another hat for evelet, felted soaps & yarn along...

i recently made a new pilot hat for ev, for this winter.  the thing is though, that i wanted it to be a bit big on her so that she could wear if this winter & next spring & into next fall/winter.

the bad news is that is turned out o ofit her *perfectly*, as in...it fits her today & if even one more little hair sprouts up on her little head , it would fit no more...:(

so, i knit a new one. the same mods, but on larger needles, & i added a couple of repeats.

the evalinda (take #2 ;)...

 you might recognize these poses...do you??

 ehren & ev did a "modeling session" with me last week (some new mitts & crowns & things for the shop).

 it appears that his ninja poses have rubbed off on her...

 gotta love that!  i only wish that you could see her legs in the photos as well, they had their own thing going on as well.  it was AWESOME!!

 i also had a custom order in the shop for some felted soaps...

i think she may have chosen all of my favorites...;)

yarn along...

i am joining many friends & ginny on her venture the "yarn along" in which we are to share a photo of what we are currently knitting & reading & a bit about each.

as you know, orin decided that he did not like the weasley sweater afterall. so, after bit of time on ravelry, he discovered this one...

enter...the grand unveiling of Orin's christmas sweater choice (also, take #2), "military, rainbow style". 

he is all over this pattern & it works for his size, though i might have to modify the length of the arms/body a smidge.  but it is worked top down, so it should be no big.

i am loving this patten so much more already...the yarn though, i am still warming up to...;)

as for the books, i am re-reading both "the creative family" & "handmade home" by amanda blake soule.  both are about living a simple, yet abundant (in the ways that matter) life.  integrating your (the mama's) needs with your children's & your family's for a peaceful, natural rhythm.  they are both good reads & well worth re-reading, as her words continue to speak to me each time in a different way depending where we "are" @ the time.

we are currently in "off" place.  three is a lot of squabbling & anger, frustration, aggravation & lack of patience on all fronts (mama included). 

it would be so easy to know the *one thing* that is our of balance so that we can set it right, but that is the thing, isn't it??  there is never "one thing".  each of us is constantly changing, both parents & children alike & the possibilities are endless.  yet, the destination remain the same. calm (which is of course a relative term, especially in our house full of boys!), peaceful, centered days.  but we each know & have felt @ some time, that felling @ the end of the days..."today was a good day". 

and so, we continue to do what we can, with what we have & where we are....hoping for just a bit more of that & perhaps a little bit less of the other.

the third book is "my old true love", but shelia kay adams. 

it is for my book club (that's right, i have joined my very first book club!)  it was started by a friend @ our co-op & we are due to have our first meeting this coming sunday evening.  i am super excited.

@ any rate, the book is set in the time of the civil war, right here in the mountains of madison county, nc.  a woman named arty tells the story, as she lived it or in the t hick of it rather.  and interwoven are ballads & love songs rich with Appalachian history. 

it is a rich tale, one that pulls you in.  it makes you ache for all that is not as it should be. 

it shows so much of how life was during that time in our region.  though the story is @ times painful, there is so much love. 

until next time...

octopuses (or is it octopi??) & more handmade holidays...

this morning ehren & evyn got out the sidewalk chalk & drew these super cute octopuses (or is it octopi??) on the sidewalk out front...

 this one is ehren's....

 and this one, slightly more jumbly, but NO less lovely, is ev's...

 orin got really into building card castles with dominos the other night.  wow!!!  that was a LOUD endeavor (glass dominos on the hardwood table).  youch!  my ears were feeling so old & tired. 

but you have got to admire the persistence... with 3 younger siblings, the table was bumped sooo many times.  but he just started over again & again.  i was so proud of his patience. :)

this one is his absolutely fav.  he used every single domino we had in the house....makes you wonder what he could have done with more, right??

 ahhhh, and "the evalinda" is not complete!  i LOVE it so much, don't you??  part of me is wishing that christmas was just a little bit sooner, but the other (more rational) part of me, knows that i still have quite a few gifts to make. :)

it took a grand total of 22 hours.  i think it will be perfect, or at least perfectly what i was wanting, which was to be a bit big on her for this winter so that she can wear it into the spring & then next fall & winter as well.

what do you think of the red buttons??  lance (my husband) picked out the colors for the dress, which are a bit more earthy than i was wanting to go.  i was wanting something a bit brighter & more rainbow-ish, but i like it well enough.  & i think it will look perfect on her, but then she has the sort of color that everything looks good on her (though, being only 2 1/2 she doesn't appreciate that bit yet, but she will ;)

he wanted me to put matching blue buttons on it, but i wouldn't go for it.  i wanted a bit of *pop*, right?? 

what are your thoughts??

@ any rate, i'll post photos once she (finally!!!) gets to try it on...

& on a different note, orin has decided that he does not like the weasley girl sweater afterall.  he hadn't realized that the whole thing would be "bumpy". this is ok...well, better now than later.

he wanted to to go on with it because i have already invested 3 hours.  that was sweet, but i explained that i would be investing @ least 15 hours or more (most likely more ;).  in that light,  3 hours is technically 'nothing' & better he find one that he really likes to make all the work worth it, right?? 

what's the point if he is not going to LOVE it in the end & wear it to forever & back, right??

so, we begin the search a new.  luckily though i have a couple custom etsy orders to work on until we do find the "perfect pattern" (take #2 ;)...

(luckily he really does still LOVE the yarn & a good thing that is as we have 13 darn skeins of it!?!)

xo

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!!