I spent most of the day sewing, but don't have anything to show for it.  No photos, that is.  That's okay, though.  I finished the project and was very happy with the results.  Now it's packaged up and on its way.  All good - very good.

I have no reason to show you Fatty's truck other than I love it.  It makes me smile: all that turquoise with chrome and a little red to spice it up - vintage and smart.  So there - that is reason enough.

Here's my nephew Ian modeling the shirt I made for him awhile back.  I snapped this photo today before he and his parents started their road trip home.  We had a fun weekend hanging out with my brothers and their families.  Playing the ponies, eating and drinking too much, and staying up late have left me dragging.  I have a long list of things to do and some deadlines to meet, but am not feeling productive at all.  A nap on the couch while the girls watch Alice In Wonderland sounds like heaven.   Catching some Zs will energize me - at least, that is my hope.  Keep your fingers crossed - I am off in search of a cozy blanket....

Getting ready to cut these fabrics.

Knitting at soccer practice and in the carpool line.

Sprucing up for our house guests.

Making Cheddar Corn Chowder.

Happy Weekend Everyone!

Four times a year, friends and I have our own little craft swap.  It works like this:  if there are 9 participants, you make 8 of one thing.  We meet up, everyone swaps and you go home with a craft from each of the other participants.  Sound like fun?  Yup, it is!

What with Halloween costumes to make and other pressing life duties (read:  parenting, laundry, grocery and cleaning), I managed to finish my craft in the nick of time.  I have told you all before that I am a procrastinator so it shouldn't surprise you that I spent all day yesterday sewing.  You got it - 8:15 am until 5:00 pm with about an hour break at lunch and 20 minutes to go get Jane at school.  I even had time left over to take a shower!

I made more patchwork belts - super easy and lots of fun.  It justtakes me a long time to pick which fabrics should go together and getthem in the right order.  Once that is decided, it takes no time atall.  Unless, of course, you are making eight!

But the payoff for all that time was stupendous!  Look at my new goodies!

This very cool animal doll by Brenda - inspired by artist Lisa Simon.

Wood and stone earrings by Suzanne and Ribbon Bracelet by Cynthia.  I think I will be wearing these together

Felted Cell Phone Cozy by Shawna.  The alpaca she used to knit this is from her mother-in-law's alpacas!

Green Serged Napkins and Hose Clamp Napkin Rings by Laura and Wire and Beaded Spreader by Lynette.  Both handy for entertaining!

Luggage Tags by Robyn - we need these!

Pajama Shorts by Marcia.  Please excuse the wrinkles - I slept in them last night!  Cute and comfy!

Nothing like a bunch of gifts to get me in the holiday spirit a little early.  Thanks ladies - I love them all!

We had a great time trick or treating!  Too much candy was consumed, but that's to be expected, right?

Here are a couple photos.  Before:

And after:

We got drenched!  Thank goodness I didn't go as the Wicked Witch of the West - I would have melted!

Back tomorrow with lots of handmade goodies!

We are ready - the costumes are complete, the candy is in the bowl, the treat bags are waiting by the door.  All we have to do is eat dinner and get dressed.  Fun awaits!

It took me way longer than anticipated to finish Kate's costume and all its trappings.  And she has been so patient!  Jane has gone to two Halloween parties and Kate hasn't been to one.  Her whole Halloween experience this year is happening tonight.  Needless to say, she is a bit excited!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stops raining so she can get a good dose of fun.

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!  Eat lots of candy!

The weather is conspiring against me.  I have finally finished the flapper hats and it is 75 degrees and sunny!  I am not complaining, not a bit - it is so beautiful outside it kills me to have to be inside waiting for the plumber to show.  Hopefully he will come soon and then we can head to the park.

Back to the hats!  I love, love, love how they turned out.  Not only am I thrilled with the results, I really enjoyed knitting them, too.  They were easy, fast and inexpensive (!).  Sarah's pattern is extremely well written and easy to follow.  The provisional cast on almost scared me away, but because Sarah was kind enough to include video links in her post, after I watched how it was done, I knew that this was a project for me.

That provisional cast on is easy!  You use a length of waste yarn that you later take out to free up your original stitches.  Then you knit the facing back into the body of the hat - no tedious sewing required.  How cool is that?  No seams, either, because it is knit in the round.  Yippee!

For Kate's (the pink one), I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (yes, again!).  I really like the softness of this yarn.  Unfortunately, one skein ($8 at my local yarn store) is approximately 90 or so yards so I had to buy a second ball.

Jane's (the orange one) is knit out of Rowan Cashsoft DK that I bought at Purl in NYC.  It is a similar weight to the Cashmerino Aran, but the yardage was closer to 150.  At $8.50, it was a better deal.

Do you see that wonky blanket stitch?  I know that it is not my strong suit so I probably should have practiced before I attached the flowers.  Oh well.  It gives them character, right? 

Draw, cut, glue, color, write - this is what my kids like to do.  They are creating all the time.  Today started out with some Halloween-themed post-it notes turned into portraits.

Mr. and Mrs. Cat by Jane - I love the title and artist tag cut out of an index card.

Mr. Frankenstein by Kate - I think those are braces on his teeth.

Their friends, Bailey and Lilly, brought them each a blank notebook when they came over for a play date this afternoon.  Everyone in this house loves a new notebook!  They took their notebooks outside with a box of markers and a bag of crayons and intermittently drew and played for three hours.

Jane's outdoor nature study - funny how many of these things are not natural at all...and that phonetic spelling always makes me smile.

Jane's self-portrait - in reality, she only has about three freckles all on her nose.

Kate's drawing - of what, I am not sure, but I love the color combination and she did tell me she was practicing some lower case letters.  Not too shabby for a 4 1/2 year old.

When their friends left, they moved inside.  I found this in Jane's notebook.

And when they were finished, they left this behind:

I will admit that the mess drives me crazy.  It is constant.  I feel like once we get it cleaned up, it reappears almost instantly.  However, I am so happy that they are creative and that they enjoy exploring different crafts that it really doesn't matter.  Not a bit.  They have so much still to learn and so many different doors open to them.  My wish is that they never lose this curiosity and creative spark.  I hope that they always will want to explore new media and new subjects.  That in some way, shape or form, they will always be artistic.  I know it will serve them well because it has for me.