Striped Knit Hats

If you love to knit, you probably, have the same problem. Well, it's not a problem I'd say:)

I had several little yarn balls that I wanted to use for something. Why not to use all of them together in one project?

So...I knitted one hat first with light green and brown yarns.

This hat is seamless for total comfort. Every row with a new yarn/color I knitted in purl stitch. With some yarn left, I made a little pom pom. It is cute, I think. 

  Second hat has  a little different color palette (and no pom pom)

Both this hats will look good either  on girls or boys, or even adults. These hats will fit teens and average adults.

 Buy these hats here

Cable Fingerless Mittens Gloves

These wonderful fingerless mittens hand knitted by me, they are super soft and warm.
Fingerless mitts are very practical but also make great fashion statement. These mittens will keep your hands warm all winter.

If you want to knit these fingerless mittens, I have a pattern!

Buy Pattern HERE
Buy Mittens HERE

More Hats

I am on vacation now, so I am spending my time knitting.

Three hats were knitted (more to come).

This fun striped hand knit hat with cables has a pom pom. This hat is seamless for total comfort, hand knitted from acrylic yarn feels soft, warm and cozy. 
The most difficult part was...to take the pictures - my model makes faces all the time:)

The similar beanie in different, oatmeal color :)

 The next hat, Owlet hat, has two "versions" - with beads (so they make owl's eyes) and without them. so you will have just cabled beanie.

To buy these hat and another warm gifts, go to HERE

Knitted Sport Hat

I knitted this hat...13 years ago (or so) in Russia but never used in here, in Arizona. 
My daughter loves it (I love it too). So, I wrote a pattern for this cool hat with three color ornament.

The pattern contains detailed written instructions for shaping, the color work pattern is charted only.

Gauge: 23 stitches = 4 inches in stockinette
Difficulty level: Intermediate
Size: youth/adult.
Skills used: knit in the round, decrease, stranded color-work.
Yarn requirements: Any sport weight yarn in three colors
Buy this pattern HERE

Knitted Sneaker Slippers

Finally, I finished them :) I started knitting these cool sneakers about 4 month ago, almost finished and "stuck" only on the laces :) Today, I crocheted theses strings, wrote a pattern/ tutorial, photographed, and posted! Yay!

Size: woman 7 1/2 - 9 (9 ½ - 10 ½)
Skill Level: Beginner
Materials needed: Double pointed needles size 4.5 mm/US7, crochet hook size E /3.5mm, yarn in two colors- medium weight/worsted
Prerequisites: Knitting in the round, increasing, decreasing
Buy this pattern HERE 
If you do not want to knit but want to wear them, buy them HERE

Peacock Chandelier Earrings

Make this pair of chandelier earrings using seed beads (size 8/00), head pins, eye pins, and chain.

1. Slide a 3mm metal bead and 4 seed beads on a head pin. Make a simple loop. Make 8 of these end links.

 

 2. Using eye pins and seed beads, make short links:

8 links with 5 beads, 16 links with 6 beads, 6 links with 7 beads, 4 links with 8 beads, 2 links with 9 beads.

3. Make long links:

Link A: end link + 6 bead link + 5bead link - make 8

Link B: end link + 7bead link + 6beads link - make 4

Link C: end link + 8beads link + 6bead link - make 4

Link D: end link + 9bead link + 7 bead link - make 2

4. Assemble: on a eye pin slide 1 seed bead (SB), link A, SB, link A, SB, link B, SB , link C, SB, link D, SB, link C, SB, link B, SB, link A, SB. Make a simple loop on the end as shown below.

5. Fold a 2" (5cm)  chain in half (to find a center link) and attach an ear wire to this link. Attach the  chain to the loops. Attach the first and the last links of the chain to the loops.

Changing the amount of beads for the links and the lenght of the chain, you can change the size of your earrings.

You can buy these earrings here

Double Baked Potato Boats with Bacon

Last night I  made twice baked potato with bacon, cheese and herbs for dinner.
That was yummy!

 You will need: 3 large potatoes, 6 slices of bacon, 1/4 cup of warm milk, 3/4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese, green onion chopped, 2 tbs. of fresh chopped parsley, 1/2 tsp. salt, and pepper.

* Preheat the oven to 375 F
* Place washed potatoes in microwave and bake for about 12 minutes. Set aside to cool enough to handle.
* While cooking potatoes, cook the bacon until crisp. Chop 4 1/2 slices, leave 1 1/2 slices aside.
* Cut off the top 1/2" of the potatoes lengthwise, scoop the flesh leaving the 1/4" thick "boat".

* Mash the potato flesh. add cheese, green onion, parsley, chopped bacon, salt, pepper.

* Fill the skins with the filling 
* Brush the outside of the skins with the bacon drippings. Place the potato "boats" onto the baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes.

* Season the salt and pepper, top with onion and the halved bacon strips.

 See another good potato recipe at my daughter's blog here

Beaded Choker Necklace Tutorial

This choker is appropriate for nearly all levels of beaders; beginners may find it a little challenging. This tutorial has 11 pages with 33 steps and step-by step photos.

Materials you will need:

Rondelle beads 6x4mm, rondelle beads 4x3 mm, seed beads 11/0, seed beads 6/0, clasp, beading thread and 2 beading needles, extension chain 2" (optional).

 Click photos to buy this tutorial.

See more tutorials here

Cabbage Salad

I just love this cabbage salad. It's so fresh, crunchy and has about 20 kcal in 100g!

