Craft Buff

Retromummy Giveaway!

2010-12-19T17:46:00.000-05:00

Great giveaway over at retromummy- check it out!

Progressive Pioneer

2010-11-13T19:54:00.001-05:00

Great giveaway over at Progressive Pioneer today- check it out!

Frog Blanket

2010-03-18T13:55:00.004-04:00

This new frog blanket is a big hit. E. says, "Hop hop hop hop hop..." every time he sees it. Polar fleece and flannel = uber cozy. 'Cuz the nights are still chilly, even if we're finally getting some well-deserved sunshine 'round these parts.

Frog Stuff

2010-03-07T20:27:00.003-05:00

Next up in the crafting queue? Frog stuff. Frog pants and a frog blanket, to be precise. E. is currently a big fan of frogs ("Hop hop! Hop hop!") and has two stuffed frog friends, Hop and Ribbit. I'm continuing a tradition I started last Easter, wherein I make him a pair of pants for the holiday. This year it just seemed right to make frog pants so that he can hop around the house. We went to buy frog fabric and there were two different bolts that really caught his attention, so I decided to make a pair of pants out of the cotton he liked and a fleece-backed blanket out of the flannel he liked.

Off to fashion frog goods...

Forgetting About Pictures

2010-01-21T12:01:00.000-05:00

I keep forgetting to take pictures of stuff before I give it away.

I have made and gifted:

1. A hat for baby Kristaps
2. A hat for soon-to-arrive baby Sydney and one for her Mama-to-be Lyzel
3. A blanket, pillow and superbaby cape for one-year old Simran

The cape turned out great- I hope Simran likes it. I may make another for E., if I do I'll be sure to actually photograph it!

Baby Hat (complete with creepy baby doll photo)

2010-01-03T13:45:00.004-05:00

I crocheted this newborn-sized hat for a friend who is expecting a baby in several months. I wanted to use my son as a model for the photo because the hat is really cute, but of course if it's sized to fit a newborn, my little almost-15 month old child cannot be stuffed into it! So instead I give you the hat, modeled by a somewhat creepy-looking baby doll.

I didn't use a pattern for this hat; I just double-crocheted and increased by doubling up stitches every few rows until I had something that was the right size for a wee one, and then made a big fluffy pom-pom for the end.

I'm sure it will look much cuter on the actual child.

Great Giveaway!

2009-12-27T17:10:00.002-05:00

Check out the terrific giveaway over at What I Did at School Today! So pretty!

Swapping = Meeting Inspiration

2009-11-08T17:32:00.003-05:00

As I mentioned a couple of days ago, one of the ways I got my craft blogging mojo back was by participating in a vintage swap. It was a great experience not only for the lovely goods that came my way, but also because I was paired with an exceptionally talented mama/crafter/blogger/art teacher named Jennifer. In addition to the lovely goods pictured above and below (pillowcase = already on the bed; small wooden box engraved with the name Chester Avery = my favorite little treasure of the year), Jennifer and I exchanged several great e-mails about the trials, tribulations, and great pleasures of parenting. She encouraged me when I mentioned that I was slowly working up to integrating crafting back into this brave new world of motherhood. I appreciated her encouragement so very, very much. Thank you again, Jennifer! I will post photos of whatever it is I eventually make from these vintage treasures. The great trim is just calling for a starring role on a bag or a pillow, I think.

To Market, To Market

2009-11-08T13:02:00.003-05:00

I learned how to make yarn out of plastic bags from a friend. There's a good tutorial here, too. Although both cats and toddlers are fascinated by the stuff (making for very slow project progression), I somehow managed to finish a market bag for my wonderful friend Christa's birthday. (She's also here, and about a million other places online too.) Such a meta craft- making bags outta bags.

Halloween Craftiness

2009-10-30T19:51:00.003-04:00

I decided to make a Halloween costume for my son this year because my mom always made ours for us when we were little. I remember how important it was to me that my mom would make my costumes from scratch and would always let me choose what I wanted to be. It's one of those things that I will never forget; I was motivated to steal hours away from other things (like laundry, dishes, or relaxing with a good book and a cup of tea at the end of the day) so that I might provide that same sense of security to little E. He might not know it now, but every step this little monkey takes is imbued with family tradition.

E. chose the pattern. We thought we might make him into a duck, so the three of us trekked to the fabric store to look for duck patterns. We were looking through the book and found the monkey pattern, as well as a very cute duck. I pulled both patterns and set them in front of E. He pointed at the monkey and laughed, and the choice was made. He's been wearing it most of today and seems pretty comfortable.

Pattern is Simplicity and I followed it pretty precisely... didn't make the feet for practical reasons, I added a dart rather than elastic on the hood, and I didn't make bands at the wrist (again, practicality).
Happy Halloween!

Getting My Crafting Mojo Back...

2009-10-30T12:08:00.003-04:00

I don't know if anyone will even check this blog anymore, since it's been well over a year since I last posted. But I'm happy to virtually announce the rebirth of my crafting cool, even if no one actually reads about it.

Having a child, moving to a new house, selling an old house, doing renovations on both houses, and finding out that my crappy, crappy sleep patterns are actually because of a medical condition that I've likely had my whole life (sleep apnea) and not just the "normal" first-year-of-parenthood sleep deprivation... it's been a wild ride. And one of the first things to go during this roller-coaster-of-a-year were craft projects. Initially I started this blog to keep track of the ways crafting influenced my life (either through projects I created myself, projects that inspired me, or projects that others had given me). It seemed impossible to keep juggling that ball with all the new ones that came my way in 2008-09.

But- miraculously- I'm ready to start juggling again. Over the past couple of weeks, I started crafting in earnest again. I made a market bag for a good friend's birthday, I made a Halloween costume for my son, and I participated in a lovely Vintage Swap with a most excellent partner. More on all these small victories soon (including pictures)... this post is just to announce the rebirth of Craft Buff. Yippee!

Blog Migration

2008-09-21T22:34:00.003-04:00

I've decided to start a new blog... on the heels of Craft Buff, I'll be maintaining a blog that better suits my current life circumstances: Baby Buff!

If you'd like to have access to the new blog, please contact me (via blogger) for permission. I've decided to set the new blog to private so that I can post more personal photos and stories, but I'd love to give access to all interested family, friends, and acquaintances.

I may continue to occasionally contribute to Craft Buff in the future, but will likely concentrate on Baby Buff for the next several months. See you there!

Fifteen Minutes of Gardening Fame

2008-06-09T13:03:00.005-04:00

I was interviewed for a gardening segment on a local television show this weekend. It was live TV, which was definitely intimidating, and John and I are both still laughing about how the word "altruistic" just popped out of my mouth. It's sort of like when my sister-in-law Ginny said, "I'm famished" on a family vacation several years ago. She still hears about it. I'm sure "altruistic" is going to work its way into many a conversation from here on out. Sigh.

Click here for a link to the segment.

A Well-Crafted Commencement Address

2008-06-07T16:31:00.002-04:00

This is a departure from my usual posting style, but I thought some of you might be interested in reading J.K. Rowling's Commencement Address at Harvard.

The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination
J.K. Rowling delivers the Commencement Address at Harvard

President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all, graduates.

The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter convention.

Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy delights of becoming a gay wizard.

You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’ joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable goals: the first step towards personal improvement.

Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years that has expired between that day and this.

I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the crucial importance of imagination.

These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.

Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of me.

I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.

They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.

I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics; they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the keys to an executive bathroom.

