Batiks on Black are so cool!

I entered two quilt blocks for Ofenjen's Batiks on Black contest. I used her slightly twisted pattern, which I really like. The fact that I finished is a minor miracle.

There are 30+ blocks in the drawing and they are all so cool!. Whoever wins gets the lot. Is that totally cool or what!

Thanks Ofenjen!

Snow!

Chudley Cannons!

If you want to make your own Chudley Cannons Shirt, I have uploaded the front and back stencils to my flicker account. Just click on the image and you will be taken to the full size image on Flickr.










I really don't recommend using the t-shirt transfer paper, it is very fast, but it just won't last. I only used it cause I was in an uber hurry. You'll get a much better result if you cut a stencil out of freezer paper and use black fabric paint. The logo will have the CC floating in the middle of the black circle, so use care when cutting that part out. And the slogan will of course take forever.


I was thinking if you have a Slice or other cutting machine, you should be able to cut freezer paper with the slice and cut the letters as stencils? Or even just cut out the letters and stipple around them.

Hum,... Hobby Lobby has the Slice on sale,...

We are not sporty kinda people.

K got in the car yesterday after school and announced that tomorrow, that is today, was going to be her schools annual "Wear your team sweatshirt to school day!" It comes around every year, but this year is extra special cause Alabama is playing,... some big game,... today,... against some other team,... Texas,... I think,... I really have no idea. Football?... Obviously, we are not sports fans.


Well, maybe one sport,...

We drove to the Walmart, cause Michaels didn't have any sweatshirts, and bought two orange sweatshirts, on sale for $5 each, (Yeah!) and raced home. K designed the logo, which is not cannon, (get it cannon!) but I really like it. I used t-shirt transfer for light colors and saturated the black when I printed it. Halfway through I thought I had ruined the shirt, it turned deep burnt orange where I put the iron. But when it cooled, it went back to normal. Love the team slogan!

Unfortunately, just found out this morning that the main color for the other team in the big Alabama game today is,...Orange! She will undoubtedly be stoned to death upon arrival. Unless her librarian saves her.

22 Foot Scarf, Naruto Hat and One Happy Cat.

I've been off with family for the last few weeks, baking and eating cookies, sleeping and visiting friends, and generally laying around watching Doctor Who and having a wonderful holiday.

Mr. Man, K and I have been watching old Doctor Who's for years, but K is just old enough to watch the new Who without hiding behind the sofa and we are having such fun. Mr Man and I have seen all the way to the end of the Martha's, but with K we are about half way thru the 10th doctor's first season. K loves Ten and is so upset that the Doctor is regenerating into "some stupid teenager!" Give him a chance Sweetie.

With all that inspiration, I spent my birthday making another Doctor Who scarf for F, the daughter of a friend. She saw the one I made in 2008 for my friend M and wanted it soo0000 bad, I just had to make her one. I cheated though. I used my knitting machine and finished it in a day, instead of a year. It's stockinette, and it curls like crazy, but I ironed it and it laid flattish enoughish. She squeeed, said "Mom! Mom! It's the scarf!!!!" so I'm thinking it was a hit. She wore it wrapped around her head like a mummy or around her torso like a sarong the whole night.. Yeah. She liked it.

22 feet with fringe!

I made her brother W a Naruto hat. K thought of it at the last minute and I had a total of 35 minutes to put it together, so not my best work, but he was so happy. He loved the eyes and put his mom's sunglasses on them. It was really funny. W is just a funny guy.

And just for fun a pic of Miss. Kitty, cause she's been so sick and she's feeling happy again. Don't get too close.

Did I mention unhappy sick kitties do not use their litter box. *I love my kitty, I love my kitty, I love my kitty*

Peppermint Candy Pillow!

Last Christmas I started a project: Send my Mother in Law a handmade pillow for every season. I didn't know when I made the first pillow that it was the first in a series, it just kinda turned into one cause she just really seemed to like them. So far I have made her a pillow for Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, Fourth of July, Halloween (sort of) and now another Christmas again, just cause I wanted to.


Isn't it just the cutest thing! I saw a picture of a pillow like this online and thought, I can do that! It was really easy to make, probably even easier if you buy the pattern, but I am rubbish with patterns so I just looked at the picture and winged it. I love the netting tied around it like a wrapper, so cute. It's about 12" diameter and just so soft and cuddly. K loves it and is having major gifting anxiety. I think I'll make her one for Christmas. Don't tell her. :)

Can you guess who we were for Halloween?

