Stephanie's crafting obsession

2006-07-20T12:51:00.000-07:00

Have you seen these? Totally cracks me up.

crafting activism

2006-07-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

crafting a simple measure to help babies

firetruck

2006-05-25T22:24:00.000-07:00

one

2006-05-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY HENRY!!!

one hour old:

one year old:

2006-05-21T08:51:00.000-07:00

check this out. it's important! :)

pjs

2006-05-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

I've been sewing and knitting--really. Here are the latest pjs for Henry. They are a bit big and well, he is a bit skinny. That's ok--finally some jammies that will still fit with bulky cloth diapers! ;) This is a knit fabric that I got super-cheap a year or so ago at JoAnns. There is a 14" zipper down the front and snaps along the legs (woohoo, used my snap press--much more fun than trying to put that stupid snap tape on).

photo log

2006-04-23T11:48:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but I just haven't felt like blogging lately.
Here are some pics of what we've been up to.
(Little H turned 11 months old yesterday. I can't believe it. He's almost a toddler!!)

hey kool-aid!

2006-04-19T15:46:00.000-07:00

I recently decided to do a little kool-aid dyeing because it was Karen's birthday. Since she likes green and pink, I used lemon-lime and pink lemonade. The colors might be a little bright for her taste, but I think it's still pretty fun. I'm curious to see how it will knit up. (I used dye-your-own merino sock yarn from knitpicks).

For the little guy

2006-04-18T11:57:00.000-07:00

Baby (Regia) tip & top socks to match the ones I made for me. I did 48 sts on US 1 needles, 2x2 rib which I carried down the foot. They are actually a bit big so I think I will do 44 sts on the next pair.

Fleece diaper cover, using the knickers pattern found here. The fleece is a cheap-o remnant from Walmart or JoAnns (I forget).

Pj pants. I love this monster/space alien knit from JoAnns.

And finally, here's a little Waldorf doll that I hand-sewed during class. It's cotton flannel stuffed with wool.

no candy in this Easter basket

2006-04-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

sewing woot!

2006-04-14T11:22:00.000-07:00

Henry isn't sick and his teeth aren't bothering him anymore (his first 2 have poked through on the bottom) so he has actually let me do a little bit of sewing!

First, some jammies. I haven't had much luck finding cute jammies in the stores in 12mo size so I decided to make some. I love this fabric--it's a very soft cotton knit (from Joanns) with bulldozers and dump trucks on it. I used McCall's 3665 and made the largest size. I even put 3 red snaps on the top with my snap press--wheee!

Next, a pull-on diaper cover. I used an old gerber vinyl cover as a pattern. This is white PUL (polyurethane laminate, waterproof) which was embroidered by someone else for me. There is foldover elastic at the waist and leg openings. I think this is really cute and it's much better quality than that Gerber one. I haven't tried it on Henry though, so I'm not sure how it will fit.

Right now I'm working on another pair of pj pants and a pull-on fleece diaper cover.

Springy!

2006-04-11T15:22:00.000-07:00

I finished my Regia tip & top socks (color 4083). I just did my basic sock pattern--top down, 64 stitches, US1 needle. Actually I used 1.5 needles for the leg. Obviously, I didn't try to match up the stripes. Now I'm going to cast on a matching pair for Henry!

And of course Henry needs an Easter bib. I bought the cute egg-y fabric at Walmart and the back is cotton terry velour. It's just turned and topstitched and then I got to use my fancy press to put on a snap!

abc-along H

2006-04-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Can you guess what H is for? Was there ever any doubt?

H is for Henry! I took this picture this morning at the AP playgroup. We were at a teeny little park next to a library and it was really packed! (don't you love the sun hat? I made it about a year ago).

wee bunnies

2006-04-09T16:16:00.000-07:00

Just in time for Easter, I finished four wee bunnies using this pattern and flannel scraps. One has blue plaid on the back and will go in Henry's Easter basket. The other 3 are gifts that will go in the mail on Monday. I used leetle white pom poms for tails, except on Henry's (I know he would immediately pull it off and try to eat it, so I sewed on a circle of white fleece instead). I drew the faces on with permanent marker because I know from experience that when I try to embroider faces the results are usually not good!

Sewing

2006-04-06T20:38:00.000-07:00

I made one of those shopping cart seat covers and I'm pretty pleased with it. Especially since I used stuff I already had instead of going out and buying a ready-made one for around $30. I used pattern Simplicity 4636 with just one modification--I put 2 slits in the back, like giant buttonholes, so I can slip the cart seatbealt through and around the baby. Henry's still too small to sit up properly in one of those seats without the seatbelt buckled. For the seat I used some yellow prequilted fabric and the rest is red Charlie Brown baseball fabric (love both of these--they were purchased cheapcheapcheap from JoAnns quite some time ago. as a matter of fact, I think the Charlie Brown fabric was like $.50/yd or something ridiculous). The picture is Henry taste testing the cover the other day at the Mitsuwa marketplace (all I bought was Pocky, tofu, and Hello Kitty stickers. heh). I used it today at Walmart and I had one woman come up and ask me where I got it because she has been looking for one. These are the kind of things that make me happy these days, people.

thank you, secret pal!

