Something Different

A friend of mine sent me an e-mail today with a link to something cool she had seen. I checked it out, then decided to see if I could replicate the idea. The result is in the photo you see above. Yes, a cute, little knitted cupcake with a pipe cleaner cherry on top! I am going to try this again one of these days, because I think the top of the cupcake is too pointy. Still, not too bad for a first attempt.

Yesterday I knitted on the second knee sock for my niece for almost 6 hours straight. Yes, I finished the first sock, and immediately started the second. Now that I know what lies ahead (and now that I have done all the math!) I think I will complete the second sock a lot more quickly than the first. Sorry there is no photo today - I forgot to take one before it got too dark for pictures.

I spent some pleasurable time working in my stamping room today, as well. I hope to have something new to show you from there tomorrow, too. But I really must get busy on Halloween cards, and I've been pondering my next move there for some time now... I hope to have my idea refined and ready to implement very soon.

When Genealogy Meets Art

It dawned on me earlier this week that instead of spending money on copies of old photos to use in my various art projects, I could use the old photos I already have! I printed out a small selection of the many photos I now have on my computer, and gave it a try.


Here we have my great-grandfather (well, one of them). He brought his wife and three sons from Poland to California in 1920.


And finally, this is one of my great-grandmothers, whose name was Ray (presumably short for Rachel). I am still missing many of the details of her life, but I can tell you that she left her adopted country, the U.S., to move to what was then Palestine in 1929. She lived in Tel Aviv until her death in 1958.

The background for the first item was made with my trusty Adirondack color wash sprays (Raisin and Stream) and Glitz Spritz. The backgrounds for the ATC and the second card are actually from the same sheet of paper; I took Trish Bee's challenge and used the scrap paper that covers my stamping table to make a Worksheet Wonder background.

It's no surprise that these pieces mean more to me than most of my recent efforts. I will probably still buy collage images from time to time, but I really enjoyed getting my ancestors involved in one of my hobbies. Aside from the sentiment involved, I can print out as many copies as I like, and can adjust the size of the photo to suit my project. Pretty cool, huh?

Published!

Thank goodness for the wonderful people at Club Posh! If not for them, I never would have learned that a card I submitted to a stamping magazine has been published. Above is the scan I made of the card before I sent it out to Just Cards, a magazine I don't get and have never seen.


Thanks to my friends, I have now seen this page (33, if you want to look for it) in volume 11 of Just Cards. The funny thing is, my card is apparently in the Everyday Cards section of the journal, while it was intended to be a card for the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana). No matter, I am very happy to know it was published.

I haven't knit much today, but I have done some creating in my stamping room, which is something I've been wanting to do for a while. Later on, I'll have some work to do, as Maccabi is playing a basketball game tonight. Sure hope I'll be writing about a victory, but we have an almost completely new team this season, not to mention an all-new coaching staff and team manager. They've been playing well, and I suspect in a few more weeks they will really have pulled together.

The Big News

I have big news to share. Or, should I say Big News? But first... can you guess what this is? A very shy fellow, he hid amongst the leaves and I couldn't get a good shot until...


the neighbor's dog started her traditional whine/howl/bark thing that she does whenever her insensitive/stupid/evil... ahem... owners leave her alone. Hey, folks - buy a clue! The dog is a husky, suited to mushing over the frozen tundra with her team of pals, not lounging around all alone in a Middle Eastern backyard. (Sorry, pet peeve sorta slipped in there...). Anyway! The dog did her thing, and the kingfisher flew over to the other side of the yard and I was able to get a better photo.

What's that? Oh yeah, The Big News. Right. Well, this week something very wonderful happened with our business (Samin Translations). We signed a new client: none other than our favorite/much beloved basketball team, Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv! Yes, I am now responsible for translating articles for the team's English website. There are still some kinks to be worked out, but this is just so exciting for us, you have no idea. It's like having the L.A. Lakers as a client (not that I love the Lakers, my team was/is/always will be the Golden State Warriors, but that's neither here nor there. Especially not here).

Anyway, I'm a bit fragmented here because I am just so thrilled with this opportunity. Not only is it a huge boost for our translation business, but it is a heck of a lot of fun for all of us (especially me). So you can expect posts about Maccabi to increase, and I hope you won't mind.

After all, this is Bag of Chocolates. You really never do know what you're gonna get!

Happy Birthday to Me

Yep, the big 4-9. What a concept: I am now a 49er! It fits, considering I am a native of the San Francisco Bay Area...

I've had probably my best birthday ever today. I took advantage of the never-argue-with-the-birthday-celebrant rule (what? it's not a rule in your house?) to get a couple of before-school photos of my sweeties. Aren't they gorgeous?

