This is looking like a sabbatical of sorts. Between this stubborn cold, Monkeyboy Junior being off from school for spring break, and an irresistible urge to seriously spring clean, I’m having a heck of a hard time getting anything creative done lately! Top it off with the first nice weather in AGES and a desire to get some fresh air, and, well, yeah… Gotta just roll with the punches, I suppose. Hopefully I’ll be back some time in early April. *sigh* See you then?
Tags: sabbatical
Sorry, peeps. It’s been a busy week of lots of piddly things with nothing to really show for it. I’ve tried two new recipes, washed the 25 yards of fabric I got in the States, and gone through a bunch of photos…but done nothing that has seemed post-worthy. I shall try and do better. *sigh*
Just a quickie post today. I finished Monkeyboy Junior Jr.’s Poko-themed mittens this weekend – complete with a “let’s make them difficult to remove/lose” string! On the show, Poko will often figure things out by watching the world around him – birds, ladybugs, even little pink caterpillars will offer up solutions to whatever his problems may be. I only hope that my little boy will be as observant one day…
As you may have noticed in this and the previous post, I have progressed to using buttons for eyes. I found that the Angry Bird eyes were very time-consuming and often a little “wonky”, so… I think buttons would also have come in handy for the ladybug spots, but I didn’t happen to have any in my bin. Oh, well – next time. Plus, Monkeyboy Junior Jr. LOVES to tap them on the table and make noise. I only hope that doesn’t get too annoying too soon. 
Well, it’s been a bit of an adjustment coming back home after such a wonderful trip to California. Long story short, I arrived home to three sick boys – the kind of sick that involves fevers and wet coughs and lots of snotty noses. *sigh* Aside from caring for them, and sneaking in some unpacking and laundry when I could, I haven’t had much time to “create”. I had started on Monkeyboy Junior Jr.’s hat before I left, so I poked at it here and there all week (while we vegged in front of the television) until I finished it today. Without further ado, I present the Poko Hat.
Poko is a Kid’s CBC show that comes on for about 10 minutes every morning. Aside from the Disney Baby Einstein videos and a few Sesame Street videos on YouTube, it is the only thing Monkeyboy Junior Jr. will sit still and watch (and get really excited about watching).
It seemed only fitting to start with Poko(the little boy)’s stuffie – Mister Murphy – seeing as he’s a monkey and all.
Then I moved on to Poko’s dog, Minus…
Then I worked on Poko himself. Not too bad, I suppose. I had to do his eyebrows twice, though – he just looked angry the first go ’round.
For a little boy who hates wearing hats, it seems to have caught his fancy enough to give wearing it a try. He loves making the “aah-aah-aah-ooh-ooh-ooh-eee-eee-eee” monkey sounds or panting dog sounds as he’s trying it on himself… and then on me. I’d say that overall, it was a success. And now… on to the mittens. I hope you all have yourselves a wonderful weekend! Send us some healthy thoughts, won’t you?
Tags: boy, crochet, dog, hat, Kid's CBC, Minus, Mister Murphy, monkey, Poko
Before I left for California last week, I wanted to make something along with me to say “thank you” to my lovely friend for letting me stay with her. She travels around a lot, so it needed to be small and somewhat practical. I decided on an apron/dish towel set that I knew she’d like…
While these in no way could make up for the wonderful ways she spoiled me, I much preferred giving them over some unknown thing I felt pressured to find/purchase/give… and I’m pretty sure she liked them too.
Well. I’ve arrived home to lots of changes, for both myself and the baby. My posts may be a little patchy for the next little while, as we try to establish some kind of new routine… but I’ll do my best. Hope the weekend treated you all well! Let’s hear it for spring being on it’s way! Woo-hoo!!!
Tags: hostess apron, hostess gift
You know, sometimes I think I was born in the wrong era. I have absolutely no idea where my hard-working, waste-not-want-not ideals come from, as I’m fairly certain I didn’t really grown up with them… but I digress. One last quick project before I hit the skies – my toiletries bag. Which used to look something like this…
For the most part, it is still in good shape – the zippers work, there are no other holes or rips… it’s just that this mesh panel on the front has come loose. I could easily have thrown it out and gone to get a new one, but that seems so wasteful somehow. Especially when a few stitches later, it’s as good as new – and prettier even.
And now, to figure out what the heck to put in these lovely bags for my brief getaway weekend. (I’m kinda hoping we get to go and see Luanne the psychic on Venice Beach again…) Have a great weekend, y’all – see you again on Tuesday!
Me, my sister, Luanne, and my best friend – on my first “girls weekend” LA trip, two years ago.
Tags: making do, repair, toiletries bag, waste-not-want-not
Years ago, when my husband and I got married, we invested in some inexpensive but “proper” luggage for our honeymoon. The thing is, our suitcases looked EXACTLY like everybody elses’ at the time! Not wanting to deal with a possible mix up, or having to describe nondescript luggage should they get “lost”, I decided to make them a little more unique using some decorative ribbon I picked up at the fabric store. These bags have long since disintegrated (the inner plastic literally shattered after years of use), and they have recently been replaced by some really nice bags that we happened to get on a really great sale. I decided that the “unique” tradition should continue.
When Monkeyboy Junior Jr. wasn’t busily playing in my new bag, I got to work adding some ribbon to it.
