greetingarts

new puppy

Another trip to the doctor, three more vaccinations.  I was forewarned, so naturally, I had to make another softie.  I finished up this little guy, and once again, it stopped the tears.





And for scale, here it is in Becca's hand.



I wonder how long this little distraction trick is going to work?  I'll take it as long as it lasts.

nothing neutral about it

August's ColorSwap package theme was neutrals, and though Kathy did stick to browns, greys, black, white and cream, there was nothing neutral about how I felt after seeing everything I received.



Two gorgeous skeins of wool just waiting to be felted, six (6!) skeins of Berroco Touché, some candy,  scented lotion (not in the picture, don't know why), and yes! that's a Rick Springfield CD.  He's still kinda crush material, don'tcha think?  And also a very soft, white lamb Beanie Baby, named Baabsy.  Love that.

Oh!  And I can't forget to show you my favorite thing, a handmade beaded bracelet that is so totally my style.

Maybe too upscale for me, but I'm trying to dress better and make more effort to be and feel feminine and attractive, instead of frumpy and thrown together, so this will definitely help.  If you click on her name, you can see a picture of the stuff I sent her last week.  Thanks so much, I am a happy gal.  Now, where's my CD player?

ice cream in a bag

One day my husband came home from the bank with a bag of popcorn for Becca (sorry, Jess, too dangerous for you!) .  She literally squealed with delight, and will randomly bring it up once in a while, months later.  In her mind, it was comparable to funnel cakes at the fair, or a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar from Disneyland.  Apparently, popcorn in a bag, is way better than popcorn that you make and then pour into a bowl. 

Along those lines, I guess ice cream in a bag is ten times better than Ben & Jerry's or Breyer's.



Blurry photo, lots of action going on.



What form, what technique.



After less than twenty minutes, the finished product is like soft serve, and we added some mini M&Ms.



First taste.



Mmmm!  Really good!



Want some?

finished a few

I've been forgetting to post pictures of all the things I've actually finished, and they've been complaining.



Here's the chibi bunny from Myra that I finished and gave to my friend about a month ago.  I didn't get around to making three, as I'd originally planned, but, oh well.  I just freehanded the knitting needles and ball of yarn, and I'm happy with the way it turned out.  All except for the bottom, which isn't that neatly done, but hopefully it isn't terribly noticeable.  Wish I'd taken a photo of the backside, which is a yellow fabric, and I made the tail by gathering a small strip of white felt into a little rosette shape.  I still want to make the other two someday, this was such a sweet pattern, and easy to personalize.



And a very easy baby blanket for charity.  Because you wrap the yarn around the needle twice when you knit, it makes for a very warm, double layer in the middle.  Plus, it knits up super fast (usually my requirement for charity knitting) since every other stitch is just dropped.  Hard to explain, but very easy to do.  I used Lion Brand Pound of Love in lavender, and still have some left over.  I think it will be enough to make a matching teddy bear.



Then there's also this baby kimono from Mason-Dixon Knitting (does that book crack anybody else up?) that goes with the Dashwood hat.  I added a little crochet trim around the neck, all along the front and at the cuffs to keep the stockinette from rolling up, and to make it look more like a set.  It's not one of my finest knitted items, but it's for charity and will keep some baby warm, anyway. 

So, see?  I've been productive.  Just not for things I'm keeping, that's all.  Probably a good thing, since the clutter is seriously starting to take over the house.

do it now!

Pretty please? 

If you click here, and then click on the red button you see, you'll help fund books for children in need, and it won't cost you a single cent.  Read more about book donations here, and here, and if you click here (I tried to insert the HTML code, but... whatever.  It looks fine when I'm composing the post, then when I go to publish or preview, I see nothing.  Then I lose my whole post.  So just click on the link, okay?), you can get a coupon for 10% off your purchase at Borders next weekend, and First Book will get a donation of 10% as well.

Books are a huge part of my life, and I'm trying to instill a deep love for them in my children.  I think it's working.

Pretty please? 

If you click here, and then click on the red button you see, you'll help fund books for children in need, and it won't cost you a single cent.  Read more about book donations here, and here, and if you click here (I tried to insert the HTML code, but... whatever.  It looks fine when I'm composing the post, then when I go to publish or preview, I see nothing.  Then I lose my whole post.  So just click on the link, okay?), you can get a coupon for 10% off your purchase at Borders next weekend, and First Book will get a donation of 10% as well.

Books are a huge part of my life, and I'm trying to instill a deep love for them in my children.  I think it's working.

opposites

Becca: What's the opposite of cold, Mommy?

Me: Hot, honey, you know that.

Becca: What's the opposite of jar?