We had a wonderful Halloween this year.

Mr Man was...

...Dilbert!

K was...

...Nudge from Maximum Ride. (Yup, jeans, a tshirt, windbreaker and wings. All I had to do was paint the wings like a tauwny owl. Least time I've spent on a costume this decade.)

And I was...

...Merope! I just wore my locket and had fun watchings peoples reactions. Several people understood at first sight, several thought it was cool after I explained, and several looked at me like I had really bad fashion sense. Pretty much a normal day then. :)

And even more Squeeee Mail!

Our dear friend Pren surprised us with Halloween Squeee mail! K and I literally danced when we saw who it was from.

The moment we opened the package we were met with the most wonderful aroma. She sent us a bar of handmade soap, made by her friend Libby (her etsy store is Maylees Garden.) The scent is Pumpkin Cider and it smells lovely, but not overpowering. And it leaves your hands soft, with just the most delicate hint of fragrance. It is really, really lovely. I have it by the kitchen sink and I am going to buy a pretty soap dish for it, because it is just that special.

Pren also sent us some Halloween erasers, K has an eraser obsession, and Halloween Pencils and Halloween straws. Fun!

Now Pren, don't make me get all over you AGAIN about being all kind, generous, sweet, and thoughtful woman!

You are here by forbidden to send us anything else, until we finish your housewarming surprise! Seriously, I mean it, save your pennies for your new house. Roofs and A/C cost big bucks Babe and die at a moments notice. Hail is no ones friend.

We will finish your presy before Christmas (fingers and toes crossed.) But till then,... *glaring with one eyebrow raised high*

P.S. K hit little Voldy. He's been buggin' her for a while now and yesturday he started poking her and she told him to stop and he didn't and she asked him to stop again and he didn't and she put up with it for as long as she could and she just hauled off and smacked him a good one. Teacher didn't see. He's leavin' her alone. I didn't punch the air,... while she was looking. Go K!

Swappity, Swap, Squeeee!

We participated in a Halloween Swap and did we get the goodies! Hermione_jean is a cheater pants and sent us a BIG box full of goodies, wrapped up in brown paper and strings:

We love glowey necklaces!

She made the dish Towels! Love Them! And the potholders are sooooooo cute! I put them out, but I wouldn't use the potholders or the towels, they might get messed up. The orange fuzzy yarn will soon become a fuzzy orange pumpkin.

K ate the pop rocks with a coke and lived to tell the tale. :D And Halloween Socks! We'll wear 'em till Christmas!

K put the ghosts together and hung them in our front tree. Yes, they're still there. We'll probably just put Santa hats on them and wave at the neighbors on Christmas.

Needless to say, we we're well pleased. Thank you Hermione_jean! We loved our Goodies!

We sent a goodie box to Dragonsinger954. It was regulation size *pointedly staring at hermione_jean* but we compression packed that little bugger with everything we love for Halloween.

Of course there were erasers and glow stick bracelets. And eyeballs! Can you see all the eyeballs? Googley eyeball glasses

A crocheted eyeball,

Bouncy Rubber eyeballs

Evil vampire eyeball dishcloth (that was Dragonsinger954's idea after all)

Why eyeballs, because I have a problem. But admitting a problem is the first step.

I love these crochet pumpkins. I made a bunch for gifts for Halloween and I'm making more for Thanksgiving. Quick and cute, just the thing.

And pom poms and cauldrons and ribbons and the loudest noisemaker on the planet and gel decorations and crochet candy corns and stickers and ironons,... Oh MY!

We had such fun putting dragonsinger954's goodie box together! Hope you liked it!

And she didn't fall to her death because...

...An adorable little girl attempting to carry her big string bass down steep stairs in a long skirt and dress shoes, induces directors of symphonies, sound men and random daddies to RUN!

This is what happened. K wanted to carry her bass everywhere during the concert, because she was told that students should take responsibility for their instruments and K is Miss Responsible. Seriously, it's her middle name. I told her that yes, she is responsible for practicing, cleaning, and packing her bass, music, stand, rosin,... but that her bass weights 25lbs in its case, 20 out of its case and no one expects her to carry it for more than 20 feet. No, she said she had to do it.


So, we arrive at dress rehearsal and everything goes fine. She's carrying her bass, and her bow and her music all over the place: down this long hall, up stairs, onto the stage, back down the stairs, back down this long hall. The sound man, who is a really nice guy, tried to help her, and we tried to help her, but no, she's got it. The sound guy joked about how he would be there to catch her just in case and we all laughed. Mr. man and I take our seats, in the middle of an aisle a few rows back.


