Holiday Round-Up

Can I just say how very glad I will be to get on the bus tomorrow afternoon?  6:10pm, baby – I’m outta here!!  Twelve days in beautiful Rangeley Maine with the Family.  The Big Guy will be joining us for New Years.  Besides lots of sleeping and eating, there’s skiing, snowshoeing, working out at the amazing fitness center (yoga!), maybe renting a snowmobile for a day and doing some sightseeing, ice-skating, and copious amounts of warming alcohol to be consumed.

This holiday season has been particularly insane, but the upside is that an insane life means a great deal of blog fodder to share with you so let’s get started!

There are a ton of FO’s to share (FO = Finished Object for the non-crafters).

The winter warmers came out great and have received praise from the Roommates.  I don’t get into my bed without it!  How I ever lived without one of these beauties is beyond me.

the woodsy ones are for Mom, the pink are for gifts

The first “real” sewing project concluded on a lucky half day.  HBS, like many businesses last Friday, decided to close early and send all non-essential staff home. (Librarians?  Non-essential?  I think not, but it’s not a point I’m about to take up when it means a paid half day.)  Anyways, I had a lovely free afternoon which I spent very happily at the sewing machine, finishing Mom’s Christmas present …. a brand new adjustable apron to match her new kitchen.

Wine = fuel for all creativity

Side Note: why, on God’s green earth has it taken me this long to discover the wonder and awesomeness of Instructables?!?!  Someone take away my crafter’s card.  I am not worthy.

Since most of New England was completely snowed in all weekend, I also had plenty of time, along with the help of Dexter, Season 3 and Mad Men, Season 1, to finish the  Striped Scarf from Brooklyn Tweed.  (Details of the project on Flickr and Ravelry).

Apologies for the lame-ass modeling job, but I wanted SOMETHING to put up, even if it was the dorkiest pic of me EVER.  I’m thinking of running a seminar for The Roommates on “How to Take Pictures of Handknits.”  Anyways, here’s the finished scarf:

Keeping warm!

So, while the weather was doing this:

So glad this isn't my transportation

… I was tucked away, working on the above projects, wrapping presents, doing web work for Dad (making it snow on his WP blog was awesome!), stumbling through the blizzard-like conditions to get to yoga, stumbling back out for the Boston Pops holiday concert, and having one of the best and busiest weekends ever!  The weather outside may have been frightful, but the weekend was delightful.  (I’m still ready for vacation though!)

The reward

Holiday Crafts & Gifts: Winter Warmers

Every holiday, I try to make as many handmade gifts as possible and time allows.  It usully end up in a race against time. The best example of this — two years ago I knit a pair of mittens for my Mom while sitting behind her on a flight to Germany.

This year I’m in much better shape.

A Dose of Random

Random picture of Brother and his roommates

There have been all kinds of interesting links coming in through the Google Reader lately, so I thought a weekly round-up of things interesting, odd, helpful, or humorous might be in order.

• How to decorate big wallspaces without blowing your budget from JC Penny (random source, very cool site.)

• The nation of Tuvalu will soon be underwater.  Photographer Shuuichi Endou took 10,000 pictures before the island disappears.  Link from Treehugger.

• From EKW, a great link from Craftster on first projects for new crafters.  [Note: My sewing machine is already booked through the month of December with projects for my Mom.  I'm think she's more excited about me having the machine than I am because she knows I'll use it and can make things for her.]

• Finally!  A group that recognizes women like and appreciate dark beer!

• Interweave Press announces the launch of Stitch magazine, a hip new magazine for those of us who are sewing-inclined.  (What are people called who sew?  Sewer (ew!)? Seamstress?  Stitcher? Crazy Person?)  Link from Craftzine.

• And to wrap it up, from one of my favorite blogs, Zen Habits, a great guest post on decluttering and living simply, which just so happens to be one of my favortie topics.
  [Note: I adore Zen Habits and I can't believe I haven't linked here yet.  Many apologies Leo!]

Sew What?!

It's old but not that old

New crafty-hobby here I come!  As of this Thanksgiving, I’ll be bringing home to Essex Street a beautiful old Singer sewing machine!  Originally my mother’s as a young girl, this machine is solid as a rock and weighs about as much.  After Thanksgiving it will be coming home with me and PUT TO WORK!    I can’t wait!

All the excitement leads me to a few questions for the great, wide world:

1) Are there any sewing blogs out there that you like?

2) What about print books/guides?

3) What should I make first?!?!?!