Forgot to tell you what J made me

I forgot to tell you about my big present from J for Christmas! Well, he actually did two. One was a bound copy of the first year of our family blog in book form. (he used www.blurb.com)
The second was this poster print from our Christmas pic, made up of thousands of photos from our year in 2009. He used an online program (will post later!) that made it possible and spent hours working it out just right. Isn't that sweet? When I look at it, I get the real sense of our complete year. I see pics from Italy, artwork I did, school pics, our family trips to Seattle and Arizona, lots of AJ pics and random days at the house. I flood with memories both happy and sad. It's just amazing to see your whole year in one glance. Thanks, J!

Giveaway: Into every life a little weird bag must fall

Well. I'm not really sure how to share this... Because after seeing this bag, you just might lose all respect for me. But it was just so interesting, I had to post it...
To start at the beginning, I love fabric of all kinds (but you knew that already)... And people are constantly donating the most interesting pieces to me... And. Well, I'm always trying to come up
with new ways to combine them... So about a year ago, I was messing with the idea of weaving fabrics and ribbon together and I came up with this weird weaving. When Tif and I were cleaning out the studio a few months ago, she agreed I could keep it if I tried to do something
with it. I agreed and we stuck it in the "to-sew" pile - which remained largely untouced through the holiday prep and celebrating; until tonight.
Tonight, I finished about 10 of those projects... More like a dozen, actually. It felt good. And just as i was deciding to close down for the night, I saw this weird weaving and thought, "okay, let's get this over with!"
So I sewed it into a primitive tote bag. (it's lined) and to cinch it, I used some of the gorgeous satin ribbon left over from Amy's wedding bouquets this summer... I weaved the serious, formal ribbon through the messy, raw piece itself and braided some more pieces for a strap.
And um... I think I like it!
And I'm not kidding, it's weird, but really fun. But I need another bag like I need a hole in the head, so if you are willing to become a blog "follower", pay shipping (around $8-10), and you write a cute comment here as to why you want this bag... I'll pick one person to get it -all theirs...
I'll give you a week from today. ;)

I got a bracelet for Christmas.

I've been wanting to get a tattoo for years, but couldn't find artwork that I could commit to. I'd had a friend once that had a Bible verse tattoed on her wrist as a bracelet. It seemed to me a beautiful way for her to remind herself of something dear to her. A few months ago, I realized how much I needed to be in a constant state of remembering the verses in Romans 8. All

through the AJ situation, I leaned on the verses in Romans 8 - reminding myself that there is nothing that can separate us, me, AJ, my family, my marriage - from the love of God.

In designing the tattoo - I went through hundreds of fonts, found what I was looking for and left it in the artistic hands of a great tattoo artist that my sis and brother in law know. He embellished it to the point that I felt it was more beautiful even than what I'd come up with.

Jay came with me and helped me process the whole event, artwork, commitment and even my ability to describe to others WHY I'd gotten it. I chose these words for their many beautiful layers. For what they mean to me not only in faith, but in my commitments to my own family.

And then I got it. Not really painful, it looks like a filigree bracelet circling my wrist. It took about an hour to finish... and both Jay and I really love it.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am certain that nothing can separate us from his love; neither death nor life, neither angels nor other heavenly rulers or powers, neither the present nor the future, neither the world above nor the world below – there is nothing in all creation that will ever be able to separate us from the love of God which is ours through Christ Jesus our Lord.(Good News Bible)

January sunset

Seems like every January we have one day where the weather is warm enough for a sunset trek to the beach. This is what really stirs J's soul, so we do what we can to make this happen when we can. Daddy loves taking photos of the kids in the water at sunset, low tide in that low cool winter light. Winter is my favorite time at the beach, so I'm happy to oblige, even more than in the summer.
Tonight promises a great sunset... And these are just my phone pics. Wait till you see his!

New years... While they were sleeping

My kids were asleep for New Years, so I was busy instigating my nieces
and their friend to a little dancing madness. (well that and a little
Vintage Maker app on my phone)
Here is a little happiness to start off 2010.

Another body to clothe

The Design Director got an American Girl doll from her grandparents for Christmas. Which means we now have another body to clothe around here... And since I'm unwilling to pay more to clothe a doll than I use for myself, she's now getting handmade stuff as well. As an incentive to practice reading, Mimi now has a little chart. She read 10 books aloud to earn mittens for Kit this week. So here they are. She was so excited about them tonight that she almost couldn't go to sleep.

The cowl

Just realized the last post didn't have a good angle of the cowl. Here you go.
If you are a knitter... Easy recipe... 2 thick yarns used together as one. Thick needles. Knit in the round to measurement. (mine were on size 15 needles with 60 stitches around). K2, P2 for 6 rows at the bottom, knit to desired height then K2, P2 6 more rows. All done!

Green and red

Well, I couldn't find a way to post this without putting my face in, so please bear with the huge pic of my face. (have i mentioned how weird i feel about pics of myself? Let alone my huge face?) The intention was to show you my new Christmas gifts (the earrings and crocheted hat) with my most recently completed knitting project, the cowl. Why have I not knitted a cowl before? I love knitting in the round and with size 15 needles and two yarns at once, this thing was FAST! I'm also finding that a cowl is the perfect scarf to wear inside my freezing house. (subtract the earrings and this is how I looked in my house last night... Same pajama top and all)
The earrings were a gift from J's mom. They were made by a friend of hers in Beverly Hills that sells to Bloomies and Anthropologie. (I'll find out her name). They are a little heavy, but SO super pretty, eh? And the hat was an etsy gift. (When Ze Artiste saw it, he said, "momma, you used to have a blue one like that hat.") right-eo little buddy... Momma loves hats! And earrings. And scarves. Oh darn, I just love accessories in general... And I haven't even told you how much
I've fallen in love with fingerless gloves this winter, have I?

Ps. Green and red will continue to be put together LONG after the holidays are over. My two favorite colors? They have to work outside of December... Blast all convention...

Now that Christmas is over

Lest you think I'm not into sewing anymore... Tonight the sewing machines came out again. Believe it or not, J has been telling me I should get back to sewing, knowing I do so much better with that outlet. But sewing was sadly on the back burner this past month as I cranked through all my other Christmas crafts/gifts. And tonight's inspiration came from the fact that I gave my only French press cozy to my mom on Christmas day, as we discussed how the only bummer about FP coffee is it's rapid temperature decline. I switched into sales mode right there, "but Mom, you have to try my French press cozy! Combined with my tea cozy, it keeps my coffee hot
as long as I need to until my next cup! Here, have mine!" (mild objections from J in the background...) uh oh. Now I need to make one for us again.
So there's nothing like the threat of cold coffee to get a gal motivated. And out popped a few French press cozies... Oh, and then I needed a covering cozy that didn't say "TEA" on it... So now I've got a new match set in this awesome green "nest" print by Moda. (I've been saving this fabric for something for months. I'm thrilled to find a use for it where I get to enjoy it daily)
So now that Mom has my wraparound cozy, maybe she needs a covering cozy too, to complete the set? And since Dad drinks tea and Mom drinks coffee... Well what word works for both? (smile) "HOT"
I love it.
Mom, look what you get when we come to your place tomorrow!

Merry Blueberry morning

Want to know what we are eating this lovely Christmas AM? Check a few blog entries back for the recipe. Yum.