Peggy Squares for Samoa

I've been at a bit of a loose end recently when it comes to crafting. I'm in the middle of a large assessment round - 3 major assignments followed by 3 exams - so I don't want to start any major new projects, yet I need something to help me wind down when I've got a few precious moments of down-time. I got an email today from Knit World that suggested the perfect simple no-brainer project that also helps a worthwhile cause - peggy squares for Samoa.

Apparently Knit World are running a nationwide appeal to knit peggy squares to make blankets for those in Samoa affected by the recent Tsunami. A shipping container has been organised to go to Samoa at the end of October. Knit World are trying to get as many blankets knitted before then to go on that container.

Instructions for a 20cm x 20cm peggy square: Using Double Knit Yarn and 5.00mm needles cast on 35 stitches and knit in garter stitch for 20cm. Cast off leaving a long length of yarn to sew up. If you are knitting more than one peggy square, just knit a long strip to save on sewing up.

Peggy squares can be dropped off at any Knit World shop. If you don't live near a Knit World shop, I'm happy for you to post completed squares to me and I'll drop them off to my nearest store. Just email me to arrange.

Today I am One or, my first veganniversary

Today is world vegetarian day. It is also a year since Alex and I started our new vegan lifestyle. We had been vegetarian for 3 1/2 years at that stage, but I was still a bit daunted by the full switch to veganism. How would I bake without eggs, milk or butter? Where would our protein come from? How would I survive a life without cheese? And most importantly, could I still eat chocolate?

In the end, it has been so much easier than I expected. It is one of the best decisions I have ever made and I couldn't be happier about it. Yes, I do miss some foods, but not as much as I had expected. And the peace of mind that comes with this new lifestyle far outweighs any cravings I might have for dairy products or eggs.

This year we have discovered some wonderful new foods that we might otherwise never have tried. Quinoa, kale, buckwheat, tempeh and agave nectar are just some of our new staples, and we are continuing to discover new foods. I have learnt how to bake without eggs or dairy (including making the most delicious vegan cupcakes from this book), cook beans from scratch (much cheaper than the canned ones), make a pizza without cheese (not as weird as it sounds) and make my own soy yoghurt. And I have discovered that, yes, I CAN still have dark chocolate (Whittakers and Richfields have the best ranges for vegans).

Below are a couple of favourite easy recipes that now often feature on our weekly menu.

If any of you are considering a vegan lifestyle, or want to know what is so bad about dairy and eggs, I encourage you to check out the wonderful podcast Vegetarian Food for Thought, which played a significant role in our decision to become vegan. There are also some vegan FAQs here.

Baked Tofu
We mostly eat this in sandwiches, but you could also have it diced in a salad, in a stir-fry or even in sushi.

Marinade
Shake the following together in a screw topped jar:
2 tbsp maple syrup or agave nectar (you can get agave in Wgtn at Commonsense Organics)
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/4 cup dark soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp liquid smoke (see note below)

Preheat your oven to 220 degC. Slice your tofu (I use Hings brand extra firm tofu in the 250g packs - this gives about 10 slices) into slices about 5mm thick.



Spray an oven proof dish lightly with oil (make sure the dish is big enough to fit the tofu slices). Lay the tofu slices in the dish and pour over about 1/3 of the marinade. Use a pastry brush or your hands to spread the marinade around and ensure the tofu is covered on both sides. If you have time, leave the tofu to sit in the marinade for about 10 mins (optional step).



Bake for approx 20 mins, turning over the slices halfway through cooking. When cooled the tofu should should be chewy but not crispy. Great for sandwiches. The marinade makes enough for about 3 batches and keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.



**A note about liquid smoke - this gives a great smoked flavour to dishes. It is really concentrated, so you only need a very small amount. I bought mine online from Nelson Naturally.



Easy Bean Salad


In a medium-sized bowl, mix together:
330g can mixed beans (or the equivalent of home-cooked beans)
1/2 small red onion, diced
3 tbsp water
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Great as a side dish for dinner, or by itself for lunch. You can also add diced capsicum or celery if you wish.

