a little inspiration

We have been going a mile a minute since the weather has turned.  Outside as much as possible and running, jumping and riding.  The Bug wore holes in shoes riding his rocket back and forth to the playground.  I've been feeling melancholy with the news from Japan and trying to keep focused on the here and now.  School is going so fast and offering so much information.  I am starting to wonder how much space is in my brain anyway.  I am feeling quite ambivalent about everything except crocheting and sewing.   At least with those things I know I really want to do things.  I even finished crocheting a tank top last night. One of the things I always go to when I am feeling lost or confused is Jane Austen.  Weirdly, I only started reading her books about three years ago.  I started with Pride and Prejudice .  I think that is how you determine which of her books is your favorite.  The one you start with is the most special to you....

I can tell Spring is imminent when projects are just spilling out of my brain into reality without being able to stop them.  Yesterday I started thinking of a skirt I wanted to make and by the time I was in bed it was done.  No hesitation, no pattern, no fear of mistakes.  Not that there weren't any mistakes, just that I didn't let them stop me. But, I don't have any pictures of that yet so let's look at the cardigan I finished a couple of weeks ago.  This was a very fast, satifying project that I had added to my que in ravelry in September 2009.  It took me all this time to work up the nerve to make it and it really only took two weeks of working to finish it (and I basically took a week off in the middle.)  So easy.  I am thinking of using the pattern and altering it into a dress.  Sounds cute right? And then there are E's new pants.   I got the pattern from Dana .  It was the first thing she put up for Celebrate the Bo...

I know you have all been waiting with baited breath.  So I thought I wouldn't keep you in suspense any more. Here it is!  I want to tell you about how it came to be- are you ready to listen to a convoluted history of how my brain works?  If not, just look at the pretty pictures. First- I love Alicia Paulson .  You all know her, right?  She makes all these beautiful things with little squares full of flowers and pink and purple.  I always want to do one of these projects when she shows them but let's face it: one- I am not so girly, two- I live with a grown (very wonderful and sensitive but still a) man and a little boy who is showing me each and every day how little boy he is.  Yesterday he bit into his first earthworm.  Today he wanted to go find more.  I did make that last quilt , which was very likely Alicia's fault.  I love it too. Two- I then found this basic quilt style done for boys.  It was already sold when ...

You: : Are a wild thing! : Have such strong opinoins. : Climb everything. : Learn a word a day it seems like.  This morning it was "nut." : Are ready to go all the time. : Love Elmo.  For real. : Are really friends with Jasper. : Love the slide, the dirt and throwing. : Can catch and hop. : Do not love nap time. : Love to help in the kitchen.  Washing dishes, mixing batters or creating havoc- it's all good. : Really love "Pop" the best.  Cause he is nicer. : Love reading Zen Ties you wait for it to be time to say "Koo" and then jump in and say his name with a big smile.  You also love the last page where you get to shake your head.  It is so cute we want to eat you up. : Want to brush the cat.  He is not so into it. : Have gotten a lot better at treating the animals nicely (most of the time.) : Love painting. : And showers. : And "Mananas!!"

And Opa is here of course.  We are visiting for a few days this week in hopes of some time by the fire where the Oma and the Mama can tie up about 300 squares.  Remember this ?  The top is finally all together and ready to be sandwiched into a quilt the Bug can actually use.  The minky fabric is really what held things up (and you know, all the rest of life) because it is slippery and I am a lazy pinner.   But, this project may have cured me of that problem. Here are a couple views of the top so far.  I hope to be back at the beginning of next week with finished-on-the-bed pictures.

In the last few months I have been crocheting like mad.  It is so easy to drag along everywhere and do a few stitches at a time and that is about the speed I am going these days.  First of these projects finished was Senor's Sweater.  It was super easy and I loved making it.  The yarn is called Mirasol Tupa Aquamarine 817 Yarn and it was a delight to work with.  I know there will be more projects coming with this kind of yarn because I bought about a gazillion skeins of it way back when .  Here is the ravelry link . The next thing I finished was this little hat for a dear friend who is due to have a little girl next month.  Since I knew she loved the sweater that this yarn came from.  I was sure I posted a finished picture but can't find it right now...  Anyway, this is a party hat for a little girl's first day! And last, but not least, here is a picture from the start of my very first sweater made for me (ravelry link).  It...

Sweater pants , originally uploaded by Mr & Mrs Speeed . I finally downloaded the pictures to the computer. It was sort of like a million tiny accomplishments happening all over again because it has a couple months worth of photos on it. This is a wonderful thing to relive and shows me just how busy I have been. And knowing that it only takes in the things I have taken pictures of, no dinner making, school work, or business making captured here. Whew. Feels good! Anyway, I think I mentioned that I made sweater pants for the Bug. These are they ;-) I used an old sweater of Seniors which had to be retired due to a hole in the shoulder. I threw it in the wash on hot and dried it on super hot. Then I cut off the sleeves and sewed them together. I followed the Green Kitchen's tutorial very loosely. We all like these pants. They can be used as a diaper cover or over one. They stretch out and have to be washed and dried in the machine so they don't fall down. ...