copycat

Well, my friend Robyn pointed me to this awesome designer on Etsy ( Helicopter studios: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5986255) who makes adorable play mats. However, the price tag was a bit hefty for our tight budget and I figured I could give it a shot for Owen. Perfect a one (okay two) evening project. Although not nearly as sweet as the professional version, it was fun to make, and Owen seems to like it. Tonight we had his animals swimming in the river and climbing "my mountain Hood" and knocking down trees.... with great sound effects. It pulls all together into a tidy bundle... Outside is blue corduroy I had from Knittin Kitten, though this is where my sewing machine started making clanking noises and I gave up on any sweet trim... this is a pretty functional piece and definitely looks so from the outside. I really would like to try the campfire (because Owen seems to like the idea of roasting marshmallows... though we've only done it once about 9 months ago) or the racecar track looks strait forward, well, except I hate sewing in circles.

Little things

A letter to my son,

Hey baby... okay I know you are a big boy now. I was walking across campus today with a crazy big grin... Diane and I used to call it "left-over laugh" thinking about your love for tiny things... about how at the soup swap, you found one small, dark green leaf in a big backyard and showed it to folks with pride and intense scrutiny. It made me think about your choice of a pumpkin at Halloween... the smallest white one you could find, in a field of big orange beauties, how your choice of a Christmas tree was the one that barely came up to your waist. I think this love of things that just fit into your palm drives you to pick up a horsechestnut most days we walk by a certain tree on the way to school (you can still occasionally find one... months later), and why I always find a small stash of rocks, sticks and bark chips in your pockets... or in mine. Thanks butternut, for making me smile.

love chicken

Well... is this a food blog or a craft blog or a rambling on blog or what? I guess since it's mine, it can be all three. Anyhow, I wanted to put up a love bird I made for O. for Valentine's Day. I've been out of the creative loop since the holidays, and just gathered the oomph to get this together. I got the inspiration and the pattern from mollychicken (http://mollychicken.blogs.com/). Super easy, well, except for sewing in an oval, I"m only proficient at strait lines. Owen liked it okay... a lot for about an hour but then the felt legs are really no match for a three year old. Actually he really liked the little heart, until I tried to make it into a pin he could wear on his shirt, that angered him. She is a small step away from becoming legless. Otherwise we celebrated Valentines with some yummy special meals. Scones for breakfast with chantilly, homemade jam and lemon curd. Sooo good. Dinner was calamari with some tasty asparagus. It was just coated with wondra and a touch of salt and pepper before being fried. The trick to good tentacles was a short turn-around between coating them and dropping them in the frier. The last batch sat too long in the flour and turned all gummy and stuck together. Still tasty though.