~Wow~

This is pretty incredible. Just look at the detail! But I want to know where the groom's cake is? Oh wait. It's all about the bride. I wonder how long this marriage is going to last!

~UFO Bust Report~

This is my UFO bust report for this week...not much progress, but some! For other UFO bust reports, visit Blackberry Creek

I finished the afghan:


The squares on this afghan were made my grandma. She has lost almost all of her sight, and yet she still continues to do the things she enjoys! She wanted to give me this afghan for my daughter, and since I know how to crochet, I was able to finish it up.

The UFO part of this project was to weave in the tails and to block it. It is made out of acrylic yarn, so I was able to wet it/spin it dry in the washer. Then I just laid it across a table, stretching it into shape. It wasn't a "true" block, but I think drying it stretched out really helped everything lay right.

I have made some progress on my socks. However, I strained my wrist some time back and it makes it difficult to knit or crochet. So I am working on spending less time on the computer, no time for now knitting or crocheting, and my wrist is feeling much better. I'm hoping I can get back to my needlecrafts soon!

Nothing to do with UFO's, but I thought it was funny...

Pretty kitty:


Met a 2-year old:

~Upcycled Bibs~

I've been in a mood to purge, purge, purge! So when my daughter pulled some Christmas hand towels out of my linen storage cabinet, I realized that I never use them, not even when I have company at Christmas! I was going to put them aside with the donation/yard sale pile, but then I took a closer look at them.



I have been wanting to make my daughter some towel-backed bibs since Sew, Mama, Sew! posted this this tutorial by Rae. I even looked through my dish towel drawer to see if I had any suitable towels, but I didn't. These two towels turned out to be the perfect size. I was able to cut the bib out without having any of the Christmas design on the bib. I used fabric I already had for the fronts.

So this afternoon, I drafted my pattern, and sewed away! I always get in the mood to sew when it is overcast outside, and then of course I want to blog about my finished project right away, so my pictures always end up a little on the dark side.

Teddy Bear Picnic and Breakfast with Polka-dots:



I used my snap press to install the snaps:



I'd like to make a few more to have on hand. I have some plastic bibs that wash up really well, but I always seem to be out of clean bibs when it is time to eat! Plus the back side of these can be used to wipe sticky fingers before we hop down from the table!

~Sniff, sniff~

Oh dear! It's funny, my husband was just talking to our daughter tonight about how she can't drive yet, then this came on later in the evening. Oh my...we joke about how we won't let our daughter do certain things till she's a ridiculous age (no dating till she's 32 years old, for instance). What age should driving be? 28? Hehe.

~Black Bean Dip~

Breakfast was too skimpy this morning, and my stomach was growling! I needed something else to eat before lunch. So I made this:


It's a dark, rainy day here, so excuse the poor photo quality.

Black Bean Dip
1 can beans
salsa to taste
shredded cheese

Pre-heat broiler to high. Heat beans on stove top. Drain. Pour into a oven-safe dish, top with desired amount of salsa, and sprinkle cheese on top. Heat under broiler till cheese is melted and bubbly.

Enjoy with corn chips!

The high protein of the beans will help keep me full till lunch, and will give my daughter more energy to run and play! :-)

I need some more ideas like this! Especially since I have a toddler who needs to eat every few hours! My mind goes blank and she ends up eating the same thing every day. It's nice to mix things up a bit! Do you have any ideas for quick, healthy snacks? Please share!

~Thrifting~

Thrift stores and I just do not get along very well. I try. I really do. I go in with a positive outlook. Dig through racks of clothes? Sure, no problem. Try on 30 things? Why not?

But then I come out of the store with nothing. Well, nothing for me. Last week I tried on so many clothes and found one shirt for myself. When I took it to the check out, examined it better and discovered a stain and a hole. Back on the rack it went. I came home with this:


Ninety-nine cents isn't bad for a barely-used Old Navy jumper. Too bad it wasn't in my size. ;-)

Then on Saturday I was out shopping and decided to stop in to another thrift store. But this time I didn't even glance at the women's clothing racks. I didn't feel like trying on dirty laundry. (Yes, I know they supposedly wash it all, but it still feels gross to me!). Instead I hit the linen racks. I have been looking for vintage sheets and coming up empty. But look what I found! Two pillowcases and a full flat sheet! Suh-weet!


I don't know what I'll be doing with these, but I'm excited to have found them. :-)

~Summer Outfit~

I purchased some sale fabric from Sew, Mama, Sew!, and was excited when it came in the mail! I got two cuts for a play outfit and some voile for my daughter's Easter dress.

I started on the play outfit first, using Simplicity 7189, view D (minus the lace on the bottom of the shorts).


The shorts are cute - fitting more like culottes than shorts - and the top has lots of room for growth. I wasn't a fan of how they have the neckline finished, and some of the instructions weren't very clear. But otherwise, it was a pretty straightforward, fun sew.


I love blue and red together!

~UFO Bust~

UFO = UnFinished Object

I have been greatly enjoying Deb's UFO Bust progress so I decided to join in the fun! I rounded up my UFO's and took pictures of them the other day. I'm linking up with Susan at Blackberry Creek who is heading up this great UFO bust! :-)

First up, an afghan that my grandma (dad's mom) made. She gave the blocks to me and I just had to crochet them together. I just needed to weave in the tails and lightly block it. I sat down and took care of the tails (50 minutes worth of tail-weaving!) and now all that's left is the blocking.


My Twilight Lace Wrap (Ravelry link), which is halfway finished:


Pink Rivulet (Ravelry link), about 2/3's of the way done:


Posie Gets Cozy's Pleasant Kitchen Dishtowels...I have 3 completely finished and the other 4 are not even started. But I think of this as a UFO because I don't want to use the ones I've finished until I make the other ones!


My Oatmeal and Brown Sugar socks (Ravelry link). These got a rough start, what with knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, knitting and ripping, and then finally getting things right! I have progress on one sock:


I'm including this project, I really don't know what to do with the finished lace but I have a bit of lace that I've been "working on" for ages. My Serpentine Lace (Ravelry link) is a pretty good length of lace already, so I might just need to finish it off, depending on what I decide to put it on!


I started this counted cross stitch while I was expecting my daughter, but my hands were so swollen I couldn't work on it long, and it got set by the wayside. I don't have much done on it at all!


And then, my ever-present hanging-over-my-head UFO's:
Charm Quilt


Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt


and Jack's Chain quilt top - not even close to being done. I have toyed with the idea of making this into a table runner, we'll see what happens!


So that's it! I hope to bust through some of these in quick order!