12.30.07
First WordPress Post
For a long time I have been toying with the idea of changing my Blogger blog to a new blog format. With Blogger I had to learn a lot of html for the color, font and graphics codes. And still, I am quite unhappy with the format. It isn’t Blogger’s fault. So here goes. I’ve imported my previous blog and have added a few “extras”. Only time will tell if I am getting the hang of a new blog. I’m so used to the old formats. I’ve already tried Typepad, again too much html and widgets for me. I’m hoping that I’ve found a new, and permanent, home here.
12.25.07
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas from Scout!
She’s excited to see Santa!
But Shawn knows better!
Happy Holidays from Jem and Scout!
And from me too, (I apologize for the crappy picture…my hair hadn’t been washed and I was wearing “round the house” clothes)!
Here’s to you and all of your families! Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!
12.24.07
Celebrate!
Friday, December 21st was my little baby’s very first birthday! We had such a great day! Shawn and I reminisced about going to the hospital and thinking I’d be sent home rather than deliver. I honestly can’t believe it’s been that long. Of course, all moms say that. But I really mean it. It doesn’t seem like I’ve changed diapers 365 days a year, or made 6 bottles a day for 365 days, or waken up to her happy smile:
Yup, that’s what I get to wake up to! We started off the morning with Mickey Mouse pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Then we did some retail shopping at Beverly’s, (Scout needed fabric), and then had lunch at home with Grandma.
That’s when the real fun started, opening presents and eating cake:
She played with the boxes and packages more than anything. But the V Tech V Smile laptop was a hit. She loves the music and that it interacts with her.
This is from when we stopped by Shawn’s grandmother house, both wearing sweaters I made them. (It’s actually been “sweater weather” the past week or so.)
And let us eat cake! I stopped by a bakery on Thursday after my Dr. appointment to get my favorite chocolate chip Delcos. And since it’s my favorite bakery I decided I’d rather pay for a great cake, rather than a good cake. And great it was. (We finished it off last night, Shawn and I.)
It started off with one finger.
Then she switched hands.
Then she became ambidexterous.
And then she just started shoveling it in at top speed.
She was a mess, but she loved the cake and we loved watching her.
Happy Birthday boo boo!
It’s a compilation of Jem’s and my hands with Scout’s little feet walking across.
At the bottom I painted, “We Will Always Hold Your Hand”. I know he will love it. And I think it will look great in the bedroom.
I did, eventually, get my sewing machine back. $128.50 to fix the drive shaft and the timing. He also did a quick cleaning. All the same, what a way to start me sewing career. I started making a Wee Ones Peanut the Elephant from “Last Minute Patchwork”, (which by the way, I love this book). I started off with some Quilter’s Cotton fabric, in pinks and browns.
Here she is so far:
But that’s the end of the good, because this fabric is so damn thin that it’s actually fraying even though I was sewing on the 1/4″ seam allowance. It still did me no good:
That there you see is the undertrunk where the arms meet up.
And this is the underbelly.
I’m really disappointed because I totally began to understand the construction and I was so excited to see it all sewn together. But the fabric was way too thin. I asked a lady at Beverly’s why and she told me it was because JoAnn’s doesn’t always use high quality products, that’s why sometimes they don’t have the manufacturing labels on their bolts. All the fabrics I have, (of cotton), from Beverly’s are way more sturdy and thick than the one’s from JoAnn’s. That disappoints me as well because I really prefer JoAnn’s printed fabrics to Beverly’s, (though I do like them, they just don’t have as much of a selection).
Needless to say, I’m not giving up. I am going to try the elephant in a different fabric, (bought from Beverly’s), and see what happens. And anyway, I feel successful in having worked this one out. Even if the fabric was crappy, I did good.
So that’s what I’ve been doing. Among other things. I did meet with Jem’s school staff regarding his IEP/504 and we did work a few things out and made modiciations in the class room. I’m happy about that. I’m also happy that he’s washing my kitchen floor right now. I suppose I did something right!
That’s all. Really. Knitting has been quite sparse. I had to restart the left front on my Bed Jacket because I increased in the wrong rows a couple of times, (my numbers were off). I picked up my Chevron Scarf at the Drs. office, but I admit I didn’t get much done. Bandit ate the sleeve I was working on for Shawn’s Cobblestone and proceeded to eat three Crystal Palace DPN’s! You can’t even imagine how irritated I was. Especially because this is the second time he’s gotten into my knitting bag and tried to eat wool. The dog just might become sheep food!
12.22.07
Really Quickly
12.17.07
Vertigo
I have vertigo and it’s killing me. I haven’t been able to knit. Just a few rows for Shawn’s sweater on Saturday at Jody’s house. We went to Beverly’s and I picked up a copy of Itty Bitty Nursery. Scout is no longer a baby, not like that anyway. But the book is absolutely adorable. I also had a chance to check out “Son of a Stitch and Bitch” which I was a bit disappointed with. There were a few new books out there, but none to write home about unfortunately. I don’t know if it’s just my taste or the book. Either way, I only bought one.
