Snuffle Mat

Somewhere I saw someone had made a snuffle mat, or mentioned one, and had to see what it was about. I found a tutorial by The Honest Kitchen so I decided to make one for my dog. First, I ordered this dish mat from Amazon. It cost about $6. The edges are a little curled because we put it through the dishwasher before I added the strips. It had a smell when it arrived.

I reached into my fleece scraps bin and cut a bunch of pieces roughly 1" wide by 6-7" long and sat down to make the snuffle mat.

It's a super simple project that doesn't take long. Once you get the pieces cut you just sit down with your favorite podcast and tie all the strips onto the mat.

Here is what it should look like on the back (this was the only thing missing from the tutorial that I thought might help) once you get all the strips tied on. The density of the strips keeps it flat on the floor so those curled edges aren't really an issue.

Because I cut the pieces both width-wise and length-wise based on the scrap at hand, some of the strips stretched and others didn't. That left me with an uneven surface. I shoved some small training treats into the spaces between the strips and encouraged my dog to find them. The first time was too exciting because it was new and she wasn't quite sure what to expect. I had to make her put it down more than once the first use. The second time she knew what she was doing and was excited to find the treats. Definitely a fun addition to rewards and it only cost me $6 and some time.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
Kitchen Protector Regular, White, Sink Mat

Dreams Mini-Quilt

Several years ago I used an embroidered alphabet from Urban Threads Embroidery to create a min-quilt for a friend. We share a dark view of the world and joke that now that we are old ladies (neither claims to be a lady, to be sure) all our dreams are dead. I wanted to make sure she remembered me always so I made her a mini-quilt similar to what you see above.

She asked me to make another one for another friend of hers and I said yes. I used the alphabet to recreate the design because I didn't know where the embroidery file was. I've also changed embroidery machines so an update was needed. I used a different accompanying font but I think it still works. After stitching, rinsing to remove the water soluble stabilizer, and blocking the piece, I trimmed it and layered for quilting. 

I did the quilting with my Juki TL-2010Q. The swirls and lines are all free-motion quilting. Some are better than others. Just like the days in our lives.

Trimmed and ready for binding. 

I had only a fat-eight of this striped fabric but it seemed perfect for this 12" by 12" mini-quilt. I know my life isn't over and my dreams aren't dead. I do joke that I have my dream job because I dream about work almost every night. Too bad I don't get paid for those hours.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q

Tunisian Crochet

There are few Tunisian Crochet designers on Ravelry. One of those designers is Aoibhe Ni. I've been looking at her many patterns trying to decide on one to buy. I did find her free pattern Saoirse easy to follow and easy to stitch. I just wasn't as excited about the Tunisian crochet lace as I thought I might be. Then, she released her latest pattern and I could not resist.

The the pattern called Ard-ri, available on Ravelry. After a couple false starts (this is standard for me when making shawls) I got moving along nicely. Then, I realized the variegated yarn was pooling in a very remarkable way. I want to tell you that I planned it that way but that isn't true. I love the effect.

I wasn't sure I was going to work the contrasting stripes until I got to the first row with contrast. I'm really pleased with how it is working up. This one will take a while but I'm sure the result will be stunning. Blue yarn by Tempting Ewe, available from Cloverhill Yarn, and the gray is Knit Picks Hawthorne.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Knitter's Pride Dreamz Tunisian Crochet Hook Set

Never Too Much Yarn

Sometimes I realize I've made a mistake and follow it up with another mistake. Well, maybe not another mistake. Just more yarn. When I ordered yarn for a project I picked a yarn that would be on back order until September and that just wouldn't do. So I picked another yarn (that dark blue on the right) and filled the rest of the cart with other things to meet the minimum for free shipping because I like free shipping. This is what I got in that order from Knit Picks.

The most exciting thing in here is this hank of yarn called Static in the colorway Glow. I absolutely love this yarn. It seems to be the same base (75% Superwash Wool, 25% Nylon) as Stroll, which is perfect because I love Stroll.

Now for to project. I'm going to pair two different cakes of Stroll Gradient with these five balls of Stroll solid to make a shawl. This project is purely in my head and I haven't even tried to swatch so who knows if this will work out. Stay tuned!

