WIP Wednesday: An ooolllddd crochet project

Here is another installment of WIP Wednesday! This one features a very simple striped crochet blanket I made way back in 2006/07. Pretty sure it was my first crochet project, though I could find another one on my unpacking travels. It's just a basic stripe using 2 colours, blue and orange, with a bit of a fancy embellishment - see the heart? I figured out how to do that all by myself! Not that I could tell you how I did it now.

It was just a throw rug/blanket but the cats have claimed it as their own. This thing has been through the washing machine so many times I'm surprised it hasn't fallen to pieces yet.

Anyway, it's been a WIP for pretty much 6 years now and I finally finished it one day! All I wanted to do was this:

Edge the damn thing! It looks SO much better and I can't believe I put it off for 6 years. I did it over two days but it probably only took up an hour of my time. It's just two rows of single crochet stitch all the way around, then I did a slip stitch around the heart to make it stand out. Now it's nicer to look at on the couch, and it should last many more runs through the washing machine now there's no raw edges.

I've also finished two of my curtains:

The first one took forever to do because I hemmed the patterned material and the backing fabric before sewing them together THEN top stitching. (That one is on the left - it's a bit wonky and it has way too much ugly stitching).

This time I've just done ONE hem all the way around up front with a little bit of reinforcing at each tab. Worked way better, it isn't as wonky (thought still a tiny bit!) and took about 1/4 of the time to finish.

Now I can do the third one knowing it isn't going to take me all week...

WIP Wednesday!

I have sorta kinda maybe always wanted to do something like this but never bothered. Theresa over at the Tropical Vegan reminded me of it, and this time I actually have some works in progress! I'm hoping posting about them for give me the kick up the butt I need to finish some, and in turn more inspiration to start new ones too.

I am currently making some curtains for our bedroom. Some nice, bright, kind of ugly curtains to brighten up our doomy gloomy bedroom.

Doomy gloomy bedroom.

We went to Spotlight and spent friggin hours trying to find the perfect material. I found lots I liked but Nadine was 'meh' about everything, until we found this (kind of absurdly expensive) 70's retro style print. Burnt orange? Yes please! Will match our tablecloth :)

I am making simple tab curtains, but decided to make it hard for myself by turning them into blackout curtains. We are sooks and can't stand the slightest glint of light. We got the blackout stuff at Spotlight too, though I can't remember what it's actually called. You can get it in single thickness or triple though. We went for single because we are broke cheap.

So far I've made all the tabs for all 3 curtains (7 for each).

Just thought I'd take some crafty photos along the way.

I've also hemmed the top and bottom of one curtain and am currently attempting to join the blackout material to it somehow. I accidentally cut it too short for this one, but I shall remember it for next time!

Mmm peanut butter

I make my own peanut butter once or twice a week, depending on how much we feel like eating. I usually buy raw peanuts with the skin on, dry roast them in a frying pan until little black spots appear and then blend blend blend! This takes about 10 minutes, sometimes longer, but the end result is always amazingly delicious. I ahven't bought any peanut butter from the shop in aggges. The homemade stuff does go very solid in the fridge though (no added oil). Which brings me to my next point.

I was given a kg bag of roasted unsalted peanuts by my stepmum (hooray! I was just about to go to the shop to buy more) so I decided to just make the peanut butter from these instead (I don't really like to eat peanuts by themselves).

I stuck two cups of the roasted unsalted peanuts in the blender, turned it on, and in no time at all I had a smooth butter. I didn't even have to scrape down the sides! Ahh and it tastes like the store bought stuff but better. I'm assuming it butterised so quickly because they are roasted with oil. It also doesn't solidify too much in the fridge.

Mmm, peanut butter.

Homemade peanut butter and homemade choko jam on home baked bread. Smug! Hahaha.

Home sewn reusable sanitary pads

Two items that I think are absolutely essential to my lifestyle, and save me a crap ton of money are my soy milk maker, and homemade reusable sanitary pads.

That's right! I've been using them since I was 17 and haven't looked back. Unfortunately for most of us, periods are unavoidable. But I decided I can prevent the bazillions of throw away pads I'd use each month (and the bazillions of dollars I'd spend on them) going into landfill and/or the ocean and waterways by using these ones I've made myself at home using a simple pattern and a sewing machine. These things last forever. I've still got and am still using the first one I bought at Woodford Folk Festival in 2006.

I make them from nice soft flannelette material that I've either got from op shops (I got 3 single bed sized sheets for $2) or found lurking in the cupboards. You could also recycle old flannel pyjamas you don't wear anymore, or any sort of other cotton clothing really, or even towels.

This website has the basic pattern I used, I just made mine square. At the bottom of the page are a few other resources for patterns/information too. Just type in 'homemade sanitary pads' into google.com and heaps of results will come up. I like these because they have a pouch like thing that I can put extra layers in on heavy days. I think people may be uncomfortable using these because they may think that the blood would just go right through - and this may be too much information - but I bleed like a banshee and have never had any leaking problems.

