Hacking Away

Where to start?




This weekend has been really relaxing. Despite having watched Braydon overnight Friday. He was a good boy, and offered much entertainment for both Mike and I. Everytime we see him, he's learning more and more. His new thing is "Buzz" (yes, not only has he learned "Papa" and "Harper" before my name, he has learned to say "Ron-ney" (Rodney, his reindeer stuffed animal) and his all time favorite Buzz Lightyear) and "No". I actually didn't encounter the "No" until Lonny came to pick him up Saturday and tried to feed him hotdogs instead of french fries.

It's a bit disturbing that Bray knows Buzz so well, and has since he was very young. Probably less than a year old, and he picked out Buzz gym shoes while being pushed in a cart through Target. So after seeing many of Wee Wonderful's
adorable handmade dolls, I began to think how cute a non-commercial spaceman would be, and how much more appropriate it would be for Bray. And lo and behold, a few days later, Wee Wonderful posted this guy.

Holiday crafting ideas have been running rampant lately.

After Bray went home, Mike and I headed out to Buffalo Wild Wings (we realized our real estate agent gave us mega coupons for various restaurants) and then I dragged Mike into JoAnn's, to use my coupon and stock up on supplies for a special project I have in the works (I won't get any more in detail yet, in case someone is lurking around).

Besides the awesome fabric I got (I discovered a new section of the craft store…I guess it's the quilting section!), I also picked up the Quilt-It Kit…thank you 40% off coupon! I love the box kits that Chronicle Books has put out. I, of course, have the Stitch-It Kit, but I think I may invest in the Knit-It Kit and the Crochet-It Kit. Clear beginners instructions, cute, yet simple projects, they are great for beginners, or people who have basic skills for a lot of crafts but not great at any. In the photos above, you can see one of my Holiday ideas for our grandparents, something simple, yet lovely and handmade that makes it special, but still easy enough to make equal for all three sets. And my great fabric! Is that owl not the greatest? I can't wait to use him. Hopefully there's some leftover for me.

Then that evening, Mike and I went on our monthly date. We headed to the Square to eat at La Petite Creperie that drew us because of the great outdoor patio with fire pit. Sadly, it was the ArtWalk so the Square was hopping and all the restaurants were really busy. We weren't able to sit out on the patio, but did enjoy our first foray with crepes. Then we walked around the Square and checked out all the art and walked over to Dairy Queen, down the quiet streets to enjoy ice cream cones with crunch topping. Afterwards we headed over to the Golf and Games, and hit it the batting cages. I had to hit in the 40mph cage because the softball pitch was out of balls. I hurt my finger. The reverberations of the bat created a blood blister at my rings.

Today Mike and I had a quiet day. We each did our own things. I did laundry (and boy there was a lot of it), while Mike played video games…all day. I also crafted a bit. That orange mess is something I'm working on. I wonder what it could be. All I know is, I have 8 yards of that material for less than the cost of one yard. So there may be many more coming soon too. I also cleaned up my studio room a bit, finally got my bulletin board up and painted (before you think too highly of me…it's a paint-by-number-ish painting).

The rest of the day has been spent dreaming of how wonderful the world of quilting could be.

Am I really ready for another craft?