This Day Will Go Down in Infamy....

Today is National Pearl Harbor Rememberance Day.

It is also my friend Tony's birthday.
And the last day to enter to win
this hat.

Enter here.

Good luck!

Cheers,
A

New Years: Resolved

This year,
I resolved to take more photos of myself.
Or,
rather,
to allow more photos of myself to either be taken
or to be shared with others.

I rarely find myself on the lens side of the camera
so I have to find other opportunities to fulfill my resolution.

I model my own hats.
I pose in my bathroom mirror.

And,
it's funny,
but in all of my favorite photos of myself
my Nikon is hiding half my face.

Maybe that's my "bad side."
Or maybe I like the way my camera looks
better than my own reflection.

Either way,
I'm happy that I can
(somewhat)
live up to my resolution.

And I am happy
that I finally took a photo
of just myself
sans camera
that I actually like.

No funny actions.
No comic book effect.
No black and white to hide the hideous unevenness of my skin.
Just me.

Okay, fine.
And a little Benefit lip stain,
some glass beads from Melissa's honeymoon
and a fabulous hat
that I
you know
just sort of
picked up.

Cheers,
A

Sunday Sewing

I decided to make Elena a Christmas dress this year.
Because I can't ever find anything at the stores that I just love
or, if I do
I am not willing to spend the kind of money that
such designs demand.

I am thrilled with the final product.
I hope it fits her.
And I hope it fits her sister in a couple years.

As I was photographing the dress
I hung it on the blinds in my living room.
I was adjusting the settings on my camera to make up for
the backlit setup
and wound up with this photo in the process:

Beware the floating holiday dress.

I also made a dress for my niece.
As a Christmas gift.
It should fit her this summer
when it is warm enough
in Minnesota
for little girls to wear dresses
without tights.

I hope she loves it,
too.

Happy Sunday!

PS: Don't forget to enter the giveaway!!

Cheers,
A

Take Two for Megan, & Another Giveaway!

I made a hat for Megan.

She liked it. 

Didn't love it.

Only because she had her heart set

on a hat with a brim.

I set off on a new hat

for Megan

working as hard as my little fingers could carry me

in the hope of having it ready Thanksgiving weekend.

Then DRL went to San Diego.

Then Belle broke her leg.

Then I fell down the stairs.

And I didn't knit a stitch last weekend.

I finally finished it this morning

and will send it off in the mail this afternoon.

Megan,

I hope

hope 

hope

this hat fits the bill.

No pun intended.

It's my favorite brand of yarn:

Malabrigo.

In a color called Pearl.

A gorgeous grey

with the faintest hint

of pink and white.

My favorite yarn in my favorite colorway.

Made into one of my favorite hats.

And,

since it's Saturday

since I took a day off from blogging,

and since it is the fourth day of Chanukah

I am giving away another hat!

Also made with Malabrigo worsted merino wool.

Obviously,

it is a woman's hat

and it'll fit {most} heads.

All you have to do to enter is post a comment answering the following question:

What is your favorite gift to give?

Are you the type that likes to pick out the perfect gift?

Or are gift certificates more your gift-giving style?

Are you a scented candle giver-outer?

Or do you agonize over what to give and wait until the last minute to complete your shopping?

(raises hand)

I will pick one random commenter

(with the help of random.org)

and announce the winner on Wednesday. 

Therefore, 

entries must be received by 12:00PM (CST) on TUESDAY December 7th.

The day that will go down

in 

Infamy.

Cheers,

A

Wednesday Wisdom

*This is my new shirt from the FCKH8 campaign. You should get one, too.

*I tried to make a handmade Christmas gift for my friend Rebecca's new baby girl.  It didn't pan out.  I am going to try again.

*I am behind on everything.  Megan, your hat is coming.  Melissa, so are your wedding photos.

*My brother flew into town today.  He's here to help DRL drive back to MN for the month.

*I'll join them the weekend before Christmas.

*Elena doesn't believe that there is snow at Gramma's house.  Silly girl.

*Yesterday was World AIDS Day.  I wore my inspi(red) shirt to bed since I couldn't wear it to work.

*Did I mention that I am behind on everything??

*I need to take more photos. I haven't picked my camera up in a long time. For this, I am sad.

*Belle is home from the vet.  She is hurting. And tired.  But she is moving around well.

*It is amazing how resilient dogs are.  Magnificent creatures....

*My guilt, on the other hand, is waning slowly.  Very, very, slowly.

*I need ideas for blog topics.  I'm tapped for ideas.

*Help.

*Please.

Cheers,
A

It's Thursday today, isn't it?
As in: NOT Wednesday??
Dadgummit......

When Life Hands You Lemons....

Back in October

I had to go to Bastrop overnight
for a Pain Society conference.

I wore my camera necklace.
And lost it.

I was sad.
Distraught.
I ran straight to Target in search of a replacement.
To no avail.

Then I ran
proverbially speaking
straight to Etsy to find one.
And although there was a vast assortment
I couldn't quite find one that I loved.

Then I had the bright idea to go to Michael's
and see if maybe
just maybe
I might be able to find the pieces to make
myself a necklace.

It took a few trips.
And some failed attempts
but I finally ended up with
the perfect
necklace.

I love it.

Correction:
I swoon.

Cheers,
A