I Made it Monday: Banana Silk Cowl

Awkward self-portrait in dusty mirror.  Yeah.  So let's focus on my the most recent finished object and how it came to be.  I'm allergic to animal fibers- eyes water, hives pop up- and it's really lame.  Fortunately, there are a lot of cool, vegan options available: cotton, linen, rayon, and this super cool yarn, made from the bark of banana trees.  WBH surprised me with this it earlier this summer.  I worked on this onstage during a park scene.  It's got a great, hard to describe weight while staying soft and fuzzy.   I wanted to focus on the cool texture of the yarn, so I kept the pattern simple, worked it all in stockinette  and then the ends were sewed together.  Simple, but I like the statement and pop of color it adds.  It will get more use when the weather cools off. 

I picked up a quilt top I made a while back to finish this week.  The plan is for it to cover a superfluous door in the living room, and hopefully stop a draft when things cool down.  It's pinned and ready for some sewing, and I'm so excited to get it up on the wall. 

Sunday Inspiration

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Instafriday 8.17.12

1.Building a trebuchet.   Yeah, we are.  

2. Sunshine squash, this years attempt at "pumpkins."  

3. Just before a date to go get school shirts.  

4. Playing nicely (it's been a rarity this week).  

5. Building a wooden helicopter (Stinky's choice of dollar store treat was the kit.)  

6. Kindergarten countdown 

Other cool stuff  that happened this week: 

-Backyard Cousin Campout

- Cast Party ( gosh, I miss those people)

- WBH and I hitting lower weights we haven't seen in years. 

-Rotten 'reading' a mash-up of Slippery Fish and Rainbow Fish

-Realizing there's just 3 weeks until the big boy is a school kid.  Killing me, but so excited for him.  

-One week until the Rotten one turns two.  Though, he's gotten really, really good at two already. 

Linked Up! 

Caspar Baby Pants, Cousins, and a Sprained Ankle

So, this happened, and it didn't happen doing anything exciting.  I was just walking to my car,  fell of a curb and rolled it.  

Unfortunately, I took this sweetie down with me.   You can see his goose egg in this picture.  When I took this shot, he was saying "I be mama doctor." 

Earlier, we'd had an awesome day.  WBH's sister and her kids have moved to the area, and we brought all the cousins together to see Casper Babypants in the Park.  If you don't know him, you should.  Former frontman for the Presidents of the United States, he makes music that you can't really tell is for kids until you hear the lyrics.  He's for Rotten what Imagination Movers was for Stinky.   

At first, Rotten wasn't sure.  He wasn't playing any of his favorites yet. 

Stinky seemed to channel a hippie at Woodstock, though-  thankfully, keeping his clothes on.

When we let him join the mini-mosh pit, he requested Rotten's favorite- "Eleanor the Elegant Elephant"  and danced most elegantly.

Rotten thought that was just pretty great, and was extra excited when "Stompy the Bear" was played.

The cousins sat, sang, and danced nicely together, with a little teasing.

After the concert, we moved on to the playground for a while, where WBH set the carousel off at a speed the kids couldn't get on their own,  Rotten climbed the rolling hill, and Stink rode the multi-passenger see-saw.  Sometimes we have boundary issues.

This spinning seat was a hit with Rotten, though, and he wanted to ride it until he couldn't walk straight. 

It was a great day, until I went and fell off the curb.  So maybe we'll try for a do-over soon. 

I Made it Monday: Knitting

The things about being in a show is that it can be a lot of hurry up and wait during rehearsals.  So to keep myself out of trouble, I brought my knitting- and a lot of it.  The knit balls are a great, (much easier than they look) Ravelry Pattern.   The others are much more free form- the rainbow wrap was something I sort of made up as I went while on vacation, the stripes were on a project I eventually decided I hated and ripped out. The last bit of texture on the bottom right?  That is from a cowl that I knit using (this is so cool) banana silk that WBH surprised me by ordering, knowing I can't use animal fibers without getting a rash.    It looks awesome, and I'll be sure to get pictures, soon.

Another project is on the needles this week.  I had planned a break from knitting, until an injury stopped me, this week.  Later on, when I have more use of my ankle, I'm excited to finish a quilt that I've had the the top done for ages.  But for now, while I rest and elevate, more knitting, more purling.

Sunday Inspiration

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I Made it Monday: My Costume

photo by Wayne Robinson 

Closing weekend has come, and a friend put it really where when she said that it's an even blend of sadness and relief.  While it's on my mind, I'm sharing my costume for this week's I Made it Monday.  This was hands-down, my favorite of my costumes- and it makes the top five of all time, too.  

The skirt is made from Dana's excellent tutorial, the fake peter pan collar was from this tutorial, and then just safely pinned on.  I may add some finishing touches, take out the petticoat, and  wear it again, as I had to clue how flattering a circle skirt could be. 

Here's a better look at the whole thing together, paired with my favorite (but not made for dancing on an incline) shoes.  

I've been knitting up a storm lately, too, so next week, I'll post some of that.  Now, I've got a quilt to finish and an amazing amount of photos to get into an album.  

Happy Monday, friends.  Anything crafty you're working on?