Jackson Pollock, kids-style

I promised to share some art that I did with the kids while I was on placement. The year 4 class (8-9 year olds) was doing a unit on art while I was there, so I did some lessons where they discussed their reactions to a range of famous paintings. We also did some brainstorming around topics like "What is art?", "Why do people create art?" , "What types of art do you know?" and so on. I was really surprised at some of their answers and their reactions to the paintings were quite insightful.
My Associate Teacher also did some lessons about several famous artists and then allowed the class to make their own artwork in the style of the artist. Here are some pictures from the Jackson Pollock lesson. The kids first watched this video showing how Jackson Pollock painted. They then looked at a few examples of his artworks and we discussed them. Finally they planned and created their own masterpiece. The kids had a lot of fun dribbling and flicking the paint and finished pieces looked fantastic once they were mounted. I will definitely be trying this idea with my own class at some point.

Art for all

If you haven't discovered it yet, you must visit Feed Your Soul. Each week you can download art prints from up and coming artists for free! Print one out, frame it and smile at your new piece of art. This is one of my faves, by artist Sarah Golden.

Long time...

It has been a full-on couple of months here at casa 20c mixture. After our holiday in Auckland, Alex started a new job that is keeping him busy and I have been occupied with assignments and teaching. I'm currently in the middle of another 7 week teaching placement at a primary school in Lower Hutt. This time I had to plan and teach several weeks of classes, which has been both exhausting and rewarding. I have had a lot of late nights up preparing resources and polishing lesson plans, and broken sleep worrying about how it will go. Thankfully my preparation paid off and the last three weeks have gone relatively smoothly, albeit with the help of strong cups of coffee at lunchtime to get me through the afternoon.
The final two weeks of my placement will be a lot quieter, as I'll be sharing the teaching with the classroom teacher, meaning I'll hopefully get more time for crafting and gardening (I still haven't planted the new vege garden).
I'm hoping to get back into posting more regularly now that this current busy period is over. I've taught a few art lessons with my class and they have done some great work that I'd like to share. I've also got some plans for new designs for my online shop that have been brewing in my head and need to be sewn up. In the meantime, here is my first FO in a very long time, a soft knitted ball for my niece. The pattern is from Knitted Toys by Zoe Mellor. A simple pattern made up of six separate sections, which required a lot of sewing up at the end, but I think the finished product was worth it.

Happy stripes

I managed to finish the stripy socks while we were in Auckland. I love how the Wendy Happy bamboo yarn knitted up. They are soft and silky and the bright stripes make me smile.



I used the Universal Toe-Up Sock Formula Knitty pattern (Ravelry link here), which I highly recommend, especially if you have irregular-sized feet (mine are quite wide). You measure your feet first and then plug the numbers into the pattern to make custom-sized socks especially for you! The toe-up method (using a crochet/provisional cast-on) means you can try them on as you go to ensure that they really are going to fit. For the cast-off at the top I used a stretchy sewn cast-off method that was recommended on Ravelry. It is from Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitters Almanac and there is a video here showing how to do it. Very useful bind-off for areas where you need stretch, like the ends of sleeves or tops of socks.

Sale time

It's time for an update of my Felt shop. That means a winter sale is in order. There is at least 20% off everything - bibs, baby shoes, baby tshirts and bags. Check it out here.

Home again

I'm back from a lovely week away in Auckland. I've never really spent any time as a tourist in Auckland, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Normally I'm intimidated by the size of the city and all the crowds, but we went armed with a GPS for the rental car which helped with the navigation, plus holidaying in winter meant the crowds weren't too bad. There were only two other people at Karekare beach when we visited, so it almost felt like we had it to ourselves. We also made lots of time for relaxing (reading for him, knitting and reading for me) and I really feel like my batteries have been recharged. This week Alex is back at work and I have two weeks of holidays remaining. The to-do list is getting longer almost by the hour - just how much can I fit into two weeks? Yesterday I made two batches of jam (feijoa and plum) and a double batch of pasta sauce. Today I'm trying to sort out some new things for my Felt store. I'll be back tomorrow with some crafting photos.

In the meantime, here are some favourite photos from our week away.


Rangitoto island, taken from a harbour cruise boat. It is such a lovely symmetrical shape, and it really dominates the horizon.


Piha beach. I loved the dark sand and how the seaspray was making the air all misty looking. The surf was pretty good that day - there were a few surfers braving the cold to catch some waves.


Piha beach - Lion Rock. This photo was taken just before the previous one, but the beach doesn't look nearly so moody.

