Thursday, June 2, 2011

Shelf Re-Do

As many of you know I enjoy a good thrift store. It seems I don't often buy clothes, but usually stuff to decorate or organize our apartment. So when Claire and I were browsing around a shop in Fort Collins and I saw this I began to think about its bathroom potential.


Our bathroom doesn't have any extra storage it, besides the vanity, and there are somethings I prefer to leave out so I thought the $4 shelf might be a good investment. As you can tell from the photos is it s bit beat up, but I like the interesting detail of the front - I'm almost certain this shelf started out as shiny gold in the early '70's.


All of our bathroom stuff is a mis-match of bright colors so I decided that a sunny yellow would look quite nice. And after all, if I don't like it I'll just spray paint over it!

I wiped it down and hammered out some the dents and then did one coat of the spray paint. And voila! About $7 later I had this cute shelf hanging in my bathroom.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Mustachio

Finished these up awhile back, but never got them posted. They seemed to fit best in our guest bathroom... it was either that or the hallway. I suppose now when our guests trim their facial hair they will have various examples to choose from.


I picked these frames up in Illinois for $5 when we were home for Christmas . They came with some strange prints of angels and flowers in them, but I was able to get those out and just use the cute frames. I am super happy with how they turned out. This was my first venture into cross-stitch... I don't think I'll be doing it again any time soon, but I'm considering selling the PDF pattern for these 'staches in my Etsy shop.





Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Gifts for Baby Norah Grace

I have wanted to make applique onesies for a long time now, and the new arrival of our friends' sweet little girl gave me the perfect excuse.

The whale and the "n" are my favorite!





Sunday, April 10, 2011

Mexico City with iEmpathize

I have been promising this post for over a month, uh make that two months (the date on this post is when I started writing it), to various people so I am finally getting this done! Having this post half done for so long has kept me from blogging many other things. This post is going to end up a bit long, but for the skimmers out there I promise a lot of photos. For the rest of you, grab a cup of tea and have a read.

As many of you know in March I took a trip down to Mexico City with iEmpathize. If you haven't heard of iEmpathize before now please take second to follow the link and read about who they are and what they are up to.

When I volunteered for the trip I really had not a clue what we would be doing, but I knew I wanted to get involved with this organization and I was feeling called to commit myself to the trip.

Our team, composed of 7 people - representing 7 local faith communities - came together, meeting as a group for the first time when we all arrived at the airport. We left the US on Monday, February 28th and returned on Sunday, March 6th. We spent some time getting to know each other on our way down to Mexico City and getting settled in at the hotel.

That first evening, Brad, the President/Founder of iEmpathize, shared with us the "plan" (in quotes because when one is traveling a plan is always tentative) for the week. We would be taking the iEmpathize multimedia exhibit to various locations through out the city and, on the side, trying to lay out some plans for upcoming summer trips.

The exhibit itself (shown above) is designed to provide information and a personal connection to human trafficking... to move people from sympathy to empathy. This is done by having striking photographs, artifacts from the lives of those who were trafficked, and an a video discussing the real issues. The video features the story of a rescued girl, and Mexican congress woman Rosi Orozco explaining hte current human trafficking issues in Mexico.

That first evening Brad also shared with us Psalm 10. It really helped my mind and heart come to a place where it could grasp that idea of what we were fighting for that week in the name of Christ's love and justice. Please take a moment to mediate on that passage, read it slowly, understand it.

Our first full day in the city we headed to the Mexican congress to set up the exhibit. iEmpathize works closely with Congresswoman Rosi Orozco, who started the safe home for girls rescued from sex trafficking, Camino a Casa. She was first an activist who decided she would be most effective in helping children by running for congress. This is the safe home that iEmpathize works to raise funds and awareness for in Mexico City.

It was important to share the exhibit at congress at this specific time because new laws were being proposed regarding sex trafficking. Rosi was working to pass laws that are more effective in prosecuting pimps and traffickers and keeping them in prison. The good news is the bill has passed their senate and moved on the house.

The exhibit was opened with a press conference and a ribbon cutting. Present was the First Lady of Cancun, the First Lady of Tijuana, the head of the Council for Tourism, Congresswoman Orozco, and one more person I am forgetting (sorry, that is why I shouldn't wait over a month to write this stuff up).

