spun

i just got back from a 3-hour workshop on how to spin wool with a drop spindle. oh. my. gawd! i suck.

i had lofty dreams of making lovely handspun skeins of art like my paper crane, crafty ass chick, and misshawklet. i don't think it's going to happen anytime soon though.

the good news is that the materials were included with the cost of the workshop so i got a drop spindle to keep and practice on (or use for mashing potatoes) and a HUGE pile of pretty wool! chocolate brown, white, and hot pink! if i don't master the art of spinning wool at least i can use the roving with my new needle felting kit!


the class was 3 hours long and about half of that time was for learning to use the drop spindle. that means it took me approximately 1.5 hours to spin this



it is the size of a grape.

oh well, it was fun to get out and learn something new anyway.

deals of the day

first off, i want to thank everybody so much for the nice birthday wishes you left for me! it was like opening another little present everytime i saw a new greeting from somebody. you sure know how to make an old girl happy! hee hee

***

today after work i headed over to the "more than just a yardage sale" at the textile museum. it is a massive annual sale of all things crafty and fabric-arts-related. you can find tons of fabric, yarn, sewing patterns, notions, craft books, etc. at the sale. i've only been once, a couple of years ago i think, but it was quite picked over by the time i got there. today i managed to get there much earlier and got a few good deals.

the sale was packed with people, but for some reason my pictures don't really show how crowded it was.
this is the fabric area under the tent


and the yarn area. (i think i see an actual man in the foreground. poor soul.)



for exactly $10 total, i got the following goodies.

some yarn


a ziploc baggy of buttons (these are the best of the bunch) and some cute plastic buckles (i've been looking everywhere for these to make belts!)


a vintage craft book from 1969 called "creative needlework". not only does it have some cute ideas for projects, but it also shows how to do over 80 embroidery stitches! i seriously did not even realize there were that many different stitches in embroidery!
i love the applique on this pink pillow (this sold me on the book). i think it would be cute on a purse or at the bottom corner of a skirt.


and another vintage craft book called "the big book of soft toys" from 1972. i had to get it because it has so many cute patterns! a bunch of them remind me of the amazing things people are making for the "month of softies" project.
look at this kangaroo from the book!


i so need to start playing around with my sewing maching...uh, like learning how to thread it would be a good start.

happy birthday for me

yesterday was my 34th birthday. i wasn't even going to mention it, except paul took me out for a yummy dinner and spoiled me rotten with some pretty awesome gifts, so i thought you'd enjoy seeing the pictures.

we went to my most favourite veggie restaurant in toronto...king's cafe. i know i talk about this place a lot (it's where we went for paul's b-day dinner and where we get our fake meat), but it's really worth all the hype.

we ate the most delicious avocado temaki...


...bean curd with hoisin sauce and fried rice.


for dessert we went to dairy queen and i indulged in a chocolate-dipped cone. this particular dairy queen has the most incredible view of the don valley and toronto skyline.


paul totally spoiled me! i got some pretty semi-precious-stone beads and a new wallet. it's pink! it has a picture of blythe! it's leather-free! it has a million compartments! in summary, it is the most spectacular wallet ever. (my old wallet was rapidly disintegrating before my eyes)


he also bought me a starter kit for needle felting! now i can learn to make cool stuff like supermaggie and lili la malice.


oh, and i almost forgot. he included 2 sheets of cute japanese stickers he found in chinatown. look at the cute smiling cellphones! (the sheet also has smiling tv's, toasters, and lightbulbs).


even the card he chose was adorable. i'm not sure if you can see the line at the top, but it says "happy birthday for you". hee!

i can't believe i'm about to share this with the world

sorry i've been missing in action for a few days but i was up north at my mom's place getting spoiled. when i got back on sunday i could not stand the clutter that had overtaken the studio a minute longer. i'm a little shy about sharing my horrifying images of chaos with the world but i've included "after" shots to prove i really have improved. well, and also because i'm a sucker for "before and after"s whether they come in the form of ambush makeover, what not to wear, or extreme makeover: home edition. hopefully you'll enjoy the krissy edition of ambush studio makeover: how not to live.

here's the "before" picture of my computer desk.


and after!



my studio desk "before"


and after!


aahhh...that feels better!

my package arrived!

this morning my pretty pink package arrived in the mail from karen, the girl who got my name in the colour-theme swap. i can't believe how generous she was! the box was bursting with pink goodies! she has incredible taste...every single thing she sent me i absolutely love! look at all the great stuff.

a pretty pink purse


a pink organizing box where most of the little trinkets were tucked away. also an absolutely gorgeous pink vintage scarf. i wish the picture had turned out better.


