Naturally Dyed Easter Eggs
I decided to naturally dye some eggs this week in preparation for Easter, and I’m sharing my results in a new YouTube video this morning. To dye these eggs, I used yellow onion skins, red onion skins, purple cabbage and white distilled vinegar. That’s it! Though, full disclosure, I would have included turmeric if I had found any in my pantry.
I used the same method to set up all three dye baths: cover the plant material in water, add a glug of white distilled vinegar to help with a consistent pH, and then bring it up to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes until the water has absorbed the color.
I used uncooked brown eggs from my backyard chickens, but you could easily use store-bought eggs instead. Just be aware that your color results may be brighter than mine if you use white eggs.
I gently spooned my eggs into my boiling dye pots alongside the plant material, and cooked them for 10 minutes until they were hard-boiled. Then, I turned off the heat and let them cool down for 30 minutes or so before fishing them out.
Sidenote: I chose to keep the plant material in the dye baths this time around because I thought it might add some interesting texture to the eggshells, but I would definitely strain it out next time. While it did create texture, it doesn’t look intentional, so I would prefer to just have solid colored eggs.
After removing the eggs, I noticed the eggs dyed in the red and yellow onion skin baths were rich in color while the cabbage-dyed eggs turned a subtle lilac. As the eggs continued to dry, parts of the lilac turned blue, which I thought was interesting.
I could have stopped there and left them as they were, but I decided I wanted to jar them up and let them continue to soak overnight in their respective dye liquid to see if the color would continue to intensify. While both yellow and red onion-dyed eggs did continue to deepen in color beautifully, it was the cabbage-dyed eggs that blew me away. They went from a light, barely-there lilac color to an intense blue. Check out the transformation in my YouTube video below.
Have you tried dyeing eggs naturally? If so, I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments.
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Hand-Dipped Beeswax Candles
This is only my second year making hand-dipped beeswax candles for the holidays, but it is quickly turning into a tradition. One that my daughters enjoy watching and helping me with. And the smell. It’s hard not be happy when you have the sweet scent of honey wafting through the house. This whole project is a really beautiful sensory experience.
A couple tips:
If you don’t don’t have a homemade curtain rod contraption like mine to hang your candles, you can use a drying rack.
Contact your local raw honey source and ask if they have wax available for purchase. Often the prices aren’t as high if you can get in touch with a beekeeper or honey company directly.
While you can clean up wax off your equipment, I find it’s best to have dedicated measuring cups and tools that are used just for making candles so all you have to do is let the wax fully harden before storing it away.
When you get low on wax, make birthday candles! These are especially fun for older kids to make because they get done quick.
Tools/Equipment I used*
Square Braid Cotton Wick #4: https://amzn.to/3nJYSCV
Organic Hemp Wick: https://amzn.to/3cACqpo
Four Pound Pouring Pot: https://amzn.to/3HLQ1Iz
Quart Measuring Cup with Handle: https://amzn.to/3FViDh9
*These are Amazon Links. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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Mini Knit Dish Scrubbies
Like many knitters, cotton dish cloths were among my first real projects as a beginner. I chose the Waffle Knit Dishcloth pattern by Debbie Andruilli to practice my stitches on, and I still use the heck out of those dish cloths even now, though never in my kitchen. Instead, they reside primarily in the bathroom because although I can appreciate a good, full-sized washcloth in the shower, I find all that fabric too cumbersome when trying to scrub dishes in the kitchen sink.
Recently, I pulled out the very last cleaning sponge from a bulk pack, and instead of ordering more, I decided to try something new. I wanted to make dish cloths that could take the place of sponges in terms of size and functionality, but I had to make enough of them that I could grab a fresh one each day or have enough for single use jobs (like cleaning eggs) before tossing them in the wash, and not have to worry about running low at the end of the week before the clean laundry was sorted again.
So I’ve been making these dish cloths en masse, and although they are dead simple to knit, it took a few tries before I landed on my favorite method, so I thought I’d jot down a few notes here in this post to reference for later.
