are you ready to reap this freaky harvest?

My Candy Corn Mug Rug is now available as a free pattern on Craftsy. Grab it, make it, and indulge in some mad seasonal table accessorizing.

seasonal and stuff

It's fun coming up with designs for class and constructing a project that teaches folks different basic techniques and is also fun, engaging, easy, and in this case, mad seasonal. 

So about the wee decorative pumpkins.... We thought we were planting delicata squash. These are clearly not delicata squash. We accidentally planted a ton of motherfucking decorative gourds. Good thing they're edible, too, but really, what a goofy mixup.

the year end review (or something like it)

Apparently, this was the year of the quilt for me. In addition to the ones in the mosaic above, there are two more tops that didn't get quilted, one in the process of being quilted, and two more tops in progress. (And a partridge in a pear tree!) I only knit three things, two of which were worsted-weight socks and one just a wee baby sweater. I think I crocheted a couple of things, but other than the hand-warmers, I can't remember what I hooked. I started teaching at gather here, which has been a wonderful experience, and I hope to continue in the new year. I've got a ton of new quilts planned for classes! As for my other crafty endeavors, I released one softie pattern, but I have a few more that I only need to polish up & release. Maybe I'll finally get to that in the coming weeks since I don't foresee too much sewing getting done. Right now, I'm in a frenzy of nesting. Matt & I are putting the finishing touches on the kiddo's room. He is successfully sleeping by himself there through the night. We're tying up all our loose ends and getting ready for the New Tenant to join us. Fortunately, there isn't much that's left to do, just little last minute things like washing all the crib bedding. I have no idea if this will be my last post for the year or not. In case it is, I want to wish all of you a very happy new year full of love & laughter & all that good stuff. Happy New Year to you all!

happy holidays!

Why look at that! This year we hid our tree's shame with a stripey tree skirt I whipped up for a class at gather here. I'm rather fond of it, though I will say I should have made the center hole much narrower. That would have provided us with a tidier skirt with a smaller circumference. It would have also involved a lot less panels of fabric and made for an even quicker, easier project. Now I know for next year. I'll just tweak it to reflect these bits of trial and error and come up with a better, more badass skirt (to hide the tree's shame, of course!).

I know it makes me such a mega-nerd, but really, nice corners please me to no end.

Once again, I machine-bound something, and I did not want to stab said project after I was done. Hooray! I'm getting better at this thing. I like that the print I chose for the binding is kinda subtle and doesn't overpower or compete with the pretty saturated prints I used to the skirt itself. Funny thing about this binding, too. Originally, while sewing at Stacie's, she made 5 yards of binding for me while I worked on something else so that we would have time to play Settlers of Catan because Stacie is awesome like that. The thing is that I needed bias tape but did not communicate that. I just said binding. Derf! It's gorgeous, though, and I know I will definitely use it (for my current project, actually). Thanks again, Stacie! During class I made bias tape for my students hoping I could make mine work for the demo, but of course it didn't really work with the curves because, well... it wouldn't. Way to go, me! So Virginia made the bias tape for me seeing as I had just made yards and yards of it and must have looked like some defeated schlump when I realized I had to make more. Thank you, Virginia! Seriously, I am so grateful for these ladies. Also, talk about a close call - I had this much tape left:

I *just* made it.

The basic stripes in this design work well with our tree's decorations which consist mostly of little old painted wooden ornaments, a couple of my softie ornaments, wee fabric stockings, and these glass ornaments I took with me when my sister decided to throw them out. She thought they were old and tacky. Maybe they are, but they're shiny and remind me of some of the happiest time in my childhood. Therefore I love 'em.

Happy holidays, folks. Hope you have a wonderful time filled with laughter, surrounded by the people you love.

simple holiday stocking

For tomorrow night's class at gather here. If you're in the Boston area and looking for something fun to do, this quick and easy holiday project might be right up your alley. So come join us! There are plenty of spaces available.

I may be biased, but....

...this bias tape totally reminds me of fruit-striped gum. Gad, I used to love that stuff as a kid. Sometimes my dad would buy me a megapack as a treat, and I would save and savor every stick, stashing it somewhere that my anti-chewing gum mom wouldn't find it. Anyhow, this tape? It's going to make an awesome binding or edging for some fun project. If you're at Bazaar Bizarre Boston this Sunday, you should swing by gather here's table to check out this and a ton of other tapes, kits, and DIY goodies to get for your favorite crafters for the holidays.

ornamental purposes

This December I'll be teaching a couple of ornament-making classes at gather here.

I can tell you, they have been kid-tested and approved:

thankful

Today I am thankful for this kid who lights up my life with his joy and enthusiasm. I never thought I would be able to be a mom, and yet here we are. It is wonderful and challenging; makes my heart burst with love and wracks my nerves with worry all at once. I am thankful for this opportunity and thankful for my doodlebug. It hasn't always been easy with the postpartum depression, but I'm doing what I can to recover and make my kid and myself happy. I'm thankful I have a supportive and loving partner in all this. He has been the best, and I appreciate every little thing he has done to make our lives better.

By the way, happy Movember! I cannot believe it took me this long to get around to our annual Movember photo. I love how excited the kiddo gets over it, too. I'm looking forward to many years of this:

And what's Thanksgiving without a little pie? 

