Movin' On Up

or over!

Hello, and Goodbye--but it's only TTFN-- I'm switching to Wordpress-- you can find me here.

Blogspot is fun...but Wordpress is a nice little cyber makeover, I think.

Lush

I love Lush.

You know--the lovely handmade bath and body products? (If you don't know, you should check it out).

Anyway. I should say: I used to love Lush, until this gosh-darned recession. But, as my good friend over at I Am a Refined Young Lady! says, it's time to be a "recessionista." But even a savvy recessionista must indulge a bit. Today--I bought a small jar of (well, it's not even big enough to be called a jar) of Ultra Bland: a soft, buttery cream that can be used without water. The lady who sold me the jar that I did not intend to buy assured me it could last at least 4 months if I used it sparingly. Now, you see, I used to use .... this

Now, it may look funny, but this funky gunk is awesome. So.... I decided to give the creamy cleanser a go-- my skin is older now, and I may as well thank it for putting up with me. 

I think this luscious cleanser will give my skin cause to thank me in return.

Hibiscuses and Hippopotamuses

Really, this entry has nothing to do with the hippopotamus. I typed Hibiscuses, and it made me think of the funny (and similar) plural of Hippopotamuses... I like the alliteration, really.

Anyway. About the hibiscus. And the bag. And the felted flower that was inspired by the hibiscus!

You see, I was always firmly opposed to felting. I thought it was silly. But then I felted this purse.

I think I'm a felting fiend now.

    I especially like making the flowers:

I felt a big piece of knitted wool,

     then I cut the petal by hand (and no template)--then felt by hand the edges of the flower, which lets me shape the petal into the fantabulous little creation above.

Well. I think it's fantabulous. Who knew I'd ever felt a single thing--ever?!

Imagination

I made some flowers.

I sewed them in creative fashion to a little white strip of knitted stuffs.

It looks like a barrette.

Tomorrow, I think, it will become a barrette.

Angelic

My mother makes these wonderful angels...

I am not particularly religious, spiritual or otherwise--but I have to admit, I love these angels.

Maybe it's because they're so simple.

    Or because it brings back memories.

I've been memory diving a lot lately, actually.

    I remember my mother making these things; she actually developed the pattern herself--it's deceptively tricky-- but that is my mere opinion. I am good with a yarn and some sticks but give me material?

I wish I'd taken pictures of the hat catastrophe today. Me. Trying to develop a hat. A NOT-yarn hat. Without a pattern.

HA.

Ha.

ha.

It makes me love my mother's angels even more.

Emancipation Day...

...or, The Holiday Formerly Known as Valentine's Day.

Let me explain.

I happened to have escaped a very bad relationship on the fourteenth of February a few years back. Prior, I'd always dreaded V-Day:

• Presents (because usually I simply feel awkward about receiving a present, picking-out an appropriate gift for the other...among other things).
• Chocolate (HIPS. 'nuf said)
• The general SAP factor

So. This year I decided to do something. Something crafty. And good. And kind. . .

        I'm becoming not only a Rav-Addict, but also an Etsy Addict...

                  So. When I heard about the project Special Delivery  on Etsy, I had to participate.

So today I surrounded myself with paper, ink, yarn, buttons, glue and ho

t-glue and had a total flashback to third grade.

Remember those Valentines

 we made in elementary? I remember, we decorated tissue boxes and turned them into V-Day Mail Boxes. I put so much effort into that dumb box: I painted pre-made wooden hearts in bright pinks, reds and dusky mauves; I plastered the thing with tinfoil and gaudy stickers. I think I thought it was legitimately pretty, too....

       And we made our cards. Er. I made my cards. Most people got the cheap boxed valentines from Target or Wal-Mart. Not me. 

I cut and pasted.

   I mean that in the scissor and glue way--this was

 199-something, folks.

I drew hearts, sprayed perfume on the construction paper.

Yes. 

Seriously.

         But today's effort seems a bit more successful:

My mother participated, too:

And all the V-Day Assembly and the thoughts of the elderly opening my handmade cards made me remember a kind little lady I knew once upon a time. So I sent her a special one:

Yes! FO's!

And with pictures too:

So there you have it: I'm sporting the Cardigan of Youth. Grandpa R is 1000 miles away so I'll have to suffice. The baby is also some miles away...hence the Cabbage Patch Kid.

Almost FO's

The Cardigan of Youth is so near finished. On December 25th, I presented it to Grandpa R:

He seemed to like it.

Eventually, I blocked it (upon my return). I've taken over the garage: you see, I'm not a "serious" knitter, so I don't own a blocking board. My blocking board consists of a wheelbarrow, plywood and a bunch of towels:

First, the wheelbarrow serves as a not-so-sturdy and mobile base. The plywood serves as the top of my "table" and all the towels become the thing to which I pin the piece. 

Then I blocked the J&J Bunting. The baby was born, too: December 31st. I have yet to see the baby, as she is in IL and I am here. But this is her bunting:

And this is the lace detail:

And this is how the two "almost FO's" get blocked on my fabulous board:

I need to find some zipperage. I lost the zipperage I acquired sometime ago. Oh, they're floating about somewhere--I'm pretty sure the gremlins took them, though. It's okay. 

Maybe I will have some truly Finished-Finished Objects to show you soon. 

I have a few WIPs that need to be photographed and so on... I need to take better pictures, too. So. Here's to hopes of better blogginess in the future.

Alive... I think

Oh my goodness: it was a bit hectic. Has it really been so long since I last posted? That is a travesty, I tell you, a travesty. Okay, not so much, but you--you must see the picture of the yarn (below)--if you do not see the (mediocre) picture of the yarn, that really would be a travesty.

I was in Illinois--my little iPhone sufficed and I (secretly) enjoyed the fact that I did not once--not even once--open my laptop after our first day in my dear old hometown. 

And then. Family, food and... oh, I'm sure some of other fun alliterating word falls somewhere nicely into that sentence. 

Toward the end of the week I went yarn shopping:

That yarn is gorgeous, I tell you: Gorgeous. I have ideas. I will someday act on them. I'll keep you posted.... but the posting could be sometime in the future. (Picture courtesy of the iPhone--it is an okay picture, but seriously--doesn't do it justice). Oh, yeah, that's a Boucle yarn from Cherry Tree Hill, by the way, with some glitterspun action going on. 

I got one other skein of yarn--it's not picture-worthy, really. Oh, it is pretty enough--some Berroco "Comfort Sock" yarn that I chose because, though it is not a natural fiber, it would be a good choice for my warm-weathered feet.

I finished the Cardigan of Youth (pictures to follow)--and also a mug cozy for my grandmother:

The mug cozy is a very pretty autumnal rust color, but the lighting and the iPhone-ness of the picture simply don't do it justice.

My my, I am so very tired. I have taken very few pictures, really--of anything. I'm knitting here and there, but mostly, since graduation I've just...I don't know. I don't know what I've done. I am starting to pick up the pens and needles and hope to carve and craft something very interesting very soon. But for now?

I sleep.