I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression; it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.

What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.

At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in my life and that of my peers.

I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.

However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.

Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure, a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern Britain , without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me, and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.

Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun. That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.

So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.

You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default.

Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will, and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had friends whose value was truly above rubies.

The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to me than any qualification I ever earned.

Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV, are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes.

You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs. Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at Amnesty International’s headquarters in London .

There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them. I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of kidnappings and rapes.

Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to our office included those who had come to give information, or to try and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave behind.

I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.

And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.

Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were the rights of everyone.

Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw, heard and read.

And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.

Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.

Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.

Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.

And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.

I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.

What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.

One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.

That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.

But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.

If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.

I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us ran for Prime Minister.

So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships. And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders, in search of ancient wisdom:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.
Thank you very much.

Totoro Mural!

2008-06-04T11:13:00.004-04:00

As I have written many, many times before, one of my favorite movies is My Neighbor Totoro. So when I thought about decorating the room for our upcoming baby, my first thought was, of course, to create a Totoro mural. Now while I am crafty in several realms, muralist is not a label I apply to myself with any confidence. So I enlisted (okay, bugged until he agreed) my brother Adam to create a forest-with-Totoros mural for the nursery. Here are some shots of the muralist extraordinaire in action. Adam had to paint about 5 layers of white on Totoro's stomach, so it's taken a while to complete, but we're nearly there and I couldn't be happier!

Room Prep

2008-05-20T14:20:00.000-04:00

We've been working on transforming our spare bedroom/my study into a nursery for the past couple of weeks, and the prep work is almost done.

I decided to leave the walls the same color that they've been- a soothing hyacinth blue. The trim was a light brown color, and I decided to use Fresh Aire (no VOCs) paint and make the trim a darker brown. This paint is great because I can use it without worrying about the health impact, but here's a warning for anyone thinking about buying it: the color on the swatch is at least 2-3 shades darker than the paint itself.

An exciting discovery I made is that the hardwood floors in the bedroom were in great shape underneath some dingy old carpeting:

We pulled up the carpeting and I'm now working on pulling up all of the little staples from the floor. Fun times, but at least Meowzle and Mochi are helping me (see below):

Many thanks to Sarah and Ryan for their help with painting the stuff I can't do, and for taking all the carpeting out to the trash!

It's A...

2008-05-08T10:42:00.002-04:00

We had an ultrasound on Monday, May 5 (Cinco de Mayo, appropriately) and found out that we're expecting a baby boy. No, he won't be named Suck Butter, for those of you who read the comment thread on my last post!

Why My Crafting Productivity Has Dropped

2008-04-07T19:56:00.002-04:00

Yep, that's right-- I've been a quiet, inactive crafter/blogger as of late for what I deem a very good reason-- the first trimester of pregnancy! I suppose I could consider this the greatest crafting collaboration of my life and blog about it regularly, but I'm not sure it'd be as much fun to read about my fatigue and headaches as is is to read about monkey blankets and art smocks!

I hear from lots of people that the exhaustion and sickness is going to end any day now, so maybe I'll turn into a super-crafter soon. If I start blogging with great speed and show amazing craft productivity, you'll know that that's happened. :)

Inordinately Proud

2008-03-31T11:38:00.003-04:00

I am inordinately proud of my husband's recent excursions into the world of crafting, especially since I have been experiencing a crafting dry-spell myself (more on that in a few days' time). John has been making pieces for various games he plays, including Heroscape. The picture above is of some columns he crafted from cake-decorating materials purchased from Michael's. Although I was away in NYC during most of this crafting experience, John did call me to tell me that the cats were very involved in the process. Meowzle, our older cat, apparently enjoyed licking the modeling clay that John put inside each of these columns for stability.

The pieces in the photo below were each painted and then covered with a layer of flocking. The green flocking looks remarkably like catnip, causing Meowzle to sample some yesterday. Aside from the cat-related difficulties, John thoroughly enjoyed his foray into the world of crafting, and I, for one, hope he continues with such projects. :)

Uncle Tom: Holiday Crafts, Part Deux

2008-03-30T10:59:00.002-04:00

My Uncle Tom got crafty this Easter (not unlike Christmas). Here is a picture of the canning jars he repurposed to make lovely candy gifts for all of us. Note that this one has a cat sucker on it-- not surprising, given my love for my kitties.

Becky's Babies

2008-03-27T09:34:00.004-04:00

A long time ago I blogged about skirts that I made for my friend Becky's adorable twins, Isobel and Ophelia. Little peanuts that they are, the skirts still fit them! I love that they're wearing bandannas in this photo. Oh, and the fact that Ophelia is doing a number on Isobel's ear.

Hopping Back from NYC Just in Time for Easter

2008-03-24T14:05:00.005-04:00

After a trip to NYC last week, I was very happy to arrive home on Saturday. I know this is probably abnormal, but I really don't enjoy visiting NYC at all. I imagine it's quite different if you actually live there, but I find trips there stressful and expensive. I guess it might be different if I enjoyed shopping (but I hate it) or if I had the money to eat really well (but I don't). Nonetheless, it was great to see my friend Sarah, who founded an amazing arts organization, to hang out with my long-lost buddy Tomoka, and to attend the CIES conference, but all in all, I'm just so glad to be back.

On the Easter front, I wrote an article about Polish Catholic Easter baskets (swieconka) for Buffalo Rising. Check it out.

Mea Culpa!

2008-03-19T09:42:00.003-04:00

My apologies for being a scatter-brained blogger as of late. I am off to a conference today (the annual meeting of the Comparative and International Education Society, in case you were wondering...) and won't be back until the weekend. But if I find some cool craftiness while in New York City, I'll be sure to take photos so I can be a better blogger upon my return!

Popcorn in the News

2008-03-16T19:00:00.002-04:00

I wrote an article about a local popcorn supply company for Buffalo Rising recently. Check it out!

Crafty Bea

2008-03-11T14:23:00.003-04:00

Terra has posted a great photo of Bea in crafting action-- here she is wearing the smock I made a while back.

Fabric Found?

2008-03-08T08:17:00.001-05:00

I think I may have finally found the fabric I want to use for my kitchen curtains! I'd prefer if this fabric had a white background with a black pattern, but after MUCH searching, at least I've found the sputnik-ish pattern. Now I'm thinking I should get a clock to match, too:

If Only My Blender Looked This Snazzy

2008-03-07T16:44:00.004-05:00

I think my appliances may experience craft envy! Donna felted this lovely blender cover from a piece of roving I gave her a while back. I love the idea of dressing up one's kitchen appliances!

Back from Cleveland, No Crafts in Tow

2008-03-05T10:20:00.002-05:00

I traveled to Cleveland State University this week to give a lecture on higher education and gender so I haven't had any time to craft over the past couple of days. It was interesting to be a fly on the wall in Ohio on March 4th, however--- everyone I asked was really unsure of what the democratic primary results would be. Well, the results are in and voter turnout was at record highs across Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island, but my crafting productivity is still at an all-time low. C'est la vie. I'll jump back into the crafting swing of things soon, I'm sure.

Happy Birthday Ali!

2008-03-01T19:58:00.003-05:00

My friend Ali only has a birthday once every four years, poor guy! But seeing as how yesterday (February 29) was his 9th (!) birthday, we decided to host a little surprise dinner party for him. In addition to really delicious food from Buffalo's Aladdin Cafe and cake from Sweet Tooth, we surprised Ali with some fun presents. John and I gave him this mosaic table for his new(ish) house. I found the table (and plates that I broke up to make mosaic pieces) at the Amvets Thrift Store in Buffalo.

