1. As I watched more and more of my friends on Facebook come down with the flu or strep, I realized that my days were numbered. Doodle woke up with a temp of nearly 102 on Monday, and soon was diagnosed with Flu B. Tamiflu has been taken, and hopefully he'll be on the mend soon!
2. My glue gun and I are getting reacquainted this week (pictures to come soon)!
3. My heart is heavy that little Larsen didn't make it through her surgery. Although I didn't know her, her short life has really made an impact on me.
4. My knitting lessons are almost done for this round, and I'll have a few weeks off before beginning another one. The students are progressing REALLY well, and we made it through the toughest lesson with time to spare!
5. My new favorite shows on TV are on the SyFy network. Who knew? I am loving "Being Human" and "Face Off"!
6. I've completed day 7 at Level I of Jillian Michaels' 30 day Shred!
7. Origami is too fun! I'm planning a secret project for a little baby that is due soon. I just have to figure out how to make it to Hobby Lobby at some point this week to get origami paper. The scrapbooking paper that I have is too think for this miniature project.
8. My knitting has been on hold for a while. I completed the blanket for Larsen and a cardigan for our newest cousin, Addy in just under a week and a half all together, and with that my knitting mojo left the building...
9. I know 3 people who are having surgery today! Two tonsillectomies and another one that is a bit more complicated. God sure is getting an earful from me today.
10. SP (Sweet Pea my 2nd grader) is excited about a biographical project he is doing about Davy Crockett. He also asked me to make him a coon skin cap.
11. We have a bunch of free food coupons (free ice cream at Baskin Robbins, free meals at PeiWei and a free entree at Panda Express) to use this week, but the flu is putting a damper on my plans.
12. Tomorrow is my favorite holiday! When else can you celebrate the prophetic power of a woodland creature?!?
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Handmade Holidays (Part 3) and my current projects
My kiddos came out on Christmas morning (while it was STILL DARK) and screamed, "Mrs. Claus knows how to knit!" My glory is once again usurped by a fictional character (explained below). Anywho, I knit them Incognitos in their favorite colors. They LOVED them. The only modification was decreasing the width of the mustache charts by six columns.
My maid of honor at my wedding just had her second baby, Max. He is uber-adorable and was born late in the year, so.... Snowman hat it is. The pattern is from Itty Bitty Hats, and this has to be the second or third time I've knit this patter. All of the yarn is superwash wool or Plymouth Encore.
We found out about these cookie cutters from a radio show that we listen to, and instantly we knew we had to own Ninjabread men! Too cool! The boys (including the hubster) loved decorating them for Santa.
The boys always make a handmade ornament for their grandparents. When I saw these, an idea was born. I couldn't find plain red ornament on the cheap, so we bought clear glass ornaments and some fake snow. We used white tempera paint and Sharpie markers for the details. So cute and simple to make!
Here is my finished left mitten for the Knaughty Knitter's January Mitten KAL. I love how they turned out! Sadly, the second mitten has taken a backseat. I needed to knit the prayer blanket in 5 days, and then...
I was tasked to knit a baby cardigan for a new to us cousin! We get to meet Addy soon, and since she'll be one in February, I knit the 12-18 month size of Helena.
p.s. The Easter Bunny also knows how to knit. The boys got these stars for Easter a few years ago. The stars look like Mario stars from Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. Yes. I was proud that they knew they were hand knit. And, yes, I was sad the Easter Bunny got the credit ;)
My maid of honor at my wedding just had her second baby, Max. He is uber-adorable and was born late in the year, so.... Snowman hat it is. The pattern is from Itty Bitty Hats, and this has to be the second or third time I've knit this patter. All of the yarn is superwash wool or Plymouth Encore.
We found out about these cookie cutters from a radio show that we listen to, and instantly we knew we had to own Ninjabread men! Too cool! The boys (including the hubster) loved decorating them for Santa.
The boys always make a handmade ornament for their grandparents. When I saw these, an idea was born. I couldn't find plain red ornament on the cheap, so we bought clear glass ornaments and some fake snow. We used white tempera paint and Sharpie markers for the details. So cute and simple to make!
