My Favourite Animal Swap

I had signed up for a craft swap over at Craftster back in July, however, my original partner went AWOL and although I send her stuff (see my post in late July) she's never been heard from again.

As you may recall, the wonderful Cynthia at Big Girl Feet felt bad that I was flaked on, on my very first swap! She sent me a wonderful package of goodies - see my post here. Thank you Cynthia, I so love everything you sent me. You are so very sweet.

But wait, there's more. Today, I received the following from my Swap Angel. This is where the organizer of the swap asks for someone to step in for the flaker so the flakee can still receive something. Big Girl Feet tried to be my angel, but one was already found. So I have TWO ANGELS. Yay me!

I can't post the pictures on Craftster at the moment, so I've linked my post there to this blog so everyone can see the pictures until I can post in the Swap Gallery. I told my Swap Angel that my favourite animal was dogs, but I also collected Hippos.

So this is what she sent: she made me this cute t-shirt (here's the back) plus a wonderful purse with dog patterned fabric, also an apron and wallet or cheque book cover:
Here's the front of the t-shirt with a better view of the apron plus some doggie biscuits called "People Crackers" and some people snacks called" PNuttles Butter Toffee Sunflower Kernels"

Thank you thank you thank. So nice to have two angels. I have received such nice thing, I truly appreciate all the thoughtfulness and care. It's so wonderful. gush gush gush

I've fallen, but I could get up

Yesterday around dinner time I was experiencing some pain in my foot - in the joint of the big toe. I was trying to figure out why it hurt and hoping I wasn't getting my biggest fear of all, arthritis. The pain continued throughout the evening but I also had pain running up my shin.

It wasn't until I was watching Dirty Jobs, when I saw the host, Mike Rowe, go up a ladder that I remembered I fell off a 3' step ladder earlier in the day! Now why did I forget that? Did I go into some sort of shock? And you know, I couldn't even remember how I landed when I fell. I thought and thought and was positive I hadn't landed on my hip or back so I must have landed on my feet. Then I realized I had just stepped back off the collapsing ladder and landed hard on my foot resulting in this pain. But isn't that strange the I completely put it out of my mind? I have a very good memory and people are always amazed at what I remember, but I don't know why this event so easily slipped my mind.

I guess this happens to people with traumatic accidents on a much grander scale. I recently heard a story about a girl who was in a car accident and couldn't remember the whole month after it had happened.

A funny thing happens...

when I get my hair cut in a new style. I feel so different. I feel like it's a new me and I've got a fresh start. I feel younger. I feel different. I want to go out and show it off.

Does a new hair cut do that to you? Am I weird?

I had about 3 or 4 inches cut off and couldn't be happier. Of course, I wonder why I didn't do this at the beginning of the summer!

I don't have a photo, but it's sort of Amelie - ish... except I'm not cute like she is. And I didn't plan on looking like her. But about an hour after my hair cut, I was having lunch when the image popped into my head.

Maybe more Amelie meets Keely Smith

Going Postal?

If you're like me, there will be times when you want to place an order with an American company, but you find that the cost of shipping is more than the cost of your products. If that happens to you, perhaps try telling your suppliers about this. It's a guide for shipping to Canada from the USA. The results? Greatly reduced costs and postage time!

To quote Martha Stewart, "It's a good thing!"

New Books! (JP don't look)

Yessssssssssssss! The mailman just delivered these two wonderful books! Amigurumi! Super Happy Crochet Cute by Elisabeth A. Doherty

(not just animal stuffies but also crocheted food like carrots, strawberries
and the hamburger with all it's separate ingredients)

Mr. Funky's Super Crochet Wonderful by Narumi Ogawa

(this one also includes people sized accessories too)

They are so awesome! If you don't hear from me for a few days, this is where I'll be... with all my yarn ends....

Laugh Break

JP wrote this joke while gassing up his car yesterday:

Do lemurs fill up at the...................Madagasbar?

