<Living Crafts Blog

Knitting at Knoon produces beautiful, timeless knitting patterns for the whole family. Imaginative patterns for everything including shawls, hats, bags, sweaters, coats and a very fun line of toys.

Just in time for the return of warm, sunny days, Knitting at Knoon is offering one lucky Living Crafts reader a kit for making the Petal Princess hat shown above from the Li’l Sunhats pattern collection. The kit will include the full Li’l Sunhats pattern (all six versions) and the two skeins of yarn needed to make it, courtesy of Tahki Stacy Charles.



Visit the Knitting at Knoon website and leave us a comment below with your favorite pattern from the website, by Friday, April 13, 2012, Midnight pst.

And the winner-chosen at Random.org is:
Liz Kool who wrote, “The hats are so cute, great for my grandgirls. I am always looking for fun and interesting things to knit for the girls, the Salsa sweater and the winter hats would be a big hit along with the leg warmers.”

Congratulations Liz!

Our Living Crafts Friday Gallery winner for this week: Katja Magus

Katja's Gnome Hat and Cape

“What I love about this craft is that it keeps him warm and happy! He hates “crunchy” coats, so wears a sweater or this wool cape if he can get away with it! Gnome hat from the Fall 2009 issue of Living Crafts and cape from Oliver + S Little Things to Sew.” Katja Magus




“What I appreciate most about making this craft was the sparkle in my daughter’s eyes when she kicked up her heels in her new outfit and did a crazy little rumba dance of her own creation! We had fun choosing the cottons at the fabric shop for this outfit –she chose them all and I absolutely love her sense of vibrant color. The pattern was from the book Little Girls, Big Style by Mary Abreu published by Stash Books. Love it! It is so gratifying to me to sew a garment that my daughter loves so much and that she had a part in the making.” Suzanne Lovejoy at UndertheMulberryTree

Joy's Wooden Boats

“Here is a picture of the boats that the children made at summer camp.
This project was the most rewarding project I have ever made at camp. The children enjoyed playing with them throughout the entire week.
I am looking forward to geting more fantastic ideas from Living Crafts for this years camp.” Joy Williams

Every Friday is Gallery Day at our blog. Please provide us with a link in the comments section below or email us (fiona@livingcrafts.com) by midnight, a photo and description of your projects- they don’t have to be Living Crafts projects (but of course we LOVE to see those too!). We’ll pick our top four to six pictures of readers’ projects selected from the previous week to feature on our blog and our top pick will win a free one year subscription to Living Crafts Magazine. Please spread the word and don’t forget to leave a link below to your recent project- we love to see what you make! Please send with a comment starting with: What I appreciate most about making this craft is …

I make this simple quiche often, but specially for the Spring Equinox as well as for Easter events I’m invited to.  Last year I took it to a friend’s house with an herb garden.  Read the story and tutorial post on my Easter Herb Garden on Mothering.com!  Here’s a partial photo of the herb garden for peeking but when you visit Mothering.com you’ll see the full and bigger photos with detail and many Fairy Easter Garden ideas:

Oh, and did I mention you can also start your herb seeds in the egg shells you save from making the quiche.  Here’s a photo from Natural Home & Garden.  Click here or on the photo for the TUTORIAL!

for TUTORIAL click on this photo by Natural Home & Garden

Now let’s get  to the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

- 4 Eggs

- Green Scallions – 1 bunch [can be replaced with leek or fresh garlic greens]

- Parsley – 1/2 bunch

- Kale – 4 leaves

- Optional herbs to add are a few leaves of basil, dill weed, cilantro, mint, and any other herbs of your choice.

- 4 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

- Salt and Pepper to taste

TOOLS:

- 10″ Iron Skillet

- Stainless steel turner [the thinner the better]

- Mixing Bowl and Whisk

- Food Processor [optional]

HOW-TO:

1) Wash herbs and pat them dry with towel to take out water as much as possible.  Using a salad crisper is best.

2) Take out the “woody” part of the stem from the kale leaves, so the dark green part is left.

3) Cut the root ends of scallions off.

4) On a cutting board, cut all greens coarsly so all pieces are smaller than 2″.