Nothing else going on really, since I can’t seem to stand, sit, lay down, walk…Blah. I’ll be back.
12.12.07
Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
No, I’m not getting married. Yet.
I have been entranced by these crystals:
8 mm Bicones, 6 mm Bicones, Montana, Light Azure, Blue Zircon, Crystal…
6mm Rounded, Montana, Crystal AB, Light Azure Crystal Drops…
Sterling Silver Daisy Spacers, Sterling Silver Bead Caps, Sterling Silver three strand clasp…
I’ve updated my shop, though it’s a very small update. My sewing machine is still being worked on, so I can not add all the knitting needle cases I wanted. Not yet.
Knitting Wordplay:
And Monkey Face, (my personal fave):
I am thinking about selling the necklace. It’s beautiful. And I know I would wear it someday. But I don’t think I’d wear it often enough. I don’t know though. How can I part with something so mesmerizing? It’s very eye catching and time consuming. I’ve been looking at it every which way. If you are interested in purchasing it, please let me know. If I do put it on Etsy it won’t be until next week.12.11.07
It doesn’t smell like gingerbread
I finished my first “real” gingerbread house. Last year we didn’t finish them. Well, I didn’t finish mine. I was pregnant and tired. I wasn’t in the spirit one bit.
But this year, I’m proud to show you:
The side view of the roof:
And the back of the house:
I really love the house. It kind of makes me want to make real gingerbread. I just might do that.
12.09.07
On The First Day of Christmas
But not all scrapbooking is bad. I still love to make cards and little mini albums for special occasions. Shawn has been gifted a couple of them for our Anniversary or for Valentine’s Day. I have been thinking of making one for his 28th birthday, (next month). In any case, I felt it was time to do more than the obligatory lights on the windows. We weren’t going to buy a tree this year, but I ended up finding a reasonably priced artificial tree. (Hopefully we will decorate tonight.) My stocking is hung, (my mom is working on Scouts and also has Jem’s right now.)
Anywhoo, I made this hanging Christmas banner out of some Blitzen by Basic Grey and some embellishments I had leftover in my diminished stash. The theme is “Joy and Love”.
So, that’s it. I’m pretty darn proud of it. I like it a lot.
More decorating news to follow.
12.06.07
Just a Regular Day
I’ve been working on my blue Swarovski Crystal necklace as well, but I ran out of 8mm bicones and both colors of the rounded crystals. So I’ll be going to the LBS, (Local Bead Store), and buy some more. I think I ran out because I am making my strands longer. I love the design, but there were no instructions. And there were no quantities on the materials list. So we just had to guess. I found this at Absolute Crystal Components and fell in love with Multistrand Golden Copper Bracelet. A plus is that they have some pretty damn good prices for crystals and findings compared to many other shops. I’ll price the stuff at the LBS today and see how much they would be. I could totally go for a few of these bracelets in different colors.
Other updates. Well I changed my email address. Long story short, I just needed a new email and I need some extra privacy. That said, I deleted my previous email and forgot to change over the contacts. So, if you want/need my email, leave me a comment and I will get back to you a.s.a.p. I’ve also had to change my Esty but I haven’t set up the new one, so I’ll get to you about that later. If you need a custom order, give me a jingle and I will do invoices through PayPal.
I picked up our artificial tree yesterday as well and it’s had me in such a holiday mood lately. Last night Shawn put it together, (though we didn’t decorate it yet – we will do that this weekend), and I got comfy on the couch in my pj’s with my knitting and a cup of hot chocolate. I even listened to the “Holiday Sounds” channel on cable. We chose a fake tree for a few reasons. Most important being that last year Shawn spent $90 on a 7 ft. tree that ruined our carpet. Not only that, but the guy who put the tree on top of the car had scratched the car with the tree stand. This is easier and more economical.
Saturday, Jem has a Holiday Party at his school. The PTA is doing the fundraising and is offering breakfast. They are supposed to have snow for the kids to play in, but supposedly it’s going to rain so they aren’t sure what will happen with that. Anyway, it’s a fun thing for Jem to do. Afterwards we are going to buy our Gingerbread House kit, (no, I don’t bake gingerbread…too much work), and decorate that. We talked about going to the mall to see Santa, (for Scout). Scout and I had lunch at the mall yesterday and she got to see him, but not take pictures with him. (They wanted $20 for two 3 x 5’s!!! Can you say insane!)
Other than that, life has been…well, life. We are busy, as always. Now that the holidays have crept up on us, we have a lot to do. Scout’s first birthday is in 15 days! I can’t believe it. She won’t be staying this little forever:
