Category: Crafty Golightly

Check out my Craft Corps story!

I'm on the loveseat, the room darkening as the sun sets.  Maddie is next to me, and Coco is grunting away in her sleep next to Maddie.  Tilly's curled up on the floor.  It's a sweet moment.  We'll go for a walk in a few and then the evening round of puppy craziness will begin.

I did nothing school related today (I lie.  I answered a few e-mails.).  Hair dresser's, book store, yarn store, bead store, home.  Nice little round of errands.  I knocked off a little more Christmas shopping and picked up supplies to make a few Puff Daddies and a pair or two of Romi's new earrings.  If you plan on making the earrings, and like me, bring the pattern to the bead shop and ask for help selecting supplies, be forewarned that cable thimbles are also called wire guards.  I was a bit disappointed in the LBS owner…I showed her a picture, explained what the cable thimbles were meant to do, and she just said she'd never heard of them.  As soon as I got home, I logged on to the Rav to find out more, learned their other name, called the shop, and sure enough, she has them.  I wish she'd been able to connect the two names to the same items.  I will say she was very helpful other than that snafu, but it does mean another trip to the shop.

Time to walk the mutts.  I'm grateful we didn't get hit by any of the ice that cracked trees and telephone poles just a few miles away from us. 

Stay warm.  I hope you have a crafty Friday…I'll be back soon with some fabulous swap pictures.

Last year I saw Lolly’s luscious Rapunzel scarf, and I’ve been saving bibs and bobs of yarn ever since.  With Neal’s help I made three slender braids for a few of the little girls on my gift list. 

"Rapunzel" is one of my favorite fairy tales, along with the "Little Mermaid," and "Snow White."  There are so many others I enjoy, but those three popped right into my head.  What fairy tales are among your favorites?

We had an adult Christmas yesterday with Neal’s family.  I like the ones with kids whooping it up all over the place, but little ones are more difficult to come by in our family these days.  My first great-niece is due to arrive within the next few weeks, but she’ll be in Alabama.  I’m hoping her mom and dad will long for the northeast next Christmas. 

Santa came early this year, but he also left some really lovely gifts in my stocking and under my tree, and even on the hood of my car (it’s nice to have a friend in the neighborhood…you never know where you might find a surprise!).  Neal liked his gifts, which makes me happy.  His sister made our favorite carrot cake, the one she made for our wedding, and Neal scored three-quarters of the cake to bring home.  I’m working really hard at not having a slice every time he does, but, man oh man, this is one yummy cake!

Tomorrow I’ll be at the Creative Fibers post-holiday sale.  I’m going to try to knit from my stash (again; I failed last year) in 2008, so a few last splurges are in order.  For now, though, I’m going to pick up a languishing lace project and pop It’s a Wonderful Life in the vcr. 

I made this earlier in the month for a handmade swap.  I like how elegant the linen makes this simple pattern, and any books I give this holiday season will come with a little thong, too.

While I’m able to get pictures from the camera to the computer now, I’ve managed to lock up the memory card that goes in the camera, so fixing that is my next technology challenge.  I’ve got lots of other things to photograph; I’d better get out that camera manual again!

I can’t stand seeing all of the Granny Squares around blogland without succumbing.  So many pretty colors, such a portable project.  The last time I made any, I made one-color squares for a baby blanket, back in 2004.  I’m thinking they may be a good use for the basket of cotton that I have–lots of pretty colors in that basket. 

While watching the final episode of Sex and the City, I cast on for Bejeweled in Fiesta La Luz in Cabernet.  I have to turn the heel on Neal’s sock, which requires concentration, and I needed to knit.  Simply needed to knit.  Until I have an hour or so to do that short row heel, this will be my pick up project.  Scout is working on my shawl yarn, and once that arrives, I will have to be totally monogamous to the Print o’the Wave stole if I’m going to finish it before mid-May.  Let me tell you, though, that Bejeweled is a great pattern, easy to memorize, and La Luz is a dream to work with.

I’m off to glaze the pathetic little bowls I made at my pottery class.  Loved working with clay, but I just can’t commit to more studio time, which is what I need if I’m going to be any good at it.  Some day.  Some day.

After I play with clay for a while, I’ve got to finish grading papers and prep for the continuing education class I’m teaching.  Then, later tonight, I need to prep for tomorrow…it’s my observation day.  Wish me luck!

Last you heard from me it was to whine about being sick on my birthday.  I’ve had a slow recovery, and today was my first really good day.  Neal and I will have my birthday re-do on Friday, so things are looking brighter in my world.  Since I’ve spent most of the last ten days in bed or on the sofa with occasional rallying for a walk or trip to the library, I’ll fill this post with pictures of some of my recent crafting.

A pincushion made from a Wool and Hoop kit and an unsuccessful covered tape measure.  It looks fine in this picture, but I made the yo-yo incorrectly (it was my very first yo-yo).  I used Heather Bailey’s tutorial.  Her instructions were fantastic; I just messed up.  I’ll make more of these, though, once I get a pile of yo-yos.   

This fall I dyed some of the three pounds of Romney in my fiber stash, and I spun it up for the Interweave Spin to Knit swap.  I tried Navajo plying for the first time and was giddy with how the yarn came out.

Finally, here is a little sweater–my first "real" sweater–that I made for a new arrival, Hannah, the daughter of my dear friend Cae.  Making this little sweater has given me a lot of confidence as I contemplate making a grown up-sized sweater.

Elizabeth is on television this afternoon.  I know I’m not alone in this.  I could watch movies about her and read biographies and historical fiction about her endlessly.  Even though I’ve seen this at least five times, I’ll be watching it again.

The ornaments are still missing, but I have a gut feeling that they remain in the storage area of my old building.  I plan to stop there the next time I’m in New York.  I asked my ex to go over there for me as he still lives in the area, but he didn’t agree, which has kept me sad over the weekend.  But I won’t stay sad for long.

I borrowed a faux tree from my sister.  Years ago a real tree nearly sent me to the hospital with an allergy-induced asthma attack, so I haven’t had a real tree since.  Actually, I don’t think I’ve had a tree since; I’ve done a lot of creative decorating in the past years.  I don’t really like the look of this tree, and after Christmas I may go on the hunt for a spectacularly kitschy white or silver tinsel tree.  I’d rather that than pretend a real pine.  So the tree is up, but I haven’t had the spirit to decorate it.  Tomorrow Neal will pull down his decorations from the attic, and with only a week to go, we will turn our little home into a winter wonderland.

As far as the Christmas crafting goes, I have two sewing projects, a top secret hat project, and a pair of mittens.  If the mittens don’t get done, I’m not going to worry about it at all.  I have another little project to be mailed out right after Christmas (Fetching), but that’s a quickie.

The day after Christmas, Neal, my older sister, her kids, and I will take a short road trip here to scout the gardens for our ceremony.  We’re pretty well decided on a date (if the garden of our choice is available).  We want to have our party on a different day, still to be decided.   I feel like the vision is starting to gain some clarity.

I’ve been hard at work on some useful goodies for The Organized Elf.  I’m still looking for a creative and kind soul to help me make a banner.  Anyone? 

Is another daughter’s spending money for Rhinebeck.

My pal Sara and I had a tag sale on Saturday.  My goal was to make enough extra cash to buy a special new spindle at Rhinebeck.

Thanks to my mom’s enthusiastic basement cleaning, I reached my goal.  Hot dog, Rhinebeck, here I come.  I may even have enough left over for some fiber!

To make the day even better, there was an amazing package awaiting me, but that deserves its own post after my camera batteries charge.