Yarn Pixie

2012-01-27T13:37:00.001-07:00

My sweet friend, Christy came over for sushi lunch today. I had asked if she had an extra bundt cake pan and she didn't. So, she bought me one! What a sweetie!

2012-01-27T08:33:00.001-07:00

Getting her hair did.

2012-01-25T08:48:00.001-07:00

This little angel is my world. (She fell and hit her head on the coffee table while walking.)

Girls' Day

2012-01-23T10:48:00.000-07:00

I made homemade brownies yesterday. We rushed to eat them while still hot as Little Miss's bedtime was creeping up fast, but they are MUCH better after they have cooled. That's when they get their chewy on. You can find the recipe here.

Had a really fun day with my girls while hubby was at a friend's gaming yesterday... I saved Teen Miss's life by killing a bug in her room and became her hero, we had homemade sushi for lunch and after dinner I made the homemade brownies and we watched Revenge of the Bridesmaids. Little Miss was a part of all of it too. She helped me look for the bug and then acted as a tool of calming and comfort for Teen Miss by way of cuddling after the bug killing, she did not have sushi for lunch, but she did "watch" the movie with us (by playing with her toys while we watched) and had a few crumbs of brownie and had a few sips from her sissy's milk glass.

Teen Miss is back to public school today after 8 months of internet home school. She's so excited and says the time us three girls spent together yesterday was the best way to spend her last day before going back to public school.

Better Than A Tuna Sandwich

2012-01-20T15:01:00.001-07:00

Today, I made myself sushi for lunch. This was my first attempt at sushi and it turned out pretty good. I had a sushi kit that Hubby and Teen Miss gave me as a gift that has just been sitting around. So, I already had nori, sushi rice and sushi vinegar. Now, this is low cost sushi. I used canned tuna, mayo, avacado and tomato. It was quite good though. This could definitely tame a sushi craving when I have one.

Reclaiming Yarn

2012-01-17T17:18:00.001-07:00

These dishcloths are made with yarn that I reclaimed from some crochet sponges I did. I learned that while I might prefer sponges, sponges made of yarn are not so great. So, I ripped them out and did dishcloths instead. Ahhh, much better!

The Taste Of Evil

2012-01-17T14:07:00.003-07:00

I made these gluten free peanut butter cookies today. They are evil. I can't keep them out of my mouth. They're so good. I made them once before for the holiday cookie exchange for my knit meeting. I'm not allergic to gluten, but one of my knit meeting friends is. So, I found this recipe. It's so easy, you're head will spin. And they're SO good!

And we did a photoshoot for pattern pics for this Little Lamb hat pattern I'm going to sell on Etsy. If you haven't heard, Etsy is on hold unitl we can gather the funds for my business license and DBA. I may have Kate redo these photos, she has a better camera.

Patchwork Baby

2012-01-14T13:33:00.000-07:00

It's finally done! I just finished Morgana's blanket at my knit meeting today. I think I started this in September of 2010.

Calorie Free Cupcake

2012-01-13T12:43:00.000-07:00

I initially made this to carry small projects in like socks and dishcloths, but as soon as she was able, Little Miss stole it from me and started playing with it. She likes to put it on her arm and carry it around, put toys in and take them out. I'll let her play with it... unless I need to use it... or maybe I'll just let her keep it.

Video186.3gp

2012-01-10T18:24:00.002-07:00

More Upcycling

2012-01-10T17:56:00.013-07:00

I made this headscarf out of an old extra stretchy jersey camisole. These things are great as I am growing out my bangs (and all my hair for that matter) and the hair near my ears that I had shaved off a while ago so the arms on my glasses wouldn't mess with the hair they run through when I wear them. I much rather prefer my hair out of my face and eyes and off my neck. I'm also making one in brown, white and black from another camisole and some t-shirts.

2012-01-09T10:22:00.001-07:00

I forgot to tell you all: Little Miss now has her two top front teeth!

2012-01-08T18:29:00.001-07:00

An even better one. She went farther! She's been walking around like this in the play yard all day.

2012-01-08T18:18:00.001-07:00

Just A Dishcloth

2012-01-08T17:24:00.001-07:00

Here's what I did today:

This dishcloth used to be two crocheted sponges. The sponges I crocheted aren't working so well, so I'm going to rip them out and knit dishcloths with the yarn instead.

