what college is teaching me

(Have I mentioned I'm back in school?)

I have now have a well defined sense of right & wrong. I am right, everyone else is wrong.

I love being a mom

A Pooping Bird

At the request of my cousin/sister (technically my cousin, but love her like my sister), I've made a pooping bird of some sort. Our grandma made pooping chickens. If I could find the one she made that my cousin sent me, I would post it. Although I find the concept somewhat unsettling, I've made one for her and it only took 3 years of her asking for me to do it.

(Sorry this one is a little blurry. I didn't check my pic quality before sending her)

Untie the bow at the back and watch her go! (yuck) Just in time for Easter. Now if it would only stop snowing/raining.

Oh by the way, those are jelly beans.

lil baby hats

There are a lot of girls in the other room, playing wii dance party. Or something like that. I'm hiding in here, thought I'd blog the hats I made yesterday. I didn't really use a pattern, but I did google how to crochet a rib. I liked it!

newborn-sized

***

larger-than-newborn-sized

hide-a-bed

My daughter was invited to the birthday party for a little girl she babysits. We went to Target for a small baby doll. I learned my lesson making these beds last fall, always buy the doll first. I made several but couldn't find babies small enough to fit, never mind that we had a million that size when my girls were small(er).

I based this on little doll bed purses I bought for my daughters at a craft fair before Easter many years ago. I know the concept is an old one. When I showed this to a good friend of mine she started gushing at the memory of her own doll bed when she was young.

(the blanket is a separate piece)

Sugar Cookies

These are the cookies on which I was raised. Every Christmastime my mom would make batch upon batch which we kids would decorate using her cloth piping bags. At Valentines she would make us each a giant heart decorated fancy with our names written across (Mom is amazing with frosting!). I remember shamrock cookies and bunnies, stars and pumpkins. These cookies are happiness, joy and childhood wonder all in a single bite.

Mom's Sour Cream Sugar Cookies

Cream:

1/2 c. softened butter

1 c. sugar

1 egg

Then add:

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 c. sour cream

Stir together, then add:

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

Roll & cut out.

Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 degrees for 6-8 mins.

The cookies should still be pale, but dry-looking.

Dough needs no refrigeration (that's the best part!).

Makes about 2 dozen cookies, depending on size.

They are so, so yummy.

borrowing the idea for this from a friend.

A little about me as told by pieces of facebook flair:

to go

I don't love every item I ever make. In fact, I'm pretty picky about the ones I even like. So to have a set about which I love nearly every piece, well, that's pretty amazing! Here is such a set:


The only one I don't love is the ice cream, but even that I don't hate. I do love the box, I got it at a craft store. I love the hamburger parts.

I love how the fries are all individual and can be taken out of the bag. I love the apple slices and their little seeds. I love the juice box with the picture on front & a straw sticking up from the top.

All of these items are firsts for me. I wanted to make things I've never made before because this set will be included in a baby-sitting tote that my girls will take with them to their new jobs & one of the kids already has one of my typical food sets. This way there won't be any confusion.

It's the busy time

After the Festival of Trees, I packed up and headed to Southeastern Utah and participated in a craft fair with my sister (went mostly for the fun of hanging out with her, the fair was an excuse). I've never been in one of those before and it went much better than I anticipated. I sold some mini stockings, some animals, some blankets, some stuff like that.

After I got home I worked madly on scarves for my aunt & cousin. My aunt is my dad's only sister and I love her so much! Dace, my cousin, is like another sister. We didn't know each other well growing up because they lived far away but, thanks mainly to facebook, she's one of my best friends.

Since then I have made stockings for teachers (I had quite a stock before the craft fair, but they sold out, so I started again at zero). Now I'm going to work on some dinosaurs and a couple of scarves.

Next month, next month I'll be able to stop, breathe and sleep again. Right? (PS, I am making a goal of 1 stocking a week next year.)

Lucy's 7th tree

Last week was the Festival of Trees. A favorite time. We made Lucy's 7th tree. We laughed. We got choked up. We remembered.

O Christmas Tree

a trellis scarf

I've got a new crochet stitch pattern that I adore. It makes a mesh-like fabric and I've been using it for water bottle slings. Yesterday I decided to apply it to a scarf and some soft, yummy yarn. I don't know if the stitch has a name, it probably does, I can't imagine nobody else has ever dreamed it up before.


