After I had cut into the pattern I realized that I had accidentally bought a pattern smaller then what was suggested for my measurements. As I read more of the pattern directions I discovered that there is actually 6″ of ease on the coat which means that the garment has a fit that is an extra 6″ larger than your measurements. This happy mistake ended up being a coat that fits me just right with out being too large. I also took in the sleeves about 4″ because I didn’t want the hem too flared at the cuff:

So, without further ado, I’m releasing the first batch of my I (heart) to Knit Totes, which are now available in three colours and for sale on Etsy! OMG, finally!

These totes have been made to help keep knitters organized and cute as a button! They have a variety of inside pockets to keep all your notions, patterns + yarn organized, and there’s loops to feed your yarn through so it doesn’t get tangled. They’re perfect for knitting at home or on the go, I’ve been using one for months and it’s like a little knitting buddy!

These are so fun to make and decorate!

I wonder if I could do something that combines these two?

I’m sure everyone remembers last week’s heatwave, when we were in Philly, the temperature reached 110 degrees! We spent a whole day on South St., and we almost sweat our bums off — I can’t ever remember being sooo hot.

I accomplished everything I wanted to do in Pennesylvania, including eating at Dalessandro’s, known as one of “Philly’s best Cheese Steaks”, and I have to agree that they make one killer hoagie!

I visited more knitting shops than I can count, but didn’t really find what I was looking for. I did get “both”:http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1931543771/ref=nosim/karissacove-20 “volumes”:http://amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1931543895/ref=nosim/karissacove-20 of Vogue’s Stitchionary though. Really, the whole trip had so much shopping that I can honestly say “I’ve shopped till I dropped”!

For more photos and Penn/Philly details “check out my Flickr account”:http://www.flickr.com/photos/karissa/sets/72157594224517455/!

I’m really looking forward to trying Philadephia specialties, like Philly Cheese Steaks, Tasty Kakes and baked pretzels, but the one thing I’m most excited about is is hitting up as many yarn/craft stores as possible. I spent some time this week rooting through the “Craftster forums”:http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?www for places to go, and I think I’ve got “a”:http://www.tangledwebb.com/home.html “few”:http://www.buffaloexchange.com “places”:http://www.fabricrow.com/ “picked”:http://www.southstreet.com/ “out”:http://www.artstarphilly.com/index.shtml. If you have any other Pennsylvanian suggestions, please let me know!

I hope everyone else has as much fun this week as I do! See you in 7!

“It’s up for sale on my Etsy shop”:http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=330443, along with a “few more Easily Bruised handbags”:http://www.etsy.com/view_item.php?listing_id=330493, so go on over and take a better look!

I’ve put two slouchers on Etsy, take a look:

I hope you’re doing like me and enjoying the summer, I’ve been out all over the place, even though it’s completely scorching!

I’d like to be getting more done, but it’s fun to just appreciate the days for what they are once and a while.

It’s quick and easy to make (and multiply for larger amounts), and everyone always loves it. Here’s the recipe.

Salad Ingredients:

1 bag precut coleslaw
1 package Oriental Mr.Noodle
2 tsp white sugar
1 bunch green onions
1/2 Cup dry roasted slivered almonds
1/2 Cup unsalted sunflower seeds

Dressing Ingredients:

Mr. Noodle Seasoning
4 TBSP sugar
4 TBSP white vinegar
1/2 Cup Oil

In a large bowl, sprinkle 2 tsp of sugar over cabbage and mix. Wisk all of dressing ingredients until sugar dissolves. Pour over salad and mix. Top with dry roasted slivered almonds, sunflower seeds, chopped green onion and crunched noodles.

I’ve heard of lots of different variations: Chicken, Mandarin Oranges, Sesame Seeds, Chives, so don’t be afraid to experiment!

Building the rest of the site has been really up and down, my new shop was almost totally finished when we hit an serious issue with the shopping cart software. It was a total bummer, and we had to make the tough decision to switch to something more flexible. That’s been the major delay, really, it was a lot of time spent on something we can’t even use.

So we decided to put up this minor update, Kevin’s all gungho about adding onto it bit by bit, and I think it’s kinda cute so why not?

I always feel so weird writing about my site.

*The Killer S’more*
Ingredients:

* 2 Graham Crackers
* 7 Chocolate Chips
* 1 Large Marshmellow

Place all seven chocolate chips and the marshmellow between the two graham crackers. Microwave on high for 35 seconds. Press together.

Now run before it eats you!