The E.T.Scarf

The other day my four year old nephew called. It was our first real phone conversation! He was so cute when he asked me to knit him a scarf. He said, "Tia Ellie, can you make me a scarf with stripes?" How could I even think about turning him down? I asked him what his favorite colors were and he very carefully told me they were, "Red (long pause), blue (more thinking), green (are you still there?), and black." Then he remembered one more thing. "Please put some tassels on the ends." How polite!

I was at Mosaic Yarn Shop yesterday and bought all the supplies. My first attempt was a little too short but I kept going hoping it would lengthen once I took it off the needles. No such luck. It wasn't even big enough for his two year old brother but it fit E.T.'s skinny neck just right. That's how the scarf got its name. Now am at work on the real one with enough yarn left and should have it done in time to give it to him during the Easter weekend when I will see him. I think I'll give him the E.T. doll too, if it doesn't freak him out too much!

I hope that every time he wears it, he will feel his Tia hugging him from miles away.

My knitting group

I've been knitting for a couple of years now. My friend, Julie invited me to a knit shop out in the country. The owner Carole stays open late on Wednesdays and there's an open invitation to come knit and drink some wine. Those who gather only have one thing in common, a love of knitting. We have working knitters in their 40's, like me and some older and younger. Some of the participants are retired. Some have young families, some have teenagers and some are empty nesters. We have married, single and divorced knitters in all different socioeconomic levels. Most of the knitters have a never ending supply of stories to tell. I love hearing each and every one. Last week I heard about the history of the post office in Brownsburg. We talk about relationships, infidelity, spirituality, kids, parents, animals and I'm sure I'm missing a lot of other topics. Nothing is taboo and it's surprising how unflappable the older women are! If anyone is struggling needing advice, you can find it with this group!

The group also has started meeting outside of the yarn shop and I took some pictures at a recent Sunday afternoon gathering. The temperature was perfect and we spent the entire time on Sandy's porch. I am so lucky to know these beautiful people!

Happy New Year Stocking???

I finally finished my Christmas stocking. I'm doing one a year and this one is for my daughter. I believe I'll try felting it one more time - such a messy process! After it's shrunk a little more, I'll sew on the jingle bells at the points. I'll start my son's a little earlier next year....

Decorating!

I made these pretty orange and clove ornaments to hang outside. The Crafty Crow gave me the idea. They were fun to do and the kids loved decorating them with the cloves! I'm thinking it'll be an annual tradition.

Keeping busy

This activity was a hit this weekend! It kept my and the neighborhood kids occupied for an hour or so. I just bought these foam pre-cut pumpkins and let them decorate with Sharpies, pipe cleaners, and googly eyes. They used glue dots so there was no messy sticky glue to deal with! We stuck self-adhesive magnets on the back and they're going all over my refrigerator.







We also did these baked apples which were quick and easy. I found them on The Crafty Crow blog which linked me to Little Momma and Company . This is a blog worth visiting just for the fantastic playlist she's put together for you to listen to as you peruse her blog!

If I make them again, I will have the kids pre-mix the ingredients in a bowl before stuffing them into the apples and add oatmeal.

I love the fall!

Outer Banks T-Shirts

Every year we go to the Outer Banks in NC with Scott's family. My mother-in-law always does a "pirate day" where the pirates come and leave treasure on the beach for the kids. She goes all out with decorations, tatoos, bags and goodies and it's her favorite day.

The grandkids now number eight and the age range is three months to ten years old. She asked me to do T-shirts for everyone since it's getting impossible to find the same shirt in that big of a range of sizes. I'm really pleased with my first attempt and wanted to share the end result.



I found a place online that just sells T-shirts so was able to get blank ones in a broad size range. Then I found some clip art I liked and printed it on to iron on printer paper (you have to remember to reverse the words so they look right when you iron them on). The skulls that I imagined to be white didn't come out that way when I ironed them on (Duh! The printer won't put white ink on the transfer!). I found these white fabric paint markers at our local craft store to color in the skulls. This worked well but made me realize I probably need bifocals! It was so hard to focus on those edges! Lastly, for the girls, I sewed little beads to the collar to add a little bling. I can't wait to see them on the kids!

Hope is cool!

I found this great website called hoperevo.com. It's along the mindset of practicing random acts of kindness. I printed out their pre-formatted "cards of hope" sets which you can download, and was passing them all around when I went to DC a few months ago. It was so fun sticking them in napkin holders at Wendy's or on toilet paper rolls in bathrooms. I just envision someone having a really crappy day finding one of these and maybe snapping out of their funk. You know? I've made a new set with a few of my own sayings and some that I stole off the website. They're almost too pretty to pass out!

My talented crafty (in a good way) mother

My mom is the master of crafts! When I suggested a homemade Christmas, she was all over it! I will be featuring most of her creations bit by bit. This first one is the coolest. Check it out, it's Little Red Riding Hood.

Flip her over and she's Grandma!

Turn her bonnet to the back and she's the Big Bad Wolf!

Happy New Year!

I'm back! I missed you, my little blog!

Visiting the family is always an adventure and this trip fulfilled those expectations. As I promised, though, I will not be posting any stories about it here. See my previous post "Secrets."

I must share with you pics of my in-laws house, though! Hopefully this doesn't break the promise. It won first place in their neighborhood. I hear it wasn't the first time either. They have the lighting down to a science with wood frames built for each window that are screw mounted on and off! Congratulations on a beautiful job!

I spent the entire day on January 1st making this cupcake. Seriously! Why, you ask? I honestly can't tell you. All I know is it started when my mom pulled out all her felt and a book I gave her for Christmas. It finished when I declared myself the victor in a battle of wills between me and whoever wrote this evil craft book and labeled this an "easy" project! At least I have more to show for the day than my husband, who spend New Year's Day watching lame bowl games....

Homemade Christmas Cheer

Two weeks ago, I had to host a gathering of Catholic ladies. We call ourselves "Mother's Fellowship" and we gather once a month to talk about things spiritual and not-so-spiritual. My hosting duties followed shortly after the latest priest pedofile scandal in the news and I wasn't too gung-ho to discuss anything related to my disappointing church (see my previous rant on this topic here). Instead, I thought I'd share ideas of homemade gifts that I've gathered from places like Family Fun, blogs (I love this idea from Chef Messy), and magazines. I gathered the supplies to make this yummy cookie mix which everyone got to put together and take home.

I'd tell you what craft magazine I got it from but I left it at my mom's house over Thanksgiving and I can't remember. Here's the recipe, though:

Layered Jar Mix

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour, 1 c
Salt, ½ tsp.
Baking soda, ½ tsp
Granulated sugar, ¼ c
Firmly packed brown sugar, ½ c
Toasted wheat germ, ¾ c
Quick-cooking oatmeal, 1 c
Dried cherries, ½ c
Golden raisins, ½ c
Sweetened flaked coconut, 2/3 c
Instructions:
Wash and thoroughly dry one-quart wide-mouth canning jar: Add ingredients to jar one at a time in the order listed(beginning with flour and ending with coconut), pressing primly with a flat-bottom glass or some other tamper after each addition. Be sure to make the layers as even as possible. Secure lid and decorate as desired.

Card Instructions for Jar:

OATMEAL FRUIT COOKIES

½ cup (1 stick) butter softened
¼ cup milk, 1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Place jar ingredients in medium bowl & stir. Set aside.
2. Place above ingredients in a large bowl and cream with a fork. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture and blend with a spoon.
3. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto an ungreased baking sheet, spacing cookies 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes.