Six things I have learned from Pinterest (Do-Vember #30--Last post)

Do-Vember

Five six things I learned this year from Pinterest:

Photo found here

1. Guinea pigs are very photogenic. Their humans dress them up in little Christmas hats and Hallowe'en costumes. Sometimes they even go shopping.

2. If you search for one thing on Pinterest, you will probably get at least twenty more suggested posts on the same subject. You might even end up starting your own board on that subject. It's like giving a mouse a cookie.

3. If you want to travel to a place, someone has probably posted a list of ten free or cheap things to do while you're there. (Eating spicy Thai noodles at the Taj Mahal not included.)

4. Some people pay an awful lot of attention to decorating their powder rooms.

5. About a thousand ways to tie a scarf. 

6. Homeschoolers, including Charlotte Mason homeschoolers, make good use of Pinterest boards. I don't have a homeschool or C.M. board at all (I'm retired, that's my excuse), but I appreciate the people who have gone to the trouble of creating them.

Read to your guinea pig (Do-Vember #27)

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I am not making this up...15 Things To Do With Your Guinea Pig.

Photo found here.

Some things I'm doing (Do-Vember #26)

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1. Getting candles ready for the first Sunday of Advent. We are re-using last year's jar candles (see the photo below) as this year's Advent wreath, instead of putting candles right into the wreath.

This year's version

Last year's version

2. Making up a bunch of bread and muffin mixes for the pantry. (1 whole wheat bread, 1 Country White bread, 2 pizza dough, 2 plain muffin mixes, 2 batches of potato rolls). It saves having to get out the salt and wash the measuring cups so many times. It also reminds me to use up the whole wheat flour.

3. Hand-washing things that need to be hand-washed, and hanging them on our furnace-room clotheslines. (Plural, we have three of them, strung wall to wall. The grandparents were practical that way! When they're not in use, they can be lifted up on hooks.)

(some things we do are more exciting than others!)

Quote for the day (Do-Vember #25)

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A typical, unattributable, but interesting thought that popped up on my Pinterest page.

Some beginner crocheting is easier than others (Do-Vember #24)

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Today's Do-Vember post is inspired by a roundup article I found on Pinterest: The 5 Best Patterns for Crochet Beginners at Sewrella.com.

In my mind there's more than one kind of crochet beginner. There's the person who is in the midst of learning to crochet, and, like a beginning reader, needs practice material that is do-able, doesn't use words he hasn't learned yet, and is also short. For absolute beginning crocheters, especially children, something about the size of a bookmark or a friendship bracelet is what you should be looking for; or possibly something crocheted over an elastic ring or pipe cleaner that doesn't involve having to make stitches into other stitches. Potholders are pretty boring and sometimes not that practical unless you line them with something heatproof; dishcloths are not hard to make, but you need the right kind of yarn. As I've said before, my first crocheting experience was with a hat, crocheted in the round, which probably seemed simple to the person teaching us but which was too longwinded for ten-year-olds, and required too much stitch counting. (But I did finish mine. I did wear it. And I did keep crocheting.) Making a small project is a good idea even for advanced crocheters, if you're trying out a new technique. A dishcloth in a fancy stitch is a lot less work than a whole afghan.

The other kind of beginner is someone who knows enough simple crochet stitches to make something square or maybe round; who may have been doing those simple stitches for years, and who has no real interest in doing anything fancier. (Someone who crochets on about the same level as the way I play chess.) This person is probably an adult, or an older student, and he/she has enough stamina to stick with a scarf or an afghan.

So how do the 5 Best Patterns rank?

The first one is actually a bit misleading. It's called a Chain Stitch Ear Warmer, which I assumed would be something magically made of nothing but chain stitches (wouldn't kids who only like to chain love that?). It's not that hard to make, but it does include single crochet and half-double crochet as well. On the plus side, it would work up quickly. A headband or ear warmer would have been great for our school crochet class, for example, instead of a whole hat.

The second pattern is a Chunky Blanket, made with thick yarn and single-crochet stitches. This would be great for the adult or older child with limited crochet knowledge, but with enough patience to make a whole blanket. For advanced crocheters, making a whole afghan with only single-crochet stitches would probably become tedious, but for the right person, it would be something to be justly proud of.

Pattern #3, striped bookmarks, looks like an easy one. However, as the designer admits, all those stripes are going to make a lot of loose ends that need to be woven in. Also, the material suggested, embroidery floss, is probably not a top choice for real beginners. The upside is that, as I mentioned before, bookmarks are a small, easily-finished project. For real beginners, I would have them use lightweight yarn, in just one colour; or if they wanted stripes, I would probably have them work lengthwise so that there would be fewer colour changes. Too many messy ends aren't a fun way to finish any project.

