bag 'n' trash -- home of monster yarn

My Day in Pictures

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day 92 --  when i have so much, is it wrong to want more?

New Hampster Sheep and Wolf

hey, i'm on my way to the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool festival right now.  i've loaded up the mini and i'm probably somewhere on 495 maybe sipping on a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee and eating an egg mcmuffin.  i travel in style, yes i do.

anyway, just a quick post to announce the winners of my Rosie Craft Book contest that I had on Monday.   thanks for all of the comments.  not a bad number of entries considering that i now blog every day.  and i did close  comments yesterday so maybe i could have had more.  but whatever ... you want to know who the winners are, don't you.

[if this were American Idol, we'd go to commercial now]

heh heh

my first winner is ....

MANISE!!!  i'll be seeing you later so i'm bringing your copy of the book with me.

the second winner is ....

PUMPKINMAMA!!!

and finally, the third winner is ....

BOOKISH WENDY!!!!!

i'll be getting in touch with you two ladies in the next few days.  Congratulations!  I think you'll all love the book.  I gave a copy to my niece who is still in the hospital (no worries -- the docs are just being overly cautious)  and she and her mom love it. 

and for those of you who didn't win and would like another chance to win a copy, remember that i'm donating a copy as a prize to Claudia's Knitter's Against MS fund drive.   so go donate.

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day 24  -- have a kick ass saturday!

Rosie O’Donnell’s Crafty U: 100 Easy Projects the Whole Family Can Enjoy All Year Long

So when I was asked to do this review, I was very nervous and I almost said no, concerned that I wouldn’t do a good job or I wouldn’t even like the book. 

Well I can’t be sure that this review isn't horrible, but I’m happy to say that any anxiety I had about not liking the book was unnecessary,  because I really liked it.

I have to be honest though.  When I saw Rosie’s mug on the cover, I was concerned.  I used to be a fan, but over the past few years, she’s kind of made me a little twitchy with her  feuds with various ridiculous celebrities   And well I was afraid that her face would be all over this book.  But it’s not.  Do not worry.

What is in this book are tons (well 100 it says so on the cover) of really great projects for kids of all ages. 

The book is divided into six project sections:  One devoted entirely to decoupage projects; another with rainy day playdate projects, and four seasonal.  In the Spring are cupcake flowers and a bunny piñata, presents for mom and dad.  Summer projects include sand art  and a royal icing sand castle.  In the Fall we have Halloween costumes and paper bag turkeys for Thanksgiving.  And in the Winter  are Holiday decorations and Valentines.   The last section, the rainy playdate section, also includes recipes for “silliest putty ever” and something called “kitchen clay” and invisible ink and fake blood.   A lot of these projects are variations on old classics that many adults will remember from their childhood.  But that’s the best part of this book.  They’re all here in one book.

Yes, I do have some favorites.  I like the section on tie-dye t-shirts and painted sneakers.  And deep down I’m a girlie girl so I like the decoupage bangles and the friendship bracelets.  And the cute Oink! Meow!  Glove Puppets.    I love the string bowl and all of the projects made with paper maché.  (See?  I told you there were some old classics.) 

And there’s a recipe for bubble stuff.  But my most favorite?  The one project that made me seriously consider keeping a copy of this book for myself?  The crystal garden called the Mad Scientist Experiment.  Heh heh.   How great is that thing!?

 

The instructions appear clear and concise and don't overwhelm with dozens of unnecessary steps.   I do recommend that an adult be present for most of these projects though.  A lot of them require mixing and measuring, a glue gun, cutting tool, etc.  If you and your kids are even the tiny bit crafty, you’ll have no trouble with any of these projects.  Some of these projects I admit are less for the kids than for the grown-ups.   For example, only older kids or adults would probably want to make the Miss Lazy Daisy costume by themselves.  But there are plenty for the younger set too.

Now I'll admit that I didn't try any of these projects so I can't vouch for how accurate the recipes are or how relevant the instructions are once you're in the thick of things.  But having read the book, cover to cover, I'm impressed.  I plan on trying many of these projects with my 12 year old nieces, even if they don't want to. (So sad, I'm the only crafty one in the family.)

I've got four copies to give away.  One copy is being donated as a prize for Claudia's MS ride fund raiser.  But if  you want to increase your odds of winning a copy, just leave me a comment and I'll select three winners using a random number generator.

What are you waiting for?  Leave a comment, will you?

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day 19 -- begging for comments

Eye Candy Friday

look what came in the mail yesterday.

my kind of candy.

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day 16 -- it's quite possible that i love books more than yarn.  maybe.

