Crunchy Peas

LOVEly

It's snowing. Some of us have the sniffles. We've been keeping it quiet, working on some LOVEly things. 

I

I wish you a LOVEly weekend. I'm hoping to burrow under a pile of goose down and get into season 2 of Downton Abbey. 

The house is blissfully quiet.  I can even hear the clock ticking. Baby asleep. Kids playing outside. Husband fixing sprinklers.

Me:

Knitting: these

Sipping: port. Not too much...I'm on call.  And yes! I finally made it to the beginning, middle, and end of a birth last weekend. Welcome Wee One. Actually he was quite big! 9#8oz

Contemplating: Classical Conversations, Montessori, Winterpromise, CVA, and a bazillion other homeschooling options. Chime in with any thoughts that you might have about any of them.

A great way to ease into the weekend. Whew! That was one of the longest "short weeks" that I've had in a long time.  Glad it's over.

::Cheers::

Fan edged hat and gloves

   

Found this quick and easy pattern on Ravelry.  The pattern is also here.  I used Cascade 220 (can't remember the name of the color I used).  I'll definitely make these again.  I am thinking Christmas gifts.

And look here!  I made a hook holder (pattern for this is from Sew Darn Cute).

So much better than looking for them between the couch cushions!

Is is really mid-week already?  I meant to check in here on Monday...never quite made it. Thank you for all for kind and understanding words about the messes around here.  I hate it when it gets that bad...its hard to know where to even begin. I don't function very well in a really messy house.  Thankfully, my girls are getting really good at helping out.  We tackled it together and had it all cleaned up before Carl came home. Whew!

So with all the chores behind me...I had PLENTY of time to relax over the weekend.  I took in Season 2 of The Tudors. All 10 episodes in two days! I always vow to pace myself, but I just have to watch the next episode.  A whole lot of sitting. I cringe when I admit to watching that show.  I find it to be a bit racy, but the time period fascinates me.  I don't think it is super accurate in terms of actual historical record...but the costumes and jewels alone are enough to keep my attention. I think that we should all start wearing crowns and corsets again.  Don't you?

 

My hands kept busy during the movie making a few happy little green coasters. I made and gave away a bunch of these coasters at Christmas.  I wanted to make some for myself...but you can't sit on the couch watching TV and sit at the sewing machine at the same time.  The beauty of crochet- totally lazy.

Have I told you that my brother and his wife are expecting their first baby in June?  This is beyond exciting for me.  I have to keep my cool though...not everyone enjoys discussing birth as much as I do.  All you have to do is say the word "cervix" and my brother will leave the room.  He's pretty cute.  I'm not sure that they are going to find out the sex of the baby before it arrives, so I'm doing my best to keep things neutral.  I used up some of the left over celery yarn on this little hat.

   

(Thank you Laurel for sharing your baby with me.  She is a perfect sized model)

 

I sort of made up the pattern for the hat. The pattern for the Mary Jane shoes can be found in this booklet.

Speaking of babies, December was a very quiet month at the birth center- an aptly timed respite.  January and February promise to be filled with a bit more action. Just have a look at all these bellies waiting in the wings.  (My winter quarter childbirth class- 2 couples not pictured). 

 

Hope your week is going well and I hope your messes are disappearing!

Baby its cold outside

 

I know this sounds weird...but I really enjoy manual labor.  Isn't it great to get out there and really work?  I'm always up for a little outside work as long as it is not mowing the lawn (I learned how this summer) in 90+degree temperatures, or weeding the dusty garden in gale force winds, or anything else that causes me to break much of a sweat or swear.  Okay, so maybe I don't really love manual labor.  But I do love the satisfaction that comes when you stand back and see what you have accomplished.  A job well done. Invigorating.  My husband does not share the same opinion.  He opted to watch football this morning while I shoveled.    No matter, it is I who reaped the cardiovascular benefits.

 

Between all that piling up of snow, I snuck in some smooches too.  The kids didn't last long.  It really was freezing cold out this morning.  About 10 degrees with some blowing and drifting snow.  I kept thinking about how fluffy and wonderful the snow was.  Perfect for skiing.  It won't be long now.

