Interior Decorating

When I moved into my second house, I felt it was a true adult house. I wasn't in a "starter home" anymore and I felt the need to take some resposibility in my decor.


I started by trying to decide my color scheme. Everytime I went to a hardware store, I grabbed five paint chips that appealed to me. After amassing about 50 of these (you go to hardware stores a lot when you're buying and selling a house) I dumped them all on the floor and looked for trends.

Then I got a sturdy notebook and glued my new color scheme into the cover. I resolved to not purchase anything unless it coordinated with those colors. This didn't mean eveything had be those colors, it just had to look good with those colors. This became my Home Notebook. It holds paint chips, fabric swatches, catolog clippings, etc. Every room has a section.

After some paint, and a few key pieces of furniture I decided to take the art stituation into my own hands.

What I Made:

I found scrapbook papers that appealed and basically made a patchwork quilt.



Then I washed some paint on a canvas and glued some silk flowers.



This one isn't my favorite. While making it the businessman told me it looked like the 70's (you can see it in the upper left corner). Then I went crazy with the string and thought about a cat playing with yarn. It's distorted, but the joke is there: the Businessman does everything he can to pretend cats don't exist.



They aren't art, but they fill my blank walls nicely. It was much cheaper than true art.


And they're me. Which is what interior decor should really be about.

Survey Results

Okay, so everyone has read Harry Potter, except the Businessman (who also won't read my blog...correlation?). I read the first four books out loud to him way back when we used to carpool. Then we stopped carpooling (because I would rather read outloud to our children) and he hasn't heard the last three books.

He tried reading them, but he claims I do the voices better (?!?). I also mispronounced Hermione's name for a good 1500 pages, but didn't we all?

So now I want to know...of the five Olympic rings, which one is your favorite? I told you some would be ridiculous.

What I Made:


It's always noteworthy to finish two socks that match. It makes them wearable (unless you are fortunate enough to know someone with one foot, which would be excellent for anyone who only likes to knit one sock). Alas, my children are both of the two footed variety.

The Sweater

I never started my mom's sweater. But she still got a handknit sweater. You see, I made this sweater. And then I loved it so much I made this one.

My mom saw the gray one and thought she might like to borrow it. Permanently. This of course made her B-day very easy this year.

I gave her my sweater.

What I Made:

Black Forest Sandwiches:

Chocolate peanut butter
Cherry jelly
Toasted Bread

Perfect for a picnic at the zoo.

My Mind's In The Gutter--It Must Be Spring

Today was one of those Colorado days. March is typically our snowiest month, which explains perfectly why it's 75 degrees today.

I made Lemon/Limeade.

I also finished:

A sock for Yummy. Before you tell me it looks really skinny, allow me to demonstrate the beauty of ribbing:

Is anyone else reminded of the sex-ed demonstration? The one where the girls were told to never accept the excuse "the condom is too small."

Now that I've put the words 'ribbing', 'condom', and 'sex' in this entry, I can't wait to see what disappointed crazys come...er...stop by to visit.

Spring cleaning should start with my thoughts. Sheesh.

Trailblazing

Spring break is almost over...

*controls desire to do happy dance*

Today the weather report predicted 75 degree weather so we did the obvious...

...and went snowshoeing.

And if you are ever in the situation where you have been on the trail for an amount of time that can be counted somewhere between seconds and minutes but your children are already whining because they are too tired/hungry/cold/hot/big/little to go any further you can do what I did.

Every time you touch a tree holding one of these:*

...you get an m&m.

See how effectively it works:

That's Yummy and Vicious, who spent the first leg of the trail in a sled the Businessman had to drag. In this picture they are trekking as quickly as they can to the next blaze. We went about a mile like this (snowshoeing miles are very different from hiking miles).

And hello Miss Silly, I did think of you today. Did I win the lichen contest?

What I Made:

It was my mom's birthday, so the kids and I made cupcakes.




*We called them "Blazes" which may or may not be the correct term. The Park People put them on the trees to keep people from getting lost. In theory, you can always see the next one from the one you're at.

Til We Meet Again

I'm going to the mountains today. No access to Hi-Speed or other technological marvels (like cell phone reception or air pollution). My parents don't really live too far in the backwoods, but it makes for fun blogging!

