Tofu scramble

Our local Super Dollar just started carrying tofu so I bought a box of super firm, cubed the other day.

This morning I thought I'd whip up some breakfast using it. I decided on a Tofu Scramble:

The tofu scramble before I added in the spices. (Photo taken with my iPad)

The finished tofu scramble. (Photo taken with my iPad)

This was a pretty tasty dish. Some things I did differently:
- I didn't use onion powder since fresh onions were in use.
- I used half of the garlic powder because I added some fresh garlic, too. (I love garlic!)
- I added salt and pepper at the end.

How do you use tofu?

Knitting and Crochet HD app

Remember me asking about the Knitting and Crochet iPad app?

Since I now have an iPad, my interest is piqued once again.

I've found it in the app store and took a closer look. It has 4 out of 5 stars, so it seems like it's worth getting. And it's currently $2.99 instead of $4.99.

But I still don't know if it's worth the cost.

Here's what it has:
- 20 patterns,though it doesn't say how many are knitting and how many are crochet and you can't preview all of them before you buy
- fix-it instructions with photos
- Stitch guides and how-tos

At $2.99 I'm tempted to buy it. Twenty patterns and a portable stitch guide sounds like a pretty good deal to me, but if it goes higher or back to $4.99, I don't know if I'd drop the cash.

It would be great if there was a way to upload patterns to take along too. That along with the stitch guide and fix-it tips would make this a very useful tool. Maybe the developer could hook up with pattern companies or sites, like Interweave Knits, Vogue Knitting or Ravelry. That would be pretty cool.

Needing cover suggestions

So I bought an iPad and now I'm looking for a way to keep the screen protected.

I could buy a cover, but I'm thinking I could save money by making one. Plus, I'm sure I could make one much more attractive looking than the ones currently offered through Apple.

Jennifer over at CraftSanity has made a really neat one for her husband. If I were to make it though, I would probably try to figure out a way to add a plastic screen cover.

Other bloggers have great tutorials too: Dixie Mango, One Shabby Chick and Craft Gossip.

I will probably try and make one using fabric I have on hand, though I haven't ruled out making a run to the store. I may have to stop by a fabric store if I plan to make a cover with a plastic window.

What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? Is fleece or cotton material with interfacing sturdy enough or should I opt for upholestry fabric? Color schemes?

The Knit and Crochet Show

The Knit and Crochet Show is coming to the Greensboro, N.C., area in September. Will you be there?

I learned about it from Ravelry friend hartroadhomestead. So, I've emailed Mom and my sis to see if they want to go to the Greensboro show, which is Sept. 23-25.

There's also a show in Minneapolis, Minn., in July. Might want to check that one out if it's closer to you.

The show features vendors of yarns and notions for knitters and crocheters alike.

There's also classes and several special events, like dinners and fashion shows.

I don't think we're going to take in any classes as they're pretty expensive. But we're talking about going at least one day to check out some yarn and other events.

Cost is $10 for one day and $5 for each additional day. That cost isn't too bad. Plus, you can grab a coupon off the event's website here.

You can register for the event here.

Hope to see you there!

Much improved skirt

I spent the largest part of this week in N.C. since I had something to do down there every single morning -- meetings, a doctor visit, you name it.

Since I was going to be there for a while and I had a lot of mending to do, I grabbed a bag and stuffed it with a tank-top, shorts and a couple of skirts that needed fixing.

Thanks to Mom, I was able to complete every single one of those projects! Mostly because she fixed the hole in the collar of the tank top, placed a dart in the shorts so they fit better and forbid me to touch one of the skirts because I managed to mess up the waist band.

The skirt is made from a stretchy knit and, over the course of a day, stretches out so much that I have to tug it up very few minutes. So I needed to take it in. Originally, Mom placed two darts in the back and that took care of that problem.

I also didn't like the rolled hem, so I tried to hem it up. To get the material to lay flat, I knew the side seams needed to be tapered outward. So I did that. Then I wanted to cut off the excess side seam material. Doing that I some how cut off the bias tape binding around the waist, leaving a gaping hole.

Mom rescued the skirt. She took out the darts and sewed up the side. Then she set to work hemming the bottom ... refusing to let me get near the "poor ol' skirt.

While she did that, I got to work on some other projects. The second skirt didn't fit all that well so I left it for my sister-in-law and the last skirt I worked on myself.

The skirt was long and beautiful, but I don't look good in long skirts. It's one Nannie gave to me a few winters ago and I've worn it mostly during the fall and winter with brown boots.

So I decided to cut it off and add lace to the bottom.

I went to put the skirt on last night to take a picture and the zipper broke. Mom got home and found me trying it get the zipper back together. "What did you do now?" she asked. "Why do you go to fix the hem and wind up messing up the waistband?" she teased me.

