Sarah P dot.

This Year's Santa

2011-12-22T10:07:00.000-08:00

My dad's 2011 Santa...

And all the Santa's up on our wall...

Valentine's Day

2011-02-14T23:15:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Ours was fairly low key. Our plan was to "skip" it (no presents between Mike & I), until I heard this, and I had to do it. I named a hissing cockroach after Mike and the kids, and it was a hit (the littlest among us showed their gratitude by chewing on the certificate... a great honor). Now everyone wants to go to New York to visit their bug!

Mike put together a great dinner and dessert: heart-shaped pizzas and powdered sugar dusted blondies. YUM!

The dessert even came with our own personalized hearts made by Mike with messages on the back...

The kids are getting too old for full-blown Valentine's celebrations so they didn't hand out Valentine's cards at school, but PJ had a celebration at daycare and came home with some great swag...

Again, she showed her gratitude by chewing on each of her items.

Happy New Year

2010-12-31T22:14:00.000-08:00

These guys, fried pickles and a black and tan... I can't think of a better way to celebrate the new year...

The Perfect Tree

2010-11-27T13:52:00.001-08:00

Birthdays!

2010-11-27T11:12:00.001-08:00

November is a very busy month for our little family. Both my step-kids have birthdays in November, as well as my sister and grandmother just to name a few. For the latter two I got fabulous scarves and mini umbrellas. For A & D, it was a little more elaborate...

There were banners...

And cakes...

And presents...

Most (all but the #10 cake) made my illustrious husband Mike. He is fabulous. Lucky us...

Thanksgiving

2010-11-27T10:38:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. There's no present pressure (except the nagging thought that Christmas is just around the corder), just delicious food, family, usually cold weather, and a raging fire (my dad doesn't do small fire)... it's wonderful! This year was especially wonderful because not only were there two adorable mobile little ones to enjoy it with, but most of our family came as well! So many in fact, that we had to cart all the food up to my dad's cabinet shop and set up a long line of tables up there to eat dinner. Cold, but honestly I didn't really notice because of the wonderful food and company.

12 Months... 1 year

2010-09-27T13:34:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl! We all love you so much... For your birthday party, you were a little social butterfly, having fun with all the kids and babies. You had fun opening your presents, and especially loved the tissue paper. You were mildly curious about your cake at first, but then you really got into it and managed to paint both your and your daddy's face with frosting. This year has flown by, and we have been ever-so-lucky to be able to watch you grow into the loving, hilarious, wonderful little person you are! I can't wait to see what you do next!!

30 years

2010-09-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

Can it be? I'm definitely starting to feel it... and it feels good. Thank you to all the special people in my life who have made me feel so special today!

11 months

2010-09-07T22:01:00.000-07:00

Oh this girl. When I see this picture I'm reminded of a tree, with its age belied by the number of rings... well I can tell how old she's getting by the length of her hair: it's growing so fast! I've even had to learn how to do hair. She's getting into everything. She loves the lids from her baby food jars, biting onto them and crawling around making her stink face. She loves to empty out her toy box and climb into it. It's impossible for her not to empty out or tip over or somehow disrupt put away toys... we see her try; pausing before moving onto the next adventure, but she's always overcome with purpose, coming back to unstack the toy cups or whatever, then moving along to other things. She loves her daddy. "Da Da" is more often than not the first word out of her mouth upon waking. We think she's calling her sister "Na Na" and her brother "Ba Ba". Either that or "Tthhhbbbttt". She is so close to walking! She's been taking almost steps and walking along the perimeter of everything. My mom tells me I first walked on my birthday... we'll see if our girl takes after her mom next month!

Cousins

2010-08-01T21:59:00.000-07:00

A wonderful weekend with family... couldn't ask for a better time... more here.

Baby Food

2010-07-29T22:14:00.000-07:00

When I first found out I was pregnant, my friend gave me the book Cooking for Baby. I perused through it, dreaming about all the wholesome, natural foods I would be making my baby. Then our babe started eating solids, and somehow I just didn't have the energy to even think about making food for her, so we went with store bought. After filling a drawer and several counters with glass baby jars, I said "enough!", and pulled the book out. And I'm so glad I did! The food is so much better (or at least it tastes better to me, more like "real food", because it is), and ridiculously easier than I thought it would be. Most of the foods in the book call for steaming the fruit/veggies, so I just pulled out my wok & bamboo steamer, chopped up a bunch of stuff, and voila! In a day I had 2 weeks worth of food!

In the photo from left to right is: zucchini, yellow nectarine, white nectarine, pear, white peaches, yellow peaches and plum. I have since made more pear, peas and green beans with mint. The babe has loved all that she's tried so far!

10 Months

2010-07-29T21:45:00.001-07:00

Wow... 10 months is almost a year, and it seems like I'm writing these posts in faster and faster succession, she'll be there before we know it! Our girl is such a character... she is so curious, figures things out really fast (like opening and closing and opening drawers), and loves her brother and sister so so much. She gets so excited when they come into the room: a big smile spreads across her face, her feet start pumping back and forth and she starts chirping and hyperventilating. Like I said, excited. She's crawls her way over to people, pulls herself up on their legs and starts chatting to them. Adorable. She used her highchair as a walker the other day, slowly but confidently walking her way across the kitchen floor. She started clapping yesterday, and I could hear her doing it in the back seat in the car on the way home. Made me grin from ear to ear. Oh yeah, and she has 2 teeth now! She looks so much older with them, and a bit more like her cousin. Every month when I sit down and reflect on our life with the girl, I think to myself, "right now is my favorite time so far", and this month is no different. Life with our dear girl just gets better and better!

Water Baby

2010-07-15T22:02:00.000-07:00

We've been taking swim classes, and our babe is definitely a water baby. She loves the water, especially if brother and sister are around, and doesn't really mind getting dunked. Mind you, she still comes up looking pretty surprised, but doesn't get upset.

Notice the pasty-ness of both and babe? Poor girl, she doesn't stand a chance at a tan...

We got her suit here, and it's supremely cute on her. We got the hat to match, but she's not too fond of it, I think it's a bit too big for her, and Miss Curious doesn't like an obstructed view.

Today was our last class, and this weekend is the last swim meet for big sis, but I have a feeling if it stays as hot as it's going to be this weekend throughout the rest of the summer, we'll be getting plenty of swim time. And that makes this little girl pretty happy.

8 Months & 9 Months

2010-07-08T22:05:00.000-07:00

Time is passing... faster than I thought it could. I look back on pictures of the girl, mere months ago, and so much has changed! She is crawling... no more military crawl/downward dog-inchworm style movement, but proper crawling. Not only that, she's pulling herself to standing on every surface possible. Chairs, walls, legs, you name it she's tried it. And successfully! This girl's curiosity and joy has just grown and grown. We have discovered that she loves water, Cheerios and sand. We're taking swim class, and she keeps dunking her face under water, coming up with a look of surprise, not fear or concern. She can pop Cheerios like a champ, oftentimes chipmunking them away in her cheeks until they dissolve, which makes her breath nearly always smell of Cheerios. Now the sand... I haven't seen it yet, she gets to play in it at daycare, but I hear stories of her running it through her hands again and again, and kicking her feet in it. I have seen the leftovers in her shoes when she comes home though... I think it's about time to she went to the beach...

Oh sweet girl... what shall we do next?

Dylan's Birthday... and craftiness!

2010-05-15T22:20:00.001-07:00

My nephew is a year old! I just can't believe it... and if Dylan's turning one, that means that PJ's going to turn one soon, and that is just crazy...

There was a party for the little man today, and it was very cool. My sister had a friend make a monkey cake with a special banana cake just for the birthday boy. It was hilarious how neat and tidy he was about eating his cake... we all were expecting a big mushy mess, but the only mess that was made was made by his parents in an effort to get him excited.

So for the big birthday boy I made a cloth book filled with his favorite things, and a ball, which I also took the liberty of putting in his book, because who wouldn't like a squishy ball made with love by your auntie?

