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January 31, 2014

it's christmas in january!

This past December, my sister-in-law got me a thrifted sweater, with the intent that I would be able to create whatever I could out of it's cable-knitted goodness. So with a good friend's 30th coming up in a couple of days, I felt inspired to repurpose this sweater into a warm scarf for her.  And so commences the cutting and hemming....pressure is on since this is a gift for someone else!
 
 ^^not only do I hate my appearance in this picture, but the sweater has GOT to go...^^
^^a blue sweater project deserves a blue moon^^

 ^^the bottom was cut off in one straight line, leaving one edge already "hemmed" and the other needing a good hemming, of which the sewing machine was used to do.^^

 ^^I cut one cuff off the sleeve of the sweater to add a little character to the otherwise simple infinity scarf.  A flower from the clearance section at Michaels was added for more pizzazz! It was just hand sewn into the cuff piece and the scarf itself to hold it all in place.^^

^^once again, don't mind the makeup-less me here, but I am glad the scarf can be doubled for more warmth!^^

A few notes on sewing a hem in a sweater:
- I did have a hard time keeping the lines straight with the cable-knit texture, so I was thankful to have thread that matched perfectly to the color of the scarf, for those times when my "line" was not exactly even.
-I would have planned to double over the hem.  Originally, I had only folded it once, meaning that the "raw" edge was still exposed, spewing little bits of blue sweater everywhere....so I had to double fold the hem...should have done that from the start.  
-pay close attention when using a sewing machine on cable-knit material...the foot gets tripped often.

Overall, this was a very quick and easy project, created and enjoyed over a beer and is now being sent through the post to a friend on the other side of the state.

**have a great weekend all**



January 19, 2014

a recent tale of repurposing

For those of you who may not know this, Seth and I have 8 nieces and nephews (and one more on the way in June).  Being an aunt is one of my favorite things in the world.  It's pretty remarkable to see your siblings make new people and see them parent these little people.  And as an aunt I get to spoil them and join in on watching them grow up.

Seth and I haven't made any hard and fast rules about this, but our Christmas gifts to these 8 kids are pretty minimal, for budgetary reasons.  The holidays always seem to stretch wallets thin and in years past, we often pick up something small at Dollar General or the dollar bins at Target for the kids.  This year was a little different.

We packed up our NC house in mid-December, and while going through the classic "junk drawer" in the kitchen, I came across FIVE old cell phones- Seth's brother, who has four of the eight, told me to keep those for the kids.  Great idea- just in time for Christmas! So, I brought them back up north, wrapped them in newspaper, and put them under the tree for the kids.

Admittedly, I wasn't sure on the response of these gifts, BUT, come time to open the gifts, 3 of the 5 phones still turned on!! The kids were able to take pictures and look through pictures of my dogs that were left on the phone.  
 
Obviously the batteries won't last long and those phones will still need to be disposed of, but at least they made fun gifts and were able to be something that we could give that wasn't creating more waste.
  (Don't worry, the youngest 3 got something special too!)


**have a wonderful start to your week**


January 17, 2014

life lately

well it's been crazy....
and this is me doing a side plank over Huck in the morning before coffee and breakfast....

I'm sitting down tonight to write and I feel like I have so many things to talk about- much like I feel that my mind has been over the past several months since we've moved....when will we buy a house? should I have done that at work? is there more that I could have done for that patient? crap! we need to get our PA licenses! we should schedule a vacation! I hope we aren't overstaying our welcome at the in-law's....
 and the list goes on.

And while I am trying to put into words many of the rambling thoughts regarding consumerism and consumption, I really just want to share the joys of the past month, as they are actually what I want to talk about tonight.

1. My sister got engaged!! CONGRATULATIONS Jennie and Patrick! I'm so thrilled to have another brother!


2.  We finally got to go skiing- one of the great joys of living back in the north.  
These two bugs love the slopes!

3.  We got to spend Christmas with our wonderful family!!
 
 ^^Chaz....sweet nephew loves his uncle^^

^^Congratulations to my cousin Carly and her husband Jon for their new baby girl, Molly Hazel!^^

I'm still trying to be a "maker" of things (more on that title some other time) and am working on the world's largest, but warmest, scarf in all of history, while watching season 1 of Game of Thrones.
Life has been pretty sweet!

**enjoy your weekend!!!**


January 2, 2014

New Years and Unfinished Projects!

Well, I don't know about you but I'm totally in recovery mode from the delicious past 2 weeks of Christmas celebrations- late nights with family, early mornings for work, chocolate, wine, fondue, roasts, toasts, wine, chocolate, hugs, laughter, and wine!  It has been another wonderful time of year to celebrate Christmas and spend time with loved ones!
So, Merry Christmas and Happy 2014!!
 
I woke up this morning, wanting to get back on the "blogging horse" and start doing some projects again. I really miss doing projects and being inspired.  I did a set of reflection questions last week heading into the new year, and starting this blog has been such a great outlet and inspiration for me- one of my highlights of 2013. Unfortunately, it is the first thing that goes when life gets a little busier.
 
So, in honor of the new year and getting to hit the "refresh button", I am going to try to start my re-entry into creativity by trying to finish some of those projects that I never did.  And maybe some news one- one of my favorite gifts from this year has been a used cable knit sweater and bucket of buttons, just asking to be turned into a cool warm accessory!
 
 
 
^^I still haven't touched this gold frame from last spring...^^

^^I have the rest of this sweater, leftover from the leg warmers, and have one idea....^^

^^the remnants of this sweater from the hand warmers is made of great wool deliciousness so I'll try to put something together from that!^^

^^My homemade hand warmers are in need of repair and reinforcement^^
 
Seems like good places to start! I can't wait to see what this next year will bring us and wishing you all blessings as we enter a new year!