There’s not much that I envy in this life, but I must say that I have fallen victim to some pretty serious “purse envy” in recent months……

Still being a fairly new knitter, I just didn’t feel capable of making some of the beautiful felted purse designs that many of my knitting friends had made for themselves and others.  Making a really cool felt purse for myself was on my “when I get better at knitting” list.

While at Hobby Lobby one day, I ran across some yarn that just yelled at me from the shelf.  Truly, it said “Make a purse out of ME!“.

I loved the colors and noticed that it was 100% wool, recommended for felting.  I took a deep breath and decided to give it a shot.

I found these little embellishments at JoAnn Fabrics and with a purse handle as well, I raced home to make my purse.

Many of the purses that I’ve “envied” were lined, so I grabbed a yard of this gorgeous paisley to line my felt purse with.

To be honest, I began to knit the purse, but couldn’t seem to free-style what I had in mind.

Then I just decided to crochet a chain and then just keep circling around, making a simple bag.  Towards the top, I combined a few stitches to narrow the opening, but otherwise, it was a very basic stitch and design.

Then for the scary part….I put it in very hot water with a mild yarn soap I purchased.  I’ve been told that it could just be washed, but frankly, I was very concerned about ruining it.

After a few minutes in the hot water, I just rinsed and rung it out and proceeded to put it in the dryer.  It smelled like a big, wet dog.

What seemed like forever went by before that purse finally dried and here’s what I ended up with….

Why does wool felt?  Here’s a great explanation as to why, but I think it was discovered by error, if you know what I mean.

Wool fibers have tiny microscopic scales along their surface. Some types of wool have larger scales than others. The types of wools that are coarser and smoother and have the highest sheen to them (such as Lincoln, Leicester, Wensleydale) have larger scales and reflect more light off their surface leading to the sheen. Finer wools (of which Merino is the main example) have much, much smaller scales and do not reflect light and have a more “matt” look to the surface of the yarn or finished knitting.

When wool fibers are shocked by temperature and rubbing the little scales lift up and as the fibers rub against each other they lock down on nearby fibers and form a tighter and tighter mass and form felt. Felt can be made from “just the fibers” unspun, or as many knitters are discovering, from knit pieces that are felted after knitting.  Source

It was at this point that I threaded a needlepoint needle with yarn and simply sewed on my embellishments.

I must say that I was pretty pleased at this point and decided to be finished with my felted purse.  Simple but classic.

Now to line it.

Once again, I’m free-styling here without a pattern, so I just measured about an inch less on each side and made the lining that way, with the fold.

 I simply cut around my cell phone to make a little pocket for it.  I also made a second identical  pocket on the other side.

I ironed the edges inward about 1/2″ and pinned.

I no sooner than started to sew the pockets in that my sewing machine needle broke.  Isn’t that just how it works when you’re trying to finish something?

Actually, the lining is still laying in the sewing machine, I just haven’t had the time to fool with the needle.

Skip the lining for now.

So, after a few days of enjoying my new (and unlined) purse, I decided that it needed just a bit more “bling”.

After digging around through a few scraps, I found a wonderful yarn and some leftover embellishments from my Christmas hats.

I simply crocheted a chain with the yarn and sewed it on, along with the “curlies” above and whalah!    This is what my purse looks like now.

 I think I’m finished with it now.

Wasn’t that fun?  What made this so enjoyable for me was the fact that it’s so forgiving!  The felting process covers a “multitude of sins”, especially for us beginners!  :)

It is my pleasure to feature a guest post from Carmen Hyde of “Old House Kitchen“.  

I have followed Carmen for quite sometime now and I’m never disappointed!  Carmen is obviously a much better cook than I am and I always learn something new (and often times yummy) from her.  

Enjoy!  Visit “Old House Kitchen”‘s Facebook page and give them a “Like“.

Our family can consume a lot of tortillas!  Of course we love them with tacos and burritos, but my kiddos also love to warm them up, butter them and then sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on them!  Multiply that with seven of our eight kiddos who can eat them (the youngest is a baby, but he’ll be eating lots of tortillas soon, too!) and that equals ginormous amounts of tortillas!  It saves us a lot of money to make our own tortillas than to buy them from the store.  Another bonus is we know what’s in them! I found a recipe online and decided to give it a try.  Follow me as I give it a whirl!

