Hyperbolic Coral Reef

We sent the day at the Natural History Museum today. Hands down our favorite museum. This was the first time we got to see the new human origins exhibit. While I miss the old dioramas, this one is really well done. Lots of interactive stuff for the kiddos and lots for the husband to read. I even got the heel flap on my sock done while they were all doing their thing.

This is a must see: it is a giant crocheted coral reef. I'm on my iTouch (free wiFi- thanks Smithsonian!) so I'll try to add more photos tomorrow. This thing is incredible. All sorts of materials were used. I spotted cassette tape and Noro in the mix. Huge hit.

Edited to add photo:

 

Wish I could remember what this yarn is. I bought it last summer at Knitting Addiction while on vacation with the parental units and the girls at Nags Head, NC. It is cotton, and gorgeous, and I am pretty sure the label floated away while I was knitting it on the beach.

Side note: This is hands down one of the BEST knitting stores I have ever been to. They were stocked mostly with cotton and non-wolly stuff, since it was July, at the beach. Huge, sunny, and LOTS of samples - well labeled. I would be there now if I was a less responsible mother.

So the yarn. Really it would be pretty just nailed to the wall. Originally I turned it into two shrugs for the girls. The shrugs were CUTE, but by December they had worn them exactly once. Enter FPS (Fiber Protective Services). Yarn abandonment. 

So I re-purposed it into a cowl for me. Size 11 needles, cast on 80 stitches. Four rows garter, Knit until you think you might not have enough for the last four rows of garter -do the four rows of garter, cast off. If you get bores of the knit throw in a line of purls. I did prime numbers (3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19 or 23) Because I'm nerdy like that. Perfect.

Problem is I cannot get my hands on it. Yesterday the girls and I went to Carytown to look at their favorite toy store - World of Mirth:

And our local yarn store, the Yarn Lounge:

And now I can't get it back - Little-sis refused her coat so she spent the afternoon with it wrapped over her head. Last night big-sis wore it for movie night. No longer abandoned.

Sometimes you just gotta have it

Wednesday, March 28th, 2007

The husband and I got a day out a few weekends back and we ended up doing the thrift stores. I know, exciting lives.

This is my new favorite thing. It is a lamp for a child’s room.

Aren’t they great? They are painted wood. The center part can be wound up and then they spin and play music.

I am revamping the guest room. Right now it is where the kids play stuff is. The plan is to turn it back into a fully dedicated guest room and do it in red and white. I have an old red and white quilt from my mom’s family, and this lamp will work perfectly.

This makes me so happy!

Happy Spring…Achoo!

Monday, March 26th, 2007

I truely have not meant to ignore this lonely blog the past few days. We’ve been in Williamsburg heping the parental units get their house ready for sale. They are moving up here near us. (Yay!)

The husband has now tiled their kitchen and master bath, hung new lights, plumed things…all sorts of general handyman things.
Moi? What have I been doing? My KoolAid sweater is almost done…I lost one ball of the purple yarn has disappeared, so I am having to improvise a bit.
I have also done some shopping for fabric for the girl’s spring wardrobe. I need to get cracking on this too, they have outgrown most of the rest of their clothes.

