Down to the line . . .

With tomorrow's Robot Birthday Party looming on the horizon, I've been spending a lot of time this week researching crafty "robot" themed games and crafts. I think I blame the Twitter updates from Craft and Make magazine - each Tweet is better than the next!



These two little guys were real learning projects for me - I discovered I making a double crochet stitch every time I thought I was making a single crochet stitch. They are from the Crobots book and they were very fun to decorate. The large buttons will make wheels for the smaller robot. These will be prizes for "Feed the Robot" and "Pin the part on the robot."



I combined two different birthday banners for this project - the Birthday Banner from SouleMama and another made up of letters on circular scrapbooking paper which I unfortunately forgot to bookmark. I am sewing the banner but pining on letters to spell out "Happy Birthday."




It was a lot of fun picking out scraps of fabric to make up the banner - very circus like! There is a great tutorial on making the banner over here.

Martha Stewart Twitters as well - so I used her magazine's Bottle Cap pins and magnets as one of the items in our "goody" bags.



I cut out circles with small robots on them from some robot-themed fabric that I bought from Crafty Planet. GFMelissa gave me some of her bottle cap collection so I used craft glue to fix the circles in the caps.



Dear Mr. Daisy mixed up the clear casting cement and poured it into each of caps. After they set for 72 hours, I hot-glued magnets and pin backs to them.



Some of them worked better as magnets - I think it had to do with the weight of the casting cement.



Craft magazine led me to the customized cupcake toppers over at The Naughty Secretary Club. I had one of my daughters draw some robot heads and scan them. I think they will be a little big as cupcake toppers but - hey, at least I didn't have to make a Robot Cake!



For this week's Saturday Seven, I found these books while cleaning out some bookcases at our house. I don't usually give away Bibles but one of my daughters received this as a gift in third grade. She has at least two other copies that she uses so I don't feel too bad giving this one to a rummage sale.

Robot Weekend

This is not what is going to happen at our Robot Birthday Party! Sunday is liftoff for the Youngest Child's 6th birthday party.

I've been crocheting, making robot magnets, robot cupcake toppers and folding boxes for our robot craft. When I haven't been Dr. Roboto, I've progressed a few inches on the front of the Baby Aran Sweater.

Tomorrow, I promise photos!

Some knitting retreat results

GFMelissa and I had a fancy good time at the Knitting Retreat - cold and rainy though it may have been.



I did get a chance to finish the back of the Aran Baby Sweater - loved having uninterrupted knitting time!



And I got a chance to spin - Yea!

Saturday Seven by remote control

Here's an easy Saturday Seven - three books, a child's beading kit, a puzzle, a pencil box and a pair of gloves. All from one drawer, oddly enough.

Also - my new fave crochet book:



Nelly Pailloux is the author of Crobots and she blogs at La Fee Crochette. Her work is lovely and I can't wait to master this.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Friday Follies

AFter a very exciting few days of "Dog on, Dog off" - I'll leave it to you to decide which end of the dog is connected - and the resulting dog walking, I am finally getting ready for the Minnesota Knitters' Guild Knitting Retreat. I'll be loading up the car and heading out very soon - but I thought you might like to see a few knitting delights first:



My package from Hong Kong arrived! Yep, the yarn I won from the Vestuary contest - from Traveller's Yarn of Yarn Workshop - came today.

It is lovely and has a very subtle lanolin smell - much like handspun - and a nice firm amount of twist. It would look very nice in the Aran Sweater pattern I'm making right now!



Speaking of which, I was hoping to be bound off at the shoulders right now. Despite my lack of knitting time, I am still in love with these cables. Why have I never done Blackberry Stitch before? Love it!

For my trip - I may be overestimating my time but I am bringing my baby sweater, a pair of half-done socks and my spinning wheel. I'll need to get into spinning shape for Shepherd's Harvest - I am taking the Novelty Yarns spinning class on Sunday. And don't forget to stop by the Minnesota Knitters' Guild knitting help table . . .


And in the meantime - check out this film:



Enjoy your weekend!

Seven pathetic things

When these are the best items in my Saturday Seven, things are getting pretty sad. Yep, I was cleaning out the basement and found three puzzles and a Trivial Pursuit game that needed to leave. I also weeded out the "'80s edition Trivial Pursuit" and Pictionary and a pair of shoes. Those photographs were pretty pathetic so I just thought you should use your imagination.

