For my lieges

These crowns for Laura and Sam were very easy, thanks to the pattern from This Cosy Life. Just added the sparkly buttons on the points.


Sam would not model his crown for me, and I keep forgetting to ask Laura, so this is what you get!

Bib for baby unknown

My former coworker is going to be a grandma soon! This is the same woman who made me the perfect wedding dress. She and her daughter (and son) are very sweet women (and man), and we know how I like to gift things.

There is a very popular book out there called The Five Love Languages by Dr. Gary Chapman. I've never really figured out my language but my best guess is that it's gifts (rather than affirmation, quality time, acts of service, or touch) because I really, really, ridiculously like thinking of, making, and giving gifts - especially useful ones. And there's something very loving to me about getting something that time and effort was put into, or that just really represents you. That being said, I also have an appreciation for NOT giving or receiving too much STUFF, and the hubby and I are notoriously lax about celebrating birthdays and anniversaries.

ANYWAYS, this knit bib pattern is courtesy of Itchy McStitchy. For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to line it. I figured it would protect all that cute baby clothing from messes a little better (even though I know very well that you could put a baby in a plastic haz-mat suit and it would still find ways to get messy).

My sewing machine hates me. It has nothing to do with my not knowing how to use it, or with it being forty years old, or with it needing oil and a good cleaning. I could not get the stitches to stick! It would either bunch or skip huge spaces. I tried all the settings and it finally worked when I changed the needle (??). Whatever. My corners looked like a horrific accident so I knitted little "accent" flaps to cover them. Sure, it's a little embarrassing that my professionally sewing coworker will see it. But she knows I'm a novice.

Egad!

I lied when I said I'd be back on the 20th. I was actually back in town on the 19th, figuring I'd upload pictures the next day and post some fun and fantastic things...but here we are - June 22nd - and I'm STILL working on it. I've been job searching, playing with the kids, running to Home Depot multiple times, making Father's Day cards...the excuses are endless.

Here's a picture, just to keep things pretty. It's my favorite part of our yard. He just looks so sneaky.


COMING SOON:

An exciting gift for a friend's grandbaby that requires knitting and sewing. Me, sew? It scares me, too. I guess bears are getting old. You know, wrinkly and losing their fur and always grumbling about the days when you could catch a nice salmon and be done with it - not like today when you get those suspiciously pumped-up ones that are way more than you can eat and you just end up wasting half of it.

Another exciting gift which is a dress-up item for Laura. I've already given it to her but it needs some sparkle. Literal sparkle. She just turned five.

Even more exciting pictures as the garden saga continues. Will the mysterious bugs eat all my broccoli???

Back to my framing roots

My mom brought me this cute card from her recent trip to brasil thinking I could frame it for the bathroom where I have a yellow duckie bath mat and coordinating toiletry accessories. It matches perfectly.


The quote is one of my favorites from The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Here in Portuguese, it translates the same as it does from French, in which the book was originally written: "the essential is invisible to the eyes."


So I used my trusty Logan mat cutter to turn the card into an 8 x 10 with a yellow silk mat on top and a basic white mat below. Seriously good investment on the mat cutter. It doesn't do everything, but what it does do comes out just as nice as a mat cut on the $2000 cutter at the shop - I don't know that the 220 model is sold anymore, but I think it was about $100.


So here's my lovely mat. If I'd been thinking while I was at the store buying the frame I would've gotten different colors, but I wasn't. So this was the best combo I could get out of what I had. The yellow silk is almost exactly the same color as the walls. I may change it someday but I needed to hang something in there.


It almost makes me miss my old job...well, not really. I do miss the framing and my coworkers. Some of the customers. The odd job like this one is satisfying and just the other day I went to a knitting night with a couple of ladies from the store. It was at Crafty Planet, which is my new favorite LYS. Just a really good selection of yarn. Useable, you know; good blends, good wools and cottons, tons of sock yarn, all price ranges. Plus they have fun fabrics and other wares for the creataholic.

In other news, I'm on vacation next week! No posts! Blurg! See you on June 20 for North Shore recap.

Brain Slug!

Futurama fans unite!


Thanks to NanoPants Dance for this awesome pattern for a brain slug from the fabulous TV show, Futurama. Here, you can see it sucking my brain juices, rendering me incapacitated for any head-wave activity type of thinking kind of things.

