Monday, May 20, 2013

Teo's Tomten Sweater~ 2013

 
 My little buddy Teo is growing so very fast. 
He is just 5 months old, yet is a big boy!
This sweater is a 4T~! Of course he has a lot of room to grow in it.
Yet another sweater by the amazing Elizabeth Zimmerman, this customized Tomten Sweater is perfect for a growing boy. (Ravelry Pattern Link)
    
Yarn is Northampton by Valley Yarns, color is Fawn.
5 st/in. on sz. 7  needles.

The custom button band is inspired by and knit from
the Latte Baby Coat pattern (Ravelry Link) by Lisa Chemery.

I decided to make an icord edge, I love how it cleans up the edges of the garter stitch 
and it completed the woven pattern nicely.

Buttons are from my Gram's button tin.

As he grows, we can move the buttons closer to the left edge, to give him 2 more inches around.
The garter stitch will stretch as he grows, and will give the needed length.

Sleeves are rolled up for now.


Back view~ 

My favorite part of this sweater? The hood!

I love the decreases at the back of the neck and the gnomey peak.



Love to see how this sweater will grow with Teo.
xo
reenie

Sunday, May 19, 2013

Home Laundry Detergent~ UPDATED with notes!


I updated my Homemade Laundry Detergent Post from lat summer.
New notes and photos!
This recipe is cheap, works really well and uses all natural ingredients!
It takes a small amount of time to make and I now store it in the pot I cook it in, 
so no messy transfer time.
Have a great day!
xo
reenie




Saturday, May 18, 2013

Peanut Butter Granola~ Reenie's Recipe

 Here it is... my super, fantastic, deliciously yummarific peanut butter granola recipe!


It goes great on ice cream, yogurt, in milk, or just out of the jar!

Use organic ingredients as much as you can, everything I used was organic but the peanut butter.

Wet Ingredients:
~ 1 cup all natural peanut butter. (The kind with NO sugar or high fructose corn syrup added.)
~ 3/4 cup maple syrup
~ 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses

Dry Ingredients:
~ 5 cups rolled oats
~ 1/2 cup bran or ground flax
~ 1 cup peanuts
~ 1 cup raisins or other dried fruit (optional)... (dried cherries give it a PB&J vibe).
~ 1 cup sliced almonds
~ 1/2 tsp salt
~ 1 TB cinnamon

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
~ Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
~ Mix all of your dry ingredients in a large bowl.
~ Mix all of your wet ingredients in a saucepan. Heat until mixed well.
~ Pour wet over dry and stir until everything is well coated.
~ Bake in the oven for 10 min or more, depending on how crunchy you want your granola. I do mine for 10 min. and when I take it out, it seems too soft, but it hardens up when it cools.
I add any raisins or dried fruits after I bake it, so they don't get hard in the oven.
You can also play with the maple syrup amount, make it more or less sweet to your taste.


My kids go crazy for this. Enjoy!