Category: DIY and Crafts

I did a Pinterest thing that didn’t totally suck.

I’ve had my fair share of epic domestic fails, particularly when trying to recreate things that I find from Pinterest. I think I can be pretty capable in the DIY department, but, you know, Pinterest forces us (or at least me) to set unrealistic expectations about what is actually DIY-possible.

We moved into a slightly bigger apartment a few months ago, and it’s been fun to get to settle in and figure out where things go. Our kitchen is bigger, with a huge butler’s pantry. It’s the Ritz Carlton of kitchens, as far as I’m concerned, and I’ll tell you more about that later. We’ve also now got a nice big deck, and I managed to plant some flowers out there this summer. The only problem is, the deck is shaded 90% of the time, so, not ideal for growing herbs and veggies. I’ll tell you more about that later, too.

I’ve pretty much given up on the idea of community gardening, not because I don’t believe in it, but because I’ve spent the last two summers paying $75 to watch a bunch of vegetables die. Even though our garden was only a mile a way, getting there was hard, because, life. When I was able to go, there was this walk of shame past all the beautiful, bountiful beds to our pathetic little patch filled with green beans, three strawberries, dead tomato plants and a bunch of weeds.

Anyway… where was I? Right. DIY. Continue reading I did a Pinterest thing that didn’t totally suck.

Knitted Pot Holders (i.e. Sometimes I live up to my name…)

I know what you might be thinking…

I don’t get it.  How come this Lauren chick calls herself crafty, and yet I never see her doing any crafts!  What gives?

Life gets busy, you know?  I excuse myself by saying that Crafty is a state of mind rather than a state of being.  We all aspire to be as crafty as we perceive ourselves to be on Pinterest, but sometimes life gets in the way.

And then other times, on the rare occasion that you have a four day weekend and an emotional commitment to watch several hours of football, your fingers start twitching for something to do.  I used to knit (like, a lot), but somehow let it fall by the wayside.  Last weekend, however, I dug out my needles and scraps of yarn and it was just like coffee with an old friend.

I’ve started up again, but simply, by replacing a few grubby old potholders with this little beauty:

photo-4

I once made the mistake of committing to an entire afghan in this pattern, seed, not realizing that it takes twice as long as most other patterns because you have to switch your yarn after each stitch.  That blanket took my entire undergraduate college degree to finish.  But, I’m at it again because, being the perfectionist that I am, it comes out so beautifully and those little tiny bubbles of yarn are going to keep my hand from burning on a fresh loaf of zucchini bread. Plus, you don’t have to count anything.

tumblr_mh94vyVpmm1qmywbko1_500Seed Pattern (Knitting)

  • Cast on an odd number of stitches (I used 35 for this fairly generous-sized hot pad)
  • K1, P1 until the end of the row
  • Repeat
  • That’s it.

Disclaimer: The blanket underneath this work in progress was not made by me, but by my Great-Grandmother Cora.  It was crocheted haphazardly (so she said) using scraps from her yarn basket and was gifted to me when I was about 10.  It’s either been at the end of my bed or on the back of my sofa ever since.