Over the weekend, we visited the LA County Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. It was very cool. There were peacocks, ducks and Canadian geese all over the place. It was wierd to visit this several hundred acre park in the middle of a city. Lots of different plants from around the world. It has a national historic place on it called the Queen Anne Cottage. Paige did not like the peacocks. Everytime one came near her she ran off in the opposite direction. Although beautiful, peacocks are a little creepy looking up close. We are planning to go back in the springtime when most of the trees will not look dead and maybe see some goslings running around.

Here's some more pics from our fun day.

Advanced Cut and Paste

I made this in Art class today. It was actually harder to make than it looks. I had to cut out each rectangle and align them visually by at least one side. The right angles have to be perfect. Exacto knifes are kind of fun to play around with. Too bad I'm going to go through like a thousand blades this semester.

quick bag

quick bag
Originally uploaded by slichly.

A fast project to finish before the big time studying begins... Made from Reynold Lopi and Noro Big Kureyon. Felted in my washing machine. I do not recommend putting your item to be felted inside a flannel pillow case. Next time I will use a regular pillowcase and hopefully less "flannel fuzz" will stick to my item.

Gifts given

Now that most gifts have been given I want to show some of the handmade items I made for the holidays.

a) b) c) d)

a) Scarf for my lab partner, Jayne in Lion Brand Homespun and some other yummy yarn that I forgot the name of.
b) Neck-down sweater for Allyson made from Bernat Soft Boucle in Misty Taupes.
c) Neck Down Dueling Cables V-neck sweater for Emily in Caron Simply Soft in Berry mint. This photo is more true to the real color.
d) detail of cable on Emily's sweater.

School for the kidlings starts tomorrow and the Spring semester for me starts Jan. 16. I feel like I must savor this week of post-holiday, pre-semester peace and calm.

Changes

I guess it's a case of new year's change. Experimenting with a new look for my blog...