Two Monkeys Down

2008-02-28T15:57:00.002-05:00

I've completed two monkeys for my blanket-in-progress. So cute, right?!

Buffalo's Middle Eastern Markets

2008-02-26T00:01:00.000-05:00

An article I wrote for Buffalo Rising was published online on Monday; the print version comes out in March as well. Check it out!

Two Degrees of Separation: Kanye West and Me

2008-02-25T16:37:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I guess it really is true that people are connected in the strangest ways sometimes. Our friend Kagan, dad to Islay and artist extraordinaire, watched a movie starring Weng Weng while we (Kagan and his wife, Sandy, and me and John) were on vacation on Manitoulin Island a couple of summers ago. John, who is king of obscure movies, found the movie online and brought it to share with Kagan. They watched it on my laptop out near a bonfire one night. Kagan was inspired to draw a picture of Weng Weng in his rocket pack that night. Then a while later, Kagan and his brother Sean, who comprise the hip-hop group The C.H.U.D.S. put out a rap and video that blew up on YouTube. Recently Kanye West featured the video on his blog. So there you have it: me --> Kagan --> Kanye West.

Here's the video, for your viewing pleasure:

Monkeys Needed

2008-02-21T18:36:00.003-05:00

I've finished all the granny squares for the sock monkey blanket I'm crocheting. Now it's time to make some monkeys! That's the part I'm looking forward to. I'm not so keen on crocheting all the granny squares together, but I'll plow ahead because I can see the light at the end of the (carpal) tunnel and I think this blanket will look darn cute when it's done.

Lara: Embroidering in Tanzania

2008-02-20T17:55:00.003-05:00

My friend Lara made this cool embroidered bag. She is living in Tanzania right now and working as the Field Coordinator for IRC in Kibondo. I sent her some embroidery supplies a while back, and voila! Globalized crafting once again...

An Inspiring Crafter

2008-02-19T17:19:00.000-05:00

I'd like to introduce my blog readers to a most inspiring crafter: Donna Ferraro! Donna and I met a couple of weeks ago through my sister Sarah. We all needle felted and knitted together, and I mentioned to Donna that I originally got interested in needle felting because I saw photos of some really cute fairies. I also talked, as I usually do, somewhat incessantly about my cats.

Fast forward to today, when Sarah stopped by with a lovely bag of crafts from Donna for me! First, I am the proud recipient of this lovely needle felted fairy. It's amazingly intricate- not only is her face hand-painted, but her skirt is crafted from flower petals, and her legs are movable and beautiful, as they're wire that's been hand-wrapped with embroidery floss! Donna named her "Thimbleberry Fairy" and I am so happy to have her in my home. I've placed her on our chandelier for the moment, because it's one of the few places I know that Mochi (the wool destroyer) can't reach. I think the Thimbleberry Fairy looks cute there- like she's watching over our family meals. She even came complete with fairy dust!

Donna didn't forget about Meowzle and Mochi, and they sure are grateful for that! She sewed an organic catnip toy for each of the kitties, and as the pictures below indicate, they LOVE their new fish. In fact, they haven't stopped playing with these toys since I opened them 45 minutes ago. The packaging for these catnip fish is adorable, and the premium organic catnip, combined with the enticing ribbons, has made for two very contented cats.

And one very happy cat owner/crafter. Thanks a million, Donna. You made my day.

Another Crocheted Tote

2008-02-17T12:19:00.002-05:00

I finished another crocheted tote recently. I've been meaning to post a photo of it for a week or two, but just got around to taking it. I'm not sure who this will be gifted to but it'll be a great catch-all/grocery tote for someone, not unlike the crocheted cotton totes I made a while back.

Monkey Blanket Update

2008-02-16T18:42:00.005-05:00

As I posted before, I've been working on a really cute crocheted blanket featuring sock monkeys. I searched many local yarn suppliers for the right yarn for the monkeys themselves. Alas, I learned that none of them were carrying Bernat Denim-Style yarn in Rodeo Tan any longer. What to do? It just wouldn't be right if these monkeys were the wrong color, and I'm way too impatient to wait for an eBay order to arrive. After several agonizing trips to various stores, I finally found a replacement- Bernat Softee Chunky Twists yarn in Taupe. Yippee! Let the sock monkey crocheting commence.

I Love You This Munch

2008-02-14T18:40:00.005-05:00

As I've written before, we're not really into Valentine's Day around here. It feels sort of forced to celebrate on a day so commercially-oriented. But the spirit moved me today, and I made John a valentine anyway. Not just any valentine, though... a zombie valentine. I can't take credit for the images on the card-- they're from here and here and here. This valentine is comprised entirely of recycled file folders and paper and (because I couldn't find regular glue) wood glue. It's not falling apart anytime soon. Those who know John will be unsurprised to hear that he really liked this gift.

Haya's Sweater

2008-02-13T09:18:00.004-05:00

I knitted a sweater for my dear friend Hanna when she was pregnant with her lovely (and generally quite smiley, although not in these photos) daughter Haya. Sometimes when I knit, crochet, or sew congratulatory presents for expectant parents I make them pretty big-- the idea being that the item will be in the life of the child a bit longer than if I made it to fit a newborn. Since Haya lives in Madison, WI, I figure it's great that this sweater fits her well now, in the middle of winter.

Ginny's Got a Blog

2008-02-12T21:22:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law Ginny (who's been mentioned and/or featured a whopping 9 times on this blog; the most recent time was here) has just started a baking/knitting/crafting in general blog. She's got a great post today about a scarf she knitted. Check it out!

Crafty Donna and Crafty Di

2008-02-11T14:08:00.000-05:00

I spent parts of this weekend learning and teaching various crafts. On Friday, crafty Rochesterian (is that right?) Donna taught me and my sister Sarah how to needle felt. I wish I'd had my camera with me, because Donna's needle felted creatures are really something to behold! I made a cute chick that sort of looked like a Peep but it was destroyed by Mochi, who was overcome with joy when she got her paws on that wool. John came in to my office and said, "I'm afraid I found a crafting casualty." He was carrying the poor chick's shredded body in one hand and wings in another. I also helped Donna learn how to knit on Friday, but she's a natural, so I really can't take any credit.

Then on Sunday, Diane and I spent a couple of hours working on various projects, including a lovely hat that Di knitted for a friend in Germany. I also taught her how to crochet a granny square. I look forward to see her first granny square blanket sometime soon!

Balloon Crafts

2008-02-04T13:50:00.000-05:00

My sister just sent me an e-mail with photos of the most amazing balloon dresses. I did a bit of googling and found this wonderful balloon toilet as well.

Too Busy Crocheting To Post

2008-02-03T12:33:00.000-05:00

The past few days I've been crocheting and knitting like crazy. I made a bag (future birthday present for someone, to be featured at a later date), started a baby sweater and bought supplies for an awesome monkey blanket (pattern via Happy Hooker). Here's hoping it will look as good as the one above, made by Big Girl Feet.

Windy Day

2008-01-30T20:31:00.000-05:00

There's a storm in Buffalo today; it's one of those perfect opportunities to stay inside, crank up the heat, pop popcorn and watch a movie. The course I'm teaching is canceled for tonight because the college is closed, John is home sick for the day, and the cats are happy campers.

If it wasn't so darn cold, I'd think about building an igloo in our backyard.

