Archive for December, 2005
December 31, 2005 at 6:25 pm · Filed under blythe, sewing
I feel like I’m back in 7th grade home ec class. Fortunately, I seem to be picking up skillz a lot quicker than I did then, because I can already make bobbins and thread my machine without referring to the manual (much). Here I am making my very first stitches on my very first project: a cover for the machine. It came out rather short, but it covers the important parts. I’m going to add a skirt to the bottom as soon as I figure out how.
Today we made a family trip to Target to look at video games and office supplies. After that, Moon generously offered to accompany me to Jo-Ann Fabrics, where there was rumored to be a big sale on cutting supplies and such. I picked up some clearance fabric for future use, a rotary cutter and self-healing mat (40% off!). Then I hauled my sewing machine up to the kitchen table so I could practice on some leftover fleece squares from the no-sew blankets the kids and I made last month.
Soon I discovered that my little practice pieces were the perfect size for Blythe hats. Angelica was grateful, of course. Hats for everyone!
Naturally, the domestic arts will have a role in my top 10 list for the New Year. Too bad I need to bring income into our family, or I’d just stay home all day and make wonky-looking craft stuff. (Tune in tomorrow for my resolution list!)
December 26, 2005 at 1:43 pm · Filed under family, knit/crochet
One of the final touches on our pile of gifts this year was a pair of crocodile mittens for each of the cousins whose names were drawn by our kids. (At the in-laws’, the adults exchange names, and so do the kids.) The larger pair were for Sister #1’s daughter, and as you can see, she’s old enough not to try to eat googly eyes. The other pair were for Camden, the next-to-youngest cousin.
Before we headed for the in-laws’, however, we had our immediate family gift exchange and various church adventures. Pete still directs a choir at the Catholic church he used to attend, and he was scheduled to do music for the Christmas Eve mass. I decided to sing with the choir at my former church, too. We had tofurky for our mid-day meal, and as soon as the sun set, we piled into the car to go see the lights. (Foxxi included.)
My parents, Brother #2 and his wife drove up last Sunday for holiday festivities, as my parents are visiting Brother #1 in Seattle this week. My mom left a small package for each of us to open on Christmas day. Imagine our surprise when we all received …. underwear. Not just any underwear, either. Mine were white cotton granny panties, a size too large. Moon had the same, but with snazzy multicolored patterns. Peter’s were adult men’s briefs, which I’m sure would have come up to his armpits. Pete’s were two sizes too big (and not his preferred brand).
So basically, my mom gave us the gift of laughter for the holidays. And that’s cool. (Plus, we were able to return the errant undies.)
Our other presents were pretty awesome, though. The kids and Pete gave me a sewing machine and a JBL OnStage for my iPod. Now we can hear my tunes all through the house! We gave Moon a video iPod with 60GB memory. I downloaded all her music into it and bought a few music videos for her from the Apple Store. I think she was surprised. Peter got a PSP, and I’m sure he had it all figured out in advance.
Later, when the 20 of us gathered in my in-laws’ living room for gift exchange, Camden showed us that he knew exactly what to do with his new mittens: dominate them!
Pete, Sister #1 and Sister #4 went outside with some of the kids later and built a snowman. Peter hauled his cousins around on a sled and thoroughly enjoyed himself. I put my feet up and watched them all out the window with Moon by my side. It was lovely.
And it was all over so fast. In a few days, 2005 will be but a memory. Merry Christmas!
December 24, 2005 at 6:43 pm · Filed under blather
Hi, I haven’t been lost at the mall or anything. But 2005 is wrapping up with a vengeance, and there are some things I can’t really write about (i.e. work stuff). It’s been a nutty few weeks.
I’ve got kid stories, too — the thing is, writing about kids over the age of 10 is lots trickier than sharing toddler exploits. Unfortunately, when Peter and Moon were toddlers, I hadn’t yet been tuned in to the glorious wonder of the Internet. I mean, I was online, but my main activity was participating in an OCD listserv. (My favorite post began: “I know I’ve written about this before… but what’s a little repetition among friends?”)
Anyway, it’s Christmas Eve, and not only is the shopping finished, it was DONE YESTERDAY. Pete cooked a bodacious tofurky dinner this morning while I was at the Alliant Energy Center donating blood and regretting having left the camera at home. (Let’s just say it was a very festive bloodletting. Bucky Badger was there!) I’m proudly wearing my “Be Nice to Me, I Gave Blood Today” sticker, because there’s always a chance that the Red Cross folks won’t be able to find my veins, and I was overjoyed that my two hour visit wasn’t for naught.
Wherever you are and whatever you’re doing, I hope you’re having a wonderful winter holiday. There’s a lot to celebrate. There always is.
