{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! 

{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!

{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! :)

{Crafting On}

Finished projects for 2013!! Things are flying off of my needles right now, and for a change of pace everything has been for me! First are these camp out mitts in a gorgeous handspun yarn I got at our local fiber festival. I LOVE them. They are knit top down which was interesting, but I wasn't crazy about how hard it was to make the bind off loose enough. I also goofed on the grafting so it doesn't blend in with the garter stitch...but I did it on both of them so they still match. *wink* They are pretty and warm and really that's all that matters. 

And this hat has the honor of being the first finished item this year. My very best friend sent me this Mochi Plus, and it was really lovely to work with. Red isn't usually my color but I've been trying to work it in more often. She didn't know that, but as always, our minds are connected on a higher level and she found this perfect red colorway. The pattern was simple and I am still not totally decided on the matter of the pom pom...I might just make a second one with the pompom, one can never have too many hats! Be sure to go over to Nicole's blog to check out the other crafty goodness! 

Also, have you seen yesterday's Luna Grey Fiber Arts giveaway? Just leave a comment for a chance to win a gorgeous skein of my favorite yarn!

{Crafting On}

Finally we have some sunshine! Most of my crafting time around here is going to my frantic knitting of the farm mat. I'm making good progress on it, I have one final square to knit this evening, then all of the road/path pieces, sewing, and embellishing. I'm really hoping to have all of the knitting and sewing done in the next few days so I can block it over the weekend. I'm going to borrow my mom's laundry room table for that because there is no way I could sneak something that large in this house! Of course there are a few other projects here and there. A new obsession are these window stars. I have made two of the rainbow stars {tutorial found here}, and I'm starting to work my way through {this} book. That book has an absurdly wide price range, if you want it, do hunt around a little bit! I found a used copy for just a few dollars. There are tons of free tutorials though, so you don't really have to have the book. If you've made them and have a favorite tutorial please share!

Mostly today though, we are snuggling little boys with a tummy bug. Jenny had it over the weekend, and it seems to be a very short "active" period, but feeling generally crummy for a few days. Since we also have colds they just need lots of rest and love, but we should be better by the weekend!...I hope. I'm linking up with my friend Nicole today for {Keep Calm Craft On}, head over there for more crafty goodness!

{Christmas Knitting ~ for the boys}

 {let me apologize in advance for the phone pictures, I can't make a big deal about photographing these!}

I've been so busy the past week moving our house around to prepare for the use of our base board heaters, and painting, and trying to get the windshield replaced so our car can pass inspection (ugh, hello tomorrow's job) and on and on and on. In the midst of those must-do things I've found a bit of time to work on this delightful little project for the boys' Christmas gift. I'm knitting them a farm mat you see...the green up there will be embellished with some grey "boulders", the brown is the "freshly plowed field", that fabulously loopy business is the wheat field, and of course, what would a farm be without a pond? Oh my goodness this thing is cute! In theory there are to be twelve blocks, but I'm determined to just work from my stash for this project, so we will see what I can manage. I'm hoping for at least nine squares. Once they are all finished, they will be knit together with dirt roads paths and gravel roads and streams. The textures are dreamy...some people have felted theirs slightly, which was my original plan...but I'm afraid I will loose too much of the texture if I do that...so that will likely be a very last minute decision. I'm also determined to not worry about where I will block it when it's finished...this tiny house does not have much space for surprises! Okay, everyone is asleep now, I must go knit another block! 

{Crafting On}

Last weekend when I went to the fiber festival my children each sent a request for a special yarn of their own. Bobby of course asked for rainbow colored yarn, or anything orange. I scoured the entire fair, that's three large fairground buildings full of fiber + the outside vendors! I finally (thanks to the help of my sister and her hubby) found the perfect rainbow yarn. (As a bit of an aside/vent, why oh why do dyers always make the red in rainbow yarn pink?? I don't especially mind my boys wearing pink or anything, but my children DO mind that what is supposed to be red is pink. We're rainbow enthusiasts around here...) Back to the yarn...I made the "Wintry Weather Cowl" in "Rhythm of the Family" and I'm sure I'll be making more. Bobby loves it and has been wearing it daily, and I love that it only took about four hours to knit! Much less fussy than a scarf, just as warm, and can be warn at all hours of the day or night...perfectly simple for this no-nonsense four year old!