2012-01-07T10:57:00.001-07:00

Momo's first ride in the big girl carseat!

Rice Pack Attack!

2012-01-06T12:16:00.004-07:00

My sweet knitting friend, Michelle, asked for a rice pack in a previous post when she saw the ones I made for my girls. This is my first try on an envelope slip cover for the pack that can be removed and washed. You can't wash the pack itself, so this is really nice to have. The base pack was sewn from some old jammies of Little Miss that she's outgrown and the cover was sewn from a flannel baby blanket. I really like how it turned out!

Birthday Video!

2012-01-05T22:20:00.003-07:00

Teen Miss filmed and put together this sweet video of Mo and her birthday cake!

Everything's Coming Up Veggies

2012-01-05T18:27:00.003-07:00

Meet (L to R) Steve, Reynaldo and Bitsy. I'm starting some avacado seeds. I know I have no where to plant a tree, but I just recently heard that grocery store avacado seeds are usually hybrids and won't produce fruit. Oh well. Maybe I can just have some nice avacado plants.

I made veggie soup with some celery and a bag of split peas we have left over from a previous soup I made. I used canned tomatoes, carrots and potatoes. I love using canned veggies, they're SO cheap! I also added garlic salt, a few bay leaves, salt and pepper. It was a nice simple, yummy soup.

I'm trying to figure out a way to grow herbs and veggies indoors. I have a south facing dining room with four tall, skinny windows that hopefully might work. These are my experimental containers... and some herb in the tin can on the right. There's cardboard around it with a plastic grocery bag nestled in the cardboard frame to catch water. There's nothing in the left container but rocks to set my plants on for drainage.

Here's another experimental drained water catcher. It's the bottom of a diaper box with a garbage bag liner.

I made these hot/cold rice packs for my girls. We have some rice packs already and I discovered that Little Miss actually relaxes a lot faster at nap and bedtime if she has something very warm to cuddle and fiddle with. She was using a long skinny one, but I wanted her to have a shape better for her and in a fun fabric. So, I used a flannel recieving blanket. We never use those kind of blankets anymore. I made one for Teen Miss as well because she was using a few to go to bed and I just recently stole one back. So, I made her one to replace it. =) Each one took maybe 10 minutes. I love my sewing machine, it's so fast (compared to the less expensive versions I've had, lol)! I'd also like to sew some washable nursing pads with the receiving blankets we still have.

I sewed these curtains for my kitchen window from a sheet today. I used an extra shower curtain rod in the window cut out of the wall for the curtain rod. I whipped these suckers out in like, 45 minutes. Did I mention that I love my sewing machine?

I'm this close to finishing Mo's blanket! I'm now knitting the fourth and final edge!

Birthday Party Pics!

2012-01-02T21:22:00.003-07:00

You can see the pictures for Morgana's birthday party on my teen daughter's photography page on facebook, here. She did a really fantastic job!

2012-01-02T12:05:00.001-07:00

My baby is 1 today! Happy Birthday to my amazing Little Miss! I have been so blessed to have a sweet angel in my life!

Cake & Cupcakes

2012-01-01T16:17:00.004-07:00

Here are the cupcakes and cake for Morgana's birthday party! We just had our last guests leave not too long ago and Little Miss is down for her afternoon nap now. I will have photos from the party for you as soon as Kate gets them to me. She was the official party photographer.

Made by none other than her Mommy. She had a blast mashing this cake into nothing but crumbs with sticky frosting. She was waving her hands up and down and flinging cake on the floor, walls, my dining room curtains and anyone sitting nearby. Though, she managed to get very little in her mouth.

I did red velvet cupcakes for the guests. I ran out of cream cheese frosting, so the last two got buttercream. Hence the tags on them.

White cupcakes with homemade buttercream frosting. My nieces Danika (3) and Jordan (1) got their own special cupcakes with name tags and sprinkles. This was to hopefully make these cupcakes more appealing than the red staining red velvet ones... Didn't work though. Danika still wanted a red one, lol. So, they took one home for her.

2012-01-01T12:00:00.001-07:00

Today is Mo's birthday party and we're all ready for guests!

