The Ties That Bind - or the Knots That Tie - Us Together

Continuing on my tatting journey, I found this lovely (and very simple!) pattern for a bookmark. What better gift for my bibliophile friend's birthday?

Plus a hand-made card...

And final touches, for a sweet little gift.

Happy Birthday, Grace!

Crafty

While William and I were visiting my Mom in Marina, CA last November, she and I took some time together for crafting. We sat down on my last evening there and she taught me how to tat. For those who don't know about tatting, it is one of the original methods for creating lace. It requires two shuttles of fine crochet thread, and nimble fingers. I started out using the heaviest (thickest) thread available, and by the end of our little training session I felt like a complete spaz. I couldn't make my fingers do what I wanted them to do, and everytime Mom said "make sure the knot is on the top," I had no idea what she was talking about....I couldn't see what she was saying.

The next morning, in between packing and preparing for our departure, I sat down and took another shot at it. As often happens, while I was sleeping my brain and body had a powow and figured out how to do what I was asking them to do, so in the morning I was inexplicably able to tat correctly. Yay sleep!

I did quite a bit of practicing on the flight home (mostly edgings from the book Mom lent me), and I continued my practicing at home, and while camping with Grace and her family. Then I started an actual "project". A snowflake from Mom's pattern book. Let's just say that aborted project is still sitting unfinished in my Crafting Drawer Of Shame. Honestly, considering it was my first "project", it was not going half bad, especially since I was still trying to read and decode what seems to be a pretty standard tatting pattern (I'm pretty sure it is written in some sort of ancient runic language).

Having determined that my Ultimate Tatting Sin was Lack of Consistent Tension, I moved on to another project, which I actually completed. I was a little concerned after finishing this one because it was not laying flat; it was quite a bit more "pucker-y" that I would have liked. But, once I wet it and ironed it, it flattened out quite nicely. I still see every flaw in this little snowflake (don't say a thing about the fact that it is green), but overall I was pretty pleased with the result.



Because of the pre-blocked puckery-ness of the green snowflake, I decided to try the same pattern again, this time with only five arms. It wasn't as pucker-y, but it does look a bit like the Hardy's star waving at one.

So, those are my first two finished tatting projects. Now that my Christmas knitting is ALMOST finished, I'm looking forward to starting a new tatting project, proably a bit more challenging this time. I know of a wedding coming up....perhaps a tatted doily or table topper would be perfect?

BTW, I have to give my thanks to the awesome community over at In Tatters. They were so helpful and supportive in helping me figure out a pretty basic tatting move. And, if you haven't already, you HAVE to drop by their site and take a look at the absolutely spectacular pieces that are showcased on their home page. So, go do it! Right now!

Knutty

Once again this year I overbooked my Knitting Dance Card for Christmas, committing myself to knit far more projects than I could possibly manage. Unless of course I neglected all of my other responsibilities and just sat by the fireplace knitting all day for a few weeks. Which, actually doesn't sound bad...

But, I ended up knitting seven pairs of kids' mittens, the youngest getting stripes, two middlers (including a neighbor who had a birthday) got camo...



One middler and the oldest got blue with skull-and-crossbones...



But my favorite has to have been Williams. He wanted syringes on his mittens. Really. He was so excited...

There has been a flurry of fingerless glove knitting in our circle of friends, and I finally got on the bandwagon and worked up a few pair. My pattern called for a new technique, the provisional cast on, and kitchener stitch to seam. More work than I think was worth...

But, they made a nice mitt....

Next time around, I used a regular cast on and bind off, and the seaming went faster. I also for the first time have been working with "nice" yarn that I found at The Yarn Garden. Very lovely to work with, and something I'd like to continue to do as budget permits. These are a matched set I made for a mother and daughter.

There were a couple of men's winter hats in there, as well, which I don't have pictures of. But, I am told, they are very comfy.

My last "Christmas" project is now on the needles, probably the most compicated pattern I have attempted to date. I'm still not certain I'll be able to finish it as written, or even have it work out acceptably, but I'm giving it a shot. If I don't stab myself in the eye with a double pointed needle, these will eventually be fingerless gloves for KitMama.

