Kleas

week twelve...spring break

Spring break is officially over...we all head back to school in the morning.  It wasn't much of a spring break...the boys were sick and we stayed in a lot...more than is probably good for us.  But the discouraging temperatures (like we usually have in January) kept us indoors.  Good thing we got some sunshine to lift our spirits.  Here is what spring break looked like in our home last week.

Saturday...noticing shadows...which means there is sun...yay.  (Butterfly window art by Peanut)

 
Sunday...they've physically outgrown their baby towels, but they still like to use them.  "Woof, woof...quack, quack" they call out to one another.  I have to enjoy these moments now, because I realize it won't be long before they both ditch them.

 
Monday...fevers + first cancelled playdate of the week = craft time.  Nothing like a bouquet of (egg carton) flowers to let some spring into the house.

 
Tuesday...a good dose of vitamin C.

 
Wednesday...still sick...more craft time (more on this project later).

 
Thursday...we watched this woodpecker go at it for a good half hour...

 
Friday...fruit day...the boxes are the best part...well, maybe the mangoes are.

 
The boys are healthy once again...just in time to go back to school.  Hope you had a great weekend!  xx

somewhere....

My partner received my pincushion for the swap in the mail yesterday...whew... it arrived safely.  I was a little worried because this was truly a labor of love, and should it get lost, I would never be able to replace it. 

Some of you guessed it!  Anna, Tam.me and Tai were right on with the yellow brick road.

 
The Wizard of Oz is Ruth's favorite movie and I saw she had another Oz themed pincushion in her collection, so I thought I'd try a different interpretation.

 
I built up Emerald City out of eight individual felt cones, and added an "emerald" bead to the top of each one. Next I stitched "there's no place like home" around the sides in red (Ruby like) sparkle floss...very tricky stuff to work with.

 

 

From there the rainbow...it took me four tries, but I finally got it to work.
 
I like to make themed pins for my pincushions (like in some of these), that way the pincushion can be some what interactive.

 
These characters can make their way down the yellow brick road.

 
This is one monster sized pincushion...good thing Ruthie is a quilter.

 
My pincushion from Julia arrived yesterday too.  I just can't get over how adorable and clever her hamburger is...it looks good enough to eat!! (And that's exactly what my boys pretended to do all afternoon).

 
Happy Friday everyone!!  xx

random stuff

Cabin fever?  I've got it bad.  We are on spring break right now and I had made so many plans for the boys...instead, we had to cancel all play dates Monday and Tuesday due to Julen running a fever.  Then today, just when we were beginning to believe spring was here...we got more snow.

 
My boys turned on some crazy cleaning energy and completely emptied out the attic crawl space upstairs.  I realize the true motivation behind the frenzy was their idea to make a little hide out in there.  How could I just stick stuff in there and give it no more thought?  Eight large bags of clothing were packed up, four large bags of garbage and just about every issue of Martha Stewart Living dating back to the very beginning were dragged out of there.  And of course there were some surprises...there are always surprises!

These two vintage dresses...later, I'll have to get a better photo to share.

 
And look what was hiding in the pocket of a pair of black wool pants.

 
They are mint crisp...and no doubt from my old travel-for-work days.  You have to love a country who will put an author on their money.  So...what to do with Francs these days?

I'm anxiously waiting to hear if my pincushion for the swap arrived to it's destination.  Here's a sneak peek.

 
Do you crochet?  I've been watching Adaiha turn out square after square this year and now she's told me about Melissa's A Square a Day in May.  I'm inspired and oh so curious.  I've done a little bit of crochet, but have never tried a square.  This one I made this afternoon using this tutorial.

 
Looks like I better practice a while before I commit to making one a day.  And why is it not square?

So anyone else still feeling numb since the devestation in Japan?  One way to do something to help is to go to Crafting for Courage to see what a group of wonderful women will be offering to sell tomorrow to raise money for Save the Children in Japan.  100% of the proceeds will be donated.  Help spread the word if you haven't already.

xxx

taking stock

While out at thrift stores hunting down baskets (for last weeks preschool project) I had accumulated quite a few bags filled with the standard things I usually buy there.  Mostly craft supplies and paper for the preschool, some fabric, old books...stuff.  I had pulled out the baskets and stashed the bags in a closet to organize later...so this is what I discovered today. 

 
I was surprised at the collection of wood bowls I had gathered.  I'm so drawn to them though...actually, I'm drawn to anything wood and the older the better.  Each one of these cost anywhere from thrity-nine cents to a dollar...so really, how could I resist? 

The boys and I played around with them a while, sorting and stacking.  Without realizing I had so many, I'm trying to decide how many I really need to keep. 

