Knowing What I'm Not

You probably didn't really need a sign to figure that out.  A cursory glance around my house will reveal the dust bunnies, mirror smudges, discount grocery labels and mismatched socks of which the Queen of Good Things would not approve.

I do have an Aunt Martha, and she's absolutely lovely, but it does make me smile every time someone calls me Notmartha.  I have nothing against The Martha.  I actually enjoy reading her magazine, visiting her website, and using her line of crafting products.  I'd just rather be considered an occasional vacationer in, rather than a citizen of, her brand empire.

We found this sign at a second-hand/antique barn in Bloomfield, ON whose name I have already forgotten.  We paid $3.00 for it, but I couldn't bear to leave it behind.  It hearkens back to the glue-gun-and-fake-flowers days of 1992 (Hello, Girl Guides years!), but I'm thinking there's a place for it in my craft den.  I'm also loving that, after a year of blogging, I'm still crafting away in an unMartha-enough way that Dan was just busting with excitement when he found the sign.

I'm loving the blog life--every navel-gazing bit of it.  It keeps me writing and crafting, so I'm creating every day.  I'm finding all kinds of people out there with similar interests and even brighter ideas; frankly, it's healthy and happiness-inducing to have a hobby...or even a few.  I've even (very) recently resurrected my book blog with the hope that it will motivate me to give more attention to the books that fill my work and play time.

My goal for my next bit of time blogging is to learn how to use some of the features of my camera and start taking some really great pictures.  Here's hoping for many days of great weather (and unMartha'd ideas) ahead.

A Solution For Every Problem

Crochet isn't just about finding calm in row upon row of neat stitches or finding joy in the giving of homemade gifts, it's also about finding satisfaction in problem solving.  If I could solve all of life's problems this simply, I'd be a super hero.

Problem:  After deciding upon a repeating pattern for my chicken foot blanket, I realized I was running short on certain colours of yarn.

Solution:  Add in a row of circle-in-a-square squares.  (Thanks to Manner's Crochet and Craft for the basics of the pattern.  You'll probably find a better tutorial there, so I'd encourage you to follow the link.  I added an extra round of white sc and a round of black sc  Make sure you do 3scs in each corner stitch.)

Here's a circle-in-a-square patch.  It's a bit bumpy and lumpy because I just pulled it out of my bag.

So far, I've added 5 of them along the edge of the blanket.  Looks like 6  will do the trick!

Also, I officially ran out of just the right weight of bulky black yarn that I'll need to finish this project.  This blanket was a stashbusting project, but I decided it was okay to bend the rules a bit and buy a big ball to help finish this off.  (I did use a 50% off coupon, so even if it's cheating, it's only 50% cheating.)

Mail For Me!

I was disappointed tonight when all I got from the mailbox was a splinter from running my hand along its empty wooden bottom in the dark.  Then I stepped inside and realized that hubby had slipped home at lunch time and brought the mail in with him.  There was....

....a little package!  For me!

Now, the contents were very cool all by themselves.  But, much like that famous computer company that I love so much (rhymes with Schmapple, perhaps you've heard of it), the creative packaging turned what may have been a one-photo blog post into a full out slideshow.  Here goes...

 A recycled box with a post-it notification of what it didn't contain.

 (A very cool recycled box that slid open, all fancy-like.)

Inside, more post-its applied to a carefully flattened origami box folded from a Stratford-on-Avon map.  (Different Avon. :) Figured that one out without a post-it note! Yay, me!) 

And carefully wrapped in tissue paper, this very cool pendant...

 ...made from a Scrabble tile!  (This is where it gets spooky, because just two days ago I was staring at the box of Scrabble tiles on my craft shelf wondering what they might become.  Then, just one day ago, I was madly pinning Scrabble-inspired items to my "Monogram....Monogram.....MONOGRAM!!!" Pinterest board.  Bonus points to those of you who get the Simpsons reference here. )

"N."  For "necklace." ;)

Spookier still, the blue butterfly perfectly matches my blue floral print shirt I'm wearing today.  So I popped the necklace on and merengued off to dance class.

Also in the box was a note card.  This, in addition to the post-its and carefully addressed envelope, were all penned in what I thought was my friend Jenn's unmistakable neat handwriting.

A cutesy card enclosed in a coordinating envelope.  It just had Jenn's name all over it.  Except that actually it didn't.  As I read the note, I became more and more confused about why Jenn was writing about herself in the 3rd person.  I had to read and re-read the letter before I finally picked up on one important detail.  It wasn't from Jenn.  Well, it was from Jenn, but it was delivered via her mom, Janet.

It's a good thing that I know Jenn was such a good girl growing up.  With cloned handwriting like that, she would have had such an easy time forging notes for her teachers!

The full back story, for those who need to know those sorts of details was that I was walloped with a 24-hour virus when Scotland friends Jenn & Matthew were visiting the area over Christmas holidays and I missed my chance to see them.  Thoughtful Jenn had prepared a little gift in an origami box for me.  When she didn't get the chance to see me before heading back across the ocean, her thoughtful mother put the gift into something a little more sturdier for mail travel and sent it my way.

Like mother, like daughter...to the core...the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...and these are two good apples... I'll stop with the fruity phrases now. ;)

Inspired by the creative packaging and the nifty gifties, I'm motivated to get cracking on packing the tickle trunk of hats for my little Northern pixie friend.

Here are the hats, clambering into a box, eager to travel.   (Hats are eager creatures.  After all, it is their sole duty to "go on ahead."  Go on a head.  Get it?  Oh, people should pay me to be this corny.)

A lovely end to a busy day.  And busy means un-crafty, but that's okay on occasion.  The only thing I'm going to make today is popcorn.  Off to do that now. ;)