thank yous

Eliot and I have been working on thank you notes for our birthdays. Eliot painted and stamped the pages and I have constructed them into cards. It has been a fun project to work on together. He likes having his hands traced and using the letter stamps.

Dexter had some running around time while we were working on this day. He loves to snuggle up and run madly around our feet.


As the weather turns, I have been taking lots of fall related pictures. This blog will be full of them in the coming posts. This is the last peach on the tree.

Hat Link

I found the hat link:

Here it is

You may also type in Sew News - Warm and Woolly Hat Pattern into Google and you will find it. The mitten pattern is there too. I highly recommend it, very easy to make and easy to modify.

Halloween

The looks on the two boys faces crack me up in this picture. This was before we went to the parade, Eliot had not taken a nap and was a little edgy and I think they were both questioning the sanity of the adults.


The Lion and the Princess Kitty.

Happy Halloween

We have had an eventful Halloween today. We started off with an impromptu brunch with some friends and their children who were dressed and ready for trick-or-treating by 9am. They came over and played with the train table for a few hours. They got along SO well! The recent jump in Eliot's ability to create imaginary games and go with it for a fairly lengthy period of time has really improved his ability to interact with other children. I also think the verbal skills and reasoning abilities help too. He and the little girl, who is almost four, played quietly, alone for nearly an hour! It was awesome.

We then went to the West End parade, which is always very cool. The puppets and stilt walkers really make it magical with the bass drums beating the whole time. Eliot was enamored and kept saying how he loved the parade and asking are we really in it mama? We managed to bypass all actual trick or treating, he got one treat and was pleased as punch. I'll post more pictures of the costumes etc. Monday or Tuesday.

I finished up a couple of projects today, too. These green pants have been a challenge since cutting them out. For some reason they fought me. The first pair went so much smoother. I blame it on operator error and poor choice of materials. I'm pretty sure they are backwards, but I am not telling Eliot that.

I also finished Eliot and Kevin's winter hats. Here is Eliot's with the snowman applique. Kevin's is design-less at this point. Until I feel inspired, I am calling it done. I am going to scan the pattern for the hat and the mittens (adult size) at work next week and try to figure out if I can post pdf's from blogger. I just size it down for Eliot, or in this case, I cut off half of one of the curved sections. It makes it a little pointier but with any sewing knowledge at all that could be avoided.

Goings on

I have been journaling again a bit. I received a fabulous book about nature journaling from my in laws for my birthday, so inspiring. I find journals an easy way to keep track of my ideas for craft projects. My newest idea has to do with leaf printing on fabric and turning it into a quilt. I need to find a fabric paint/ink that doesn't have too much texture.

I am also working on a hat for Eliot. This will be a snowman soon. Would anyone be interested in a pattern for hat's and mittens from felted wool to download? I know Heather L. mentioned it in a past comment. I don't like to look of the traced mittens, these are much less homemade looking.

And I finished the G with grapes.

Just to clarify

I wanted to let the public know that I did not forget the writer's birthday, rather her co-workers remembered it sooner than I did. She did get flowers and a lovely rendition of happy birthday from the staff at my work. After all, who wouldn't trust a face like this.

Sincerely Kevin the Innocent

a blur

This week has gone by fast! My internet has been on the fritz and it has made me feel surprisingly isolated. But, I have some blurry, bleary pictures to share.

First some pictures of the perfect-for-me swap items I received from Rachel over at Memories of Mine to Thine.

I think I like the Bingo card the best! Brings back interesting memories of going to Seniors with my Grandparents.

This is the quilt I have started to work on again. I am keeping it by the couch in hopes of working on it in between Thomas the Train sessions with Eliot. He wants me to play with him now, not just watch him play. It has added a whole new dynamic to our play time, for good and bad, as I am not getting to work on my own 'stuff' as much and it's basically pushing Thomas around and around the loop ad nauseum. But, it makes him happy!

There is a frog on the F one, a little hard to see here.

