UNBELIEVABLE!!!

First of all, wow, this is the second night in a row that the kids have been asleep in the 7:30 neighborhood. Its just odd to be off and doing things other than the bedtime routine at this hour! I thought it was a treat last night , but tonight too? Wow!
A couple of weeks ago we actually had a nice stretch of sun and I made a point of trying to get some product shots taken to put on the site. I strung some yarn on my old $5 screen door I love so much and hung up the tags with tiny clothespins I got at an estate sale. Speaking of estate sales, its starting to feel a little springy around here and its getting me in the mood for a good sale or two. At any rate, I like the way the photo turned out. I love little sparkly things!
We are just finishing up our mini swap things. I am excited to send them off and we have had a really good time getting these things together. I will be bummed when it is over. Maybe I will need to get another one going. The kids have really enjoyed it. (me too!)
I have a busy couple of weeks with freelance etc. coming up. I will admit to being slightly envious of the Nebraska plant workers who won that big powerball. Thing is, I don't need 15 million dollars (thats what each person walked away with). I could do just fine on even half a million. Just enough to sock away to take the edge off!
Tonight we were reading "Crictor" (tonight and everynight) and there is a picture of a goblet shaped glass and M called it a "birdpot" - she meant "birdbath" but I thought that was just really cute. Im easy to please when it comes to them!
Not that I dont love sitting and chatting to all of you, but the season finale of "Dancing with the Stars" is on so I am outta here!

Valentine Kitties

Here are the valentine cats I made for L and M. I gave M hers and she was like, oh, thanks! and L was hugging it and saying how it was the best present he's ever gotten. M's is up here on the chair still but L has his with him. He is the supreme lover of all things snuggly! I got to help out at his party at school today and there is always such reassurance after I see so many kids in his class are even more "listening challenged" then he is! The teacher gave them some simple instructions and they all milled about aimlessly. It was actually really funny to watch. All these little ones completely unknowing what to do even though they were just given clear concise intructions! I will chalk it up to Valentines distraction even though I know a little better! Speaking of, I hear them breaking into their candy stash- better go make sure they dont make themselves sick!

Valentines Eve!

Its almost Valentines Day here so I jumped the gun and gave my sweetheart his valentine a night early. Here is what is left of it.
The boy loves pie. How could you not love pie? Pie is good. At any rate, this particular pie was made from blackberries I hoarded in August and stowed away in the freezer for very special occasions. I even managed to find some peaches and I added those. It was very yummy. Don't worry, we didn't gorge ourselves that much- his floks came over and we shared it with them. Tonight as soon as the kids are in bed asleep, I am going to finish their valentine treats. I will post photos tomorrow. I am hopeful that they will turn out pretty cute. If not, atleast they will be super snuggly because this fuzzy fabric I am using that has coated the insides of my sinuses with fine lavender hairs, is so super snuggly!

Sewing lessons

Marcella left a comment and asked how I got Logan started sewing so I thought I would post one of his projects and do a run down.
The bag above was one we made probably about a year ago (though what do I know! Time is always off in my head!) At any rate, he sat down and drew out his pattern- or basically, he drew the bug. Then he cut out the pieces of the bug from the paper, pinned them to felt that he chose, and cut them out. Then I had him choose thread colors and I actually sewed the bug onto the front of the bag. Then we pinned the bag together and he sewed the sides, with a little help. The main reason I love getting him to sew is that the boy is an amazingly prolific artist. Thats ok but I thought it might be nice for him to get engaged in a little longer process and see how things turn out when you plan a little. His second project, he made a little purse for his friend Callia's birthday. He picked out some poly from my stash (no fraying!) and then he cut out a rough square shape and then he pinned it all and sewed it all together. He picked ribbon for the handle and even put a button on. It was really his project start to finish and I was very glad when Callia loved it! The third thing was a drawstring bag and he thought it was so magical that you just pull this string and the bag closes! We have also done hand sewing with felt and embroidery floss. Our next project is this week for his mini swap partner and he is very excited. So I hope that answers the question! Here is a photo of some gorgeous flowers from our yard from last april. We are so close to that again!! It is sunny this week and I swear it makes everything so much better!

Sort of a corner

I have been seeing everyone's corners of their homes and really enjoying them so I am showing one of my own. Its almost a corner- the wall right before the corner. I love the chair because it was my Grandma's. She had it forever and I finally reupolstered it a few years back. I love the shape of it and I love the fabric. When I recovered it I found the original tag from the shop where she bought it and it had a phone number on it with only five numbers. I love that sort of thing. The thing behind it is an old screen door I bought at a garage sale for $5. I love the way it looks. I take it to card shows and I can slip the edges of the cards into the slats and it makes a really nice and easy display piece. Plus the table I got at an estate sale down the street of some people moving to Mexico. $35! More than usual but I really liked it. I m a sucker for bamboo. I love that our house has so much "found" furniture. Oh, and hey, did you notice the actual SUNLIGHT in the photo? Ahhhhhh, a small much needed sunbreak yesterday. Just long enough to get outside and breathe fresh air and play with the new stomp rocket.
I feel like a real knitter today. I realized this morning that the big shapeless box of a dress that I am knitting for Maya was probably not really supposed to be a big shapeless box. In my haste, I didn't clearly read the direction. I then ripped out almost all of it (!). See, Im a real knitter now- in the past I would have tried to find a way to fake it but now it needs to be right!

cute find!

I found this little beauty awhile ago at an estate sale. I love her crazy hair. This idea is so cute- the skirt of her dress is made with little crayon pockets that go all the way around. I think about how many crayons my kids have. It seems like back when she was made, people did with so much less- things were so much less disposable. It makes me sort of sad that things are not that way still. Though by the looks of how many magazines I have under my bed, its obvious I like to have choices and amass things!
Its been a weird week though i finally feel like I am finding some equillibrium again. Last thursday while out with my great girlfriends I ate something- not sure what- but I had an allergic reaction to it. My throat started to swell up and my whole body just felt wrong. Long story short, I got to ride in an ambulance and then got lots of drugs that made me feel crabby and pretty much useless all weekend. Still don't know what I ate but will find out on the 10th. My girlfriends were so great- taking care of me - I do feel bad we had our longawaited fun night out cut very short! The good thing to come out of this is that my sweet boy, who is so allergic to dairy , told me he was happy because, "Now Im not all alone" The only boy who can't eat at school, the only boy who has to carry all his drugs around ,the only boy who has to bring his own cupcakes to birthday parties. Always the only one. I had him pick out fabric so I can make us his and her epi pen cases so they don't get mixed up in my backpack. So I guess thats the silver lining.
It didn't rain today. I could cry it felt so good to be outside!