Encircling

Busy Fall

We've been keeping ourselves busy here. And everyday seems full of things to do. It is officially colder here now and all the trees have begun to shed their brightly colored leaves, much to Siah's dismay. The cold weather does wonders for our motivation however. I enjoy jogging at Gavin's naptimes when I can because it's no longer hot. We have been engaged in cozy activities like games and crafting and knitting, all while drinking a cup of hot tea or cocoa. Yes, I love fall- it's no secret.  

Then  there are  the never posted halloween pictures of Zoe's outfit. Siah didn't want a new one this year and even asked me why people dress up on this holiday. I told him it was because some people think it's fun. So he wore an older costume from a few years back while we begged for candy in the neighborhood. I pushed a jogger and wore a knit dead fish hat, and Zoe was an autumn fairy. Adam was the mad hatter and wore a ridiculous colorful top-hat. Gavin was just gavin, because he didn't want to wear the dinosaur hat and mask from Ikea. He was just there in hopes of getting his hands on some of the colorful candy.

 

For Zoe's hat, I simply took an old felt hat I had made for her and hot glued some fall flowers onto it. Easy peasy. Then for the skirt, I took some jersey knit and folded it over and serged it to some tulle, which I bunched up in two spots and glued some flowers and leaves on as well. Luckily her ballet outfit still fit and she could wear it all underneath. Total time was about an hour. My fastest and  most sucessful fairy costume yet, and she absolutely loves it!

Grateful

For tears to wipe, clothes to mend, dishes to wash. Hineys to wipe. Messes to be cleaned, and yet to be cleaned. Diapers to wash even. Because it means I am part of something larger than myself. A living breathing wonderful thing called family. I am in over my head and officially loving it. I am forever haunted by a pile of laundry or a sink of dishes or a head full of ideas but I have made peace with this. I am okay with the fact that I may never finish everything I start. Happy to be interrupted by crazy invention ideas from my 5 year old, and have no problem putting down my knitting to pick up a copy of The Happy Man and His Dump Truck for the umpteenth time.

That is all.

Planning

This past weekend was a busy one. Early morning soccer games, shopping, church, visits to the inlaws...etc. Yet I was determined to make something and finish it. By Sunday evening, Zoe and Josiah both had new hats, and I was able to push two projects out of my head. It always feels so nice to do that.

 
 

One reason I started the hats now was because I am waiting on pattern errata for a sweater I started this week. A gorgeous cabled sweater that is a variation and an answer to an exact sweater I have seen on several people lately. Yet I didn't want a mostly acrylic(or even partly acrylic) version. Me and plastic sweaters don't get along that well.  If I will be wearing it all the time it needs to be cotton, wool or a natural blend of something else. And absolutely no mohair. We don't get along either.  I got about 2 inches into the sweater before realizing things didn't completely add up. So instead of rough it on my own and potentially screw up a great project and waste all my time, I am patiently waiting. Or trying to.  The yarn makes it really difficult to wait. It is a yummy worsted malabrigo in lettuce green. Super soft and one of my favorite shades.

Also in the works is a pair of texter gloves, though now the husband has changed his mind(after the yarn has been ordered) and wants a hat to match Josiah's. Luckily the Norwegian Star earflap hat pattern also comes in an adult size.  The texter pattern is awesome though. It comes from the book Knitted Gifts, by Ann Budd and features patterns from many designers. One of them being my aunt Theresa. Though she didn't design the texter gloves with a flap that opens for your thumb fingers, she did contribute several felting patterns of useful items for the home. It's a great book, and I have already completed a pattern from it since receiving it as a gift recently. I knit the car bunting for Desmond in Cherry Tree Hill thick and thin yarn, and used the leftovers for Zoes elf hat. The crochet trim was done in some Paton's wool/soy blend and I actually had dyed it chartreuse right before I purchased the yarn for the bunting. It was totally by accident that they matched so perfectly. I love it. The only detail I have left to finish on this is handsewing the zipper. The nylon, two way, seperating 26" zipper that was a real pain to find. Luckily for me, I live near Fabric Depot  and could buy the zipper locally.