7 Months

2010-04-25T21:22:00.000-07:00

Oh how time has flown by... I can't believe this chatty, happy, sitting up all by herself, wanting to crawl little girl used to be my teeny tiny little baby. And seeing my nephew in all his ever-moving state, with his "all done"s, his high fives and his first steps (!), I can't wait to see what's coming next! Crawling is definitely the next big milestone, and boy is she working on it. She can get on her hands and knees, and then she does the rock... back and forth, back and forth, with determination, looking ahead to where she wants to go. Her lack of crawling hasn't slowed her down in the slightest though, because she can get to anything she desires with a planned series of rolls and belly turns. And if all else fails, a little bark will get someone to pick her up and take her to what she wants. There is never a want for eager arms to hold our cheerful girl. She has a (somewhat surprisingly) observant and protective brother, a loving and warm sister, two parents that adore her, and Grammys, Grandmas, Grandpas, Great-Gamoos and Aunties to boot. This girl is by no means starved for attention. And speaking of attention, we have constantly fought with keeping the puppies from overrunning her with their excitement, and we finally let Phoebe sit and "play" with Olive, who discovered that keeping a wide berth of the weird hairless dog that rolls on the floor is actually a good idea. Phoebe is now in love with the puppies, and squeals with delight when they lick her hands with their soft tongues, and tries to put their long ears in her mouth. Such a sweet curious girl...

5 Months

2010-03-20T14:01:00.000-07:00

This is the month of the raspberry... she loves them and thinks they're hilarious. And so do we. She's making all kinds of other noises as well, trying them out, seeing how they feel. In fact, she said her first word yesterday: "Mom", followed quickly by what sounded like "Dad" to my unprepared and overjoyed ears. Amazing. She's rolling around all over the place. In her crib, she is never in the same place in the mornings that I put her the night before, and more often than not is completely perpendicular, or like this morning, a complete 180 degrees different. She is grabbing at everything... Daddy's beard, placemats at the table, her shoes, anyone's fingers... and they go straight into her mouth. She watches you intently anytime you eat or drink, and sometimes she moves her mouth like she's chewing right along with you. Her brother can make her laugh like no other. She watches her sister, studying her every move. She's learning everyone's names, and when you say them she looks around until she finds them. Then smiles. She smiles a lot. She gets really excited when Daddy comes home from work, and when we're walking up to daycare. Everyone knows her name in daycare, even the older kids, and they all say "goodbye" when we're leaving. It's the cutest thing. She's grown out of the hammock part of the baby bath, and can sit up during bathtime and loves it. She doesn't even mind when water gets in her eyes. I can't wait to take her to the pool when her sister has swim meets this summer. I'm already looking at swim suits. I want this one... She has so much hair, and it's forming into huge curls that stick up off the top of her head. Mike had a dream that after she fell asleep, we tucked her in for the night by hanging her up in the closet by her curl.

Oh my... how did I get so lucky?

Happy (Belated) St. Patrick's Day!

2010-03-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

There was a lot of baking for St. Patrick's Day for a work party. Whew... I'm tired just thinking about it. We made Pistachio Pudding Cookies, Brown Butter Blondies (from Martha's Cookie Cookbook), Mint Oreo Truffles, and Rainbow Cupcakes. I made the Pistachio Pudding cookies just because they were green, but they were surprisingly very good. Blondies are always good, as are Martha's cookie recipes, so the Brown Butter Blondies were delicious.

I've been dying to make something from Bakerella, and her truffles didn't disappoint. I've got to say, for looking so fancy, they were pretty easy to make, just a bit time consuming. They were the most popular at the party, and I received several requests for the recipe.

My favorite were the Rainbow Cupcakes, because they were just so darned cute! After scouring the city for the right color Airheads, and a failed attempt to substitute regular taffy, Mike hit on the genius idea of using chewing gum to make the rainbows. I put several photos of his rainbow-making process on flickr.

Basically, he stacked gum moistened with water, cut the stack in three strips lengthwise, curved the strip into a rainbow shape, then trimmed the edges with a knife. Voila! A rainbow!

Before & After

2010-03-06T19:02:00.000-08:00

Ahhh... that feels better...

80's Movie Quote Cross-Stitch

2010-01-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

I've had this idea in my head for a long time to take quotes from 80's movies that my friend Katy and I watched over and over (and over) again in college and turn them into cross-stitch sampler-type embroidery for her. It's both nostalgic and hilarious. Years have passed, and I've sat on this idea, promising myself, "I'll do it for her birthday next year." Well finally I got my act together, and put together something that actually matches the idea I had in my head. Of course, I had Mike's help: he designed the pictures. I used StitchPoint for the letters. I'm pretty pleased with them. I think I'm going to keep doing these. There's definitely some Breakfast Club lingo coming, and another homage to Lloyd Dobler in the form of a Malibu...

What we did today

2010-01-30T22:00:00.001-08:00

Modeled old classics...

Dominoes... in a dapper hat, of course...

Spent birthday money (finally)...

It was a very good day.

4 Months

2010-01-27T21:50:00.001-08:00

She's pushing herself up now, giggling, and smiling a ton. She rides on her invisible unicycle, and is discovering toys, her hands and her feet. She loves her brother and sister and can watch them forever. She sticks her chin out when she's done eating and falling asleep, and her eyebrows turn red when she's tired. She still has a bald spot, but her hair is growing longer all the time. Her rooster 'fro is back. She takes a bottle like a champ (after tricking us into stressing that she would refuse it when I went back to work) and loves hanging out with her Daddy. She moved from the cradle to the crib. I can't believe how big she's getting. I can't wait to see what she does next.

Oh how I love this girl...

Phoebe's Quilt

2010-01-04T21:24:00.001-08:00

Phoebe's quilt is finally finished! I made her a sized down Single Girl quilt. I had it all pieced and ready to quilt before she was born, but it sat and sat until my Aunt rescued it and quilted it beautifully (of course). I am so so happy with it! And I think Phoebe is too...

Mike's Watercolor

2009-12-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

My husband Mike is quite an artist. He decided to paint a watercolor for his mom, and here's what he completed in basically one evening...

It's his first watercolor... I am impressed.

The Oldest She's Ever Been

2009-12-27T12:57:00.001-08:00

Or Threadless, Part 1...

For Christmas we bought Phoebe several Threadless shirts to initiate her into our family of Threadless shirt lovers, and then I forgot to wrap them. Ah well, she gets to wear them all the same. She didn't even notice that we forgot one of her presents...

In the background of this picture you can see our stereo, which is her buddy. That chair she's sitting in is the chair that I feed her in, and whenever she's done eating she stares, smiles and chatters at the stereo. And most of the time it's not even on (we mostly listen to Pandora), so there's no music or lights to react to. We have no idea why she loves that stereo so much. Maybe someday she'll let us in on the secret.

3 Months

2009-12-26T15:28:00.000-08:00

Hip Baby Bag

2009-12-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

Every mom needs a large bag to tote around all the paraphernalia that is necessary for every possible occurrence. My purse wasn't quite big enough, and the diaper bag I made for my sister was just a little too big for me. Then I found A Mingled Yarn's tutorial for her Hip Mama Diaper Bag, and I knew it would be a perfect fit. And let me tell you, I love it. I use it every day, and it holds nearly everything I could ever need (Jess's huge bag isn't looking so over the top now that I have a baby of my own).

The tutorial was great, and the instructions were very easy to follow. The only changes I made were to use fusible batting inside the strap and to add a loop with carabiner for a key holder.

Now I just need to make a changing mat to go along with it. I love this bag!

Post Christmas

2009-12-25T22:16:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We did Christmas a day early so that we could celebrate with Ali & Devin (Santa even made a special early delivery), so today Mike, Phoebe and I lounged, played games, read and didn't get out of our pjs. It was lovely.

Our Christmas was a marvelous success! I ended up with a wonderful set of cast iron cookware and nearly every Nigella Lawson cookbook there is, as well as Really, REALLY Fudgey Brownies and Scottish Shortbread, with the cookbooks to go with the recipes, plus so much more! The kids got many things from their wish lists, and a couple things not on their lists that were a big hit. I made Mike a book wallet and a monogrammed card holder (which I will get pictures of later).

The Christmas knitting was mildly successful. Mike's hat was perfect. The hats for the kids were ok... they have bigger heads than I thought! They've both grown into adult sized hats all of a sudden. Ali's hat looks pretty good on her, but kind of creeps up a bit, and Devin's hat doesn't get very far down his noggin... it makes him look like a fisherman.

Ah well, at least they humored me for a picture... Phoebe didn't get a Christmas hat since she got so many of them when she was born, but she will definitely be getting one next year. I really like this tradition.

The pj's were more of a definitive success. The pants fit everyone so well! It really helped that I measured them against pants that I knew fit them as I was cutting out and sewing them together, which curbed my tendency to make things roomier, just in case.