Totoros Galore!

2008-01-29T14:02:00.000-05:00

My husband John is one of the best surprise-gift givers I have ever encountered. He's not one to celebrate on predetermined days (we're not big on Valentine's Day around here, for example), but he'll often surprise me on a non-holiday with something really cool. Today is one of those days! The mail carrier rolled up around 10:30 AM with a big box from Japan. Whenever I get a box from Japan via John, I immediately suspect that a Totoro gift is inside. After opening the lovely packaging, my suspicions were confirmed. Not only did John get me a large, extremely warm Totoro blanket, he also bought the cutest Totoro apron and bag (see below). And there were two origami Totoros included in the box. I just found online instructions for how to make your own origami Totoro; check it out here.

The items came gift-wrapped (of course I saved the paper for re-use):

And, on top of the lovely gift wrapping, one of the items had an origami Totoro decoration:

The incredibly warm and lucky Clover Totoro blanket now gracing our couch:

My new bag, perfect for carrying books to school and/or groceries:

My new apron, which I absolutely love and can't wait to put to use:

Monkey Cake

2008-01-28T16:15:00.000-05:00

Who wouldn't want a monkey cake for their birthday? My sister-in-law Ginny decided to make one for her friend Alex's birthday recently. She sent photos of the final product today, and I thought it was so cute that it needed a wider audience... hence this post. Perhaps best of all, the cake was banana with chocolate frosting. Sounds delicious and looks too cute to eat. The inspiration is from a Martha Stewart recipe, which can be found here.

Happy Birthday Alex!

Crafting Food into Words

2008-01-25T16:18:00.000-05:00

I haven't been working on anything crafty today, except an article on the Middle Eastern markets in the City of Buffalo for Buffalo Rising. Stay tuned... I'll let you know when the article's done and gets posted.

Felting a Bag: Steps Two and Three

2008-01-24T11:11:00.000-05:00

I've finished steps two and three of my felted bag. After washing and drying this bag five times, I finally achieved a felted look! I also achieved complete domination over our laundry pile. After some thorough cat inspection (FYI: Mochi approves), I sewed the handle into a tube and wove it through the holes in the top of the bag. Now I've got to figure out if I want to add to this bag by needle felting a design or not. I'm going to sit with the un-needle felted bag for a while and see if the crafty spirits move me in that direction.

Great Apron Pattern

2008-01-23T16:32:00.000-05:00

Over at one of my favorite blogs, Montessori By Hand, blogger Meg McElwee has created a pattern for a great apron, called the Emmeline Apron. You can pre-order your pattern today, to be shipped on February 8, 2008.

Felting a Bag: Step One

2008-01-22T12:19:00.000-05:00

I've finally finished crocheting a huge bag. It's in the process of being felted right now, so the only photo I've got is of step one, which is the pre-felting stage. I'm felting the bag and the handle separately and will sew the whole thing together after I finish making several trips down to the washing machine to shrink this puppy as much as possible. You can't really tell from the photo, but I've crocheted holes near the top perimeter of the bag so that I can weave the handle around after the felting's done. Okay, back to the basement for felting #4. One good aspect of this project is that I'm getting a lot of laundry done.

Geographically Relevant Outlet Covers

2008-01-20T21:09:00.000-05:00

Yesterday my sister and I worked on a project for her new condo: decoupaging outlet covers. We decided to use an old (and I do mean old-- we're talking Soviet Union era) atlas to cover her many electrical (light switch, plug and cable) outlet covers. We decided to do each one based on a place she's lived or visited. So now she's got covers featuring maps of Mongolia and France (above), Kenya, Spain, The Philippines, California, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Virginia (some of which are below). We wound up re-doing the black and silver cover because we didn't like it.

Stinky But Cheap: Making Your Own Pore Cleaning Strips

2008-01-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

I've been meaning to try making my own pore cleaning strips for a while. The idea behind these is the same as the ones that you can find on the drugstore shelf (like Biore, above). I don't use these on a regular basis (in fact, I'm rather a minimalist when it comes to skin care and make-up-- water and facial soap pretty much comprise my daily routine) but when I saw this recipe on Bath and Body Recipes, it looked like too much fun to pass up.

The bottom line? The recipe (see below) seemed to work pretty well, but it stank. I think anytime you warm up milk and brush it on your face, it's bound to be, well, a smell adventure, but there's something about the mixture of milk and gelatin that really didn't appeal to me. At all.

That being said, it was fun. And there are tons (787 at the moment, to be exact) of do-it-yourself bath and body recipes on the website, so check it out.

This recipe makes a pore cleaning "strip" which works just like those sold in popular drugstores.

1 T Knox unflavored gelatin
1-1/2 T milk

Mix two ingredients and microwave for 10 seconds to slightly warm. Using a clean cosmetic brush, apply to nose and chin area. Avoid delicate eye area. Rinse brush immediately. Allow mixture on nose and chin to dry for 10-15 minutes. Mixture will dry quite stiff and form a "stiff film." Peel off the film and stare at all the little porcupine quills that used to be in your nose pores (one of the chief entertainment factors with B'Strips!).

Bath and Body Recipes

Pet Peeve: Lost Crochet Hook

2008-01-18T10:31:00.000-05:00

One of my pet peeves is when I lose a hook or needles from an in-process crocheting or knitting project. I am in the middle of making a big crocheted bag, which I plan to felt eventually. I got about halfway done with this project and ran out of yarn. It took me a couple of days to get to the store to buy more yarn, and in the meantime our cat Mochi decided that the halfway-done bag made a great toy. Somehow she managed to lose the hook. I know I can just go to my stash of hooks and needles to replace it, but it's driving me crazy that I can't find it. Fortunately my hooks are just the plain ol' metal kind, not like these fancy ones from Grafton Fibers.

Bubbles Galore

2008-01-16T12:33:00.000-05:00

My cats love bubbles. They will run in from another room if they hear me opening a container of bubbles. Accordingly, I've been doing some internet research on bubble recipes.

Bubble Recipe Sites:

1. This link includes a jell-o bubble recipe.
2. Bubble art (may be a bit advanced if your primary audience is two cats).
3. Lots of links to bubble recipes.
4. The definitive source, it seems.

The more I write the word bubble the weirder it looks. Apparently it's from the Middle English bubelen, to bubble. My source?

bubble. (n.d.). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved January 16, 2008, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bubble

Can you tell I'm in the middle of editing an academic paper and looking for distractions?!

Finding the Right Fabric: Not There Yet

2008-01-15T20:25:00.000-05:00

I recently renovated my kitchen. This involved a bunch of steps, some of which I've blogged about already. I painted the ceiling and window and door trim, painted the walls, painted the cupboards, replaced the cupboard hardware, replaced the ceiling light/fan, installed new curtain rods, and got my countertops replaced. I wanted to make the kitchen, which is small, really vibrant and fun. I therefore painted it a bright green color called Tart Apple. I got black, white and grey solid surface acrylic countertops. The new light/fan is a funky retro design. The new artwork I created (from rice paper purchased in Toronto's Chinatown and wooden frames that Ginny and I painted grey) adds a graphic punch without being too loud.

So all of that is great. Here's the rub: I can't find fabric to match my vision for curtains. I'm imagining something that's mostly black and white, in a mod/sunburst-inspired pattern like the fabric above, with maybe a splash of green and a bit of grey. I have searched and searched, online and in person, in the U.S. and Canada, and have yet to find fabric that corresponds with what's in my head. I have confidence that I'll get there, and until then my plain white sheers will have to do, but I'm kind of surprised at how hard it is to find what I'm looking for. If all else fails, I think I'll make my husband really happy by making curtains out of this fabric:

Ginny's Coming to Visit!

