A Little Knitting

As is the case for many crafters, I feel the need to work with some yarn when the weather is cold. It just feels good and kind of warm to the touch, especially when using a nice yarn such as this Patons Silk and Bamboo.

For the past couple of years I have been doing some crochet, but this time I wanted to break out my  knitting needles. Years ago, when I was single and then when the kids were young, I did quite a bit of knitting. I made lots of sweaters and even a complex snowflake sweater for Rick. But other crafts took the place of knitting and except for a few dishcloths I haven't done any for about 25 years.

I have been saving a few knitting patterns on Pinterest and thought this lacy scarf  (http://www.jimmybeanswool.com/freeKnittingPatternTaoSilkScarf.asp  would be a good thing to start with. Well, it probably wasn't the best to start with as I made many, many mistakes! But I finally got used to the pattern and really enjoyed it. I went back to JoAnn's today and got some more yarn to make another one. (Their yarn was still 25% off.) After this I may try an easy sweater, maybe something for little Tad.

After JoAnn's I went to Michaels to see what was new. I couldn't believe what I found in the dollar bins - tons of paper flowers, pearls, and ribbon, all in pretty spring colors. Also spools of baker's twine in several colors. I'm afraid I spent more than I had planned!

I now work at an elementary school as a paraprofessional, one-on-one with a little girl with autism. We were supposed to go back on Tuesday, but because of the weather we still haven't started. I think we go tomorrow with a two hour delay. I have been enjoying my time off, but I'm ready to get back to work (and make some money to pay for my habit:)

Making Merry

Rick gets to put toys together again!

 We had three wonderful days of celebrating. On Christmas, the kids came over in the afternoon to open presents and have dinner. It was so much fun watching Tad open his gifts and play with his new trike. He does this little happy dance that just cracks me up! He is so darn cute!

We got these HexBots that are little robotic insects. They are so creepy, like something from a scifi movie. Tad enjoyed having Eric scare him with them, calling them "monstrous nightmares" (I think he got that from some movie:) I did end up having a spider nightmare that night!

On Friday we went over to friends' house for dinner and Trivial Pursuit. Good food and lots of laughs! Then on Saturday we had Christmas with my niece and her family. Again we ate and ate, but the weather was so nice we took a hike at a nearby nature center. It was great to be out in the fresh air, talking and looking at the trees and pond.

Except for missing Justin, we had a really nice Christmas. Since I'm working at a school now I get two weeks off. Another week to go! I hope to get a lot of crafting done. And I suppose I should take down the tree and decorations. Don't much like that job, do you?

Anyway, I wanted to show this one gift I made for our son Andrew. He is such a nature lover like I am, so when I saw this pattern on Pinterest, I knew I would have to make it for him.

I don't do much of this type of embroidery, but I should because I really enjoy it. I just have too many hobbies and there is not time to do everything I want to do!

Because this year hasn't been the easiest for our family, I am looking forward to the new year and all the hope that it brings. I'm wishing the best for all of my readers too. Happy New year!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve - I love it! The gifts are wrapped and the pies baked. I'm taking a break before straightening up the kitchen, then getting into my jammies and settling down for some movie watching. Tomorrow we will have Andrew, Alison, and Tad, along with Eric, for presents and dinner. No Justin this year. He and his wife are going to Italy for two weeks. Poor things:)

Rick made this log cabin a few years ago.

Tad like the Rudolf nose on Grandpa better.

This was taken last week.

I took this today.

We had all that beautiful snow last week and then it got warm and rained. It was gone in a day. They are predicting a possibility of snow showers tomorrow, but that may be wishful thinking!

Have a wonderful Christmas, everyone!

Some Christmas Decorating

I have finished up the decorating. Yeah! These pictures are of the kitchen. I'll show some more next time and you can also look at previous years pictures. The years seem to go by so quickly and I sometimes think I won't be in the mood to decorate. ("Didn't we just take this stuff down?")  But then I get the boxes out and start going through all these ornaments that we have collected or made in the 33 years we have been together and I'm back in the spirit. I reminisce about when the boys were little and it all comes back. So here I am, excited about making cashew brittle with Eric, shopping with Rick, and watching our grandson open his presents. Life is pretty good, isn't it?

I finally got over the mono and bronchitis I had this fall. Boy, it sure is good to have my energy back! Not soon enough to get the gardens completely cleaned up, but that's OK. I've continued to work on the quilt from the last post, as well as a Christmas gift that I want to show you, but I can't! I also made cards and that little quilted mat in the first picture above. So I guess I'm doing pretty well. Are any of you making gifts or ornaments this year? I'd love to hear about it.

Crazy Quilt

No, the quilt is not crazy. But I might be for trying to make it!

 

It's an English paper pieced quilt of little stars, each about 4 inches across. I figure it will take the whole winter and spring to get this put together. (That is, if I can get more fabric.) And then there is the quilting, which is my favorite part. Anyway, a long term project.

I really love hand sewing and this is a lot of hand sewing:) It's very relaxing after a day at work. I look forward everyday to hitting the couch with my needle and thread, sitting next to Rick watching a movie. Heaven, I tell you!

We have had very cold temps this week and even a little snow. All the more reason to have a project to keep me busy when I don't want to go outside. I'd love to hear about your indoor winter projects!

Halloween Inspiration

Earlier this month I was remembering a post I saw a few years ago by papercrafter Michelle Wooderson from http://michellewooderson.blogspot.com/. She gathered up all of her related supplies (stamps, paper, embellishments) for a holiday and put them together to be her inspiration station. I was in the mood to do this for Halloween, partly to see just what the heck I had collected over the years and then to actually use it! It was kind of fun to see it all in one spot and I did end up making a few things.

Here are some tags that I made:

and a little shadow box:

All made for no particular reason, just for the fun of crafting after being inspired by my stash. What inspires you? I would love to hear!

My Fall So Far

We are having a pretty nice fall here in Indiana. The temps had stayed warm until this week and now it is chilly and breezy.  But with a bright blue sky, green grass, and the leaves changing colors, I want to spend as much time outside as I can.

We have not had a killing frost, so we are still harvesting produce from the garden - tomatoes, beans, and peppers. The herbs are doing great with new crops of dill and cilantro ready to pick. And the chickens are enjoying their freedom of free ranging during the afternoons. I plan on doing some outside chores this weekend; taking some plants to the greenhouse, cutting back perennials, and maybe planting some bulbs.

I haven't done any gardening for almost a month because I have been sick with MONO! Can you believe it? I didn't think people my age could get it, but they can and I did:) So I have had a very sore throat and I'm so tired that I have to nap every afternoon. Then I got a cold on top of that. What a mess! But I think I'm getting better and a little exercise will be good for me.

I want to thank everyone who reads my blog and leaves such lovely comments. They mean so much to me! Have a great weekend!