The Spice Satchel: 2012

Friday, July 20, 2012

handmade baby clothes

I have been crocheting, and creating iron-ons in photoshop to make clothes for the baby this week. I have a blast being a dork, and this is just the perfect opportunity. Not only can I be a complete dork, but the result is cuteness that will be even more cute when we get to dress our daughter up in the clothes.

I made newborn onesies:

A 3 month old sweater. I love this sweater, I think it is so cute.

And iron-ons for toddler shirts, once she gets bigger.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

the smells of Baltimore

I've never lived anywhere that smells as much as Baltimore. Many of the smells come from the McCormick spice plant that is just down the road from us, but a lot of very distinct smells waft through the air here. Whether going to work at 4:30am, or driving into the city to pick up Paul from the train station, this whole Baltimore area is full of different smells, and I'm always shocked at how distinct they are. It's like the air says, "Today you will smell _______ clear as day, and that's all." Here are some of the more interesting things I've smelled:

sour cream and onion chips

watermelon

roasting marshmallows

bacon


copyright: Cori 2012

Elmer's glue

oatmeal

hotdogs

licorice


copyright: Cori 2012

There are more coming in "the smells of Baltimore 2" after I finish the rest of the pictures. I've been working on this for around 2 years, I couldn't wait any longer, but all my photos are not done yet.

Monday, July 2, 2012

wedding prep

Laura, my best friend since 1988, is getting married on September 1! I'm so happy for her and Travis. She recently moved from Kansas (where she moved to be with him) to Texas to live with him for good! She has lived all over the world, and he is in the Navy, so the moving won't stop. Luckily they both really enjoy traveling. I am her matron of honor, and of course, want to do everything I possibly can to help her prepare for her special day. This is when living far away from her, and the ceremony site (Michigan) really sucks. Being crafty, however, has its benefits in this area. Near or far, I can make things to bring her day together, and the internet/texting makes it easy to communicate any time.
I believe I'm finally done making things for her wedding, I started in late winter. (Which is really good, because I have a niece waiting for some gnomes!)
The first thing I made, before theme or colors were even chosen, was slippers for all the bridesmaids and Laura. This was even before I knew I was pregnant, so I figured I would be wearing heals for the ceremony, and slippers would be much more comfortable for the reception.

Next, I made a cake topper. It is actually going on the card box, which will be cake shaped. By now, the colors and theme were chosen. Fall- each girl is going to have a fall accent color to represent the beauty of the season. It is going to be a beautiful wedding!

Favors! I can make the favors! I found an excellent way to crochet fall leaves. But they should be something, not just leaves. Coasters! How about coasters! People can never have enough coasters. Okay, 400 crochet leaf coasters in fall colors, put in bundles of 2 with a cute saying on a card, coming up! Laura and Travis wrote the saying themselves.

Next, it was time to think about me, and what I would be wearing. I am the orange accent girl. I will be 7 months pregnant, and it is an outside in the grass ceremony, so no heels. I found some flip flops. They don't come in orange, but I could put beads on them. Then maybe they will be fancy enough? Laura thought this was a good idea, and how about I make some for her too! Ok! We will do this for Robyn (Laura's sister) too, closer to the wedding.

Now I have all these beads, what should I do with them? I need a necklace... and a bracelet.

Woo! I think all I need now is nail polish!

Robyn has always been like a sister to me too. She just recently got married in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. She married Joe, so as a cute little joke, I made them (at Laura's request, because she's super funny and clever) a robin and a joey. They got a kick out of it, and are going to hang them on their Christmas tree. I loved the way they turned out.

Oh Baby!

It has been far too long. Lots has happened, the biggest of which is Paul and I are going to have a baby! Being pregnant has put a damper on my blog posting, and I'm sorry. I have many posts in my head, waiting to come out, and many that used to be in my head and have been forgotten for now. I am trying to get back on track. My goal has always been blog once a month, so I suppose I could tell myself I only missed two posts, but that would not be accurate.
Our baby is due on October 31, I know it will be here before we know it! We decided to start trying to have a baby on New Years Day, and found out I was pregnant by the end of February. "That happened fast!" is all I could think!
I have quite the list of crochet things to make, and 2 baby showers coming up that I can't wait for, plus, a few things already done.We have been calling our baby Pumpkin, because she/he is born on Halloween, so I made a newborn size pumpkin hat, and I'm working on a "Pumpkin Smuggler" t-shirt. I know I'm going to crack up every time I wear it!

The last this I've made so far is booties. I've been loving crocheting baby things because they use so little yarn, and I can use the extra for other things.

Here I am, in my baby bumping glory. It's just going to get bigger from here! I'm very grateful for my sister and sister-in-law who have sent maternity clothes and a few baby toys. And for my brother and sister-in-law who have said they are happy to send baby clothes when the time is right! The cat keeps trying to play with the baby's toys, it's going to be quite funny when the cat actually steals toys from the baby and vice versa. Oh, new adventures, I am looking forward to you!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Not what it was designed to be: part 2- an afghan.

Amy wanted a blanket for her bed. Again, my crochet today magazine had the answer! This sweater and this skirt were great. Someday I want to make them for myself, the way they are designed, but until then, I can practice with the motifs and make something awesome. I found this yarn, that screamed AMY one day while shopping for yarn for another monkey, and I had to buy it. 2 pounds of teal and magenta variegated with grey and black. The next issue of my magazine had the flower sweater. These 2 patterns together made a crazy cool blanket.

I also used the flower sweater to make Bridget's sister a baby blanket. She is having a girl, and wanted a pink blanket. The perfect time to make it with a flower, very girly cute.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Not what it was designed to be: part 1- a tree skirt.

Laura wanted a tree skirt for Christmas. Nothing red and green. I like to use afghan patterns to make different things- scarves, rugs, hats... Similarly, I adapt patterns for other things into blankets, as I did with Amy's blanket (coming in part 2)

I knew just the blanket I wanted to use for Laura's tree skirt. It was a blue snowflake afghan with hexagon motifs. From crochet today magazine. I just had to figure out where to put the hexagons and open seam to make it as circular as possible. I laid it out on the floor several times to determine where the next hexagon(s) should go.

My favorite stockings are also made from hexagon motifs, so naturally I had to make Laura and Travis matching stockings! I love the way they turned out.

More importantly, Laura loves them too!

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Croutons!

We had some white bread, and did not like it (surprise, surprise). So I thought, oh! We should make croutons. How do you make croutons?
Paul can't eat store bought croutons We haven't looked very hard, but we haven't found any he can eat.
There is a blurb in our cookbook about making your own croutons in the salad section. Score!

Cut bread in 1/2 inch squares
Toss and coat with olive oil
Add herbs and seasoning. I used garlic, thyme, savory, and pepper.
Cook over medium heat in heavy ungraded skillet until golden brown (5-10 minutes) stirring often.