Christmas PJs

2009-12-21T00:08:00.001-08:00

It's Christmas PJ time, and I got them done before Christmas Eve! And since I was so ahead of schedule, I decided to make some matching slippers for Phoebe (using this pattern)...

And don't worry, the rest of us have new slippers too... fuzzy Crocs for the kids and LL Bean classics for Mike & I. I can't wait!

2 Months

2009-11-29T21:14:00.001-08:00

Then...

And now...

We like milk

2009-11-08T23:15:00.000-08:00

Baby 1980

Baby 2009

The Nursery

2009-11-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

Finished just in time!

Though the word "finished" is being used loosely because the crib still doesn't have a skirt (but it is cut out and in my sewing room), and the quilt I made is still waiting to be quilted. The quilt on the crib now is a gorgeous one my Aunt Terry made for Phoebe. But Mike got the trees painted on the walls the day before she was born. It's like she was waiting for that to happen before she came. "Nope, I cannot be in an undecorated room... I shall wait."

The art on the wall is all from Etsy. From left to right: Sharon Montrose, The Black Apple, Berkley Illustration, & Belle and Boo.

There is another smaller tree by the cradle that my dad made when I was a baby. He apparently designed it from these dishes. The story goes that when he was making it, he wanted to see what I (as a baby) was going to see, so got into the cradle, and got stuck. Now, I'm not sure whether he got stuck first, or fell asleep first, but thank goodness a photo was taken...

It has always made me smile to look at this picture and imagine my pregnant mother trying to hoist my father out of the baby cradle.

Almost 6 weeks old

2009-11-06T22:07:00.001-08:00

I just can't believe it...

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T12:29:00.000-08:00

Cloth Bum

2009-11-01T08:45:00.000-08:00

When I found out I was pregnant, I knew I wanted to cloth diaper my baby. The thought of throwing away that much trash, as well as spending thousands of dollars over the diapering life of my child didn't appeal. Now there are a LOT of choices out there for cloth diapers, and a whole code that goes along with them. AIOs, prefolds, pockets, one-size... it's a bit intimidating. And then once you decide on a kind of diaper, there are a TON more brands of each kind.

So luckily, after researching cloth diapers online I came upon Soft Cloth Bunz (now Diaper Junction), and their exhaustive resources. They have articles on every kind of cloth diapering method you can think of, how many you need and how to take care of them. And their customer service is fantastic. Simple Mom also did a week-long overview of cloth diapering, and got me over my fear of prefolds and covers.

After reading up, we decided that we liked the sound of the one-sized All In Ones (AIOs). They seemed to be the option that we would most likely be able to stick with: the perfect balance of convenience for mom & dad and comfort for baby, and we would only have to buy one set of diapers to last from newborn to toddler. Our first purchase was a medley of different kinds of AIOs, and then after looking them all over, we decided that the BumGenius diapers were the ones for us.

Like I said above, I also got over my aversion to the prefolds and covers, so we picked up a couple of those as well. They're much more economical, and you can sometimes use the cover for more than one wear. So after testing those out, they work just fine too, but when it comes time to change a diaper, I find myself grabbing the AIOs instead of the prefolds. They're not that much more work, but they are kind of a pain to rinse.

And speaking of rinsing, one tool we picked up that makes cloth diapering even more manageable is the mini sprayer. No toilet dunking for us!

So after a month of cloth diapering, I can happily say that: 1. we're still cloth diapering (and have yet to use a disposable), and 2. our baby seems to love them. It takes a little planning to make sure that she'll have a clean diaper to wear, which means we do a lot more laundry, but it's easy laundry. And best of all, she's just so cute with her big poufy cloth diaper bum!

Hanging with Grandpa

2009-10-25T15:23:00.001-07:00

Meeting Great Grandma

2009-10-24T17:04:00.001-07:00

The Many Faces of The Peedge

2009-10-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

From here...

She's here!

2009-10-15T22:25:00.000-07:00

Phoebe Jean was born September 27, 2009 (her due date) at 10:24 p.m.

She was 8 lbs 6 oz, 20 3/4" long, and completely perfect.

more photos here...

34 Weeks

2009-08-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

Near constant baby aerobics... swollen ankles... feeling like she'll be here before we're ready... but so excited to meet her, I almost can't stand it!

Ali's Designs

2009-08-16T15:53:00.001-07:00

Ali is becoming a prolific fashion designer. She's very organized about it, creating seasonal lines and keeping them all in books she makes herself.

I was once myself a prolific fashion designer (my mode of organization being clipboards filled to the brim with designs), and a current sewing/fabric-aholic, so I've been very excited to encourage her. So when we were planning our trip to New York, we decided we had to visit the Fashion District. For Ali. And, well, maybe just a little bit for me.

We took her to the Museum at the Fashion Institute, where she took photos and sketched her favorite designs.

And then went to check out some fabric stores, like real NY designers.

Luckily we were prepared with a project at the fabric stores (or at least Ali was), because it can get easily overwhelming being face-to-face with all that fabric. On the plane on the way over, Ali designed a skirt she wanted to make (though by the date in the photo below, I think this may not have been the original drawing)...

...carefully picked out the fabrics, and then made it when we got home. All by herself (with just a bit of guidance from me).

And it fits. And she loves it. I couldn't be a prouder step-mom... :o)

Knitting for Baby

2009-08-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

With the belly expanding daily, I have been feverishly knitting. I did quite a bit of knitting at Ali's swim meets, which is cool because when I pull these sweaters and such out in the cold months it'll make me think of sitting by the pool in the 105 degree summer, slathered with sunblock, resting my swollen ankles on a cold water bottle. Ah, good times...

First it started with an accident...

After knitting this hat for myself over a year ago only to realize that I am a tight knitter and it didn't fit, I passed it on to a coworker's daughter. She loved it, and then it was accidentally washed. So before I even knew I was pregnant, it was returned to me "just in case".

When I had officially made the announcement, my mom sent me this hat made for me when I was a baby by my grandmother. It was knit flat and then seamed, and it looks like she may have run out of yarn at the very end, and thus the little snow cap on the top, which is completely adorable.

Then my own knitting started in earnest. I scoured my knitting books and Ravelry, and the knitting marathon began with a Placket Sweater, and then a matching hat...

Then I had booties on the brain, so I made these...

Saartje's...

And felted...

Now I'm working on two sweaters simultaneously, a February Baby Sweater, and a Stripey Sweater. In my queue, with yarn a-waiting, are some Leg Warmies.

Um, yeah, so I guess you can tell we're having a girl, right?

Baby Shower Catch-up

2009-08-01T15:26:00.000-07:00

Checking another item off my Catch Up post...

My sister decided on a train theme for her new baby's nursery since they live right down the road from a train museum, and hear the old steam trains puffing along all through the summer. So for the invites for her shower, Mike and I collaborated and came up with a little card on brown cardstock with a little hint of a train.

For the bedding I tracked down some old timey train fabric, and made a simple fitted sheet (using this fabulous tutorial) and skirt to match. Now I left the quilt to the last minute, so when I finally sat down to design it, simplicity was key. I decided to use as much whole cloth as possible, so this is what I came up with. I used the train fabric for the bottom, the blue and white stripe is a seersucker I got from Mood when we were in NYC, and the top is linen and felt for the appliqued train. I'm actually quite proud of the train, because I drew it myself, and it came out pretty much exactly as it was in my head which, with my paltry drawing skills, never happens

So technically, the bedding wasn't the shower gift, so I decided to make a diaper bag. I made the Modern Diaper Bag from Little Stitches.

And the inside view...

Ok, so this bag is HUGE. Ridiculously huge. Like you could fit the baby in here, along with all of his stuff. And it will totally stand up on its own with all the layers upon layers of interfacing. It is definitely a sturdy bag. But my sister uses it, and that makes up for all the swearing I did trying to get the sewing machine to growl over the thick seams when I was topstitching.

Three Missions and a Castle

2009-07-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

My favorite presents from Mike are the book-shaped ones, because those are the scrapbook itineraries for his fabulously planned trips. For Christmas I received a trip itinerary with a theme: Three Missions and a Castle.

California is known for it's missions. Every fourth grader in California has to build one, usually out of sugar cubes. As a kid, we often took family vacations down to Monterey, and on the way we would stop at my mom's favorite mission, San Juan Bautista. I loved stopping at the mission and sitting in the cool chapel (growing up, our car rarely had air conditioning) where my mom would do strange things like gently touch a bowl of water, and kneel before sitting down. It was a bit magical for me as a child. So when we set off on our trip, I was excited.

