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Meet the newest member of the family. Only I think I accidentally packed away her potential mate with the Christmas decorations....


A photo a day over at Chicken Blog, too.

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And a bit more making. Our school's mascot is the gryphon, and a work friend is moving on this week to new adventures in life. I made her this little gryphon from this pattern; easy enough, although I didn't realize until after making it that the pattern and instructions don't *quite* match her sample photo. Kind of hate when that happens. But, I'll make some adjustments and make up a few more (Dean seemed pretty interested...).

The winter of... what?

This was from a couple of storms ago; I believe (hyperbole-free) that we've had another 18"+ since this was taken.  Actually, probably more like 20" since this was taken.  Snow is falling as I type, and our fingers are tightly crossed that it stays snow and doesn't turn over to rain of any kind. At this point, the snow that cannot be raked off the roof will become dangerously heavy if soaked by rain, and we've got a few problem areas around the foundation that -- thanks to the amount of snow piled up and around, could leak.

I keep trying to have an "it is what it is" attitude and despite evidence to the contrary I'm actually worn out and tired of talking about the weather.  If I had a button maker, I'd sport one that says, "Can we talk about something else?"  Hmmm.  Might need to figure out if I can whip something up!

Meanwhile, I am so thankful yet again to have Natalie for a friend.  I feel so cared for, having her prompt me to getting going already! here; she's the most delightful and consistent blogger I know and my fez is always off to her.

I have to do some finishing and photography for proof, but am I telling you that I learned to read my very first knitting pattern in order to make polar bears and it was easy.  The couple of things I wasn't sure about, I found detailed and helpful YouTube videos for.  I am making mine tiny (fits in the palm of your hand) because that's how I roll.  I see that this is the point in the winter where I usually lose my crafting mojo (super busiest time at work, hands wreaked from shoveling, delights of the season wearing off) but I'm determined to keep going.

I want to make this the winter of something else.  Not the winter of the record-breaking, back- and spirit-breaking snow, but the winter that I, that we... what?  Knit 100 polar bears?  Got my new stove and learned to make the best ever... focaccia? caramel corn?  The winter that Dean spent a month in Panama and came home fairly fluent in Spanish and focused on becoming (a marine biologist? a rain forest ecologist? a traveling journalist?) -- although I have to remember, while I imagine and celebrate his possibilities to also pay heed to my own.  The winter that I learned to let him go?  The winter I decided what my next goal is, I hope.

New year, new start

Just jumping on the built-in change to get a kick-start; no regrets, no promises, just starting again with a fresh energy for all kinds of things.

As always, I got the big-time craft bug bite right at Christmas and, as always, too late really to do much in time for gift giving this year. However, I am forging on and hope to have a whole box full of gifts made over the course of the coming months and have made a start here with Mr. Fox. I've eyed the pattern for a couple of years but resisted on the sound basis of having so. many. other. patterns.  (Not necessarily fox patterns, but for more things than I can make in this lifetime.) He just kept calling me, though, and finally -- delighted I gave in. Directions were pretty good although I'll do several things differently next time. Planning a skulk of foxes.

Ready for this new chapter with all the warm feelings that I'd have curling up with a new book in a sunny window and the time to read. That's my secret, I realize; deciding to be mindful with my time.

Winter crafting

There's nothing like the combination of Christmas, and wintery weather, and new craft magazines to get my fingers itching to make stuff. This swan ornament is the first of what I hope will be many, made in the way-BEFORE-Christmas months so that I can at least get closer to my goal of a mostly handmade holiday. (I was going to give you, right here, the link to the Dec. 2010 Cotton Time magazine where this pattern appears, but I see that it's no longer in stock at Superbuzzy.com -- a great source regardless for Japanese craft magazines.)

Yesterday's little guy is supposed to be a lamb; thanks for the guesses and seeing those helps me think about how to make it more lamb-y and less dog (or calf) like.

Hello Kitty!

Actual holiday gift-making is underway! Rather than wringing my hands about not having time to get through my entire list of gifts I'd like to make, I'm just jumping in, doing what I can, and enjoying the results.

Finally figured it out

Dean (who was kind enough to take this photo for me out of the car window as we drove home from school last week) is relieved, as am I, that all the wild turkeys in the neighborhood finally seem to have gotten the memo about Thanksgiving and are laying low. They'd been prancing around without care, right in broad daylight, right on front lawns. "Maybe we need to put out a little dish of gravy to wise 'em up," I said, but luckily it didn't come to that.

