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Colorful knitting, crochet, latch hook and macrame from craft book author & designer Heidi Gustad.

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How-to: Grow a little indoor garden / Gardening 101

September 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

This month, I find myself drawn to gardening projects of all kinds. Maybe it’s because my summer vegetable garden was a complete failure. Maybe it’s because my new apartment has TONS of natural and direct light sources (bathroom skylight and south-facing windows what what!). Or maybe it’s because all of my gardening attempts in my adult life have been totally meh. I’m sure my recent insatiable gardening curiosity is the product of all of these. As always, feel free to chime in with other fall gardening tips and ideas. I make no promises I know what I’m doing, but I do promise to share links to the information and resources I’ve found that are helping to guide my September 2011 gardening quest.

For my first project, I revisited indoor gardening. I recently acquired a gorgeous hutch for my kitchen, but many of its shelves have been tragically bare for weeks. A teeny herb harden (and all of the leftover dried artichokes from my wedding) make the hutch look great. See?

Inside those pots, my chive, basil, grass, parsley and sage seeds are starting to germinate. Here’s how to create a little garden of your own for the winter.

Supplies

one container for every plant you want to grow (Home Depot carries little terra cotta pots for about a buck a piece)

potting soil, preferably with a little bit of compost mixed in

some pebbles for drainage

seeds I ordered mine from Burpee. Big stores don’t carry seedlings or seeds other than in the spring.

Directions

If starting your garden from scratch, fill your pot with a shallow layer of rocks/pebbles, followed by some potting soil. Follow directions that come with any seed packets for sowing your seeds. The packets will tell you how many seeds to plant in your pot, how deep, and whether or not to pack down the soil in the pot*.

A lot of people think that forgetting to water your garden is the only concern with container gardening. container gardens can dry out faster than a garden planted in the ground. Don’t overcompensate, though! I learned my lesson about over watering my garden the hard way. Over watering can be a hard problem to diagnose. Leaves begin to wilt and lower leaves turn yellow at the bottom. Always make sure to check your plant’s soil before watering. Roots need air just as much as the rest of your plant. Over watering can compact your soil and suffocate your roots. Not only that, it can lead to the plants rotting away in their own soil. Over watering is really hard to fix. There’s not much you can do short of repotting the plant if it’s started to rot at the roots.

Maybe this sounds silly, but the analogy I try to keep in mind when gardening is this: If you’re thirsty, you need a drink of water, but if someone keeps pouring water down your throat, you’ll drown. Your plant’s roots need water, but they also need to breathe. Giving them water in an environment in which they can still breathe is essential to their survival.

*Overpacking your soil can also suffocate your plant. 

Another thing to consider is that you don’t need to use expensive or even cheap pots for your garden. If you set it up properly and keep track of the plant’s water, air, and sun intake on a regular basis, you’ll be fine. Case in point: my most successful garden this year was this Natty Light cooler. I’ve already harvested about a dozen batches of kale and swiss chard this season, and they’re not done yet.

Filed Under: Home Decor, How-to Tagged With: fall garden, gardening, gardening 101, herbs, How-to

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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Heidi Gustad 🧶 knitting & yarn crafts

handsoccupied

Knitting & yarn crafts designer 🧶
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Stay up-to-date 💌 & shop new patterns ⤵️

POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern POV: Showing you how my new Bevelled Tank pattern fits with no ease vs. 4” of positive ease. There’s a bit more length to the cotton (brighter color) sample, but both are cropped and feature shoulder seams designed to sit an inch back onto the shoulder instead of on top, giving it a little swing. Length is easily adjustable for folks looking for less of a crop. 
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Pattern: Bevelled Tank by @handsoccupied for @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn summer 2024. Available for free from Hobbii at the 🔗 in my profile.
Yarn pictured: @kelbournewoolens Skipper and Camper. 
Dress form is adjusted to a 36” chest and ~5’3”ish in height. 
Human has a 40” chest and is 5’5”.
Both skirts are vintage.
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #handsoccupied #intarsia #handmade #knitting #colorwork
Let’s talk about fit and ease! . During the Beve Let’s talk about fit and ease!
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During the Bevelled Tank design process for @pompommag, I knit 2 samples using 2 different @KelbourneWoolens yarns. One was in Skipper (100% cotton, second photo) and the other was in Camper (100% 2 ply wool). The Skipper sample was knit for a 36” bust, which measures in at 40” with 4” of positive ease. And I knit the Camper Sample for my 40” bust with a 44” finished measurement. (BTW, I’m 5’5” for folks that find that measurement helpful in visualizing fit.)
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Based on the size chart for the Bevelled Tank, that means I knit one size 3 sample and one size 4. As designed, I conveniently fit a size 4 as intended with 4” of positive ease. When I wear the 3, there is no ease at all because the garment and my body are both 40” in size. Comparing the 2 garments, you can see how the fiber content (cotton vs. wool) and fit (no ease vs. 4” of positive ease) makes a difference in the look and feel of the finished garment. 
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These samples are a great way to compare what ease looks like on different bodies. While I can fit both a size 3 and 4, the garment with no ease feels more like pajamas or a bralette when I wear it. On the other hand, when I wear the one with 4” of positive ease, I feel comfortable enough to wear it to work, even as a crop top. Plus, it leaves me with enough room to layer it with a nice button down if I’m not feeling the cropped look one day. 
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I’m curious - how would you style this tank? Would you modify it with a few stockinette rows for added length? I’m so curious now that this pattern is finally out in the world. :) 
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #bevelledtank #handsoccupied #knitting #intarisa #handmade #kelbournewoolens #croppedsweater #summerknits
After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m ba After a 6 month hiatus, I am happy to say I’m back with a brand new pattern in 9 sizes, and it’s FREE as part of @pompommag x @hobbii_yarn’s summer design collection! (Link is in my bio.)
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In my December newsletter, I announced that I was soliciting test knitters for a pattern that had originally been selected for the summer ’24 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly magazine. However, the magazine ceased publication after its spring ’24 issue, leaving in-progress designs unpublished. (It happens.) As a result, I’d begun the long process of editing, testing, and photographing the pattern for independent release through the Hands Occupied pattern shop and Ravelry.
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Before I was done with that process, Pom Pom Quarterly’s former editors reached out with an exciting proposal for the pattern. Post-magazine, they’ve begun to partner with yarn companies to produce high quality pattern collections. They wanted to include designs from the would-be current issue of Pom Pom Quarterly in a new collection for Hobbii yarn, including my Bevelled Tank. I worked with the same technical editors I would have for the magazine on this one, and as you can see from the photos, Pom Pom’s team did an amazing job of styling the garment to the beautiful standards they’re known for.
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You can learn more about the pattern on my blog and get the free pattern from Hobbii yarn - links to both in my profile. I’ll post sizing info in the comments for quick reference too. 🧶
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#pompomxhobbiisummer2024 #knitting #intarsia #sponsored #colorworkknitting 
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Photos: @dianascarrunz 
Model: @angel.jade_
Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vi Here’s a nice throwback for you: my take on a vintage knitting pattern from 1938 called the Fernlace Pullover. A pattern so nice, I knit it twice.
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Yellow version 💛: knit with Despondent Dyes’ Vintage Vixen Sport after attending a @squidneyknits vintage knitting retreat in 2019 & learning *so much*. Paired with a self-drafted circle skirt pattern. 
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Blue version 💙: knit with @eweeweyarns Ewe So Sporty in Sky Blue. Paired with the 1940s Boardwalk Duet sewing pattern from @decades_of_style 
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Head to my stories for 🔗🔗 to the handmade wardrobe blog posts I wrote about each take on the Fernlace Pullover, working with a vintage pattern, where to find vintage patterns (including the one I used), & some thoughts on sizing. 
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Image descriptions available in alt text. 
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#handsoccupied #handmadewardrobe #fernlacepullover #vintageknitting #vintageknittingpatterns #knitting_inspiration
Frogging is a word in the knitting world that mean Frogging is a word in the knitting world that means to rip out your knitting. It’s called frogging because frogs say “ribbit,” and when you’re tearing out your knitting, you will “rip it” out, and that sounds like ribbit. No really. 🐸 Did you know this fun fact? 
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P.S. I did like this design concept, but to make the pattern more knitter friendly as well as more wearable, I am making some tweaks to the construction. Excited to share when it’s ready! 🥰🧶
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Yarn: @blueskyfibers Woolstok North in Morning Frost & Highland Fleece 
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#handsoccupied #knitting #frogging #blueskyfibers #knittersofinstagram #blueskymakers #knittingvocabulary #bsfmakers #knitdesign
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