We have no power, we have no water; but, we have Halloween spirit, apparently. Our town canceled Halloween since 99% of the town has no power because of Sandy; but, we still have a house and we are fine.
The Littles wanted to be ghosts this year. No seriously. Of all the things they could have been. Ghosts. And well, you know me, I like to make dreams and wishes come true.
Happy Halloween!
I am hoping that the happy childhood memories that my kids will have to share with their own kids one day will be just exchange for the therapy they will likely need in the future. I might make my kids a little anxious, which is to be expected, since I find my own antics riddled with anxiety.
I would say Happy Halloween, but it's not Halloween yet, and this isn't a Halloween post. Well it is, but not really. It's more of a pre-Halloween post, or Halloween 1.0, if you will. So yes, Little Sir will tell you, he was "not a robot for Halloween this year. No, he and his brother will be sporting a duo costume-thing this year. I was planning to make the costumes, because, you may have caught on to this, I am insane. The boys both need dress jackets for their real Halloween costumes, and various circumstances crashed into a perfect storm of inability. 1) We are packing out our house, half of my sewing stuff, it's in storage and not accessible. 2) I kind of waited to the last minute to even attempt to sew, not one but, two dress jackets. 3) My one experience sewing an article of clothing was Halloween two years ago, while the results were passable, I would not have called it an outright success. 4) I don't really sew clothes; and, by "don't really" I mean, I don't.
So I ordered the costumes. Pride comes before the fall, or whatever. I am not going to be a martyr for the cause (or so I thought). I told myself, "hey self, let's make it easy this year, let's just buy the costumes!" And so I did...and they are scheduled to arrive this afternoon, which, you know, awesome, two days before Halloween. Too bad the Halloween parade at school was this morning.
No problem, SupermomNova to the rescue. So you know how we are moving and packing up our house, a side benefit of this situation is having eleventy bajillion boxes of varying shapes and sizes at our disposal for the obvious (that would be packing) and other creative things. So um, yeah, robots. Or rather, Anderdroid 1.o.
And his trusty sidekick, Dashbot 1.0.
So, fun, right?
I am not going to lie, Little Mister, was not enamored of the costume once he realized his mobility would be hampered. He wore it for two minutes. Does two hours of crafting in exchange for two minutes of of cuteness seem balanced to you? I guess I will just have to take Little Sir's enthusiasm for my creativity (and well, awesomeness, really) and be happy with it. Which, yes, I can do that.
Did you miss me? Every now and again, I feel a little too wired and I take a break from blogging, from flickring, from, well, pretty much anything that I can (except work, well, it's work) to regroup and spend more time with my boys. It always shocks me (and I realize this no profound statment) that one can accomplish a great deal in the way of productive crafting if one is not glued to the computer overly much. Now I am catching up on bloglines and trying to de-buzz my profiles and etcetera, etcetera. But there has been some crafty going on, of course.
Valentine's Day is a mere memory for most, and while we didn't get overly celebratory (it is rather a Hallmark-y day, is it not?), we did make a heart garland because Rae did, and I like everything she does. Little Sir picked the colors for the hearts. I wanted just red and pink (I know!); but, he wasn't having any of that monotonous ridiculousness (his favorite word right now = "ridiculous" as in, "Momma, you are so ridiculous." Sigh.).
Over President's weekend, we went to Vermont. I discovered Nido, which, in my mind, is the happiest place on earth. It's a fabric shop and yarn shop all in one. The owner, Phiona, is really nice and will have a conversation with you if you are feeling chatty, or she will let you shop and she seems very good about figuring out how to read a customer, which is a skill, in my opinion.
Also, Ashley from Film in the Fridge shops there, so it was very much a fun "six degrees" situation for me, and I like that sort of thing. Kids were not only welcome, I felt it was almost encouraged, there were toys for the Littles to play with, so everyone was happy. Well, almost.
Should you find yourself in Burlington, Vermont and in need of a crafty fix, do yourself a favor and hie thee to Nido.
While in Vermont, Little Sir spent a day in an all day ski class for 3-4 year olds at Smuggler's Notch. After falling the first time, his only concern was staying upright, with that as his goal, he didn't really care who he knocked down to accomplish his task.
While I felt bad for the other children who were unfortunate enough to cross his path, it was pretty funny. And the other kids weren't hurt at all, so there you are, if you want to see video footage go here. We also took the boys to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream; because that is what one does when driving through Vermont when it's freezing outside, I guess.
And then, I closed up my little millinery by knitting two more hats.
