Inside the Fishbowl

Next Year's Crafting Goals: Create a beautiful Christmas tree

I always have crafting goals and next year is no exception.  Next year's crafting goals are really this year's crafting goals that I just never got around to.  But you can be assured that almost all of them will involve using up some of my stash in an attempt to try to remove some of the clutter in my studio.

When we moved into our house with it's very high ceilings we promptly went out and bought the largest Christmas tree (yes, we have an artificial tree) we could fit in our library--9 feet tall.  I loved the idea of our large tree, until I had to decorate it.  It takes a lot of ornaments to decorate such a large tree. And it's really expensive to buy that many ornaments.  Last year I came up with this idea to create garlands of glittered words to place on the tree, but the busy-ness of the season overwhelmed me and I never made progress on that project.  This year with our trip to Paris right before the Christmas crunch, I know it won't get done again.  So I'm going to be ok with my sad, largely undecorated, huge tree.  But this resignation is not going to stop me from collecting ideas for the ornaments I want to make for next year. Next year my tree will sparkle with new life and decoration.   One of the installments of this weeks Better Homes and Gardens newsletter had this adorable snowman ornament.  Aren't they adorable?  My only hesitation about making these is that they can be completely destroyed by the final step--painting.  I have no talent when it comes to painting.  But isn't that what white paint or primer is for?  If I don't like the results I can always start over.  Incidentally, why does that seem to be the case with so many projects?  Bookbinding is that way. All of that work can go straight down to toilet if you attach the text block into the casing incorrectly.  Trust me, I know.  It's frustrating and a complete creativity buster!

Off my memory card

I cleared off my camera's memory card yesterday, and thought I'd post a few of the pictures I found there.

These are the booties that I made for my friend Alisha's new baby this week. These are not you grandmother's booties, are they?  I bought the pattern for them on Etsy, from Sylver Designs.  She has children's and adult sizes in girls' styles.  I just might have to make myself a pair of slippers for the winter--when I've finished all of the other crochet projects I've planned!

A rare happy picture of Alex where he isn't doing his cheesy smile.  Although I'd describe Alex as a happy child, he sure seems to be unhappy every time I decide to take a picture of him.  Also, at about 2 1/2 both of my children have adopted a cheesy smile that they employ only when the camera comes out.  Is this normal?  Or am I just too in your face with the camera?

Last weekend Alex got his new big boy bed.  All he wanted to do is help put it together.  Until we bought his bed, he'd been sleeping on a mattress on the floor until I could take pictures of his furniture that we want to sell.  I haven't taken any pictures of the bed finished because I have a few things to do to it before it's all the way done.  But it's a really cool bed that we got at Ikea.  More pictures later.

Kaitlin had the treat bucket at school for Friday.  Every time she has to bring treats she wants to bring cupcakes.  I almost never let her.  Her teacher would prefer healthier snacks and so would I.  But since it's the month of Halloween, I decided to let her have her way.  This month is all about sweets, right?  Inspired by The Gentle Art of Domesticity I provided lots of toppings to add to the cupcakes and let Kaitlin loose.  She decorated with candy corn (the traditional and pumpkin shaped ones), sprinkles, Reeses Pieces and mini marshmallows.  She had so much fun creating a specific cupcake for each of the kids on her class.  Unfortunately she woke up sick the next morning and didn't get to hand them out at school that day.  In addition to the cupcakes, I also made slightly healthier crunchy spiders, which were a big hit with the kids.  (Link is to the instructions--a fun snack for kids to help make)  The only thing I did differently from this recipe is that I used whole stick pretzels instead of breaking them up.  These kids get hungry!

This coming week is a busy one for me.  Wednesday, Alex is having eye surgery in both eyes to try to correct his strabismus.  I'm not too nervous about it--yet.  I know his doctor is a talented surgeon.  I think the thing that's freaking me out the most is to see him under anasthesia.  He's such an active little guy, even in his sleep, that utter stillness will seem unreal.  That and the fact that he'll probably have to have the surgery again.  Children generally have to have the procedure done more than once. I'm also slightly terrified of the recovery period.  I know from experience that Alex is a trooper.  His broken arm didn't slow him down for a minute.  But eyes are a different matter altogether.  Fortunately my mom's coming to help me through the insanity.  So, I'll be checking in from time to time, but since I can forsee a week of sitting on the couch watching Monster Sink (Monsters Inc.--that's how Alex says it!) and BuzzBuzz (Toy Story) I don't think I'll have much of interest to say.
 

