"happy hangers" - dottie angel

I finally found some wooden hangers at the thrift store that worked for dottie angel's "happy hanger how-to".  And now I'm pretty much in love with crocheting hangers...  I made three yesterday, the pink, the grey, and the white, and then went back to the thrift store and picked up the other four they had left.  The second batch (which I wrapped all up in yarn before I had a chance to take a before shot of) was in far less fancy shape than the first.  One was broken clean through, but that's the beauty of this project because I just duct taped it back together, wrapped some fabric around it, using masking tape to secure the ends, and covered it in crochet!  Perfect project for old, dingy thrift store hangers.

In other news, my camera came!

Actually, it came last week... but I've been so busy playing with it and taking pictures CONSTANTLY that I haven't had a chance to do anything else at all.  Except for going to the antique store yesterday to pick up that yummy little teapot in the first picture.

Current obsessions include: crocheted hangers, my new camera, teapots.  I picked up three teapots yesterday.  Ridiculous, yes, but also perfect, especially for tea since I have a couple of other really darling ones, but they're cracked badly enough that they won't hold water.  I know this because I tried and got scalding hot water all over me! :)  This tragic event definitely called for more and various teapottage (in better working shape), which was quickly and easily acquired at the antique mall where everyone is exceedingly grouchy and cautious of those of us who are not over 50.  It may or may not have had to do with the lavender-purple hair I'm rocking at the moment, but every single old lady on the planet used to have Mrs. Stewart's bluing-dyed hair, so what's wrong with mine?  And maybe that's just an easy out for them, to say it was my hair....  because MAYBE they're just grouchy in general.  Oh, well, they were incredibly wary of me indeed, and I'm not entirely inclined to return...  except to buy teapots.  They had so many and I loved them all, but the apples and pears were so perfect, and the "personal" size so adorable...  pictures of the others later, perhaps.

For now, who wants hangers??

cozy, snowy nights.

The view outside our bedroom is as snowy as ever.  We talked about moving somewhere else in the summer.  Somewhere cuter, with hardwood floors?  But the view here will always be the best.

I made (gluten free) macaroni and cheese, ben made green beans and the most tender, juicy tenderloin steaks.  A cooperative dinner, and it was delicious.  Seriously, so good.

Laying in bed.  Ben codes while I drink hot tea and knit.  If it's going to be all snowy, snowy days this winter, we might as well take advantage of a cozy bed and the trusty tea kettle.

My Quill shawl/baby blanket is coming along.  I worked on it all through class today, but ran out of yarn after an hour and a half, so I'm happy to pick it back up again.

diy washi tape - not exactly practical, but oh-so-pretty.

I had fun making washi tape last night.  It's not "real" washi tape, which is a bummer, because you can't get that lovely torn edge look, but it's pretty and you can cut with slanted ribbon edges and make it out of any sort of paper you have on hand.  And that's fun in my book.

I used some tissue paper (the black and white polka dots), wrapping paper (the red and brown gingham), and printable scrapbooking paper (pretty much everything else).  I printed most of mine, for free, from Starsunflower Studio which actually has a variety of free, printable paper and other things.  The paper I used is from the Cottage Memories Free Kit Part 3, and when I stumbled upon this bundle of free printable paper, I knew I had to make even more, so I'll get started on that...

The tutorial I used was from Crafting a Green World, which was mostly because that's where I ended up first.  It's not a bad tutorial.  Really easy, and super pretty, but I do have to say that it isn't entirely practical to use wax paper as backing.  As it wasn't exactly invented for this purpose, it doesn't always cooperate smoothly when you go to peel it off.  It hasn't bee awful, but I will say you should always try to cut your tape off so that you leave a bit of backing poking out, which will make it easier to peel off.  However, if it just tears as you're peeling it, then... I don't have a lot of help for you there.  I haven't figured out what to do in that instance either.  It could also be that I wasn't using natural wax paper like the instructions suggest?  So, keep that in mind, too.

In the end, I think it just would have been easier to use double sticky tape that had a backing on it already and I would have used that had I known it existed. I would really recommend a tutorial like this one, perhaps, from Nifty Thrifty Things.

Anyway, it is super fun and I'm definitely going to make more as soon as I get my hands on the pre-backed tape.  To make the spools I have here, I just covered cardboard DMC embroidery floss spools in scrapbooking paper, which I also wouldn't recommend unless you use something stronger than rubber cement, but I'll be careful with them and maybe the paper will stick for a while! ;)

a little quill and some papier mache.

I've been working on a steely-gray Quill for the past few days.  It's what I finally decided on for class, although I didn't end up going to class because of all the ICE.  It was so intense and I don't know if it was just my driving, or that everyone else had snow tires, or if I was just so concentrated on my own driving that I didn't notice anyone else's, but I slid all over the road while taking Ben to work.  Seriously.  All over the road.  And after fighting for parking and walking in the 0 degree FREEZING cold all week, I didn't imagine I would have been able to get to class on time, and if I had, I probably wouldn't have been in one piece, so class was cancelled for me.  I've been knitting my Quill anyway, though, and it seems to be taking ages (endless garter stitch can be, well, endless), but I'm committed.  I just love the border around it.   Since I only have enough to make the small size, I may put aside and into our "baby box" for the future.  But, if I'm truly in love with it, it may hang out on the back of a chair for a while to lend some texture and so I can gaze at it.

