The Niece and Nephew

More pictures from my sister:
1) the nephew likes holding his sister,


2) I'm told she's often content amusing herself,


3) she looks like her father. No frog eyes on that one! She didn't inherit my sister's (and our father's) eyes.

Goodbye, Faithful Grey Shirt

I recycled one of my favourite shirts from when I was a graduate student - ulp! - 15 years ago! Here is it reincarnated as a sitting terrier...


and an elephant.


Wow, I sure have gotten lots of mileage from that dog pattern. About a month ago I made a bigger version from a yellow sweatshirt (also a grad school staple, but not a favourite). The pattern didn't scale well so it looks kind of wonky, but the littler boy adopted the pup right away and loves it.


Here's a design I developed myself earlier this week. Basically, I just winged it. There are a few sloppy mistakes, so we'll call this the prototype.



Check out the "sucker" fabric on the tentacles!


In a previous post, I wrote that the older boy wouldn't let his brother play with his magnetic building set, which he received for his birthday. The little one was so sad that we promised him his own magnet set... and here it is. Not as good quality as the birthday set, but less expensive.

Japanese Craft Books

This is my small collection of Japanese craft books.

The one on the bottom left has the felt food patterns (ISBN 452903397x), and the one on the bottom right has the terrier pattern (ISBN 4834719227).

I was able to add to the collection last night when I received in the mail the small one at the upper right (ISBN 483476348x). It includes a pattern for this little elephant.


The Package Book was a lucky find at a used book store (ISBN 4579208773). I normally don't buy Japanese language origami books as there are so many good ones in translation, such as those by Tomoko Fuse, but I got this because of the charming cake and purse boxes.



The book at the middle bottom titled, Omiyage: Handmade Gifts from Fabric in the Japanese Tradition by Kumiko Sudo is actually printed in English (ISBN 0809229099). I picked up this copy at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, where I take aikido. It has patterns for many, meticulously made, "tiny but delightful" (in the words of the author) pouches and bags. Quilters would love this book.


Speaking of things Japanese, this is my latest food addiction. I can't get enough of these salty rice crackers.

Another Puppy

Trying this design again with another recycled shirt...





It's also destined for a swap.

Update: the puppy arrived at its new home.

Hard Day

I had an exceptionally tough day at work, so I bought these treats for myself: wind-up sushi, and a librarian action figure complete with book cart and reference desk. The action part is: you press a button on her back and she "shushes". Every library employee in North America knows about this toy, so it caught me off guard when my husband and his coworkers were mightily amused by it.


Actually, I bought the action figure because the books have real titles and authors on them. One of the titles is Lady Wu - I know it's corny, but it felt like kismet. Sorry about the craptastic pictures, but if you squint, you can see there's also Neuromancer, I, Robot, The Darwin Awards, and others.


Here's a close-up of the sushi.


I went to aikido this evening and it alleviated some of the anger and frustration I had at the end of the day. There's nothing like pounding the sh*t out of someone - and getting pounded yourself! - to dissipate bad karma.

Let's see... craftwise, I've been knitting, but not the boring-to-knit scarf/shawl that's been nagging at me since July. Here are some things I've completed: two knitted donuts destined for swaps,




and an experimental cell phone sock - too bad it's too way too big for my cell phone.

I'm an Aunt... of a Puppy!

There isn't much happening in my life, but my big sister adopted a dog this past weekend.

Outside Links

I don't normally post outside links on this blog, but I'm doing so today, partly to share the links with you, but mostly so that I can have one page to link out from.

Here are sites I try to check once a day:

• Monty, formerly Robotman, is my favourite quirky syndicated comic strip (warning: pop-up ads). Monty is a nerdy suburban bachelor, and the strip pokes fun at popular culture and suburban life, with the occasional literary reference.
  
• Unshelved is a comic strip that takes place in a library. I think all librarians read this one.
  
• Boing Boing is a collaborative blog by a group of technocrati. One of the bloggers works for the EFF, and he always posts the latest cutting edge news on digital copyright. The content is at times too left-leaning for my tastes, but the interesting articles on how blogs and other internet tech are being used in the real world more than make up for it (e.g. doctors in the third world using Wikipedia as a way to disseminate the latest info on avian flu).
  

These are sites I try to check once a week:

• Post Secret is a public art project where anonymous contributors mail in a handmade postcard with a secret on it. The only 2 criteria is that the secret must be true, and must never have been divulged to anyone before. Some are funny, some are heartbreaking, some even have good graphics - a real mixed bag.
  
  
  
• Slow Wave is a weekly comic where the creator illustrates the dreams that people submit.
  
  

Mail Order DIY

I bought these two handmade bracelets from Pixelgirl Shop, an independent online shop. I know I could've made these myself, and thought about doing so, but I'm sure I would've lost patience with all the drilling. As I value my time, it was just easier to buy them.



I made this canvas autograph hound for my older son, even though he won't be able to use it until his grade 5 graduation from primary school next year. I'm going to add a collar for attaching a permanent marker, for collecting all those autographs from friends and teachers.

The free pattern is from a Japanese sewing web site.

I got a request for a tutorial for the record bowls I made earlier. It's really simple. Turn on the oven to low, like, 200 degrees F. Place the record on an overturned oven-safe bowl (glass or metal works well), and place the whole thing on a cookie sheet in case of drips. Heat for a few minutes, until the record looks floppy. Take it out (it'll be hot, but not so hot that you can't touch it - like a fake leather steering wheel on a hot day), and quickly shape it by hand, or by smushing it into the bowl.

Busy, Busy Week

First, a message to my aikidoka friends:
Saturday, October 1, 4-6 pm, there will be testing at the dojo that should be interesting to see. It's 1st kyu and up, and a bunch of people from my dojo and others will be doing ni-dan and san-dan tests. I've seen some of the practice randori - should be fun to watch.

Last Wednesday the kids and I made marble magnets.


I finally have strong magnets to hold up the junk at my desk. This shows a bunny by each of the kids.

I bought a bunch of Watchmaker's cases from Lee Valley Tools, so that we can make magnet sets for Christmas gifts.


Last Thursday we went to the spouse's boss' boss' BBQ. I promised my coworkers I'd get pics of the place. Since it was a BBQ, we were mostly outside and didn't get to see the whole house, but here is the kitchen and dining room which leads to the backyard, and some of that yard.







Saturday was the older boy's birthday party. We took the crowd to the Science Centre. They have two big play areas, KidsPark and the Science Arcade. My younger sister will be happy to know that in the former, they set up a fenced-in area for toddlers 3 and under.

Broadband = Photos

"Broadband = photos" was the subject line of my sister's e-mail message.




I'm told he loves holding his baby sister. When she's sleeping, he puts a stuffed toy on his lap and covers it gently with a blanket.


This is my other sister's "kid", taking a bath.