how do you get there? /  by jen geigley


It's Friday! Dare 137 is up and I think we all loved this topic: the commute. I spent quite a few years (and three jobs) trekking downtown in my pre-baby years. Which is a big contrast from my current stay-at-home/work-at-home gig. I wrote a little bit about both here. Two completely different parts of my life; both very cool.

Lucky for me, my non-commuter job lets me take lots of photos. This is what I call the Chroni-what-cles of Dressing Up. (Also known as Lazy Weekday.) A favorite activity in our house. My jewelry drawer is usually the first stop. Lo is really into the headbands (she layers them.)

Then there's the doctor kit, which includes these little plastic bandaids and a cast that fits over her arm, so she naturally calls them bracelets. And begs to wear them to the store.

So yes, all of these ensembles are her idea. This particular one was a hit for a couple of weeks and I could never find my shoes. She was also obsessed with wearing her bike helmet all of the time (and again, begged to wear it everywhere) and eventually we had to hide it. This concludes the Chroni-what-cles of Dressing Up. I'm certain there will be another part to this series soon. Happy weekend to you! (And thanks for the comments on my last post... maybe I'll do another vid-blog this summer. When my neighbors are not outside.)

v-blog and the Iron Maiden scarf /  by jen geigley


Okay, so I did it. Kinda embarrassing, but here you go. I made three attempts at vid to the blog, and each one got cut off at the end. So it's super short and it leaves out like three more really uninteresting topics that I attempted to cover, but my neighbors were outside staring at me and I didn't feel like doing take number four. (And what's with that crazy sunshine!?! Sorry.) So now all of you long-distance bloggy people know what's up... it's your turn.

And here are photos of my Iron Maiden scarf made from the handspun yarn that I was talking about a couple of posts back. (And here I am, trying to look all tough and rock and roll...) This was so much fun to knit and I just didn't want it to stop.

I was so sad when the yarn ran out and I had to bind off. But I'm so excited about the finished scarf and the long fringe and the crazy textures. If you're on Ravelry, you can see more pics here.

Love this so much. And last night I started to make a second one with the rainbow colored skein and I have no idea what I'm going to do when that yarn is gone!

Happy Thursday, peeps.

honest to blog /  by jen geigley


Who knew I'd be a blogger? Let alone a mom blogger. A crafty blogger. But I love my blog. I love your blogs. I read lots and lots of them, every day; Google Reader is my funnel. I write for many different reasons. This place has become my diary, my photo album, my memory keeper. The first blogs I remember reading were Dooce and Sounds of Science; both classics, one mommy and the other crafty. They were the ones who helped put me on this train. People in my family might not be in favor of me blogging. But I was never very good at listening to my parents. I started this baby in March of 2006, which is sort of unbelievable to me today, and I'm not about to stop.

I was interviewed for a story about tech savvy moms in Juice today. Read the story here. You can't deny the power of the internet. Whether I'm on Twitter, checking to see if any of our local pals are up for a last-minute playdate, or chatting with the awesome friends I've made in my online mom's group, it's plain to see that the internet has changed our lives forever. And I like it.

I want a new drug... /  by jen geigley

Well, actually I found a new drug. Handspun yarn. And my dealer is MaraJane. Okay, her name is Mary. This isn't starting off well. Okay, starting over. This has nothing to do with drugs.

So I had met Mary briefly a couple of times at Craft Saturday, but that was before I was a knitter. I had ooohed and ahhhed over her yarn but never bought any because I didn't know exactly what to do with it. Now that I have spread my knitting wings, I emailed (okay, Twittered) her to see if she could spin some custom yellow/gray/black texturey yarn for me. And lucky for me, she took pictures of the process... this is how it started.

And there you go...

...95+ yards of my perfect yarn. She added in different fibers to make it super rad.

And then, as I was browsing through her Flickr photos, drooling over my new yarn, I came across this picture. My yarn, and apparently, my yarn's best friend.

Lucky for me, this fantastically cool multicolored skein wasn't sold yet, so I got them both. And I've been knitting ferociously ever since they arrived at my house in the mail on Saturday. Watch out, I have found my calling. I seriously can't put this stuff down. I was really inspired after reading an interview with Diva Zappa in the new issue of Knit.1. That girl is killer cool. I'm working on a project with the black and yellow skein first. I'm not going to tell you what I'm making yet, but I've already named it "Iron Maiden."

