Mind your bid-ness Lance Armstrong

I know carbs are "bad" for you, but really...Lance Armstrong resorting to haunting my bread board is just going too far. Seriously...what's next an image of Bob Harper in my butter?



This is no joke folks. Late last night I was watching R5 Sons (I think this is just an Alaska thing, so no worries if you have no idea what that is) and making bread. After I rolled out the dough and put it in the pan to rise I felt like something was watching me. I looked down, and there he was staring at me from the board I just used. I swear I didn't touch the board, I rolled out the dough, picked it up and this image was just there. I thought it was hysterical and I called for Jon to come look, but he wasn't nearly as impressed as I was. Really, how could you not be amazed by this?!?!

Finally Finished Sweater

This sweater took some twists and turns. After ripping out the collar I decided to knit a button-able collar. I did a simple rib-knit and left an opening in the front and back. At first I decided to close the opening with a button and a loop, but after taking a picture of it I realized it looked like a girls sweater. (am I right?)



So I took off the loop and knit a little overlapping band and put in a buttonhole. I did this on the front and the back, so now the sweater is reversible (and more importantly fits over Luke's head). In the end I think it looks like I meant to do this, plus it's the little details that make things look unique.

no more late night crochet for me

I know better than to continue to crochet or knit when I'm tired. I make mistakes, I take shortcuts...it's just generally a bad idea. I was so ready to have the body of the sweater finished that I didn't wait to try it on Luke before I crocheted the neck onto the pieced together sweater. If I had waited I would have realized that I wouldn't be able to pull it over his cute (but obviously large) head. Oy. I hate undoing and redoing things. You know how carpenters say measure twice, cut once...I am going to apply that concept to sweaters...and add onto it FOLLOW A PATTERN DUMMY! Pattern? Me?!?!?! NEVER!

I did this entire thing using the afghan stitch (with the exception of a single crochet around the bottom and top to finish it off) so that I could cross-stitch a skull onto the front. The afghan stitch leaves a very square stitch behind, perfect for cross-stitching. Though, I'm wishing now I had just knit the thing and appliqued on a skull. Live and learn, but on a positive note it does make a very thick sweater...which is starting to come in very handy here in SE AK.

First Snow of the Year...in my kitchen

Apparently when your house is slanted, your counters are slanted too. And if this is the case you have to pay extra careful attention when using your WonderMill that the connection to the flour reservoir is straight. If you don't...it will snow in your kitchen. But before you clean it up make sure to have some fun. Flour angels, flour ball fights, maybe a flourman. Wheaty the Flourman has a nice ring to it...way better than Frosty the Snowman.

My Very First Quilt

I made this quilt in November of 2009, it was the first quilt I ever made but I never got a chance to post about it. I thought about it because I just unpacked it from one of my MANY craft boxes. Seriously, all in all there were no less then 12 boxes for the craft room. Between books, fabric, yarn, beads, glass and paint I have more than filled the mudroom/craftroom/piano-room in our new home. (by new I mean REALLY old...and rented, so not ours at all...I'll save that for another day, but I'll tease you with trap doors and slanted floors...YAY!)

Since this quilt was the first I ever made it is uber important to me. I had always looked upon quilting as something I would never, could never do. All of those hours spent pouring over tiny bits of fabric, meticulously cut and placed. No thanks! I don't spend hours pouring over anything that is going to make me go blind. I am an ADD crafter...get in and get it done before I get bored.

But, thankfully it turns out I can quilt the same way I do everything else. I hate planning, I hate patterns...I like to sit down, decide what I'm doing and then do it. Sometimes the project takes a turn here and there, but that's what makes it fun! In this case I started as if I were making a basic strip quilt. I pieced together all the blues I had, and all the greens I had. Then I put the blue and green together to make the sky and grass. Next came the appliqued tree, which I did in corduroy because I wanted lots of texture for the baby.

At this point I carried the panel around with me everywhere I went because I was so proud of it. (I swear this is true) And if anyone stopped to ask about it I'd give them the old "What, this? It's just something I threw together..."

Since this new-old-rented-house-o-mine is painted with turquoise trim and orange walls I think my quilt will fit in just fine hanging on the wall. And if not, it doesn't matter because it makes me smile, so I'll hang it anyway.

Driftwood

We have internet again!!! It feels nice to be connected to the world again. (though, honestly taking a break from it was nice too) But, now that I'm plugged back into the WWW and beginning to get settled here in K-town I can start back posting some of the crafts I've been working on. Mostly I'm "working on" unpacking...but woman can not live on unpacking alone. I've also been working on a skully sweater for the Luker and I just unpacked my sewing machine and fabric. So there will be some upcoming sewing and reupholstering projects as well as my first attempts at furniture. Plus a new project inspired by a trip to Refuge Cove with the Luker today.



Nearly every day we head over to one of the beautiful beaches and coves they have here in Alaska...and every day I drool over the driftwood just sitting there waiting to be turned into something awesome.



Today I found this piece and just couldn't leave it there. I plan to turn it into a votive or tea light holder, similar to this from the ETSY store UtopiaUF.