more stockings

Christmas stockings for the hubs and my niece.  This was a really fun pattern to knit.

Pattern: from the Cascade Yarns website
Yarn: leftovers from my stash

 A warm and cozy hat for a cold Minnesota winter and a very fun pattern.  Wish I could knit these for everyone I know.

Pattern: Thorpe on Ravelry
Yarn: Wellspring Woolens gray, Brown Sheep and Malabrigo from stash

snowman christmas stocking

For my sister-in-law, Snowman at Midnight:

Pattern: Snowman at Midnight from Christmas Stockings: Holiday Treasures to Knit
Yarn: Wellspring Woolens in blue, leftovers from stash, a little bit of orange for the nose from my neighbor

hugs and kisses aran christmas stocking

First Christmas stocking of the year finished!  This one took a long time and the stocking is gigantic.  The recipient will be very pleased come Christmas morning.

Pattern
Hugs & Kisses Aran Stocking from Christmas Stockings: Holiday Treasures to Knit

Yarn
Berocco Vintage in white
Cascade 220 in burgandy
Patons Classic in green

homemade facial

My skin has been looking pretty dull lately. I decided to make my own scrub, mask and toner because (1) I have extremely dry, sensitive skin and I hate spending $ on something that will leave my face red and itchy, and (2) I've been striving to cut out toxic ingredients in my beauty products.

scrub


Attempt #1 didn't turn out very well. I used half jojoba oil and half sweet almond oil and it was very oily and the consistency was off. The recipe below is attempt #2, which I really liked. It had a nice thick consistency and left my face really smooth and moisturized.

2 Tbsp. oats
2 tsp. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. aloe
1 1/2 tsp. raw honey
1 tsp. lemon juice
food processor or blender

Finely grind the oats in the food processor or blender. Mix all ingredients together so you have a paste. Massage into skin and rinse.


toner


apple cider vinegar
green tea (I used pomegranate green tea)

Steep tea in a cup of water. Cool. Mix tea and apple cider vinegar. I used 1/4 c. vinegar and 1 cup tea because I have dry sensitive skin. From what I understand, you can use more vinegar for normal or oily skin.


I chilled the tea bags and put them on my eyes for about 5 minutes while I had the mask on. Maybe it was my imagination or wishful thinking but my dark circles seemed a little less dark.

mask


ripe avocado
1/8 c. honey

Puree avocado and honey until smooth and creamy. Apply to face and let sit for 10 - 15 minutes. Rinse off. This made an insane amount of the mask - probably enough for 4 or 5 masks - but I'm not sure how long it stays good.

Un-paper towels

I had never used paper towels until I married my husband. My mom - and then I - always used kitchen towels or dish cloths to wipe up spills in the kitchen. In an effort to save money and be more eco-friendly, we switched to "un-paper" towels and cloth napkins a couple years ago.

I keep the towels in a little bowl by the sink so they are easy to grab. The old blue ones didn't match the new kitchen paint so I made coordinating cloths. (The old ones, which were looking pretty sad anyway, have been demoted to regular house cleaning rags. ) I get a lot of compliments on the bowl of towels and I love being able to tell people what they're for and give them food for thought.

Supplies to make eight 11" x 11" double layered cloths:

fabric - 2 yards makes 8 double layered cloths. I used cotton flannel and cotton terry
thread
scissors
sewing machine

**Be sure to wash your fabric before you cut to pre-shrink the fabric.**


Cut 12" x 12" squares. I was pretty sloppy with my cutting as you can see. Put two squares together, right sides facing each other. I did some with one side flannel and one side terry and some with both sides flannel. Sew around the edges, leaving an opening to turn the whole thing right side out. I used 1/2" seam allowance. Snip the corners at a diagonal so you can make a nice clean point when you turn it right side out.


Turn right sides out and poke at the corers so they make nice edges. I used a pen to really get in there.


Fold in the opening and sew around the edges of the cloth. I lined the edge up with the edge of my sewing foot.

hugs & kisses christmas stocking

I need to knit 6 Christmas stockings by next Christmas so I'm starting early. Nothing like a little Christmas knitting in February!

My sister picked this one out for my brother-in-law:


Pattern is "Hugs & Kisses Aran Stocking" from Christmas Stockings: 18 Holiday Treasures to Knit by Interweave Knits. It is out of print but I found a copy at the library.


The front


The x's and o's pattern that runs down the sides