Double-Pointed Knitted Needles Storage

My DPNs frustrate me.  The current storage solution is to put them in jars on a shelf, all sizes mixed up.  I tried putting rubber bands around them with little tags containing the sizes on them to sort them, but I quickly nixed that idea upon realizing that I would almost immediately lose the rubber band with said size label after one use.  Being organizationally challenged, I realized that I need something that is simple, that I can just grab and use at a moment's notice, and that is equally easy to put away.  I also wanted it to look good.  Thus, the following project:

 3 for a buck at Dollar Tree.  I bought fifteen.  Anyone need an extra toothbrush?  I seem to have some extra at the moment...

 This spray paint is awesome, by the way. 

They are currently drying.  I took yarn and closed the cases over it so I could temporarily paint them and let them dry without having to touch them and get fingerprints on them.  I got enough drips with my impatient painting technique that they're already a bit rough-looking.  They're just going in a drawer, so as long as they look good from a distance, I don't really care.

 (I can only imagine what my poor husband thought I was doing as a new home decor project!)   

Here is their new home once they dry and have needles in them, sorted by size.

Here's the numbers I found to label the cases.

I will update once they are finished, I'm currently waiting for paint to dry!

Here's the Reveal:

Antique Typeset Drawer Table--The Reveal!

It has been finished! After lots of prying, sanding, staining, and waiting, I'm finally finished with my project.  It's perfect for my living room decor, and the size is versatile enough that I can use it as a small coffee table or as a side table.  Here's the photos!

 Normally that blue couch has a white slipcover, please ignore it for now! 

 I need to find more knick-knacks from around the house to put in the compartments.

The stain job is not that great upon closer look, but with the glass over it and once more stuff is in there, one won't be able to tell.  It was very difficult to get the stain in all those nooks and crannies, and I soon discovered that imperfections and drips were inevitable.  I decided to focus my time on the outside of the table, where drips would be much more noticeable. 

What to do with an Antique Typeset Drawer?

My friend Julie, her mother and I went to a place called Loafer's Glory in Blanchard, MI yesterday.  It is an antique shop, a restaurant, an old-fashioned soda fountain, candle shop, and more all in one.  There are also a few other antique shops within about fifty feet of Loafer's Glory.  It was heaven, and we were there for several hours looking at all the neat things.  Among them, I found this:

I had initially planned to hang it on the wall and put some knick knacks in it, but then it hit me:  coffee table!

So here is how I did it:

First, I removed the main drawer part.  I bought a piece of 1/4" plywood to replace the particle board at the bottom of the drawer, since I planned to stain it and I'm pretty sure particle board would not look good with stain.

The particle board wouldn't come off the drawer sections!  There were brads in different areas that had hooks at the bottom, so I had to break off the particle board in chunks to maintain the drawer sections.  Then I glued the wooden slats back together and put them in the frame and nailed the plywood to the bottom.

After nailing the bottom back on, it was time to put the hardware on the bottom for the legs.

Home Depot sells table legs that come ready to screw into this type of hardware, it was very easy to mount.

Now all that is left is a coat of stain!

I plan to add one or two more coats of stain, then I am going to get some glass cut for the top after I find some fun things to put in it!  I'll update with the finished product in a few days!


Also, Julie painted her antique table, her first refinishing project.  Here's the before:

And here's the after (still wet paint):

******UPDATE******

I added a second coat of stain to the table, and I have the glass ordered for the tabletop.  I plan to add a third coat of stain (I think I can be patient enough!), but here's what it looks like after the second coat:

Some of the stain is still damp.

My New Obsession: Knit Dishcloths!

Wow, it has been so long I almost forgot I have a blog!  Pardon me for being gone for awhile, but I started a new job that has long hours, at which I have been volunteering for even more hours than the 50 I am scheduled for each week.  I now work in a call center as a customer service/sales representative. I have my own cubicle and even have my own drawer of knitting/crochet supplies (since I am able to knit easy projects while talking on the phone some of the time.  That is where this awesome dishcloth pattern comes in, since it's so simple I can hardly call it a pattern:



Supplies: 

1 skein of cotton yarn
size 10 knitting needles, I prefer the 10-inch length for little projects like this.
yarn needle for weaving in ends

Using Long-tail cast on, CO 30 stitches.

Knit every row for approximately 45 rows until the dish cloth becomes square.  I never count rows, I just eyeball it until it looks right. 

BO and weave in ends. 

With this method, you can get 2 dish cloths out of one small skein of cotton yarn.  These make a perfect present for baby showers, weddings, and much more, and you can make 2 for about a buck-fifty.

How to Take Links out of a Watch Band, Using a Push Pin

These are your tools.  Also, you will need needlenose pliers, but I forgot to photograph them. 

This tuturial is mainly for men's watches, but some women's watches have metal links in them  as well.  If you look at the links of your watch and you see a spot for a pin on each side of several links, then this method will work for you. 

First, determine where you will remove the links.  This is pretty much up to you, but you might want to remove an even amount from each side of the clasp.  However, the watch from which I removed links had a lot more links on one side than the other, so I just took out from one side. 