Hope you and your loved ones are having a fabulous Thanksgiving.

the tradition of last-minute costumes begins

Last year I put off making the kiddo's costume for his first Halloween party until the last minute. This year was no different. Do we see a pattern emerging? Shall we just call it a tradition? There are a million online tutorials for making a dragon/dinosaur costume out of a sweatshirt, but I didn't refer to any of them because it's such a simple, straightforward project. I used an old green sweatshirt that used to be my favorite until the zipper stopped working, nipped in the sleeves, tucked a little here and there, attached a row of white wool felt teeth and a couple of eyes, and added a tail made of two pieces of green Kona and lightly stuffed with Polyfil. No big whoop. It was the easiest costume ever. It's a little rough around the edges, but he wore it well and seemed to enjoy chasing his tail around like a cat (yet ANOTHER way in which kids are like cats).

Today was the party, and he was a shy, quiet little toddlersaur only roaring when he wanted a donut. Tomorrow afternoon we go trick or treating, and I expect that will be a ton of fun. We've been practicing our roaring and tail-swishing.

time for tricks or treats

I am sitting here over-thinking this post, partly because I'm so tired that I can only think in terms of slap-happy profanity. Also, I am trying way too hard to think of something even remotely profound to say about Halloween. Oh, Halloween.... It thrills me every year and takes me back to the awesome parts of childhood. When designing a trick or treat tote for a class at gather here, I kept thinking back to those plastic orange jack o' lanterns my mom would get us from Woolworth's. We would take them along with us as we hit every store on the way home from school and every apartment in the building later that evening. The goal was always to fill it to the rim and then some. Later that night we would sort through our treasure like satisfied little pirates, separating our plunder into three basic categories - "Yum!" "For Trade" or "What the fuck were these people thinking and how old is this gumdrop?" I would try to convince my sister that she wouldn't like my favorite candies so she should trade them with me for something "better." What can I say? I was a fiend for Almond Joy.

So this tote... easy to make, a fun project for the kids, and all you need is a couple of sheets of felt. If you're in the Cambridge area, come on by and join us next Tuesday. I also have a batty version of this which will be included in the class pattern. I'm hoping to have some photos of that before the end of the week.

bits and bobs of bats

I've been meaning to blog, but you know how that goes sometimes. There is so much awesome stuff going on right now, and I've been enthusiastically making stuff again (I'm happy to report). I am finally getting around to executing some ideas I have had for far too long, and it feels great. I've been meaning to make a bat mobile since shortly before the kid was born. That's what? Well over 16 months at least. While coming up with a project for a Halloween-themed class at gather here, I already had what I thought was a great idea to begin with, so I ran with it. Now to figure out where I can get a spinny little music box type attachment that plays Ozzy's Mr Crowley....

sparkle & shine - happy new year

My only resolution this year is to embrace the awesome. That's all. Happy new year!

don't the holidays make you batty?

Heh. So much hustle and bustle over here but also so much fun. We are happy, busy, and full of good stuff. This warm fuzzy feeling inside my chest - I want it with me always. Wishing you all a wonderful holiday and all the best in the new year. xoxox

gnome for the holidays

pattern: Garden Gnome Hat
designer: Betsy Farquhar
yarn: Knit Picks Palette in Red & White
needles: Addi Turbo 16 inch circs in US sizes 0 and 2

modifications: I used size 0 needles for the ribbing and only knit 3 gnomes instead of 4, making it a much narrower hat, also making it a much longer hat

The wee was invited to a tea party today, and since the invitation called for fancy hats, I decided to kill not two but three, yes, three birds with one stone and knit him this gnome hat. First, I fell in love with this pattern the minute I saw it on ravelry. Second, not only would I fulfill my desire to knit this hat simply because I am so in love the design, but I was planning to knit the kiddo a holiday hat anyway. Third, well, fancy hat! Seriously, this hat is positively papal in length. Check out this action shot:

The kid is hanging out there in the carrier, and the hat is about halfway down his back. I kind of love it like that. Matt jokes that it's perfect because the kid now has a place to tuck away his dreadlocks. Heh. That and the first thing he said when he saw the kid wearing it was, "Oh, look at little Gnome Chomsky!" Double heh. 

I have to say, for a moment there I wasn't sure I would have it finished and blocked in time for the party this morning, but fortunately I had a ton of time to finish knitting at the doctor's office yesterday. The sprinkles of happy on this whole project? Apparently, Knit Picks Palette is kind of awesome for knitting colorwork. It's nice and sticky, and it blocks beautifully. Did I mention that when placed over a hot air vent, it seemed to block in about an hour? No? Well, it did! This, of course, pleased me so very much. As for the kid, I'm not so sure how pleased he is with it since it is a little big:

 

Happy holidays, folks!

slapdash and happy

My favorite thing about the kiddo's costume yesterday? The fact that it took me about 15 minutes to put together. Sure, it wasn't the most creative, inventive, or intricate costume at the party yesterday, but it was a great improvisational piece. And boy, did my little dude make an adorable pirate! I might be biased, though. Ahem. Anyhoo, I actually surprised myself with my ability to whip up the hook and wee parrot without drawing a template for myself first or anything, just cutting shapes out of felt and banging them out after months away from making softies. It felt good - so very good. It felt like home. I'm totally looking forward to next Halloween now.

happy halloween!

Watch out for wee pirates out looking for booty!

snow + sparklers = joy!

Hope you all had a very merry Christmas! I think we started a new tradition this year or at least reinvented an old one. My father-in-law, who is from New Orleans, was telling us all about how when he was a kid, he and his many siblings would set off fireworks by the lake every Christmas and how it was a part of their holiday tradition. It sounded like a ton of fun. Since firecrackers and roman candles would freak the neighbors out, I suggested we grab a few sparklers and have a go at it, albeit in a less noisy and less explosive fashion. Needless to say, much fun was had. Hilarity ensued. All that good stuff. It was a great way to celebrate the holiday.

(Click on the photos to view larger - they're much better viewed that way. )