I'm headed out of town for two whole weeks to enjoy a fabulous vacation with my new husband. While away the following fabulous projects will be brewing that you CANNOT MISS!
The Rookery re-opening with a brand new bar in the back - woot woot. 11/1/11
Nov First Friday which will be full of new things- Copy Express/AK Litho has a newly remodeled space and you can vote on their photo contest, Bauer & Clifton Interiors will be opening a storefront- and there will be frost in the air, perfect for sporting your TP Alaska First Friday scarfwear! 11/4/11
The most radically one-filled day ever 11/11/11
A Fashion show with proceeds going to charity, sponsored by the Brewery. 11/17/11
Public Market Madness with a booth by yours truly 11/Thanksgiving Weekend/11
And I am working on a fabulous Opera by Dvorak: Rusalka - which won't open till 2012 but it's on my mind as I'm designing it now~ eek!
So it should be a rousing November to be sure!!
Meanwhile, keep yourself warm with some winter crafts on me!
October in Alaska is the perfect month for crafting. Soggy gray days turn dark quickly while the white dust creeps down the mountainsides, so I cozy up with a giant caramel latte and my favorite craft. But let's be honest, the October nip in the air is sometimes hard to contend with as my cold crafter's hands try to stitch and string one more strand. So I've come up with five crafty ways for us all to cut the chill and get back to the task at hand.
Crochet yourself a cozy cap
Get a head start by making yourself a cap for crafting. You'll need one crochet hook, a skein of yarn and a little math. Start with a medium-sized hook, like a J or K, and a worsted weight yarn. Start by teaching yourself one stitch; a single crochet or double crochet can be found online or at your local library with good illustrations.
Start at the crown of the hat by crocheting three chains, then crochet your next stitch back into the first - you've created a very tiny circle. Now mark that stitch with a safety pin as the beginning of your circle or round. For each round you make after this, move the stitch marker along to mark the beginning.
First time hat-makers have the inevitable problem of making a lovely freewheeling hat without marking their rounds, and in most cases the hat ends up with a few uneven lumps and bumps. Whatever pattern you choose make sure that you complete it for one full round and then you can switch to some other wild stitch in your repertoire. Believe me, in the end your round head will thank you.
Tie yourself up in fleece
Once your head is under wraps, get the rest of your mojo cozy by creating an easy-for-anyone tied fleece lap blanket.
Take two large squares of fleece (think blanket-sized), often sold as "panels" at the fabric store. Cut 1" wide strips that look like fringe about 4" deep all around both pieces. Place the two pieces with wrong sides together, and get to tying. This is a great project for the fisher or sailor in your life to show off their knot-tying skills.
Warm the whole place with bread
Now that you're enrobed in cozy wraps, it's time to get the whole house in on it, and nothing does that quite like a cozy oven.
Throw together a quick bread, like banana bread made from older bananas sustained in the freezer, while adding walnuts and a bit of flax seed to pump up the nutritional value. Or warm yourself up by kneading your own loaf of homemade rising bread. Sourdough is delicious and with so many starters locally available you can keep both warmth and tradition alive.
jump to the rest of the article at CCW here . . .
The Rookery re-opening with a brand new bar in the back - woot woot. 11/1/11
Nov First Friday which will be full of new things- Copy Express/AK Litho has a newly remodeled space and you can vote on their photo contest, Bauer & Clifton Interiors will be opening a storefront- and there will be frost in the air, perfect for sporting your TP Alaska First Friday scarfwear! 11/4/11
The most radically one-filled day ever 11/11/11
A Fashion show with proceeds going to charity, sponsored by the Brewery. 11/17/11
Public Market Madness with a booth by yours truly 11/Thanksgiving Weekend/11
And I am working on a fabulous Opera by Dvorak: Rusalka - which won't open till 2012 but it's on my mind as I'm designing it now~ eek!
So it should be a rousing November to be sure!!
Meanwhile, keep yourself warm with some winter crafts on me!
October in Alaska is the perfect month for crafting. Soggy gray days turn dark quickly while the white dust creeps down the mountainsides, so I cozy up with a giant caramel latte and my favorite craft. But let's be honest, the October nip in the air is sometimes hard to contend with as my cold crafter's hands try to stitch and string one more strand. So I've come up with five crafty ways for us all to cut the chill and get back to the task at hand.
Crochet yourself a cozy cap
Get a head start by making yourself a cap for crafting. You'll need one crochet hook, a skein of yarn and a little math. Start with a medium-sized hook, like a J or K, and a worsted weight yarn. Start by teaching yourself one stitch; a single crochet or double crochet can be found online or at your local library with good illustrations.
Start at the crown of the hat by crocheting three chains, then crochet your next stitch back into the first - you've created a very tiny circle. Now mark that stitch with a safety pin as the beginning of your circle or round. For each round you make after this, move the stitch marker along to mark the beginning.
First time hat-makers have the inevitable problem of making a lovely freewheeling hat without marking their rounds, and in most cases the hat ends up with a few uneven lumps and bumps. Whatever pattern you choose make sure that you complete it for one full round and then you can switch to some other wild stitch in your repertoire. Believe me, in the end your round head will thank you.
Tie yourself up in fleece
Once your head is under wraps, get the rest of your mojo cozy by creating an easy-for-anyone tied fleece lap blanket.
Take two large squares of fleece (think blanket-sized), often sold as "panels" at the fabric store. Cut 1" wide strips that look like fringe about 4" deep all around both pieces. Place the two pieces with wrong sides together, and get to tying. This is a great project for the fisher or sailor in your life to show off their knot-tying skills.
Warm the whole place with bread
Now that you're enrobed in cozy wraps, it's time to get the whole house in on it, and nothing does that quite like a cozy oven.
Throw together a quick bread, like banana bread made from older bananas sustained in the freezer, while adding walnuts and a bit of flax seed to pump up the nutritional value. Or warm yourself up by kneading your own loaf of homemade rising bread. Sourdough is delicious and with so many starters locally available you can keep both warmth and tradition alive.
jump to the rest of the article at CCW here . . .
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