Someone's Turning One!

2011-12-30T18:40:00.002-07:00

I love my new sewing machine! It has 25 different stitches and an attached needle threader. It's just like an arm with a VERY tiny hook that goes through the needle. When I threaded the needle with that fantastic thing I told Little Miss, "Oh, my! Mommy like!" I'm sewing some patchwork, drawstring pants from old jeans that have worn out in places. I hope to make lots of patchwork clothes for Mo and I from clothes she grows out of and clothes that I wear out to save us some money and have fun expressing my hippie side!

I got Mo's cake and the guest cupcakes baked for her birthday party on Sunday. That's right folks, she turning 1. Can you believe it?!?! That's red velvet cupcakes and white cake and six white cupcakes, by the way.

New Background

2011-12-29T21:14:00.001-07:00

My background stopped working, so I had to find a new one.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T12:04:00.006-07:00

Mo opening her first Christmas gift ever.

Kate got the camera she wanted.

I got a sewing machine! Now I can sew a buncha things to help save us even more money and make gifts for people!

Stu got the complete Star Wars Saga on Bluray.

I made cinnamon rolls with Jiffy baking mix, since we already had everything for them on hand, including the baking mix. They turned out tiny and biscuit textured. They weren't what I expected, but still good. I will bake big puffy ones next year.

I just finished knitting these hand mitts for Morgana. She refuses to keep her hands in my coat or the sling when we go for our daily walk, so I made her these.

Oh, and I have to license and DBA my Etsy shop before I actally open it and it's gonna cost a pretty penny. So, that's been put on hold for now. But, don't give up on me yet, it'll happen!

2011-12-28T12:37:00.001-07:00

Oh snap!

2011-12-28T12:36:00.001-07:00

I want these.

Christmas Eve Eve

2011-12-24T08:52:00.008-07:00

The day before Christmas Eve was a bit busy...

I made split pea soup. One of my knit friends held a meeting a her house and served this delicious soup. Hubby and Teen Miss loved it! I will definitely be making it again.

Little Miss watching Blue's Clues on the laptop while I make pfeffernuse.

I probably mentioned it last year, but... My Dad's Mom passed away last year from cancer. She would mail some of these cookies to my parents' house every year for Christmas. I thought this Christmas cookie tradition shouldn't die with her. So, I got the recipe from my Mom and made them last Christmas. This is my second year making them.

I had accidentally made an extra square in each color for Morgana's blanket, so I made a bunny out of garter stitch squares! His ears are the squares folded in half into a triangle and the end of each ear is open. Little Miss likes to shove her hand in there, lol. I think I'll wrap him up and put him under the tree from me tonight.

Uhhh... there's someone in my project shot.

2011-12-19T18:19:00.001-07:00

This is what I'm watching on TV tonight while I knit and the baby plays with her toys. A fireplace on Xfinity On Demand, set to soft holiday music.

Lazy Sunday

2011-12-18T12:36:00.010-07:00

Wearing Down For Morning Nap
...in the homemade mei tai from a pair of lounge pants.

Double Thick Crochet Kitchen Sponges
I prefer the size, shape and feel of sponges over dishcloths, so I made these. Made to save the environment and us some money.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies
Made for the holiday cookie exchange for my knit meeting yesterday. They turned out delightfully delicious!

Now, I'm going to print a few pictures of Morgana for my Grandma. She asked for them last week and I hadn't gotten to them yet. Then, I will be knitting Morgana's blanket. I'm to the border now!

Freeze Frame!

2011-12-14T17:24:00.002-07:00

Visit my photos for the most recent pictures!

And feel free to leave comments on my pictures. =)

2011-12-10T12:25:00.000-07:00

There's a reason this pattern was written for a furry yarn.

2011-12-07T17:26:00.001-07:00

I'm crocheting washable kitchen sponges to save us money.

2011-12-07T16:17:00.001-07:00

I put up the tree earlier this week. I decorated it last night.

2011-12-07T16:15:00.001-07:00

I'm now doing the edging for Morgana's blanket. Don't try the yarn taped to needles thing I posted about before. It doesn't work. Hard to get the yarn off the yarn cable onto the needles and other issues. I'm just going to edge top and bottom, then each of the sides. It'll just be easier that way.

