Been busy crafting and wishing the wind would die down! It has today, so far, anyway! The other day I went shopping in the ‘big city’, and got a load of good stuff (including these oh so yummy sounding Country Crock flavored butters - one’s honey butter, the other is cinnamon butter!)

Anyway, I’ve made my first ever pomader. Or rather, I’m in the process of making it. It was quite easy, though a bit tiring, to do - take an orange, and a whole lot of cloves, and something sharp like a big needle. Actually, I used a nail, but a yarn needle would probably be perfect too. Then puncture the orange with the needle/nail, and push a clove into the hole you just made. Repeat, about ten billion times, keeping the cloves very close together (less than 1/4″). Take breaks often. Thumb gets very sore! After that, roll the ball into some spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, and set it someplace dark and warm to dry for a few weeks, turning it over daily. (1-6 weeks, average being… 3, surprise!)

So here’s my ball, which is now currently sitting in the cupboard to dry.

After I made that, I was still feeling all crafty, but not enough to make another (maybe another day on that one), so I did a real easy peasy craft - I made “snowballs”!

These are real cute. And real easy. Styrofoam balls covered in funky white/creamy colored yarn. I used Paton’s Divine for this, since it’s a big, fairly inexpensive ball of very fuzzy stuff that covered all six of my 2.5-3″ styrofoam balls with some left over. 4″ balls would’ve been sweet, but the 4″ styrofoam balls were insanely expensive (2.99 per *ball*?! The size I got were that price for SIX!) I wish I’d gotten a few in different sizes, though. Maybe another day, eh?

Here’s another pic. If you’ve got an LCD monitor, it’ll look fine, but on regular monitors, the can’s a bit dark. I thought it’d be cute to put them in a paint can.

Got just a couple more pictures to show off. These aren’t finished-craft pictures, but they are hope-to-finish-soon craft pictures! I stopped a nice little knitting and stitchery shop, and picked up this lovely cross-stitch pattern - and all the trimmings, which, I must say, was pricey.

Remind me to use cheapass DMC thread next time instead of these beautiful but expensive overdyed thread, ok? The threads are from Weeks Dye Works, and Sampler Threads - and the ones from Sampler Threads are especially pretty, since they’re somewhat varigated. Gorgeous.

But again, for a hunk of thread, $2 is quite… excessive, compared to the 29 cents that DMC floss is. But oh well. It’s a splurge, right?

I picked up one more pattern, too, but I won’t disclose it just yet. Hell, might be ages before I get around to it anyway.

As for a knitting update… I got almost 2 repeats of the stole’s border done last night, leaving 4 left. I’ll finish it in 4 days or less… if it kills me. Well, I’ll finish the /knitting/ part. Then there’s the awfulness of weaving in ends (in lace! Gugh! The torture!) and blocking the bloody thing. Which should be fascinating, since it’s so huge. Anyway, Mom saw it last night, or night before… I can’t remember which. She really likes it, I think, but she’s wondering the same thing I am… What is she gonna wear with it?!

Ah, the hard questions in life…

So, some crafty updates! I’m wonderfully close to being done with the stole - but there’s no use in taking more pictures yet, so no pics there. I’m about 12 rows from being through with Clue 5, and then it’s on to a single round of Clue 6 and the edging, and I’m all done! I expect another 6-10 days of work… at work. So, by November 7th, I should be darned close to finished, if not already there, except for blocking and such! :) Here’s hoping, anyway.

But here’s something I can give a picture of - it’s my 2006 Advent Calendar! For those of you who don’t know me, I adore advent calendars. Especially ones that are unique in some way, or else give prizes! I picked this up at Quilt With Class last month, and am now getting around to sewing it all up! It’s more work than it looks, but is altogether rather easy. All the little numbered spots will be made into pockets, all ornaments (see all the outside ornaments dangling from the tree - those are finished pockets. The red ones inside the tree are what I have left to do.)

Shouldn’t take me long to do - just have to buckle down and get to it. The pockets are a pain in the ass - I should’ve gone the easy route and pinked all the edges - easier than folding them all in and stitching all the edges down. Ah well. Too late now!

