Dixie's Dragon

Whip It Up

Check out this new blog, the brainchild of Kath at Red Current :

Japanese crafting assistance via Make

Check out this link to Makewrite via Make.

Weekend Projects

1. Torment Chester the extremely fuzzy orange cat by attempting to pile various and sundry items atop him to create a winning submission for StuffonMyCat.
2. Torment husband by repeateldy insisting that carpet in craft/sewing/winery/ music room must come up and be replaced by Interface flor tile of my selection until carpet is so removed.
3. Playing up pregnancy woes in attempt to sleep as much as possible.

Admirable, no?

I have swap packages to pull together for Le Grenier de Didine and for Second String., which will be fun and a royal purple felted evening bag expiriment to complete. Sorry, no interesting pictures today... I am a bore.

Go see the lovely vintage prints available on Agence eureka. I downloaded this lovely one today. Looks like a save ride to me, what with her eyes shut and all...

 

thanks, but no thanks

I don't want to bite the hand that feeds me, so to speak, but this little sample of clip art sent to me in my Dover weekly free clip art sample made me a little uneasy. In case you are wondering, it is an "Full-Color old time animal". Is it a monkey dressed up to look like Curley or some other old time animal of nefarious origin?

all work and no play

My days have been full of work work work, which is okay, more fundage for yarnage. Makes for a boring blogger thought. Thank goodness for other bloggers, such as Thimble who provided us with an important news flash: Denyse Schmidt has produced a line of fabrics. A sneak peak is available at Quiilter'sBuzz .

I received my BBM4 package yesterday from Lori and shortly thereafter demolished the box of Mediterranean Almond Cookies therein. They were magnificent, and I would love to show a picture of them, but they are gone. I also received some lovely Scharfenberger chocolate, some Pu-erh tea, and wildflower honey. Two gifts that were not readily apparent: the tea tin which will be retained for needle storage and Lori's wonderful on-line store which includes awesome tutorials: Asha's corner

If you read my blog, then you know about Peep, my rescue kitten, who has now reached reckless teenage boy phase. He is to be fixed on Thursday, thank goodness. I have been putting it off to delay the inevitable trauma of being stuffed in a box and carted to the vet that the pathetic little scaredy cat will suffer. But the time is nigh. I firmly believe that cat's need to live a large part of their lives outside. My opinion is skewed by the facts that (a) I happen to have a dreamy yard for cats that is about as safe from speedy cars as it can be, and (b) I cannot stand the presence of cat litter and cat boxes. Both my other cats travel in and out freely and have no need for a cat box. Peep, on the other hand, has not yet been allowed outside (except for that brief and horrifying stint in November when I was out of town and my husband accidentally left the front door open for several hours and Peep got stuck outside scared to death) and therefore requires a cat box. Since I am pregnant, changing and tending to the cat box is off limits for me. Why I am blogging about this? Because there is cat litter visible in the next picture and I feel the need to explain that I am not responsible for it. My husband the interim and erstwhile litter changer is, well, him and the litter strew-er, Peep.

Yarn +cats=trouble:

I am determined to beat this craft ennui that I am suffering and my battle plan today involves two strategic offensive moves. 1. Borrow my mom's sewing machine (thanks, Mom) and 2. make a trip to my favorite yarn shop armed with my Xmas gift certificates. Wish me luck......

my day

It's my birthday!

Not much crafty going on here. I am in that waiting place. I have several felt bags that I have completed to the point of popping in feet, but alas, the feet are walking slowing and I have not received them yet. Yesterday was a snow day, despite the fact that there was no snow, ice or moisture on the streets and all the snow was melted from grassy areas by around 10 a.m. So most of my day yesterday centered around working on numbers and letters with Delaney and keeping her otherwise entertained. I did sneak in an episode of Project Runway, to which I could become heartily addicted if not so much fluff and other distractions were thrown in for the show to qualify for a one hour show.

I have been enamored of Art School Dropout's  jewelry for months. Trouble is, everyone is enamored of it and as soon as she puts something new on her website it's sold out. The fates were smiling this morning and I was able to purchase this necklace before it was snatched away.

I received lots of lovely cards from fellow bloggers - thank you everyone! Peggy of Hidden Haven Homestead sent this lovely handmade card with some enticing tea bags.

I made this companion pillow to a pillow I made prior to Christmas. It was a little boring so I decided to follow in Marian McEvoy's footsteps and get my glue gun out. I wrapped the edges in Colinette 5 point yarn, which turned out pretty well considering it took about five minutes.

Where the boys are...

Sunday afternoon and our cats are hard at work.