Again with the lovely yarn from Yarn Garden. This pattern calls for two sets of DPN's, a cable needle, and several stitch markers. I'm using four markers, three row counters, and a stitch holder instead of the cable needle (plus another stitch holder once I get to the thumb). I've never done cables before, I took some time to watch a few You Tube videos, then did a swatch using the called-for pattern (yes, an actual swatch! me!). It took a few tries, but I eventually figured out how to read the recipe, and it's working out nicely. The cable pattern is counted out in rows separately from the thumb gusset (which increase every third row, six times...yeah, I know, what a pain in the arse to keep count).

Anyway, I am enjoying the challenge and learning new skills. I do, however to pay attention while knitting this project. Which isn't a bad thing. Taking my time might be kind of nice....

Daily Pic

It was a lovely, drizzly, foggy day, but that didn't keep Michael from playing outside most of the day. Once it starting raining, he and LittleMan swiftly erected a fort to keep them dry, using boxes staged for recycling, contrator bags from the garage, a snow disk and other misc garage items.


Today's art was brought to us by Michael. Check out the plumbing in that toilet.

Best use of a Sharpie I've seen in a long time.

Angry Bird Birthday

Papa Bear's birthday just happens to be inconveniently located smack-dab right between Christmas and New Years. Every year. It doesn't move, ever. Birthdays are funny that way.

And this smack-dab-ness makes it really challenging to plan and pull off a birthday party for him. I mean, even if I have the mental bandwidth and time to actually plan a party during that time-frame, how many people to do you know have the bandwidth to attend?

So, this year someone in our household got unexpectedly brilliant (can't remember who, but I'm willing to take all the credit) and decided to push the "party" part back to the first week of January.

And we actually got people to show up ;)

But, the best parts of this birthday party (from my perspective, 'cause it wasn't actually my party), were:

#1 The Party Plates. Thomas got a bee in his bonnet and decided that it had to be an Angry Bird theme. Papa Bear was just recently introduced to Angry Birds because we got a Roku for his office TV. And he was immediately addicted. Can't fault him there. So, he was pretty much all over the Angry Bird Theme.

This is how the six kids implemented said theme:

#2 Best Part of The Party: KitMama's VEGAN triple chocolate cake, with frosting by Grace:

If you went completely overboard and added the granache that is sitting in the gravy boat to the rear, then it's a quadruple chocolate cake, but no longer vegan. Or kid-friendly, since it's dosed with a bit of bourbon. And oooooooooohhhh, soooooooo yummmmmy!

#3 Best Part of the Party: Our lovely friends. I can't say enough about the loveliness of our friends, and how I adore having them at our place and in our home and in our lives. So, 'nuff said.

Happy Birthday, baby! I love growin' old with you!

Gifted (12/20/11)

One of the lovely friends from our homeschool group had the brilliant idea of having a Secret Santa exchange among the moms this year. Many of us would really like to “do a little something" for each of our friends at this time of year, but have budgetary constraints. And many of us would really like to “craft a little something" for each of our friends, but have time constraints. So, this really helped each of us feel we have gifted something unique and memorable to ONE of our dear friends, without busting the budgetary and temporal budgets, and in a way that was appreciated by the bulk of our lovely group.

And, I have to say, everyone guessing who their Secret Santa was, was one of the best parts of this exchange. There are those of who have known one another for several years, and know exactly what one another’s talents are. And, there are those who are relatively new to the group, or that we don't know every well, and really don't know what their talents are. But in the end, through a process of trial-and-error and "knowing" guesses, we each figured out who our Secret Santa was.

So, apologies in advance to those whose lovely gifts were not appropriately photographed. Not everyone was able to attend our exchange today. And, for those whose gifts were represented, I mostly suck as a photographer, but I did my best.

In general, some of my favorite gifts to give and receive are consumables. This one was a "spa" theme, with a lovely hand-knitted item to make it extra special. The knitted items just “happened” to match the recipient’s bathroom décor.

