Warm Ears for Atticus

Christmas Day brought a big snow and a bunch of cold. Atticus was aghast there were no warm hats in the house... none with ear flaps anyway. So I searched Ravelry for a pattern and he picked from the projects of other knitters... luckily, I had the right colors in the right wool... so... voila... warm ears for Atticus.

Pom-pom Love

As if this scarf isn't bad enough on its own... just wait till I make Tank (HimsMostPretty) a matching sweater for our pretty walks.

Hillbilly Gnome

Gnome moved to the Ozarks and now has officially become a Hillbilly. He seems to really like his new home. My folks are happy to have Hillbilly Gnome move in... as long as he doesn't start smoking a corn cob pipe.
Hillbilly Gnome (Yuletide Gnome) is an Alan Dart pattern. I altered the knitting to be done completely in the round. I used notes from other knitters on Ravelry, and the best tutorial was from JoyKnitCrochet blog. (When you click on this link, be sure to scroll down to find the tutorials for the mittens and boots... really great info!!!) I think more gnome knitting is in my future... all six kids fell in love with Hillbilly Gnome!

Gnome

Can't seem to get a good picture of Gnome. He will be moving to the Ozarks soon. I think he will have some cousins that will be moving to New Jersey before Christmas if all goes as planned. You can't tell from this picture, but his beard is sparkly white. How is "sparkely" spelled, anyway? SPARKLEY???? Anyway, his beard has a sparkle that is very festive.

Scout and Boo Radley

We had a great time at the office party.

Julia Child had whipped up some delicious goodies... my favorite being the finger shaped cookies with almond fingernails... disturbingly delicious.


We caught up with the Cairo Superkids and though Mr. Arthur Radley was his usual quiet and timid self, I actually think he had a tremendous time.

Halloween Teaser

Let me just say, I have been working away the past few days on 1.) an "Ice Queen" costume and 2.) an Octopus costume. I promise photos as soon as I can.

Death and Birth

Sadly, this past week we lost a beloved uncle, and though the news was sad, the celebration of a funeral always brings our huge family together.

And on a happier note, I was able to finish a very funny felted Yoda hat for a soon-to-be born wee one. He will be born right around Halloween (if he is cooperative and if his mother is lucky.) I also made the wee one a pair of three-toed mitts which his dad was particularly fond of... (I forgot to take pictures.)

Souvenirs

It's been quite a long while since any of us here in Sloanville have been on a fabulous trip. Luckily, we have great friends who are well-traveled and have awesome taste in souvenirs.
Check out what we have raked in this summer... starting with this mug from Wall Drug.

In case you can't tell, it says "WHERE THE HECK IS WALL DRUG." Cool, huh?!!


And then we received this piece of cherry pie and bag of coffee from Twede's, made infamous by one of our favorite television shows of all time, "Twin Peaks."

If you are observant, you may have noticed that the cherry pie is missing from the photograph... well, it got consumed in a moment of excitement and enthusiasm before I realized that it should have been memorialized ... and yes, it was an amazing piece of cherry pie. We now understand Agent Cooper's praise of the pie. Note: Can't endorse the coffee, however, only because I can't bring myself to open the bag... it will live next to the unopened box of Hello Kitty Fortune Cookies which we have had for about 7 years, thanks to another friend with fabulous taste!

Lots of Knitting on the Needles

I am knitting like a Mad Lady these days. Actually, I am knitting like a mad, angry, "can't get to my knitting", frustrated lady these days. Hoping this will change. I have tons of things on the needles ranging from a darling baby bunting to a bear backpack for humans to more wonderful designs for Blythe.
The portrait of me and HimsMostPretty was drawn by Olivia a few years ago when she was 8 or 9. We both look about the same, though I am heavier and Tank has more gray hairs in hims furs. Okay, I have more gray hairs, too.

It's a Win Win Win at the Royals

Today we hung out at the Royals game and it was a lovely day...

Best Thing About the Day: Getting to hang out with my old friend, her friend (a new friend for me), and my husband.... a win, win, win situation.

Second Best Thing About the Day: We got the awesome ice cream filled Kansas City Royals batter's helmut that fits Bonnie B.C. pretty well.

Third Best Thing About the Day: The Royals actually won! It was a win, win, win kinda day!!!

Bonus Point: Got some knitting done, too.

Pep Rally at JC.Com Headquarters

I finally made my movie. Hope you enjoy it.

Lookie What I Won!

A couple of weeks ago, I entered a contest to name a newly customized Blythe doll on Embellishyourself Blog. My entry of the name Pepper won and I was able to choose a Blythe necklace... (note the darling mushroom necklace above!!??!!) It was a tough decision because I had been lusting after many of the lampwork bead necklaces for a long time. I plan to order some in the near future! Here's the awesome Etsy shop where you can get Blythe-sized handmade lampwork bead necklaces as well as People-sized ones. Dibs on the cupcake, the bunny, the black cat... (just sayin'!)
Read about the contest I won here.

Blythe's Back to School Bear Backpack

If you have to go back to school already, then you better have a Bear Backpack.
Blythe believes school shouldn't start till well after Labor Day.

At least she looks cool in her new knitted dress and her smart little Bear Backpack.

