Tag Archives: DIY

My first loaf: Whole Wheat Bread

Posted on August 31, 2013 by | Comments Off on My first loaf: Whole Wheat Bread

Well, I don't know how many of you have ever baked your own sandwich bread, but I have way more respect for bakers now.  This loaf of bread took three days to make... mostly because I started too late at night twice in a row.

The most difficult part was making the most efficient time of the process, but the recipe from Cook's Illustrated March-April 2011 Issue is really enjoyable to follow.

Here's the ingredients list, but what really makes it is the process...
Biga
2 Cs bread flour
1 Cs warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast

Soaker
3 Cs (16 1/2 ounces) whole-whet flour plus extra kneading
1/2 C wheat germ
2 Cs (16 ounces ) whole milk

Dough
1/4 C honey
4 tsps table salt
6 tblsps unsalted butter, softened
2 tblsps vegetable oil

It's too long to explain here (and you can find the whole process online here), but in short there are independent rising times, dough flattening, folding, rolling, more rising time, pizza stones, and finally water in the oven so the crust browns, but doesn't burn.  The bread is delicious.  For me, it was absolutely worth the trouble, and I'm enjoying every bite!

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Double Wedding Ring Quilt, Autumn Colors

Posted on August 28, 2013 by | Comments Off on Double Wedding Ring Quilt, Autumn Colors


Today, I'm showing a double wedding ring quilt I made for a friend who was married earlier in August.  I was stumped as to what to make for this sewing buddy and when the double wedding ring quilt challenge came along I thought it was kismet.  I rolled with it.

the pieced top, not yet quilted
She tends to like colors found in fall leaves: coppers, golds, and rich, warm reds, so I dug into my stash and came up with silk fabric I had been holding onto until a special project came along.  I have to admit I was daunted by the curved piecing and the multiple seams.  And the plaid silk, while being lovely to touch, feels like paper to sew, and it shows every mistake you make.  I tried to match the plaid too!  That was a fun challenge since I was using leftover fabric, but I think it worked reasonably well considering!




I am not actually sure how I completed the piecing for this quilt, but somehow I did it.  I should read up on how others have completed the task so I can get a bit better at it for next time.  ((This is really the year of the wedding in my world!! Six weddings?!  And I'm just counting the ones I'm attending.))


I was really proud of  how nice the binding came out!  Hurray! For successful research and applying skills learned from YouTube!




Pattern (free!): Double Wedding Ring From the Girlfriends collection by Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom for FreeSpirit
Fabric: silks from stash, quilting cotton from stash, orange bias binding from Stoff & Co.

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Columbina Camisole, knitted top pattern

Posted on August 26, 2013 by | Comments Off on Columbina Camisole, knitted top pattern
Here's a new pattern out for August, my birthday month!


The Columbina Camisole was named for the delicate two-colored flower, and this simple two-colored camisole with lace edges is perfect for summer picnics. It’s also a nice travel project as it is worked flat from the bottom up. Lace is added from a provisional cast-on down to the bottom edge, and upward from open stitches. The lace edging is easy to memorize and can be blocked as rounded scallops or soft waves.


Skills required to complete the project:

  • provisional cast-on
  • knitting
  • decreasing/increasing
  • picking up stitches


The pattern does contain links to resources on how to do the provisional cast-on among other techniques.  And, if you'd like to know more about it, or purchase the pattern to make it yourself, it's here on Ravelry, and soon to be on Craftsy and Patternfish too.

The main knitting is very machine knit friendly, and lends itself to a very quick machine knit, and then the finishing lace can be completed by hand.

Happy Summer!

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Weekend Update

Posted on August 10, 2013 by | Comments Off on Weekend Update
Based on my last few posts, it might seem like I'm not knitting or sewing.
But I am! Really!  I just haven't been as diligent with taking photos and uploading them.