 

I'll admit that there was plenty of lounging around this weekend as well.  Watched this and this.  Both pretty good. 

 

Oh yes, a bit of organizing and making as well.  Trying to keep up with my mitten advent calender that I started last year. I am ready to be done with it.  I think that I lost my enthusiasm for it on mitten #4.  

   

But alas, I am only on #14. 

We are headed over to our friend's house for a bar-b-que.  Yep, that's right-- with potato salad and all.  We decided on a throw back to summer.  Hope you are warm wherever you are!!

**For anyone intersted, the pattern I used for the crochet mittens can be found here.

Celery Beret

So a few weeks ago I started the Polly Beret.  It was a fun little project from the very start.  Little did I know it would turn into such family entertainment.

 

We were headed into town yesterday to score some equipment at the local ski swap and I thought I should sort of look the part.  You know, Nordic or something.  I had yet to debut the beret in public- nor had my family gazed upon its finished loveliness- so I thought, why not?

Out I came from my bathroom (where I fidgeted for at least 15 minutes with the hat...how do you wear your hair under one of these things?) and my husband, who was sitting with his laptop, did a double take and smirked. Anticipating some snide comment I said, "You think it is silly don't you? Would you be embarrassed if I wore it out today?"  Without laughing (I don't know how he kept a straight face) he said, "No you wouldn't embarrass me at all, go on with your bad self." (direct quote.) I told him that I really liked the color of it- Bernat Soy yarn in Celery.  Who doesn't want to wear a celery colored had?

"Huh" I thought, "it must really look okay!"  I swelled with pride and accomplishment knowing that I had crocheted something that I could actually wear.  In the kitchen now, the next person I encountered was Laurel.  At the sight of me her face twisted and she was obviously disturbed.  She pointed to my beret and said, "I don't like you with that on."  My confidence began to waiver.  Before I knew it Hannah piped in with , "Mom, uh, are you really gonna wear that because it looks really dumb."  Emma, who is always taking care of my feelings said, "Its okay Mom, I promise not to laugh at you.  If you really like it you should wear it.  Do I have to go with you?"

Just then, Carl waltzed in casually and started singing, "Cel-er-ey beret, the kind you know that your Grandmother makes." (the Prince song)

That did it.  I yanked off the hat and marched back to my room to find some other form of acceptable head attire.  I laughed the whole way! It was pretty funny.

cozy crochet

I didn't think I would hear myself say it, but I am ready to move on. Summer was lovely, but hello Fall.  We had some rain this weekend and as much as I love the warm sunshine...it was quite cozy inside.  I know that in a couple of months the rejoicing over clouds will feel ridiculous. 

Being a Pacific Northwest native I think that there will always be a deep seated need for misty mornings, slugs on the sidewalk, windshield wipers, umbrellas, rubber boots, moss, and wood fireplaces.  Is it weird to miss that sometimes?

The rainy weather made it so much less guilt provoking to plop myself down on the couch, feet propped up, laptop on my lap, hot cider nearby, with some yarn in hand.  I have missed you little G hook.  Where have you been all summer?

Finished this twirly little scarf.  I just love patterns that can be memorized and repeated- that way I don't have to take my eyes away from the movies I'm watching to look at the directions. Once that was finished I moved onto this little beauty.  Not done yet, but the weather calls for more clouds and rain this week.  Its looking good.

Can you believe it?

Don't faint, but I have some actual finished projects to share!

First off, after 4 months of crocheting a row here and a row there....I finished Laurel's cardigan.  The pattern is here and was super easy.  I just love everything that Alicia Paulson creates.  I think that Laurel liked it too (either that, or she was just fascinated by that extra cute girl looking back at her).

Next is a shower wrap that was born out of necessity.  You see, my bathroom is not just my bathroom anymore.  It happens to be the hub of activity each morning.  There are a total of 3 bathrooms in our house, but only one gets used- mine (oh yeah, I guess it is Carl's too).  I am all about "being open" and "celebrating our God-given bodies" and all- but I just felt it was time to be a bit more discreet, if for no other reason than for my own personal esteem.