Here is my finished left mitten for the Knaughty Knitter's January Mitten KAL. I love how they turned out! Sadly, the second mitten has taken a backseat. I needed to knit the prayer blanket in 5 days, and then...
I was tasked to knit a baby cardigan for a new to us cousin! We get to meet Addy soon, and since she'll be one in February, I knit the 12-18 month size of Helena.
p.s. The Easter Bunny also knows how to knit. The boys got these stars for Easter a few years ago. The stars look like Mario stars from Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii. Yes. I was proud that they knew they were hand knit. And, yes, I was sad the Easter Bunny got the credit ;)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Making It - Monday
The Prayer Blanket is finished and delivered (in 5 days)! The blanket is based on Meredith's Easy Baby Blanket. It's alternating stockinette squares with a seed stitch border. It was knit using Yarn Bee Sweet Delight Baby in Baby Blue and Baby Blue Camo (held double and knit on size 11 needles). The finished size was 39"x33". My two boys tried it out and deemed it comfy and cozy.
Just for kicks, I added up the number of stitches and yards in the blanket. Including casting on and binding off, there are 18,920 stitches in the blanket and 1,262 yards of yarn were used!
Because I had some left over yarn (of both colors), and I needed to knit a cardigan for a new cousin, I cast on for this. I'm knitting the 12 month size on size 10 needle (a couple of sizes larger than required so I could get gauge) with the Baby Blue colorway. This cardi needs to be completed by this Thursday, so I'd better get moving! I cast on for this project on Saturday, and am on the fourth of six lace repeats on the lower half of the sweater.
My January mittens are coming along. Photos coming soon. I've completed the left mitten and I'm only a few rows past the cuff on the right one. Hopefully, after the baby knitting, I can return to them and finish them in January!
Just for kicks, I added up the number of stitches and yards in the blanket. Including casting on and binding off, there are 18,920 stitches in the blanket and 1,262 yards of yarn were used!
Because I had some left over yarn (of both colors), and I needed to knit a cardigan for a new cousin, I cast on for this. I'm knitting the 12 month size on size 10 needle (a couple of sizes larger than required so I could get gauge) with the Baby Blue colorway. This cardi needs to be completed by this Thursday, so I'd better get moving! I cast on for this project on Saturday, and am on the fourth of six lace repeats on the lower half of the sweater.
My January mittens are coming along. Photos coming soon. I've completed the left mitten and I'm only a few rows past the cuff on the right one. Hopefully, after the baby knitting, I can return to them and finish them in January!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Tardy Tuesday Twelve
1. I can never spell twelve correctly the first time (thanks, Firefox)!
2. We are on day gagillion (well closer to 25) of Christmas Break. Three weeks and 2 snow days later my kiddos will (hopefully) be returning to school.
3. A sweet friend asked me late last week if I knew who did prayer shawls at our church because she was looking for one for a 3 year old girl. I told her that I would be happy and honored to do it for them. Little "L" is very sick and has been sick for all of her 3 years. Most hospitals and doctors have told her parents that she is a terminal patient. Miraculously, a hospital in the midwest is willing to try to make her better! She'll be having heart surgery (via a catheter) at the end of this month. If this procedure works, she may be healthy enough to get onto the transplant list for a liver (then for lungs and heart). Because it's for a 3 year old, I decided to knit a blanket instead. It looks really blue in the picture, but it's purple, lilac, tan and chocolate brown.
4. The above makes me count my blessings and hug my children a little bit tighter each day.
5. A friend of mine called with an interesting business idea this week, and I'm SO very excited that: a) I was asked and b) for a fun way to make money crafting. More to come soon!
6. Twice this last week I was complimented on my appearance. Makes a girl feel good (especially since all I've been doing is eating Christmas goodies)!
7. I am hopelessly addicted to Lego Indiana Jones 2, but I promised the Doodle that he could finish first. YIKES. What a bone head move, as I've had to put down the Wii-mote so as not to get too far ahead.
8. My knitting class was fun on Saturday, and even though we had 6 (one over the max), it still went remarkably well. It helped that three of the women had knit before, but the knit stitch was all they knew. Why teach someone to knit without teaching them how to cast on or bind off?