This involved taping this fun “black sheep” ribbon where I wanted it to be, using a curved needle to stitch one edge down, putting some flexible fabric glue under the ribbon for a little more security, and then stitching down the other edge.
In the end, the suitcase looks something like this…
A bit easier to identify in a crowd, don’t you think? Now, to try and figure out what the heck to put IN it – I’m not used to dressing for above zero temperatures.
That is, of course, if Monkeyboy Junior Jr. lets me go anywhere…
Tags: embellishment, identification, ribbon, sewing, suitcase, unique
With my big trip approaching, I spent the day flitting from this to that, not getting any one thing fully accomplished. Between the dishes, laundry, and floors, I managed to…
…put some puppy patches over a giant flower on some fuzzy PJs I picked up for Monkeyboy Junior Jr. last week. He went through a growth spurt recently and it is still kinda cold in these parts, so these were some of the last “winter” jammies I could find. Kinda “girlie”, I know, but hey – they’re warm!
I also started crocheting Monkeyboy Junior Jr.’s hat. I doubt I’ll get it done before I go, but… at least it’s begun.
And for me, I started updating the music on my iPod, starting with including my “Mix Tape CDs” that my lovely sister made for me, and that my awesome husband painstakingly figured out how to convert and transfer. Yay, new music!!!
I also began another fun little trip-related project, but I think I’ll get it done before I go, so I’ll do a whole post on it another day. Okay. Gotta run. Swim lessons for Monkeyboy Junior, don’t you know. Ciao!
So. Next week I’m off to visit both my sister and my best friend – who just happen to be living in the same neighbourhood in LA right now. I’m starting to get super excited and super nervous – but that’s a whole other story… One of my big plans while I’m down there, however, is to actually SLEEP through the night – something I have only done a couple of times in the last seven years. As I do not know exactly what my accommodations will be like, I thought I’d better go prepared – so I picked up some ear plugs and thought about investing in a sleep mask.
“A what, now?” you ask. You know, like the one Audrey Hepburn wore in Breakfast at Tiffany’s…
I figured mine should also be pretty stylish, as the friend that I’m visiting is the one who actually introduced me to this movie, manymanymany years ago. But not too fancy, as I wanted it to be very comfortable for sleeping. I didn’t find anything remotely interesting in the store, so I thought I’d make my own. Sadly, my first attempt was rather a bore.
While I liked the original design, I found the fabric really slippery… and the final shape not at all what I intended. And so, as they say, I gave it another go – simplifying my lines a bit on the second version.
(Here’s a little DIY info, if you’re at all interested…) First, I cut a basic pattern out of paper, testing it out on my face for size and adjusting as necessary. Then, I cut out three pieces of fabric – a “front”, a “back”, and a “stuffing” (I used some scrap polar fleece to give it some form) – leaving about 1cm (~3/8″) extra fabric around the pattern I had made.
Next, I cut a strip of elastic to hold the mask on. I also cut a long strip of fabric to cover the elastic – it was about 2 times as long and 3 times as wide as the elastic so that I could wrap it around the elastic and sew it neatly shut. I would wrap a segment, stretch the elastic (but not the fabric), sew it closed, and then let it all bunch up.
Then it was time to sew the mask. With right sides together, the stuffing on the outside of that, and the elastic band on the inside of the two right sides, I sewed around the edges of the mask… attaching the elastic at the sides as I went, and leaving a small segment open at the top so I could turn it right-side-out. (You can see the elastic sticking out the of the open segment and my index finger is pointing where the elastic was sewn into place on one of the sides.) I trimmed the stuffing close to the stitching, clipped a few corners, and turned the mask right-side-out.
I then topstitched around the edges to close the open segment and hold everything in place better. This is the “back” of the mask – I chose a lovely cherry blossom satine that is both super soft and relaxing to look at…
And this is the front, with some embellished “eyelashes” over a slightly rougher (but more colourful) piece of fabric. I think Audrey would approve, although I am probably going to pass on putting tassels on the earplugs. I’m afraid that comfort will be more important than style next weekend… at least while I’m sleeping.
Tags: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast At Tiffany's, DIY, earplugs, eyelashes, fabric, give it another go, satine, sewing, sleep mask, stylish, tassels
Today was one of those days when napping was pretty much a necessity for me. Luckily, there just happened to be a deliciously warm and cozy sunbeam to curl up in – ahhhh. Unfortunately, napping while Monkeyboy Junior Jr. naps translates into having very little uninterrupted “creative time”… and so today’s project was a “quick and dirty” one.
Long story short… when I got pregnant with our first son, my body underwent some pretty radical changes. At the time, I found that I had to go to a chiropractor to seek relief from the aches and pains these changes were causing. Second time around, I found that going to pre-natal yoga helped almost enough – and the rest of my relief came from sleeping with a pillow between my knees. I invested in one of those giant “body pillows” and have been hugging it nightly ever since. And if you’re going to be hugging something nightly, it may as well be pretty, right?
I’ve been using the same pink paisley cover for two years now, so I thought it might be time for a change. Plus, it’ll make doing the laundry a little easier – I won’t have to wash the cover the same day I change the sheets, as I’ll always have one in reserve. A few seams and a zipper and voila. Lalala. Okay. That’s it for today. Time to go melt into the couch.
Tags: body pillow, cover, sewing
Bad Behavior has blocked 240 access attempts in the last 7 days.
