Crochet Purse

Since my surgery. I've been dealing with bouts of insomnia. This has lead to some creative pieces of work. One being a crochet purse, which I gave to my mother. I worked this thing entirely out of my head. I wrote it down as I went. If there are any issues, let me know. 

Small Purse

1 skein color A

1 skein color B

1 skein color C

Front Panel

Make two

With color A, Chain 50

Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn. 48 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn.  48 sc

Row 3-26: repeat row 2. Fasten off. 48 sc

Small Pockets

Make four

With color A, Chain 15

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn.  13 sc 

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn. 13 sc

Row 3-15:  repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 13 sc

Large Pockets

Make 2

With color A, Chain 37

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn. 35 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn. 35 sc

Row 3-4: repeat Row 2. Connect B at last sc in Row 7. 35 sc

Row 5-15: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 35 sc. 

Bottom

Make 1

With color B, Chain 15

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain, turn. 13 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc, turn. 13 sc

Row 3-57: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 13 sc

Sides

Make 2

With Color B

Chain 14

Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook sc in each chain afterward. Turn 13 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc. Turn. 13 sc

Row 3-27 repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 13 sc

Handles

Make 2

With Color B, Chain 5

Row 1: sc in 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward, turn. 5 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc. Turn. 5 sc 

Row 3-80: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 5 sc

Pocket Border

Make 4

With Color B, Chain 6

Row 1: sc 2nd chain from hook, sc in each chain afterward. Turn.  5 sc

Row 2: chain 1, sc in each sc. Turn. 5 sc

Row 3-44: repeat Row 2. Fasten off. 5 sc

Finishing:

With Color C, outline the handles using 1 sc in each stitch. Fasten off

Use Color C to put pieces together. I used 1 sc in each stitch.

Feel free to post any changes you've made to this pattern in the comments section. 

And please donate to my transplant fund (still have transplant expenses to cover) at 

http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

Ramen Soup

I've been on a long Hiatus. Being sick did not help my crafting ability. I had no energy to do simple things. Luckily, a new set of lungs became available just in time. Now my creative juices are starting to flow again.

Since transplant, I've been craving ramen soup. The instant kind is full of stuff that I would need a Chemistry degree to understand. In other words, completely unhealthy.  I steer clear of the stuff. It's just sodium and empty calories. But my cravings were getting so strong (and it didn't help that my sister loves it, so I was smelling it all the time). I finally decided to succumb to my craving. I made my own version of ramen soup.  And I must say, it's pretty tasty. Much better than the instant stuff. And smart me, I took notes while making it.

Ramen Soup

18 oz Chicken Stock

6 oz Water

1" Piece of Fresh Ginger, finely shredded

2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped

1 Bundle Japanese Udon Noodles (I use Tomoshiraga Somen Noodles)

2 Carrots, Sliced

2 Celery Sticks, Sliced

8oz mushrooms, chopped

3 Scallions, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Optional:

2 cups Cooked Chicken, Shredded

1 can Bamboo Shoots, drained

1 can Water Chestnuts, drained

1 Egg, boiled or whisked

1. Put the Chicken Stock, Water, Ginger, Garlic, and Scallions in a pot and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes.

2. Add Carrots, Celery, Mushrooms, Chicken, and Udon Noodles.  Bring back to a boil.  Simmer for amount of time needed to cook noodles.

3. 3 minutes before the Noodles are done add the Bamboo Shoots, Water Chestnuts and whisked Egg (whisk as you slowly pour the egg into the soup).

4. Remove from heat and add sliced boiled Egg at this stage.

5.  Salt and Pepper to taste. Enjoy out of the pot or in a nice large bowl.

Note:

Can add any veggies you like. I tend to change mine every time I make Ramen Soup.

Can use pork, beef, or shrimp in place of Chicken.

If you like this soup, consider donating to my transplant fund. It covers ongoing expenses. 

http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

MIA

No updates for awhile. I'm in the hospital. Hopefully will be able to post more projects by next weekend.

Please donate to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure: Week 2

Sorry for not posting Friday. Internet was on the fritz. I suppose that means you get two posts this week, weather permitting. Basically whenever the weather gets crazy (snow, rain, wind) I lose internet. The joys of living in the mountains I guess. This weather is not typical for a California May. By now I usually have a nice tan going and have the best swimming spots picked out. With all the rain and cold, I haven't set foot in a body of water yet. And we don't get tornadoes that touch down. Wednesday, four touched down in my county. Luckily, no one was hurt. A lot of property damage but that can be fixed.

Having some camera issues, hopefully that will be worked out by the end of next week.

I am not a fan of the "holes in my jeans" style. I can't see spending money on jeans that are already ripped up. My sister is the opposite of me. She buys them with holes. If they don't have holes when she buys jeans then she will make tears herself.

I've decided to use a pair of these holey jeans as a canvas. I made patches to cover the holes. On these patches I figured it would be fun to put some sort of design. So I had to come up with a theme for my jeans. I figured that since I majored in Genetics putting "genes on my jeans" would be the way to go.