9. I've been fighting exhaustion for a few days now. So exhausted that I take a three hour nap mid-morning to early afternoon and am still able to sleep well at night. Some might say I need to see the doctor... I'm holding out until both kiddos are back in school.
10. My family is AWESOME! I took a short nap today (just a 30 min power nap) and woke up to: hubby being home early, boys getting ready to head outside - for the second time, and a CLEAN TOY ROOM! I wish I had pictures to show the before and after, but suffice it to say it is a complete 180 since I couldn't open the toy room door this morning.
11. It cracks me up every time someone says I did a complete 360. That doesn't get you anywhere...
12. I *think* that all of the Christmas items have been put away. I had to buy another large container after the last time I thought all of the decorations were put away when I found the Christmas books, plates and CDs that I'd forgotten on the first time.
2. We are on day gagillion (well closer to 25) of Christmas Break. Three weeks and 2 snow days later my kiddos will (hopefully) be returning to school.
3. A sweet friend asked me late last week if I knew who did prayer shawls at our church because she was looking for one for a 3 year old girl. I told her that I would be happy and honored to do it for them. Little "L" is very sick and has been sick for all of her 3 years. Most hospitals and doctors have told her parents that she is a terminal patient. Miraculously, a hospital in the midwest is willing to try to make her better! She'll be having heart surgery (via a catheter) at the end of this month. If this procedure works, she may be healthy enough to get onto the transplant list for a liver (then for lungs and heart). Because it's for a 3 year old, I decided to knit a blanket instead. It looks really blue in the picture, but it's purple, lilac, tan and chocolate brown.
4. The above makes me count my blessings and hug my children a little bit tighter each day.
5. A friend of mine called with an interesting business idea this week, and I'm SO very excited that: a) I was asked and b) for a fun way to make money crafting. More to come soon!
6. Twice this last week I was complimented on my appearance. Makes a girl feel good (especially since all I've been doing is eating Christmas goodies)!
7. I am hopelessly addicted to Lego Indiana Jones 2, but I promised the Doodle that he could finish first. YIKES. What a bone head move, as I've had to put down the Wii-mote so as not to get too far ahead.
8. My knitting class was fun on Saturday, and even though we had 6 (one over the max), it still went remarkably well. It helped that three of the women had knit before, but the knit stitch was all they knew. Why teach someone to knit without teaching them how to cast on or bind off?
9. I've been fighting exhaustion for a few days now. So exhausted that I take a three hour nap mid-morning to early afternoon and am still able to sleep well at night. Some might say I need to see the doctor... I'm holding out until both kiddos are back in school.
10. My family is AWESOME! I took a short nap today (just a 30 min power nap) and woke up to: hubby being home early, boys getting ready to head outside - for the second time, and a CLEAN TOY ROOM! I wish I had pictures to show the before and after, but suffice it to say it is a complete 180 since I couldn't open the toy room door this morning.
11. It cracks me up every time someone says I did a complete 360. That doesn't get you anywhere...
12. I *think* that all of the Christmas items have been put away. I had to buy another large container after the last time I thought all of the decorations were put away when I found the Christmas books, plates and CDs that I'd forgotten on the first time.
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Hand Made Holidays Part 2
Round 2 (probably of 3)...
Rather than wrapping gifts or using gift bags, I made some bags out of fabric to go with my whole "Recycling Nazi" persona for preschool. Simple bags made with a small gusset so that they would sit flat. The blue bags, have a mini handle that the larger of the two handles loops through.
My nephews (12 and 7) are getting increasingly harder to buy for, so we usually end up giving them cash. Last year, I folded them into different origami patterns. This year I wanted something different, and luckily found this! I used $2 bills for the wreath, and after much debate I think that we've FINALLY convinced my eldest nephew that retailers actually accept $2 bills (he is under the odd impression that no one believes in $2 bills and 50 cent pieces).
A sweet picture of SP and the Doodle with our annual Gingerbread House is up next!
And finally, for this post, kids' ties! I had no idea how challenging it would be to find ties for my two boys that were appropriate for church! The only ties I could find that matched and were appropriately sized for my two guys had skulls and cross bones... So, off to the interwebs, and PurlBee to the rescue. The ties take up A LOT of fabric since they are cut on the bias AND they are completely hand sewn. Aside from those two issues, they are pretty quick. Once all of the piece are cut out (from the free printable pattern) and ironed, it just takes about 45-60 minutes to have finished project!