And, I, too, seem to have gotten with the program. "Hey, maybe if I stop complaining about the fact that I'm so far behind in the holiday department and use that energy instead to start doing things then I'll feel better!" And what do you know? It's working!

Tote bags that fold up and can be tucked into your regular bag so that you're never without your own reusable shopping bag have been high on my to-do list for a while now, and I finally got out fabric and sewing machine and got to work.

I even went so far as to modestly decoupage a nice tin and have placed one of these bags inside, and tied it with a ribbon -- all ready for the staff gift exchange at work. Gosh that feels good. I wish I'd thought about the tin option earlier in the year, only because I know we recycled a few of these. I'm liking the idea, though, of converting them as I go so that I have alternative wrapping solutions ready at hand.

So even though Thanksgiving will be here before I know it, and I'm not quite in the place I'd like to be yet (no ironing done, no silver polished, no butter pats made, no rolls nor appetizers made and in the freezer yet), I'll get there one way or another and I'll simplify as necessary to make it happen. Feels better just being able to say that.

OH -- and I keep forgetting: Ken told me last week that on a radio news report he heard that sales at Joann Fabrics are up 18% over this time last year, and that the company attributes it to more people making Christmas presents! I attribute it to blogland -- truly I do! How wonderful is that?

And I just now remembered one more thing I wanted to share. Dean needed a plain, flat bedsheet to bring to school for a project (it will get made, by him, into a costume suitable for depicting a person who lived in the Middle East during the middle ages -- back when the Arab world was thoughtfully, purposefully holding onto great ideas and recorded history, after Rome burned and the darkness took over Europe). There was no such thing as an extra plain sheet in the closet to give him but I had the brilliant idea of stopping at Salvation Army on the way home from his Saturday morning soccer game. Brilliant for me, anyway, because I don't usually have reasons to thrift but I could just picture unused sheets, in packages, waiting for us there. Yup! Not only did I score the sheet for him, but I also found a never-used, vintage muslin sheet and it's gorgeous -- great hand, so ready to be made into...something. All for $5.

Here comes the sun? Please?

I don't live in Seattle, nor anywhere in the Pacific Northwest. This is by choice. Oh sure, there's a lot to recommend the area, and I've enjoyed visiting (my mom lives in Seattle and my sister's in a town outside the city). But the weather. Oy. I'm not cut out for all that dreary rainy misty cloudy weather.

I understand from my mom that they've been having an unusually dry, sunny spring. I think that's because all the rain is HERE. In New England. Where it is not supposed to be. Where I suspect we're having a record for spring rain. And gloom. Have we seen the sun more than 5 times in the past month? I'd be surprised.
Not that there aren't discoveries to be made, walks to be taken, activities to go forward with despite the rain. But really. I could do with a little bit more exposure to the sun.

Meanwhile, Dean and I have been doing our best to take advantage of the lack of other things to do. I (drum roll, please) cleaned out the tupperware/appliance closet yesterday, took Dean's outgrown clothes in to a resale shop, and got the car inspected (we're forced to do this every year in Massachusetts -- a very inconvenient racket). I'm going to vacuum and wash all the first floor of the house today. Really I am. After Dean's done with his computer time. I'm caught up on laundry AND ironing. Wonders, apparently, shall never cease.

I need to take pictures of the pom-pom pet Dean made for Ken for father's day; he talked me into getting him this book
and he's got plans for many more. Good stuff. Every child should, I believe, go through a pom-pom phase -- they are just so easy and rewarding to make.

With that I think I'll put on some music and do a little crafting myself. Before I do more cleaning.

How bad?

Whenever I'm in the mood to make my mental list of things I used to have that I wish I still had, I always include "that basket made to look like a creel, filled with old buttons." The basket was a favorite toy of childhood; I never lacked for things to do with those buttons, including just dumping them all out to sort them yet again, to touch them and dream of owning clothing so elegant that they would include such amazing buttons. I pick up old buttons when I can, and now have a small collection to play with.

I am about to take two buttons off this card to use on an owl that I'm making from scraps of vintage kimono cloth (purchased as part of a mixture, years ago). It was hard to cut into the fabric, and it will be hard to take the buttons off this card, but I know more pleasure will come from having these treasures see the light of day than comes from leaving them to collect dust in closets. Right?