A little blurry picture of Dexter. I haven't taken any pictures of him in a long time. He is a sweet old bunny. Eliot is his partner in crime and always lets him out to run around. Dexter is still a spry guy and can out run all of us, especially during bunny round up time.

And a picture of Eliot opening his presents from my Dad on his birthday last week posted today, on my birthday. Which BTW Kevin forgot! Please, feel free to send him scathing emails ; ).

a little bunny

I finished another Purl Bee bunny this weekend for a friend of mine. I forgot to take a picture so she kindly sent one to me. I became pretty attached to this one. She will have several little knitted sweaters made for her, too. Eliot kept calling her the Mama bunny and had a little marriage ceremony for her and the other bunny he has. He is really into weddings right now.

Once I get Internet back at home I will post more pictures of our weekends and photo shoots. I started working again on the alphabet quilt I started about a year ago. I finished F last night. Off to work!

A picture of Lucy (as she is now named) with one of the sweaters my friend made for her!

giveaway

Not from me but here: http://gardenmama.typepad.com/my_weblog/

Very cute knitted animals..don't miss it!

catch up

We have welcomed a new addition to our living room - the train table. It was given to us in mint condition during this very timely birthday week. Eliot loves it! It is quite a nice table although it takes up the majority of the otherwise free space in that room. I have to admit I enjoy setting up the tracks, almost as much as setting up the dollhouse furniture.

This is a sneak peek for my blog partner over at the Vintage Swap I joined. I took some better pictures of the things she sent me and the things I am sending when I realized I didn't have a CF card in my camera. One of those weeks. But..I really enjoyed what she sent and I will 'show' you later. These are going out tomorrow if all goes as planned.

Birthday boy in action. A little preppy with the duds I picked up for him at goodwill the other day. Poor kid has Fifth's disease right now. It is a rash/fever/blah combo. I think I have it in the adult form which is sore joints. Kevin thinks I am creating symptoms. So much for nursing school ; ).

Apple picking was fun. I am in the process of making a pie right now.

pictures

The wedding went very well! Despite a drizzly day we were able to get great pictures and everyone had a great time. Eliot's birthday has been an ongoing event with visitors and family stopping by with well wishes and presents. He keeps getting up and telling me it's his birthday- every day. He also told me it was my birthday too, so I guess he is willing to share the lime light.

We went apple picking over the weekend, too. I have pictures but blogger is being painfully slow so I will have to share them another day. This evening I also dug out some old shrunken wool sweaters to make some new hats for the family. The worst part of it is I know I have another box of wool sweaters somewhere and I can't for the life of me figure out where it is. Of course, then I started thinking about all of the other things I can't find... Can I have 'senior moments' at nearly 32?

pink and green

it has been a busy week. i am on my way to photograph a wedding today, eliot's birthday was yesterday and kevin is busy at school. one of those weeks where blogging doesn't get attended to.

we took a walk at the beach where kevin and i got married and saw another couple having their pictures taken in their wedding clothes. it was hard not to sneak up and take my own! so, i distracted myself with the beach fall colors. i have been interested in color shifts in nature lately.

dug up this old relic. a piece of a photo project i did at the end of my college years. i think it was the beginning of my fabric interest.

and we have a multitude of pears falling from the tree in our yard. it would be great if we didn't have lead in the soil!


lastly i want to mention and urge you to check out my friend Heather's new blog http://thecooksnextdoor.wordpress.com/ it is all about family friendly food.

And the Winner is...

Drum roll please....

Michelle at living slowly! Congratulations.

Email me with your address and I will get this package to you soon.

Thank you, everyone, who left comments. It has been fun to look through new blogs and meet people that are living so similar and yet so different lives. Hopefully I, or someone else here, will find another vintage stash and share the love, too.

leaf prints

I have had this idea knocking around in my head for a while. I saw a beautiful tiling of mono print, leaf prints at Eliot's preschool. The artist used different lightly colored papers with white and other pale colored printed leaves and put them on the diagonal tiled about 4 feet across. It beautifully goes from green to red.