What I Made:

This was one of the cupcakes I made for Vish's Birthday a few months ago. My husband was excited to use a blowtorch to toast the marshmallow frosting. I'll be baking again tomorrow. Must. Remember. Camera.

Saint Patrick's Day

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Being neither Irish, nor Catholic, I usually end up wearing green today because it is 90% of my wardrobe and I don't want to be pinched like I was back in third grade when a first grader pinched me and drew blood and when my teacher asked me what was wrong she told me that I couldn't have been hurt that badly (she didn't see the blood)--I was even wearing green. (Wow! Where did that suppressed memory come from?)

I really do appreciate a man who can drive all the snakes off an island though. He's practically my patron saint because of that.

I used to celebrate by making Reubens, but those are off the menu this year. I can make a vegetarian corned beef, but it's work and I have knitting tonight...where I might start my mom's sweater.

What I made:

More muffins. I'm starting to get addicted. My kiddos serve themselves and I get that many more minutes of sleep. I followed the recipe but I subbed blueberries.

Spring Break Status

My kiddos will not be going to the in-laws tonight. Turns out, when one of your children wakes you up in the middle of the night after vomiting on every bed linen he owns, you don't feel comfortable letting him spend the next night somewhere else.

Not even when he wakes up bright and early and behaves as though he is the healthiest child in the world.

Not even when you have to chain yourself to the washing machine all day.

Not even when you have a deadline to knit a sweater for your mother in four days.

At least now I know I have a conscience.

What I Made:

A big pile of clean laundry. I'll spare you the photo.

On the First Day of Spring Break

Nothing will bring out your control issues like having children.

I love letting my kids make things, but I have to resist the urge to "help", "fix", or "do it faster" (sound familiar Mom?).

Which leads me to:

What I (We) Made:

Cookies. The simplest cookies ever (recipe at the bottom of this post). Yummy wanted to make them "swirled" (where he comes up with this stuff...) so we have a batch of regular peanut butter and a batch of chocolate peanut butter--I found a peanut butter that has no mystery ingredients, no hydrogenated fat, and is chocolate. What? Like the idea of Black Forest PB & (sour cherry)J has never occured to you?

Yummy did just about everything, except the oven stuff. He cracked eggs (onto the counter), he measured ingredients (onto the floor), he stirred (slowly), he scooped out cookie dough (in misshapen, irregular lumps) and you know what?



They turned out just fine.

The recipe is one my Mother-in-law gave me several years ago. I've come across this recipe a few other places so forgive me for being skeptical if anyone declares a copyright on it.

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Bake 350 about 12-15 minutes until they collapse a little and look done. They may need to cool on the cookie sheet a few minutes.

Spring Break Plans

Tomorrow starts Spring break. I'm sure some of you feel it started when school got out on Friday, but Monday at 8:00AM is when it starts for me, because that is when I'll realize I have twice the number of mini-masters running around expecting me to serve their every need.

There will be high points: My In-laws are taking the kids tomorrow night and all day Tuesday. Also, I will be schlepping my brood to the mountains to visit my parents for a couple days. So my sanity should remain intact.

I will have all day Tuesday to knit my mother a sweater, for her birthday, on Thursday. No, I haven't started it yet. What was I saying about my sanity?

What I made

I needed to come up with something for a birthday present and whipped up this frothy little number. I am assured that while the little girl who received it loves it, her little brother is infatuated and wears it everywhere. As you can tell, the only model I had in my house was a lampshade.

This is another member of the Business Plan Club. If you want one, just invite me to the party.

*snores*

The Businessman just corrected my math. Five survey takers would be a 25% increase.

You know I'm tired when the Businessman has to correct my math. This is a very sad state of affairs.

Knitting Survey

It took me about six tries to spell my name tonight, so bear with me. Please.

I had a new survey in the side bar this week. Five of you responded, which is a 20% increase in participation. I will try not to let it get to my head.

I am surprised to know that three of you knit. And pleased. And the one person who wants to knit--you are welcome to my home any time and I will teach you, provided you aren't a psychopath, in which case we'll meet elsewhere. I may even send you home with a mile of yarn since I have a few to spare. (27 last time I checked).

