And Another One Down...

Chain the width + 2-ish

...an "unplanned" project was completed today. Yay! Love the almost-instant gratification, though I've been thinking about this a lot for the past few weeks. For my outside yoga class, I thought I'd grab the tingsha (chimes). I was using a chime with a wooden base, and I didn't like to do that because sometimes the grass was still a little dewy - and besides - those chimes were a little too soft for outside. 

Remarkably, inside, the tingsha sound kind of harsh, and "clangy" - too sharp. Students actually said they felt "startled" when I used them inside - and I would mainly use them to "call to attention" when we had a workshop - that's the kind of tone they have. But outside? They ring. Beautifully. Go figure. So I stuck them in my bag. But I didn't want to just haul them around, and didn't want to keep wrapping them in a microfiber towel, because I knew one of these days, I'd yank the towel out to wipe off my glasses or something, and the chimes would go flying. 

So I'd been thinking about what I wanted to do to house the tingsha so that they would be padded and easy to carry. 

Today it hit me. I keep an "oddments" bag of yarn that's leftover - not enough for a big project, but perhaps a little something. Like a mala bag or - hey - a tingsha bag! I grabbed some variegated blue 100% wool and a crochet hook. Normally, I prefer to knit, but I'm a fairly wicked-fast crocheter, so I chose that because I wanted the project done quickly. 

Two part construction with center sleeve pad

Well, I exceeded my own speed... I started this after I came back from my 10 a.m. class. It being Labor Day weekend, it was an odds-on chance either a dozen people would show up, or nobody would. Nobody did. Oh well. It's a risk you take as a business owner. And I'm only 8 minutes away. Anyway, I finished this tonight at about 6:30 p.m. 

As you can see here, it's a long rectangle with a smaller square in the middle. I attached the middle square separately. Then, I fiddled with a flap, and a button. I seamed the whole thing up the sides, and sewed on the button. 

Seam 3 layers together

The tingsha fit in the sleeves, and the cord hangs out the one side. I sewed up the sides; I could've made this fancier by doing a crochet picot edge, but I didn't really want to get that jazzy. 

This yarn is something I've used for a hat - a regular beanie-kind of hat; and I have enough left so that I could technically do a mat sling or a felted bag. I got this on clearance, and I thought at first I'd be doing a felted clutch of some sort or perhaps a hat that I'd felt, kind of like a psychedelic fedora. I used what was left over from the hat for a cup cozy... It's 100% wool - wears like iron!

All in all, this took me about 4 hours to do. I took breaks for my hands and to eat dinner, and I also puddled around with a few other tasks. But in essence: 4 hours, start to finish. 

Finished!

It's single crochet. You can do one for yourself easily: measure your tingsha, and chain that amount plus 1 or 2 more. Single crochet a square that looks like a "coaster" for the tingsha. That's the center sleeve. 

Then crochet a longer rectangle - the size will be whatever folds over to be about 2 rows longer than the tingsha. Try to make it an even number of rows - so I had 36 rows before I started the flap. 

At Row 18, I placed the "coaster" inside sleeve, and sewed it in there. 

I marked where the top of the envelope would be, then crocheted 10 more rows. 

There were 16 stitches in my chain, so at stitch #8, I chained 8, then proceeded to stitch #9 and completed my row. That gave me a loop for the button. 


Seam up the sides, stick the chimes in. Button it up. And when you toss it to your Hubby for him to look at, warn him, "It's heavy!" and then remind him when he fails to catch it and it whomps on his tummy! 

I suppose I could put the chimes in with the flat sides facing out - it would be less lumpy. But as an instrument, I feel like the striking sides should face the padded center, and not face out. I don't want them to dent or chip. 

I have a beautiful "singing bowl" in my studio, except, because it was dropped, it won't "sing." They don't sing when they're dented. I use it to end the class, so I can still get a lovely tone with the striker, but I can't get anything else out of it. So I want to protect the edges of these chimes. They're ready for next week's class! Now, all I need are students!

Busy Week...

I baked Thursday night for Friday morning. Scones. I made a simple scone recipe, and added breakfast sausage, Italian Seasoning, black pepper and Asiago cheese. 


I have to say it was a tad sweet. Even though the recipe suggested breakfast sausage and sharp cheddar - there was 1/4 c. of sugar in the dough. That was a bit much. I have to figure out how to change that (or find another recipe for the savory ones!) because the sweetness would be phenomenal with fruit or nuts - but with sausage and cheese, it was a little disconcerting. 

The folks at work liked them, so there you go. I liked the speed at which they went together - I mean, I can totally see making these before church for coffee hour. So it's an option when the weather gets cooler. 

These were made with biscuit cutters; I didn't do the traditional triangles, though I can do those. Maybe I can do a lemon one? That sounds like a good idea!

Speaking of Cooking...

Tonight for dinner, Hubby was making chicken breast. That gets in my braces and messes with the wires, no matter how much I chop it up. And after a point, it gets ridiculous - like I'm eating mush... 

So I thought I'd re-create a pasta salad that I did for my mom's 80th birthday. Instead of the feta cheese, I used a "brick" of frozen chopped spinach, and added kidney beans for a kick of protein. I did add some sharp Italian cheese, after it all cooled off because I didn't want a melty cheese thing going on with a chilled salad. 

I made an oil & vinegar dressing, added some salt and pepper, and a little Mrs. Dash. If you were to make this strictly vegan, you wouldn't use the cheese tortellini or the cheese. You'd use some sort of vegan pasta. 

