My mom drove down the coast from Santa Cruz to come and visit me this weekend, to see the documentary film Spirit Riders, which was being screened outside at Malibu Bluffs Park as part of the Malibu Celebration of Film.  Go see it, if you can... it is a lovely movie about an international peace movement started by the Lakota people in 1990.  The rides begun with a memorial ride and service to commemorate and heal from the 100 year anniversary of the Massacre at Wounded Knee, and has grown and spread worldwide, with ceremonies on the Summer Solstice each year. 

This morning, I surprised my mother with some little handmade favors to take home:

Yes, that's right, more Mason Dixon Knitting dishcloths!  I'm spreading the love.  I used Sugar 'n Cream cotton in bright, beachy colors, because my mom is a bright, beachy person.  One ball in each color made the three dishcloths, and I had enough left over for two matching crochet-topped kitchen towels, too:

I'm so used to having this kind of towel in my kitchen, I love them.  My Mam-maw makes these and sends a set to me every so often... I have Spring towel sets, Fall towel sets, Christmas towel sets...  a whole drawer, stuffed full.  They may not be the most modern decorating choice for the kitchen, but I always have two on my oven handle.  My oven is right behind my sink, so close that I pretty much had to crawl under my sink to get that picture, and I reach for these towels constantly while I'm cooking and cleaning.  I've had those sun buttons since I was in high school... boy, it feels good to use up long-term stash, even if it is just buttons that take up no space at all!

Simple dishtowel apron pattern; very good "sorry pal, been missing ya" kind of project to keep the sewing machine from feeling lonely.  You know, because it has feelings.

I clicked on this Martha pattern long ago while clicking around at Tie One On, and thought it seemed like a good sturdy choice.  Dishtowels from Target; one in the pack had a nice waffle texture for the bottom part of the apron, good for damp hands. 

My friend Beth (formerly of the blog "The Knitting Freak") had her baby shower yesterday, at the Four Seasons Tea Room in Sierra Madre.  It was a little bit of a drive, and I perhaps took the wrong freeway exit and got a little bit lost on top of it, but what a cute place!  I've only had a "real" tea once before, and I just love all the pretty service dishes, the tiny sandwiches, and most especially the scones.  What a great custom.  I'd like to go back and explore Sierra Madre again; there is a cute, small town-y main street with an unusually high percentage of arts-related businesses.  This looks like a fun outing for the next time my mom comes to town.  The mountains seem to jut up right from the edge of town, sharp and beautiful. 

Going to a baby shower means I have a good excuse for making cute little baby things.  Beth is a brilliant crafter and designer herself, so I wanted to make her some sweet, practical, fun gifts.  I tried Criminy Jickets' "Garterlac Dishcloth" pattern (to be used as washcloths- I wrapped these with some teddy bear soap).  These are quick, fun, and look great.  I chose to use two colors for the washcloths, as you can clearly see.  I like the checkerboard look, but I think I would stick to a solid color if I was making one for the kitchen, since I generally use a little more force when scrubbing dishes then I would when washing a wee bairn, and there were lots of (cotton, unsticky) ends to weave in.  This was my first experiment with entrelac- why, I don't know, because I've always thought it looked cool and wanted to try it- and I thought that I would be able to carry up the ends on the sides and wouldn't have to cut.  If you've done entrelac before, you'll know that I just didn't work out how the rows went, and you switch colors "every row," leaving the yarn you would want to carry up on the opposite side... anyway, I had to cut, which is fine.  I first saw this pattern on Tricky Tricot, and I'm glad Michael pointed to it, because I've been enjoying the blog- not just the dishcloth pattern- ever since. 

Beth's nursery is going to be in a sock monkey theme for her little boy- how fun is that?  And as a crafter, I'm thankful, because it made it pretty easy to figure out what to make...

My first sock monkey!  Oh, how I love him.  I got the instructions here, and lots of inspiration from The Sock Monkey Drawer, which has brilliant handmade sock monkeys (handmade for a very reasonable price, I think, if you're looking to buy a sock monkey)... last year, the artist behind Sock Money Drawer, Kimlan Cornell, made a series of Spooky Sock monkeys for Halloween.  They are so funny, and there is a gallery on the Sock Monkey Drawer website.  I loved her sock monkeys because they were all so different, and it was nice to see some that were made from unusual socks.  I tried to make a very cute, kid-friendly face on mine; the sweetness didn't kick in until I embroidered the mouth.  That's when I fell in love with the little guy.  He's a happy little fella.

The contest is still open- you guys have some serious crafty book knowledge (but of course!).  Check out the entry below for the details and the prizes, and good luck!

These belong by the ocean...

I love them.  Same thing with the pincushions... they are such quick little puches of fun projects.  And you know, I'm itching to make myself a dishtowel apron... dear everything I want to make, why are you from the old-fashioned days?  Perhaps I'm just practicing, because I'm determined that someday I will go back in time.  And now if you'll excuse me, Tyra is about to announce who gets to continue on America's Next Top Model, and then Lost is on, and these are things I do not miss.