You know that feeling you get when you can feel someone is staring at you?  I think it wouldn't creep me out so much if I were more, ahem, decent. "Mommy, why is it all lumpy on your buns?"  "What are all those blue stripes on your legs?"  "Is that floppy skin on your stomach where I used to live?"  "Mom did you remember to exercise today?"  The honesty was just too much and the world is a much better place hidden under some soft white terrycloth.  The pattern is from Simple Sewing with a French Twist, and was indeed very simple.  I haven't had the opportunity to make anything else from the book, but I have several pages doggie-eared.

Also simple is this.  I am feeling too lazy to write it out again...but it is definitely worth a try!!

8am and its midday

So here is a sure sign that I was at a birth EARLY this morning:

Starbucks.  Blech!  I don't really like their coffee, but at 5am it was all that was available.  A soy chai did quite nicely actually.  Another sweet birth for the books.  What was particularly touching about this one was that the birthing mother had her sister there for support (her husband too).  I never had a sister (a crazy but wonderful younger brother instead)...and I am intrigued by the dynamics of female siblings.  Because I have three girls I often wonder how they will interact as adults. Will Emma be there to encourage her younger sisters during their labors?  Will they desire the comfort of each other's familiarity in a moment such as that?  I hope so.

So, already things are moving right along, in fact- I cannot believe that it is only 8am. It already feels like midday.

(aren't these great?  we found them at the thrift store yesterday!)

We are taking a long weekend and I may or may not squeak in another post before we leave.  If not, you'll know where I am.  We are off to visit my Dad and my Grandparents.  Grandma and Grandpa winter down south, and they have just arrived home after being gone for some time.  I am anxious to see them.

I am taking these with me:

With my grandma doting over the girls, I hope to have some time teach myself how to "knitting in the round."  Usually I crochet, but I really like the look of knitting better- especially these sweet little berets.  And, the way crafting has been going around here...I'd better start them now for next winter!  Any tips?  I can pretty much do the basics on regular needles.

Off to make myself a sandwich :) and dig out my umbrella- it's raining again!

ps. How's this for finished piles? Marathon folding session last night.

WIPs

Works-in-progress:

My first crochet sweater is going veerrry sllloooww- so I hope it turns cute.

Sleeping studying for my upcoming certification.  This has been difficult because the subject matter (and photos in the book) are somewhat disturbing.

The seeds for my garden should be coming next week. The girls and I have been making pots for all of our starts from newspaper (thanks to Melissa for this idea). When it is time for planting them outside...you just tear off the bottom and stick them in the ground.  The newspaper decomposes. Cool huh?

Yay, for Friday!

stayin' alive (barely)

The germs are still here.  They attacked me too.  There was a moment yesterday when I was sure that someone stuffed 50 bricks up my nose while I wasn't looking.  Thankfully Sutafed came to my rescue.  I tried every natural remedy in the book...

(carrot apple ginger juice, thank you Jack Lalanne for your wonderful machine)

Sometimes drugs are necessary.  My husband said, "Whoa, you must really be sick if you are taking that stuff!"  He was right.  Little Hannah is still on the mend.  Thank you for all your well wishes.

I made her new slippys this afternoon.  I found the pattern tucked in an old crochet book of my Grandmother-in-Law's.   I used organic cotton yarn, which is super soft.  She liked them and it made her smile- even though they weren't pink or sparkly.

Now...for the winner.  There were 18 comments left on my 100th post.  I asked Emma to pick a number between 1-18 and she picked 10.  So, Haley is the winner.  I will craft something up for you as soon as we are all well.  Thank you to everyone who participated.  Lovely to see some new names and visit your blogs.  Yeah it is the weekend!!

friends are good

The last few days, I have to admit, I have been feeling a bit bogged down, overwhelmed, frustrated.  Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels?  Like you are in a dream where someone horrible is chasing you but you are stuck- can't run?  There is so much that has to be done around here that I can't seem to find enough time to do what it is that I really want to do.  Who wants to be doing dishes or folding heaps of laundry when there is yarn and fabric waiting nearby. And then there are the children.  Since the beginning of the holidays I have been preoccupied.  With all the gift-making and entertaining that we have done, I am afraid my attention towards them has been less. Yesterday, Emma asked me (with her big blue eyes) "Mommy, why don't you ever play with us anymore?"  Ughhh, balance is so hard for me to achieve.