2011-12-06T18:30:00.001-07:00

Mmm, mango.

2011-12-06T18:03:00.001-07:00

Christmas tree is done.

Drinking From A Cup

2011-12-06T08:05:00.001-07:00

2011-12-05T10:27:00.001-07:00

...and being a ham in the process.

2011-12-05T10:26:00.001-07:00

Little Miss is learning to fed herself with a spoon...

2011-12-04T12:18:00.001-07:00

I'm putting the border on Little Miss's blanket now and was having a hard time with the length that my interchangable circular cables being too short. Interchangeable needle, a little scotch tape and a looooong piece of yarn... Voila! Custom length cable!

2011-12-01T18:20:00.001-07:00

Bread's done. The crust is really crunchy, so I put it in a closeable container while still warm, hoping the heat and moisture will soften it.

2011-12-01T18:18:00.001-07:00

Little Miss wanted to eat the bread right out of the oven... "Okay, Mom, I got my spoon... Ennnhh! Can you bring it closer? I can't reach it."

2011-12-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

This our bandana fort. We've had quite a lot of fun crawling to chase each other around the "door" and peaking at each other through the gaps.

2011-12-01T15:44:00.001-07:00

Breads on their second rise. I was scared at first because the dough wasn't rising, then I realized it wasn't warm enough and I put the bowl over a bowl of boiling water and voila! Now I'm doing the same thing for the second rise. I only have one good loaf pan, so the other is going to be a round loaf.

2011-12-01T13:59:00.001-07:00

First time making bread. Wish me luck!

2011-11-30T18:46:00.001-07:00

She's perfectly happy stealing my socks and flingin' them around.

2011-11-30T18:45:00.001-07:00

That blur is not a ghost, it's my sock.

2011-11-30T18:10:00.001-07:00

Told you I can't stop baking. I still had some spice cake mix left, so I did an apple crumble. This is after the initial attack by my family.

Etsy In Progress

2011-11-29T20:12:00.002-07:00

My Etsy shop is getting closer to its grand opening! I have my shop policies up, just got my bank account verified for paypal today, so that's all set up. Now, I just have to link my paypal to Etsy and get all my patterns typed!

Baking Fever!

2011-11-27T20:34:00.000-07:00

Second batch of biscotti in a month. I can't stop baking... we're in trouble.

2011-11-25T19:18:00.001-07:00

Fruit crisp is done!

2011-11-25T18:58:00.001-07:00

Pumpkin roll is done!

2011-11-25T18:50:00.001-07:00

I'm also making a fruit crisp to use up some apples, oranges and bananas before they go bad. Also using what's left of the spice cake mix from the pumpkin rolls.

2011-11-25T18:03:00.001-07:00

Making pumpkin roll. This one is just for us. I made one for Thanksgiving at my parents' yesterday.

2011-11-24T14:03:00.001-07:00

My hair actually turned out nice today.

2011-11-23T13:45:00.001-07:00

I whipped up some sweet pumpkin soup with some of the leftovers from making my pumpkin roll for Thanksgiving at my parents'. I make the roll every year. The soup turned out delish and I plan to use the left over heavy cream to make a whipped topping for the soup!

2011-11-23T11:17:00.001-07:00

The front view. Being able to spread these extra wide straps over the chest and shoulders makes baby wearing max comfy! Forgive my weird face, I was being silly with Little Miss.

2011-11-23T11:14:00.001-07:00

My homemade mei tai. It didn't turn out exactly how I planned because my cheap machine couldn't go through all the shoulder strap pleats in the original design. I made it with sheets I found in the thrift store. It's not as finished looking as I imagined, but it does the job just fine.

2011-11-23T10:29:00.001-07:00

Today's yarn braid practice. I'm getting better! Tomorrow I'll try some at the back of my head somewhere to master blind parting.

2011-11-23T09:34:00.001-07:00

First Cheerio!

2011-11-23T09:33:00.001-07:00

First Cheerio!

2011-11-22T11:20:00.001-07:00

Practicing and cultivating my yarn braiding skills. Maybe someday I'll feel competent enough to do a whole head of waist length extensions.

2011-11-20T17:06:00.001-07:00

Mo found something new to do.

2011-11-17T14:25:00.001-07:00

I made sugar cookies. Now it's time for a nap... For me and Mo. I think I'm fighting off something.

2011-11-16T21:05:00.002-07:00

Little Miss knows how to clap now. Took this video for my husband while he was at work.

Click for video:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/yarnpixie/6347251289/in/photostream

2011-11-16T16:32:00.001-07:00

Turns out I spoke too soon. There was a misunderstanding and I CAN get my Etsy shop going. Plus, I can still blog. Yay!

2011-11-16T16:31:00.001-07:00

My DIY copy holder. knitting needles, masking tape and clothes pins.

Hiatus

2011-11-14T20:44:00.003-07:00

You may not see me around for a while. I need to focus on getting a stay at home job and then working said job. Getting my Etsy shop started is not realistic for our needs, so I won't be doing that, I need to focus on all my efforts on getting a stay at home job. I will check comments for a little while, so please let me know if you know of anything. And please keep in mind I take care of a baby full time (like seriously, all the time). Thank you.

Edit - I will still be taking pictures, so please feel free to visit my photo page to still see pics and even some videos of the baby and my projects and such.

2011-11-14T18:41:00.001-07:00

2011-11-14T10:21:00.001-07:00

My sweet, sweet angel. 10 months.

2011-11-13T17:02:00.001-07:00

Mo's new BFF.

2011-11-13T14:38:00.001-07:00

Prepping pumpkin... Hopefully I have enough for soup.

2011-11-13T11:12:00.001-07:00

Anise biscotti from scratch for coffee with Michelle tomorrow!

2011-11-13T09:52:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow's new coffee date treat.

2011-11-13T09:24:00.001-07:00

Yesterdays cookies turned out more like biscuits. Will make something different today,

2011-11-12T18:46:00.001-07:00

Watching the cookies bake.

2011-11-12T18:44:00.001-07:00

Making coffee dipping sugar cookies. I have a coffee date with my knitting group friend, Michelle on Monday.

2011-11-11T13:47:00.001-07:00

We need a cat. Mo cried today when we had to leave the neighbor kitty during our walk.

2011-11-10T16:02:00.001-07:00

Hubby rented Knocked Up for me. He's so sweet to always rent movies for me since I don't get out much.

2011-11-10T13:30:00.001-07:00

This one's for my hubby, the papa bear.

2011-11-10T12:48:00.001-07:00

Chocolate chip cookies! Vlog entry for cookies to come.

2011-11-10T09:15:00.001-07:00

First ponytails!

2011-11-09T18:33:00.001-07:00

"Ah, potato flakes can. You are my new love."

2011-11-08T16:54:00.001-07:00

Helping mommy with coupons, ad matching and grocery planning.

2011-11-08T13:46:00.001-07:00

She loves ad mail Tuesdays!

2011-11-08T13:33:00.001-07:00

Walkin' in a fall wonderland. And mommy looks like a chemo patient.

2011-11-07T08:34:00.001-07:00

When I got out of the shower this morning, I saw a ghost in the mirror!

2011-11-06T16:21:00.001-07:00

A modified version of the "drop it and mommy will pick it up" game.

2011-11-04T19:04:00.001-06:00

Can't tell if this is helping or hurting.

2011-11-04T16:40:00.001-06:00

Sushi-head baby! I'm crocheting a sushi bathroom set.

2011-11-02T14:00:00.001-06:00

Leaves Mo and I collected on our walk today.

2011-11-02T10:02:00.001-06:00

Mommy Tip: Use the lid of a baby wipe box for an advanced peek-a-boo game where baby gets to open the "door" to find you.

2011-10-31T18:44:00.001-06:00

My little lamb, ready to help hand out candy.

2011-10-31T18:24:00.001-06:00

Pumpkin seeds are done, dude. We didn't have very many.

2011-10-31T16:46:00.001-06:00

Gonna roast pumpkin seeds.

2011-10-31T13:47:00.001-06:00

Mommy tip: when clipping baby's nails while asleep, clean them up from the bed with tape wrapped around the hand.

2011-10-31T13:45:00.001-06:00

Morgana's carved pumpkin. Wish I had remembered to buy candles for the pumpkins!

2011-10-31T13:43:00.001-06:00

Pumpkin carving!