The iEmpathize exhibit was up for a day and half in the entry area of congress. We also sat in on a meeting where the former First Lady of Columbia explained how harsher human trafficking laws have taken effect in in Columbia and what that looks like now and how they are enforced.

We also spent a day at the Attorney General's Office. The Attorney General's Office works with the girls who want to prosecute their pimps and helps them fight their case.

I found the press conference that Congresswoman Orozco had at the Attorney General's Offices to be very interesting. She walked through the exhibit with the press explaining the stories behind nearly each artifact and photo.

The last two days our exhibit was up for the congregation from Casa Sobre La Roca to view. They had a conference that weekend and their weekly Sunday gathering. This organization works closely with Rosi and the safe home, but because it is so large it can be difficult to communicate to all the members. Seeing the exhibit helped to bring greater understanding and more information to this congregation.

During the week we also spent time with the girls from the safe home, ate wonderful food, and spent time getting to know the directors of the home. We worked on looking at hotels for next month's trips and did a little site seeing down town.

I feel the need to have a nice of wrap up for this post, but I don't have anything profound to say. Human trafficking is wrong, awful, and it DOES happen - more than most people are willing to recognize, and yes, even here in the US. You, reading this, have the ability to help fight it - whether with prayer, donating your time, donating your abilities, donating money, or educating others. Get the word out, we need to speak up for those whose voices are being silenced.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Sneak Peak: Facial Hair


Just so I can say I actually posted in March, here's a peak at a project I am working on. Finished product and details to follow (soon, I hope!).

Saturday, February 12, 2011

Mittens

Handspun Mittens

A knitter should not be without comfy mittens. At the beginning of the winter I was all set, but since that time I have worn through one pair and gifted another. So, to remedy this I knit up these mittens from some merino wool hand spun. The pattern is called "Emma's Mittens" so I simply titled these "Emmy's Mittens".

Handspun Mittens

Handspun Mittens
please graciously ignore the fact that the finger tips don't match. when things are for me I'm just not that picky.

Handspun Mittens

Handspun Mittens

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Herringbone Cowl


Since everyone around this country seems to be freezing their faces off I thought you all might like to see the snuggly knit I recently finished.

This is the Big Herringbone Cowl by The Purl Bee. As soon as I saw the this cowl I had to make it. And it just so happens that same day (as I went hunting for yarn) I found this amazing Baby Alpaca/Bamboo mix - Mirasol Qina - on clearance (follow that link because it still is on clearance)! The yarn is incredibly soft and warm, words cannot describe it.

The structure of this knit is simple but many people find the herringbone stitch to be obnoxious. I didn't mind doing the stitch, but I found that I didn't have has much freedom to correct my mistakes as I do with traditional knitting. I could tink (knit backwards) on a row, but I could not drop stitches down to fix a problem.

On my Ravelry page you can find my knitting notes, a few more photos, and links to other people's projects. So what do you think? Doesn't everyone need a cowl?

Monday, January 31, 2011

Saturday

I dyed some yarn, fiber, and Amy's finished shawl. And ate kettle corn, apple pasteries, and enjoyed Arsenic and Old Lace. Thanks Annie and Joy for joining me!

Next post will be a finished project!

DSC_0126

DSC_0129

DSC_0138

oh, and I got in a little mitten knitting...

Handspun Mittens in Progress

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Holiday Party for the Knitterly

Yes, you read the title right - a holiday party. Our local knitting groups decided we would have our gift exchange in January this year. It makes sense since we all live around here why make the holiday times extra busy and it gives you something to look forward to once all the hustle and bussle of December is over.

Our exchange is a version of Yankee Swap, where you can choose to open a gift or steal an already opened gift when it is your turn. I was stolen from quite a few times, but I ended up with a beautiful skein of cashmere.

I think I'll be making myself a little lace scarf with this skein. I have never knit real lace, but I think cashmere is a good reason to give it a try. I am liking the Ginger Leaves Shawlette by Christina Wall (photo is from knitpicks or Ms. Wall).

I feel the need to point out that I probably won't wear this so much like kerchief - that may be understood, but anyhow... at the party there was opening of gifts...
.... there were attempts to hide yarn....

... there was stealing....

.... and there was a lot of knitting.

It was a lovely time. We also ate delicious food and sipped mimosas, just lovely. Thanks ladies!