Super Mario Postcard

I can't draw, but I can knit.

Wasn't sure what to title this post. A lot of things are going on here. A knitted postcard. Super Mario Bros. Art. Texting. Friendship.

My very very good friend Kira teaches high school art in California. We've known each other since high school. She recently found some notes that we had written way back then about how mature we were. haha! Well, it gave her the idea to start corresponding with me through snail mail. Kickin' it old school so to speak. It's been so wonderful receiving letters and writing them. I urge you to do it more.

Kira draws these fantastic pictures on the back of her envelopes. So inspiring. I look forward to getting them just to see what she's drawn next.

She told me in her last letter that a student saw her drawing on one and asked, "Why don't you just text her?" What is that saying? Youth is wasted on the young? Sheesh! Well.... this is why you don't just text me.


I can't draw, but I can knit. So what better to do than to mail a knitted postcard? I saw this technique on an Etsy DIY a year or so ago. Instantly fell in love with the idea but hadn't yet done it. Well, since we're talking old school, I knew I would knit something Mario related. I came across this pattern for a hat and adapted it for the postcard. I knit it intarsia and fair isle. Eeek! Look at all those ends I had to weave in.


I didn't want to ruin the surprise so I waited until she told me she had gotten it before I posted this. She loves it and that makes me incredibly happy. Why don't you just text me??? Because you never know what I might knit for you.

The kind of day I've had.

Beware of bitch.

I had to make this sign and put it up today. This is what happens when you get a sunny, beautiful day in Oregon. They all come out and start knocking on your door.

I live in the first house on the corner of a cul-de-sac. We're constantly getting people at our door wanting to sell something, wanting to share something, wanting anything. We put up the generic No Soliciting sign and it's not doing the job.

I show them the sign and tell them not to solicit here. They insist they're not selling anything. Which is true for a lot of them. But that still doesn't mean they're not soliciting. It got to one point that I kept the dictionary by the door so I could read them the definition. Now I've just made the darn sign hoping it'll keep them away.

Rainy Day Spring Sweater

Great for baby showers, great for procrastination.

My sister is due with her first bebe very shortly and the shower is this weekend. Wow Maiya. Way to wait until Monday to decide to knit a baby sweater. Found this Mossy kids sweater on Ravelry. Perfect for a boy or girl. Perfect for my Cascade 220 superwash. Perfect for the time crunch.

Knitted up super quick and I love the zig zag. This would be a great project for a beginner- especially since there is no seaming. It's all knit in the round. I made it short sleeves because I wanted a lightweight springtime sweater and also because it looked like my skein wasn't going to have enough for full sleeves.

After I finished knitting it, I dyed it the perfect color of minty green with food coloring. Now to add some buttons and send it off priority...

I'd also like to add that just by showing the photos of the same sweater side by side, you can really see the difference blocking makes. Remember to block your knitting people!

I didn't have a bandit hat...

...So I modified this tube sock.

I love the Fantastic Mr. Fox. Even more, I love the character Ash (really, let's be honest. I love Jason Schwartzman.) Back on topic, my dear friend Mary made a joke about us needing bandit hats during our last yarn bombing. She joked that we needed tube sock bandit hats like Asher wore in the movie. A fleeting thought. A simple joke. I, of course, couldn't get the damn idea out of my head. I needed to make that hat. Already have my Halloween costume planned. Getting to be warm- no need for winter-like face masks. I really had no functional use for this mask. But still, I needed to make it.

After watching the movie, again I started to cast on. I've been asked for the pattern. I rarely write down my patterns. My patterns are more like recipes. I just knit a bandit hat with a mouth. Make sure to stripe the collar (I had to frog this part back. I was done with the ribbing, I looked at a picture of Ash and realized I had the striping part all wrong.) And when you start decreasing down the crown, stop when you have a good sized tube and start knitting a sock. Then knit some fox ears and sew them on. I stuffed the sock a bit with some polyester toy stuffing to help it keep shape.

It fits me and my husband Brandon better, I had made it adult size. But Bailey, my 3 year old pretty much has claimed it as his own. It looks like he has his Halloween costume squared away.