Away Again

Alas, work travel is here again. This time I am jetting off to Montreal.

Hope to post new projects when I get back on Tuesday!

Birthday Highlights

Napoleon is Jealous of the Birthday Gifts for Me!

I had a really nice, low-key birthday spent with my husband this year. I wanted to take the time to thank all of my wonderful friends and family who thought of me. I absolutely adored everyone’s cards and gifts. I have so many things to oogle over the weekend, including cool items from Japan, new jewelry and makeup, Amy Butler towels, and books on vegetarianism. Man, so many people know my interests!

Yummy Confections from Betty's Speakeasy

Steve surprised me with cupcakes and fudge from Betty’s Speakeasy, located in South Philly. We split several specialty cupcakes which were delicious! My favorite was the black velvet cake cupcake. So rich and delicious!

My New Vintage Prints

I also received two framed vintage prints from my mom, which she purchased on her cousin’s Etsy site, sylly123. And my mom finished the fingerless gloves for me. I picked out the yarn at Crafty Planet in May and am in love with my new accessory!

Fingerless Gloves Knit by Mom

I am grateful to have such wonderful and caring people in my life and hope that I can reciprocate their thought and generosity at their birthdays.

Deadlines

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

The holidays are coming.

Maybe it is because the week-long business trip I have been anticipating for some time is over or because the Thanksgiving issues of Martha and Vegetarian Times arrived today, but all of a sudden I realize that we’re in the countdown to holidays. And, as a crafter and DIY-er I have to begin making some choices about how to use my time.

I am already completely set for Halloween, since I finished my new decoration (the table runner) a few weeks ago. But now I have to finish my Thanksgiving runner, put together my leaf garland, and begin thinking about holiday gifts. Why didn’t I start doing all of this in July when I first thought of it?

One of the biggest challenges as a crafter is accepting how much time you have to complete projects. I would love to make awesome, handmade decorations and gifts for everyone, but that is seriously not possible. So I think I’ll pick a few nice gifts to make for select people and enjoy shopping at local stores for others’ gifts. I don’t want to ruin my holiday season by overdoing the DIY. After all, I am hosting my whole family for Thanksgiving and traveling to Idaho for Christmas. Oh, and there’s still a business trip to Montreal on queue.

On that note, I better begin making my list of handmade gifts and plan some time in my schedule to get them done!

Home Sweet Home

I walked in the door of my house a few hours ago after a long travel day. I just spent my fourth year at the annual international book fair in Frankfurt, and boy am I exhausted! But it feels amazing to be home and sometimes it is good to be forced away from home, as it helps me not take my cozy and nearly perfect life for granted.

I was able to get to a few projects while I was away and look forward to posting some pictures of my journey and projects later this week. But for now, I am going to catch up on my television shows that I missed last week, watch some football and baseball, and spend some quality time with my husband and cats.

Take Me Away!

In a few hours, I will be on the plane headed to Frankfurt, Germany, for the annual book fair. This is my fourth trip over to Frankfurt, so I know the routine well. While it seems like traveling to a foreign country (especially in Europe) would be a blast, I often find myself counting the days left since I am by myself and without my husband and cats.

However, the work portion of my trip is somewhat exciting and this year I have thought long and hard about what projects to bring on the trip to occupy my time. I am packing several knitting projects, books, DVDs, and magazines. Plus, I’ll have my computer when I am over there so I’ll be able to blog regularly. Hopefully I can even upload some pictures while I am there!

Fall Foliage

I had the good fortune to spend four years in Ithaca, New York, as a college student and savor the beautiful fall foliage of the Northeast United States.  As a lover of fall, I felt that I had finally made it when I arrived in Ithaca for my first semester. I had a view high atop South Hill, where I could see gold, red, orange, and brown leaves for miles lining Cayuga Lake.

My Fall Leaves (From Felt)

Now that I’ve been in Pennsylvania for some time, the leaves are still beautiful but do not have the magic of the leaves in Upstate New York.

Thinking of the changing colors of fall, I decided to do a craft project that helps me remember my days in Ithaca. I am making a fall leaf banner, thanks to an idea on Ohdeedoh posted a few years back. I even used the template linked on the post to Martha Stewart’s leaves.

I am excited to use my Heather Bailey felt. I’ll post more pics of the finished garland in the coming weeks.

Sew & Stow & Other Happenings

The Inside of My Supply Case

In addition to my Halloween Table Runner, I finished another project this weekend: a supply case for all my sewing essentials. I am preparing to travel frequently in the coming months, so it is important that I have the proper travel accessories to bring my crafty projects along. I saw this cute and practical supply case on One Pretty Thing, who found it via Crafster.org. The easy, step-by-step pattern can be found here.

The Supply Case All Rolled Up!

In other happenings, I have several new projects underway and have a few busy weeks ahead of me:

• I can’t wait for my Heather Bailey felt to get here so I can start a few fun and festive projects;
• I have gone a little yarn crazy and am knitting scarves like there is no tomorrow;
• I am leaving for Frankfurt for a week on Monday;
• my birthday is two weeks away from today;
• I am seeing my BFF in three weeks!

Also, there have been a lot of not-so-nice things going on, so please keep Emily & her broken foot, Sharon & her mom, and all those unemployed who are looking for work in your thoughts. But on a cheerful note, congrats to our friends Sam & Charissa who told us they are expecting. Lots of excitement for them!

Fun Weekend & New Projects

Though it’s Wednesday night, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the wonderful weekend I spent with my mom. Since we live 2,000 miles away from each other, spending four days together is a real luxury.

While she was here we shopped, ate, and laughed. Some of the highlights were touring Peddlers’ Village in Bucks County, PA, buying items at my local fabric and yarn stores, and eating out, including at the City Tavern in Center City. I felt like I was on a staycation with her, enjoying the fun local activities available in the Philadelphia area. She also enjoyed drinking beers from Yards brewery with my husband, as they just released their Ales of the Revolution bottles.

My First Knitting Project in Several Months

While we visited and relaxed, I got started on several new projects. I’ve started knitting again in preparation for my week-long trip to Frankfurt, where I’ll need something tactile to do. Since I haven’t been too interested in knitting in some time, I was completely oblivious to the totally awesome website Ravelry. I also purchased fabric and corresponding patterns for pajamas. I hope to stitch up some pjs before the end of the year, but, unfortunetly, I am not in time for the PJ sew-along on Sew, Mama, Sew! But thanks to that website for getting the project idea in my head!

Last Stand

I finished my last yo-yo pillow. While I still love the project, I am ready to move on to other patterns.

Another Yo-Yo Pillow

The humidity is over here and it looks like a perfect weekend to host my mom! Can’t wait for some good times.

Human vs. Cat

Napoleon Snoozing Away

I took this picture a few weeks ago and can’t believe I haven’t shared it yet. This is Napoleon and/or Abe’s cat bed. At night. When I am sleeping.

That’s right, I don’t even have a pillow most nights when I sleep. That’s because the pillows are the cats’ beds. Shouldn’t I know better?