Right now, I’m enjoying making these scrubbies in sets of three, where each set contains a seed stitch, garter stitch and basketweave stitch cloth. I’ve been making a set of three anytime I sit down to watch a show lately, and It’s just enough variety and instant gratification to keep things interesting. Plus, it’s a light, portable project to work on in these summer months, and would make a great gift idea for the holidays or a housewarming present.
Lindsay’s Favorite Mini Knit Dish Scrubbies
Note: I’m using size US9 (5.5mm) needles, but choose your needle based on your gauge preferences.
Hold three strands of worsted weight dish cotton together (I’m using Knit Picks Dishie cotton)
Cast on 12 stitches
Choose which stitch pattern you want to knit, and continue below
For Garter Stitch
Knit 20 rows, or until the cloth reaches your preferred length
Bind off all stitches and weave in ends
For Seed Stitch
Row 1 (Right Side): *Knit 1, purl 1; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2 (Wrong Side): *Purl 1, knit 1; repeat from * to end of row.
Repeat Rows 1-2 until you have complete 14 rows, or until cloth reaches your preferred length
Bind Off all stitches and weave in ends
For Basketweave Stitch
Step One (rows 1-3): *knit 3, purl 3, repeat from * across
Step Two (rows 4-6): *purl 3, knit 3, repeat from * across
Repeat step one and step two one more time until you have twelve rows
Bind Off all stitches and weave in ends
That’s it! Pile them up in a basket near your kitchen sink, or bundle them up to give away as gifts.
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One Thing Leads to Another
If you caught our last video, you’ll know we abruptly decided to have a wood stove installed after going a week without power in February. If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that bad things can and will happen sometimes, often one right after another, and it’s helpful to follow those little inklings that tell us to make sure we’ve got the basics covered in case of emergencies.
So instead of rebuilding our front porch like we originally planned, we decided to redirect our funds and energy toward making this wood stove thing happen, which necessitated a few alterations to our kitchen in order to give our dining room, where the wood stove was going to live, a little more breathing room.
We called around, got quotes, and chose a nice, basic stove (the True North TN20) to heat our 1600 square feet. It’s mobile-home friendly, efficient, and has a nice, flat cooktop with plenty of space for heating up pots of water or soup in case *knock on wood* the power goes out for an extended period of time again.
We scheduled the install for as soon as they could fit us in, which only gave us a couple weeks to work. We wanted to remove the floating cabinets between the kitchen and dining room, switch out our tiny, two-bowl sink with a larger one-bowl model with nicer fixtures, and replace the existing counters with DIY wood counters that wouldn’t have the same bar overhang. This loss of counter width would add roughly 18 inches to the dining room, which doesn’t seem like much, but actually makes quite a big difference overall.
Originally that was all we were going to do, but one thing led to another and another until we found ourselves addressing the entire kitchen.
Thankfully, we were able to wrap up the bulk of the kitchen work in time for the installation, but it still isn’t fully finished. We have more painting to do, more light fixtures to install, a bit more work on the counters, and some detail work here and there, but we are quite happy with how things have shaped up overall. The entire space has brightened, and I feel much more at home and inspired to cook now.
As for the wood stove, we couldn’t be happier with it. And the weather was cool enough for most of March and April that we were able to use it as our primary heat source for several weeks. Would you like to take a peek at all the changes we made to our kitchen? Watch it all happen in our latest video below:
Simple Sport/DK Weight Socks
This post contains affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you use these links, at no cost to you. Thank you for your support.
There are so many beautiful sock patterns out there, yet over the past couple years, I find myself repeatedly gravitating toward the method I’m sharing today because they’re simple, quick to make, durable, and most of all they fit my feet well. Every time. Without fail.
So I wanted to share my method for making these here because I’m asked about them often enough that I figured it was time to just go ahead and write a blog post about them. Apologies in advance to those who are newer knitters. If you’re looking for a sock pattern to guide you through the process, this probably isn’t going to be the most helpful of instructions because I’m not a pattern writer and I don’t spell everything out for you, but if you do some research on the basic construction of a sock, this might still be doable.
