Daily Ramblings - Meh!

I am a bad blogger.  I've actually had things to share in the last week or two, but haven't managed to take the photos off my camera due to a major lack of space on my computer. 

My trusty Dell, purchased sometime circa 2004, is finally at the end of it's time.  I have about 12GB of space left on the hard drive, which just isn't going to get anybody very far!  We do have a secondary hard drive that we were planning on plugging in, but husband says there's some issue with the connectors which means no expansion for me.  So, instead, we decided it's time for a new machine and purchased a new desktop over the weekend - we just haven't set it up yet.  So, while I would love to share with you the amazing crock pot recipe for pulled pork, it may mean waiting a few more days. 

In the meantime, I'm excited that Instagram is now on the Android platform (and I'm sure they're excited that they were just bought by Facebook for $1Billion!)  I think that non-iPhone users have seen this floating around for a long time and wanted to be allowed to play.  I haven't had a chance to do much with it yet, but I suspect I'm going to enjoy it. 

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me during this gigantic blogging blip.  There's good stuff to come!

Daily Craft - A small project to start

While I'm trying to ease back into regular life after all the March madness (and I'm not talking basketball), I finally got around to making something this weekend.  Granted it was small and really didn't take long, but it felt good to sit back at the sewing machine and actually create.  Ah creation, how I have missed you.

The item in question is a door muffler, requested by my sister-in-law for the youngest nephew's nursery.  Husband took one look at it and demanded to know what the hell it does.  The concept is that this little padded piece of fabric ties onto the doorhandles, preventing the latch from clicking.  I tested it, and it does indeed work - plus it's cute and decorative.  Once I figured out the order of the fabric sandwich (which is always the hard part for me), it was quick to make - plus it's a great scrap buster!  I may consider this something to include with baby shower gifts in the future. 

In Memory - Poppy (1924-2012)

The last week has been an incredibly tough one with the passing of my husband's grandfather.  Although he was my grandfather through marriage, from the moment I met him about 14 years ago, he treated me as one of his own.  I've never known anybody with such a love of life.  He always had a sparkle in his eye and excitement at everything the world had to offer him.  He took every opportunity to tell one of his jokes, which we'd all heard a million times before...but now instead of groaning at hearing the jokes again, we'll wish that he were here to tell them to us one more time.

I will always remember Seymour (or Poppy as we called him) for his infectious laughter, keeping his sense of humor right until the end. He also loved to eat, enjoying his glass of ale with every dinner that I can recall sharing with him! Most of all, however, I always respected the love he had for grandma.  Even while in the hospital one of the last times I saw him, grandma asked him what he wanted, and he quite simply answered "you".  Above all else, their love is truly an inspiration.

Seymour Burrell
1924-2012

This week has been a week of mourning but, at the same time, it's impossible to think of him without smiling.  Sitting with my husband's family and talking about him has left us laughing out loud at the memories and I can't think of a better way to honor his life and spirit.

Our pain is in the measure of our blessing.  What we have lost 

is a reflection of how we have loved.  They return to us, our

beloved, in flashes of memory, in moments of sweet, anguished

recollection.  We remember the smile and grieve that it is gone.

We will never again touch the hand that guided us, or sought 

us out.  Still, would we wish never to have known that hand, 

never to have seen that smile?  God has given.  God has taken 

away.  Our pain is the measure of our blessing.

- Rabbi David Wolpe

Daily Craft - Yarnbombing FTW!

Somebody on Ravelry posted a link to this today and it was just too good not to share.  Not sure if any of you are familiar with the concept of "yarn bombing".  It's essentially a crafty twist on graffiti and street art.  Instead of the medium being paint or chalk, yarn bombing involves wrapping knit pieces onto public items - trees, railings, benches, statues etc. 

Of everything I've seen so far though, this Olympic themed yarn bombing that's just popped up in the U.K. really takes the gold medal!  This piece is 150 ft long and represents the various Olympic sports, each with their own knit athlete.  The sheer detail that has gone into this is quite incredible, and even more amazing is that it was left there anonymously!  I know it takes me a couple of weeks to find the time to finish up a 5ft scarf, so either this was one incredibly talented and dedicated individual, or there is some kind of knitter conspiracy that I would love to know about! 

