Modern Take on the Granny Square

Is it me, or is the granny square (kind of) back in?

Just me? Well anyway,

I wanted to work on a new project awhile back (while pregnant) that I could do sitting/laying down/being lazy

and also that I could pick up and bring with me anywhere.

I toyed with the idea of doing a hexy quilt like Jodi… but you know… it seemed a little too daunting at the time, so I landed on this granny square afghan. 

My inspiration and granny square pattern came from this post of a BEAUTIFUL rainbow blanket by Tangled Happy.

You can find the crochet pattern here.

I should also mention that the inspiration blanket was made with really gorgeous purl soho fibers, and you can even buy a kit here.

But here is my take on it.

I used a thicker yarn and larger needle and used fewer colors, opting out of the pinks and purples since I wanted to use this in the boys' room.

My fiber choice was Vickie Howell's "sheepish" collection by Caron.

They are nice bold colors and super soft.

The inside of the squares are the following colors: Gunmetal, Grey, Navy, Robin Egg, Turquoise, Teal, Red, Coral, Pumpkin, Yellow, Olive, Chartreuse, and Lime.

The border of each square is White (which is really an off white). I also used that to crochet my squares together.

This turned out to be a fairly large blanket. I hate it when blankets don't cover your whole self.

So all in all I used about two skeins of each color, and a heck of a lot of the white (I lost count, but maybe around 9 or 10?).

As mentioned above, I love granny squares because they're portable. Just my yarn and a crochet hook (size H/8-5.00mm), and I was set. You also don't have to bring the whole project with you to keep working.

I'm stoked with the way it turned out.

It just invites you to relax and have some more coffee, am I right?

Speaking of…

Until next time!

Ben’s Booklist: Brown Bear, Brown Bear

 

I’ve been trying to get myself and Ben to the library about once a week lately. We are so blessed to have one absurdly close to our house, and I’m attempting to get in the routine of going weekly so that it will be an established habit when indoor activities are necessary this winter… plus it’s free… and it’s good to read.

Anyway, we’ve been checking out about 3 books at a time, one of which I base some activities on for the week for when he is “doing his work” in the morning. At first, the concept of having to bring the books back to the library was difficult, but he’s gotten the hang of it (I make a really big deal about putting the books in the library chute… it’s actually a little embarrassing but you gotta do what you gotta do).

Last week, we had Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? by Bill Martin

 

Cognitive Skills: color recognition and pairing two non-identical objects

Ben loved this one, and I loved that he loved it. It’s low on the obnoxious scale, and if you’re not creeped out by the mother towards the end, it’s a great intro to picture books for toddlers, especially if they like animals.

 

We did two activities with this one, a coloring book and a matching game. Both printables are free (yay!) and available here thanks to Carisa at 1+1+1=1. You should also note that there are tons of other activities and printables for this book, but I stuck with the two simplest ones that I knew Ben could complete by himself while still being a little challenging.

 

 

The coloring book was a big hit, and I’m kind of ashamed to say that I was shocked when we got every color right without prompting. I shouldn’t have been surprised because he is really into colors right now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then there was the white dog…

 

When Ben finished all of the pages, he was so proud! He insisted on bringing it to his grandmother’s house to show her.

 

 

 

 

The matching game was also great for us. Up until now, he’s been playing a regular matching game (with pieces from a memory card game). Those are obviously cards with two identical images, so this was a great step into pairing two non-identical objects together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was also the “work” that I left on the shelf for him, and he came back to it a number of times throughout the week.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So that’s that! We were at the library again this morning, so I have a whole new group to work with. I’m going to keep posting our “preschool” books under Ben’s Booklist in the Montessori at Home section, so be sure to check back in!

Freezer Meal Recipe Round Up!

Nesting is a funny, funny thing. You see, I’m a “nester” by nature.

Add to that the urge to purge, reorganize, and clean everything that comes with the third trimester of pregnancy, and things get a little crazy around here. So I’ve been busy doing the following:

 

 

• Washing, drying, ironing, and starching all of my linens (this is atypical, I assure you… well at least the ironing and starching bit)
• Cleaning everything down to the cleaning supplies themselves
• Reorganizing and labeling my medicine cabinet, cleaning closet, coat and linen closet
• Totally redoing Ben’s room (not planned and more on that later…)
• Setting up the nursery (duh)
• purging, purging, and more purging
• some light yard work (totally digging up my entire front yard to create new flower beds and borders. more on that later too…)
• and lastly, or at least most recently, stocking up on freezer meals for when the baby comes or I’m too big and uncomfortable to feel like cooking.

