I bought a veggie that was labeled Anise at the supermarket. I've always known it as Anise, but I found out it may be a fennel bulb. It tastes like licorice, and I love snacking on it fresh, whatever it is, lol. Last month I started regrowing celery from a cut stalk. I noticed my Anise had a similar stalk, so I cut it and put it in water to see if it would regrow, too. It's hard to see in this photo, but after only 1 day, the Anise started to regrow. You can see the tiny green spot on the otherwise flat white stalk end on the upper right hand side of the anise bulb stalk. Regrowing Anise/fennel from cut stalk end. 1 day's growth. Another shot of 1 day's growth. Regrowing Anise/fennel, after 3 days. Regrown Anise/fennel, after about 5 days. Regrown Anise/fennel, after 6 days. The Anise/fennel is growing a lot faster than the regrown celery did. It's hard to see in these photos, but it's already starting to look like two little Anise plants. It's absolutely amazing to me that it could regrow, and do so this quickly. I'm going to wait a few more days, then put it in a pot with earth. I'll provide updates. If you try this at home, please let me know how yours does. It's a lot of fun, and if these ever get big enough to eat, it can help cut down on bills. A reader asked me for recipes with fresh anise, but I didn't know of any. I always snack on the bulb fresh...it tastes like crunchy green licorice, at a fraction of the calories. I know spirit of Anise is used in cookies, especially Italian cookies like Genetti and Tie plates. I googled for fresh anise recipes, discovered the plant my grocery store calls Anise is actually fennel, lol, and found this recipe for Carmelized Fennel. http://putneyfarm.com/2012/04/05/caramelized-fennel-the-best-fennel-youll-ever-eat/ I still have some Anise/fennel left from this cut end, so I'll give it a try and let you know how I like it. That's it for now; take care, and have a great day!
I have a new video on YouTube – Perfect Thumb Gussets – It complements a tutorial pattern that I have up for sale on Ravelry – Fingerless Mitt Tutorial – The tut…
Aprenda sobre moda sustentável, estilo sustentável, jardinagem e hortas sustentáveis, reciclagem e decoração e artesanato.
Naalbinding, also known as “single needle knitting” is an ancient technique for producing a looped fabric which has the stretchy qualities of knitting. Samples have been found from the …
I was recently knitting a pair of Fetching, when somebody mentioned to me that they were putting off making a pair of their own, because they were afraid to try the thumb trick, it was too confusing. So I wrote up a tutorial and posted it on my blog. And now I'm posting it here, because somebody…
*We no longer ship to Germany, sorry for any inconvenience caused.* Every item in our shop are our very own creation, we have been selling the axolotl amigurumi since 2008. This *~20-22" (~50 cm-55 cm) long axie amigurumi is made to be hugged so I didn't put in any wires. It can also be washed when there is a need. Like the real axie,each of its front legs has four toes and each of its back legs has five toes. It has a tadpole-like mouth :3 Axolotl is one of my dream pets. It's orginated from the Mexico and is critically endangered in the wild.It is neotenic, which means it remains like a larve, aquatic and gilled, throughout its life even when it is sexually-mature. Axolotls can be induced to metamorphose using some methods but these are rarely sucessful and it may shorten their lives. Those pale pink axies with black eyes which are usually seen in the market are leucistic ones. There are also albino, melanoid and other colours. Please let me know if you want a axie of colours other than leucistic when you order. If you want a leucistic one, please tell me if you want red gills or pink gills for it :) *Please be aware that it is a rough estimation, resulting length is subjected to variation in thickness of the yarn, which is always changing even though we always use the same brand and same type for this amigurumi, and as it is a handmade item that is made to order, the length is also subjected to how tightly the knots were crocheted, and we have no way to estimate the eventual length accurately.* Every amigurumi is hand-made so no two looks exactly the same. And they're made to order, which may take 3 weeks to 2 months,depending on the complexity of the amigurumi. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions:)
I believe it was LUSH Cosmetics that first started with Jelly soaps and thank goodness they did as now it’s a sure fire way to get little kidlets to wash them selves. I have to admit I like u…
My favorite wedding favors our DIY dragon eggs! These geeky items are gorgeous, easy to make, and relaxing. Here's how to make a dragon egg...