Blythe and the Jimmy Conrad Bobblehead Movie

A very special thing happened to me at the Kansas City Wizards office while waiting to purchase tickets. I saw this life changing miniature Kansas City Wizards jersey (made to suction-cup to a car window.) After shrieking something like "Oh my God... do you know how many hours of knitting this has saved me?" (and being met with blank stares from the admin), I promptly purchased 3 mini jerseys and sped home to try them on the Blythe dolls.

Not a perfect fit, but close enough... and with a little tailoring, it will be good to go.

Once the tailoring is complete and the sets built, I can start filming the Jimmy Conrad Bobblehead and Blythe stop-action movie I have had in my head for about 2 months now. I am so happy. Perhaps I need to get out more.

Porch Constellation

Now that the porch is clean enough to hang out on, the view from the couch is like a night sky. I hear it is in vogue to have a "staycation"... apparently, we've been avant-vogue for years now.

Blythe Dress Designs: Edith's Head

Bonnie is now modeling the finished "Grace Dress for Blythe". Still tweaking the pattern a bit.
Genevieve wanted the same dress, only using the self-striping yarn I had in my stash. Well, self-striping yarn and the top from the Grace dress don't mix so well, so a new design was born... doesn't have a name yet.
The mint green dress is knit from the bottom up... the ice cream striped dress is knit from the top down.
I feel like the Edith Head of doll dress design.

Okay, it was generous of me to label myself as the Edith Head of doll dress design, I know. Believe me, I am not channeling her in any way .... I'm just wearing her glasses.

The "Grace" Dress

Been dining on a lot of old movies lately. Hitchcock, Grace Kelley, and Cary Grant make a great combo plate. I suggest ordering yourself up a dish of "To Catch a Thief" or perhaps you're in the mood for a serving of Jimmy Stewart? May I suggest "Rear Window?" You'll be glad you tried it out. If you partake in either of these tasty morsels, then you will see the influence on my knitting for Bonnie B.C.. (Duh! those dresses Grace Kelley wore.) I hope to get the pattern written down and maybe for sale. It'll probably be called "The Grace Dress." Duh!

Faceless

This doll has been waiting and waiting and waiting for a face. Maybe she will have one by tomorrow. (let's all hope so.)

4th Of July = Corn On The Cob

In case you can't find your cute little corn holders... skewers work in a pinch. Happy 4th!

Herz and Hiz

We are both looking forward to spending time with our new history books this weekend.

Squares

Finished the deadline and mailed three "secret" squares for community projects that will go to two people I have never met. It's fun to knit a square, mail it, know that it is getting stitched together by a stranger...and that my square will be living next to other squares knit by strangers and then it gets mailed to another person who is going through struggles... and voila! group hug from people all over the country... right there in their mailbox. Pretty cool.

By the way... they really are square(ish). They just look funny cause I took the picture at an angle so as not to cause shadows...

Plastic

Last night I had trouble sleeping. My mind kept racing like Speed Racer... all about everything. Finally, I thought about how before you know it, you're long gone dead. I thought about how even after I would be long gone dead, my plastic stitch markers, plastic earrings and my plastic Blythe doll would still be around. That's why plastic stuff is so cool. Thinking about how cool plastic is made me happy and before long, I finally drifted off to sleep.

Do You Realize?

I just realized that two of the three dolls that were pictured in the previous post (and above) don't really belong to me. Edna and the Tippi Hedren Barbie are actually my husband's dolls. They were Christmas gifts from me. Duh...! I guess I love them as if they were my own.

Should I Admit...?

The older I get the more I like dolls. Especially the ones that might tend to scare children. Anyone have a Talking Tina from the Twilight Zone? Are you even alive to say you own one?

Less (on the pile) Is More!

Reducing the pile of unfinished projects means there are more on the finished pile. Here is the "cupcake set" for our neighbor Maddie who moved and an "orange hat" for Bonnie B.C. I plan to make more hats for preemie babies at Johns Hopkins and at a hospital here in KC. I hope to make lemon, lime and orange hats.

Pile of Parts

Perhaps this pile of project parts is why I feel so scattered. Everything is only partly ... partly sewn up, partly knitted, partly stuffed, partly embroidered. My plants are only partly potted. The laundry, partly folded. The house is fully filthy... hey wait! That's one thing to feel complete about! Yippppeeee!!!

The Best Thing About Bonnie B.C.

The best thing about Bonnie is she doesn't get embarrassed when all the neighbors stare while I take her picture out on the front porch steps.

Thanks to Netty

I have not met Netty in person, but I have met her on Ravelry, the knitting community of the universe. I must admit it was Netty's Blythe that I started stalking... and before I knew it, had fallen in love with a plastic dolly. Thanks to Netty and her fabulous knitting, I now have my very own Blythe named Bonnie B.C. (B.efore she met C.lyde). Netty has no idea what a hero she is.

Under the Weather (Bad Weatherly)

Been under the weather off and on for about a week and a half now. Don't really know what "under the weather" means. I think it would be better to say, "I've been feeling 'bad weatherly'".

Here is a link to my friend John Bergin's filmette on Youtube. It's called Nesting Grounds.
The picture above is a still from it.