 
I'm very excited about the large dough bowl...I need a big bowl for making bread.

week eleven...spring is coming

Saturday...seeing that Minnehaha Creek is no longer frozen...I can feel spring is in the air

 
Sunday...another sure sign of spring is the roads are a mess!  Potholes seemed to have appeared everywhere after a tough winter

 
Monday...a yearly tradition at my preschool...I hunt for small baskets at thrift stores to use for planting our wheat berries...they should be nice and green by the first day of spring

 
Tuesday...yuk...another sure sign of spring is seeing what gets uncovered after the snow begins to melt...often dirt and sand and salt that was used on the roads...sometimes newspapers, animal waste and garbage

 
Wednesday...spring is...umbrella season (whether it's raining or not)

 
Thursday...do you winter your geraniums?  Every autumn I cut off any remaining blooms and bring the pots to a quiet corner in the basement to rest.  I've kept the same ten plants for well over seven years.  They look kind of sickly now, but I cut off all the dead foliage, give them a good drink of water and place them in a warm window and before you know it, the dormant roots come alive again.

 
Friday...Julen's plant from school (look back on Monday's photo) has really taken off

 
As it happens, I'm posting on our first day of spring here...Happy Spring friends!!!  xx

week 10 in photos

Saturday-mystery project...not quite sure yet just how the idea in my head will translate in felt

 
Sunday-we are so lucky to have these childhood books of papa's to read

 
Monday-helped my boys' first grade class out with a penguin project...we made them out of toilet paper tubes.

 
Tuesday-it's so fun to listen in on the children's play at the preschool...I would never guess by looking at this pile, but lately everyone has been building "computers" out of the wooden blocks. 

 
Wednesday-random  
Thursday-making progress on this project

 
Friday-forcing forsythia my friends brought me from their farm

 
The weekend...along with the world I watch and wait and hold the people of Japan in my daily thoughts.

this is fun

My sister gifted me this handmade treat last week.  Looks good enough to eat.

 
Inside she hid a little treasure...

 
I can see the start of a new family tradition.  The boys are so fascinated by this cupcake box, that I decided immediately that from now on, this will be the first surprise of the day on their birthday.  (Thanks again Sistah!) 

More fun...

Jen spotted me here (under exhibitions)

Adaiha's a granny a day in 2011 

postcard swap

Hope you're having a fun day!

I must be nuts

Last week I fell in love with this new stitch (called the linen stitch?  thank you Tammy!)  I learned about it from the scrappy lengthwise scarf as found here on Ravelry.  I fell in love with every version of the scarf I saw and knew immediately I wanted to start knitting it.  It's not as if I don't have a million other things going on right now (or other scarves only half knit), but I did it anyway.  I went ahead and cast on the 400 stitches.

 
I had a big bag of wool crewel yarn from the thrift store in my stash and was drawn to it for this project.  It must be the spring-like colors.

 
I played and played with color order and am not sure I will ever settle on anything...so I plan to just grab the next color skein at random and see what I come up with.

 
Chances are, I'll tire of it in a week...or find a new project that grabs my attention.  My goal is to finish it before the snow all melts...which (by-the-way) we got four more inches of yesterday... 

week 9

I've had a nice run so far of challenging myself to taking a photo a day for a year.  I love downloading the photos and just seeing what caught my eye on any particular day.  Here's what last week brought me...

Saturday-big birthday surprises from my boys.  My sweetheart planned an unexpected get away, just the two of us.  We really needed it...a reconnect without the boys.  It's obvious we don't go out enough.  Sushi, music, dancing, TALKING!  It was wonderful.  On top of our little escape, he gave me this beautiful coat. (Check it out on their website here)

 
Sunday-breathtaking sunset...and I've really missed the sun.  I loved how it illuminated the buildings downtown as seen here from across the lake near my house.

 
Monday-one of my girlfriends forgot this canvas at my house.  She painted small dots in a circular pattern without the use of any guide lines.  I'm impressed at how perfect the circles are.  She left it draped over a chair in my living room and the odd combination of patterns (rattan chair, reed window shade and brick fireplace) caught my eye. 

 
Tuesday-noticed that my flowers and fruit match.

 
Wednesday-learned a new stitch that I LOVE!  It must have a name, but I have no idea what it is.  It took me a while to work it out and have Anna to thank for setting me straight...I got all bunched up in the beginning.  It looks like weaving on one side and seed stitch on the other.  Hey you knitters!  any ideas of what this is called?  It is very pretty.

 
Thursday-a belated birthday gift.  Hand made that morning...amazing and melt in your mouth delicious.  For you locals, it's here.

 
Friday-a surprise in the mail.  I won a blog giveaway at Tiny Apartment Crafts and was just so delighted to find this package waiting for me.

 
To see what beautiful treasures Gabrielle sent to me, go to this post here.  While you are there, I insist you take a good look at her site...she does gorgeous and detailed handwork that makes my heart beat a lot faster.  I especially can't get her felt succulents out of my mind.  She even teaches you how she makes her leaves here.  I could go on and on about all her lovely work, but you should just go take a look for yourself.

Happy weekend!!