And while I am totally happy with the car bunting, and love that I will be able to wash it just as I do my wool diapering items, and it's warm enough for me to put the baby in in just light clothing- I will say I am slightly afraid it will eat the baby. I mean, just look at that huge hood! While it is very cute and will probably invoke jokes of gnomes leaving the baby on our doorstep, it's just so big...

  
 

This week is full of shop updating and getting projects organized for the coming months ahead...

::Inspired::

 
I have been inspired by several books recently, and some free time. One of those books is Handmade Home, by Amanda Blake Soule.

Since I needed more newborn diapers, I made several prefolds out of scraps. Odds and ends of absorbant materials left over from previous projects, and hand towels, t-shirts, and flannel. I serged the edges.Here are a few. I am happy to say they turned out beautifully. I even made a few for Gavin, including a few thick nightime/naptime prefolds.

 

 Also from the book, we used the idea of a baby play mat to make our very own for the new baby, Desmond Owen. Though the size and stitching are different, the concept is the same: fabric markers and the whole family around the table coloring their hearts out. Some of the ribbon tags used are even vintage, from Adam's grandmother. I am pleased with the end results and Desmond is sure to spend many happy hours simply staring at it.

   
  I also tried out the sling pattern. I already know how to make puch slings, but figured I'd give it a go. The sizing and width were right-on and I am quite pleased with it. I had some Indian sheeting fabric that cried out to me from the shelves to be a sling. I have more fabric cut and waiting to become just that. A girl can never have too many patterned slings.

Sonlight

So we decided to do a curriculum for our homeschooling. I never thought I would actually buy one, however I really liked the idea of Sonlight. And I found I needed the structure. I actually feel as though we can be more creative with taking on our own interests within the confines of having a set list of things to do per day, or week. Then once we finish we can pursue those things we talked and read about- or not. We can feel free to do the things we want, and I can know we are covering our bases. I am very happy with it so far, although we tend to lump days together instead of"doing school" each day. Because life gets in the way. Which is good. I like that. I like making up our own schedule, and the kids seem to be doing well with it so far. Hot cocoa helps- as does spiced milk, cookies, and lots of breaks for recess. And playing with chickens.

 

Back

So I am back- after a crafting frenzy, and a month long visit from my mom(who I never get to see). I guess I forgot to mention that I may not be around much...oops. With a house full and no regular nap times and quiet time for me, I got too distracted. I did accomplish quite a bit, just not in the way of blogging.

Alot has happened in the last month. Soccer games are in full swing here and I am geting into the groove of things as far as that goes.Two kids in soccer is time consuming, to say the least. Yet they both love it and it is fun. The weather is turning cooler now, and we have even seen a few practices in the rain. It's so much fun to watch the kids learn about teamwork and game play. After a few games the excitement seems to be giving way to actually going after the ball, which is good. I think after a few seasons we will know if soccer is really our game. For now we are enjoying finding out.

Too much on my mind

As I sit here on this sunny Saturday afternoon I am surrounded by sleeping children and the smell of sourdough bread baking. I just took some wool out of a dye-pot on the back burner and I have a pile of fabric and yarn balls and hand-me-downs in the craft room at least knee-high. So why am I kettle-dyeing yarn? I really have no idea other than the excuse that trying to coordinate yarns and baby clothes and count diapers makes my head hurt. I've been doing that all morning. I guess I needed to add some fabulousness to my otherwise normal and demanding weekend day.

I did just find out yesterday, after all, that I am having a BOY! Yes, a boy. Number 3 I might add. Girls-1, Boys-3. Zoe and I are seriously outnumbered now. At least she will get spoiled like a true princess(as will friends of mine having girls about the same time as me) with all the girly things I care to make for her. And trust me, they will be many. But in the meantime there is more diaper/yarn/materials inventory to be made and projects to be started. Good thing my mom is coming in town tomorrow for a few weeks. She is desperately needed.

