Sweet Gift

One of the lovely gifts I got for my birthday this year was a "party in a box" from my sister. I love getting boxes of fun stuff in the mail and I think this is such a thoughtful gift. There was a sneak preview CD from her band, a handwritten and water-colored recipe for vanilla buttercream, cupcake wrappers, ribbon, and custom cupcake toppers!

There was also a sweet birthday banner and bunting. Just add friends, and you have a party!

In addition to being an awesome sister and gift-giver, she is an excellent musician. She contributes her talents to various bands and she is currently raising funds via Kickstarter to record an album with Envelope Peasant and the Scientific Orchestra . Check them out, you need some new music in your life!

Matchy-Matchy

My new pot of miniature roses and my birthday pedicure are so on trend, aren't they? My Knockout Coral Drifters I planted last spring aren't blooming yet, so I'm happy to have these little grocery store wonders by my back door. The insane color of the blooms and the dark green of the leaves gets me every time.
I'm also anxiously awaiting a bud or bloom on the more lady-like Belinda's Dream rose I got for Mother's day last year. It was a tough summer, but I'm hoping all of this wonderful spring rain will make up for it.
I'm spending my weekend in the backyard. I've got big plans for the desolate flower bed. What are you doing?

Shalom Cardi

Pattern: Shalom Cardigan (free!)
Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Royal Llama Linen (discontinued)
Needle: size 8 (I think)



First off, I apologize for the poor photos. It's raining today and even if it wasn't, my camera is getting a bit long in the tooth. Anyway, I am finally calling this one done. I started it way back in June. It's a good pattern and a million people have made it so there's lots of helpful notes on Ravelry. I got the yarn on super sale from Webs some Christmas past. It's beautiful, the pictures don't do the color justice. Llama, linen AND silk, married together in tweedy glory? Awesome.

Except that the yarn screwed me. The glory of the Shalom pattern is that it's easy to customize it to your personal body type. I happen to have a long torso and broad shoulders, so I knit this to accommodate those little features. I so badly wanted this to be the Perfect Cardigan that I ripped out 10 inches (!!!!) at one point because I thought the armholes were too baggy.

So I finally got it right. And like a good little knitter, I blocked it. And disaster struck. It grew. And got really drapey. I thought about ripping it out and doing it again, but I reinforced the button holes (so badly hoping for perfection) and that made it too hard to rip. I literally threw the damn thing into the closet.

Then some helpful and more fashionable friends said it wasn't a total loss if I put a belt with it. So I bought a belt and did a single crochet around the neckline to make it less baggy and ta-da! not a total loss. Such is life and knitting.

In other news, a pair of cardinals have been gracing my bird feeder lately. Aren't they sweet?

PLaydough Color Surprise Activity

I think you either love or hate playdough as a parent. I love it. It offers hours of endless, open, independent play. I extended the activity by adding an element of surprise. Here's how:

Make some natural-colored playdough. I use this recipe:
~ in a large sauce pan, mix together 2 c plain flour, 2 cups of water, 1 tbs of cooking oil, 1 tsp of cream of tartar and 1 c of salt. Stir over medium high heat until thick and dough-y. Remove form heat and let cool.

When the dough is cool enough to handle, divide it up into small balls (I would guess about the size of a lime.) Put a dent in each ball with your thumb and fill with a few drops of food coloring. Pinch the dough closed over the food coloring, careful not to squeeze it out. Let sit 5-10 minutes for the food coloring to slightly absorb.

Hand over the dough balls to your little ones and encourage them to knead them around. The color with slowly work its way out, marbling the dough and eventually becoming all one color.

This is a great way to build hand strength, especially if you make the balls too large - you'll be the one working those muscles while your toddler repeats over and over, "What color, Mommy?"

My Guy

A little while back, Ben and I collaborated on a guy for him. Not a doll, or a baby, but a guy. His name is "My Guy" in fact. He's bigger and heavier than the other dolls I've made, standing about 16" tall. Ben picked out the fabric for the clothes, the button on the shirt (he loves buttons) and the color of his "hair". My Guy was supposed to have blue hair, but Ben liked the crocheted wig cap so much as a hat, I just left it as is.

My Guy is currently in the closet because Ben has zero interest in him now that the sewing portion is done. That's ok. We passed several pleasant afternoons sorting buttons and sewing together. He's old enough now to sit on my lap with his hands on mine and sew. He loves all things machine, so my big grey heavy duty Singer machine is way more interesting than a doll. Or guy. I let him do the reverse button and turn the wheel. The other day, I took it apart to clean and oil it and he thought that was pretty awesome. We're currently making a quilt together.

Toddler Valentine's Cards

*WARNING* If you are a Lolli, Grandad, Nana, Papa, or Yia-Yia, don't look past the first picture! It will ruin your surprise!

Last year, when all the blogs were abuzz with cute Valentine's days crafts, I have to admit I felt a little left out. Ben was only about 14 months old and I think I'd barely worked up the courage to let him wield a washable marker. But this year, he's a self-proclaimed "big boy" with a few months of painting experience under his belt so we dove right into making some special cards for the grandparents. They are simple, sweet, and the right ratio of messy:easy to clean up.

You will need: White cardstock, paint, foam mounting dots (or just glue, if you don't have them on hand), a heart punch, envelopes to fit the cards in once done.

Step 1: Let your kiddo paint all over a piece of cardstock or two. I think the secret to success in making gift art is to limit the color palette so everything doesn't end up just brown. I offered him red, pink and purple and he went to town. While the kiddo is painting, fold some blank sheets of cardstock in half, as many as you want. The paint should be all mixed together by now, ready for step 2.

Step 2: Set aside the painted on pieces of paper to dry. Take a deep breath, dip your kid's hand into the paint, and "stamp" it onto the paper cards you folded. Be sure to make one for yourself!

Step 3: Set the hand print cards aside to to dry. Clean up all the paint and hands and walls and have a drink if necessary (ha ha). The toddler paintings should be dry by now. Use the hole punch and punch hearts out from the painted paper. Ben loved this part best, we made lots of hearts!

Step 4: Use the foam mounting dots or glue to add hearts to the card.
Step 5: Fill out the inside of the card with your message and send to your loved ones!

Bonus Round: Use leftover painted paper to make note cards with a heart punched out. Also, just go a little crazy with the heart punch. I know I did!

Ben really seemed to enjoy doing this. He kept saying "Dec-rate gift cards!". I have no idea why he was calling them gift cards, but it was really cute and made my day! It was a happy way to spend the morning.

The River Ombre

Pattern: Kalajoki
Yarn: Knit Picks Bare Stroll Sock Blank
(Post about dying this yarn here)
Needles: Size 2 dpns

I loved how these turned out! It was my first time knitting knee socks and my first time using a charted pattern. The chart was a bit daunting at first, but once I color-coded the symbols, it went smoothly. This is a relatively fast pattern, since most of it is stockinette. It was probably not the best choice for knee socks, since they seem to be a little saggy after wearing, but it doesn't really bother me since I'll only be wearing them around the house.
Oh, and I used the Streets and YOs Knee Socks! pattern to adapt the original. And, as usual, I knit these toe-up. That prevented me from continuing in pattern to the tip of the toe, but I think they still look ok. I'm happy I got them done in time to wear during what little cold weather we have left. It is not easy taking pictures of yourself in knee socks!