This is technically vegetarian. The oil & vinegar I used was the stuff I bought last year from J. Olive in Oxford, MS with Kid #2. 

I used a can of Lindsay olives (green) - if you can find them, try them! They're very nice and "buttery" tasting. 

I thought it wasn't as good as I was imagining it would be, but perhaps it's because I didn't let it cool enough. Maybe tomorrow it'll taste better. Sometimes it needs to sit a while so everything melds together more completely.

The O & V flavors were gremolata and a white balsamic with apple notes. Maybe that's the issue. The "fruity" combo may be throwing me off.

For some reason, I'm unable to find my nutmegs. I'd have used that for the spinach. I always like to add a hint of nutmeg to spinach, and I have a grater. Just lost my nuts... 

First World Complaint...

So this afternoon, I ran out to the local Jewel. I brought two bags; one of them was a "thermal" bag that I use for stuff that's chilled. The other was a plain bag. I organized my stuff on the conveyor and told the checker, "I have bags, and I've set aside the cold stuff. Please put that stuff in the black one."

The bagger begins to bag. Putting the soup cans and curry packets in the black thermal bag. I stopped him, and said, "Please put the chilled stuff in that bag." He gave me a little side-eye and then repacked it. 

Look at the photo. See the purple thing, right and center-ish? That's the top of bananas. At the BOTTOM of the bag. Under 4 boxes of soup, 2 jugs of yogurt and 3 packets of curry. 

Seriously, I do know there are larger things happening in this world. More important than my potentially squashed bananas. And I probably should have been paying more attention. 

Or should I have been? I mean, it's a job. Notice what's going on and do it correctly. It's just as important to pay attention to bagging groceries as it is to do anything else well. 

Hubby can bag groceries like a puzzle he's putting together. I'm good, but not that good. But good enough to know that bananas don't go at the bottom of a bag, and cold stuff goes in the chill bag. 

Tasks Accomplished...

I thought I'd lost my knitting notebook with all the notes on the plain vanilla sock. I'm just about 1" from the heel flap, so I needed the notes! Hubby found it on the table, which is where I thought it was - quite frankly, I was just too tired last night to dig up the table. Thankfully, I can now continue my sock. 

I made a task list for the weekend, and I'm part of the way through it. I love crossing things off! It's a good feeling to check it off or scratch it off. I thought at first I was going to whiz through the whole list, but then I thought: Why? Take your time. 

I unexpectedly sold 2 tickets to a fundraiser which I thought would remain unsold! Yay! My friend G had indicated that she was "interested" in the event, which was on FB. I posted a note and asked her if she wanted tickets, and she said yes. Which is nice. I won't be attending the event because I'm teaching, but Hubby will go - to keep her hubby company! It's a nice event - a "tasting" of various restaurants from the community. I told Hubby to be sure to visit the potica lady and give me feedback. I'll have to remind him to keep his opinion to himself that evening; as you know, potica is a personal thing...Maybe I'd better tell him to skip that one.

I washed Tippi's bandanas and hung them up to dry. Have to iron them next, but that means cleaning off the ironing board...

I also emptied out and cleaned my oil spray bottles. These were bottles where either the spray mix didn't go over well, it was nearly empty or I just needed to re-do the mixture. I'm using the small ones for my "Oils and Dogs" class. They'll be door prizes: "Handsome Hound" spray and "Pretty Pooch" perfume! When you mix these up, you use the oils you wish to use, distilled water and you add a few drops of witch hazel (this is something I learned recently) - that keeps the nozzle from clogging up. 

I sent two get-well cards to yoga students. 

I emailed payroll to the studio teachers. 

I tried to re-pot an orchid, only to realize that it was dead... So I have a pot - just need a plant. I'll get one at Menard's or maybe risk another trip to the Jewel... I know there's a huge orchid place up north, but I don't want to drive up there. I'm not that big of an orchid person. The other one I have, from a friend, is repotted also and doing well at home, so I don't want to take it to the studio. I hope it re-blooms, and it just might! 

I have a few more things on my list. Kid #2 took some of his stuff out of the house to move to his new place, so I can start on the "office" (a/k/a Pit of Despair)... I'll probably do that on Monday, since it's supposed to storm. 

I also have Tuesday off, so I have a chance to kind of relax. It's a therapy day for Tippi, so it was rather important that I get her bandanas spiffed up for her. I'll have to see if she fits into her pumpkin one - she's a little stockier than she was when I made that one for her. 

Random Picture...

Today, while I waited at The Fields, I noticed the shape of the flower buds on the hostas. The place is awash with them, and I only now noticed the star-like shape of the budding flowers. 

The hostas are in various stages of bloom, and I was able to sit quietly for about 6 or 7 minutes and just observe. I was using a mudra (hand position) and was able to close my eyes and just listen. Feel the warmth of the sun, the slight breeze, hear the sounds that were just "there" - birds, cicadas, the odd truck passing down the road, the voices of customers buying plants... 

Lucky for me, it was a beautiful day, even though it was barely 70 degrees outside. I got to walk past the fountains and day-dream about what I wanted my garden to look like. I eyeballed the large pots they have on display and wondered what I'd do with something like that (mostly, per my student "D" -- you fill it with some sort of support and plunk a potted plant in it -- that way you can bring the pot inside during the winter so it won't crack). 

It seemed like a stroke of good luck to be able to sit and be still. I don't do that often enough, even though I preach it at every class. Perhaps the teacher needs to heed her own teachings.