And now for some eye-candy while I leave you, in pursuit of that perfect name for baby boy. Peruvian wool in a deep sky blue.

A week in review

So this past week flew by in a dizzy blur. Zoe had day camp for 3 days with our church at a camp in Oregon- which meant early morning drives across Portland to the bus and back again at night. This was after a weekend in Seattle with shopping and doting great aunties for mine and Siah's birthday. Yes, we share. It was a fun-packed, adventure filled week and I am happy to say that at the end of it, after a day home I have caught up on sleep and defeated a tummy bug passed around the camp kids. Friday is here and I can finally say my morning sickness is GONE!!!! My due date is official now at January 7th, 2010 and I am now 12 weeks and a day today.

Hopefully this new-found freedom from constant nausea will prove productive for knitting and sewing- which I tend to not handle quite so well lately. The knitting would make me dizzy and I haven't had the energy to even look at my sewing machine. I still have scraps of fabric on the floor in the craft room from the last thing I sewed. So a little more cleaning and organizing is in order now that I am feeling energetic again. 

But for today there will be painting in the bathroom and odd jobs around the house. Building a robot pinata is in order as well, as is planning a menu for Siah's birthday party this weekend. And in my spare time I will continue to teach Gavin the difference between trash and treasure, as he loves to "help" and throw things away! And of course scrubbing the floor, putting laundry away and sweeping the floor swould be good too. 

 

So I really need to find an answer....

to a very pressing problem. I seem to do my best blogging in my head- while out and about, on long car rides, or any place that just ahppens to not be my own home with acsess to a computer. I think I may need some sort of recording device.

Most of my time this past few weeks has been spent barely functioning. I take frequent rests in a large comfy chair...and try to forget the fact that I need to throw up. I am still nursing, so my body sends clear and strong signals when it needs food- which is often. Luckily for me, I never really throw up. So all is good as far as that goes. I really can't wait until this stage passes though. So that I can get more accomplished. Being able to think clearly would be nice as well.

When I can, I've been cutting fabric for diapers, knitting myself a new sweater(the February Lady Sweater), and gardeing with the kids. The weather has been just lovely lately. We also moved our chickens outside, so that has been fun. The kids love to find the girls worms and give them grass seeds to munch. I've also been painting a second coat of paint in our bathroom wall whenever I get a few moments - which has been a long time coming....And we are getting new windows installed throughout the house. I am super-excited about the new windows because, well, the ones here now pretty much suck.They are single pane, and ancient with storm windows attached and screens lost. Which translates into = large contained space where hornets and wasps and spiders have nests. 

A very happy weekend

So we had a great Mother's Day weekend, and I hope everybody else can say the same. We went to Multnomah Falls on Saturday and had just a perfect day. It wasn't too hot, not cold and it was sunny. On Sunday we helped out in the church nursery, then Adam made a wonderful hot pastrami sandwich lunch(with hoimemade sauerkraut) and we went to his parents for dinner. Besides Saturday, it was pretty restful. And although I am not feeling as symptomatic as with other pregnancies so far it was nice to rest. I did have a crazy hot flash or two though. Yuck.

Not much crafting went down, though I did get to mend a few things, and finish up the ties on Zoe's baby clothes quilt. Boring, long-drive-to-the-waterfalls type stuff. I did organize things once again, which helps immensely during those short intervals of time (otherwise wasted) during the week when I want to craft. 

Adam also got me some yummy expensive peach blossom tea from a tea shop he discovered in Portland during work breaks. And I got to shop with only one child for an hour and Gavin sat perfectly quiet in the stroller the entire time.The kids drew me cards, and I got lots of fresh picked flowers from the yard. We even picked the great-grandma some flowers from her yard, just in case she missed them.