Crafting ADD!

Thats a d d (attention defecit disorder), not add. Im sewing, Im knitting, Im beading, Im not finishing anything! I have been pretty knitty as of late and continue to be, but lately, all this Denyse Schmidt madness has infected me! I so need to make some of the projects out of her new book. M and I went to the new remodeled Jo ann's fabrics yeterday and were pleasantly suprised (see photos above). The only thing was we ended up spending more of our time on the bathroom because M had a phantom poop that just kept teasing her enough to get her into the loo, with no actual pooping! Thank goodness it was a clean bathroom. After the third trip, I just told her if the urge came back to hold it til we got home. It was about 8 hours later when that poo finally came! Did I just cross a line? Are you non moms out there grossed out?

I got my elann order today so that means I can send out my secret pal package tomorrow. I did learn a good lesson though- do not buy chocolate for my secret pal until the day the package goes out becuase we ate it all!(dont worry- i will get her some more!)

I am happy to say that my valentines are up on the site and that orders have already come in ! I was afraid I waited too long but maybe not. Speaking of orders, I have to get busy!

So cute!

This little cabinet belonged to my sister and I when we were wee. It was a lovely (ok , not very lovely) shade of rust. It was at my mom's house and I asked if I could have it and paint it for M for christmas and I got the go ahead. I took her to the paint store and had her pick out a color- without knowing what it was for. Then I painted it up and put it in her room. Knowing I was doing this, my mom bought her the cutest set of dishes for christmas. Last year I gave her a Royal Albert "Old country Roses" tea set and now that set is housed in this little cabinet too. She has a table and chairs in her room and I put a tablecloth on the table and it all looks so cute. Old Country Roses was my Grandma's favorite pattern . It is also my mom in law's favorite pattern so itmakes me happy to see it in there. I am happy to say, the whole thing has been a huge hit with both kids and I am happy to see the little cabinet that I loved so much, now belonging to my kids. My beautiful Grandma, (the same one who favors the Old Country Roses pattern) gave it to us. She was and is such a force in my life . I tell L how she watches over him . Maya and I both have her name as our middle name. She taught me to sew and now I am teaching my kids to sew. She was an incredible strong woman and even though she passed away 12 years ago, I still miss her so much. Everyone should feel as loved as I always felt by her.

GO GO GO!

Phew! That was quite a weekend! I hadn't realized it was going to be so packed with things to do, but it was. Saturday we went to brunch at my sisters and that was nice. I picked the camelias above to give her- aren't they gorgeous? The photo makes them look like they have glitter all over them. Just rain- in fact I was suprised there wasn't more ugly brown spots on them- they have been taking quite a beating out there.
Secondly, that is M's skirt! Its long and skinny like her. It looks so cute onher and the moms at preschool were all agog when she wore it to the program with her shiny metallic red mary janes- on the wrong feet of course. She intentionally wears "banana feet" because thats just who she is. I am now torn between finishing a dress I have half done for her or starting the mice in Lucinda Guys handknits for kids. I think the dress will win out. Keep you posted!

Yahoo! Its that time again!

I still have yet to download my latest photos so here is an oldie but a goodie. I have birthday party on the brain though this house will not see any birthday party action for another three months. This is from L's 6th bday last August. The boy is shark crazy and has about a jillion shark facts in his brain he is willing to share with whoever.
The fun news is that its time for Secret pal seven to start! I had such a great time last time and was spoiled rotten! I got my match today and I was reading her blog and she and I have a ton in common- the dress I am knitting is out of the same yarn that she used in a project she just posted- among lots of other things. I also got an email from my spoiler today and she seems like she is going to be a lot of fun. So here is my questionaire:
1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? I dont think I am too much of a yarn snob though I really go for the feel good yarns in yummy colors- pinks ,blues, greens, purple etc. My last spoiler sent me the yummiest baby alpaca and it felt so good to knit that I tend to that direction now.
2. Do you spin? Crochet? I don't spin or crochet but I am going to try to learn to crochet.
3. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? Sadly they are in a huge jumble in a bag!
4. how long have you been knitting? Off and on about 15 years but on now about a year
Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I would say I am a beginner plus
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?Nope
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)I like vanilla and tropical florals- also clean grassy scents
7o you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?I have sweet teeth and I like chocolate but I am trying to finally lose that baby weight. (from several years ago!)
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I love to sew and bead and garden
9. What kind of music do you like? I like happy music. Latin,hawaiian, or pop or anything with a beat you can feel happy with

Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) No mp3 player here

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand? I love pinks, blues ,purples,greens. I really love most to all colors
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have a boy, 6 and a girl 3 ,a hubby and a hamster. My six year old boy is learning to knit now too! He knows how to sew and my mom in law thinks I am going to "sissify" him but Im not worried at all! He loves it and it helps him think in different ways so we will keep it up!
12. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? Sure

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Soft and yummy

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I dont like a real stiff feeling yarn like some of the more mass produced stuff

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? I want to learn more techniques so I am going to start doing some of the smaller projects in Lucinda Guys handknits for kids. Reall knitting in general is getting obsessive- its so portable!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I dont really have a favorite

17. What are you knitting right now? The front of a dress for M . The back is done so Im hoping to finish soon (no sleeves. then I am going to do the mice from LG handknits for kids

1. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? I love it. Nothing better than the stuff people make

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Im still not sure

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? bamboo and aluminum. The aluminum reminds me of my beloved Grandma

21. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? Yarn winder, no and whats a swift?

22. How did you learn to knit? Fell in love with a mormon guy in highschool and he went on his mission and I wanted to knit him a sweater. Thats all I remember. Wonder what that guy is doing now?

23. How old is your oldest UFO? 7 years old but I abandoned it without intention of finishing. Does that count?

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? Hmmm, as far as animation goes, though its not animation , Im a sucker for Japaneese cute ie anything sanrio. Animals I like are birds, pandas, penguins, seals, whales


25. What is your favorite holiday? Valentines Day! Chocolate, love and glitter!


26. Is there anything that you collect? Not so much

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?I dont have any- I usually just get what looks good at the knitting store though not very often.

28. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? Not that I can think of since I got the LG handknits for kids for christmas

29. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? Really anything sounds good.


30. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am not a sock knitter but I would like to try that. I will get back with my measurements

31. When is your birthday? (mm/dd) June 26


So there you have it. Me in a nutshell.
Things have not slowed down for F&O since the holiday so the studio is calling... Plus the Valentines stuff is almost done so I better go finish that. Sweet dreams!
p.s. I didn't proof read so this could be embarrasingly full of typos!

WOW!

Does that last post really say October??!!! I knew things had been nuts but I hadnt realized for how long! Well, I am just wrapping up another season of Freelance work and am glad to ahve a little break. The holidays with Froy and Olo were a complete sucess and I am so thrilled about that- despite the sleepness nights and woriking round the clock to keep up with frrelance and F&O. All of that nuttiness paled in comparrison to all that has been going on with my dear sweet Mom in law. I could go on and on and on about it but I will make a long story short. In mid November they found a tumor. They have since removed it entirely but not without of lot of pain and discomfort, and a fair amount of bungling. She went in the hospital around thanksgiving and just left last week to go to a nursing home for a couple of weeks. Theoretically this is supposed to be a level of care greater than what could be provided at home but not as intensive as the hospital. After a week of her being there we realized we could have hired a couple of monkeys or a six year old wil lng to work for candy and she would have received better care. Now we are trying to get her released so she can go home for the first time in alomost two months!! So ,as you can see, the holidays were somewhat less jolly this year- atleast until the part where we heard they got all the cancer.
I have photos to show but I have to get them onto my computer so that willhave to wait until next time. Time for snacks and snuggles so I am outta here!