Kerrisdale Days & More Books

Saturday we went to Kerrisdale Days (in Vancouver) but the weather wasn't too nice and things were sort of wrapping up for the day when we got there. We did swing by Oscar's Art Books and found some great books, like this:

and this

We bought 8 books in total, but they're all over the house now, so I won't take all their pictures.

The kid went home yesterday after a week with us. Yesterday was a bit disappointing because we had a great week together but he's had a wiggly tooth that needs to come out because it's rotting and unfortunately there is no way of speeding something like that and there was no way either parent could forcefully remove that thing without losing a finger. What a fuss that kid kicked up. Days earlier acting all mature and everything and then because of one tooth he seemed to regress.

Friday night was a fairly warm and a very clear night so I had my bag of knitting outside and planned for my usual hour and a half of yarn time after dinner. However, the kid wanted to be outside with me so I knew it was pointless to try to knit or crochet when both projects required lots of counting. It was a nice night and we just spent time hanging out. No toys, no entertainment of any kind - just him and me and a few bugs. I did light a candle and then the game of burning small twigs occupied about an hour until someone poked their stick directly into the flame and put it out. I think he was really enjoying being outside after dark, I think he felt really grown-up.

My hat goes off to all those mum's out there who have children and get their knitting or crochet done. Perhaps you've trained your kids to do their own thing when the needles or hooks come out? I have no idea, but I didn't get 1/7 done what I normally do.

Did you hear about the tragic hot air balloon accident this weekend? Here's the story. It had been my childhood dream to ride a hot air balloon and JP was going to do this for my birthday last month. In fact he had called this company to find out the details but he had a bad vibe about it, so we didn't do it. Now I don't know if I ever want to do it either. This is very tragic.

Make my supper

Here's a website for all you foodies out there, including a place to upload photos of yourself cooking. Check out Make My Supper.

those who can't do.... teach? Not!

The kid has been with us this week and it's been interesting. He's come with me to the dentist and his dad's taken him to the PNE. He's played a lot of video games and practiced drawing and colouring his name in graffiti style. But last night he asked me to teach him how to knit.

screeeeeeech... I don't know how to teach knitting and I don't know how to teach a kid! I thought about grabbing one of my books but didn't know how much time I had and thought he'd learn better visually. So I picked up some needles and some yarn and cast on about 15 stitches and showed him how it was done. I also cast on 15 stitches on another set of needles so I could work with him to show him. Of course he wanted to trade fairly early in the game, but I had anticipated that. He got the concept of where the needles and yarn were to go, but I just couldn't convince him to hold his work differently. I figured I'd let him practice the motions first and that perhaps the holding part would come later, especially if his work grew to be longer. Last night he wanted to knit a scarf and wanted to be up all night to complete it, but as you can see this is how much he did before bed. (that's a photo of his swatch above)

I didn't want to say anything to him, but he's left handed and I taught him how to knit right handed. Many lefties have told me they can't learn to knit because everything is based in a right handed world. I wondered that since it was a new skill and since both hands are active anyway, how difficult it would be for a southpaw to learn? He didn't comment on it at all, which was part of my personal experience.

I also found it interesting that he wanted to learn other stitches and change colours. As you know, there are so many variables in knitting it can be overwhelming, but that sometimes we must walk before we run. I encouraged him to master this first before he moved on and he certainly tried. I was tempted to fix his work or add some rows while he was sleeping but decided to leave it as it is. His dad made a bit of fun of him for being a boy who wanted to knit but didn't tease him for too long and the kid persisted including ensuring he knit for at least 10 minutes because his dad said "you won't last for more than 5 minutes".

It was great to see such determination and interest in something new. I also wondered if perhaps I made it look so easy that he was sure he could do it too - and that's a good thing. It was nice for him to want to find something to do with me instead of always being with his dad.

EDITED - here's the finished pieces - a wrist band for him (he wears his watch over it) and a frilly wristband for his mom (the pink and black one). He's happy and wants to do more sewing. Does that mean I succeeded?