If you love these gloves and want them for a holiday gift please order early as I get inundated with orders and have to shut my shop down, I'm just me and can only knit so fast...try as I might!!! This is my most popular item and the yarn is the real STAR with these fingerless gloves. It is a lovely 100% virgin merino wool that is made in Italy and self stripes in a random pattern invoking the palette used by the artist Kandinsky. The colors are: royal blue, lime green, emerald green, red, yellow, orange, and white. These will "stretch to fit", the dimensions (unstretched) are: forearm to thumb - 6.25 inches, 16 cm thumb to finger opening - 3.25 inches, 8.5 cm thumb length - 2 inches, 5 cm circumference - 7 inches, 18 cm top to bottom of glove - 9.75 in, 24.75cm They are beautiful...if I say so myself! I hand knit a pair like these for my daughter and they are street stoppers. They are super cute and fun and GREAT for texting. If you like these, check out the other colors (artists!) I have to offer! Please convo me if you have any questions!
Nailed it!
This is a tutorial on how to make the above altered matchbox book cover, and mini book. You will need - For the cover - An empty matchbox Catering foil Scissors PVA glue Paintbrush Acrylic paints For the Mini book - The pull out draw in the matchbox/and an extra small piece of card Thin leather/or fabric (For the cover) A piece of Hessian/or other material (For the inside of the cover) Papers (For the pages) Black cotton thread PVA glue Needle Awl (or something sharp and pointy) Pencil/ruler How to make the matchbox book cover Start by opening up the inside draw of the matchbox. Using the sides, cut 4 strips of card to form your frame on the front of the matchbox. Put aside all that is left, for your mini book. Glue into place with PVA glue. Don't worry if your frame isn't perfectly straight or the widths differ slightly- This will all add to the aged effect. Once dry, take a foil piece, approx 4 times the size of your matchbox. Crumple up the foil in your hand, and then unravel again. Cover the entire matchbox in a thin layer of PVA glue, and stick on your foil. Fold over the edges on the ends, and glue inside of the box. Take your paintbrush and gently rub over the box, flattening the foil. Your raised frame should now be visible. Paint the whole box black. If you find your paint will not adhere to the foil very well, then mix your paint with some PVA before applying. Let it dry completely. Now to find the treasure! I mean texture ;) This has to be the best part, in my opinion. Mix some white paint with another 'warm' colour. Using a dry paintbrush, put a very small amount of paint onto the brush. Very lightly rub the brush all over the box, and all the wonderful textures should slowly begin to reveal themselves. You can add extra highlights if you wish, using the same technique but with purely white paint. Once dry, coat in a layer of PVA to seal everything. You can use the frame to display charms/photos/fabric ect (Examples at the end of this post) How to make the mini book (which fits snugly into the matchbox cover) To prepare the book cover, Take the bottom of the pull out draw and cut/shave off 2mm all the way around. Use this as a template to cut another piece of card, exactly the same size. You will then need to cut a piece of card for the spine of the book. This should be as long as the covers, and the width around 2mm smaller than that of your matchbox. (Excuse the mess on my cardboard - I am a messy crafter ;) Next, glue the three pieces as shown, onto your leather/Material you are using for the cover. You will want to leave a small gap in between each section, as shown. Trim 1cm around the glued card, and cut off the corners. Glue each tab down with PVA, and try to match up each of the corners (Cutting away any excess) Once firmly stuck down, apply a thin layer of glue to the inside of the cover, and pat down your material. Trim away any excess and fray edges if you choose. Preparing the pages- Cut the papers to the necessary size. They will want to be slightly smaller than your cover, when folded. Use a bone folder/or a ruler to smooth down the fold. Use your made cover as a guide. The pages should fit nicely into the book, and not be too crowded or sparse.In my example book, I used some thick grey card and some teared mulberry paper. As these are fairly thick papers, I only needed 3 pieces within each signature. The number of pages you have will depend on what type of paper or card you use. Separate into 2 equal piles. Each pile will become a signature