Next, you need to determine the side on which you must hammer the pins.  Sorry that I don't have a photo of this step, but my big pretty camera is packed away right now and I suck at putting things back, so...
Anyway, if you look closely at the watch pin ends on each side, you will notice that one side has a line through the end of the pin that is more noticeable than the other side, which will either be smooth or have a less prominent line.  You want to pound on the side with the smooth/less prominent line.  This is because many watch pins are just longer pins folded in half, and the lined side is sometimes notched or slightly larger so it can "snap" in place.  If you pound on this side, you will be forcing the pin through a hole that is too small for one side, and your pin will bend.  Boo.  Luckily, if you screw this up, you will likely find out pretty quickly, and hey, you are removing links anyway so you have pins to spare.

Line up your pushpin with the pinhole, and make sure your watch is on a semi-soft surface to allow the pin to poke out the other side.

 Carefully tap it with your hammer, you will probably hit your fingers a few times here.  Well, I did...

If you look at my pointer finger, you can see a little stub sticking out of the side of the watch band.  Take your needlenose pliers and pull out the pin. Note the differences on the ends and make sure you know which direction you need it to go when you put it back.

Repeat this step on the other side of the link you want to remove.

 Now you have a little section of links and a long, disconnected watch band. 

 Now you want to piece the remaining links back together, and push a pin in as far as you can get it with your finger. 

 GENTLY, put your needlenose pliers on either side of the watch band and push the pin the rest of the way back into place.  Finally, enjoy your newly fitted watch and the gas and money you saved not taking it to the jeweler!

 

Awww, Yeah.

My Favorite Cookie Recipe



Believe it or not, these were made in a toaster oven!  They can be made in a conventional oven, but my oven sucks and it undercooks anything in the front while burning stuff in the back.  Plus, these cookies require no flour.  I'm always out of either flour or sugar, so this recipe suits me.  I made it from a combination of different recipes I've found online, and, through trial and error, made it my own.  I hope you like it!

Ashley's Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup natural peanut butter (Smuckers makes a good version)

1 cup sugar (Splenda can be substituted if desired)

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

olive oil (to grease your pan)

Fork

Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 350. Mix all ingredients in a bowl, in no particular order.  The batter will be a little wet.  Shape the batter as best you can into walnut-sized balls and place on a greased baking sheet, about 1 1/2 inches apart. press down slightly with a fork to make the signature peanut butter cookie imprint.  Bake for 10-12 minutes until cookies only appear slightly moist. 

You don't want to dry them out completely.  If you are cooking with Splenda, reduce your baking time by 2 minutes or your cookies will be so dry you will choke on the dust that comes off the first bite you take.  Trust me on this one.

Cool the cookies for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.  They will be quite fragile until they cool.  Makes about 12-14 cookies.  Enjoy!

Easy Puppy Bed for Under Five Bucks!

If anyone actually reads what I write, you will know about our little addition to the family, Chunk. For those of you who are here for the first time, Chunk is a 7 week-old Yorkie puppy who is insane. I wanted an alpha personality for our poor, possibly "special," Lab mix named Duke, who needs a little guidance. And when I say that he needs a little guidance, I mean he forgets to poop, drink and eat unless he sees other dogs doing it first. Sadly, this is not an exaggeration, but Duke is so adorable and well-behaved, most people don't notice what he lacks in intelligence.

FYI, that is his Halloween costume:  He is a ferocious lion.

So..., when I picked out Stefan's Christmas present (the puppy of my choice from the litter), I tried to pick out the one that acted most "alpha" of them all. This is how Chunk came along. An all-black puppy (at that time), with just a little white patch on his chest, even though he couldn't even see yet, he was already pushing his siblings out of the way to get to nurse. He was also the largest dog of the litter. In these ways, he is really living up to his name. I named him Chunk for the irony, and he is ruining my joke. I think I can forgive this face, though:

The problem with raising a puppy is the mess that is involved.  Chunk wants to destroy

many things; and by many things, I mean everything.  So when he started taking a liking to Stefan's favorite fleece blanket, I thought I had better give Chunk something of his own, so Daddy's stuff doesn't get peed on or chewed up by sharp little teeth.  I came up with this:

Materials:

fleece baby blanket (plaid patterns help to cut straight lines, fyi)

stuffing

scissors

scraps to distract puppy from attacking your work-in-progress (optional, but essential to retain sanity)

Dollar Tree sells fleece blankets and stuffing, so you can make this for 2 bucks!

first, lay out your blanket and see that it is probably not exactly square.  Fold the blanket in half one way, then unfold it and fold it in half the other way. Whichever fold gets you the most square result, do that.  I think I mean to say that you should fold the blanket in half width-wise, but I am seriously lacking sleep from a face-attacking puppy right now, so please bear with me. 

Cut the blanket in half on the fold.  Put the pieces back as they were before you cut them (as they were folded).  You should have two pieces, one on top of the other. 

Next, get your scissors and start cutting tabs all around, about one-inch wide and three inches long.  I have honed my skills obtained through many years of high-tech, post-secondary study to provide you with this computer-generated image to simulate your cutting experience:

Now that you have cut all the tabs and removed your corners, go around and tie each top tab to its matching bottom tab, using square knots (left over right, then right over left).  Tie three sides of the blanket and then stuff it.  You don't want it to be too full, but make sure it is pretty puffy as it will flatten out over time.  It is also easy to open this back up and remove or add stuffing as needed, so don't linger on this part for too long if you're not sure about stuffing. 

Finally, tie up the final tabs and watch your puppy come and start chewing on it immediately.  Eventually, you will see this and it will all be worth it:

P.S.  Notice Chunk's copper name tag?  You can buy these for a couple bucks each at Chris Fisher Art.

Enjoy!