Holiday Handmade Crusade Announcement :: February Winner/March Theme and Prize

The Holiday Handmade Crusade raffle winner for the month of February is: Oneredboot via Craftster Oneredboot has won a Broken Hearted Print by Abigail Halpin.

Want to join in the year-long crafty goodness and have the chance to win fabulous prizes? Read all about the Holiday Handmade Crusade here.

Now announcing the Holiday Handmade Crusade theme for the month of March:

March's theme is Craft a memory. Pick someone on your holiday gift list and think of all of the memories that you've made with that person. Perhaps you could make something special to commemorate that awesome trip to Montreal with your Aunty June. Or maybe you want to make a photo collage about that time you had a midnight picnic with all of your friends at the beach. Whatever it is, use a memory as a catalyst for your craft project.

There are some books out there about this very topic that I just love:

Stitched in Time by Alicia Paulson: I got this book for Christmas last year, and it's filled with projects outlining how to incorporate family photos, recipes and children's drawings into sewing projects.

52 Projects by Jeffrey Yamaguchi: Check out the What's Your Project section of Jeffrey's site for inspiration

Or how about these projects:

The pillow I made for my sister last year.

Art out of T-shirts via Apartment Therapy

Photo Type Case via Ali Edwards

The possibilities are infinite on this one. Entries to be eligible for the raffle are due on March 31st by midnight EST.

The PRIZE...

The March raffle winner will receive a copy of Mixed Media Self-Portraits: Inspiration and Techniques by Cate Coulacos Prato courtesy of Interweave Press. The winner will also receive a copy of the CraftyPod zine, courtesy of Sister Diane of Craftypod fame.

Let's get crafting peeps - remember, only 298 days until Christmas.

*CHRISTMAS SPOILER ALERT :: MATT NO PEEKING!*

Wow, this month's Holiday Handmade Crusade crafting really got down to the wire on this one. This month's theme was "Make something for someone that you love" in order to put to use the Valentine's Day gushiness that pervades this month. Obviously I made something for Mr. G+N aka Matt.

The idea for this Christmas present stemmed from my intense love for a fat quarter of mustache fabric from Sew Bettie. SIDENOTE: *Shakes fist at the sky* Jennifer, I curse the day that you interviewed Cara for your podcast! I'm obsessed. I knew from the moment that I saw this fabric that I had to have it. Money being tight, as it always is, I also had to justify the purchase.

Immediately I began scanning my books for the perfect project to utilize this amazing print. I found it in the ever reliable, necessary for your craft library, Last Minute Fabric Gifts. It was something that he needs, that will be useful and that I'm sure that he'll love.

Voila! I present, Matt's new travel bag.



How perfect is the mustache fabric for a man's shaving kit?! I'm obsessed with the awesomeness.

Front



I love that the mustaches aligned on either side of the zipper so well.

Back



Interior



I lined it with a very thin wale corduroy that I had in my stash. The construction of this bag is quite ingenious and it can be made with a very small amount of fabric. To give you an idea of scale, when flattened the bag measures 10" long and 6" wide across the center. It's just large enough to stash shaving goods, a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss and maybe Matt's contact lens cases. This is such a perfect gift for him, because he's always stowing his toiletries in plastic baggies for lack of a better option.

Now I just have to resist giving this to him for his birthday in May, since he's leaving for a two month tour directly afterwards. No doubt, it would be a great gift then, but he'll just have to suffer plastic baggies until December! (Besides, I have something else in mind for his birthday already).

Do you think he'll like it?

Eye Spy...Love

My friend Shannon read this at our wedding

Song of the Open Road excerpt from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman

15

Allons! the road is before us!
It is safe - I have tried it - my own feet have tried it well - be not
detain'd!
Let the paper remain on the desk unwritten, and the book on the
shelf unopen'd!
Let the tools remain in the workshop! let the money remain unearn'd!
Let the school stand! mind not the cry of the teacher!
Let the preacher preach in his pulpit! let the lawyer plead in the
court, and the judge expound the law.

Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?


So in love then, and every day since.



<3

Holiday Handmade Crusade Announcement :: February Prize Announcement!

What is the Holiday Handmade Crusade you ask? Refer to this post: Holiday Handmade Crusade Manifesto

The winner of this month's raffle will receive a print entitled "Broken-hearted" by Abigail Halpin. *



Abigail is a lifelong New Englander and local artist. She is the writer/illustrator behind the blog Theodesign and proprietress of the Miss Avocado on Etsy. Many of her amazing illustrations can be seen here on Flickr. Have a look around - she's got mad crazy drawing skills.