within the book. Open up each signature, and hold together with paper clips/mini bull dog clips. Using a pencil, mark the centre of the fold. Then mark 1 cm above and below this point. For the spine, draw a line to mark the middle horizontally, and then vertically Along the middle line mark 2 points equally spaced apart from the edges, as shown in the diagram. Mark 2 points 1cm above and below these 2 points. Using an awl (Or a sharp pointed object) carefully make holes in both the points marked in your signatures, and the points marked on the spine. Make sure your holes go right the way through your pages, and also through all of the spine. Sewing the signatures into the spine - This is very easy to to. Think along the lines of a 'figure of 8'. If you are using a standard cotton thread, make sure to double it up, adding more strength. Sew each signature separately. Take the first signature, and align roughly the holes you have made, with those on the spine. Start from within the signature, on the middle point. Go through all of your pages, and out through the spine. Leave at lease 4 inches of thread within the book. Then go back through the top hole, and through your pages. You will now be inside the signature again. Go back through the middle hole and out through the spine. Then come back inside through the bottom hole, making sure you go through all of the pages again (This is when the paper clips/bull dog clips will come in very handy) Once inside, pull your thread tightly being careful not to snap it. When your signature is firmly pulled against the spine, tie off tightly together with the thread you left inside the book, when you began. Cut of any excess thread. Repeat this on the other signature. Remove the clips holding your pages together, and voilà your mini book is complete! :) Here are some examples I have made, of how you can decorate your altered matchbox/and mini book. If you find this tutorial helpful, or make an altered matchbox/mini book using my instructions, I would love to hear about it! Even better, I would love to see a picture of you finished piece. :) If you have any questions, please ask. Comments on my first ever tutorial are also very welcome! Izzy, x
KAFFE FASSETT To describe the influence of this man and the central place he holds in British textile and design history wouldn't be possible in a single blog post as this one... It's not an exaggeration to claim that he started a revolution in the world of handicraft as he challenged old traditions of a (mostly) female community of crafters. I'm speaking of Kaffe Fassett, the first living textile artist to have had a solo exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. The year was 1988 and the exhibition became a huge success and went on tour in nine countries, among them Sweden where I had the opportunity to see it in 1990. By then Fassett was a well-known celebrity in his forties due to many successful books and television shows on knitting and textile art. I remember the unbelievable line-up outside the prestigious museum in Stockholm and how breathtaking it was to enter the austere hall with its huge staircase and stone pillars, now warm and inviting by all the colourful textile works of Fassett. Looking back I can see this as a starting point of my lifelong passion for colours and patterns. [gallery type=rectangular ids=4327,4323] Let's jump back in time to the 60s where a young artist from San Francisco decided to quit art school and move to London. His intention was to continue painting but a journey to Scotland would change his path in an unexpected way. Visiting a wool mill he got inspired and bought 20 colours of Shetland wool and some knitting needles. On the train back to London a fellow passenger taught him how to knit. Obsessed with this new passion he created garments that didn't look anything like traditional knits. His technique was highly unorthodox according to common practice - he didn't settle for a limited number of colours but added new ones along the way until a piece could have thirty or more. But this was not the end of it... He didn't bother about the practice of neatly attaching loose ends on the backside of his work, but left them as they were. Collaborating with the fashion designer Bill Gibb his first design ended up on a full spread in Vogue Knitting magazine. He became a sensation - the male designer who knitted everything himself! Shortly he was asked to make a piece for a big feature in British Vogue which led to a collaboration with the fashion house Missoni. It was 1970 and Fassett had