The three missions we went to were Mission la Soledad, Mission San Antonio de Padua, and Mission San Miguel. Mike had printed out little fact books for each one, so as we were driving we learned a little bit about them. Like being sent to Mission la Soledad as a priest was kind of like a punishment, which is what they did for two such priests who misbehaved in seminary school, and then ended up drinking all the sacrament wine in Soledad and constantly complaining about the food. Mission San Antonio was on a military base, which was completely bizarre. On the road to the mission we passed training fields and lot upon lot of camouflaged vehicles of every kind imaginable. Mission San Miguel was being renovated, so we weren't able to go into the chapel, but the central garden was very nice.

Now Mike's trips usually have an odd side trip built in, and this trip was no exception. We stopped in San Luis Obispo to visit Bubblegum Alley. Being that I was three months pregnant, the smell was a bit overwhelming, and we didn't linger too long. I must say, it was impressive.

And oddly enough, while trying to find parking to go see Bubblegum Alley, we stumbled upon another mission, Mission San Luis Obispo. Being in a relatively large city, this mission was obviously kept up a bit more than the others we went to, and we thought lacked a bit of the charm the others had in their crumbling walls and squeaky floors.

Now the castle. It was Hearst Castle, of course.

The castle, and the grounds especially, was gorgeous. But I must say, after the tour guide said, "And he got these rugs/tables/pews/statues/ceilings from a church in Europe" for the 7th time, I kind of got a bitter taste in my mouth. Seriously, this guy was worse than a viking in terms of his plunder. Sometimes enough should be enough.

I was much more impressed with Nitt Witt Ridge. A home created by the town garbage man who never went to the dump, as our tour guide said. The tour was fascinating, and we really got a glimpse into the life of this very odd man. It was as if he had just stepped out for some milk, everything was left as it was. The man who now owns the property obviously loves the story of the strange home, and has collected many tales from the locals who knew him, including one from the neighbor who told of nude sunbathing and a bathrobe he used to wear into town. And apparently he used to throw rocks at passersby, unless you had either beer or a pretty lady (or both), then he would invite you up for a chat and a tour.

Now another very important part of Mike's trips is the food, it's equally as important as whatever we're doing. He does extensive research, and always picks both delicious and interesting places. From dinner the first day at The Black Cat, to Italian pastries for breakfast, sandwiches from Sebastian's Store for lunch (my mouth is watering just thinking about those sandwiches), traditional high tea at The Tea Cozy, and to-die-for salmon bisque, we definitely ate well.

And we couldn't be that close to the ocean the whole weekend and not spend some time on the beach. We stopped at Jade Cove, where Mike filled his pockets with lovely pieces of jade, at another stop we saw a bunch of elephant seals snoozing on the beach, and then on the way home we went tidepooling.

Oh, it was such a lovely trip!

2 months

2009-07-13T11:33:00.001-07:00

I can't believe my nephew is already two months old!

Happy 2 Month Birthday, Little Man!

Thanks Jess, for sending me these great pics... I could look at them all day... :o)

Small towns

2009-05-22T06:33:00.000-07:00

My dad sent me the Sheriff's Dispatch Log from the local paper where I grew up... sounds like things are really hopping in Mariposa!

You gotta love small towns...

Dylan Jackson

2009-05-21T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have a nephew!! He came two weeks early, and is absolutely perfect in all ways...

Seeing my younger sister as an adept mother is so strange, and yet so fitting. She seems so natural, like she's been doing it forever. The peace and calmness (and happiness!) that radiate from her when she's around her new son are intoxicating.

What's also strange and wonderful is seeing my parents as grandparents! Watching my dad look over the baby with both surprise and familiarity is really wonderful.

Oh, and those toes!! I can't get over how cute!!

Before we went to visit, I whipped together several pairs of pants for Dylan from Amy Butler's book Little Stitches. The pattern was so easy, I was able to complete 3 pairs in an evening, from tracing the pattern to hemming.

I can't wait to visit them again this weekend!

Catch Up

2009-05-03T09:26:00.000-07:00

Wow... I still had a Christmas banner up, that's how long it's been since I've posted... or even visited my blog! Yipes!

Well, a lot has been happening around here, too much to update in one post, so here's a checklist to remind me...

Mike's Surprise Birthday Trip to Portland, OR
The 3 Missions & A Castle trip (planned by Mike)
Our trip to New York
My sister's baby shower (and what I made)
Am I missing something?...

Oh yeah, all the baking The Oven has been doing of late...

Presents Made

2008-12-28T11:41:00.000-08:00

Now that everyone has received their presents, I can show what I've been doing for the past several months. I already posted about some of the knitted hats I completed, and here's some more:

For my dad (modeled by Mike) {from the pattern found here}

For my sister {Koolhaas, found here}

And not quite done, but this is for my future niece/nephew {mini Koolhaas} Nephew! Finished here.

For my grandma I made this eyeglass case {inspired by this blog - thank you Kayla!!}

For my step-niece I made this butterfly display {inspiration here, butterflies from Dover Sampler}

I made this pair of Fetching for my friend {pattern here}

This pair was made after making 2 3/4 gloves that didn't match in the slightest out of a wonderful, but poorly chosen variegated yarn.

Luckily they're a quick knit. I'm not giving up on them, I've bought 2 more skeins, and will knit until something matches.

The Mini Tree

2008-12-28T09:54:00.000-08:00

When Mike and I first moved in together we lived in an apartment, and so when Christmas came around we went and found a mini potted tree to put on our coffee table because that's all we had room for. Every year, we would look forward to getting our mini tree and stringing lights on it, putting our construction paper star and homemade ornaments on it (often times so many that the tree kind of disappeared), and waiting for Santa to put presents around it. Then after Christmas was over, the tree would be taken to my parents and planted, to continue to remind us of our happy holiday.

Well this year, in our new house, with all it's spaciousness, we got a big tree. The biggest any of us have ever had. We got a bunch more ornaments and lights, a real star for the top, and anticipated Santa actually putting presents under the tree.

But, it just wouldn't be Christmas without our mini tree.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-26T11:35:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving for Two

2008-12-01T18:59:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a good Turkey Day! Our first holiday in our new house was quiet, peaceful, and productive. (Soon I'll have "After" pics of my new sewing room!)

Mario, Luigi and The Pirate

2008-11-11T10:30:00.001-08:00

This year's Halloween costumes turned out so great. Ali's costume came together surprisingly well. I made the shirt from this pattern, the belt from this one, and Ali made the pants. That's right, she sewed them herself! This was her first real sewing project, and she did so well. The slippery Halloween-y fabric was pretty hard to work with, but she totally conquered it. I couldn't have been prouder, and more excited to have a sewing buddy!

As for Mario and Luigi, Mike put together some awesome costumes for he and Devin. Fortuitous thrift store finds, several marathon overall-finding trips around town, and some homemade felt mustaches made for fantastic costumes.

Even though I swore I would never dress up our puppies, I broke my promise and made them costumes... Maggie the Pirate, and Olive the (squirmy) Mushroom.

Now just don't let me buy this book...

And...

2008-11-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

My sister is pregnant!!! Let the baby craftiness begin!! I've bought this, and am ready to go...

Fuzzy Croc Weather

2008-11-11T09:19:00.000-08:00

My favorite time of the year...

The holiday season is upon us, and thus a ton of crafting is being done with nothing to show on this here blog (for now) for fear of ruining the surprise. I can show something I made for Ali and Devin, because I'm pretty sure they don't read this blog...

A button hat for Ali, and a Thorpe hat for Devin. I hope they like them, they were a blast to make. One hint for my holiday crafting is that Ravelry is awesome, and we have some pretty great yarn shops in the Sacramento area. My (nearly weekly) lunchtime stop has been Rumpelstiltskin, and through KnitMap I found two fantastic shops in Elk Grove (which is a bit of a drive from my house, but conveniently located on my way home from my parents' house, and totally worth the drive anyway), The Yarn Shoppe and Knitique (whose website doesn't seem to be working, but the shop is excellent!).

I went to the Mariposa Craft Fair, and besides having a great time with my parents and stocking up on homemade jam, it was a bit of a bust. I think it'll be my last year selling, though I'll still go for the jam (it's sooo good). My mom didn't even sell that much, and look at her totally awesome wares:

She made beaded bookmarks and bracelets, and then made those fantastic cards for them to go on. The cards in the second picture are empty because as soon as I brought them home they were snapped up and put to good use (as you can see in the first picture).