This month's HHC theme is "Make something (a gift for the winter holidays) for someone that you love." You don't necessarily have to follow the theme. If you would like the chance to win Abigail's print there are three ways to do it:

1. Submit a photo of your gift to the HHC Flickr Group

2. Submit a photo on the HHC Craftster Thread

3. Put a photo of your finished gift on your blog, and leave me a comment here at Geek+Nerd linking back to your post.

Entries close on 2/28/09 Midnight EST. The winner will be drawn the next day!

Many thanks go to Abigail for the sweet donation - for making this crusade possible!



*Whoops, I was kinda supposed to announce this February 1st...but I got a little busy. February is a SHORT month

Prizes from Back 40 Books!

Back in December I was won a blog giveaway over at Farmgirl Fare. The prize was a $100 shopping spree at Back 40 Books. Back 40 Books is an excellent resource for any one interested in self-sufficient living and sustainability. I highly recommend that you pay their website a visit!

After reading countless book descriptions and swooning over nearly every one, these are the titles that I chose:



Root Cellaring - I've started reading this one, and already I'm intrigued. I had one of those duh moments when I read that root cellaring is not only great for putting food away for the winter, it also saves energy by not relying on electricity to can or freeze.

Making and Using Dried Foods - Another duh, AHA moment, you can re-hydrate almost anything with boiling water. Like eggplant for casseroles, and apples for pies.

The Forager's Harvest - I'm still scared that I'm going to poison myself foraging, but I thought that this book was a good place to start.

Making Wild Wines and Meads - I can't wait to have adventures in wine-making with my sister! I'm already saving bottles!

Home Cheesemaking - I bought Ricki Carroll's cheesemaking kit after I took a class on the topic. The kit comes with a small booklet outlining how to make mozzarella and ricotta. Home Cheesemaking is a more comprehensive book, by Carroll, on how to make a slew of different cheeses. A good pick for the future.

The Whole Grain Cookbook - Diet, meet grains. Enough said.

Keeping the Harvest - This is a nice general preservation book.

(not pictured) Pickles and Relishes - I let my mum pick a title, so this has gone to live at her house for the moment. However, I'll have to borrow it back! There is a recipe for mint flavored freezer pickles that looks too good not to try!

I have so much reading to do!

Many thanks go to the generous people at Back 40 Books and Susan at Farmgirl Fare. I definitely have not been able to splurge on myself as of late, so receiving this prize was a bit like Christmas. Thank you so much!

A hat for a little babe named Sage

My friend, Cyndle, just gave birth to her first baby, a little boy, two weeks ago. Cyndle and I worked together at the Ogunquit Playhouse for two summers in a row. She's crafty and talented, and we always got along famously. We rarely see each other anymore, due to our busy lives, but we've always kept in touch via the magic of the internet.

She and her hubby named their little boy Sage, so I thought it only appropriate that he have a little sage adorned hat.



Cyndle, Tom, I'm sending lots of love and luck to you as you navigate marriage and parenthood! I hope that I get to snuggle little Sage, in person, soon!

Matt's Skull Cuff :: A Love Story

About three years ago I knit "The Bead Goes On Cuff" (rav) from Stitch n' Bitch Nation for Matt's birthday. I made it to protect his wrist. You see, Mr. G+N is a punk bassist. He strums so fast when he plays, that without some kind of protective garment, he gets horrible blisters on his wrist.

He loved it, and proceeded to wear it every. single. day.

Three years later, this is what it looks like:





The skull's poor face is mangled beyond recognition, the shine on the beads is worn completely away, and it is little more than a tangled ball of yarn that hangs from my hubby's wrist every day...

A week before Valentine's Day, Mr. G+N started recording a new album with his band, and he said to me "I wore another cuff at practice yesterday to make sure I could play with something else in the studio, but I'm bringing the old one just in case." His voice was mildly frantic like that of a child who has lost a favorite stuffed animal or security blanket, but still trying to play it cool!

I knew immediately what Matt was getting for Valentine's Day. Not original, but I knew that he would love it.

Shiny and new, here's cuff #2:



For comparison, old vs. new:



He loved it! However, do you think he's throwing out the old one? Absolutely not. The new one is only going to be worn for shows and special occasions, the raggy old one is still going to be draping off of his wrist like a crusty pirate bracelet!

