Easy Money!

I found this laundry research study that pays $175 for 2 hours of your time.  Here is the link if you are interested.  I am happy to accept $175 for 2 hours of my time!!! :)

Handy Manny

I LOVE Handy Manny!!!  What?  You haven't met Manny?  If you have a toddler or preschooler or just need a dose of beautiful humanity you simply must check out Handy Manny on Playhouse Disney.  

Everyone in the town of Sheet Rock Hills is very helpful and loves to help solve each other's problems.  Everyone is accepted for who they are and both their faults and attributes are loved.  The acknowledgements flow and the support is always there.  At the same time, characters offer their assistance and are open to their assistance being declined.  All of this is done without being sickeningly sweet like some little ones shows can be.  This is exactly what I want my child's cartoons to look like.  My husband and I enjoy the antics of some of the good nature mischief that the tools find as well as trying to identify the voices of the characters.  We are so hooked that we now refer to some of our tools by their proper names.  "Honey, I bet Turner could help you with that."  Yea, we are hooked.

So I can cross it off of my list . . .

Before our lives were hijacked by yucky colds, I had been on an organizing and cleaning kick.  

I have a lot of WIPs.  I always have a lot of WIPs.  I've decided to keep track of my WIPs and 2009 FOs on the side of my blog.  I am hoping that with the visual reminder it will help to motivate me to finish.  I'm one of those people that writes something on a list just so I can have the satisfaction of crossing it off my list.  

You'll notice that there aren't any finished objects listed yet.  They're coming.  Soon, I hope! :)  

Have a great Sunday!!

Crocheted Wave Scarf

This is my crocheting project.  Dog nose included for scale. :)  Not really, she just was super close to me all day that day.  The light blue in the middle is actually two different shades, but it is really hard to tell.  London's coat is navy and red.  I'm thinking of trying to find a crocheted hat pattern to make a set.
I had the second class today which is where we learned the "wave" part of the scarf.  It is probably too short for London.  Ah well.  It was a good learning project.  I can now do a chain, single crochet, double crochet, half double crochet, and something else that I can't remember the name of.  I signed up for a scarf class at the end of February.  It is an Interweave Crochet pattern.  I think I also conjured up some interest for the Larger Than Life Bag.  I'm hoping it will be a class in the spring.  It would be a cute spring/summer tote.

I think I now have London's cold.  Some moments I feel like death and then some moments I feel pretty good.  Hopefully it doesn't get too bad.  London is feeling and acting much better.  Still coughing and a runny nose, but I think the worst of it is behind him.

Taming the Toys

Here is our sick little boy.

Poor thing!  We are surviving his cold.

One of my favorite bloggers asked for pictures of how I'm taming the toys.  So, HollyJo here you go! :)

We had purchased matching tv and stereo units from Ikea back when we were living in NYC.  We continued to use the tv stand until London was mobile.  It was very low and on casters, so it was basically a death trap for a toddler.  I looked and looked for another piece of furniture without much luck.  Everything was waaaay more money than I wanted to spend.  So, we finally decided to move our sofa table and put the tv on it.  It had little baskets on the bottom shelf which housed London's toys for awhile.  As he got bigger, he started playing with (climbing on, dragging around, throwing) the baskets and I was afraid that they would start falling apart.  So I moved one of our under the bed boxes to the living room and it works very well. 

It isn't exactly stylish, but I don't mind.  It works well.  London can pull it out and even play in it.  With a December birthday and Christmas, he has outgrown this "toy box".  Now it houses stuffed animals and a few other odds and ends.
We purchased this toy box from Babies R Us.  It is exactly what I wanted.  When London has a big boy room it will be primary colors and we will move this into his room.  I really like how I can anally sort his toys into the bins and he can enjoy un-organizing them.  I also like how he can see all of his toys and choose what he wants to play with.  Traditionally toy boxes aren't as easy to access.
These are 2 small, unfinished book shelves that we bracketed together so he couldn't pull them onto himself.  They house his bigger toys that don't fit into the bins.  He loves taking his toys on and off of the shelves.  Some day I will probably paint them and put them in his big boy room for books, puzzles, games, etc. 