Now back to knitting!

My Birthday

2008-10-02T23:19:00.001-07:00

A belated post for my birthday... Mike did it again... he surprised the heck out of me with a 3 a.m. drive to Tahoe for a hot air balloon ride! It was so fantastic! We took a boat out to the middle of the lake, where they inflated the balloon and took off. I never knew Lake Tahoe was so gorgeous! And blue! (I may just have to get myself one of those bumper stickers)

We went up pretty high (that's our boat on the left), but I wasn't nervous at all. The basket was really smooth and sturdy, and I couldn't tell we were up that high unless I looked over the edge. (It was only scary when Mike spit over the side to see how far up it was, and it took a good solid minute for it to get to where we couldn't even see it anymore.)

When we came back down we landed on the boat, which seemed an amazing feat to me, and then we got to watch from the basket as they wrestled the balloon to the deck (Mike even got to help) and rolled it up like a sleeping bag in an impossibly petite bag. And then, apparently as is tradition, we had champagne. More specifically, mimosas! Happy Birthday to me, indeed!

After that (oh yeah, there was more), we went for a hike around Emerald Bay, including a tour of Vikingsholm, and then gourmet pot pies for dinner in Placerville. Oh my, am I a lucky girl...

Craft Room

2008-10-02T23:03:00.000-07:00

Well part of it... I'm cutting fabric for quilts Ali's class is making (now that's a school project I can get behind!), which forced me to find my rotary cutter, mat and ruler (well, I didn't find that - I had to buy a new one), and then find a space to put all those things and actually get something done.

Mike also found the missing foot pedal to my sewing machine, so there are no more excuses for finishing up the curtains in Ali's room either. (The fabric is actually blue, which you probably can't discern from the crumby, but unavoidable, nighttime picture)

And you can see my new project in the background of the first photo... artsy-crafty babe's new pattern! As soon as I saw it I bought it, along with some fabrics from Sew Mama Sew, and hopefully I'll be able to start on it soon.

Oh yeah, along with the things I should sell for the Mariposa Craft Fair in November. Early November. Hmm...

More gratuitous puppy pictures...

2008-08-16T14:52:00.001-07:00

These are for you mom...

Maggie

Olive

Maggie & Olive

2008-08-14T22:25:00.001-07:00

We got puppies. (And holy crap, Ali looks old in this picture!) They are sisters, and just about the cutest things I've ever seen. They don't really stay still long enough to take pictures of just how cute they really are, except when they're sleeping.

Thank goodness we got puppy training books with all the other loads of puppy stuff at Petco, because now they are sleeping soundly in their bed, without any whining whatsoever! Now let's see if they sleep past 4:30 a.m...

But how can I possibly complain about a sweetie like this...

Oh hi.

2008-08-04T18:52:00.000-07:00

And now for some catching up...

Mike and I had our wedding celebration at my parents' house, which was wonderful. It was very low-key, which is exactly what we wanted. Just family and food, my favorite things. My mom and aunt, in their awesomeness, had a yummy project for the kids to do - cupcake decorating (which of course Mike had to try as well). My dad even had a project for A&D: picking up pine cones. Sounds fun, right? Well it was a surprising hit!

A good friend of mine got married in Madison, and so we made a quick trip to Chicago and Wisconsin. We went to the top of the Sears Tower, saw Sue, watched the rabidly adored home team lose to our home team, and survived our first crazy Midwestern thunderstorm. And in Wisconsin, well, it really was all about the cheese, and maybe some ice cream (strawberry with pop rocks in the photo above). Oh yeah, and the wedding of course!

We also did some swimming, some picking, and some crafting.

And the shopping... I've done a fair amount of shopping since I last posted. I bought my first Storybook necklace from Mood Swing Studio. Taking advantage of their $10 sales a while back, I got several Threadless shirts for Ali, Devin, Mike and I. And I added some completely gorgeous silver jewelry to my collection.

Last but not least, (and probably the biggest reason I've been so absent round these blog parts) we bought a house! And I'm going to have a sewing room, once the hundreds of boxes of fabric are unpacked (I'm only just slightly exaggerating - it's a little ridiculous)! Unfortunately, there are (lots of) ants, but I'm hoping that the recipe that won this contest might help out a bit.

Fire Season

2008-07-28T20:25:00.000-07:00

For anyone who knows me in real life, my parents are fine. They have their trucks packed and ready, just in case, but everyone (including Polly, Kismet and Sophie) are stressed, but doing ok.

Keep your fingers crossed for no wind and cooler temperatures!

(And craftiness to follow soon, I promise...)

Mrs. Ambrose

2008-05-18T08:18:00.000-07:00

The wedding was lovely. (Besides being 100 degrees, which gave everyone a happy glow.) Jessica was gorgeous, my parents looked great (my dad even wore a tie), and my own little family was very dapper all dressed up.

As for my crafty contribution to the event, procrastination payed off and about a week before the wedding my sister decided she didn't want the veil/scarf that I was supposed to bead (but hadn't started), so I had time to make Ali a skirt, and Mike and Devin ties. For the ties, I used this pattern, with great success. Who knew making a tie was so easy (and the pattern so crazy big)! Mike shrank down the pattern for Devin's, and I sewed an earring clip onto it to make a clip-on version.

Congratulations, Jessica & Brian! Welcome to the family Brian and Kayli!

How did it get to be May already?

2008-05-01T08:51:00.000-07:00

My sister Jessica is getting married in three weeks, and I've so much still to do... Though I've been slacking on blogging, I've been super busy with projects. I made bags for my sister's bachelorette party, various birthday bags for both Ali's and my friends, a dress for Jessica's soon-to-be-step-daughter, and I'm nearly finished with my mom's outfit (just need to hem the skirt). I finally got a decent pic of Kayli's dress, but the rest are rather unphotogenic, unfortunately.

Despite the bad pics, I'm rather happy with my mom's outfit. The pattern was simple, and the fabric was just challenging enough: a little stretchy and a little slippery, but not too much. I lined the top with the lovely lavender fabric from Britex, and did matching fabric covered buttons for the back. For the skirt, I didn't have enough fabric to line it, so I did Hong Kong seam finishes on all the seams.

For the bags I used a pattern from this book. It was a piece of cake to put together, and I got to use some of the massive amounts of wool I got from the Riki sale, and I even broke into some of my "good" cottons for the linings. Inside the bags I put ridiculously translated Japanese stationary sets, romance novel magnets, a cup for party drinks, a vial with a hangover cure (two ibuprofen and a vitamin B-12), and various other things. (please disregard the horrible state of our carpets... we've been busy...)

Kayli's dress was an ordeal. Not because of the pattern, it was a breeze to put together, and I just love the big pleats. It was the fabric. I had the bodice with sleeves and lining put together, and I went to press the skirt front to start on the pleats, and there right smack in the middle was a big knot in the fabric. A knot that the color had been printed over, so when I tried to take it off, it left a big white dot on the teal fabric. Ugg... well after an unsuccessful trip by my lovely husband to the local Beverly's and a trip to Modesto, I got more fabric and got the skirt sorted. Then I struggled with a lapped zipper, reverted back to my good ol' center zipper, and whew! I'm done. There are some detail pics here.

Now, I just need to make myself a shrug to cover up the massive amount of cleavage my dress for the wedding bears, and bead Jessica's veil/scarf. Piece of cake, right?

70's Bag

2008-04-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

I came across these pictures of this bag I made months ago. I love this bag, I use it all the time. It's my weekend, throw-everything-into-it-and-head-to-the-yard-sales bag. You can't really tell from the photo, but I added pockets to the inside for my phone, keys, etc. My coworker (a fellow seamstress) gave me the pair of wooden posts (see the black balls at the edge of the bag?)and the pattern to make it, both of which she'd held onto since the 1970's. You can't find these posts anywhere (I've checked), which is such a shame, because the posts are what makes this such a great bag. I wonder if you could make them... Anyway, the fabric I used for the outside is from Ikea, and the inside is some random cotton I had in my stash.

My first sweater

2008-04-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

I finished my first knitted sweater! And I must say, I'm really proud of it. It was my first knitted piece with shaping and seaming. I made it for my new niece-in-law Paulina Nicole. She was born in March, and hopefully will be big enough to wear the sweater by winter. The pattern I used was called Simple Hooded Cardigan. It was simple enough to follow, but next time I'd like to find a pattern where you don't have to sew it all up in the end. To finish it off, I made some fabric covered buttons.

