Grim's new toy

It's a "brain teaser..."

Hahahaha!

How lovely...

These are by Susanna Bauer.

What's Happening Around The Yard?

Things are blooming, that's what!

As usual, I wish I were better at taking pictures, but here's one of the new plant stand that we got. It's called a "baker's rack," apparently. At the moment it is full of empty pots and baskets, but hopefully soon it will be full of geraniums instead.

Bloomin' rhodos...

Grape-candy-smelling irises...

I love this guy! He lights up!

Soon to be awash in daisies, peonies, Black-eyed Susans, and other things that I don't know the names of...

White azalea...

Johnny-jump-ups are all over the place...

The new fence...

Lilies-of-the-Valley! They're past their prime now, but hopefully those things are going to spread everywhere next year...

This guy was a fun surprise - Sweet William. It just started randomly growing in a pot of dirt on the back stoop. We assumed it was a weed that we would pull out when we needed the pot for something, but then suddenly it bloomed these pretty flowers! I transplanted it into the garden and a butterfly landed on it immediately. That's probably good luck or something.

I have no idea what this is called, but it is the yummiest salad green ever - it tastes like cucumbers. For real.

Look what we found buried in the backyard when we were digging post holes! (I use the term "we" loosely in that sentence.) According to legend, the neighborhood where I live used to be a garbage dump like a hundred years ago. How exciting is that? We found lots of broken glass and little bits of metal, and even a horseshoe which we will clean up and hang over the door, but these two little glass bottles were in pretty good condition. (We didn't find that bird vase, that was a gift from Mom.) The amber bottle says "Lysol" and the clear one says "The Bayer Company" so presumably is an aspirin bottle. Good find.

The Moment You Have All Been Waiting For...

Just kidding :)  But seriously though - new art! It's been forever!

This is Hansel and Gretel, making their own way just fine. It's kind of a companion piece to my Alternate Solution illustration, which I posted about here (so long ago...)

This morning in pictures...

I totally do not get how to take pictures of a room, plus everything hasn't been set-up/organized yet, so these are terrible, but you can see how my desk is set up in the corner between the two windows, which is really nice. Except that, in the afternoon when the sun is on that side of the house I can't work on my computer because it's too bright behind the screen, so, gotta get some shades. 

A really dim, unflattering picture of the trees I painted on the wall...

Cube shelves from Ikea that will eventually be gloriously full of books and pretty things. There's one on the opposite wall as well - it's a mess at the moment, but will have art/crafting supplies, dvds, and stuff. Also, there's a tv on it. And my game cube, for Mario Karting.

My new air plant terrarium!

Here's what's happening outside. We planted tons of crocuses and daffodils in the Fall - only one crocus came up, but the yard is swarming in daffodils.

We also planted hens and chicks last year, and the hen just sat there for months slowly getting smaller and smaller until she dwindled away to nothing. I thought she died, but then this happened - chicks!!!

Poor Grim wants to go outside so badly. Don't worry Grim, I'll take you out on your leash later. Have to get some work done first.

Here's what I'm working on - a chai, and a new illustration...

Some peas from the shower, soon to be planted in the ground...

My favorite piece of furniture...

Fuzz...

And the hilarious St. Patrick's Day card that Mom sent me...

Hahaha, get it? "O'no!" Because it's Irish. That's good stuff.

Baby Things

 
This weekend I'm going to a baby shower for a friend who is having a little girl in January!  I wanted to make something for the new wee one but am kind of burned out on monster wraps at the moment.  Plus, I wanted something the baby could use right away this time rather than have to wait till they're considerably bigger.  Sooo?  How 'bout bibs!

I perused the baby prints at the fabric store, but nothing really struck my fancy.  And since I was using Purl Bee's pattern which used pretty swank materials, I decided to use some bright girly fabrics I already had in stash from some girly aprons I've made.

They were so easy to make and I was able to put them together fairly quickly, so with the extra time I had, I also made a burp cloth to go with them.  I looked for some dimension ideas on etsy to see how big burp cloths are supposed to be, but it was a friend in TX who saved the day with size suggestions.  Thanks, Jeff!

Top stitching traditionally makes me nervous because I worry I'll botch up the finished product somehow, but it went very smoothly.

The only thing I'm not very happy about is the quality of the terry cloth I bought for the backing, i.e. not very good.  It was literally the only terry in the store, AND it was in the baby section, so it's surprising it's not very soft and it's a bit shedd-y.

The pattern called for snaps which looked really pretty in the Purl Bee pictures, but turns out I'm miserable with snaps.  I went back to the store and bought some last night, then spent way too much time trying to attach one....after two attempts I gave up and put some velcro on instead.  The velcro was much easier and may be more functional anyway for a new mom in a hurry to get the bibs on and off.  Screw snaps!!

If I make them again, I think I'll attach the velcro first before top stitching the whole thing so that the lines will match up.  But other than that,,,,,,,voila! 

Leonard is about the size of a very big newborn (12 pounds) so I was pleased the neck hole fit him just fine.  These bibs are definitely made for brand new babies though, and my friend will probably only get a few months of use before they're too small.  But then she can save them for her daughter to use with her dolls down the line!  Back to Leonard----he's the perfect fuzzy baby and proves that Jeff was right on with the size of the burp cloth.  Thanks again, Jeff!

And thanks, Leonard!

BOO!

Happy Halloween!