Baby stuff

Well, I think I will post some older projects now, just so this blog won't get stale waiting on me to finish something new (trust me - I'm working on a lot of new things, I just haven't been able to find the time to finish any of them!!).

In the meantime, here are the cute baby things I knitted last fall/this spring for the new babies in my life.

This bunny is from a pattern on the Lion Brand website. I actually followed all of the instructions, including the yarn suggestions, which was a first for me. The scarf, however, I added on my own. His head was a little too floppy without it, and I thought the additional color was pleasant :)



And, with the baby




And this is the sweater I made for my niece, Caitlin. There are a few things I wish were different about the pattern, but it was so cute and tiny when it was finished.

Another brick in the wall

I had a go at brick stitch on a necklace for my momma. I think she liked it, I know I did, but I was having some trouble with the beads (I used sort of flattened beads) slipping around and not staying in their "frames". I wish I had put a dot of super glue or something on to keep them in place. At any rate, please have a look!

Confession

I would get a lot more crafting done it if it weren't for video games...

But, as it is, my goal is to get +2600 points this week, so that I have more than our friend B.

Because it's cool - PMOG

It's no secret, I spend a lot of time bumbling around the internet, reading blog feeds, news stories, links from friends. I think of the firefox as one of my pets. If you're big on wandering around the web too, PMOG is a really cool (and fun) way to discover new things.

To play the game, you install a little tool bar in your browser and take off around the internet. You get points for visiting new web pages, find portals, missions and other items hidden on sites by other players and can create your own missions (quite easily) by placing lightposts on your favorite sites. Other players have created a number of tutorial missions (get points and learn about the game!) to help get you started.

Once you figure it out, check out my two, small, lame-ish missions and let me know what you think! :)

http://pmog.com/missions/entertainment_for_the_ears
http://pmog.com/missions/a_little_drinkey (The NSFW tag is just because there's *gasp* alcohol involved :))

So long, orange sofas!

Yesterday was a rather sad day in the life of Drea. I bid adieu to my best ever thrift store find, my orange sofa and love seat. These hideously lovely pieces of furniture were the focal point and source of great comfort during my two year stay at Heritage Apartments.

The reality of no longer having my own place is starting to set in. Sure, I was rarely alone even when I had my apartment, but it really was my little haven. Coming home to those brightly colored rooms always made me feel better. It was so completely my own, my style.

Nick is giving me some creative freedom with the condo, but his tastes are far more subdued than my own. I'll admit, I've had my fill of pepto pink bedrooms, but just you wait and see. I'll find a way to sneak "Blues Clues" blue, alien green and rusty orange in to my new digs.

Goodbye my lovely corner of the world...

The front door, the creepy, view obscuring bushes, in which I once found a drunk, pant less man.

The hat box, Frank Sinatra themed girlie bedroom. Many thanks to my mom,
wife and Rach for helping with the accessories here.

My office with kick-ass shelving added by my dad.

The kitchen/living room/dining room, where I spent most of my time

The tiny kitchen which Steph helped me paint and decorate

Summer Reading List

Ok, so it's a little sparse. There's just NOT enough time in the day! At least I have a list - that's a step up from any time before June, when the only thing I read regularly were my feeds.

• How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship & Musical Theater, by Marc Acito
• This was one of those fun, feel-good stories that only got better with the guest appearance by Frank Sinatra at the end.
  
• Attack of the Theater People, by Marc Acito
• I pretty much had to read this, just because it was a sequel. I have to say, I enjoyed the first book more. I liked how the characters matured from the beginning of the first book to the second, but there was just more heart and more story in How I Paid for College.
  
• The Good Fairies of New York, by Martin Millar
• Sweet, hip and funny. I didn't get too attached to anyone in this story, in fact, I didn't really like any of the characters very much, but it was interesting to see how they interacted.
• Between the Bridge and the River, by Craig Ferguson
• A+++ Great Story
  I haven't actually finished this one yet, but as far as summer reading goes, this one wins for me. There's a surprising amount of insight and poignancy for all the comedy and bizarre wanderings. I want to finish this book, but I need to savor it at the same time.
• Fear of Flying, by Erica Jong
• This is the selected book for the QSFT Book Club 2008 (established by me ;)). I'm only about 5 chapters in and it's interesting but not at the top of my list. I have to keep reminding myself of the era in which it was written. I understand the significance and womens lib and all that but it doesn't change the fact that I hate the "c-word" and it's overuse in this story.
  

Dunno what else I'll get around to this summer. I love that the Hilliard Library is 5 minutes from home, I'm taking full advantage of the convenience!

Beady little eyes?

I never took much to beading. I thought I might when I was in my early teens, but I was never very satisfied with what I turned out. As a result, I have a pretty little collection of beads and hardware, which have been sitting in a box for 10+ years. Last weekend, the boyfriend asked me if I wanted to go to Joann's as payback for "dragging" me to the aquarium store. Joann's (always dangerous) had a 40% off sale on all of their beading products and now I am giving it another shot. It's a nice change of pace from knitting and it really requires a lot more planning and creativity. There are lots of things I want to try, but here's what I've done so far....

Some green ringy earrings.

I made this bracelet last summer, but I wasn't happy with the end product, so I added another strand of beads and entwined them. I like it a lot better now, but it's harder to clasp. You live, you learn.

Happy set!

Some more green earrings. I really like these. Keeping it simple works sometimes.

This actually matches the green earrings above. It's hard to tell in this lighting, but I liked the effect. Trying to stick with an "electrical" theme - get it? Lamps? Cords? Outlet? Current? Maybe it's a stretch :)

Ready, set...

Yo!

Look at this. I wish I had something interesting enough to actually blog about, but as it is, my interests are scattered across books and crafting and out door exploring and I don't think I'm "in to" any of them enough to write anything that hasn't already been written in someone else's blog.

Some of my favorite websites, pertaining to my interest:

• Geocaching
• Real-life, outdoor treasure hunting!
• Craftster
• Knitting, beading, sewing creating!
• Wonderland
• Geeky girl gaming!