So, yea, our living room looks a little bit like a preschool right now.  I love it!  London spends 95% of his waking moments in the living room and I want it to be comfortable for him as well as us.  I like having a place for all of the toys while maintaining easy access to them for London.

Happy 100th Post To Me!

I've been totally stalling on posting because I have been waiting for something profound to hit me for my 100th post.  And then I finally decided . . .  eh, I'm just going to post.  So hear I am singing "Happy 100th Post To Me" as I type. :)

As many people are in January, I have been in a major cleaning and organizing mood lately.  We have been working on taming the toys in the living room, made London's bedroom more accessible to him as a toddler, had a major cleaning overhaul in our bedroom and bathroom, and the list goes on.  It feels so good to walk into a clean, un-cluttered, organized room.  It makes my heart sing!!

I have finished my crocheting homework a week early.  That's unheard of!  I am making a scarf for London and I think it will be a little short.  Oh well.  Maybe I will crochet onto the ends to add some length. 

London woke up with a fever this morning.  100.7  It is our first fever. :(  He has a runny nose and a little bit of a cough.  Let's hope this passes QUICK!!

The Dark Side

It is official.  I have gone over to the dark side.  I took a crochet class yesterday and I LOVE IT!!!  I learned 4 stitches (don't ask me their names because I find that to be quite confusing with half doubles, singles, and such) and they are coming together to make a stitch sampler scarf for London.  I am super psyched!  We have to do eight rows by the next class and I will be starting on row two today.

Lime Gelato Felted Bag

This is a long overdue finished object post.  I started this project in a class at Saratoga Needle Arts in January 2007.  I knit it up pretty quickly and felted it.  It took me forever to put the gorgeous ceramic button and snap on.  It was January 2008 to be exact.  My mom sewed the lining for me.  Now, January 2009 I am finally showing you the finished pictures.  I used it all of the time last winter and spring.  I love, love, love it and always get tons of compliments on it!

I love the super cute pink geometric fabric lining.  I picked it up at JoAnn's.  After being inspired by Vera Bradley bags, we took a piece of heavy cardboard, cut it to the size of the base of the bag, and covered it with the fabric from the lining.  It gives the bag support and structure.

I bought the ceramic button at Saratoga Needle Arts.  It is handmade, but I don't know who made it.  I glued it on with apoxy and totally faked the little piece of yarn going through it.  It is covering part of a snap which is the actual closure.
I made the handles longer than the pattern calls for.  I was knitting the handles at the last class and everyone who had finished theirs said that their handles felted much shorter than they would have liked.  Mine comfortably fits over my shoulder.
This is one of my most loved finished products.  It was a great knit too.  Love it!!!

Pattern:  Gelato Bag by Bev Galekas  

It is a Fiber Trends pattern and I enjoyed it.  I had to re-start it after ripping it out, but I think it was user error.  Or too much chatting while knitting and not enough attention to the pattern.  Ah well! :)

Yarn:  Cascade Pastaza  3 skeins

I didn't love knitting with it and I shaved my bag a little after felting.  I wouldn't buy Pastaza again.  I think I held it with Cascade 220, but I don't remember.

FO: Christmas Stocking

Yea!  I have a finished object to tell you about!! :)  

I started a Christmas stocking for London when I took a class at Saratoga Needle Arts back in July.  During the classes I knit all of the stocking, but then of course stalled out until December.  The pattern is designed by the woman who was teaching the class.  The red and green stripes towards the top are a twisted rib.  The letters are duplicate stitched on after the stocking is finished.  It was my first time doing duplicate stitch and I think it turned out quite well.

I did two hand, two color knitting for the trees, checkerboard. and holly.  The little red holly berries are french knots--again a first for me.  I used Cascade 220 Superwash in red, green, and white--maybe a quarter of each skein.  Plenty left to make more stockings for our family!

I hope your holidays were fabulous and your new year is off to an amazing start!