instant oatmeal

For the last month, I've had oatmeal almost every morning...which is somewhat unheard of as I only began liking it last month. It's nothing against oats--I've always liked granola, and oatmeal cookies. It's usually the consistency of oatmeal I can't stand: too goopy. So I began making it as I like it. (I like it very thick, unusually so!)

I started out eating the instant oatmeal packets--the first I tried was something like Date and Walnut, which I barely took one bite of. Meh. Next, I tried cinnamon, which I really liked... But it was so salty! I bought Quaker Oats' Weight Control Cinnamon--which has more fiber, and less salt and sugar--and the taste was better, but not stellar. I ate this for a couple weeks.

Now I'm at the point where I make my own instant oatmeal to take to work with me, and I love it. It's fast, made with 100% oats and natural ingredients, and without any salt. It might even be more cost effective than purchasing pre-made instant... I haven't done the math. :)

Instant Oatmeal

3/4 to 1 cup Quaker Oat 1-Minute oatmeal

1-2 spoonfuls brown sugar

1-2 teaspoons high quality cinnamon

Plastic baggie

Anything else you want to add! Dried cranberries, nuts, spices, etc.

Add oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in baggie; I like to make enough bags for the week so I can just grab and go in the morning. Pour contents into bowl and add hot water. Stir and enjoy!

Now, if you want some fun, fancy, eye-candy oatmeal recipes, click here.

back to the straps

Does this fabric look familiar? :) Many thanks to Janie, who showed me how to sew a strap correctly! I am in love with this method, and am pretty sure any future straps I make will be similar... it's so easy compared to what the pattern said to do. Basically, this involved interfacing a piece of fabric about 4-5" wide, folding the sides inward, then folding the fabric in half, pressing, and then sewing the sides together. As you can see:

I love how the stitching looks on top. Very clean. (I'm new to sewing, so I'm a little excited about the little things... :) I'm using cream-colored thread; I think dark thread would look neat as well.

Now, I need to sew the bottom of the bag, add the lining and the straps, and we should be good to go...it will eventually look like this:

tasty treats

More treats for D-Dog from the Organic cookbook...the recipe is called Honey Mutts. They're a mix of oats, honey, peanut butter, applesauce, and brown rice flour. This recipe was much more substantial than the last. I was able to use some tiny circle and heart cookie cutters this time, which I'm lovin'.

They smelled amazing while they were baking! Dex can attest.

Waiting is the hardest part!

clickable possibilities

Hi, it's me again.

So I'm ready to breathe new life into my sweaters, but me thinks it will be awhile before this happens. I've been scouring the internet trying to find ideas, and this is what has stuck out to me so far:

This...which I really dig. I like the shape of the bag, and of course, the buttons! So great. I'm thinking the purple sweater could be good for something like this. And it would give me an excuse to keep an eye out for awesome violet-esque buttons.

...or this. I like the idea of a blanket, but holy crow would I have to accumulate more before starting this project! I don't know if I'm that dedicated. I'm curious how many sweaters it would take to make a good-sized blanket anyway...

So the question is: Do I hold onto these and wait--for a project such as the throw--or do I jump in and try something new with the purple sweater now? This needs tea and pondering.

PS. Here's another option altogether.

PPS. Thanks for being so clickably agreeable today; I figured it was quicker than asking permission to post pics. :)

fun finds

...some paperclips I bought at Pier 1 when I worked there in college years ago... These little guys were hidden in the back of my desk drawer, and I was so glad to find them this week. I used to love using them as bookmarks.

Here's another bookmark I use quite a bit--I love the friendly green that pokes out between the pages.

with great power...

Pattern: Knitting For Our Troops (K4OT) beanie

Yarn: Paton's 100% wool in Deep Olive

Needles: 16" circular Bamboo, size 7

Last weekend, there was a knit-a-thon in Denver to make helmet liners/beanies for our troops. Various knitting stores around the city hosted all-night knitting events, or all-day knitting events, in hopes of donating 5,280 hats. (They ended up with over 5,300 and counting!) I really wanted to go, but the timing just didn't work out. I still wanted to participate, however--you can too, as locations are still accepting donations. The pattern is super simple, and can be found here.

All I need to do now is put these stitches on dpns, and I should be good to go. (I'm very excited to almost be finished with this little project because I've been wanting to donate something knitted for a long time...I just wasn't sure where to start. I first saw this opportunity on a white board while walking into Whole Foods--yes, they were hosting a knitting group!--and thought, well, there ya go.)

As Stan Lee would say: "With great power comes great responsibility." This no doubt applies to knitters as well... ;) Let's use our skills to remember those in need.

PS. Here's more info about the USO (United Service Organization), which was instilled by President Roosevelt to provide "morale, welfare, and recreation-type services to our men and women in uniform."

whatta steal.

I love Amy Butler fabric, so I was stoked when I found this little supply bag at Michaels on clearance. I gasped when I saw it, and gasped again when I realized it was $5! 

I love Amy's Midwest-Modern style and how colorful and vintagey her prints are. Here are a few more swatches to whet the fabric appetite...(I think the Dancing Mums are my favorite of this bunch.) Check out her website if you have a few minutes and want some color overload.

extra, extra

While organizing our closet this weekend, I weeded through quite a bit that I don't wear anymore, but couldn't bring myself to give these away. I think I could re-purpose them into something else--a purse perhaps? Or something like that... Any ideas/links to patterns?

Alison, from Blue Blog, has actually pulled yarn out of old sweaters and knit them with a new pattern... incredible. I can't say I'm that eager or able at this point, so I think I'd like to keep the sweaters as they are!

And then I have this odd polyester tank, with a funky pattern...The sparkles were hard to photograph. What on earth can I do with this?