Sigh. I can't lie, I think that his attachment to knitwear is a little cute.

<3

Sometimes retail therapy is necessary...

...even when you're "poor." *

I have been a serious bargain huntress as of late! Last Tuesday I had some time to kill before my Stitch n' Bitch group met. I meandered into Goodwill and was rewarded with treasure:











I also made another serious Craigslist score. I purchased a beautiful, mid-century modern looking dresser/credenza by Lane for peanuts. It's a huge piece of furniture, 32" high, 72" wide with nine drawers. The only thing that needs to be replaced on it are some corny butterfly knobs. I could not pass it up. However, even $15 was a splurge for me at this moment, so I'm instituting a self imposed ban on Craigslist until further notice!

What is your greatest thrift score? I'd love to know, tell me about it in the comments!

* Did you notice that I put "poor" in quotations? I have an awesome tank top that says "Girl, you're rich even with nothing." I don't think that could be more true.

Eye Spy...My Secret (Food) Shame

Oh boy. I can't believe I'm about to admit to this, HA.

My secret food shame is that I drink maple syrup. (The real stuff only). There I said it. I take the bottle out of the fridge, pour maple syrup into the cap and do little mini shots of it. This is an excellent way to curb a sweets craving and is even more excellent chased with milk!

Sorry to be so short, and (oh so incredibly) sweet. I hope to catch up on some blogging soon. I've been BUSY.

Epic. Cooking. FAIL.

GAH! Why have I suddenly lost all of my meager kitchen prowess?! First there was the potato pancake fiasco yesterday and today I completely ruined a stash of perfectly good vegetables.

This is how my cooking FAIL is making me feel. VOMIT FACE



It all started innocently enough. I had a ton of veggies, and I was flipping through one of my favorite cookbooks when my eyes landed on ratatouille tart. Perfect! I thought, naively, that will use up all of those veggies. I am a thrifty domestic GODDESS. How soon the proud come tumbling down.

First off, I over-roasted some of the veggies. Over-roasted, meaning kinda burnt. I tasted them...and they were okay-ish. Too salty, too smokey. I thought to myself, hey - mix it with egg and throw it in a delicious pie, let's throw caution to the wind and proceeded onwards! Wheeee!

Then I par baked a beautiful savory crust. BEAUTIFUL. I should've known better than to go any further. I filled it with the kinda icky veggies and egg and put it in a 400 degree oven for 50 minutes. The recipes said 450 degrees for 55 minutes, but I thought that was just craziness. My oven scorches stuff at that temperature.

Well, I had the right instinct at least. Fifty minutes later I had a burnt pie, even though I had cooked it at a lower heat for less time. While I wisely lowered the suggested heat, I never checked on the thing like a dummy! The veggies that were already burnt, just burnt more. My beautiful crust, that I was so excited about, was just dark enough brown that it tasted like burnt cardboard.

I absolutely hate wasting food, but I think I'm going to have to throw the pie directly into the trash. Sniffle.

I did, however, manage to make a delicious roasted chicken.

Kitchen: 2 Me: 1

Eye Spy...Something (Kinda) Delicious

First off - I am without a camera at the moment. Matt's band started recording album #2 today, and he took it to the studio with him. In an attempt to provide some imagery with this post, I starting recording vodcast #2. That turned into a caffeine induced example of verbal A.D.D. So, I scrapped that and now I'm giving you a recap of all things the past few days.

Delicious things for the eye-spyers:

1) I went to the Winter Farmer's Market put together by Seacoast Eat Local. Dad came along and scored about five pounds of local Maine shrimp and three lobsters. I brought home ground lamb, maple syrup and eggs. A light day due to a light wallet.

2) In an effort to "eat out of the pantry" I have deemed Sunday cooking day. I'm trying to get into a groove of preparing things ahead of time for the week.

3) So today I made one dish (HA!), and it came out rather poorly. Well, it's tasty, but it did not come out right. I made a giant potato pancake filled with leeks and cheddar cheese. It was supposed to crisp all along the outside and the edges and it did not. It is tasty, but not crispy.

***

Non-delicious, but fun:

4) I went to my sister's last night and gave her the mix cd (YES!). She introduced me to "Rock Band" which we proceeded to play until 1:15 am. Hurray Fuhuglguts! (Inside joke).