Rather than wrapping gifts or using gift bags, I made some bags out of fabric to go with my whole "Recycling Nazi" persona for preschool. Simple bags made with a small gusset so that they would sit flat. The blue bags, have a mini handle that the larger of the two handles loops through.
My nephews (12 and 7) are getting increasingly harder to buy for, so we usually end up giving them cash. Last year, I folded them into different origami patterns. This year I wanted something different, and luckily found this! I used $2 bills for the wreath, and after much debate I think that we've FINALLY convinced my eldest nephew that retailers actually accept $2 bills (he is under the odd impression that no one believes in $2 bills and 50 cent pieces).
A sweet picture of SP and the Doodle with our annual Gingerbread House is up next!
And finally, for this post, kids' ties! I had no idea how challenging it would be to find ties for my two boys that were appropriate for church! The only ties I could find that matched and were appropriately sized for my two guys had skulls and cross bones... So, off to the interwebs, and PurlBee to the rescue. The ties take up A LOT of fabric since they are cut on the bias AND they are completely hand sewn. Aside from those two issues, they are pretty quick. Once all of the piece are cut out (from the free printable pattern) and ironed, it just takes about 45-60 minutes to have finished project!
Tuesday, January 04, 2011
The Tuesday 12 - New Year's Edition
1. Blog more often and regularly this year to keep track of crafts and gifts.
2. Say, "Just a minute/tomorrow/etc." less often to the kiddos. Case in point...
Meet ZaZonk. SP (my 8 year old) got "Make Your Own Stupid Sock Creatures" kit for Christmas from Nana. He wanted to do it yesterday just as I was laying down to rest, and instead, I hopped up and helped him do it. He cut it out, and I used the sewing machine to put it together. He loves it and has dubbed it his new best friend.
3. Get in shape - and rounder isn't what I'm talking about. I'm not going to run a race or anything crazy like that, but some regular exercise couldn't hurt.
4. Finish what I start. I've got LOADS of unfinished crafts and knitting just hanging out all over. I'm going to assess what there is and get rid of the things that I really am not fond of any longer.
5. Start a self imposed sock club. Going along with #4, I've got three or four half knitted pairs of socks. I'm planning on finishing a pair of socks a month this year.
6. Make a stash of finished baby items to use as gifts. Quite often, I'm walking into our Friday Night Knitting Group saying, "I've got a baby shower Sunday, what should I knit?". If I have a bunch of handmade items on hand, I can avoid the rush (and therefore lack of joy of it all) of making a gift.
7. Make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. I can keep up with the laundry, but the other stuff falls to the wayside more often than I'd like to admit.
8. Foster the friendships that I cherish.
9. Be present in the present. Too often, I feel pressured to live weeks or months ahead of where we're at, and I want to SLOW DOWN!
10. Find what my boys, SP (Sweet Pea - 8) and the Doodle (5), are really passionate about and foster that passion. The Doodle starts art lessons next week - he is SO excited!
11. Make my husband first in our family. It's too easy to let the kiddos rule the roost.
12. Hmmmm, 11 in 11 sounds good ;)
2. Say, "Just a minute/tomorrow/etc." less often to the kiddos. Case in point...
Meet ZaZonk. SP (my 8 year old) got "Make Your Own Stupid Sock Creatures" kit for Christmas from Nana. He wanted to do it yesterday just as I was laying down to rest, and instead, I hopped up and helped him do it. He cut it out, and I used the sewing machine to put it together. He loves it and has dubbed it his new best friend.
3. Get in shape - and rounder isn't what I'm talking about. I'm not going to run a race or anything crazy like that, but some regular exercise couldn't hurt.
4. Finish what I start. I've got LOADS of unfinished crafts and knitting just hanging out all over. I'm going to assess what there is and get rid of the things that I really am not fond of any longer.
5. Start a self imposed sock club. Going along with #4, I've got three or four half knitted pairs of socks. I'm planning on finishing a pair of socks a month this year.