And because I have a ton of stuff to do, I also made a flannel blanket, a bunny, and a hat. Ah procrastination... I hope she likes it all!

Ravelry

2008-03-30T21:24:00.001-07:00

Wow, I am so excited about Ravlery. Somehow I missed out on it entirely and just recently heard of it. Maybe because I'm a recent knitter. Any of you knitters/crocheters out there not signed up for Ravelry yet, get your butt over and sign up! You have to wait for a bit to get an account (not sure why), but it's totally worth the wait. No more random collections of links to patterns I want to try, or piles of unorganized internet printouts! It's all organized on my Ravelry site, with all my stash info and a list of the needles I have. So, so cool.

And because it's just not a blog post without a picture, here are some pictures of a swap project in process...

SF Fabric

2008-03-29T20:42:00.000-07:00

With nothing particular to do last Saturday morning, my wonderful husband suggested going to San Francisco to check out all the fabric stores. (Could I have married a more perfect man?) So onto the internet we went to research our options. Our Google map listed these: Discount Fabrics, Mendel's Far Out Fabrics, Fabrix, and of course Britex. Also on our handy map were some never-miss SF stops including Daiso and Kinokuniya, and after reading this SF Bento guide, we added Ichiban Kan.

Our first stop was Mendel's. When you first walk in, it looks more like an art supply place than a fabric store. Upstairs they had quite a bit of fabric, including a very impressive selection of oilcloth.

Just a couple blocks down Haight Street was Discount Fabrics. Now this one immediately looked like a well stocked fabric store. They had a huge selection of unique fabrics and trims. I got two great elastics, gray ruffles and white rick rack!

Fabrix was one of those diamond in the rough places. It had a ton of gems, you just had to look for them. While Mike dug through a bin of buttons, I picked out a rainbow of really inexpensive rick rack and a cool cowboy/poppy cotton print for $2/yard.

Britex was, well, Britex. If you haven't been, just picture 4 stories of fabric, trims, buttons, everything a sewing heart could desire. After gasping at some of the price tags and picking out some lining fabric for a project (at a non-gasp-worthy price) on the first floor, I headed straight to the fourth floor - Remnants. Now that was more my speed. I picked up an Amy Butler piece and a reproduction piece, stopping on the third floor (Notions) for a bag of mixed buttons. I always feel a little overwhelmed in Britex, like I should be spending my time there more productively. But usually when I go there I don't have a specific project in mind, I'm merely soaking in all that potential. It's the kid of place you can see a designer coming to and buying fabric for their Spring Line.

On our first swing by Kinokuniya the power was out and they had to close the store. I was gutted, but we headed to Ichiban Kan which definitely perked up my spirits. So I went a little crazy in Ichiban Kan. Almost everything was $1-$1.50! And so cute! We actually got so much stuff at Ichiban Kan and Daiso, that it was too overwhelming to photograph. But here's a summary: tons of bentos, bento supplies, stationary, yummy random snacks, porcupine-sheep-ostrich tote bags, odd tongs and rectangle pans, a lemon timer and so much more.

After exhaustive shopping at Daiso, we headed back to Kinokuniya to see if they'd gotten power, and hurrah! they had. Mike very patiently browsed books in Japanese while I pored over the craft section, finally selecting these three (and a tote). For some inside pics, check here.

I must say, even after visiting all those fabric stores, my favorite part of the trip was Japantown. The food was delicious and check out this little walkway... so lovely.

Baseball Season

2008-03-16T20:17:00.000-07:00

Ahh... baseball season has started. Every weekend until May is booked. Devin is an Oriole, which is awesome because orange is his favorite color. So far he's established himself as the outfield dancer. (I think this video had a big impression.) My favorite is the dance that I call "The Butter Churner" (it's exactly what you're picturing), followed closely by "Slow Motion Running".

Even though he's not the most serious player, he sure looks professional, which is completely adorable.

Easy Paella

2008-03-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

I fell in love with paella in Spain, but it's always been a bit of a fussy recipe to try at home. Not anymore! Of course Martha Stewart (or rather, her staff) found a way around the saffron fiddling. This recipe is highly recommended. It makes a bunch, and is possibly even better the next day.

Weekend success

2008-03-16T19:51:00.001-07:00

I got a muslin dress made for my sister's wedding. Her soon-to-be-step-daughter will be wearing it in the teal sparkle dot fabric on the left. Luckily she's 1" smaller than Ali, so I was able to make the preliminary large adjustments, and I'll be able to have it ready for closer fitting the next time I see her. Ali likes the pattern too, so I'm making note of the changes for her as well. Unfortunately I'm a bit busty so I'd look pregnant in it, but it will make a nice spring top for Ali. And now I have plenty of fabric as well... look what I got at a local boutique's spring cleaning warehouse sale...

I'm the luckiest girl in the world...

Europe

2008-03-12T17:27:00.000-07:00

This is a little belated, but I just wanted to share some pictures from our trip...

I just don't get tired of looking at these pictures... (more here, here and here)

Greenery Hat

2008-03-11T12:17:00.000-07:00

I finished the Greenery Hat that I started before our trip. It was so much fun to knit! I just love the way the cables twist and turn. This was only my second project with cables, and it turned out pretty well.
The only thing is that it's a bit too small. I've left the hat on the styrofoam head in hopes of stretching it out, to no avail so far. I'm a bit afraid that because it's cabled, it won't stretch much. Does anyone know of a way (if there is one) of loosening up a cabled hat?

Married Life

2008-03-03T17:49:00.000-08:00

I've got to say, being married is pretty cool. I get to say things like "Could I get my husband a soda?" and "Nice to meet you, I'm Ali's stepmom" (instead of the ever-so-cumbersome "Ali's dad's girlfriend", which always sounded to me both temporary and juvenile, and never failed to evoke a raised eyebrow of homewrecker accusation, which didn't apply to us). Plus I get to have a new name, which is very exciting - even though my mother will always call me by my maiden name. AND I get to spend the rest of my life with this guy. Ahh... life is good.

And the wedding (though it sounds a bit weird to call it that) was perfect. I can't even begin to describe how perfect it was. We got in to Edinburgh, which is a completely lovely city, a bit early so we checked in at the Registrar's Office, where everyone knew who we were (we were the only wedding that day), and were so friendly and excited for us. Mike and I had possibly the best lunch ever around the corner at The Grain Store. After that we met up with my parents and sister, got married, and continued our day with a trip up the Royal Mile to the Castle, then for a pint at the Jolly Judge. Perfect.

It's official...

2008-02-07T19:22:00.000-08:00

I'm a knitter. After buying a couple skeins (right? Is that what they're called?) of super soft alpaca yarn at the Old Sugar Mill (of all places), I looked up a pattern I've been wanting to try, and I already had all the tools. The right sized needles, both circular AND double pointed, AND the cable needle, AND the stitch markers. So far I'm about 2.5" into the 3" ribbed brim, and the yarn is so nice to work with. I was hoping to have it done in time for our trip, but I think I have enough on my plate with packing and getting over this nasty cold and all, so I won't push myself too hard. But we'll see...

My Little Fish Shop

2008-02-06T15:35:00.000-08:00

When I was home with the kids for lunch when they were out sick and I heard those two dreaded words, "I'm bored", I remembered this post, and I quickly printed out the makings for a bedroom (Ali), bathroom (Devin) and a fish shop (me) from here. We all started cutting, and Ali kept teasing me about how excited I was about it all. "You're just like a kid", she kept saying. A tiny shop with tiny boxes to put the tiny fish in? Hell yeah, I was excited! "Why didn't they have these when I was a kid?", I kept asking myself. So you can imagine, after a couple of days, I was beside myself with excitement about my completed shop.

Thank goodness I got these pictures because after our annual apartment inspection and a cleaning of our chimney today, I came home and the shop was on the ground, smooshed and torn. Apparently someone (it's a mystery as to whom) knocked it over and then, as far as I can tell, stepped on it. Repeatedly. I can't bear to post pics of what it looks like now. What makes me so mad is that no one will admit to have done it. I mean, if you step on a small fish shop, you notice right? Why not leave a note, say you're sorry? Accidents happen. But to have them deny it when I KNOW they did it... that is just despicable.