Using my genetics textbooks I drew out the structures for the nucleotide bases and twenty amino acids. I used a white dressmakers pencil to draw the structures on the fabric. I hemmed the raw edges back and then used a contrasting thread to stitch the structures (sort of a rustic form of embroidery).

After I finished with the structures, I hand stitched the patch over the hole. Then I turned the jeans inside out and used light weight fusible interfacing (followed package directions on application) on all the patched areas to add more strength and hold the stitches in place.

There's another pair of holey jeans in the pile. I'm thinking of making patches for all the cities I've been to and sewing them on. Sort of my version of "traveling pants."

Please consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure: Week 1

In the pile of clothes my sister gave me was this blue dress. I'm a sucker for blue. I just love it. I especially love how this shade of blue looks against my skin. And the brown makes a nice addition. So while I was in love with the fabric, I was not liking the style of the dress. I am a very small person and anything that doesn't have shape makes me look like I'm wearing a sack.

First I made a sketch of how I wanted the dress to look. I figured a band in the middle would add the shape I was looking for.

Once I had finished my sketch, I took out my scissors and started cutting. I removed the brown band from the bottom. I measured the band and found it to be the exact size of my waist so I put it aside to be used for later. I then cut the top from the bottom. I sewed the top portion to the brown band, creating a new bodice for my dress. The bottom part, I sewed godets in to add some flare. I then sewed the new skirt to the bottom of the brown band.

The end result was a dress with enough shape to make me look good. I did run into some problems. My serger went on strike. The foot pedal stopped working so I couldn't serge my seams and edges. My sewing machine has a fit when I work with knit material. So in the end I used my mother's machine. It's a Husqvarna Viking and it made quick work of my dress.

The cost to make this dress was $0. Since I like blue so much I tend to keep blue thread on hand. It also helps to keep a stash of black and white threads as well.

Because of the serger issues, it took me a day and a half from start to finish to complete the dress (that's including sketching and cutting).

The finished product.

Now I just need this rainy weather to clear up so I can wear this beauty.

If you enjoyed this article, consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

One Woman's Trash is Another Woman's Treasure

wI know I've been gone for quite a while. A lot of things have been going on around here. Made it hard to get the creative juices flowing much less able to sit at a computer and blog about it all. Things seem to be calming down. At least there's an attempt at calmness. I'm hoping that it will at least last the rest of May. I need a break. And my sewing machine has been calling my name.

Why my sewing machine would be calling my name? I have no clue. I guess it's feeling neglected. Each time I use it though, it complains the entire time. Material is too thick, material is too thin. Rarely does it do exactly what I want it to unless I do some major tweaking. I suppose if I was just making plain fabric pillow cases my machine would be happy. But I like doing crazy stuff like button holes, and sewing in zippers. And my machine needs a bit of persuasion to accomplish the task.

I suppose this is great training for the day I can afford an upgrade. After all the frustrations with my sewing machine, a new one would seem like a God send.

Anyways, the old lady is going to be put to work again. See my sister cleaned out her wardrobe and was going to toss out two large black garbage bags worth of clothes. I convinced her to let me have the bags. After sifting through them and tossing what really should be tossed (never hand down underwear, it's just nasty), I found some gems. These clothes are currently too big for me and some aren't even my style. But the fabric is great and my clothes budget is nonexistent these past months. So I'm taking some inspiration from the blog New Dress A Day and am going to turn my sister's toss outs into new duds for myself.

So my challenge for myself is to turn my sister's old gothic punk clothing into classy pieces with a touch of whimsy.  My goal is to produce something new each week. I'm allowing $5 to be spent on notions (thread, ribbon, lace, buttons, zippers, needles) for each project. The bulk of the item has to be from the discarded clothes.

Wish me luck.

It would be encouraging if you considered donating to my transplant find at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/

2010 Project Gallery

Here are photos of my completed projects this year.  Some I have blogged about, and others I haven't.  I plan on posting links to the blog articles as I get more organized.  New pictures will be added as I finish my projects.  Older pictures are on the bottom and newer ones are on top.  Enjoy.

October 2010. Black Pearl Bracelet with silver findings.

October 2010.  Black Pearl Necklace with silver findings.

August 2010.  Winter Robe I made for myself.

August 2010. Flannel pants with a skull pattern.

July 2010.  Winter nightgown for myself.

July 2010.  Doll for niece.  Has own little doll.  Still need to make some clothes for her.

May 2010. Birthday gift for friend.

June 2010. Summer poncho for myself

May 2010. Graduation gift for sister.

May 2010. Birthday gift for mother.

April 2010.  Upcycling experiment.

April 2010.  Upcycling experiment.

April 2010.  Birthday gift for grandmother.

March 2010.  Hair piece for self.

March 2010.  St. Patrick's Day

Please consider donating to my transplant fund at http://cota.donorpages.com/PatientOnlineDonation/COTAforSolanaC/