Thursday, March 31, 2011

Question RE: Land's End Down Vest

Joe:  Mom, is this vest bullet proof?

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

That's a Heavy Rock











Danny Speak

Byko-byko =  Bicycle
Dinny =  Danny
Murn =  More
Ma-sheeou =  Matthew
Gratchy = Scratchy`

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Frozen Again

Look what we discovered this morning...


Huge, ice covered puddles...



 



 We challenged "waterproof"...








And saw signs of spring...


This is the hat I knit while on a break from knitting my sweater...  It's more like a bonnet, which leads me to ask this question:  Is it okay for a 29 year old to wear a bonnet?  The cashier and bagger at Whole Foods said yes.


It was a long, wet walk home...




Thursday, March 17, 2011

All Better!

This week...
Started out with tiny bird tracks...


New yarn shelf...


Ice cream Sundaes!


And then we got the flu.  Even though we had flu shots.  Just like last year.  Bleh.  It was three nights of very hot children  (Temperatures reached 103.8)  Danny learned the word "medicine" and also "No THANK YOU!"  It's very heartbreaking to hear your 23 month old at 3 AM crying, "NO THANK YOU MEDICINE!!!" And all three boys slept for almost two days.

But today...  I was greeted by this smile after nap time...


And it was 65 degrees and windy out today.  Kite flying ensued...






Um, yes, that is a very strange kite-flying outfit Danny is wearing.




And yes, we are feeling MUCH better.  AND, my sweater is coming along nicely, though it's slow-going...




Sunday, March 13, 2011

Haircut

Dear Danny,

Today you had your first haircut...
Before...

After...






I tied some up for keeps...

Sunday, March 6, 2011

New Pants: Sewing Without Tears

People who know how to sew, avert your eyes.
Last summer I bought this serger on craigslist...


The woman I bought it from tried to give me instructions on how to thread it when I picked it up from her in a parking lot, in the rain, so needless to say I didn't retain much of what she told me.  She had lost the manual for it and when I got it home I saw this...


Oh geez.  So I took a class and the next day, I made this!...


But the real goal was pants for Joe because 1.)  He is very particular about fit and style and 2.)  He has the physique of a stick figure and it's hard to find pants that stay up AND look and feel the way he wants.
So I went to Mood when I was in NY last summer and bought some heavy jersy knit fabric, washed it, ironed it and then left it in the closet to "cure" for half a year.  Then we discovered a hole in the knee of one of his three pairs of pants on Friday and the conversation went like this...
Me:  Just wear them.
Joe:  But nobody else has holes in their pants!
Me:  Well, wear them today and I will put a patch on them when you get home.
Joe:  BUT NOBODY ELSE HAS PANTS WITH PATCHES!
Me:  Okay, well...  I'll see if I can find that fabric I bought for making pants and I'll work on them this weekend.

PROMISE KEPT!
And here's why I recommend that sewers avert their eyes...


I don't really know what the heck I'm doing.  But I'm inspired by Elizabeth Zimmerman's book, "Knitting Without Tears" and if I were to describe my approach to sewing, it would be "Sewing Without Tears":  So what if they don't look perfect, I'm not trying to make them look like they came from the store.  I did consider doing a mock-up first, seeing as I had no pattern (not that I would know how to use one anyway.)  But I thought that seemed tedious so I just went for it.
And here was the result...  Note the "I hate these ridiculous new pants" expression.


But, BUT...  After some tweaking and a waistband, the response was, "These feel good, can I wear them today?"

Me to Chris:  What do you think?
Chris:  Well, they look home-made, but they're pretty good for a first try!

Um, thanks.


Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Let It Be Known

That Danny has learned to say "I ruff eeou...  ...  Mama," with a little pat on my cheek.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011