I highly recommend checking out the full article for more detailed photographs.  I hope they find a way to preserve this so it can be enjoyed by many for years after the London Olympics have come and gone.

Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

Daily Ramblings - So neglectful!

I really do feel like I've been horribly neglectful of my blog readers recently.  2012 has proven to be positive in many ways, but it certainly hasn't given me an over-abundance of time.  It's times like these that I'm glad I decided not to set myself a ton of new year resolutions - I blinked and it's March, and I've done a lot but strangely feel like I've not accomplished enough!

A quick rundown of the highlights from last week.  I finally started posting some new jewelry items in my shop.  For example, I found these donut beads a while back and immediately knew I wanted to present them with cord.  I really like how they turned out, and each bead is so unique!  I also changed the backgrounds for my jewelry photography.  The plain white wasn't highlighting the pieces in the way I wanted to show them, so found a really cool pack of metallic scrapbooking papers to use instead.  I also got another order of beads and findings from Artbeads.com, which I hope to start working with soon.  I see stitch markers being available some time in the future.


I missed Foto Friday again, but I've still been keeping up with my photography project. Here's a couple of my personal favorites from last week.

From the brilliant (if not slightly deranged) mind of my co-worker, Randy. 
He makes amazing rock sculptures, which I just had to photograph and share!

A photo from a poetry book I had at my parents' house. 
I think the illustrations are beautiful and hope to pass this down to my own kids some day.

Then, this weekend, I did an engagement photo shoot for some friends of mine - Marcy & Kent. Marcy rides horses, so we decided to go with a horse themed shoot, and spent the afternoon at Sullivan Canyon - one of L.A.'s little secret spots with beautiful trails to walk and check out the houses of the rich and (potentially) famous.  Then it was off to Santa Monica to catch the last few minutes of sunlight before the sun set on the horizon. We were lucky to have such a beautiful SoCal day. If anything, there may have been a little TOO much sun on occasion, if that's even possible! You can check out the entire set of photos here.


I have so many things that I want to get started on, and I'll find the time at some point (I hope). How has your 2012 been so far? Don't forget to take time to breathe!

Daily Craft - Candy Corn Socks

Excited to have finished knitting these socks yesterday, before becoming engrossed in the Oscars.  I had originally bought this yarn (Lion Brand Sock Ease) to make my cardigan but it didn't take me long to realize that the patterning just wasn't going to work out and the cardigan would be better suited to a solid color.  That left me with the ball of yarn to do what was originally intended - make socks!

I opted for a basic sock pattern so as not to muddy the candy corn looking stripes.  I think Lion Brand somewhat missed with naming the colorway "toffee" seeing as the darker grey mixed with the orange, yellow and white really reminds me of Halloween.

The only adjustment I made to the knitting pattern was to shorten the length of the sock so that they sit at the ankle.  I'm not a fan of longer socks, and I live in Southern California where socks aren't really needed most of the year anyway.  I'm also pretty bummed that I broke one of my DPNs finishing up the second sock.  I can still work with a set of 4 in that size though.

It's been such a long time since I knit socks that it was nice to get my sock mojo back...even if we're heading into spring and open toe weather again.

Daily Art - Foto Friday (Week 7)

Last full week of February already?  I'm almost thankful for the extra day this month, given how quickly the year seems to be moving along.  I have been diligently carrying my gigantic purse around, with gigantic camera in tow.  I hope I'm not giving myself back-ache, although I guess that could be a useful way to get a massage out of husband.  This week I was happy to have gotten out and about a little more with my photos as a result though - even if I started a trend last weekend which involved snapping pictures while sitting in the car (although at least the car was stopped).  I also got a chance to check out the wide-angle lens that I've been coveting (thanks to my friend Holly).  Now I'm really trying to justify a $479 lens purchase.  Photography - a habit that is more expensive than buying yarn.