I was also recently commissioned to make twin baby blankets for a pair of recently born fraternal twins.  So, that was taking a bit of my spare time thinking how I was going to make it happen by October.  Enter the knitting machine manual, a garter bar, and I'm finally on my way.  I'll be using Cascade Yarns Heritage Sock yarn thanks to a friend who wanted to de-stash and some local stores that are carrying it!  I still have to figure out what will happen with the border, but I get ahead of myself...

Here's the plan:
the plan of action

The new mom likes purples and pinks for the girl twin, and greens for the boy twin - check.

The swatch says it will work!

I had to figure out how much yarn was actually needed so after an initial gauge swatch to choose the best tension on the machine - I liked 6.25 - I did a test run.  The test blocks revealed that each 6" x 6.5" block takes circa 8g of yarn.  Which means when multiplying 8g x 48 blocks, 384 g total yarn is needed, and I have 400g of yarn (100g x 4 skeins).   In the plan, there's 12 pink blocks, 12 purple, and 24 white so it should be enough yarn!  Same with the greens: 12 dk green, 12 lt green, 24 grey blocks.  

yarn with previous plan of action
I'll probably add texture in the form of cables and random garter stitch just to change things up, but we have the main knitting settled.  Crossing my fingers it'll be enough yarn.

 lilac, pink, and white

greens and grey
If not, I'll reach into my stash and make it work...

I've also been working on a skirt which is eluding completion due to the fact that I somehow thought it would be a cool idea to have a side seam zipper as well as side seam pockets.  Yeah.  I'll see how that works out.
Have a great weekend!

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Strawberry Picking!!

Posted on June 14, 2013 by | Comments Off on Strawberry Picking!!

strawberry ice-cream! my favorite summer treat!

olive oil cake w/lemon and icing, perfect w/strawberries!

Does this mean summer is really here?


freaky strawberry
I hope so!  I went strawberry picking today since the fields opened earlier in the week.  I think it's true...perhaps summer really is here.  The strawberries say so, and I'd like to believe them.

I love eating fresh strawberries and making ice-cream with them.


Strawberry Ice-cream Recipe (adapted from the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream & Dessert Book):
1 pint fresh strawberries (sliced, hulled)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/3 C sugar

--- sweet cream base #1 (no eggs)
2 C whipping cream (I use soy cream)
3/4 C sugar
2/3 C half & half (I use soy milk)

Mash the strawberries, lemon juice, 1/3 C sugar, refrigerate, cover for 1 hr.
Then mix with sweet cream base until blended/pureed. Pour into ice-cream maker.  Let ice-cream maker do it's thing.  Enjoy!

As an alternative to the egg-less sweet cream base, you can also use this one with eggs:
--- sweet cream base #2 (with eggs)
2 eggs
3/4 C sugar
2 C heavy or whipping cream (I use soy cream)
1 C milk (I use soy milk)
prep this sweet cream base by beating the eggs until fluffy, slowly adding sugar, then the cream and milk.  You can cook this base at 160° F (71° C) stirring constantly if you want to prevent any chance of salmonella.  Let it cool completely in the fridge before adding the other ingredients and putting it into the ice-cream maker.


What do you like to make with fresh strawberries?

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World Knit in Public Day

Posted on June 9, 2013 by | Comments Off on World Knit in Public Day
This weekend, a friend and I did a fiber-upcycling awareness demo at a nearby LUSH store.  LUSH is a really environmentally friendly hand-made cosmetics franchise originally from the UK.  They have stores all over the world now, and focus on reducing packaging as much as possible.  The manager at the local LUSH approached us and asked if we knew anyone who worked with "plarn".


Knowing World Knit-in-Public was coming up and all that, I agreed with the manager that it would be great to combine recycling and fiber fun.  What is "plarn" you ask?  Plarn is literally plastic yarn.  It is easily made from loops made when plastic bags are cut across horizontally.  Dunno what to do with all those extra plastic bags that one collects from here and there?  I had a stash under the kitchen counter, and I raided it.  If you'd like to do the same, check out this handy etsy post from 2010 here.


