Beauty's Tattoo

Hi Ripkin!!

2011-02-07T07:19:00.000-08:00

I hope he looks good enough to chew on!This little monkey started as a back up baby gift (you know, one to have on hand in case someone needs one). Unfortunately, I don't like him. I previously made the same pattern with different yarn and he was the cutest. This yarn, which was a leftover from the lace panel socks, did not stripe as well for a little monkey so he is for Whitney's baby (Ripkin) to chew on. I hand-knitted a chew toy for a dog. Call me crazy.

Knitting does give me a bit of sanity in the craziness of everyday so it doesn't matter what I make, as long as I am doing it. What do you do to keep your sanity every day?

Catching up

2011-01-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

While my baby is doing this... I can finally update my blog. I know you aren't supposed to cover the baby with a blanket, but he loves it! Thanks Momo!
How pathetic, August was my last post! My kitchen is done as well as some crafty things to share today.
As well as gratuitous baby pictures!

This is my finished kitchen!! I love every inch of it! The hood doesn't let a bit of charred food smell into the house, the tiles wipe down so easy and the sink is big enough for a baby!I really should have straightened up a bit before I snapped that picture, but the above bambino only lets so much get done at a time.

Next is my advent calendar for next year. I imposed this project on myself to get it done in time for this Christmas so the pressure would be on to finish it. Hopefully my little boy will enjoy peering into each mitten next year as the days count down to Christmas! I tried to make one per day and I had to make up for the first week but believe it or not I finished!

Oh and a picture of Lenny enjoying his Christmas and presents!!
I have never made anything wearable for my baby. It was hard to believe for me too. So I present the Flying Helmet. My mom got this yarn from her quilt store and it was originally for socks. I just adjusted my gauge and got going on this.

I love the ear flaps and the point on the top. The top flap occasionally falls into his eyes, but it just makes for a fun game of peek-a-boo. Ok, now for the cutie in his hat
He really does like it!

And just one more because he is the cutest little pooper.
He is holding the yellow Moose from Nick Jr. There is also a blue bird to go with him that I made for him, but because of copy rights and my fear of getting in trouble you can imagine what two felt stuffed toys would look like.
He does love the sound of "Puzzle Time" and whips his little head around to see the moose and bird.

Wow, a whole post in one nap. Go me!

Under Construction

2010-08-02T08:30:00.001-07:00

While my little person is growing, my house is also becoming more of a home. I have decided to post each room as it gets done so you won't think I am living in constant construction. The first one done was Lenny's room and I am so proud of it!! Every piece came together perfectly and I really hope he will enjoy it as much as I do now!This is the basic setup as you walk in. I am sorry it is so dark. Now for the around the room tour.
This is his hand me down crib from our wonderful neighbors. Finding a crib was the hardest thing to do and when we traded a daybed for the crib and changing table, we both won!! I put these Ikea boxes under the crib for sheets and clothes that are too big for now and they luckily match the green of his dresser perfectly. The extra storage is nice too.

I also love how the alphabet in the frames came out. They were actually wall decals from Etsy that I put on poster board and framed. Now the alphabet is moveable, or can be changed out if he out grows them. Also, the long picture on the wall is a picture where babies come from, from Aunt Marsha. I had it framed at Michael's and it really means a lot to us!

This is Joe's great Grandmother's chair. It may look a bit spooky with the dragon faces on the sides, but I can't imagine another chair in this room. Joe has fond memories of his family members being held in this chair and it is comforting to know his child gets held in it now!It is soo comfortable for when I pump and enjoy Lenny's room!

Another semi dark picture. I hope I'm a better mom than photographer! But anyways, these are the curtains that I made. The letters were cut out for me from a seller on Etsy who did the mobile and I fused them on cheap Bed Bath and Beyond curtains. So for all of the window dressings it cost $35.00. Including the rod! Oh wait, I know the blinds were expensive, but those stay, the curtains I'm sure will be changed at some point so 35 bucks isn't bad.