So, it comes time for her group to play in the concert. The hall is quiet and she's carrying her bass up these steep stairs to the stage, and she bobbles,... and there's this resounding sound of expensive wood hitting hard floor, and she totters,... but there's a wall to lean on and she recovers. She makes it to her place and all is well.


Her group plays, they do a wonderful job, and we all clap. So, now she has to get back down those stairs. She tucks her music under her arm, hoists her bass and bow, takes a step, starts to teeter,... and the sound man and half the front row are out of their seats. The director of the youth symphony was the first to her aid, I think he started moving before we stopped clapping, so he grabbed her bass, and I believe the sound man held her hand on the stairs. One daddy just kinda took up a catch position.


Needless to say, we all learned something. K now understands that if the director of the symphony feels he needs to carry her bass, he can't possibly think she should carry it. And Mr. Man and I are going to sit in the front row and carry the bass up and down the stairs until she's at least 5 feet tall. Or 13, whichever comes first.

Concert number 2 is this Saturday, same stage, different orchestra. Prayers gratefully accepted.

"Mom, there's another bass player, and she's a GIRL!!!!"

K's concert went really well. She had a great time, played very well and looked lovely.

But best of all, she got to meet a another GIRL who plays bass! Yes, in the youth orchestra system there are somewhere around 200 kids, but only three bass players and two are girls! K was over the moon! The other girl is in high school, we have seen her playing the electric bass in the drum line at the local high school and she is so much like K it's astounding. I guess it takes that kinda girl to say, I want to play that big thing. Too cool!

What the young lady bassist is wearing this season.

K has two concerts coming up, one this Sunday and one next Saturday. K needs a white blouse, a longish black skirt and dress shoes for her concert on Sunday. She has to be able to carry and play her double bass while wearing said shirt, skirt, and dress shoes.

The skirt was easy, she can fit into one of mine and it looks great. We found some shoes that I think will work, or at least not hurt too much. We couldn't find a single blouse that fit, looked nice and allowed for movement. Not surprising, she's really hard to fit. So we ran to Hancock's, found a pattern, some crepe back satin she liked and I have successfully altered it to fit. *happy dance*

Here's the pattern: Kwik Sew 3319





She liked view C because of the pretty flair on the sleeves, but she wanted a Peter Pan collar. I was a bit worried but, it went pretty well actually. I made the collar flat, added a back facing to the neck and it worked.



I like the buttons she chose, so sweet.



I widened the sleeves and they ended up more 3/4 length which keeps them out of the way when she plays and gives her room to move. The crepe back satin she picked was a bit heavy, but not too bad to work with really, except on the sleeve edge. (Redid that a few times.) The size 14 fit in the shoulders and the length is perfect, it looks so nice not tucked in, so all I had to do was increase the waist and hips so it flairs nicely and add some ease in the shoulders so she could bow. The back pleat worked, thank you Pren, and looks quite nice. K didn't want the under bust tie, I think that was just a bit too fancy for her, but it really doesn't need it.

I made up a muslin first, the satin was $7.99 a yard, and it worked ,so I crossed my fingers and started to cut. (I am such a fearful cutter, I have to measure a thousand times, have a cup of coffee, think, make notes, measure again,... pathetic, but did I mention the satin was 7.99 a yard!)

And Tada!



K loves it, she can play in it comfortable and it looks so cute on her. Win!

Princess Leaf, there you are again!

Oh my giddy aunt!

Mr. Man just called and told me to check out the October issue of Initiatives put out by the Huntsville Chamber of Commerce, and look what I found!



So the images that define our fair city are, the Japanese Bridge in Big Spring Park, the Saturn 5 Rocket at the Space and Rocket Center, the Antebellum homes in the Twickenham District and...... Princess Leaf!


Princess Leaf is our scarecrow, the one K and I designed and built when she was in kindergarten for a Scarecrow Trail at the Botanical Garden!!!!!

Isnt she cute! Princess Leaf was pretty cute too.

Over the past 5 years, our Leaf has appeared on TV and in print so many times we can't keep count. The year Leaf was entered in the Scarecrow trail, the director of the Gardens took her to all the morning news stations as part of their advertizement campaign. She's been featured on the Scarecrow Trail flyer ever since, I saw one in the mall last week. She pops up on the Gardens TV commercials and web site every now and then. And we got a phone call from friends in Illinois a few years ago when they found her in Family Fun Magazine accompanying an article about the garden.