2008-01-10T10:01:00.000-05:00

My sister-in-law Ginny is arriving for a visit today. In honor of her trip, I've made her a little bag to hold her Charlie Card. This little bag is made from the same fabric out of which I crafted my second-ever art smock.

Art Smock, Redux

2008-01-09T13:34:00.000-05:00

After completing an art smock for Bea and making a trip up to Toronto's Honest Ed's and finding some awesome tablecloth material for sale by the yard, I decided to make a smock for my friend Hanna's daughter Haya. I'll be seeing Haya (and parents) in mid-January when she makes her annual winter trek from Madison to Buffalo, and I hope she likes this smock.

Mely, what do you think? We purchased this flowery goodness together, after all...

Globalized Yarn

2008-01-08T13:45:00.000-05:00

Behold, a hat and scarf made from yarn that's traveled the world! This lovely wool/acrylic blend originated in Italy, was purchased as a gift for me in New Zealand by my colleague and cat sitter extraordinaire Carolyn, brought to New York, where I've fashioned this hat and scarf to send as a pick-me-up to my friend Susan in Colorado. I could make a complex political argument about global consumerism here, but instead I'll direct your attention to Pietra Rivoli's book, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade.

Me, modeling hat and scarf in my husband's lair, uh, I mean, office. And in case you're wondering, yes, that is an official lightsaber replica on the shelf above my head, along with a luchador, a Darth Maul figure, and a Homer doll.

Still Not Over the Holidays? Design Your Own Sweater!

2008-01-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

I just found a funny website where you can "knit" your very own over-the-top holiday sweater! Check it out here.

Crafting: The Early Years

2008-01-05T18:25:00.000-05:00

Imagine my glee on Christmas morning 2007 when I opened a present from my parents and found these two shirts. "Surprise!" my mom said, "These are t-shirts you crafted at camp when you were young. I thought you could feature them on your blog!" It's amazing what a trip up to the attic can unearth.

We made these t-shirts at Camp Sky High (Sing along: "Sky High, Sky High, is the best, the B-E-S-T best, oh yes, oh la dee da") sometime in the early 1980s (although I'm sure you could date these based solely on the style [who doesn't love a shredded T?] and prevalence of pony beads!)

Welcoming the New Rees Baby

2008-01-04T18:40:00.000-05:00

My wonderful friends Liz and Matt and their cute little son Nathan will welcome a second child into their family at the end of May. I used 5 skeins of Lion Suede yarn to crochet this blanket; three were the color "Moonshadow" and two were "Taupe". I got all five skeins of yarn from my mom for Christmas. I hope it keeps Baby Rees nice and warm.

My Crafty Family

2008-01-03T11:04:00.000-05:00

My brother-by-another-brother Matt (see here for an explanation) gave me some awfully crafty Christmas presents. I'm so impressed with his ability to get me gifts that I genuinely like and want. I'm especially enamored with the book shown above, Knitting for Peace. Now I've just got to figure out which of the projects to knit first, and when. I guess I can use my new knitting calendar (see below) to work out a schedule.

Sisterly Love

2008-01-01T18:00:00.000-05:00

My sister Sarah knitted me this amazing felted bag as a Christmas present. I'd known she was making it (we knit together so it would've been hard for her to hide it from me) but I thought it was a present for my mom. Sarah used a lot of her excess yarn to make this bag, including some bits and pieces she got at a yarn swap at Karma Knitting. That makes me love it all the more. And the fact that it perfectly fits my stuffed Totoro is another endearing feature, of course.

Welcome, 2008

2008-01-01T11:36:00.000-05:00

Here's to a new year filled with crafting delights... and prosperity, laughter and health.

Uncle Tom: Getting Into the Crafty Holiday Spirit

2007-12-31T18:03:00.000-05:00

My Uncle Tom was a true craft buff this holiday. Not only did he participate in our annual Christmas ornament crafting extravaganza this year (see photo below of my brother Adam, cousin Alex, cousin Mariah, mother-in-law Barbara and me painting wooden ornaments on Christmas day), he also brought his own craft (a wreath he decorated with little Christmas figures) to my parents' house. And yes, he is mocking my Craft Buff profile picture in the photo shown above! But really, with his skills and enthusiasm, don't you think Uncle Tom should start his own craft blog?

Oh, and one other thing: in the group photo above, my cousin Mariah is painting glitter on a gift she asked for (and received for) Christmas- pepper spray. As she was leaving the house that evening, my dad said to her, "Oh, Mariah, did you decorate that thing you're holding? Is it an ornament?" She very sweetly replied, "No, that's my pepper spray. I decorated it with glitter paint." My dad quickly backed away.

Happy Knitmas...

2007-12-31T17:44:00.000-05:00

Every year my knitting group holds an annual get-together at knitter extraordinaire Stacey's house in Alden, NY. She decorates her old Victorian beautifully for Christmas, and it's the perfect place to have a glass of wine (or a peppermint martini) and hold a knitting-related gift swap. We do a "dirty Santa" exchange, where everyone draws a number and each person can choose between a gift that's already been opened by someone else or a fresh, unopened gift from under the tree. I was the happy recipient of a really cool yarn winder from Rhinebeck, and then the sad loser of that same product when someone else mercilessly swiped it from me. But it all turned out okay in the end, when I opened the lovely and useful book Super Stitches Knitting by Karen Hemingway.

Holiday Posts, Delayed

2007-12-30T11:09:00.001-05:00

The past 10 days have been a whirlwind of activity here, hence my long blogging silence. I have a backlog of photos and information to post, which I'll get to sometime today or tomorrow. For the moment, however, I'd like to share an awesomely cute photo of Isobel and Ophelia with one of the blankets I helped their mom Becky to create.

Beaded Santa Earrings

2007-12-21T08:02:00.000-05:00

A woman on my block makes these cute Santa earrings. I bought a pair ($15) for my mother-in-law, who is currently traveling from San Francisco to Buffalo and therefore will not, I hope, read my blog before Christmas! I don't want to spoil the surprise, but I wanted to feature these because they're just so darn cute.

My neighbor is thinking about getting a small business started and I'm eager to support her effort. If any of you are interested in purchasing a pair of earrings like these- a great gift for any Christmas lovers in your family- please contact me and I will arrange to have them shipped to you. It's a little late for this year, but you could always buy some and save them for next Christmas.

Cuteness Overload

2007-12-20T22:27:00.000-05:00

Meet Vonn James! My wonderful friend Andrea recently had a little baby boy. I blogged a while ago about the sweater and blanket I made to welcome little Vonn into the world. Here he is, modeling the goods. In the photo above he's wearing a yellow angora sweater. Below he's sleeping on the green fleece blanket I made, and in the final photo he's sporting a red and yellow angora hat (which he'll hopefully grow into further as the winter progresses!) and the yellow angora sweater. The final photo also features his Grandpa James, after whom Vonn James is named. FYI, Vonn means "bright" in German and knowing Andrea as I do, I'm sure he will be bright in all senses of the word.

Zippers Galore

2007-12-20T12:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a little gift I made for yet another anonymous (because she hasn't received it yet) friend. It's a zipper coin pouch- made from 8 small zippers, which I purchased a while back at the East Bay Depot for Creative Reuse, one of my favorite places in the world (this is probably another one, if I ever get there to visit). Talk about imagined treasure- EBDCR takes the cake.

