I’m super excited about this weekend’s Renegade Holiday Sale in Chicago and I hope I’ll get to meet at least a few of you that live in the area! You can find me at Booth #80 on the first floor. I’ll be selling loads of zines! Singles of all all the back issues + box sets, minizines, the issue that’s coming out tomorrow (an early winter late fall edition), plus the new holiday issue that won’t even be out online until late next week! There may even be some kits and greeting cards in the mix.

It’s comical the stacks of paper I’ve been surrounded in this past month. We have a little assembly line zine factory set up in the basement, which equals myself and thankfully Jason too!

And more good news! I have a new printer so from now on all covers of the zine will be in color! And the quality of the printing is reliably superb! Exciting things are on the horizon for this month and beyond!

::Event Details::

The 6th Annual Renegade Craft Fair Holiday Market in Chicago will be held December 3 + 4, 2011, from 11am – 6pm, at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse! Always free-to-attend and featuring over 150 of today’s best makers of handmade goods, our cozy holiday shopping spectacular will also feature hands-on crafting activities and food from some of our favorite local eateries! Warm wintertime libations will also be available!

At the Renegade Craft Fair you can expect to find only the best indie-craft and DIY artisans! Featuring both local and national talent, shoppers can anticipate a vast array of independently designed jewelry, clothing, paper goods, home + garden goods, posters, artwork, plush objects, bath + body products, and so much more!!

Just about every day Jason asks “so what’s for dinner?” to which I reply: “umm, I’m not sure, let me look it up”. And then I rifle around until I get distracted, and then 2 hours later when it’s about dinner time and I’ve forgotten to take out the chicken to thaw and Jason’s like “what’s for dinner? I’m hungry” and then I’m like “crap”.

Taking the lead from Average Jane Crafter, I’m posting our meal plan from now on to eliminate all of the above synario. I started out with a dry erase board that I had purchased from the $1 bin at target or some such place. It became frustrating pretty quickly because I had to scrub the dry erase marker off with a scotch bright pad – not so “dry” erase-able.

My next idea was to take a cue from my sister and make a dry erase board from an old vintage frame. She did this for my wedding, but with chalk board paint and it worked great. But after snapping the glass in half and reading pretty bad reviews of the paint, opted to go a new route – use what I already had a pile of in the basement.

I just sharpied the days of the week onto this fine chalk board my sister made and I was all set. Here’s how it came together. So easy.

Materials Needed

• Vintage frame with glass
• Chalk board paint
• Brush
• Metallic Sharpie
• Meal plan

Remove the glass from the frame and paint it with 2-3 coats of the chalk board paint. Let it dry thoroughly between coats.

Use a metallic permanent marker to write the days of the week on your board. I do this to save time. When I’m chalking in my meal plan I just wipe it down and write in the recipes.

One of the draw backs of the chalk board vs the dry erase board is that the chalk can be a little frustrating to write with. But, while working on the chalk boards for the wedding, I found that a sewing chalk pencil works great. Or even better, one of those fancy chalk holders that have the small sticks of chalk in them. Until I get my hands on one of those again (it got lost in the post-wedding shuffle), I’ll make do with just sharpening my chalk in a big crayon sharpener, haha. Works well enough.

What does HFLL and EDF and 125 BVSC stand for? Three of my go to recipe resources: High Flavor Low Labor, Every Day Foods, and 125 Best Vegetarian Slow Cooker Recipes.

Of course here’s the part where Gregory discovered the chalk.

And that he could pick it up in his mouth and run off with it.

I’m pretty lazy, so for me, I didn’t want to fuss with writing in the days of the week each week when I could just do it once and be done with it. Plus I like the way the silver looks. All you need to do is “squirt” “squirt”, wipe it down and I’m all set to write in next week’s plan — which I’m still working on.

Happy Crafting and Meal Planning (which is hopefully then followed by cooking)!
Kristin

I made Molly a cat hoodie quite some time ago. Jason and I thought RapCat (checkers’ commercials) was just too ridiculous and therefore, pretty funny. We invented a scenario where RapCat was Molly’s secret lover and it was a long standing, pretty bizarre, joke. We even joked about Molly wearing RapCat’s hoodie, you know, the blue and blue one. We laughed so hard about it…. and then I made one for her and we laughed some more. And the really funny thing is she doesn’t mind wearing it at all!