 

I’ve been compiling freezer meal recipes for awhile on Pinterest, especially those that I can thaw and put right into the slow cooker, and let me tell you, there are so many great resources out there!

However, Chris doesn’t eat carbs or dairy on his current diet. That combined with my aversion to processed to foods, and there wasn’t too  much to choose from.

Luckily, I did stumble upon some great choices. And I’m here to share the wealth with you now.

All in all, I spent under $300 for over 40, yes 40 (!!!) meals. considering that most of my ingredients were local and organic, I think I did pretty well. FYI, I’ve included some of my tips for buying organic on a budget below.

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Some great tips on making freezer meals can be found over at Life’s Little Moments.

I love her organization. Click here to read up on her process.

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Most of the meals I made came from Loving My Nest.

She has three rounds of recipe round ups, and they were all super helpful, but with Chris’ diet the third was definitely the best for us. TONS of protein+bean+veg meals which is basically what we eat on a daily basis around here. I especially loved that there were a lot of options where I could add a little cheese or serve with tortillas, or the like for Ben and myself while keeping it all carb and dairy free for Chris. She also includes shopping lists which are super helpful if you’re making exactly what she made.

Here are the meals I made from her recipe collection:

• Bean Stew
• Meat Stew (I used beef)
• Sausage and Bean Supper
• Pork and Veggies
• Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Chicken Taco Soup
• Creamy Farmhouse Chicken and Garden Soup (I omitted the milk here)
• Bacon Wrapped Chicken with Rosemary
• Sloppy Tamale Pie (made without the cornbread for Chris)
• Enchilada Wraps (minus the wrap part for Chris)
• Chunky Chili With Veggies (I used some of our venison here)
• Jambalaya with Cauliflower “Rice” (if you have a food processor, the cauliflower “rice” is totally worth it)
• Chicken Curry with Cabbage and Peppers
• Stuffed Bell Peppers (again with cauliflower “rice”)
• Beef Stew
• Pumpkin and Butternut Stew
• Sweet Potato Shepherd’s Pie (Chris won’t eat the sweet potatoes, but it sounded so yummy I couldn’t help myself)

*most of these I made multiples, some of the recipes are also already for multiple meals

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For Ben and Me, I also am a huge fan of these smoothie packs from Momables.

I honestly don’t mind making smoothies every morning, but since so much fruit is in season right now, it was a great time to portion these out. Buying my fruits and vegetables at this time of year was definitely how I did so well saving some money in the organic produce department (more on that below).

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And honorable mentions go to:

These meals by Six Sisters’ Stuff- I’ve heard they’re good and SUPER easy. I only opted for the recipes above because it was much easier to adapt them to our diets.

These meals from Kojo Designs- also looked super tasty, so I may just do these on my next stock up.

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So there you have it! Hope that helps some of y’all out. You can find even more over on my Pinterest board “Freezer Meals”.

Tips for Eating Organic on a Budget

I should most certainly mention that my kitchen is not entirely local and organic, but thanks to these tid bits, I’ve been able to work organic substitutes into our budget pretty easily. :)

• Buy in season! This is obvious, but really! Eating seasonally will not only help you save a lot of money, but it just tastes better! That tomato you buy in the winter has to travel a long way from a warmer clime. You’re paying for that travel. You also pay in the taste department because it has to be picked before it’s ripe.
• Consider “putting up” produce while it’s in season (see above). Even if you’re not into canning and dehydrating and all of that, think about simple methods of putting up like freezing. Example, blueberries are stinkin’ expensive when they’re coming to you from a different locale, but they are SUPER cheap when they are coming from local farms. They are also SUPER easy to freeze and pack in baggies.
• Look for sales (duh). Organic does go on sale, just not as often as conventional foods. Hint: the sale is almost always at the height of that item’s local growing season. Also think sale for canned goods. Bonus: if you’re local to Pittsburgh, Giant Eagle’s “Market Pantry” organic canned goods go on sale ALL THE TIME, so I stock up on those when they are and usually get them for the same price or cheaper than even the off brand conventionals.
• Shop Direct. I have nothing against Whole Foods, but generally speaking, I simply can’t afford to buy there. I’ve mentioned plenty of times that local farmers markets are where it’s at. Buddy up to your local organic farmer! Chances are, it’s cheaper than buying from the super store, not to mention it’s coming to  you straight from the ground. I’ve found that it also saves me a lot of money to buy bulk produce from the farmer. Don’t be afraid to ask for a deal! The nice thing about farmers markets is that they usually have control over their prices whereas the cashier at the grocer does not.
• Eat your yard. Grow your own! I generally do, but don’t have space to grow every thing since I live in the city… which brings me to my next tip…
• Consider a CSA. Usually you pay up front for a share, and if you can’t grow your own, this is the next best thing! A cute little box of farm fresh goodness!
• Buy in bulk. I alluded to this above. A couple suggestions here… talk to your local butcher about buying a side or a quarter of beef. Then do the math. Chances are, as long as you have room to store it, it’s going to be cheaper than buying the same weight in specific cuts from the grocer. I also buy in bulk from the warehouse. We have a membership to Costco, and they have a ton of organic options that are the Kirkland brand, often cheaper than the name brand equivalent. This is how I save on a lot of organic dry goods as well as canned and frozen items.
• Spend on the important stuff. Save your money where you can so you can afford to splurge on things are more expensive. For example, organic milk and eggs are pretty much always going to be more expensive than conventional. However, I can afford those by spending smart on everything else.