But I digress... I intentionally stitched this with a bright yellow thread and wanted it to look handmade so I made the stitches big and visible. There's no official opening to this little bag- all eight of the zippers function. Cool, no?

Holiday Dogs

2007-12-18T22:31:00.000-05:00

Today's craft adventures included making two jaunty little scarves for pooches I know. One was a gift for my adviser's dog, Toby, and the other for my dog-nephew and downstairs tenant, Ebenezer. These scarves were super quick to whip up- I just cut 2 big squares out of holiday fabric (snowmen on one side, stars on the other), cut a diagonal line to create 4 triangles, and then sewed 2 triangles together (snowmen and stars back-to-back). I cut in a buttonhole in order to slip one end of the scarf into the other to secure it and called it a day. Oh, and I also added a piece of elastic to the end of Toby's, in case it didn't fit him (it's hard to recall a dog's neck size from memory...) Both dogs looked super cute in their new accessories, but I've only got photos of Ebenezer (aka Eb, Eben, Beezer, Pretzel Man and/or Love Love, depending on who's talking to him!)

Wigilia

2007-12-18T00:24:00.000-05:00

Every year we celebrate a Polish tradition on Christmas Eve, called Wigilia. For the last couple of years, I've hosted the Wigilia at our house. On Saturday I attended a cooking class at the Broadway Market that reviewed some of the traditional dishes prepared for the holiday. One tip I learned from the presenter is that tub butter can be softened, molded into decorative silicone baking containers such as the dinosaur ones pictured below, refrigerated to set, and then easily removed from the mold and used to decorate the holiday table. An easy way to get crafty with your butter at Wigilia or any other celebration!

Diane's Christmas Hat

2007-12-16T22:36:00.000-05:00

My friend Diane and I often craft together. It helps that we live within a mile of each other in the 14213 (gotta show some neighborhood pride)... Today was a terribly snowy day and Di was brave enough to venture out of her house and over to mine for some impromptu holiday-present knitting. Her 4 wheel drive vehicle helped in that endeavor. Anyway, I'm featuring a hat that Di crocheted for her mom for Christmas. She's afraid that it looks more like a crown than a hat, but I think it's cute and I'm sure her mom will love it.

Also, see below for a little make-up bag I whipped up today as a holiday gift. Again, I can't say more without ruining the surprise... but I hope the intended recipient likes it.

Shh! It's a Surprise!

2007-12-16T12:06:00.000-05:00

The trouble with making lots of gifts at the holidays and having a blog that features my ongoing craft adventures is that I can't post about what I'm making without fear of being found out by my loved ones. So here is a little tidbit-- I can't reveal what I'm knitting, or for whom I'm knitting it, but viola! Something for someone. Let's just say that it involved lots and lots of yarn and size 19 needles, so the going was quick. I'll post the item in all its glory after December 26th.

Art Smock, Completed

2007-12-15T21:48:00.000-05:00

I finished this little art smock for Bea yesterday. I love the fact that it's reversible. Although only blue and lavender side is stain-proof, the other side can be used while Bea is coloring or engaged in other less-messy crafty activities. I hope Bea and her mom Terra like the finished product as much as I do!

El Dia de los Muertos Smock

2007-12-11T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's such a busy time of year as a crafter, I almost don't know what to feature on this blog. I've got tons of projects underway at once! One of the cutest, however, is an art smock for my friend from middle schoolTerra's daughter, Bea. Terra requested that I make the smock out of some really fun and funky fabric. The blue and purple (el dia de los muertos) oilcloth is from Mexican Sugar Skull, and the cantina/music fabric is by Alexander Henry.

I am using an existing Montessori art smock (shown below) to create the pattern for this little garment. At Terra's request, rick rack is also featured prominently in the design. I'll post a photo when it's all completed, and perhaps also post a photo of adorable Bea (also shown below, in a photo featured on Terra's blog).

Holiday Pet Bed, Completed

2007-12-10T18:20:00.000-05:00

This weekend I finished crocheting the holiday pet bed I'm donating to the SPCA. If my own cats' reaction is any indication, some little pup or kitten will really like it. Mochi and Meowzle have been sleeping on it all day.

Scoring at the Salvation Army

2007-12-07T11:39:00.000-05:00

The other day I went to the Salvation Army with my sister. Since she recently purchased a home, Sarah is on the lookout for furniture treasures. Although we didn't find any gems of the furniture variety, I did find 4 really cool Christmas items. My favorite is the crocheted granny square Christmas stocking pictured above. This is a really simple project if you know how to make granny squares- it's just 16 granny squares sewn together. I actually found a tutorial for this online and am including it at the bottom of this post. Someone's hard work cost me a measly 49 cents.

I also found this flat Santa door decoration for a whopping 99 cents. I think this is probably from the 1960s- can anyone out there date it?

Yippee! I'm so excited- a Makit and Bakit ornament kit! This was originally $1.29 (the price tag is still visible) but I bought it for 49 cents. According to the package, this item was produced in 1978, which is approximately the last time I made a Makit and Bakit kit.

My new Santa holiday mail bag was also 49 cents. He seems to be from the same era as the Santa door decoration, and was made in Japan. He already has some holiday mail in his belly.

*****
Tutorial:

Granny Square Christmas Stocking

By Pat Smith ©2000

Materials:

4 oz. each color red, white and green. (Will make several)

Crochet hook Size G

Yarn needle

Make 16 red, white and green granny squares.

Rnd 1) Starting with white ch 4 join with slip stitch to form ring. Ch 3, 2 dc in ring. *Ch3, 3 dc in ring.*

Repeat from *to* twice. Ch 3 and join with a slip stitch to beginning ch 3. Fasten off.

Rnd 2) Attach red in any corner ch 3 space. Ch 3, 2 dc in space, ch 3, 3 dc in space. Ch 1. *3 dc, ch 3,

3dc in next space, ch1.* Repeat from *to* twice. Slip stitch to beginning ch 3 and fasten off.

Rnd 3) Attach green in any corner ch 3 space. Ch 3, 2 dc in space, ch 3, 3 dc in space. Ch 1. *3 dc in next

ch 1 space, ch 1, 3 dc in next corner space, ch 3, 3 dc in same corner, ch 1.* Repeat from *to* twice. Slip

stitch in beginning ch 3 space and fasten off.

Rnd 4) Attach white in any corner ch 3 space. Ch 3, 2 dc in space, ch 3, 3 dc in space. Ch 1. *3 dc in next

ch 1 space, ch 1, 3 dc in next ch1 space, ch 1, (3 dc, ch 3, 3 dc) in next corner space.* Repeat

from *to* twice. Attach with a slip stitch to beginning ch 3 and fasten off.

After you have all 16 squares made, you sew them together with white yarn. See diagram.

When Cats Paint

2007-12-05T11:33:00.000-05:00

The other day I decided to paint my kitchen. The new color is a bit loud- it's called "tart apple" and basically my kitchen now looks like I've smeared Granny Smith apples all over the walls. I'll post photos of the project when it's completed. Today's post, however, focuses on what happens when you have 2 curious Siamese cats who wish to help you paint.

Exhibit #1 (pictured above): Mochi decides that she likes the tart apple color enough to temporarily change the color of her back right paw.

Exhibit #2: Said paw, prior to a good scrubbing.

