diy chalk bag

So, this DIY probably won't appeal to most of you, but I wanted to share this project for my climbing readers out there!  Back when we first started climbing we were renting gear, but as we realized that we were wanting to start climbing consistently, renting all the time didn't make financial sense.  We invested in our own climbing shoes, but chalk bags seemed like an easy DIY, especially since they range from $15- $35... and I'm cheap.  I went to Joanne's Fabric, got everything I needed to make one for Dan and one for me and then I whipped one up.  And then I didn't make the second one until last Thursday. Since the first one was made without thinking about doing a DIY post I didn't have any photos or anything, but this time I made sure to grab some images while I was working.  

This DIY does require a sewing machine, but it's pretty simple sewing.  You'll need:

Fabric for the exterior (I used leftover canvas from some of Dan's old pants for his bag and the sturdier fabric stands up better than my regular fabric, but my bag has lasted 2 years just fine, so any fabric should do.  You probably don't want fabric that is

too

thick, though, because it might get hard to sew.)

Fabric for the interior.  I used polar fleece.

Thread

Cord, for the cinch (this is optional)

Large Eyelets, for the cinch (also, optional)

You can use a pre-made belt, or make your own with nylon tape and a snap

1. Cut a circle for the bottom of the bag lining.  Mine was about 5 inches in diameter.  Cut a rectangle for the sides of the lining.  Make sure it is a bit longer than the circumference of the circle you cut, and about 10 inches tall.

2. Fold over about 1.5-2 inches and sew two stitches to create a tunnel for the cinch cord.

3. Sew the bottom on to the sides to create a cylinder, making sure that the inside of the cylinder is the finished side (this is the side you'll see).

4. Repeat step 1, this time with the exterior fabric.

5. Sew the sides of your cylinder on to the bottom, like you did for the lining.  Make sure that your finished side has the right side of your fabric showing.  Turn the cylinder inside out.

6. If you're putting a cinch cord in, cut two small holes by the seam in both your lining (in the path you made for the cord) and your exterior, on either side of the seam.  Place your eyelets in the holes in the exterior.

7. Put the cord in the lining, through the path you sewed, and then put the lining inside the exterior, making sure they're both fit together tightly in the bottom.  Pull the cinch cords out of the eyelets in the exterior.  

8.  To make the loops for your belt to go through, cut two long rectangles and then fold the edges over and stitch the edges down to make them look finished and nice. The length depends on how wide your belt is, but make it a bit longer than you need, to allow for them to be sewed in.

9. Almost done! To finish everything up fold the top edge of the exterior fabric in between the lining and exterior and pin down.  Make sure to place your belt loops on either side of the vertical seam.  Sew the top seam and you're done!

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i'd rather be short // a delightful giveaway

Back in August when I was at Texas Style Council, I went to a workshop led by Becky about going from blog author to book author.  I loved hearing about Becky's journey from creating a little illustration series on her blog, to transforming it into a whole illustrated book, so I'm really excited to be able to share her little book, published and all!  As a short person myself (I hit 5'2" on a tall day), I loved all of Becky's little illustrations of situations that are all too familiar to me.  It's awesome to have a little manifesto for us shorties, and to be able to share the short-person pride!  You don't have to be short to love the book, though I'm sure it helps!

 


Today I've partnered up with Becky to give away one copy of I'd Rather Be Short: 100 Reasons Why It's Great to be Small to a lucky winner! You can also check out Becky's website, Chipper Things, for more awesomeness from her.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

blacklight bouldering

Last Saturday I competed in the Blacklight Bouldering Comp held at my climbing gym.  I'd heard about it for a couple years, but never felt like I was good enough at climbing to compete in anything.  After finally being able to climb some V5 routes, I figured I'd go for it and ended up competing in the Female Advanced division of the comp.  One bonus of being a lady climber?  Not as much competition.  There were only four women in my division and I ended up taking 3rd, winning an awesome Black Diamond day pack!  It was a bit weird climbing in the black light, your depth of field is all wonky, but it was really fun.  The best part is, since the comp was held at my gym, I get to keep working on the routes I wasn't able to finish during the comp!  There was one 630 point route that I was two moves from finishing but couldn't manage to pull it out for the comp.  A few days after the comp I sent it!  Of course, had I sent it during the comp I probably would've taken first, but hey, a few days too late isn't bad.  Plus, it was my first V6, which means I've totally surpassed my goal to send a V5 before I turn 27.  Exciting!  