Last night we finished watching Finding Neverland. I get my say on our Netflix queue every now and again. Loving children's literature as much as I do, I was very familiar with the story of J.M. Barrie and how Peter Pan came to be. I knew it was a sad story. So am I a bad mother for having Dean watch it, since it made him cry? Captains Courageous also made him cry -- it makes everyone cry. Dean is at the age where he gets it, he understands what death means. He's also at an age where he can sometimes be very cynical about it, in a normal 10-year-old-boy kind of way, and enjoying movies where bad guys, oh, get blown to bits and stuff like that. I like to think that I'm helping keep balance, and keeping healthy sensitivity. But it's hard when family movie night ends in tears....

February Every Day

I love February. I truly do. I have an idea this morning that I am going to try to post every day this month and I intend to do my best.

Flickr is one of those wonders of which I have barely scratched the surface. I still have just the free account, in fact, and haven't posted too much there yet. Through last year's ABC-Along, I was invited to join a Queen Anne's Lace group; it never would have occurred to me that such a group would exist, but knowing it is there has made me pay even more attention to my winter garden.
Still playing with polar bears. I'd like to figure out how to make future bears stand up on their own; would it just be a matter of weight in the legs? or would it take wire armature as well?

Although I'll be the first to admit that this latest piece is not perfectly rectangular, it IS less wonky that it appears here. When I showed this to Ken and Dean, they were both worried that it was not intended for us and were delighted to hear that yes, guys, I did actually make something we're keeping. Valentine's decoration, don't you know?

I tried a different method for the binding. Four separate pieces rather than one continuous piece, with the idea that it would help keep my corners more crisp and consistent. I do like the lack of seams in the binding along the way.

December is not the time....

January, really, is the time to make the commitment to handmade gifts. I was fairly on top of that last year, and more or less worked on projects throughout the year so I had a good stash come December. This year, my desire to give handmade things is no less deep, but I failed to snap in to action early enough. I'm still trying my best, and eyeing the calendar nervously about the number of crafting AND mailing days left until the 25th.

Polar bears have been multiplying around here -- not fast enough, but still. Enough so that I'm out of wool felt and need to get more. (Make that, "nervously eyeing the number of shopping, and crafting, and mailing days left...".)
For scale, although actual size will vary. Mama bears, Papa bears, and baby bears like this one. I've also managed to get some homemade cookies and cds with holiday music selections out and at least one brother already reports happily munching away.

Thanks for the help and advice on placing photos in order in posts. I'm on a Mac, using Firefox, and only sometimes (apparently) using my brain. Oh well.

Have I told you yet that it will just be the three of us here on Christmas day? Turns out Ken's parents felt, after Thanksgiving, that the hour's drive to our house is more than Ken's dad can handle, so we'll be going down there after the holiday to celebrate with them and Ken's brother and significant other. It took us a little while to take this in; Dean was at first not sure how he felt about not having company on the day. But then the thought of a long, leisurely morning to open presents (should Santa be so inclined to leave us some), our traditional breakfast of eggnog french toast eaten without rushing, no need to change out of pajamas, a dinner eaten at dinnertime and not mid-afternoon (leaving mid-afternoon for an array of appetizers -- our most favorite way to lunch), and a dinner of whatever WE want and however deluxe we want it -- all these things started to weigh very much in favor of a Christmas for we three. So relieved I can't even tell you.

All right then. Still have to get ready, though; still lots to do.

When bad crafts happen to good people, or why I should have spent more than 15 minutes on the tutorials before attempting a pattern

Oh dear. I didn't expect perfection, or anything, but I thought I could attempt a stuffed-animal sized ripple blanket as my "learn to crochet" project and end up with something at least usable. Clearly I am having trouble not only following the pattern properly, but there's definitely something (or several somethings) terribly wrong with my overall technique, since...
...I am getting all these raised ridges as I go and...
...it looks NOTHING like the perfectly flat work in the book. Am I yarning over incorrectly? Anyone know why I have those ridges? Dean, being the most amazing young man one could hope for, said, "oh, just keep going -- it will flatten out when we wash it and I love the colors!" But as much time as it has taken me to go this far, I'm on the fence about either starting over by ripping out, starting over by just tossing this bit, or keeping going with the idea that it will just look pathetic but Dean won't mind and I may "learn" as I go. Suggestions? To be honest, this is kind of why I hate attempting new things; I expect to be able to do things passably well right off the bat (although why I operate under that illusion is beyond me) and I don't like to take the time to work through every tutorial project before doing the thing I really want to do. Finding someone to give me some pointers in person would help, or I may do some searches today for some online tutorials. I do suspect that I'm not yarning over, or picking up the yarn for each new stitch (same thing, right?) correctly. I'm also not as keen to start over because I see after just a day that crocheting is going to really kick up the arthritis in my hands and I wonder how worth it that's going to be. But of course I invested in the 8-hook set at JoAnn's the other day (had a coupon!) and I dream of making crocheted softies....

