Today

I was going to post a tutorial on how to make plarn today. For those of you who don't know, plarn is "plastic yarn" made from cut up plastic bags. Unfortunately, I am running out of time today. I have to go to work and I don't have enough time to make the plarn and take pics AND post them. So, that will be a project for another day. Maybe tomorrow between organizing my space and working on things for my etsy I can squeeze in a quick tutorial!
So, here are a few things I may try tomorrow..
underwear
ruffled pillow
fabric birds

I also have to work on my halloween costume. You can find a hint of what I'm going to be HERE. I know you're not going to guess just from this pattern, because I'm only using it as a rough outline for what I'll be doing..

Mom's Mashed Potatoes

Wow! The new blog is starting to feel more like home and less like a new blog! I’ve added some links to the site for your enjoyment! In honor of this homey feeling, I have a very special post for you! Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, or family dinner, my mother always asks us what we (my brother and I) want her to make for dinner. Every time it’s the same two answers…mashed potatoes and potatoes au gratin. So, I’ve decided to share the mashed potatoes recipe with you because they make me feel warm and cuddly on the inside, and I would love for you to have that same feeling! So, here is the recipe! If you do make them, please leave a message on this post and let me know how they turned out! Enjoy!

Ingredients:

Garlic (lots & lots! Mom uses a couple tablespoons of the canned garlic, but I used about 5-8 chopped cloves of fresh garlic…whichever you prefer or have handy!)

Salt (for while the potatoes boil…potatoes absorb the salt in the water they are cooked in…not after you add it. Also a few tablespoons)

Butter (about half a stick)

Heavy whipping cream (not a lot…just a few drops while you’re mashing the potatoes)

Sour cream (about half a 16oz container)

Potatoes (enough to almost fill the pot after they are cut)

Directions:

Wash, peel, and cut the potatoes into small pieces (about 1-2 inches a piece). Put the cut potato pieces in a large pot and put enough water to cover the pieces. Add garlic and salt and boil the potatoes until soft. (Test with a fork to make sure that they are soft).

(washed and cut potatoes...I decided to leave the skins on these ones for a little pop of color and some added nutrients!)

Once potatoes are soft, drain the water (do not rinse) and put the pieces back in the pot. Turn on the heat and stir them over the heat for about a minute or so—no longer or they will burn. This is to dry the remaining water off the potatoes.

Time to mash the potatoes! Add a half a stick of butter cut into small-ish pieces. Using a hand potato masher, start mashing, adding a tiny bit of heavy whipping cream while you mash to soften them up. Once the potatoes are mashed, add about half a 16oz tub of sour cream and stir in. Once you add the sour cream, grab a spoon and dig in! NOM NOM!

Tee Shirt Totes

I had my very first craft show a few weeks ago. It didn't go so well. In fact, I didn't sell anything. But, in the shows defense, it was freezing, windy, and I didn't really have that much product. I had set up what little I did have in my friend's booth, and she didn't do well either. I know it's not the product, it was just the circumstance. It was certainly a learning experience. I know that my product is worth sticking with it. So, here was my process in producing a dozen bags in only a few days.


I started by ironing all my fabric...including the tee shirts....and hung them on hangers (from my chin-up bar).

Next, I matched the lining fabric with the tee material I wanted it to go with, cut up all the pieces, and put THOSE together.



Finally, I sewed all the pieces together and did some minor finishing. They turned out pretty awesome. In a few days, you will see them available in my Etsy store!

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes and Kitty Feeding Frenzy

Last night was a strange night. There was a mood floating around the house that affected myself, my roommate, and our herd of cats. It wasn't a bad mood...just a mood...that made us all crazy. I couldn't stop giggling over the smallest things, and my cat Flow kept zooming around the house banking off walls, furniture, and us. Eventually, we all got hungry. Yes, I was hungry enough to cook something...it only took about 10 minutes in prep work though, so it was easy and I didn't expend a lot of effort. It was well worth it though. Last night I made Vegetarian Sloppy Joes. I used the recipe at this site, but instead of a pound of ground beef, I used Morning Star Farms Recipe Crumbles, and instead of a green pepper, I used a yellow bell pepper. It was delicious.


I started by "browning" the crumbles, onion, and bell pepper...just like you would ground beef. No need to thaw...I just pulled the bag right out of the freezer, put it straight into the skillet, and heated it till it was hot. If you do try this recipe, make sure to stir the crumble often, because they tend to stick to the bottom of the pan. After they were hot, I added the ketchup, brown sugar, garlic powder, and mustard.

Here is the end result. Don't they look FABULOUS?? They were pretty amazing. They tasted like sloppy joes. The only difference between these and joes made from meat was a slight texture thing. But that didn't really bother me. And the cheese is vegetarian as well...I checked the ingredients and there weren't any animal products in it. I must say, pre-packaged vegetarian food has come a LONG way in the last 10 years. I remember my very first experiences with vegetarian cheese or meat products. The cheese tasted like poop (yes, poop..) and "meat" patties were like cardboard in the shape of a burger. Now it's pretty darn amazing.

Ok, enough with my veg-friendly non-rant rant. Back to the subject of my crazy cats. I decided it was a good night to give them a treat (because I'm crazy after all), so I gave them canned food. They love the stuff. I made sure to call them all into the kitchen before I even opened the cans because I secretly get a kick out of their reactions. With five cats, it's hard to hear anything over the meows when they're all excited. Plus, it's hard to move when they're all circling your feet. I didn't think about that part. But in the end, it all worked out and everyone was happy. I was able to snap a photo:


See how Anna has her own dish? (In case you don't know who Anna is, she's the one with her own dish.) She had the same amount on her plate as all the others, so two servings for JUST her. AND she finished first and tried to steal from her neighbor's dish. Which prompted this photo:

We had to lock her in my roommate's room until the other cats were finished. I felt bad, because I'm sure she doesn't remember the treat, just the fact that I picked her up and threw her on the bed while the other cats got a treat....

Welcome!

Welcome to the new and improved Twisted Stitches! This blog is going to be about more than crafts. This blog is about my life (which happens to consist of mainly crafts!). My goal is to share myself with you inside and out. Here, I'll be documenting my day (and I'll try to do it everyday, but no promises that it will be done everyday) with pictures, recipes, and tutorials....not to mention my hopes, dreams, fears, failures, and accomplishments. If you want to look at the old blog (and I don't know why you would, because this blog is SO much better), you can find it here. Thank You for looking! Until next time!