Thrift Porn

It was a good weekend, thrift-wise and otherwise. Aaron has officially kicked my Pyrex out into the garage. I think that's reasonable.

Bought

I'm trying not to spend money. I really am. But I do have a tendency to buy a lot of crap that I don't really really need. Still, I do like to support Etsy merchants when I have a chance and see something I really like or could use as a gift down the road. So, I bought this necklace.

Like it? It's from this seller and it came all the way from Israel. Not that I can actually wear a necklace these days without it being pulled on by a tiny fist, but one day. One day.

Speaking of buying things, my friend Kirsten is running a little experiment where she blogs everything she buys, in an attempt to curb her spending. It's quite fascinating. I was thinking of doing the same, but fear that it will expose me as someone who is well on her way to becoming one of those weird hoarder ladies that you see on Oprah. Yikes.

Spring, She's A-Sprung

I wasn't expecting to hit the garage sales this weekend. In fact, since there's no green on the trees here yet and it's expected to snow again later this week, I'd forgotten that garage sales tend to start sprouting up the weekend after Easter. So, I was a little surprised when I saw some handmade GS signs as I went about my business on Saturday. Being curious, I stopped in at a few and baby, I scored!

Up top you've got some old school Tupperware in brand-new condition (this stuff does have a lifetime warranty, you know). I have no idea what era this is from because I think Tupperware tends to choose a design and stick with it for decades, but I love the Brady Bunch colour palette.


Pyrex! Pink Pyrex! This is a set of Pink Daisy Space Saver casseroles with a cradle, a glass lid and two metal freezer lids. Not in minty condition, but that means I can use it without feeling like I'm destroying a historical relic.


More pyrex, this time a '80s-era gravy boat. I really needed a gravy boat, so I feel no guilt for buying this one.


And, a little birdy salt and pepper shaker. I did buy some more stuff, but I'm not going to go overboard here. Next week I have a rummage sale in my calendar, so we'll see if I'll have more treasure to share.

Book Review: Baby Stuff

Well, well. It's been a while since there was some Aranzi Aronzo action in these parts. But, it seems that the fictional Japanese crafter has published another book in English and this one has got me excited once again. Baby Stuff is, as you've probably already figured, is a new Aranzi book full of crafts for the wee ones. And, unlike the last book, Cute Stuff, I want to make EVERYTHING in here.

Okay, maybe not everything, but lots of things. A brief recap of Arazni Aronzo: there are a bunch of little Aranzi characters that are typically made out of felt. You've got the typical Japanese cute stuff (bunnies, bears, kitties), plus the typical Japanese weird stuff (characters named The Liar, The Bad Guy, etc). The first few Arazni books taught readers how to make dolls. First tiny dolls, then regular sized dolls. This one, like it's predecessor, uses the characters to embellish more practical items.

The projects in Baby Stuff are probably the cutest Aranzi Aronzo items yet. They're perfect for the kind of parents who want something child appropriate, but pale at the very thought of a diaper bag covered in plaid teddy bears. There are super cute bibs embroidered with a drooly mouth, adorable hand towels, diaper pouches with poo and pee characters stitched on, and a very sweet growth chart. My favourite hands down is the cutest duvet cover I've ever seen, which I want to make for Henry once he moves into his big boy bed.

Once again, the instructions are all given in comic book form, so you kind of have to know what you're doing. But, a lot of this stuff can be hand sewn, so these projects are easy for everyone. And cute. Don't forget the cute.

During

Happy Easter to those of you who are into that kind of thing. We're more of the easter-egg huntin', chocolate bunny eatin' kind of Easter family than the church-goin' types, but Easter is enjoyed by all in our home nonetheless. I did zero Easter crafting or anything this year, so instead, I present to you some pictures of my kitchen in progress.

Up top, you've got "before."


Here's "during."


And, um, "during-er." The schedule shows about three weeks left for both the kitchen and the stuff they're doing in the living room to be all done. Right now we're in the super frustrating period of the renovation where we're waiting for things that have been ordered to arrive (counter top, tiles, etc), so it feels like nothing is happening. I never thought I'd miss cooking so much.

Heads Up, 7-Up

Ha-ha-ha! (Remember those old 7-Up ads from the '70s and '80s?). I love the colour of this Sheep Shop Yarn -- so refreshing (and caffeine-free). This is my botched version of Stefanie Japel's Reclamation Scarf. I obviously am completely unable to follow instructions, since the pattern for this scarf calls for one row of eyelets per five rows or something, and I did them every other row. Oops. So, it's more of a fishnet pattern, which wasn't quite what I intended, but I kind of like the result anyway. Airy, loose and kind of '80s, which seems to be what the kids are digging these days.