This is my baby's dresser. Hopefully his big boy dresser too. Finding a wood dresser for under $500, that will hopefully be okay for a big kid, have enough storage, and match other things is a tall order. We didn't even have it when the baby came, but luckily I found this at the Room Store and it really does meet all of those requirements. Also it has these cool inserts on the drawers for pictures. Nothing is in them yet, but maybe when he is older he can make something to put in them! Now just a few details of cute stuff.
The dog we found on our baby-moon at an antique store. He runs when you pull the string. The basket was Joe's mom's picnic basket. He said that I could use it for whatever I wanted. I say why keep something in storage when you can look at it every day and use it? Oh and those are my beautiful floors. Finally installed. It is so nice not having to walk on ply wood!!

This is just the top of the dresser. Hopefully Lenny will play with these blocks at some point, but I can decorate with them now. The clown is a music box that Joe's dad bought for his mom. His first two boys hated the clown and they even frowned when I put it in the babies room. I like it and it is special to us, so I'm sure the baby will like it when he hears why it is in his room.
This is the changing table. Nothing too special here except it matches the crib, and you may notice we are using cloth diapers. We love using cloth diapers. We tried Pampers for 3 days and our poor baby's bottom turned into a wreck, not to mention we had our first blowout with them. Maybe it was us, or the poop, but we quickly changed back. They weren't worth the trash they made.And the inspiration for the whole room. The alphabet mobile I found on Etsy. The letters on the curtains were cut by the same person so they match. Hopefully Lenny likes looking at this when I change his diaper. I love looking at it when I am in the rocker.

So it's not too matchy-matchy, and hopefully things can be added or taken away and I won't stress about having to redo his whole room again, unless he tells me when he's five that alphabets aren't cool and he wants all race car stuff.... Oh I am getting ahead of myself again. I hope that we can enjoy this for at least five years.

The next rooms will be our master bathroom and bedroom. They are both done right now, but I want to take my time with these. And now I have to spend some baby time with my munchkin.
Here's a sneak peek at our new tub! He loves it!

Lenny is here!!!

2010-07-28T10:57:00.000-07:00

It has been a bit since I posted last and now we have a perfect person! Leonard Joseph was born on July 8 at 2:01pm and he weighed 7lbs and 10oz. And he is just a peach! Everyone came to see him and I think everyone agrees he is just perfect!
He's so wonderful. Here is one of his face. Cutest ever!!!
There are tons of pictures of this Junebug but you get the idea. I also haven't decided what to call him. Mostly Lenny but when I am being cute it is Peachy or Junebug or Pumpkin. I'm sure one will stick. Dad calls him Lenny Poo Pants. He does a lot of that!!!

We're building a house and a person!

2010-06-15T07:05:00.001-07:00

We're not really building a house, but we might as well have started from scratch!!! I have some in progress pictures! First this is me building a person.

The last post I think I was 5 months preggo, so hopefully this is as big as I am going to get. Eight months pregnant. The next bunch of pictures will be my motivation to show you why I am willing to hold this little person in for as long as possible!

This is what it looks like as you enter our house and get to the top of the stairs to the kitchen. Those stairs are unfinished and all of those boxes are our new laminate floors!!!!!! I love that the floors are here because this is what the floor looks like now...

Now this is the living room and as we walk through the rest of the house you will see why the entertainment center just had to stay right where it is.
Isn't nice to imagine having to wear flip flops all of the time because you may get a splinter when you have to run to the bathroom for the 100th time?

Now these next pictures are as you walk down the hallway past the living room. If you notice we went really classy with the bathroom door in the hallway... That is a shower curtain. Our door is a shower curtain!!!!!

Ok, wait a minute it's not all that bad, let's stop and look at our floors actually installed in a room that is (semi) done. I really do love them it's just... did you see the pictures?

When I say semi done, it's because our bedroom is actually my sewing room. The nursery, well it is only that in name right now and the only distinguishing feature that makes it a nursery is the fact there is a crib in it. If you squint really hard you can see it. But the floors are down and complete in both of those rooms. I do love my sewing room. And Joe worked so hard to put up the shelves and all of the totes to organize it.

Now you may ask, why are you sleeping in your sewing room? That is because our bedroom is construction central. Air compressors for nail guns aren't the most comfy pillows! And that is my closet with no doors and the beautiful contractor bags to keep the dust out.