Later, Avi and I drove in to Tel Aviv for a meeting that marks a huge step forward in our translation business. Fun, exciting... lots of superlatives fit, but more about that in my next post. After all, this one is all about moi!


After the girls got home from school, they turned the tables on me and gave me my first-ever birthday treasure hunt! Meital was the mastermind behind it, and did an incredible job. Every clue referenced a toy I had knit for her, and where it was likely to be. Absolutely delightful! As you can see, she gave me a teddy bear she knit herself (with some help from me, but not much. Avi later told me he cracked up every time he saw me working on my own gift!). Liat wanted to make a collage for me, and decided that since I always have a small notebook handy next to the computer, that would make an excellent canvas. She was right! But I am trying to figure out how I can protect her work of art. I am thinking of inking it with Versamark ink and covering it with clear embossing powder.

And now, even as I type, Avi is preparing a fabulous dinner, including my all-time favorite food (well, aside from chocolate): potato pancakes. Yum, YUM! For dessert, we will enjoy the fabulous chocolate cake Liat and Meital baked for me last night, which has been frosted with chocolate ganache. I keep hearing the opening words of that old Fred Astaire song* in my mind...

"Heaven! I'm in Heaven...."


*"Cheek to Cheek" by Irving Berlin (from the movie Top Hat)

Lots Going On

Today has been an interesting one here at Bag of Chocolates, but for now I'd better keep mum on most of the activity. However, I have been wanting to share a couple of things with you. Above is the baby sweater I may have mentioned working on. It's a free pattern from Knitting on the Net, I just decided to stripe it rather than work it all in one color. The sleeve directions are a little less than perfect, but I've had enough experience knitting top-down raglan sweaters (and their sleeves) to know what I need to do. This is the sweater I mentioned hoping I could finish before Wednesday, when I want to get started on the sweater for Meital. I rather doubt I will be able to do it, seeing as it is now 5:30 in the evening on Monday, but who knows? After all, baby arms are short, and therefore it follows as night does the day that the sleeves of baby sweaters are - or ought to be - short. We shall see.


This is a bit of lace trim I started so long ago that I really don't remember when it was (though I suspect if I troll through my own archives I could make an educated guess). It was right about the time that I made that denim bag with the crazy quilt patch on it. I think I will probably just cast this off (when I get around to it) and figure out later why exactly I made it. I am sure that at some point in time, its future will be revealed to me in a blinding (well, hopefully not literally blinding) flash of inspiration. Hmm, maybe I ought to leave it on the needle, in case said flash informs me that the piece of lace trim I need must be 10", not 8" - or however long this may turn out to be once it's blocked.

And here's something to file away under Never Throw Anything Away. For a few years, several years ago now, I tutored kids in English after school. In my own inimitable fashion, I spent hours crafting educational-yet-humorous worksheets on a wide variety of subjects, some specifically suited toward a particular student. I added graphics and all sorts of other touches I hoped would amuse and amaze my students. Having learned long before not to trust much of anything to the innards of an inanimate object, I kept a folder of print copies of my ouevre.

Whew! Just the introduction to this is wearing me out. You, too? Sorry.

Anyway, Liat recently started tutoring a student in English, math, and other subjects as needed. When she came home, she asked me if I had any materials on a couple of subjects (the use of has/had, and pronouns). "Well," I replied, "of course!"

I've now searched High, Low and even In-the-Middle, and I can't find the darn folder! (You knew that was the whole point of this rant, didn't you?). I know I didn't throw it away, so perhaps the title of this little morality play should be, Never, Ever Move Anything from Where it Has Been for the Last Few Years, Otherwise You'll Never be Able to Find It Again!

Though maybe that's just a tad too long to be a catchy title...

As Promised

Here, at last (for those of you who eagerly await such things), are the photos of my birthday presents-to-me. This order from Addicted to Rubber Stamps includes two new colors of Adirondack Color Wash spray (Lettuce and Raisin), a few Adirondack ink pads (Terra Cotta, Stream, and Pesto), Perfect Pearls in a pretty blue color whose name I can't think of at the moment, and some Tim Holtz goodies (grungeboard, spinners and philosophy tags - I think that's what they're called. I'm horrible at remembering the names the companies give their colors, stamps, and the like. I just buy what I like, pretty much without regard to names).


Here is my order from Sunday International: some Distress inks (let's see if I can do this from memory: Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed and Broken China. Also included are three EZ Mounted stamps - LOVE those! - two by Posh, er Dee Gruenig Designs, and one by Sunday International. So much fun!! If you get a card from me one of these days using these products, you'll know it isn't something I whipped up a few years ago and forgot I had on hand...

Truth be told, I've already played with some of my birthday toys. Just couldn't wait until Wednesday.

And today I got my first birthday card of 2008. Not such a big deal, because it was from... my bank. Oh well, it's the thought, right?