Worst Blogger Ever Award

2008-02-06T09:49:00.000-08:00

Is there one of those? Because I would totally win it. I had a drawing in July (!) which the ever-so-nice-and-talented Amandajean won, and here I am in February of the following year (!) getting around to her prize. Sorry Amandajean, I hope you like it!

Made with cotton and linen from a pattern in this book.

Bride to Be

2008-02-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

That phrase doesn't seem to fit me, but I've heard it a lot lately. Our wedding is in less than 2 weeks (yay!!), but I still don't feel like a "bride". Maybe it's because we're getting married in a registrar's office overseas, and I'm wearing a cable-knit cardigan and slacks. But, I am sticking (accidentally, to be honest) to the tradition of Old, Borrowed and Blue by wearing my great-grandmother's necklace.

Even though I'm not very bride-y, I have wonderful friends both at work and otherwise that threw me both a wedding shower and bachelorette party. The shower was at work, and it was so very nice, Mike and I were very touched. Among our very kind gifts were a hand-crocheted blanket and JoAnn's & Michael's gift cards! I guess we are officially The Crafty People.

The bachelorette party was a veil-and-phallus-free winery crawl through Clarksburg. We stopped at a couple wineries on the way to the Old Sugar Mill, which is, unsurprisingly, an old sugar mill that houses 5 tasting rooms. After purchasing the best zin I have ever had to go with our lunch of cheese, crackers and fruit, we laughed and tasted our way through the whole building. I had no idea that there were such fabulous wines so close to Sacramento! For all you locals, they're having a Port and Chocolate event this coming weekend, and if you like either of those things, I highly reccomend going.

I just love this (appropriately) blurry photo of us all... Thank you so much ladies! I had SO MUCH FUN!!

Ceramics by Marcelle

2008-01-22T20:20:00.000-08:00

Apparently I have an exceedingly crafty family, because my aunt has a new etsy shop! She has some lovely ceramics (very reasonably priced as well), and even a hint at her other craft of choice...

The son he never had...

2008-01-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

Raising two girls must have been tough. But now my dad has a "son" to show the woodworking ropes. Over the holidays Mike and my dad went to the shop and made screens for silk screening. My dad, who just retired, had fun making something small and simple, and Mike had fun using all my dad's cool toys.

It was interesting to see that woodworking isn't all that different than sewing. Large pieces of wood getting cut into smaller pieces of wood, then put back together in a different way. I saw many similarities, from the edge-gluer/bias-tape-making-tool-looking thing (sorry dad, I butchered that one)...

To the chop saw/rotary cutter...

To the crazy stash my dad has (now I don't feel so bad about mine...)

And my mom showed off her skills, wielding the blow torch for a morning dessert.

I've got to say, I'm pretty lucky to have such cool parents.

Shop Update

2008-01-20T14:44:00.000-08:00

My much neglected Etsy shop has been updated! I added a bunch of luggage tags that I've been selling at shows, and now that I don't have a show on the horizon, here they are on etsy. I don't think I'll be doing too many craft shows anymore. I have fits and spurts of mass production creativity, and it's too stressful to have to do it under a show deadline. I enjoy meeting other crafters at the shows, but I think I'll be concentrating more on etsy and online sales. So, hopefully that will mean you will see more frequent updates.

And this one will be heading to Mary Ann for an indie-pendence giveaway, so keep your eyes open for that too.

Monsters

2008-01-19T17:23:00.001-08:00

Reading about the Ugly Sale reminded me that I never posted about the wonderful Ugly that I received. It is too cute, and inspired this early morning request...

Which was happily obliged and became this...

Not to be left out, this was then devised...

And then just as happily created...

Pretty soon, Mike is going to surpass me in sewing skills!

Feeling overdue

2008-01-19T16:57:00.000-08:00

I'm so behind. I don't have particular deadlines I'm behind on, I just feel behind. Like, I'm not even done posting Christmas gift projects. But, after reading several of your lists of resolutions/plans, I wanted to put together a list of things too. You know, before July.

So in 2008, I would like to...

Start using my bento for lunches. Mike and I got a couple at Daiso quite a while ago and still haven't used them. I've found a couple sites with great tips on bento, and we may need to head to the city for some supplies. I may even start using them for the kids. They would love this. This would also mean that I would need to make lunch bags for Mike, the kids and I, which just might warrant the purchase of another craft book.

Silk screen like crazy. Mike got silk screening supplies from me for Christmas, and my dad helped us make a bunch of screens (which I need to post about - it was so much fun), we just need to start using them!

Organize my crafting closet. Anyone seen Mary Ann's avalanche? Well I have a whole closet like that, and I'm tired of it.

Re-cover my ironing board. There are two lovely tutorials on the subject, I just need to pick out the fabric.

Make a scrappy quilt to keep. I have way too many scraps. And now that I've learned to quilt in sections, I'm not afraid of making big quilts, and I think our bed needs a little something. I would love to have something handmade in the living room to snuggle under as well.

Make a purse with a metal frame. U-handblog has a great tutorial on how to do it, and this craft book has some lovely ideas. I just need to get over my fear of gluing fabric.

Knit the kids (and possible everyone I know) some hats. I made Mike a hat for Christmas and loved it. For me hats are a quick, yet challenging enough to be interesting knitting project. This style got the OK from Devin, the yarn is picked out, so I may just start on this one this weekend.

Make more clothes. It will be challenging because my body type requires lots of pattern alterations, but I would love to have well-fitting clothes. Specifically, I would like to try out some of the these patterns that have been collecting dust.

Start working on Christmas presents now! I (really this time) want this year to be different - no more stressful holidays!

Flannel Day

2008-01-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

It's sunny outside, but I'm still deeming today flannel day...

My new shorty robe (from Simplicity 4748)...

Christmas pjs with VERY wide legs (from In Stitches)...

And new sheets (Martha Stewart, 70% off at Macys!)...

New to Me

2008-01-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

I've been coming across some really fantastic new blogs, and as my list of Blogs I Read is becoming a bit unwieldy, I thought I would feature the new ones in a separate list (check it out on the left... right over there...). I will try to update the list periodically as I discover new inspirational gems.

Year in Review

2008-01-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Well, mostly... I didn't start blogging until March, and I wasn't nearly as diligent at documenting my work before that.

March

April

May

June
July

August

September

October

November

December

Craft distraction

2008-01-02T23:42:00.001-08:00

When the kids should have been brushing their teeth, I was having them pick out fabrics for bags for their new iPod shuffles. They can't go back to their mom's without cozy iPods, right? And sorry about the severely photoshopped pics, but it's nighttime...

My favorite thing about these is that they are entirely designed by them, and they're so different! Usually Devin follows Ali's lead, but this time he had definite ideas about how he wanted his bag to be, including gnome placement and accessory flap. If I were to do this again I would try to fussy-cut the fish on the front of Devin's bag a bit, but we were working with scraps so that was the best I could do.

Quilts, quilts, quilts

2008-01-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

This was the year of the quilts. I finished the Future's So Bright quilt for my soon-to-be niece-in-law just in time to start on quilts for Ali and Devin for Christmas.

Ali's quilt is fashioned after another fantastic Crazy Mom Quilts' quilt.

Devin's quilt is from this pattern, made by Mike!

Not just me...

2007-12-29T23:21:00.000-08:00

In belated news, my sister is engaged as well! By next May, all the Potter Girls will be married. How are you doing, mom and dad?

Several months ago I went down to my parents' house to celebrate the news. My grandmother brought her wedding dress, which had been her mother's wedding dress before her, and her mother's before that. Being a docent at the local museum and a retired librarian, my grandmother has kept it in excellent condition, including preserving scraps of lace from when my flapper great-grandmother had shortened the dress. She has generously given us the dress to incorporate into yet another wedding, which makes creating Jessica's perfect wedding dress with her, even more special. That's right I'm (with help - thank goodness) going to be making my sister's wedding dress.

My grandma even saved the shoes both she and my mom wore at their weddings, but I don't think they'll make it through another event. It's just awesome to see them. They still have my grandma's maiden name written on the box.

Thank you, Santa!

2007-12-28T21:49:00.001-08:00

(aka, my lovely family!)

Here's what I found under the tree this year...

From my mom...

From my dad...

From my sister...

From my aunt...

And all handmade!! I am so lucky to have such a talented family!

And I bought this new craft book with a gift certificate. And then I took advantage of Superbuzzy's 4-day sale with the money from my last etsy sale! A little of this (but in green), and a little of that.