I love this yarn. The 7-Up colour strikes me as being kind of hilarious and the yarn itself is softer than soft. It's really gorgeous and I want to run out and buy another hank to make another scarf. The hanks also carry a huge yardage -- Stefanie's pattern is designed to use a single skein of yarn (the size of the scarf depends on how big the skein is), but I quit after a while because I didn't want the scarf to be too huge. I think I may have enough left to crank out a tiny baby hat for my niece or nephew due this fall.

This scarf will soon be on it's way to Vancouver to be gifted away. I shall miss it. But, I'm telling ya, this Reclamation pattern is addictive, so I should have a replacement on the needles soon.

Book Review: Crafty Chica's Guide To Artful Sewing

I have to admit, I didn't really know anything about Kathy Cano-Murillo before I saw this book. I know, the Crafty Chica is all over the web and has already published six books, but her site is more of a, well, site than a blog, and I prefer to lurk in the worlds of the likes of the Wee Wonderfuls and the Angry Chickens. No matter, I like Cano-Murillo's Mexican-influenced style and I was drawn to the promise of easy sewing projects.

So, as the book promises, the projects inside are all low-sew. I'm a total sucker for these kind of books, but I don't know why: I don't actually like most low-sew projects. I think my age is talking here -- maybe I'm just too old to feel like I can pull off a purse made out of plastic or a dress comprised of sewn-together silk scarves. Still, the Chica has some good ideas, and she also includes a great beginner's sewing guide which offers novices all they need to make these simple projects.

Cano-Murillo keeps it simple, breaking the projects into three groups: Purses (which are to beginner sewers what scarves are to beginner knitters); things to wear (all embellishments on pre-existing items); and items for the home. Again, with projects like a tote made from a towel and a jean jacked embellished with eight million buttons, I really can't see myself making many of these. If I was 17 though, for sure.

So, I may not be keeping tabs on the Chica, but I am glad she exists. And I am thankful for anyone who encourages people to be a little less frightened of their sewing machines, even if it means more plastic tote bags in the world.

Watercolours

Since returning from Hawaii we've been staying at my parents house (quick update: our kitchen cupboards have been installed and our living room re-drywalled, but our house is still basically uninhabitable). Ruby gets bored quickly here and we're so out of routine, but she has been entertaining herself by painting. And she's really into these swirly watercolours.


Roo really puts the "water" into watercolours, these little paintings are almost soaked through by the time she finishes them, but they dry up pretty nicely. And she actually has a pretty good sense of colour and composition. She cranks out about five of these every day and I really love them. Next stop: easter eggs!

Back In Action

Wow, Hello April. March has been super cuckoo crazy -- our house is in absolute shambles and we just returned from a very long and very amazing two weeks on Maui. The trip was presented as a surprise by Aaron last month (he found a seat sale he just couldn't resist) and off we went. We were only supposed to be gone for a week, but Henry came down with a tummy bug that had him puking the day before we left. Ruby got sick our first full day there, so we were feeling a bit cheated by the time they finally got better and our vacation was coming to an end. So, we extended our stay, worked on our tans and ate lots of pineapple.


Ruby amazed me on this trip -- she was totally into the aquarium, expertly pointing out the hammerhead sharks. She was also obsessed with the lava rock, having learned all about volcanoes at playschool last month.

Henry was awesome too, charging into the waves with all his might, letting them soak him (I'm still finding sand in his ears). Some other things about the last two weeks:


1. I love the Pina Colada. Not so much on the Mai Tai.

2. I finished the last two Twilight novels (and watched the movie on the plane). Umm... I was feeling almost like I could write a whole post on this one, but my feelings of love/annoyance have almost totally subsided. Feel free to weigh in on your feelings on the series if needed.

3. I like train rides. Especially tiny tourist trains.

4. I also love eavesdropping. We heard one guy bragging to a table full of strangers that he had just bought four $500 Louis Vuitton towels. For some reason, this is a part of our trip that has really stayed with us.

5. Nothing beats a good ice cream cone.


There's so much more, but I'm tired from the red eye flight home (not fun when you have a baby on your lap). More goodness coming soon. Especially if I ever get back in my house and near my craft supplies.

Oh, and I totally fell off the 365 photos wagon. I'm picking it back up for April. It'll be 300 photos for me this year... hopefully.

