Yarn, glorious yarn

Lucky me. I won a yarn giveaway extravaganza on Susan B. Anderson's blog. (She's pretty much my knitting hero. She's the designer of the lamb, the turkey, the tiny elf, Ribbit, and my mom's scarf.)

Here's my loot.


The main prize is the orange and yellow yarn to make the giraffe on the cover of her new book, which my sister got me for Christmas.


The rest of the yarn is for other projects in her new book.

She also sent me this cool Pom Tree.



Thanks, Susan! I can't wait to get started on these fun toys!

The last of the handmade Christmas gifts

Hat for my sister (pattern here)



Scarf for my mom (pattern here)

Hankie Apron

My grandma gave me her collection of handkerchiefs. I don't see any point in letting them sit in a box forever, so I'm trying to think of things to do with them. I think I can find some ideas in this book. And I'm going to try this too.

Today my mom helped me put together an apron to give my grandma for Christmas (is that a regift?) using two of the hankies and some coordinating fabric. Hope she likes it. We used the Apron in an Hour tutorial.

Orangey goodness

Did I mention I joined a quilting bee? A virtual one through Flickr. It's for beginners. There are seven members, and each member is assigned to a month. During each month, the member in charge sends fabric to the others and gives instructions for making a block. Then each of us sews up a block and sends it back.

I got the fabric for the first block this week. It made the long journey from the U.K., along with instructions to make a 12.5-inch improv block. Eek. A little nervous!


The woman who has January is planning a ROYGBV quilt, so she sent each of us a specific color. My color: Orange. Sweet. I'll be sure to post a picture of my finished block.

My month to send fabric is April. I have a plan in mind, but I'm sure I'll come up with 15 different ideas between now and then.

Wondering when your favorite shows are coming back after the winter hiatus?

Just click here for a handy schedule.

I'm marking my calendar for...
Modern Family (January 6)
Chuck (January 10)
Lost {If I have to...} (February 2)
and Burn Notice (January 21)


I've missed you most of all, Michael and Fi. Okay, mainly Michael...

Dear Santa,

I don't want a lot for Christmas. I won't even wish for snow {understatement}. But if you wanted to drop a few of these goodies from Fat Quarter Shop under my tree, I won't hate.

Blush Fat Quarter Bundle

I just want you for my own.

Calm Dolce Fat Quarter Bundle

More than you could ever know.

(The Elves at Fat Quarter Shop are helping Santa fulfill some last-minute wishes. Head over to The Jolly Jabber to join the fun.)

Stripes and polka dots

I made these aprons for two of the little people on my list.

This is the same pattern I used for Luke's apron. It's a great pattern, and I love the Velcro waist band and elastic neck strap.

I hope these kids get more use out of their aprons than Luke does. He doesn't want to have anything to do with it.

My new favorite thing

I think I need to stock up...

Frosty

The Christmas craftiness can't be stopped.

I put together this little snowman this evening. It's a very simple project. (The idea came from the December 2009 issue of Southern Living magazine. I'm not seeing a link online.)



The original project uses old sweaters, but I just grabbed a white flannel remnant from Hobby Lobby. I stretched it over three embroidery hoops and glued them together with Aleen's Tacky Glue. Then I glued on buttons and a felt carrot/nose and knit him up a little scarf. It seems like he needs something on his head, but Alabama snowmen never last long enough to really get cold anyway. It cost me about $4 for supplies. (I know what you're thinking--it looks like it cost upwards of $6 or $7!)

Giveaway winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered my Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway! There was some serious enthusiasm about the mini rotary cutter...I'm beginning to quesiton my decision to give it away!

I used random.org to come up with the winner. Lucky #132. Without further ado, the winner (out of 497 comments!) is

Congrats, Carolyn. You should have an e-mail from me. Just send me your address, and I'll drop this in the mail!

Christmas craftiness

Looking for my Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway? Scroll down or click here.



I just finished up this jolly little elf. Free pattern on the Spud & Chloe blog.



He was supposed to have eyebrows, but I ran out of room. His swirly hat makes me happy.



