{Keep Calm Craft On}

This lovely project got me through February's grey days. Simple and meditative, and pulled from my stash, this quilt was just the thing. A few prints are from my grandmother's stash, a few are from my trip to Maine, the rest are just bits and pieces I have picked up over the last several years from JoAnns or local quilt shops. It is all of my favorite colors, and it kind of gives me chills. That's probably silly but it's just so much goodness. 

 I started it just because I was craving the process of log cabin blocks...and I needed something to do while I'm not knitting. I started thinking even a pillow or two would be lovely, but by the time I finished it had grown to king sized! The overhang on my queen sized bed is dreamy... my grandmother uses king sized blankets on queen and double sized beds and I just love the weight of it. 

It is sitting for the moment, waiting for the batting to arrive, then I'm planning on tying it simply, and then there will be miles and miles of binding to sew on... maybe during a Gilmore Girls marathon? What is your favorite handwork show? Head over to Nicole's blog for more KCCO projects! 

{Mac 'n' Cheese}

Some days are just tough. No matter how positive, proactive, and determined you might be. For example, after a night of panic attacks and bad dreams (me) and a morning of tummy troubles and tantrums (the boys)...it's just not a day that anyone would plan. So I thought I would keep it simple and just share the recipe for my favorite comfort food. It's a huge treat, but some days are just huge treat days. We make it gf with this pasta and it works great. Recipe at the bottom, let me know if you try it! Back to my lemon balm tea... 

{Oven Mac 'N' Cheese}

1lb uncooked elbow noodles 

1lb cheese, grated (I used half cheddar half jack here) 

1qt whole milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a 13"x9" baking pan, combine your uncooked pasta and shredded cheese. Just mix it around with your hands so it's fairly well balanced. Salt and pepper over the top. Pour milk over, sometimes a little bit more is needed, you want to cover nearly all of the pasta. I smush it down a little bit and don't mind if some of it is about half out of the milk, you just don't want any whole noodles above the milk level. Add a dash of paprika on the top if you want to impress your five year old. Bake at 350* for and hour. 

{Feeds four really hungry people, or 6-8 if served with sides like salad and soup}

{Banana Oat Blender Pancakes}

Two and a half years into this gluten free thing and I haven't found a really great pancake recipe...until now. That sounds so dramatic, but I've tried several and they just aren't the nice, easy to cook item that I'm looking for. Nomi was completely baffled by the answer to his perpetual question of "What you feed me now?" (The older kids tend to get the generic response of "A big plate of wait and see, with a side of eat it or starve!", thankfully they appreciate a little sassing and have started declaring that to be their favorite meal.) But back to Nomi... Pancakes? What on earth is a pancake? Have you tried describing that to an almost three year old? Who doesn't eat bread?? There are no comparisons to draw. You make me a cake? Not exactly. You make me oatmeal? Not quite... You make me cooked banana? (oh so doubtfully) Needless to say he didn't budge from his perch on the hearth, where he can see but not quite touch everything happening on the stove. The first bite sold him and he began spouting all of his lovey words, declaring them to be "'licious", and yours truly to be "so 'dorable"...so clearly these are pretty good pancakes. So how about a recipe? Seriously give them a shot, whether you're gluten free or not!

2 cups gluten free oats

1 1/2 cups milk (cow/almond/coconut etc)

1 large ripe banana 

1 tsp cinnamon

1-2 heaping Tbsp honey (preferably raw and local) or maple syrup

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-1/2 tsp baking powder

1 egg

coconut oil for cooking

(I was working with smaller bananas so I used 1.5)

Add first eight ingredients to your blender and blend away until everything is mixed in. Try to make sure your honey and powders are towards the center so you don't have to try to scrape them off of the sides...it's such a pain! Once everything is well blended add the egg and blend just until combined. This batter tends to be stiffer than regular pancakes, but if you think it's too stiff to pour easily, now is the time to add a bit more milk (1-2 Tbsp should do it). Scrape the batter into a mixing bowl now because it's much easier to get all of it now while you don't have a hot skillet and pancakes burning. Ahem. 

Heat your skillet with a few tsp of coconut oil or butter, and when it's hot pour about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Brown on both sides, about 2 minutes per side on medium/medium low heat. These don't bubble as much as normal pancakes so watch them! These are great plain or with your favorite toppings. Some ideas would be maple syrup (of course), a dollop of creamed honey, butter, peanut butter...Nutella if you're looking for something glorious. One recipe makes about 12-14, 1/4 cup sized pancakes, I will certainly be doubling the recipe for my hungry eaters, tripling if I wanted to think about leftovers!

