Comes Slow and Goes Fast
So I do realize that if I continue to post things every seven months no one will bother reading the measly entries I do make. I'll try to be better. The thought for today is this: where do people get their money?! I'm thinking in particular of all the lovely crafting blogs out there, which all seem to feature lovely updates of near-constant redecoration. I seriously don't get how people who appear to be stay-at-home moms can find the dough (and time) to pay for new homes, renovations, and cool-looking furniture. I guess I'm jealous, but it's cool. I found some free (aks discarded) wooden wine boxes on the street yesterday that have now been fashioned into a festive fabric shelf next to my "craft station" (basically a bureau also found on the street). Our house is rocking, as my dear husband calls it, "hobo chic."

back from the dead

one of my biggest pet peeves is when i go to read one of the very few blogs i actually like and there's nothing new. when it gets to be a week or two between posts i get extra frustrated. well, now i'm seriously eating crow. i can't help but notice it's been not one, not two, but three months since my last post. oopsie.

what, you may be wondering, do i have in the old pressure cooker (i.e. on my mind) for future projects? so many things. a backpack (this will be complicated and d-d-dangerous because i'm making up the pattern), several shirts, and a dress or two. can't WAIT to get started. right now i have lots of guests. as my grandfather used to say, i love it when they come, and i love it when they leave.

to appease my own guilty conscience, here is a picture of my pooch, milo, scampering like a mad man in the snow. which is now mostly melted, blessedly. in fact, today i saw my first crocuses. yeehaw!

sometimes i feel like a camera-less child

there are times when it seems like the primary difference between a good blog and a great blog depends almost entirely on the kind of camera one owns. my camera, if it seems at all a mystery to anyone, is not a great camera. somehow it makes all the things i make look rinky-dink. which of course they are. but still. [i'm currently a little distracted because there is some loud singing going on near me. though i am at work this is a totally normal occurance. ] ANYWAY. i have made alot of things recently. they were cool. my camera suggests otherwise so i feel discouraged. nonethelss, i'll throw up a few after this weekend. TGIF. cheerio! and if, you know, you want to buy me a cool camera...feel free.

"the goat who played santa claus"

few things in life matter as much as family tradition. i was given this book as a child, by my beloved aunt who recently died, and it has been a treasured possession ever since.

although i know the stories and illustrations almost by heart (and used one as the inspiration for this years' christmas card), i still insist on reading the stories aloud before bed. last night our story was "the goat who played santa claus." poor garth. or maybe lucky garth. if you're not familiar with the book, check it out. even if you don't have any little ones, the stories are still sincere heart-warmers. at a time when there is so much heartache and suffering, such sweetness slips further and further away from our daily lives. so my holiday prescription: reclaim a little. christmas is nothing without it.

what does your soul look like?
OR
hurry christmas, hurry fast

so for all you dedicated readers, checking back periodically, wondering, "hey! where are all the crafts? what is this horse DOING?!": fear not! i am indeed working, working, working. or, to be more precise, planning, planning, planning. i am doing that thing that real sewers strongly discourage, namely, attempting to make nearly all my gifts from scratch. so far i haven't actually started any of them. but i have the supplies, and everyone knows that's the...hardest...step. no. seriously, though, i'm getting ready to get ready to start. i designed and created my craft center, made some adorable pillows, and have begun turning kane street into mistletoe lane. awww.

i'll post as i can (don't want to ruin anyone's christmas, after all). but wait for the BIG payoff in january. money.

project #4: table runner for MY NEW TABLE!
so i have a new table. a new table i love in a major way. thank you, craigslist. i made a table runner for it. it is featured below. i will soon also be debuting a skirt with the same fabric. then i will be among the select few who own piece of clothing that matches their table linens. a small feat, but something noteworthy nonetheless. TGIF!

project #3: bag for my sister's birthday

it's not every year your baby sister turns 21. it's not every year she's been in a car accident and will graduate. it's also not every year you are out of the country for the week immediately preceding the "big day" and consequently have no time to assemble a suitable gift. suffice to say this year is not like every other year. big things afoot. so i went shopping on her birthday (shame shame shame) and was dismayed that not much stood out. i found a tin can candle (cool) and a hand-painted mirror (also cool), both from my favorite store on the LES, la sirena mexican arts and crafts. but then i was stumped. WHAT ELSE?! then it hit me. i had all the pieces for a bag already cut out, as well as a cool button i bought like a year and a half ago. surprisingly, it came together quite nicely. i also pleased to report that my sewing continues to improve, as i only had to resew two spots where the back didn't match with the front. pat on the back, me.

happy 21st birthday, babyana. i hope you like it!