Blog - Kimberlees Korner

Red Polka Dot Bathing Suit

I recently finished sewing this red polka dot bathing suit. This is one of the many sewing projects I wanted to complete this summer.

The pattern I used to make this bathing suit is a vintage pattern that I bought last summer from an Etsy seller. If you go on Etsy and type in the search “bathing suit pattern” you can find lots of sellers that have patterns. It seems like it is hard to find a pattern in the store these days – I guess it is not popular to sew your own bathing suit anymore. I actually prefer to sew my own bathing suit as I can get the fit the way I want it. I will admit sometimes you have to make the pattern a couple of times before it is exactly how you want it but the result is worth it – a good fit and a bathing suit that will last for several years, most likely.

The pattern was made back in 1973 according to the pattern information. As you can see it was only a dollar back then. I think I paid around $6 or $8 for it on Etsy. I have made version 2, in the right hand corner, three times now. I made one last summer and had to make a few adjustments to it and I made two this summer. I recently finished a turquoise bathing suit in addition to the red polka dot bathing suit.

The fabric I bought for this bathing suit was from Spandex World. I also bought it last year at the end of summer so it was on clearance. The fabric I used for the lining was panty spandex from Sew Sassy. I think it only cost me about $15 to $20 to make this red polka dot bathing suit and that includes the elastic and back closure.

Some tips for sewing your own bathing suit:

Use decent quality swimwear fabric and purchase a little extra in case you need to make another top or bottom with adjustments to your pattern
Be familiar with sewing on stretchy fabrics that have spandex or lycra in them
Line the top and the bottom for best results – you can use swimwear lining or panty spandex
Use a stretch sewing machine needle size 75/11
Use a narrow zigzag stitch for topstitching the elastic as it will stretch more

Places to order supplies for making your own bathing suit:

Spandex World – lots of swimwear fabric at reasonable prices
Etsy – for swimwear fabric and bathing suit patterns, also the back closures
Sew Sassy – good quality elastic that is reasonably priced, plastic back closures, swimwear lining and thin foam cup inserts for the top

What sewing projects have you been working on lately? Let me know in the comments.

– Kimberlee

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Cotton Knit Tunic

It is the beginning of August and very hot here in Texas. Since the weather is warmer I try and knit with lighter yarns that are made of cotton. Knitting with wool or chunky yarn is not very appealing to me when the temperatures get above 90 degrees.

I recently finished this design for a cotton knit tunic. It is knit with a yarn from Hobby Lobby called I Love This Cotton – perfect for lighter weight summer projects.

This cotton knit tunic features a drop stitch pattern in the lower half and a scoop neckline. It can be worn as a tank top or with a shirt underneath as a vest when the weather is cooler.

In the above photo you can see a close up of the scoop neckline design which features a garter stitch edging.

The Hobby Lobby I Love This Cotton yarn works well for this knit tunic pattern. I think other 100% cotton yarns would also work well that are a medium weight. I will probably be knitting another one soon in a cotton and acrylic yarn blend that I have in my stash from Knit Picks yarn company.

The pattern for this knit sweater is available in my etsy shop or on craftsy.

What knitting projects have you finished this summer?

-Kimberlee

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Dashes Knit Sweater

The Dashes Knit Sweater is a knitting pattern I recently designed. This sweater features a textured stitch pattern, short sleeves and a scoop neckline.

The yarn used to knit this sweater is from the Plymouth yarn company. It is called Monte Donegal Hand Dyed yarn. The yarn is a blend of Alpaca, Merino Wool, Acrylic and Rayon. It is not super soft but it is comfortable against the skin and has a nice drape for a sweater. Other cotton or acrylic weight yarns would also work well for this sweater in my opinion – maybe even a Noro yarn.

The sweater is knit with a size US 7 knitting needle. I used circular knitting needles but straight could also be used – although once you get to the sleeve area you may want circular needles to accommodate the larger stitch count.

This sweater is knit in two pieces and then sewn together. If you are familiar with knit and purl stitches, casting on stitches in a project and seaming knit pieces together then you can complete this sweater.

The photo above is a close up view of the stitch pattern. It is easier to see what it looks like on this solid color yarn than the Monte Donegal yarn I knit the sweater with. The pattern is a four row repeat and very easy to follow.

To learn more about the pattern you can visit my Etsy shop. I will also have it available on Craftsy and Ravlery and here on my website.

I am currently designing another short sleeve sweater pattern in a cotton yarn that will be coming soon to my Etsy shop and website.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

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New Workouts For Spring 2017

I have been doing some new workouts for Spring 2017 and wanted to share them on my blog. The workouts are called Classical Stretch, by Miranda Esmonde-White. They are broadcast on many PBS stations but I had never heard of these workouts until a friend from church recently told me about them.

I found out my local library had the book Aging Backwards by Miranda Esmonde-White and I checked it out. The first half of the book is about aging and a lot of information on your muscles and cells and joints and how they age. The book goes into a lot of detail on the Eccentrics, or Classical Stretch, exercise program and how she developed it and why. It explains how and why exercising and doing the right type of full body exercises can make you feel better, prevent injuries and keep us young even in our old age. The second half of the book are the exercises with photos and explanations on how to do them.

After checking the book out I decided to order one of her dvd sets. They are around $65.00 for a set of 4 dvd’s with a complete season of Classical Stretch. I ordered season 10 – Strength and Flexibility. It is one of the more recent seasons. You can go on to the classicalstretch.com website and when you click on store on the left side there are options that you can plug in like your age and fitness level and it will give you suggestions on what workouts are best for your level. The strength and flexibility one came up as one for me so I chose it.

So far I have done about half of the workouts out of the 30 workouts on the dvds. Each workout is approximately 23 minutes long. I really thought they were going to be too easy for me since I workout regularly – like 5 or 6 days a week – using some pretty hard workouts sometimes. But, I have been pleasantly surprised that the workouts are not what I expected. They are easier than my Cathe Friedrich and P90X3 workouts but they seem to work and they are lengthening and strengthening my body – especially my waist and my hips.

I have never done Tai Chi but I believe the exercises are part Tai Chi (as she mentions that the stances are in a couple of the workouts) part stretching, moving yoga and pilates all combined. At least that is how I describe it. I have been using the workouts about 3 days per week and some days I actually do 2 of them since they are shorter than what I normally do – if I do 2 workouts then it is about 46 minutes and I really feel a total body conditioning.

The workouts are all done in bare feet with just your body weight and minimal to no equipment. They are divided into All Standing, All Barre, or All Floor. When you do the All Standing it is just your body weight. If it is a Barre workout you need a chair. The floor workouts it is nice to have an exercise mat and she also uses some risers with a few exercises that look like large yoga blocks but she also says you can use a phone book or an encyclopedia.

I would recommend these workouts to anyone who is looking to get an overall total body workout, improve their posture and get more toned. I think the workout dvd’s I bought are possibly for a more experienced exerciser but I believe there are many others that are suitable for beginners.

So, I have now incorporated Classical Stretch into my weekly workout schedule – at least 3 times per week. The other 2 or 3 days that I workout I am still doing my Cathe workouts doing cardio or weights or a combination of both using her Strong and Sweaty series and Low Impact Series.

What workouts have you recently tried?

Have a great week!

-Kimberlee

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Health Documentaries I Have Recently Watched

Recently I have watched quite a few health documentaries. Good health is important to me and I like to be informed and keep up with the latest info on health.

Here is a list of the health documentaries I have seen – some are available on Netflix and others I checked out from my local library. The library is a great source for books and dvd’s on health and well being, in my opinion.

Hungry For Change – I have seen this before in the past but it was good to review it again
Food Matters
Food Choices
Cowspiracy
Plant Pure Nation
Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue
Carb Loaded – A Culture Dying to Eat
In Defense of Food

The above, Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue I found at my local library. It is about a Texas firefighter, Rip Esselstyn, who eats a plant based diet and he goes to two different families homes to convert their pantries and their eating habits. I found it interesting and a good health documentary for someone looking to convert to better eating habits. He has also written several books based on the Engine 2 Diet. I am on a wait list at the library for his newest book called The Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue Diet. If my library has the book then I like to check it out there first and see if it is something I am interested in buying.

In Defense of Food is the most recent health documentary I have watched. I also found this at the library. This health documentary is a fairly recent release – it says 2015 on the back of the dvd case. I like the philosophy behind this which is “Eat Food – Not Too Much – Mostly Plants” -Michael Pollan. I find the information in this documentary reasonable and an easy to follow plan compared to some of the other health documentaries I have recently viewed.

Overall, these health documentaries all have a common thread – too many people are not eating the right foods and the health of our children and society in general is suffering. If more people focused on eating a plant based diet, avoiding processed foods and excess sugar then there are many conditions and health problems that can be avoided, or even in some cases reversed, according to claims in many of the health documentaries I have recently watched.

One of the reasons I have watched so many of these health documentaries lately is because I have an interest in maintaining good health and teaching my children to be healthy and be conscious of what they eat. Today there are so many food choices and lets face it – a lot of them are just really not that good for you. If I can influence my kids to have some idea of what is a healthy food and what isn’t then I feel like they are more likely to make better choices in the future as they get older.

