one stitch short

Pin Cushion Caddy

I really have been knitting toward my first NaKniSweMoDo sweater, but I'm stuck on the sleeves which is BORING!  So, I am showing what I've been doing in the sewing room.  A few weeks ago, I ordered some scraps from WiseCraft off of etsy.  It was a fun challenge to get some "surprise" scraps and decide what to create from them.  This is just one of many projects that I think I'll create from those scraps. 

A while ago, I had seen the Pin Cushion Caddy project in "Seams to Me" that I really wanted to make for Shauna as she is going to start sewing soon.  She appreciates handmade things and is one of the most creative people I know.  It was fun to give it to her.

All of that to say, this project was made from those scraps (and a thrifted pillowcase I found a while back) and that pattern.  I think it was a great pairing!

Diaper Cake!

Those are probably two words that should never be said together, but in this case, the combination turned out pretty well!  I made a diaper cake for the baby shower for my boss.  It was my first attempt and I used the information found on another first attempt to help guide me.  The outside layers are receiving blankets that I made from this tutorial.  They aren't finding out if the baby is a boy or a girl so I went with sage green and animals.  I folded the blankets back on the back of the cake, so that the mom could see the prints on the receiving blankets without taking it apart.

The shower was today at lunch and I am sufficiently exhausted from all of the festivities! It was fun and now it's done. Now to find my knitting and my book!

Who knew?

Who knew that learning about photography could be so much fun!  I learned so much today and will probably be processing it for weeks, but it was really fun!  I'm just trying to figure out how I can line up some models that will stand still as chasing the kiddo around doesn't always give me time to check my settings (our baby model was great practice but our grown-up model, Liz, was a bit easier to catch).  That, and determine how we're going to get photoshop operational on one of our computers again!  

Of course, I have a lot to learn...maybe 365 will help?  Hmmm, now to figure out how to set my camera's timer.

Capturing Photos!

This is a picture I took at our friends' wedding last weekend.  It was a beautiful wedding and I had a lot of fun trying to capture some of the candid moments for them.  I know I love the candid photos from my wedding, and I hope they will enjoy these, too.

This weekend, I'm taking a Photography Course and I am nervous!  It is completely irrational to be nervous because the instructor is an old friend and it sounds like it will be pretty laid back.  I guess I'm just scared like I am when I try anything new, scared that I won't pick it up and that it will be a waste of time and money.  When I put all that aside, I hope it will help me to understand my equipment better (right now I just know how to use the automatic and the no flash settings of my camera) and what makes a good picture so that I can begin to improve my ability to take pictures.  It's funny because my dad is a photographer and I've never really had an interest.  But, the more I see pictures and treasure the moments they capture and am watching the kid grow before my very eyes in them, the more I want to be able to better capture those moments myself.  Anyway, wish me luck.  If it goes well, I'm considering jumping into 365.  We'll see!

Craftiness

I spent a lot of this weekend thinking about ways that I can be involved in more crafty endeavors.  I dreamt of it being my life, my job.  I schemed about businesses to start and classes to teach.  In the end, I realized that you don't manufacture that sort of thing, you just do what you do.  And, of course, this was just symptomatic of the January "blahs" that Cara posted about yesterday.

In all of this, I just decided to channel this energy into more creating.  This season of my life, I will invest in creating and learning, to prepare me for what may come down the road later.  I also realized that I need to truly invest in my life today, and not yearn for it to be a different life.

Speaking of being crafty, I am still catching up from the holidays, and I never shared the finished product of my favorite crafty gifts of 2008 - relaxation kits for the girls at work!  I had shared with you bits and pieces along the way, but now I can share the whole thing.

This is the whole messy set-up.  Each basket made included (from back left to front right) sugar scrub, foaming bath salts, lavender eye pillows, tub teas, and peppermint layered soaps.

I made little labels to put on everything.

And wrapped the salts/sugar scrub in some snowflake cellophane with little wooden spoons.

Then, I put everything in these felt buckets from the Target Dollar Spot and wrapped it all in cellophane, with the beaded ornaments tied on the front.

They were fun to make, well-received and hopefully enjoyed over the holidays by the recipients!

