It's been forever...

It's been forever since I posted anything here.

Little update, R's finished up kindergarten last week.  She is going to miss her teacher a lot.

Last week, I finally upgraded to a DSLR.  I bought myself a Canon Rebel T2i.  So far, I am loving it.

Next week, the family is heading to Walt Disney World! I have already started packing. :) I plan to take socks to knit on the plane.

In August, I am going to BlytheCon in Dallas!  I'm getting excited.  I don't know which Blythe doll to take yet.

So until next time....

Today we are holding a funeral

Today we are holding a funeral procession.  I regret to inform my readers that my Baby Bird died. My little runt of a sparrow (turns out they are sparrows not Eastern Phoebes) passed away today between 8-10:15 am.

His siblings started picking on him and I tried to intervene without success.

R.I.P. Baby Bird, April 11, 2012

Birds!

A nest full of 4 baby birds was removed from my elderly neighbor's roof eave.  I felt bad for them.  So, I am now hand raising them.

I am pretty proud to say all 4 (even my runt) have made it through 4 nights with me!

I found a good web resource saying not to touch baby birds they probably aren't orphaned so on and so forth. No option for these babies.  The website did have great feeding instructions and recipe.

Their diet is:

canned dog food
hard boiled egg
lean ground beef
and a
teaspoon of dirt or sand
all mashed up together

I use surgical clamps to stick it in their gaping mouths.

My babies are developing quickly! Since Saturday they have all developed tail feathers (my runt a little slower) and my 3 big birds are starting to get feathers everywhere!

My little runt didn't even have his eyes open.  Now they are open and bright.

I swear they looked different every hour.

Girl Scout Cookies Lessons

1. Order all the cookies you want in the pre-sale.
2. Set goal before goal setting meeting.
3. Keep smiling and remember it is only once a year.

Shark Hat for Blythe, pattern updated!

I purchased a fancy new MacBook Air and also, purchased Pages.  I started re-designing my page layouts for my older patterns.

I stared working on the Shark Hat for Blythe.  I found a lot of errors in my pattern writing skills.

It has been rewritten and tested by another individual!

Here is the new pattern:

download now

Happy Knitting!

Wicked

I have to say I hate the Wizard of Oz.  I don't know if it was the flying monkeys or the stupid songs that made me dislike it as a kid.  I think my daughter is probably the only kindergartner that has never seen it.  In fact, someone made an "Oz" reference and I had to explain she has no idea what they were talking about.

With that said, I love Wicked.  Crazy, I know.

I love the "adult" version of Wizard of Oz.  It is just so magical and raw.  I read Wicked when I was expecting my daughter (6 years ago), but I stopped there.

Before Christmas I started listening to Son of a Witch.  I was a bit lost.  Now, I am playing catch up and listening to Wicked.

I get inspiration to name my dolls based on what I am reading at the time.  For example, Arvella is name for someone in the 1950s Henderson Board of Trustees minutes.

Elphie

Now, I have an Elphie and a Nessa.  One maybe named Gilly, I am not sure yet.

Anyways, a little knitting update.

I have been struggling on my knitting lately.  I just can't think of anything I want to make.  I have been making some middie Blythe sized sweaters and mohair dresses for my shop, but that is about it.

Something about my shop-  I am planning to open up and additional Etsy shop in May.  I would do it now, but I just renewed a bunch of my craft listings.  It would really add up if I did not see them to the end.  The new shop will be strictly fabric, yarn, vintage sewing patterns, and vintage buttons.  I think mixing Blythe and Crafts is too junky.  I wish I would have thought of it last week when I was doing the renewing.

I am also hoping to develop some packaging ideas for my Blythe clothing.  Eventually, I plan to post some shop goals because I do have some.  Like, I use recycled packaging envelopes from my workplace to reduce landfill waste.

Stay tuned for other exciting statements like the one today.  

What new?

I have been trying to think up a new blog topic.  I am drawing a blank.

I can update on my Christmas list.

I am practically finished. Everything is made.  Only a few things are left to do.  The largest task at hand is bottling the wine and designing labels for it!

I cranked out a fleece kitty scarf for R after I took her to school on Friday. I am sure it will be well received and may restore her love for me.  She has firmly decided I am mean.  Not sure why except I make her get out of bed to go to school.  Crying ever morning really grates on my nerves.

Sorry, back to the list. I think I finished sewing on closures to her doll clothing.  Her new Blythe doll is finished.  All she lacks is clothing and her scalp attached.  Sounds gruesome.

Everyone else is finished!

All of my current commissions are finished! Yay! No more guilt for working on my own stuff!

Right now I have several projects going on in the sewing and knitting front.

I am still working on the Red Hood from Jane Austen Knits.

I just finished a Capelet using Universal Yarns Mohair Mountain. Fun yarn, but I suggest not pulling yarn from the center pull.  I had some terrible spots where the yarn stuck together with fuzz.  I splurged and used Jul leather buttons! Completely worth it!