Another note before we begin: I almost always use US2/2.75mm circular needle for sock knitting rather than DPNs, so I’ll be writing my notes as such. Also, because sock yarn gauge tends to vary, I will often adjust my cast on number by four. So although I wrote the notes below using 52 stitches as the cast on number, I consider it more of a baseline. If the gauge seems light, I’ll cast on 56. If the yarn seems thicker than normal, I’ll go down to 48.
If you make these, I’d love to hear how they worked for you. Also, if you read through my notes and have suggestions or questions for clarity, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.
Simple Sport/DK Sock Notes
Using a US2/2.75mm circular needle and two strands fingering weight sock yarn held together, cast on 52 stitches with the German Twisted Cast On method.
Cuff
Divide the stitches so they are distributed evenly in half between each needle. Join in the round, being careful not to twist the stitches, and work 20 rounds K1, P1 ribbing.
Leg
Knit 30 rows.
Garter Heel Flap
For this next section, work only half (26) of the stitches on the needle flat (back and forth) to create a heel flap. The other half of the stitches will be set aside for now, and will make up the top of the foot.
Knit 26 stitches. Turn your work and knit the same 26 stitches until you reach the beginning. Continue until you have 30 rows and 15 garter ridges, ending on a wrong side.
Turn the Heel
(Right Side) Continuing on just the 26 heel flap stitches, knit until you are 9 stitches away from the end. SSK and then knit one. Turn your work so you’re facing the wrong side, and with yarn in back, slip the first stitch from your left needle onto your right needle. Knit until 9 stitches away from the end and SSK, knit one, and then turn.
(Right Side), With yarn in back, slip the first stitch on your left needle to your right needle. Knit until you are 7 stitches away from the end, SSK to close the gap and then knit one. Turn your work so you’re facing the wrong side, and with yarn in back, slip the first stitch from your left needle onto your right needle. Knit until 7 stitches away from the end and SSK to close the gap, knit one and turn.
(Right Side), With yarn in back, slip the first stitch on your left needle to your right needle. Knit until you are 5 stitches away from the end, SSK to close the gap and then knit one. Turn your work so you’re facing the wrong side, and with yarn in back, slip the first stitch from your left needle onto your right needle. Knit until 5 stitches away from the end and SSK to close the gap, knit one and turn.
(Right Side), With yarn in back, slip the first stitch on your left needle to your right needle. Knit until you are 3 stitches away from the end, SSK to close the gap and then knit one. Turn your work so you’re facing the wrong side, and with yarn in back, slip the first stitch from your left needle onto your right needle. Knit until 3 stitches away from the end and SSK to close the gap, knit one and turn.
At this point, all the heel flap stitches have been worked, and you have now turned the heel.
Pick Up Stitches
With right side facing, knit the heel flap stitches. When you get to the end, begin picking up stitches along the side of the heel. Pick up 16 stitches total.
Knit the 26 stitches that belong to the top of the foot.
Pick up 16 stitches along the other side of the heel flap, and place marker if needed to indicate beginning of round.
Gusset Decreases
Arrange the stitches on your needle so that the picked up stitches and the heel flap stitches are on one needle together (needle 1), and the 26 top of foot stitches are on the other (needle 2).
Continue knitting on needle 1 until 3 stitches remain. K2tog, K1. Knit the top of foot stitches/needle 2. On needle 1 again, K1, SSK and then knit until you reach the beginning of the round.
K1 round.
Continue in this way, decreasing the stitches for the gusset at the beginning and end of needle 1 every other row until the number equals the number of stitches on needle 2 (26).
Foot
Continue knitting in stockinette until you are 1 inch away from where you want your sock to end.
Toe Decreases
Make sure you have an even number of stitches on each needle.
Row one: Needle 1: k1, SSK, knit until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, knit last stitch. Needle 2: k1, SSK, knit until 3 stitches remain, k2tog, knit last stitch.
Row two: knit all stitches.
Repeat rows one and two, decreasing every other row, until you have 12 stitches remaining on each needle. Graft the toe closed with kitchener stitch and weave in ends.
