Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Craft Update

Folded Baby Blanket

I finished the baby blanket I have been working on for the past 6 weeks. I tell you, with work and the holidays it just wouldn't get done. A little explanation about this blanket: This is for my cousin's baby, due in April and since I found out I have been crazy busy making baby related things.

I am a lazy knitter. I love the idea of knitting and I love picking out patterns and yarn but actually completing projects is hard. I usually knit while watching TV, sometimes on the train while listening to my ipod, but either way I am easily distracted which makes complicated stitch patterns difficult to do. So I prefer garter or stockinette stitch and very easy shapes. Scarves, hats, anything square or rectangle is about all I do. But, I have discovered that baby stuff is perfect for lazy knitters because its so small. I get done before I get bored. I am loving this baby knitting stuff. I even completed a sweater which I would never try if it was for an adult. Which brings me to the blanket. I didn't follow a pattern but I consulted several to get the size right. I decided to just do garter stitch to whip it up fast (6 weeks, not so much) and I wanted to pick colors that were modern with a yarn that was thick enough to knit quick (again, what happened?) and was washable. Washable is key for baby stuff but also because I usually have to wash things as soon as I am done since Gimpy always helps me knit. She helps by sitting on my lap and holding the yarn ready with her paws and her mouth. And she sits on the work in progress. Gimpy really loved this blanket. I wanted to try doing a color combination, something simple but graphic. I like the stripe. I was not paying attention and did not change colors correctly so it has some flaws. Instead of starting a new color on a new row I just kept knitting until I ran out of yarn and then added the new color, so there is no right and wrong side just two very wrong sides. Hope baby doesn't mind. Next for baby I think I will make more bibs, you can never have too many.

But first, I am already in the middle of another project. I got the idea from: Craftzine.com blog: Plastic Bag Crochet Since I don't crochet I decided to knit and instead of a hat or backpack I decided to make a welcome mat. It took me forever to make the "yarn" but Gimp really loved the process.

Plastic Bag Yarn
Also - I am very excited to announce that my new sewing machine is on it's way! I have so many ideas for that thing, as soon as I remember how to use it that is! Luckily I have this from my new favorite podcast, ThreadHeads: Sewing Machine 101 And Valentine's day is coming up so there is work to be done.


Monday, January 21, 2008

Hello again and Happy 2008!

So - when I started this thing I was still on the fence about blogging in general and how often I would write in particular. The reason I started, especially when I started was really because of the holiday cards and thinking about our annual letter. So, I kinda thought I might just write something every year. But, a funny thing happened with this blog, it sits there, staring at me, daring me to write. It put ideas in my head, every once in awhile like "hey, I should blog about that" or "hey, that would make a cool blog entry" and they have gotten so loud I cannot refuse.

It's also true that as an educator I began to see how this little blog could help me in my efforts towards life-long learning. A cornerstone of education is the process of reflection and connecting ideas together. This is not often done in the real world, I read things, I become interested in things but rarely do I consciously put it all together to see what it means. I began to see how this could work for me, connecting ideas by forcing me to write about them.

One thing I don't want to do is just blog endlessly about my life because really, who cares? But if I write about topics of interest even if it is sometimes personal and sometimes indulgent perhaps it will be of more value. Or not. The beauty of it all is that you can just ignore me. I won't take it personally.

I am also committed to taking more pictures for both my Flickr account and my blog. I may even scan in some old pictures. Especially the supa-cool family photos my parents recently entrusted to my care. hey, want to see a picture of my grandmother in her high school basketball uniform? Of course you do.

Look for more from me because I can't stop myself and if you have topic ideas, let me know!