Week at a glance...

Hey there blogging buddies... its been a while. Hows things ? Here is what I have been up to lately....

I've been on a bit of a reading roll lately. I felt like a bad librarian because after going over SLJ's list of 100 greatest children's novels, I realized that were a lot of classics that I haven't read! So I've been on a reading roll and I've been tackling that list! So far I've read the Westing Game, Holes and Because of Winn Dixie and so on.

 

It hasn't all been Children's classics, I finally got around to reading Maus. Its been on my to-read list for a while. One of my history professors in college always said it was the best narrative depiction of the holocaust. I guess I was on a historic/graphic novel kick, because I also read March by John Lewis. It is about Lewis' experience growing up during segregation and the part he played in the civil rights movement. Its interesting to see such serious moments from history be retold in graphic novel form. Its a format gets scoffed at, but the mix of imagery with text can evoke such emotion that sometimes the written word can't do.

I haven't been in the craft room that much lately. Work has been crazy (more on that later). However I have been doing a few things round the house. I made these snazzy pillows as part of the last Iron Craft Challenge.

I also decided to add some greenery into the house. The last few weeks we've gotten some Spring teases but its still to cold for gardening. So I decided to bring the outside in and I made some planters. I found the planters at the Dollar store and I jazzed them up a bit. Then I raided Home Depot for some house plants. It dawned on me that we don't have any houseplants at all! So We needed something! I put them in the dinning room, because it needs some sprucing.

I know Summer is still a few months off, but not for librarians. We started to organize and plan for the summer and it is a pretty daunting task. Some exciting things are happening and I love the theme this year: Fizz, Boom: Read! We are going to do some fun science-y things and I'll be sure to tell ya all about them! 

Friday night I got to channel my inner Katniss with an archery lesson. For Christmas Tim got me a voucher good for a lesson and an hour of shooting time at the Smith Point Archery Range. It something I've wanted to do for a while and it was a lot of fun. I did archery in High School and I guess some of it stuck with me, because I did pretty good with a few bulls-eyes! The instructor was a really awesome crotchety old man who was impressed. I think I might be investing in a bow. 

Iron Craft # 5 - A is for ....

So I've take a bit of a break from the last few Iron Crafts, but I am back! 

This time around the challenge was called, 'A is for...' Crafters were given to task to do something either inspired by the alphabet or something that begins with the letter A. One thing I love about these Iron Craft Challenges is that they are open to interpretation. So I went with A is for applique! 

I recently got the fabric blade for my silhouette machine. I was excited to be able to put it to good use! It was incredibly easy to use and the results are pretty amazing. 

This challenge was coincided with distaste for my couches throw pillows. I was sick of them so I decided to make a few new ones. I wanted to make one featuring my two favorite dopes, Gyspy and Bmo. I also made one featuring a stag head, I just think its an image that looks cool. 

I still have two more pillows to replace. I've got a few ideas of what I can do, I'll be sure to tell you all about it. 

Spring, sprang, sprung!

So I have been enjoying the first days of Spring! One the first day I kept singing this song from Willy Wonka as I went for a wonderful walk around the block. Gyspy was very excited to go exploring in the  Spring time air.  Then we had snow for the next few days which was certainly NOT COOL! 

Aside from nice weather time, a few different things have been going on. I have been working on updating our living room pillows. The pillows were kind of blank so I decided to spiffy them up a bit. I used the freezer paper stencil technique and made some arrows and chevron patterns. What do you think? 

After making some pillows, I started working on a new bag. I used some techniques learned from Craftsy and came up with this fancy bag. I like how it came out, however I have to make the from pockets taller. It also features an interior pocket and a TARDIS. This is part of a new line I am working. Its for the fashionable professional geek. Fun fact, I used one of Tim's dress shirts to making the lining. 

I learned this past week that I was featured on the Crafts for Kids blog, woo hoo ! Thanks to them for featuring my Sharpie Mug tutorial.  Speaking of being featured, I was also excited to see that one of my bowties made it on a treasury list called Primarily Yours. My crafts are getting around! 

I also did something kind of crazy, I signed up for a 5k.....thats a muddy obstacle course.... and I'll be trying to escape zombie hoards. Yeah you heard that right, ZOMBIES! Its Matt's birthday and this is how we are celebrating. Our team is called Z.E.U.S. (Zombie eradicating utility squad) and hopefully we can escape the grips of walkers! Yeah I don't know what I was thinking but its too late now but hopefully this forces me into some healthier habbits. 

Harry Potter Crafts

Hello to all of my Harry Potter fans! The thing that really got me into knitting was my desire for a Gryffindor scarf with the scarelett red and yellow colors (because buying it meant paying a stupid ammount of money) So I taught myself to knitt (with a little help from my Aunt Marie).  Recently, with my love for Harry Potter re-energized (because of the last movie, going to the Wizarding World theme park, and my loveable nerdos Caitie and Kim) I felt it was time for a new scarf. So I made a lovely one for myself, then I made one for one of my nerdos. I also found some left over Harry Potter fabric I had since the Chamber of Secrets film came out. So I finally decided to use it and I made some pillows of the flying Ford Anglia.

Also after an amazing trip to the Wizard World theme park and my first sip of butterbeer... o-m-g. I could not live with out that stuff! So me and Tim made some we follow this recipie which came out really yummers. It's pretty much butterscotch, cream soda and amazing-ness.
Then I tried experiementing. I tried a hat, it came out ok. They were made with circular needles and it was allright but I didn't blow myself away, I'm not very good at hats. Then my fingers started to freeze in the artic tundra that the North East has turned into this Winter. My current gloves are cute fingerless ones that I love, but I needed something better. So I broke out the double pointed needles and came up with these!

My first successful attempt at glove/mittens and I did it using my own design! I have some ideas to make even more knitted gloves that aren't harry potter related. I am going to try and make Avatar:the Last Airbender gloves and perhaps even a 1 + up mushroom. I'll keep you updated on those (if they ever happen)
If you would like to be the proud owner of a pair of these beauties, then check out my etsy shop: Jip Ma Gip
If you like the gloves but not crazy for Gryffindor I can do any other color combos you'd like, contact me via etsy and we'll work something out.