PS - the new banner up there is also a holiday photo - the remains of my coffee at Kokako, a lovely organic vegetarian cafe on Parnell Road.

On holiday

My last exam finished yesterday. In the 24 hours or so since then I have been embracing being on holiday free from the pressures of studying. Last night I knitted in front of the TV - what a novelty! Today I went for a run, sewed something for me (rather than a wholesale order), had a haircut and baked some cupcakes. Bliss. Now if I could only find a job that paid me to knit, sew and bake...

We are off to Auckland for a week tomorrow, but once we're back I'm hoping to be blogging a bit more frequently. And will hopefully have some crafty things to share too.

And totally unrelated, here's a photo of my latest wholesale order - some corduroy winter baby pinafores for Found My Way in Invercargill. I'm quite pleased with how they turned out - I think I might have to make some more for my Felt shop.

The "It's all about me" meme

The lovely Megan tagged me for this meme. It's all about me...

What is your current obsession?
Finding time to craft amongst the studying, finding the perfect pair of vegan red winter boots, winter pinafores, vegan cupcakes

What are you wearing today?
Well, I’m at home revising for my exams, and not planning to go out until the end of the day, so it’s jeans, a grey long-sleeved top and a blue hoodie. Accessorised with navy slippers. Nice.

What's for dinner?
Pasta, home-made tomato sauce and olives, artichokes and eggplant. Yum!

What would you eat for your last meal?
Ooh, that’s a hard question. It would have to involve pinot noir, lemon tart and Whitakkers Dark Ghana chocolate....

What's the last thing you bought?
Ummm, probably a coffee at uni yesterday. I gave up caffeine a few months ago and I’m quite proud of my complicated coffee order – “I’ve have a soy decaff flat white thanks”

What are you listening to right now?
Wax-eyes chirping in our olive tree and the swish of the washing machine

What do you think of the person who tagged you?
I’ve never met Megan, but I really enjoy reading her blog. She’s bravely facing some tough things at the moment and I admire her for it. I’m also jealous that she moved to the provinces from Wellington and is living the country life – one of my dreams.

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?
Given that I’m reading Under the Tuscan Sun, and obsessed with Italy at the moment, it would have to be an old house in rural Tuscany with a massive vege garden and loads of fruit trees – I’d love to be able to grow all the ingredients for a ratatouille in my own backyard.

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
Mood fabrics in New York. With a limitless credit card of course.
Or failing that, somewhere sunny and warm – a cocktail on the beach in Rarotonga sounds pretty good right now.

Which language do you want to learn?
Well, I should know French and Italian, since I studied them at uni, but I’ve been pretty slack at keeping up my fluency. So, either of those would be good. Plus Māori.

What's your favorite quote (for now)?
At the moment I really like a couple of lines from a W.B. Yeats poem called He Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven
“I have spread my dreams under your feet;
Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

What is your favorite colour?
Red, red and more red.

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
A millefiore glass pendant I bought in Venice and a gorgeous red a-line skirt from Widdess in Ponsonby.

What is your dream job?
Ummm, well I’m really looking forward to being a teacher in my own classroom next year. And considering I quit my last job to go back to uni and train to be a teacher, I guess that must be my dream?

What's your favourite magazine?
I don’t tend to buy magazines much, but I have been subscribing to the wonderful World Sweet World the last few months. Frankie is also quite good – I like that it combines fashion, craft, music and books. I get my guilty gossip-fix at the hairdressers when I make a beeline for Marie Claire.

If you had £100 now, what would you spend it on?
So, about $300 NZD? A new hairdryer (my current one is going to die any day now), a pair of fantastically flattering jeans (the perfect pair exist, I just know it) and spend anything leftover at Borders on craft books.

Describe your personal style?
Oooh, that’s a tricky one – now that I’m a student, it’s jeans and cardies mostly. And the occasional skirt and boots. Maybe I could call it student chic?

What are you going to do after this?
Hang up the washing and then study for my English exam.

