cozy.

Recently on some occasional outings, Ben would bring along some beers, in case we wanted to pull over and sip a brew while people watching in a park somewhere. To tag along two bottle beers in a messenger bag is not the smartest idea, they are glass! So Ben had this genius idea to put the bottles in socks. He had some lonely-the-dryer-ate-the-other-one socks and it worked great! We even started keeping the beers in socks at home in the fridge and drinking out of them in our very own living room! They doubled to keep the beer cold, our fingers warm, and no coaster... it was a genius idea, I say genius!

+.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.+

I couldn't let him get all the credit however! I decided to crochet two beer cozies, just to make a statement :) I basically crocheted a flat circle and then just rounds to whatever height, then I crocheted a small rubber band in the last round at the top. They work better than the socks, imho ;}

I cross-stitched the skull and...

embroidered the up-side-down mushroom.

Another fantastic discovery we made here in PDX is the growler. Monday night we went out to Laurelwood NW Public House and had some fantastically brewed beers! To my delight we also were informed that this yummy treat could be brought home and stored in your own fridge. What a concept! We purchased the 64 oz growler and became part of the club (refills are cheaper if you bring back the jug). Awesome!

Less waste as well! No bottles to take into the bottle deposit, just filler-up!

+.peace.love.beer.+

organization.

People make lots of new year's resolutions. Mine however have nothing to do with the ordinary. Most of the time it is about organization (mind, body or stuff). Since organization is a year round task for me, it's usually never a resolution.

When I saw this post by Craft Chi, it made me realize one area I was lacking in the organization! My embroidery thread. So, I took charge and made an easy way to find the colors with out all the knots!

1. Cut cardstock into 1.5"x2" cards

2. Use a corner rounder (link) to round corners of cards

3. Use a circle punch (link) to make half circles on both sides of the cards (this is where the thread wraps in)

4. I used a punch that has various circles on the top (link) for a useful/creative flare

5. For the threads that still had their numbers, I labeled it at the bottom of the cards

6. Separate by color and use the big metal loops to put them all together for easy organization!

P.S. My resolution this year is to wash my face and floss before going to bed. It just seems to make more sense than doing it in the morning :)

+peace.love.resolutions+

.reuse.

Living an earth friendly lifestyle is something I work on everyday. I try to implement various ways of doing things that create less waste and energy usage. I love using freecycle and craigslist, and this week I was successful at purchasing some yarn, a bunch of yarn, for a really reasonable (cheap) price! I never know the colors I am going to get, which is fine because I usually don't know the projects I am going to do either. It seems to work out in the end.

+.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.+

Speaking of being green, this week I purchased a french press coffee maker. I am loving it so far and can really taste a difference in the boldness of the coffee. Since I don't have to plug anything in now, I feel better! (Except the coffee grinder, which, I would love to get a hand grinder, but that's a whole other day!)

I take a while to finish the coffee and without an electric pot warmer, it seemed to get cool faster than I would like, so....... I made a cozy! It's made out of this really soft, warm yarn and I edged it with a rough brown. I also added two buttons to keep it snugly attached to the pot.

Yum, yum! Now all that's missing is a little soy milk and I have my favorite drink!

+peace.love.peace coffee+

blossoms

I have been a pattern maniac lately. I recently stopped into Powell's Books here in Portland, and spent 90 minutes just looking at crochet books. I just couldn't get myself to purchase one until I checked out the library.

Portland Central Library

My library card is in hand today, and while the library does have a huge selection, about 80% of the books on crocheting were checked out. Bummer. I did snag one small one with some fun patterns I will have to try out. In the meantime, I have been finding patterns online:) There are some super craftsters out there who share their unique patterns. Lucky me!

The flower coasters and mini puff blossoms are from Teresa Franco Design. She designed these and put the pattern out there for all us crocheters! Thanks!

I had this crazy multicolored yarn I had no idea what to do with... I figured it out pretty quickly... my version of the flower coasters (above).

The flower blossoms are so easy! I made a few of them and put arranged them on top of a pencil that I wrapped in green yarn. The bouquet sits on my window sill. smile.

I also made one into a bracelet. This is my first time crocheting jewelry. I really want to branch out into this, we will see later if I follow through!

+peace.love.fuzzy flowers+

Scarf.let.me go outside+

I am running really low on yarn so with some random pieces I have left I have been making some scarflets. They are truly simple and take less yarn than most hats! Plus I have so many earrings that do not have pairs, it is a great way to make them into buttons while mix and matching the crazy color yarn.