Easily Stored Away Chick Brooder Plans
If you’ve seen our homestead video on the arrival of our new baby chicks, you’ll know that Matt put together an awesome brooder to house them until we can get our second ChickShaw built to transfer them out to pasture. I got some messages from folks asking for more details about our brooder, so my husband kindly wrote up some notes which you will find below.
Before I start, let me point out that this design is very much inspired by this brooder from Lumnah Acres, with a couple changes that work better for our situation. Instead of utilizing the interlocking sides from their design, we chose to connect our sides together using hinges and hasps, which allow the main body of the brooder to fold up on itself for easy storage. This also makes it possible to connect two brooders together to extend the space as the chicks grow. We like this because it gives them a little more time to develop before we put them out with our older birds.
We hope to use this brooder many times in the future, and are pleased with how it folds up and can be stored away without taking up too much space.
Please note, the list below contains some Amazon affiliate links. We could earn from qualifying purchases if the links are used, which helps us continue to be able to make posts and videos and all that fun stuff. Thank you for your support. The products listed can also be found at your local home improvement store.
Chicken Brooder Notes
SUPPLY LIST:
• 1x 3/8” thick 4'x8' Plywood Sheet
• 3x 1"x4"x8’ common board
• 8x 2"x3" zinc utility hinges
• 6x 1.5” zinc hook and eye
• 2’x10’ 1/2” hardware cloth
• 2x 2.5” zinc rotating post safety hasp
• Wood glue
TOOLS:
• Circular saw for cutting the plywood
• Mitre saw for cutting the common board
• Impact driver (fancy electric screwdriver) for the hinges and hardware
• Drill with 3/32” bit for the pilot holes for hooks and eyes
• Stapler and staples
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Start by cutting the plywood sheet into four equal sections of 2’x4’
Measure every two feet along the long part of the plywood and make lines across, then use a circular saw to make the cuts.
Clamp a piece of wood to the plywood 1 1/2” outside the cut line to guide the saw so the blade goes straight down the line. Other saws have narrower or wider guards, so the guide should be adjusted so the saw blade falls directly in the center of the marked line.
2. Install a set of hinges on the 2’ edge of the first board.
Space the hinges 2” from each outside edge to help give the brooder maximum strength while standing. These hinges can either fold completely flat, or when folded the other way stop at a 90 degree angle.
Open them so they stop at a 90 degree angle, and screwed them onto the plywood with the angled side facing the floor.
Snug the angled side right against the wood to use as a guide for where to place the hinge.
3. Mate up the next sheet of plywood to the first along their 2’ sides, with the hinge bridging the gap between.
For this hinge, there should be no gap between boards, and the two pieces together should look like a 2’x8’ sheet with a hinge in the middle.
Screw in the hinges. After screwing them in, you will be able to fold the two pieces at the hinge to make a perfect 2’x4’ stack, with the original piece on bottom and the second piece on top.
4. Install a second set of hinges on the top piece of plywood in the stack.
These hinges are to be installed on the 2’ side opposite of where the last hinges were installed, but in the same way as before: 2” spacing from the outside, with a 90 degree downward side snugged against the board.
5. When mating the third sheet, follow the same procedure as with the first, but allow a 3/8” gap between the two sheets.
This is important because this hinge has to bend an opposite direction from the other hinges to form the box, and the plywood needs space to overlap itself. Once the third sheet was installed I again folded it over into the 2’x4’ stack.
6. Install the third set of hinges on the top board in the stack on the 2’ side opposite the second set.
I used the same methods as the last two sets.
7. When mating the final sheet, snug it up to the third board like when joining the first and second sheets.
After screwing the hinges in, fold this last piece on to make, again, a 2x4’ stack. These are the walls of the brooder.
When set on its side and pulled out, it could make a long, 2’x16’ board, and it should now be able to fold into a 4’ by 4’ box.
8. Make it into a box, then install the hasps to allow it to lock closed.
The hasps I bought fold at a 90 degree angle, so I put the base of the hasp on one sheet and had it fold over to match the post on the other sheet.
