Show and Tell (Part Two) & Recycled Legwarmer Tutorial!

This ones for the sista's! The sister in law had a big trip coming up to attend cooking school in Italy (ooohhh) so I wanted to make her something travel related, and small......and what did my search reveal? A perfect little set of a lingerie bag, shoe bag and passport cover, in (to me) Tuscany style ;)



Originally got the ideas here and here...

and for my littlest of sisters.....some coziness for the rest of the winter!

Re purposed sweater sleeves, into legwarmers!



Looks like a couple of happy customers to me :)

Here is a quick tutorial for the legwarmers...

Cut a strait line starting right at the underarm seam,



then fold over and zig-zag stitch the cut side (I do two rows of zig-zag because I am paranoid about unraveling :P). Its also helpful to scrunch the knit as you sew, otherwise you will end up with a splayed out cuff! (unless that is what you are going for...)



that's it! I told ya it was quick ;)

Show and Tell (Part One)

Ahhhh.....the week after Christmas off of work....gives me some time to catch my breath after the holiday madness...we have been hanging out in our jammies all day, feels good!

Last week there was no time for blogging, my house was covered in cardboard, yarn, glue, contact paper, you name it.....I badly wanted to give you all a sneak peek of all that madness, but I just couldn't pull myself away.

So now, the show and tell begins, I can't wait to pass along some of the great ideas I found!

First up.....Kiddo's Cardboard Kitchen!!!



Complete with cotton yarn burners, and a thrifted bowl for the sink....



an oven too!



I still have to finish off the edges, and add a faucet.....of course!

Thanks so much to Anna at Forty Two Roads for her incredible work on the tutorial available on Etsy!

This tutorial is easy to understand but make no mistake....it takes some time and will buff up your arms with all that cardboard cutting!!

Kiddo loves it, but I get the feeling he still prefers the real thing!

Growing Tradition (and a Holiday Green Tip!)

Sometimes its difficult to create new traditions, when there are so many that already exist around you. So this year, we decided to literally "grow" our own!

Sparked by the annual decision to cut a real tree, or buy a plastic one......we decided to buy a live potted tree.....no plastic....no cutting!!



I am pleased to announce the newest member of our family, a Dwarf Alberta Spruce!



It may be small now, but I hear it will grow to about 6 feet!

Commence tree trimming....which took all of 5 minutes ;)






Which would not be complete with out some broken ornaments!!



What traditions are you growing this year??

Finished!!!

Remember the project that had 3 (count em'..3) sewing machines stumped?

Welll....I finally managed to get ahold of an upholstery machine and got....it....done!



I can't wait to get photos of this cutie (seen here in the belly) in her custom Mei Tai......hope you enjoy the ride!

Thanks to Kristen for the amazing tutorial.....I am learning so much from all these incredible women!

Holiday Shop & Stroll......brrrrr!

Quickly becoming one of our Holiday Traditions is our neighborhood shop and stroll.....and this year fell on a night that dropped to 21 degrees!



We did have many chances to warm up indoors.....meet some friendly faces....and even be a little silly :)





and oohhh the window shopping!





yay for Holiday festivals!

From here on out...

Thanksgiving break was ah-mazing....full of good food....time with family....crafting....dancing....train rides....

and can you believe.....NO CAMERA!!!

Now that we are on the eve of December....my nights will be looking more and more like this :)




Stay tuned for holiday crafting madness!!

A hat for Grandma!

This year my grandmother turned 80, and I have never known her better! She has always lived a state over and I only saw her on holidays, but now she has moved close by! I see her everyday, I get to enjoy her stories, find out things she loves (patent leather shoes!), and give her hugs only a granddaughter can :)

During a recent conversation she said she needed a warm winter hat.....and I thought of a recent ravelry.com find that would be perfect for her! I described it and her face lit up..."you would make that for me?"

well, yes, and I did :)



Happy Birthday Grandma!

(and thanks to Cathrine over at YarnKat)

Halloween Highlights

Dancing Thriller with my co-workers (professional makeup by my very own sis!)



Crafting by a nice fire, with nice friends on Halloween Eve






Trick or Treating with the Fam




Sharing costumes and fun all night long (even celebrated a good friends birthday....Happy Birthday!!)



(kiddo went with neither Batman or Ninja......snowboarder topped them both!)




(Coraline of course!)



(oohhh....Wild Things!!)

What a great Halloween, exhausting, but one of the best yet!

Pumpkins, Pumpkins!

Or as kiddo would say....Puukins!

Pumpkin Festivals





Pumpkin Shooting




Pumpkin Carving





and Pumpkin Eating!!



which reminds me.....I should make this again :)

Yay for Pumpkins......and Family!!

Halloween Inspiration!!

Its my favorite time of year :) Halloween!! Here is a sneak peek at costumes already in progress.....

(of course I have two costumes, one scary for Friday....one cutesy for Saturday)




Can you guess what they may be??

Still in need of yellow galoshes, blue spray paint, 20's style hat, and an orange striped turtle neck!

Kiddo can't make up his mind....




Who knows....he may end up being ninja-batman!

What do you all have planned??