EKO's Crafty Life

Scrappy Napkins So Lately I have been going through my bin of small scraps and using trying to use them up.  This project is great, it has allowed me to use up a large amount of small scraps and also to stop using paper napkins at  the dinner table.  This pile shown on the left is by no means the extent of the napkins I have made as I type their are another 3 napkins sitting on my WIP pile waiting to be turned right-side out and top stitched. As you can see they are just scrap pieces of fabric pieced together and then sew together, good sides matching, turned right side out and then top stitched to close the hole used to turn the napkin. The size is between 8 and 9 inches square

  I have been awol for a little while,  I have been crafting and recording what I do but have not had much time to type up my projects. Here is a little sample of what I have been working on,  I got a new Sewing machine last month here is a picture of the samples I made the 1st night I was playing with my machine.  The tension was still a little wonky but the new stitches are so much fun to use.  I will be showing some projects I did with the machine soon. Playing with my new machine.

I like how this looks, I love the frayed edges a lot. The patch has held up fairly well, however the inside is quite frayed and unstuck around the edge. Over all I am happy I have gotten a few extra months of use out of these jeans and they are still holding up.

Oven Method Apple Butter Any one who has ever bought apple butter at a farmers market knows it can be pricey, It really does not have to be.  for the price of a jar of unsweetened apple sauce ( a little over a dollar) you can have a wonderful jar of apple butter to enjoy at any time. If you have tiered to make apple butter before you have probably had a pot of apples on the stove top and was stirring for ever!  there is no need, I will show you how. To start all you will need is a jar of unsweetened apple sauce and any spices you might like to add  such as cinnamon, nutmeg or cloves...remember less is more since the flavours will concentrate in the final product, I actually like using just apple sauce. Step 1  mix apple sauce and any spices into an oven proof casserole. for one jar of apple sauce you want no more than a tablespoon of spices. Step 2 Place in oven at 200F and set timer for 30-45 min...

The Happy Recipient The pink ruffle hat has made it to its recipient. The only issue is that she insists on wearing it with her red coat! 

You can have a hot bowl of home cooked steel Cuts oats every morning of the week if you would like. It is actually really easy to do. I do this on a Sunday evening and then for the rest of the week all I have to do is  reheat it in the microwave and add milk and toppings/flavourings of my choice.  This week I made a half batch enough for two or three mornings in the coming week. this recipe can be easily double and altered to meet you tastes and needs. Sunday Night recipe Ingredients: 1/2 C Steel Cut  Oats ( or similar multi grain and oats cereal form the bulk food store) 1/4 C Nuts of your choice (walnuts, slivered almonds...) 1-2 Tbls Sunflower Seeds 1 Tbls Ground Flax seed (not pictured here) 1 Tbls Chia seeds Equipment: Rice/Vegetable steamer ( I got mine for about 5$ at a thrift shop)  Measuring Cups and Spoons Spoon Storage container Step One   Chia seeds on left Flax seed on right Place all dry ingred...

After my sister saw the hat I made for Winterama she instantly requested I make a pink one for her little angel. After a difficult search for soft chunky pale pink yarn... seriously it was so hard to find one in a nice pink! Here are the results.  I think if I make this hat again with out the stripes I will avoid the seam formed by slip-stiching each row together and just crochet in the round.  also since this hat was for a slightly older child I decided to not add the ear flaps this time. My daughter modelling the hat before sending it off to my sister.