I also installed these 2” from the tops and bottoms of the boards to match the hinges.
Be careful to install the hasps first, then mark where the posts would go so the hasps would go over the posts when the box closed.
The hasps can be secured over the posts by anything that will go through the hole in the post. I had some spare screws so I used them. I had a secure 4’x4’x2’ box at this point.
9. To make the lid I made two 25”x50” frames from the 1x4x8’ common boards.
Start by cutting two 50” lengths from two of the boards.
Then cut these in half to make four 25” pieces.
From the remaining pieces of boards and the last whole board, cut four 43” lengths.
To make the first frame, place two 43” pieces inside the two 25” pieces to make a 50” x 25” frame.
Use wood glue to join the pieces, and placed three staples across each joint on both sides of the joint for stability until the wood glue dried (if you don’t want staples, you could use a mending plate, or clamp the pieces in place while the glue dries - I’m cheap and was in a hurry).
I made the second frame identical to the first.
10. Attach the hardware cloth to the underside of each frame.
There is no designated underside, so just choose which is top and bottom
Use staples every few inches to attach it.
I tried both rolling the hardware cloth out ahead of time and unrolling it as I stapled, and I think it was better unrolling it as I stapled - it seemed to keep it from wanting to wander around or warp.
The pieces of hardware cloth were 2'x5' and the frames aren’t that big, so once I had the pieces stapled up, I used a pair of snips to cut off the excess.
11. Join the frames using the last set of hinges.
Place the frames side by side with the hardware cloth down, so that they made a 50”x50” box, then attach the hinges so the joint between the two pieces are exactly in the center.
Once it is attached, you can fold it into a 50”x25” stack.
12. Install hooks and eyes to attach the lid to the box.
I did one hook and latch on the front and one on the back, then two on each side.
First I placed the lid on the box so there was about 1” overlap on each side. Because of the hinges and the thickness of the plywood it wasn’t quite 1”, so I just felt until it was even.
I used a 3/32” drill bit to make pilot holes, and placed the hooks directly in the centers of each piece of wood (the 25” mark for each 50” side, and the 12.5” mark for each 25” side).
Then I drilled a pilot hole in the plywood about 1.5” directly below the holes for the hooks. This was approximate because I mostly just tried to guess where to put the eyes so the hooks would catch in them.
Once this was all done, I could latch all 6 hooks and the lid was secure. I figure we’ll leave one side secure and open the other side to access things.
That's it! It provides 16 square feet of space, which should accommodate a maximum of somewhere between 8-32 chicks until they are ready to go out to the coop. We're going to be raising around 25 chicks, so we'll just watch for when/if it starts to get too cramped and then build another one to split the flock into. For about $90 and around three hours of work, it'd be worth it to have another brooder on hand just in case we need it anyway.
A note from Matt on Plywood: I picked the 3/8' plywood because I thought it would be a good compromise between strength, weight, and price. This plywood bows and flexes a little. It is also too thin for all of the fasteners included with all the hardware I bought, so by the time I was done there were a couple dozen pointy ends of screws sticking into or out of the brooder.. I solved this by using a reciprocating saw with a hacksaw blade to shear off any pointy bits sticking out, but it could also probably be solved by buying enough smaller (3/8-inch) screws to replace the screws in all the hardware. Alternatively, a person could buy thicker plywood, 1/2" or more if they like, and not deal with the pointy problem. Thicker plywood would probably also make a stronger box that is less likely to have sides that bow or flex. My issue with this is that I would like to be able to fold everything into a neat 2'x4' stack, tie it together, and put it up on a shelf. I don't know if I'd be able to lift a unit constructed from a heavier sheet. If you use a heavier sheet of plywood, you will need to expand the gap between the second and third pieces to match the thickness of the plywood sheet. This is discussed in step 5 below. You may also have to buy wider hinges for this joint, as the screw holes on the narrow hinges I used barely fit on the wood when I made the 3/8" gap.
Edited to add: We ended up making a second brooder and combining the two, and it worked out really well until it was time to put the pullets out on pasture.
