greetingarts

pin pumpkin

Excuse the scary photography (my camera skills are frightful!), but that little guy is my contribution to the latest Pincushion Challenge.  I crocheted a flattened ball with a G hook and sport weight 100% wool, then felted the whole thing by plunging it in almost boiling water alternating with an ice water bath.  I don't think I put in enough stuffing, but since I had to fill it before it was felted, I wasn't quite sure how full I should pack it so that it could still shrink as much as I wanted.  I like the bumpiness, though, it looks realistic to me.  The top is from a real persimmon, dried and tacked on.

As always, I had a lot of ideas for the Autumn theme, but opted for the quickie as opposed to the more original idea of a pincushion clock.  To me, Autumn is harvest festivals, pumpkins and Halloween, but also "fall back," the clock being turned back an hour.  Which, this year, is happening a week later than usual for those of us in the US that observe Daylight Saving Time.  It kind of freaks me out that time really is such an arbitrary form of measurement, that a group of people can just sit around and make decisions about it that affect millions of people.  Back in 2005, I didn't know such a decision was being made, did you?

Anyway, I'm off to dress a couple of princesses, and get them ready for the ball.  Happy Halloween!  Plenty of treats for all!

red + green

Ah, tub time.  Which means it's closer to Mommy Break Time.  Our nightly routine takes anywhere from sixty minutes to two hours, what with the bath, pajamas, flossing, brushing, stories, last trip to the bathroom, piggyback rides to bed, songs and kisses.  It's exhausting, at the end of an always already long day.  Tonight, I swear I almost didn't make it,  my voice is nearly gone because of the coughing and the smoke and ash inhaled over the past week.  But we did manage, with everyone's cooperation, and now that the two babes are snug in their beds, I'm going to settle down with a piping hot cup of herbal tea, grab my knitting bag, pop in the latest from Netflix, and unwrap a bar of dark chocolate.  And maybe, just maybe, I'll be nice and share with my husband.

i heart buttons

This was so unbelievably fun.  All the buttons were swapped out, packed up, and will be on their way to their new homes tomorrow morning. 

As swap hostess, I got some extra goodies, and I so appreciate the special things and extra buttons some of you sent.  Everyone received an additional sixth button, one of these robots, as a thank you from me. 

Seeing as I don't want to stop making these (and I suspect I'm not the only one), you can look for Round Two sometime early next year. 

I took some photos and posted them in the Embroidered Buttons Flickr Group, so that you could see them all and identify who made them, but I've got to apologize for the quality of my photos.  It's just horrendous, even worse than usual, and doesn't do justice to any of the buttons.

I'm sitting in the middle of about 17 raging fires right now (and the number unfortunately continues to rise, up from 13 just a few hours ago), seven counties burning, hundreds of thousands of homes evacuated.   Right now there is no imminent danger for my family or our home, but the light at midday is an eerie dark orange, the air is acrid and sharp, and my daughter's school isn't allowing the kids to play outside at recess.  When I went outside to try to get some daylight for the photo shoot, ash was swirling all around me, so I had to snap some quickies and then run for cover.  We're absolutely hiding, hunkered down inside with the air conditioning, hoping that the 98 degree weather will die down (it is the week before Halloween, is it not?), and the firemen will win their battles quickly.  We could definitely use a little less wind, a lot more water, and probably a good bit of luck as well.

blue + yellow

Happy Saturday morning!  The babe lost 6 pounds in about 12 days while she was sick.  But now she hasn't stopped wanting to eat since the wedding, and I'm happy to oblige.  Put a little butter in a skillet, use a cookie cutter to cut a shape out of the middle of a piece of bread, crack an egg inside, let it set up and flip once, then serve on a Cinderella blue plate.  Grown up, yet fun, and not a crumb left over.

And here's the cut out shape, which gets toasted right alongside the rest of it.  Uh oh.  That looks so mean and unfair, doesn't it?  But, Jessie, you said you didn't want an egg!  Oh, shoot.  You know what she's looking at, right?  Sitting next to her?  Picture #1?  Oh, my heart is breaking and my mom is going to call me the minute she sees this post.  I'd better go make another...

domo arigato mr. roboto

Oh my gosh, someone please tell me where I can get the cover button kits in bulk, please.   I made five for the swap, but wanted to keep the little guy in the middle there, with his winsome smile and sideways glance, so I made a few more, and now I don't really want to stop.  They are so fun, so fast, so rewarding.  You want to pile them up, clink them around in the palm of your hand, pet them.  These robots are on ⅞” half ball buttons, and using a spot of glue stick really helps keep them centered and steady while you're pulling the fabric to the back.

