Vermicompost

I hate throwing away food or on a even more regular basis- coffee grounds.  Every morning when I’m emptying yesterday’s grounds I would think “my what wonderful compost all this would make”.  Well I’ve finally gone and done it – I’ve start a vermicompost bin system in my apartment!  Its super easy and cheap to get started!

Materials

• 2 tubs (i’ve read rubber lasts pretty much forever but i’m just using the cheapest plastic ones i could find!)
• 4 blocks/containers/anything of equal size to prop under your bin to keep it off the ground
• Drill with 1/4 and 1/16bits
• Newspaper
• Redworms

Take your two lovely bins and drill about 20 holes in the bottom of both bins using your 1/4in bit.  These are for drainage and for your worms to crawl from one bin to the other.

Next you load up your 1/16th in bit and drill a bunch of holes about 1.5in apart around the top to work as ventilation.   You will also drill similar holes in ONE of the tops.

Now – you’re pretty much done with the construction.  SUPER EASY.  Next you make the bedding.  Rip your newspaper into 1in strips and drop them in a bucket of water.  You want them to be wet but not soaking so wring them out and place them in the bottom of one of the buckets.  You make the bedding about 3-4inches high when fluffed and then toss a bit of soil to help with the worms’ digestion.

Now let your worms loose in their new habitat!  I got mine from freecycle.  You can order them from several sources online but they regenerate so quickly that your fellow vermicomposters should be able to share enough to help you get started so ask around!

Next you cut a piece of cardboard the size of the tub to lay on top of them.  Get it wet and then cover em up!  To assemble you take your lid without the holes and lay it on the floor where you’d like to keep them, stack your blocks and put the tub with the bedding on top.  Then you can place the other tub with the ventilated top on top of that – VOILA!  VERMICOMPOSTER!

Now – the second tub isn’t actually necessary at this point so I put it away for now and just have one tub with the ventilated lid on it.  Your second tub will come in handy a few months from now when your compost is ready.  You’ll know this is the case when all of your bedding has been eaten.  You will want to seperate your worms from it so you can use it.  You’ll set up your second bin with bedding as you did before and set it in the firsst bin with the lip on top.  From now on you’ll start placing your worm food into it instead and the worms will crawl up through the holes in the bottom to get to the food.  After a month or so your bottom bin will be straight compost!

Worms love vegetable & fruit waste, coffee grounds & tea bags, paper waste, starches like bread, pasta and rice (in moderation), and crushed egg shells (also in moderation – its said they will help stimulate reproduction of worms!).  Worms aren’t big fans of meat – they will help to break it down but it will be low going and your meat will STINK, best to avoid to altogether if you ask me.  Definitely avoid adding any dairy products, greasy & oily foods, or pet waste.

Here’s a list of problems you may run into that you’ll have to troubleshoot from Chicago Recycling:

Symptoms	Problems	Solutions
Worms are dying.	Not enough food	Bury food in bedding
	Too wet	Moisten until slightly damp
	Too dry	Add bedding
	Extreme temperatures	Put bin in a 55-80 degree spot
	Bedding is eaten	Harvest compost and add fresh bedding
Bin smells unpleasant	Not enough air circulation	Drill more holes in bin
	Too much food	Bury food and add less food
	Non-compostables present	Remove source of odor
Flies in bin	Food exposed	Cover food with bedding, secure lid, use a fly strip or fruit-juice trap

I’m so excited about composting in my apartment! So far the bin isn’t stinky at all and the worms seem to be happy enough hanging out with a bit of cornbread I tossed in there earlier this week.  So far I’ve been nervous to put too much food in at once since I only have a small amount of worms so I’ve been saving my scraps in an old coffee tin.  Hopefully some crushed eggshells will get em going and I’ll have enough to handle all my scraps before long!

Marshall Law Longboards!

Sometimes you’ve got to take a step back and let others handle the building – but its still exciting to be close to the process of making something from scratch.  My boyfriend Ryan and his friend Dane have started making longboards out of their basement in Glen Ellyn.  Instead of poking my nose in where it doesn’t belong and trying to help – I took it upon myself to document their progress.