You will need:
1 green cabbage
2 carrots
1 tsp of dill seeds 
15-20 peppercorns
2-3 bay leaves
2 Tbsp of salt
3 Tbsp of vinegar (I use white rice vinegar, but regular vinegar will work too)

Prepare a pickle. Boil 1 liter of water, add bay leaves, peppercorns, and salt. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it cool. When the liquid is cool (or at least warm), add 3 Tbsp of vinegar. 

Green Beaded Necklace with Tassel

Last time when I was crocheting with beads was long ago. Looking at small boxes with Matsuno Japanese seed beads, I took leftover green beads and a small amount of brown beads - just enough to make a necklace. Checking for some matching beads to make a focal piece, I found 4 leaf-shaped Czech beads.
So, sitting in front of my computer, I watched a movie and crocheted :) 

I used all the beads. I was surprised that I had exactly enough beads to make this neckalce, no more no less, not even a tiny pinch of beads left :)

Tassel is made of a large dragon jasper bead, unakite and Czech faceted and leaf-shaped glass beads. S-hook clasp that attached to the large jump-ring by the tassel.

 You can buy this truly one-of-a-kind necklace here

Okroshka - Russian Summer Soup

Okróshka (Russian: окрошка) is a Russian cold soup. The name probably originates from "kroshit'" (крошить), which means to crumble into small pieces.
It’s very refreshing to have chilled soup on a hot summer day. 
Okroshka is always served cold.

I used 3 cooked potatoes, 3 hard boiled eggs, 1 cucumber, radishes, finely chopped green onions, Italian parsley, dill, celery, cilantro, and a cooked meat ( you can use beef or ham.)
Cut all the ingredients into small pieces. Add salt.  Okroshka is usually garnished with sour cream.

This classic Russian cold soup is traditionally made with kvass, a fermented wheat drink, but can also be made with diluted kefir, vinegar, or mineral water.

Homemade Laundry Detergent $0.43 per gallon

Hi,
Today I finally decided to make my own homemade laundry detergent.
The ingredients are easy to find: borax, washing soda and Dawn dish soap. You can find the Arm and Hammer washing soda and Borax in the detergent isle, usually on the very top or very bottom shelf.
 So, to make 1 US gallon (3.79 liter) of detergent, you will need:

3 Tablespoons of Borax 3 Tablespoons of Washing Soda 2 Tablespoons  of Dawn Dish soap
1 empty 1-gallon  jug/container

Put these ingredients in a one gallon container. Pour 4 cups of boiling water into the jug. Swirl until ingredients are dissolved. Fill almost to the top with cold water. Let the bubbles overflow out of the bottle.

I use approximately 1/2 cup to 1 cup per load. Sounds like a lot, but ... let me do the math for you. I  bought:

1 box of Borax, 76 oz. for $6.40(including AZ taxes) . Used 2oz -> $0.17

1 box of Washing Soda, 55oz for $3.90. Used 2oz -> $0.14

Dawn 266 ml for $1.07. Used 30ml -> $0.12

Total: $0.43 for 1 gallon!!!! The savings are incredible.

If you find ingredients cheaper then mine, you will save more :) 

Washing Yellow Pillows into White Pillows

Do you have pillows that turn yellow in a year or so? One of the most common reasons why pillows can turn yellow is sweat. My husbands' pillows are more yellow (his hair is short and not so dense :), so all his sweat goes onto his pillow). Sweat can seep through the pillowcase fabric. As the sweat dries, it can leave a yellow stain on the pillow. Even if you use pillow covers underneath your pillowcases, the yellowing can still occur. I tried to wash the pillows with regular laundry detergent, but the result was not impressive.
Why not to throw away a bad pillow and buy a new one? I like really flat, (yes, flat-flat) pillows, and new ones are way big for me. I even travel with my pillow - hotel pillows are gigantic for me and I cannot sleep on them. 
So, I have to wash my favorite pillow., I found on Pinterest a good "recipe":
- Hot water
- 1 cup of laundry detergent
- 1 cup powdered dishwasher detergent
- 1 cup bleach 
- 1/2 cup borax

Look at these BEFORE  and AFTER pictures! 
The pillow on the bottom was never washed before and it is at least 11 years old! 

• Remove the pillow case and any pillow protector
• Fill the washing machine about 1/3 full with hot water.
• Add all the ingredients in , then start the machine and allow it to agitate for a few minutes to makes sure all the detergent dissolves before adding the pillows.
• Once the detergent is dissolved, add the pillow(s), and then allow the washer to fill the rest of the way with HOT water. I washed two pillows at a time, which helped balance the load when it came time for the spin cycle.
• Put your machine on the 2nd rinse cycle or just run it through twice manually.
•  Place the pillow(s) in the dryer, add a couple of tennis balls covered in clean socks or a few Dryer Balls to help FLUFF the pillows as they tumble dry. I run the dryer twice . If it's sunny and hot outside- let the sun finish drying the pillows (it is hot in Arizona, +100F already)!

Frozen Lemon Juice

We got lots of lemons!

But they (lemons) do not last forever. So, to preserve them making lemon juice . Squeeze lemons, filter through the strainer and pour into ice-cube tray.

When juice is frozen, place the cubes into the zip-bag and place it in the freezer.

Of course, you can make lemonade too!

Swirly Polymer Clay Crochet Hook Handle

 A while ago, I tried my hand at beading crochet.  The little hook that I used to crochet is so tiny that you really have to get a good grip. In a couple of hours,  I found my hands would cramp up. I saw some crochet hooks with handles at local craft store, but they were kind of expensive. Why to spend money if I can make my own handles out of polymer clay (I have a lot of left over pieces of different color)

All will need: 

• Polymer clay in wanted color 
• Pasta machine (or acrylic roller) 
• Acrylic (or glass) sheet  
• Clay Blade or sharp knife