the trash man

I made this shirt for our friends' son, Finn, in honor of his superhero-esque nickname, trash man. The shirt was thrifted, the font is a free download from blambot, and the image was painted on using a freezer paper stencil. Hopefully it washes up without a hitch because I haven't had much luck in the laundry department lately.

Gracie's Washcloth

crazy front view

bumpy back view

After seeing this Grrr washcloth pattern on knitty (via annypurls) I wanted to make one for my niece Grace to put in her pink backpack. But I didn't have time (or money) to go buy new orange yarn, so I used the only cotton yarn I had--this psychedelic thrifted yarn I've been wanting to use. It took half a skein (leaving out the lion face area of the cloth) and only maybe an hour of knitting. The kids used it in the tub while we were visiting, and they seemed to like it.

A friend, indeed

A few gifts I made for my friend Anne's birthday. A calorimetry, knit with one skein of Nashua Handknits Wooly Stripes in Jewels. Also, a little change purse with leftover curtain fabric and a sweet yellow thrifted zipper. A few more photos on my flickr page.

the jeans that were

I worked on these jeans for Cash over a few weeks--whittling them away until they were just right. And they were so cute on him. Were? Two washes and the dang denim unraveled through the seam. In all that whittling I forgot to zigzag the raw edges. Back to the drawing board.

Moments of Desperation

In my desperation for something to entertain Cash on our plane ride West this weekend, I came up with a few good ideas*. Yes, fine, I'll admit to scouring the toy aisles at Target, hoping for that one miracle-toy that will keep my maniac (translation: son) quiet. Elmo phone? That might work. Etch-a-sketch? Put it in the cart. Slinky?! Oh, wait, you can't even find a Slinky at Target. They've got blowup pools, life-sized ponies, cuddle chimps, etc., but a slinky? Forget it. It's ridiculous. So, basically, I walked out of Target with a $2 rubber snake. Yep, that's really gonna do the trick while we're flying the friendly skies for 4 hours. Dear Lord, help me!

So, I came up with the idea to make Cash his own little backpack that we can put his toys and books in--hoping, just hoping, that being able to root around in his own little carry-on bag full of toys might keep him happy. I stole one of Wes's bandannas, used this pattern as a basic outline, and voila! New bag! I let him see it once (hoping the surprise factor on the plane will help), and he seemed to like it. I even made one for my niece--whom we'll be visiting.

Right now, the bag contains 3 books: Teeny Tiny, Charlie Parker Played Be Bop (his all-time favorite), and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. There is also a pack of colored pencils, a little notebook, the aforementioned rubber snake, and this toy I cooked up last weekend:

I had these vintage wooden puzzle pieces that were being thrown away at my job years ago, and I had the idea to drill holes in the top and string them onto a binder clip (or whatever those things are called). This should entertain him pretty well because he can take them on and off the ring. So, the bag is packed, the husband's begging to douse the boy in Benadryl, and I'm still pretending the flight's going to go smoothly. Until we return. . .


*Realize I say "good ideas" not yet having stepped foot on the airplane with said maniac. This post may be edited post-trip.

Self-Explanatory Freezer Paper Stencil

Cash now has a new nickname after knocking down our friends' son's block tower, to which Ethan yelled "Hey, we've got a human tornado in here!" The letters are iron-on, and the tornado image is a freezer paper stencil. Pretty cute.

Before: Housecoat, After: Skirt

Before.

After.

Last Thursday night I got a bee in my bonnet to make a summery skirt. I grabbed the vintage housecoat I'd used for the lining on Wes's anniversary tie, cut if off at the waist, added some elastic, and now I've got myself a little skirt. Well, look who's crafty! In other news, I've been wearing my hair like this a lot lately--the old "high school half-pulled back half-not" look. The hair's just gotten out of control, and I'm dragging my feet making an appointment. I'm glad it's out of my face, but it's making me look like a soccer mom. And the sad thing is. . . I think I actually like my hair like this. What's happening to me?