So I will keep putting surveys in the side bar. Sometimes they will be ridiculous. Sometimes thoughtful. Mostly I'm just curious.

What I Made

I'm surprised I didn't blog about this when I did it. It's a mural I painted in Yummy's room. The Pixar fans should recognize it from Cars. It's very simple and stylized, but people seem to know exactly what it is.

This is one of the things for which the Businessman wrote a business plan. I am very willing to be the operations end of any business he wants to persue, but I tell him repeatedly that I am not production.

Generation Green?

Yummy and I had to wrap a present for a birthday party yesterday. I have a stash of wrapping paper (of course) and I have kept nearly every gift bag I've ever been given, just in case. So I told Yummy I would run to My Sewing Room and grab something.

Yummy: "Mom, we really should use newspaper. It's recycling and better for the earth."

I'm so proud. *wipes tears of joy* My little boy is becoming an environmental activist.

I chose to run with it rather that mess with his little head about how the paper probably won't be recycled, the toy he chose is cheap plastic junk, and most of my wrapping supplies are Second-hand/reusable. Small victories people, small victories.

What I Made



Last year I came across this pattern which is one of the most popular patterns in Ravelry, and rightly so. The chart is so simple and effective. Perfect little Jolly Rogers in 13x11 stitches. Amazing.

I've made numerous versions of this hat for my kiddos. This one fit my son for a year and then I donated it to an auction. It was my best color combo (so far) and used up leftovers--always a bonus.

I Am Tough On Band Aid...

I have a callous on my finger from knitting. To be fair I have always had a small callous but I have been knitting socks, which use very thin needles of which my set happens to be rather sharp, and a cotton top on an old set of size 4s, cotton being a fiber with no give and this particular set of needles is sharp from years of being rubbed together. So, my callous has developed a small crack. It doesn't really hurt, unless I'm stabbing something in it repeatedly.

For you non-knitters, picture a paper-cut that you keep stabbing a pencil in, about 80 times a minute.

Yeah, sucky.

So I'm knitting with a band-aid on my finger. Much to the distress of Vicious who thinks band-aids are only for serious wounds, like bumping his head on the table (again).

What I Made

First I shall make it clear that just because I post it today, doesn't mean I made it today. I do have young children and a house full of toys, dust and men of various sizes and species.

I call this my newsboy hat. Whenever I see this style I'm reminded of a kid selling papers on a street corner. It's made from an embroidered corduroy I found on clearance (there are sequins in it too) and a Vogue sewing pattern (7619). I just noticed the pattern is out of print, which surprises me since I see this style of hat everywhere.



I'm not sure what's up with the mouth-breathing on Yummy. We'll just assume modeling isn't in his future. It's a hat for me and I think I look kind of cute in it--though the pics my boys took were contrary to that.

You Really Should Listen To Your Inner Voice

Remember yesterday when I saw what I thought was a horribly obvious error in my knitting but my friends assured me was unnoticable. Turns out I was right. It kept bugging me because I have worked with this lacy stitch before and the only way it could go wonky is if A) I knit instead of purled a row or B) I skipped a row...

Skipped a row...that seems ominous. Of course I didn't skip a row. There's no way. To prove it I'll count 1,2,3...

15 minutes later (and asking Vicious if I have my counting numbers right) I had to admit it. I skipped a row (and had lots of practice counting to 12, 24, 15 and 27).

So it is now a pretty green circle with a huge glop of ramen noodles hanging off it. It should be all sorted out by tomorrow.

BTW, the yarn is Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in Peridot, An acquisition from my field trip.

What I Made:



Simple napkins. Seriously easy. I have made napkins before and even have some fabric lying around simply for the purpose, but I hadn't gotten around to hemming or surging them. Then I dined at a restaurant where they had cloth napkins; they simply left the edges raw.

Genius.

This batch is from a cotton print I found in the clearance section. A $2.00 a yard, I can't pass up fabric with cats on it.

Item: I have a friend who spent some time in Europe getting her Hotel & Resort Management degree. They were graded on table setting and the students with the fancy folded origami napkins--not so hot. You see, when you fold a napkin in a complicated manner, you touch the napkin more--it becomes a health issue. Think about that next time you're at a fancy dinner.