By The Book

Wow, I've dropped the ball on so much stuff lately -- life has been crazy! Renovations, upcoming vacation, not really having a comfortable home... my life on the internets has ground to a halt. But, I finally finished Henry's book... just in time for his birthday.


Sorry for the crap photos, but this is Bite This Book from Kat Coyle's Boho Baby Knits. I started this project in June. The fact that I didn't finish it until last week says something. This book is really cute and pretty much a great idea, but I hated knitting it. I hated all the colourwork. I hate that it doesn't really look like I wanted it too. I hate that I cheaped out and just used colours I had lying around rather than using colours that actually worked together. I'm just not really in love with it.


Not that any of that really matters. Henry likes it just fine, and I did learn a few things making it. And I really like the moon page. That's my fave.

My tiny little man is a baby no more: today little Henry is celebrating his first birthday. What a crazy year it's been -- this guy is so different from his big sister, in some ways much easier, in others just as challenging. He's got so much personality, and so much drive -- already walking and beginning to talk. But, when I look into those big big baby browns I could not be happier. Love you, Henny, Hanky, H-ey, Mr. H. Pickles.

Kitchen Blues

So, this is the last you, or anyone else, will see of my kitchen. Tomorrow, what you see here will be ripped out and we will begin a long (long, long, long) journey to a brand new, fully equipped, kitchen. I don't mind telling you that I'm totally freaked out.

Here's how it started: basically, we hate our current kitchen. This picture doesn't really do it's ug factor justice -- the cupboards are dark, greasy wood that just won't come clean. We thought about taking the doors off and refinishing them, but the handles are in the middle, in the centre of a big piece of built-up wood. Plus, the insides are in terrible shape, giving us slivers when we reach for a glass.

There are other problems too: the stove is on a corner, thus dangerous for little people running around. Also, neither of us have ever had a dishwasher in our adult lives. Since there's not really a spot for a dishwasher in our current kitchen (which is large enough, but makes bad use of space), the only option really was to gut it and start fresh. So, that's what we're doing.

Crazy? Yes. Expensive? Um, I'm not going to go there. But in a month in a half or so, hopefully I'll have pictures of food happily being prepared on my new apple-green counters.

February: 365

I'm still up to no good with the 365 project. Happily, not a single day has been missed in February (so far, I guess there's still time to fall off the wagon). I admit that some days it's challenging to take a picture that's not of my kids' faces, and some days I just wish that I hadn't started this, but I think it's worth it. As you can see, not all of my pictures are stellar, but I do think I need a daily creative exercise to prevent me from going totally insane.

Speaking of which, February is a pain in the neck, is it not? Holy crap, this month has been a drag. The kids are particularly difficult, I feel cooped up, and Aaron is stressed to the hilt. March is going to be totally crazy for us (hint: kitchen reno), but at least it will be interesting.


And, here's a photo that didn't make it in time to go in the above mosaic... the cutest baby shoes ever on the cutest baby feet ever. Henry is still a couple weeks away from his first birthday, but he can manage a few unassisted steps at a time and often manages to walk all the way across the room. I think I have a couple weeks left before crawling is a distant memory.

For The Aunties

There are few people in this world that Ruby loves as much as Aaron's sister, Auntie Daniella. It's not surprising: Daniella is one of the most loving and lovable people that you could ever meet. So, for her birthday next week, we wanted to make something special.

Enter the second in my series of Ruby-drawn pillows. Like the Grandma Pillow, this is adapted from the very basic Farmgirl Pillow from Alicia Paulson's Stitched In Time. I used some leftover American Jane Building Blocks fabric that I bought ages ago from Repro Depot and some vintage seersucker that I had lying around. The seersucker was a bit of a pain to sew, but I got the pillow case constructed in about half an hour, which means it is ridiculously easy, since I am a bit of a challenged sewer.

So, there you are. The drawing is awesome -- from left to right you've got Daniella's girlfriend Erin, their dog Jenny, and the birthday girl herself. It's kind of funny -- in real life, Erin is not twice as tall as Daniella (in fact, she's probably smaller), Jenny is a giant of a dog, and Daniella does not have curly hair (though Ruby always draws her this way). It think they're going to love it. I sure do.

Back Pages

Remember the knitted book I started for Henry in, er, June? I finished the last page this weekend! I'll post more about this once it's an officially finished item, but for now I'll just say that I remember why I don't do more intarsia (or colourwork in general). I don't like doing it. And look at all these ends!

In other news, I did not do well in my Oscar pool last night. Not even close. It didn't help that the only nominated movies I saw this year were Frozen River, The Visitor, Vicky Christina Barcelona, (all on DVD), The Class (nominated in Foreign Language) and Kung Fu Panda (which I actually saw in the theatre). Anyway, I'm not $50 richer this morning, but I am feeling happy for Kate Winslet.

