Michael Porter’s Robot Monkey
Recently I stumbled across this cool poster of a robot monkey taking a bite out of the Space Needle and terrorizing downtown! I really love the little details like the folks falling out of the Needle, the Seahawks and Sounders hats on the fleeing monkeys, and the cloudy skies.
The artist, Michael Porter, is a Seattle-based illustrator and writer. You can find his robot monkey poster and much more at his etsy store.
Our annual family Christmas outing to downtown Seattle was a wonderful day this year. It was the baby’s first year with us and our niece joined us again. It was a whirlwind day of Teddy Bear Suite, Seattle Center, Westlake carousel and, of course, our favorite part: the gingerbread houses at the Seattle Sheraton. This year’s theme was “Home for the Holidays” and the creations were spectacular. I am always impressed at the level of detail and the imaginative use of candy.
I take hundreds of photos of the gingerbread houses every year…here are just a few of my favorite details: Left – Fremont Troll, Center – Huskies fans ready for the big game, Right – Santa taking a well-deserved sandwich break.
Cute baby washcloths
Two cute little baby washcloths I knitted for my niece’s friend and her new baby. I used standard 100% cotton yarn (Sugar ‘n Cream brand) in a pale yellow and a heathered green. Simple enough pattern…mostly stockinette stitch with 3 rows of garter stitch at the start and finish to help the cloth hold its shape. I used my hand as a guide for the size–just spread my fingers like I was going to be using the cloth and that’s how long and wide I made it. Quick and easy and oh so cute!
Tags: knitting
About this time every year, I force the family to join me in an afternoon of messy edible fun decorating something made of gingerbread. Sometimes it’s a gingerbread house…one year it was a gingerbread train…and another year it was a gingerbread Christmas tree. This year we decorated gingerbread boys and girls. I used the word “force” up above because I almost always have to bribe and cajole everyone to start the process and then we all get into the moment and have a great time.
This year the baby joined us and while he was too little to help much (and too little to eat any of the goodies), he seemed to have a great time being in the middle of all the fun. This year’s results were quite adorable. After all these years of practice, we’re all becoming quite adept and creative at working with frosting and candy!
We are quite fond of gingerbread people here in the Mitchell household. It’s one of our favorite holiday traditions.
We found some wonderful gingerbread people designs over at Zazzle.com that are on the top of our wish lists! We really like the dissected gingerbread man and the gingerbread man with the “no-bite-himself” collar. Too cute!
Footprints in the Snow
Last week was a snowy one for the greater Seattle area and we enjoyed watching the flakes fall. And while it seriously disrupted work, school and Thanksgiving holiday plans, my spindly winter garden definitely looked so much better under a blanket of white! My little side street is too small to ever be plowed so when the snow falls, we must wait for it to melt before venturing out. Luckily most snowfalls don’t linger long in our maritime climate.
I snapped this photo from my front door early one morning as the sun was rising and the snow had stopped falling. I was thrilled to capture the sweet little bird footprints walking/hopping across my front porch. I imagine he was after the ubiquitous spiders who call my covered porch home.
Tags: photography
Hooded Baby Blanket
Modeling the Blanket
I finally finished the hooded baby blanket I was crocheting for my youngest nephew (who is now over six months old). The project was not difficult; in fact, it worked up quite quickly. I was simply distracted by other craft projects (and life, of course).
I followed the pattern included on the Pound o’ Love yarn sleeve (if you are interested, the pattern is also available on the Lion brand yarn site but you have to be a member to view it–it’s free to join). The yarn is a worsted weight 100% acrylic that is machine washable and stays soft. I chose the soft pastel green color.
The puffy pattern stitch was not difficult to learn and the end result was soft and squishy with an interesting texture. The blanket portion worked up quickly and I was able to keep it square by regularly folding it diagonally and counting the stitches every 10 rows or so. I ran into some trouble with the attached hood and had to adjust the pattern a bit to make everything fit and keep the blanket square.
The best news is that mama and baby loved the final result and the blanket is perfect to keep in the car for quick covering. The blanket is still a bit too large but it will certainly last him through the winter.