I finished my gingerbread man apron! Huzzah! And here it is, in shining glory. Ignore the headless body - that would be me, in all my shapeless glory… I swear, it’s the apron that makes me look like that, but I’m no supermodel in real life. As for headless… well, you would’ve chopped it off, too, upon seeing just how bad the photo was to begin with.

And here, a closeup of the apron fabric, which is sooooo cute.

Moving on, I’ve also taken some pictures of my quilt blocks. I’ll consider this sort of a WIP Friday deal, since it’s now after midnight, and thus, Friday. And it is indeed a work in progress, though the progress might be slow, and I’m 2 blocks behind schedule. It’s for a quilt block of the month class dealie, using the gorgeous, if pastel, fairy frost fabrics. Enjoy.

And one last photo - this is of a quilt my mother just ‘finished’. Okay, so she’s not actually finished yet, but she’s not going to do the actual quilting of the thing herself - it’s her first quilt, and she wants to be sure it’s done right, so she’s taking it to someone to get the thing quilted together. This is the before-it’s-quilted-together photo. I love it, by the way. I’m begging for it for Christmas, but I’m not sure she’ll cave. ;-)

The holidays are fast approaching! Samhain is nearly here, and after that passes, it’s only a short skip to Yule and Christmas, and I have a LOT that needs to be done! So let me list them out - partly for your amusement, but mostly because I need to write it down somewhere that won’t get lost in the shuffle.

Sewing
1. Gingerbread Man Apron - this one’s half done!
2. Autumn Pillowcases
3. Brown/Sunflower Messenger Bag
4. Advent Calendar - it’s cut out!
5. Winter flannel pillowcases
6. Santa Claus table runner
7. Other winter pillowcases
8. 3 quilt blocks (I’m behind by two)
9. Finish purple/yellow quilt

Knitting

10. Mom’s Stole
11. Pair of socks
12. Autumn Colors Hat
13. Blue/White Hat

How’s that for a mess? Gugh. We’ll see what I can manage to finish… We’ll see.

I got some better pictures of the stole up at last! Reminds me that I really need to set up a photo album here, but… ach well… eventually.

Here’s the new stole pics, anyway:

That’s a crooked photo, as you can tell, but it should be better to see! It’s quite long - four feet or so unblocked? Something like that. And below here is a closeup of the edging, which I swore the entire way through would just not work the way it was supposed to. I was convinced it was all messed up and mistakey and everything else, but guess what? It was fine. A little irritating to knit, if you ask me, but gorgeous just the same. Aside from the center medallion, the edging is my favorite part of the stole.

Moving on, Secret Pal 9 has officially begun! I’ve been in contact with both spoiler and spoilee, which is great! Heh. Even sent my spoiler a coupon for $5 off to Adagio on request. :) I’d send one to my spoilee as well, as she drinks tea, but I’m sort of afraid that my name will show up on it as something other than Secret Pal, and it’s really much too early to ruin that surprise! So… actual tea it will be. ;-) I’ll give her a coupon to buy her own at the END of the swap, perhaps. [PS: if anyone reading this wants a coupon for some Adagio tea - $5 off your order - just drop me a line in the comments and I’ll email you one.]

My spoiler and spoilee both sound very friendly! I’ve exchanged several emails with the latter, and while it doesn’t seem we have a lot in common on the surface aside from a love of knitting, I hope to learn much more about her. And I hope to learn much more about my spoiler, as well. :)

There is an incredible number of people taking part in this swap. There’s no way I could possibly go through and look at everyone’s blog, so I’m afraid I won’t even try. But I do slip over to the participants list to check out one or two every now and then at work, just to read something new! :)

In other news… not much. I fear I’ve got a cold (thanks A…) and have been reading Nora Roberts’ new trilogy (The Circle Trilogy), which is good, and of course, I’ve been working. Went to quilt class Friday. Took A with me and Mom, but she was sick (again, thanks A) so she spent the whole night out of it. Quilting was good, though. The class sucked, but then, it’s not much of a class so much as a “pick up your block” club deal. I should take pictures of my finished blocks and post them, I suppose. *muses* Yes… But I got some gorgeous flannels for wintery pillowcases, and a Halloween quilt pattern that I just LOVE (need fabric, need fabric…) and… some stuff I needed at Pamida (the dinkiest store on the planet), and some groceries.

