a cute caterpillar & handmade christmas 2011 update...

today we were talking about christmas gifts as it is already november (wowsers, right??)

so, i was reminding the children that they need to begin thinking about what they want to make eacho other & asking if they had any ideas so that we could make our lists & begin gathering supplies.

ehren went inside for a bit, got out the plastina clay & the beeswax & made the cutest, most sweet caterpillar ever!

 he said it is a special birthday present for ?????????

 (i can only tell so much, you know.  this information is privileged as you might imagine ;)

we then gathered a bit of tissue paper & some bits of yarn & wrapped him up snug as a big (no pun intended, or was there??)  & tomorrow he begins his journey to his new home...

you know, there is just something about that part of having children that *always* makes my heart melt. 

and now for the handmade holiday 2011 update...

this is the weasley girl, aka the sweater that orin chose for his Christmas gift.  obviously we are man-ifying it...leaving off the embroidery & probably the pom-poms @ the end of the drawstring. 

but as we searched through the ravelry patterns, he said, "yes, that one there"...and so, "that one there" it is... 

he was wanting a sweater with a hood & a zipper & really liked the look of this one.

 a wee bit of progress on orin's sweater.  it doesn't look like much, i know, but man, oh man are there a a buhooka load of stitches squeezed onto those needles!  had to take a break on it last week to order some circular needles....

 here is an up close of the yarn, nashua vignette (bulky superwash), in the rainbow colorway.  i honestly cannot tell if i like this colorway or not...will have to knit a bit more & see.  also, not so keen on the endless seed stitch into the purl side out. 

BUT orin LOVES it though & that is what matters really, right???

it is a fun new yarn as it is not twisted as most yarns are, but is actually like a woven chain, if that makes sense.

and this is ev's nova...

this one mama picked out as it is just the darn sweetest little sweater dress in the entire world, am i right??

i am actually knitting it in colors very similar to the one above... 

i toyed with the idea of yellow & green, or brown & pink, yellow & orange, etc, as those were all colors that i had on hand.  but papa said...no, blue & green, so there you go.  decision made...;)

 17 stripes in, about to break yarn & work the sleeves & then the yoke...

loving it!!  carrying yarn for the first time, which is absolutely brilliant!!  this eliminated the need to weave in the million of ends that results from knitting in stripes, but not for this mama...no sir!

also, modifying the pattern a bit to match the worsted weight yarn that i had on hand vs fingering.  knitting according to the pattern for the smallest size (which would be size 2 years) & hoping to get a size 3-4 years in the end.

we'll see, but you can be darned sure that she'll be wearing no matter what.  i just might need to tack the sleeves in a bit or something...

yes, that would be the only issue i think.  as this is knit bottom up, there is no way to really measure as you go & stop when you get to the right spot...

will keep you posted though & keep my fingers crossed as well. :)

happy holiday crafting loves!! 

oooh & please let me know what lovelies you are working on as i am still searching for the *perfect gift* for some folks on our list...

many thanks indeed!!  xo

& the party!!

and now for the actual party...

it was awesome!!  held @ our new home, the marshall community center. 

 minnie mouse (aka miss amanda wilder)

oooh, the pinata!

ev & i, she was a princess & i was a goddess. :)

kati beautified us all *for free*, how cool is that?!?  she is absolutely fantastic!!

group photo of *some* of the kids...

acouple of the lanterns all lit up...

kati's son made some super cool signs, this one more than appropriate given tracy's costume. ;)

also from kati, 'finger food", get it??  i LOVE her!

after my visit to kati...

super cute emmelyn, a monkey (her mama was dressed up as jane goodall;)

aydin giving pumpkin golf a go...

up close w/the pinata; paper mache c/o miss michelle...

the hatchlings lookin' good... oh & the mama is nearby i see.

some of the jack-o-lanterns from the lantern contest...

our chicken, lookin quite nice...

horray, a sack race! 

the adults got a turn after the kids.  man, i really need to practice!

there were so many more games & cool costumes, but the camera got put away pretty early in the night.  it was too much to stay on the outskirts photographing & much more fun living it! 

i can definitely say that a good time was had by all...xo

*crafty* halloween decor & ev's new pilot hat! ;)

our homeschool co-op just had it's first halloween party.  it was super fun & we definitely plan on making it an annual event, perhaps even adding a haunted house next year (as a fall fundraiser ;)

@ any rate, michelle & i were in charge or decorations.  i thought i'd pass along some of the super cool & creepy crafts that we chose for our bit.

first up, paper bag halloween lanterns, courtesy of our friend (& former MCHC member!) christina @ moment to moment

 i made the cat & ehren traced a cardboard template for his ginormous bat...

 i added a simple ghost, @ ev's request, & aydin made the spider...

 lastly, we added an owl...well, because we LOVE owls!!

 i have been wanting to make these spider hatchlings ever since i saw them in a "family fun" magazine years ago, but we have never had a halloween party...until now!

they suggest cheesecloth & a glue/water mix, but i had some plaster paris strips leftover from making belly casts that has been dying to be used for something...anything & so hatchlings it was. ;)

 ehren's pumpkin, freshly carved. 

wow...this was a test, for sure.  ehren, our 4 year old, wanted to carve his own pumpkin this year & the kicker is that i let him!  the 'old' me never would have, nope...never, not in a million years, as carving a pumpkin requires using a knife.  a real knife & not a butter knife, which is all he has ever used up until this point.