 

Alright friends! Lengthy, but I hope worth it! I’m off to put my feet up and eat some chocolate.

Nursery Bedding Project [Links to Free Tutorials]

A friend asked me to make some custom nursery bedding for her firstborn.

She picked out all of the fabrics to match the nursery,

and I've been chipping away at making the different pieces for the past few months between other orders.

Nursery bedding, I have found, can be frustrating to purchase because the affordable sets are all pretty ugly, and the pretty stuff is expensive! I was lucky enough to have my mom make a whole set of crib and cradle  bedding with extra sheets and matching blankets to my exact taste. I know. She's the best.

So I totally understood the request for something custom made with her choice of fabrics.

Everything came out so well,

and, even better, I was able to use some free online tutorials for everything.

So I thought I would share the wealth and pass the tutorials along to you all.

Altogether, I made three fitted sheets, a set of bumper pads, a window valance, and an adjustable crib skirt. So here we go!

Bumper Pads

Had to start with these because they were the most fun to work on.

You can find the free tutorial here.

They were actually easier than I anticipated, and if you're a newbie to piping, this would be a great project for you to try it out, in my opinion, because you work with the piping in small sections instead of one long continuous strip. Also, if you want to make the piping super simple, you can use pre-made bias tape.

I also liked that you can utilize two different prints for the bumpers and a third fabric for the piping and straps.

Because the pads are separate, they are easier to fit in the washer, and if you're tired of one print on the inside, you can switch them around, alternate them, and whathaveyou. I know, I'm wild.

Fitted Sheets

These were pretty straightforward.

You can find the directions here.

The one thing I will say about these is that you want to double check that your fabric of choice is at least 45" wide, because you'll need all of it including the selvage.

Standard width fabrics won't cut it... Actually, you will have to cut it and piece it together and it's a pain... trust me. I did it.

Valance

Sorry... the only pic I have of this is with my iPhone camera.
I have to say, while this one wasn't very complicated, it was pretty tedious... especially for the impatient sewist of quick projects (me).
The bright side, though, is that it is a genuine "real" window treatment, and you'll appreciate the quality the design even after all the extra steps and hand sewing.
Click here for the tutorial.

Adjustable Crib Skirt

This was SUPER simple. And great considering that more cribs nowadays have all different heights and stuff.

Essentially, you just make fabric panels for each side of the crib (be sure to get accurate measurements), and then you clip them or pin them to your mattress spring or board. Adjust as you go. Awesome.





How to measure for you fabric cuts: for the long sides of the crib, measure from one side of your mattress spring or board to the other. Add 2 inches. For the short side, do the same. These will be your cut lengths.
For the height, you'll want to measure from the floor to the highest setting of your mattress. Add 6 inches. This allows for your hemming and an additional 4 inches so you have something to clip underneath the mattress. The height will be the same for all four sides, obviously.
Cut your pieces, then finish each side by ironing over 1 inch (twice) and top stitching for each side. You should have four simple rectangles that fit nicely on the bottom of your crib. :)

So there you have it!

I'm happy with all of these tutorials, and I'm happy to pass them along to you!

Sewing for babes is fun, yes?



Another Milestone: Sewing Garments

Was anyone else out there totally inspired and motivated by Kids' Clothes Week

a few weeks ago?