What are your favourite films?
I have two types of favourite films – the ones I consider acceptable to admit to, like Donnie Darko, Juno, Eagle vs Shark, Garden State, The Princess Bride. And then the cheesy ones that I’ve watched over and over and are not exactly high art but I love them anyway, like Dirty Dancing, Notting Hill and Grease

What's your favourite fruit?
Feijoas, berries and golden queen peaches

What inspires you?
New Zealand landscapes, native trees, young children, people living the life they love, books, creative people

Your favourite books?
The Blind Assassin, Oryx and Crake, Jane Eyre, Pride & Prejudice, The Eyre Affair

Do you collect anything?
Blue pottery mugs, buttons, fabric, cheesy fridge magnets from our travels

What are you currently reading?
Under the Tuscan Sun, The BFG (it’s research for my exam, honestly)

Go to your book shelf, take down the first book with a red spine you see, turn to page 26 and type out the first line:
"We are very grateful indeed to Mr Grundy, Mr Attery Squash, the Blue Baboon, Mr Pobble, Lola Vavoom and of course the Dong, who so generously agreed to entertain us with his luminous nose”
It’s from The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde

What makes you follow a blog?
I follow blogs that inspire me, that make me laugh, that let me get to know the person behind the blog.

The rules:
1. Respond and rework; answer the questions on your blog, replace one question that you dislike with a question of your invention, add one more question of your own.
2. Tag eight other people.

It seems like almost everyone on my blogroll has been tagged for this already, but if you haven't been, consider yourself tagged.

The perfect winter weekend lunch

Delicious thick, hearty barley and lentil soup from this recipe, accompanied by homemade crusty rolls. The perfect antidote to wild winter weather outside.

Stripy socks

The drive to Rotorua for the marathon gave me an excuse for some guilt-free crafting. Reading in the car makes me feel sick, so I couldn't do any coursework. But, for some reason, I CAN knit in the car. Yay! I planned to start these socks as soon as we left Wellington, but they are knit from the toe-up and I didn't know how to do a crochet cast-on. Google saved the day once we got to my Mum's house and I was able to start these up there and do some knitting on the way home.



The yarn is Wendy Happy, a new sock yarn made from bamboo and nylon. I was so happy to find a reasonably priced vegan yarn that is specifically designed for socks. Plus, Knit World in Lower Hutt (my closest yarn store) has started stocking it. The yarn is really soft and silky and is knitting up nicely. It comes in several colourways, all named after signs of the zodiac, that produce different pattern effects. This colourway is capricorn. I think they're going to look really cute worn with my mary-janes.

Marathon effort

Alex ran his first marathon in Rotorua on Saturday. I was the support crew, following him for some of the way on the back of my Dad's motorbike.

Here he is (well, the back of his head anyway) crossing the line in a great time of just under 3 hours 20 mins.

I'm proud of you my love.

New toy

When I blogged about my birthday a couple of weeks ago, I forgot to mention the birthday present I bought myself. It might not look like much, but it made me happy:



My very own almost-power-tool - a brand-new snap setter from Greenbeans! After borrowing snap setters from other people, I finally shelled out for one of my own. The greenbeans site sells them for putting snaps in modern cloth nappies, but I've discovered they're great for easily putting snaps in the bibs and pinafores I sell. And I'm sure there are a whole lot more uses yet to be discovered...

By the way, those piles of bibs in the photo are for my first wholesale orders. They're now making their way to Found My Way in Invercargill and Rockabye Baby in Ashburton. I've added a stockists list over on the right hand side there ---> and I'll hopefully add more shops to it in the coming few months.

Happy Monday

I enjoyed the fabric fair on Saturday - the whole stash up there set me back about $20. Looking at the picture, my inner magpie was obviously drawn to stripes, spots, ric-rac and blue and green that day. Most of the cotton pieces are over 1 metre and a couple of them are over 2 metres. I really like the white and red floral - a skirt for next summer perhaps?

Despite my big crafting plans for the school holidays, I've not managed to achieve much in the first week. I caught a nasty head cold last week (just after I'd gotten over the last one), and I didn't feel like doing a whole lot of anything for a few days. I've also been working on a couple of wholesale orders of bibs and tshirts for some shops in the South Island (exciting - somehow selling in shops seems much more glamorous than selling online!), so my personal crafting has been put on hold.

I have managed to fulfill one of my aims for the holidays though - running every day. I'm planning to run a 10km event in June and am way out of practice. The holidays seemed like a good time to kickstart my training. I really questioned my sanity this morning though, when I was out running in the rain, in a strong southerly...