Kozy Up with a Good Book

the wheels started turning a few months ago after stitchy mc yarnpants announced that her book was coming out.  there was much rejoicing of course.  and sucking up.  (because of course who doesn't want to be chummy chummy with a published author. )  and finally, inspiration.  others are inspired by nordic patterns, complex lace, beauty in nature, gorgeous yarns.  i'm inspired by scary clowns made of red heart and the nausea inducing yet oddly comforting granny square.

i present to you my latest crochet incarnation ... "The Kitschy Kozy."

made of non-kitschy patons classic merino, the kozy can also be crocheted in red heart (preferably).  i used odd balls of paprika ("shag carpeting" rust), dark olive ("avocado"), old gold ("harvest gold"), chestnut brown ("ugly fake wood paneling" brown), and red.

would you like a kozy to protect your museum of kitschy book?  it's really quite simple.

the front and back of the kozy were made of 4 4-rowed granny squares stitched together.  how big your squares end up being depends on your gauge and the yarn you're using, so experiment.  with the right side of each panel facing you, on one side of each panel, single crochet an even number of rows so that the the total number of single crochet rows is as wide as the binding of the book  is wide.  sew the binding edges together so that wrong side of each panel are facing eachother.   then starting at one of the binding edges, single crochet around the whole mess.  i needed to only crochet 1 row.  again, depending on the size of your squares, you may need to crochet more rows.

to attach your kozy to your museum of kitschy stitches book, make 2 chains that when pulled taut are long enough to reach from the top edge of the book to the bottom and attach to the single row edging. 

to create a tie closure, to keep your book closed, make two chains and attach one to each panel opposite the binding side.  then tie.

voila!  you're done.  and your book is protected and decorative at the same time. 

IT'S HERE!!!!!!

GO BUY IT!!!!

Oh, Right ... The Haul

sorry, i got distracted by the ABC-Along.  i had some serious catching up to do.

so the haul.  i did bring stuff home.

i brought home some pottery

this cute little chicken ...

and this sponge-brillo pad "hut"  and matching butter dish.

 

oh.. right, you don't want to see this crap...

so the yarn -- like i said before, i found very little but i couldn't leave one store without buying these three little skeins of italian cotton.  i loved the colors.  they'll be good for MDK inspired warshrags.

i also bought some beads.  these from the crafty shop where the lady didn't mind me taking pictures.

and these from la droguerie.  yes, i had the NERVE to pick up the jar that these shell beads were housed. 

and finally, the books.  OOOHHHH BOOKS.

of course i had to get the current issue of marie claires idees (and the special edition of prima -- another crafty mag).

and then i went a little nuts...

i love the title of this series of books...

Shhhhh.. I'm creating. (or  SHUT UP, I'M MAKING SHIT)

i got two -- one that uses every day sewing notions for making jewelery and other decorative items.  and one that uses beads and buttons for jewelery.

 

i also got a book on red embroidery.  this one reminded me of some of the japanese craft books we've been seeing.

then there's this one on crochet trims, and another put out by the people of DMC.

 

and last but not least, a couple of knitting books/mags.

 

and of course, i've told you about  the chocolate.

Wish Lists

look what showed up in my Amazon recommendation list.

how cool is that?

Big Girls Don't Cry

i had an amazon coupon to spend so i ordered jillian moreno's and amy singer's new book, Big Girl Knits.

gotta love a book that starts like this:  "chances are if you're reading this book, you're fat."  HEY I AM NOT FAT....I'M BIG BONED!!!

the first three chapters review the best yarns and shapes for our more bodacious ta-tas and butts and gives as advice on how to customize existing patterns or how to design our own.  the rest of the book is filled with some really fun designs.  some of the patterns didn't lift my skirt up (a-line of course) but here are some that did.

this is the mosaic sweater.  i really like the detail but i'm afraid this baby wouldn't be very flattering on me.  but i would definitely use the mosaic pattern in a bag.  i like the colors too.

this is the curvalicious cardigan.  this shape is the basis of my entire sweater/top wardrobe, so it doesn't surprise me that i really like this sweater.

bombshell, a stephanie japel design, is probably my favorite.  but there is no way that i'm making it in lorna's laces lion and lamb as recommended in the book.  c'mon ladies.  take pity on my budget.  don't make me run out and make it in *gasp* TLC (not to worry, i'd sweat like a pig).

this is cherry bomb.  a nice basic tank.  thumbs up.

and i really like this bag -- it's called scarlett carpetbag.  (the sweater coat the model is wearing is also very pretty.  it's called natalie.  designed by libby baker.  i love the color.  not sure i would make it though -- not comfortable with all of that knitted fabric across my double wide ass.)

finally, here's a beautiful wrap designed by kate gilbert.  it's called the bluebelle ruana.  (more expensive yarn though.  jesus.)

all in all this is a great book.  BUY IT! 

oh and there's buttons too.

 

Blasphemy?

wanna see what i've added to my library lately?

i'm wondering if this has anything to do with being surrounded by 34,261 tiny skanks of yarn.