The Difference $1.19 Makes

After finally buckling down (and gluing for what seemed like days), I finished the Great Grey Owl costume. Just in time for the Halloween party last Saturday night. Well, actually, we were an hour late. We would have been even later, but I 'edited' the costume and saved myself loads of time and burnt fingers by cutting off the sleeves. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. :)

I probably would have had more time if I hadn't made the hat twice. Why twice? The first version was 'ok'....

but to me, it wasn't 'owly' enough. So I dug through my stash and discovered this lost treasure:

 It's a super-thin fuzzy yarn that added the perfect amount of texture to the original yarn. Not bad for $1.19!

Here's the finished beanie with the owl's facial features:

And my inspiration, a truly gorgeous creature:

I have to reshoot photos of the entire costume. My model has already gone to bed.

Catching Up, Part II

Looking back at past posts, I have realized that I never shared the finished Domo hat in action. So here it is (as modeled by DS4):

And who doesn't love Domo, anyway!

Right now I'm creating another sock monkey hat -- this one for DS4's Halloween costume. If there's enough time, I'll make one for me also, since he has requested that I be his "sock monkey mama" and who can resist a request like that! Not me!

DS3 has challenged me to make him an owl costume for Halloween, and not just any ol' owl either, specifically a Great Grey Owl. I'm not exactly sure how I will pull this off, but here's the base for the owl hat (Vanna's Choice yarn in Grey Marble):

After the Halloween costumes, I hope to finish this scarf:

It's a Missoni-inspired long chevron scarf in many, many shades of blues and greens (Sugar 'n Cream cotton yarn). I'm not positive but I think there are about a dozen different colors in this.

And just for fun, here's a little pennant flag banner in beautiful autumn colors (Heart & Sole yarn in Tequila Sunrise):

 As soon as I block this, I'll use it to decorate a mirror in our entryway. I'm considering making another one in winter holiday colors for a tiny tree. If. There's. Time. :)

Catching Up, Part I

I really can't believe how neglected my blog is. I'm pretty sure that earlier this year, time stomped on the gas pedal and is now hurling by at light speed.

It's October, and we've just begun the 7th week of school. DS4 has started kindergarten, which you think would mean that I have loads of extra time, but in fact, it seems the exact opposite is true. Our two youngest are both at the neighborhood elementary school, and our oldest two are in high school, but they attend different schools. They were both accepted into magnet schools, just not the same one. The sad realization came to me the other day that this is the last year that any of my boys will be at the same school at the same time. Next school year, I'll have 4 sons at 4 different campuses (and I'll be pulling my hair out, I'm sure!).

Here are my guys on the first day of school:

DS4 was beyond excited as we walked to school on the first day. (His backpack got heavy though, so Dad carried it most of the way.)

Now we're full swing into our school schedule. DS1 just finished a production of Arsenic and Old Lace with his high school theatre department. He also had theatre camp before school started that ended with a showcase featuring skits written and performed by the students. He has a thespian convention in December, and the theatre department has chosen the musical for the Spring performance with auditions coming this month. Oh yeah, and he's going to China for Spring Break.

DS2 is busy getting used to his new high school schedule. He's a freshman at the science/engineering magnet school in our district. The curriculum is rigorous to say the least.

DS3 has been keeping up with a crazy schedule. He's taking violin lessons twice a week before school, and he sings in the choir every Wednesday. Plus he and DS4 have started weekly gymnastics lessons. They love it! Me? I'm surrounded by lots of leotard-clad girls. It's a little bit of culture shock. :)

This ends part one of the update. Next time, I'll fill you in on the news of the crafty sort.

Summer Happenings

Dear Summer, you are passing too quickly. Please slow down so I may enjoy more time with the boys before the hectic pace of school/activities/theatre/gymnastics? start again. Kthxbai. Love, Me.

We've been so busy this summer. At least summer school is over. DS1 and DS2 are both happy about that. :)

We try to go bowling at least once a week. The boys are all getting better, and I've managed to keep my form too. Ha.

We've had lots of family visits. Cousins:


And we've been hanging out at the ranch:



And we celebrated DS4's 5th birthday with lots of friends:

(16 kids and everyone's eyes are open! Ha.)

I have managed to finish a blanket that I made for my younger niece A. She loved the colors; like me, purple is her favorite!

I have lots more plans for summer; just hope I don't run out of time!

Cousins Reunion, Part II

A week ago, I spent a long weekend in Alma, Colorado with my sisters and my girl cousins. This is the second time we've met to catch up and hang out. (First time was last summer in San Antonio.) Sadly, because of family and work obligations, three cousins were missing this time around. :(


This is the six of us on the last morning in Colorado. ^^ I'm on the bottom right side, wearing my blue tunic that I finished just in time for the trip. Talk about motivated!

We stayed at my uncle's beautiful log cabin (thank you, Tom and Rosie!), cooked, laughed, played games, and went sightseeing. Alma is located a few miles south of Breckenridge.

We went bowling in Fairplay -- just 8 lanes and most people went to the bowling alley for the tamales! We had a blast!

This is me at the Continental Divide:

Til next year, Gonzales Girls!

Love.

Mavericks Win!

Congratulations to my team, the Dallas Mavericks for winning the NBA championship for the first time in franchise history!

