wanting desprately to become socks

tag i'm it!

I've been "tagged". I don't think that has happened since third grade, and never like this! It's braniac tag. Thanks a lot, Cami. :oÞ

I'm supposed to go to Wiki and find out how special the date of my birth is (beyond the amazing even of my own birth, that is) and share two births, three events and a holiday.

I'm also supposed to tag five other bloggers but I don't even KNOW five other bloggers well enough to tag them. I lurk, mostly.
Anyway, this is what wiki said about September 23rd:

In 63 BC - Augustus Caesar, Roman Emperor was born. I don't that much about Caesar but I love his pizza!
I also share a birthday with Mickey Rooney, American actor. He was born in 1920. Love him. There are other awesome folks who share my birthday - Bruce Springsteen, Ani DiFranco (must be a music month) and then there's Anne Aviles - bear lover. ???
Sigmund Freud happened to expire on my birthday back in 1939.

Events:
1848 - First commercial production of chewing gum by John Curtis on a stove at his home in Bangor, Maine.
On a serious note, the first gas murder experiments are conducted at Auschwitz - 1941.
1980 was Bob Marley's last concert.

Holiday:
This struck as funny:
Celebrate Bisexuality Day!
That's not on MY calendar!

I'll tag some folks in an email and see what I can come up with.

i -heart- swapbot

who knew one site could bring so much happiness? Ok, besides Cathy Z., Tara Whitney and the like...

I *lurve* swap-bot! It's not in the receiving - I've yet to get anything. I love making and sharing my stuff!

I'm signed up for five more swaps. Including a handmade happiness swap. What to create? Think I could mail one of my chairs? Mebee not. Perhaps something knitted or papercraftiness. Hmmm...

These are the envelopes I made for the recipe cards.

Happiness, right in your mailbox!

SWAP TILL YOU DROP!

more recipe swaps

This time we're swapping dessert recipes! It's a two-for-one. I had to put one recipe on one side and another on the other. I chose Chocolate Torte and Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Icing. It's a Country Living recipe and it is to DIE for! Fresh ingredients make it so tasty. I make one every year. Plus it's pretty and those who know me know I love that!

I'm loving these quick, simple designs with pictures! I hope to always add pictures to my recipe swaps.

I'm hoping stuff will start coming in the mail this week.

I'm off to create some chicken recipes - Sticky Chicken is my chosen recipe for that one.

Bon Appétit

love these little bags!

Meet "Dawn". Plain Melinda is in the back.

I'm still pondering the embellishments...

sneak peek

random act of knitted happiness

Since discovering swap-bot I've been thinking - why do I want to send my cool creations to complete strangers? I know there's a certain appeal in wowing folks I don't know with my mad crafting skills but why not send something randomly to someone I know and love?

I decided to treat my cousin (who I ADORE!) to some knitted happiness. She loves knit dishrags so I searched and found a pattern I liked and sat down to knit her some happiness.

I really like this pattern! I don't know if I like knitting dishrags or not but for a few hours of my time and a few dollars worth of cotton I know I'm making my cousin smile and that is, as they say, PRICELESS.

Love you Cristi!

more felted bag happiness

Meet "Susan" and "Sydney"

I've decided to name the bags after their recipient. :)

cast your vote

This is "Melinda".

I've been making these felted bags but I've never embellished them at all, just left them plain. But tonight I got to looking at my stash of stuff and wondered...what if I added a flower or a button or a flower and a button?
These are some ideas I played with tonight.
Which do you prefer?

crafting is on hold

I had a minor altercation with a mandoline in my kitchen last night.
My husband wondered why our son's small guitar was in the kitchen. :)
For you non-foodies like my husband who don't know the proper name for a slicing machine, a madoline is a slicer, dicer, julliane fry maker. And practical finger-taker-off-er!

I went to the urgent care center and do you know what they did? They super glued my finger shut! I was a little disappointed. There's no glory in that! No drama. No story! No, "DUDE! I totally had to get stitches last night!"
"I had to get super glued last night" just doesn't have that same zing.

