My garden gave me vegetables for Christmas. I harvested all of these today except for the delicata squash.

L to R: turnip, delicata squash, golden beet, carrots, beets, radishes, about to be tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper and roasted.

We’re eating the beet greens tonight, and I’m blanching and freezing the turnip greens to cook with black eyed peas and ham for New Year’s.

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I got a free review copy of Crochet Stitches: Visual Encyclopedia by Robyn Chachula, which was very timely because I’d lately been looking to buy a crochet stitch pattern book.  It’s a nice book, with a good variety of stitches, motifs, and edgings.  Each pattern includes a photo of it worked up.  The  photos are ok, though some of the color combinations are pretty terrible.  The instructions are presented as written directions and stitch diagrams.  I always find having both to consult is very helpful.  There’s a section that describes each of the stitch types, which is the only part of the book I would have liked more detail and illustrations.  I can never remember exactly how stitching around posts works, for example, and I wasn’t able to get it right from the book alone.  Because of this, the book makes a good companion for a more introductory stitch guide (or the internet).

I modified the balloon stitch pattern in the book to make a quick/easy/cute cowl for my sister.  The pattern calls for 5 stitch bobbles, which were too big in the bulky yarn I used, so I reduced them to 3.

Yarn is the new Martha Stewart roving wool yarn.  It might just be my favorite yarn I’ve ever worked with.  Bulky so it works up fast, but good stitch definition and easy to crochet with.  Very soft, especially for wool, and the colors are pretty too.  The cowl took three balls.  Instead of being sewed up at the ends, it fastens with two big buttons that slip through the stitches easily, which makes it adjustable.

It worked up crazy quick, just 2 days, and would have been even quicker if I hadn’t needed to go pick up more yarn.

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Given how much I like the letterpress ornaments I got at the craft fair yesterday, I decided to try my hand at making some for the ornament swap.

Made on the L Letterpress using the zigzag plate from the Spooked Printing Plates set, cut out with a circle die, and strung with waxed linen.

I made a few others with solid color panels behind to provide a little extra something, but I think I like the plain ones the best.

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Went to the annual winter craft fair today.  Mark made a deer ornament at the screenprinting demo from Handmade SimpleKraft:

The letterpress ornaments are from Constellation & Co.

Other favorites from the fair:

• The Victory Garden, fun crochet in embroidery hoops
• Chet & Dot, cuteness
• Rocks and Salt, skirts
• rebe, dresses
• Stone & Honey, jewelry
• ilfant press, awesome graph paper-y stationery
• makool, clothes
• Beef & Lamb, wallets
• Bella Sisters, amazing embellished coats
• Stubborn, resin jewelry

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I’ve got advent calendar envy with all the cool ones posted around blogland lately.  I was trying to come up with something I could make entirely from supplies I already have and ended up with this.  I have to say, it’s pretty pathetic, but I get a silly kick out of it.  It’s a funny ice cube tray I got at the Goodwill for eventual use as a resin mold.  The little bubbles made me think of a pill pack.  The shiny foil is origami paper.

I cut the foil paper to size, and rubbed it to make an impression of each bubble.  Then I numbered 25 random spaces and put something in the matching bubbles. Brush a little watered down water-soluble nontoxic glue on the top of the ice cube tray, and press the foil on.  Each day you punch through the foil to retrieve your prize.

And the exciting prize inside?  Vitamins.  Just to make it even lamer. But now I will remember to take my vitamin every day.

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