These are a few of my favorite new things...

I finished my mittens. I love the flip top on them. It never fails, I just get my mittens on and a boys will ask, "Mama, will you zip my coat for me?" Never mind that they are perfectly capable of zipping their own coats, I've been told that I "do it better!" And now I don't have to take my mittens off to help them zip or put their gloves back on after they get snow in them. Total SCORE!




I decided that I needed a new knitting bag. I finally used the adorable hedgehog fabric that I bought off etsy months ago. The lining and straps are made from an old shirt of my brothers that he ripped the elbows. I even took off the breast pocket and reattached it inside. When making the straps I discovered that I am out of stabilizer but that cross stitch fabric works very well instead.

The beaded candle holder is KNIT! I think it turned out awesome. I got the pattern for it and also the mittens out of "Handknit Holidays" by Melanie Falick. Of course modifications had to be made to the pattern to make it work with the size glass candle holder that I could find at the dollar store. The designer Annie Modesitt claims "knitting with wire and beads can be a spiritual experience." In the beginning all I could think was " unless my own personal hell counts as a spiritual experience, Annie is not the sharpest tool in the shed." But by the end knitting with wire and beads won me over, mostly, I think, because it's just so pretty.

After photos

Since I showed some "before" photos in my "Treasures!" post I thought I should let you all see some "after" pictures as well. And I must admit that thinking I would have room to increase my stash was just plain silly. Of course that won't stop me from buying new things.....just ask the nice ladies at the local Ben Franklin! I'm thinking of trying needle felting as my next new hobby. Does anybody know how easy/hard/expensive/frustrating this might be?

DPN Bags

I got tired of my DPN's being in the cheap plastic baggies that they came in so I made pretty new ones. Finally I found a use for those little scraps of my favorite fabrics that I couldn't bear to throw out. (I am not a packrat!) I made my first button hole in this project and tried out several different closure methods. The easiest was sticky back velcro but, I think the prettiest is the button. I even embroidered the neddle size on the bags. FYI - much easier to do before you sew the bag up. *embarassed face* At least I figured that out on the first bag instead of the fifth.

Maybe now the coats will be hung up.....

My boys needed some encouragement to get their coats hung up with out me having to ask them 5 times. Plus my mudroom is kinda a yucky room, not much going on in there but mess, it needed something cool. So I took a peg rack (made by husband), added my favorite color orange, and Drew and Ian's (Uncle inspired) obsession with snowboarding, and created this.

Finally something to do with all the extra issues of "Snowboarder Magazine" that I get from my brother. I know he's art director and everything but, do I really need to save more than 1 copy of the same issue? Please tell me I don't because I'm feeling a little guilty for cutting up his magazine. How would I feel if someone cut up something I made and used it in their art? Of course my art isn't mass produced so that makes a difference.....right?
Now I just have to nag husband into actually hanging it up. Wish me luck.

TREASURES!!!!

The husband and I went thrifting today. It's not quite as much fun as thrifting with Ani but......LOOK what I found! I needed a new storage piece for my craft room since cardboard boxes were taking over and the plastic drawers were screwing with my creative powers. Mass produced plastic items are my kryptonite ;) I try very hard to avoid them but, sadly it's not always possible, especially now that my boys want the toys that everyone else has instead of homemade toys. Anywho.....back to the finds. I'd been eyeing this cupboard at my local Goodwill for several weeks but, it was priced at $60. A bit much for me to justify with the husband laid off again. However when we went today it was half off, and I got a 10% off coupon for making a donation so, SCORE! I can fit so much into this baby I might get to increase my stash!





Then we went to a resale shop. It's not my favorite one. Shopping in it is very much like shopping in someones garage, not much organization and you never know what you might find. Today though, my angels knew I needed something special. I found this awesome old typewriter for $10. The paper spool thingie is stuck all the way over but, husband thinks he can fix it. Even if he can't this thing is so cool, I just had to have it. Yipee for a good thrifting day!

Yesterday I made myself an inspiration board. I really like the fabric, it has little umbrellas or parasols all over it. I covered a piece of cardboard with the fabric and then stapled it into an old frame. Pretty and recycled....does it get any better?!?!

Stupid Friday the 13th

My husband got laid off last Friday.....can anyone say "Happy Friday the 13th?" The kids are uber excited that they get to play with Daddy "all day!" He'd been working 10 hour days six days a week with a hour and a half commute each way......so he wasn't home so much. Ahh, the life of an electrician. He seems to either be working his butt off or at home sitting on it! No normal 8 hours 5 days a week for us! The really stupid thing is that he can make more collecting unemployment than doing anything here in town, even though unemployment is only about a third of what he makes weekly when he is working. At least, I managed to set aside some money this time so we aren't completely screwed the instant his paychecks stop coming. My new mantra is "Everything will be okay"......repeat until the words stop sounding like words.

FINITO

I finally got a few projects finished. The blue thing is a baby doll moses basket. I made two - one in blue and one in green. And since I don't have girls they're for my twin sons.....who absolutely love their "new baby beds." Hey, boys need to learn to be nurturing too! Or so I keep telling myself.

The bags are for a beach bag swap I'm doing, I couldn't decide weather to sew or knit so I did both. The owls are for another swap. My best friend really likes owls and I already made a set of these for her so I thought I'd do the swap and send her whatever I get. It's a good way to earn extra friend points, right? Especially since I want her to paint for me! What with being broke and all, I've decided that the barter system is awesome. And I am now willing to barter almost anything with almost anyone.