And somehow, I still have no food. Imagine that.

Wow. The postman has been good to me this week!!

You wouldn’t believe (or maybe you would) all the wonderful stuff I got! I recieved one of my 2 DIY kits - the Visual Journaling one, which is quite inspirational! Next up was two small handmade journals, which are uber cute, and then an absolutely gorgeous tote bag for the Summer Bag Swap. *drool* It’s huge and lovely and I am already packing all my stuff in it.

Finally, the most shocking of all, was receiving the Yarn Aboard! box today! *gape* Sir Francis Drake stopped off at my doorstep this morning, and I’m terribly excited! I just hope the yarn I ordered for my pal gets here in the next couple days! *gulp* I have everything else I need, just waiting on that yarn delivery!

But now, let me gush about what was in that cute box! I got two skeins of lorna’s laces, which is soooo soft, and sooo pretty! I can’t stop touching it. *laugh* Also, a nifty fiber trends pattern that I can’t wait to try out! It’s kinda lacey which makes me even more excited! On top of that, some yummy looking trail mix and notecards that are just adorable. And of course, a postcard! I love postcards. Without further commentary, here’s a photo:

Isn’t it lovely?! I really like the box. I’d kinda like to keep it. Did I ever mention that I’m an unfulfilled klepto at heart? ;-) Much as I like it, though, I will send it along as soon as my order arrives!

Next up, some more swap goodness photos, in random order:

So I’ve been waiting ever-so-anxiously for my KnitPicks yarn to arrive. And it sooo hasn’t. It was supposed to be here Tuesday. It wasn’t. Nor Wednesday, nor Thursday. Today, Friday, it came. But… I slept like a log and didn’t wake up until the post office was closed. See, the post office here is open for such limited hours that my graveyard schedule makes it difficult to get to it during business hours. I either have to a) stay up late to get there in the morning and hope they get all the package notices shipped out to the boxes before I arrive, or b) wake up uber early, by 4pm, to get there before they close at a quarter after. I did neither today. And of course, it being Friday, the last day of the week it’s open, I missed it. And when I went to get my mail… there was a package slip in my box. *sigh* I have the worst luck in the world.

In other news, I have company. My friend Tabby is here for a week, visiting, resting from recent surgery on her wrist, and escaping life’s woes. I picked her up from the bus station 90 miles away on Wednesday. I also bought some goodies.

These are fabrics I got for various projects. The first three from the left are for aprons. The citrus and gingerbread men fabrics are for me. The flowery fabric is for A, who decided she wanted an apron as well. I told her I’d buy the fabric if she wanted to doing the sewing. The two fabrics on the right are for the bag swap I’m doing. It’ll hopefully turn out to be a messenger bag. :)

Next up, the apron pattern I’ll be using!

Then… progress on the SBO scarf! Look how pretty it is! I’m glad it’s looking good. I can’t wait to see it blocked, but I still have quite a ways to go.

Now, off to spend more time with company and all that good stuff!

So I am now the proud owner of THREE cats. Yes, three. First came my lil’ bitch, Felony, who came to me five years ago. She’s a black kitty with yellow eyes, and it’s terribly difficult to get a good picture of her. She’s not camera shy… she’s just not very photogenic, handsome as she may be.

Then came Sebastian, almost three years ago. He’s a handsome black and white longhaired giant, 13.5 pounds of fur and jiggliness. He’s really a sweetheart - tender and affectionate (to me - he’s rather jittery around strangers) and never too sulky or snotty.

And then, last night, at 2am, A rushed inside with the gray furball that used to be my grandmother’s cat. Since she went in the nursing home for a week to regain her strength after her fall, she discovered that she no longer coughs like crazy, and has determined that she’s allergic to her cat. A adopted the cat - but a day later, A discovered that she, too, was allergic to her. She broke out in hives all over her arms where she petted the creature.

Tsuki, as I’ve named her, is a Persian - and mind you, I’m not a big Persian fan, but she is rather sweet and shy. A picture of her:

That darned Persian face always looks so grumpy! *lol* But I love her eyes - copper and intense. She and Sebastian have been having little hissy fits. Literally. And staring matches. But she’s not really afraid of the other kitties. Just people. She’s been exploring the house inch by inch, and she’s taken up residence under my bed.

Inspired by all the kittiness, I whipped up a little catnip mouse toy with leftover gray yarn from the kitty hat I knit Tina. According to Sebastian, and Tsuki, who both play-tested it, it gets an A+ rating.

On a whim of hunger, I also whipped up a batch of lemon poppyseed muffins (from a mix) this morning before bed, and this utterly beautiful loaf of cinnamon raisin bread in my breadmaker!

It’s one of the few perfect loaves I’ve made! No collapsing anywhere! And it tastes oh-so-good. It’s a mix, too, but that’s just cuz I’m trying to use them up before the yeast goes bad. (Nothing like yeast failure to ruin your day!) My next cinnamon raisin bread will be from scratch. *crosses fingers*

Speaking of cooking… I bought (another whim) the Mary Jane’s Farm catalog/magazine on sale at the store - the food issue, all about recipes made with her special Farmgirl Budget Mix. The Budget Mix is a (somewhat expensive) mix of organic flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and it’s the base mix for dozens of recipes from cookies to crackers to scones to pizzas, to hotpocket-y items. Kinda like Bisquick, but not. I looked all day for a comparable recipe, but all the baking mix recipes I found have some form of oily stuff added (shortening, usually) and I doubt such a mix would work well with the recipes that have been formed to fit with a mix that *doesn’t* have shortening already added. So I may have to buy this stuff yet. I’m not really a very adventurous cook. Neither is anyone in my family. Altogether, the mix comes out to something like $1.30 or something a serving, which isn’t /too/ terrible, I guess.

Checked on my Knitpicks order. It’s been shipped, and is expected to arrive something like the 11th. *sigh* That’s 4 days after the Mystery Stole Part 1 is released, and I’ll never have the time with company coming to catch up. But oh well. I’ll just be a slow-late knitter, I guess! :) I’m excited anyway!

Meet Sasha.

She’s the Pointy Kitty I’ve been making. I got the pattern at Wee Wonderfuls for free - it’s the most adorable stuffie kitty pattern ever! At least, as far as I’ve seen. Sasha was a bitch to stuff, and she turned out smaller than expected. Nevertheless, she’s a sweetie. I made her from some leftover pattern from a knitting needle roll that I still haven’t finished. (I made a mistake… yes, me!… and now I’m hesitating on finishing it.)

Here’s some other views of Sasha:

And a closeup of her sweet kitty face:

And here she is… climbing a tree, just like a real kitty! But shhh - don’t tell her she’s not real! She doesn’t know it yet!

Sasha’s excited about going visiting. I’ve begun coaching her on safe travel tips - such as, don’t leap out of your postal carrier box, even for special kitty treats, or felt mice, and don’t scratch your host’s furniture, and don’t climb any strange trees. But I don’t think much of my advice is sinking in. I do hope she’ll be all right!

I’m in the process of making a pointy kitty stuffy! She’s adorable. Her head has now been attached, and one eye-area has been sewn on, but I need to rip this off and, uh, yeah, like, attach some buttons for actual eyes first. I was in a rush and didn’t think about things. I’m still debating on adding the stripes to her head, and I’ve decided against the stripes on her back. Perhaps I’ll put a little heart-shaped “tattoo” on her butt, though, MLP style!

Anyway, here’s a pic before head attachment:

Adorable, ne? She’s 7.5 inches tall. She was supposed to be around 9″ tall, but… it didn’t work like that. Maybe next time I’ll add a quarter inch seam allowance /before/ cutting… Well, next next time. Meaning, time after next, because the next kitty is already half cut out!

This one needs a name… because it’s going to be my little traveling stuffy for the Little Visitor swap at Craftster! Off to hunt for names now.