5) Place in food processor and use the Pulse button twice, each time about 15-20 seconds.

This is the texture you want to achieve … as small as possible but not mooshy.

6) Place the herbs in a bowl and add the 4 eggs.  Then add 2 Tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper or any other spices your heart desires.

You can cut the top off carefully if you want to keep the shells for planting seeds.  For the tutorial on how to plant seeds with egg shells click here to go to Natural Home & Garden website.

7) Mix well using a whisk.

Place the iron skillet on stove on Low to Medium heat (3 on a scale of 1-10)and add 1 Tablespoon of oil.  Pour the egg/herb mixture onto the skillet and put a lid on it to trap moisure.

9) After 10-15 minutes (until the mixture has solidified enough to divide into pieces).  Take off the lid and using the edge of your turner, draw 3 lines to divide into 6 pieces.  Then turn each piece individually, and add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil.  This is where a nice thin turner comes handy, to be sure you can scrape off each piece from the pan and turn it quickly.  At this point you will not need the lid anymore.

10) Let the other side brown (about 10-15 minutes) and it’s ready!

Serve with your favorite salsa or yogurt and bread of your choice.  You can also make this dish in the oven, but you’ll need 2 more Tablespoons of olive oil [oven temperature 375 degrees for 40 minutes]

The art and craft of bookmaking creates a special space to hold our words, drawings and ideas.

Here is a wonderful book binding craft to share with the children in your life, compliments of Oak Meadow Curriculum and School.

Bookmaking fosters an appreciation for the beauty of language.  Handcrafted books can be used for stories, reports, or journaling–or be given to someone as a special reminder of the joy of writing.  This thoughtful article, Hardwired for Writing: The Intelligence of the Hand  explores both the cognitive benefits and charm of handwriting.


For more crafts and articles on creating a lifestyle of learning at home, visit back issues of Oak Meadow’s Living Education Journal.

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Giveaway!

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Oak Meadow Curriculum and School has generously offered a complete homeschooling curriculum package for one K-8 grade of your choice. That’s a value of $120-$420! It’s a great time to plan your curriculum for next year, and this package will give one Living Crafts reader the perfect start!


Simply visit Oak Meadow’s latest issue of Living Education, a quarterly journal that inspires and informs home learning with strategies, tips, and crafts. Leave a comment here with feedback and/or suggestions for future issues and you’ll automatically be entered in the giveaway!

We will pick one lucky Living Crafts winner on Thursday, April 12 Midnight PST and announce on this same post.

In the Fall 2009 Issue of Living Crafts we featured an article on dyeing wool yarns with food colorings. Here is link to a great website offering Kool- Aid formulas for mixing 135 shades by combining flavors!

www.DyeYourYarn.com



Beautiful! What a great resource for ideas on playing with food grade colorings!

Many thanks to Judith  for passing this on! You can read more about Judith’s explorations with color at JudithDios.com

Fiona Duthie is a regular contributor to Living Crafts.

In her studio on Salt Spring Island, BC, she creates in a bountiful beauty of color, wool, and texture, inspired by the natural world. Fiona designs fine feltwork, felting and knitting patterns, gives workshops in natural craft, and runs her hand dyed, artisan fibre company, Kattikloo. You can read more about her fibers, projects and creative living at www.kattikloo.com and on Facebook.

This is a super cute, super simple craft to make for or with children to welcome Spring!
Click here for the full pdf tutorial…Felted Wool Egg and Chick

These little chicks can be used as finger puppets, or maybe they will be found with a wee egg, hiding inside!

Fiona Duthie is a regular contributor to Living Crafts.

In her studio on Salt Spring Island, BC, she creates in a bountiful beauty of color, wool, and texture, inspired by the natural world. Fiona designs fine feltwork, felting and knitting patterns, gives workshops in natural craft, and runs her hand dyed, artisan fibre company, Kattikloo. You can read more about her fibers, projects and creative living at www.kattikloo.com and on Facebook.

This week’s Friday Gallery Winner: Heather L. Jacks



This is the most perfect photo of the most perfect little gnome!