Luke and I had fun with this project. Even if you don't consider yourself crafty, you can make this crystalized snowflake.



Kind of hard to photograph. The points of the snowflakes start pointing in different directions as the crystals grow.

You simply twist together some pipe cleaners and then soak the snowflake in a mixture of water and Borax. (I found Borax by the laundry supplies at my grocery store.)


Ta da! Crystals. Impressive to 2-year-olds and 30-year-olds alike.

Instructions from Martha Stewart here (via Wee Wonderfuls)

Read it: Last Night in Twisted River by John Irving

Looking for my Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway? Just scroll down or click here.

I {finally} finished reading John Irving's latest novel, Last Night in Twisted River. It's a long, epic type of book that caused me to rack up some serious overdue fees at the library. But it's a beautifully written story about a family's reaction to a tragic accident. The old logger Ketchum is one of the most interesting characters I've come across in a while. I really hate to say anything more about the plot because I don't want to spoil it!

I'd definitely recommend this book, but I might save it for after the holidays. It's definitely not a quick read! If you've read it, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway Day!

UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Please stay tuned for a winner!

Sew, Mama, Sew's Giveaway Day is here!! That means you can expect my productivity level to plummet, effective immediately.

I've won more than my fair share of giveaways this year, so I figured it's time for me to share the love and host one of my own.

One winner will receive the following:



3 Fat Quarters from Heather Ross's Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries Line



One mini rotary cutter (aw...isn't it cute?)



A copy of Scrap Quilts: Fast and Fun. (My work library is closing, so I grabbed some quilting books from their fire sale.)

How to win: I'll make this easy. Just leave a comment on this post--any comment (might I suggest "ME! ME! PICK ME!")--and I'll pick a winner using a random number generator. I'll leave the giveaway open until December 6, and I'll post a winner on December 7.

PLEASE make sure I have a way to reach you, either through your blog or e-mail address!
This giveaway is open to everyone--I'm happy to ship internationally.

What are you waiting for? Enter now! Then head over to Sew, Mama, Sew and plan on spending several hours browsing the hundreds other giveaways.

Little lamb

This little guy is a Christmas gift for my cousin's baby. He stands up if you fiddle with the legs juuuuuuuust so. (There are straws in his legs.)



Love the hair.



Pattern from Susan Anderson's new book Itty Bitty Toys. I've asked Santa for this book, but I checked it out from the library for a sneaky peek.

Advent calendar loot

I hit the $1 bins at Target and Walmart and came up with this pile o' stuff for Luke's Advent calendar. I grabbed some cars, animal figurines, stickers, tattoos, books, candy, etc.

My favorite: Glow-sticks! Or the slap bracelet with a frog on it. It's a tie.
Luke's favorite is going to be the obnoxious microphone, a purchase I'm sure to regret.



I'm excited to get started tomorrow!

Thanksgiving: On the menu

I made Thanksgiving dinner all by myself this year, and I think it was a success! Here's my menu. I'm posting this not because I think you're going to run out and roast a turkey this week but because it will make it easy for me to find next year.

Roasted Dry-Rub Turkey With Gravy (very flavorful and not dry)
Perfect Mashed Potatoes
Green bean casserole (a la the side of the French's fried onions can)
Paula's Cornbread Dressing
Sister Schubert rolls
Applesauce Pie (this recipe doesn't call for any cinnamon or other spices, so I added some)

My friend Leah sent some delish pumpkin cheesecake and fresh cranberry sauce with horseradish. Yum!

Tonight I'm polishing off the rest of the turkey leftovers with turkey-and-rice soup. Perfect for a cold and rainy Monday!

Kind of a bummer

We went to see The Blind Side today. It was sold out.So instead we saw 2012.

If you're keeping track, we swapped the feel-good movie of the year for one about the end of the world.

So how was it? Okay, as far as your apocalyptic movies are concerned. At least John Cusack is in it.

Turkey time

Free pattern from Spud Says.

His toes gave me some trouble, but other than that I think he's pretty cute!

This sure looks like the most depressing movie of all times.