But this is a teaser for the exciting master bathroom! The tiles are up! The bathtub is in (not in the bedroom anymore).

It is bitter sweet. Look at what is next to our beautifully tiled tub...

More construction stuff. And just because it is hilarious, and you saw our bathroom door, this is what your finished basement looks like when you have no doors to any of the rooms.

And now I am completely embarrassed. Well, very excited too!!! It is taking a while and did I mention that I am eight months pregnant? I can't imagine a more stressful time! It is coming together and as this little person grows in my belly my house is becoming more and more of a home, for him or her to grow up in! I hope you enjoyed the tour of my house and I can't wait to update you to when it becomes more complete!!!!

What to knit when you are expecting! (In the snow)

2010-02-08T11:43:00.000-08:00

It happened really fast, we got married (see below) and then one month later we are expecting! I promise to put up more pictures more frequently but here are a bunch for now. First this is my belly at five months.

In case you didn't hear about it, Maryland is in a snow emergency. It isn't as much as all of the family gets in upstate NY but it's a big deal for us down here!! The kids across the street are loving it!! And yes it is 40 degrees outside.

We are supposed to get 6 more inches of snow tomorrow too. How will Maryland ever handle all of this snow? My family hasn't seen me preggo yet so this should be exciting to hear about!

And what to do when your belly is getting bigger and bigger and you are trapped in your house? KNIT! I didn't make all of these in one day, but you get the idea, there isn't a lot to do around the house. First a monkey, a bunny and a snake for Dylan. The bunny is my favorite and I think the monkey holds a strong resemblance to Joe (maybe it is the ears).

The monkey and the snake are made with self-striping sock yarn, and the bunny is this super plush handpainted wool Mom and I bought in NY. The bunny is the only one that gets to stay the other two get to go to new homes. I hope Dylan likes the snake! He's about 30 inches long.

And this one is my biggest project. Momo said she would make our little bundle a quilt and that she had some Hungry Caterpillar fabric (from the Eric Carle book). Well I had a lot of leftover yarn and a hungry imagination this day!

I think I will post a tutorial on this one because I had to make up the pattern, but this may be a big challenge for me. Also I would love to have the butterfly done so I could get both patterns out. Now the pressure is on my mom to get sewing!

That is a lot of posting for me. Especially since it has been so long. I promise I will keep you updated more frequently!

I'm back! And Married!

2010-02-08T11:26:00.001-08:00

Click here to view these pictures larger

So much has happened since the last post. Joe and I got married! The best day of our lives! There are close to 600 pictures of the day but these are just some of the highlights (mostly Joe and me). I think it may be best if I just start a whole new post with some of the other details. If the picture don't show up on your computer click to "view the pictures larger" then you can see them!

China in the China Closet?

2009-06-15T21:07:00.000-07:00

Who would have thought that China could go into the china closet! Well that is what Joe thought, but after it was in he was pleasantly surprised!!! ("I wondered what those grooves were for")

When did I get china for the china closet? When my mom needed more room in her cupboard and I needed a set for my (almost) married home. The two tea sets were Joe's mother's and his aunt's and the Wedgewood-momo's. I have to say I love it and I love it each day more that I look at it in the china closet!!! Thanks MOMO!!! Love You!

Two Pairs of Socks

2009-04-19T13:39:00.000-07:00

Really quickly I wanted to show two pairs of socks that are done and being enjoyed and since I am at the computer, I will put them up. The blue pair is made from bamboo wool my mom gave me for my birthday last year, and the yellow and maroon socks went to Erin-Bearin for christmas. ( Both pictures have been stuck in my camera for ages.)

I put a lace panel in both of them, the pattern is on the back on the blue and on the top of EB's.

I do have one more good post but I can't sit at the computer all day! More to come I promise!

Making Soap

2009-04-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

It's wedding time and I am trying to save money, show people that I am thankful they came to my wedding and still stay crafty. So I came up with this. For a coffee themed wedding how about Handmade Coffee soap? This works so well for removing odors and the grounds really do smooth your skin. I had to make a pot of coffee for each batch of bars, so needless to say I got them all done really fast because you definitely do things faster and with more energy when you are all hyped up on coffee!!! Here's a quick tutorial...