So we made a run to Hobby Lobby for a brown, 7-inch zipper and this is the result.

I love it!

Win some Crafty Chica books

Corinne Leigh over at Craftovision (formerly of Threadbanger) is hosting a give away with Kathy Cano-Murillo, a.k.a. Crafty Chica.

Cano-Murillo has started writing novels and she and Corinne are giving away two. To win 'em, you have to like Craftovision and Crafty Chica's Facebook pages. You can do that here and here.

To learn more, watch the current Craftovision video:

Progress is slow, but at least there's progress!

Look what I found in the garden this afternoon!

This is the first thing I've pulled from the garden this year. We planted the summer crops late because of the rain we had for a month or more. And now it's so hot, the plants are struggling to hold on.

But this little pea pod gives me hope! I found two more pea pods starting to grow and a couple more blooms on the vine.

So, there's still hope for the spring crops and I'm cheering on the summer crops. :)

Leafy Embroidery

It's finished! I completed the embroidery on my polo-to-tank-top shirt on Friday evening. Not too bad for an old men's polo shirt, huh?

Haa, haaa! I like this picture of me scratching my head.
Chris meant it as a joke, but I think it's one of the best shots he took. :)

I really don't like having my picture taken. Blah!
This is probably the best "normal" shot  Chris took.

What do you think?

You can read more about the changes I did to the top here. I used BurdaStyle's Sadie pattern.

Here's a close-up on the stitching around the collar.

The spot on my neck is actually in the camera. We thought it was the lens, but it's actually on the mirror or something else in the camera. Can't seem to get rid of it.

I used a decorative stitch on my old Singer called "Sephora." What do you think?

You can see where the embroidery hoop was. :)

The embroidery pattern comes from Jenny Hart of Sublime Stitching. I used her "Sublime Stitching: Hundreds of Hip Embroidery Patterns and How-to" book. I love how the embroidery thread matches the collar and sleeve thread!

From Polo-to-Tank Top

My second knit, my first tank-top and my first refashioned item!

My polo-to-tank top

An old polo shirt.

I used BurdaStyle's Sadie pattern and cut up one of Chris' old polo shirts. The top is just a bit snug, but I like it. I can't wait to wear it over and over again!

I had a little trouble with the bias tape binding. The pattern calls for cutting up strip of fabric to use as the binding, which would have been less stiff than the bias tape, but I didn't have enough polo shirt to do that. I don't really mind the stiff binding as I think it gives the shirt and interesting look.

I also didn't like how blind hemming the tape looked. The thread was a lighter green (I didn't have a dark green spool on hand) and I thought it made the collar look tacky.

So, using a stitch called "Sephora" on my old Singer, I decided to do a decorative stitch instead. I like how it turned out. What do you think?

I originally had planned to add flowers or something along the left side of the collar, but the best I could come up with, using what I had, was this:

Too juvenile for a 30-year-old woman, me thinks.

I could have left the top plain; it's all right like that. But, to me, if you're making something, you're able to put your own personal touches on it and make it yours. So why not go all out? I felt the top still needed something, but what?

I flipped through Jenny Hart's "Sublime Stitching" book I picked up last Christmas while visiting my parents. I decided on a border along the bottom front of the shirt like this:

What do you think? I think I'm going to love it!

The embroidery floss matches the Sephora stitching pretty well and makes the top look more interesting. I can't wait to finish!

And it shouldn't take long. I finished the first vine in one evening. I'm using a simple backstitch for the stem and satin stitch (my first attempt at this stitch!) for the leaves.

(Thanks, Mom, for teaching me the basics of embroidery and thanks, Jenny, for this awesome book!)

Squash ideas

So just about this time of year, if you have a garden or have family/friends who do, you're probably inundated with summer squash.

Usually I feel pretty limited in what I can do with all the crooknecks, butterstick and zucchini squashes. I like them sauteed with some butter or olive oil, fried or served as fritters. And, of course, there's the zucchini bread I usually make at least twice during the summer and frittatas that make a good breakfast or dinner feast.

There's also creamed squash or casseroles, though I'm not a big fan of either of those.

I've also created a couple of recipes and posted 'em on this blog. The Late Summer Veggie Soup is good, but the warm Squash-Chard Salad is my favorite! Kale would go well in that recipe, too.

This past week, on a whim, I threw some fresh crookneck squash onto a salad. Wonderful.

I also cooked some squash with garlic and a green onion in an egg scramble and made a breakfast burrito. Awesome!

So, I encourage you to figure out different ways to eat up all that squash besides cutting it up and freezing it for goodness knows how long. It's a good way to get some healthy veggies into your diet!