Happy Birthday Fun...

It's not easy having our one and only grandchild living ten thousand miles away on the other side of the world, so we do have to get a little creative now and then in order to remain an active part of this little boy's world.  Lucas is truly our shining star ... he makes us smile and he makes us laugh, and we're amazed every time we get to spend time with him on Skype that he has learned how to interact with us via modern technology.  If not for Skype, would he know us so well, or would we truly feel like we were a part of his life?   

So today (well, tomorrow actually, but in Singapore, where he lives, it's already tomorrow!) it is Lucas's 3rd birthday!  It's morning there right now, and we were able to have some birthday fun with Lucas (and mommy, too!).  They used Skype on their iPad today, so we were right there on the floor watching him play.  Party time at Gramma's - I'd put some of his toys left here into colorful boxes and set them up on a table with some Little Critter books and a giant red ball, and we called it a birthday party!  The fun and imagination came when we sang Happy Birthday to him and presented him with a Brownie Cake I'd baked earlier tonight - complete with three birthday candles, burning bright with birthday wishes!  Papa and I sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY to him, then we held the cake close to the web cam and counted to three before we all blew out the candles together.  The fun and magic comes into the picture when you see this little 3 year old playing right along with us - he leans in to his own camera, takes a deep breath, and blows out his candles at the same time as we do!  It's amazing that he can possibly comprehend the time and space between his world and ours, but I believe he truly does.  When I started to cut his cake (at Gramma's house), he asked mommy if he could have some of his birthday cake too!  Breakfast or not ... Erika got him a piece of cake so we could all enjoy eating it together.  
     Then it was time for some REAL presents - the ones I'd sent in the mail.  Lucas sat there opening his gifts - he truly makes it so much fun to give him gifts, because with each one he pulled out of his birthday bag, we heard the "WOW"s and saw the smiles as he'd open a book, read his card, discover a new toy.  We sat there with him as he and mommy put together his new Rescue Helicopter and squirted water at each other!  This little guy has the most amazing imagination!!!  "Thank you Gramma.  Thank you Papa." .... words and sights to melt our hearts!  We watched as he picked up his new PHILADELPHIA CHICKENS book and walked down the hallway with his daddy to spend some time reading together.  
    Our lives these days do not allow very many opportunities to spend time up-close-and-personal with our grandson.  But through the magic of our computers and iPads and Skype and cyberspace, we have been able to share real-time moments with him that a decade ago were unheard of.  A few days ago, my computer was "ringing" with a call from Singapore ... only when I answered, it was not my daughter calling.  Having actually called me all by himself, there on my monitor was this beautiful, smiling little boy sitting there saying, "Hi Gramma, I'm back!!!!!".                 

Crafting Without Fabric ...

Although I've been enjoying my return to creative fun on my days off, today did not exactly end with a newly finished crafty gift for my Christmas Through The Years box.  I thought about it (not sure if that actually counts for anything though).  I did take some time to clean up a part of my work table.  I did FINALLY finish mending my dear husband's stack of shirts and pants (I truly hate mending ... give me a fresh piece of fabric and I'll happily start over from scratch, but please don't count on my stack of mending to be completed in any sort of a timely fashion!).  But when it came time to make the decision on what to make today, my heart and soul went straight to the kitchen!  It was just one of those days where the comfort of aromas coming from a pan of hot, freshly baked goodies is creative enough for me.  Making bread is creative enough for me ... there's something wonderful about the entire process (and I absolutely love any opportunity to use my new Kitchen Aid Mixer!).  The end result?  Check this out ... taken moments before being tucked into the oven ...

... and yes, they continued to raise beautifully, infuse the house with the most wonderful smell of freshly baked rolls, and were thoroughly enjoyed for dessert tonight.  Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls from the pages of King Arthur Flour ...
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/cinnamon-swirl-pumpkin-rolls-recipe     
My sister helped me rediscover King Arthur Flours, and if you haven't checked out their web site in awhile, or ever, it's definitely worth taking a few moments to do so.  My Pumpkin Rolls use both unbleached flour, and their fantstic white whole wheat flour (my new favorite flour!).  I'd say I met my goal of accomplishing something creative today!
                                 

