They may not be yarny –

by Melissa // September 16, 2006 // 1 Comment

But they’re definitely crafty. The project du jour to which I refer?

Beanbags! Something which, I thought (silly me!), would be a quick 30-minute/hour-long project to whip up after the kids went to bed. Of course, between Thing 1 and Thing 2 it turned into an all-week-long beanbagathon. I averaged about 3 beanbags a day, and today I am FINISHED! (Yay!) Greg was very complimentary about the handsewing I did on them (the after-filling closures, you know) but to be fair, aside from embroidery, I don’t think he’s ever seen me do handsewing that was not repairwork. There isn’t really any comparison between the stitching I did on these and the big, despairing, double-stranded mends I make to the back of his jeans. I have honestly no idea what he does to them – I’ve theorized that it involves sliding down a cheese-grater when he goes out in them alone. He claims not to know where they came from, either. It’s just like the 12 dancing princesses! Seriously, those pants just lost the will to live and died. My husband is wearing a denim corpse.
Anyway, I used dry beans that I happened to have sitting around in the cupboard and some scrap fabric I had from a quilt I made a few years ago. (That’s right, mom. That’s right, grandma. I carried the scraps around with me through 5 moves, and now they have become beanbags.) The blue and tan plaid ones are from scraps left from a sheet I used to make a tablecloth last year. See? I am thrifty. Thrifty, thrifty, thrifty. Which is a good thing, because Greg and I are buying a house.

What’s that, you say? Didn’t you move less than a year ago?

Why yes, yes I did. But the base is privatizing the housing and we have till November 1st to get out or sign for another year. Since we were considering buying a house when our lease expired in December anyway, we decided to go for it. And hey, we found one! We found a house that we love, and can afford, but to afford it we will have to cut some spending habits. Which is fine, because Greg and I both feel it is worth it. So thrifty is the name of the game for at least the next few months!

With that, I’ll leave you another shot of what it’s really all about: beanbags.

Work it, Baby!

by Melissa // September 11, 2006 // 5 Comments

I made this sweater months and months ago, and today I finally had the chance to take some pictures of it on Charlie. You will now be subjected to several photos before I resume typing. Can I get opinions as to which one shows off the sweater (and the baby!) to best advantage?

Awww, he’s so cute. He did not appreciate being my model. I may have to reshoot the pictures when he’s in a better mood, or I have better lighting (it’s very gray here today). When I typed up the pattern for the Renaissance Rose Cap, I ran across my notes for this cute little baby sweater and remembered that I had meant to type it up. I’m going to be working on that over the next week, I think.

And although this post has been very light, I could not write today without acknowledging the 5th anniversary of the attacks of September 11th, 2001. Greg and I have spent the morning watching specials on the history channel and discussing how it affected us, what we remember. In a strange way, instead of growing less disturbing to me as time passes, I find what happened that day more disturbing now than I did on the actual day that it happened. The grief and loss that thousands suffered, the callousness and hatred that would allow someone to cause so much pain and death and anguish – it hurts. Between that and the heroism and love for fellow man that was revealed in those who made an effort to save others from the destruction, I’ve been in tears this morning. Life is short, the world is hard. I love my husband, my babies and my family.

It really makes you think about what’s important.

Pattern-palooza!

by Melissa // September 8, 2006 // 1 Comment

Hurray! Today I’m very pleased to annouce the release of two new patterns, one free and one not so free (but a good value, I think). Yes, you can finally buy the pattern for my Jungle Bugs! I’m very excited to finally be able to launch it. Here they are, romping in the front yard.

Much better pictures if you follow the link, I promise. And as for the free pattern, what could it be? Hmmm, I guess you’ll just have to go look.

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