Exhibit #3 (look closely): Meowzle sports a new cat fashion trend- a green spotted forehead.

Poinsettia News

2007-12-04T11:04:00.000-05:00

I'm getting into the holiday spirit these days. Here's my latest craft project. This poinsettia wreath is a Martha Stewart kit- I used my 40% off coupon, yippee! There were a few leftover crepe paper flowers when I finished. Not sure what I'll do with them, but I'm sure I'll find some use.

I bought this kit because I love poinsettias, but was under the somewhat mistaken impression that they're toxic to cats and I should not have them in my house. In reading online, I find contrary opinions on this topic (see here and here and here). I probably won't buy a real one, even if the evidence on their toxicity is contradictory, so I'm quite pleased with my wreath.

Cuteness in a Mongolian Vest

2007-12-01T20:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, it's sort of cheating to blog about this because I didn't make this adorable vest for adorable baby Isobel... but I did buy it from a crafty woman at the Ulaanbaatar black market, cart it back to the U.S. and ship it off to my friend Becky in Chicago, so I feel justified in sharing this super-cute photo. Note also that Isobel is sporting some toasty warm camel wool slippers from Mongolia. She's definitely all set for winter in the windy city.

Luggage Tags

2007-11-30T15:12:00.000-05:00

I've blogged before about a luggage tag tutorial at My Longest Year that I thought was cute and easy. Now here's an blurb about my own foray into the world of luggage tag crafting.

I was inspired to craft some luggage tags when I saw the following:

Aren't they cool? I'm always on the lookout for good ways to make my luggage stand out from the crowd- our luggage is usually very standard-looking, and I hate trying to guess if a bag is mine as it comes at me on the belt at the airport. These tags seemed like a great idea, so I bookmarked the link and stuck the idea in that corner of my brain filled with crafty ideas I plan to realize someday.

Then, a couple of days ago, I was at the Dollar Tree, and I spotted these:

At 10 for a $1, I can make lots of luggage tags and ensure that I'm never again uncertain about whether or not a bag is mine! I'm making custom tags for my family members for the holidays-- I won't say much, so as not to ruin the surprise, but let's just say that these tags will feature zombies, sharks, shoes, workout gear, Montessori materials, cats and a sleeping guy. I'll post pictures after I give them away in December.

What Would You Do?

2007-11-29T21:36:00.000-05:00

If you had this really cool empty can, what would you make out of it? I'm thinking of a pencil holder, but that seems so very predictable. Isn't it great? I don't even like canned peaches, but the "Dainty-Pak" label totally won me over.

And, just for the complete cuteness of it, a photo of my two cats sleeping on my office chair. FYI, I sat perched on the edge of the chair working at the computer for about 30 minutes so as not to disturb the cuteness. Finally my husband came in and moved the cats, muttering something about my carpel tunnel syndrome as he did so.

Beginning a Holiday Project: Pet Bed

2007-11-28T21:56:00.000-05:00

I belong to a knitting group that has been very indulgent of my absences of late. I guess being in Mongolia is a pretty good excuse for not attending, but now that I'm back, I'm ready to join the madness again. Anyway, one of the excellent knitters in our group, Deb, suggested that we all work on projects to be donated this holiday season, and even connected us to a particular project- knitted pet beds for the local SPCA (so that the animals have some warmth in their cages during the long Buffalo winter).

I'm not sure exactly what the finished product will look like, but I hope it might knit up like the above photo. Of course, I'll post pictures of my finished product. I just hope Mochi doesn't web with my yarn for this project!

Stupid Sock Creatures, Revisited

2007-11-27T12:19:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got an e-mail from my colleague and friend Susan, who shared the above photo of her Thanksgiving weekend crafting adventures. She wrote:

Hi Rachel,

I thought of you last night as we spent the evening crafting with socks. When we were Christmas shopping yesterday we bought a “Stupid Sock Creatures” book and kit (by John Murphy) for my sister-in-law and her husband. It looked like so much fun that we made our own stupid sock monsters to send along. Here is a photo of our creations. Jason made the big headed guy on the left, I made the strange creation in the middle, and Chloe’s creature on the right is still in progress.

Susan

Okay, now here's the crazy part. Although I'd never mentioned this to Susan before, I actually met John Murphy several years ago (maybe in 2002 or 2003, I'm not sure) and commissioned him to make stupid sock creatures for me, my sister and my brother!

Here's the link to the book and kit, in case you want to make your own. In the meantime, I'll try to scare up some photos of our stupid sock creatures. Mine is named "Sharky the Intrepid," FYI!

Oh, What a Tangled Web...

2007-11-24T18:47:00.000-05:00

The webspinner inspecting her work

One of my cats, Mochi, loves to eat wool and other natural fibers (particularly cashmere). In addition to this not-so-charming behavior, she has another yarn-related habit that is pretty cute. If she finds a ball of yarn, she will carry it in her mouth, dragging the tail of the yarn until she weaves an intricate web throughout our house. Generally these webs begin near a table. She weaves the yarn around the legs of that piece of furniture and then carries the ball to another room, where she proceeds to web some more. This is often a nocturnal activity for Mochi, so we have to be careful not to get trapped in her tangled web when we wake up in the mornings.

A close-up of the web at its origins

The web continues into the dining room; notice that it divides into two paths at this point

Path one: Masterful weaving around a dining room chair

Path two: From the dining room into the pantry and kitchen (she ran out of yarn at this point)

Gratitude and Feasting

2007-11-23T20:01:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I hosted my second-ever Thanksgiving. It was a rousing success- or at least there were no major calamities (no lumpy mashed potatoes, no too-dry turkey, no burnt stuffing, etc!)

I was so busy cooking that I didn't take any photos. But despite the lack of photographic evidence, I'll state for the record that I am ever grateful to have shared a feast with 10 of my nearest and dearest. After all of our recent adventures overseas, it felt really nice to be gathered around the table with loved ones. For those who might be interested, my menu:

Turkey, stuffing, gravy
Mixed greens salad with pears, pecans and dried cranberries
Mashed potatoes (with sour cream, heavy cream and butter- not an everyday food!)
Sweet potatoes
Purple cauliflower* and (regular, orange) carrots
Green beans with onions
Squash stuffed with cranberries and apples (made by my sister Sarah!)
Traditional cranberry sauce and cranberry chutney
Sweet potato pie
Pumpkin pie
Apple pie (made by my sister Sarah!)

I have to admit that while I orchestrated the whole dinner, I had massive amounts of help from my mom, who actually spent the night and woke at 5 AM to put the turkey in the oven (it was a big turkey, and since we eat early-- at 1 PM-- we had to get it started in the early morn).

Anyway, I hope your holiday was as much fun as ours!

*According to Wikipedia: Purple cauliflower exists naturally. The purple color is caused by the presence of the antioxidant group anthocyanin, which can also be found in red cabbage and red wine. Varieties include 'Graffiti' and 'Purple Cape'.

One Potato, Two Potato...

2007-11-21T16:13:00.000-05:00

In honor of the 10 lbs. of potatoes I peeled today (for tomorrow's Thanksgiving dinner), I present potato-related crafts:

1. Potato Dough
2. Potato Necklace
3. Potato Printing
4. Baked Potato Bag

Happy Eating and Crafting!

Added: an excellent potato video from the 1970s by Rita Pavone, courtesy of mely. Thanks so much- this is awesome!