New Books

Today, books arrived. I bought them from the damaged book sale at Interweave. And actually both of these books were barely damaged so their price reduction was worth it. Shipping only took about 3 weeks from the US to Canada.

200 Crochet Blocks - if you buy this book, check for corrections. My edition had about 8patterns that had corrections needed.

Nicky Epstein's Knitted Embellishments - a great resource book which has lots of edges, or stand alone knitted items that can be sewn to your garment or other creations.

I recommend both books as great resources, and both must be in your library.

What did I do?

On Saturday night we went out for dinner with friends, it was a celebration for our wedding and it was really nice. They took us to a nice restaurant and spoiled us. Yummy food and good company - that's the way to do it. We came back to their house and enjoyed a toast with some bubbly and then went home. It was a good night out.

But the next morning, my stomach wasn't so happy - rich food maybe? Mixing alcohol? I'm not sure, but I'm feeling better now. You know, just in time for the work week.

I did get a few hours of cross stitch done - here's what I've done in the past week:

- pretty sad isn't it. I must get this done before Christmas!

And that's all I can write about. The weather was iffy - everything else was mediocre. But sometimes uneventful can be okay.

I'm an idiot & a **SPECIAL OFFER**

Okay, I had been hunting down the stupid Adorn magazine and after 8 stores I finally found it at the Chapters at Metropolis and right next to it was a Craft: Magazine. I was so excited I scooped them both up. But about 1/2 hour later in the car, I remembered that I had already subscribed to Craft:! ACK! Then I joked to JP that my subscription would be sitting in the mailbox when I got home. And it was! Yay & bah!

SO. If you would like a free copy of the new issue of Craft: - leave me a comment and I'll randomly draw from the first five people interested. I chose 5 because I don't think more than 5 people read my blog! ha!

Now also dear Canadian readers, let me tell you this - after running around the Metro Vancouver area looking for that Adorn magazine, I thought I would subscribe. Unfortunately, their website only allows US addresses so I wrote them and asked about shipping to Canada. They said they aren't doing Canadian subscriptions and that I should look for their magazine at major retailers. I think 3 locations of Chapters is considered a major retailer, so I have decided that I will no longer go out of the way for them. When the next issue comes out, I will not make any special trips. If I happen upon it while getting my "normal" magazine fix - well that is jut fine. How hard is it to charge me in US funds and I'll pay for shipping? If you would like to educate me on the issues concerning shipping magazines to Canada from the US, please enlighten me - I would love to learn. *end of rant*

Have a happy Saturday. I'm was planning on working on the cross stitch today but I got sucked into hanging out with JP watching TV and doing nothing. Tonight we go out for dinner with some friends.

Did you watch Mad Men last night on AMC? It was a new episode, and so very good. Do check it out.

Yesterday I had a business meeting in Burnaby so I swung by Chapters at Metropolis and finally found the new issue of Adorn ! That was 8 different stores we had to go to - mostly JP went for me (what a sweety)! I bought the last copy at Chapters too. So when I finally got my hands on it, I questioned whether it was worth that much work! When I got home I decided I'd subscribe to save us this hassle again - but guess what? They don't offer subscriptions outside of the USA. Hmph! What good is a magazine if they don't sell it anywhere and they don't offer a subscription!

On the way home I stopped at a yarn store - it's only open Tuesday to Saturday from 10am - 4pm - well that takes out most office workers unless you can go during your lunch break. The store is short on cash and is being run by volunteers who do not always show up. So if you want to buy from them, you may have to come back!?! How is that helpful? What's the point? Next they're going to be 'by appointment only'!

I did buy a couple of skeins of bright blue, grass green and black for felting - I'm going to try a purse.... as soon as I find a pattern (or as soon as I make one up!)

Happy Friday!

We're getting better all the time

1. Thanks to my brilliant brother, who set up my computer back-up system, the crash I experienced was not so bad. I did need a bit of tech help to get me started, but now I'm on my own and getting it back together. I'm not out of the woods yet, but very near.

