Autumn = Crafts

Ever since the temperatures at night started dipping into the 60's and then the 50's, I have become a crafting machine. Knitting, crocheting, stitching, felting, it has all passed under my fingers and through my hands.

I feel like I am waking up. Creativity is a fabulous sensation.

* Our new felted leaf garland for the dining nook, I finished it today. It makes me cozy.

Counting my Blessings

I joined up with Amy and a bunch of other fabulous ladies in a themed stitchalong. I have 100 squares to stitch my Counted Blessings in. I am super excited about all those tiny squares! I can't wait to see this piece evolve, as well as my own stitching ability.

Plus threads come in the pretties colors, like coils of candy!

Father's Day Gift

What do you get a guy for Father's Day when he has everything he wants or buys it for himself? You make him something! This past Father's Day I made Casey a picture, to be specific a silhouette of Twain. It is perfectly imperfect, shows our boys lovely face and it makes me happy to think of Twain. It took him a second to figure out what it was, but then he traced the line of Twain's nose, I knew that I had gotten it right.

I must say that this is my favorite Father's Day gift ever!

24 hours to go...

By this time tomorrow night, I will be done with a big stress in my life, our cub scout banquet. I just finished up the centerpiece that I had to make, and if I say so myself, it turned out pretty good. Our banquet theme is Magic, so I went with wands shooting flowers, magic doves, and floating magician hands all set in a black top hat. With some blue and gold tossed in for the cub scout theme.

This banquet has brought out the worse in two prima donna mothers, who both want everything in this banquet to be perfect for only their sons. *sigh* A handful of us other mothers are totally going to hit up the margaritas once this night is done, and we are done with those mothers for good. Thank god for a light at the end of the tunnel.

Fire Storm

I went to the mecca of all fabric shops today with my mom for their HUGE birthday sale. There was literally 300+ people standing outside the building before the opening. One poor old lady fell off the curb and had to be taken to the hospital. Poor thing. The owners were nice enough to bring her out the covetted coupon book, that only the first 300 would get, and send her on her way with a quilt to ward off the shakes, and a driver younger then 50 to get her to the hospital quickly and safely. Poor thing. Let me tell you, those quilters are crazy ass buyers! Damn this store had to have done at least 50k of business in the first 2 hours. SO CRAZY! I stood and drooled over the entire line of Amy Butler stuff and about split my face in half smiling when I discovered a AB quilt kit in my mom's basket. Turns out the kit was the main reason she was going up there since she is making it for my birthday. Hooray AB quilt! I am so excited about it.

On the way home we discovered a fire so big that they shut down part of the highway for 10 miles, which meant we either had to slog through traffic on the frontage roads or take twisty backrooads. We opted for the traffic since there are 25 mph wind gusts right now. And we didn't want to end up blown over in a ditch somewhere.

The smell of smoke was everywhere and I kept thinking back to the SD fires of 2003. I made an off comment that my house better not have burned down and what do you know? THERE was a BIG fire less then a block from our home. HOLY COW!!!!!

Luckily we have a super sweet neighbor who sprayed down the dry brush behnd our fenceline for an hour before I got home, and now I have sprinklers going just to get some of the super dry brush wet. It is going to be a dry windy night dropping down to the 20's with a freeze.

Freaking wind, powerlines, and dry brush.

Letter of the day is P.

Alex won fourth place in his Pack's Pinewood Derby today. Not bad considering this is a Mommy made car. Woo Hoo for me and a hack saw! Proud of him.

A perfect follow-up is a ham and brie quiche, especially for a slightly upset tummy. Yum comfort food wrapped in pie crust. Perfect for them.
And then hours of knitting, My So Called Scarf has been languishing on my needles since the day after Christmas and I am jamming through to finish it up. One skein caked, one skein knit. Progress for me.

Purples and Greens Oh My!

This was just the haul of yarn, there are at least a dozen set of needles as well as patterns too!

I had a fabulously fun fiber day. My mom and I went to our LYS that is unfortunately closing doors in a couple months, I decided to use up all of my very generous gift card they gave me for Christmas. So last night I sat down, checked off my needles and researched what I would need for queued projects, I organized all my patterns and stashes on Raverly and armed myself with a list today. Since word has gone out that this store is closing things were starting to get pick over, especially the Cascade 220 that I was looking for, so I changed my plan by super stocking my needles and circs, and indulging in loads of Noro Blossom, Lorna's Laces, Jitterbug, Kaffe Sock yarn and some super bulky that is crying out to me to cast on tonight. Funny thing is that everything turned out to be some shade of purple today. I must be in a mood.

Fiber Fun...

I have been looking for a nativity, one to replace the sweet baby Jesus that Alex made out of a paper bag three years ago. Paper bag Jesus met unfortunate end last year, by the route of water and scissors. So sad. So I have been half heartedly looking over the year, more so now that the Christmas displays are up everywhere. Nothing ever quite made me say, I want that. It was all either too cutesy or to weird looking or so expensive, and some just looked so incredibly religious and pious that I felt it would be a bit out of place in our mellow religious home. So I kept looking and waiting and one day in my new favorite yarn store I saw a display for a Felted Nativity class. Oh oh oh!! I ended up taking the class and loved every second of it. I loved creating my own Mary and Joseph and my own sweet baby Jesus. Today I finished up my trio with Joseph and I am so happy with how they turned out.