so many pretty glass beads, some cute hairclips, and buttons with a bunny face on them!
(these were all tucked and wrapped inside the pink case)


these beautiful vintage beads. i loooovvve vintage beads!


and some pretty pink fabric, cute little chopsticks, oodles and oodles of ribbon, and a lucky cat charm.


thank you soooo much, karen! you made my first-ever-swap so much fun!!

swappy

today i mailed out my package for the colour theme swap over at glitter. it was supposed to go out on friday but one of the things i made took waaaayyyy longer than anticipated. i really needed the weekend (including those 2 hours at church of craft yesterday) to finish it up. the good news is that it cost almost the exact same price to send the parcel expresspost as regular mail, so she'll get it by wednesday.

i can't show you all the little goodies i sent until after i know she gets it but here's what everything looked like after i wrapped it all up. hmmm...can you guess which colour she chose?



i chose pink...i can't wait to get my package! mail is so much fun to get...when it isn't a bill!

in other swappy news, i found out today that robin is game for doing a jewellery swap with me! yay! who wouldn't be thrilled to be sending stuff to girl who calls herself friendbunny?! i've already started thinking of ideas...

crafting with kilmer

it has been a busy weekend in these parts. yesterday our friends andrew and sabine came over and we took them out for dinner at our favourite indian restaurant. the place has absolutely no atmosphere whatsoever, but the food is always so yummy. i think they liked it. after dinner we came back to our house and had drinks and chatted. paul took this picture from the stairs. that's sabine in the middle and andrew looking up, at the bottom of the picture.


today i met up with a friend named carla who i haven't seen for awhile, and another girl named lisa, who i met through glitter. the 3 of us went to a church of craft meeting in a park. it was really fun and relaxing just to sit around and knit and talk. the tree that we sat under had this hanging from it.

look closely...that's a plywood cloud with val kilmer's face as "raindrops". i don't know if this just happens in toronto or not, but there are people who put posters up around the city with val kilmer's face on them. they also write his name graffiti-tag style around the city. i know, it's kinda weird.. but it was amusing to be sitting under this little val kilmer art installation in the park.

after church of craft, i went over to kensington market to grab some food for dinner. i snapped this picture of my favourite place to buy fresh produce. i love the colours in this photo!


while i was in the market, i also bought some fake meat from 'king's cafe'. i got soy tuna (which is delicious when baked in foil with olive oil and lemon) and soy drumsticks (which taste so much like chicken wings when we cook them in bbq sauce). the drumsticks have the texture of chicken and they even have little wooden skewers as "bones"!


i was so happy to find the new location of alchemy bakery. the man who owns this bakery is an artist, no kidding! he makes the most wonderful bread, like i've never tasted before! we always get our favourite...potato and herb focaccia. it has big chunks of sea salt sprinkled on top. mmmmm! the owner is the nicest guy, too. i don't even need to tell him what i want...he always remembers!


i hope you had a good weekend, too!

random bits

here are some random bits of what i've been doing/thinking about/buying over the last few days.

1. after months of having my name on the hold list for scarf style, i finally got my hands on a copy. oh, how i love goodies from the library!

i especially want to make these 2 patterns from the book.




2. i have had "combat baby" by metric in my head all week. if you ever decide to start up your own cult, i think you need to commission metric to compose your theme song. your followers will be singing your subliminal messages to themselves all day without even realizing it.

3. paul and i are in a food rut right now but he dreamed up this yummy supper a few days ago. grilled veggie salad. we grilled up some portabella mushrooms and red peppers and put them on top of mixed greens. cut up some gouda in small cubes and bob's yer uncle. it was sooo yummy!


4. i've been in a panic ever since i learned that patons has discontinued my most favourite wool, upcountry. after scouring ebay and other online wool shops, i decided the only way i was going to get my hands on some chocolate brown and baby pink was to get it from my teeny tiny hometown. i asked my dad to do a yarn run for me and even terms like "dye lot" didn't scare him off. yesterday my lovely stash arrived in the mail! thank you sooo much dad! xo
(here's some yarn porn for my fellow online addicts.)