(makes about 24)

5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
5 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/4  cup vegetable shortening
2 cups hot water

Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Cut shortening in with a pastry cutter until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly pour in hot water, stirring to bring mixture together.

Lightly knead dough 35-ish times (until it balls up and is less sticky).  Cover with a kitchen towel and allow dough to rest for an hour.

Roll into two-inch diameter size balls, place on a baking sheet, cover with a towel, and rest another 20 minutes.  When you’re ready to make tortillas heat a griddle to 350 degrees.

One by one, roll out balls of dough until they are very thin.

Throw them individually on the griddle.  Cook about 30 seconds on each side.

Take them off the griddle when the tortillas are still soft, but have a few lightly browned spots on them.  Stack tortillas on a plate and cover with a towel to keep warm (or put them in the oven on a “warm” setting.)  Serve immediately or allow to cool before storing.  To warm them up put wrap in foil and warm in the oven.

A few notes:
*Make sure your water is very hot.  It needs to be hot in order to melt the shortening and blend in.
*You will doubt your dough mixing abilities when you throw the dough out on the counter.  It will ball up just right, don’t worry!
*You will also think you are horrible at making tortillas at first.  You will have some with holes.  A lot even.  Just chalk it up to experience.  You’ll get better at it!  Pinky promise!
*I did an assembly line sort of process.  I got one tortilla rolled out and then on the griddle.  When I rolled another I’d slide the first tortilla down to the end.  Then I’d roll out another and then flip the first tortilla and slide the second tortilla to the middle spot. And so on.
*You will be tempted to eat every single lovely warm tortilla as it comes off the griddle. Resist that temptation!  Eat just one and save the rest for your family!

Carmen is wife to her biggest culinary fan, mother and teacher to 8 perpetually hungry kiddos, blogger, crafter, food columnist for the DeKalb Star newspaper and contributor at Raising Homemakers. Follow along with her in her pre-Civil War farmhouse kitchen and homesteading adventures at OldHouseKitchen.com.

…invite you to link up and share YOUR homesteading adventures!

1.  Write a blog post about what’s happening at your homestead or a post on something you’re learning or an item of interest that will benefit the homesteading community.  Be sure to add the red barn button and link back here so others can join the fun!

2.  Come back here and enter your information in the Linky.  Please be sure to link your actual post (click your title and then copy URL above) and not your home page so those participating later in the week can easily find your post.

3.  If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment and tell us what’s going on at your homestead!

Life is full of those “a-ha” moments.  I had a big one last week.

Photo credit

I had outpatient surgery last week.  No big deal and I’m all healed up now.  Anyway, if you’ve ever had an outpatient procedure, you know that they bring you in a couple of hours early to “prep” you.

During that time, laying on my surgical gurnie in a very attractive hospital gown, I couldn’t help but just….observe.

All around me, the walls were covered with equipment, humming with activity.  Some of the apartatus was standard, others were life-sustaining, yet all of it had one thing in common….they were all attached to an electrical outlet.

Doctors and nurses, busy caring for their patients, buzzed around computer screens to check medical histories, recent medications and care instructions, all dependent upon electricity.

Photo credit

The very light that guides the steps of each patient and employee was electrically-dependent.  Stoves and ovens that cook the food served to employees and patients require 220 volts of power.

Even the mechanical bar that releases you from the hospital’s parking garage is electric.

All of it, every single working thing, other than perhaps the stethoscope, requires electricity.

“So what?” you say?  ”That’s just American life, we like our electricity!”

To be honest, I like my electricity, too.  The convenience of electricity in our homes, offices and hospitals can’t be matched.  There’s just one little issue….

I don’t have any control over it.  Electricity can be taken away from me at any moment without  my consent and I don’t like that.

For something to control a significant amount of my comfort and ability in life, I would prefer to have a bit more control over it.

I suppose that’s why nearly 750,000 Americans today prefer to live off-grid, a number that continues to rise each year.

Some embrace “alternative” methods of obtaining power, others prefer to learn to live without modern conveniences.  Yet even more find a combination of the two ideals can work in their lives and area of the country.

Crave independence from the power grid?  You’re not alone.  Where do you begin?

First, I might suggest that we get honest about our addiction to convenience.  Yes, I called it an “addiction”.  How else would you describe it?

I want light in the room…..flip the switch and I receive instant gratification.

I want to cook….flip the switch.

I want to do laundry…turn on the switch.

I want to be entertained….turn on the switch.

Sounds like an addiction to me, and I’m the first one to admit that I’m addicted as well.  So, here goes…

“Hi, my name is Kelly Morris and I’m addicted to convenience.”

Let the recovery begin.

I would like to give this book away again this week.  It’s a great start to thinking about how life could go on without power.  How to enter?

“Like” us on Facebook for one entry!

Sign up for The Morristribe newsletter for another entry.

Google +1 us for another entry.

Be sure to come back and let me know each thing you did, separate comments if you don’t mind.  The computer counts better that way.  Drawing will be Friday 2/24/12 at 9pm EST.  Good luck!

]]> http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/19/howtolivewithoutelectricity/feed/ 84 http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/17/5-ways-to-improve-urban-and-suburban-soil/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-ways-to-improve-urban-and-suburban-soil http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/17/5-ways-to-improve-urban-and-suburban-soil/#comments Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:33:16 +0000 kmorris http://www.themorristribe.com/?p=6662

After participating in a workshop put on by the extension office and THE Ohio State University last night, I want to bring you a re-cap of what I learned.  The topic was “Dealing With Damaged Suburban Soils“, this is the entire handout that I received by Joe Boggs.

Photo credit

1.  Many times when a suburban neighborhood is being developed, the top soil is harvested and sold, leaving only the subsoil.  Removing this precious natural resource, that takes many, many generations to be re-created (longer than most of us will live!), is a disgrace.  I didn’t know this, but it didn’t surprise me either.  That explains a lot, doesn’t it?

Those of you with really crappy suburban soil can bet that this probably happened in your neighborhood.

What to do?

In these cases, top soil must be re-introduced, no other way around it.

2.  Knowing the history of your land can help diagnose what is wrong – Joe talked about subdivisions that were built on top of what used to be a stone quarry.  Can you imagine trying to grow something there??  Geez.

Asking around of the older folks in the area can reveal the former use of your land.

3.  If your land was previously farm land, that doesn’t mean that it’s as healthy or fertile as it could be – Compaction can be a serious problem for soil, whether caused by heavy farm equipment over the years or especially trucks and heavy machines/cranes used to build.

4.  Aggregation is instrumental in repairing and restoring poor soil (see above illustration).  Putting back composted matter, good bacteria and insects will improve poor top soil.

5.  Soil testing- The best way to know for sure the make-up of your soil is to have a soil test done, especially if you’ve tried to improve your soil without much success.  Call your local extension office for details.

Using native plants and trees bring many benefits to your yard….

Olive Tree

1.  Low maintenance:  Tree and plants that are native have adapted to the local climate’s conditions (for the most part) and result in less overall care.

2.  Save water:  Native plants will usually flourish and typically take care of themselves, saving water.

3.  Maintenance of bird and insect population:  Loss of natural habitat has a tremendous effect on the beneficial birds and insects that we need in order for our crops to do well.  Using native plants in our landscaping will not only attract birds and insects, but provide a safe habitat for them to thrive.

*****

PlantNative
is a wonderful website that will help you determine what YOUR native plants are!

Check it out!

]]> http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/16/3-great-reasons-to-invest-in-native-plants-and-trees/feed/ 3 http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/14/enter-to-win-how-to-live-without-electricity-and-like-it/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=enter-to-win-how-to-live-without-electricity-and-like-it http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/14/enter-to-win-how-to-live-without-electricity-and-like-it/#comments Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:04:57 +0000 kmorris http://www.themorristribe.com/?p=6456

Time to give away another book!

How to Win the Book??

Hop over to Facebook and “Like” us!

Already “Like” us??

Click “Google +1” for “The Morristribe”

Drawing will be 2/17 at 9pm EST!

Good Luck!

 There’s a movement that dares to ask the question, “Why Do You need a Front Yard Anyway?“

The American front yard has long defined boundaries and created separation between urban and suburban neighbors.  The yard has also been the pride and joy of many homeowners as they manicure the “weed-free” lawn they have created.

Yet, there is a project known as “Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn” created by Fritz  Haeg, who dares to challenge the entire “front yard” concept.

I am not here to endorse or denounce this organization or creator, nor do I intend to demonize the idea of the “front yard”, rather to bring the question to light and examine it.

