Yowza!

This amazing Christmas Swap package came for me in today's mail from the awesome Krista in Atlanta, GA. Artemis, as is the norm, was the first to dive in and investigate. There was a mouse stuffed with catnip in the package, so everything smelled good to her. She started rolling in the presents until distracted by her ultimate draw, curling ribbon.

The package was incredibly generous. Everything was beautifully wrapped with ribbons and adorable tags. She really put together a package that was so thoughtful and showed that she read my blog and got who I am.

Inside was a bundle of cool fat quarters, a mushy cushy sparkly ball of fiber bits and pieces, beautiful bags of beads ( I see some stitch markers in my future), a silver frame ornament for a picture of Tosca for the Christmas tree, lots of cool flower appliques and stickers, an assortment of decorative papers, Dale Chihuly notecards, a stash of fun postcards...

a gorgeous mother of pearl pendant and the cutest "Clara Bow"ish button.

And there were a couple of Linder chocolate truffles that I immediately scarfed down, YUM. Thank you, Krista...the smile is ear to ear!

Recycling

Squirreled away in hidden piles are clothes that I just cannot bear to part with...sweaters savaged by hungry little bastards, pants worn through in the butt, shirts with a big ink stain. They are too ruined for Goodwill, but for some reason I cannot just pop them in the trash. The dream of doing something cool with them has always lurked.

Swap-Bot provided me with the perfect opportunity to wade into my stashed rags and start whacking away. A recycled stuffy swap was hosted on the site.

I went to Plush-O-Rama by Linda Kopp for inspiration and modeled my first ever stuffy after Carly Schwerdt's Moopy Bunny. If you haven't seen this book yet, it is lots of fun.

I dug out one of my former favorite sweaters that had moth holes in places that could not be decently covered by brooches or embroidery. Into the washer and dryer it went for felting. It produced some yummy felt! I also yanked out of my summer clothes a skirt that I loved on the hanger, but looked like shite on me. Snip snip and no more temptation to wear it and look dumpy. It made a pretty dress for the Bun-Bun with a built-in ruffle at the bottom. Her eyes are a bit crazy, but she is a sweetie. Bun-Bun is now happy and living in Seattle...spreading sunshine around.

This little sweetie was sent to me by Tove, all the way from Finland. Tove also included a mouse which has been claimed by Tosca.

I had so much fun with Bun-Bun that I decided to make another for a Christmas swap partner in Australia. Kitka was made from some of the leftover felt, an old pair of jeans, upholstery samples and a vintage green heart button that has tried to be part of so many other projects and failed. It is a long trip to Australia, so I packed her some chocolate and kitty treats to munch on the flight.

I forsee more of these stuffies in my future and hopefully a reduced pile of Goodwill rejects.

Red Scarf Project 2007

Have you started your red scarf yet? What? Don't know about red scarves? The Orphan Foundation of America is a nonprofit that provides scholarship and support for teenage orphans who have aged out of the foster care system. They are asking for knitters and crocheters to participate in their Red Scarf Project 2007. The red scarves will be in Valentines Day care packages sent to the teens. Help spread a little love to these kids and let them know there are people out there that care. If you really want to get involved they have a virtual mentoring program, please check it out.

All You Need is Love

...and may be some good drugs! This is a late Thanksgiving posting, but I had to comment on my first trip to Las Vegas.

My holiday was split in two, part one in Vegas with my father and Uncle David and part two in Carson City with them and my uncle's crazy (and not in a good way) girlfriend. Vegas was more fun than I imagined and not nearly as tacky.

We started off on a high note with the Cirque du Soleil's show "Love" at the Mirage. I am a huge Cirque fan and have seen a bunch of their shows in Philadelphia. This was different- Beatles music, costumes that weren't as wild as their norm, and more dancing than usual. It was wonderful and I boohooed through at least the first 20 minutes because I was sooooo overcome with emotion and memory. I wasn't the only one who was swept away, there were tears all around me.

We sat in the first row, not the best place to see the whole show, but we were inches from the performers and they made regular eye contact with us! The funniest for me was during Blackbird when a very cute cheeky baby blackbird crashed back to the stage in front of me and pulled himself right over the edge of the stage. He looked me in the eye and said "Mama?" I replied, "Baby?" before he was whisked away on his bungee. It reminded me of my favorite childhood book, Are You My Mother?


The Octopus' Garden was the most beautiful portion of the show. The aerial artists costumed as jellyfish were breathtaking. If you are ever in Vegas, go see this show...hell, go to Vegas just to see it! That is an order!

Other amazing sights in Sin City where the Venetian, Paris, Mandalay Bay, oh and the Bellagio. The gardens and pool are so gorgeous, I would love to hang out there for days. The glass flower ceiling in the lobby by Dale Chihuly is beyond cool. I want one of these for the next time I have bronchitis and am sucking down the codeine. Talk about a psychadelic experience!

Then we headed off to Carson City...and the turf war began. My uncle's girlfriend only envisions his family as being her, her daughter, and my uncle. She doesn't want one that includes my father and myself. We are a really small family, only the three of us, we are not asking her to share him with the masses. Being around her is incredibly stressful. I cannot imagine how my uncle deals with this 24/7. He has told me that he is going to ask her to move out before Christmas. But then my uncle has talked about this before, and nothing has happened. The sad part really is that the family...my uncle, my dad and I...all really love the crazy's daughter. We would adopt her into the family in a heartbeat. She is a great kid- smart, fun, polite, and she loathes Bush...what more can I say? Can we push her mother over a cliff somewhere? Arrrrrgh!

But now I am home with the kitties and detoxing from too much rich food and stress. Oh, and hoping that my uncle's christmas card is from him only!