Those of us who knit have been mysteriously focused on fingerless gloves. So, one of us made some lovely lavender ones, along with the most fabulous felted bag made from a wool sweater. It kind of says a lot when you can look at a knitted item, recognize the pattern, and figure out who knitted it ;)

Our Master Photographer created a custom calendar which was absolutely spectacular. Not just that the photography was spectacular, but each print was taken from a field trip taken with the recipient's family, or of her absolutely beautiful girls. Every single print was absolutely frame-able. I want a calendar like that!

Please excuse the paltriness of this photo, but this gift was a really fabulous collection of hand-made cards, all of them with the thingy-hoochie-dealy-bobs that scrapbookers are fluent in, and which I have absolutely no clue how to use or assemble. The use to which I would put this collection....really...so lovely...I'm so jealous, because I actually write notes to people! ;)

One of the sweetest, really. Lovely little napkins, just perfect for coffee or tea or a small snack. Mom doesn't sew, but her young daughter does, and put these together. Love, love, LOVE these!

This basket was absolutely OVERFLOWING with wonderful goodness, most especially those "cookie/soup/goodie in a jar" dealies that I have never had the patience to assemble myself, but have loved each time I receive one (and then some!). I know what someone will be having for breakfast on Christmas morning!

This little sun-catcher was crafted by someone whose sun-catchers grace both my home and my vehicle. (It was kind of humorous watching the recipient try to guess the crafter while one of the crafter’s sun-catchers quietly hung from my window just behind the recipient’s head ;) The pendant is a lovely two-sided piece with a dragon on one side and a phoenix on the other. The colors are fabulous!

Finally, my own little stash of goodies, complete with “Mama Bear” coffee mug (how sweet is that?!?). The frozen “hot chocolate balls” I have hidden in the furthest frozen reaches of the full-sized freezer (top shelf in the back corner where the kids won’t find it), just waiting for a night of insomnia. Drop one of those puppies in my Mama Bear mug of hot milk, with just a dash (or two) of Baileys, and I’ll be snoring til dawn. The chocolate biscotti’s I’ve already sampled, and WOW! I might just have to hide those away and ration then throughout the dark winter months as midnight snacks. And just in case you’re wondering, I’m NOT sharing! Unless you’re a special friend (and aren’t you all?) and happen to be in my bedroom at 3:00 am when I’m snagging one ;)

One of the best parts of our little gathering (aside from the wonderful company) was the pile of home-made eatables brought and shared by one of our friends. Lots of yummy goodness!

Thank you, ladies, for a very enjoyable day!

Accidental Tradition

You know how, back when you didn't actually have any children, you had these visions of all of the lovely family traditions you would create/discover/carry forward once you had kids? And then you had kids. And, somehow, traditions were born that absolutely did NOT receive the Mother's Stamp Of Approval, but they somehow manage to keep popping up year after year? This is one of those traditions.

I'm not sure exactly how it started. Okay, yes, I do know exactly how it started. It started with me stupidly taking our youngest child to a craft store after all of the Christmas Stuff had been put out on display (probably sometime in July). Said child spotted the Build Your Own Gingerbread House kit prominantly displayed in one of those Stacked Cube O Merchandise that you bump your cart into in the middle of the largest aisle in the store. And, of course, "we" had to buy it.

I say "we" because I, personally, was somewhat horrified by the thought of what, exactly, was in that "gingerbread", and how long it had been sitting in a warehouse. The oh-so-low price of $9.99 did not inspire confidence in the nutritional value of said gingerbread. But, after me saying "no" about 14 times, and running out of viable arguments against taking one of these kits home, said child and I agreed to a compromise whereby he paid for said kit with his allowance.

That was a few years ago, and, somehow, now I am paying for kits (yes, that would be a noun in the plural). And I even allow my children to EAT said kits after they have been assembled.

So, here's what this year's Gingerbread House Project looked like, with SIX kids assembling it.