 

After the comp they turned on the lights and we got to climb around on the routes we weren't able to try during the comp.  You only have 3 hours to climb and accumulate as many points as possible.  So each route has a point value assigned to it and if you climb it without falling, you get those points.  If you do fall, you have four more chances to climb it to get the points, but once you fall 5 times on the same route you can't try it for points any more.  There were a lot of routes that looked like they were fun but I wasn't sure I wanted to waste time trying them during the comp.  Thankfully since they're all still up at the gym for a couple months so I can see how many I can get!
It was fun to step outside my comfort zone and do something I'd never done before.  I don't know if I'll compete in more climbing comps but it was definitely something I'd wanted to do at least once and I'm glad I went for it.  Plus, I love climbers and it seems like one of those cool communities to be a part of.  For a long time we've been kind of on the outskirts of the climbing community, but it'd be neat to be more involved in a community of people I really like.


photos by dan

perfect pumpkin bread

The Bouldering Competition I competed in was the day before the Harvest Celebration at Little Eorthe, so I was pretty focused on preparing to compete and hadn't planned ahead something to bring to the potluck dinner the next afternoon.  Thankfully I had all the ingredients for pumpkin bread and a new recipe to test out from one of my grandma's old church cookbooks.  I was hoping it turned out great because I didn't have time to make a back up, but it ended up perfectly!  Oftentimes I find that breads like pumpkin bread, banana bread, etc end up with a mushy, not-as-cooked center, but this one cooked through completely perfectly and was light and fluffy but still rich and dense.  If you wanted to make this more dessert-y you could add chocolate chips, or even raisins and nuts if you like!  I opted for a plain ol' version with no mix-ins.  I had a slice for breakfast every day this week, perfect for the amazing fall mornings we've been having!

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups flour

3 cups sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

2 cups pumpkin

1 cup oil or butter

4 eggs

2/3 cups water

1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF.  Mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon in a large bowl.  In another bowl, mix pumpkin, eggs, oil/butter, eggs, water and vanilla.

2. Pour wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

3. Pour into two greased + floured loaf pans (or I prefer mine lined with parchment paper instead), and bake for 1 hr, or until done.  Mine needed to be baked a bit longer than 1 hr.  Just bake until, when you poke a toothpick in, it comes out dry.

 

little eorthe

This past Sunday Dan and I went out to our CSA farm, Little Eorthe, for a harvest celebration with all the other CSA shareholders.  There was a potluck style dinner and we all got to tour the farm to see where our food was grown and how everything worked!  I ate so much I thought I was going to explode.  Everyone brought such amazing food!  It was surprisingly nostalgic being on the farm.  Trudging through muck, avoiding piles of animal poop, and being among stacks of hay bales took me back to cleaning stalls, tossing hay into feed bins, and bringing horses in from paddocks back when I used to ride.

It was truly inspiring to visit the farm and see where the produce I've been eating was pulled from the earth.  The hard work that Little Eorthe puts in to produce responsibly farmed food is evident.  It's a modest endeavor, but I'm so so happy that we chose to give our money to Carrie and Ken Little instead of Safeway (though, we do end up at Safeway sometimes).  I wish that we could justify getting a full share next year instead of a half share again, but a half share is almost more than we can handle already.

I took a bunch of photos while we were out there because it was so beautiful, so be prepared for tons of photos.  We got to take home a squash, so I picked out a cinderella pumpkin.  We already had one from our CSA a couple weeks ago, but tis the season for pumpkin things and I have a bunch of pumpkin recipes I'd like to make in the next month.  I really want to make our front porch look fall-festive with our beautiful Little Eorthe pumpkins, but I'm worried they'll get stolen like our other pumpkins.

 

dress/dear creatures :: cardigan/swap :: hat (similar)/courtesy of lulu's jacket (similar)/lulu e. bebe tights/target :: boots/courtesy of vogue footwear :: photos of me by Dan