The boys have some pretty incredible ideas for painting these things and I can’t wait to see how they turn out.  You’ll soon be able to see(and purchase!) the boards for yourselves at Replica Chicago.  Is it spring yet?

Something like Shibori…

 

Who else fell in love with Shibori over the summer?  Shibori is the traditional Japanese art of textile dying a.k.a. fancy, more sophisticated tie-dye.  There are several methods of fabric wrapping used create shapes that reference nature.  I’ve read a few articles online starting with Honestly WTF’s tutorial, OfAKind’s interview with shibori masters Kalen and Astrid, daydreamed over Shabd’s lovely shibori based collection and borrowed a book on it from the library - but the best way to learn Shibori is just to do it.  This is a very watered down approach to the traditional art that I pieced together with my limited attention span – but I think its closest to the technique called Maki-age and it does yield some very pretty and interesting results.

What you need:

• String – I tend to use yarn or embroidery floss as its easy to work with but with the silk shirt pictured above I just used sewing thread and it worked as well.  It depends on how delicate the fabric you choose to work with is.
• Needle – big or small enough for the string of your choosing.
• Dyes/Bleach – Traditionally used is indigo dye or a color discharge dye but I just use whatever fabric dye they have at joanns or watered down household bleach.
• Containers for dye – I find gatorade bottles with the twist tops work wonders for holding my dyes and giving me some control but really anything will do.
• Fabric – natural fibers please!  it doesn’t have to be 100% cotton or silk but it helps.
• Working Clothes – you’re working with dye and its going to get all over the place – don’t ruin your fancy clothes!  Also be warned – your hands will probably turn colors so don’t do this the night before your big interview.

You start by laying your fabric out flat – I got a bunch of cheap flat bed sheets from Ikea to practice on.  They are only 50% cotton but hold the dye enough so I see what’s going on and are great for trying new things without fear.  Thread your needle and sew a simple straight stitch across the fabric – this line is going to guide the design of your fabric so it can be straight across, wave up and down, diagonal, whatever – just experiment!

Now you should have your string all the way through from one side to the other – grab both sides so it doesn’t pull through and cinch it so its taught in the middle creating a bunch of folds.  You use these created folds to bind the fabric by wrapping around it like a sausage and tying at the ends.

I like to spread the next bit out flat again so the folds I just created so effect what lines I create next and get too repetitive then pull another thread through.  I will do this several times down the fabric wrapping it up a little bit on either side until its fully wrapped.

Now here’s where it gets exciting!  I have already prepared my dyes (or bleach if oyu are using a darker fabric).  I just do a concentrated version of the directions on the package to fit it into my gatorade bottle and shake it up.  Sometimes I will soak my little fabric sausage in water beforehand and sometimes I won’t – I think it effects how much the dye will penetrate into your folds but really I don’t try and control it too much.  The surprise is half the fun!  I splash bits of color in lines all over my fabric at random and just hope for the best..

Now usually I would say let it drip dry a bit in the tub and then unwrap it but I NEVER have the patience for that.  Luckily my kitchen floor doesn’t absorb the dye and I can let it dry flat once I open it – but if you don’t have that luxury I’m sorry you have to wait.  If it can’t lie flat the colors will run and you have to give the dye time to absorb into the fabric before rinsing it.  I’d say wait 30minutes at least.  Then you use a seam ripper or scissors to carefully cut away your ties, unfold and viola!  SHIBORI!

My example didn’t turn out quite as lovely as I’d hoped – I probably should have added more dye to bring out the patterns and leave less white but as I’ve said – the surprise is part of the fun!  The practice sheets are always exciting but whats really wonderful is making something you get to wear.  With more 3d items it can be a little more tricky to decide how to stitch.  For the leggings I smushed them flat and sewed across the legs instead of trying to do a 360 stitch and I think it turned out great.  For the brown tank I sewed 3 stitches around the neckline wrapped it up and just dipped in the top (and then did a fade dip on the bottom to try and cover some splash marks shhh).  For the brown tank I used bleach and it turned BRIGHT YELLOW – you never know what colors you will get with bleach – it depends n your bleach to water ratio and what dye was originally used.  My best suggestion is to embrace whatever colors you get OR make a light dye bath out of one of your concentrated colors and over-dye the whole thing like I did.  For the silk shirt on top I unbuttoned it and laid it flat before putting the stitches in it.  So, there’s no right or wrong answer to how to approach your piece – just have fun with it!

