happy new year, ummm, over a month late...

OK, so I just realized it has been 8 months since my last post.  Aye!  I am inept with technological connectivity.  Bloody hell.  It's now my February resolution--to become technologically ept.  Anyway, much has changed since last posting.  New abode.  New state.  New kitty.  And my human baby is now a toddler.  It's craziness.

Anyway, I just found a video I had to share.  I've always been a fan of Make, but I just found Sylvia's Mini Maker Show for the first time.  What's wrong with me?  Why haven't I seen this sooner.  She's so freaking talented and cute and knowledgeable, I can't take it.  Enjoy!

consider me sheepish

Looky what I got . . .

It's wool, glorious wool!  Romney wool to be exact.  It's beautiful and buttery; pity about it's name though. Anyway, I was lucky to score 2 lbs. of this lovely fleece from my spinning teacher.  She bought the full fleece for a class that she's teaching, and she didn't need it all, so she sold me a portion.  Which is freaking awesome!  I didn't have to invest a lot of money, plus it's a much more manageable size.  It's perfect!  Seriously, where the hell would I store 7 lbs. of wool away from the cat beast?

Anyway, I get to go from raw fleece to knitted piece, and I love it!  I sense some dyeing experiments in the near future.

I also have to point out that my spinning teacher has got some serious connections, because this wool is immaculately clean.  Like, this sheep might have OCD, it's so clean.

Oooh, lanolin feet!

to do - canning - check

Last weekend hubby, Mr. baby, and I went strawberry picking.  After perusing the rows and rows of fruit, I decided that we needed to find the juiciest, ruby-reddist, and most delicious berry in the patch.  And in our attempt to find the juiciest, ruby-reddist, and most delicious berry in the patch we ended up picking over 4 lbs.  4 lbs.  For 3 people, 1 of whom is tiny.

Whoops.  Well, needless to say, I had to come up with some berry magic.  ASAP.  After making a strawberry rhubarb pie (umm, yum!!!), a significant amount of strawberries remained.  Seemed inevitable--canning was my new destiny.  And strawberry jam was my maiden voyage.

So while making the jam (a modified version of Betty Crocker's recipe, which is at the bottom of this post), I began the canning preparations--boiling tongs; sterilizing a place to put jars (a cookie sheet and cooling rack); boiling the canning supplies, sterilizing the jars and lids.  I felt like a witch in front of her bubbling cauldrons.  Must be sweaty being a witch.

Anyway, gotta say, it's not the most interesting activity in the world--lots of boiling and waiting, waiting and boiling.  However at the end of the process after hearing all those jar lids pop with the sound of a successful seal, I was hooked.  So satisfying.  Definitely worth trying.  My only complaint is that I didn't do enough.

And for those of you who are interested here's the approximate jam recipe (though I notoriously don't measure, so hopefully it comes out the same).  Made enough to fill five 4 oz. jars, which isn't much at all.  Good if you don't want to invest a lot of time canning or eating jam.  Bad if you become addicted.

Surplus Strawberry Jam

3 - 4 cups of strawberries, after being chopped into small pieces
1.5 cups of sugar
juice of 1 small lemon
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Simmer over medium to medium high heat for around 30 mins.  It should reduce and become dark red.  If canning, make sure the jam is hot when you put it in the jars.

Have an extra hour and a half?  Then you should watch the season 2 finale of the Masterpiece Sherlock series.

Watch Sherlock: The Reichenbach Fall on PBS. See more from Masterpiece.

Yeah, just found out that you can watch all the full episodes of Sherlock online.  Guess who's not sleeping tonight . . .

my booty (not literally)

Got a chance to go thrifting with Mr. today.  Didn't do too badly . . .

Found a craft bag from the 60s (definitely smells like the 60s); wooden hangers; a neato, silver tri-bowl; bee pants for Mr.; and a wooden box that seems like it will be useful for organization.  The best picks are by far the bag and the tri-bowl--even the lady at the thrift store mumbled something about how she hadn't seen the bag.  Too bad, it's mine, lady!!