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)
Knit Picks Options Wood Interchangeable Knitting Needles Set
Addi Turbo Interchangeable Knitting Needles

The Village Baker

I've had this copy of the The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz for years. It is now out of print and the prices reflect that scarcity. A friend of ours left bread on our porch last month and I pulled out this book to try to make some bread of my own. I'm no great cook. I don't like to cook. I do like to bake, though. Cookies and both quick breads and kneaded breads are my favorites. My all-time favorite baking book is the Fannie Farmer Baking Book, also no longer in print. 

The Village Baker has several recipes have you begin by making a poolish, a wet sponge. I picked a recipe that included whole wheat flour and started with a poolish. I used the liner from my medium-sized Crock-Pot to hold my sponge while it did it's thing overnight. 

In the morning it was a bubbly delight to uncover. 

I added the rest of the ingredients and kneaded the dough. Greased the stainless steel mixing bowl and covered for the next rise. 

The next rise went quickly and the dough easily doubled. 

Some more kneading and into the loaf pans they went. 

Some slashes and into the oven. 

Finally, onto the cooling rack. They aren't fancy but I made bread. This recipe was simple to follow with very simple ingredients. I used some for my tuna salad sandwich at work. It was delightful. I don't think I'll work so hard to make a good crust, though. Hard crust just isn't for me. 

I will have to pull out my copy of the Fannie Farmer Baking Book to see if she shared any fun breads that start with a sponge.

Books and supplies (affiliate links):
The Village Baker by Joe Ortiz
Fannie Farmer Baking Book
Crock-Pot
stainless steel mixing bowl
loaf pans
cooling rack

Odds and Ends

Sometimes I will go through my collection of fabric, pull out a few, and get stitching. Here is a stack of fabric I pulled last week. What did I make? Well, a bunch of things.

I used this fun camper fabric and a zipper from ZipIt on Etsy (they are taking a break right now but they are my favorite zipper vendor) to make a pillow case for my travel pillow.

Definitely going with me when we can travel more freely again.

I used the free pattern from the Green Bag Lady to cut out nine totes. These are quick when assembled on the serger. The top hem gets finished on the Juki TL-2010Q. I say quick but it took me all week cutting and sewing over about a week. I'm sure I could easily finish this many in a weekend.

Aren't these great! Now I'm ready to gift them to friends for all sorts of occasions. Great for leaving fresh-baked bread on your neighbor's porch or holding some pieces of scrap batting for a friend that wants to try quilt-as-you-go. These are my favorite way to gift small quilts and other small items.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Creative Grids 6.5" x 24.5" Rectangle
Fiskars Rotary Cutter
Fiskars Self Healing Rotary Cutting Mat
BLACK+DECKER Classic Steam Iron
Grabbit Magnetic Pin Cushion
Fiskars 8-inch scissors
Juki TL-2010Q

Never Too Much Yarn

I've been thinking about buying more yarn for months. Did I need more yarn? Well, no. But I wanted more yarn. I went virtual shopping at my favorite online yarn shop Knit Picks. This is the value pack of Lindy Chain in the colorway Solar Flare. I see a new crochet shawl in my future.

I found these fun gradients on sale and just had to plop them into my cart. Stroll Duos.

It is worth it to get these matching tiny cakes to make socks with. One of these will end up being a birthday gift and the other one.. I'm not sure but they will be fun socks. 

This is what I really wanted. A couple of these gradients that worked together. 

I love all the colors of Stroll Gradient. I wish I could have them all. I have some big plans with these. It is an idea still rolling around in my mind but I can't wait to get started.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)
Knit Picks Options Wood Interchangeable Knitting Needles Set
Addi Turbo Interchangeable Knitting Needles

Charity Quilting

Blogger has made some changes to the blog drafting tool and I'm trying to give it a go before it becomes the standard. It appears the intent was to make the tool easier to use for those writing their posts on mobile devices. I draft my posts using my desktop computer. I can type faster, pull content faster, and generally get from idea to blog post faster on my desktop than I can with my mobile device. I've been blogging either with a desktop of laptop for almost seven years. Change is hard. I just wish the new tool was as good as the last one. You can learn more about the changes Blogger is making on their blog. 

I've been trying to finish up projects that have been hanging around too long. This little quilt has been quilted and trimmed for months! I finally found some coordinating fabric, made the binding, and got busy. If you want to learn how I machine finish binding, check out my Quilt Binding: Tips and Tricks page. 