Hey mom - could you send me some pics of the things I made you guys so that I can show them off too? I was in such a flurry before christmas I let them leave the house without a picture! It's like it never even happened if I can't show you guys...

Sarah's Workshop

2007-12-28T21:20:00.001-08:00

How was everyone's Christmas? Good I hope, ours sure was. We had a wonderful time at my parents' that included much crafting and overdue relaxing.

But before Christmas, while I was sequestered in here...

Ali and Devin followed suit...

And Mike was becoming a quilter!

We also got some cookie baking in, and Ali turned a broken cookie into a design opportunity with the bloodied decapitated camel cookie. Yum!

Happy Holidays

2007-12-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

Now I can breathe...

2007-12-20T22:45:00.000-08:00

Can it be possible? Can I be nearly done with my To Do list? I didn't think it could be possible! Not that anything is wrapped, but I'm taking this little finishing line and I'm celebrating.

Whew. Now I can share my most fabulous news... I'm engaged! It was and it wasn't expected. We had decided a while back to get married while we're in Europe in February, and had picked a date and place (Feb 18 in Edinburgh) and started the masses of paperwork required. But Mike hadn't officially "asked" me. So I was patient. Soon enough, he became very busy with "errands" which I knowingly asked no questions about. I LOVE surprises. Especially Mike's surprises. Waiting for an invite to dinner, or a suggestion to go away for the weekend, imagine my surprise when I walked into the courtroom at work to prepare for what I thought was an emergency hearing to see my mom, sister, friends, Ali, Devin (in a tie!), a bagpipe player and Mike - in a kilt (or as Devin now calls it - a Man Skirt). I promptly started crying. I blubbed through retrieving roses from all my friends and family, Mike's very touching proposal, and the celebratory bagpipe jig after I'd managed to get out "Of course, yes!".

I'm so happy, it's ridiculous. I probably won't be posting until after the holiday, so merry Christmas everyone! I hope you all are able to relax after all the feverish crafting, and enjoy the company and love of your families.

My cheating heart...

2007-12-19T09:53:00.000-08:00

If this weren't a handmade holiday, this is what my wish list would look like...

A Print Gocco.

Threadless tees. This one might be helpful for our trip to France.

A Sigg bottle. Maybe this one.

Some yummy wine.

Cozy sweaters.

Cozy crocs.

The perfect tall boots. Maybe something like this.

And books, books, books. These kind of count, since they're crafty and all. Which would mean that the Gocco might count too... hmm... actually, it was kind of hard to come up with more non-crafty wish list items. It seems that we're full-on crafty folk now. So I can't resist, here's some more of my crafty favorites...

Very cool recycled cuff with skeleton key.

Lovely Green Jay print.

Loopy mittens.

Yarn stock with benefits.

Rose print.

Gorgeous waterlily necklace.

Bird Nerd prints, especially Strawberry Jam Sakura and Grumpy Kinglet.

Wonderfully nobby necklace.

Bird with a quiff print.

Birdy Breakfast set.

Mini mirrors. And they're on sale!

Such cute illustrations at Nut and Bee.

Ah, so much great stuff! Good luck to all with your crafty christmases!

Quilt done

2007-12-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

Except for the hand sewing on the binding, which I'll work on tonight watching some Netflix (this or this), I'm calling this quilt done. Whew! My feeling of accomplishment is short-lived, while I move on to the next item on my holiday To Do list. I'm thinking of something from this book... I wish I could show you, but I don't want to give away any surprises.

And speaking of fabulous craft books, Joann's is having a great sale this weekend with many 50% off coupons flying around, so I picked up these books for the price of one!

I hope everyone is having a great, productive weekend!

A few of my favorite things...

2007-12-07T10:45:00.000-08:00

There is so much crafty goodness out there! I've come across a couple great gift guides, and so I thought I'd share some of my favorite things from my Etsy Favorites.

At the top of my list always is Sulu, er, I mean SueLieu earrings.

South Street Design jewelry. I want it all.

Clever cabled Asymmetrical Scarves.

Wonderful handmade stamps from Craftpudding.

Very cool screenprinted totes.

Passport wallets for all the world travelers in your life made by MinMade.

Pendants, Pendants, Pendants, Pendants, Pendants, Pendants! I like pendants.

Completely adorable stuffies made by Lauren.

Get ready for next year with a very well made organizer (I got one with opposite colors and can't wait to use it!).

Cute uglies from Mary Ann.

And top all your presents off with some great gift tags by Amy Elise Designs.

Tis the season

2007-11-29T21:36:00.000-08:00

I am definitely in the mood now...

Thanks everyone! Now I'm off to work on another panel of the quilt...

Tidy bobbins

2007-11-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but my bobbins are unruly. Sifting through my handy-dandy pegboard drawer is perilous sometimes. But no more! After reading a tip in Threads, and a trip to the hardware store, my bobbins went from this...

to this!

I used 3/16" vinyl tubing (but if I were to do it again I would get bigger tubing, the 3/16" tubing only went a bit more than halfway around), cut it in approximately 1/4" rounds, opened them up with an exacto knife and wrapped them around the loose end of the bobbin thread.

New pets!

2007-11-27T22:08:00.001-08:00

Ali and Devin have been wanting pets at our house for some time, and we decided to get a pair of geckos for Ali's birthday (since they both got bikes for Devin's birthday). Lucky for us, we stumbled upon a gecko breeder who is local and totally knowledgeable (she even co-wrote a book about leopard geckos - the kind we ended up with). So, without further ado, let me introduce you to...

French Onion...

and...

Larry.

Both girls. They're nocturnal, so I had a hard time getting a picture of them that showed their cool markings. French Onion (Ali's) is lavender and yellow striped with black dots, and Larry (Devin's - and whose full name is Larry Rich Buttock) is mostly yellow-orangey with black dots. Mike and I have been having as much fun with them as the kids, and I even missed them while we were away for Thanksgiving. I've gotten them to eat wax worms off my finger, which are apparently like junk food for geckos, and they seem to be acclimating themselves to their new surroundings with ease. I can't wait to hold them!

I swear... they're for the kids...

Future's So Bright Quilt progress

2007-11-27T18:08:00.000-08:00

Three panels down on the Future's So Bright quilt that I'm quilting in sections, with thrifted sheets as the backing. I am very pleased with how it's turning out. Thanks Amanda Jean for sharing your pattern!

Can you tell that I've been doing most of my crafting lately at nighttime? Geez, these pics are bad...

Yipes

2007-11-14T23:09:00.000-08:00

Is anyone else freaking out a bit that it's almost December? Ok, so it isn't yet for two weeks or so, but that's nothing for someone who has three quilts, pj's, lots of knitted items and many other unmentionables yet to make. This feeling is oddly familiar... seems like I've been in this situation before... hmm...

The odd situation with all this Christmas crafting is that I can't actually show you much of anything I'm working on, because a lot of the soon-to-be recipients most likely read this blog (thus the rather extended blog break). What I can show you is some of the special orders I've been putting together.

I made an all pink pencil roll...

And a couple coffee sleeves for a coworker's poker-playing husband and dad...

I've also been putting the last touches on my Christmas CD swap that 62cherry put together, which should be in the mail on Friday.

I participated in the first swap which was great, and was excited when she put together a holiday themed one. When I went to fetch the link, I discovered that she's doing another swap in December! It's a Shuffle Swap, which is such a cool idea. You set your iPod or iTunes or whatever to shuffle and grab the first 10 songs. Looks like there's still room, so go check it out! I love being introduced to new music, and several of the ladies in the swap are from Australia so some of the bands I have never heard of. Especially on one of the Christmas CDs... who knew there was an Aussie version of the 12 Days of Christmas?

So what else have I/we been up to? Wrapping up a very successful soccer season... (whew)

Going trick or treating with a very scary skeleton and a hip witch...

Successfully participating in the Mariposa Crafters Holiday Boutique... Not only did I make money, I came home stocked with delicious homemade jam (Strawberry Rhubarb, Apricot Pineapple, Quince, Jalapeno and Indian Peach). The boutique was amazing, there was very little advertising as far as I could tell, absolutely nothing on the internet (shock! gasp!), and it was packed. Apparently people in town come every year (for the past 25(!) years) and know when it is so there's no need to advertise. The miracles of small towns, I guess.

Celebrating 7th and soon-to-be 10th birthdays with a first-ever-all-together bike ride...

And exploring science with really fantastic birthday presents from loved ones...

Triops and a hand-held microscope.