Homage to My Sister

Today is my dear heart sister Sarah's 30th birthday. She is one of the strongest, most determined people I know. Thirty is one of those milestone birthdays where you are expected to stop and take stock of what you've accomplished. Sarah should be proud when she does that. And in honor of all her strengths, I've crafted the following things for her:



A knitting needle case. I modified the pattern and made this to fit circular needles, because Sarah needs a circular needle case. Once again, it looks completely crooked and the actual product is totally straight. I think the one side is curling up, causing it to look lopsided. It's not, I promise you!



A matching bag to hold balls of yarn and other knitting goods. I used fabric from my vintage stash (the flowered print) to make both the case and the bag.

My brother and I also made her a scrapbook called "Sarah: From 0 to 30 in Photos." Here is the exterior as well as the front page of our handiwork:






To close, a poem by Maya Angelou, honoring the fact that with a sister like Sarah in the world, I'll never be alone:


Alone

Lying, thinking
Last night
How to find my soul a home
Where water is not thirsty
And bread loaf is not stone
I came up with one thing
And I don't believe I'm wrong
That nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

There are some millionaires
With money they can't use
Their wives run round like banshees
Their children sing the blues
They've got expensive doctors
To cure their hearts of stone.
But nobody
No, nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Now if you listen closely
I'll tell you what I know
Storm clouds are gathering
The wind is gonna blow
The race of man is suffering
And I can hear the moan,
'Cause nobody,
But nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Alone, all alone
Nobody, but nobody
Can make it out here alone.

Leos, Leos Everywhere

I know many people who have summer Leo birthdays. I've been preparing the birthday goods for my sister's 30th (which happens tomorrow) and this weekend I went to a BBQ for two other Leos I know, Angela and Kelly. Although they firmly stated, "No Presents!" on the invite, I checked with Angela, who said a handmade gift would be okay. Behold, necklaces for these Leo lovelies:



The boxes... from Martha Stewart's new line of craft supplies. I had a gift card, these matchboxes were 50% off, the rest is predictable. Here's a link to some other MS packaging ideas, since these particular boxes are not on the Michael's website.



I didn't have any tissue paper readily available, so I used pom-poms to fill the boxes. Turns out that Kelly's cat loves pom-poms, so I sort of gave her cat a gift too.



Voila, the necklaces themselves. Simple but cute, and a celebration of some wonderful Leo women.

Wonder Welders and Garden Walk

My friend Lara is working for IRC in a refugee camp in Kibondo, Tanzania for the next 6 months (or maybe more). You can check out her blog here if you want to know more about what she's doing there. Lara just posted about a really cool non-profit organization in Dar Es Salaam called Wonder Welders. It's kind of my dream to start an organization like this in Buffalo (I'm not sure that pursuing a PhD was really the best way to achieve that particular dream, but oh well.) Check out the great animal sculptures. I am sorely tempted to go visit Lara in Tanzania and bring back a Dik Dik for my garden.

Speaking of gardens, I went on the annual Buffalo Garden Walk this morning. Here are photos of things I thought were fun:



This is a moss table. Pretty to look at; dining enjoyment factor undetermined.



Funky garden art.



Huge ants. This garden was really beautiful; the owner actually embedded a stained glass window in his wooden fence.

Colorado Kaden

Sometimes it's hard to believe that almost 10 years have passed since I finished my Peace Corps Volunteer service in Erdenet, Mongolia. But life events like the birth of a new baby to a dear friend who also lived in Erdenet remind me that lots of time has indeed passed. Susan, congratulations on the birth of your son Kaden! I hope that he is a joyful addition to your family. If you ever feel cold in Colorado... well, just remember the weather in Erdenet in January and your perspective will quickly change. Wish Kaden a big sanbano for me.

This little sweater and hat are acrylic so they'll stand up to washing-- which is good, since I suppose off-white is a rather impractical color for a little one. Cute though, eh? I more or less used the 5 rectangle pattern that I talked about here for this sweater, though I crocheted it rather than knitted it.

On another note, I think I've got to get better at taking pictures of my crafts. Everything appears much more crooked in the pictures than it does in real life. Sigh. I guess that's why this blog isn't called Photography Buff.

It All Comes Together...

If you've read some of my recent posts, you'll recognize the kismet: Etsy seller sinkdaisy has put a sock monkey pincushion on the market! Let's think of it as acupuncture for the little bugger.

Sock Monkeys, Part 400

Since I've been posting so much about sock monkeys, I thought I'd gather up some internet resources on the little critters and share them with you today.

1. Start here for an overview of sock monkeys.
2. This site has some discussion of the history of sock monkeys, but is particularly interesting because it talks about the differences between U.S. and Canadian sock monkeys.
3. Go here and you can learn how to make a sock monkey.
4. If you haven't read Tony Millionaire's Sock Monkey comics, you're missing out.
5. For a book on the art, history and business of the American sock monkey, check out Everything's Coming Up Sock Monkeys!
6. Do NOT go on You Tube to look for sock monkey skits. They're all terrible and a huge waste of time.
7. If you want to buy Red Heel socks to make your own sock monkey, check here or, if you're in the Western New York area, I know you can get them at Vidler's Five and Dime.

Who Can Resist a Glow-in-the-Dark Beast Cross Stitch Kit?

Illustrator and typographic comic artist Ray Fenwick has designed a new glow-in-the-dark cross stitch kit for Subversive Cross Stitch. Coveting it made me remember my own adventure into the world of subversive cross stitch a while back... voila! I present to you "Monkey and Huge Leaf Hand Towel."

Here's the Fenwick kit, in case you're interested too: