Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Totally Loving Tuesday

So, today I'm thinking of things I love.

Of course, my family and all of that. But also these things:

Clapotis! This pattern is so great and easy. I'm knitting one for my mom for her birthday (was going to be for Christmas but oops!) I'm using Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Red Rover. But let me just say, this yarn is NOT red. It's pinks and purples and fuscias. Red Rover is a total misnomer, but it's very pretty anyway.

My new rice cooker, thanks to brother-in-law and his wife. Perfect rice every time.

Cloth baby wipes. They're so handy for the usual things one would use wipes for, if you know what I mean, but also great for wiping E's nose when he has a cold, like he does now. Poor E!

Felt food. Man, I am in deep with felt food right now. It's cute and clever and seemingly easy-peasy. I feel like, yeah, I can totally just whip up an entire feast in an hour or so. Of course, like all good crafts, there's more than meets the eye.

My new Etsy Shop. Yeah, it's kind of empty right now. But isn't it nice to be somewhere uncrowded this time of year? Today I went to Costco and it was like visiting Crazytown. My Etsy shop is nothing like that.

Monday, December 29, 2008

Moving Right Along

Welcome to Dress Again on Blogger! Due to major cuts in our discretionary budget fund, I've decided to move my TypePad blog to Blogger for real. I've had an account here for awhile and I can say, it's nice here. Sunny, bright, lots of room to spread out. Plus, free, and you've gotta like free! So welcome to my TypePad readers. Update your links and enjoy!

We've just returned from a Minnesota adventure to visit my family for Christmas and a Baptism. It was, as always, quite the event. Mother Nature pulled out all the stops to supply us with blizzards, ice storms, rain, and a good, old-fashioned train derailment. Seriously, our trip was like something out of Planes, Trains & Automobiles. On the trip from Chicago to St. Paul, our first class sleeper car on Amtrak was converted into a regular ticket because the fancy train was stuck out west. And our 8 hour trip took 16. Then the train actually derailed about 100 yards or so from the depot in St. Paul. I mean, not a really bad derailment. The engine was just a few feet off the tracks. But really, for trains, a few feet pretty much brings everything to a stop. We detrained into a snowbank and walked to a bus that drove us to the depot. On our return trip, our train was not a train at all but a charter bus driven by a lovely man who had never driven into Chicago before. But we made it, and I guess that's what counts. We arrived to a rainstorm and 55 degree temperatures. Crazy, crazy, crazy. Next year I'd like to be teleported directly into my parents' living room.

We enjoyed a crafty Christmas with felted sweater stockings.



Thanks to our local Village Discount Thrift for the materials! Working with recycled sweaters is so luxurious. It's like stitching into butter, but in a good way. It's definitely something I want to continue doing