2. There is an angel on earth and she's at Big Girl Feet - the sweetest person I've never met! That's right, we only know each other through cyberspace but she heard that my swap partner on Craftster had flaked on me (it was my first swap), so she decided to send me this wonderful package:

She crocheted the chihuahua doggie for me, then included a metal doggie picture frame, a basset hound note book and the cutest pooch pouch featuring some perky poodles which she also made! Plus a cute card with a wonderful note to explain. ISN'T SHE THE BEST PERSON? oh yes she is! I so, so love it all and every time I will look at these gifts, I will think of the fabulous person with a big, big heart. I think she should change her blog name to Big Heart Girl!

3. Last night, JP and I managed to get some thrifting done. I found several bright coloured aluminum knitting needles, a hair-pin lace maker, an Afghan Hook and some circular needles. Plus, I found this mystery craft item:

It's 4" square, with radiating circles marked on it and lots of holes for lots of pins. The spare pins are stored in a drawer underneath. I had to buy it because I was sure I could find out what it is. It says "Hazel's Adjust-O-Peg" on it but all I found was a reference to one book published in 1969 to made "mod flowers" with wire or raffia. Have you ever seen craft instructions or every used one? I guess I'll just have to experiment!

Also, I found my new favourite glass - a cute frosted tumbler which says "Melon Boy" on one side and "Let's Go! Let us feel the warmth of happiness" under the boy riding the dolphin

4. Sadly for me, I have a HUGE headache. It woke me up at 3:00 this morning. 4 hours ago I took 2 Tylenol 3's but it's back again. I think I may need to finish my computer work a bit later and take a break now outside. It's not a migraine so I am not bothered by the bright hot sun.

Miss me, miss me, now you'll have to....

wait. I suffered a computer crash while backing up on Friday night. I had back up so it's not as horrible as it could have been, but I still need to fix some issues. If you miss me and are wondering where I am, I'm lost in the deep dark work of the computer hard drive!

I miss you too.

Do you have a secret?

Be sure to check out this blog every Sunday for 20 new secrets - Postsecret

A man and woman had been married for more than 60 years. They had shared everything. They had talked about everything. They had kept no secrets from each other except that the little old woman had a shoe box in the top of her closet that she had cautioned her husband never to open or ask her about.For all of these years, he had never thought about the box, but one day the little old woman got very sick and the doctor said she would not recover.

In trying to sort out their affairs, the little old man took down the shoe box and took it to his wife's bedside.She agreed that it was time that he should know what was in the box. When he opened it, he found two crocheted dolls and a stack of money totaling $95,000.

He asked her about the contents. "When we were to be married," she said, "my grandmother told me the secret of a happy marriage was to never argue. She told me that if I ever got angry with you, I should just keep quiet and crochet a doll."

The little old man was so moved; he had to fight back tears. Only two precious dolls were in the box. She had only been angry with him two times in all those years of living and loving. He almost burst with happiness.

"Honey," he said, "that explains the doll, but what about all of this money? Where did it come from?""Oh," she said, "that's the money I made from selling the dolls."

I love Mad Men!

Have you seen the new series on AMC called Mad Men? It's on Thursday nights plus a few other times. It's a pretty good show and I love the staging and props. I love the clothing and the house decors.

The Setting: In 1960, advertising agencies were an all-powerful influence on the masses. Personal and professional manipulation and sexual exploits defined the workplace and closed the deals. The high profile Sterling Cooper Advertising Agency created advertising campaigns – from cigarettes to political candidates -- better than anyone. It was a time of great ferment. Women had barely begun to come into their own. Librium and birth control were on the move. Ethics in the workplace, smoke-free environments, sexual harassment and ethnic diversity were workshops of the future.

Read more about it on the website - above. It's pretty cool.

