31 March 2006

Happy Birthday to Us!

Well, I took a small blog vacation, as I have been trying to get my internet at the house all set up correctly...I am still working on that, but pieced it together enough to get on the internet! Yesterday, I went over to my wonderful pal Amy's house for a birthday celebration for her mother Ellen, and her brother John and I...who all have birthdays really close together...and since I will be in Italy, I got my presents early!
I got a couple of gift certificates, which I always love to get...one to Barnes and Noble, and one to JoAnns...ahhhh...good friends know you so well don't they? Two of my favorite loves...books and fabric! I also got a ticket to see Solas...an Irish music band that will be playing in town this weekend! So, we're all going, plus my mom and Rozzie! Now that's a gift that keeps on giving! And after dinner and gift giving, we went to see the high school production of Little Shop of Horrors...which was really good! Mike, Ellen's boyfriend was in the band part of the show...no, he's not actually in high school!
I gave Ellen a knitted cell phone holder and a change purse...my two first finished knitted projects ever! And can you believe that I forgot to take a picture of them? But here's the pile of presents...




It was quite an undertaking, but we managed to open them all and still get to the performance on time!







John got a ton of Leggos as he is a budding Leggo animator! Amy thought it was funny because they all got him stuff, he was asking to get 30 years ago! Full circle I guess! I couldn't help but wonder though...who liked the Leggos the most!


29 March 2006

OH Knit!

Well, another Tuesday night has come and gone...Successfully, I might add. After a light dinner of guacamole and corn chips, a yummy salad, and some raw sprouted grain bread and tahini and honey spread...We were off! That makes it sound like we knit like racers! We knit at our own speeds, sometimes impressive, depending on the length of our cast on's! (hahaha) I am happy to report at this writing, that my mom has cast off most of her bag, and started a 29' handle, that should be completed quite rapidly (compared to the 130 stitches the bag took!) I know this picture looks like a curtain, but it will be a wonderful useful cotton bag soon...



Cody is still diligently working on a scarf (I believe...) and making fine progress, stopping every once in a while to fix a mistake or ask for help...which is always a wonderful way to learn any kind of creative process...that and practice, practice, practice! Here he is looking through a hole of a dropped stitch he was working on fixing...



And I just started a black wool small change bag or something of the like, as I am planning on trying to felt it after I'm done...which is something I've never done before with something I've made myself. This is quite the experiment, as I don't exactly know the breakdown or measurements of how much something will actually felt!




And my wonderful photographer Rozzie, was having fun with paperdolls she printed off the internet from the For Better or Worse comic strip website. She was coloring and cutting out their outfits all by herself...and later, during a knitting break, she and Cody set up some fun "family portraits" as a screen saver for her...slideshow style! Which made her very happy and giggly!



Well, I'm off and running a bit early this morning (I had trouble sleeping last night) because of some kind of car trouble...and feeling a bit stressed out! I am hoping to call my mechanic and see if I can even drive the car over to the shop this morning so someone can check it out!

28 March 2006

Self Portrait Tuesdays...Series Final

This is the final in this month's series...and I am really proud of myself for taking so many pictures of me...and actually enjoying it, and finding some I really like! I am starting to feel more comfortable in front of the camera, which is good seeing as I am leaving for my trip to Italy soon...
This series is me at the end, the end of this month's SPT project and the end of the day! Each day this week as a matter of fact, sometimes in my PJ's one in front of the blog, me and the Meena kitty relaxing, one with Rozzie at the end of Creative Sunday and the last picture is me at the end of my plumbing project yesterday...you can tell because I'm looking excited and just a little glazed and surprised at my plumber skills!


















































The End!

27 March 2006

Third Trip Is The Charm...