Looks like the bag is a small wastepaper basket with some fabric and handles sewn to the top.  This bag has seen better days--looks like it has been smushed for a few years.  Hmm, I wonder how to bend caning back into shape.

And the bowl.  Actually, I should say bowl-bowl-bowl.  What's the fate of this fine vessel, you ask?  Fancy craft room storage, I reply.

there's more than one way to spin a yak

Last night it took me a while to fall asleep, so I flipped through the channels and landed on an interesting documentary on PBS called Summer Pasture.



It's about a nomadic family in Tibet who has to reconcile their lifestyle with the rapid modernization of the world.  It's great; you should watch it.  Anyway, there was a small part of the film that showed Yama, the matriarch, and Locho, the patriarch, spinning yak fiber into rope.  And holy guacamole, it was fascinating!  I'm not even sure how it worked, but it seemed like a two-person, sideways drop spindle.  The spindle was situated on top of a tall pole and a strap was attached to the spindle.  Locho would intermittently pull up and down on the strap to rotate the spindle, then Yama would draft and spin the fiber.  She pulled that stuff for what seemed to be yards and yards long.  And after all the fiber was spun they used their whole bodies to keep the tension as they wound up the rope.  It was really cool.  There's a pic of part of the process on the Summer Pasture photo page.

Of course, I think this is what was going on.  I'm not totally sure.  Tried to google the process and apparently you can't find the schematics to a nomadic-Tibetan, yak rope maker.  Damn it!!  Regardless, I was mesmerized.  Made me want to spin outside.  With a yak.

Until that moment comes, I've been enjoying spinning on my Ashford.  Just finished some alpaca and merino blend yarn made from North Star Alpacas fiber which my loving husband so wonderfully bought for me.  Oh softness, how I love thee!

can you say gratuitous?

It's leap day, ergo I have to post something so that the date stamp will read 02.29 . . . So enjoy this picture!



I think he's looking at my post and thinking, "Really?"

new year, new skill

So the year is not exactly "new" any more. And the skill I'm learning--it's actually ancient. But I digress . . . I'm spinning! Not just with excitement but also with wool! For my birthday my super, kick-ass mother-in-law bestowed upon me her spinning wheel (an Ashford Traditional, which was stained and assembled by my father-in-law for those of you interested). It's awesome. What's even better is that I can use it! My wonderful and amazing hubby got me spinning lessons. And thank god, because upon first sitting I was mystified. There are bands and tensions and flyers and bobbins and maidens (love that . . .) and tons of other things that I didn't know anything about. Although much of the mystery still remains, I've been able to create yarn on it, and that's all I can ask for. It's all I've ever wanted. Hmm, when did this turn into a melodrama?

Here is my first handspun yarn!



Next step: figure out a better way to hang up the skeins to set.

Also: put stuff away in the bathtub when taking pictures to post on blog.

On a completely unrelated note: I had a baby, hence my blogging hiatus.

Related to the note above: He's the sweetest, smartest, and cutest baby in the world.

happy august!

And happy birthday to the most lovely and most wonderful mom in the world! Hope you're having a super fabulous day. Wish I could be with you to celebrate.

hide and seek

This morning was like every other morning for me. Got out of the shower, brushed my teeth, combed my hair--got ready in the same way as always. And like most every morning, I went into the living room expecting to be greeted by my most adorable pup curled up on the couch. Well, imagine my surprise when I poked my head into the room and didn't see his cute little mug staring back at me. I quickly scanned every room in the house, and he was no where to be found. Now thoroughly confused and concerned, I went back into the bedroom. If he's not on the couch, he must be in the bedroom--there's nothing he likes more than elevation off the ground and a soft cushion. Lo and behold I see this:



Have you ever seen a more adorable looking pillow?

a video doesn't get much cuter

Want to see something adorable? Well then, you must watch this video. Pay particular attention about a minute in.



If you're wondering who the teenage cutie is, that is my brother-in-law. No, he's not the furry one. He's the tall, skinny one feeding the furry ones. And I'm sure he just loves being described like this . . .

