Mitered Drape Vest #2

I made this vest for my Mum awhile ago, and I thought another one might make a nice Christmas present for my sister Angie.

(Sorry for the blurry photos.  I tried taking pictures with my camera's timer, but I suppose the camera kept wobbling after I pushed the button . . .)

It's the Mitered Drape Vest by Jane Slicer-Smith, and is one of those weird knits that are extremely simple to make, yet when you're doing it the first time it seems to make no sense whatsoever.  All those boring knit and purl squares made for the perfect knitting-during-church project.

(Yes, I knit during church.  The pastor and I have an understanding about this and everyone else in our congregation is already fully aware of my eccentricities.)

 

I knit this with some absolutely lovely 100% bamboo yarn that draped perfectly for this sort of project.  I was seriously considering keeping it for myself, ha ha! So soft and, well, drapey!

 

Send me a picture sometime Angie! 

(If you're interested in the knitterly details, see my Ravelry Page here.)

The Pink Carnation

The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig has been one of my favorite book series to read, and I was thrilled when I was able to get my sister Angie addicted to it as well. It's a fun combination of a historical fiction with romance and a bit of suspense thrown in as well, or you could say it's like Jane Austen meeting up with the Scarlet Pimpernel and going on a "bit of a romp" through Napoleonic England.

(Disclaimer: I would rate this series as being for adults, not for kids).

Anyway, Angie and I have had many hilarious phone conversations and texts involving our favorite phrases from the books ("the horror of knee breeches"), and I think both of us find that the Mischief of the Mistletoe is our favorite book from the series.

When Angie came to visit for a wonderful surprise birthday trip, she got me one of the best birthday presents I've ever had - a special treat to symbolize each book from the series, starting with a Christmas Pudding (an instrumental item from the Mistletoe book)

Inside the beautifully wrapped muslin ball was an amazing assortment of items!

The first thing I pulled out of the "pudding" was this lovely necklace.  At first I only admired it for it's prettiness, but when Angie grinned at me and said, "That's a pink carnation", I totally fell in love with it!

Item #2 was an antique postcard from France with pink carnations on the front.  We had fun squealing over how pretty it was and trying to figure out where in England it was sent to and imagining what sort of person it was who sent it.

A dashing spy, perhaps?  Who knows? Maybe, "Have a lovely Christmas" was Pink Carnation Code for "beware of a man wearing a purple hat."

She also got me another funny postcard with a picture of Napoleon Bonaparte (the evil villain).  Really, no wonder the man felt he had to conquer the world.  It takes cheek to wear such silly clothes like that; he must have had a towering sense of his own supremacy.

An orchid postcard to symbolize "The Orchid Affair".

A beautiful set of earrings to go with "The Betrayal of the Blood Lily".

A stunning set of knitting stitch markers (which I guard jealously) to match "The Masque of the Black Tulip".

An emerald ring, to go with, of course, "The Deception of the Emerald Ring".

Handmade miniature paper rose earrings to go with "The Seduction of the Crimson Rose".

And finally, an exotic perfumed sachet of jasmine bath scents to go with "The Temptation of the Night Jasmine."

All of the items she got vintage or handmade through Etsy!  Awesome!!!

Coolest. Gifts. Ever!  Thanks Angie!

Getting Ready

Getting dressed and ready for a wedding is a Big Deal. Men have no idea the amount of work, thought, stress, and preparation that goes into getting dressed for an important occasion. Of course, this is why, in my opinion, we women actually get dressed up for each other, rather than for our men.

Men don't notice the nuances of curls. They are oblivious to the pain we suffer for delicate stiletto heels, whereas another woman can subconsciously spot glamorous podiatry under three layers of floor-length gown.

Yes indeed, it takes a lot of time and effort to turn this . . . .
. . . . and this . . . .
. . . . into something presentable.

My sister Lynn generously treated Angie and I to a special makeover, complete with a makeup artist and a hair stylist.
I even got fake lashes for the first time ever! If it weren't for the fact that I'd most likely blind myself in the attempt, I'd wear fake lashes everywhere, especially my weekly McDonald's trip. It would do wonders for my self-esteem, I think, except for the aforementioned possible blindness, which would interfere with getting to McDonald's in the first place.
See the size of that curling iron? Just imagine; you could club and burn someone at the same time.
(My mind trots along mysterious paths.)

Lynn's little girls also got to take part in the makeover fun.
(Gushing in a smooshy fashion) Look at those ringlets! I love ringlets on little girls!

