Marker Boards and British Pilates...

So, continuing with my theme of making stuff out of old junk, I made these marker boards...


By the front door





Above my husbands desk



Daughter's room



School room

I just used old picture frames (make sure they have the glass still in them) and put decorative scrapbook paper and stickers in them.  Then, you write on the glass with dry-erase markers! 

I found the idea on this blog a while back.  If you make one, make sure that the paper you put in isn't too dark and the pattern isn't too busy, or you won't be able to see the marker.  You can put lined paper in there, too, so you can write lists easier.  Also, I found that the markers work best on the really slick, shiny glass.  A couple of these have some kind of finish on them that is supposed to keep down glare, but the markers don't seem to write on them as well.

With all the crafting and getting lost in the "big city" this week, I haven't had as much time for exercise.  So, today, I figured I'd get back to it.  I chose a different pilates workout on Netflix (I <3 Netflix, by the way).  I had never seen this pilates lady before and I found out she is British.  I'm not sure if I loved the workout.  It was one of those very calm... kind of sleepy... but at the same time making your muscles want to run away and die kind of routines.  Of course, everything sounds better if you say it with a British accent.  Also, for some reason, when I was done working out I had this strong urge to drink a cup of tea and watch a PBS mini-series!  Actually, I always have that urge, I'm weird like that!  :)     

Have a nice day (and go watch some British T.V., it's awesome)! 

Lost? I'm Not Lost!

So, haven't had much time to blog in the last couple days.  I had to go to Columbus yesterday (which is about 2 hours north of here) and on the way back I got on wrong exit and started heading north again!  I knew when it said "north to Cleveland" I was going in the wrong direction!

Like I said, though, I wasn't lost.  I knew exactly where I was, I just knew I wasn't supposed to be there!  I did get a very senic view of Downtown Columbus, though.  Oh, well.

So, this morning I found out one of my items was featured on the Blog "Crafty Saints"!

Thank you so much to the blog's author, Julie.  Here is a link to her Etsy shop, Collar Topia.

Maybe I will sell lots of stuff on Etsy so I can buy myself a GPS!  :P 

 

I Made It! Well, Actually, My Husband Did!

He made me the under-the-cabinet jar rack thingy (sorry, I know that's probably not the technical term for it) that I posted a link to a while back!  Here it is!



I know you can't see all of the labels, but we made a handy map (which I forgot to take a picture of) and taped it to the inside of the cabinet, in case we forget what's what and try to put cumin in the oatmeal instead of cinnamon!  I actually did that once, even before we made this!

My handy husband also made this...

It's a chalk-pan... pan-board... chalk-board-that-was-once-a-rusty-pan... oh well, you get the idea.  I'm not particularly clever with the names today!  Anyway, an old pan, a couple layers of chalk board spray paint and there you go.  It is supposed to say what is for dinner tonight, but I haven't gotten that far yet!  Oh, by the way, the smiley face was drawn by my daughter and that isn't a strange sea-monster trying to attack the board, it is my aloe plant!

Guest posts, slippers, and another treasury!

Ok, so first off go read my church's blog, http://www.lakesideworship.com/.  I was a "guest-blogger" today.  That's not why you should go read it.  It is a great blog!  I just wanted to share it. 

So, back to knitting.  I made slippers!  The most comfortable stinkin' slippers, ever!  (Ok, not actually "stinkin'", I hope).  Anyway, here they are...

They came from a book called, "Knitting Pretty" (yes, I actually followed a pattern this time)!  I know it looks like they are made from two different colored yarns, but the yarn is variegated and I haven't mastered the art of (or even attempted) making both slippers have the same pattern.  If you know a trick for that please let me know!

Oh, and of course, I am selling these on Etsy.  Well, not the ones on my feet, I like them too much, so I'm going to keep them!  I will make more, though.  I can make most sizes and colors.  I'm just not sure if I like having pictures of my ankles floating around in cyber-space for all the world to see.  :/  Oh, well.  The slippers are awesome!

Let's see... one more thing.  Another one of my items was featured in an Etsy treasury!  http://www.etsy.com/treasury/MTI0MDY2NDR8MjA0MzA4NTU3NA/my-love-for-knitting?index=1

Here is the item that was featured... http://www.etsy.com/listing/91636680/knitted-kindle-cover-with-hand?ref=tre-2043085574-15

And here is the shop of the girl who made the treasury... http://www.etsy.com/shop/StaceyLeighDesigns, her name is Stacey, by the way.

Go check them all out!





No time, so watch this...

No time to blog today, so here are a couple links from one of the funniest men on the planet...

Praying over food

Things You Don't Say To Your Wife

So, it's a little late...