{Blogger Craft Swap}

I didn't mean to disappear again! Annoyingly, I messed up my wrist somehow and spent the entire month of February doing...nothing. No knitting, no dishes, no folding laundry, no vacuuming. I'm not sure how we survived honestly. I am still resting it, and doing just a few dishes at a time, and no knitting yet, but at least I can type! Before my wrist flaked out, I signed up for a blogger craft swap. Oh what fun! I received the sweetest package from Summer, (shown above). I feel totally spoiled! The little coasters are a huge hit here and I love their scrappy, homemade purple style. Nomi loves purple as much as I do, and his favorite shape is the heart, so I keep finding him sneaking these off to his room...I can't say I blame him! She also made me lemon salt that smells like heaven, and a darling little painted rock. She even tucked in some local coffee... This girl has me pegged! I love this whole idea of swapping... taking a bit of time from our busy days to make something just because, for a random person, just to brighten their day. Pretty good stuff. 

I had a bit of a tricky time getting my box together one handed (my mostly useless right hand at that) but thankfully sewing is pretty gentle so I don't think the contents suffered too much. I don't want to spill what I sent as my recipient hasn't gotten her box yet! The below peeks will have to do for now. Thank you Amanda for hosting all of us!

{Weekending}

"Sometimes, I need only to stand wherever I am to be blessed."  ~Mary Oliver

{Hi}

Where on earth to start? My computer died. My phone died. My camera died. Not the same day or anything, but it felt like a good time to just take a break from...well, everything. Summer was slow and hot and filled with trips to the farmer's market, a multiple week visit from my best friend, lots of visits with sisters and just being... my birthday came and boy has 26 been great so far. The first half of my twenties was tough for so many reasons, but so far so good with this second half. My first tattoo, finally buzzing my hair (I've done it three times now and I think I've got it just right now), and a lot of new, deep things that have me feeling like I am finally here. I'm liking this new voice I'm finding.

 Fall came with so much confusion about when Joe would actually be coming home...end of October, no, early January, no, maybe...well....December? November? January again...? and on and on until we started ignoring that paper chain because it was too much to keep up with. Then it happened finally, "...home in two weeks..." gulp. Big life changes go like that though, don't they? So much time thinking about them and wondering and then in one moment nothing normal is the same. Don't get me wrong, we are beyond delighted to have him home! But goodness two years is a damn long time. It went so well though. Our little family is full again, and it is just wonderful. I pondered how to do a catching up post but I think that I'm simply going to dive back in and try to find a grove here. I've been working on a fresh blog home and once I get that finished up I'll share the new link with you! For now though let me just say thank you for reading and it is good to be back!

{Yarn Along}

Joining in with the yarn along fun today! The picture might not look like much, but now that I'm finished with the first round of baby projects, I have started on....my first sweater!! Oh how exciting this pile of grey yarn is. I'm in absolute love so far, despite having to start it twice because of silly mistakes. I'm going with a simple top down raglan, with some customized fitting. I'm hoping this will be the perfect snugly sweater, just right for layering this winter. Ravelry details are {here} This sweater high is empowering...I have been meaning to knit myself one for some time now, and even have the yarn sitting around for two more...but the size of the project was so intimidating! Babies and kids are small...there's really very little pressure, but me? Eeek! The  siren call of the pretty yarn was just too tempting to resist however, and I figured this would be the perfect summer knitting project. A promise of cooler days ahead. We are in a heat wave right now {with no a/c} and frankly the thought of wearing wool is almost dizzying, but there is something comforting about seeing it there and knowing that before I know it I will be so glad for it's warmth. And then I start day dreaming about steaming mugs of vanilla chai, and crispy leaves, and thick socks, and I'm reminded to enjoy the hot sun while it lasts.

 Now honestly this last week has been insane and I haven't read a single word of my book. Ahem. I'm still hoping to read it before the end of June...I need to get to it! 

{Crafting On:: Baby Girl Edition}

I recently had the chance to do some crafting for a friend's sweet new baby girl. Oh goodness, so.much.fun. I knew right away that I wanted to knit a little milo vest, and there was more than enough yarn left for a matching bonnet (because obviously I am a firm believer in babies wearing hats, no matter what the season), in fact I still have nearly half of the skein left! The yarn is some lovely Luna Grey "Zeta", in the Cherry Ice colorway...so lovely to knit with, I'll be looking at this yarn again for sure. {Raveled here}

This dress turned out exactly the way I had envisioned it, which is always so gratifying...and not always the way it goes!! I've had this fabric in my stash for a little while now, I think I still have enough left to edge some pillow cases or something lovely like that. I used this tutorial for it and it went really well. I was worried that they would be too small for the little miss, who is now six weeks old, but to my delight she is still beautifully tiny and should be able to wear everything for a little while! I got in some major baby snuggles at her shower on Sunday...don't you just love showers when the baby is there to hold and love? I leave you with just a few more pictures of girly frills... For more crafty goodness go check out the link up at Frontier Dreams!

