happy birthday to me

i think i'm going to go out tonight with some folks. i'm not big on birthday stuff. anyway, if i do go, i made these earrings to wear. they're cat's eye glass and crystal.


i got to hang out with baby nora on thursday. aw. here she is, smiling at her mama, wondering why her awesome GW dress is so big.

who likes those apples?

i do!

so i'm back from KY and leaving for FL on thursday. i love 630 am flights. really. really. i love them even more when i have to fly all dressed up and go straight to a meeting with the executive committee! then another committee meeting. i don't even do anything at these meetings! why do i need to be there? why?

my class is almost over. the final is on the 17, so after that i will return to the crafting life for a few weeks. i bought a few nice cigar boxes in KY for $2 each. i will play with them and turn a few into something else.

i am also working on some slide prints. i will have a few scanned ones to share in a few days.

here is a pic from danielle's wedding. i am putting the bracelet on her...

i'm still around

so i'm still alive. i'm taking my first graduate class and i have about 7,000,000 hours of reading each week. i got an "A" on my first paper, so i'm feeling pretty good about that. i have another one due on monday, so i hope to return to civilization shortly after that.

i've been off of flickr and blogger for so long both asked me to log in again and i forgot my passwords. that was annoying.

here is a very quick update.
madison wears her new hat...(recap...i made it in august and her mom gave me this pic weeks and weeks ago)

also, though i'm trying to do the freegan thing (slowly) i did buy a new dresser to replace my old one. that kind of defeats the idea, i know, but here's my logic...this new dresser is smaller and therefore i am forced to go through my clothes again and dispose of stuff i won't wear anymore. plus, it's shorter than the old one so i can hang things over it and get some closet space back, meaning my clothes aren't squished anymore and i can again go through and get rid of stuff. i did both of these purgings on monday night and i feel pretty good about it. i have two bags of donations, and i might have some more by next week. here it is...it's a malm by ikea.
or maybe it's a bluurg or a vyorn or heefen or whatever.

i put the other dresser on freecycle and i have found a new home for it already. there's the freegan sprirt!

week's worth of updates

ok so i'll go backwards from arkansas...

on the plane ride back i worked on a shawl...i finished it this evening but haven't taken a photo yet. i will soon.


next, i took some pics for slides. here's one in sepia.


need to crop this a little, but it's called "after party"


i started a simple baby hat for a co-worker's three months old on friday. she was born a month early and she's still tiny.


and here it is....i finished it this afternoon.


i made a mock banana sundae this weekend, too. used plain yogurt instead of ice cream. was really good. also peanut butter and choco syrup.


went to a bead show on saturday. this is all i bought! i was able to control myself somewhat. i've already used two strands for two pieces, so i'm well on my way to using some of what i got. i have plans for the pearls, too. plans!


i shoved some oat hay into this grass ball and doll played with it for a while. looked like a lot of fun.

stuff i want for my birthday

here's a list of stuff i want for my birthday...coming up in just over a week.

(the first time i posted this something went wrong and it didn't save. %^*#!)

* duh
* anything here (specifically on the first page, top right column)
* this, but just the body would be ok
* delish. lots of it.
* this GRE stuff finished already.

i wrote more stuff, but i don't remember it. something about a vase i'm looking for for some new slides. something about crying at disney world.

i haven't picked up my knitting needles in over a month. GRE.

curse you, GRE!

also, some pics.
here i am with tamara at jo's wedding last weekend in ny. i was in richmond, va at the time for work, so i flew up for the night and back in the morning. this is the only picture i took in which i actually look like myself.

here are jo and erik


also, i made this jewelry box with crackle paint a few years ago. here is pic of the box, and detail of the crackle effect. it's pretty cool. i smudged it before it was fully dry. i also could have taken the hardware off before painting it, but i just thought of it now. hm.

muahahaha! brother is no more!

i have done away with little brother!


all that brazilian jujitsu, all for nothin'.

or maybe it's just a blood puddle pillow....

quick finger puppet update

lucas's sweater is done! i hope his mom and dad will send me a pic of the sweater in use!


i had brunch with dante yesterday. his mom came too. i made some finger puppets for us to play with...they're a little scary, but i didn't think that would bother him too much.


i make interesting puppets...


finger puppets are huggable...


and apparently, they are very funny...

i left detroit in a kia optima

that was strange. considering the motor city's history, i left in a foreign car. i also couldn't adjust the driver's seat back or my right side mirror. kind of an uncomfortable drive down here to toledo, ohio. additionally, there is a gentleman's club called "scarlett's" somewhere on the oh/mi border that serves top shelf liquor! billboards are the best way to advertise, the best.

last night i went to a mudhens game! name the celebrity who's picture/name is all over toledo (and the tv show he was on) and win a prize!

