SPRING!!!

Man, it's finally here. Yesterday it was in the 60s, today it's mid-50s and we spent a good portion of it outside. We were supposed to have a playdate this morning so we went to the park (no one showed) and played for 45min or so. It was a little chilly because the clouds took our sun away. It brightened up this afternoon and we spent another 2 hours at the park behind our house. Both kids are sleeping soundly right now. Yes!



So I said I was going to make a shirt, well here it is:

It was pretty fun to make, to create something different. The boot prints go around the back and back to the tent. It's size 6-8 children's. Being from Minnesota I especially appreciate the mosquitoes. :)


I want to try lino-printing. You make printing blocks out of linoleum tiles and use them on textiles (as if I need another hobby). There are a few good tutorials out there, a really good one on Jezze's blog. I think I need a few tools before I can do it effectively, and right now I'm holding out for dh to make me a couple swifts (especially after all the wrangling I did today to get Retro skeined properly) so the tools will have to wait. *sigh*

Procrastinators Never Prosper... Especially in a Snowstorm

We had the strangest weather yesterday. Yes, I know, I live in the Midwest. The weather isn't predictable and often is kind of nasty, especially this time of year. Yesterday was a prime example.

It started out raining in the morning, and turned into sleet and snow pellets. I looked out the window a bit later and it was snowing, only not the soft, fluffy kind of snow, but the heavy, wet flakes that come barrelling toward the ground. It was an angry snow. I looked out again later and it looked like the snow was pretty much done, the sun had broken through and it almost looked pleasant outside. Then it started snowing again and blowing. Swirling, twirling, and COLD.

See, I had to run to the store. I wanted to dye some yarn and get a few other things (like toilet paper, which we were COMPLETELY out of). I also had to return a movie to Redbox. I kept putting it off thinking I'd maybe get the neighbor to watch the kids for 20 min while I ran to return the movie, aah, no, I'll just bring them. So of course I waited and put it off, and by the time I decided I should really go, we were in the swirling twirling freezing cold portion of the storm. If I just would've gone earlier I wouldn't have frozen my little toes nearly off, and I probably wouldn't have had to fight with the car door, which was frozen shut. Good and solid, too. I'm the type that wears flip-flops all winter long, if for nothing but the convenience of slipping them on and heading out the door. It was so cold, I got the kids loaded up and came back inside to change my shoes. That *rarely* happens. Of course I couldn't find both tennis shoes, so I settled for my Keens (mine are lime green), which are also sandals but at least have the toes covered.

So we went shopping, bought brat buns, bread, toilet paper, squirt bottles for holding the dye, and got to the saran wrap. In my head, "Hmm, so 'they' say not to get cheap stuff. There's this, or this. Only two choices? Well, I do have some at home that worked fine last time I dyed. I'll just use that." Check out, run to car, go home. I get myself set up to start dyeing, get out the cling wrap... not enough. Seriously, I was like 6" short. I probably would've skipped the store altogether if it weren't that I wanted to dye up a colorway I had in my head, dh was at work, and I had nothing better (read *funner*) to do. So, I ran over to the neighbor's and borrowed hers. The battery on my camera is charging, so I'll put up a picture later, it turned out okay for my first attempt.