{Farmer's Market}

We have fallen in love with our new Saturday morning routine of trying our best to get out the door early, piling into the car with snacks and coffee, and hitting the road to our local(ish) farmer's market. We have a pretty good drive {45 minutes each way} so we have plenty of time to fully wake up, point out every single cow/truck/motorcycle/bird/cool thing, and talk about what each child wants to spend their dollar on this week. Honestly more often it's $2.50 for a bear claw, but they are so darn good I can't really tell them no. 

My sister often comes with us, and pushes Nomi around in the stroller while Jenny browses to her heart's content and dances to the live music...whenever she finds some must-have produce they come to collect Bobby and I or to tell me how many "dollars" it is for the most amazing "fill in the blank with produce" so that she can go make her purchases. She carries a tote bag around and is just outrageously cute. Seven is so big. {I wasn't prepared for that At.All.} Meanwhile, Bobby and I make our way to our favorite stand and get most of our veggies for the week. Getting to choose his own veggies has really {REALLY} worked miracles on his willingness to try them, and he often strikes up conversations with the sellers about his favorite way to cook cauliflower. Be still my heart. A bit of wandering around always yields some other goodies {this week it was purple potatoes and raddishes.}This weekend everything seemed to have tripled...all of the produce was bigger, there was more of everything, and far more variety. Summer is here...and I think I love it.

{Finished Knitting}

Oh these sweaters. We had a baby shower last weekend for not one, but two mamas, both expecting boys and due within just a few days of each other. The blue one is the Five hour baby sweater {notes here} and knit up quickly, but definitely took more than 5 hours...but that's not really an issue, because it is such simple knitting you can work on it in front of movies and while cooking and reading and hours aside, it's finished before you know it! The striped sweater is the Little Coffee Bean Sweater {notes here} and I really, really loved this pattern. I want to find (or figure out) a pattern exactly like it for myself! The gauge is perfect and it looks so nice and tidy when it's all finished. As for reading, right now I'm mostly just busy with my new washing machine. We were without for nearly two weeks and I'm just SO excited with this new one! It's our first new one ever and it's just sooooo shiny. In moments where I can find to read a line or two, I have "The Artful Parent", and "Unconditional Parenting" on my side table...I have soooo many terrific books to read, I really need to make a set time for reading every evening or I will never make it! Joining up with Ginny for Yarn Along fun!

{Rainbows}

I suppose I should narrow down those pictures, but well...it turns out I can't. I'm obsessed. I'm working on several other projects, but since they are gifts I can't really share them yet. This rainbow though...isn't it something special? I started it with plans to pick up stitches along the edges and create a felted basket. I still might...or I might use it as a little table mat as-is...or felt it and use it as a table mat that way. Or maybe I'll hang it on the wall so I can look at it all of the time... I can't decide. (Feel free to offer your opinion in the comments!)

I'm currently attempting to read my way through these three books...although if you've ever read them you will know this is a silly plan. I need to pick one of them, grab a highlighter (or really anything except a crayon) and settle in like I'm taking a class. They are just so fabulously full of brilliant information. Information I wish I had when I started parenting, and feel like I need to learn quickly so I can do a better job with some of the issues we are working through right now. It's just that I haven't really figured out a good way to read AND parent. My brain tends to become totally consumed by one thing at a time and it's hard for me to break off one thought just because it's time for something else. You can tell this in my housework really...either the bathroom is consistently clean OR the laundry stays caught up OR dinner is promptly cooked and served every evening. It's something I'm working on... I think the key for me (or at least the first step) is in really (REALLY) reducing the amount of stuff in our home. That is my big project right now, and I have to say it's going pretty well! I'm trying to focus on filling giveaway bags instead of finding homes for things because we really do just have too much stuff in this house. I'm already feeling calmer and seeing improvements and I am excited to share the results in another week or so (it's a slow process)! 

I'm linking up with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On, and Ginny for the Yarn Along, check out their blogs for more crafting/knitting/book goodness! :)