Now I know that a lot of cats would have serious objections with any kind of hoodie being put on them, even if knit with the most love. So some other ideas for the hoodie – Big Panda Plushies, A willing stout puppy dog (a little pug maybe?), you get the idea.

Directions

Body:
CO 68 sts with CC; join in the round and place marker at beginning of round, being careful not to twist stitches.
Work 2X2 rib (k2, P2) for 5 rows.

Change to MC, St st until piece measures 6 inches from cast on edge.

BO 12 sts – right armhole, k10 – front stitches, BO 12 sts – left armhole, k to marker – back stitches.

Back stitches only:
Row 1: Turn work, purl to BO sts – left armhole (34 sts). Row 2: Turn work, k1, k2tog, knit to last 3 sts, ssk, k1.

Repeat rows 1 & 2 three times total. Break yarn.

Front stitches only:
Rejoin yarn at the front section so you start with a knit row.

St st 8 rows. (there are more rows on the front than the back to accommodate the upturn of the neck on a feline.

Neck:
Knit to end of front stitches; turn, cast on 8 using cable cast on, turn; k back stitches; turn, CO8 using cable cast on, turn; join in the round, k5. Turn, pm, purl 1 round to marker.

Row 1: Turn, k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before marker, k2tog, k1.

Row 2: Turn, purl to marker.

Repeat Rows 1 & 2 six times total — 12 sts decreased (42 sts remaining).

Hood:
Change to CC, repeat rows 1&2 three times — six stitches decreased; 36 sts total.
K12, pm, k12, pm, k12, turn. — Place Markers used are the same as placed in the neck section.

Row 1: Purl to one stitch before marker, m1, p1, sl marker; purl to marker, sl marker, p1, m1, purl to end, turn.

Row 2: Knit all, turn.

Repeat rows 1&2 six times total (48 sts).

Purl all one row.

Knit to second marker, remove marker, ssk, k1, turn.

Sl1, purl to marker, remove marker, p2tog, p1, turn.

Row 1: Sl1 purlwise, knit to stitch before gap, ssk (one stitch from each side of the gap), k1, turn.

Row 2: Sl1 purlwise, purl to stitch before gap, p2tog, p1, turn.
Repeat rows 1&2 until all stitches have been worked. The last row you work will not have a k1 or a p1 after the ssk or the p2tog.

Hood Border:
(K2, p2) to end. Pick up and work stitches continuing 2×2 rib along neck line, down one side and up the other, end with a p2, pm and join in the round.

Repeat (k2, p2) to end of round for 2 rounds. BO in pattern. Cut yarn, weave in ends.

Legs:
Switch to dpns if necessary and pick up and knit 34 in CC color around one leg hole, pm, join in the round.

Knit 13 rounds.

Decrease 10 sts evenly by k2tog.

Knit 6 rounds.

Change to MC, (k2, p2) to end of round, repeat for 4 more rounds, BO all stitches in pattern.

Repeat for second Leg. Weave in all ends and slip on your kitty.

I think Miss Molly will enjoy it this win- ter for running outside (we walk with her outside in the morning, it’s too cold in the winter and she gets all stir crazy). Maybe some kitty booties will be in the near future too!

That’s right, I’m showing you a picture of how my fabric should look. It’s so bad I’m not even going to show you the current chaos. Think of the worst your stash has ever looked. Then imagine your whole house looking that way. That’s how it was after the wedding.

Whoops. I think my studio exploded. Or at least that’s the way it looks. If you’ve been hanging in there with my random postings over the last 18 months, you may remember posts about my “craft supply room” aka the tile room and how I’d been making progress getting it cleaned up. Well, when the wedding came around, that little room turned into an exploded pile of everything that needed to be hidden away from upstairs. This included, but is not limited to: a computer desk, tower speakers, piles of wedding craft stuff, ames c.art stuff, files, office supplies, random randomness.