This little quilt is destined for the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. Every time I use one of these I think I should design labels through Spoonflower. One of these days.

This little quilt was made with leftover half-square triangle units from my Good Fortune quilt by Bonnie Hunter. She has loads of free patterns on her blog Quiltville. I finished my version of Good Fortune in January of 2019. 

Crochet Crazy

I've been working through this Mandala yarn that Aunt Betty gave me. The Granny Hack shawl works up relatively quickly and is easy to pick up and put down. 

This is the colorway Sprite. 

Each cake gets you a full run of the colors. Mine started with yellow and ended with orange. Then it was on to the second cake for another repeat. 

Such a simple design that turns out looking more complicated than it is. 

This is a free pattern on my Ravelry. Check out the Granny Hack and share what you're making on Ravelry by linking to the pattern and on social media using #grannyhack. Not quite Pride colors but finished during Pride Month was a happy little surprise.

Pattern available on Ravelry: Granny Hack

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Crochet hooks: Clover Crochet Hook Set (10 hooks)
Crochet Every Way Stitch Dictionary: 125 Essential Stitches to Crochet in Three Ways
Lion Brand Mandala is available on Amazon, though you might be able to find it cheaper locally.

Yarn, yarn, yarn!

I dyed this yarn years ago and it was still sitting around waiting to become something. 

I caked it up along with the leftovers from the other one I dyed. I'll have to think of something fun to make. 

This shawl has never made me happy. The yarn is fun, but I just don't like the resulting piece. 

I unwound it and got it caked up, too. I have no idea what I'm going to make with it. This cake is 200 grams of DK (I think) yarn we dyed using Kool-Aid. 

This, along with several hanks of yarn from the last Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival were hanging around. I find that if I have to stop to wind the yarn I will move past it to other yarns or projects. 

So I caked it all up. Now it's all ready for when I get the urge to make something.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Stanwood Needlecraft large ball winder
Knit Picks yarn swift

Cranky Striped Socks

Last month I learned about an accessory for the circular sock machine. The mini-mast is a great way to add stripes to your machine knitting. The first thing you need is a split yarn carrier. I found one through Chambord CSM. The yarn carrier showed up before the mini-mast, so I had some time to get used to it before trying two yarns. It works great and I'm not sure why I didn't buy one before.  

The mini-mast is sold by TurtleMade on Etsy. I purchased the Hybrid Mount Mini Mast for Erlbacher Gearhart Circular Sock Machine and made fun, two-row stripes. This is my first attempt. I lost track of where I was and started the heel too early. After dropping a stitch on that heel I broke the yarn and pulled it off. I'll wind this back up for monster socks. 

My first sock with the mini-mast. I miscounted, again, so I'll end keeping these. They are one row too short. I used a solid purple (Knit Picks Stroll) and a self-striping yarn (Knit Picks Felici) to get these great stripy socks. I can't wait to do this with all my leftovers. Monster socks are going to be great!

This is what the side looks like where I switch between yarns. 

Split Yarn Carrier by Chambord CSM

Hybrid Mount Mini Mast for Erlbacher Gearhart Circular Sock Machine

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
Fiskars 7 Inch Softgrip Student Scissors (snipping yarn)
5 Pieces 5 Different Size Bent Latch Hook Crochet Needle Hook (picking up dropped stitches)
Cable Clamp PRO Cable Management 4 Pack (used in place of weight buckle)
Brightech Lightview Pro Flex - Hands Free, Magnifying Glass Desk Lamp for Close Work (lens removed)
Zibra PB100LZR Grip-n-Glide 1-Inch Round Trim Paint Brush (to clean lint/dust from machine)
24 Pack Metal Rectangular Empty Hinged Tins (hold extra machine needles)
addi Express Hook (picking up dropped stitches, hanging setup bonnet, finishing missed stitches)
Do4U Drinking Home Office Table Desk Side Huge Clip (I use it to hold the ball/cake of yarn while I crank but it could hold your drink, too)
BLACK+DECKER WM225-A Portable Project Center and Vise (this is my machine stand, slightly modified for a larger work surface)
RuMe Bags Baggie All (Aspen) (to hold my hand-finishing supplies: yarn needle, needle threader, scissors, Kitchener directions, stitch markers, etc)