With my first completion of my January Christmas Through The Year challenge, I'm feeling motivated already, and  the "I Can Do Anything" sort of attitude is creeping in.  I'm considering adding another fun aspect to my blog ... FINISHING the unlimited number of UNFINISHED things in my craft studio (which has morphed into more of a place-to-stash-stuff-from-other-rooms sort of space) ... which may also mean it's time to take back my studio!  But first, back to my finishing thought ...

Having been a crafter-of-many-hats, I have begun projects in knitting, crocheting, sewing, woodburning, photo crafts, paper crafts, bear making, ... to say nothing of the mulitude of unfinished ideas floating around in my head and stacks of fabric floating around my studio (and the closet upstairs and the bins downstairs).  It's time to take control ... and FINISH these potentially fun and beautiful projects.  Here's an opportunity now to set two goals each month in my creative world - one finished Christmas gift for Christmas Through The Year, and finish one previously started project for my own peace of mind!  Maybe even boost my Christmas box of handmade gifts.  Anyone interested in joining me?  I can't be the ONLY one out there facing a room full of what I shall refer to as UFO's (un finished objects) ...

I made these two panels on my "new" knitting loom TWO YEARS AGO!  Ok, so all that's required here is tuck and clip some yarns, and stitch the two pieces together, creating a lovely lightweight tan and burgundy throw!  A good place to begin ... and since there's still a few days left in January, I shall set a goal of adding this to my Christmas box in this month.  

That being said, it maybe the weekend, but I'm a retail manager, and it's off to work for me.  It's already been an enjoyable morning, having made the UFO challenge to myself (and YOU!), and having spent a little time on Skype with Lucas - since they are 13 hours ahead of us, I had the pleasure of reading two bedtime stories to him!  I love the time I get with him (and Erika, too, of course!).  Already called Papa to tell him that Lucas wants to help Papa make a Fire Truck and teach him how to drive it!  He's got the BEST imagination!!!  

Enough for now ... the book world beckons ...                                       

Christmas Through The Year-January!!!

We're getting a little too close to the end of January and I was beginning to get a little nervous that this self-proclaimed crafter, who used to craft 24/7 as owner of my own wholesale business "Raggamuffins", would be unsuccessful in accomplishing the very first month of the Christmas Through The Year Challenge ... now wouldn't THAT look bad!  I was amazed at how difficult just deciding on something to make could be. 

As the days moved along, I was pretty sure that January would not produce any big, wondrous, challenging gift, so I began to look at setting a crafty gift of a smaller scale than I had originally thought I would tackle.  January, with its winter chills and snowy skies, seemed perfect for making MITTENS!!!  Now, honestly, I have been wanting to give this a try for a couple of years now.  One of the ladies who used to work with me at the Bookstore had made these one year as gifts for her family, and I thought it was perfect.  No, they're not knitted mittens (although I'd love to try them one day - but I just may need more than a month to accomplish mittens!), rather, they're a wonderful way to recycle old woolen sweaters into something practical, charming, and beautiful!  So mittens it is ... and here's the finished result:

Believe it or not, that truly is the same sweater!  So photography is NOT my forte!  Having fun is, however, and once you get beyond the fact that you are going to purposely shrink a wool sweater, it was the first time I've ever felted wool and it worked beautifully.  So basically, for anyone thinking of giving it a try, you find a sweater (old, preferably, and 90-100% wool), wash it in hot-hot-hot water right in your washing machine (mine took two washings) until the fibers have shrunk enough to tighten (the wool becomes "felted"), rinse in cold water, and toss in the dryer.  Next, trace around your hand adding about one inch all around and about three inches length at the wrist (I like making a paper pattern - in case it turns out amazing and I want to make a dozen more just like it!), then cut the mittens out of your sweater (doubled thickness), using the bottom hem of the sweater as the wrist  of the mittens, two layers for each mitten.  Sew, using a 3/8" seam, leaving the wrist open, of course!  Clip at the thumb, turn right-side-out, and voila ... you have a pair of mittens!  I'm thinking of adding some embellishments to personalize this pair - there's still 10 days left of the month for me to decide and complete.  I may be able to get one mitten out of each sleeve as well, so another gift may be added to my stash.     But for now, I do indeed have one gift to begin my Christmas Through The Year box of treasured handmade gifts!  And it feels great!!!                              

                                              

Snow Day / Day Off...

Winter has finally appeared here in NH ... and I have the luxury of also having the day off from work.  It almost feels like the old "snow days" from school - don't have to be anywhere, don't have to go out ... what sort of creative fun can I get crazy with today! 

(This is my backyard now ... still snowing and since we haven't had any snow to speak of since Halloween, this is actually quite pretty today!)

What a lovely start to my stay-at-home day, as I was able to Skype with my adorable little grandson before he headed off to bed.  Since my daughter and son-in-law live in Singapore, their clocks are a full 13 hours ahead of us.  Every moment spent playing with him (online, of course) is a treasured moment!  This morning, he wanted to see the snow. Of course, I scooped up a nice sized snowball and brought it in to show him!  "Eat it, Gramma!" ... wow, I haven't eaten freshly fallen snow since ... well, it's been awhile!  He's learning to say some words in Chinese at his pre-school - such fun being able to watch him as he discovers new things.  If you haven't tried Skype, I HIGHLY recommend it!

I know I will definitely get started with my first month's hand-made Christmas gift for my "Christmas Through The Year" project.  This looks like it will be the glue that holds my blog together, something to write about and post some fun pictures of as I make the time each month to work on a new project.  Quite sure that ...my raggbagg thread... will be more about being creative than anything else.  We'll see how it progresses. 

Months ago, I came across this wonderful collaged frame. Today, I intend to finally get some very old family photos copied to the right sizes and mounted in it.  It just has that wonderful old-world look to it, and I have so many old photos I'd like to showcase.  That's my mom and dad's wedding picture, which would make a beautiful center-focal point in the frame.  And here's the assortment of photos I'm working with ...

These have been sitting on the dining room table since Christmas ... time for a finished project to headline my New Year!  Too bad it won't count for my Christmas Through The Year gifts - because this one's for me.  Better get started ...........

... it's just the beginning!

My first posting on my first blog … and already I’ve figured out that the toughest part of owning a blog has got to be deciding on a name for it!  Since I’m not 100% sure what I want this blog to grow into, it was all the more challenging to name it.  At this moment in time, I believe it will be known as

                  …my raggbagg thread…

 It speaks to me of creativity and little reminder notes, of quirky afternoons and rummaging through old treasures.  I’m guessing my blog will start off with a little bit of each of those things.  After that, well, we’ll just see how this goes. Welcome to my blog …

Now, I have to admit it was a blog I happened upon late this afternoon that led me to putting some decisive urgency into creating my own blog, because she has posted an invitation to join her in CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE YEAR – a fabulous challenge to make one … just one … handmade gift each month, tuck it away (completed of course!!!) in your own special Christmas Box, and face December with a lovely stash of handmade gifts ALREADY FINISHED to wrap up and give to the special people in your life.  What fun!  And what motivation to face your own blog each month with the simple words “I DID IT”.  I love that the only requirement is that you make “it” yourself … sew, quilt, paint, frame, knit, papercraft … whatever fancies your interest that month.  So count me in … I can hardly wait to get started!  And I welcome my own friends and family to join in as well.  Here's the link to learn more about it...

                                                         http://quiltingdaze.blogspot.com/

Oh, but first, I have to finish putting my blog together ….