Well, this morning, I was off early to take the car in for some minor repairs (whew) and spent 2 hours at the dealership...and boy was it fun! I started knitting a black wool cell phone holder to match my new handbag last night, which I finished up during my wait! I love it...and I found a special vintage red button shaped like a flower in my button box to put on it (actually, I found the button a few weeks ago...and saved it special until I could figure out a project to use it for!) And, it's soooo easy to knit these things...look for me around town with a cell holder to match all my outfits


So...I was really wanting to do some household things around here today, starting with replacing the washers in the bathroom faucets to fix a leak (finally). I misread the directions...and well, screwed off the end of the the thing that sticks out of the wall, the thing that the knobs needs to be screwed into to make the entire shower and faucet to work? Yeah...I screwed that thing right off, and it was just sitting there all exposed, and no longer able to be functional...no way could I screw the knob back on and make it work...I tried, really I did, but all that happened was, the shower was now on full time...and well, I'm a bath type of girl! SO...I called the plumber, who couldn't come out until tomorrow after work...and then again, that is when OH KNIT happens for us...so, I was feeling sad about that as well.




I did what any intelligent person in Prescott would do next...I went to True Value ...because they're really the only people who know anything about plumbing...and they're so helpful. The nice man there told me what to buy to take the bolt off the shower diverter, and I was off...only to find out that the tool was too small...apparently they sell the most common one with an entire $20 set, instead of the $5 one I bought! Plus, this is when I noticed that the tile was not cut quite even around the hardware, and even if I could get the right tool...there was no way I could fit it in there...So, I got out the flat head screwdriver and a hammer! And spent quite a while holding my breath and chipping away at the tile hoping not to crack any tile, because I didn't really feel like re-tiling the shower today as well!




Then, I drove back to the hardware store, got the whole set of wrenches (yes, they were starting to recognize me by this time)...and came back and got the shower diverter off (yippee!!)
Then, turned around and went back to the hardware store and got the new shower diverter, and some washers to fix the original problem!



And you know what??? It totally worked! I fixed it, all by myself! The shower now turns on and off...and the faucet no longer leaks! I'd like to say that was the highlight of the whole experience...that yes indeed I can take care of myself, or that I was certainly glad I took the time to fill the tank of the car on Saturday, or that the plumber offered me a job when I called him back to cancel, or that it was only 3 short trips to the store...and it's really close, and I still finished an hour before they closed...but really, the highlight was the little old man who helped me at the store told me that he wanted to show me a picture of his pride and joy...and whipped out a picture of 2 soap containers an old advertising piece of paper that he'd had laminated and carries in his wallet...the bottles said "Pride" across one, and "Joy" across the other...
I love living in a small town!

26 March 2006

Sunday March the 26th...

Participants
  • Mama
  • Rozzilyn
  • Sadira


Wahoo...another Creative Sunday! And we were in top form this week...let me tell you! I actually got the sewing machine all to myself...hehehe, a lucky break for me and the skirt AND matching bag I made!


The yellow fabric I used is a vintage tablecloth I found at a thrift this week during a 15% off sale for only $3.40! It had about a million holes in it, but I was able to utilize most of the fabric without the holes (yay) and for a few of the holes, I am rigging up some fun patchwork! There is a larger size black fabric band which makes the yellow part of the skirt hang below my hips, and the trim on the bottom is a black ribbon. The pattern on the skirt is dogwood blossoms which is special to me as I can remember my grandmother talking about the dogwoods blooming in the spring...although I remember them as pink...not yellow! (I am envisioning myself wearing this on my birthday...Easter Sunday in Italy!)






I also made a matching patchwork handbag which is odd because I usually don't like matching fabric outfits for myself. Perhaps it's because I realized that I need a new spring handbag! I used the rest of the non-holey part of the tablecloth for the outside and paired it with some fun floral upholstery fabric I happened to have "lying around", and I used the black trim ribbon for even more trim and for the handles of the bag. I lined the bag with the upholstery fabric and made a large interior pocket out of the tablecloth fabric for those all important things like lipstick and gum, and paired with the outside pocket for keys and sunglasses, I'm all set! I am also in the process of knitting myself a black wool cell phone holder...




*****************

My mom and Rozzie worked on some cute Easter chicks out of felt...These little guys are so cute! With thier little hats and aprons and chickie feet! There were a few more that the glue hadn't dried on, so they couldn't be stuffed, and lying on the table made them look like an Easter chick line-up! I think they did an amazing job considering there was a lot of felt flying around and a lot of giggling (there was also a little black chickie eye on the bottom of Rozzie's sock that we found while we were out taking our afternoon walk!)



My mother made a little Japanese Zakka piece...her special project for the day...




And, although it was hard to tear ourselves away from all of the creativity...we went on a walk and window shopped downtown, after some really yummy trail mix...Peanut butter and chocolate and nuts and raisins!

24 March 2006

What'd You Got?

You know...Another semi-lackluster week of thriftiness...although, the energy is changing. I don't know whether it is Mercury going direct or the upcoming eclipse, or the going from 40 degrees to 70 in a week? But things are shifting. (yay!) So, I didn't get sooo much stuff, which is good, because eventually I will run out of room right? (oh sure), although, that usually means a good clean out! The things I did get though, I love!




This fabric was the back of an extremely thrashed, and extremely dirty crazy quilt. I have no idea what era the fabric is...I would like to think 1940's but, then again, I like to think that about all of my fabric...Do you ever feel like you just missed out on an era that you should've been a part of? Anyway...I stood in this dark thrift warehouse and oogled this fabric...it's stained and has holes in it, and as I said before...totally attached to a crazy quilt, but for $1...I had to have it! So, I took it off the quilt front, and soaked it in OxyClean for 3 days, changing the water each day...and it came out pretty good. I'm still smiling happily whenever I see it, so it was certainly all worth it. I have been looking for the perfect tree skirt for my Christmas tree for years...only because I refuse to pay $30 for one (seriously!?!) so, I am looking forward to making one for myself. Isn't it wonderful how perfect things are sometimes!


















And so...I was really looking at the fabric on the front of this quilt, and said..."well, why not?" and soaked it too...(the color of the water was amazing!) I have no idea what I'm going to do with this...but a nice handbag has come to mind. I would love to make a skirt, but I don't know if it would survive any more washings! And...I'm going to say it...why doesn't someone reproduce exactly...old fabric? It is soooo cute...




And last...but certainly not least, one of these Hindu deity shirts. I know that these were in style a long while ago, but again, due to my need to not spend a lot of $ on clothes (and owning a store is a luxury, I know) I became fascinated with these...also I'm wondering if it had something to do with my weight? It was really hard to find these in an XL or larger, and now that I'm smaller, I can fit into them (yay!)...I must be reliving something! So, it was $3 and I am going to keep it...just to see if, you know, I wear it!

23 March 2006

Enjoying the View...



I enjoy the view this week because of the beautiful snow! Because of comments left on my blog by the people I know and love...and totally surprise visitors. Because, Meena is adjusting to being upstairs and in my life again. Because there is hardly any time left until I visit Italy and Prauge. Because I get to spend 2 weeks with my sister on vacation! Because of fun knitting projects that go so well, and turn out so well, that I am inspired to knit more and more. Because I get to hang out with Rozzie and my mom every Tuesday night. Because my mom lives so close, that I can hang out almost any time I want...and I get to walk there even!! Because things are starting to look up. And because, my dad is learning to use a computer (although slowly) and he emailed me these pictures...(from NY!)







22 March 2006

OH Knit!

Well, after the fun and sticking snowfall yesterday afternoon, I bundled up after I got home from work, threw my knitting needles and yarn into a backpack, and went on foot to my mom's house! What a fun 3 weeks of winter we've had...and I'm looking at the forecast, and it looks as though it will be warming up! The wonderful thing about snow in Prescott, is that it usually melts quite fast...and we're needing all the moisture we can get, so most of the time, I can look out the window and smile at what is happening outside...because in five minutes it will be something entirely different!
Last night I abandoned the ugliest scarf in the world, and started a new project which I will not be showing, due to various birthdays that may or may not be coming up (sneaky huh?) and have actually almost finished one phase! Wahoo...a finished knitting project! (who'd have thunk?) My mother is still working on her bag and is claiming snow blindness because of the sheer white of the yarn she is using...and is reminded why it is so easy to put down one project in favor of another one...sheer boredom!
She's also getting ready to blog...and we worked on styling out her blog page, although there still remains questions...always with the questions with these computery things! We created a blog for the Rozz as she flitted and played around us...and my mother read from the
blogfathers which had us all in stitches! How do these guys do it? (Heck, how do any of us do it?)