I made the Aran Cable Watch Cap from Charlene Schurch's Hat's On! again. It was made for a student who works at my library. He mentioned that no one had ever knit him anything before, which seemed sort of unfortunate to me. He mentioned that he liked the color red and cables, that seemed doable, so I did it.
And I also made myself a hat without a trace of possum in it. I spun up some beautifully dyed merino from Funky Carolina a while ago, but had no idea what to do with it. I ended up using it for a Felicity hat.
I am not sure if it is "Boho Chic" or "Hobo-esque" but I love it.
Have you been knitting Olympically? I tried, but I end up watching the Olympics rather than knitting through the telecast. So I will save my chit chat on my new cable-y vest project for another time. I am able to do other crafts while watching the Olympics though. I have been doing a bit of stitching (as in embroidery)...but more about that tomorrow. I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with my craftiness or anything.
For Valentine's Day this year I made my valentine a valentine. I decided to explore the world of scherenschnitte(papercutting) to make something memorable. Special K doesn't really need anything and he never wants anything so I always have to be creative. After some image transfer, I cut out the design/silhouette I chose as most appropriate.
Then I glued it onto a white backing, you know, for contrast.
And then I framed it.
I used a design from this book. I blew up the design so that it would fit into a frame designed for an 8 x 10 photograph. I used an exacto knife-like contraption to cut out the design, so this might be considered cheating by some (I think scissors are the mark of a true scherenschnitte artist--but I am just a dabbler, so there you are);I just wanted to get the silhouette cut out. I am pretty pleased with it and Special K likes it too.
If I was more thoughtful, I would have made something for Little Sir as well; but, he probably would have just tried to eat it. Instead of giving him a valentine of any sort, I just let him play with my spinning wheel.
I also made the chocolate dipped shortbread hearts that I make every year for Valentine's Day, so no surprise there.
Okay, enough of Valentine's Day reminiscence. Go and think of presidents now!
So it's Halloween. Boo. Special K and I aren't usually celebrators of said day of ghoulish extravagance; but, when you have a kid who actually "gets" it, you really don't have much of a choice, do you?
My kid wanted to be the Travelocity Roaming Gnome for Halloween (thank you Travelocity and your incessant advertising during the Amazing Race--what, you don't consider The Amazing Race "educational TV?!" Hello? Travel and culture! And the snarky banter of dysfuntional couples, I mean there is so much to learn!). So because I decided to be Supermom this week, that's what he dressed up has for Halloween. Sort of, he had no interest in wearing the belt (the belt that took an hour of my precious crafting time, but there you are). I will put the details for the costumery in the gallery, but most of my trials and tribulations are going to be covered in this post, for those who are interested in such things.
The gnome hat was the easiest thing. 1) Measure head circumference (in this case, 21 inches--yes, he's got a big noggin). Take red (or any color you like, but I needed to use red) felt sew a 2 inch hem for the base of the hat (it gives it that "finished" look), 3) measure off the head circumference at that base and add whatever you like for a seam allowance (I did an inch extra for a half inch seam allowance, do whatever makes you happy). 4) Decide how tall you want the hat (I opted to use the head circumference as my guide, it came out pretty tall, again do what makes you happy). 5) Center your height measurement from the base and draw a triangle. 6) Cut and sew, 7) turn hat inside out. 8) Smile, with tons of self-satisfaction because you just made an uber cute gnome hat.
The jacket, was not as easy. Granted, this jacket was the first article of clothing I have ever sewn. Clearly, I was not thinking rationally when I decided that this would be a good project to cut my teeth on garment sewing. I mean really, collars, facings, buttonholes? Oh, and pattern modification because the pattern was for a short-sleeved shirt and not a jacket...right.
I modified a child's camouflage shirt pattern for the jacket because it had the length and basic look (style, not the fabric itself) that I was going for (I liked the collars...before I started sewing the jacket). I figured the sleeves could just be lengthened. And really a jacket is just a collared shirt made of heavier fabric with a lot more ease.....right? It seemed to work out okay, but don't look to closely at the collar, it is, as the kids like to say these days, jacked up. I had no idea what I was doing, the step-by-step directions may have skipped a few steps so I just sort of made things up as I went along. And seriously, I need a foot attachment to make buttonholes, because the three buttonholes in this jacket almost made me gouge my own eyes out (thank you Christina for helping me decipher the directions in the big book of sewing).
The boots were some funny green rain boots purchased at the local target that I covered with black electrical tape. Little Sir thought the eyes were weird, so he wouldn't wear them before.
