within sight

Here are some pictures that seem to capture daily life here at the Clothesline.

A huge, yet beautiful spider web strategically built on the swing set. I misted it so I could capture it's beauty, but otherwise this picture is SOOC. The girls tried really hard to avoid the swings that day. No, not because they were scared of the spider, but because they didn't want to ruin such a beautiful web. So, Mr. Arachnid, you can thank Charlotte for that. But next time could you leave the girls a message because that would be really cool!

Ah, this lovely shot was taken as the sun was setting. I had gone outside to take the trash out and the orange glow was amazing! I went in to grab my camera and the girls thought I was crazy for wanting to take a picture of the trash. After they saw the shot they understood...I just can't resist the orange. Plus, the jar flies were singing so loudly it was as if they were singing just for me.

Now, does it get any better than this. Miss E was very quiet one morning...very serious about her art. No one was to see her picture until it was done. It was certainly worth the wait, no? Her first family portrait.

Here by the back door I caught my little ones enjoying the sun spot with Shadow, our lovely cat. I enjoy a good sunny day myself, so it's no wonder that my girls and even our cat just can't stay away when it shines in on us.

So that's just a little peek of what is within sight of the Clothesline.

Happy Wednesday! xo ANG

handmade gifts galore

I guess it's been quite a while since I've been here. Sorry about that. Home school planning, outdoor playing, and ya know, general wife-mom-crafter stuff has been filling up the days. But, I am here and that's what counts, right? Now, just so you know, this post has lots of pictures because I want to share with you the things I have been working on lately. Okay, do you remember that this is the year of handmade gifts in my little corner of the world? Well, it is and I have really been enjoying it. Making things, it's nice. Creating things, it's nice. Sharing this joy with my girls, it's really nice. So here's where this project begins...the gift bag. I had this perfect brown bag but it had a store logo on it..not good. The girls and I decided to break out the paints, naturally we started with pink. One wide column of pink down the center to cover the logo then some white paint on the sides to frame it...cute. After the paint dried I took our favorite scented marker...chocolate brown...and drew some flowers around the happy birthday part.

Here's to whole kit and caboodle of the handmade loot...four washcloths, one headband, two lip balm cozies. All made of Sugar n Cream yarn...so yummy.

First, let me tell you about the gift tags though. While the girls and I had the paints out we decided to cut up a cereal box and painted the printed side...pink, of course. Then on each tag I wrote the name of the crochet pattern I used. The girls enjoyed the paint and glue...a sticky pink mess, but oh, so fun. Now for the close up of the goodies. First up, the Vanilla Grit Stitch washcloth...my new favorite.

Next the Bark Sedge Stitch washcloth. Such great texture.

The Basket Weave washcloth, a great one. It turned out great, but small so I added a row of double crochet around the outside.

My original favorite, such a unique look and a wonderful feel...the Rub-a-dub Scrub Spa washcloth. Okay, maybe this is still my favorite.

This is a headband. Great for holding your hair out of your face while you wash it with a soothingly soft washcloth. I just did a couple of double crochet rows with single crochet around the outside, some decreases on each end then a nice chain to tie it up with. Hmmm, maybe I should have written that pattern down. I'll make another and write as I go so I can share it with you.

These are the lip balm cozies. Cute, simple, quick. On my Christmas gift list, for sure. They just need a key ring attached.

Oh, and this. This is a narrower headband for me. Cute, no?

All of these will be going in the Crochet-Along Flickr group. Have you crocheted anything to add to the group? I've got to start working on the Christmas gifts soon. I've still got a few birthdays to cover, but after that it's all Christmas gift making. Okay, maybe some just for fun projects too. Happy Monday. xoANG

before the sun?

I don't know how your morning began...but here's the play-by-play of my morning.
6AM-awakened by scratching sound-Our cat tends to scratch at the sides of his litter box instead of scraping the litter over his, well ya know. I guess he doesn't want to get his feet dirty but then he wonders why the smell won't go away and keeps on scratching. It's maddening really, at 6am.
6:15AM-after finally drifting off I am awakened again by a loud whispering of mom, mom, mommmm! - I get up only to discover that loud whispering child can't find one beloved stuffed owl in all the covers on her bed.
Oh, forget it, let's just get up. Both girls are magically wide awake instead of the usual and because I didn't make my rounds opeing all the blinds before I went in their room it was still dark, so they ran around searching for the now hiding cat. They loudly and cheerfully planned out how they could find him by searching for his glowing eyes. Now, don't get me wrong, we normally get up at 6:30am so this isn't really too early, but I like to be awakened by a softly playing radio then I like to hit the snooze button at least once. Not today. So here I am. Everyone has been fed, dressed, beds made, and hair is being brushed. I've had coffee, checked email, fed cat, and cleaned out aforementioned litter box and it's not even 8am yet.
....to be continued.

it's birthday time

Happy Birthday

Grandma Sandy!

We love you!

for the love of all things apron-y

Yes. That's right. I made another apron. I couldn't help myself. I had all of that cheery plaid just begging to be used. Plus, I realized that I had some lovely coordinating orange fabric and I just had to make something. So what kind of apron did I make? A clothespin apron, naturally. Here's my sketch.
Oh, yes. Grandiose plans, indeed. In my mind it always seems to work. Cutting and sewing are often another story entirely. My idea did, however, come together nicely, but I reversed it because I wanted the pocket on the right side since I'm right handed. Oh, believe me, having the pocket on the correct side makes a huge difference. Anyway, wanna see it? Well, if you insist! Okay..here it is.

Do you not absolutely love it? Oh the orange just screams cheerfulness doesn't it. I mean, really, who doesn't want some extra cheeriness on laundry day?! So how did I make it? Well, thanks to my pack-ratting middle school math teacher days I have a huge roll of one-inch grid paper. Perfect for making patterns. I just measured and drew the apron design, actual size, on the paper then I cut out each piece and pinned it to the chosen fabric then pieced it together like a quilt. Worked like a charm!

There are only two things that I would do differently. One, I would make the waist band using the plaid on the bias...so much cuter that way. Ya know, like on my Key West Kilt Apron. I'm just saying, if I'm gonna do housework I may as well be cute, right? And two, I'd make the bias tape trim on the pocket differently. It worked great and I actually sewed it on there just perfectly. My mistake was that I didn't cut the strip of fabric on the bias so it didn't want to curve around the pocket easily. It's a little puckered around the outer edge...oh well. At least I learned something new in the process.
Well, all of the laundry has been washed and hung and hopefully it'll be dry soon. I see some afternoon storm clouds rolling in. xo ANG

eric carle's muse

The other day I noticed a few little nibbles on my potted tomato plants. The next day I noticed several small green tomatoes missing. Then, I was amazed to see lots of branches gnawed all the way to the main stem and several tomatoes with the unmistakable holes.

Then I saw him. Oh yes, the very hungry caterpillar!

Creepy but beautiful.

Just look at that design. He's going to be a beauty with wings!
I wish I had put my hand in that picture to give it some perspective. He was as long as my index finger but bigger around. I tried to find him later on that day but he was either very good at hiding or he went to munch on the tomato plants in the garden. Thank goodness the growing season is almost over and we already ate our weight in tomatoes. :o) Here's a little video clip of this amazing creature chowing down on my cherry tomato plant. Check out that mouth!


Oh, happy Monday!!! xo ANG