Mom also made biscuits...mmmm...not raw food, but comfort none the less. Rozz jumped around and sang happily when she knew what we were eating! And mom and I had a bit of biscuit etiquette problems. When I was a child, we had to eat one biscuit plain, and only then were we allowed to eat one with honey or molasses and butter (mixed up together and then spread on...my Kentucky relative roots showing...ah, the hill folk!) So, last night she got the honey out right away and I was asking, "so....can I have honey on my first one...or do I have to wait?" You know, I'm not always sure I'm an adult when I'm around my mom...and I've been trying to think back and wonder if Rozz is allowed honey on her first one (probably, I think parents loose the stringent-ness with the last child)...although, Rozz would probably not eat honey on anything...maybe frosting...Definitely frosting, but not honey!

So...after a lovely evening of biscuits...fruit salad, and knitting...I bundled up and walked home...




21 March 2006

Self Portrait Tuesdays...Series Three

This week, I decided to do a series dedicated to my feet. I was walking around the other day, when I stopped to realize that my feet are really working hard! They carry me through my day, with hardly any complaints. The walk, run, skip, jump...they tenderly pick their way through ice, snow and mud...being so careful so I won't slip or trip or slide. They've been there for all of my major life experiences, and carried me through no matter how tired they were or how much I weighed. And every morning, I wake up, and they're the first thing to jump out of bed and land on the ground renewed and refreshed and ready for another day, and one of the last things to get into bed at night to recoup and recover.
So, these are my feet day after day, either right befor work, or right when I get there!

Thank you feet!















Have I mentioned how much I love shoes as well???

20 March 2006

Happy Ostara!




Darkness creeps away
As the earth is reborn-
Where one life has withered
Another will form.
The wheel turns again

To welcome the spring,

Rise and shine to the
New gits it shall bring!




(yes...I am getting a lot of mileage out of the bunnies!)
Ostara is also know as the Sping Equinox, and is named after the Germanic goddess Oestara. She is and Earth Goddess of fertility. Day and night are equal and the earth awakens.

Sunday March 19th...

Paritcipants:
  • Rozzilyn
  • Sadira
  • Susan

This wonderful Large multi-purpose bag was made by my uber crafty mother! It is a couple of pieces of vintage fabrics...in the most beautiful shades of orange and yellows and greens. The pocket on the front is a vintage embroidered napkin! The bag has a button in each of the top corners making it possible to have the mouth of the bag as wide as one may need it to be...depending on what you need to carry.

I think it turned out a little larger than she was expecting it to...prompting the discussion of exactly what the bag would be used for...carrying a small pet, or a child perhaps? 40 skeins of your favorite yarn and your entire collection of knitting needles? Clothes for a week of vacation? Something in a large sized crock-pot for a potluck?

If you have any ideas...Please let us know!






This is a close up of the wonderful pocket detail.





This is a smaller bag my mother made using a vintage embroidered linen tea towel...with a draw-string made out of a piece of vintage lace (isn't it so sweet?!!)







The Bunnies!

After waking up to a small dusting of snow, which melted off pretty fast...I engaged myself in the cutting out of Nine (yes, 9) bunnies from the wee wonderfuls pattern. Since I won't actually be in the states (I've always wanted to say that!) this Easter, so I decided to get a jump on this project(hahaha)...I can't say that I love them, as they more or less look like a line-up of bowling pin bunnies...a little wonky...and the way they're all sitting there, don't they look like they're waiting for something?
I don't know...maybe carrots!




So, it was a good start on a softies project. I am challenging myself with making different things using patterns until my innate creativity kicks in! And I am appreciating the practice...plus, I am praying and wishing for a sewing machine for my birthday, and I am anticipating sewing more on the fly if I do get one (instead of borrowing my mom's once a week...Thanks mom!)















The End...

Yes, those are multi-colored yarn tails!


PS...Rozzie wasn't feeling too crafty, and spent her time in her "apartment" (my library, that I did a quick clean up in last week...although, I'm needing to do a more intense organization soon) So, in all probability, she will be with us next week...ready to create!

17 March 2006

What'd You Got?

This week, due to the fun snow weather we had...there were no yard sales, and the thrifts were a little empty of fun crafting things as well. So, I would like to dedicate this blog to my mom's awesome cauliflower!




