One step at a time

So my Mom had an idea for a cool (Grand)Mother's day present--a homemade mosaic stepping stone out of all the dishes we kids have broken over the years (my Mom collects blue and white china, so there was already a color scheme in place). We bought the stone mix and the molds at the craft store, so all we had to do was finish smashing up the plates. I have to say this was my favorite part, not because I was so good at it, but because I love breaking things--especially when I'm supposed to. This is our full mold and broken peices, pre-assembly.

They were super fun and easy to make--we just pressed the peices into the top of the wet cementy-like stuffs, leaving a enough cement-space between the china pieces to hold them in.




Voila! Here are the final products, still in the drying phase:

Super cute! Just like the toad we found . . .



Rrrrrrrribit! (Do toads say "ribit", or just frogs?)

The Hissing Couch

So I am dealing with the transition to Houston really well. My kitty on the other hand, is having a little tougher time. After several days under the passenger seat of a Jeep Cherokee (I would like to state for the benefit of all the PETA members that this was where the cat chose to be. I like to think it's because that's where he felt safest-- a warm, dark, small, isolated place. I offered him in flight refreshments, but he was uninterested.) I finally deposited him safely in my parents laundry room. They have two cats and I wanted him to adjust a little before making the "introductions". He spent the first 36 hours behind the washer, but given the whole family of six thing eventually my Mom had to do laundry. This turned out to be an excellent form of motivation for the kitty to seek out bold new life and new civilizations, like under my parents bed. He hung out there all day yesterday, much to my chagrin. This morning I was really starting to miss having him around, but no one could seem to find him. As the inhabitants of the house cycled through on their daily business, every one took a turn looking for the kitty, but to no avail. He was simply not to be found. By dinner time, I was a little upset. After I had a minor meltdown, my gallant little brother took it upon himself to find the damn kitty, come hell or high water.

And found him he did! Using a revolutionary new method known as "kitty-to-kitty sonar" my genius little brother was able to locate the kitty by carrying his own pissed off cat from room to room until they started hissing at each other, ultimately betraying my cat's clandestine location inside the couch. I am totally serious about this. Every time Adam (the little bro) tried to gesture towards the couch to show me where the cat was, it hissed at him. I didn't believe it at first, and was poking and prodding all over the couch, with no response. Adam gestures, and the cat hisses. Pet love is darling. We pulled out the hide-a-bed and the cat ran off, but I felt a little silly because I was sitting on that couch knitting and missing my cat all day.

Sagaciously

having or showing acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd

prurience:

having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.

Welcome Home

There are so many wonderful things about being in Texas--I don't know how I managed to stay away for so long. The nights are warm, the booze is cheap, the people are so much friendlier! And then there's the shopping . . . oh, the shopping! The dichotomy of my emotions is overwhelming--on one hand I love shopping, on the other hand I am all too aware of the havoc cheap over-seas goods have wreaked on our economy. After watching The High Cost of Low Prices I feel guilty even looking at a Wal-Mart, but I let myself have one small indulgence:


That's right, the wonder and beauty of a real craft store. Acre after acre and aisle after aisle of crafty goodness. Seattle has lots and lots of wonderful things, but they are seriously lacking in decent craft-related emporiums. Texas, thankfully, is not.


After perusing the handles at the craft store I have officially decided I am not making a laptop cover, I am making a purse. I made a mistake on the color variation, but I think it actually looks better. My gauge was off, so I've ended up with a fairly wide tube; hopefully this will yield a fairly spacious purse. (You can't tell in the pic, but that bottom stripe is a very limey green.)

Chronic Project Identity Crisis!!!!!!

Why can't I ever just make something! Ggggrrrrrr. I decided I was going to make a felted laptop cover for myself, but of course I can't just leave it at that. Oh no--6 inches, 1600 miles, and 36 hours later my humble laptop cover has magically morphed itself into a theoretical purse. (In reality what will probably happen is I'll work on it until I run out of yarn or get bored with it. Sigh.) My indecision and lack of follow through in my knitting life is far too accurate an epitome of my actual life.

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I was stuck in Beau's truck the whole time, just knitting and thinking. Is being open to evolution even that bad? Isn't making things supposed to be fun for this exact reason?


Whew. Okay, now that I've worked through my personal knitting issues, lets talk laptop cover:

Here's what I have so far: 130 sts in the round in worsted weight on a #10.5.

I'm afraid that i was too impatient with my color changes and they won't show up (or show up and be ugly) after felting. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. That's supposed to be the fun part after all, right? RIGHT??!!

On the road again

Givin' a shout out from the lovely Denver, Colorado! The first half of the drive is successfully completed. We're staying here for an extra day to hang out with Beau's childhood friend Ben, then it's south and Texas Ho! Oregon was absolutely gorgeous--the Columbia River valley was amazingly beautiful. We stopped at this beautiful waterfall along the way.
Pretties!