Musicians of Bremen & Knitting

Do you recall the Grimm Brothers' fairytale of  "The Musicians of Bremen"?  Need a refresher on the story?  Go here to read yourself a little bedtime story if you are so inclined.

Found this novelty and placed it in the bath to give visitors a laugh, or else wonder what in the world this was doing on top of the toilet!

 

According to most renditions of the Musicians of Bremen story, there was a cock, a hound, a cat and a donkey.  So a bit of literary license was taken by the crafter who put together the animals doing service as the musicians.  You could say there were several morals to the story, but I'll go with the one that speaks of not letting your imagination get away with the facts of the situation.

 



These alstroemeria are beauties that last two weeks if you regularly change their water.  The hub brought them home from the grocery store the other day.  He did a good job!

This ground cover is coming up in the back right now.  Aren't the little blue flowers pretty?  And grape hyacinths too!

 One of our first daffodils:

 

 

And finally, I finished that cowl called Leafy Wreath Cowl (pattern found here on Ravelry).

 

Looks like I was asking the husband a question, or scolding him.  Anyway, here is a close up of the cowl:

It hides a multitude of sins on that double chin!  It was a bit of a challenge knitting this up (cables and lace), but it feels soft on the skin and is warm to boot.  Yarn is by Quince & Co.  Details here.

Making Double Sided Napkins

Tiring of my used and chipped dinnerware, I replaced it with Fiestaware in a turquoise/bright blue.  Newly painted dining room and kitchen walls are in a light peach color.

And did I tell you how much I like the Behr paint with primer?  Why yes, I think I did back in a post here in January.  So more Behr was added to walls and baseboards, not only in the prior color of Indulgent Mocha but also in a peach color for the kitchen.  Thusly:

Now to go with these blues in my Angry Birds and Fiestaware, I needed coordinating cloth napkins.  (Yes, there is a trip to Good Will scheduled soon with used linens.)

This tutorial told me everything about sewing double sided napkins.  Thank you, FiberFantasies.

A few of the steps are here in print form.

 Peachy and turquois-y fabrics sewn together (squares were about 18" before seaming) and turned inside out.

Oops, I see a bit a thread that needs snipping 

The magnets were a gift from my sweet daughter Julie.  Don't they just add a bit of zing?  And just to mix it up a bit, stair-stepping fabrics for a unique one:

Fun to make, with just a bit of cursing involved in machine sewing.

Linking to Tami at Finished Objects Friday

A Knitted Sweater for Baby

There is a niece in the family who is ALL THINGS BRONCO. 

Not only is she a Bronco fan, but she is also in her third trimester of pregnancy with a BOY.

Bronco colors of orange and blue are pretty common in Colorado, home of the Broncos, but not so much elsewhere.  You would not think it so difficult to find orange and blue yarn, but it was.  I found some sock yarn from the Stray Cat Etsy store and it came in a cute orange box with a cat on it.
 

That baby boy, Jackson, will need a sweater next winter, so this pattern was the one chosen; got busy knitting with that self striping yarn from Stray Cat in New Zealand.

Accessories include grosgrain ribbon and buttons in coordinating colors:

Using the ribbon both behind the buttons on the button band and behind the button holes makes the knitted fabric more sturdy, stabilizing the buttons.

 This video explains in detail how to apply the ribbon.  It is on Vimeo, courtesy of Jasmin and Gigi of the Knitmore Girls.

Visual Featurette- Grosgrain Ribbon Tutorial from Jasmin & Gigi on Vimeo.

The top buttons, the ones that you actually see when looking at the garment buttoned up, are orange.

And the buttons on the bottom of the orange buttons, making the top buttons more secure, are blue:

 

 

Finished!

 

 

Enjoy, Baby Jackson, due June 5!

 

Linking to Finished Objects Friday.  And linking to Fiber Arts Friday.

 

Let's All Share One Tutorial

It is so much fun to learn something new.  And it is just as rewarding to teach others what YOU have learned. Most of my crafting, decorating, cooking and painting ideas and efforts have been taken from what others have already done; when the person has explained the process so others might take advantage of that knowledge it is even more fun.

The Challenge that Inspiration Avenue is presenting you this week is to share a video, or any "How-To-Do-It" method as it relates to just about any creative effort.  One of my favorite sites on the web is How TO Do Things (just about any and every thing is covered there with clear directions).  Also eHow is a good resource.  Any and all tutorials are welcome.

Here are a few tutorials to put the Challenge wheels in action:

Grosgrain Ribbon Tutorial on Vimeo by Jasmin and Gigi of the KnitmoreGirls:


Visual Featurette- Grosgrain Ribbon Tutorial

This tutorial shows how to make a watercolor chart.  Ian McKendrick did it so well!

source

Have you ever tried to paint on silk?  Betty the Wood Fairy shows a tutorial here:

complete tutorial on Betty's blog: http://betty-thewoodfairy.blogspot.com/2011/09/tutorial.html

Perhaps you might like to sew a double sided flannel baby blanket?  Look here for a tutorial from Nancy's Arts & Crafts. Two sided blankets make for easy play on the floor with baby, or as a nursing cover.

Maybe you or a friend has need for a comfy bra insert due to a mastectomy.  This tutorial is quite renown and is a free pattern from Crystal Palace Yarns.

 

Not quite so glamorous, but a constant annoyance to many of us, is when the "toilet runs".  Don't laugh. Don't get mad.  Instead go to this tutorial to learn how YOU can fix that flapper!

After the Challenge of the week is over, I plan on putting a listing of ALL shared tutorials on my blog sidebar.  The more the merrier!

Be sure to go over to Inspiration Avenue and share your tutorial and link up with Inspiration Avenue via Mr. Linky so we can all benefit from what you have found to be of interest.

What is Happening Today

1.  Corneal abrasion two weeks ago on Libby Sweetpea's right eye with emergency call visit.  Not healed yesterday, so 2nd vet visit.  A plastic lens on the eye to hold in strong antibiotics with an Elizabethan Collar of Shame that has to be worn for four days.  But OUCH, out came the plastic lens in the middle of the night, and a 3rd visit to the vet again this afternoon for another lens stain and abrasion.

2.  A baby sweater being knitted up for Jackie who is in her third trimester with Jackson.  Jackie is a huge Denver Broncos  football fan, and I am sure she will be ensuring Baby Jackson will be also. This is almost finished:

Orange and blue buttons, of course, with a contrasting grosgrain ribbon to back the buttons.  The self striping sock yarn came all the way from New Zealand, hand dyed by Stray Cats.  The shipping was costly, but where else have you ever seen orange and blue sock yarn?  The pattern is Beyond Puerperium, by Kelly Brooker and is an ingenious little knit.

3.  An outdoor decades old rocker that needs a re-finish.  Sanded and ready for new stain:

The stain mix: an ounce of oil paint, a scant cup of turpentine, a scant quarter cup of boiled linseed oil.  Stay tuned.  A previous post here explains it all.  Also this post gives a true recipe for wood stain.

4. Chicken Tikki Masala for dinner. The hub will grill the chicken and likely make the recipe if I can convince him that I am still refinishing that rocker.  (He does NOT like painting.)

Linking up with  Tami at Work in Progress Wednesday