Good News!

Somehow, (I'm not sure exactly how - maybe time warped in my favor for once??) I passed the halfway mark with my homemade gifts! And I got my hubby to agree to help with one of them, though I'm trying to convince him to take it over for me.

"Okay, hon, I can help but I've never made these before."

Dear Bairloch knows for a fact, however, that I've never made them either, and that he is most definitely the superior baker (shut up, you are). So here is a public plea from your just-barely-half-done-with-christmas-crafting wife to please, please, take this one over.

I dramatize. I know you'll help if I ask. I love you.

Here's the item that set me over my halfway mark: another McCall's 6049 kid's apron. This one is for a little girl, so i went ahead with the cupcake fabric and the ruffles and the bobble trim. I used view A but left the ruffles off the top and did the trim as I pleased.

Stupid ruffles. I now hate ruffles. My thread kept breaking on my longest basting stitch on the machine (which was quite short anyway) so i had to pin the damn things every centimeter. Lots of sticks. Ick. The bobble trim was too think to turn under and task with the seams and all, so i trimmed it flush and sealed the edges with super glue gel (it's the same thing as fray check but thicker).

Cute flower buttons! The casings for the straps were easier on this one because, unlike the Thomas apron (where I cut the piece wherever I had room left), I actually cut the casing pieces on the bias, so they stretched a bit better and laid flatter.

I'm beginning to panic a bit about getting everything done in time. I'm starting to rationalize and prioritize, which is never a good sign. One family comes first, and I have.... 4 projects and 2 half projects to finish.

I'm supposed to be taking notes in class now. At least I'm here (it's a step up).

I've been Linked!

Turns out there's a whole blog devoted to geeky crafts, and I got one of the daily posts!

http://geekcrafts.com/the-big-bang-theory-cross-stitch-bazinga/

pretty cool, huh?

two more down

11 to go.

i had my friend Eris over with her two kids and we got a LOT of sewing done today. she got one paper-pieced block done for her harry potter quilt, and i finished these quilted tea towels.

pretty fabrics, no?

and a Thomas the Train apron for Eris's little boy. it's the McCall's pattern 6049, i just didn't use pink, took off the flowers and subbed in plain ribbon for the rick-rack the pattern called for. since there are three different aprons and a few more accessories, there were a TON of pattern pieces to sort through, but after i found the right ones it was pretty easy to follow. the strap is really nifty. it's all one, so the neck is adjustable based on how tight you tie the straps.

i left the pleats in; i didn't think they're too girly.

and i found the cutest blue buttons to go with it. cute fabric too.

11 projects to go.

countdown - 5 hours to bird time

okay, so i'm up a little later than i expected.

the turkey is in the brine bath, which will get flipped at three a.m., then the bird gets rinsed and put in the oven at 6 am, because dinner's at eleven!

herb butter is ready.

sweet potatoes are mashed, rosemary/mascarpone is mixed....

can't do anything else until tomorrow morning.
oh, wait.

clean the stove-top
clear off the chair
clean the bathroom
dust the living room
put away all my shoes
put away all my laundry
hang pictures in the bedroom

nine hours.
four of which i plan to spend sleeping, which means i have, oh, 45 minutes for each task if i'm going to be ready by the time everyone shows up.
oh, wait.
i have less than that, because i also need to finish cooking, and at some time or other, shower and make myself presentable.

here, look at some pretty pictures:

that would be a BAZINGA cross stitch, a basketweave scarflette, and honey-bourbon barbecue sauce.
christmas crafting proceeds apace.

time for sleep!..... ZZzzzzz.... ZZzzzzz

i've been gone awhile....

so, here's some stuff i've been working on since august:

wedding afghan #1:

 homemade macaroni and cheese recipe:

wedding afghan #2:

commissioned necklaces:

scarf recplica (crocheted): it's a christmas present for someone, but i'm not telling who!

homemade meatball and cabbage soup recipe:

coca-cola sleep shorts!

crochet owlets (that's a quarter for reference):

mi frist amigurumi! link from zelda (he got sent away in a craft swap and has a happy new home now):

another in a long line of christmas presents - a cutesy fuzzy hat for a friend's daughter:

i've got about a dozen projects in the works right now, and for today, i cleaned the kitchen so i could cook, put on a roast, started the laundry, and i'm in the process of cleaning our bedroom so the laundry clothes can migrate from the hallway, clearing up the hallway for the as-yet-unpacked boxes from the game room, so we can get the old couch out of there, so the boxes can go back in and hopefully be unpacked, so we can move the big green chair in so the new loveseat can come in from my parent's garage.

i'd rather be knitting.

plus side is we had some $ for furniture as a wedding present from my parents. my brother and his wife chose to get a leather sectional couch, but we waited until we saw a store going out of business and we got a new coffee table, 2 matching end tables, a couch, a loveseat, and a dresser and mirror for the same price. it was pretty awesome. the one end table and the mirror is in storage right now, but we managed to find room for the rest. we got rid of the old tables and gave the couch to a very deserving family we know. the old couch from the game room and dresser are on their way to being sold - we might even turn a profit on the little couch.