Pattern #4, a mini basket, requires that you know how to increase and work in the round. It's at about the same level of difficulty as the doll hats we made here. Before starting something like this, I'd get beginners to make round coasters, which are similar to the shape of a basket base. Once you've made something like this basket, you can use the same techniques to make amigurumi animals...or hats.

The fifth pattern is a baby afghan, made with a large hook and Bernat Blanket Yarn, again using half-double crochet (a stitch that does have some quirks, not always the easiest for beginners). Bernat Blanket Yarn sounds like it would be ideal for a soft little baby blanket, but actually it's a very chunky chenille, and as you can see from the photo (if you click on the pattern), that's exactly what the blanket looks like. I agree that it would work up quickly, but whether this would be a good choice for a baby blanket is another question. My two cents: buy more yarn and make it one of those so-stylish regular-sized chunky afghans, instead of making it for a baby.

Sorry if I'm sounding too critical about these, but there's one lesson to take away: if you're trying to teach a new skill to someone else: see what they know, and start from there. Don't make somebody swim laps who's just learning to stay afloat. Also, think about the practicality or suitability of the project you're proposing, or the material you're making it from, or the colour of yarn you have to work with. If all you have is black or brown yarn, and you hate wearing black or brown, don't make yourself a hat out of it (besides, black is not a beginner-friendly colour to work with--too hard to see the stitches). Use it for something fun like...maybe a bat?

Image from Planet June website

Finally, here's a pattern suggestion for crocheters of any skill level: Planet June's Mini Wreath Ornament. Fun to make, and very simple. Enjoy crocheting!

A Random Pinterest Post (Do-Vember #21)

Do-Vember

Since I'm drawing on my Pinterest boards for Do-Vember, I decided to try something different today and go with the top "suggestions" that popped up on my Pinterest home page. The weird, the useful, the beautiful, the strange. This is what Pinterest thinks I'd like to see, unedited, top to bottom.

1. The French 5-Piece Wardrobe Starts With Art: last Thursday's post from The Vivienne Files

2. Build a Capsule Wardrobe by Starting with Art: one of the more unusual posts from The Vivienne Files, clothes based on the colours of a bird wing painted by Albrecht Durer.

3. A list called "MBTI as a friend." According to this list, Mr. Fixit's MBTI type "always knows what is wrong with your computer and/or car." Yep, nailed that one.

4. Winter City Break Packing Essentials. Their thoughts: "I'm aware that some people could look at this and not consider 2 fedora hats and 2 pairs of sunglasses as essentials, which is pretty understandable. But for me, Milan is a place where I want to dress quite nicely, but still keep warm and comfy so that i'm prepared for long days of touristy activities."

5. An advertisement for an Italian geometric jacquard belted waistcoat (no thanks)

6. "God is fixing the broken pieces of your life. Get ready for RESTORATION (caps theirs not mine).  God is preparing you for everything you prayed for!"

7. Another advertisement: "Create your free website with the XXX free website builder"

8. Another page of MBTI stuff: "The things that drain each personality type most." "Observing people with terrible morals who are constantly making decisions that harms others, will upset the INFP." Well, yes, but shouldn't that sort of apply to everyone? Is there actually a personality type that enjoys watching people with terrible morals making decisions that harm others? Maybe a few soap opera fans...

9. "From thrift store to farmhouse decor in 5 minutes." What it is, is spray painting big old brass candlesticks to make them look more funky.

10. Another advertisement: "Warm up to me waisted knitting coat" (I haven't figured out the syntax on that one yet)

11. A picture of the Taj Mahal. Really, that's all it is. No explanation, no text, just a note that it was "picked for my Travel board."

12. A recipe for Spicy Thai Noodles. To eat at the Taj Mahal, maybe.

13. A picture of vintage Bic Banana Ink Crayons (I loved those)

14. A travel guide to The Best Castles in Scotland

15. A picture of a guinea pig. Oh no, wait a minute--that's a capybara. (Why? I have no idea. Really.)

Not extinct yet, thank you (Do-Vember #19)

Do-Vember

Some things that come up on Pinterest lead to other interesting links, and often those are the ones that make me scratch my head.

Like this list of things that supposedly are on the almost-extinct or quite-endangered list in the "typical" 21st century home.

The list starts with:

• pianos (they obviously haven't met many homeschoolers)
• fax machines
• answering machines
• phone books

and goes on through some-people still have-them such as:

• alarm clocks
• desktop computers
• incandescent light bulbs
• landline phones

and

• memo pads
• bar soap
• sewing machines (they obviously don't know about Sew Mama Sew)

I suppose it just depends where you live and what you do, and who your friends are and what they have in their houses. Having grown up in the '60's through the '80''s, there are things that I remember being in "everybody's" house back then but don't see now: ash trays (large and small) in the living room, cable T.V. boxes wired to the (usually floor-model) T.V., floor lamps with three bulbs, step-stools, chord organs, and spring-loaded phone directories.

Also certain kinds of baby gear you don't see now (usually involving bouncing, rocking, swinging, or bottle-heating). And plastic seat covers on some people's living room furniture (yes, that was a thing).

However, I know plenty of people who own and use landline phones, sewing machines, and bar soap, among other things. If you climb up to our Treehouse, you will find a number of other curiosities such as vintage radios (including CB's) and an electric coffee percolator. And paper newspapers, magazines, and books.

Yes, the world is changing. But very little of that list has entirely disappeared from North American homes. Except maybe for phone books. Do you still get one where you live?

Fried rice: do it your own way (Do-Vember #18)

Do-Vember

In the freezer: cooked rice, spinach, diced onion. In the fridge: leftover beef, jarred garlic, mushrooms. Dinner: Fried Rice, from The More-With-Less Cookbook.

How did we do it our way?

1. No added eggs; Mr. Fixit can't eat them scrambled.

2. No leftover vegetables. We did have last night's carrots and beans to reheat on the side, but they wouldn't have added much to the rice. I added spinach and mushrooms instead.

3. I  cut the amount of sugar, salt and pepper in half, because I knew our leftovers weren't going to make a full recipe.

Still good!

Lessons from my Frugal board (Do-Vember #17)

Do-Vember

I didn't have a Frugal board on Pinterest until just recently. Frugal, for me, isn't a separate category, it's just what is. I'm not usually posting things that are very un-Frugal on the rest of my boards.

But I did want a place to pin some ideas about things to make and do with thrifted finds, and other kinds of upcycling. Some of them are ideas I would seriously use. Others I pinned just because they were amusing. Who would ever have thought of taking old magnetic letters (the kind the kids play with on the fridge) and spray-painting them gold? How about 299 No-Sew Ways to Alter a T-Shirt?

Here are a couple of ideas that I think illustrate good principles about thrifting and upcycling:

1. From Thrifted Wine Box to Pretty Tea Box: You see a wooden box like this at a yard sale or at the thrift store, or somebody gives you one. Maybe it's a wine box, maybe it's an old jewelry box; anyway, it seems to have been made for one purpose, and at first that's all you can see; but then you decide to think (wait for it) outside the box. This is how old stereo cabinets get repurposed as children's play kitchens, and night tables find new life as end tables, or vice versa. Whatever it is, think of it not as a wine box, or as a magazine holder, but as an empty box, and start from there.

2. Turn a $3 plaid blanket into two sofa pillows. Don't get too excited about the $3, because you are still going to have to buy pillow forms (unless you have boring unused pillows), but here's the point: some people see a blanket, others see fabric. Some people see sheets that are the wrong size for their beds; others see tablecloths, or dresses for little girls, or drawstring bags for MCC school kits. Some people see tablecloths that are the wrong size for their tables...you get the point.

3. Two sock snowpeople hugging each other: Because two of something is more fun than one. Or, in this case, because you've created a little snowperson scenario. (Warning: the link goes only to a Pinterest image, but after that it doesn't go anyplace useful.)

It makes more sense when you see it (Do-Vember #16)

Do-Vember

Scientists experiment. They change the variables and see what happens. What's the optimum range for whatever? How much is too much, what amount is just enough, and how much margin do you have? This kind of testing goes on all the time, everywhere from high-tech labs testing pharmaceuticals, to parents figuring out how long a child's afternoon nap should be or how many toys are enough without being too many, to the people who figured out that Ted Talks should be exactly 18 minutes long.

Sometimes it's nice when someone else does the work for you. If you trust their reporting, it could save you having to reinvent the wheel, or, as in today's Pinterest link, the cake and the cookie. What happens if you put in one egg? Two? Three? How do cookies change if you use white sugar? brown sugar? Some other sweetener? Butter, margarine, or some other kind of fat? You may have seen magazine articles illustrating this before (I have one stuck in my recipe binder that shows different oatmeal cookie results), but the post linked on Pinterest has collected up a few useful ones. It's helpful when the muffins turn out tough or pointy, or the cookies spread too much. Like a scientist, you can ask: what caused that? What do I need to change?