I found a maple leaf and tried it out. I used tempera paint. I experimented with both sides of the leaf and different weights of paint. I found that a light touch on the paint on the raised side of the leaf worked the best for the image I was going for (upper left in this picture). I started out using a burnishing tool (back of a wooden spoon) but lighter pressure with my fingers brought out more detail. Now that I have experimented it I think I will go and find some nice rice paper or water color paper and get Eliot in on it.


More Oliver and S Sandbox pants I am working on, too. I made these from an old pair of pants that are a tad too big for me. I think we will be prepared this weekend if it rains.

more doll house

First, some interesting Jack in the Pulpit berries Eliot, my Mother and I found while taking a walk in the woods. They are large and very striking. We took mental notes so that we can hunt for the flower next spring. Spring feels very far away right now.

I have been focusing a lot of my attention on my doll house recently, as I had mentioned earlier. My Father and I came came to the conclusion that it was built after I was born so somewhere in the late 70's. You can also see that we are storing our shoes under it. One of my projects will be to make a skirt around the bottom to hide the unsightly mess.

I want to reupholster this couch. Speaking of reupholstering, I saw a chair today on the side of the road on the way to work, actually, the past 3 days, that I am having a hard time not picking up. It is 70's mustard yellow and probably totally soaked with the rain we have had the past few days but it has a nice shape. If it is there tomorrow you may see pictures. But, shhhh, don't tell my husband!

I am planning to make new linens for the beds, too. It will be a good winter project and a great use for fabric scraps.

lion stencil

I finally got on the freezer paper stencil band wagon and it's time I did! This is such an easy, rewarding, inexpensive thing to do. I bought a roll of freezer paper at least two years ago. I specifically remember packing it through two moves. Definitely time to give it a shot. The hardest part was getting the stencil just right but I found an awesome tutorial online. Eliot has been having some separation anxiety at school so I decided to make him a shirt with his favorite pal, Lion, on it.

This is the picture, portrait really, of Lion I started with.

After tweaking it in Photoshop, printing it on freezer paper, ironing it etc..

The final result! I am pretty happy with it. I learned a few things this trip to make the next one really cool. I have so many ideas for this. The creative juices are flowing around here right now and how good that feels!

yard sale gold

i hit the yard sale crafter mother load today. two boxes (at least 100) of vintage patterns, notions, spools of wooden thread, ric rac etc. i spent more than usual and had to bum a 10 off my mom, but it was totally worth it. there are a few real gems in there. i talked with the woman for a while and there are more than a few that came from her mother ie turn of the century patterns! so cool.

but, there are way more than i need or would ever make. so, i want to give a large portion of them away! ive sorted through most of what i want and i have way more than a shoebox size box full of goodies that i know i wouldnt get around to making, including several cute girls size 10-12. most of them are already cut out and there are some random pieces floating around. they have been cut to size 12-14, which fits me fine at a size 8-10.

comment if you want it and ill pick someone out of a hat next friday.

***Comments are closed the winner is Michelle of LivingSlowly, Congratulations! Email me with your info and I will get this out asap***







sit and spin for 60 cents!

doll house

this is a little peek into my doll house. it was made by my grandfather on my mother's side. i believe it was made before i was born, or at least when i was very little - dad, any thoughts? it has followed me around from place to place and was in storage at my mothers for a long time. it needs a deep cleaning, inside and out but it is still gorgeous. it is large at about 4' wide, at least that tall and 3' on the sides with openings on both ends. it stands taller than me on its stand. my grandfather made most of the furnishings, inlaid tables, intricate chairs, old copper dishware etc.. and my grandmother did the wall paper and curtains. in its hay day it had electricity, too. it needs to be rewired at this point.

i am working on sprucing it up, and cleaning it out. it's a slow process but i will probably talk about it periodically. it is definitely my prized possession.