Handmade Nation

One of my good friends, Cindy, asked me to go to see the viewing of the movie "Handmade Nation". It is a movie about artisans who create handmade items. It is a wonderful movie and one I would recommend to anyone. Before and after the show, members of the New Orleans Craft Mafia and other artisans sold wonderful handmade creations. It was incredibly hard to not buy one of everything I saw. Every where I looked, I wanted one of those and one of those too. Three members of our group, Handmade Louisiana, had tables at the event, Mallory of MissMalaprop, Ze of Knitzy and Liz of New Orleans Umbrella Company. All three ladies have wonderful items and I hope they did very well tonight.

Knitting for Others

One of my favorite message boards to read on Ravelry is called Charity Knitting. They have all sort of interesting groups who could use knitted items. One caught my eye. It was for knitted...how should I say...boobs for women who have had mastectomies. Breast cancer runs in my family and is something that is always in the back of my mind. I thought it would be interesting to knit a boob to donate. The pattern is called "Tit Bit". I have to say it was an interesting project. It was fun to ask the kids if they had seen my boob (getting disgusting looks from them in return). I don't know if I will make any more of these, but it was fun to make one.

Family Reunion

Several days ago, Cara came to me and asked if she could have a family reunion. I was not quite sure what family she was talking about. Was she wanting to invite those who live out of town in for a visit? Or was she just wanting our immediate family to spend some time together? The answer was neither. Her best friend is moving in a couple of weeks. Cara planned to invite the "group" from last year over as a surprise get together for Tessa. Cara and Tessa don't see the rest of the group this year as they all go to another school. It was a great idea. Everyone was able to make it and Tessa was surprised. They made ice cream sundaes, ate pizza, and played the Wii. How can you beat that?

Needles(s) To Say They Turned Out Ok

Cara's best friend is moving and I wanted to make her something that would be meaningful to her. She is also an avid knitter and I had been reading on the Ravelry about making knitting needles out of dowels. I thought I would give it a shot. It was easier than I thought it would be. Tessa likes to knit on larger needles, so I found some oak dowels that would come out to be size 10 needles. I got a kick out of the looks I got in Lowe's when I was using my trusty needle sizer thingy to check the dowel sizes. I cut the dowels down to size and used a knife to make the point on each needle. After sanding them with several grades of sandpaper, they were ready for the party. I wanted the "family" to sign them tomorrow.

Written 9-12: The needles were a hit, I think. I had the kids sign them using Sharpies. I was bummed when the ink smeared on them, but they are still readable. I used a candle wax to seal the wood a bit and to put one last smooth finish on them before gluing on the end caps. I forgot to take a picture of them prior to the party, so this picture is the "after" shot.

Shortbread Cookies

On my other blog, Cheese and Chocolate, I do a weekly recipe post about a recipe I want to make. Last week's recipe was for shortbread cookies. My grandmother used to make "tea cakes". I wish I knew the recipe. All I remember was the cookies were good. They were similar to shortbread cookies, so I gave a shortbread recipe a try. They were good, but used 2 sticks of butter for 20 cookies. Yikes.

Labor Day

Robyn and Cara had a few friends over to spend the day. Cara and Tessa were holed up working on the computer. Robyn, Shelby and Andrew spent the day watching videos. I think today was a celebration of non-labor.