There was a belt too. A cardboard buckle painted metallic silver with black felt cut to size. Little Sir had very strong feelings about the belt. Namely, he wasn't having it. Take a look for yourself. This look of mortification is the same look I sometimes get when asking for a hug now (usually accompanying the statment, "no mommy, you are too big." Lovely).
In the midst of the Halloween madness I made a pie, because, you know, Pushing Daisies was on on Wednesday night...and that is what I do...make pie while watching said show. Chocolate Mousse Pie.
This chocolate awesomeness was a really easy recipe (a lot of dirty dishes though). I didn't feel like messing about with a spring foam pan (who is lazy and pregnant?!) and just used a large tart pan with a removable bottom (a method I would recommend to you, should you decide to make this easy and tasty pie/tart treat). The side benefit is a few ramekins of chocolate mousse to enjoy later.
And then I made festive cupcakes. I guess my anti-Halloween days are over. Maybe next year I will make myself a costume. Because, you know, I am all about the garment sewing now.
Thanks for all the congrats on baby Disco. Gender TBA shortly (I know some of you are a little curious). You guys know how to make a girl smile. But don't think that I am using my present state as an excuse for not posting (what's a little exhaustion here and there?). Oh no, I have another excuse. Home renovations, improvements--or whatever you'd like to call it. Special K and Little Sir are constructing a craft space for me. So all of my materials are in a state of transition at the moment (or, if you'd like, you could call it chaos, that is what I am calling it).
I once crafted and stored things in my basement, a place where good projects went to die. This is the chaos in a craft space in a basement that is also a laundry room, storage area, office for a PhD student, guest room and lounge:
The lighting is really that bad. That quilt in the back has been waiting to be quilted for months now. I can't get to it. Seriously.
I also can't really get to the sewing machine either. But things are getting better. My new space is going to be bright and spacious, well as spacious as possible given the amount of crap I have to shove into the room.
It's also going to have wooden laminate flooring, which (I am told) is a big deal. Who am I to detract from workman's pride?
In the process of moving things, I have learned a few things about stashing. Firstly, putting things in boxes and bins that you can not see through will likely make you forget that you have stashed things in the first place. But when you find the stash you didn't know you had, it's truly an exciting thing.
I really love fabric, by the way. Secondly, I don't have as much yarn as I thought I did.
So, please excuse me as I try to make some headway in filling up my new shelves with my stash.
It's all going to fit. Totally.
I have written many blog posts in my head, I just haven't actually typed and posted them. We have all been there, right? I have been too busy actually doing stuff to talk about it, I think every now and then we crafty folk need to do that; do the thing and not talk about it so much (or, if you are like me, obsess over other people's amazing craftiness to the point of inertia, or something like that).
Over the past weekend I went to New Hampshire to craft my little heart out, it has sort of re-energized the craft of crafting for me. It was supposed to be a knitting weekend; but, I spent a goodly amount of time making buttons. With clay. And a toaster oven.
I just think it's funny that one can make buttons with a toaster oven.
But maybe that is just me.
These buttons are not assigned to any sort of project at the moment (none of them, and there are a lot of them). Should you have any great contribution to make to spark my creativity, do share. I am almost at the edge of being "all tapped out." Almost.
I am particularly proud of my shawl pins. I know the sticks look like carrots. Try imagining them with some sort of earthy twig found while taking some walk down some path somewhere. I know, it's hard to see past the carrots.
But I did also do some knitting; or rather, I did some weaving of ends on knitting. You know that tomten with the 50 bajillion ends? Ends woven, surplus cut. The fact that there is now the zipper and pockets to contend with is something to think on later. Let's focus on the positive, shall we? Ends woven. Surplus cut.
Such a feat deserves a fitting celebration, like pie. Truly great and excellent pie.
Like carmelized orange tart with blackberry puree (go and print the recipe, I will wait). Delicious. Perfection in pie form, really.
Okay, back to the doing.
Quixotic, is quite possibly, my favorite word in the English language. It has a "Q," and an "X" and ever since I was able to assemble it on a Scrabble board with someone else's "C" I have been a fan. Aside from all that, it is the word that best describes my way of celebrating birthdays. You (and I) never really know what kind of fun I will come up with. Special K thinks it's a little crazy, the lengths I go to to celebrate a birthday, but I disagree. I think birthdays should be celebrated with great fervor. Sometimes it takes a little work to celebrate just the way you want. But who says work can't be fun?
After seeing this great birthday banner that Rae put together, I knew I had to make one for Little Sir and the celebration of his second birthday.