This kind of experimenting is actually something that Charlotte Mason wanted her students to practice--within reason, as they didn't want to waste food on things that wouldn't work. There were times when you might want your little cakes to be richer, or sweeter, or have some other special quirk--so knowing how to adjust a recipe for taste or ingredients was a useful thing to learn. If I were teaching that to children now, I think I'd use muffins as an example: there's a basic formula (I took mine from The Tightwad Gazette years ago), but the special ingredients, amount of sweetener, amount of fat and so on can be up to the baker.  Sometimes you can take advantage of a material's particular quirks: a non-food example would be strips of crocheting that tend to curl and twirl around themselves. That can be a problem, but if you're making legs for an octopus, it's exactly what you want.

But it can be useful just to see someone else's results.

I need a pre-holiday jump start (Do-Vember #15)

Do-Vember

It's just over six weeks to Christmas Day, but we're still figuring out plans. It's not a big crafting year for me; I know, I always say that and then an idea pops up and I spend all of November going from one project to another. But no, not so much this year.

I looked in the spot where we keep empty boxes and jars, and realized that somehow we had not kept most of the fishbowl-shaped canned pear jars I wanted to use for decorating. And the store hasn't had any pears lately. We might have to buy some canned beets (I am not a beet eater) and decant them. But I am not buying brand new jars just to put some tea lights in.

On our last weekend trip to Walmart, I picked up a few things that I thought might help set things in motion: the December issue of Canadian Living, which I mostly don't read the rest of the year; two packages of paper napkins; and a set of mini cookie cutters. (I already had the red basket.)  Mini cutters: I could see different possibilities for those. Cookies, biscuits, green peppers, fruit.

Between the magazine cover, the napkins, and the star cutter, we seem to have a bit of a star theme going. I'm good with that.

I just really liked the vintage truck and Christmas tree on these ones!

This isn't much of a year for cookies, either. But an article about bread...rolls, pizza dough, things like that--that's different enough to get my outside-of-Pinterest creativity happening.

Now, if Rold Gold would just bring back their white chocolate star pretzels, life would be perfect.

Sixty years of denim (Do-Vember #14)

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Today's favourite Pinterest pin isn't about making anything: it's just a walk down the memory lane of blue jeans.

The Apprentice, age 2

Christmas is coming (Do-Vember #13)

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I recently started a Christmas board on Pinterest, just to collect up ideas that were getting lost under other headings (was that Sewing? Crochet Patterns? Parties?).

Here are some of my favourites so far:

How to fold a disposable cup into a candy box (how's that for Sloyd?)

How to fold a green paper napkin into a Christmas tree

A pretty picture of jars with tea lights inside (but you can't click through for directions, it just goes to a weight loss site). I've actually saved up three or four jars like that this year, since we have a favourite brand of canned pears from Poland (really, don't ask), and they come in large jars. This is something I might actually Do.

Gingerbread Hug Cookies at the Wilton website, just because they are so unbelievably cute. Maybe not that practical, but cute.

A Crockpot Full of Carrots (Do-Vember #12)

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How could I not be intrigued by a post called "Crockpot Christmas: 30 Recipes for the Holidays?" This is yet another roundup post of links to other sites, hosted on Kids Activities Blog.

So there are recipes for candy, for beverages, for Christmas-morning casseroles, and then some party appetizers and main dishes. I'm not sure what makes the Vegetarian Two-Bean Stew particularly festive, but it does look filling and tasty. Problems: you need to have "trout beans" and Aleppo pepper, neither of which are staples in my kitchen. Mixing cayenne pepper with paprika apparently is a possible substitute for the pepper, and I'm sure there are other kinds of beans that would work.

We do have some serious spinach-artichoke dip fans here, although we usually make a simpler recipe than this one (or just wing it).

But the one recipe I think I am actually going to try (and not wait until Christmas) is Honey Glazed Carrots. As in, with tomorrow night's dinner. You put the carrots in the slow cooker with honey, butter, salt and pepper. Cook on high. That's it.

The backyard rabbits will have their noses glued to the window.

Some thrift-store DIY (Do-Vember 11)

Do-Vember

Pinterest roundup posts often take you through a mess of active and broken links, posts on original websites, and re-posts in different languages. Sometimes the important thing is not so much tracking down the original set of instructions, as just catching inspiration.