Startitis

I have startitis. A well known, if not common, ailment among knitters. See a yarn, cast on a project. See another yarn, cast on another project. This is related to the very rare disease of finish-itis. To date, very few knitters have had severe cases of finish-itis, most have had startitis.

For me the cure is to let the disease run its course. Eventually something will grab my attention and I'll be unable to stop.

That may have already happened.

What I Made:

I have an old Vogue Knitting (1998) and this project caught my eye. I may never wear it, but the desire to knit it is overwhelming. So much so that I cast on with yarn that I know I don't possibly have enough to complete the thing as written and will have to do some massive wrangling when I get to the sleeves. But see? I'm already talking about sleeves like I might actually get to them.

I'm going to keep it a surprise. It is slowly creating a delicate, beautiful image and all will be revealed as I knit.

There is a glaring error staring at me. My SnB friends assured me no one will notice it but these pics make it plain as day. There is clearly a row in the lace panel that has gone awry.

And that is what I made yesterday.

What I Made Today

I am often in the mode of making things. Baking, cooking, crafting, knitting, sewing, etc.

I am going to try something a little different on this blog. In addition to the usual blather you are still reading (for a reasons that escape me) I will insert a "PS"-a picture (hopefully) and description of something I have made.

To that end:

What I Made:

Muffins of Power!



I got the recipe here but this is the second time I made it so I subbed millet for the quinoa and raisins for the blueberries. A combo of apple and lemon juice for the orange juice and some palm sugar for some of the agave.

Can you tell I am trying to clean out my pantry? It is so nice to have a change from cereal on school mornings. Especially since the time change has my boys 'sleeping in.'

Fifteen Minutes

Yesterday, 4:41 PM

Hey look, it's snowing! Yay! Maybe it'll stick.

4:45 PM

Oh. It stopped.

4:54 PM

It's sunny. Is that a rainbow? Tell me that's not a rainbow. It is. It's a flipping rainbow!?

I'm tempted to pull out my summer clothing just to encourage winter to stop by. I hear it's visited the rest of the country already. It's our turn.

Creativity

I had a poll up (look to the right) about creativity. Since I know three of you who read this blog, and I had four answers, I'm not entirely shocked by the result.

All of you feel you are creative (with one of you being smart about mind altering substances). I'm glad to see this. In my experience with the real world, most people claim no creativity whatsoever and this frustrates me.

In my MOPS group this week, we had an interior designer guest. She was a great speaker and had great suggestions, but she didn't have "rules." I loved this; it seems no one else did. Rules are too limiting. You should just do what you like. The problem being we don't know what that is.

When someone asked what we can do about art when we can't afford it I finally butt in and said MAKE IT YOURSELF! Seriously. Go to the craft store, grab supplies in colors you like and slap it on a canvas. Most of us can't interpret abstract art anyway (including me). You can have something on your wall in an afternoon for less than $10.00. I have been in the homes of "collectors" and often they don't even enjoy the art on their walls (though some do)--it's an investment meant to be sold in the future. At least slapping some paint or other media on a canvas you'll know you like the colors.

But few people think like this.

How can you break into a mindset and extract ideas? How can you convince someone that creativity isn't about perfection, it's about trying?

Overreaction

I listen to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on my iPod so I'm a little behind by the time I actually listen to it. It came to my attention that one of the panelists openly mocked knitting. (Some of) The knitting community was in an uproar and demanded an apology.

Curious, I listened to the culprit episode. Toward the end, Mo Rocca mutters about handknit sweaters being itchy.

Okay, knitters, come on! Do you honestly think you serve the cause by griping?

1. WWDTM mocks everything. That's why it's funny. If anything, this is free publicity.
2. I have a number of handknit sweaters. Most of them itch. I also have a collection of layers to counteract this.
3. Yes store bought sweaters can itch too, but I usually can't afford those. Perhaps Mr. Rocca has the same problem.

Seriously? We're griping about this? Is it really such a travesty? Are we so concerned about NPR listeners getting the wrong impression about knitting? If we're going to stereotype, I'd say NPR listeners are smart enough to see through it.

Now we are simply the oversensitive demographic that makes itchy sweaters while huddled in a rocking chair, drinking tea and wishing for more grandchildren to practice our intarsia on.

Great.