Around here

Over Christmas break, the kid got a cold, which turned into an ear infection (um, which he isn't supposed to have anymore since he got tubes...oh joy).  Then, the husband got a cold.  I thought I had missed it, and I did, sort of.  I've been having troubles with my contacts so I went to the eye doctor yesterday.  He told me that I caught the cold, in my eye!  How weird!  Anyway, one week of no contacts and eye drops.  I really hate my glasses, but this is the current look.

Yesterday, after the doctor's appointment, I made my first batch of pita pockets.  I got a bread machine for Christmas and there was a recipe in the book for pita pockets, so I gave them a whirl.  They were really easy to make and you only bake 'em for 5 minutes before the puff up like that to make the pocket part.  Who knew?  They were fun to make & taste really good.  They may become a weekend ritual around our house.

NaKniSweMoDo Update - Sweater 1, Day 11

I finished the back for Salina yesterday!  I am now a few inches into the sleeves.  We totally hibernated this weekend, which helps with the knitting progress.  I decided to do the sleeves (both at the same time) in between the front and the back for two reasons.  1. Sleeves are most often when I get stalled, so getting them out of the way is a good thing and 2. The front and back are essentially the same until you get to the top.  Doing them in a row might get boring.  Who am I kidding...the miles and miles of stockinette are pretty boring, but I am really loving the results.

I did have a scare this weekend.  My yarn closet is a mess and I was in there looking for the rest of the yarn for Salina.  I tore everything apart, still no yarn.  It wasn't until I pulled out a bag of organic cotton that I realized I had stuffed the yarn in the bottom of that bag.  For a second there, I was worried that I had used it on something else or given it away and just not remembered it!  Luckily, crisis averted, and sleeve knitting commenced.

Saturday Sky - Bird Meeting!

In my effort to capture the little everyday moments of live, I bring you one of our favorite things right now.  Bird Meetings!  Anytime the kiddo sees a large group of birds hanging out together on telephone lines, he gets SO excited.  Kids are really good at helping you appreciate the little things in life, and now I get excited, too, every time I see a bird meeting...even if he's not in the car!

Wishing you a very relaxing weekend!  Luckily, we've got no plans other than hanging out and enjoying some downtime, which for me means knitting & reading when I'm not playing with the fam.  And, I guess there will be some house chores thrown in there, too.

One Word Wednesday

Inspired by Ali Edwards and her One Little Word concept, I have picked a word for 2009.  It is Capture. This has a lot of meanings to me.

I want to get better at photography, so I can better capture moments that I experience. I also want to catch up on scrapbooking, but that's a whole 'nother story.  I gotta get inspired for that and I'm just not feeling it right now.

I want to capture more moments with my family and friends, and really appreciate those moments, paying attention to the small things that happen around me every day and treasuring the kiddo at his current age, without rushing him to grow up. 

I want to capture the moments of productivity I have at work. 

Mostly, for me, capture is about treasuring the time I have every day and not just counting down the minutes to the next thing.  I'm notoriously bad at this, as I am calendar and "to-do list" driven to a fault.  But, I'm trying to slow it down a little this year.  I am hoping that having a word to go back to as a reminder might help.  I'll try to keep you posted on how I'm doing with this to hold myself accountable.  What would your word be for 2009?

Getting Fit

In the whole NaKniSweMoDo challenge, I want to get 12 sweaters/tops that I will ACTUALLY wear!  I have a stack of handknits that do not get worn.  Even my Audrey, which I am most proud of, is too short.  My two struggles are the length of the torso and the length of the arms.  If I get one right, I get the other wrong, and vice versa. 

With Salina, I am using a strategy that I have seen on other blogs in comparing the sweater to a shirt that I think fits me well.  I still need to find a shirt with the perfect arm length, but for now, I'm comparing the torso length to my favorite black t-shirt.  I think this is the same shirt that I wore both times I saw Carolyn this year (with my white shorts...I need more clothes).  At any rate, upon measuring it, I discovered that I need to knit the front and back one cm longer than the pattern calls for to make it the perfect fit.  That's not that far off, but it may make all the difference in whether or not I like the sweater!  Just an inch or so to go before I get to the armhole shaping.