Knitting Pretty

Leslie’s Baby Shower

jenndawn — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:31:07 +0000

This weekend I hosted a shower for my dear friend, Leslie, who also happened to be the co-host of my baby shower last year. Leslie is pregnant with her second child, due in October, and I was honored to get to host it.

My favorite part of any event is the paper crafts, so it should come as no surprise that I handmade the invitations. Leslie wanted a wagon theme, with muted reds, yellows and blues as her colors. Due to a limited supply of specialty paper, I made some of the invitations in red and some of them in yellow. I used a wagon stamp that I bought online at my new favorite stamp site, Impress Rubber Stamps, and embossed the wagon in red.

I printed the baby shower info on vellum (thanks to my cousin-in-law Rebecca, who turned me on to the wonders of printing on vellum), and used my Cricut New Arrival cartridge to cut some diaper pin die-cuts to give the illusion that they were securing the vellum. The wagon sits on a thin yellow ribbon. I’m pleased with how they turned out, and glad that I have my kitchen table back (I have been relegated to crafting in the kitchen, as my craft space has temporarily been taken away since we got rid of all of the furniture in the basement).

The shower itself was lovely, and I think Leslie had a really nice time. She looks so radiant and happy; she makes such a great pregnant woman. One of the highlights of the shower–at least for me– was the cake that Leslie’s friend, Danielle, made. It matched the invitations–so cute, if I do say so myself.

Leslie made everyone special mix cd’s, and even did a very special belly dance performance. It was simply a lovely time. I’m sad, though, that Leslie is moving to Denver on June 28. I’m going to miss her tremendously.

MOM

jenndawn — Fri, 07 May 2010 20:09:48 +0000

Inside Matthew’s cubby at daycare this morning was the cutest little craft project I’ve ever seen:

Happy Mother's Day to me!

I love being a mom.

Speaking of motherhood, my wonderful friends, Ina and Leslie, threw me an amazing baby shower last year. It was one of the most special days of my life. Luckily for me, both of them are pregnant this year (with boys!), and I get to return the favor. I am so excited!

I’m getting to help in a limited way with Ina’s shower (shhh…hopefully she won’t read this), and I am hosting Leslie’s shower at my house. Both showers will be in June, and I just can’t wait to get started on everything. Tomorrow Leslie and I are going to go set up her baby registry, and hopefully she’ll finally tell me her specific wants for her shower.

There is so much to do and since Mark has moved downtown, my crafting space has been displaced. I am, however, eying a die cut machine. I just need one. I’ve done a lot of online research and I think I’m going to go with the Cricut Create, but I’m still not 100% sure. Those cartridges are so expensive (almost $60-$100 per cartridge)! Maybe if I do enough card making I can actually have a booth at Art on the Avenue this year.

jenndawn — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:30:31 +0000

President Obama visited my favorite place in Del Ray this weekend, The Dairy Godmother. I usually go here multiple times per week during the summer, and its only a five minute walk from my house. Mark usually goes with me begrudgingly because the line is so long, so I’m not sure if the Obama visit (which will no doubt make the line very, very long) is going to make him eager to continue to accompany me.

Anyway, I think its very cool that Obama went here.

My favorite Dairy Godmother flavor? Caramel Heath Bar. Yum…

You Gotta Bring Your Own Sun

jenndawn — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 18:45:24 +0000

New Tori to enjoy — “Welcome to England.” I am really looking forward to this album (to be released May 19).