Hope you had fun with the alpacas, G. And by fun I mean, hope that you brought one home for me.

oh so bad, yet oh so good

Me dearest hubby forwarded me a link to a most awesome blog--Bad Postcards. What is it about, you ask? Well, I guess one might say it features bad postcards. Who'd have thought?

Seriously though, this blog is cracking me up. It's so bad that it's so freaking good. I love the post for June 27th. What I wouldn't give to be having a gay old time right now . . .

Wonder how Fred feels about that.



Should have seen that coming.

etsy find that i (and the fuzzy beast) heart

Sorry for being negligent, peeps. It has been a hectic week (+ end) to say the least. Alas, it's the curse of moving your whole life from one place to the next. But now the schlepping is over (thanks, friends o' hubby!), the internet is working, and the hubby and I are in our new--yet very old--house. We finally can start to get life back to normal. Thank Zeus!

So in honor of getting back to normal, I'm going to spend some time blogging about stuff instead of unpacking those pesky boxes that hold everything that is useful and familiar to us. Naturally . . .

Etsy is an amazing place to feed into all my house-on-the-brain obsessing. And my pet obsession. And my vintage-things obsession. And my clever-use-of-materials obsession. Well, I found a shop that combines all those obsessions into one--it's Love Nostalgic Whimsy, which specializes in recycling old awesome things into clever and new awesome things. In particular, I love the Vintage Upcycled Suitcase Pet Bed.




How freaking adorable is that?! LOVE it!

Well, I guess I better get back to the maze of boxes that awaits. And gotta find the cat and tell her about this bed . . .

bare bear butts

Mr. fuzzbot and I officially became homeowners on Monday. Woo woo! So we've been in the process of sorting through our clutter, packing it all up and schlepping it around. Gotta say I'm not a fan of moving. Blech! However I am a fan of our new house (!). And I am a fan of looking through all those bizarre mementos that I've collected over the years. Those little bits of my past represent different moments of my life, moments that I haven't thought about in a long time. Or in some cases, moments I've forgotten. But either way, it's fun.

This is paper towel doodle is one of my favorite finds . . .



On the back it says "BUTT-DANCIN' BEAR!"

Damn, I wish I could remember this one . . .

it's friday

I'm in love.



Do you think Robert Smith would hang out with me if I had a trunk full of dress-up clothes?

Sigh. I wish . . .

whistle a tune for the pattern o' the month for june

Show pops and grandpops just how much you appreciate them with this quick and easy Family Ties Father’s Day Card. The card template is included, so all you have to do is crochet up a snazzy tie embellishment . . . And sign it . . . And give it to your dad and/or grandfather . . . On Father’s Day . . .

It’s that simple!

my favorite day

. . . is today. Because it's my hubby's birthday. And I am so glad that he was born. Happy birthday, darling! Let's go ride a dragonfly to celebrate!



Also, it's Judy Garland's birthday today, so TCM is showing her movies all day long.



I don't know if I can handle this much excitement in one day.

p.s. If you're looking for more awesome vintage images like the boy riding a dragonfly, you must visit The Graphics Fairy blog. LOVE it!

the latest commission mission

Presenting a few pics of my latest commission--matching aprons made for a bridal party.





Have to say, this has been one of my favorite projects so far. It was fun coming up with a different take on the traditional apron form. Plus, I got to break in my serger (which was awesome!). Not to mention, I'm in love with the floral fabric used for the tops and pockets. It makes me think: "Mai Tai, anyone?"

Why, yes, that would be lovely.

feature on facebook!

Warning: The following post may contain shameless self-promotion . . .

The Craft Lounge posted a little ditty about me on their facebook page. And a pic of the nanimals.



The Craft Lounge ladies are sweethearts. I heart them (and their shop).

uh-oh

It's Rosalind Russell morning on TCM. I heart her.




The Feminine Touch at 8 am, No Time for Comedy at 10 am, My Sister Eileen at 2 pm, and The Women at 4 pm.

Why does this have to happen on a weekday?! Damn it.

I'm breaking out the VCR, people.