Pocket Pause

April 20, 2012

Fiber Fridays: Bootie FAIL

Does this look like a baby booty to you?

Cuz I’m thinking not so much. I downloaded a pattern from Ravelry that looked super cute in theory, but reads pretty lazily and isn’t working well for me. I quit. This is my first real knitting failure, but i’m not disheartened. I will persevere. Using a DIFFERENT pattern.

So, i stopped by the library and picked up THIS book, Natural Nursery Knits for further inspiration including a really adorable booty pattern. If you search Amazon for books using the keywords “baby knits,” it is overwhelming and overly awesome. I think i will be requesting at least 15 books from my local library as soon as my sister knows what sex her baby is. I am a woman on a mission. A mission to knit garments for my niece or nephew that are uber adorable, functional or frivolous, and sure to be loved (hopefully) and saved for doll shoes or souvenirs once they’re outgrown. I also want to make some matching slippers for the new mom, so wish me luck finding “the” pattern for me, and feel free to comment with your ideas!

And since our “child” is a corgi, i also picked up a book for her: You Lucky Dog, which is more than a little silly, but does have some useful and cute-as-all-get-out sewing/craft projects to cloth and pamper a dog. I think we’ll be utilizing the ‘step’ pattern to make her a foamy staircase to prevent her from hopping down from the couch on her own which isn’t advisable for corgis’ long spines, though she does it all the time.

Speaking of corgis, the custom-corgi orders continue to pour in at Fiber Friends, but i’m making time to felt some other critters to add the the menagerie. My featured friend for this week is a sweet little mouse.

No nasty droppings or crumbs will be coming from this little doormouse, just a gentle stare to keep your books and dust bunnies company on a shelf or windowsill. See more photos of her here and let me know what you think. Also, keep bringing the suggestions for new critters coming! Next up is sure to be a spotted giraffe 😉

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Filed under Fiber Friends, Fibers, Knitting

Tagged as baby booties, baby booty, baby booty pattern, doll mouse, felted mouse, knitting pattern, tiny mouse

April 19, 2012

A Book Reading

My dad and I enjoyed bringing Bedtime Snackit: Snackit Adventures to Grassroots Bookstore this past weekend. The crowd was small, but the response was big. What a joy to see the light and curiosity in the eyes of a little girl reading my book for the first time. This is what it’s all about.

When i was small like this little girl, my daddo told me stories of “snackits” who snuck into my room at night to sweep up any crumbs. They apparently lived under my bed and hid in other dark corners…. which i could never figure out as i had drawers under my bed, not empty space. I believed firmly in these critters, and always looked for them when i woke up. I never saw them, so when i “grew up” i illustrated them in a book written by that same daddo. We’re currently working on the next book in the “Snackit Adventure” series, and are busy promoting our first book, Bedtime Snackit, in local bookstores and libraries.

Get your copy of Bedtime Snackit today, and see the light spark in your little one’s eyes. Want some real life snackits to go along with the book? Contact me today to place an order! Hand felted from all natural wool, my little snackits are a delight and cost just $5 plus a small shipping/handling fee. I will also be posting this coloring sheet available as a free download over at www.MirandaRMueller.com soon. I started my illustration career as a child, filling the pages of a wild horse coloring book with a small set of colored pencils. I am still using colored pencils today, though my collection has grown to epic proportions! *New* You can order signed copies of our book! Neato!

Fermented Pickles Part 1

I am a major advocate for eating fermented food, especially after listening to this week’s Radio Lab. Probiotics are good for your gut and for your mental health, so it’s wise (and delicious!) to incorporate something fermented into every meal. Pickles are an easy way to add a little serving of something fermented, tangy, tart and tasty to many dishes. My favorite pickles are jalapenos or cucumbers, but as it’s very early Spring, i wanted to work with what was readily and seasonally available. I chose red onions.

Despite loving to ferment things, i lack a decent crock. SO i use a jerry rigged jar/rubber lid/ another jar system. It doesn’t work WELL, but it works. Mostly. For this batch i’m fermenting in a 1/2 gallon jar with about 1.5 quarts of liquid added to a half filled jar of sliced onions, garlic, peppers and cilantro. I cover the veggies with a brine that’s made of about 3 tablespoons of salt to 1 quart water. On top of the liquid and veggies i squish in a pyrex lid that’s just about the right size to hold the veggies under the liquid, and place a weight on top of the lid, in this case a hot sauce bottle. Cover the whole shebang with a cloth to keep the little flies out.

I didn’t leave a ton of headspace, so i set my jar in a baking dish in case it over flows. I’ll let this sit until it ferments to my liking….. and more about THAT next time!

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Filed under Cooking, Preserved Food, probiotic

Tagged as fermented pickles. fermented food, onions, pickled onions, picles

April 16, 2012

Homemade Ant Bait

I found this ant bait recipe on Pinterest (which is the cat’s pajamas, by the way) and had to give it a try. The recipe comes from another blog, Stacy Makes Cents, and is easy to make and utilized 3 whopping ingredients: Borax, sugar, water. That’s it.

I let the husband do the cooking, but he boiled the sugar water down too far and the whole pot seized up. I re-melted it and added some more water so that i was able to pour the solution into some lids and place them strategically around my house, out of Pocket’s reach. At first i thought we may have just given the ants a tasty treat, as all the ants in the world swarmed to the traps and seemed to be enjoying themselves immensely…. But since those traps are now all filled with dead ant bodies, and the kitchen is no longer teeming with crawly black specs, i think they must have worked!