the constant struggle to have more, do more, be more than is humanly possible.  I am concerned for my children and the barrage of advertising that tells them they are not good enough.  I want to get back to a place where it is okay to have work and play clothing with patches, and where it's not an embarrassment that the muffler in my van is cracked and a bit noisy, because, hey, it's paid off!  I want to relish the accomplishment of making something beautiful in it's own right - not because it's perfect, but because it is. 

Voluntary Simplicity.  I suppose that's what this blog is about.

Hopefully the rest of my blog posts will be a bit more lighthearted, but there you go.   That's me in a very small nutshell. :D