New Work

So, it's Wednesday, four weeks from the last time I set my housecleaning goal.  I was only supposed to keep this goal going for three weeks, but I was on vacation during week three, so gave myself a few days to get back in the swing of things after returning home.  Now I feel ready to add two new jobs. 

You probably don't remember, so I'll refresh your memory.  Last month I set the goal to add two new household chores--that I often neglect--to my daily routine every three weeks.  My first two jobs were to keep on top of the dishes and to make sure no clothes were left out at night. For the record, these two went very well!  My two new jobs are:

1.  Have the kitchen island cleared off every night.

2.  Make all beds in the house every day.

Wish me luck! The island is my real problem spot.  It's going to take some doing on my part to keep on top of it!

And now for some fun work!

For a while now I've been wanting to make bread.  I really love making bread, but I don't do it that often. Tonight's book club seemed like the perfect excuse, so I spent my morning mixing, rising, rolling, shaping and rising again.  It was great fun, and would have been relaxing, if Alex wouldn't have been jealous of all the attention I was giving the dough rather than him.  He mostly cried at my feet the entire time.  Now it's done, the dishes are soaking, and soon to be cleaned.  The rolls aren't pretty, (any number of things could have gone wrong.  It's a new recipe for me!) but they are very tasty!  And I made a teddy bear loaf for the kids, too.  I should have dug out some raisins for the buttons, but then Kaitlin may not have eaten it.  (She's hit or miss with raisins.) 

I finally finished a crochet project.  I have several in the works right now, but this one I really wanted to get done before cold weather set in.  It my new hat!  Isn't it so cute?  I'm going to make Kaitlin a matching one, but she has requested pink and purple flowers--hers will have two. Then I think I may move on to matching scarves.  Is that too Hanna Anderson?  I bought the pattern on Etsy--the cutest shop for crocheted hats called Lullaby Lamb.  I want all of the patterns!  But for now I'll just make this one over and over.  After I finish Kaitlin's I'm going to make another for myself to make a few corrections based on what I learned making this one.  I'm planning on making flowers from the bamboo yarn I bought in Paris last year.  Or, maybe I'll make the entire hat from bamboo yarn.  Ooooh. . .sooooofffft!  And a scarf to match!  Hold me back somebody--I'm on a supply diet!

On A Break

Surprisingly, I don't mean that I'm taking a blogging break.  On the contrary!  I hope to be blogging more than usual.  Why, you wonder?  Because I won't be spending so much time buying craft supplies.  My mom was here last week and we spent a lot of time cleaning and organizing my studio.  We brought all of the stuff that remained in my old studio downstairs and put it all away, and then we also organized my two (yes two) overflow closets.  And while I won't go so far as to say that she was disgusted by the sheer volume of stuff that I have, she did issue me a challenge that I have decided to accept--to not buy any craft supplies until the end of November, when we get home from Paris.  (Mom, do the supplies that I buy in Paris count?)  It was embarrassing how much of what I have was purchased for a project that I didn't finish, or worse, didn't even start.  So, from now until November, I am only allowed to buy what I absolutely need to finish things that I've started and largely completed with supplies that I already have.  A good example would be if I run out of eyes for my amigurumi.  The entire thing would be made from yarn that I already have.  If a project requires a purchase of something more than, say, $5, or something that can't fit into, say, a baby food jar, I have to do a different project.  This is going to be difficult, considering I am going to San Francisco this weekend and had already planned a trip to Flax in The City and probably to Arch as well.  I suppose I will just have to practice my look but don't buy skills.  I'll compensate by buying macarons and a pot de creme at Miette.  Retail therapy or eating.  I have a feeling that two things are going to get a little thicker during this experiment--my wallet and my waist!

To jump start my little retail diet, I thought I'd show you the things that Jeremy brought me back from his trip to Japan at the end of July.  They're among the things that I will be trying to use up in the next several months.

First fabric.  I'm telling you, this man must love me because he ventured into a fabric shop in Tokyo simply because I expressed regret that I couldn't go to Japan with him to go fabric shopping.  Now, mind you, I would never go to Japan just to fabric shop, but I would fabric shop while in Japan--a lot!

Aren't these great?  He even bought me two coordinating patterns.  I can't wait to design a purse out of them!

Second paper.  Of all the things I might have expected him to buy me in Japan, paper was the most likely.  I know he supports my paper buying habit because he carried paper all over Italy for me.  And he bought me a huge stack when he went to India last summer.  His trip to Japan produced some of my favorite papers, but only because I love, love, love Japanese paper, and not because he has ever made a bad choice with paper for me.  Jeremy knows me well, or he has good taste, or both.  He always gets me great stuff.

