Boobie Hats

A couple of boobie hats for a couple of my little guys. Because nothing says "lactivist" better than putting a breast on your baby's head. ;)

Garden Prep

I've been planning a garden behind the "old garage" (which is now my office) for many years. It used to be a part of the alley, but we enclosed this area with a fence some time back. Since then, we've been tossing all our tree branches, yard waste, and even had a bona fide compost pile back there at some point. Consequently, there were about 6 inches of compost covering this back space.

I found these crates at our Habitat Restore--they are simply 8 1x4 hinged together with metal brackets. The bottom is open, so they are perfect for beds. They can also be stacked, so I plan to stack them and cover with plexi glass this fall for cold frames.

A friend found these food-grade buckets at our recycling center, and I'm going to use the old double gate (on the left) and a piece of wire fencing (on the right) for climbing plants.

More buckets and crates on the right side of the back garden.

This area (above) is the east side of our house, next to our back porch. I think I'll make this my herb garden.

This area is where I had tomatoes in the tires last year--this year I'm moving the tires up and adding three more crate beds. This is probably the sunniest spot of all the gardens, and the tomatoes loved it here last year, so I suppose we'll do that again.

This was another tomato area last year, but this year I think I'll put mostly root veggies here. It's not raised, though there's a concrete divider. I'm going to use that old gate as another lattice for something or other. The area under the wheel barrow is a good size--we just need to fill it in a bit.

So, consider these the "before" pictures. I am looking forward to showing you the "afters" soon!

An Afternoon at the Museum

We spent the afternoon at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, since the third Tuesday of every month is a free day.

Some of these pictures are horrifically bad because of the lighting, but I had to show these enormous glass bowls.

In fact, the glass exhibits were the biggest hit with the boys in general.

It was fun to wonder what the artist was thinking of when the glass was made.

Liam really does the contemplative thing well.

Rhys was pretty underwhelmed in general, but marginally liked the clay figurines in the Latin American exhibit. I particularly liked the babywearing mama--the third away from Rhys.

Quinn really enjoyed the museum. Which was a welcome relief from his adolescent attitude in spades from the morning.

What boys don't like spiky balls?

And, of course, getting three boys to look in the same direction and smile, all the while with the sun shining in their eyes, is a special kind of torture. But it was still a good afternoon.

Kindle Cover

When I got my Kindle, I didn't buy a cover because they were really expensive and I wasn't sure I'd need one. Most of the time, I don't. But when my Kindle gets tossed into my purse with everything else, including sharp knitting needles, I find myself wanting a cover. I checked on Etsy, and a pattern alone was $6 (I mean, it's a rectangle and thin, not the most complicated of patterns...). There were some pre-made for sale, but most were just a pouch, whereas I liked the type that you keep on the Kindle while reading. So, I made my own.

I recently ordered some new fabric, and it just came in. The outside is a woven fabric, not sure if it's a linen/cotton blend or what, exactly. I love the print though.

Liam helped me sew on this big button, and I decided to use elastic as my loop, since I'm notoriously misjudging length. I figured I would appreciate its forgiving nature.

I love this little crown detail in the fabric.

The inner fabric I think is taffeta. I ironed some fusible fleece onto the backside of the lining fabric to give it some body and cushion.

While this picture is a bit blurry, it's illustrating the (accidental) fact that I can charge my Kindle without taking it out of the case.

I made some little pockets on the left-hand side. They could be used for notes or cards, or earbuds for audio listening.

The corners are simply triangles. I had to finish two sides of the triangles on the left, but was able just to serge the edges of the triangles in with the right edge, top, and bottom. I serged most of the way around, leaving about a 5 inch opening to turn it inside out. I had intended to top stitch all around, but didn't leave myself enough extra room for that, so I attempted an invisible hand stitch to close it. After I pressed it, you can see a bit of the stitching, but it's not egregious in my opinion.

So, all in all, this was a simple project, inexpensive, and only took a couple hours.

February Lady Sweater

I bring you, after long last, the February Lady Sweater. I checked with the yarn shop and was reminded that I started this project in June. It started easy, caused me great angst from time to time (and thus put it down for extended periods), but ultimately was a relatively quick and easy sweater.

The first picture's color is a bit more gray than it is in actuality, and this series appears a bit darker than life. It's knit in Cascade 220 Heathers, in the green/brown colorway. I went for a mid-hip length.

The buttons also came from my local yarn shop. I picked biggish (okay, huge) buttons because of some issues I had with the garter stitch border--I know, I know, how can you screw up garter stitch? It's a long, boring story, but trust me--it can be done.

My biggest problem, and greatest saving grace, came when I accidentally knit the first sleeve inside out (don't ask me how I managed that--lace is confusing), but also realized while ripping it back that I might not have had enough yarn for the second sleeve to be as long as the desired length. So, I re-did the first sleeve shorter, and just had enough to finish the project. I would have made the sleeves longer if I'd had another skein, but I was happy to have two shorter, but equal length sleeves.

So, my final words of wisdom are: buy an extra skein. I know you already feel like you're shelling out a ridiculous amount for a craft project, but what's an extra $8 or so in the grand scheme of things? Better to add to your leftover stash than end up a one-armed sporter of handknits.

The Importance of Grammar

Rhys: This is where I fighted the Mandalorians.

Liam: Fought.

Rhys: Don't correct me. I don't like it.

Liam: Fine then, I guess you'll have bad grammar for the rest of your life and you won't be able to get a job.

Rhys: I'm telling.

Itty Bitty Hearts

I'm learning to crochet so that I can make these adorable bitty hearts for valentines. I'm not really into hearts as a motif, but couldn't resist these adorable crafts. Who wants a valentine from me?

Make that two...

Two teeth lost in one day. And a cranky boy with a tummy ache unimpressed with my picture taking.

And it's gone...

The last baby smile?

Rhys is about to lose his first tooth (at the decrepit age of seven years, three months) and I wanted to capture one more cheesy baby smile since his whole face will soon change.