Luckily, things are looking up. I am moving things around to set up my growing table for starting seeds in the basement and I'm hoping to have some nicer photos by next week.

Robot updates:

I also had a trip to Crafty Planet today for some really cute robot fabric. Good Friend Melissa is parting with some of her large soda bottle cap collection so I can make robot magnets and Craft Magazine has instructions for "cupcake toppers." More robot crafts to follow!

I'm thinking these are more than I want.

These racing robots sound just right - Bristle Bots!

Robots ate my brain

Well, that may be an overstatement. I really think he only showed up for the cake.

Youngest Boy just turned six and we are planning his "real" party for an upcoming weekend. Robots are the interest of the moment so I'm designing a "Robot Lab" birthday party. Youngest Daughter created the birthday robot artwork and we'll be making matching cupcake toppers, a "Pin the part on the Robot" game, as well as a "Feed the Robot" game. That's the classic "Clothespin in the bottle" game for all you oldsters out there!

I'm considering how much time I should spend on making crafts for the gift bags - either "plushies" or amigurumi robots like this one from La Fee Crochette. Pretty cute!

My baby sweater is moving along pretty slowly but I have discovered I love Blackberry Stitch!


Front - aran sweater
Originally uploaded by humbledaisy

In the meantime - enjoy this glimpse into Robot Life:



Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

You may already be a winner

Okay - this was already a hectic week. What with birthdays and birthday cake baking, meetings and snow storms - I have been one busy lady.

But what straightens out a knitter's life?

Free Yarn!

I found out that I won a vest worths of Bellingen Yarn from The Yarn Workshop after participating in the Vestuary knit-a-long on Ravelry. Bellingen is a soft, machine washable worsted weight yarn and I am so looking forward to it! And, it's just about the right temperature outside for wearing my Vestuary Vest.

Then, the week got better.

Free Swim Stuff!

I also won an AquaTowel because I came in first in my age group (40-45) at the Northfield Pentathlon masters swim meet. In this meet, you swim five individual events and it was the first time I'd swum butterfly since high school. The towel - well, we'll see how that works - but the meet? I'll be there next year! It was a great reintroduction to swimming.



Now I can just go back to my gloating and knitting . . .

Youngest Child is home from school so that means no swimming but lots of knitting.

The best place to be

The First Pancake Daughter and I at the Saint Paul Bike Classic.

Oldest Daughter came home from college for a doctor's office visit on Friday. Nothing big, just one of the shot updates recommended for college students these days. Well, she was never one for shots and it hit her hard. I'd forgotten how being sick at home feels better than being sick at school - now, if only we hadn't sent all her clothes to school. I think there will be some sisterly sharing going on by the time she leaves on Sunday night.

Since we are all hanging out tonight, we had a couple of hot games of Farkle.




Don't know what Farkle is? Well, you must not have been to Ingebretsen's in Minneapolis then! This is a pretty fast dice game which requires no cards, the counting is easy, and it can be taught in just a few minutes. It also uses a lot of strategy which is why Middle Daughter was playing the "Angel/Devil on your shoulder" role. She won, by the way.



Today's Saturday Seven was a simple drawer and shelf clear out. A flannel blanket, a couple of books, some pants from Youngest Child and one unfortunately chosen hat. Now I can get back to the knitting with a clear conscience.

Friday Films from a new source

I found this film through Louise Bagnall's website, Elbooga. She is a young film animator and has a plushie store called Happy Plush Plush. Her work reminds me a bit of Lucinda Guy's illustrator, Francois Hall, but with a more grown up bent. This film was entered in a competition, so if you liked it - go over to aniBoom and look for more like it!




Watch more cool animation and creative cartoons at aniBoom

Enjoy! (And don't forget to check out her website -those are cute, cute plushies!)

Coincidence?

This came right after . . .



this.

While I love winter, I am really looking forward to spring. I think I just need a little more blue sky.

I'm using the blue yarn, Crystal Palace Yarns' Merino 5 in 5228/Wedgewood to make the Child's Aran Sweater from Yankee Knitter Designs. I should have made a much simpler sweater but I've had a hankering for something a little fancier than the usual Wallaby. Well, at least the yarn is washable!