Step 1: Lay out your supplies and let everyone in your house know that the kitchen island will be off limits until they are all made.
Step1A: Make a pot of coffee!
What you need:

Melt and Pour soap-(From Michael's)This is shea butter soap, and I lucked out because the brown coffee and white soap made it a really attractive light brown color. Exactly the color I like it when I make my coffee with cream and sugar!!!
Soap Mold
Scented Oil (I picked vanilla to complement the coffee)
Brewed Coffee Grounds
Glass Measuring Cup
Microwave

Step 2: Using 4oz of Melt and Pour soap (they are divided into 1oz pieces) Cut into smaller pieces so it melts evenly, and place into glass measuring cup (or anything microwavable) with scented oil. I used 6 drops per batch and it gave it a nice smell but not too overpowering.

Step 3: Go to your coffee pot and carefully open the top (so you don't get a hot steam facial) and scoop out about 1tbsp of brewed coffee grounds and place in measuring cup. The more grounds you put in the better exfoliating power, but if you put in too many they all sink to the lowest part of your mold.

Step 4: Microwave for 40 seconds. Then stir gently and pour into mold.

Step 5: Cool for 20-40 minutes, on countertop or in the refrigerator. I found no difference between either and remove from mold by just working it out slowly. If they aren't hard enough, they won't come out easily.

Step 6: Package so they look pretty. The packaging was the most expensive part for these favors $0.99 for 50 cellophane bags, $0.50 for 10 yards of ribbon and a little bit of my time (which is priceless). So the total for the whole treat including the bar of soap ($0.68)=$0.74!

Craftiness and Favors complete!!

Christmas is almost here!

2008-12-17T06:10:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas! The presents under the tree, the smells, the cookies, the music! It is all wonderful! I am so excited about our Christmas tree and it is the funniest joke ever! Stove, thinks it is real. And I can't wait until we get back from NY to find out how he watered it!

I did so well this year too, as far as making sure everyone was accounted for with gifts and the majority of the presents are handmade. Maybe I was being cheap, but I have to say I like well made, thought out gifts the best!

Now for Pie, Dash and Dylan they all got matching hunting socks. Different sizes but the same yarn. (Yes, I just took those pictures out side and yes there is no snow!)

And because everyone got individual presents, I also made some soft blocks for Dylan. I am sooooo happy with how these turned out and true to Beauty they are made of recycled jeans. Completely machine washable and in 3 different sizes...3 inches, 4 inches and 6 inches. Super easy!! Hopefully super fun!!

But I don't want to ruin all of the presents!! There a few more handcrafted things but we'll wait until after christmas for those posts!

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!!!!!!!

Catch up when you Fall Back!

2008-11-02T14:15:00.000-08:00

November 1st!?! Being from upstate NY this has to be one of the weirdest things about being a little south. We still have leaves on the trees!! (and green leaves too!) The first picture is our pink dogwood in our front yard, and this tree is beautiful all year! But it is a bit cooler today (50F) but really November 1st? It should be cold and desolate and we should be begging dad to turn the heat on!!

So it is Daylight Savings, and a bad idea for a night shifter is to work the actual night that the clocks go back, but it did give me one whole night to think about everything I should do or could be doing. My momo said you need to update your blog. So now I am super updating. I put a couple of projects that have been done for a long time on tonight and I also have a special picture for my family that I know they are waiting to see...

YEA!! I'm engaged!! Don't you just love it?! I totally forgot I could put that picture here and everyone would see it with ease!

Also, I have a whole slew of socks that I am meaning to post as well as my kitchen decorations, but it is almost dinner time here so I will promise to get more blogging done later!

Baby presents!

2008-11-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

My close friend at Hopkins is going to have a little boy!!!! Since I love her so dearly and I am sure that I will love her little one so dearly, I made her a baby present. I had the time and the total cost was $26.00. The pattern for the cardigan is from knitty.com but I changed a lot of it. Mainly the collar, but it came out really well. I already had made a sweater for my sweetie nephew 4 months ago with a snake on it (check out www.sewdivadiane.blogspot.com) which I really liked and I didn't want to get bored with this project so modifications came in to keep me interested.