Listen:

And, the fantastic site Here In My Head.com took a stab at deciphering the lyrics:

do a dance for me
baby it is laced ___ up on me
don’t want to go on
let the liquid take off what you won’t

you’ve been down before
boy and i like this
i’m in quicksand
i am sinking fast

perfect, heal it
’cause your other half has got himself
a devil’s excess

welcome to england, he said
welcome to my world

you better bring your own sun, sweet girl
you gotta bring your own sun
don’t you forget your…
bring your own sun
just enough for everyone

heels on, go on
bang a tango but do not get tangled
who can stay strong
when they only give us lies to lean on

when your heart explodes
is it deathly cold
you must let the colors violate the
blackness, the rest
a magic world in parallel
so leave your daily hell

welcome to england, he said
welcome to my world

it’s not a question, if i care
fight by your side
and we’ll stand
anything but
but i forgot
that you said, girl
if you come…

you better bring your own sun, sweet girl
you gotta bring your own sun
don’t you forget your…
bring your own sun
just enough for everyone

welcome to england
welcome to england

DADT: 11 Specialists Discharged

jenndawn — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:38:52 +0000

I receive many e-mail updates from my elected officials — this one just came from Jim Moran, Congressman, 8th District of Virginia:

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Data Released
At my request, data outlining the number of troops discharged under the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) policy for January 2009 was released today. These were the last soldiers to be discharged under DADT by the Bush Administration. At a time when our military’s readiness is strained to the breaking point from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Armed Forces continue to discharge vital service members under an outdated, outmoded policy. Our allies in Great Britain, Israel, Germany, France and many other nations have overcome this issue, facing no adverse consequences from lifting bans focused on soldiers’ sexual orientation. Polls also show the American people overwhelmingly support repealing this policy.

Included in the 11 specialists discharged include a human intelligence collector, a military police officer, four infantry personnel, a health care specialist, a motor transport operator and a water treatment specialist. I plan to continue releasing this information each month until “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is repealed.

Major kudos to Congressman Moran for demanding this information. True patriots will fight for the repeal of this — we can’t afford the loss of quality servicemembers over such a huge non-issue.

The AP article can be found here.

Pretty, pretty good.

jenndawn — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 17:05:25 +0000

Finally.

According to ew.com, Curb Your Enthusiasm is coming back for its 7th season. I’ve waited so long to hear this wonderful news!

Happy Birthday, Diana.

jenndawn — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 20:27:30 +0000

I abolutely treasure you.

Li’l Monkey Afghan and Baby Hat

jenndawn — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:23:11 +0000

In very exciting news, my friends (and, conveniently, neighbors), Holly and Besim are expecting their first child this February. In honor of his (it’s a boy!) arrival, I made the baby the Li’l Monkey Afghan and Baby Hat from the Stich ‘n Bitch crochet book, The Happy Hooker.

The hardest part about this pattern was changing colors all the time and keeping track of all of the different squares. But it was really fun to make and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.

Hopefully the newest addition to our neighborhood will like it too. It was made with a lot of love.

Li'l Monkey Baby Afghan

Li'l Monkey Baby Hat

Inauguration Eve: Give Bush the Boot

jenndawn — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 18:07:12 +0000

Monday night I went to DuPont Circle to metaphorically “sage the White House” with comedian Kate Clinton. When we got there at around 5 p.m. the crowds were already starting to pour in. Rainbow flags and Bush protesters filled the circle, music filled the air, and various tents were proped up to solicit support for x and y causes. Not surprisingly, there was also a big inflatable Bush, complete with flight suit and extra long Pinnochio nose. Surrounding the “doll” was a mountain of shoes that people were invited to throw at him, literally giving Bush the boot.

Kate Clinton was great — the crowd brought a lot of sage with them and although it was a little intense to be around so much sage going all at once (woah!), it was a really great experience. As one, we celebrated purifying D.C. in preparation for the incoming administration. It just felt amazing for that moment to finally be upon us.

We Are One Concert

jenndawn — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:25:34 +0000

Jenn and Gemma at the show.

It’s hard to believe that the inauguration has actually come and gone. I did a lot of inaugural activities, starting with the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial. The highlight of the concert was Garth Brooks singing American Pie and Shout — it was so much fun. The crowd was incredibly energized. Nothing short of electric. We were extremely cold and it was exhausting standing in a packed crowd for so long, but it was definitely worth it. After the show we grabbed a bite at Au Bon Pain and waited for the crowds to fizzle out before metro ride home.

Bruce Springsteen

: Gemma trying to see.