Sleepy Tuesdays

As usual, our get-it-done day turns into my where's-my-pillow evening.  Except that more than usual, the kids were more like four individual fussy, rambunctious, screaming cyclones of whirling preschool-toddlerness melding into one perfect storm of chaos.  Even now after they'd seemingly settled into bed, I hear the patter of Leif's feet as he attempts one of the most dangerous stunts of his 3-year-old life in sneaking up behind this tired mama bear.  Fortunately for him, a mild threat and a low growl sends him scampering back.

Sigh...

Time to wind down, settle into bed, and dream of the day when I have the time, space, and mental freedom to make this Ollalieberry Ice Cream Quilt by Alison Paulson.

Actually, to be more accurate, I'm dreaming of snuggling under it some weekend morning and hearing the silence generated by kids who sleep in. 

But for tonight...

Place:  Snuggly bed.

Project:  Finishing up crocheted flower project.  (Can't wait to show you when it's done!)

Entertainment:  Eureka

Drink:  Hot Cocoa

Reading:  Favorite bloggers.  (See that way under Neat Blogs --->)

Sleepy Tuesdays

Well, I was all set to do some serious sewing this evening, but after a long after-work slog of running errands and getting the kids in bed and taking Ivy to pee-pee for the skiddillionth time, I'm about done in.

Heretofore, I present a simple synopsis of tonight's events:

Place:  Warm, cozy bed.

Project:  Crocheted flower gift for certain favorite person.

Entertainment:  Latest installment of absolute favorite series of the moment, BBC's Sherlock. 

Drink:  A little Kentucky bourbon.

Eat:  A rosemary-walnut brown butter cookie.

Book To Fall Asleep Reading:  Amy Tan's The Bonesetter's Daughter

Until we meet again...

May Flowers

I'm going to have to hijack my parents' camera soon.

But for now my trusty camera phone will do.

I'm making a present for someone.  I don't know why I didn't start doing this sooner, but I'm thinking that since I love for people to make me pretty homemade things, maybe my loved ones feel the same way.  We'll see...  So I'm making these pretty crocheted flowers, pattern courtesy of Rose Hip.  I really like making granny squares, so I was pretty excited to see this neat spin.  

(On a side note, I've also been inspired by these,which she sells on Etsy, and which also remind me of these found on Posie Gets Cozy.  Whenever I get the chance to get at my pillowcases, that'll be it.  I don't think I'll ever be able to have a plain pillowcase in my life ever again.  Bless you lovely dears and all my other favorite craft bloggers for giving me constant inspiration.)

I actually had nine flowers completed, but Lily, who loves the be around the process of things homemade, and all things pretty and cozy for that matter... well, the lovely child snaked one of them.  And now apparently it's her flower.  I try not to argue with Lily if I can help it.  She's tough, cute, and, of course, I'm flattered that she carries it around with her along with her beloved bear.

I also tried to use the yarn I had on hand and embrace frugality and practicality all at once, but alas, it's all so wintery and deep and dark for this spring/summer flower project.  So I gave myself some leeway to go (yay!) yarn shopping.  I found these opposite-of-dull bright colors by Caron called Sheep(ish).  This may end up being my go-to for my home, non-kitchen projects.  It's so soft and fun.  

I'm also super excited because my beautiful friend, Bubbles, gave me a Mother's Day present!  Aren't Amazon gift cards wonderful?  I thought I'd add some fiction to my collection (Frank Peretti has a new book!), but I had so many crafting books and cookbooks on my wish list on Amazon, I couldn't resist, and it took me all of about three minutes to spend my present.  So now I've got two books coming:

This one's for me, of course.  Tanya Whelan is an amazing fabric designer and the author of the blog, Grand Revival Designs.  Man, oh, man, if I wasn't committed to using up our fabric stash before getting any more, I'd go bananas stocking up on her beautiful designs.  

This is for as soon as Rose is ready.  My mom is a master seamstress among other things, so she'll do the initial teaching in her own way (the best way I happen to know from experience).  After she gets the basics, though, this is for Rose and whoever else gets the bug.

God bless my crafty family and the friends who enable us.  

Unfortunately, these books will be on the slow boat, since I'm too cheap to pay for shipping.  But that will make the anticipation all the sweeter.

I'll let you know how the "flowers" grow.

Have a beautiful day.

January Sunshine

I'm starting a collection of homemade things for our new house.  We don't have a house yet; nor are we in a position to begin house hunting.  But I'm going to be ready.  Of course, these projects may not survive till then.  I may end up giving them away before we get there.  Either way...

And I usually tend to jump into things with both feet -- I have this thing called "zeal" -- which can sometimes lead to messy, disorganized results.  So since I only get about 5-6 hours of sleep at night as it is, I figure I should add projects little on a small scale to see what I can accomplish without sacrificing more sleep.

(I mean, what the heck?  It drives me crazy sometimes that I have to sleep at some point.  All that time when you can't actually do anything.  When I was in high school and college I actually tried to nurture insomnia every now and then.  One of my many examples of healthy decision-making over the decades.

Then I had infants.  And when you function on 2-3 hours of sleep at a time, you want to murder anyone who gets in the way of more sleep.  I have now found that I can function pretty well (with minimal grumpiness) on roughly six, and then about once or twice a month, I'll try to throw in a couple extra hours just to catch up.  This makes me seem more productive in my waking hours than I actually am, however.  Alas, whereas I have oodles of drive, I lack focus.  

I'm getting better.  I can read one book at a time now.  Pretty cool if you ask me.

But I digress.)

I really love Lily Sugar'n Cream yarn, because if when I make something, I like it to be functional.  And like a lot of clever yarn manufacturers, they include free crochet and knitting patterns with their yarn or little pattern booklets nearby in the craft store.  I crocheted these sunny, little dishcloths from their Kitchen Kolors booklet (cheesy name, good patterns).  The patterns are good for beginners, too, and pretty quick to do.

Okay.  That's my spiel for the day.

Lily Yarn, please feel free to send me free balls of yarn, and please don't mind the "cheesy name" comment.