Quickie

A quick link of a stash bit that I have for trade on ravelry. It's Soy Wool from Paton's.

Again, the Camera

Oh yeah, believe me when I tell you that I have a lot to show you. Too bad I lost the camera and cannot prove to you how productive I am. I swear I saw it just the other day. Now it is nowhere to be found.

This is the last week of school for the kiddos so I am busy. There is an end of the year party, a review of the year's activity on video for everyone, a music program, a sending off party for the Fourth Graders as they move to the Intermediate School next year, a pizza party, an Honor Roll award ceremony. My youngest went to a minor league baseball game last week and my oldest goes bowling with his class this week. In order to make the baseball game an educational field trip the kids are to keep game stats, and they do a math unit at school related to the game. As for bowling? it is just a way to spend the last day of school and have it count into the 180 days required by state law.

I am trying to tidy up loose ends and get ready for summer with kids. Stocking up at the grocery without them underfoot, a trip to Target that is not for water guns or slip and slides, much to their dismay. One last call for clothes for me. My kids like to shop, but only when something is in it for them, so there is a lot to work off of my to do list before they overtake it and my schedule.

I knitted a three way scarf and went I went to look for my camera to photograph it. I was told by Seth that he needed a fee for all the male modeling I have him do. So, I had the dog model it for me. She works for kibble and appreciates the little joys in life. If you happen to be on my gift list, please excuse the dog hair. I also made a lacy baktus. I knitted some of it at the hospital last week when my dad had shoulder replacement surgery and my mom did not even pretend to like it. Funny how friends will love whatever you make. But family? It's the wrong color, wrong weight, wrong pattern. No attempt to be polite in telling you how much your project really isn't what they like. You would think the people who are stuck with you would at least try to be polite about it.

Oh well, it helps to know who deserves hand made gifts and who does not. The sun is shining, the pool will be open soon, and I will be sleeping in. Life is good.

Late Update

I would love to update my blog with photos but it seems that while I wasn't looking, Picasa changed inside my computer and I am not able right now to load photos. I would have Scott help me, but his office is in the process of moving and he is figuring out office space, placement of staff, and fielding off the infighting that comes with a move. It doesn't matter that they are moving two blocks away, it could be two states away, the work is tremendous for him right now. If I see him before June I will be lucky.

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week and I made handmade gifts for the kids to take in to their teachers and other staff members everyday. I made Strawberry Freezer Jam, Homemade Granola, Individual Pies in a jar, Cupcakes in a Jar, Chocolate Chip Cookies, and ended the week with a stamped and framed piece of art about being a teacher. I'll have to share the pictures for sure (when I can.) You can google my gift ideas and find all kinds of recipes.

My life is busy with track practice and meets and running my oldest back and forth. Poor kid had been asking about coconuts all weekend. They had some at school and he wanted to use his new found skill to open some at home. He wanted to drink the juice and carve the meat out. we finally located some and let him have a go at them last night. Seth wants to dye Easter eggs as we didn't do that before the holiday. I am more than happy to do that as well, if we can find the time. I set aside some ugly white-ish wool yarn, and I want to dye the yarn with the left over egg dyes. Again, I learned how to do this on the Internet. Google yarn dying and you will find all kinds of ideas and you tube videos.

Sorry it has been so long between updates, but I am busy living life, rather than blogging about it, I guess.

So Very Busy

I never meant to leave the blog for so long. We have had a birthday, Easter, and Spring Break all in a row. I thought I might post an update while I was gone, but I was so very wrong about the amount of extra time I thought I might find. I did make some washcloths while I was on the road. I know, it is mindless knitting, but many times mindless makes me happy. And it is all I can do while in the car. Between the talking and the movies and the radio and the stops, I need things I can pick up and put down with ease.

I made some cupcakes for the boys this week. It was just Chocolate Cake Mix in large cupcake/muffin papers. I put the icing into an icing bag with a decorative tip, and squirted it on to make it look pretty. I added sprinkles and half a cookie to add some glamour. These are the rejects. The neighbors got the ones with the pretty icing and non broken cookies.

I was inspired to make cupcakes after we stopped in Charlottesville, VA on vacation and went to a place called Cappelino's Crazy Cakes. While I knew my homemade ones might not be as pretty, I knew I could glam mine up a bit. Seth chose a red velvet cupcake with the ladybug and Noah got a chocolate raspberry cupcake. I was told they were tasty too.

Seth had a birthday and wanted to decorate his own cake. I don't remember what he told me the design was, but he had a Percy Jackson themed party and invited the kids to come in costume and about half of them did! Seth decorated the sides as well, so he is a full service cake man.

I was asked a while ago to post a picture of the card I made for Scott for Valentine's Day. I hope you are all patient as I am only now realizing that V day was two months ago. Time flies.

You can see we are all doing our crafty best here, and even if we don't look like professionals we are having fun and that is what counts at this house. I don't want to die having done everything just perfectly, I want to die happy and having fun. (Not that I have any plans of it being soon.)

I have yet to make plans about dinner, so I am going to go see what I can thaw out in time.

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.