Oh but the $26.00 was not on yarn or buttons, here are the cutie onesies and burp cloths I made her too!

The fabric was too cute I couldn't resist!!! I just varied the placement of the fusible web patches I made (that little one is on the bottom!) and button hole stitched around them by hand to give them a finished look. The little ducky only has a few stars that hold him on, but the fusible web is pretty strong after ironing and how long will these actually last? (one spit-up per wearing) haha

The burp cloths were done the same way with a button hole stitch along the edges of the fused panels. I also left some space at the end to fold the fabric over to leave a clean edge. They are so cute!!!!!!! (and soo easy!)

Don't you just love babies?!

Recycle this!

2008-09-08T19:25:00.000-07:00

Something new from something old. A tutorial of what to do with all of those old jeans if you are sick of making handbags with back pockets on them. This is a different take on a braided basket but it is a little more sturdy and recycles!

Step One: Cut off the legs from a pair of dearly loved jeans making sure not to use the pockets or intricate top seams. Cut off the bottom hems, but don't worry about the thick side seams, they braid in well.

Step Two: Cut/Rip leg open so you have a flat pieces of material and cut/rip 1-2" strips. The ripping is easy to do because jeans are usually sewn on grain and the noise that it makes is fun!

Step Three: This is unnecessary if you love jean strip spaghetti, but it took 5 pairs of jeans to make this basket so I wound them into a ball. I did have about 1 leg of strips left over when I was done so I find the ball is easy to store in my yarn basket.

Step Four: Take three strips and whip stitch them together to hold and start braiding. If you find that you are braiding a little too loosely, stretch the braid and it will tighten it up. I added strips as I needed them but you could just make one super long braid and then coil your basket. I simply grabbed another strip and braided it in when I ran out, but you could whip stitch the ends together if you wanted. It held really well and it wasn't a lot of trouble not sewing each strip together.

Step Five: THE COILING. I started with a super tight coil in the bottom of the basket and then kept coiling around until my base was as big as I wanted it. At the start of the coil, I sewed through all of the layers with a strong needle, a thimble and a gripper. This was pretty grueling, but as I worked in the circle I simply went through one strip of the braid with thread and it was sturdy and much easier than actually poking through the layers.

Step Six: Building up the sides was easy! I was actually surprised how the curve happened itself with positioning and sewing as I went. Keep working up the sides until you are happy with how tall the basket is. You can very easily stop when you are done, but I put handles on mine...

Step 7: To make my handles I kept sewing the braid to the basket, but then left a gap about as big as my grip and sewed through all of the layers so that the handle would be really reinforced, Make each handle about the same size and about half way around the circle from each other. You know what I mean, don't put two handles right next to each other. (How would you carry that?) Anyways, I then took one more row around the top to make the grip of the handle a little bit wider and to just finish off the top.

Step 8: Finishing. I hated it but again I sewed through all of the layers of the braid to the last row with my thimble, gripper and strong needle, but spread out the strips of the braid so that it would be a tiny bit easier, but now my basket is all done!

I have to be completely honest when I say I wasn't planning on having a different color for the handles or top part but I love how the shades of the jeans did that! Stuff your basket and enjoy!!!

Yipee for chalk!

2007-10-20T13:22:00.000-07:00

It's already been a month since school started, and I was longing for the nostalgia of the smell of erasers and chalk but unfortunately I don't have to go to school right now. (Isn't it funny how you spend 20 years trying to get out of school and then all you want to do is go back?)
To feed my craving for school without all of the homework, I decided that I would like a message center. An original chalkboard, not a wipe off board, or a cork board, a real live chalkboard. These are hard to find unless you are a teacher in the market and don't have an instant gratification problem like I do. It was time for me to get crafty.

So I am recalling the hours of craft tv and I think "wait, don't they have chalkboards in a can?" Yes! Now I don't know if it is ok for me to plug this product in here but it's exactly what I used. Rust-O-Leum green chalkboard spray.