The two orange cats are fellows, Chester and Marlow. Clearly, they need something to stir them from their reverie.  Delaney and I decided to put our idle hands to use and make some girl cats.

Voila -
Vidalia and Midalia (as named by Delaney). Two rare, but lovely orange girls ready for action.

Now, off to where the boys are to await with a smile for a young suitor ...

The wiles pay off, and a male is lured in.

"Oh my, Vidalia, he is so biggg"

Somehow, the choice is made, and poor Midalia is left with no dance partner.

I learned from  Bemused  that it is National De-Lurking week.

One last thing, here is my  new favorite site... Bighappyfunhouse

The Weavers

Shel Silverstein is fast becoming my favorite poet. This morning I was perusing our newest Shel Silverstein tome, Falling Up and found this poem. Touche

The Weavers

I was sittin', I was knittin'
On a sweater I could wear.
When I finished, I said proudly,
"Hey, I've done some weavin' there,"
But ol 'spider on the wall said,
"Can you do it in the air?
Can you spin it out of gossamer
From the ceiling to the stair?
Can you let the wind through it
So it sways but doesn't tear?
Then can you grab onto it
And swing lightly on a hair?
When you can - then you may truly say,
'I've done some weavin' there.'"                                                                               

Yay for me and the bored cat posse

It's rainy, cold and dreary here, and consequently, my cats refuse to go outside for any period of time resulting in three very bored, loud and restless cats.  Three very bored misled cats who think that following me around en masse will result in some sort of cat pleasure. Me, I am covered in cat fur. Back to more savory topics. My mailman came through for me today with: (1)  my much anticipated package from the Blogging By Mail 3 swap and (2) a suspicious package.

Blogging By Mail 3  ("home for the holidays") was hosted by My Little Kitchen and the object was to send and receive from a region unbeknownst to you a package filled with foods and, recipes related to the sender's favorite holiday. The postmark was the first sign I was an extremely lucky swappee.

A package from Singapore - yipppee. Debbie sent me all kinds of treats: a Rendang sauce spice package (Debbie's family celebrates Xmas with Beef Rendang), two peanut sauce spice packages ( I adore peanut sauce), prawn crackers (never tried these), agar agar (love the name, and have never tried) a Nestle Milo bar ( a lunchbox treat from Debbie's youth) and a slew of recipe cards. Lucky me. Thank you Debbie!

Peep, probationary member of the resident cat posse was thrilled with the Singapore goodies as well.

I also received this fishy package addressed to the "Resident Krafter" (not crafter, but krafter, like there is actually someone in residence who knits toilet paper cozys). The stamps were awesome, but Resident Krafter????? Note the "or else" under DO NOT BEND.

hmmmm. contents later. Methinks NellieBell, the mad craft supply hoarder is behind this...

 

Thank goodness for small favors

Shaun and Delaney let me sleep in this morning, which  was a very thoughtful act on their part, but me thinks it was actually seeded in a bit of self preservation since I have been extremely cranky lately. Whatever the reason I am feeling more myself.

I'm at that awkward stage of pregnancy when all my jeans still fit, but it hurts my tummy to have them zipped up. Consequently, if one were to pop in my house, like my old boss Roger did last night, one might find me walking around completely dressed with my pants unzipped. Cool. If I plan on leaving the house, it's a dress for me. I am off to eat Shrimp Tempura and visit a thrift shop here in Nashville called the Wizard of Was that I read about in Domino magazine. 

I was chagrined this morning to see that two of the headlines on CNN centered around these two facts:
1. David Hasselhof is getting a divorce
2. Brad Pitt did not call Jennifer Anniston to tell her that he knocked up Angelina.
Is this news? Not a single bit about the American journalist that has been abducted in Iraq. Hmmm, is it a wonder that most Americans are overweight?

Back to the small favors part of this posting. One of my new favorite blogs introduced to me by the wonderful Meggiecat is Agence Eureka. This morning I saw this wonderful vintage print and thought to myself, "thank goodness that is not my husband".

finally

I found a bit of inspiration. I have been sluggish and bored and uninspired lately, so much so, that I have not even felt like knitting. My Magic Cabin felt has been here for over a week and still it sits unopened. I got out stacks of Japanese craft mags, nothing, Then, I discovered this British craft store called Panduro and pottered around there until I saw this - Eureka  - inspiration.

I don't necessarily want to make this exact basket bag, but the concept warrants further consideration, especially since I have several felted bag projects that desperately need re purposing. Different material, ix-nay on the putzy flowers and there may be a workable design there. We shall see.

coming along

My magenta bag is progressing along slowly, mainly due to indecisiveness. I was going to use leather handles, but decided after felting the bag that I prefered knitted ones in the same orange as the trim. Then, after felting I decided that I wanted to add a gusset. Sewing the felted material was a bit difficult, but easier when I resorted to a pair of pliers to pull the thread yarn through. The background fabric is going to used for the lining, which will be delayed because I have decided to add feet to the bag. If you are interested, Tall Poppy Craft has some great purse making and other craft supplies, including purse feet and some leather handles both of which I ordered.

Now, I am off to have a little nappy which will hopefully wash away some of this first trimester ennui.

the sum total

of my weekend is not much. Other than a huge batch of piroshki that I made for our gourmet club's Russian themed dinner Saturday night, upon which I cannot elaborate until the second trimester kicks in, a batch of blueberry muffins, the only thing that I created (and it is not really a creation) is this bit of crewel embroidery that I did, using a kit from Wool & Hoop.

I don't have years of needle work under my belt like some many of my fellow bloggers so I thought that this would be good practice. It was.
On another note, in case you aren't aware, I have a book fetish. I love books and have to make a tremendous effort from time to time to dispose of some to make room for others. The out box is never full enough despite our many bookshelves. On Friday, a gentleman emailed me inquiring about one of my thrift store finds. Scroll down to the Blue Monday entry to see the book in question The Golden Crescent . He googled the book and found my blog. Anyhoo, his inquiry prompted me to do a little research and I discovered that the book is listed on Amazon for $690.00. Gulp. My copy is signed by the now deceased author and the illustrator, so no telling what it could sell for, but part with it? Not sure that I can. I did however, take the time to list some of my Salvation Army finds that were easier to part with and low and behold I sold three hardback books for an impressive price this weekend through Amazon.  Just call me the house scrounger.

 

there's fur everywhere

I finished my turquoise and sea green felted bag, the pattern of which came from Alterknits. The pattern indicated to cast on 125 stitches and knit until the height was 26 inches. I don't know about you guys but if my purse is too tall it becomes a virtual abyss, so I only knitted to a height just pushing 23. I felted it as required by the directions without putting it into a pillow case  and also omitted the spin cycle to avoid unwanted creasing. Without the pillowcase, the bag came out extremely hirsute. It needs a good once over with my husband's brand new electric razor, me thinks. It is a bit too long for my taste, but I am hoping with a pleat or two around the gusset it may be workable. The colors, I find, are exceptionally pleasing.

Oddly enough, Chester our extremely hirsute feline took a shine to the bag. I turned my back for a minute and he is sitting with it like it is a long lost cousin.

Today was a double bonus mail day. First, my dear, sweet, generous friend Rana sent me a very large box chock full of transitional clothes and maternity clothes (including four pairs of tres cool blue jeans) Then, I got a shipment of 100% wool felt from Magic Cabin along with the color swatch chart for future reference. After searching the Internet and inquiring of fellow bloggers, I finally settled on Magic Cabin. They seem to have the best price for the quality.

We had a marvelous New Year's dinner (prepared entirely by my husband since I can hardly bear to be in the kitchen these days). I have been trying to blog about this for several days but have lacked the constitution to appropriately credit the old ball and chain. Anyhoo, he made homemade partridge pie using the Cook's Illustrated Chicken Pot Pie recipe. It was immediately scarfed down in its entirety.

Our friends Tunde and James came for dinner. Tunde is pregnant too, but since she brought escargot for an appetizer she is clearly not plagued by the same squeamishness as I am. Shaun considers himself somewhat of an authority on snail catching and eating since he used to catch and prepare snails for degustation in his days in France. He and his pals would head out to the cemetery at night and catch the snails by the light of the moon as they climbed up the gravestones. Once caught the slimy things were fattened up with a couple days of gorging on grain. Yick I say. The silver lining of this slimy culinary treat was this load of beautiful shells. I am doubtful that these were the homes of those consumed, but being a craft scrounger, I washed them and saved them for some lofty craft purpose.

Tonight is Shaun's monthly poker game, so Delaney and I are going to have a slumber party. We are going to put the Aero bed in the den in front of the fireplace and get lots of snacks and watch scary movies. The last time we had a slumber party the bed was inundated by every warm body in the house, including our 100 pound greyhound.  If I could have a glass of wine or two it would be a perfect night... On that note, wouldn't pregnancy be a lot easier if one could imbibe a bit of wine?

Surprise

My blogging has not been very steady or interesting of late and there is a reason for it. You see, my husband and I have been having an affair, with each other, of course, and now I am pregnant. Seven weeks and five days.

Blogging will resume its regular course once I get past this bout of nausea. For now, here is a picture of the little one thus far along with my latest knitting project. I am using a felted bag design that I found in alternknits and lots of green and blue yarn.