end of the year Blythe haulin'

Lately I've been looking more actively for Blythe clothes than I have been for much of this year. I've gotten this cute sweatshirt from Tinkerina, two adorable dresses from Chubby Whale with lovely colors and pretty bodices, and these two knitted outfits from StorybookBlythe! I didn't meet my Blythe goals, let me tell you! I didn't do ADAD, I never found a good pull charm for Mallow (though...

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24th

Merry Christmas Eve! Tonight, my little sisters and I had our annual Home Alone viewing. We pretty much know the movie by heart, but we can never remember all the McCallister kids' names (Buzz, Lenny... is one of them named Jeff? Yeah, I'm already tapped out, and I just watched it a couple of hours ago). There's always last-second wrapping to do. I don't know how it happens, but I'm always doing...

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toadstool ornaments

It seems I've started a small collection of toadstool ornaments this year. These go on the big tree, not my pink tree. They're heavy! Our tree is pretty much dripping with all kinds of ornaments, handmade and gifted and store-bought. My mom collects snowflakes and there are a number of them on our tree, and she also has a second smaller tree that she fills entirely with snowflakes. Before this...

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for all the little birds

Alert, alert! My mom, artist that she is, painted these two tiny wooden birdhouses that we found at Michael's in a scheme that would fit my pink tree. Now they look like snow-covered cabins! My Bob Ross-loving heart was pleased. And of course I asked for toadstools. I can't believe the detail on such a small thing -- it's only two and a half or so inches tall. Anytime anyone tells me I'm talented...

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marshmallow world

Last week my pink tree braved the terribly cold outdoors so I could get some pictures of it. This was much harder than it sounds, since I was so shivery-shaky, huddling down on the snow. My weird color compulsions were given free reign on this tree, and my odd theme was earthy-pastel. It's so satisfying to me. I'm still so glad I found those little toadstools at Target! Somehow, there's...

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keeping warm

Of course, I am digging this winter weather! Everyone else has cabin fever, but I am basically always close to hibernation. I love when it's very bright out at night because of the snow. Snow makes me happy in part because I know my Ice Rune, Aury, is a winter girl. I don't think I've failed to take her out in the snow once since getting her in December of '09. Hard to believe I've had her...

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the north wind doth blow

I love winter weather! Rather than fluffy snow, we're getting crunchy sleet; you can hear the snow hitting the ground as well as you could hear rain. My area has a history of ice storms wherein we lose power for many days, so we're all bracing ourselves. We carried in firewood yesterday so it wouldn't get wet and we'd have a good stash. I'll hold out hope that a power outage won't happen, and...

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cool front coming

Man, November sure did slink on by. Hard to believe it's December, even though I've been in the Christmas mood for a while now. Hope your Thanksgiving was great, Americans! Everybody else, psst. I skipped Thanksgiving. I'm with you all the way. No, but really, I'm thankful for the friends I keep in touch with, the good fortune I have, my best friend's job hunt coming to an end (Yay E!!!), and...

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sweet treats wreath

I'm really digging doing a pastel Christmas thing this year. (Yeah, yeah! I know! Thanksgiving first! But Christmas is only a few weeks away!) This wreath I made is pretty last-era Katy Perry, right? It's not my fault there were so many cute dessert ornaments at Hobby Lobby. I got all of them for under ten bucks the same day I got my pink tree. My house is generally very traditional with its Christmas...

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too early? nah

I'm about to shift into HOLIDAY CRAFTING MODE! For, yes, the little baby pink mini-tree I totally scored for $10 at Hobby Lobby needs some ornaments. I'm really into the natural, sort of earthy-feeling ornaments I've been seeing. (Not a shock, given my love for mori and natural kei.) I love the knit/wood/linen/burlap ones. Yesterday I got these two little birds, who look like they're from the...

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sister's ripple: dunzo

According to Ravelry, I started this on Septmber 16. I finished today, November 8. Unfortunately on the very last green row I ran out of green yarn, and it took me two weeks to get one more green skein (most of which is just sitting here now, since I needed only one more row's worth), or I would have had this finished in October. I hope my sister likes it! Satisfied self...

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November must-haves

It got very cold this past week. Colors are really starting to show in the leaves! When I've been out and about, I'm always in the ol' boots and often in this fox hat. I always gotta have an animal-eared hat. The air is so nice and crisp right now that Nina is my perfume of choice. (In warmer, sweatier weather, this can be too heavy a scent for me.) And while I almost always gravitate towards...

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look down; look up

Nothing's better in the autumn than boots. Of course, boots are good all year! Trees here are only just starting to change color and still mostly have their leaves. It's crisp outside, clear, and a temperature between cool (sweat weather!) and cold (jacket weather). I finally bought a table for the sewing machine I got for Christmas -- which is so long ago, now! According to all the stores, it...

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green/white ripple progress

This ripple throw for my sister is coming along nicely. On Saturday I did an entire white swathe. It's really about half the size of my ripple blanket! But it's still a nice size that will easily cover her lap. I think there will be four green stripes total and five white. Soon I'll post about a project that I've had in the works for the past several months. It's come together, but I'm still...

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my September

Yes, friends! I'm rippling once more! Do I sound crazy for never wanting to let another year go by without rippling at least once?? It's just so nice to have a project that I can pick up, make progress on, and just sail along with. I'm still writing a ton, so when I'm not wrapped up in a Word document, this is mindless enough to let me think about my story -- but not too hard. This throw is...

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grannies, continued

I started crocheting these mustard-and-white granny squares at a friend's house during May. Making granny squares is rhythmic, relaxing, and doesn't take very long. Perfect to do while watching TV or listening to a podcast! I did perhaps 18 or so that weekend, and kept the yarn sitting on my desk for when I felt like doing some more. Now I have 62. As you can see (pardon my "foots," as Bob...

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summer days, drifting away

I've been remiss with posting, but honestly, I don't mind at all, as this is my hobby blog. In June, I strained my wrist knitting hexipuffs with such clumsy concentration! They are outside my skill set, for sure. However, this does happen to my wrists if I am crafting too much or holding myself quite tensely, as I tend to while I'm knitting. It's happened twice since I began this blog, and I'm...

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sweetest of valleys

I don't consider myself a collector of anything -- not Blythe dolls (although I have nine Neos and a Middie) or yarn (although I have a stash) or owls (although I have many owls and things with owls on them!) or anything, really. But now that I think about it, I sort of do have a collection... of Sweet Valley Twins books. Maybe you're familiar with the Sweet Valley High series, or you've...

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wearing my fingers out

My left fingers sure are tender between hexipuffing and guitar-playing. I didn't play my guitar too much last month, so now my fingers are letting me know it. I managed to make another hexipuff today and I think I improved! I also managed to bind off, which involved a crochet hook... perfect. My comfort zone. I'm not sure I'm doing the very last bit of the bind off right! But my knitting's...

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