Weekend Wrap up

Sunday, March 18th, 2007

(Warning: This is a long post mostly concerned with near-miss disasters. If you are looking for crafting content please check back later. This mom is lucky to be awake, and should not be touching anything sharp or pointy.)
This weekend was one of those where you can’t quite wait for Monday to get here.
It all started Friday afternoon…40 degrees, pouring rain…you get the idea. Big-sis tripped as we left my school and landed on her bottom in a puddle of water.
Actually, calling the moat that surrounds the back of the building a puddle is a bit of an understatement. She has more chance of leaping the River Nile.
So there she is, submerged up to her waist in 40 degree water…pants soaked, shoes filled with water. Total disaster.
Let this serve as a word to the wise: your car cannot be well enough stocked in time of emergency or disaster. I had always planned on keeping an extra set of clothes in the van…as of today they are firmly in place, but I digress.
I did have dry socks, and I managed to sop up some of the water in her pants with paper towels. I poured the water out of her shoes (yes, poured). Then I wrapped in in the spare blanket, and called the husband to let him know he needed to pick up Little-sis since I needed to hurry home to get big-sis dry.
At this point it is important to set the stage. I teach in a school isolated from the hustle and bustle of city life. Cows roam across the street. The picture of rustic simplicity.
This means the “highway” we use to drive there is narrow and has no real shoulder. Not entirely safe.
It winds over hills through gorgeous farm land. Gorgeous, unless your power steering goes out because of a puddle. A puddle that cannot be avoided because of an oncoming truck.
I did manage the next few miles to town without crashing and stopped at the local tea house and called the husband (my hero!) A mini van is not easy to steer even with the power steering, and at five foot one and a quarter inches I am quite proud of myself for being able to get to a place I could stop without needing to be towed out.
The folks at the tea shop were wonderful, and gave Big-sis an extra big hot chocolate with lots of extra whipped cream. They didn’t complain when I let her take her wet shoes off.
Never fear, the husband arrived about 30 minutes later with clean clothes and Little-sis. Everyone is dry and safe now, fully restored.
The rest of our weekend was eaten up with getting the van fixed…the serpentine belt fell off, if you ever heard of such a thing. Not broke, fell off.
Today the super-husband (he might need a cape) spent the day tiling my parents kitchen floor. They needed this done super fast since they are moving! They were down in Williamsburg, but will now be about 10 miles from our house, mere blocks away from big-sis’ school.
As Big-sis put it: “Once they move I won’t ever have to wait an hour for dry pants again!”
Amen, sister!

Treats!

Thursday, February 22nd, 2007

Well…I am off sweets for Lent. I try to cut this out every year. Sugar is my one true vice.

So I am trying to find other ways to treat myself. Especially since I am currently mired in the husband’s corporate taxes.

So, what’s my treat? Ottobre Design Magazine

.

These are from Finland (don’t worry, they publish in English). If you haven’t seen them it is really worth a look. Lots of great ideas. I love that you get so many patterns for only $14.
I ordered them last night from Sewzanne’s Online Fabrics. I just got an e-mail saying they are on the way…can you beat it? One day turn-around!!
Big-sis has announced her new favorite color is blue, so she wants some Capri’s. Little-sis is still obsessed with pink, so we know where that’s going.
Next stop, the fabric store!

Gray Day…Gray Socks

Sunday, February 18th, 2007

Is anyone else missing the You Knit What? blog? It’s been such a grey few days I need a good laugh.

View from our front door

The husband is sick. The girls have been locked in for days now, so I have been trying to get them to play in the basement so he can sleep.

These are the socks I am working on fro the husband…sort of a late Valentine’s Day gift. He has the world’s widest feet, so they are taking a while.

For the record it is very hard to get semi-interesting/visible pictures of gray socks. This is Wildfoote yarn I got last weekend from The Yarn Lounge.
Nothing else of note, so here are some interesting blog posts from today:

• Knitting while Reading: Note the snappy bee-hive (too cool)
• 1870 Pearl: Recipe for Apple Cobbler
• Dim Sum Knitting: Look at the color on this hat:

Busy Bag

aturday, February 17th, 2007

We have officially entered birthday season. Little sis and I just got back from one today. We have 2 more this coming week.

As always, our budget is pretty well stretched. I also prefer homemade gifts. So this year we are giving Busy Bags.

These are just bags I made from leftover fabric. Then the girls and I pack them with things to keep kids busy…crayons, blank books, stickers, plastic animals, etc. I got a great deal on all this stuff from Michael’s a while back, so we are fully stocked.

These are pink and white stripped on the outside, ad blue gingham inside, left over from Halloween 2005:

The girls in Florida

I decorated this one with silk flowers. I remove them from the stem and sew on with a button.

I might redo this one…I want one for myself!