2006-04-03T10:13:00.000-07:00

Look at all the great goodies that were packed into my final secret pal package from Elizabeth! A stuffed chick for Henry, a yarn cutter pendant, a cutie sheep tape measure, the magic loop booklet, _Cool Crochet_, Wildfoote sock yarn, Sockotta sock yarn, and Artyarns Supermerino. Ahhh. Thanks, secret pal! I've decided to sit out round 8, but you can sign up here.

sew little time

2006-03-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Now that I sort of have my crafting mojo back, I have a million things that I want to do. I'd like to finish Henry's cross stitch birth sampler. I think the last time I worked on that was the day my water broke (hmmm, I wonder if I would have finished it if he hadn't come so early)?

I also want to do some (a lot) of sewing. At the top of the list

swim diapers
bibs like this (I have some of that exact fabric)!
one of these (I even have a pattern already)
a bag for sew, I knit! (I can't make up my mind what kind)

of course I have a few problems--nowhere to set up my sewing machine at the moment and no time to sew (I think the machine would wake up mr. light sleeper even when he's napping in the other room). sigh. Maybe this weekend I can figure something out...

abc-along

2006-03-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

G is for Grandma!
This photo was taken a few weeks ago when I went to my knitting retreat and Anthony's mom came to help out with Henry. Her name is Ljubica (which means "Violet") and she was born in Croatia (the island of Vis). She currently lives in the L.A. area with my BIL and my doggie Jackson. Henry is her first grandchild and she loooves being a grandma.

Tuesday

2006-03-28T11:21:00.000-08:00

Here's my progress so far on the New England sock from Knitting on the Road (Cherry Tree Hill supersock in spring frost and US0 needles). I like it, but you do have to pay attention to the chart all the time. Soo, I also cast on a plain Regia tip&top sock for mindless sock knitting.

Sunday in New England

2006-03-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a busy day for me--DH watched Henry so I got to run around like an idiot trying to get things done. Dishes, laundry, post office, long walk. I went to the farmers market and then the produce stand (because the farmer's market sucked). I made organic zucchini babyfood and ABC nutloaf (yum, btw. we had it with chicken-flavored vegetarian gravy, mashed potatoes, and salad).

Knitting. I couldn't decide what socks I wanted to work on. I knit a few rounds on some ufo socks and then put them away again. Ripped a different ufo sock because I had to face the fact that it was really too small for my foot. Thought about starting a sweater for Henry using sock yarn. Finally, I decided to start the New England socks from Knitting on the Road. I'm using Cherry Tree Hill supersock in spring frost (note that this is a superwash yarn, but the dye tends to fade a lot if you actually put it in the washer and dryer. I'm using this because I had it in my stash, but I won't be buying it again). I had a pic to post but blogger won't let me. pppffftt.

wee blankie

2006-03-25T06:21:00.000-08:00

Here's a small blanket that I just finished up for the preemie project. It's about 20 inches square and I used a basic diagonal garter stitch dishcloth pattern. The yarn is Valeria di Roma Topacio that I bought quite some time ago from elann. It's 60% cotton/40% acrylic and I used 3 skeins. I actually have a sweater's worth of this in orange to make something for me!

Random Friday

2006-03-24T11:09:00.000-08:00

Look what came in the mail yesterday from elann! 3 balls of Regia cotton surf and one ball of tip and top. I love this cotton blend. I've actually already made 2 pairs of cotton surf socks--one went to my sister and one for me. love love love. I'm resisting the urge to cast on immediately, although the bottom one is Padres colors so I might have to bust that one out soon (opening day is less than 2 weeks away)! The thing is, I have several sock ufos, I'm behind on the KOTR KAL, and I want to see what the new sock will be for the 6sox KAL.
I must make one (or 5) of these. Cute! and a good stashbuster.
Henry has rotovirus. The ped said there's nothing that can be done about it (other than giving pedialyte). Poor guy.
I'm hoping that we can make it to our parent-tot class at the Waldorf school this afternoon. We missed the last 2 weeks due to illness and me being out of town. His nap schedule is totally out of whack today though, and when (if) he finally goes down for a nap I'm sure as hell not going to wake him up to take him.

Simply Lovely Lace Socks

2006-03-23T09:52:00.000-08:00

pattern: Simply Lovely Lace Socks by Karen Baumer. Interweave Knits Spring 2006.
yarn: Artyarns Ultramerino
modifications: I used US1 needles instead of US0.

ten!

2006-03-22T10:45:00.000-08:00

My sweet baby is ten months old today! He isn't crawling yet, but he does cruise along the floor on his tummy with amazing speed. He can get wherever he wants to go. He also figured out how to open the lower kitchen cabinets so we need to get safetly latches installed asap. He is still having stomach problems, but his mood is better. Hopefully he will be back to 100% very soon.

So far I am eating much better today. I won't bore you with a food log, although I am thinking about setting up a separate food blog. You know how sometimes you eat better if you have to actually write it down. And probably even more so if other people might be looking. I just put this together while H was napping so tonight I can pop it in the oven (for 30-45 minutes, I would guess).

Food

2006-03-21T13:56:00.000-08:00

Remember how I said I was going to start eating better? Um, yeah. I say that pretty often and it rarely ever happens. Today started off ok--a juice spritzer (you know, instead of a diet Coke), a bowl of almond-flax granola with plain soymilk, and a little bit of coffee. Later I had the diet Coke anyway with a small organic date-almond-coconut bar from the co-op. It was very much downholl from there--Arby's drivethru AND an entire box of Andes mints for lunch. Ahem. Now I have a tummy ache--imagine that? I don't think peppermint tea can help me this time.

Poor Henry is still having stomach problems. We are going through about eleventy million (disposable) diapers a day. His doctor said that it could last for a week. Oy.