There were a few other non-craft related items that I thought I'd include, since I'm talking about Japan.  He bought me these Lotte chocolate covered almonds and macadamia nuts.  

If you are ever anywhere that carries these, buy them!  You will not be disappointed.  He also bought me some Hi Chew candy.  I love these!  

They're so chewy and wonderful.  He brought back a new flavor that I've never tried.  Kiwi.  Yum!  Again, if you ever see these when you're out and about buy them.  You, and your kids, will love them.  And if you want to know where you can get these locally, try an Asian market or World Market (you may also know this store as Cost Plus), though the ones that are made for the Japanese market are slightly better than the US version.  Finally, he brought me back some macarons--the Parisian variety.

Yet another testament to how committed Jeremy is to fulfilling my every wish, because he thought it was completely ridiculous to go to Tokyo to buy French pastries. But he did it anyway.  The effort was very much appreciated! 

Sadly only the Hi Chew remain to see my through the long days of buying drought ahead of me.  

Finally, Jeremy bought me a Blythe doll.  These are actually very big in the crafting world.  But don't worry I won't be going and making any crocheted clothes for my little retro girl.  I love that he found one that's actually cute and not freaky looking like some of them can be.  

So, thanks to Jeremy I have a good lot of stuff to work with, snacks and a sweet little doll to keep me company.  Now, off to get busy!

A Little WIP

Sorry for the less than meaty posts this week.  It's a busy week as I prepare to go on vacation with my family, and then have my mom come for a visit immediately upon our return.

Here's a picture of my little butterfly girl sans wings.

Don't you love the one braid?  Don't worry she'll get another!  Though it would be funny to make one with only one braid or a really bad haircut to commemorate the first time a child cut her own hair.  That's never happened in our house, and I hope it never does.  Though I'm pretty sure Alex would be the one to do it and not Kaitlin.  That girl (literally) doesn't go to the bathroom without my permission.

And to give you further evidence of my yarn geekiness, here is my bright idea for the week.

Do you recognize this?  It's an apple container from Costco.  It's perfect for holding all of those little bits of yarn that are always getting tangles up in my yarn basket.  But the most geeky thing has yet to occur.  I'm going to use my Japanese screw punch to punch holes out of the top to feed the yarn through.  Then I'll never have to open the container, and all of the yarn will stay right were I want it.  I couldn't be more thrilled.

And so it goes

Jeremy travels a lot for work, at least a week a month.  Sometimes more.  This week he's in Washington DC.  Lucky guy.  We have this little tradition when Jeremy leaves.  Either one or both of the kids gets sick, or I do.  It happens almost without exception.  This week it looks like Alex and I are the lucky winners.  I still don't know about Kaitlin.  This evening I have a fever coming on.  So, though I promised no pictureless posts, here I am making one, to tell you all that I'm sick and I'm going to bed early.  Just after I finish the body for the Costume Cutie that I'm working on.  Hey, at least I provided you with a link to a picture.  That's something, right?

The Tuesday Night Weekend Wrapup

How does so much time seem to pass in the blink of an eye?  I can't believe that I'm sitting here after 9:00 on Tuesday night.  Where did my weekend go?  And for that matter where did yesterday go?  The busyness is a good thing, as a have lots to report.  So, sorry if you don't happen to like numbered recaps, but I'm going to write one.  Hey!  This is my blog!  And you can just ignore the numbers.

1.  Bookbinding and Books  On my last post I think I promised that I would have a Japanese binding to show off.  Well, that hasn't happened exactly.  I've got it all cut and ready to go, but I think I've decided to go the Keith Smith route, rather than the Kojiro Ikegami one.  I really want to try out some of Ikegami's binding, but I don't have the patience to sit down and figure it out right now.  Life is too chaotic.  I'll put that project at the back of the line for now.  Maybe when Jeremy's travel schedule settles down normal life will return as will my ability to concentrate.

I did manage to make a book over the weekend. Well, really I started it on Friday when I was teaching my friend Julie how to make a coptic book.  We finished our books today, and I have to say hers turned out fabulously.  The person she's going to give it to is very lucky!  Of course, my failure-to-document-life self forgot to get a picture of her book.  But here's a couple of pictures of mine. I love the spring feel of the paper.  Too bad I made it over the course of two very cloudy, cold days.

I bought Amanda Blake Soule's book The Creative Family over the weekend.  I've only managed to read the first few pages.  I'm saving it for my trip to California this weekend.  But it looks really good, and I'm excited to turn the TV off and try some of her ideas with my children.  If you don't read her blog already, you should really check it out.  It's full of inspiration, beautiful photography and a philosophy on life that I find truly admirable.

Finally, I'm just about finished with Wild Swans.  At the risk of violating the no pre-bookclub discussion rule (I'm always risking that!) I just have to say that it's a tremendous relief to have that book done.  It was completely engrossing, but such a difficult read.  There have been many times that I have put the book down in tears, times when I have been so disgusted with the conditions in China that I had to take several day breaks and times when I didn't pick the book up because I just knew I couldn't endure the stories it contained.  That's probably why it's taken me over a month to get through it.  I would recommend this book to everyone, though.  It's so important to learn about the lives that people lead, to be  aware of the injustices they suffer through, to be able to appreciate the comparatively wonderful lives we have.

2.  (Granny) Craft  I've been on a crochet kick lately that shows no signs of abating.  I've made dishrags (such an unappealing name for something so charming), mostly following the patterns from this book which contains some serious eye candy for the crocheter.

I also tried another amigurumi project, this time a felted elephant.  The felting didn't turn out the way it was supposed to, but I have some ideas to try next time to ensure that it goes off perfectly.

Oh, and I began Alicia Paulson's Tiramisu Baby Blanket which is a free pattern on her blog(and if you're not reading her blog, I just have to ask, really?  Where have you been?  All joking aside this is a precious little project, and easy to do as well. 

On the not quite as granny front, I managed to get two of my baby rag quilts done this weekend, too.  Photos are forthcoming--I couldn't get a decent shot of them once the sun went down. I'm pretty happy with them, but I especially love the pink one.  I think I might need to keep one--I have about three more in the pipeline--for Kaitlin's dolls. 

3.  Movie  Jeremy and I went to see Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day this weekend.  Since all of my other numbers have been long, I'll be brief--go see this movie.  It's thoroughly enjoyable.  And even Jeremy enjoyed it, so you could probably bring your husband, unless you suffer from Post Romantic Movie Stree Disorder.  Then you might want to go with a girlfriend.  Then get some ice cream after.  Just because.

4.  Kids  And just so my kids don't think, when they read my blog in the future that I didn't care an ounce about them, here are my favorite pictures of them lately.

Kaitlin has finally consented to let me play with her hair.  These are her two favorite hairstyles.  She's getting so old!  I can hardly believe she's four!

As for Alex, well, he's contantly on the go, so this is the best I've gotten of him lately. . .

5.  Recipe  If you made it to the end of this monumental post, I thought I'd reward you with a recipe that I found for the best Mexican rice that I have ever made, or quite possibly ever tasted.  I made it last night and it was fabulous!

Red Rice
1 cup rice

3 tablespoons bacon drippings or vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped, or 5 scallions,
chopped, including green part

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups hot water

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

Salt, to taste

3 teaspoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Pinch of Mexican oregano

2 beef or chicken bouillon cubes

Pour hot water over rice and let it stand for about 15 minutes.

Drain the rice and rinse it well in cold water. Shake the sieve and let the rice drain for a while. Shake the rice to remove any excess water.

In a heavy skillet, brown rice in bacon drippings or oil over low heat.

Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat, cover tightly and cook for 20 to 25 minutes. 

You may use any mix of the spices you like best.

Seriously, try it!  One note, I used about half the called for onion, and I didn't put any chili powder in.  I like my rice to be mildly flavorful.  Oh, and it's also delicious cold.  I've been snacking on it straight from the fridge all day!

So readers, if any of you are still there, that catches me up--almost.  There was an incident with Kaitlin and lipstick that deserves a post all by itself.  But that will happen some other time.  I'm tired and I'm going to bed!


Where has spring gone?

The nice weather that we've enjoyed lately has gone away, and I have to say, that I am not pleased.  Monday night wind blew the snow against my window so hard that it was difficult to stay asleep.  We woke up to a completely white world.  Even today there is still a good amount of snow on the ground.  This is the view this morning out my window as I sat at my sewing machine.

