Know your craftsy

I've just discovered Craftsy. I'm starting with a bunch of free classes and I am really learning a lot.

I am now taking the Know Your Wool class. This made me realize the importance of keeping a knitting journal and do proper swatches when buying yarn - not just for the gauge but also to practice stitches. And if the swatches are consistent in size they will not only be a useful tool, they will be beautiful in themselves.
The class also made me realize the importance of buying good quality yarn. Often I have bought yarn just because it was cheap but in the end whatever I do with it ends up looking cheap as well. So it takes me back to what I learned from reading Elizabeth Cline's "Overdressed" - I don't buy or eat cheap food just because it's cheap. Why would I do that with anything else if it will also feed a "cheap industry" of any kind that will harm everything in the long run? Plus, knitting with good quality yarn is so much more fun and pleasurable.

I am also taking the Short Rows class. That was a lot of fun and I know I am going to use that technique a lot. The method I most like is the Japanese method.

Mexican oil cloth bibs

When I lived in Austin, one of my favorite places to go was El Interior in Clarskville. I wanted to buy the whole shop. The weekend before I left I made two stops: one at Allens Boots to get the gift I promised myself (real Texas-made cowboy boots); and one at El Interior to stash up on tons of Mexican oil cloth and some little gifts for Antea.
You can download the template for them here.
I made some double-side bibs for when she starts eating solids which should be soon. She will be 6 months tomorrow. It feels I never lived a day when she wasn't here.

Make your own boo-boo pack

Yesterday Antea bumped her head on the crib railing - her first boo-boo! I didn't have an ice pack in the house so I came up with this boo-boo pack using rice as the filling.
I used the Lansinoh milk bags for the inside pouch with the rice because they have two seals (safer than plain ziplock bags).

 

Fill the bags about halfway with rice. Lay them flat, remove the excess air and press the seals closed. 

Place in the freezer.

 

They are ready to use after a few hours. Place them inside a cloth bag and hold it over the boo-boo.