6. Make a stash of finished baby items to use as gifts. Quite often, I'm walking into our Friday Night Knitting Group saying, "I've got a baby shower Sunday, what should I knit?". If I have a bunch of handmade items on hand, I can avoid the rush (and therefore lack of joy of it all) of making a gift.
7. Make a cleaning schedule and stick to it. I can keep up with the laundry, but the other stuff falls to the wayside more often than I'd like to admit.
8. Foster the friendships that I cherish.
9. Be present in the present. Too often, I feel pressured to live weeks or months ahead of where we're at, and I want to SLOW DOWN!
10. Find what my boys, SP (Sweet Pea - 8) and the Doodle (5), are really passionate about and foster that passion. The Doodle starts art lessons next week - he is SO excited!
11. Make my husband first in our family. It's too easy to let the kiddos rule the roost.
12. Hmmmm, 11 in 11 sounds good ;)
Saturday, January 01, 2011
Hand Made Holidays Part 1
It's been forever, I know. Nearly an entire year has gone by since updating my craft blog. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with updates this year (but don't hold your breath, Royce)!
For 2010, I made a lot of handmade items for Christmas/Winter.
First up, my lighted blocks. The Winter Wonderland block was nearly 7 inches square. It was cut using the Cricut and the Cricut Design Software (cartridges used: Zooballoo - font, Doodletype & Doodlecharms - snowflakes). The Wisemen Still Seek Him block (just over 5 inches square) was also cut using my Cricut, but I used SCAL to get the fonts and wisemen silhouette. Both blocks had generous openings at the bottom where I added squares of scrapbook paper and a 50 count string of mini lights.
Second, although not necessarily a Christmas gift, the mittens were given just before our preschool Christmas break. The gauntlet style mittens are similar to the mittens Bella wore in the movie "Twilight". A sweet friend is ever so slightly Twilight obsessed, and as soon as I saw this pattern I knew she had to have them!
Next up, embellished burp cloths. These are the 6 ply pre-fold cloth diapers (purchased at Target) that I added a simple stripe of a fun cotton fabric down the middle. The preschool uses them as a small gift to expectant mommies :)
And last but not least for this post, a Christmas tree ala Shannon. It's a 1x2 that I had cut to size, and then I just followed Shannon's excellent instructions. Again, I used my Cricut and the Cricut Design Software to accomplish the lettering. The paint was a mix of two green acrylic paints I had on hand, and after applying the lettering, I used Matte finish Mod Podge to seal in the vinyl (not sure if it really works or not, but it sounded good at the time). After all of it was dry, I used hot glue to attach each block to one another. I added some ribbon rather than raffia to my Christmas Tree.
For 2010, I made a lot of handmade items for Christmas/Winter.
First up, my lighted blocks. The Winter Wonderland block was nearly 7 inches square. It was cut using the Cricut and the Cricut Design Software (cartridges used: Zooballoo - font, Doodletype & Doodlecharms - snowflakes). The Wisemen Still Seek Him block (just over 5 inches square) was also cut using my Cricut, but I used SCAL to get the fonts and wisemen silhouette. Both blocks had generous openings at the bottom where I added squares of scrapbook paper and a 50 count string of mini lights.
Second, although not necessarily a Christmas gift, the mittens were given just before our preschool Christmas break. The gauntlet style mittens are similar to the mittens Bella wore in the movie "Twilight". A sweet friend is ever so slightly Twilight obsessed, and as soon as I saw this pattern I knew she had to have them!
Next up, embellished burp cloths. These are the 6 ply pre-fold cloth diapers (purchased at Target) that I added a simple stripe of a fun cotton fabric down the middle. The preschool uses them as a small gift to expectant mommies :)
And last but not least for this post, a Christmas tree ala Shannon. It's a 1x2 that I had cut to size, and then I just followed Shannon's excellent instructions. Again, I used my Cricut and the Cricut Design Software to accomplish the lettering. The paint was a mix of two green acrylic paints I had on hand, and after applying the lettering, I used Matte finish Mod Podge to seal in the vinyl (not sure if it really works or not, but it sounded good at the time). After all of it was dry, I used hot glue to attach each block to one another. I added some ribbon rather than raffia to my Christmas Tree.
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