tip toe threads

because most of it happens when the chillens are sleepin

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Saturday, March 31, 2007

Adventures in Thrifting


I decided to give thrifting sweaters a try I went to Goodwill and found loads and loads of things that I could buy. I ended up getting two bed sheets, and three sweaters all for $11. The bed sheets have such fun, vintage patterns that I can't wait to cut up and make something out of. The mossy green sweater was already felted a bit, so I am going to felt it a bit more. There was a pink chenille sweater that I pulled apart and made Maggie, the whale (next to maggie in the picture is Max, the octopus, a product of my scrap yarn experiment). And then there was the SUPER large, grey hoody pullover. I got so much yarn out of this one, although the quality of the yarn is not that good. It is quite thick, which is nice, but... I will try to explain it how Paul did. (It was made in Ecuador, by the way). Paul's description, "They had the sheep and the loom and the knitting machine all right next to each other and there was one long piece of wool/yarn that went from one station to the next. No cleaning, or removing burrs and dirt, just one continuous string." If I could illustrate, there would be a drawing of the whole contraption.This is a picture of the yarn drying after I washed it for the second time. I am actually glad that the yarn is so "shoddy" because I can experiment with it a lot and not be afraid to ruin it. I am planning on dying it all different colors. I read on a blog somewhere (and of course I can't find it anymore) about dying yarn with Kool Aid. Sounds like fun, probably smells good, too!


Friday, March 30, 2007

To Me, Pure Indulgence

Chicken fingers are one of my many favorite foods. They are yummy, yummy, yummy! But I can never eat one plain. It has to have creamy honey mustard to dunk it in. I love my honey mustard sauce, so I made one that was a litter lower in fat. Somehow, eating fried chicken fingers with this low-fat sauce, made me feel a little better about cheating on my diet!

Honey Mustard Sauce:

3 parts low fat mayo
1 part yellow mustard
1 part honey, honey
A few grinds of pepper

Whisk and devour!

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Picture perfect

I have to thank my friend Loralee for this great idea. The picture board she made for her daughter was so cute. I wish I had a picture of it, pink rick-rack and all! I finally got pictures printed for the photo board that I made for Dallin's room. It only took me two months to order them! Digital camera's are my favorite, especially since I take twenty pictures of one thing and only one actually turns out decent. The problem is that I never get around to printing them. I need to be better at it and get some scrapbooking done with them or something. Back to the picture board... I haven't decided if little yellow stars will find their way onto the mini clothes pins to tie the flag theme together or not. Maybe in two more months.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Sail Away

With Dallin's room evolving into a sailboat theme, the step stool that I have been planning on making him for a while had to have a sailboat on it. I purchased the unfinished stool at Michael's and made my own template for the boat. I got out my acrylics and painted away, making sure every line was as straight as possible (ha ha, I can never make a straight line). I waited for the paint to dry. Then.... Like every other paint job I do, I have to make it look old and dirty. I got out the electric sander, held my breath, and "ruined" the paint job. I love this technique.

Friday, March 16, 2007

botón, bouton, ボタン, κουμπί

Any way you say it, they are still fun and fancy free. After a long two week wait, I received my "vintage button lot" from ebay in the mail. Now, what to do, what to do???

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Way too many PJ bottoms?? Oh Scrap!

After cleaning out my closet the other day and finding about 15 pairs of pajama bottoms, I thought that Dallin could use a rug for his bedroom. I picked out 3 pair of somewhat coordinating pairs and started ripping. I then ran to the store and grabbed a couple dollar yards of dark blue fabric and went to work crocheting. I LOVE it and Dallin has pointed at it so I think that means he likes it too! Close up shot... Some of these fabrics came from bottoms that were given to us by family members, so it was nice to still have them around, and not off to Good Will.

One Dollar Vase

My friend and I found these cute Spring vases at our local dollar store, ONE DOLLAR! Too bad I brought it home and promptly knocked it over and broke it!

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

One done, it's a miracle!

I finished this blanket a couple weeks ago. I am so proud of myself for actually finishing it and not putting in a corner to gather dust. Some people think that the best part of a project is finishing it. I love finishing projects, yet I love the creative process that I go through while I am making something. I get bored easily doing the same thing all the time, however. Thus my billions of unfinished projects. Anyway, the blanket is finished and only a little crooked in spots. But, hey, I made up the pattern myself, so it came out better than I thought it would!