I guess it does have a story after all though. :)

My mom's first question was, "Can you still knit?!"
Love you, mom.

Lotus Knits Giveaway

I want IN!

Here's what's next for me:


This GORGEOUS cowl from Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
I have some yummy Blue Sky Alpaca Yarn to work with - the nicest yarn I've ever used. Can't wait to get my fingers in it!

You want in? Surf over to Lotus Knits and enter!

Thanks Cami!

Pasta! Pasta! Pasta! swap

A little sneak peek here.
I'm doing another swap-bot swap, this time it's recipe pages. I made five of these today. Simple but cute, no?

weekend craftiness

From this:


To THIS:


I cut every board for this project.
Ken assembled everything, drilled all the holes and screwed everything together but I cut all the pieces!
Let's hear it for girls with power tools!

I used a speed square to cut each board square, then measured and cut each one to size and they all fit! I was amazed as they went together.
My husband ROCKS!

I found these free plans online somewhere and showed them to Ken. He was excited about building them. Really, they didn't take too long either, maybe 6 hours.
I got fun, funky colors to paint them: hot pink, parakeet green, a fun blue and a bright orange. They're for our new fire pit. I can't wait to enjoy hours and hours by the fire in them.

Thanks Ken! *mwa*

today's craftiness

Computer craftiness!

We're having a cookout in July when our friend Beth comes to visit. I created these invitations in powerpoint, then mounted them on cardstock. easy peasy.

Anyone up for volleyball? :)

Devil Vestee Done!

well, as done as I can call it for now.
I can't figure out how to attach the dang collar!

This was a HUGE undertaking for this beginner knitter. I noticed when I laid it out to photograph that one sleeve has more ribbing than the other. *lol* Typical for a first sweater I assume?

If I hadn't had the constant help of my mom over the phone and the terrific girls on the Indyknitters list I just would not have been able to do this. it is stinkin' adorable if I don't say so myself. good call, marie!

I'll be sure to post a picture of my baby-friend wearing her new pink vestee.

whoohooo!
What's next? A Turkey Hat maybe?
heh heh

places to go, things to do

here I sit.

I do have places to go. I do! I happily discovered http://www.swap-bot.com/ where you can swap all kinds of goodies with folks all over the world. I need to finish up my partner's package and ship it off.
Since she's a scrapbooker too I thought it would be fun to include something handmade.
I altered this notebook cover (sorry for the crappy webcam pic) for my partner in the Netherlands. I thought I'd get clever and find the dutch translation for "notes" and write that under the english word. I just hope it doesn't mean something random and obscure like "potato" or something. She'll either laugh at my ingenuity or my stupidity. Either way, there's a story for her to share each time she uses it.

Today's errands also include heading over to the Knit Stop today in the hopes the nice ladies are there, not the sucky customer service types I met the first time I visited. I have GOT to finish this Devil Vestee. I have GOT to get some help. With the sweater - the other help we'll save for another day.
I'm almost done - it actually looks like a sweater. I need to sew the seams and attach the collar. The collar I haven't made yet. The collar I need help with. Hence the trip to the Knit Stop.

I'm so glad knitters are a patient lot of folks. No one looks at me, the newbie, knitting a sweater, as though I've gone completely mad when I ask them how the hell I cast on at the beginning of the row.
They all say, "This is how you learn."
I feel like I should still be knitting potholders or washcloths or BAGS!

I'm off...

blog heaven

Just added a links list to my blog - I visit these places every day.
Cathy, Tara, Ali and Valerie inspire me daily is so many ways outside of scrapbooking.
That's my answer is a daily question blog - I post them to my email groups and they keep conversations rolling.
Dooce I've read for years. I don't know Heather personally but I've laughed with her, cried with her, moved with her, watched her daughter grow and even taken antidepressants with her. I don't know her personally but somehow I do know her. Good stuff.
Check it out.