Now prepare your area and yourself... No really prepare yourself to turn completely green. There is a reason that the can says to use outdoors in a well ventilated area and not in your one bedroom apartment ON YOUR WALL! We thought the paper would be enough....
NOPE it was everywhere, well the powder was... but here are the work in progress pictures. One more thing, don't start this at 9pm. The clean up will keep you up and delirious until 3am but the fun never stops.

1. Tape and paper the surface you want to be your chalkboard. In fact, tape and paper your entire living space. (Can you tell this made a mess in my apartment?)

2. Spray the surface, clean your whole house, allow to dry for 24 hours and then look at your nice new chalboard. That isn't even the funnest part!

3. The surface has to be roughed up. But with the only thing that it should be roughed up with, CHALK!!!!

4. Then you get to clean it off and make out your message center. Mine is in the form of days of the week. But you could really do it for the whole month or just make it way fun and draw whatever you want on it.

On tuesday, I have to work on my helmet hair. Either you get it or you don't. I totally enjoyed this project despite all of the mess and I would definitely do it again. I would also recommend it to anyone who needs a chalkboard or just would like a fun way to decorate every day!

Something new from something old!

2007-09-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

So it's been a LONG time since I wrote anything and today I woke up feeling crafty. I have been thinking of my friend who is becoming "moderately rocking" with T-shirts. It's hard for an old dog to learn new tricks but with each tee he puts on he gets a little cooler. I am a big fan of tees and jeans but it was time that I learned some new tricks myself.

Enter the T-SHIRT CONVERSION!!

This is my favorite Led Zeppelin.

It's soft and perfectly worn in all of the perfect spots (Yes those are pit stains), but it is a boy's tee and so the sleeves are long and the neck is too tight. So I got a bullet and some whiskey, bit my lip and....

I cut into it!!!! First to go were the sleeves, I lined up the shirt, pressed it and cut straight up from the side "seam" press. Then I measured 1.5inches from the top logo and cut across. The 1.5 wasn't arbitrary, 1/4inch for the first roll of the seam casing and then 1 inch for the actual casing.

NO TURNING BACK NOW!

Now the way this tee was designed, the logo was higher than the armpits so those have to be sewed up so that you don't have huge vents while you wear it as a cool new tube top. This could have potentially looked bad, but it ends up making these decorative darts (totally by luck)

Now for the casing I mentioned earlier. I turned over 1/4 inch and then 1 inch and top stitched the casing. This only took a long time because I pinned and pressed and sewed slowly. I am an instant gratitude kind of person, but I really wanted this to come out well.

Casing done, now for the elastic. I had some non-roll 1/4 inch hanging around so I fed it through the casing sewed it together and sewed the hole closed. Be careful not to let the elastic twist, that would make you crazy. How long do you make the elastic? Duh, put it around your chest about where you want the top of your new crazy tube to fall. that's how much. if your tee fits you fine without the elastic then great, but for me with boobies, I had to make it a little gathered.

I then noticed I had way more gathers than I thought I would have so I positioned them in the back and smoothed out the front. I didn't want it to look like a pregnancy tube top. I straightened the front and sewed through the casing at the sides so I would still have a little pull in the front, but I could throw it into the washer and not have to restraighten the whole thing. So here is my new Zeppelin tube top. I am way psyched!

Not too bad. And can I mention how smart I was to take this picture myself in the mirror? I was pretty impressed. I'm gong to wear it to a good show we are going to go to in Washington D.C at DC9. One am radio. It's only gonna cost $8! Can you believe that! So cheap for such a good band? So convert your own favorite tee and go see a show yourself. More to come!

Yea for presents!! Christmas in July

2007-07-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

What's better than listening to music?? Making CDs for your friends! And while your being all crafty creating the ultimate playlist, get crafty with the case. Here's the problem, regular jewel cases only hold what two discs?
Well when you are a music enthusist like I am, you have to be able to give about 10 cds to your friend because "he has to listen to them all!!" Enter the woven construction paper case. This is quite durable and yes, I did get all 10 cds in! Just cut thin strips and then cut strips in a piece of paper, but don't go all the way to the end, it helps to hold everything together. maybe 15 minutes? But memorable for your friends!