(I tried putting ringlets on Miss Boo but that was a minor disaster.)

And then, of course, the Bride had to get ready. She had all her pretties laid out and ready for action.
She had ten women in her room at one time, ready to jump at her every whim, fielding questions from obtuse groomsmen and ordering room service with which to force feed the Bride.

Yup, it was definitely an experience.
(And if you want to see the "After" photos, you'll have to wait for the next post.)

Because I'm evil that way.

Milwaukee Madness

I'm a busy mom with three kids (four if you count Handyman) who also works part time at home teaching music lessons.
Getting out doesn't happen often.

My sister Angie occasionally has to fly to different regions of the country for work reasons, and it's always a treat if her wanderings should lead her to my area of the Frigid North.

After my busy and hectic weekend, I was soooooo ready to have lots of laughs and enjoy some time away from the kids, if only for one night. I finished teaching my music lessons for the day, and swept off to drive the two hours to see my big/little sister.

The drive was beautiful. I usually hate driving (all that time sitting and not being able to knit!), but this time I didn't mind at all.
I found my way to the airport with no problems, where Angie was waiting for me. The timing was perfect; she'd just gotten to the curb!

From there we managed to get lost (laughing hysterically the whole time, which might have contributed slightly to the lost situation) while trying to find her hotel. We did see some pretty sights along the way.
(The good part about getting lost is that I had my sister to keep my company. The bad part was that I had to pee really badly and for some reason Milwaukee doesn't seem to appreciate a girl's need to pee; what's up with no gas stations or fast food places for 15 miles? Sorry, TMI.)

Angie's hotel was very beautiful, and reminded me strongly of my house. This would be my kitchen.
(If my kitchen was clean, had marble floors, good lighting, and 20 foot ceilings.)

I could also use these in my house. I'm sure I could think of several practical uses . . .

"IF YOU WANT SOMETHING FROM YOUR MOTHER STAND

IN LINE SO I CAN IGNORE YOU ONE AT A TIME."

After a delicious dinner (which ended up costing the same as my weekly grocery budget for our family of five), we staggered around the hotel for a while, laughing hysterically and taking bizarre pictures.
The room had an amazing view from the front door through the peep hole.
It's so great to be sisters; we share similar genes and identical dorkiness!

Birthday Goodies

Did you know that Handyman and I have our birthday on the same day?!

Pretty wild, huh?

Get this, we even have our anniversary on the same day!

(I'll give you a moment to work that one out, hee hee!)

Anyway, my sweet sis Angie sent us a huge box full of goodies, and they arrived on my barren and empty wasteland of a front porch this morning. Angie said she felt bad because it was a little late, but in my mind, it came exactly when I needed a little lift.
Does my sister know me, or what? I mean, what could possibly be better than yarn?!!
She gave me this awesome bag that's made especially for knitting projects. See those long vertical pockets on the side? That's for basic necessities like needles, yarn, or a bottle of wine.
Right now I'm working on a crocheted rug (pictures will be in an upcoming post), and I've been stuffing the entire thing in an ugly plastic trash bag. Poor rug; I think it's developing a complex. Now I can make amends and let it relax in this gorgeous bag! My rug will travel in better style than I do!

Angie's very crafty, and she's a fantastic crocheter. A few years ago, she gave me crocheted pot holders, and I've used them exclusively ever since. I'm so glad she gave me another one in the box, because my old ones are complaining that they need to go into retirement.

Handyman isn't as enthusiastic about yarn as I am (for which I am at a loss to understand, but for which I'm thankful, since I don't have to share my stash), so Angie also included a check for him to spend. I have a feeling it'll go towards a new disc for disc golf.

Last, but not least, I found a bag of goodies for the kids. She filled it with Asian candies and gift certificates for McDonald's.

*Sigh*, I guess that means I'll have to force myself to take them to McDonald's. The things mothers must do for their children.

(Before you start feeling badly for me, I should confess that our weekly McDonald's playdates are the highlight of my week. It's rather pathetic how excited I get when Wednesday rolls around!)

I can't wait to share the loot with Handyman and the kids - I think they'll love their goodies as much as I love mine!