I certainly was, and if you follow me on Pinterest or Instagram,

you've probably noticed that I've been somewhat addicted to finding some simple garments to sew

in order to boost my confidence in the pattern department.

For some reason kids' clothes seem so much less intimidating.

Luckily, I found these bubble shorts by Elegance and Elephants.

Not much needs to be said.

They are beyond cute and also beyond easy.

(!!!)

Which means they were perfect for my first try at sewing a real garment.

The pattern also comes with a variation for sailor style button front, which is so incredibly adorable, I can hardly stand it. That may be next on my list.

I don't have any female offspring, so I've been churning these shorts out for my nieces and Ben's little lady friend, Lucy.

I also found a free pattern for this toddler swing tank.

I added the peter pan collar with some extra fabric I had left over from the shorts.

For the shorts, I opted for a linen blend which gave me the look of linen, but more ease of care,

and the shirt is a quilting weight cotton print (both from Joann).

Super cute, right?

This endeavor went so well, I'm actually considering sewing something boy-friendly for my own child! haha.

I'll keep you posted.

Mommy Poppins Bag [Pattern Test and Review]

When the lovely Jodi over at Sew Fearless asked me to test her new pattern for this here bag,

there was little hesitation.

My actual thought in response to her email was, "omg... okay so wait at least 5 minutes before you respond or she'll think you're a total stalking freak."

You see, Jodi made her first Mommy Poppins Bag what feels to me like FOREVER ago,

and I've been borderline coveting it ever since.

(Okay, NOW she'll think I'm a total stalking freak.)

Anywayz... I've used Jodi's patterns before for my nephew's Christmas gift Pajama Eaters (link to pattern here),

and for Ben's Sidekick Suitcase (link to pattern here), which I have to say we use about every weekend.

Jodi is super talented sewing things herself, but she really shines in the clarity of her patterns.

The directions are not only thorough, but there are plenty of pics alongside.

PLUS, whenever I've had a problem, she always obliges me with a quick and helpful tip.

Monday marked the release of this new pattern, and if you head over to Sew Fearless,

which I strongly suggest you do, you can enter (this week) her giveaway for some free bag patterns and one lucky person will win all the necessary hardware (my favorite part).

So the details:

The Mommy Poppins Bag is a nice roomy handled bag with a "carpet bag" style closure at the top.

It has four, count em FOUR good sized pockets on the interior in addition to the main compartment, as well as two exterior pockets, one featuring a nice accent flap.

I used this geometric print from Joann's for my main fabric.

I chose that first, loved it, and then chose my accents from there.

The brown corduroy seemed to match nicely, and then I got a little funky with the floral print for the lining. 

I know, I'm crazy like that.

The pattern includes directions for attaching the handles to the D rings by sewing, which I had originally planned to do as I have never riveted anything before,

but once I got started and saw how everything was coming along...

I just knew.

I knew the way you know about a good melon.

Had to rivet.

And I'm beyond happy with the results.

I had a hard time finding double capped rivets (without waiting ions of 2 days for delivery), so I ended up with single capped rivets, and I just made sure to the put the capped side on the exterior of the handles.

All in all, I LOVE this bag, and the pattern was a nice new challenge for me, but not so difficult that I got frustrated. For those of you who know me or have been following the blog for awhile, you'll know that I'm somewhat pattern illiterate.

In my opinion, though, this pattern reads more like a lot of online tutorials than a pattern you would find at the store, but with much more clarity than many tutorials. Best of both worlds.

So give it a shot!

If I can do you, SEW can you!

See what I did there?

My Favorite Homemade Cleaning Products [Link Roundup]

Howdy strangers!

I'm back!

As I mentioned on our Facebook page, we've decided to list our house for sale.

More details on that later, I'm sure.

but for now, suffice it to say that "Meg's Projects" have been limited to cleaning and keeping the house straight.

Which includes my workspace! ahh!!!

Serious DIY neglect going on over here,

but I have managed to finish up some long-term projects

which I'll be sharing with you over the next few weeks.

In the meantime, it's all about keeping my house clean for prospective buyers.

Which also means I've been able to test out a TON of homemade cleaning products.

Some of them I've found online, and I'll include the links for you all.

Some of them are just tips I've learned along the way which I thought I would share.

Most of these require only a few common ingredients:
Baking Soda
Vinegar
Lemon Juice
Hydrogen Peroxide


Microwave and Slow Cooker Cleaner

Cut a lemon in half and squeeze a little juice into a large microwave safe bowl (or slow cooker).
Add the lemon halves and a few cups of water.