I guess I will put my music recommendations here, basically the cds I made for him. (some of the artists I put all of the albums I have by them so it adds up to 10):
1. Ted Leo and the Pharmacists- they are so awesome
2. Mastadon- they open up for TOOL they kick ass if you are feeling you need some metal in your life
3. Le Tigre-including a remix of their album "This Island"
4. The Rapture- this gets stuck in your head
5. Mates of State- I can't even comment they are so good
6. Pedro the Lion- I like them so they must be good.
And maybe a couple of other ones, but it's hard to keep track.

Wait, that's not all, I have been on vacation for two weeks now and I went and got a TV thing so that now I can burn DVDs on my computer. Well to catch up all my friends with no cable, how about some DVDs and cases of the best show ever? THE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS!
You're still not watching it? maybe I'll make you a DVD then.... but check out the cases.

How awesome are those? HaHa that's David Bowie on the inside of that one. You have to watch it to get the joke. Just your basic third grade collage from magazines and scraps of paper, but YOU MADE IT!

One more present, remember my momo's socks... They are done! I loved working with this yarn from Woolworks. It's 100% superwash Merino wool hand dyed in "lilypad." One skein makes one pair of socks, but I do have a little bit of yarn left over. I did splurge and go back and buy another color "desert sand" but you will have to wait for those ones. This is also my first pattern that was a lacy design and I am way psyched about how they came out. Enjoy momo!

I guess I put those pictures up pretty messy, but I only have 3 more days off so I have plenty more to do besides arranging pictures. And look how selfless I was with all of those presents. (that was pretty selfish to say huh?) Bike still in progress, this is a long project.... Did you go to a concert yet?

Bike in Progress...

2007-07-15T10:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been a while and you know why? Stupid moving! I HATE MOVING! It was a lot of work, and of course, I procrastinated as much as possible. Including a trip to Charlotte, NC, taking not one but two bikes apart and not stopping even though my apartment was in boxes. And since it's my blog can I just say I hate the monopoly company for cable in Baltimore Comcast, which I will now be calling "ComCastration." But enough about that, here's something crafty that I have been working on....

Yep, that is a three speed bike!!! Rock on! Veggie Liz found it for me on Craig's list and we picked up this bike <-

for this part ->

So the whole thing will make a DREAM MACHINE on this bike frame! How awesome is this going to be?

So I must send out props to my local bike shop that got all of the pieces off for me that I couldn't muscle myself. http://www.broadwaybike.com They totally deserve it!! And Veggie Liz because only we can get into these projects together!!
If you like to bike, then you should definitely build your own dream machine. It's very gratifying and way fun!
Now for some recommendations: Wait! we should have a meeting....Let's take attendance:
Beauty? Present. Ok now for the meeting....
That brings me to the first item on the agenda:
The Flight of the Conchords.
If you are not watching this..Why?? It's hysterical. I love Jemaine and Brett.
Second item on the agenda:
Go to a concert this summer. You must have a day off that you can just go see a band, a local band, a huge band, a guy in the park with a banjo, just go.
I guess that's it for now. Not a whole lot today but more bike porn to come and maybe some artsy-fartsy stuff later.
Momo, I promise I'm working on your socks!

Jump into SOCKS!!

2007-06-08T16:36:00.000-07:00

My first knitted pair of socks!! It was really just getting over the fear and horror stories of others that was the hardest. I taught myself to knit on two circular needles from Cat Bordhi's book Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles. Picking up the gusset stitches was a little confusing, but God bless your local yarn store and all of the people who work there. (This is the plug for my Baltimore store Woolworks and their website is www.woolworksbaltimore.com). These are the basic socks and after I got the first one done, it was just a matter of sitting down to do the second, and now I'm hooked! Check out how I even got the self-striping yarn to line up (a little obsessiveness on my part).And if you don't know how to knit on two circulars, I highly recommend learning to do so because I am never going to do any sort of tube any other way. I'm not giving up my dpns yet, but this it is so fast to knit on two circulars.

