The Motivation for Knitting Toys
You can always hope that your knitting will be cherished and appreciated by the recipient, but in the end you just make knitted gifts because you want to. When my sister told me that my nephew had picked the
Baby Bobbi Bear that I knitted as his comfort toy, I was really touched. She calls it the 'Magic Melly Bear'. I love this picture of him 'spooning' with it. Plus, doesn't the baby have the cutest little feet?
Posted by Mel at 10:34 AM
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Weather or Not
That's the thing about Arizona. It's mostly sunny. Yes, we like to remark about the heat, especially during the summer, but mostly, it's the same weather report every day. So, when a storm pops up, like they do during July & August, everyone stands outside or near a window and watches the "Weather". We finally had a little excitement Tuesday night and here are the results.
That lake used to be a park with a 1/2 mile walking path through it. That water must be at least 1 1/2 feet deep. Can you see the bench in the middle of the photo? Behind that tree is a kid standing in the water. Won't his mom be happy when he comes home smelling like stagnant dirty water...
Remember when my pool was resurfaced 3 weeks ago and was all sparkly and blue?
Posted by Mel at 2:24 PM
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Sunday Excitement
It's not even 11am and already so much has happened.
First, the 3rd American ever to do so, just won the
Tour De France. I almost sense that no one is too interested. After Lance Armstrong won the race, like, 8 times, it makes it seem like any one could do it. Not so. Although that made it easier to get sponsor money to be in the game, it's still really impressive. Especially if you realize that this guy (
Floyd Landis) was in the lead and then lost 8 minutes on the leader with 4 days left to race. The race is won over 20 stage races with the rider with the best overall combined time winning. You could never win a race and
still win the Tour. Well, 8 minutes behind the leader with 4 races to go seemed like an impossible amount of time to make up. I didn't hear one person give this guy a glimmer of a chance to come back and win. And he did! It's a lesson in not listening to what other people think about your chances for success. Way to go Floyd! Even if you care nothing about sports, you have to admit that Floyd's determination is inspiring.
Second, I'm cleaning my pool this morning and there's a helicoptor circling the subdivision behind me. Yikes! Nosy me, I had to walk around the block to see what was happening. By the time I got around the block, the helicopter had left, but there was a cop car at every possible exit of that subdivision. As I was walking back through the park behind my house, the helicoptor had come back and was broadcasting a description of the man they were looking for. It sounded vaguely like the guy I had just passed under one of the picnic shelters... Was it the guy they were looking for? Not sure, but I called the police station just to make sure and they said they were already looking into it...
Thirdly - I am a winner, too. I didn't win the Tour De France, but I did win this awesome
felted record lp signifying the Premier of
LG-Stitched. All I had to do is name the artists who recorded the songs that the sections of the magazine were named after. Thanks to much help from Google and CD Universe, I was able to do it. And a bigger thanks to Steve and Kiki for making such a beautiful prize. I am scheming on the best way to display the new treasure. St. Pam also got all the answers correct, so we are going to work out a joint custody arrangement on the prize.
Knit-wise, I am working on a project that will be a gift so I don't want to say much about it, but I will post pictures soon.
Posted by Mel at 10:49 AM
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Keeping Good Company
The new issue of
For the Love of Yarn is out.
St. Pam &
Stephanie both have patterns in there.
Alison did a great job with the entire issue! And Luscious Gracious has also put out a 100th episode
celebratory magazine also, with many of their wonderful creations and writings. I am looking forward to trying my hand at lace on the Meiosis pattern. Feeling lucky to know so many talented, hard-working people. I could go on and on. They are just the tip of the talent iceberg. Congrats to all of them on their successes.
Posted by Mel at 10:18 AM
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When D.I.Y. goes B.A.D.
Having an idea, creating a vision, executing a plan... Some of the fun and exciting parts of what we all do with our arts. The more I practice my creative hobbies, the more fun I have and the more I know that if I don't give myself time for this outlet in my life, I will feel out of balance. I say this because even though I am constantly having thoughts for new projects, be they crafting, knitting, or home improvement, I recognize that the vision is not always complete when the project begins. Toss that nugget in with a lack of experience and you can create quite the, uhhhhh, 'masterpiece'. Take this little gem as an example.
Why yes, that is a lamp constructed out of PVC piping. And yes -- I thought that a nice crackle-coat finish was the added touch to put this thing into the DIY hall of fame. Of course, it didn't take so well, and I ran out of paint so the rest of it is not crackle-coated. What you cannot see in that picture is this...
A base made from Quick-crete and formed into a cylindrical shape to look like a street light. It was later painted brown to try and obscure it's concrete-ness. And to keep the concrete from crumbling all over the floor, it is sitting on a plastic pot protector. You know those things you put under your plants to keep water from leaking out of the bottom of the pot onto the floor or whatever the plant may be sitting on?
I can't take all the credit for this work of "Art". Sometimes 2 heads are not better than one. And maybe some people are just not meant to conspire on things like lamps... When these 2 heads decided to go separate ways, the masterpiece stayed with me (lucky me). I have been hunting for a new lamp ever since then. And yesterday, a newer lamp came onto my radar while strolling through Terri's Consign & Design. And it was 60% off and there was no way I could turn it down. So, the old lamp has been pillaged for things that can be used in future DIY attempts and the rest of it is ready for the dump. That sucker is heavy (what with the humongous concrete base and all) so I'm going to have to get a couple of people over here to help lift it into the garbage can. And I am reminded that even though it was not the best thing I ever made, it served a purpose for many years. Most importantly, I am letting go of a piece of the past that I don't need anymore.
Feel free to make fun of this object in the comments. Now that its out of the house, I wonder how I held onto it for long.
Posted by Mel at 4:10 PM
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