Home Spun Fun

For Buy and Sell Day at school, Seth is also making lip balm. You can see the ingredients above. It is really very easy. The recipe is supposed to be 1T Vaseline and 1 t Kool Aid. You melt the Vaseline a bit in the microwave and mix in the Kool Aid. We found the recipe a bit strong and added more Vaseline to the mix. We put the mixture in small (non food grade) bead containers from Joann Fabrics (bought with a coupon!). You may remember Seth made and sold these out in front of our house last summer, like a lemonade stand. We decorated the tops with small pieces of paper cut with a circle punch and decorated with rubber stamps. I am sorry I don't have the finished product to show you, they are cute.

I knitted up a market bag from a pattern I found on Ravelry.com. It is called a Hexagonal Bag. Seth says he likes it, but he wouldn't put raspberries in it.

Here is another photo of it, without the model. It was super easy to knit, and took 2.5 balls of Sugar and Cream cotton (bought at Michael's, regular cost $1.79 a ball.)

And a photo of Mumbles wearing his hat. On days when it is cold enough to wear his hat to school, Seth makes sure Mumbles has his on, too.

As for Noah, he is busy with track. He throws discus and shot put. He came home very happy the other day that there is one kid on the team who is worse than him. He threw something 13 feet and this kid can only throw about 12 feet. the school record is 40 feet. As long as he is happy, we are happy. He seems to love it, so we encourage this activity.

Never a Dull Moment

If you can't tell what you are looking at in the picture above, it is homemade soaps. The school is having "Buy and Sell Day." All the Fourth Graders have to make at least 30 of one item and sell it to the other kids at school for "funny money" in order to compete an Econ unit. The kids earn the money all year long, then buy things with their money at the Buy and Sell Market. Seth is making homemade soap with toys and shells and plastic jewels hidden inside, along with homemade lip gloss and book marks. He wants to put them all into "Mystery Bags". I think he'll make more money selling the items individually, but this is a good opportunity for me to remember it is his homework, and not mine.

Everynight this week we have been crafting for his Buy and Sell project, and let me tell you, I am tired! Bone tired. Weary. Why my kid can't just pick one thing and make that, I will never know. Other kids will sell greeting cards, autograph books, string games.... simpler items.


I have decided to organize my knitting yarn. I saw this idea on the Yarn Harlot's blog. She wants to knit one pair of socks a month. So, she put the pattern and the yarn together in bags and each month she grabs a bag, and that is what she knits. I decided to find patterns for yarn I have on hand but have not found the right project for. This yarn I bought for a scarf, but didn't like the way it looked. I am scrapping that plan and making baby hats instead. they should be quick and easy and I can use what is on hand. Whenever I want a new project, I can just look in my stash and see what I have on hand. I have a few more bags to put together, mittens to make, a scarf to finish, a felted wool bag that needs knitting.

I can't remember if I posted about the Fish Hat I knit for my son's favorite lovey, Mumbles the Penguin. I definitely have to keep my kids off of Ravelry. they come up with too many things they want me to make for them. I think I have knit enough for them, and I need to get some Christmas presents started. Laugh if you want, but I am a slow knitter. And easily distracted too.

Sorry I didn't update in a timely fashion this week, the kids keep me busy even when they are at school. One son just called and asked me to bring his pedometer to track practice. Uhhh, No. Mommy wants to nap. I have already taken too many things to him this week that he has forgotten. Lunch or homework may get delivered if I am in a good mood and realize it was left behind in time. A pedometer? No, thanks. Maybe he'll have a better memory next time.

Knitting Updates and Johnny Weir

I bought some red yarn because I was so entranced by it's beauty. Plus, it was on sale, and it was NOT green, which is what I usually buy. Show me some green yarn and I usually like it enough to make it mine. So trying to live like a wild woman, I bought some red yarn and thought "I'll just go home and look it up on ravelry and decide what to make with it." Silly me. The yarn is cotton and about the only good thing to make with cotton is baby stuff or washcloths. Lucky for me, I love knitting washcloths. I never knew! This skein made four and now I am knitting some more in brown. I decided I might as well make some that match my bathroom.

My youngest said he would model a cowl for me. I wish I could remember the name of it.

The cowl is lovely and soft. Again, the yarn was on clearance at the local yarn store. I would buy the rest of it, but even on sale, it wasn't cheap enough to allow me to own it all. As soon as I finished this cowl, warmer weather came, and the snow melted. I can look forward to next winter, now that I have some warm hand knits to wear.

Seth's birthday is coming and he has planned out his "fungenda". The list of things that will happen at his party, in the order he wants them to happen. He wants to have a Percy Jackson themed party along with a costume party. He wants his friends to come in costume, dressed like their favorite Greek God. Here he is modeling his Hades costume made from an oversized tablecloth. He then asked if he could borrow a pair of my high heels so his outfit would not be so long. I wonder if this is how Johnny Weir started out.