I have a zillion projects in the works too. Quilts and fabric all over the place, beads rolling all over, and did I mention I'm moving? What better time to start a million things so then I have to pack them up mid project?

On a different note here are the CDs you should listen to RIGHT NOW! Ok maybe not right now but here are some June recommendations: I am a little behind as far as recommending them when they were released but this will be a comprehensive list.
1. Neon Bible -The Arcade Fire
2. Year Zero -Nine Inch Nails
3. We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank -Modest Mouse
4. American Doll Posse -Tori Amos
5. Fear of a Blank Planet -Porcupine Tree
6. Houses of the Holy -Led Zeppelin.
It has been a bit since I have gone to the record store so I am sure there will be another list to come. That Arcade Fire CD though.... yum. It's quite profound. And the Mighty Zep, well you should be listening to at least one album every day.
And speaking of music, how funny is this? Last night, veggie Liz and I saw the best local band Gunwife Gone (I think that is the name) they kicked ass, but I met the guy who produced or promoted, I can't remember, that song that goes...."DAMN, I wish I was your lover...."You know the one. I think that singer's name is Sophie or something? and I feel horrible I can't remember his name, super nice guy, the promoter or whatever he did, not the singer.

So I think that is it for this one, I have some "in the works pictures" but I will save them until I finish the projects and since you know the song I am talking about now that will be stuck in your head for a day at least. It was way catchy.

yea! VACATION!!

2007-05-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Wow! North Carolina was awesome. So I buy a new camera with all of the intentions of taking tons of pictures, but what do I do? I take only 3 the whole time I'm there. This is a view from the living room... I should have taken a picture of Cole with his pirate T-shirt on, but I think he might have gotten half of his dinner on it in 5 minutes, so at least it served its purpose.

Way fun.

But also I wanted to say HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! to my momo and I can show you what I made for her. Subversive Cross Stitch is a book by Julie Jackson and my mom and sister picked it out for me because they know how much I enjoy swearing and crafting and this book lets you do both. Check out her website, www.subversivecrossstitch.com It's guaranteed to crack you up. But back to the point, I really wanted to get a "Mom" tattoo for the one who brought me into this earth, but it kills her a little with each one I get. This is just as permanent and now she can enjoy it every day.

LOVE YA TONS MOMO!!!!!!!!

And now for a Beauty original. Between the sunburn that I got on vacation and all of the drinking (My liver HATES me) I get home and I think I want to make something fast and useful. How about a camera cozy!! With a skull on it of course. I want to felt it but it is just 50 rows of stockinette stitch in some leftover yarn I had. I pulled the button off of an old shirt and now my new camera is nice and safe.

It's a good little credit card/smokes holder too, I just have to add a strap.

But I think that will be it for this post. The one thing I wanted to get done while on vacation was my other knitted sock. Good thing I will have more time off coming up!!!!
Oh wait, you have to watch this....
http://funnyordie.com/v1/view_video.php?viewkey=3efbc24c7d2583be6925
I need to get my drink on. More to come!

First time

2007-05-11T14:29:00.000-07:00

Ok here goes, my debut on the world wide web. Not only do I have a blog now, I also have a digital camera. I'm pretty crafty and for my first post I have pictures to add too!! So what could possibly be good about my best friend having a kid? I get to be an AWESOME aunt!!! This can get you in trouble, but also it poses plenty of opportunities to crack yourself up! So for my first crafty idea, homemade T-Shirts! Just premade shirts and Iron-On letters. There are tons of colors and styles of letters to choose from. I have given Cole plenty of T-Shirts, all funny, some "inappropriate" but these are the first ones I have made.

Hysterical huh? "IM A PIRATE" is just funny. Now imagine a 1 year old just wearing it for the heck of it! And "DUNDER MIFFLIN"? Well if you have to ask, it's from the greatest show on television The Office.

This one is for Veggie Liz. I'm not going to even explain it, long story,but it might just be an inspiration for you to get crafty or just crack up you and your friends.

And now for vacation!! With Erin Bearin and Cole and a bunch of partiers in NC! More crafty posts to come!!