 

 

Leather Patches

While doing a little bit of research for this project I found this lovely video by “triumphman” – though not extremely informative – it is certainly entertaining (rob the wifes jeans – amirite?) and I may have taken an idea or two from his stylings.  For my purposes, however, I just needed to patch the elbow of an old button up.

I found it for really inexpensive at the thrift store and loved the colors and pattern.  There was a big hole in the elbow but that sort of thing has never stopped me before.  I decided that a good leather patch would look quite nice.

Materials:

• Shirt
• Scrap Leather
• Leather Needle
• Paper
• Scissors
• Chalk is helpful but not entirely necessary

I started by cutting a piece of paper in a rectangle in the size I wanted and testing it over the elbow, then folded it in half and traced a curve on the edges using a bowl, cut, and unfolded to create my pattern.

This is where the chalk comes in handy.  I tried just using a sharpie but it doesn’t show up well on leather.. luckily I had some chalk hiding in my sewing box but you could just pin it then cut or find any other way about it.  Then just trace your pattern on your leather bits and cut them out.  I just used regular household scissors as I am using a thin leather and I’m too cheap to buy anything fancy.

Next I just pinned the patches over my elbows making them as even at possible and using a minimal amounts of pins since once you put a hole in leather its there forever.  Then I loaded up my sewing machine with my leather needle and did my best!  Its a difficult spot for the sewing machine to reach but I managed well enough – my hand sewing skills are just awful.  That’s really all it takes!  I’m excited to get to add this lovely shirt into regular closet rotation!

Vintage Resources: Art Metal Hammering

Well I’d rather be making jewelry myself but metalwork is metalwork is pretty neat.  I gotta get some more tools…

More + the PDF under the jump!

The Lament of a Cat Lady

I know my chosen moniker of “ceramic cat lady” may lead you to believe I am some sort of a middle aged spinster – but I’ve always walked that line so believe what you will.  Really it started out as a joke several years ago when I definitely would have called myself a dog person.  I’ve always been a thrift store addict and wanted to start collecting something.  So when a little collection of ceramic cats came into my possession I started slowly adding to it with treasures from my various adventures.  Since moving to a bigger city where its difficult to maintain a happy dog I’ve become more and more of a bona-fide cat person.  My one saving grace is that I’ve managed not to be the owner of any cats yet – I foster.  For the past two years I have had Erilyn, Shrimp, Lobster, Argyle, Hoppy Feet, Wolfgang, Dooley, Bayla, Bari, Etson, Enus, Eerie and now Nighthawk come into my life for a few weeks through Paws Chicago’s Foster Program.

Its a really wonderful program that makes it possible for me to have a pet for a few weeks without having to commit to a lifelong companion AND get to be doing a good thing for a good program.  Seriously – everybody wins here.  Nighthawk came to me one week ago wary of the world – hissing every time I passed nearby and stressed himself out so much he got a terrible cold.  So I had to nurse him back to health much to his dismay.  With every one of these cats though there is something I call the “mommy moment”.  Sometimes it happens as soon as I open their kitty carrier and they purr into my arms – others are more hesitant but there is always a moment where they look at me and go “okay – you’re my Mommy now.”  Nighthawks moment came after 3 days with me when I was feeding him through a syringe because he wouldn’t eat on his own.  Once his belly was full he looked up at me with his big ole eyes and started rubbing his face all over mine – “Thanks Mom!”.  When I talk about fostering people always say “I don’t know how you do it!  I don’t know how you fall in love with them and then bring them back!”  It’s not easy after these mommy moments – you feel like you’re betraying them after making them fall in love with you.  That’s the hardest part – but PAWS is a GREAT organization who finds fantastic homes for their pets.  Then I’ll have a few weeks off and get to fall in love all over again.