I won't be watching it to find out!

Advent Calendar: All done!

I finished up the Advent Calendar today. (Here's a link to the tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew by Oh! Fransson.) I'm pretty proud of it.



I practiced the free-motion quilting for a while and then took the plunge. The stitches aren't even, but it looks good from afar. I had a hard time because it was tough to see the white thread on white fabric, but I think that works in my favor too!


I really liked making and sewing on the binding. Hand sewing the binding? Not so much. I'm not looking forward to doing that on Luke's twin-size quilt when it gets back from the long-arm quilter.



Thanks for all of the gift suggestions! I found some little toys in the $1 bins at Target.


So, now I have the skills to make a quilt on my own. Guess I need to make another so I can get some more practice! See how this can be addictive?

Where my word nerds at?

I'm not on the Twitter, but Fake AP Stylebook makes me want to sign up.
It made EW's Must List this week. Seriously, friends in proper grammar, why did we not come up with this?

A few favorite entries:

"Wannabe" is one word and can be pluralized, as in "The Chicago Manual of Style editors are lame wannabes."

Walmart is no longer spelled with a hyphen. Target is Target Corp. K-mart is still around, incredibly.

Use "quirky" to describe potentially dangerous crazy people that you don't want to upset.

Dates should be formated as MM/DD/YY except for the years 1990 through 1992, which should be denoted in 'Hammer Time.'

Enjoy.

{More} progress

I've been hard at work on my Advent Calendar (tutorial on Sew Mama Sew from Oh, Fransson!). It's definitely coming along! I had to get some new accessories for my sewing machine (a walking foot and a darning foot) to finish it up. Love the walking foot.



It's not perfect...but I'm pretty pleased! Just promise not to come after it with a protractor.


Love that polka-dot fabric. I'm using that for my binding too.



I taught myself how to machine applique. I need some more practice for sure, but I think I did an okay job. It got easier as I went along (8 = not easy).

Up next, I'm going to free-motion quilt the white sashing. (EEK!) I've never done this before. I'm hoping I'm naturally gifted... :) I've read lots of tutorials...so nervous. Off to practice!

Next time I show you this, it will be finished. Promise.

In the meantime, do you have suggestions of little gifts to put in the pockets? Small and 2-year-old appropriate? I've thought of candy and Matchbox cars...that's about it.

I've pretty much given up on SNL...

But it looks like last night's episode was actually funny.


That Taylor. She's a charmer.

What does your car say about you?

Think there's an EMBALM2?

This makes me think of Kramer's Assman license plate.

Will you see it?

George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges. Has to be good...right?

Something about Clooney telling Ewan McGregor he's a Jedi warrior cracks me up every time. Irony, I suppose.

Work in progress

I'm hard at work on an Advent Calendar using the tutorial on Sew, Mama, Sew from Oh! Fransson. It's a challenge, for sure, but I'm learning lots of new skillz.

With any luck, I'll have something looking like Elizabeth's final product by December 1.
Wish me luck!

Oh, and be sure to check out this new blog, So You Think You're Crafty. Each week, 10 bloggers create a theme-inspired craft, and readers vote for their favorites. The loser gets voted off, American Idol style. The winning craft is posted as a tutorial. It's a craft-off!

Special delivery

I got a special package all the way from Australia, courtesy of Sarah Fielke of Sewn and The Last Piece. Lucky for me, I won a giveaway on her blog. My loot:

A Honey Bun of the new Rouenneries line by French General. Lovely fabric. I think this win might cost me some money...

And this Down Under Quilts 2010 calendar. Really cool.

Lady Luck is on my side for sure. I was also the lucky winner of the new Cake Wrecks book through a giveaway on Just Something I Made.

You've seen the Cake Wrecks blog, right? Very funny stuff.
This looks like a cake Michael Scott would order.

Okay, I'm off to bet on the ponies!

Kelly Kapoor = awesome

Still laughing

Is there a funnier show on TV now? I think not.

Cute movie

Bonus: I find the Ryan Reynolds enjoyable.