It's a gift for Joe, although what he'll do with it is a mystery. It's too small to snuggle or use as a pillow. Oh, well. Here's a little clip of a scene where we are introduced to brain slugs...

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Baby Hat #2

So here's the hat. I made a blue one a while back, so now I'm prepared for someone to have a baby of either gender. Not that I subscribe to that kind of thing. For all you know, the blue one would be for a girl and the pinks/yellows one would be for a boy. Ha!


Just kidding. I'm open-minded, but I understand that a kid needs to fit into this world. Although, why is it that a girl can pretty easily wear blue or red, but a boy still cannot wear pink? I guess it's just not as cool to do things like a girl (ie: throw). Of course, the whole conversation is moot if a baby is born neither male nor female*. Ok, I'll stop.

Really, this or the blue hat will probably be given to my sister to give to her friend who is due this fall.

*This link does have what some would call graphic photos.

Egret Sighting

I don't know why I don't take the camera every time I go down to Lake Hiawatha...yesterday I went with the husband, sister, niece, and nephew to romp around the play ground, which has probably the best equipment I've ever seen. The kids like to play house in one of the structures (I'm always the baby, and for some reason they always want me to cry) and one of our regular family activities is "going to the ocean;" meaning we walk fifty feet to overlook the lake for two minutes before returning "home" for lunch, naps, or whatever. Sometimes we take the "car," which is the seesaw.

So on a trip to the ocean yesterday, we discovered a gray egret right there, just off the shore. Everybody came over to watch it catch a little catfish. I can sit and watch animals for hours if I have the time and a camera, but the kids got bored and wanted to go play. It was very cool for a few minutes, though. On a previous trip to the park, there were three gray egrets flying around. I wonder where the white one has gone to.

A new sweater just in time for June

Thanks to Peony Knits, I have made my first true clothing item! The pattern is simple and I made it even simpler by just using stockinette stitch along with the ribbing instead of the suggested stitch. Okay, it was a bit tedious, but that's why you have to have a few projects going at once.

Figuring the gauge on this was super easy, which is great because I'm super bad at it. See the post on Bruce's collar for proof.

I used a cheap Caron Brand acrylic because that's what it called for. And because it was cheap. And I like the color. So right now it's soft and sharp looking, and hopefully it won't get too pilly too quickly. Having made it myself, I may actually take care of it by hand washing it to make it last longer. We'll see. Who actually hand washes things?

The button is the most expensive button I've ever bought - but I love it. It's a celluloid, swirly thing made sometime between 1915 and 1930. Bought it at an LYS from a woman who spends her life collecting and selling vintage buttons, many of which date back to the 19th century. So $12 isn't so bad for such a cool button. I also bought a very pretty mother-of-pearl button that's in the shape of some sort of plumeria-type bloom.

So, it's not very fitted, but that's why you call it a "shrug," right? My next piece of clothing will be a little more advanced, but I'm glad I started with this one.

The best kind of gift

My niece, Laura (who is four), loves to do "projects."


So one day she decided to make a card for me and it's just about the cutest thing I've ever seen. On the front there is a "T" for Theresa, along with some other things Laura likes. I'm not sure what the "A" is for.


Inside, she spelled my name, only it was started a little too far to the right, so when she ran out of room she just went back to the beginning to finish. I used to do the same thing, only I started out spelling my name "oieusa" or something crazy like that. People must have told me the right letters, but, you know, sometimes when you're four you just do what you want.

Again, not sure what the "T" and the "A" are about (especially since I have neither - ha!), other than that they are in my name. The figures below that, however, I can clearly interpret as X's (albeit sideways) and O's - hugs and kisses. The "L" is for Laura, of course, and then she signs it with I love you. Too sweet.

Yes, it does look strikingly bare

Upon closer inspection, the plants we started from seed in March/April and transplanted about a week ago don't look so great. I'm hoping it's because conditions outside are naturally more harsh than the ideal of a windless, temperate indoor room with twelve hours of sunlight each day. We'll see. We're learning that some things should not be started indoors, and others should be painstakingly spaced from the outset, and others we could have started even earlier. Whatever...I'm excited to see what we get.