It just doesn't seem right to have snow on the ground at this time of year. And I've just noticed (now that the snow is melted) that I'm starting to get a lot of weeds.  I hope it will warm up a bit so I can get outside and break in my new gardening gloves and weeding tool. The cold weather has had one good side effect.  It's caused me to turn my thoughts to the many happy and very cozy stacks of flannel that I have cut out and ready to be sewn into baby blankets.  They occupy one of the works in progress bins at the bottom of my shelving unit in the studio.  I'm determined to get these bins cleaned out so I can begin some new projects. But seriously, what baby wouldn't be happy to be wrapped up in one of these?  They're so warm and soft and colorful.  I'm particularly excited about the girl blankets.  And they're cute, with flowers, pink and white ghingam and a wild flowery, paisley design.  I want one for myself!  Although I have doubts about my choice to use teal as one of my backing colors.  I love teal--maybe it's a throwback to the '80's.  I don't know, but every time I consider teal for anything I hear Jennifer Lopez in The Wedding Planner calling teal the color of gangrene.  Not exactly the visual image I want when I look at teal, or a baby blanket for that matter. I have a short commitment tonight but I'm hoping to get some studio time in this evening.  I think I may try a  Japanese stab binding.  I have a nice roll of kozo paper that has gone unused for too long.  I think it would like to be made into a traditional binding from it's homeland.  This,, from what I understand is a very simple binding technique, so it shouldn't be too difficult.  I'm excited to break out the book Japanese Bookbinding and give it a whirl. 

The Inaugural Project

So I announced yesterday, somewhat boldly, I might add, considering that I have two sick children--yes Aex came down with it--that I was going to make a book last night. I had a book in mind that I've been wanting to try for a while. The binding is called The Secret Belgian Binding. You can find a tutorial here. I knew this would be a quick, easy book to make, so I set out. I so enjoyed the process! As I stood at my island in my almost perfectly clean room, I remembered just what I love about bookbinding. It's the deliberateness and the exactness. Everything that my little Type A heart desires! I have only made a few books since November when the old studio was disassembled to make way for another guest room to accommodate all of our Thanksgiving guests. When I did get to make books, my work area looked something like this

Not exactly the most inspirational of spaces, is it? The other distraction was, of course, my children. This winter has been a trying one with Alex as he has spend a good amount of his waking hours crying at my feet. Anyone who has tried to do anything with a child vying for your attention knows that things tend to go wrong under those circumstances. I had to start over multiple times on every project I began. Several pieces of binder's board were ruined in the process. Many, many feet of linen thread went to waste. Simply put, trying to be creative was almost more stress than it was worth.

Last night was different. I had some nice music playing in the background. I remembered to write everything measurement down so that I didn't make a single mistake. I delighted in the precision required to make a beautiful book. I went slow. And this was the result.

Aside from the terrible taken at night photos, I'm very happy with this little book. I finally used one of the papers that Jeremy brought back from India. This is a beautiful one that looks like letterpress, but there's probably some term for how it was decorated that I can't recall right now. It was nice and forgiving to work with, too, but still not as nice as Japanese paper.

Hectic week

I had a post started, sitting open on my computer for three days earlier this week, but every time I sat down to finish it Alex had a major conniption fit.  I guess he got used to being held last week when he had the flu, and he wanted that to continue.  Of course, I can't sit around holding my nearly two year old child for days on end, so we spent a very rough few days--Alex crying constantly, me yelling a lot and occasionally crying, too, and finally sending Alex upstairs to cry all by himself in his room.  Yes, I sent my 20 month old to his room.  And he stayed!  The kid may cry a lot, but he is obedient.  You may be wondering why I didn't just blog at night after the kids went to bed.  And the answer to that question is that I was majorly obsessed with Heroes this week.  Between last Saturday and today I watched all but five episodes.  I couldn't stop until it was done.  And for anyone who watches Heroes, you know that it is the kind of show that demands your attention.  No other projects should be attempted while watching that show. 

So, today I sat down to start catching myself up in the blogosphere.  I have a lot of blogs to read and comment on.  Sorry if I don't get to all of them, because I also have several posts that I want to write, too.  And I can't do it all!  Unfortunately, I've had a little burst of crochet creativity going on, and my fingers are too sore to type much.  So, I'm extending my hiatus one more day.  But tomorrow I'll be back in full force.  Here are a few pictures of my crochet mania, and a few other things I've been working on.

From this:

To this:

And part of this gift I made for a baby shower I went to today:

Yes, I'm aware that my captions are all messed up, but Alex is currently crying at my feet, and I simply can't bear the thought of listening to it for another minute to fix it.  Sorry.  I know it's annoying.  But, I will suffer for one more minute to say that my creative cup has been filled tremendously in the last few days and I feel so much happier than I have all week.  I haven't even yelled at Alex once for following me around crying today.  Hooray for creative time!