What we needed was a play date.  Some time with friends.  That always seems to do the trick, puts things back into perspective.  So, we were lucky enough to have my sweet friend Saci over this morning.  She moved from Hungary 6 years ago, and I was fortunate enough to have her in my childbirth classes 2 years ago.  Even more fortunate was I to see her beautiful daughter be born.  We've been friends since.

And now, she is expecting baby #2.  Unfortunately we don't get to see them very often.  Silly really, seeing as how we live a mere 30 minutes from each other.  But, you know how it goes....kids, and schedules and such.  Also, she lives up one of the canyons here, and some days the snow makes for difficult travel out.

I tend to get a bit nervous when she comes.  I love cooking for other people, but Saci and her family are Vegan- we are not.  Wanting to respect that, I always have to think a little about what I can make her other than lettuce :).  This book is so wonderful.  All the recipes (with the exception of maybe two or three are vegan). There are so many family friendly, yummy, healthy things to eat inside.  It is definitely one that I recommend.

So, I decided upon the Three Sisters Stew.  The recipe says that Native Americans used to grow corn, squash and beans (the primary ingredients) all together.  The beans would climb up the corn stalks, and the squash grew on the ground in between the corn.  It was so tasty.  Perfect for a cold winter day like today.

I also made some pumpkin muffins with banana/tofu frosting.  I know it sounds unappetizing- but even my kids devoured them.  Seriously, get the book.

I love that Saci is so simple. She sees through all the disgusting materialism we have here in the US.  She reminds me that we over complicate most things. I always feel more focused on what is really important after she leaves. Whenever she comes, she always brings me a gift. (reason enough to invite her more often :)

This time she made me a bag for knitting and crochet.  Oh how I have been wanting something like this!  I like to crochet while I wait for the girls to come out of school or piano, and I never have an organized way to transport all my projects.  She included some knitting needles and some cotton yarn along with a pattern for dishcloths that I have been begging her for. (I barely know how to knit- so she assured me that this would be a great start).  I was so thankful, pretty don't you think?

While we chatted the girls had fun playing, er jumping on the bed.

Why don't grown-ups jump on the bed?  Perhaps it is because we can find no one willing to look silly enough to jump with us. I vow to do it more often- it seems I would have lots of willing participants.

Friends are good, and I was thankful for a visit from one of mine today! Feeling better now.

Buddies

Hmmm, that may be a strong word.

Sophie (or Phophie as Laurel calls her) snuggled me last night.  She wasn't pouncing my yarn ball as I stitched...so I let her sit by me.  You know what?  It was kind of nice.  Every now and then she would open her eyes and check on my progress, yawn, and pat me with her paw.  It was as if she was saying, "you still at it?  looks good, keep it up."  Besides she kept my right bun cheek warm. I even gave her a pat/pet or two.  Lots of crochet gifts left to make before Christmas time.  Thankfully, I have a little friend who will log all those treble stitch miles with me. 

What is this?   Is this me ( the "not-thrilled-about-animals" me) blogging about my pet?  Crazy times, crazy times. 

not going to make it...

Well, I have come to accept the reality that my advent garland will not be totally complete by tomorrow.  I have mittens 1-12 finished, there is no way that I will get to the other 13 by the end of the day.  Oh well, I guess it will just be a "get- it- done- as- I- go- along" kind of project. 

I have all kinds of filler for it.  Three tiny little trinkets or treats will be stuffed inside each mitten. This was the really fun part (did you know that 3 things for 3 girls for 25 days equals 75 things- eek!) My Grannie (who is a feeling a bit sick...hi Grannie) gave me her old craft box.  Inside I found all kinds of vintage figurines that were used in cake decorating. I also threw in some peppermint sticks, suckers and tons of other little thrifted doodads. Next year I think I will stuff them with ornaments -much easier.

