« October 2007 | Main | December 2007 »
Buddy gives his best "blue steel" with the first snow of the season in the background.
Believe it or not, he loves wearing the sweater! Mike thinks Buddy understands that I made it with love just for him.
More likely? The small pieces of ham I fed him every time I made him try it on.
Poppytalk Handmade is selling these Christmas stockings crafted from recycled wool and fur.
I often see pieces of fur at vintage and antique stores, but I'm never sure how to use it.
I like the idea of using fur as trim, maybe for some recycled sweater hats?
Maybe this Christmas, instead of putting out my vintage Japanese cardboard village, I'll make a forest of soft trees instead.
I've been sick for the last couple of years and the medicines I take can make me nauseous. What is supposed to heal can also make you really ill, isn't that (not) funny?
Last week, it was pretty bad. I was down on the couch, too ill to watch TV, knit, or even read.
Eventually, I dragged myself to the health food store and asked if they had any natural remedies. They gave me this bottle and I have to say it really helped me feel better.
Like 200% better. Which seemed worth posting about.
Everyone is loving life in Bend - except for Buddy.
We have a small fenced-in yard, but I can tell he hates it. He's a country dog, used to running free around our house in Montana. So we walk and walk together to burn off energy.
Only problem? He's cold. Yesterday, I ran an errand and came back to find him huddled in the wheel well of my car trying to get warm. The higher altitude and the difference in humidity seem to really bother him.
We stopped at Petsmart to try on coats but nothing fit his chubby Labra-beagle body, so last night I started a center cable dog sweater from Ilene Hochberg's Stylish Knits for Dogs. She's right - you can knit them in a weekend. I can probably finish this puppy tonight if I've got time.
My sister finished this knit bunny from Joelle Hoverson's Last-Minute Knitted Gifts in basically just a weekend. I like his fat head!
We're enjoying our winter place, especially the gas fireplace that I can light just by flipping a switch.
The only bump on the road is that, due to a service backlog, we won't have internet until the 28th. Almost a month after we arrived here!
So here I am, the President of a corporation and dedicated nonsense blogger working from Kinko's at the hefty price of 30 cents a minute!
But I ramble. All the time I usually spend surfing the net has been put to good use. This week I made myself a lovely set of oven mitts and a matching apron.
These were a big hit here. The little kids love to put them on and hold their hands high up in the air. It's very funny to watch and cool how such a simple thing can be transformed with a little imagination.
This month's Real Simple magazine had a great feature on organic decorations for the holiday table.
I love these simple arrangements - leaves pinned to linen covered bulletin boards then set upon the sideboard.
A great project to try if you preserved any fall leaves with glycerin or floor wax!
Just after I returned to the US to live, I was invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Gilbert's.
John, who was then just about three, made everyone a turkey place card with their name on it. I just loved mine, and seven years later, I still keep it in a very safe place!
At last, I have little kids in my extended family that I can do art projects with. Last week we made thirty of these hand-print turkeys, dipping little hands in washable tempura paint and then stamping them on construction paper.
The adults drew in the legs and wrote out the names. A quick, easy, and fun project we'll remember for a long time.
Mike and I visited Bannack, Montana on our way down to Jackson Hole a few weeks ago. Gold was discovered there in 1862 and the rest is history. The sixty surviving buildings are now a "ghost town", protected by the State of Montana as a park and listed on the registry of National Historic Landmarks.
The day we visited Bannack was wildly cold and windy and I jumped into every log cabin I could. To keep warm, the miners covered the inside walls with cardboard, newspaper, coated canvas and wallpaper. You can see more of my photos on my flickr site.
Age, weather, and state park visitors have created a kind of art out of these walls. This photo reminds me so much of a Rauschenberg combine - one of those made in the years he printed on cardboard found on the streets of New York City.
Untitled Love Project is an online "experiment examining the broken heart." Participating artists revisit past relationships and document them in their writing or visual art work.
I like this piece by the illustrator Dan-Ah Kim. Perhaps I understand a little bit of what the girl is thinking.
To submit your poetry, short stories, photography and/or artwork to Untitled Love Project, just fill out this form.
This week I finally received my invitation to join Ravelry! Have you signed up yet?
I haven't had much time to explore the site yet, but I did a quick search for soft toy patterns and came up with this great squid .
He was made by Kathryn Ivy from a pattern purchased from Hansi Singh's Etsy shop. Love him!
I made some wonderfully soft cashmere bunnies out of some felted sweater scraps. They fit right in the palm of my hand.
From my work table, I look out over the orchard to the Flathead Lake.
Kind of a crummy day to take a photo, but I haven't got time to wait for more sunshine.
Tomorrow we head to Oregon where we will spend most of the cold winter months.
It's kind of funny/sad that the day I finish cleaning up my studio space is the day I have to leave it!
No words. I can't even believe it myself.
You can see the 'before' pictures here.
The weather has turned chilly and all of the sudden, I want to sew like a fury.
Last week, I made these 1920s Cloche-style hats out of felted cashmere sweaters.
The hats are embellished with silk velvet ribbon and vintage deco belt buckles. You can see them a little better if you click on the photos.
The pattern came from Cynthia Treen's Last-Minute Fabric Gifts.
Paperkitty inspired me to give handmade this holiday season. You can make the pledge here.
If you're looking for inspiration, good ideas can be found on craft blogs. Sew Mama Sew has dedicated the next 30 days of her blog to quick and easy sewing projects.
If you want to make something edgier, try one of the projects at Cut Out + Keep or Threadbanger.com.
Not crafty? You can buy ridiculously creative, affordable handmade goods through websites like Etsy. Search for some of your favorite things, and you'll be amazed by what Etsy comes up with!