For Microwave, just zap it for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Everything should wipe effortlessly outathere.

For slow cooker, turn on high for a good bit (I just left it for a couple hours which was probably longer than necessary). This is great especially you have an older slow cooker which doesn't have a removable bowl.


Frontloader Washer Cleaner

Between the two adults, one cloth diaper-wearing child, and two big old dogs in this house, we I do a lot of laundry. I have a high efficiency front loader which I really like, but they do get funky after awhile (especially that front gasket which keeps the water in, and sometimes trapped). Even your laundry can start to smell funky. boo! hiss!

Source

I found this great post on maintenance and a cleaning solution using baking soda and vinegar.
I didn't use bleach on mine, although that is recommended if you have a lot of mold build up... ick. I hate even typing that.


Bathroom Cleaner

A lot of shower and tub cleaner can be pretty caustic... not a fan.
So here is the miracle recipe to avoid bleach and other fumey products...

Are you ready? 2 parts baking soda, 1 part hydrogen peroxide.

Yeah, I know. Complicated.

Is my tub new, you ask? No! just really REALLY clean. :)

Make a paste and cover any stained part of your tub, sink, whathaveyou. Let dry for about 30 minutes.
Scrub (honestly,  I barely had to even scrub mine), rinse, done.

This got my tub cleaner than soft scrub. Cleaner than bleach. Cleaner than anything!
No joke. Looks like new.


Grout Cleaner

Our kitchen and bathrooms are all tiled with ridiculously wide grout lines. The kitchen is also the path for people and dogs from the back yard, so my grout gets pretty gross.

I found this recipe, and gave it a whirl. And yes, it worked better than the expensive fancy special grout cleaner that I got from the home improvement store, using only baking soda, vinegar, water, and lemon juice.

Source

*you can also use ammonia, but that makes me sick even when I use all the necessary precautions.


So there you have it. Those are some of my favorites so far.

I'll let you know if I find any more gems.

There are more on my Pinterest board "natural cleaning" (please note that I haven't tried all of them out)
Anyone out there have a fav? Please share!

Downton Abbey Knit Along {and Pattern Review}

I saw the teaser for Luv In the Mommyhood's

Downton Abbey Knit Along

a couple of weeks ago, and I wasn't going to do it.

I really wasn't.

Too much going on....

But then on TOP of the teaser,

Shannon posted (via a Pinterest board) many a Downton inspired knit and crocheted projects,

and I saw this:

photo credit and pattern

I die.

Here's my finished product

Soooooo..... I'm in.

Put Meg down for one crocheted cowl, please.

because, yes, I need another cowl.

I have to be competely honest with you all, though...

We're only one episode in, and in my excitement...

I already finished.

In my defense, it was a 2 hour ep... sooo....

I know, I know. Less of a "knit along" and more of an "I just knit that".

Oh well. What are you gonna do?

The good news is

I. Love. This.

Love the yarn.

Love the pattern.

Very very simple and quick thanks to all of the negative space that makes this cowl look lacey.

It's a less than one skein project (hooray!)

The one con I can think of:

not exactly practical for Pittsburgh winter... but Spring Still Winter is just around the corner, right?

I believe that the yarn in the pattern is an acrylic.
I chose a natural wool because I don't always like how some acrylics are "slippery" when you're working with them.
You'll see right off the bat that there are some pros to working with an acrylic yarn for this pattern.
Because it's smoother, it lays a little more nicely (see pattern pic above).
You can also see the stitches more clearly, giving the pattern a more gentile, lacey look.

And here's some pics from the unintentionally
patriotic photo shoot

The wool is stiffer, which I don't mind at all.
It also has a rougher feel, which I also don't mind.
While I love the look of the pattern's pic, I don't know that I'll be wearing mine with a tank, so the wool will not really be against my skin.

To get this crochet pattern, click here.

Highly recommend.

To check in to the knit along and see what everyone else is up to, click this there button below.


Win Win

Just a quick post to let all of you know that I'm participating in an online auction this week.

My "Play Mass Kit," along with many other great items are up for grabs with all proceeds going to bring financial and prayer support to bring two orphans home to their family.

If you want more information about this beautiful family, click here

To visit the auction and place a bid, click here.

And for more information about Reese's Rainbow, the ministry that is helping bring orphans with special needs home to their families, click here.

Thanks! Give lots and lots of money! :)