Proof I went to the first game ever with my father and my brother:

Every person at opening night received a commemerative coin made by Corrigan's, a local Dallas jewelry store. The Mavericks beat the San Antonio Spurs by 11 points on the 11th of October, 1980. (Told you I was a number freak!)

Hard to believe it was 30 1/2 years ago. Clearly I was just a toddler then. :)

It's Summer!

Why does this son look soooo happy?

It was the last day of 4th grade, and I pulled him out early to go have lunch with his grandparents! He will enjoy only a week off until his 2-week science camp starts on June 14.

While I usually only craft with yarn, every once in a while, I venture into paper crafting. I wish I could say I was particularly good at it. For a teacher gift, my friends and I (we have children in the same class, and we are the Class Moms) made a pot with paper flowers that held gift cards and notes from the students.



The idea came from Disney's Family Fun website, but we took it a step further. We used a longer pot to allow for more flowers. We also used styrofoam covered with moss instead of including a real plant. One thing I would have done differently is to make the spirals on the stems a little larger and a little 'looser' to allow for the double thickness of card stock.

Ms. A really enjoyed reading all of the notes!

Americana

Nothing says "americana" like red, white, and blue stars!

This is 48 stars in 2 different sizes that I just made for a special order. They will be sewn onto striped baby hats! I can't wait to see how they turn out -- I'll be sure to share photos.

PS If you'd like your own red, white, and blue stars (or any other color), visit The Lavender Ladybug. :)

Another WIP Begun

Besides keeping up with my Etsy shops and working on items for The Little Black Box, I managed to make a cute little seal and ball for DS3's 10th birthday. The pattern for the seal came from Easy Crochet Critters by Leisure Arts. (DS3 wants an entire zoo of amigurumi animals!)

I've also started a blanket for DS4. He's my summer baby so I hope to be done by July, when he turns 5. (!) It's Cotton-Ease yarn in stripes of Lime, Violet, Stone, Seaspray, Almond, Cherry, and Maize.

While working up the color combination for the blanket, I was intrigued by this trio (Seaspray, Almond, Cherry):

I quickly put the blanket aside to stitch up a long, skinny scarf in this cute combination. As soon as it's photographed, I'll be listing it at The Lavender Lizard.

New Holiday Embellishments

You may remember that I'll be the September sponsor for The Little Black Box. Well, awhile back, the owner of TLBB, my friend Milly, told me that TLBB will have a themed box for July and asked me to participate (as The Lavender Ladybug, which is my supplies shop). The theme is Make it Yourself Christmas in July, and it will feature (but not be limited to) handmade supplies.

With that in mind, here's a sneak peek at what I'm working on:

(tiny gold metallic star)

(tiny holiday tree)

I also hope to create snowflakes, silver stars, and white stars. Be sure to check The Lavender Ladybug because these designs will also be available there.

May the 4th....

Be With You.

In honor of Star Wars Day, I post this:

Wow, my refrigerator is heavily guarded. And someone has managed to disarm Wicket and the Clone Trooper. Hmmm...dark forces abound. :)

Have You Seen Me?

I found these limited-edition Taco flavor Doritos a couple of weeks ago at Super Target. I was lucky enough to snap a photo before the family emptied the bag (ok, so I helped....a little). It was a blast from my childhood that I really enjoyed and now crave once more.

P.S. I knew I should've grabbed all 3 bags! :(

Hmmm, if only someone would make Marathon candy bars again....

Blue and More Blue

My Doris Chan tunic project is sloooooowly coming along...

I love the way the pattern makes a slight change for the fitted waist. It's so subtle that it doesn't look like it changes at all. The sign of a great design. :)

Here's a color inspiration from a recent trip to the zoo. Love the turquoise and royal blue and brown together! (Hey, that's almost the same royal blue as the tunic!!)

"Are you lookin' at me?"

Spring Break

Spring Break! Yay! Sleeping in, hanging out with the boys, and not being on anyone else's schedule --- heaven!

Haven't done quite as much crocheting as I had hoped, what with cleaning out closets and rooms. But I did manage to start a new project that's just for me:

It's a Doris Chan design (you know, one of my faves) from the City Crochet book by Tahki Stacy Charles.

I've already pulled out rows and had to make an adjustment due to fit, but I sure do like how it's turning out. Can't wait to wear it (and show you the finished project)!

Peace...

Peace.

My wish for all of the world,

where men fight men,

men fight nature,

and little babies in heaven have never known the safety of a loving family.

:'(

New Listings and a Little Shamrock

I spent this past weekend listing 4 brand new scarves at The Lavender Lizard. They're all long and cozy and colorful. Here's my very favorite of the bunch (the pink lemonade stripe scarf):

Today I listed a brand-new color set of lip balm holders. The colors are a limited edition, as such I won't be creating very many of these sets.

I also took tons of photos of other new listings that were created with the new yarn I recently purchased. Over the next few days, I hope to edit and post these (as life and time and boys allow.) A sneak peek is definitely called for:

In the midst of all this "new", I made a belt just for me. Love all of the colors so much, plus it coordinates so well with so many colors (turquoise, navy, white, hot pink....)

And I had a little time to create this shamrock embellishment. A friend asked for these so her mother could embellish a quilt. They're so cute that I may just list them at The Lavender Ladybug.