To make my fiber rich day even better my exchange of yarn came in! Woo Hoo I finally have the remaining skeins needed to finish up the Christmas stockings I am making us this year. Now I need time to sit and knit. I could jam one out in 5 days, so I am goaling to get them done in about 15 days. Just in time to felt them, dry them and hang them in time for Christmas.
Today was a busy busy day, lots of errands and appointments and things to do. I rolled out of bed quick, dressed in my pre-laid out clothes, woke the Alex which in turn woke the Sammy (who slept with the boy all night, YAY!), filled up my travel mug of coffee, ushered Alex to school after getting all the ice off our car and started my errands. Archie got groomed and is now unhappily wearing his new tee shirt, it says Lord of Treats on the back. Damn I love my Princess Frou Frou. I can only get away with calling him a Princess because he is a chicken shit, he is super pretty and his tail is like a pony tail. It is so hard to not dress him in pink, he would look so cute. God help us if I ever get a Frou Frou girlie dog. I will become that lady, I promise.

Go for the Art or the Food?

Hmm do I go with the Monet or Popsicle?

Since my needles are bare while I wait for my yarn to come in, I have to have something besides a mega gifty to work on. Variety is the spice of life you know. So I have decided to make a pair of fingerless mitts and I am stuck with the colorways I have narrowed it down to. Do I choose something that will match with my new quilted pea coat, or do I go for the bright that will bring smiles? I am leaning towards the Monet and just might use the Popsicle for a pair of socks.

Time to go cast on with a set of needles just about as wide as toothpicks!

Viva le Knitting!

Lush

This pile makes me happy. It is soft and squishy and colorful and inspiring and did I mention soft?

Yes, Soft. Especially the green on the right, it is Alpaca, and let me tell you those Llama like creatures are soft!

And then there is the white, faint blue and pink fuzzy on the left, that is angora rabbit. And let me tell you, it is a different kind of soft. Where the Alpaca was squishy and cool, the angora is dense and warm. It is called Peter Rabbit, and that makes me smile.

And then there is the cotton candy rainbow thick and thin in the back, it is kettle dyed and soft in the wool way.

I love my pile of yarn, my squishy lush pile of happy.

Carpet, glorious clean carpet

This is a sight that has been absent from my eyes for about a year and a half, this expanse of carpet being CLEARED!! I have had a mountain of boxes, bags, and stuff piled in front of my paper racks forever. yesterday, my friend Sharon was over and she casually said that her friend would love to take it all off my hands, she even loaded it into her car, and (most importantly) TOOK IT ALL AWAY!! Every time I come into my space I get a stupid giddy feeling, its CLEANED and CLEAR and I can actually see what I have. Perfect!

I am now finishing up our evening with the menfolk playing a final game of Halo for the weekend, and me snug in my clean space with a cup of suiss and my next pillow design ready to be knotted. Perfect again...

Knotty Pillow Talk

I decided a couple weeks ago that we needed throw pillows for our bedroom and after checking out the local selections I decided to go my own route. Off to the fabric store for Fossil Fern, one of the longest fabric production runs ever, and started making French Knots in a not to feminine flower. Between the Batik material and abstract flower I think I created exactly what I envisioned on my first test run. Three more are in production, waiting for about two thousand French Knots each. Seriously so much fun. I have one massive poesy on the hoop now with a mental design for two more pillows with poesy ivy trim. Vive La Knotty Girl!

Punkin' Luv

Some days are perfect for a punkin' completion. Seriously the hardest part about this little guy was the stitching up, and only because it was tedious. Pattern here. Mine came out a bit different due to a different yarn and a smidgen to little stuffing, but I am dang happy about it. Be on the look out for dozens more soon.

6 down and now 12 to go, now 12 done 6 to go!

I finally got around to my Letter a week card. I finished up 6 weeks today, stopping when I finished the card for the hardest week I have had in years. The topic still makes me tense, angry, and drained, all of which was evident in its design. Anyways, I now am only 12 weeks behind, I plan on tackling more later today, once I decide to jump into another hard card, the George card.

It was fun getting paint on my hands again. It was fun shifting into my creative gear. It was just fun. I have so many random letters left in my deck, I am going to have to turn on the thinking part of my brain to find weeks where I can use up my X's and Z's.

And just to end on a sweet note, sweet like my boy, here is a shot that Casey took of Bugman and the pack. Apparently it took 7 tries, a dozen sit commands, one Bad Bella look, and two collars hooked in order to get them all in the frame. School projects will make you persistent.

Update: Knocked out 6 more weeks, that makes 12 today and 6 to finish up! Yippy!

So Soon...

How did 2nd grade come up so soon? Alex started 2nd grade today, this year he looks more like a boy then a little boy. The day started with first day excitement, a bowl of fruity pebbles, a new Tony Hawk shirt, and Daddy making Math jokes. His poor frazzled teacher got stuck in traffic and ended up showing up about 10 minutes after the bell. But she jumped right into the swing of it all, the kids were mellow and all ready working on an All About Me packet and parents slowly trickled out.

There is something about the start of the school year that makes me get all domestic. I have been doing laundry all morning, I started reorganizing Alex's closet and picked up all the crazy toys in his bedroom, usually a chore that I leave for him. I am contemplating a batch of muffins and Casey is off to finish up his root canals.

With Fall right around the corner I am starting to plan out some heavy fiber projects. Summertime is not the time to be knitting a felted gifty. Or working on a Ripple with a lap full of yarn. I have been trying to quickly finish up my summertime projects, a lightweight Granny Afghan, a french knot pillow, and a linen silk scarf. I had a Christmas panic attack yesterday when I realized that it is only 4 months away! But for today I am only going to focus on the first day of school. When pick up time comes this afternoon I want to have a special after school treat, pictures ready for Alex's family poster, and a home ready for my family.

A little bit of Charm later...

Saturday crafty To-Do was to reupholster my vanity stool. It came with a very plain Jane cream material that didn't really scream Nicole. When there are lines of fabric out there like Amy Butler's, then there is no reason to not steal some "Charm" from my mom's stash, bust out the scissors, screwdriver, and staple gun. Fifteen minutes and some crafting later, I have checked off a fun To-Do!


Before she was store bought and okay...


But now she is Charming and lovely and oh so me...

Look I did plug it in!

Wish I could have google's satellites track every step I take during a day. I really would like an aerial shot of the inside of my house with my path drawn out for every step. I know that there are rooms I haven't gone in for weeks, literally.

My craft space has been totally neglected and ignored because I moved my laptop to the kitchen table for the last couple weeks. I also have been in a bit of a scrapbooking rut, more like a scrapbooking canyon. Nothing has inspired me, no paper or embellishment has tempted, and my photos have been nonexistent. That I believe is the problem, lack of photos, the images I like to document and caress with my eyes in the future.

I have been creating though, I have been consumed with Crochet. I abandoned my needles for a hook and it is my new best friend. These books have been my distractions, happy Hooker with it basics, and 200 Ripples ( a lovely gifty from my mom). That and my yarn stash, nothing bets shopping from my baskets bins and closets.

I also have a new sleepytime routine. I discovered a new author with a line of books that combines Vampires, Magic, and Sex in the best way ever. Each books is fast paced, addicting, and oh so yummy. Add in my iPod and I have the best bedtime routine ever.

Some nights Alex joins me, and I lend him an earbud and pretend to read while I stare at his sleep soft face, with his heavy eyelashes, smatters of freckles, and I can see ColdPlay pictures dancing in his eyes. Moments like that are when I wish I had a camera in my head, and when I blink that image can be stored and later printed. I would love nothing more then the chance to capture Alex in those sleep soft moments when he is just my boy, and I feel our connection tugging at my heart.

Work's in Progress

I have seven works in progress on needles and hooks right now. Two blankets, two scarfs, one booga bag, one pair of socks, one Panta ( that was supposed to go to a good friend, but *ashamed* I never finished it). For the last two weeks I have been working steadily on one of the blankets, it goes super fast since it is crocheted and I am all ready on my third large skein. I am going to jam through it in the next couple weeks to finish it up and avoid having a lap full of yarn in the summer months. then it is on to my smaller projects, especially those that are Christmas presents. I would really like to finish the summer with a nice pile of gifties done. Of course once this pile of WIP's is done, I will attach my mega stash and start another pile of projects. The one thing that makes me bite my lip in glee is the sheer amount of completely ready to roll projects I have stashed, I KNOW I learned this from my mom. Here is proof, two of her 4 cabinets for fabric. Guilty Guilty Guilty!

The Best Gift ever!

Casey and I knocked our heads together for this gem of a gift. We made our friend Scotty a mixed CD of songs that are all about S*X. I had fun making the covers and of course rocking out to raunchy tunes.

Last nights party for Scotty was fun, Casey and I were the only couple to not come Backwards, meaning in each others clothes. That group of people are always a good time, a drinking time and smoking time and food time, a need the next day to recover time, a time when I am always amazed that they do this "time" like 3 times a week. How I have no idea. But none the less it was a good time.

They want me to come back tonight for a Karaoke party, and I don't think that is going to happen. *grin*

Done with One on to Two

Finally this is done! I finished up this morning with the MFing Samuel L Jackson of yarn cutting helping me with the massive amounts of fringe. We both agree that this finished product is channeling a wee bit of Stevie Nicks.

My Mom is in Red Hat Society and she wanted a shawl knit for her well over a year ago. We scoped out some lovely Cherry tree hill yarns, she bought hers as well as my "payment" and I started it, but never finished. Life went by so slowly when all you did was knit 200+ stitches row after row with one row of Purl thrown in. But last week I vowed to just get it over with, so out it came, snuggling up to me on the couch and today was my due date. I finished just in time with Casey's help, I wanted to deliver it to my mom at her Red Hat luncheon so she could feel special. And she did!

Now I can return to this lovely bit of tranquility and fun, Casey's Irish Hiking Scarf with Cables. Sweet Sweet knit sticks.