embarked on a new career. [gallery type=rectangular ids=4319,4316] [gallery type=rectangular ids=4318,4320] Knitting was not enough, he soon dived into other areas such as needlepoint and surface pattern design to get an outlet for all his ideas. I love the consistency with which he translates his colourful patterns into different mediums. You never miss his signature style be it patchwork, stitching, knitting or painting (see below). His patterns made a profound impact on me in my twenties and he is still such a shining star on my list of pattern pioneers! Fassett has since worked more with textile arts and crafts than fashion. He still collaborates closely with Rowan Yarns, Rowan Patchwork and Quilting, Free Spirit Fabrics and Ehrman Tapestry to mention a few. [gallery type=rectangular ids=4322,4321] [gallery type=rectangular ids=4314,4315] You will find a lot to read on this fascinating artist here for example, so I will not go into further details about his life and work. I just wanted to introduce him as the eye-opener to the world of colours and patterns that today has resulted in my illustration studio and this blog! In 2013, Kaffe Fassett followed up his 1988 exhibition with a new big solo show in the Fashion and Textile Museum in London, A life in Colour, celebrating 50 years as a textile designer. You will still find him producing new collections every year, isn't that a life to dream of! Want to know more? Here is where to start: Kaffe Fassett Studio Free Spirit Fabrics Rowan Yarns Ehrmans Tapestry [gallery type=rectangular ids=4326,4328] All copyrights of the pictures belong to Kaffe Fassett Studio, Rowan Yarns, Ehrmans Tapestry or Free Spirit Fabrics.
Learn this Cast On Thumb Method in 5 quick steps to easily begin your knitting stitches with a variation on the Long-Tail technique.
Outlander Brianna fingerless gloves pattern - Make a pair of fingerless mittens from season four with this easy free knitting pattern.
UPDATE March 2014: I see each growing season as an opportunity to do better than the last and as a result I rarely stick with one “right way” to do things. I wrote this article back in …
How to Knit Close-fitting Fingerless Gloves: I created this pattern for knit fingerless gloves after making many pairs using patterns out there, but finding none that "hug" your hand. By adding a thumb wrap and using a ribbing stitch for the top portion of the pattern, these really fit like …
LUFFE - warm double mittens for the whole family. Maybe it looks like an ordinary mitten but it has something special - a unique thumb gusset that perfectly matches the anatomy of the hand. The pattern is in English, Danish, French and German. Thank you very much Christine73 for the French version of this pattern. Special offer - when you purchase 3 of my patterns together in the same order, one of them will be free. Thanks Lone
Nalbinding: earlier form of knitting. Basically freehand rows of interconnected loops. Popular during the High Renaissance in 15th an...
Isn't this a wonderful poster? I found it on Pinterest. Want one? Order here. It's made of metal and is available framed or plain in several different sizes. I am not selling this or making a commission, it's just something I found and wanted to share. xo
A freind of mine JUST opened up an Etsy shop. Like, JUST yesterday. I saw some adorable Pencil Sweaters she had knitted & asked her to send ...
A great way to recycle toilet paper tubes is to use them as containers to start vegetable and flower seeds for garden plants. This is a guide about toilet paper tube seedling pots.
I'd like to start us off today with a poem. Moss is soft Moss is green Moss is where the wormies scream when you on them step by accident by karen copyright 2014 I'm not sure how much screaming they actually do when you step on them considering they don't make a sound when you...Read More
Oui, oui oui il est enfin là! Yes, yes, yes it’s finally here – how to make your very own Paris skirt in any size! I know it has taken aw...
Learn how to sew thumbhole cuffs to add on to any shirt made in a stretch fabric. Keep your hands warm with sleeves that have thumbholes!
The problem with Anthropologie is that they cost way too much money. WAY TOO MUCH! I mean, come on--these book boxes: source: Anthropolo...
I was recently knitting a pair of Fetching, when somebody mentioned to me that they were putting off making a pair of their own, because they were afraid to try the thumb trick, it was too confusing. So I wrote up a tutorial and posted it on my blog. And now I'm posting it here, because somebody…