December 15, 2005 at 12:42 pm · Filed under blather
This morning, I drove Peter to the bus stop because he was so sore after slipping and falling on our wet floor yesterday. He somehow managed to go out and roughhouse with neighbor kids afterwards, which justified my firm decision NOT to let him stay home from school.
“If I drop anything today, I won’t be able to pick it up,” he protested. “It’ll just STAY THERE.” Of course, he can always ask a classmate to help him, but I kept my mouth shut and steered him toward the door.
An hour later, when it was time to drive Moon and our neighbor, Brooke, to the high school, the garage door stuck halfway up. I lowered it and tried again. Same thing. I spotted the red release cord hanging from the door, and gave it a tug, which sent the door crashing to the cement with a life-threatening speed.
Thank God my foot wasn’t in the way, or Brooke’s head, or whatever. (Did you know a car backed over my right foot when I was 16? I have a feeling the garage door would have been worse.)
So, about Brooke. Nice girl, loves horses and country music. She and Moon were born two days apart. (Brooke is older.) Oddly enough, her parents were in our Lamaze class. We didn’t really know each other, but we recognized them when we moved into the neighborhood. Probably because her dad looks like young Kris Kringle in the classic “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” the one narrated by Fred Astaire. Bearded redheads tend to stand out in a crowd.
Anyway, we couldn’t get out. The door wouldn’t budge. I called Pete and begged him to borrow a car (he jogs to work) and rescue us. Together we were able to get the door up — the girls and I held it while Pete backed our car out of the garage. First period was finished by the time I dropped the girls off at school, and of course, they were crushed to have missed it. Ha! Ha! They’re probably plotting ways to sabotage other household items, and I should probably keep an eye on Peter and make sure he doesn’t get into the power tools.
December 3, 2005 at 11:35 am · Filed under knit/crochet
But first, I must show you the awesome shoes I bought when I was at the Anew Women’s Expo.
The second I saw them, I knew they must be mine. And buying them made my weekend worthwhile, as I was pretty much stuck in my employer’s exhibit booth there and could not enjoy my usual leisure time activities.
Obviously, I managed to check out the other booths, and I was astounded by the number of exhibitors whose businesses were dedicated to improving women’s looks. Not just makeup and diet clinics, mind you … but hair products, salons, and even plastic surgeons. One booth was offering botox on-site. Get yours today and enjoy a $100 discount!
Pete asked me later, “So … where was the booth where they told people ‘You’re fine just the way you are’?” Not at the Women’s Expo, obviously. Brainwashing works, because I caught myself looking in the mirror in the ladies’ room, wondering whether the creases between my eyebrows made me look old.
Okay, no botox for me, but I do admit the laser hair removal place had its appeal.
Now to feast your eyes on my latest work. My Hogwarts scarves are finished! Notice the lack of Slytherin … I’m tempted to make one just to have a complete set. As you may recall, I started with Ravenclaw (for Moon), followed by Hufflepuff (for Peter, although that’s my house), and finally Gryffindor for Pete.
These scarves make me smile, because they are warm and cozy, and a constant reminder of the goodness that is the Harry Potter series of books and movies. Did I mentioned we saw Goblet of Fire the day it came out? We did. And Moon saw it again two days later. In my opinion, it’s the best movie of the series so far. (And I loved Prisoner of Azkaban, so that’s saying something.) I hope that the deleted scenes include a bit more footage of the World Quidditch Cup, because the tent area was so full of interesting visuals that I wanted to slow it down and check it out more thoroughly. I also enjoyed that the movie makes Neville into a dancing enthusiast (note the bravery of being the first to get up and try — very Gryffindor).
But I digress. Here are two quite uncharacteristic knits that were quick and fun to do:
Yes, fun fur! I normally don’t care a whole lot for the stuff, but the yarn jumped out at me when I was shopping at Michael’s for kids’ art supplies. We picked up a few names from the giving tree at church, and the 9-year-old girl we selected had asked for paint-by-numbers or color-by-numbers stuff. She also wants a Hello Kitty nightgown, so I thought a fuzzy scarf might appeal to her. When I was knitting it, I kept stopping to pet it and check out the color changes of the ribbon that was woven with the eyelash yarn. On the other hand, the bunny was a project I had planned months ago, but never got around to doing. When the scarf was finished, I remember the ball of Moda Dea Aerie that I’d put away with the pattern. He’s stuffed with bits and pieces of leftover yarn that I had been saving in a Ziploc bag, so in a way he’s a talisman for my knitting. He’s got a little dab of all of my projects from the past year inside him.
And hey — I’ve been knitting for a year now! November is my knitiversary.
One more observation: I love my nostepinde. My family gave me a ball winder last Christmas, but I had to return it because I had nowhere to clamp it. All our surfaces were too thick. I wound yarn on my fingers until I discovered the nostepinde — which is inexpensive, completely portable, and does the job. Check out the amazing results!