I've started an Embroidered Buttons Flickr group,  so if you're in the swap (and even if you aren't), please go on over and upload your photos of all those little cuties.  I'm sure you all take better photos than I do.  I'm still waiting for two sets of buttons, then I'll be swapping everything out (probably this weekend).  I know everyone is going to be pleased with what they get, and for sure there will be a Swap Round 2 sometime early next year.  These are like potato chips or M&Ms (have you tried the dark chocolate ones?  Yum!), so addictive, and you can't stop at just one.

k is for knitting

You knew what this one was going to be, didn't you?  I've delayed this post for so long, trying to get the artistic shots, the quality photos, but time, energy and the weather are just not cooperating, so I'm just going to get on with it.

I picked up knitting seriously when I found out I was pregnant with Rebecca.  I'd seen this book, and the swing coat on the front just jumped out at me.  I thought it was so adorable, I wanted to wrap my little girl up in it.  I bought an instruction pamphlet from Leisure Arts, grabbed some needles I'd gotten in a huge lot at an estate sale, and some Cranberry Heather Wool-Ease.  The rest, as they say, is history.

I eventually joined a knitting guild, because every time I made an error in my knitting, I wouldn't know how to fix it.  I'd end up having to just rip out the whole entire thing and start over from square one.  It was frustrating to say the least, and the knitting guild helped me immensely.  Since then, it's become sort of a lifeline for me, my monthly getaway, filled with friends who support, commiserate with, inspire and challenge me.

Knitting, for me, is one of the most relaxing crafts.  It's like hand sewing, only I don't have any pieces to precut, seam lines to mark, and anything tiny and sharp to worry about around my little ones.  Oh, I'll make mistakes when I'm sleepy, having to rip back an entire night's worth of work (I should have just gone to bed!), but for the most part, I can really get into a groove, and enjoy listening to (and occasionally glancing up at) my TV show or Netflix movie, and still feel highly productive (sewing up the seams however, is another thing altogether.  But we won't talk about that now).

There are so many projects I want to make.  So many charities I want to help.  So many techniques to try.  Sometimes I get daunted, feeling that I start too many things, have too many unfinished objects lying about.  There's a sock on size 2 needles over there, a pirate in pieces in my orange tote bag, a Christmas gift in the works next to my bed.  And that's just my knitting!  Don't get me started on my crochet, quilt and various other projects in the works.  But, as my sister pointed out last weekend, crafting doesn't really have to be about the finished products.  It's the process, the release of tension and stress, the therapeutic value that is priceless.  So I take a deep breath, allow myself to cast on, and try to let go of the guilt.

orange + black

Just playing around, making some prototypes and figuring out what we (I use the term loosely) should do for Rebecca's Kindergarten class on Halloween.  The school has a policy of no sugary treats.  Cupcakes aren't even allowed for birthday celebrations.  Instead, they suggest granola bars... hmm.  "Have a happy birthday granola bar!" doesn't quite have a nice ring to it, does it?  Anyway, I'm being sarcastic, but honestly the kids will have enough sugar without my contribution, so I'm searching for a fun alternative to chocolate and lollipops.  These need some tweaking, but I like the general idea.

even a flower girl needs plenty of fluids

The girls both did so beautifully this weekend.  I couldn't have been prouder of them.  Thank you all so very much for your well wishes, and concern over our health.  Every comment and email was very appreciated and meant so much to me.  It was pretty hairy up until the last moment, but the fever and ear infection was conquered (I love you, Tylenol, Motrin, and amoxicillin!) and they had a blast.   They both walked down the aisle like little professionals, straight and slowly, carrying themselves, their flowers and the ring pillow with grace and assurance. 

Then they sat quietly through the ceremony (thanks to some snacks, and a favorite Uncle and Auntie) and danced the night away at the reception.  An unforgettable day.

Now, I'm the sick one (I guess the adrenaline wore off), but I don't even care.  My kids are healthy, and I'm armed with my extra-strength Tylenol and box of Kleenex.  I took Becca to school again this morning, after having to miss eight days, and she was greeted with "look, it's Rebecca!" and "I missed you" by her classmates, so life is good. 

We will now continue with our regularly scheduled programming...

j is for japanese craft books

You guys got me started, it's all your fault.  If it hadn't been for the craft blog world, and people like Maitreya, Sally, Lyn and others (you know who you are!), I would have a hell of a lot more shelf space, I tell ya.

Why on earth do I buy these things?  Shell out dollar after dollar on these gloriously photographed books written in a language that I (and absolutely everyone I know) cannot understand?

Because there's just so much goodness in them, that's why.

Whether it's softies (4-529-02982-4)

(4-579-11132-9)

or clothing (4-579-10803-9)

(4-8347-6420-8)

crochet (4-309-26761-0)

embroidery (4-529-04204-9)

or patchwork (4-529-03898-x), I just can't get enough!