I used my jewelry tools to bend the studs of the earrings into loops, then hand sew them right on to the scarflet! The best part is, I do not intentionally crochet any button holes. I use a standard double crochet and it leaves enough room to button the scarflet however I choose :)

This one I did with two colors of yarn. It's about 2/3 brown and 1/3 green. The button is one of three very heavy vintage ones I received in a bag of random jewelry, I love this one!

(I can take these pictures of me modeling my crafts by use of a mirror... except it takes 30 tries to get it right on... there has to be a better way!)

I am buying some yarn today from someone selling two laundry baskets full on craigslist.portland. I am getting a steal for $25... I am super interested with to see all the kind of yarn there might be! I love recycling and being thrifty... I might as well use something someone else is not going to use :)

+ peace.hooks.be green+

friday.crafts

On the job front... there really hasn't been any leads up until yesterday, someone actually called back! I do have an interview next week and I will update all the juicy details when that all happens! In the meantime, I had a very crafty Friday on my hands.

Made of two 12"x12" scrap booking paper, folded in such a way that POOF! an instant gift box! I made some of these while visiting ND, my mother-in-law was so kind as to share the pattern... they are great!

Looking inside
For the holidays, I received an Origami Calendar as a gift from my mother. I have been keeping up on the days and yesterday I finished this cute little suit! (Then as we were headed out the door to go have a drink, Ben could not find his $21 that he had in his wallet, I just gave him a smug grin and handed him the suit!)

I have also been doing a little drawing. When we were home (in Bismarck) I picked up some used colored pencils from the garage of my in-laws. After sorting and organizing I found within the colored pencil madness, a set that I really like! They are just fantastic, so I couldn't help but draw a few pictures. My most comfortable picture to draw (when testing out supplies) is always a tree... hence...

This is a little colored pencil tote I sewed about a year ago... it has served me well, and it was super easy to make. My favorite part is probably the adorable little elephant button that holds the ribbon in place. love.

I always have the problem that my sketch books are just a little too big, so in light of that dilemma, I created a half-size sketch book. I took a regular sketch pad, halved all the sheets, hole punched and covered two cardboard pieces (a little bigger than the paper size) in fabric with fabric glue and Modge Podge. I bound the book with those metal rings that open, this way I can easily remove pictures without tearing any pages!

The silk I used buckled a little, so next time I wouldn't use that type of fabric.

And, the fabric I used on the inner covers was white with blue print. I covered it in Modge Podge thinking it would be stronger, but it made the fabric see through and it made the cardboard too wet so it wanted to dry in an arch shape. I had to put some heavy bottles on it while it was drying to make the panels flat. I know better for next time!

This doesn't include the crocheting I did... that is another day, another post.

+peace.craft glue.love+

welcome.rain.

I am finding it oddly welcoming here in Portland. I don't mind the rain (ask me again in 2 months), the beers are mighty tasty, and our place feels comfortably like home.

The transit system is rockin'! Other than some debates about "Fareless Square" continuing to be fareless... things are working nicely. Really, I am not sure I am actually going to be using the system that much, deciding even not to get a pre-paid pass. Walking here is much easier and just as quick. From my door to the furthest edge of downtown is only a 30 minute walk. That's right friends, I said WALK. Now on to the cycling talk....

Since living on the top (5th) floor is magical and all, it has had one major drawback. Getting my bicycle into our little elevator (one pull door and a sliding metal gate) and down to the first floor has proven to be a difficult task. Combining that with little patience equals disaster.

I have contemplated storing my bike outside, but in all this rain I wouldn't want my vintage Marie to get all rusty and beat up so for now, she lives in the living room.

I do however need to discuss the biking here... it is a culture all it's own. It's a very nice way to live when motorists are required to stop for pedestrians in any marked or UNMARKED crosswalks. They also have a great sense to share the road with cyclists. Below is a picture warning motorists to watch for cyclists in the lane to their right before they make a right hand turn... if only they had those in Minneapolis on Hennepin, would there be less bike/car run-ins. (Clears throat).

Beer is good. That's all I really need to say. There are plenty of local brews that I haven't tasted yet. I have really only put a dent in what is offered here. I have made a vow while living here to never order a Miller, Bud, or Coors. Now I know why they are sometimes refereed to as "piss water". hehe.

On the job front, I am still looking. I have narrowed down what I would like to NOT do in a job, and I also have a list of things that I love doing. I guess it's the first time I am really taking TIME to figure it out and head in a new direction. In the mean time I am discovering the city and keeping up on some crafts.

The Beast is overjoyed that we put our rug out. It's now her favorite toy. She is easily pleased.

And over there... yep, that's a bridge. And down there, that's another bridge.

And check out over there, that's a bridge too! Schweeeeet.

+peace.water. & bridges+