These cauliflower are heirloom varieties from the Prescott College Community Supported Agriculture program. I think she's been a member since they started, and loves it! Since she is on a raw foods diet, all the yummy veggies are perfect for her. Last night she was telling me that it is so much fun every week, because she gets something she's never tried before! (We split a share once, and I remember having to call her and ask her how to prepare certain things!) The weekly variety of vegetables is amazing, and we are lucky to have this program available to us, it keeps the local farms in business and the money in our own local economy, and it is such a great way to get fresh veggies throughout the year, especially when the farmer's market isn't happening during the winter.



So, I am leaving you with a close up of the cauliflower that we both think looks like something out of the sea...This is one of the most beautiful vegetables I have ever seen...and my mother is still having a hard time trying to eat it! It looks all bumpy and sharp, but it is still spongy and smooth like a regular cauliflower, and the most beautiful color chartreuse.
(I am really sad that the picture is so blurry because it is a sight to behold.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

16 March 2006

Corners of my home

I've decided to do a corners of my home, an idea given to us by soulemama...
(as I'm saving the "big blog" for tomorrow)
~



I love this corner...it really has most of the funnest elements of my kitchen in it. My beautiful red Kitchen Aid mixer (which matches all of the other red Kitchen Aid accessories I have in there...oh, and the walls of the eating nook...which you can't see here) and my collection of the small sizes of Texas Ware bowls...I will have to do a blog about them soon...and a vintage sifter with apples on it, a fraction of my vintage towels are in the top basket, and in the bottom basket of the shelf is a collection of vintage aprons. I also adore my beautiful vintage white Frigidaire oven, (man, I'm using the word vintage a lot!) I bought from someone who's parents bought it new, in the 40's I believe. It was their first new appliance ever, and they brought it to Arizona from back east! It is beautiful and in such great condition, and I like to think of all the Thanksgiving dinners it's cooked or the many birthday cakes it's cooked, or how many people it's helped to nourish over the years. (Although, seriously...I could go for an O'Keffe and Merritt stove from Antique Stove Heaven...the red one with the six burners...oh my! Think of the possibilities!) I actually got a "Frigidaire Recipes" booklet that probably came with a stove like mine at a garage sale recently, and it's in the dish rack above the stove, next to another vintage meat recepie book from a local grocery store here (which is no longer around, and one we've never actually heard of...Independant Cash Market, which seems like it would have been around my area, maybe down the street?)...and my lovely vintage apron pattern!



Those things are sandwitched between floral decorative tin plates, that I use sometimes in the summer to dress up outdoor eating. There's a collection of creamers, which is one of those accidental collections one comes upon, starting with a creamer that I bought in Venice the last time I was in Italy, from the Cafe' Florian, the oldest coffee house in existence (I believe). A cute pig toothpick holder...and the Hamburger Helper hand clock in the shelves above that! (I know...but, I really like Hamburger Helper...sorry mom...although I don't eat it anymore because the ingredients scare me, but sometimes I stare wistfuly at it in the grocery!) A set of wonderful wooden orange tulips on the top, and my fun fruit crochet pot holders and vintage matchbook holder are hanging from the hooks at the bottom. You can also see a bit of my adorable hoosier, the smallest one I've ever seen (in the top picture)...that I repainted white and put red Bakelite handles on that my sister rescued from a kitchen re-do of a house that she lived in!

I love red!

15 March 2006

Snow is almost gone...

Although, I hear rumor that another storm is on it's way for the weekend! Yay, more moisture...we certainly need it. So, in celebration of the snow...


These are the beautiful glass balls that hang in my trees...which prompt people to wonder why?

Is it for Christmas?
Is it for a birthday?
Why?




...Because they make me smile!



OH KNIT!

went off without a hitch...me, mom and Rozzie...the fabulous knitting three...well, there was the two of us knitting and Rozzie reading to us from comics and playing with her Cinderella castle...and fun dolls. I am challenging myself with new stitches and the ugliest scarf in the world is owning up to it's name! I love the practice though, it makes me feel more versatile...











(I will be frogging this soon to make into a scarf I may actually wear!)
I am very proud of myself however, considering I never really wanted to learn how to knit...
WHO KNEW???




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