Busy Knitting.

I've been so busy lately, it's been crazy! I've been knitting practically everyday, trying to finish up Christmas gifts and winter accesories for the kids. The other night Jeremy helped me frog (unravel) a sweater that I saved from the salvation army pile. It's a wool/acrylic blend in charcoal gray. I ended up with 5 nice sized balls of yarn, and I've already started knitting up some armwarmers for my nephew. It's such a nice neutral color, perfect for guys. Counting out how many pairs of armwarmers I'm going to have to make, I think it's five pair of boys armwarmers, and then two more hat/armwarmer sets for girls, maybe more. Just thinking of it in those terms makes me want to give up. So I think that instead I'll allow myself that I can't make them for everyone and when I get tired of it I will stop. Last year when I felt obligated to finish something, it took me nearly a year to pick my needles up again. Same thing with sewing, if I've agreed to do something I just don't wanna do it anymore. I think I work best as some sort of surprise crafter. Like, I'm only inspired if no one is expecting anything. lol.

Well, back to my needles.

Dyson

Dyson is one of the best vacuum cleaners you will ever use. I've had a Kirby, an Electrolux, and an Oreck and it is by far superior to all of these. I can't tell you how many times I've loaned my Dyson to someone in the family or someone from church because even they could tell it was superior to their own cleaner. I would love to win a pink Dyson for my mother, she could really use a quality machine.

I love that all the basic attachments are "on board". I love that you don't have to buy bags for it, and that it's super easy to empty the canister. There are several places throughout the machine where you can check for blockages. The canister is clear so you can see how much it picks up, it's incredible (my kids LOVE watching the dust swirl around). It's really just a fantastic cleaning machine.

Who says English food is bad?

So the other night we had boiled sausages-cabbage-and-potatoes which is an old family favorite of mine. Tonight I'm taking the leftovers and making Bubble and Squeak. Mmmmm!

Whoever said English food is bad has obviously never tasted the same recipes that I've made. Bubble and Squeak, Scotch Collops and Stoved Tatties, Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding... Yum-YUM!

Everyday there are those moments where you wish that you had a built-in-camera to catch that look, that pose, that event. But by the time you get up, take the camera out of its case and point it at your subject, the moment has passed, and all you are left with is the memory.

Case in point, this morning my cat, followed my coffee cup wherever I set it down, determined that she was going to take a sip or three. I caught her with her nose hovering over it several times, preparing to lap up the sweet milky goodness, and I knew that getting up to get the camera would endanger my precious java. So instead, I petted her, pushing her head back, and told her "No kitteh, u can't haz coffeh."

Ben's Birthday Loot

Here's the mysterious cloaked stranger:


Here he is, showing off his fox shirt and soft, comfy pants:



And here he is doing his imitation of Bella Lagosi:

Copy cat, copy cat!!!

Yeah, I'll admit it. I have abosolutely no imagination when it comes to thinking up projects on my own. But I'm a whiz at seeing other people's creations and copying them to give to family and friends. Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, right? I hope Erin thinks so.

So here we have coffee-cozies, which also make excellent other-drink-cozies. These aren't just for hot coffee. They're perfect for iced coffee, and cold drinks. Nobody likes icy fingers! So far I made one for my BEST FRIEND, my mom, my mother-in-law, my cousin-in-law, my mom's best friend, and of course MYSELF. Because when I saw them on Erin's blog, I HAD TO HAVE ONE. And once I finished it I HAD TO TRY IT OUT. So my loving, devoted, and indulging husband took me 30 miles to the nearest Starbucks and I bought a grande pumpkin spice frapucchino because it was HOT that day. Which is how I found out that it works fabulously on cold drinks as well as hot ones.

By the way, the mostest funnest thing about this project was the embroidery. I am now as addicted to embroidery as I am to coffee. Especially embroidering the names. I LOVE IT!

You can't tell I've had too much coffee today, can you? ;)

Boys like shirts, too!

I couldn't leave my little man out now could I?

A little heat-n-bond, some scraps of thrifted fabric, and a short length of brown embroidery floss and VOILA! a turtle shirt. The bonus is, the turtle is hiding a stain I couldn't remove.

When my mom saw this she said "Oh, that's that ugly fabric I gave you. It makes a cute turtle shell!"

Another horsie shirt?

When you have two girls, you obviously have to be fair and make one each of EVERYTHING. But since I didn't have another brown shirt, I decided to make Libby's shirt a little different. Then Abby wanted to trade. Then she wanted to trade back. I think she's finally decided that they'll share both of them, which probably means that Abby gets first choice and Libby gets whichever one is left. Which doesn't sound fair, but Libby is much less concerned about such things. Except when it comes to her new rainbow-striped-hoodie-sweater. She ain't sharing that one, much to Abby's annoyance. So, to make a long story short (too late) here is Libby's horse shirt.
Basically I cut out the horse that I had used for Abby's shirt to use as a template. A little heat-n-bond and some cute fabric that reminds me of bandanas (I think it was a fatquarter from JoAnn's) and VOILA! instant applique. And I do mean instant. After I secured the horse to the shirt, I machine stitched just inside the perimeter. I like that frayed look after it's been washed a few times.
Mom says that I'm taking $4 shirts and turning them into $15 shirts. Does that mean I get to keep the $11 that I didn't spend? ;)

Busy, busy, busy...

September is such a busy month! So many birthdays (Dad, Anna, Joel, Denise, Tiger, Benjamin, Fritz, Gabriel M. and Joey M.)...

Some very good friends of ours have moved back to town our little ones couldn't be more thrilled about it. In fact, I think Abby may be "in love" with Little Gabriel. She says she's not, but she sure gets depressed when he leaves, and I spotted them whispering to each other in my rear-view mirror on the way home the other day. They are just so stinkin' cute together!

My first born, my baby, my sweet little darling boy, the answer my prayers, is now NINE! That's half-way to adult! I need to get pictures of him in his presents from mommy, which he wore to "school" today. I made him some lounge-type pants from the softest plaid flannel, thrifted from Goodwill. Then I finally located some freezer paper, so I sketched a fox stencil and painted a shirt. He is apparently most impressed by the pawprint. And I finally got around to making his cloak; I've have the fabric so long that I don't remember whether it's cotton or polyester, but it's so smooth and thick, perfect for running around outside as autumn's chill becomes more evident. And of course, the best gift in my opinion...

Vito the goat. He's so sweet and friendly, a perfect companion for a young farmer.

I finally got some photos of a few things that I've made so I'll try to post those later on this week.