I am headed out tomorrow for an overnight shopping trip with my Tante and my cousin.  Looking forward to some girl time...have a great weekend!

Sick Day

You see that giant plastic bowl up there?  That is what we affectionately refer to as "The Barf Bowl".   Isn't barf a great word?  It has that "immature 6th grade boy" sound to it.  We prefer to say barf over vomiting, or throwing up, or even sick to my stomach.  Sometimes it is just the thing to make us giggle on days such as this.

At 4:00am Hannah came stumbling into my bedroom.  She actually went to Carl's side of the bed (probably because Laurel is often sleeping next to me) and said, "Daddy I barfed!"  She was quite upset and doing that post-puke shaking thing.  I jolted out of bed and found my way through the dark to hug her.  She had chunks all down the front of her shirt.  Lovely.  I threw her in the tub and quickly cleaned up myself.  And so it has gone for the last few hours.  I kept Emma home too with the hopes of giving her a day to rest up and NOT get sick.  She was thankful for the excuse to stay home and color.  She is quite the artist you know.  Check out her version of this made from paper that she cut and pieced together:

 

I have been doing a few bits of crocheting here and there.  I began making a scarf for my Grandma's birthday in September.  Unfortunately I ran out of yarn and couldn't find another skein anywhere. I could not bare to pull it all out so I made it into a neck cozy for Emma.

She is always very sweet about the things I make for her- so careful of my feelings :) 

And then there is this:

It is #1 of 25.  I am on my way to making my own version of this. The next few sick days should give me a good start.

I hope that none of you have an encounter with the barfs anytime soon. Stay well my friends, stay well.

burried

I think that only my pinky toe might be sticking out from under all the yarn I am buried under.  It is heavenly. All week I have been waiting, waiting for this.  Moments when I can confidently say, "Go ask Daddy" should anyone need anything.  I have been plopped down on the couch crocheting to my hearts content.  Such a set up I have- coffee nearby, snacks within reach, blanket on lap, slippers on feet.  The marathon began last night when I made this:

A little pixie hat for Laurel Baby ("Baby" has become her middle name I think).  I love it because it will keep her cheeks warm too.

Laurel is not feeling the love. I have many, many more projects on deck.  Lots of sewing, paper crafts, and of course more yarn!!  We also adopted a kitty.  Still acclimating to our boisterous household, she is safely tucked away in our laundry room.  I am sure she will make her crunchy peas debut in a few days.  Also on tap, some yard work, a trip to the pumpkin patch, cleaning catch-ups, "fallish" baking, and some much needed teeth brushing!! Enjoy your day!

No more holes!

When it comes to decorating, I am the idea girl- not the execute it girl.  I hate measuring. I dislike very much being exact.  I tend to jerry-rig to save time.  I am a "hurry-up-and-get-it-done" kind of person.  I come from a breed of (on my mother's side) of slap-it-together impatient Irish folk.  Thankfully, my brother- the finish carpenter- got the picky German genes.

So, when it comes hanging pictures I procrastinate.  We have lived in our house for 1.5 years now, and I haven't been able to bring myself to poke holes in many of our walls.  Mostly, they have remained bare.  Well, not anymore my friends.

TA-DA...

My newest friend!  Have you seen these?  It's like plastic Velcro for your pictures and wall.  No nailing, no leveling (you can easily adjust), no holes in the wall, no more getting yelled at for not returning your husbands drill/screwdriver/hammer to the tool bench!

Just slap the little tabs on the picture, peel off the adhesive and stick it to your wall.  I have used these on some pretty good sized frames.  They hold up marvelously! If you don't have it straight, just pull the picture off adjust and stick it back on!

The result:

Framed fabric in 5 minutes! (black pillowcases are a bad deal if you drool!!)

Now, I am off to enjoy some wool chocolate with a little one.