Last Minute Christmas

It happens every year (for which I am very thankful), I have customer work that keeps me busy until late in December and am left with little time for family crafting.
So it came to pass that on Saturday, December 20th I texted this photo to my mom:

from this website

and asked if she would collaborate with me to make it for The Youngest for Christmas.

She accepted and we began,

First, it was a trip to the fabric shop to get the basics: canvas for the body of the chair cover, accent fabric, felt and bias tape for details.

My mom is great with 3-dimensional planning and thinking. She designed and built her back deck, back porch, myriad gardens, she has got the skills. 

So, of course, she whipped up the chair cover in about an hour.

I went over the next day and we worked for a couple of hours, making the apron, choosing the backsplash, making stove controls.

Mom did the heavy lifting with the doors and pockets. 

I picked up the kitchen on Monday (along with the baker's hat and potholder that my mom managed to whip up) and brought it back to do the hand sewing.  

I got the cover for the microwave door finished, attached the stove buttons, and started in on the oven door. After some research (I asked the daughter of a friend) about what to include inside the oven, I went with a pan of chocolate chip cookies. I will admit, I had a hard time figuring out what to do with the outside of the oven door, and the inside of the microwave. 

Yesterday just happened to be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day; we discovered that we all had lice and while we were on our way to The Lice Lady (Totally worth the money)The Elder threw up in the car, and while we were waiting for The Younger, The Youngest and The Hubs the car battery died. 

But, after our 5 hour unpleasantness I was able to finish up the hand work last night. 

 We don't own a microwave, but we can just tell her it's popcorn door or something...

 I was still stymied on the oven door last night, so I copped out and just put a bird on it. The accent fabric is birds and flowers, so I borrowed one of the motifs.

 Add some pots, pans and food from IKEA and that's one exciting Christmas gift.

I hope she likes it!

Joining Nicole for KCCO

Birthday Room Redo

Friday was The Elder's 11th Birthday. 

The first of her B-day requests was cake decorating supplies.

I baked the cake, devil's chocolate from America's Test Kitchen, (made dairy-free with coconut milk) and did a crumb coat of frosting, but she did the rest and it turned out great!

Once the kids were at school on Friday, my mom came over and helped me zazz up her bedroom as another birthday surprise.
Earlier this year I built a rudimentary canopy for The Elder's bed.
For the big room redo I got some pipe insulation, painted it white and covered the uprights. Next we covered them with some more of the lacy fabric I used for the canopy.
Then, using some outdoor light clips, we attached a string of twinkle lights to the top.
It's the perfect reading light level, and turned out fairly magical, if I do say so...

 We found a bunch of lovely art that The Elder has been making in school, and hung it around the room.

She also needed a desk, and luckily the neighbors threw out this changing table the other week. 

It converted quite easily to a desk, and with a lick of paint it looks brand new.

 

She was mostly happy with the transformation, though there was a little panic when she couldn't find all of her toys. 

It's a little staggering that this tiny sweet baby

has turned into this confident, bright, delightful young lady.

Happy Birthday, my girl.

April in December

The photo in my header was taken by the river about two weeks ago. 

This one was this morning.  

We have been enjoying a few days of unseasonably warm weather.

This morning The Youngest and I took a walk by the river, and were rewarded with some cool misty loveliness.

No coat? On December 15th? Okie Doke.

Lazy Morning

It's a day off for my big kids, conferences, and we have been having a super lazy morning.
The Elder and Younger are procrastinating their chores by playing together, so I am not really pressing the issue.
The Youngest is preparing an art installation on the stairs,

and I am digging into the Christmas music.
It's been a while since I have gone through my favorite Christmas music and played whole albums, rather than putting it all on super shuffle, but today felt like the day to do it.
First there was When My Heart Finds Christmas by Harry Connick, Jr. followed by Ella Wishes You a Swingin' Christmas and now it's That Spirit of Christmas by Ray Charles.
I don't think I'll ever get tired of any of these perfect recordings.
What's your favorite music for getting into the spirit?

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny today,
It's been a flurry of knitting lately.
I have had a couple of client commissions for christmas stockings and the Elder needed new mittens and scarf. So, it's a good thing that it's been one of the coldest Novembers on record.
This morning I am finishing up with the neckwarmer for the Elder, and the reading I have been doing is almost none, though I did have to pull out the America's Test Kitchen cookbook to whip up some banana bread.

What's on your needles lately?

Yarn Along

Good morning, friends.
I am home sick from work this morning.
The cough and gross I could do without, but it does give me an opportunity to join Ginny for Yarn Along.
It's been two months since my last day at the yarn shop, and I have noticed a major drop-off in my knitting.
I did manage to knit a sweater for a customer, one of my last, and I also whipped up this hat.

I also read 3 books in the past month, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, The Princess Bride (both on the kindle, so I can't really photograph them) and Little Bee which I picked up from a Little Free Library.

I loved Little Bee until the end, Has anyone read it? 

What's on your needles today?

Joining Ginny

Seven

Yesterday began my seventh year of blogging.
This is, by far, the longest time I have ever journaled, and even though I lose my mojo once in a while, it's nice to know that this space is here for me.
This weekend was so beautiful, it reminded me of the first time I went out for fifthlamp photos.
The leaves are in tip top color, and the skies have been mostly clear.

Also, this weekend, we took a trip to the nearby Stillwater Pumpkin Festival.
We'd never been before, but I can see it becoming an annual tradition for us.
Really how can you beat cotton candy,

 giant pumpkins,

 and soda on a spectacular fall day?

Top that off with a giant pumpkin drop from a 100 ft. crane, and you have a recipe for an awesome afternoon

Here's to another year of fifthlamp fun,
thanks for hanging around with me.