I started to have a bit of a panic attack this morning when I turned to face it after getting back from vacation. There was disgust. Anger. Frustration. Sadness. And then inspiration to make it better.

Instead of trying to get the whole thing done in one day, I’ve opted to just do a couple of boxes at a time. I would like to have some kind of sense made out of it by the end of the weekend so I can get cracking on Renegade production. I do need a place to assemble all those zines after all.

I surprised myself how much I was able to get done in just one hour. I thought I would maybe get through one box of stuff. Instead I made it through about a dozen. Quickly sorting into piles:

• Trash
• Other part of the house
• Art and Craft supplies
• Art and Craft tools
• Ames C.art stuff
• Office stuff
• To be filed
• To be donated

So far trash has been the largest pile. It’s weird how boxes, papers, packaging from purchased stuff just piles up.

While I don’t expect it to be Martha Stewart level of ocd crafty closet bliss, I do now think it will be a usable organized space by next Monday, which is very promising.

How’s your holiday crafting prep coming? Are you getting organized so you have a bit of space to work in?

Happy Crafting!
Kristin Roach

Thrift Kitchen
Each Thursday I post about ways to be thrifty in the kitchen. To me, it isn’t just about being cheap, it’s about living creatively!

The ArtVend, our Wedding, and vacation have all conspired to bring my excellent meal making and budgeting to a screeching halt. We have been eating out so much. SO much. I’m embarrassed to admit it. Me, the thrifty lady who can cook up a storm.

Everyone has their own way of viewing cooking for your loved ones – some like to, some don’t. For me though, especially because I make so much less than Jason, I feel it’s my job to cook us good food and save us money by doing so. It’s kind of like reverse income. Part of my “income” is how much I can save for us by doing things like cooking, cleaning, gardening, crafting, etc.

Warm fuzzy feelings about loving my family by feeding them well aside, we save money in two ways: actual money saved because we aren’t spending as much to feed us (not super coupon crazy here either, just cooking at home vs eating out) and also money saved on doctor visits because every meal is like a multivitamin.

So after what feels like 18 months straight of not cooking nearly as much as I should, I’m getting right down to it. I’m ready to cook! I’m beyond sick of eating out, no matter how delicious the food.

When I got home from Texas I immediately cleaned out the fridge and went grocery shopping. I took a cue from Average Jane Crafter and posted my meal plan in a public place so Jason could see what we are having for dinner any time for the next week. For me, shopping on Thursday and Monday works well, so my meal plan goes Friday to Sunday and then Monday to Thursday. I like to make room for a veggie/fruit restock before the weekend.

Then I looked at our weekly trends. Jason works out at 5:30 each day, so dinner at 7:15 would be ideal. Lunch at 1pm stepping it back. Then snacks around 11am and 3pm. Breakfast at 8:30 before we start work.

I usually have a meeting or ames c.art group 1t 7pm on Wednesday, so our big meal will be at lunch that day vs dinner. I’ll cue him in on our posted plan which meal I’m cooking and which meal is leftovers.

Rachel and I had a great conversation about easing our way back into cooking on a daily basis, how at first, healthy fixins come second to just getting cookin’. Just make it a habit first, then worry about getting lean and lots of green – though a serving of veggies with every meal is highly recommended.

And that being the case I’m going to spend this week cooking all our favorite least complicated meals. Oh and I really want to try and cook one big meal a day, so anything we don’t eat the next day is going to get packed up in freezer bags for meals later. I’m sure some time over the next 6 months I’ll get into a not wanting to cook funk, so I want to bank this inspired cooking phase for later too!

Here’s what I’m cooking this week:

• Sauerkraut, Sausage, and Potatoes (recipe post here)
• Caesar Salad and Salmon with brown rice
• Tacos with beans and rice on the side (the zatteran’s spanish rice mix is king!) (taco mix recipe here)
• Stir-fried chicken with broccoli and brown rice
• Caesar Salad and spaghetti with meat balls
• Burrito Bowls (link to post)

And then we get to eat out or in once a week. Usually Friday night.

Happy Cooking!
Kristi Roach