Spring Tunic

Hot off the needles, I present to you B's new spring cap-sleeved tunic! I used a bulky cotton acrylic blend that I bought in Ohio. Hurray for souvenir yarn! It's soft and super comfy. This free pattern knit up in a jiffy. I'm talking a couple days of lazy daisy knitting. I will be making more. B wants another with long(er) sleeves.

Today she has requested a skirt to accompany the shirt. She found a sparkly gold light-weight linen fabric at the sewing shop, and I am thrilled that she has entrusted me with this mission. Oui, oui. This is her new response to everything that requires a 'yes'. Oui, oui, Madame. Tout suite.

Happy Sunday, everyone!

N

Hope

A few months back, I cried and cried tears of happiness when Obama was elected President. I can't remember if I shared that, but I did. I stayed up way past my bedtime, and I sat cross-legged on the bed with my eyes glued to the little tv set, and I prayed and prayed that Obama would get just enough votes to win. With absolute relief, I wept more than I thought possible. It was as if my life had depended on it. My lord, I'm not even American. The next day, I skipped to work with a perma-grin.

Today I relived that high. I celebrated with a latte and hugs. My hands shook. I had to take a deep breath and focus. Good does triumph. I was reminded of the people that paved the way to today, and it made me sad that they weren't with me to rejoice. And I remembered the timbit that made headlines, and how powerful one voice can be. Speak up and you will be lifted. But oh how scary speaking up can be. My nerves have been slightly frayed for some time now. But today, there is light and so much flippin' hope that it's spilling all over. I know it's all a bit hieroglyphic, but I just wanted to express that today was good, and it was good because instead of complaining and allowing myself to be treated with disrespect, I did something. Good people did something. Clouds have been lifted!! My heart is dancing like Elaine. It truly is. Sigh. A round of hugs on me!

N

Earth Hour 2009

Just a reminder that this Saturday, March 28 at 8:30 your local time is Earth Hour. Turn out your llights, turn off the TV or whatever you plan on doing to participate in this global event. To see if your city is participating or for ideas on what you can do , click on the picture above to read more. This is the first time Mr. T and I are participating. It would've been nice to go outside for a night time stroll and look at the stars but Minneapolis is calling for snow (yikes! What happened to spring?!) so I think we will just light some candles, read a book and do some knitting. What will you be doing on Earth Hour?

3 Ramblings In Place of Sleeping

#1 - This was a picture from one of mine and B's walks before March Break. I really liked the clouds above the trees. It was one of those days where B and I could have walked for hours and taken in all the sights with no notice of anyone else around us. She told me the funniest stories about her friends at school, may have quoted some inappropriate Family Guy scenes, and skipped with a smile. I could lose myself in her little world and be quite content. She's just the right amount of silly and sweet.

#2 - After much searching and keeping my eyes open for just the right table for my craft space, I found an old IKEA tabletop with sawhorse legs on kijiji for a mere $15. It will be perfect for cutting fabric and pinning and all sorts of other stuff sewing entails, and when not in use, it can collapse and be stored behind my big cupboard. Coolio. My patience was rewarded. May that be a lesson to all those that can't possibly wait (said sternly with a wagging finger).

#3 - I now present to you my splurge! An Amish laundry basket handmade with a wood base and leather handles from Ohio. I may have squealed from the back of the car that I loved it more than anyone present, and while the other passengers laughed and thought I was joking, I admit there was some truth to it. I truly LOVE this basket. Look at it! It's absolutely splendid! Really.

Enough of that. Time for bed.

N

Back to the Future

We're back! Thanks, T, for holding down the fort. I know I said I would still be around, but we were surprised to find out that our destination did not have wireless internet, and the only computer to be had was not as powerful as we are accustomed to. Yis, I ended that with a prep, but I am pooped. Honestly. We had so much fun being 'disconnected'. We spent an entire day at the Cleveland Zoo - we have 'bout 300 pics of that adventure. Another day was spent driving around Amish Country, and I bought the most beautiful handmade basket! Cleveland also has an amazing science centre right on the lakefront. Another awesome day. And we ate a ton of food. B ate only chicken tenders - we call them strips up here. I think my favourite day was Friday when Aunt Brenda and I found two local yarn shops across from each other within a few miles of her place. I thought I had died and went to heaven.

Speaking of dying and going to heaven, J and I thought it prudent to turn off the furnace while we were away, and we killed Tartar Charlie. Apparently you can starve a fish for a few days, but they can't take a little chill. We had J's 'rents drop by several times during the week, but they didn't notice the cold until it was too late. Tartar Charlie, you were a good fish, and we loved you, and we're sorry that we're kind of stupid when it comes to taking care of you. The good thing about this is we're good at learning from our mistakes, and hopefully when it's time to get a new fish, we will be vigilant about maintaining a comfortable temperature for the little guy. We pinky promise.

N

A New Set of Balls

"Balls!" said the Queen, "if I had them I'd be the King!"

Dryer balls that is. I finally got around to making these DIY dryer balls following the instructions found here. It's a good way to use up those leftover pieces of wool that you feel bad throwing out so you keep them and they accumulate and you've already made too many pompoms so you don't know what else to do with them. Anyway, they were very easy to make and nice to look at and that's all I can report at the moment, as I haven't had the chance to use them in the dryer yet. I like the idea of these dryer balls because they're suppose to cut down on dryer time and make your clothes nice and soft without using chemical fabric softeners or those dryer sheets. So really, it's a win-win situation and don't we all love winning?

A Masterpiece Unveiled

Ok, so maybe not a masterpiece, not even close, but it IS my first attempt at crochet. Luckily this will be a dish cloth so the uneven edges where I keep dropping stitches wont matter too much, and the picture above is not showing depth but rather my dish cloth getting progressively smaller at the top due to the dropped stitches. My friend gave me a lovely set of crochet hooks for my birthday and the promise of crochet lessons, the first one happening today at our monthly crafty meet-ups. She was such a patient teacher that I'm somewhat ashamed of my first project, however, I'll keep at it and hopefully improve. I don't know how many of you knit as well as crochet but I'd be interested in finding out which one you think is easier. As a knitter, I find crochet to be more fluid and knitting to be more exact. Does that make sense? I like the exactness of knitting but maybe with more experience I'll get the rhythm of the art of crochet. I must admit that it was quite fun, albeit a bit of a disaster.