Me: Well, nothing...  (Frantically trying to think of a way to explain that "jar" is a noun, and nouns don't really have opposites, as opposed to adjectives or adverbs...)

Becca: Yes there is, it's lid, Mommy.

Me: Oh!

Becca: I know what the opposite of glasses is, too.  It's eyes!  (Laughing.)

Of course it is.

Jess is chubby, Becca is skinny.  Jess likes to cuddle, Becca gives me an elbow in the neck.  My husband says my daughters don't even look like they're related.  Don't know why it bothers me when he says that.  Can't you see the resemblance?

baby, that's simple

I'm kind of embarassed to put this on the whiplash competition page, but I did want the chance to show others that wardrobe surgery can be really, really painless, simple, and doesn't always require a sewing machine, serger or major seamstress skills.  And since they extended the deadline, I figured, what the heck.  I like to embellish.

I took the plain, very standard baby onesie.

And, using three strands of embroidery floss, I did a chain stitch and lazy daisy flowers all around the top around the neck.

The front view.

Closeups.

And the back.

My babe is pretty much out of the onesie stage, and certainly will outgrow these within the month, so I didn't get elaborate.  But you can pick any design (Yay for me, I got a set!), embroider it front and center, a little off to the side, or even on the butt.

Like I said, I'm not trying to pass this off as a major transformation requiring much skill, I'm just showing what someone can do with a little bit of time (really, very little), a needle and thread.  Makes doing the laundry just a tiny bit less tedious.

hot magenta

This time, the trouble was narrowing down my choices.  I'm surrounded by shades of pink, from powder puff to electric.  Hot magenta it is.



Notice how the shirt matches, too?  Pure accident, I tell you.  The hot pink wheels were a birthday gift from a relative, and Becca got a glimpse of it before I had a chance to return it.  Then, I figured, it's her birthday, she should get to keep what she wants.  It took me almost four very frustrating hours to put it together.  Yes, she's riding it in the living room.

And on another hot magenta note, of course I have to get a little more mileage out of this.

felting fever

We barely made it to Felt Club yesterday, but I'm so glad we did!  I had great plans to make it in time for the last two workshops, but after getting breakfast for the kids, gathering all their gear and packing them in the car, depositing some checks at the bank, dropping off bills at the post office (the reason for the previous trip to the bank), it was time for lunch.  Which was a nearly-two-hour, arm-exhausting experience (Jess no longer tolerates high chairs, apparently), and by the time we got out to Sunset Boulevard, it was 3:20.  But I was still early enough to snag a spot for the needle felting workshop, and my husband and Rebecca participated, too.  It was totally fantastic!



Look at the loot they sent us home with, for free.  I was flabbergasted.  And Jamie, the instructor and shop keeper over at MaryJane's Attic, couldn't have been any nicer.  We were at this sort of long counter, about fifteen of us or so, and Rebecca was sitting on it between her father and me, just yakking away, as usual.  Non stop.  Just chattering, laughing, making observations, throwing energetically rolling little felt ball samples from her end of the counter to the other.  And Jamie was so nice, totally engaged her in conversation.  There were two guys there, too, I think they were helping Jamie out, who seemed quite taken with Rebecca, and she just had a fantastic time.  But I digress.  Needle felting is a lot of fun.  I like the dimensional stuff more than just the flat pieces, but it's all quite therapeutic and amazing to see the soft fibers take on a new form.  Although, come to think of it, I don't know how stress-relieving this would be for me.  People say you can get out your agressions, and that you can relax with the repetitive motion, but when I first started, I was just totally stressed out about poking myself, and about Rebecca being too close to the needle.  Then, later, as I finally started easing into it, I could see someone getting too complacent and then poking themselves, so I tensed up again.  Anyway, I don't think I'll be doing this while I'm watching TV, and this will definitely be a late night craft, when the kiddies are asleep and I can concentrate.  But I did start to make a little turtle (Becca's request, of course), and maybe someday I'll even finish it.

After browsing the different vendors (there were only about a dozen or so, but a nice variety of different crafts), I managed to hold myself back to making only one purchase.



I knew Teresa would be there, and I was hoping she'd bring some of her booklets.  She did, so I bought one and when I got home, I saw that she'd also included an adorable Mr. Bunny postcard, and a tiny Sewing Stars button. 

So much fun.  I haven't been to a craft fair in ages, and I don't remember the last time I was on Sunset Boulevard (before Rebecca was born).  We're already making plans to go to the next one.

chestnut

It's not like I'm trying to always post my color photo on the last day, but somehow it just works out that way.



Barley sun tea.  It wasn't quite hot enough yesterday to actually boil the water on the sidewalk, but the pitcher sure did get warm.