Meanwhile, Operation Fun Town (while the daddy's away, the mice shall play) continues right on schedule. Chinese take-out last night while we watched Enchanted (VERY funny, although the camp-y-ness was a little lost on Dean), coffee cake and coffee for breakfast (it's all right -- his was really coffee milk more than coffee), extra Wii time (for him) and a friend coming over to play today. We need to remember to leave the basement door unlocked so Ken can get it at some point very late tonight, and I need to catch up a little more on the laundry. And get a little more crafting time in.

The lull

Who doesn't need a pair of princess fairy mud boots? Especially here, in the land of Mud Season? Some lucky child at school owns these and I'm on a quest to record more of the little, every day things that make me smile. It's been a busy, crazy, stressful time here lately -- nothing out of the ordinary (busy at work, soccer season starting up, piano lessons and practice to oversee, the pup, the winter that won't let go, no time nor energy for much crafting, blogging, or anything other than the bare minimum of what needs to get done) but I'm trying to step back a little and gain perspective AND joy. Says a lot when you need to work for your joy.
Despite my own lack of crafting, I did get Dean started (at his request) on a Knifty Knitter loom and he's busily making clothing for his stuffed animals. These are basically jumbo versions of a Knitting Nancy (do take a look at this amazing collection) and are perfect for a child who looks at the i-cord coming out of his Knitting Nancy and has trouble imagining what he's going to DO with it. No trouble here imaging the hat or bag or cozy pullover that will perfectly fit one of your stuffed animals (whom you see at the edge, nervously waiting to see who will score the first creation).
And only because he is taking up so much of my time every day, I feel the need to post just one new picture of Mr. Biscuit. I'm not totally convinced that I wouldn't sell him if I had the chance, but he's growing on me and sometimes I even have hope that a really good dog will emerge from this raucous and demanding pup.

I was poised, just by the way, to be perfectly on time with the letter "E" entry for the ABC-Along, but I found out that I didn't really know what "estuary" meant. I only thought I did. And while the Massachusetts coastline is certainly estuary rich, I won't be near the coast any time soon and so am working to photograph "eddy," or perhaps "efflorescence." If we ever have any.

Countdown to Valentine's

Ken and Dean both love this little blue doggie that I made about a year ago as one of Dean's countdown to Valentine's Day lunch box treats, and Ken urged me show him to you. I made him from the still perfectly good part of one of my most favorite pairs of socks that became too worn out to wear, and I made him up as I went along (which was a little harder to do than I thought it would be). I'm thinking about getting started on this year's treats -- Valentine's is getting close and there are 4 days in that week to count down.

I'm working on the "8 things" meme for which Natalie tagged me -- 8 things I am passionate about is easy, but 8 things to do before I die is taking a lot of thought.

Thanks to the ABC-Along, I discovered exactly how I want to spend Mother's Day this year -- how great does the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival sound!?! Yup, I thought so too! Someone posted photos she'd taken at the Festival last as part of the ABC project. Hmmm. Theoretically, we will have a real dog by then (we've been in family discussions for a long time, and it seems as though for Dean's birthday in April we will be finally making his dream come true). Probably not a sheep dog, though....

Making tracks

It is 2 degrees (f) outside right now, although with wind chill, apparently it feels like -13. The high today will be 14. Ah, winter. The snow is too hard now to accept footprints; the ones that are there are preserved, like the footprints on the moon. We delight in examining the animal tracks, identifying which creatures have been traveling through our yard, and wondering how the neighbor's cat managed to leave this particular set of tracks that make me imagine he could suddenly extend the size of his legs (like a cartoon character) and, from a great height, split his trail in 2 different directions at once....