Judging A Book By The Shelf

My favourite thing about looking through candid photos, old or new, is looking at the details. What dishes were on the table at my Grandparents early dinner parties? What did the wine bottle labels look like at my parents' 1983 New Years Party? What was on the newspaper sitting on the side table in the hospital the day Ruby was born?

I think the things we have lying around tell more about us than our faces in snapshots and I think books are always a good indicator of where a person's head is at a particular time and place. Aaron and I both have little side tables beside our bed and I often laugh at the difference between the books that are on his side vs. those on mine. I think we're generally a good fit, but the contrast between my love of bad pop culture and his more serious political interests are particularly illustrated by our bedtime reading material.


As you can see from the top picture, I have an indie-rock bio, a collection of '90s music journalism, some novels (one good, one quite crappy) and, uh, Stephanie Meyers. Aaron has a bio of Hunter S. Thompson, a book about Libertarianism, The Tipping Point, and, for some reason, a map of London. I think it's particularly funny that my Twilight sequel and his Radicals for Capitalism are in the same spot on the pictures.


Oh, and here's Ruby's bookcase. I don't know if you can see how many princess books are on there, but that's an indication of where she is these days.

What Would You Do With 10 Skeins Of Hot Pink Mohair?

That's the question of the day. Back in those early days of knitting, when I was all in love with the idea of knitting everything under the sun but had no idea of what I was doing when it came to yarn purchasing or anything like that, I bought 10 skeins of hot pink vintage Bernat Mohair Plus on ebay. Yeah, I know, real bright. It's been taking up real estate in my relatively small stash space for about five years now and I've been wasting brain power trying to figure out what the heck to do with it (other than donate it to the Sally Ann -- that would be letting the mohair win).

I tried using it for the Airy Scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, but it's way too thick -- at least three times thicker than a lace weight mohair. Plus it's itchy. A few weeks ago I knit up the above piece of material... lets call it a scarf... but again, way too itchy to wear. So what do you do with 10 skeins of hot pink mohair? Any input would be more than welcome.

Fam

Happy Family Day to those of you who live somewhere where such a thing exists. We're enjoying a lazy day off, reading books and listening to The Beatles. And playing with Playmobile (that's a given).

Pillow Talk

I can't even tell you how long I've been dreaming of collaborating with Ruby on a project like this. This little pillow is a birthday gift for my mom, featuring artwork drawn by a certain Miss Ruby and embroidered by myself. The picture is a portrait of my mom (which suspiciously looks a lot like Roo's portrait of Obama). I love it. Love it. Love it.

For the actual pillow construction, I used the template for the Farm Girl Pillow from Alicia Paulson's Stitched In Time. I had thought about doing a photo pillow for my mom, but I'm not too crazy about the printed on fabric photo look and I didn't have a photo that seemed perfect. So, I got Ruby to draw up the picture and got to work.

Following my resolutions, I didn't have to buy anything to make this, except the pillow form. The fabric is left over from my lap quilt (which is still, uh, unfinished) and from my soon-to-be-retired kitchen curtains (there's a renovation coming... I'm in denial). It was super easy and the actual pillow construction took no more than an hour or so. This was so easy and so much fun, I already have another edition in the works. Ruby and I make beautiful craft together -- I can hardly wait to see what happens as her skills grow.

Sock Feet

I actually finished knitting these about a week ago, but with all this computer business, I didn't get around to posting. Viola! Les socks!

As I mentioned, I got this ball of Noro Silk Garden Sock for Christmas and, having never used it before, I wanted a pattern that called for this yarn specifically. So, I went for Glenna's So Simple Silk Garden Socks, which is available for free on Ravelry. I used a US 3 needle (a tiny bit bigger than the pattern called for) and they knit up really easy and really fast. As I've mentioned before, I find this yarn totally mesmerizing and I became quickly addicted to watching the colours change.


I'm very happy with the finished product. They remind me of a store-bought pair of "home-spun" Hue socks I have and love. They're totally fraternal and while I don't really love these kind of transitional colour patterns in general, I like these. Also, the yarn is a little too thick to wear under shoes, so I'll probably use them more as slippers than regular socks. Which is nice, because it's cold in this house sometimes, but I like to tread lightly so as to not wake up any wee nappers.

Finally, this marks my first attempt at cables. I've always been afraid of cables, which I now realize is ridiculous. They're so easy and fun. Try them if you haven't.