Little Julia, the Adorable Disco Duck

2007-11-20T14:19:00.000-05:00

A while back I made a little sweater for my friend and classmate Heather, who was pregnant with her daughter Julia. Julia's now growing fast, and is now the size to wear the yellow and white creation. You can't really tell from the photos but the white yarn has silver threads running through it, leading to a sparkly, disco-y effect. Isn't Julia's smile the cutest thing? I think she looks really wise in these photos, like she's in on a joke or something.

Loving...

2007-11-19T23:15:00.000-05:00

I am loving the idea of this book, The Prairie Girl's Guide to Life: How to Sew a Sampler Quilt and 49 Other Pioneer Projects for the Modern Girl by Jennifer Worick. Here's a short blurb:

Here's your chance to travel back in time, step into our remarkable foremothers' boots, and recreate wonderful homespun handicrafts and activities. Rich stories of frontier women weave their way through the guide coupling with a range of the projects that made up the daily life of these pioneers. Peek into the past, and bring a little bit back into your future.

I think it's the 3rd grade-Laura Ingalls Wilder-lover in me that finds the idea of Prairie-related crafting so appealing. I've always wanted to make a braided rug and/or embroider my pillowcases, after all. And making a batch of bread-and-butter pickles sounds awfully tasty. Let me know if you've read/crafted from this book.

Amy Sedaris on Martha Stewart

2007-11-18T05:46:00.000-05:00

I found this really funny video of Amy Sedaris on the Martha Stewart show over at Montessori By Hand. Check it out if you've got a few minutes to spare- I love Amy Sedaris!

I Wish I Were In LA...

2007-11-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

...so I could go to the plush food show (cleverly called STUFFED) happening now.

Travel Scarf

2007-11-16T21:34:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted about some crafts I made while traveling in Mongolia. As promised, here is a shot of the scarf I made for my friend Urna.

I crocheted this using Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn. I made 14 flowers following a modified granny square pattern and then linked them together. (For free crochet flower patterns, check here.) I made it on the plane ride from Beijing to NY and one of the flight attendants kept stopping to check my progress- I was tempted to give it to her but I really wanted to make something for Urna. I hope she likes it!

Travel Crafts

2007-11-15T09:11:00.000-05:00

I crocheted two small bags and a scarf out of the one (huge) ball of yarn I brought with me to Mongolia. I gave one of these bags to Odna, my friend Urna's aunt (Odna and Urna are pictured below in a restaurant in Sainshand, Mongolia). The other one I gave to Urna's awesome grandma. Odna intends to use hers as a makeup case and I think it's the perfect size for that.

The scarf, which I will feature tomorrow, is for Urna. I finished it on the plane ride from Beijing to JFK and have to send it to her soon. I hope she likes it!

This yarn is the same kind I used to make my grocery totes a while back.

Almost Over Our Jet Lag

2007-11-13T15:52:00.000-05:00

John and Rachel under the "Scholar's Tree" (it seemed appropriate) in the Forbidden City.

Sorry for the delay in posting these photos. Although we're back home and the faster internet connection ostensibly makes it easier to log on, I've been taking a break from blogging for the past couple of days as I try to get over my horrible jet lag. Interestingly, John and I found ourselves on nearly opposite jet lag sleep schedules over the past few days. I have been waking up somewhere between 2am and 4am, after going to sleep around 10:30pm, while he has been going to sleep between 2am and 4am! In any event, it seems that we're both beginning to adjust to being daylight dwellers in North America again, so I present a final post about our last days in China!

Our friend Sandra was a wonderful host- she's working on creating a website called Savour Asia and we were fortunate enough to accompany her to many delicious Beijing restaurants in the name of web research! We also wrote an article on Mongolian cuisine for her website- check it out! One of the things we already miss about China is the delicious food, like the dish pictured below:

Here's a close-up of John and me on the Great Wall of China:

Here's John outside the Forbidden City, at what may be the most famous place to take a photograph in Beijing!

Here's a particularly quiet courtyard in the Forbidden City:

And here's John outside of Mao's Tomb in Tiananmen Square:

I guess that this blog will likely now morph back into a craft blog. I hope you've enjoyed following us on our travels. Please stop back occasionally to read about my crafting adventures as well!

Some Night Market Photos

2007-11-10T06:40:00.000-05:00

We've returned and in spite of some bad jet lag (or maybe because of it), I'm keeping my promise and posting photos of the Beijing Night Market, along with some of the tasty morsels we ate there!

I believe those of you who know us well are aware that we approached this experience with an open mind and an awareness that cultural difference is totally relative- what's unique in one context is familiar in another. For those of you whom we haven't met, please understand that we experienced these foods not as "other" or "weird" but rather as a way to expand and broaden our own horizons. And we were not disappointed- John liked the scorpions so much that he ate 1 1/2 of them (minus the stinger) and I found starfish to taste remarkably similar to breaded pork chops.

What's the Most Interesting Thing You've Ever Eaten?

2007-11-08T09:25:00.000-05:00

Before this trip, I'd have said scorpion. Now John and I can add silkworm larvae and starfish to the list. Yes, starfish. On a stick.

If you want to see photos of these adventures, I want comments! Please write in and tell us what unusual foods you've encountered and then I'll post photos of some of us eating some really interesting (and sometimes tasty!) stuff.

Oh, and in case you're wondering- 2 scorpions on a stick are quite pricey, at $6.75 US. Silkworms, on the other hand, come about 8 to a stick and are only .65 cents US. Starfish is served one to a stick for $2 US.

Now, don't you want to see pictures??!

We're headed home today so I'll be posting lots of picture-heavy posts once we get back. I'm not just being coy with this post- it's actually difficult to post to Blogger in China. Stay tuned!

Wild Wall Beijing

2007-11-06T10:07:00.000-05:00

We had a great time climbing on the "wild" Great Wall of China on Sunday. We took a hike through some brush up to a section of the Great Wall that is not repaired or technically open to the public. It was an amazing, off-the-beaten-path experience and we're thankful that our gracious hosts helped us get there! We finished off with a lovely bowl of noodles at a restaurant called The Schoolhouse. Yum!

Za, Bayartai Mongol Uls!

2007-11-06T00:08:00.000-05:00

We have left Mongolia and are making a slow journey back to the States via China! I'm posting from Beijing today, but I wanted to include some photos from our goodbyes in Mongolia. We had such a wonderful time, and we are so incredibly grateful to everyone for their hospitality-- especially Zorigoo, Alta and Urna (Zorigoo and Urna are pictured above with us, at the airport). It's been a great experience.

After we get back to the US, I'll post some more photos from Mongolia, especially our trip to the Gobi, which I only partially blogged about. In the interim, here are some goodbye photos with friends:

John with our dear friend Nansa's family in UB (he was too tall for their house, much to everyone's delight!)

With my friend Solongo at her office (Mercy Corps Mongolia).

Both of us with Bayarsaikhan, the Associate Peace Corps Director for Teaching English as a Foreign Language in Mongolia.

On the plane with Urna's friend Aza and her friend- they helped us by checking in together, ensuring that our bags were not overweight for the Mongolia/China leg of the flight (the weight restrictions are less than half of our China/US flight- yikes!)

Incidentally, "Za, bayartai Mongol uls" means, "Okay, goodbye Mongolia!" :)

Vote for Qualia!

2007-11-04T17:32:00.000-05:00

Please go to www.artvoice.com and vote for QUALIA in the Battle of the Bands this week! It's my brother's band and I want him to win!

(More posting to come... we're in China now and it's been a bit difficult to post for the last several days...)