I call it a Trellis Scarf because the stitch reminds me of a once-white, weather-beaten trellis on the side of an old farmhouse, the kind a young man would climb to whisper to a girl upon whom he had a crush, long after her parents had gone to bed (oh dear, this image is starting to worry me because I, myself, have four daughters!).

The yarn is Patons Bohemian (poly/acrylic blend) in indigo. The scarf measures about 89 or 90 inches (oh how I love a long scarf!), plenty of room to knot around a neck and keep someone toasty and snug. The flower in the bottom corner is made of wool. The scarf can be machine washed in cold and left flat to dry.

Although there are holes throughout the pattern, this scarf is very warm and cozy.

It is for sale, $20, which includes shipping (in the US). If you're interested, let me know. I can run a sale through Etsy (so I'm told. I'll have to call my etsy-pro friend *hi Jamie!* for instructions, but she says it can be done!).

My daughter won a trip to Space Camp(!) from her teacher and though tuition is free, we are responsible for getting her there. I'm going to be making items to sell to help pay for her airfare.

Zion

The girls and I spent a long weekend in Southern Utah. These pictures were taken while on a hike in Zion National Park. Amazing.

We used our water bottle holders on the hike. I redesigned my pattern to make them able to accommodate different bottle sizes better, and made some for our friends who went with us. We got lots of compliments on them.

I bought a parks pass. We're going back. We're also going back to Arches. And, I hope, all of the other national parks in this beautiful state. Oh! And the Grand Canyon.

It's going to be a fun year.

my blog life is suffering

Yes, my blog life is suffering since my beloved mac g5 died. I can access most stuff from my husband's computer, but I don't know how to, and am kind of protesting anyway, upload pics from my camera to this machine. Poor blog. Poor Marcia. I was in the process of writing a post about a unicorn cake I made for a friend's daughter's 5th birthday. Sad.

On the other hand, I'm getting a lot more done around the house and with my crochet. So that's a good thing, right?

an ugly buddy

Inspired by a monster on a cup we got at Target, I made an ugly buddy. I think his name is Steve. Or Dave. Not sure.

I haven't been much into the whole blogging thing lately. I guess I don't feel super creative these days. We've been doing a lot of work on the craft room. The end is in sight. Thankfully. Most of the things I've made lately are either gifts or donations. With birthday party invitations coming around now that the girls are back in school, I've been making a lot of presents for little girls. It's been fun, they've been cute but with the last minute-ness they all seem to possess, I don't ever remember to take a picture.

I should think of something clever to say, but I seem to be short on 'clever' too. :)

***update: his name is dave. thought you'd like to know.***

a new (to me) lamp

Just thought I'd update that I decided to leave the dresser as is for now. I figure if I ever REALLY want to, I can paint it later but I would not be able to change my mind and get this look back after having been painted. And I do love this. Thanks for the votes! Here's a picture of the lamp I got today at the thrift store...

thrift store find

I went to the thrift store looking for a chest of drawers in which to keep (some of) my yarn in my new craft room and found this. Immediately I fell in love. Originally I thought I wouldn't paint it, but now I'm not so sure. I guess the biggest reason I'm considering paint is because most everything in the room is bright. There is one desk with a light wood finish. Opinions?

the lip at the top is my favorite part.

we have a new baby

we found this little guy, a stray, near my parents' house. he was skinny. he was dirty. he was hungry. we brought him home. we named him barkley (after my childhood cat who was also black). we love him. he's had a bath. he's getting some meat on him. he's fitting in well.

another activity book

My nephew had a birthday. I made him an activity book, similar to the one I made before.

This book would be great for the car or church or wherever.

The girls colored the first page for him (but used different crayons so these stay pretty). Because he has a two-year-old brother (Elliot is turning 5) we included washable crayons, you know, for the sake of the benches in the chapel.

Elliot. My boy. He's such a boy too! He loves trucks and cars but doesn't like getting dirty. He has a full head of adult-like hair and a great, big smile. He blessed us almost exactly one year from the day our hearts broke when his older sister died. I love him.