After a bit of overnight rain, it looks like we'll be back to the sunshine today. Yesssss! Although (yesterday's)gloomy weather is always good for cleaning off the desk and going through emails.

I did manage to get through another 12 rows - that's the pattern repeat - for my leaf shawl. It takes about an hour and a half for 12 rows though. I've only done about 24" and I guess it should be at least double that, maybe even triple? It's a good back up project I guess.

Most likely I'll be starting a sweater soon, so I'll have a few options, although I MUST finish that cross stitch!

It's over, now back to work!

The clouds did clear yesterday, and I did manage to be outside for about 4 hours. I had to wear headphones because of the neighbourhood "battle of the bands", but I took my Sirius Radio with me and listened to comedy so that was all right.

What did I do out there - 4 hours of cross stitch equals the boxed area. That's it! Progress is sloooooooooooooooow!

After dinner, I did another 12 rows of the lace leaf shawl, progress is also sloooooooooooooooow.

Today, it's back to work. It's cloudy though, so that makes it less tempting to want to leave my desk - that's a good thing.

~~~~~~~~~

I'm itching to buy some new yarn - I'm seeing all these gorgeous yarns people are spinning and/or dying and I want some too! Something beautifully coloured, or something wonderfully soft. There is so much out there, it's hard to decide.

~~~~~~~~

I'm interested in learning more about zakka. Wikipedia defines zakka as:

(from the Japanese ‘zak-ka’ or ‘many things’) is a fashion and design phenomenon that has spread from Japan throughout Asia. The term refers to everything and anything that improves your home, life and outlook … Zakka has also been described as “the art of seeing the savvy in the ordinary and mundane”. … Cute is not enough. To qualify as a zakka, a product must be attractive, sensitive, laden with subtexts.

Let me know if you have any sources for projects. I'm intrigued!

Is this the "dog days"?

Saturday afternoon after cleaning the house, I wanted to reward myself by going outside and enjoying some sun. I was in the middle of a sentence while talking to JP when he says "is that a dog vomiting?" and I go running into the laundry room to find Maxx 'in progress' shall we say. Oh yuck, oh yuck. When he's done, I send him outside and I begin to clean and disinfect the area. Thank god for surgical gloves I tell ya, there is no way I can clean up dog messes without gloves. I then wash the dog bed as well. Maxx was fine, it's just with his 'condition' he doesn't know when to stop drinking- usually I tell him to stop or he will continue to drink and drink and then... well you get the picture.

So while the washer is running I finally get a chance to head outside again. And I'm in my lawn chair for no more than 10 minutes when there is a bee on the ground. You know how there is a time when they are dying and can no longer fly? Well that's what was happening and Jazz was playing with it. Normally she's caught wasps in her mouth, she spits them out and rolls them with her foot to kill them and doesn't get hurt. But somehow with the bee, she got stung in her 'thumb'. So in the house I go with a dog limping on 3 legs. She never made a sound and if I hadn't seen it, I would have very confused about what had happened. JP's on the computer and so I ask him to look it the medical advice. He gives me some brief info but I don't feel good about it. I ask him again, and then I get more details. I took a pair of tweezers and looked for the stinger, he even helped which is a big deal because he doesn't like my dogs. I searched her paw for 20 minutes and couldn't find anything in her fur. Perhaps all the scraping I did to move her fur was enough to remove the bee stinger. I wash her foot down with a mixture of baking soda and water and give her 1 teaspoon of Children's Benedryl. There was no swelling, so I didn't bother with an ice pack. 10 minutes later, she vomits. Now I need to wash the second dog bed. I clean her all up and clean up the room, start the washing machine again and by now it's dinner time and the sun is gone in the sitting area. So much for that! Now that's a dog day of summer!

However, I did manage to get some good time outside on Sunday - with headphones, as two neighbours decided to battle music and one of the neighbours is still shingling the roof of his shed. They get the prize for the slowest workers on the planet. JP says they are the Labatt's Roofing Crew and I think he is correct.

