freezer paper stencils?!

I was browsing the blogs today and found my way to katie did. I went browsing through the archives and kept seeing pics of her kids with t-shirts and onesies that were stenciled with freezer paper. Freezer paper!! Have you seen how good this method looks? It’s so clean, so precise (if you do it right anyway) and it has absolutely got my head spinning! I had a day-long obsession with how I could get my hands on a Gocco screen printer, but this is much less expensive and accessible. How am I supposed to work when I’m exploding with ideas of things to make and different stencils I could come up with or find on the internet?! This just might affect my productivity…

I think BF is really going to like this new idea. It’s certainly more boy friendly than embroidery, so we could do it together. I am thinking of all the boy stencils I could come up with for baby shower gifts that wouldn’t look as cutesy as appliqué or embroidery. I am loving it! I also have an idea of making stencils of some of my favorite things, such as birds sitting on a wire or a kitty in a window. I must make a note of this in my Moleskine. Actually, make that many notes!

Rambles...

I’m feeling rather scattered today. Usually I have one thing during the day that I’m a little obsessed with and think about and plan for, but I’m all over the place today.

I want to go to yoga tonight after work, but BFF is going to a Cards game, so I’m debating whether it would be more worth my while to run to Lafayette Park and back instead. Yoga is good for my mental state- but with the wedding on Saturday, I may just need the cardio. And I will be going to yoga tomorrow night with BFF, so I haven’t made up my mind about what to do tonight.

I started a cross stitch project last night that has me pretty fired up right now. The pattern is a bunch of row houses, like the ones on my block in Soulard. I haven’t done much cross stitch since I left Seattle and took up knitting and sewing. But I did it a lot when I was little and also in college, so it feels good to have the needle in my hands. I enjoy the rhythm of it, and I get a lot of satisfaction out of doing something exactly like the chart says to. I take pride in my ability to follow direction I guess… it sounds silly to say that outloud.

I’ve made good progress on my secret sock project for a certain family member whose birthday was 3 days ago and who also didn’t receive hand knit socks from their knitting sibling. I am knitting two at a time using Magic Loop on one circ and it is my first time using this method. I appreciate that both socks are being knit at the same time, but it also seems to take twice as long to finish one sock (because I’m finishing two!). I’m just trying to get past the heel.

My garden is coming along- I think. I study the plants in the mornings and evenings when I get home from work. Of course, it has only been a few days, so nothing is really happening yet. I am afraid my tomato plants won’t recover from being nibbled on. But I don’t really know, maybe they are fine… I didn’t water them this morning because I stayed at BF’s, so I am anxious to get home and see how they are. The cages seem to be effective in fighting off the critters. They couldn’t keep the neighbor dog, Broccoli, from peeing on them, though. He is huge and I am not about to fight him off if he needs to mark his territory. Ew.

I haven’t been sewing much lately, which is starting to bother me. Last weekend was super busy with the gardening and the bachelorette party and needing to buy gifts and all that business, so I didn’t sew at all. This weekend doesn’t look so good either, with the wedding on Saturday and James Taylor on Sunday night. Maybe next week I can get something cut out so I can sew for an hour here and there next week in the evenings.

So, those are my thoughts in anticipation for 5pm and my liberation from work.

There is a solution for every problem.

So… last weekend I bought two big plastic pots, some soil, a trowel, gardening gloves, and a watering can to make a vegetable container garden in my back yard. I bought three cherry tomato seedlings at the Soulard Market and promptly planted them in one of my pots. The stand I bought the tomatos from said that they would have zucchini next week, so I’m saving the other pot for those. Also, I think I may get another pot and plant carrots and leaf lettuce together. In addition to the vegetables, I got basil and flat leafed parsley to add to the chives that survived from last year in our herb planter.

I’ve been looking the plants over every day, and they have been looking worse and worse- all the plants! At first I thought the rain and wind we have had the last week had blown some leaves off or something, but after some closer examination, I have determined that I have a critter of some sort! At first I blamed the neighbors’ dogs because I have beef with them already (they poop in my yard) but after talking to some co-workers I am convinced that it is squirrels! In the city! I guess they have a harder time finding food than country squirrels, so it makes sense.

Solution: I’m going to buy some chicken wire and make cages to put on top of the soil, so they will keep out the squirrels and I can easily take them off to water and pick tomatoes. (Assuming they grow and make fruits) I am sure this will involve many cuts and scratches, but I have been so excited at the prospect of growing vegetables and I’m not going to give up on these seedlings that I have accepted into my life as my babies! I work a half day on Fridays, so I’ll be heading to Lowe’s to get supplies and get to work building. BF will be at Mizzou for the Phi Delta Theta annual alumni golf tourney, so I’ll just have to figure this out on my own. I’m an engineer- it can’t be too difficult!

Update:  completed cages.  Take that, squirrels!