I keep saying I may have to keep Nighthawk – but I say that every time.  I have one more week to make that decision but for now I’m just glad he’s eating on his own, running around messing up my yarn and socializing with my friends like a normal little kitten.

One of my earlier fosters, Argyle, is the perfect example of why I love fostering.  He was adopted by my friend Hope!  Its really a dream come true every time I go visit with him and see what a wonderful handsome boy he’s become and how adorable his relationship with Hope is.  I was there last week and he was more than happy to help us with our knitting.

Hope also hooked me up with some Jade and String of Pearl clippings!  I only had regular potting soil and not the recommended cacti blend but I stuck them in some pots the other day and am hoping they will take!  If it all works out I’ll be sure to share.  If they die like most of my houseplants do.. well.. best not to speak of it.

Vintage Resources: Leather Tooling

Whenever I see tooled leather at the thrift store its incredibly hard to me to pass it by – so I am very happy to bring you this week’s vintage resource on leather tooling!  This has been on my “Things i’d like to DIY” list for far too long.. hopefully I’ll finally try it for myself soon!  For fun and profit!

The rest of the pages and the PDF are under the jump!

Meet the Grandparents + Breadmaking

This past weekend I went to DISNEY WORLD to run in my 2nd half marathon race.  I came in 9,542nd place!!!!!  Woooo!  It was a ton of fun and I can’t wait to sign up for more races as soon as I can find the funds.  I’ve been looking into Run for MS teams but haven’t had much luck.. It looks like there’ a way to sign up individually on the ms society web-site but its confusing!  Anyone out there able to point me in the right direction?

ANYHOW – one of the great things about going to Florida is getting to visit with my Mom Mom, Pop Pop, and their dog Schatzi!

It was so nice to escape Chicago for a few days – I’m still not ready for winter!  My Mom and I sat in the sunshine knitting while my Mom Mom called us her old ladies and I spied a little air plant on the ground!  So I picked a bunch and brought them home.  They are sitting in a little terrarium for now but I’m trying to think of a fun DIY project I could do for a better container.

While I was there my Mom Mom made us DELICIOUS eggplant parm for dinner which got us talking about how she never baked her own Italian bread.  Well that conversation must have planted a seed because yesterday – I just had to bake some bread.  I used a very basic recipe and it came out pretty dense but homebaked bread is homebaked bread and it was delicious.

Vintage Resources: Looms

When I was a little girl my Mother had a FANTASTIC floor loom and was constantly weaving away.  I’ve been obsessed with textiles ever since.. I’m hoping one day I’ll be able to afford or make a loom for myself!  In the meantime these instructions will help keep my dreams alive!

More under the jump!

Knit Flask Cover Pattern

What does every hipster knitter desperately desire?  A cozy for their flask to keep their fingers warm whilest having a few sips of whiskey in the bathroom of their favorite dive bar.  No seriously – I’m not being flippant – I designed this pattern for that specific purpose.  Urban Outfitters, eat your heart out.

Materials:

• Flask
• Size 3 double pointed needles
• Sock yarn

Instructions:

Cast on 5 knit in garter for 22 ridges(44 rows) for the bottom of the flask. Leave the 5 on the end, pick up 5 on the cast on side and 22 on each side. Knit in the round until it reaches the top of the flask with just a little stretch – I had 32 rows for my 8oz flasks.

To shape the top – at one of the 5stitch ends knit the short row back and forth in garter stitch and at the 5th stitch work together with the stitch on the 22st sides. Follow this until 11 stitches remain on the long sides then bind off the 5 stitches, knit the last one together with the long side then cast 5 stitches back on and continue knitting as before for a few rows. Then you must slip the flask in and the mouth piece through the hole you just created. Continue knitting as before working together with the sides until you reach the part where the cap connects to the body and bind-off and cast-on again around it. Then finish the last 4 rows and use a kitchener stitch to close it all up!

Download PDF HERE!