I did manage to complete a 12 row repeat on my lace shawl on Saturday night and I did get some time in on my cross stitch.

My swap partner has not replied to anyone, although she has logged onto the site as recently as yesterday afternoon - which is disappointing. I have no idea if she's flaked on me, or if she's sent anything to me, or if she's received anything from me. I will leave the rest up to the swap organizer, I guess. It is possible that mail to Belgium takes a bit of time. Since I couldn't track the package I have no idea if it's being returned or if it got lost, who knows. Big Girl Feet had one swap package to Australia (I believe) that took 3 months to arrive! It's only been a week. I think everyone else in the swap has already received because they were mailing within the USA.

Happy BC Day today! I have no idea how I will spend it. Perhaps I'll try some cross stitch in the garden again.

UPDATE: augh! it's cloudy! And not that warm, so I probably won't be sitting outside to cross stitch. But it's quiet out there, oh yeah - no roofing on a crappy cloudy day... Thanks neighbours.

It's a long weekend and it's cloudy. Of course. There is even an article in today's Province about why it always rains on the weekend - and it's been true this year! Yesterday I went and sat in the sun for about an hour - not much heat between 4:00pm and 5:00, but I'll take it!

Since I've complained in the past about neighbours, I'll just mention that all has been quieter for the past few days. YESSSSS! The neighbour with the Jack Russell from Hell had been away for about a week so that was quiet. Martial Arts neighbour with the loud German Death Metal was only noisy yesterday during the day but by the time I came outside no one was out there. Other neighbourhood kids burn themselves out between noon and 2:00 so they are quiet later in the afternoon too. The only one is the guy behind me who has been working on his garage roof for several days. People, it does not take that long to re-shingle a small roof like that! Trust me, I know. I did have to relocate my seating because I hate that he's on his roof staring into my yard when I'm trying to get some rays, but at least he's turned his radio down and I can block the pounding of nails. So, all in all, I'm pretty happy. Now I just wish I had more time to sit out there -but alas, I can't because IT IS RAINING!

Anyway, I've been working on some cross stitch which is fairly complicated which means that it's not much of a start and stop kind of project, but I'm trying to wrap it up. I'm embarrassed to say that it's been in the works for a 'few' years now. I must just hunker down and get 'er finished.

I haven't heard from my swap partner - she's the only one that is MIA, everyone else has received. Of course they were all sending between US addresses. I was swapping with someone in Europe. I don't know what has happened there. I have seen some very nice swaps from my group though. It's amazing how talented some people are.

Marilyn Martini

Aren't these so great? They're from Hour Glass Studios

Now if they had some Audrey Hepburn, a la Breakfast at Tiffany's I would have already placed an order!

I did it again. I took an orphaned ball of yarn, looked at it and determined what could be made with it, and succeeded. I should have taken a "before" photo of what I started with, but this is what I ended with. Besides a doily what will it be? I have plans for it, but it's part of a surprise for someone, so you'll all have to wait. Crochet seems like the perfect summer craft. I prefer to crochet over knitting whilst sitting in a lawn chair.

Also, in an attempt for some privacy I spent yesterday after work cleaning out the old dog kennel and converted it to a bit of a 'secret garden'. Here's what it looks like now. You can see it's fairly shady at the moment but it will get the afternoon sun. I have some decorating plans which I'll post in the next few days. The bamboo mat was in experiment to block a neighbour's view, I know it doesn't look too good right now.... I'm working on it, any suggestions?

And finally here's a photo of a small garden area that sees the morning sun. I thought it was pretty. It too needs work - aren't all gardens a work in progress?

Foot note:
You know, I had a post yesterday. It's sitting in my post archive as a draft. I was told it was too personal to post. I'm struggling a bit with my environment but I see that others are too. Is it some sort of mid-summer crisis? It feels like many of us are experiencing a bit of a creative quandary. I guess we must stumble first before we can continue on our way. Perhaps an all-consuming project is needed, or some positive event to life our collective spirits.