Watch us build the brooder on our vlog here:
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Simple Beeswax Candles
In our house, I’m the cook. I’m the one that enjoys the meal planning and all the nerdy kitchen things. If I’m on my game, I’ll have dinner ready and on the table by 5:30pm, which is shortly after my husband walks in the door from work. More often than not, however, I’ll have barely put a dent in dinner prep, and can be found collapsed in a heap of children on the couch/bed/floor, just counting down the minutes until my husband can take the kids so I can work unencumbered with my audiobook blasting. Some days are just like that with littles, and that would be fine if even the simplest dinners didn’t feel like utter chaos. Add a picky 4-year-old who only wants to eat carbs, and an infant just starting on solids (hello food explosions) to the mix, and nobody is really having any fun. Or so it was.
A couple months ago, right when the days were getting noticeably shorter and the weather was turning chilly, I noticed a few posts on Instagram popping up about the practice of lighting a candle for dinner. Something about that clicked with me, especially as we were in the thick of daily food struggles, and suddenly I realized what we were missing: consistent daily habits and rituals around dinner, the one meal we eat together as a family.
I’m not sure why we found ourselves in this place. After all, so much of what I envision for our family culture revolves around the table. It’s essentially the first thing you see when you walk in the door, and the central hub of our home. My husband built our table when we first moved to this house in 2012 because we knew it would be important for us to have a good, solid and inviting place for all our eating, playing, project planning and gathering. So not only is it an important part of our family for all sorts of food and non-food reasons, but I cook 95% of our meals from scratch, so I knew I needed to start taking our dinners more seriously. I needed to figure out how to be more intentional about creating the right atmosphere, and how I wanted things to look and feel rather than just going with the flow.
Over time, we are slowly figuring things out and adjusting, and I’m noticing a big difference in my stress levels. I won’t lie and say we aren’t still experiencing some resistance, but it helps to have the habits to fall back on so it feels less overwhelming in those moments. For instance, my husband and 4-year old clean and set the table right when he gets home. They choose a Pandora station to listen to and light the candles while they wait for me to prep and plate the food. We try to encourage politeness at dinner so there’s a sense of calmness and formality, and Matt and I have been taking turns feeding the baby because, truth be told, it’s stressful and messy to feed babies who are brand new to solids (for us anyway), and it’s nice to catch a break to just focus on your own plate now and then.
Anyway, as you can imagine, this ritual of lighting candles with dinner has me going through them quickly. I often enjoy keeping them lit long after the dinner dishes are clean and everything has been tidied, too, because they’re such a cozy boost to the atmosphere. Luckily, I make my own simple soy wax and beeswax candles at home and have been doing so for years. It’s more economical to do it this way, and I tend to make a big batch this time of year anyway so I can give some away as gifts for the holidays.
Whenever I make a batch of candles, I get lots of questions about my process. Honestly, I’m not a candle expert, and I don’t have a bunch of fancy candle making equipment, but I went ahead and filmed myself making a small batch last weekend. I’ll share the video here in this post and on YouTube, and I’ll go ahead and include some tips and resources below if you’re interested in making some yourself.
Tips:
Melt down and reuse any leftover soy or beeswax from old candles.
I like to place a drip or two of wax in the middle of my jar to hold the wick tabs in place. I then further secure them with a clothespin.
I don’t always add essential oils (especially in beeswax candles because I think the wax smells lovely on its own), but I always make sure the melted wax is off the heat before I add them in. You may want to research essential oil flash points to make sure your wax isn’t too hot for the oil. I can’t be bothered, but it might be a good idea nonetheless.
Beeswax melts much slower than soy wax, so I tend to use more robust wicks when I make candles with beeswax.
Please feel free to add any tips you may have about making candles in the comments section.
Candle Supplies:
Some of the links below are Amazon Affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases when you use those links.
Half-Pint Regular Mouth Mason Jars (you can likely find these at any grocery store or feed store)
I also purchase my essential oils from Mountain Rose Herbs here. They are also a good resource for beeswax pastilles when they aren’t out of stock.