Happy-Happy-Joy-Joy

My friend Flip Floppin' Mama is a Creative Memories consultant, and she's organized a scrapbooking retreat in November for all of us addicted scrappers. Since last year was an unmitigated success, I have no qualms in whipping myself up into a frenzy of excitement and anticipation. Let's just say I'm flyin' high, and all thanks to completely legal stimulants -

- paper, stickers, and photographs!To prepare for all of this, I'm trying (trying is the operative word here) to get organized. I finally got around to ordering all 248+ photos from Snapfish, and I've started putting photos with paper/stickers so that I know what I've got to scrap and what I still might need.My SiL Natalie, a tremendously organized woman, gave me this great tip for organizing stuff ahead of time. Completely throw all remnants of self-respect out the window and beg your favorite pizza place for a few clean medium-sized pizza boxes. They're the perfect 12 x 12 size, and you can layer photos with matching paper and stickers in there. In between each layer, I put a scrap sheet of paper with what the theme is (like "Snow Days in July" or whatever) and then I put the titles down on a little memo pad. That way, I can see at a glance what I need to scrap.This solves the problem of not having stickers/having seven sets of stickers for the same topic, as well as ensuring with a relative measure of success that I'll finish a year's album with, say, October's events coming before November, and not after. I just hate glueing in a page only to discover that it's the wrong year. Very frustrating and soooo not good for the scrapping mojo.

The only downside to this method of organization is that I'm always craving pizza.

Oh goody, goody, I'm completely psyched. Psychotic. Whatever. Not ONLY am I going scrapbooking without the kids (except Gabe. He's gotta eat, after all), but my sister Angie and my Mum are coming too!Okay, I've seriously got to get my mind on less heavenly things, or I know I'll just faint from delirium-enduced happiness.

Oh good, Gabe's pooped in his diaper. That should bring me back to earth.

Long-Distance Twins

My sister Angie has a little girl who is older than Gabe by about four days, and when she and I were pregnant, we used to joke that we were having "long-distance twins" because we shared so many of the same peculiar quirks of pregnancy.For instance, I called her once to complain that I was having this obsessive craving for pie, and when she answered the phone, her mouth was full of pie. Weird, huh? It goes on. The two of them kicked around the same time, and both of them are insanely sweet. That alone is strange, as sweetness isn't a gene that's inherited from either Handyman or I.
Anyway, my sister just recently posted a funny video of baby Michelle (her baby) cooing and talking for the camera. Gabe, who was sitting on my lap, was so entranced, I had to take a video of him watching her. So, the voice you might hear in the background is my sister's voice coming over the internet via her video. No, not the gurgling, that's Michelle. My sister doesn't gurgle.

Does that make any sense? No? Well, Gabe's cute regardless of what's going on. Just watch.

I'm An Auntie!

My sweet sis Angie finally got her wish and delivered a darling baby girl on Tuesday. (If you have a chance, head over to her blog and leave her a congrats. She'd appreciate it!)

Why wait this long to post? Because I wanted pictures! LOTS and LOTS of baby pictures to show off!

My newest niece is named Michelle Rae Leilani Tuttle. Isn't that the most lovely name? I just love Hawaiian names (we're part Hawaiian, my family.) Okay, enough gabbering - ON TO THE PICTURES!

(Trumpets, please, "ta-ta-ta-taaaaaaaaa!")

It's All in the Accessories

As most of you know by now, my dear sis Angie is due a day before I am with a little girl, which she hilariously calls her "Kung-Fu Princess" (due to the excessive amount of kicking that baby does.)

Of course, wanting to be a good Auntie, I had to make my newest niece something to treasure, drool on, and poop in.

Hence, the Anouk dress with some of my own modifications. I just love the beads. Every diva needs some bling in her life, I feel.

Not that I would know anything about diva-ness.

Since accessories are all the rage, and ultra-important to us divas, a chapeau was in order as well. I really debated putting beads on the bonnet as well, but in the end, compassion won out over vanity - I'd hate for my niece to wake up from her nap with tiny little indentations all over her head from the beads pressing into her scalp. There is a limit to what one will suffer for looks.

That doesn't apply to shoes, though, as any woman will know. A man must have invented stillettos. No sane woman would even think of foisting off such torturous devices on another human being.

But anyway, I digress.

Since I am a sane woman (stop sniggering!), I opted for flats for my Kung-fu niece. I figure she can fly through bamboo groves (a la Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) and take out the bad guys much easier in shoes that lack a heel.

So, Angie, now that I am officially done with your baby's birth present, you are allowed to go into labor. It's still a few weeks early, but thank you for complying with my schedule and not going into labor before I was done knitting all this up.

After all, miss Kung-Fu can't come into this world until everything is prepared! What would a grand appearance be without shoes and bonnet?

Appearances are everything. It's all in the accessories.