I saw all sorts of potential for the banner and using the distribution of letters from Scrabble as my guide, I made a whole bunch of letters (see first photo). Should I ever have the opportunity to meet and throw a party for a Quincy, Xavier or Zarathustra (you never know), I totally can. And I can do it in a very colorful way.
It was easy (albeit a bit time consuming, because I did 64 letters--plus one exclamationa point-- you don't have to do that many, but you totally could) but it was fun, and really I will take advantage of any excuse to whip out the hot glue gun (but with this project, I found cutting the letters out by free-hand to be kind of the best part). I cut out sets of felt circles in 3.5" and 3.75" glued them together with a folded ribbon in the middle. And, like Rae, I used ric rac for suspension. And because I wanted to go crazy with color, I used 14 colors of felt (I left a lot of colors at the store, so I think I showed some restraint here). That's a ton of fun for very little moolah. You should make a banner too, you will be glad you did.
And I do have to apologize, if you came here looking for pie today. I gave myself on out this week, or rather, it was a bye week for pie. Because for birthdays, most people (especially if I am involved in the equation) get cake. Little Sir is sort of a minimalist when it comes to desserts (sadly). He usually opts for plain fresh fruit but he knows how to celebrate right and asked for a "banilla" cake with "banilla" frosting.
And how fabulous is my new cake stand?!
For me this meant a classic white cake (best white cake recipe I have made to date) with buttercream frosting (the kid and I just made the frosting up as we went along).
Because he was helping me make the frosting I have no idea how much confectioner's sugar he scooped into the bowl, so I added butter, heavy cream and vanilla until it tasted good and looked spreadable.
His enthusiasm for fire is not just a little concerning.
A little imprecise, but it was fun and tasty, so whatever.
I also wanted to make a quilt for the kid's birthday, but sometimes you have to cut your losses (so much for quixoticism).
It became apparent to me that I would not finish this quilt in time, so I am saving it for the weekend (because it's just an excuse to drag the celebration out even more, in my opinion--yay for being quixotic!).
So yes, it was a lot of work, but really when your kid thanks you with kisses, it's totally worth it.
It's what I do. It brings me joy, yadda yadda... I am back from vacation... Hey, look at this!
I made this apron a while ago, but since I am trotting out all of my productivity for this wee parade of sorts (to divert your attention from other projects, ahem), I thought I'd share it.
Little Sir impressed me by saying "ceviche" while watching the Food Network (in our house, this is considered "educational television viewing") and asked why the cook wasn't wearing an apron. "Because he's Rocco DiSpirito," wasn't really an acceptable answer, in hindsight, I realize this. And since my kid isn't Rocco (yet), I figured he needed an apron. So I made one.
I have already mentioned that my sewing is pretty mediocre. I am also one who tends to like guidance (i.e. directions, patterns, templates, something); but, I figured it was an apron, how hard could it be? DIY-time! I took a look at my apron and cut some upholstery fabric samples I picked up 5 years ago for no reason other than they were in the sale bin (I was less discriminating back then). It's not perfect, but it's an apron, the point is to keep the kid's pajamas clean.
Because Little Sir is totally my sous chef. I mean really, have you ever seen anyone handle an egg so chef-tastically? I think not.
He helped me make today's pie, a Fresh Orange Tart with Hazlenut Crust a la Greenspan via epicurious.com.
I We made today's Piehole Wednesday contribution for my friend M whose husband is going to Iraq on a photojournalism assignment. She needed cheering. The pies, they bring cheer, especially this one. It's a good one...but it's a little, shall we say, involved.
Luckily, I had help.
There is no heat involved here, don't get your panties in a twist.
And that is how I get all the baking done. Secret's out.
Make the sock puppet of your dreams. Last week when I picked up Little Sir, I received a note with a sock with the assignment of making the sock puppet of our dreams. Right.
I don't dream of sock puppets (especially when I turn into a one woman manufacturing factory at this time of the year); but, if I did, I think one of them might look like this zebra that I whipped up (it all started with the black wool as inspiration, wool as horse hair!).
I am a fan of string and needles in all weights and types; but, I have to say, some crafts warrant dictate the use of a hot glue gun (there was no way I would have time to sew the stripes and ears on...just wasn't going to happen). Having never used a hot glue gun before, I now have a fervor for using it. Should you have anything that needs to be hot-glued, please send it my way.
And because it's that time of year, we pulled out the celebratory props over the weekend. You know, to get the jolly going.
Okay, this elf has to get back to work!