BUT i was right there the entire time & i made sure that no one (aka our 3 other children) else was on the scene, so that neither he, nor i, would get distracted. ;)

it went well, as you can see.  i LOVE the mustache! :)

here is my jack-o-lantern... a chicken. :)  i LOVE our chickens!!  

michelle made a pinata, and we each made some handmade goodies to fill it with.  my favorite, by far, were these knit eyeballs.  'modeled' here by our son aydin.

i also made some knit pumpkins, & some woolen gnomes (not pictured).

lastly, here is ev's new pilot hat...

i *think* she likes it, yes??

happy halloween!!

skytop apple orchard...

first off, i would like to thank my friend jenny for taking all of the upcoming photos, as i left our camera @ home. THANK YOU!!

last thursday, our homeschool co-op suited up & headed off to a local u-pick farm, skytop apple orchard to be exact. 

the weather @ 8am, was not promising.  the skies were dark & ominous, the wind was blowing & there was more that a bit of nip in the air,  BUT we said that if it wasn't raining, we would give it a go & boy, were we glad we did!!

halfway there, the clouds parted & it was nothing but gorgeous blue skies!

 here's a photos of our crew, 35 folks in all make the hour trek to skytop (~ 2/3 of the total co-op)

 me & ev...& her rainbow pants!  (she got sooooo many compliments on these ;)

 we apparently came @ the end of the pickin' season & so had to walk a bit further to fill our bags...

 a giant pumpkin slide on their playground...

ehren lukas feeding the bunnies...;)

 the bridge leading into the bamboo forest, which was AWESOME & definitely a hit w/the older boys!

 aydin, monkeying around...

we had signed up for the fall harvest tour, which included an education rundown on the orchard & how it operates, a hay ride, a 1/4 peck of apples & a pie-sized pumpkin.  not bad for $8, right??

and on friday...??

well, we made apple pie, of course!!

this was my first EVER apple pie, if you can believe it.  i was always a bit weary of the crust part,  which i now know was just silly!

autumn blessings! xo

handmade christmas 2011 & other recent creative endeavors...

october is here!!  this means that the weather is cooling off & i am no longer thought insane for my constant knitting...

 (if you don't knit, it is seriously addictive, trust me!! ;)

@ any rate, i noticed that tanya is right there with me on the 'get crackin' on the christmas list!  i LOVE it!!

there is something seriously satisfying about making your own christmas gifts.  whether it be homemade jams/pickles to share, or wooden tree blocks, or hand knit/sewn lovelies.  in my experience, children really seem to treasure the handmade gifts from loved ones (& more so overlook their imperfections.)

it is a beautiful thing... & the love that goes into each.  with each stitch, do you not think of the person you are making it for, how it will look on them, why you chose these particular colors, how you can't wait to give it to them & all the while remembering good (& bad) times that you have shared together. 

THIS is why handmade will always & forever outshine any store bought gift in my book. 

ok, so enough with the rambling.  onto the goodies, right??

my first sweater (& my first christmas gift) done!

a 'ragman' for our sweet bean bean...

other than that, it is pilot hat central here. ;)

i got an order this week for one hat that is in the shop & she wants 3 more custom doll pilot hats to go with it.  so, 'dusting off' a pattern that i haven't used in a while to make them.

the first 2 are done & for 16" waldorf dolls...

this one is a super cute pastel rainbow stripes...

the second is a brighter orange/magenta/yellow merino that sk & i dubbed "farm fresh peaches"...

i am currently working on the third & final hat, it is for a 15" doll.  will be posting photos of that later this week. 

aside from that, ev wants a rainbow stripes hat for her doll "olivia" & i need to make her a new one for this winter as well.  so, by this weekend we'll have made *5* pilot hats.

they are classics though, you know??  ehren wore them constantly, but they were of the hannah anderson variety (before i had gotten the knack of the knitting thing ;).  so many times i have wished that i learned to knit when orin (our 11 year old) was a papoose, but alas....  still thought, enough little in the house to keep this mama busy.  and besides...there are always baby showers & nieces & nephews to hold out for...;) 

& what lovelies are you working on this evening??