I ended up crocheting a basket and making a ribbon with all the grips and bases of the bags.  I think the ribbon or flower or whatever would make a fine bicycle bow or luggage identifier.  My friend and co-conspirator, Celina, made a lovely lace knitted bottle cozy, and a LUSH employee made a wonderful plarn crocheted purse!  All-in-all I believe the demo was a success.  So many people looked in, took photos, asked questions, and were generally curious about this alternative use for the excess plastic bags in our lives.

Then on Sunday, World-Knit-in-Public we gathered at our local SnB and knit the night away!

Need some inspiration?  Saw this interesting intarsia jumper on the streets of Munich back in May...



Happy Knit in Public Day!

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Rosita Mittens & Hat, Bow Slouch Hat revealed

Posted on June 4, 2013 by | Comments Off on Rosita Mittens & Hat, Bow Slouch Hat revealed
This month on newsstands or at your local yarn store, you may see this magazine...


Inside, though, there are three of my designs!  I can finally reveal them since they're officially out in the open.
These three designs mark my first official printed-in-a-magazine knitwear designs. I'm super excited about them!

Firstly, there's the Rosita Hat & Mittens set.  The Rosita Hat & Mittens were inspired by the beautiful embroidered motifs on the traditional dresses of the Yucatan.

my inspiration
The mittens are knit in the round from the cuff to the fingers using stranded colorwork. Duplicate stitch is used to embellish the main mitten with flowers to finish the look!
photo property of Knitscene/Harper Point
The hat is made in a simpler way and uses a nice dots and dashes pattern to provide a bit of contrasting color.  The brim also looks nice folded up.

photo property of Knitscene/Harper Point
Here's me modeling the hat two different ways...


The third design in this issue of Knitscene Accessories is the Bow Slouch.  This is an easy pattern with a twist.  The brim is actually folded up and doubled for a nice, snug fit.  It can stay on even when worn at the jauntiest of angles!  This yarn, Accordion, is awesome.  It's so soft and knits up beautifully.  I never thought I'd be a fan of a mohair blend, but here it is folks.  I loved it.  And even made up a second hat for my mom.  Hers has a more modest bow, though.  I only wish I had more of this yarn to make up a third sample for myself!

photo property of Knitscene/Harper Point


And there you have it!  One of my big secrets I've had to keep under wraps since last year!
If you are interested in the magazine, you can find more details here:
http://www.interweavestore.com/knitscene-accessories-2013

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Me-Made-May final days!

Posted on May 30, 2013 by | Comments Off on Me-Made-May final days!
Here are the last few days of May, and I've been happily wearing me-made stuffs.  I'm kinda bummed this month is nearly over, but I'm so glad I brought out my hand-made goodies.  The weather has been so crazy, I was actually able to wear some of my winter hand-knits!

May 26th, I wore my Mod-Podge jacket.  Little did I know I spent most of the day with the snaps misaligned.  Oh well.

 May 27th, all this hand-made goodness inspired me to finish a pair of jeans!  I had the fabric ready, but was unsure it would be enough to make a full-length pair.  They're tailored and about ankle length.  I think they look rather fetching at ankle length.  I've worn them twice now, and they're quickly becoming a fave.

 May 28th, the second time I wore the jeans, I paired it with one of my favorite cardigans knit in Malabrigo Lace which is super soft and fuzzy.  I had no idea I'd be wearing hand-knits and it's nearly June.  The weather's been crazy.

 May 29th, and I think this may be my final Me-Made-May post.  I have a wedding to attend this weekend in Italy, and I don't know how likely it will be that I can photograph my wardrobe.  So, I did it!  I wore hand-made items 4 days of each week.  It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but I did get lazy last week.  The cold weather actually helped me pull stuff from my hand-knit collection that I might not have worn.  So, today I pulled out my alpaca shell.  One of my warmest hand-knits and one of the earliest garments I knit.  I love it and it used exactly one giant skein of Alpaca with a Twist yarn.



