Pop the cork...

my Bubbly is done! Started over a year ago, but neglected for the majority of that time...now I don't know why I didn't just finish it sooner. Once you get past the first half of the pattern it becomes much easier since it is much less random.

Here it is blocking...


There are two problems with the final product.
1) I ran out of yarn about 80% of the way through. I ordered more and while it's barely noticeably while hanging on my door, there is definitely a color shift that became apparent when I blocked it. I'm really not concerned with this.

2) The entire curtain used 8 balls of yarn, which means lots of ends to weave in. Since this is a rather sheer knit being held up to the light, that means that the woven in ends become visible when light streams through from behind. Ooops. So, if you're going to attempt a curtain that will be sheer, either get a large enough skein or cone of yarn with no ends, or perhaps switch balls at the end of a row and weave in ends up and down the edges. Since it is already starched, I think I'm going to let it go, but if I ever wash it again, I'll consider trying to weave them in less noticeably.




Despite these little issues...I LOVE it! The photo is a little sucky...it looks awesome live. I starched it like mad and it does hang pretty flat, but there is a little drape and I probably should have made it just a tad wider to accommodate that. Still deciding on the rod to hang it...the makeshift rod in my photos is actually a plant support - that's how eager I was to get it up on the door.

Okay, Erin...your turn! ;)

Yay, Fabric!

Nothing like a little (or lots of) fabric to bring the blog out of hibernation. I'd been looking forward to making my inaugural trip to an annual, thrifty fabric fair for a long time and was lucky enough to attend with some like-minded friends. Indeed, the fair did not disappoint and we were happy to hand over a little money for a lot of fiber. While there were a lot of people, we were definitely outnumbered by the goods being offered and it was a polite crowd, so making your way through the yardages was not an unpleasant task. Alright, onto the goods...

Some basic cotton with a little seersucker thrown in (I see blue summer jammies in the tot's future)...



a few cotton canvas pieces...



some lovely florals (yum!)



a few small bits (perhaps with a future as doll dresses?)...



some yarn thrown in for good measure...



and this lovely quilt top that pulled me in with its crisp white and bright colors...



Are you noticing a trend with the blue, green, and purple? I've always been purple and green's biggest fan, but the blue is a bit of a surprise to me. Perhaps a little influence from the tot who is rather blue-obsessed?

I also picked up some great fabrics for baby-wrapping (business expense, right?), a bit of wool, and several packs of bias tape. Sadly, I somehow missed the buttons - I'm thinking there was a crowd around them when I was in the area and so I just never got a peek. Grand total...34.90.

Now...there's just that little issue of my sewing machine having decided to give up on me last month. Where there are good friends, there are loaner sewing machines (did you all know how cool Michelle is? Very cool.), but I'm determined to resolve my machine issues for good later this month. Until then...I'll either be knitting that yarn or planning some fun new sewing projects. I'm looking forward to having the fabric determine the projects as opposed to the project driving the fabric selection as is usually the case.

A lesson for you

The tot cannot stress enough the importance of keeping moisturized during the winter - the heat can be so drying, not only to your skin, but to your hair as well. A few squirts of Aveeno should do the trick.









Later the same day he managed to completely soak himself with water and then in his third outfit of the day, he ended up covered in flour from head to foot. This is how we stay busy in winter.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

as read by the Tot


Egg.
Leaf.
Pop.
Food, food, food, food, food, food.
Cocoon.
Butterfly.

The End


Isn't that beautiful? He often insists on reading his books to us after we've read them to him. Sometimes it's the same series of mumbled sounds repeated page after page, sometimes it's a few choice words or a single one, and sometimes it's a lovely poem. Almost always, it ends with "The End."

week 2

When it's zero degrees outside...



And a self-portrait by Finn...with some friends.

Holiday Recap

A few quick tidbits:

The holidays were lovely. Finn was definitely into Christmas more this year, but was still a little overwhelmed, I think. Understandable, considering the magnitude of Christmas morning in our family can be overwhelming for an adult. We do "our" Christmas morning at my parents separately, before everyone converges for the big family Christmas morning . We set up at one of the smaller trees that my mom decorates. This year Santa brought Finn a new tricycle. He doesn't quite have the hang of it, but some of his older cousins gave him a demonstration.



He's sporting his Christmas jammies that I made.

Additional handmade gifts included two scarflets. One for my mom...



and one for my sister-in-law...



details on ravelry, folks.

I also made some lovely ornaments for the girls, details and photos to come.

And, I haven't forgotten the "share your treasured ornament" request from the Spice lady. I didn't do a full size tree this year, so I didn't have all of my ornaments out. There is one from my childhood, a Paddington Bear glass ball, that was always special because it made me feel special. Most of the ornaments on our tree growing up were my mom's, but this one was mine and none of my siblings had a similar ornament to claim as their own. It needed to be hung at the top of the tree so that it wouldn't get broken and this required my dad to hold me up so that I could hang it. I felt sooo honored to have my ornament displayed at the top near the star. I guess when you're the baby of 8 kids, it's these little things that make you feel special.

As an adult, I think some of my favorite ornaments are the ones that have been made by my sisters or mom. Here are a few from recent years:


this one made by my sister from an artwork postcard...



this one received from another sister this Christmas, made from a vintage paper spoon that came from the grocery store that my grandparents used to own...


and here's a little birdhouse made by my sister-in-law a few years back...
and the first of what I'm sure will become great memories, a puzzle ball ornament that I made for Finn this year.



It was made using the fabric from last year's Christmas pajamas and this year's Christmas pajamas. I plan to make one each year using his pajama fabric and he'll have ornaments on our tree that he can play with as well as a set of balls to take with him when he sets out on his own... a long, long, long, long time from now : ).

Week 1

I have loads of catching up to do and I hope that it will happen soon, but until then I just wanted to put this out there in the hopes that maybe I can recruit some others to play along.

If you're a flickrite, you've likely heard of this or other similar groups. 52 weeks - my kid(s) and me. The goal is to take a photo of you with your child(ren) every week for one year. I've thought about doing this for a while and now I'm going to attempt to make it a reality. So here's my first week...two pics, but whatever.



I got a remote for my camera for Christmas and you can just barely see in the second photo that the tot is the one holding it, so he actually took both shots.

If you've got a child, I invite you to give it go, share it on flickr, share it on your blog, share it wherever it is that you do your sharing. It doesn't have to be fancy and you can have someone else take the pic if you need to. No pressure, just encouragement to capture some of the daily moments that you share with your little ones. Hey, my first week is no make-up, straggly haired me and the tot in jammies - anything goes.