Yesterday night -- which was actually early this morning because that's how we roll around here, especially on the weekends -- Ben bought me a camera.  I am so full of anticipation and excitement I think I will burst before it arrives!  I. Can't. Wait.  It's a Canon EOS Rebel T3, 12.2 megapixels, and an 18-55mm lens.  Can you believe how nice he is??  And have I said that I can't wait?!

Maybe you should know that this is an upgrade from a Fujifilm Finepix T200 (a point-and-shoot) that I fight with every time I want to take a picture.  I started taking photos with a regular Canon film SLR, which I bought for $500 at age 17, before digital SLRs were really affordable.  At all.  I love that camera and it's just dead simple to take good pictures with it.  It's like it just takes good pictures all by itself.  So, I know that everybody says you don't need a good camera, and I've read lots and lots of good reviews about the Fujifilm Finepix T200, but I just FIGHT with it!  It seems like I have to adjust the settings every single time I open the durn thing, and it drives me absolutely craaazy.  So, anyway, I'm really looking forward to having a more manual camera that I can fiddle with.  I also like the bulk of an SLR.  It feels like I can get a really good grip on it, whereas with a tiny little point and shoot I'm always fumbling for a better hold.

Anyway, so I'm excited.

You can see some of the other stuff I've been working on in the top picture, too.  The cat and the bunny are puppets I made using this tutorial from Mer Mag.  I love them so, so much, and have thrown together 7 more heads that I'm excited about.  FYI, because I hadn't done papier mache since about 5th grade, it is super messy.  Don't use your living room carpet as a work space.  Better yet, don't sit on the floor at all, as I learned, because if you've recently thrown your back out, you will re-injure yourself and end up on a Flexeril and stuck in bed for the rest of the day, too drug-dumb even to knit, watching super-bad youtube reruns of Dr.Phil. :-/  Not ideal, to say the least.  But, I do digress.

That's the Quill in there, too, that they're all cozied up together on.  And some building discs from madebyjoel.com that I've been loving putting together and taking apart.  I printed them on cardstock and then glued them to paint chips to stabilize them even further.  They're actually a little fiddly, but super fun.

Last, and also pictured, are a couple of the vintage pot holders I've been working on.  I love the green and beige one, and the mauve and white one has ended up being more coaster-sized because I didn't pay attention to the yarn requirements.  Oh, well.  I love the pattern anyway.

Outside, the snow is oh-so-hard, just stuck as firm as royal icing to the ground, but not nearly as pretty as freezing sleet and rain have turned the sides of the roads just black as grime and so, so dirty.  I am more than ready for these dreary, cold days to end so I can take a deep breath and stop wearing so many sweaters.

That's all.  I'm going to go back to my Quill and to my marathon of the first season of The Beekman Boys, because that show is just adorable and so funny.  It makes me feel a bit like it might be spring soon.  I'm waiting and thinking about Easter!

of knitting, corn dogs, and my inability to make decisions.

It's winter and I need something to keep me busy.

No, that's not even true.  I have lots to keep me busy.  School, for one thing, although I do try to pretend to doesn't exist.  And making for another.  Making, making, making.

Yesterday and the day before that (or, possibly, the whole last week), it was cardboard and duct tape.  Bright, shiny duct tape in yellow, red, green, blue, and white.  Toys, like the ones from Mer Mag (loooove that blog).  Today, it's ravelry.  Because I have class and yes, I do plan on sitting in the back and knitting obsessively all through class.  It's a horrifying three hours long and the way I figure, I might as well get something out of it (because an education isn't "something"?), as well as keep myself awake.

Some things about me:

I love to knit, sew, cook, glue, pin, paint (toys, mostly), make popcorn (and eat it), and watch junk TV.  I have Asperger's, or an Austistic Spectrum Disorder, which can render me a little obsessive when it comes to my making, and utterly inept when it comes to social interaction. ;)  I like people, I'm just not sure what to do with them, and I'm easily overwhelmed, distracted, and exhausted.

I love Diet Pepsi.  Don't even try giving me Diet Coke.  Don't even try it.  .........okay, I'll drink it if that's all there is, but I do like Pepsi better.

I like movies, but I hate movie theaters, unless there's popcorn (see above).

I frequently stab myself with needles (on accident!), sew over my fingers, drop things, break things, stumble, trip.... I am clumsy.

I am married and I love, love, love him.  He even puts up with my obsessive tendencies and my propensity for making disastrous messes.  He gets a fair amount of food out of it though, like lasagna tonight, and homemade corndogs.

For now, that's all, but I plan on coming up with more to say later.  I just really need to settle on a new project before I go to class in a couple hours and I can't seem to make any concrete decisions today!  Oh, brother...