5) Went to Barnes and Noble with the mumma tonight. Pined over books.

That's it!

A Mix for Renee : The Nomads Are Settling Down

I love making mixes.



I've probably written that very opening sentence at least ten times in the history of G+N. It's so true though! I love the challenge of taking your musical tastes and morphing them into a format that will be well received by the intended recipient. I agonize over choosing songs, the song placement - whether everything flows well. Usually, I create some sort of story line (fictional or not), that the play list will follow. I obsess.

This mix was no different. I'd say that it took me a good two and a half weeks. It's not really "birthday" oriented. It's a little twangy and wistful. Excellent "car concert" material. I hope Renny loves it.

If you can't make out the play list from the photo, here it is:

The Nomads Are Settling Down : A Mix

1. Word Up - Willis
2. The Babysitter's Here (Live) - Dar Williams
3. California - Joni Mitchell
4. Over the Hills and Far Away - Led Zepplin
5. I Knew You Before - Dustin Kensrue
6. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood - Santa Esmeralda
7. Every Time You Say Goodbye - Alison Krauss
8. Hole - Hayley Jane and the Primates
9. Thunder Road - Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band
10. You Are What You Love - Jenny Lewis
11. Pistol - Dustin Kensrue
12. Where You Lead - Carole King
13. Nomad's Revolt - Mischief Brew
14. After Midnight - Eric Clapton
15. Golden Years - David Bowie
Bonus Track: Guitar Camp live from A Prairie Home Companion

Look! Pretty Pictures!

Okay, these have been up on Flickr for days, so if you're a Flickr contact of mine, excuse the lack of new content. In spite of lacking full time employment, I have been one busy chickadee these past few days. Dreamy dance job is still challenging, but going well. I've been doing tons of driving about, which I'm not used to, and it leaves me exhausted at the end of the day! More on blab later - this post is about eye-candy.



I managed to make five ornaments in January. Not shabby considering this year I'm not doing an assembly line type ornament. I'm giving myself more than the usual month to finish these. Ornament count needed for my family and select friends next Christmas, 16. Add that to the ornament swap that I usually participate in and *GULP* that number hops up to 26! (Just so you don't think that I'm insane, know that I will not be making 26 pairs of little mittens this year. Good grief! I usually do a different type of ornament for the swap).



These are a tad bigger than the other pairs that I've made. These are knit with worsted weight acrylic on size 1 dpns.

This photo shows the difference in scale:



Too sleepy for proper text. *YAWN*

Eye Spy...a small object

This week's Eye-Spy theme provided by The Crafty Librarian



When my Memere C. died last April, family and friends were invited to go to her apartment afterwards to take something away as a memento. I didn't want to go myself, so I asked my mom to bring these birdies back to me. My Mem really loved birds, (as do I), and she had quite a collection of ceramic figurines. Many in the collection were a little too big and garish for my taste, but these two chubby, little birdies were always favorites of mine when I was little. They each have a little sticker on the bottom reading: DISSING KERAMIK Hovedgaard Made in Denmark.

There are many small objects in my house, but these birdies are two of my favorites!

Outside my window today there were scores of real little birds hopping about in the snow.



Weeee! Then they were scared away by the church bells ringing.



Today I am thankful for the little things. What are you thankful for today?

Holiday Handmade Crusade Announcement!

The January raffle winner is...

Craftster user llisaredd! llisaredd has won a $10 gift certificate to SewMamaSew.

The February theme is...

Make something for the one you love!: Okay, think about this. Those of you that are "attached" will most likely be doing something special with your sweetie for Valentine's Day. All of you are crafty, so I bet that good portion of you will be making something for your sweetie as well. Well V-day is smack in the middle of the month, so what to do with all of that crafty energy for the rest of the month?! Use the lovey-dovey energy surrounding this month to craft something extra to put away for your sweetie for Christmas!

Not attached? Hate Valentine's day. Bitter? Angry? Alone? No worries, I get it. I used to be Bridget Jones incarnate before I got married. I hated Valentine's Day. Take back the holiday by making something for someone you love that is not your sweetie! Love your mom? Baby? Best friend? Brother? Etc? Use your crafty energy this month to get a gift out of the way for someone special in your life. Romantic, or not. Entries close on 2/28/09 at midnight. Winners announced 3/1/09

February prize is TBA soon.

New to the Holiday Handmade Crusade and have no idea what I'm talking about? Visit this link to check out all of the details.