Case in point: "21 Thrift Store DIY's That Make Frugal Fabulous."  This is a roundup of home ideas, with links which might or might not be helpful. I like the first one, "Stencil some old plates for a cool wall hanging," not because I want to have plates on my wall spelling out "E-A-T" (like a neon sign?), but because the plates used for the photo are unusually pretty, and because I can think of other three-letter words (or four-letter, if you have four plates) that would work. Maybe J-O-Y? You wouldn't want to use your heirloom dishes for a project like that, but if you found three or four plates you liked at a yard sale or thrift store, it might be fun to try. Or you could paint letters on other objects, like jars.

#4: Painting an upholstered couch? Apparently (I'm very ignorant on these things) you combine the paint with a "fabric medium," and that keeps it from turning into a hard, crunchy mess. And according to the comments on the original post, painting upholstery is a "thing." I had no idea. We actually went through two inherited French Provincial couches much like the one in the photo, but I'm not sure that painting them would have been worth it.

#7 and #8: Anything turned into wind chimes or a glittery vase is the stale end of the recycling loaf, in my opinion. 

I'm halfway through the article, still hoping for something I'd seriously Do. (It's Do-Vember, remember?) Here is #15: Decoupage part of an old purse with a funky fabric panel. That looks fun and somewhat useful, assuming you have the purse and the fabric. Would I actually do it? Yes, if I saw a piece of fabric that I liked. Put that one away for a rainy/snowy day.

Finally, #21: improve a wooden tray with paint and a new covering. That idea is as old as wind chimes and glittery vases, but trays, unlike wind chimes, are very useful and uncluttery. You can use them indoors and outdoors. You can use them as memory pieces if you decoupage photos on them, or collect signatures. You can serve food on them, you can arrange gifts on them. I'm in.

So, no couches or wind chimes, but I'm going to think about stenciling letters and upcycling purses.

Using up an impulse buy (Do-Vember #9)

Do-Vember

Today's Pinterest project was a simple one: using up some yogurt-flavoured baking chips that I saw at Bulk Barn and meant to use in cookies. Except that I didn't, and they were still in the cupboard.

Recipes for yogurt-chip cookies are, understandably, scarce, but really any oatmeal cookie recipe will do. I found this one that also called for dried cranberries, and I didn't have any, so I just used up all the yogurt chips in the bag. I also didn't feel like making individual cookies, so I baked the whole thing in a 9 x 13 inch pan, and cut it into granola-bar-sized pieces while it was still warm. And that's so easy it almost feels like somebody else did the work.

My grandma didn't make sweet potato bread (Do-Vember #8)

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But I'm going to try this recipe anyway.

Today's Pinterest project is inspired by the roundup post 25 Old-Fashioned Recipes Your Grandma Knew By Heart. Pie crust, biscuits, apple pie, and cranberry sauce. My grandma liked to cook, but I doubt that she made all the things listed, and not by heart. She was more of a church cookbook kind of cook.

Sweet potato bread also sounds like a good chance to use the mini-loaf pans that don't get used too often.

Done!

Let's do coffee coasters (Do-Vember #6) (Updated with photo)

Do-Vember

Are you a little bit jet-lagged with the North American time change this weekend?

Would a cup of coffee help?

Would a coffee-cup-shaped coaster be a nice go-along?

Today's Pinterest project is the coaster pattern from Repeat Crafter Me.  I didn't have any coffee-coloured yarn, so I used camouflage brown/green, which was probably not the best choice. I also got the handle a bit higher up on the side than I think was intended, but then cups do come in all shapes and sizes.

Overall impression: quick and easy, but not amazing. I think it would look better with another row of coffee.

Add caption

Laughing is doing too (Do-Vember #5)

Do-Vember

This guide to Furby-speak popped up on Pinterest for me today. It was suggested for my '60's and '70's Kids nostalgia board.

Which is pretty weird, because Furby wasn't introduced until 1998. The closest thing to a Furby that I have on my board is the late-60's Rat Fink.

But the guide to Furby-speak was very entertaining. Apparently the Furby can communicate such concepts as:

"Boh-bay" = "Worry"

and

"Dah lee-koo wah!" = "Big sound!"

and

"Kah-toh-loo-may-tay" = "Me like kisses."

I told Lydia we need one of those guides for guinea-pig squeals and chirps.

Wouldn't you like to know? (Do-Vember #4)

Do-Vember

There are some things I'm very happy have popped up on Pinterest. This thing I'm making (don't click if you're related to me) is one of them. It took a test try to get it right, but I think I have it down now.

The problem is, since I can't, ahem, talk about it, this is going to be a very short post. So I'm done.