UK Highlights

 Castles, castles and more castles….

My son's favorite castle, Urquhart Castle - on the Loch in Scotland,  because he shares the same name as the tower.

No Loch Ness monster in the lake….

Hmmm…I should have worn the other shoes.  At the Caernarfon Castle in Wales.

Lord Warwick - you're tiny!  Wax figures at the campy Warwick Castle.

Poppies for WW I & II remembrance at Tower of London

When in Rome, London…..

His size 14's (men's shoe size!) even made it to Stonehenge!

Posing with their favorite character from the Brit. show Merlin

My girl kept asking why the letter i's were missing from the TOILET signs…..heh, heh!

Apple of London's Eye

They are such tourists!

Tea at Harrods in London…...

Tea at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland…..

Mmmmmmmm, but I don't get clotted cream - it's like tasteless butter.

Tea at home - recreated completely by the kiddos to capture UK trip memories :-)!

Of course, some eye candy is necessary to end this post…

WIP - baby ripple blanket with Rico Design cotton yarn.

American Girl Doll mini afghan using Stylecraft DK weight yarn (the best!)

Great way to use up scrap yarn - pattern here.

No-calorie donuts :)….Going to the boutique

Man afghan for the other house (using Stylecraft yarn again!)

Pretty yarn baskets - also going to the boutique

Yarn "Oreos" for boutique...

Trying new patterns - using old designer fabric (Michael Miller's Flora Fauna by Patty Young), pardon the ugly ironing board cover.

Aaaah....life!

Before she got too old, we made a trek to the American Girl Doll store in LA and splurged on lunch!

My Boy Scout on a zip line!

On a cruise ship.  With real grass.  Amazing trip!  Thanks, Mom!!

My little ham.

Ft Ross Settlement.  Gorgeous place - highly recommend!

Visit to one of our favorite places.  Poor pig. 

Giddy up!  City boy meets Ms Easy.

What form!  Track and Field Spring '13

Yes, it's supposed to be edible.  Man o'da house having fun with the dehydrator.

Before the oven broke.

64 Oreos.  Since the oven wasn't working.  

Ummm....shouldn't the boy or Dad be doing this???

Fishing.  Dumb fish too smart to eat peanut butter and lettuce.

She better end up an artist.  Hopefully not the starving kind.

Look, Ma!  I learned how to sew on zippers!

Fancy pillowcases.  With pockets a la Pottery Barn.    And crocheted edge!  If you wanna buy one, it will cost you $50!

Fun with fleece.  

Learning how to sew more stuff.

Foot mops.  Binding and curves - aaack!

Spring is here (in California...)

These are napkins I made for our Spring fund raising for my kids' school.  I actually sewed the "rings" part instead of crocheting around a hair elastic.  I used designer fabric and cut 2" x 8" strips then sewed them up together and turned them inside out then stitched velcro for closure.  Silk flowers are from Michael's and I just used hot glue (the napkins were a steal for a pack of 12 at Home Goods!).

"Sewing Projects"

I'm learning how to sew. But the process is very sllllooooow. My machine does not like me yet so I started out by just taking the cover off of her and letting her get used to her new surroundings.

The first "sewing" project is this memo board I've been wanting to complete. It took 2 friends to help me get it finished. The big buttons are actually customizable brads, by way of the fun I-Top doodad. These brads are the 28mm size - the largest; and I used real fabric to cover them (Paula Young fabric). After covering 12 brads, we all decided that you really don't need that awkward tool - just use your thumbs to push the 2 parts together. Of course, it took $18 to figure that out! (double click photo for more detailed look).


The 2nd "sewing" project was inspired by my need to use up yarn. My wonderful sister-in-law (Hi Holly!) gave me a bunch of beautiful yarns and this particular skein was going to be a crocheted hat but by the time I finished it, it was too tight to wear! I unravelled it and decided to cover this straw wreath instead. The felt flowers were handmade - great way to use up extra felt and the dried flowers were from Michael's.


Now I actually did sew after these projects. But my camera ran out of batteries so couldn't take a picture. Will get those on the blog this weekend. Hint: crochet + pillows, as inspired by this talented blogger.