It’s an interesting concept, using the front yard to grow our own food.  People in third world countries who visit the US are often fascinated at why Americans “grow” grass rather than food.

There’s a rich history of the “Victory Garden” in this country, typically seen as a necessity of war.  To ease the burden of producing enough food for our soldiers fighting in WWII, civilians took to growing a portion of their own food right at home.

Often, rabbits and chickens were introduced to the urban setting, again out of necessity.  Our grandparents remember these days well.

Yet, somewhere along the line, we lost contact with our food.  ”The Industrial Revolution” took men and women away from the farm and into the cities to work.  As a society, we became more and more comfortable letting someone else create our food, distancing ourselves from farming for “better things”.

Hindsight is always 20/20 and 2012 brings a new generation of Americans who question that reasoning.

I, for one, deeply desire to reconnect with my food.  Being raised on Fruit Loops and Pop Tarts, I grieve over my years spent eating “junk”.  But I didn’t know….many of us, we didn’t know.

Maybe you’ve wondered the same things in your life.  Perhaps unemployment (or under-employment) has caused you to question the “status-quo” and wonder if there could be a better way to sustain yourself and family.

Excellent book!

Get these books from your library and do some reading.  Ask yourself where you fit in.  Find unity with your spouse and create your own “Victory Garden” this year.  This could be the first year of your “Urban Farmer” self!!

Have I got your creative farmer juices flowing???  What are your thoughts?

*****

If you liked this post, please Google +1 and share on Facebook!

A potager is a french term that means “kitchen garden“.  Today, that can translate into what Americans know as urban gardening!

The fact of the matter is this….while many would like to live out in the country and grow food on acres of land, most folks live in urban or suburban areas and will likely stay there.

Does that mean you can’t grow food?  Hush your mouth!

The “potager” garden has been around for centuries.  Growing herbs and a handful of vegetables outside your kitchen door is nearly poetic, as well as extremely practical and healthy!

Further, it’s all the rage right now!  Check your area for “potager gardens” that might be open for tours or call your extension office.

Many potager gardens are bordered with fruit trees that are espaliered (see below) to conform to the space you have!  You can trellis them any way that suits you.

I love this look of burying pots along a border, don’t you think that’s gorgeous?  You could certainly place them closer than this, I think I would.  You could grow herbs in each pot easily!  Tomato and pepper plants would also work well like this!

While you may feel that the space you have in your yard wouldn’t grow enough food for a rabbit, think again.  And, think vertical!  Using gutters or PVC pipes would accomplish your goal of growing a perfect salad, preferably on a south-facing porch or balcony.

“Staging” your plants, which is simply putting the taller ones behind the shorter ones, can make a small corner of your yard functional and beautiful!  Planting carrots, lettuces and radishes, which could be harvested several times in a summer, would be perfect in front.

This courtyard, while small, can grow a lot of food.  Notice how they utilize the door with pots and the walls for taller plants to trellis on.  This is a good use of space.

I love this one!  We are without excuse, aren’t we?  What a creative use of the back of a garage!

Rooftop gardens are becoming commonplace in today’s cities!  The variety of dwarf fruit trees makes growing your own fruit easy on a patio or balcony.  You can sit outside and enjoy the view too!

Try to clear your head of what your backyard looks like with sod and see it as a blank slate.  What would you do?  How much space would you have?

Here is a wonderful layout that is both practical and functional.  Walkways are created and there’s lots of vertical growing here!  You’d be surprised at how many green beans you can grow up a couple of tee pees made from small tree limbs!

These stacked boxes, or stair-step planter, has numerous possibilities!  If your man is handy, imagine how these could be built around your home to make the best use of the space you have!

“Bloom where you’re planted” I like to say.  Don’t wait something that may or may not ever happen, find a way to stoke your creative juices and grow some food this year!

****

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]]> http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/12/the-potager-garden-urban-farming/feed/ 7 http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/12/updated-video-how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent-10-gallons-for-about-3/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=updated-video-how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent-10-gallons-for-about-3 http://www.themorristribe.com/2012/02/12/updated-video-how-to-make-homemade-laundry-detergent-10-gallons-for-about-3/#comments Sun, 12 Feb 2012 20:50:48 +0000 kmorris http://www.themorristribe.com/?p=6574