After watching the Plant Pure Nation documentary on Netflix I found out that there are several cookbooks that go along with the documentary. I found the one above, Plant Pure Kitchen, at Barnes and Noble a couple weeks ago. I have already made a few of the recipes and they are good. (As you can see I have several marked to try with sticky tabs) My kids even like the nacho cheese sauce which is actually made without any cheese or milk and tastes great. There is a page that explains how to build, or make, veggie burgers that is informative and there are a few veggie burger recipes in the book, too. I have been making my own veggie burgers for the last six months and really do not miss beef.

The Get Healthy Go Vegan Cookbook was one I had checked out from the library and liked so I found it at Half Price Books last week and decided to purchase it. There are a lot of good recipes in this book as well and I have tried a few and enjoyed them. They are all plant based and easy to follow.

So, as far as going Vegan – as it seems many of the health documentaries suggest as being the best diet – I am not there yet. I am trying to eat less meat each week and to be honest with you I don’t really miss it. I think going without any type of cheese or dairy is a little harder though. Also, my husband and my three sons are probably not going to be too thrilled if I totally quit cooking meat or buying cheese. It is hard to change habits of others – probably harder than changing your own habits. So for now we are focusing on eating more vegetables, fruits and whole grains and I am sneaking in vegan or vegetarian recipes when I can.

-Kimberlee

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Knitting Projects Using Chunky Yarns

The last couple of months I have created some new knitting projects using chunky yarns. One of the projects is a scarf and the other two are cowls.

The scarf in the photos above was knit with Lion brand yarn – Wool Ease Thick and Quick yarn. It took two skeins to complete this scarf. It works up really fast on large size US 13 knitting needles. I really like the stitch I used to design this scarf as it is reversible – meaning it looks the same on both sides.

The purple cowl above is another knitting project using chunky yarns that I have recently completed. The yarn used for this cowl was from Michael’s. It is their brand of yarn called Country Loom from Loops and Threads. This is a nice yarn for a reasonable price and it knits up quickly. I used a size US 15 to knit this cowl. The cowl is knit in the round using circular knitting needles so there is no seam. This knitting project also took 2 skeins of yarn.

My most recently finished knitting project using a chunky weight yarn is the cape – cowl in the photos above. This design is also knit using the Loops and Threads Country Loom yarn from Michael’s. It is knit using size US 15 and size US 13 circular knitting needles – it is knit in the round. This cowl – cape is knit using a different stitch than the purple cowl and it is slightly wider so it can also be worn as a cape to keep the shoulders and back warm. I love how it turned out with the big large wood flower button at the top.

All of the above designs can be found in my etsy and craftsy shops. I will also be putting them in my ravelry store and on the Love Knitting site. You can click on the highlighted text to take you to those links for my patterns.

What are some of the chunky weight yarns you like to knit or crochet with? Let me know in the comments.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

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One Row Lace Knit Scarf Pattern

This one row lace knit scarf pattern is easy to knit and available free here on my blog. This knit scarf pattern is great for an advanced beginner wanting to learn to knit an easy lace project.

The yarn I used in the photo for this lace knit scarf pattern was Lana Grossa Opera – it is cotton polyamide viscose mix and it has pretty sequins throughout the yarn. Any type of yarn that has a glitter or sequin to it that recommends a size US 8 or 9 needle will work for this pattern. You will need about 200 yards for a scarf that will be approximately 40 inches long by 7 inches wide, unblocked.

If you want your scarf to be longer you can just continue to follow the pattern but you will need extra yarn. I only had 2 skeins of the Opera. I kind of like a shorter scarf especially a lace knit scarf since I usually wear it more as a decorative accessory and not for warmth.

The skills required to complete this lace knit scarf pattern are:

k2tog – knit 2 stitches together
yo – yarn over
p – purl

If you are familiar with those stitches then you will be able to complete this scarf pattern. You can click on the highlighted text to download the pattern:

Easy One Row Lace Knit Scarf Pattern

This scarf is a quick and easy lace knit scarf to complete – great if you need a last minute gift. This is also a nice project for someone who wants to try out some lace stitches.

I hope you enjoy the pattern. For more of my patterns you can visit my etsy, craftsy or ravelry shops. I am always creating new things and adding new patterns to my shops.

Have a great day and Happy Knitting.

-Kimberlee

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Knitted Cat Pillow

This knitted cat pillow is a project I recently finished. The pattern is from Knit Picks and is available on their site here: Mini Kitty Pouf Pillow, The pillow – pouf pattern can be purchased alone as a download or in a kit with the yarn needed to make the actual pillow.

I had a lot of fun knitting this little cat pillow. It is knit using large needles – size US 15 so it knits up very fast. I think it only took me a few days to complete it and this was just knitting an hour or so here and there each day.

