Sunday, July 29, 2007

Crafty! Harry Potter Shirts





While at the Cape, the older kids were crazy for Harry Potter. Here are the two shirts I helped fashion for Henry and Cassidy for the different Book Release Night plans they had. Quidditch is apparently a sports game played on a broomstick, and that's Professor Dumbledore on Cassidy's shirt. Beloved Headmaster of Hogwarts, is what I'm told.

Crafty! Sewing Machine Cozy




This is something I whipped up a few days ago. The sewing machine came with a hard case, but once you removed the case, you only created more mess for yourself! (instead of the sewing machine in it's two piece case, you had the sewing machine, the bottom of the case, and the top of the case.) So I needed a little cozy that I could crush down and stuff in a drawer when I'm sewing, and slip over the machine (I think she needs a name) for when I'm done for the day. Store the hard case up in the clubhouse. I had extra quilted flannel from another project (that I didn't get a picture of!) and just sort of went for it.

Once I had the cozy fixed up, of course iit needed to be emroidered. I wonder if I'm spelling that right...

I'm trying to let myself explore the arena of working with fabric. When my mom comes out to visit next month, she's going to help me hone my skills, and for now I'm just going for it. It's very fun and incredibly satisfying. Gives me all sorts of full circle moments with my kids, too. Mom hunched over the sewing machine, letting me hang out in her sewing room and watch boob tube while she sews and stands in front of the tv pressing a seam. That's Henry's world these days. And Maggie spent an hour pouring over everything at JoAnn Fabrics with me yesterday, playing among the bolts of cloth and eyeballing the pretty buttons and ribbons. If it's anything for them like it was for me, those will be much loved childhood memories, even if they were somewhat boring at the time.

p.s. the felt sign in the back of the first picture is something I made on vacation at the Cape. I felt so sure that I was, in fact, where it was at, I needed to make a flag proclaiming as much.

Crafty! Emroidered Apron




This is going to be a Christmas gift for someone (luckily she never reads this blog). I asked Maggie to draw a picture of her cousin Brooke, and so she did. It was so lifelike that I had to do something with it. So I traced it onto a dark blue apron I picked up at Ocean State Job Lot (gotta love the joblot) and then stitched the design in using the same color thread as the crayon Maggie'd chosen for her drawing. Then I asked Henry to write the receipents name on the apron, and stitched that in with yellow.

I realize it's not going to be the most practical apron for a kid to wear, but fooey to that. The bug was biting and I had to scratch!

Crafty! Powerbook Sleeve





I picked up a sewing machine a few weeks ago at a yard sale and have been cranking away ever since!

This is a sleeve I made for my Jeff's powerbook. I found the Krusty the Clown T Shirt at a thrift shop and fused it to some fleece interfacing. The outside is made with vinyl tablecloth and the inside is just some extra fabric I had laying around. In between the two, two layers of batting!

I'm pretty thrilled with the result, although I may add handles or a strap of some kind. It'd be nice to be able to secure it to your body in some fashion, and would also be a good heads up as two which end is up, so the computer doesn't come sliding to the floor!

The T shirt was going to be for maggie, but it was so big, it woulda taken forever for her to grow into. When she saw that I had repurposed it into something for dad, she was crushed...

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Movie Review: Once



Jeff and I went to see this movie over the weekend. His folks had gone to see it the night before, having heard great things about it, and so we went the next night. Such a beautiful movie, the music and images are still lingering in my head. I won't say anything more about it, except that you ought to see it if given the chance. I can think of several of my dear readers specifically, who I'm certain would really love it. I'm talking to you Lanie, Cassidy, Mom, Katie and Big Matt Setter. Go see it and then try to prove me wrong.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Home again, home again. (Jig-ity Jig.)

Hi there, home from vacation and all is well! We had such beautiful weather down on the cape, especially the first week. Just so gorgeous! It was really great to be down there for two weeks, hanging out at the beach, laughing and talking and reading, picking up a couple new hobbies (emrboidery and sewing!), catching a movie with my husband ("Knocked Up" - very funny) and making my way through three novels! Whoo hoo! Just what a vacation should be.

It's real good to be home, though, I gotta tell you. I'll try to get some pictures up in the next day or two, but I wanted to check in here and break the seal, as they say... More later!

Saturday, July 07, 2007

We're off to the Cape!







Well we are an hour or two away from leaving for two weeks at the Cape! Hooray. We've been looking forward to this trip for a very long time. Grammi and Papa are already down there, and the rest of us are packing furiously or waiting patiently (depending on your perspective) for it to be time to G-O go!

I'll try to post here and there, but it won't be more than maybe once or twice... Nevertheless, check back often! Try reading through the archives if you're that lonesome for me... talk with you soon!

Oh Deer, The Fawn Returned!





We found the little fawn camping out at our house again this week. I'm pretty sure it was the same guy. Henry, Maggie and I came home from somewhere and found him nestled in between the steps and the house, by the front door. We had to leave soon after discovering him, and he was gone by the time we got back (several hours later).

Friday, July 06, 2007

Flickrvision



Flickrvision swoops around the Google globe Superman-style, pausing every few seconds to show a photo that somebody, somewhere in the world, uploaded to Flickr just minutes ago.

People all over the world take photos, and Flickrvision tracks the worldwide photographic zeitgeist.


From Photojojo, a newsletter I get emailed to me. this is very cool. I'm thinking of making it my screen saver...


Flickrvision

Monday, July 02, 2007

Dramatic Prairie Dog



thanks Dian!

A Fawn Hangs Out Under Our Deck

Saturday afternoon Susie went out the basement door to hang some laundry and surprised a fawn which had been hanging out under our deck in the back yard. The fawn trotted off into the woods. He eventually came back and the kids got to look at him for a while. It seemed an unlikely place for a mother deer to stash her baby while she was out grazing, and I was afraid she wouldn't come back for it. But we checked back a few hours later and it was gone.
- Jeff