Anyway, yarn lovers – definitely go check out marajane creations on Etsy. She's crazy talented and I have been (obviously) very happy with the quality of her yarn. The colors, the softness... everything. Pictured above is another skein I bought from her awhile ago and it is sooooooo much softer and warmer and comfier than I had ever anticipated. And incredibly fun to knit with. I don't know why, but I had assumed that handspun might be a little bit coarse or scratchy but I was so wrong! It's probably the softest stuff I've used yet.

Also had to pick this up today... Elise Blaha's 'celebrate summer' mini book kit. (Her example of what you can do with this kit is amazing... pretty printed papers, endless room for photos and a place to jot everything down. I think I'm taking this baby with me to Vegas later this month. And to TN in June.)

Get yours now while you can... I'm guessing they won't last long!

I think I'm venturing out to Mars Café for this. I know, I know, I knit... but crochet is super intriguing and I would love to use the two together.

And today I bought the new Ben Harper and Relentless7 album here for only $3.99 in anticipation for 80/35 later this summer. Excited to give it a listen.

And I laughed and smiled when I watched this girl's video on her blog today. (This is just a screen capture, not a video, sorry!) Because not only do I get to meet this NYC girl in June for the first time, but we get to go on a road trip adventure, we get to be roomies for a weekend, and Lord knows what else. There will be jokes and stories and incriminating videos for sure. Pretty excited for that. Anyway, there's just something cool about seeing and hearing someone for the first time (I'm talking about you, blog friends.) So I'm officially tagging anyone who reads this and asking you to post a video on your blog. Especially you, Sandy, Heather, Angie, Danielle (and Patty, do another one if you want!) If you can't think of anything to say, tell me five things that I should know about you. Because all ever you do is type to me. I want to hear you. :)

you could 'cause you can, so you do... /  by jen geigley


tgif! It's May! And it's dare time. Home decor to paper. Our inspiration comes from this lovely room on apartment therapy that Tina picked.

So here's what I did. The scan didn't really seem to get the colors quite right, but whatevs. You've gotta check out what Jamaica, Tina and Vee made for sure – these girls are just rad and I smile each Friday morning when I get to see what everyone has done. Love being a part of it all, I really do. :)

say what? /  by jen geigley


First off, a couple of pics from Craft Saturday last weekend.

We had such a fun day and we concluded that the rainy weather only affected the turnout in a good way – we had a nice steady crowd the whole day. A big thanks to everyone who came out to see us!

Erin and I always have a great time at C.S. ... and of course we showed up both wearing our gray Converse. We could be twins half the time anyway. But then we both started modeling jersey tube scarves and spoon rings and the whole thing was just kind of awesome. We had to end our day at the Royal Mile for dinner + a beverage before heading home.

This week's challenge at the Creative Type = handwriting analysis! It's cool to find out what the angle of your slant or the pressure of your pen or not dotting your i's says about you. I thought my results were pretty right on. Want to give it a try? You can find tests here and here. Then go make something with what you find out and link it up here.

craft saturday /  by jen geigley

Craft Saturday. It's almost here! (and I'm almost ready...) It's this Saturday, noon to six! Come on out to support you local indie craft scene. And enjoy some coffee next door at Java Joes. It's pretty much the perfect way to spend your Saturday.

I'll be bringing birthday t-shirts for the kiddos.


And some hand-knit goodies for the babes. (They just look like candy, don't they!?) I've had a blast making several pairs of tiny baby shoes...

... and these sweet little bibs. (All of the baby stuff is 100% cotton.)

I'll also be selling a few of these hand-knit cotton spring scarves.

They look super cute with a dress or t-shirt or tank top.

And the necklaces. (Because, jeez, I just can't make up my mind and pick one thing to work on.)

These are silk wrap charm necklaces that are just right for summer.

And look cool with anything from a white t-shirt to a sun dress.

I've got lots of super bright colors... they look great wrapped around your wrist like a bracelet, too. Hope to see you this weekend – stop by and say hi!

ps... everything I don't sell this weekend goes right back up on Etsy, so if you don't live in the area but see something you like, check back next week!