The yarn recommended for this knitted cat pillow is from Knit Picks called Big Cozy. Click here: The Big Cozy Yarn to view the yarn.

I just used some yarn I had in my stash since I am trying to use things up lately and not buy more. I used some chunky baby yarn for the cream part and for the gray I used some Alpaca Grande yarn. I think any super bulky or chunky yarn that recommends a size US 15 or even a 13 needle would work for this pattern, in my opinion.

You will also need some fiber fill to stuff the pillow and a small amount of black chunky yarn to embroider the face of the cat. The pillow is knit in the round with circular needles so there is only a minimal amount of sewing, or seaming, to do to create this cat pillow.

Our cat is not too impressed with the new cat pillow I created. My kids think it scares him but I took this photo of him with my phone to prove to them that he will sit by it. The pillow is not really for him it is just a decorative accent. It could also be knitted as a gift for a small child.

For now my knitted cat pillow hangs out in front of our fireplace near my yoga meditation cushion. The meditation cushion is a crochet pattern I designed myself and is available in my etsy shop or on ravelry.

I plan to make another one of these fun knitted cat pillows after I finished a couple of other projects I am currently working on. What are you currently knitting or crocheting?

-Kimberlee

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New Cookbooks for the New Year

I want to share a couple of new cookbooks I recently received. They were both gifts from my oldest son this past Christmas. He usually asks me what books I would like, especially after last Mother’s Day when he bought me two juicing – smoothie books I already owned. I have learned it is best to give him a list of a few and just tell him to pick one or two. This past Christmas he bought me Meat Free Monday and Inspiralize Everything.

I really like both of the cookbooks a lot. I have already tried many of the recipes from the Meat Free Monday book. The idea of this book is to go meat free for one day each week, specifically Monday – even if you are not a vegetarian. This campaign was launched by Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney in 2009.

There is a whole menu for each of the different seasons: Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter with 13 weeks of meat free recipes for each season. The recipes are fairly easy to follow and the book has a lot of really nice photos of the recipes. There is a recipe for breakfast, lunch, sides, snacks, dinner-main course, and a dessert for each week.

So far I have tried these recipes:

Winter Fruit Salad
Lentil, Chickpea, Cheddar and Onion Burgers
Black Eyed Bean Casserole
Apple Cake
Roasted Vegetables and Miso Dressing with Sesame Seeds
Bircher Muesli with Apple

I have only tried one recipe from the Inspiralize Everything book. I have intentions to try a lot more I just haven’t put them in to my weekly menu plans yet. Also, it seems like my husband likes everything I make with the spiralizer but getting my 3 teenage sons to try it is another thing. They are not big on trying “new” things. They like the spiral potatoes – fries that I have made a few times and baked in the oven.

The Inspiralize Everything book is nice to have if you own a spiralizer of some sort. It gives an A to Z list of different fruits and vegetables you can spiralize and at least 2 to 4 recipes for that particular fruit or vegetable. I purchased the Kitchen Aid Spiral attachment for my mixer a few months ago. You can look in my blog archive for a post I did about the Spiral attachment.

In my opinion both of these books are a great addition to my library of cookbooks. If you are looking for some good vegetarian recipes that are healthy and taste good I would definitely recommend getting the Meat Free Monday book.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee

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Free Rib Knit Hat Pattern

This free knitting pattern is for a rib knit hat I recently designed for my son. He was going on a skiing trip back in December and needed a warm hat. I had some WoolSpun yarn from Lion brand yarn in my stash and decided it would be perfect for a ribbed beanie style hat for him. He had requested black and this yarn had black in it.

The hat is knit in the round using size US 10.5 circular knitting needles that are 16 inches long in length. Double point needles can also be used if you prefer them for knitting hats. The pattern can be knitted in a size small, medium or large.

The yarn I used for the hat above was the Lion brand Woolspun. You only need 1 skein of it to complete this rib knit hat pattern. The yarn is 80 % acrylic and 20 % wool. My son said it kept his head warm on his skiing trip last month. He has also been wearing it lately as we have had some rather cold weather the past week in Texas.

The hat in the above photo was knit with Nashua Paradise yarn. This is some yarn I bought years ago and had in my stash. I only had 1 skein and figured it would be good for a hat since there was only 87 yards on the skein. It took the whole skein to make this one hat. The yarn is a boucle type of yarn that is very soft. It recommended a size 8 to 10 needle but it worked out with the 10 1/2 size needle just fine in my opinion.

Click here: Free Rib Knit Hat Pattern to download the pattern. It is an easy knit hat pattern and can be completed in a day.

I hope you enjoy the free rib knit hat pattern. To see other patterns I have designed please visit my etsy shop. I also have patterns on craftsy and ravelry.

Have a great day!

-Kimberlee
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