So there's my noble resolution, and then all the usual health-related ones, and finally my creative resolutions. I'm going to baste Dean's dog quilt tomorrow and I hope to put some quilting stitches into it every day until it's done. I have a serious backlog of WIPs to attack, which makes me a little uneasy knowing that what I'm most thinking about is learning how to crochet. It's my nature to be thinking about new stuff -- not thinking that these new things are destined to end up as more fuel on the WIP (work in progress) fire. Discipline. Organization. These are the things I need. Maybe some kind of reward incentives are in order; finish Dean's quilt and then I can start something new. Hmmm. Well, and seriously, I've got to clean up my craft stuff before I buy a single new thing, and somehow have to break my habit of "cleaning up" by opening a closet or drawer and simply stuffing things inside. I'm awful that way. I also keep waaaay too much stuff. Sigh. But now it's time to get ready to go to work. Yeah, Dean and I have got to go out and face that cold....

Let it snow

A number of years ago, my mom crocheted for me a flurry of snowflakes. I treasure them, and each year think about where to hang them for optimal viewing pleasure. This handful still needs to be pressed and hung. I put a bunch up in my kitchen window last night and it made me smile to walk into the kitchen this morning and see them there.

I sound like my mom today -- this is not a good thing. Her low, raspy, gasp-for-breath voice comes from years of smoking; mine is the last vestiges (I HOPE) of this cold I am trying to shake. I need to get better and get my energy back again. Now. Dean's recovery has been faster than mine, fortunately. It makes all the difference when you are still growing and your cells are doing all that hard work already.

Wow. Two weeks from today. I just noticed.

Actual crafting

I actually made stuff today! Four small zippered bags, three tissue holders. Dean's going to a birthday party soon and the gift has a whole dog theme, so a little zippered doggie bag (for which Dean intends to sew up a dog softie to go inside) seemed just right. The only adjustment I'd make to this tutorial would be to say that you should sew the lining pouch with a larger seam, so that the pouch is less deep (and therefore does not wrinkle at the bottom) than the size of the bag. I can't decide yet if the tissue holders are going to be as useful as I'd hoped, so I may test-drive one for a while before I make any more as gifts. Next I really need to finish up the mini-quilts I've got going, and figure out if there's anything else I particularly need to make in the next month.

Meanwhile, Ken's off again -- Phoenix, this time. Last night I dreamed that his flight was canceled because of torrential rain, but he appears to have gotten off all right and will be in Phoenix at just about the time Dean and I are finishing up story time and heading toward lights out. I'm not as nervous or as stressed this time, which seems good. So far.

Good clean fun

Have you tried making soap yet? Wow -- what a fun, easy craft, and couldn't be more perfect for kids. The whole thing was Dean's idea, actually. We were harvesting basil from the pot on the back deck and he paused to talk about how the smell of basil is one of his favorites. This led him to observe that it would make a great smelling soap, which is why we headed right out to Michael's the next day. I had saved instructions from an old issue of MSL and was able to put my hands on them (a minor miracle, being able to find something I'd saved); you really don't need more than the instruction on the glycerin base package, but if you want to be ultra-prepared, here's what Martha says. [If the link won't work, go to marthastewart.com and search 'soap making.'] I knew the molded plastic bear packaging that came with the little bear cake/bread molds Dean picked out not long ago would come in handy someday and it did work perfectly for his basil bear soap. We used mini tartlet pans for the oatmeal/vanilla bean soaps. It would appear that you simply cannot make bad soap (unless perhaps you get too out-of-hand with the stuff you try to add?) and we're thinking about the gift-making possibilities already....

Wanted to report, while I'm at it, on my first foray into the Martha Stewart line at Michael's. I guess different stores have the option of how much Martha they offer; the store I visited had what seemed a pretty measly, half-aisle selection (others have described endless delights, row upon row of goodies). I bought the one thing I was actually looking for -- an 8.75 x 11.25" "specimen box" (shadow box frame) for the chipmunk by Dean. The $17.99 price was ridiculously high, which I realized after I got it home and discovered that the box is topped in clear plastic, not glass (couldn't tell for sure at the store and I guess I had hoped for the best). The plastic was scratched, which you couldn't see because of the shrink-wrapping. The Martha label was glued -- glued! -- to the box on the outside (um, yeah, the part that shows) and the specimen pins they included were about 1/4" or more too long (pressing the pins in as far as they will go to hold up the thing you are displaying in the box still leaves the pins sticking out too far for the lid to close -- I had to cut the pins). If the price tag had been $7.99, I would have accepted these issues with good grace, but the quality and price are sorely misaligned. I may bite, in future, on some of her smaller stuff in the line, but I won't be rushing out anytime soon to do so.