Sneak Peek III and other things

This is the last one, I promise. I just did not have time to finish the Tie one On apron yesterday, but today is the day!


The tree peony in the backyard is flowering. I just love these big blooms.



I love dewdrops on maple leaves.


And remember the dumpster diving episode?
Here's the loot we scored:

Josh found this and HAD to bring it home. It is kind of cute, I have to admit.


I found these...

...which look really cute in the herb garden.


Off to finish the apron...

The day after...

Mother's Day started of wonderfully with this handmade card:


The rest of the day was spent hunting for a new television, since ours decided to give up the ghost on Friday night. The positive: we will now have the 50" flat screen and surround sound that we could never find a good enough excuse to spend money on. The negative: I will not be getting new carpet for our bedroom, and poor Gavin will probably have to count this purchase as his birthday present. He'll be able to watch sports in style now, right?

I put the cushions on the patio set this morning. The weather forecast calls for rain on Wednesday, but I think we're entitled to two days of summer. (If you look closely you'll notice that I didn't actually tie them on - for quick removal.)


On Friday I found these vintage buttons at Michael's. I had seen button magnets somewhere and thought it would be cute. Unfortunately my magnets are a little weak, but it looks really cute.


I plan on completing my apron today, and start on a mini quilt for this month's Whiplash.

And then I have to start some home sewing. Duvet cover, table runner, dining room chair covers...

I love this idea - from Martha, of course...

Illustration Friday: citrus

My very first IF submission.
2B graphite pencil in my sketchbook.

For Mother's Day...

Meet the pincushion who got all dressed up...


...and her friends who didn't.


Whatever you choose to do, have a WONDERFUL Mother's Day!

Come on in...

I invite you to visit my home on this beautiful, sunny spring morning in the Pacific Northwest...


...where you would have found me working on this...

..if I wasn't such an indecisive b...(eing). (read the details here)

Instead I am still following my strawberry obsession and trying to come up with 7 interesting things about myself after being tagged by Kirsten and Syko.

So, let's see...

1. I'm very indecisive. I always have to "think" about anything before making a decision, which has caused quite a few good things to slip away from me...

2. I LOVE pink. Pink is my favorite color. Pink used to be Josh's favorite color too. We had to buy pink soft toys and the pink Tellytubby. Now he's too cool for all that (although he does have a pink shirt or two).

3. I'm not at all ticklish under my feet. This seems to be a rare (and very frustrating for Josh) occurrence.

4. I want to retire in Hawaii next to the ocean. (Don't we all?)

5. I feel like I never have an original thought, but I'm REALLY good at copying other people's ideas.

6. I'm Martha's biggest fan and always have been. I've stood by her through thick and thin and am really glad that she's making such a successful "comeback".

7. The minute Josh leaves the house to go off to college, I'm getting a convertible (maybe even a pink one). Call it a midlife crisis, call it fulfilling a fantasy, but I want something I can take the top off of and have the wind blow through my hair. I'll take this one.

Wow, that was hard! I don't think I'll tag anyone at this point. I'll have to give that a little more thought. (See, indecisive!)

What do you see?

When you look at these fabrics...


do you see watermelons...


...or

strawberries?

WIP Wednesday

Yesterday was supposed to be filled with crafting, but a bunch of stuff got in the way. However...

Tie One On - Sneak Peek II (hee hee hee - I'm SO excited about this one!)


The Spice Market quilt is all cut out, laid out, and tagged. Now for the sewing...

Monday:

A little pre-Mother's Day buttering up...


A LOT of laundry...



...and some dumpster diving.

What fun we had!

Today we craft.

the garden's so bright...

I love these lyrics:

"Well I'm heavenly blessed and worldly wise...
...Things are going great, and they're only getting better...
...The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades"

The sun is (finally) shining and everything's in bloom. Spring is in the air today and it makes my heart sing.

This azalea makes me want to fill my garden with white flowers. At night it glows like a lantern in a dark forest.

Taking photos of all the white is nearly impossible. Everything seems to be a white out. I love it!

Sneak Peek

tie one on May/June - The Pocket...

I have what I think is a splendid idea. I just hope my vision comes to fruition in the final product...

Things I love today

On this rainy Friday I love:

my new kettle with a non-removable whistle - for keeping me from burning the house down while deeply engrossed in a project. (the previous one came to a VERY scary end.)


a neat plasticware cupboard - no more searching for lids


my blue baby for taking me on craft supply hunts and having LOADS of space for loot...


my heart pincushion - for saving me from swallowing a pin and having to take a trip to the emergency room


and this little book


for making me smile every time I page through it.

What's in my car (amateur art)

Every day as I wait for the school bus to drop Josh off, I try to take out my little purse-sized sketchbook and practice my amateur drawing.

Of course, I hardly ever remember to actually take something worth drawing with me when I leave the house, hence this catalog of items found in my car...

apple - I don't normally have apples in the car. On this day I actually remembered to take something.


tiramisu blanket yarn


my purse - of course


scissors - don't ask...


a brown paper bag - probably left over from take-out


sunglasses - we must have had a rare sunny day


I was kind of unsure whether to post these here (being very amateurish), but blogs are about sharing, right?

To Babette or not to Babette

The mailman brought this...


It's the Spring 2006 issue of Interweave Crochet magazine with the pattern for the Babette blanket in it. There are many completed versions of this on Flickr.
The dilemma: if I buy the Koigu yarn specified in the pattern, which I love, the total cost will be about $250! Now that's a lot of money, especially considering the fact that Gavin is not at all enamoured with this blanket. But if I buy cheaper yarn, however, I might not like the end product. I'll have to ponder this some more. I seem to have been doing a lot of that lately. Any advice out there?

While pondering, I quickly whipped up this little bitty for my mom's birthday. Now I just have to find some fun goodies to fill it with. I'm sure an etsy trip is in my future...


I was planning some gardening for today, but it's pouring outside. What a wonderful excuse for staying indoors and playing in my craft room!

free patterns anyone?

I decided to join in on the apron fun and make an apron for the May/June Tie One On challenge. So I started digging in my pattern stash for an apron pattern and found all these old ones...

Most are costume patterns. Some are brand new, some have been cut out in specific sizes, so be sure to read the "fine print". Even if they've been cut out, I'm sure they can be pieced back together in different sizes by all you crafty girls.

If you're interested in any of them, please post a comment listing the ones you'd like. I'll put names in a "hat" and draw some winners on Sunday.

Children's Robe and PJ's. Size: 7-8-10 (Robe cut out in Size 10 with set of traced Size 7 patterns included, PJ's never cut out). This is a lovely little robe pattern. I made Josh two of these out of polar fleece over the years and he just loved them.


Baby Doll Clothes to fit dolls small:8"-10" medium:11"-13" large:14"-16" (new)


Pokemon "Ash" costume. Children's sizes 4,5/6 & 7/8. (Cut out in size 7/8)


Pokemon "Pikachu" costume. Children's sizes 4,5/6& 7/8. (Brand new)


Pokemon "Pikachu" stuffed toys, hat, and backpack.(Brand new)


Children's costume includes cape with hood, mantle, top(joker/Robin Hood/devil) & hats. (joker top has been cut out in Size L. Other items never made)


"Harry Potter" cape and wizard hat Sizes 7,8,10,12,14. (Cut out in size 8) Josh (now 14) still tries to squish into this. It's a great dress-up outfit.


Boys' Hero costumes Size 7/8. Ninja pieces have been cut out.


Wow, that was quite a job!

Off to go crafting now...