How to make a tag blanket, part two.

So, we left off - several months ago - with your ribbons sewn onto a piece of fabric. Next, get your other piece of fabric and pin them, right sides together. Sew around the edge, leaving a small opening for turning it right side out. Turn right side out.
Next, tuck under the edges of your opening and stitch that closed. Sew another seam (I think it's topstitching?) all around the edges, about 1/4" in. As you come to each ribbon, pull it out a little if you're using thick fabric like fleece; this helps it lay flat.

Ta da! There's your finished tag blanket.

Raffle of sorts

This is yarn from The Knittery (I couldn't find a link), handpainted in turquoise, purple, and a touch of green. It is a 3.5 ounce skein with approximately 490 yards, 100% merino.

To enter to win this yarn, donate any amount to the Noah Henderson Tay-Sachs Foundation and send me an e-mail at MitoRocks AT juno DOT com letting me know that you donated (no need to specify dollar amount) OR you can link to this post on your blog and let me know. If you link to this AND donate you'll get two entries. In about three weeks (June 12) I'll put all the names together and draw a winner.

Don't like this particular yarn? Check back because I plan to raffle off something different in a few weeks!

How to make a tag blanket, part one.

Supplies:
Fabric (as much as you want; the blanket can be as big or as small as you like)
Ribbons (DO NOT use wired ribbon unless you carefully remove all the wires first)
Thread (matching or contrasting, as you like)

Wash your fabric. Cut ribbon into 4"-6" lengths, fold in half lengthwise, right side out, and iron to set the crease in each ribbon. You will now have a nice little pile that looks like this:
Next, pin the ribbons to the right side of your fabric like this:

I like to put them an inch or so apart. Next step: sew the ribbons on, using a narrow seam allowance.
Part two, coming soon.

Eris, at last.

I finally got the zipper in a couple of months ago, but just haven't gotten around to blogging a finished photo until now. It is just a touch too long, which is totally my fault because I thought it wouldn't be long enough so I added two inches. I also just did a plain hem on the cuffs instead of the ribbing to match what goes around the bottom hem.

This is a great, comfortable, warm sweater that I wear all the time. The pattern was very well written and easy to follow and I'd have no problem knitting it again.

Amazing hair bows

Check out these incredibly cute hair bows from Cotton Kami Bows. What a great idea for party favors!

Aromatherapy is so relaxing.

Except when it includes explosions.

Funny comic

My Esteemed Papa clipped out this comic strip and sent it to me. I think it's great.

More than you're probably interested in.

I found this on Holly's and The Krunchy Krab's blogs.

Bold indicates experiences I have had; italics indicate experiences I would like to have; regular font indicates experiences that are not on my life to-do list.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world (Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland)
8. Climbed a mountain (Mount Fuji)
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch (mostly)
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train (I almost died while I was sleeping on the train, too. I was about 2-3 years old and had a headfirst fall from the top bunk; my mother had woken up for "no reason" a few seconds earlier and sat up. She caught me just before I hit something very hard - the sink, maybe?)
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping (I'm counting the public baths in Japan. It's close enough.)
27. Run a marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (not exactly myself, but I think I've picked up enough to count)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching (when I was little; I don't think we actually saw any whales)
63. Gotten flowers for no reason (as in having someone get them for me for no reason; I have bought flowers for myself for no reason)
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi concentration camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy (I can't think of one but I'm sure I have)
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job ("let go")
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper (I'm counting a magazine here. Might have had my picture in the local paper years ago, but I'm not sure. My picture is in an old, old issue of Spin Off magazine. Like 15 years ago old.)
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I've seen it from the outside)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Watched my dad kill and prepare chickens quite often when I was a kid.)
88. Had chickenpox (Three times. And yes, you are only supposed to get it once.)
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous (I saw the emperor of Japan through bullet-proof glass. Oh! I just remembered, I once met Myra Cohn Livingston.)
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee (I wanted to be stung for years before I actually was)

Inexperienced criminals...

...do things like this.

Ah, Christmas.

If you would like to read about our a-little-more-exciting-than-we-wanted-it-to-be Christmas morning, it's here on my husband's blog.