laeroport

made

I am a maker of small things.  I have never completed a quilting project, or an afghan, or a complicated garment.   But I do make lots of small things, most of which I give away.  And I like that.

 
This year was kind of an off year for me.  Moving threw a kink into my making.  I did a lot of crocheting that never got photographed - at least 10 water bottle holders for my family and some of my Girl Scouts and more cotton dishcloths than I can count.  Not one picture was taken.  Ah well.  It was the year I learned to crochet.  Thanks for that, Mom.  I love having another hand craft I can do while sitting with my family instead of removing myself from the action with the sewing machine.

To see everything I made and DID manage to photograph in 2010, click here.  And in my Make! collection you can look at the completed project photo sets from 2009, 2008, 2007 and half of 2006 as well as what I've done so far this year.

We will spend a big chunk of tomorrow in the car, so I'll have my embroidery hoop in hand.  And right now, the crochet hook calls.

Happy weekend, friends!

December round up - part 2:: 1st grade class party

We are brand new at a new school in a new town and already I was in charge of the first grade class party.  I am not sure how I got wrangled into that, but it was fun.

We had a snow theme.  There was snowman bowling with pins made from milk bottles,

 
snowman on a stick craft/(healthy) snack,

 
 
pin the nose on the snowman,

 
pass the parcel,

 
and two snowflake crafts.

 
Whew!  

Crochet talk

I'm holding off on the class party post to say thanks for the crochet love on the teacher gifts.  I had several questions about the pattern for the purple scarf.  It was Nina's Beaded Scarf from Interweave Crochet's Special Accessories Issue.  (Lots of great hat, scarf, mitten and sock patterns.) Mine looked very different from the sample due to my yarn choice - which was a worsted weight silky cotton vs. the called for Malabrigo Sock yarn.  I knew it would take me forever with skinny yarn.  Plus, I don't follow directions well and gauge is all kind of a fuzzy concept to me, so I liked that this pattern still looked good despite the fact that the gauge was all wrong. 

There is probably another one on the horizon.  Mwah ha ha ha.

And thanks to this Christmas present from my mom, I'm trying all sorts of stitch combinations.

 
Watch out, I'm dangerous with a crochet hook.

December round up - part 1:: teacher gifts

I am in the crochet zone.  Scarves all around - mostly.

For Aidin's teacher, who's favorite color is pink.

 
 

She gets hot, so I wanted something lightweight that could be doubled up for warmth on the playground.  I used a hot pink baby weight yarn with some silvery grey bamboo yarn for edging.  I thought the edging just made it.

For Aidin's substitute, a retired teacher who had been filling at least part of every day for the last few months while Aidin's teacher rests and has her cancer treatments, a scarf as well.  Aidin and Mrs. K. have really butted heads, so I thought she deserved something special.

 

 
This was the most complicated pattern I had ever attempted and I loved the way it turned out.  and in our new town, purple is a safe bet.

For Eliot's teacher, I tried to match her cranberry red coat with something warm for the blustery playground.

 
I used bulky yarn, a size N hook and single crocheted around and around.  It is about 10 inches high and 26 inches around.  I kind of wanted to keep it for myself.

And two more gifts for Aidin's science and language arts teachers, a quick fabric flower pin.  Aidin chose the buttons from Grandma Jean's button box which my mom passed down to her.

 
and one more for *my* teacher - my belly dance teacher, and friend, Zada. She likes purple too.

 
Okay, that's it for what I made.  Class parties next?

playing catch up

 

Hello.

It's back to our regular routine today. School, Grocery Store. Working out. Cooking dinner. Cleaning up. Drafting a pattern for a Girl Scout sewing project. And uploading a whole lot of photos from the month of December to flickr. I'm starting a new 365 photo project this year and want to finish all the uploads from 2010 before I get too far beyond that.  If you had told me last January about all the changes we would go through in 2010, I never would have believed it - but I'm so thankful that I have the photos to document the year.

Wish me luck. And feel free come keep me company over there.

Cheers!

 

snow day

Nothing like easing into the New Year.  Last week the kids had three days of school - only 2 1/2 for Aidin who came home with a tummy ache on day one.  Today was to be the start of the first full week of school, but Mother Nature had other plans.

What a wonderful snow day it has been.  This morning's early calm,

 
turned into shoveling and snowball fights.

 

and a half-hearted attempt at sledding.

 
The verdict was not slippery enough.

There was also a little scientific investigation.

 
 
And I hear evidence of giant construction project underway in the living room as I type.

We are on the 5th pot of hot chocolate and 4th pot of coffee.

 
 
All in all a great day.  And just when I think the snow is tapering off, it comes down again with renewed gusto.  So, Mother Nature, same time, same place tomorrow?

Cheers!

1/1/11

for another 10 minutes or so.

Happy New Year! 

I am still very much on holiday time and not quite ready to jump back into real life and schedules and laundry and menu planning.  I have spent much of the past few weeks holding on to every moment with our families and the solitary joys of crocheting by the light of the Christmas tree or finishing a book or working on a puzzle.

But I do want you, dear readers, to know of the gratitude in my heart.  2010 was such a difficult year for us with so many changes and uncertainties.  We are still not quite settled into our new lives - we are still making friends and feeling our way - and we still have that house in Lawrence that needs so much help.  But I do want to express how much your friendship, your support and just "checking in" has meant to me during this year that was.

Here's to you! And to a fabulous 2011.

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me.  And I'm feelin' good..........