*sigh* commercial break over. back to work.

the handmade holiday crusade

oh dear.

well, the handmade-holiday-crusade has begun. i got a late start this year too, and what a year to do it. not only do i have my immediate family to deal with and my two sisters-in-heart, i also suddenly grew five sisters in law and three more brothers and an extra set of parents!

not to mention future-hubby's birthday is in two weeks, our anniversary is the month after christmas, and then there's valentine's day after that.

my mass go-to-gift this year is something vintage, so i pray i can read the pattern correctly. i hate hate HATE dealing with guage in crochet, so i really really hope it's easier that i think it's going to be.

well, back to work. after a batch of crochet today, in between laundry shifts, i hope to get on the sewing machine and get a bunch done.

at least i don't have to worry about spilling the beans for FH's birthday, he already knows, in fact, he picked out his birthday gift - i'm making him a half-zip sweater vest out of thick and thin homespun in greens and golden yellows, backed with, oh, not malabrigo... the other wool... cascade! that's it, dark-green-heather cascade wool. yeah, i'm only about a quarter done. maybe i can get half done today.

oh yeah! almost forgot. check out our engagement photos!
go to www.ovationphotography.net, and on the bottom click the link that says "view my pictures." our password is june26. enjoy!

and one more before vacation

woot! my new crochet-hook roll! now, i LOVE the one my friend gave me for my birthday; it has this great mod-ish yellow pear pattern on it, but unfortunately my hooks have, um, seemed to reproduce and it doesn't hold them all anymore! the smaller one is perfect for taking projects on the go, though...

so here's the new one! i only had to buy half a yard of this great yarn fabric at ben franklin's; the rest i had in my stash. in fact, the bright green paisleys (below) were used to make my friends corchet hook roll (that's right, we made crochet-hook rolls for each other)!


and partway open... i love the bright colors...

and there it is in all its glory! the inside is actually three vertical panels lined with pockets, and the stuff doesn't really stick out on the right; i just wanted to pull it out so you could see all the stuff i have in there. currently it holds 30 crochet hooks (including the long afghan hook and the giant one), stitch markers (my own design), tape measure, needle holder and scissors.

i think the stitch markers are my favorite; i used number beads and seed bead spacers to indicate all the hook sizes i have, so when i need to put a project aside for awhile, i can remember what hook i was using. i also have some little lemon stitch markers, but i didn't stick those in for some reason.

love, love, love it.

wedding craftiness!

Woot for wedding crafts!
i know i'm not getting married for about a year, but i go back to school in two weeks, and i'd prefer to have as much done as possible...

so these are the parents candles and the unity candle i decorated with ribbon, spray adhesive (stickiest mess ever), metal bits and some paper... we bought the holders at hobby lobby, but i absolutely love them anyway.

and this is the flower girl basket! i spray-painted the basket silver and wound around bunches of ribbon which i then secured with knots and hot glue (and burned my fingers several times in the process). i sewed the jeweled buttons onto the ribbons and then glued the ribbons onto the basket. mom edged the satin liner, and i'll be sewing LOTS of beads onto the corners, so its not quite finished. at least i didn't draw blood OR break a needle on this project! i'll have to post an update once it's all said and done. sometimes, ya gotta love goodwill and wal-mart (no one will ever know, heh heh heh... well... i suppose they will now...)

i'm also working on the ringbearer's pillow right now, but i need fraycheck to keep the satin from going, and i need to turn in inside out again and round the corners before i stuff it... i'm making progress at least! and i have to finish my [grandma's] headpiece, but that's almost done.

once my dress and veil come in at the store, mom needs to slightly alter those (how i got a dress that fit so perfectly i have no idea...)

and then i need to make programs, invites, and bridesmaid gifts and then i think, i think, wedding craftiness is done.

in case you're curious, colors are ivory and silver (pewter really) accented with green and pink. we plan on having lots of green and pink candy at the reception and stargazer lilies everywhere possible!

i busted a needle!

but i finished a project! my man's been wanting a safe case for his chisels in the garage. i dunno why but i'm always happy for a challenge! he actually got the idea after seeing my crochet hook roll case and wanted to know if i could make something similar. of course, i said, but the interesting shapes of the chisels will require some innovation. and being large, sharp, metal tools, (and him being a man) i couldn't use regular fabric.

behold! the lovely, manly creation that busted a needle on my sewing machine!

and here it is untied, partially open...

and all the way open! the black stripes are elastic - the strip around the yellow handles keeps them from falling out the side, and the other strip keeps the flap in place, to keep them from falling out the top.

i'd post a tutorial, but i'm really stinkin' exhausted and my fingers hurt. did i mention i also drew blood (my own) working on this damn thing??? i'm just really glad he likes it.

here's a list of the projects i'm working on:

pink ripple baby blanket for ava (deadline july 28th)

cream bamboo shawl* for moi (deadline june 26, 2010)

4-color afghan

baby quilt

large, um, other quilt (deadline december 25)

curtains

placemats

invitations* (deadline january 2010)

headpiece* (dealine august)

embellished towels (deadline december 25)

baskets* (deadline june 26, 2010)

coca-cola table

* WEDDING CRAFTS!!!

:D