{And this picture is a few days old, I have taken "September" down and replaced it with "October"}

This next project was inspired by Melanie, I saw her adorable leaf gnomes and couldn't wait to make our own garland! The kids had a bit of a hard time doing the leaf rubbings, but I able to just cut the out a leaf shape out of their leaf-oid (that's totally not a word) rubbings and it worked really well.  I have it hanging over our nature table and I just love it. I'm already thinking of variations I can do for other seasons...I could literally spend the rest of my life drawing gnomes and be perfectly happy! 

And I'm still loving my cross stitch! I'm working on the little flowers above the "t" now, despite my late start I'm keeping up pretty well. It's just so much fun, and Jenny is itching to learn! Any thoughts on when would be a good age to start learning counted cross stitch?

{P.S. Don't forget to enter the stationery giveaway I'm hosting!}

For the Mama!

 

{That cookbook is fantastic!} 

These pictures aren't quite what I was hoping for, but that's the trade off for this lovely grey fall weather...it's perfect "sick" weather, so I can't really complain! First I thought I'd share my favorite hat! I realized over the last few months that despite having nearly 200 projects on my ravelry page, only one or two of them were for myself. I think that making things for myself is an important part of teaching my kids the value of handmade, but a part that I certainly hadn't put much time into. I am very much of the opinion that kids learn through example/imitation so if I want them to think that mama-made things are where it's at, I should probably wear a few myself. *darn* So now I'm making a point to include myself on the list of projects and it is absolutely delightful! I've made myself two hats so far and I'm working on this gorgeous "Circumnavigate" cowl, in some beautiful Luna Grey yarn...I'm really, really in love with her yarn! There aren't enough words to explain how awesome it is.

The cross stitch is an exciting new area of crafting for me. Grace and Ginny had the grand idea to organize an informal stitch along with this great winter themed cross stitch pattern. They set up a flickr group for sharing our progress, and it's been so much fun! The idea is that we started the first week of fall, and need to complete two letters and one or two motifs each week, and we will be finished in time to hang it up the first day of winter. Smart, right? And now I totally see why people like cross stitch! It's so easy to take out mistakes, and so forgiving if you decide to leave them in (don't compare my "N" with yours, okay?). The kit included really gorgeous hand dyed floss...at first I wasn't sure why that was a big deal, but the way the colors subtly shift makes for a really lovely finished piece. 

I'm still down with this bug, the boys seem to be pulling through quickly and Jenny isn't showing any signs at this point...hopefully she will be left out! My sister and brother in law (remember they've been living with us this summer waiting for their GA move?) are off to go house hunting in their new state so it's going to be a quiet week around here. I'm hoping to finish up this fall cleaning list so that I can enjoy their last few days here when they get back. For today I'm off to the store for the second day in a row because I managed to forget the ever important pullups and wipes....I still haven't found the box with our diaper covers and cloth wipes...this week is the week!

{Crafting On}

This girl of mine is knitting! Really knitting...none of the stress and super tight tension that I remember when I learned to knit, just smooth sailing. She's using the same yarn that Bobby is using for his finger crocheting and she looooves the rainbow goodness! I found a lovely little Waldorf knitting rhyme that had her in stitches (I couldn't resist!)...

"In through the front door,

Run around the back,

Peek through the window,

And off jumps Jack!"

She has already passed the stage of saying the rhyme with every stitch...but she is terribly excited to teach it to her cousins! It really helped her to get a good feel for the process, and when she accidentally pulled a few extra stitches off of the needle she called out "Off jumped Jack, and some of his friends!!" She has declared this "will be a mat for Daddy's tea mug for when he is home for Christmas!" and I think it will be the perfect little first project. She is already asking to learn to purl so that's the next step...I have visions of many little crafting projects ahead with her by my side...it's really nice to have a little company, and she already has adapted the general concept of "I only really feel like knitting." Oh Lovey, trust me I understand. 

I have been busy working away on a few projects of my own, but they aren't quite ready for sharing yet...I did complete this lovely hat for myself though! {Ravelry notes} It is in the same blue  Brambleberry yarn as the (now finished) scarf from last week. And this almost-fall weather is *so* close to being cool enough to wear them...any day now...

I'm linking up with my friend Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On, hello to any visitors from the link up, and if you're looking for inspiration go check out what everyone else is sharing!