Phase One: Using copious amounts of icing, assemble the structural elements of said house, preferably letting said icing on each stage solidify before moving on to next stage.

Phase Two: Kids all agree on overall design of house, and who will be implementing each aspect of said design.

Just kidding. Actually, I assigned Thomas (the eldest of six Cubs) the task of applying concrete.....ummmmm, I mean icing....to each bit of candy, as said candy was presented for icing by each child in turn, beginning with the youngest and progressing through the Pack to the oldest, then repeat. Miraculously, this actually worked, with minimal adult supervision.

Thomas weilding icing cone, and offering suggestion as to placement.



The beginnings of a plan.

Okay, at this point I had to run out to take the dog to the vet (whole other, way long story), so I missed the bulk of the Decorating Phase. But, when I returned, the masterpiece had been completed, and no blood had been shed (that I could see). The entire project seems to have been a success.....

Front of house.

Side of house.

Other side of house.

And, best of all......the garage!

Good job, Bear Cubs!

Craft Day at The Park

Our homeschool group's usual Tuesday Park Day was a bit unusual today.

It wasn't just that we had almost every family in the group there (I think we had 14 families there?!?).

This certainly wasn't unusual....

A gaggle o' moms.

This was a little bit unusual for our family...

One too many cupcakes.

Nope, this isn't unusual, either....

Babyman showing off his find...

...a lady bug on a stick.

Nuthin' unusual about a flock of boys...

Gathered around the go-cart.

There really wasn't even anything all that unusual about someone stopping to ask if we were having a knitting class, since the majority of moms were knitting (or crocheting) something as we visited.

But, THIS was a bit unusual...

Ms. G. orchestrating craft time!

Ms. G. brough along bunches of clear glass ornaments, fancy markers, and paint, and helped each child decorate their own holiday ornament.

Finished products!

Thank you, Ms. G., for all for the time and effort you put into this fantastic project. And, thank you to all the mamas who brought snacks to share. Very nice day!

Visit Home

William and I flew to California for a visit with my Mom. She'd been having a bit of a rough adjustment, and I felt like I wanted to be there with her, even for a short time, and that having William along to see his Gramma Charlotte again was an important thing. So Papa Bear used his sky miles to buy our tickets, and off we went.

I probably don't need to tell you I was really focusing on NOT getting stressed out about getting through security with a bunch of sharp objects, and travelling a full day with a diabetic child. I managed to remain pretty serene and calm through most of it, only getting a bit flustered as we went through security. Instead of the usual metal detector, the ATL had full body scans. So you can't have anything on you or in your hands. So all of my mental prep work was kind of shot.

Anyway, our flight out was great, mostly because William got to watch two movies on his private video screen, and I got to read. At the end of our non-stop flight, I was chilled and relaxed and happy to be at our destination. Of course the glass of wine probably helped.

Mom was waiting for us at the airport. She's one of the old-fashioned types who actually parks the car and goes into the airport and waits for you at baggage claim. It really makes your arrival and first greeting more enjoyable than doing it on the street in front with a thousand other cars waiting for you to pack your stuff into the trunk and get out of the way.

So, what did we do while we were in Marina with Mom? We went to the beach...what else? Each day there we visited a different beach. Cool, alternately overcast and sunny, and beautiful.

William on the beach at Carmel....his little bit of heaven.

We also visited with my Grandma GeoE for a brief time. It was difficult for William especially, knowing that she no longer knew who he was (or any of us), but he was fabulous about chatting with her, holding her hand, and giving her his attention.

One of the highlights for me was having Mom's friend, Randy, to the house for dinner. Randy has Type I, and it was fantastic for William to be able to have a meal and conversation with an adult who has been living with the disease for most of his life. It was great for me to "talk D-shop" with someone who's handling his business as well as he does, and manages to lead a full and interesting life to boot.

Our time was too short, and at the same time long enough for William to start getting homesick. We packed up our suitcases and carry-on's, being certain Rufus would be comfortable for the trip home....

Thank you, Mom, for a wonderful visit...