If I dooo manage to finish the dress in the background I'll post a pic. ;)
Happy Me-Made-May!

ETA: final me-made photo.  'twas too cold to wear the dress-in-progress unfortunately.  But, I did manage to wear my nicely brightly colored loop!  Who would have thought the end of May would be so cold in Italy!
May 31st, me-made-loop/cowl, Bassano del Grappa, Italy

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Me-Made-May, Week 4 update

Posted on May 24, 2013 by | Comments Off on Me-Made-May, Week 4 update
This week was a blur.  In fact, I can't remember what I wore when, but thankfully the photos have dates time-stamped in them.  I forgot to photograph May 20th's outfits, but that's okay.  It was generally a lazy week in terms of clothes.  I was really excited about finalizing a big illustration, and my eyeballs were practically plugged into the computer this whole week.
May 19 - I wore Sorbetto made by upcycling my friend's skirt that ripped.  She gave it to me with a big ripped hole in it and I managed to use the remaining fabric to work up a Sorbetto.  The trousers were recently hemmed which makes them fit finally!  They're a bit on the frumpy side, but they're comfy.

May 20 - I wore my Clover trousers, but I forgot to take a photo. It's okay, I wore other me-made stuffs this week!
 May 21 - I started off wearing this shirt I finished last year.  It got cold later in the day, so I ended up covering up.  But, at least it was sunny for a little bit, and I was able to wear it out for a while.
 May 22 - Another dreary, overcast day and so out came the wool jacket from last year.  The shawl is an adaptation of a free knitting pattern called "Haruni".
May 23 - Today was still really cold and rainy, and since the jacket was already out I just decided to wear it again.  Sorry for the repeat. In honor of the MMM theme "hometown" I wore this super bright flower print shirt I got from a thrift store in the hometown of my heart- Austin, TX.  The colors of the shirt remind me of my actual hometown, Miami, so it was the perfect nod to the hometown theme.

All this wearing of last year's stuff reminds me I should make stuff... this year.  :)  So, out came the denim and I'm working on a pair of jeans now.  I'm already at the zipper!

And, next week I can finally reveal my latest published patterns!  I'm so excited about that.

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Me-Made-May Week 3

Posted on May 17, 2013 by | Comments Off on Me-Made-May Week 3
It's the Me-Made-May Weekly Wrap-up!

Part of last week and the beginning of this week I was traveling, but was still able to bring along a thing or two of hand-made goodness.  I wore this comfy travel ensemble to Prague where I fit right in. This is the Iris Pullover from last year combined with the Amaranth headband.  I love wearing it what can I say? 

Re: Prague - The locals like to dress really funky, and I loved their personal style!


Then, when I came back to Munich, I wore a completely me-made outfit.  From head to toe, I wore a cowl (cross-hatch cowl) and top (to be named) both designed by Amanda of Dilettant Knits, and then hand-made jeans made with Jalie's 2908 pattern.


missing photo here>>> http://twistcollective.com/collection/blog_images/mjandadriana.jpg


Later in the week, I walked about town and wore the plaid skirt I made for the Sew Weekly along with the cross-hatch cowl previously mentioned.  That's the thing about cowls - they become your go-to accessory and especially in Munich's fickle weather, you just don't know if it's going to be cool or warm or what!  So, a cowl is a great flexible item to have.  And yes, my hair was a bit crazy yesterday...
Today I'm wearing a hand-knit camisole, the Orange Blossom Camisole I designed last year.  And, as I was writing, I realized I missed a photo from this week.  I met up with a friend and wore my hand-knit lace Apres Surf Hoodie (designed by Connie Chang Chinchio).  Hmm. Maybe I can ask her for the pic when she has some down time?  Ah well.  In the meantime, here's today's outfit...

Also, the giveaway winners have all been in contact and their loot is on the way!

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