Yep, I overslept.  I have a ton of really good excuses, but who cares.  We have officially taken a week off of school (because my daughter has been sick).  So, I guess I can get a little extra sleep.

Of course, that meant I didn't exercise today. 

For those of you who don't know me, except here in blog land, I want you to know I'm not usually the major fitness type.  It's just that when I realized I weigh more now than I did when I gave birth to my daughter (I mean before the birth, not after) and that eating entire packages of Oreos wasn't going to change that fact, I figured I should do something about it.

Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into a weight loss blog, or a me-telling-everyone-else-in-the-world-how-they-should-look blog.  Actually, the only time I mention it is when I am complaining about Skinny Pilates Lady.

Speaking of Skinny Pilates Lady, I think she is losing her mind.  She's starting to say the weirdest things.  I know she is just in my T.V. and she is pre-recorded (so, she says the same thing every time).  Maybe I am losing MY mind.  Hmm, how much does your brain weigh?  Maybe that's all I have lost so far!

Anyway, Skinny Pilates Lady keeps saying things like, "your core muscles are engaged" (I swear they should have been married by now.  Whoever this guy is, he must just be leading them on), and, "the breath is super-energized" (like putting the word "super" before something should make me really happy about it)!  Yesterday, though, I witnessed her craziest moment.  She actually said, "Take a minute to check in with your body". 

????

Check in with my body?  Is she afraid it got up and left?  Or maybe just part of it, like...

"Ok, check in with your body.  Are your legs still attached?  Were your legs attached when you started the exercise?  If they were attached at the beginning, and they are not attached now, you may not be stretching correctly.  Perhaps you need to go back to a level one.  See Sarah back here at level one (you know, the one on the walker with the oxygen), her legs are still attached..." 

Ok, maybe I have been thinking about this way too much.

So, to change the subject, on to knitting.  I had a really cool knitting encounter yesterday!  You see, usually when I go out and take my knitting (which is pretty much every time I go out), either people just try not to stare at the weird girl in the corner playing with her yarn, or sometimes they will ask what I am doing.  Sometimes, they are knitters or crocheters (or would like to be), so that leads to some pretty good conversations.

But, yesterday.  Yesterday, I had my daughter at her doctor's appointment and I was with her in the exam room waiting (and kintting, of course).  When the Doctor came in, I put my knitting away.  Now, I thought he might politely ask what I had been doing, but I didn't expect him to really care (or even know it was knitting, for that matter).  Well, he looked at my knitting bag and said, "Ooh, what are you making?  My sister-in-law (his brother's wife) is a knitter and she wrote a knitting book!  It was a best-seller on Amazon!"

Wow, wasn't expecting that!  So I looked her up and it looks like a really great book.  I guess she featured patterns from popular knitting bloggers (woo-hoo, knitting bloggers!  I love other people who love to knit so much that they can make an entire blog out of it!). 

Here is the book!

http://www.amazon.com/Brave-New-Knits-Personalities-Blogosphere/dp/1605295906#_

and here is her blog...

http://www.julieturjoman.com/blog/posts/

So, you never know what fun you might get into if you carry around a bag full of yarn!

Yes Sir, Yes Sir, One Bag Fulled!

Yeah, I know, it is supposed to be 3 bags... and they are supposed to be "full", not "fulled"... and it's actually more of a pouch than a bag... give me a break, its hard to be clever when you have a cold!

The pouch really is "fulled", though.  That's the technical term for what most knitters call "felting".  I guess real felting involves needles and a bunch of other things that just sound like too much work.  So, I "fulled" my little pouch.

Here is the before pic...

See how you can see the stitches fairly well and it was also very floppy and soft (which isn't usually a bad thing with knitted objects).  By the way, I forgot to mention, this is wool.  Fulling doesn't work on acrylic.  So, then I put it in hot water and swished it around for a while.  A long while, actually!  Apparently you can also do this with a washing machine.  Just imagine what happens to your wool sweaters when you wash them in hot water...  My Mom had a wool sweater once when I was 12.  My Dad washed it.   Then, I had a wool sweater just my size.  Enough said. 

I wonder what happens when sheep get too hot?  Anyway, back to my story...

Here is what it looked like after "felting" or "fulling"...

In case you can't see the difference, here are some close-ups...



Before





After

Much fuzzier and thicker.  It also keeps it's shape better.  I sewed a button on it.  By the way, the button and the yarn have a very special story, but you will have to go see the pouch on Etsy to read that!  http://www.etsy.com/listing/91883242/felted-wool-pouch-with-vintage-handmade

And here is the final picture of the little bag "fulled"!

 



http://www.etsy.com/listing/91883242/felted-wool-pouch-with-vintage-handmade