Omg! my nails are clean!

If you don't want to bother/can't sew/whatever, there are hundreds of different cloth pads on etsy.com (support artists!). You can even get g-string shaped ones if that's your style. There are also commercial companies that make them: Moon Pads (almost 100% sure this brand was the one I got at Woodford). 

This is the insert layer, I usually make it from three layers of material and quilt it so it doesn't go out of shape.

Now, cleaning. The part that turns people off. I've tried many different ways of cleaning them. I started by just hand washing (since I lived at home and didn't want anybody else to touch them or think I was weirder than I already was!) which works, but stains will remain. Now I soak them in a bucket of cold water (hot water sets stains apparently) with salt . Vinegar and eucalyptus oil is good (stops any smells and helps remove or prevent staining). You can aslo try baking soda. If you have pets, it is perhaps a good idea to use a bucket with a lid (this is also handy for when visitors arrive unexpectedly). Keep it in your bathroom next to the loo. Apparently, the soaking water/blooood is good for plants (obviously make sure whatever you add is safe too! For instance, I wouldn't pour baking soda on my garden, or vinegar). Just drain the soaking water and throw them in with your normal laundry. We do laundry every second day anyway, but they'd be ok soaking all week if you want.

I can't really praise these enough. I go to work with these (I just have a plastic bag in my bag to put used ones in to wash when I get home - I intend on making a proper pouch for them though). Perk - I don't have to touch the rank sanitary bin that people always seem to get blood all over when disposing of their plastic ones. I run/yoga/pilates while wearing these and they don't go anywhere. They don't get in the way at all.

Not into pads? Give a cup a go. The Keeper is one kind, but I've seen others. I've always hated tampons anyway so I just go with the pads. I might try it one day when I have a million dollars. They are expensive but apparently they last over 5 years. That's a lot of laundry saved. I couldn't find anything on the keeper webpage but you could probably swim with the cup. I don't swim very often anyway/afraid of sharks eating me so I don't really care about being able to swim on my period.

I use these for a few reasons: to save money, to help the environment, and I believe they are healthier for my body. Commercial pads itch me like crazy and cause shafe (I think I'm just allergic to plastic), so these nice material ones fit the bill perfectly. Give them a go :)

Homemade Laundry Detergent

We make a lot of everyday things from scratch at home, instead of purchasing at a shop. Some I have posted here on this blog: lip balm, deodorant, milk, bread, nut butter, (I couldn't find the deodorant entry!). But there are many more things I make regularly that haven't quite made it on here yet, but that I intend on eventually posting :)

We do this for a number of reasons. It saves us a helluva lot of money, it's healthier for us and the environment (no harsh chemicals), and it's surprisingly easy. And of course fun, because I am a nerd.

I am very happy Nadine has started to embrace her inner homemade nerd-dom! She decided one day that it would be fun to make laundry detergent, and reap the benefit of the fact that it costs a fraction of the price of the stuff we usually buy (Earth Choice).

I'll write the recipe here - she found it online somewhere, and I reckon it's pretty generic, but if it's yours give us a yell and I'll take it down.

Laundry Detergent

Makes enough for 160 washes

Ingredients

1.5L water

1 bar of soap, grated (you can use any kind, just the average size)

1/2 cup washing soda*

1/2 cup borax**

Combine water and grated soap in a saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until soap is dissolved.

Add the washing soda and borax and stir until thickened.

Pour into a 10L bucket or container with lid and fill with hot tap water and stir.

You can add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance if you like :) We used eucalyptus.

Use 1/4 cup per wash, or less if you like! We keep it in a plastic storage container, and decant it into a recycled Earth choice detergent bottle.

*Washing soda is sodium carbonate. you can buy it in crystal form at Woolworths but I think you can also get it as a powder. (1kg for $5)

**I found borax at Bunnings once for 1kg = $6. Nadine has recently seen borax at Woolies though.

Nadine says this detergent has made our clothes particularly soft! I hate to say this but I don't know because I don't do the laundry very often!

Homemade Tofu Failure :(

I bought myself a few kitchen goodies for my birthday (asking mum to get me a tofu press would be just weird!!) I'm all about using less packaging in our household, so homemade tofu is a great idea! (And in theory would save money, and trips to the shop...which is only across the road, but I'm very lazy.)

This is the second time I tried to make it. For some reason there's hardly anything! I don't know what I did wrong. I followed the directions on the coagulator packet to the letter! Oh well, trial and error. It's not as bad as the first one. I managed somehow to pour my entire mixture down the sink before I could even begin to press! Duh. Good thing I bought two lots of the coagulator!

This one tastes like tofu, it's a little crumbly, but solid.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

And again.

:)

Hot Cross Buns recipe and a little catchup on some mending

So I took another sick day at work. Hopefully I have enough hours to get paid for it! Anyway, I ended up making a lovely spicy chickpea dish from Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Companion called 'Chickpea and Tomato Curry' for dinner last night. I won't post the recipe because I followed it pretty much exactly, but it was basically chickpeas, tomato, onion, garlic, ginger and a delicious spice mix made from whole peppercorns, cardamom, garam masala, cinnamon, chilli powder and tumeric. So good, yet simple and fairly quick to make (if you don't count the hours it takes to cook dried chickpeas!)

I had just a small bit which took me ages to eat, with some brown rice. For some reason 2/3 cup uncooked rice made enough for 3! I usually do 1/2 cup each. Odd. We figured out I had a light fever so I opted then to stay home from work today whether I felt fine or not.

So in order not to waste my day, I randomly decided to start my mending! (I have a huge list). The first thing I picked up was my favourite winter hat (I don't know what it's made from; I got it years ago from a friend). As you can see it has a big...gap? tear? what would you call that? that needs fixing. It's been like that since I got it, pretty sure.

So I got out a crochet hook and fixed it! You can hardly tell, no? Since it's getting cooler now I should really start crocheting things again. I haven't done any for ages and I do enjoy it. I still have a half finished bolero I was making for Nadine about 3 years ago!

On to the Hot Cross Buns! As you can see, the crosses melted into the bread. Oh well. But anyway they turned out really soft! I was quite surprised.  I made a half batch so only 8, but I've been sitting around all day in my fat pants (so comfy) eating toast and these buns with heaps of margarine, so for next week I'll make at least double.

Hot Cross Buns

Makes 8

Ingredients

1 sachet of instant dried yeast

1/6 cup caster sugar

1/2 cup warm soy milk

1/2 cup warm water

2 cups plain wholemeal flour

1/2 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

heaping tbsp vegan margarine

1/2 cup currants

1 tbsp chia seeds mixed with 1/4 cup of water

1 tbsp caster sugar and 1/4 cup water for the glaze

Method

Mix together all dry ingredients. Add margarine and rub in with fingers. Stir through chia goo and slowly add in warm milk/water until a soft dough is formed.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until dough comes back when pressed.

Put into an oiled bowl in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.*

knoack back dough gently and divide into 8 even balls, and set out on a baking tray. (I used my pizza pan.) Let stand in a warm place until double again (doesn't matter if they touch). Turn oven to 200 degrees Celcius.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until buns sound hollow when tapped.

Make a glaze by boiling the sugar and water until sugar dissolves. Brush onto warm/hot buns.

Eat when cooled down a little!

I, of course, had a few when they were fresh from the oven, but today I toasted them under the grill.

They were sweet and a little sticky from the glaze, just like they should be. I didn't bother with buying any fruit peel because I never use it all. I only just through out the rest of the bag from last year! I won't bother with the crosses next time, maybe. They worked last year (I did it differently) but maybe I just can't be bothered. Ha.

*I turn on my oven for a few seconds then turn it off. Perfect breeding ground for yeast!

Homemade vegan lip balm

A little while back I found a recipe for homemade vegan lip balm, and I finally had the chance to make some. This winter my lips have been really dry, and I've just left it that way because I didn't want to spend truckloads of money on a lip balm from the store. For one thing, for some reason it's incredibly hard to find vegan lip balm (almost everything used beeswax) even most of the lip balms in health food stores had beeswax, and the specifically vegan ones had a price that went through the roof! And I didn't really want to put petroleum by-products, or other weird chemicals with super long hard to pronounce names on my lips. Hum.

The recipe I used is from Healthy Vegan Homemade. It was really easy to do, quite quick (I had time to make a cup of tea while it was all melting) and the end result is fantastic.

I did make some substitutions for some of the ingredients: Hemp oil for the vitamin E oil (hemp oil is strangely, SO much cheaper to buy), avocado oil for the jojoba oil (I just could not find it). I also used peppermint oil instead of spearmint. But use whatever. I think cinnamon oil would be great! I saw it at Mrs. Flannery's which is where I found my peppermint oil (funnily enough, it was the cheapest price there).

Here is my cat (her name is Bob) sitting atop her perch of an upturned esky. Oh, and the lip balm. It sets very quickly, and rolls up and down the tube with ease :) And I get to smell peppermint everyday!

One thing - the recipe specifies to use a glass measuring cup. Pay attention to that...I melted my plastic one. DUH. So I went and bought a glass one ha.

It's bright green mainly because of the avocado oil which is bright green. The hemp oil is pretty green too. This doesn't show up on your lips :)

So, I am very happy with my first attempt at making homemade cosmetics. (This will continue. I'm trying to cut out the need for buying shampoos, face moisturisers, etc from the store.)

Wanna know how much it cost? $1.18 per average sized tube of lip balm. That's it.