The gnome hat was created using our sewn Gnome Hat pattern from the Fall 2010 issue of Living Crafts. Absolutely adorable!
Congratulations, Heather!


Every Friday is Gallery Day at our blog. Please provide us with a link to you recent craft project in the comments section below or email us (fiona@livingcrafts.com) with a photo and description of your projects. They don’t have to be Living Crafts projects (but of course we LOVE to see those too!). We’ll feature our top picks of readers’ projects selected from the previous week to feature on our blog and select one winner who will receive a free one year subscription to Living Crafts Magazine. Please spread the word and don’t forget to leave a link below to your recent project- we love to see what you make! Please send with a comment starting with: What I appreciate most about making this craft is …

Our Living Crafts Friday Gallery winner for this week: Jamie MacKenzie

Jamie's Rag Rug

“What I appreciate most about making this craft was reusing materials. I bought quite a bit of fabric for table cloths for my son’s first birthday. I was sorting my fabric stash and decided it would make a nice rag rug. The colors match my son’s room and now it is a cozy spot for him to read.” Jamie MacKenzie

Kelly's Tree Sprites

“If you go into the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise… you may come upon some Tree Sprites…” Kelly Hart at HappyWhimsicalHearts

Katja's Cushions

“What I appreciate about this is I used only leftover fabric and buttons from other projects for these three “couch” pillows for a reading nook for my three boys. They have since “ordered” more pillows based in their favorite animals from the sheet fabric, I’ll have to get sewing!” Katja Magus, Living Crafts contributor

Carrie's Linen Bunnies

“What I appreciate most about making this craft is … creating an something sweet for someone else to love and enjoy. That makes me happy.
I love handcrafting and knowing that each piece will be just a bit different than the next. Carrie Root at The Root Studio

Every Friday is Gallery Day at our blog. Please provide us with a link in the comments section below or email us (fiona@livingcrafts.com) by midnight, a photo and description of your projects- they don’t have to be Living Crafts projects (but of course we LOVE to see those too!). We’ll pick our top four to six pictures of readers’ projects selected from the previous week to feature on our blog and our top pick will win a free one year subscription to Living Crafts Magazine. Please spread the word and don’t forget to leave a link below to your recent project- we love to see what you make! Please send with a comment starting with: What I appreciate most about making this craft is …

Winner:  Spring Garden Wren by Nancy

Nancy's Spring Garden Wren

Hallie's Wooden Egg

“What I love about this craft is the detail. I love the detail that goes into these creations and the total joy I see on my girls’ face while they are playing with them and going on fairy adventures! On a selfish note, I really thrive on the challenge of getting more detailed than I did on the last one… it’s a challenge to be the best I can be!”
Hallie at Our Broken Road

Katja's Cozy Socks

“What I appreciate most about this craft is the sound of cozy little toes pitter pattering on the hardwood floor.”
Katja Magus, Living Crafts contributor

Kristen's Spring Animals

“What I appreciate most about making this craft is … how proud my kids are of me! They are always making suggestions for new toys for me to make… I also love the material. I’ve always loved wood. I did a few carvings many years ago, and have just recently come back to it, although the process is much different. My favorite pieces that I make are the unpainted ones. The wood can feel so soft and smooth with nothing on it except for the natural wood cream.”
Kristen at Two Raccoon Hollow

Helga's Community Quilt

“What I love about this craft is that it is a collaboration of dedication to our children’s school and also to our school’s garden. “The Enchanted Garden”, a quilt for our school gala auction fundraiser, each square was home-sewn by different women, mothers and grandmothers.”
Helga Conklin

Every Friday is Gallery Day at our blog. Please provide us with a link in the comments section below or email us (fiona@livingcrafts.com) by midnight, a photo and description of your projects- they don’t have to be Living Crafts projects (but of course we LOVE to see those too!). We’ll pick our top four to six pictures of readers’ projects selected from the previous week to feature on our blog and our top pick will win a free one year subscription to Living Crafts Magazine. Please spread the word and don’t forget to leave a link below to your recent project- we love to see what you make! Please send with a comment starting with: What I appreciate most about making this craft is …