*just a note - if you haven't figured it out already, i don't have any prizes. just gratitude for reading my blog. thanks!

i brought the final pieces of lucas's sweater with me to ohio. i am now working on the collar, and i expect to be finished with it tonight, depending on my work schedule here. if not, then by the end of the week when i get home. after another 1/2" on the collar, i just have to sew up the arms, sides and pockets! no photo updates there, i left my camera at home. oops.

i also made up the "blood pillow" for my brother. this thing has been all over the interweb-er-do and so he wanted me to copy it for him. i didn't have a pattern or anything, it isn't really needed. i started by marking out squiggly lines.

this is as far as i got...

i ran out of fiberfill, so it's going to have to wait until the weekend. i still have about 3/4 yard of the fabric left. it's a lovely blood red color, but you can't really tell in the picture.

after these two projects are done, i'm going to take a crafting break until the 28th when i take the GRE again. just one part of it, not the whole thing. i'll still post, but just about stupid things, nothing craft-related. wish me luck!

rabbit is shedding like mad now. she doesn't like it when i help the process and gently pull out tufts of fur, but she's going to have to deal. better than her ingesting it, or having it wind up stuck to my eyeballs.


so, last week a friend came over for a few minutes and was pretty much surprised that my place is not as obsessively neat as was predicted. in fact, i was basically told i was messy! insanity! just so you know...

* most importantly, i know where everything is
* i have a hanging spot for my keys (how many of you have that? huh? i haven't said "where are my keys?" in a long time)
* i like organized piles and organized clutter (they're mobile)
* i vacuum every single day (rabbit fur!)
* bathroom counter is wiped up every day, whole room is thoroughly cleaned 2x a week (germs)
* i make my bed every day (thanks, mom)
* all of my crafts have their own designated area
* i keep my sink clean (except for right now 'cause my flight was canceled yesterday morning and i had to scramble to get a new one so i forgot to put my dishes away but other than that...)
* i generally keep my kitchen counter clear. i have only one.
* i have no bugs or mice or whatever (that's extreme, yes, but true)
* and finally, it's a work in progress. i already blogged last week about getting rid of things and my need to have less stuff. scroll down to see, if you'd like.

yeah.

off to work in toledo!

I don't know what the hell I'm doing here. I'm 237 years old, I should be collecting social security.

several updates and notes! this is a long post. go me.

* totally love that movie. the giant banana, man. terrific. too bad woody allen is such a creep now. (name that movie and win a prize! hint...it's listed somewhere here on the blog.)

* i stayed in all day on saturday. unknowingly got into the shower with my glasses on and scared the crap out of myself. cleaned up my apartment. very proud of myself. today i continued on that path and worked on my craft "area" which is basically everywhere but the oven.

* my bunny is so sweet, i can't stand it. right now she's bathing...again. earlier this morning i was at my desk and had no idea where she was. i decided to start my day-off errands and stood up. i kicked the rabbit. she looked up at me and snuggled back into her spot, not getting up. so that's where she was...


* dante's booties were a hit at the bbq at his mom and dad's house yesterday in annapolis...sort of. the blue ones were too small. the pink ones fit well, so now i know that the smallest size will just be impractical. baby dalia is a few months older and had a fun time playing with the shoes. apparently i make tasty shoes. i'm going to make her a fuzzy bunny (eventually.) (i also figured out how to make the bottoms grippy today...rubber cement. the smell will fade after the glue is totally dry.) danielle was not happy about her son wearing pink shoes, but she's just going to have to get over that. he was just my tester, and what a lovely tester he was!



* also figured out centerpieces for danielle's wedding. my mom and i found candles at the restaurant supply depot...now i'm looking for gold colored 14" or 16" round platters that we can use as a base...preferably a plastic-y. preferably ones that don't cost $30 each, as we need about 20 of them. also got glass pebbles in yellowy-brownish colors to surround the candles on the platter. we will put 5 on each platter. that's the centerpiece idea for now. thoughts? something low and simple is desired. i'm totally a "less is more" person when it comes to these kinds of things, and i'm glad i've been given this job! (i'm also doing welcome bags for out of town guests, but we're not going to start on those until about october.)

* here is the latest on lucas's sweater. i'm pretty sure his dad is not interested in how i'm "almost done" with this piece or that piece, much less with my knitting in general. i bet he doesn't think i'll finish this one either. (reminder!) here are the front and back. i also have part of a sleeve done.


* i had some extra gray yarn from the pot holder experiment last week, so i made this little bag. i'll felt it on the next go 'round. how will the flower come out? i don't know how much the whole thing will shrink. this is another experiment. once it's done, i'll add a zipper on top.


here's another dante pic...just because he's so cute.

booties, bananas and bunny

i am making felted booties for little feet now. i made my first pair yesterday and today. now i think i got the hang of it. i will felt them tomorrow night and see how they turn out.
here are dante's booties, in notre dame blue and green!

last night i made tasty chicken on my cast iron grill pan. i bought some bananas in the morning and figured i'd cook 'em up! i quartered the banana with the skin ON and cooked them for about 2 minutes. the pan was HOT HOT.

then i drizzled some honey and raspberries...

i lured doll up on to the couch a few days ago, then stuck the camera under her face. i like these pics...even though one is a little blurry. ooo look how big and threatening she looks!

heh heh heh...

life's a beach!

bobble-claw crab! mini beer bottles! palm trees! shells! beach fun barbie!

cake was so tasty! everyone was happy! no cake left! deeeelish!

success on several levels!

allison, if you're reading this post...stop now because i talk about
you and the party you "don't know about."

seriously. stop it.

first and most importantly, the homeless man i see all the time finally got soup. we went to lunch at uno's to celebrate allison's last friday at work, and on our way out, i picked up some soup. we saw the dude on the walk back.

me - sir, would you like some soup?
dude - oh yes! (pause) what kind is it?
me - broccoli cheese.
dude - broccoli cheese. thank you, god bless you!
me - enjoy!

now, i wasn't after the thank you or anything, that defeats the purpose of giving the soup. he seemed happy.

next, we will be throwing a "super secret" going away party for allison on tuesday. uh...shhh. i was asked to make the cake. i'm going to do a bang-up decorating job, i tell you! this is what she knows so far...chocolate/yellow cake marbled together. two layers with cherry pie filling in the middle (her request) and some stuff on top. here's the secret part...she is moving south to a city mentioned in a will smith song. i bought some doll house plastic palm trees and shells to make a beach scene. i just need a doll for my main character, and i'm set. i'm going to go to toys-r-us later today to hunt for one. didn't see anything that fit my imagination while at the craft store this morning.

also, my brother wants me to make him a "blood puddle pillow" like these so i got the fabric and i'm going to work on it tonight. i have no idea about how to make it up, but it should be pretty easy. updates to follow. lots of pictures in the next two posts, i'm guessing.

stuff i made back in the day

i used to make funky cards for the grandmas and grandpas. grandmas wore "pearls" (plastic from craft store) and grandpas were bald, with just a bit of doll hair around the sides of the head. i made mc a birthday card almost three summers ago, and i still think it's one of the best. i really tried to capture a unique feature of the subject...what does mc love to do?

i got one of those wooden drawer things from ikea. saved the sunday comics for a while. found some wooden feet and sticky felt....came up with this!

i really enjoy making these photo albums. here is one i did for my mom's friend who got married in 2002.

here are two baby ones. i was surprised to get paid for the girl one. a happy customer.




on another note, this week alone i have turn two people on to his excellency, alton brown and good eats. >sigh<

i'm back, and i bring popcorn!

i took today off. i'm about to go grocery shopping, which should be very exciting. i will work on some other projects later on in the day and will post later this weekend.

before the conference started last weekend, i made a massive bowl of popcorn. it took me (and doll) several days to finish it.

>pop!<
>pop!<



lots of pop


so i try to keep my knitting projects separate. i have enough trouble staying with one project at a time as it is now, so i had to figure out how to keep all my stuff for each project together. my brother moved back to NY a few months ago and he gave me a bunch of stuff when he moved. next to the bookcase and tv, he gave me a costco size box of zipper-type ziplock bags. i decided to use them for the projects!

each project gets one bag. i have a little pair of scissors and a few yarn needles that move from bag to bag. if i have a larger piece completed, such as the back of a sweater or a sleeve, i'll just take it out of the bag. also great to toss into my backpack or suitcase.

i feel like a genius.

>update!<
1:02 pm

just returned from the grocery store. i asked for help unpacking, but it seems that my assistant decided to eat my stuff instead...

make a pillowcase out of towels!

ag wrapped a pillow in a towel a few nights ago and remarked how great towel pillocases would be...so i decided to make them! i searched online and couldn't find any kind of "how-to" and i decided to do it myself. total time was about an hour for both of them. i'm going to make some more. they were really easy, no tape measure needed, and they're soooo comfy! here we go!

i got two regular size bath towels from bed bath & beyond...they're having their annual clearance sale now, so that was just a bonus. i had wanted to use one bath sheet, but i couldn't find any that i liked. so...

then line up two towels exactly. i wound up cutting off the ends with the tags.

next, i lined up a regular pillowcase so it would be the correct size. (if you want to use the bath sheet, just fold in half so the edges line up and continue with the next step.)

then i pinned around the case to keep the two towels together, and then marked the top towel with tailor's chalk.

then i sewed around the chalk marks. i went right up to the edging, and then went back and forth to secure the edges.

here is the completed pillowcase, inside out.

then i trimmed the edges, leaving about 1/2 inch around the stitching, and turned it right side out. that's it!

it's in the washing machine now to clean it up. now, what to do with all the left over scraps?