And would you believe Leaf did not win the scarecrow contest.


In the long run, I guess she really did.

I got Bored Again...

Miss. Kitty likes big eyeball.

Lil Pumpkin

Made a little pumpkin for the Harry Potter Knit and crochet house cup on Ravelry. I kinda sorta followed Armina's Ami-Nals Crochet Pumpkin Pincushion pattern, but I made a lot of modifications. The stem is totally different. Mainly because I am not good at reading patterns. I might submit it as homework in Transfiguation or perhaps in Charms, since I made two, one large and one small.

Can you submit the same project for more than one class? Hum... probably not.

Twirly!

K and I went shopping the other day and it was not fun. She is hard to fit and it is so frustrating for her. We just wanted to get her a skirt to wear to the Daddy Daughter Square Dance her school was sponsoring. We found a brown hoodie sweater she loves, but very few skirts and none that fit. She was especially fond of one denim skirt she found, but it was just too small. No problem, I can make that!


So she wanted a denim skirt, that would be twirly, but not too twirly, would not show her shorts underneath when she spun, and would be easy to sit in. This is what I came up with.



The skirt has 6 gores and 6 short godets, a side zipper and a bit of elastic at the back for ease. I pressed the godets, as requested, so you can only see them when she twirls!



You also can't see that I cut it too big, based on measurements from the summer, before she started to shoot up a bit, and I had to cut 4 inches out of the back gore. It looks a little funky, but she doesn't care, so neither do I.

She loved it and had a great time at the dance.

Cool and scary,... Mission Accomplished.

I finished two classes for the Harry Potter House Cup over on Ravelry.

For years, literally years, since 2003, I have been trying to knit a house book scarf, the tiny ones with pearl cotton, knitted in the round. I've started several times and have completely and utterly failed every time. Then I discovered Tunisian Crochet, Allelulia! It's easier, faster and almost as cute as the knitted ones. This is the one I just finished for Transformation Homework. The theme was blocking and tunisian crochet rolls like crazy. But it blocked like a dream.




For Care of Magical Creatures we were each "given" a niffler and had several options for homework. I chose to make something that my niffler found.

I'd been thinking about making a horcrux for a while, and then I saw Dragonsingers Slytherin's Locket and just had to give it a try. Thank you for the inspiration!

My first version had the eyeball lenses from a pair of googly eye glasses crocheted inside the locket, but they just wouldn't sit right, were too thick and looked too small. So I just crocheted the eyes. The S on the front was a bit of a challenge, I tried beads and different shaped S's, but I liked the sparkly green floss the best. I might add a tongue and maybe a bit of thickness to the body on the next one, maybe crystal eyes, I don't know, I'm still thinking. I'm rather happy with the result though.

Fun with food!

My dear friend Theresa is not only a fabulous mother, true friend, and all around wonderful human being, she is my local authority on all things green. I've been a conserving kinda person since forever, I recycle, have a diesel truck, compost, try to grow a garden (though this year, not workin' out), shop at thrift stores, make new sweaters/shirts/pants out of old... But Theresa is on a whole nother plane. She uses reusable cup insulators, fabric shopping bags, reusable plastic baggies, washable hankies,... you name it. And she is big into Bento.

Don't know what Bento is,... well in a nut shell, a Bento box is a compact, portion controlled, reusable lunch box originating in Japan. There was a recent article in the New York Times that caused all the bento box online stores to sell out within hours. I've been minldly interested in the concept for a few years, but Theresa finally got me to give it a try. Theresa has given K three cute boxes and a bunch of little accessories and we both just love them. They are cute and tiny and just such fun! And they save all those plastic bags and twist ties. Very green.

She just started a blog, I Love the Bento that you should really pop over and check out. Loads of cute pics of boxes full of fun food. Makes me hungry just looking at them. And I was her first guest contributor! I'm a real newbie to the whole process, so my boxes are nothing to write home about, but I really enjoy it. And I bugged her till she started a bento blog, so when she asked for pics, I sent pics.

Now, go play with your food.

This is Lola...

This is Lola when you say "Boo!"

Is she cute or what!

Lola belongs to some friends of ours who have a herd of five Himis, of which Lola is the baby. She is technically part Himalayan, part rag doll, and totally adorable. Follows them around like a puppy. If they don't see her for a minute or two, they start checking closets and drawers just in case she went exploring and got locked in.

I understand she dusts those hard to reach places as well. :)

Because it is so funny...