5. i scored some lovely polkadot socks at dollarama. yes, i paid one whole dollar for them. they aren't even scratchy. the question is, will they last the first trip through the wash?

paul's birthday

on saturday it was my hubby's 39th birthday. he was feeling a little out of sorts because, well, nobody likes birthdays after their 19th (i guess that would be the 21st birthday for my american friends). i mean, once you can vote, drive, and drink legally, what's the purpose of getting older, right?! so we decided to get out and have some fun! (of course we completely forgot to bring the camera...doh!)

paul has been wanting to see the christo and jean claude exhibit at the art gallery of ontario for a really long time. we thought his birthday was the perfect time to do it! just as we were approaching the a.g.o, we saw an advertisment for the o.c.a.d. student exhibition and decided to check that out first (conveniently beside the a.g.o). we were so sad we didn't have the camera because it was our first time going into the new ocad building (no, there isn't still snow here)! we saw some great stuff, especially one particular photographer. on the first floor they had an old fridge converted into a "vending machine" from which you can buy a piece of art for a donation. i bought this photo called "harajuku girls" by christine magsalay because it reminded me of one of my most favourite books, fruits.
here is part of the photo:


we were happy to learn that during the month of may, admission to the christo and jean claude exhibit is free! woo hoo


the exhibit was incredible with many sketches and plans for all of their installations around the world, including their most recent gates exhibit in nyc. i loved reading about all of their projects, of which i only knew about 2 or 3. they had swatches of the fabric they used in each, which was interesting to see upclose as well. if you live in or around toronto, you should try to see this exhibit before it's gone (i think may 15th is the last day).

after the art gallery i bought paul dinner at one of the best vegetarian restaurants in toronto...king's cafe in kensington market. we LOVE this place! we had fried rice, spring rolls, fried bean curd with bok choy and avocado temaki. delish! (of course, i'd show you...if we had brought the camera!)

we got home just in time to enjoy key lime pie with paul's dad and his partner joan outside on our deck. a great end to a fabulous day!

oops! i almost forgot. here's a picture of the birthday boy opening up his presents.


i gave him the new john stewart book and the metric cd.
i think i'm going to go watch the video for "dead disco" right now... you should too!

happy mother's day

this is my mom.


not only is she an amazing mother, but she's also an incredible person!

she is warm and loving and cares about everyone around her. she knits up a storm, even though she just learned how a few years ago. even though i have accepted that she hates eggplant she still can't understand why i don't like parsnip. you would probably be surprised at how silly she can be. my mom is patient and understanding. her hugs make everything ok. she has a laugh that is infectious. she makes the best lebanese food. my mom welcomed my husband into the family with open arms. when i was stranded in the middle of nowhere for my first teaching job, she gave me her old car so i could escape on the weekend. she has always supported my decisions and takes my side every time.

she is my best friend.

i love you, mom!

here's a big hug since i can't be with you today.

the critters love springtime

it was so warm outside today that i brought our guinea pig, molly, out in the backyard to munch on some grass. she absolutely loves going outside and smelling all those outdoor smells!



here she is at the "buffet"



noah is such a good big brother. he loves molly. he always gives her kisses on her face. when i brought her outside this afternoon, he stayed by her side for most of the time.


and a cute picture of noah (he must have been rolling in grass when i wasn't looking because he's got the evidence on his face)

*****
in other news, i'm naming today "international replenish-your-yarn-stash day". i made this decision when i walked into a local wool shop and saw they were clearing out a bunch of winter wool with massive markdowns! this is how i chose to celebrate.


the blue idena ocean was regular $12.50 / on sale for $4.95, the multicoloured wendy strata was regular $11.95 / on sale for $4.95, i'm not sure what the regular price of the light pink kiddy lana gatto was but i got it for $2.55 and finally the 3 balls of chocolate brown canto was regular $6.95 ea / on sale for $3.25 ea.!

new yarn makes me so happy!

how can it be thursday already?

is it just me or is this week flying by?

today was a long day because although i usually only work in the morning at my day job, i had to go back to work around 3:30 for an epic-length staff meeting. two hours long! at least we had free pizza (and as an added bonus, some yummy san pelegrino water that i'm too cheap to buy for myself.) it almost made up for sitting in rush-hour traffic for an hour for a commute that usually takes 30 minutes.

i managed to get some better pictures of some of the things i've been putting together for that store. i think it looks so much better when it isn't photoshopped to death.

some cheeky underwear hair pins



mixed tape earrings



and a fawn necklace (that came this close to being in the upcoming issue of bust...sob)



so much more too but i guess i can't show it all. the dial-up folks are probably cursing me as it is.

whew

i managed to get my order done last night for that new store i was telling you about. just as i was finishing it up the owner called to say she needed a few days to get things set up before i bring my stuff over, which works out perfect for me because i could use a couple of days to take some decent pictures.

here are a couple of shots of the stuff i'm sending over. i wish the pictures turned out better but i guess i need to try again tomorrow in natural light. whenever i take pictures of my stuff at night, the pictures turn out dark and i have to photoshop the hell out of them. ugh!

"clothesline" charm bracelet



and a new-ish design i think i'll name "rockstar" (hard to see but it has a couple of tattoo designs too)



***
and on a totally unrelated note: my hands have been like ice ALL DAY even though i don't feel cold! what is up with that?