It's A Miracle

My friend Maria called last week and told me that she lives vicariously through my blog and that when i don't update, she is very sad. well, what is a friend to do? I get off my lazy behind and post some of the pictures I have taken. I am a good friend! The picture above is of the Christmas presents I have wrapped already. I know, it's barely October. But Christmas comes at the same time each year and is year I am determined to be ready to meet it head on.

I give little homemade gifts to the children's Sunday school teachers at church. This year I didn't make the gifts, but, still, they are homemade. Everyone is getting a duet of two crocheted wash/dish cloths. I found a lady who sells them for a dollar each and I have been buying all I can for presents. I hope everybody wants to be eco friendly this year!

Seth's teacher had a birthday in September and I made her a little person. I had not gotten out my wooden pieces in a while, so this was fun to do again.

I found a link to marthastewart.com and her High Hat Cupcakes. I just had to try them. I made the cupcakes from a box mix and then you make the marshmallow topping and pipe it on as high as you can. After you have the topping, you turn it over and dip it into melted chocolate. Oh. My. Word. These were so good! I cannot even tell you how enjoyable I found these. My tops got a little flat, but the taste was divine.

I took Seth to the state fair and we spent some time at the Agricultural displays. This year they had a jar set up and were taking pictures of people who had been canned. Seth thought he would be funny and pretend to be trapped in the jar. He and his brother are always the comedians.

School is fine, the laundry piles up and I wish dinner would make itself. Pretty much nothing changes around her. It is life as usual. And a good life it is!

Busy, Busy

What can really be said? Anyone who is home with kids in the summer knows that they will be kept hopping. We dog sat for a friend. And I made some bookmarks with a new stamping set I got from Papertrey Ink.

I made a bunch of cookies for the Indiana State Fair. I haven't entered in years, and now I can remember why. I was on my feet all day long trying to get things made, iced, packed, stored, tagged, entered, labeled, recipes added, etc...

I also knit a few things. Seth will agree to model for me , for a small fee. You'd think room and board would be enough, but no such luck. I made a cowl with yarn from Mountain Colors, the colorway is appropriately named "Crazy Woman". I am going to make matching fingerless mitts and a hat from this yarn, too. I don't want to be sportin' mismatched knits this winter

And I made a hat from Plymouth Mushishi. The best thing about the Mushishi is that it is sold in a huge skein, almost 500 yards. So, you can get plenty of knitting done from just one skein and don't have to worry about dye lots.

School starts in a few days and as happy as I am for some alone time, I am not happy that the boys will need to be at school at 7:15 in the morning. It is way, way too early for anyone to be awake and ready to go.

How did It get to be July?

I tell you, I don't know where the summer went. I also don't know where my photos went. I have crafted much more this summer than I am able to show you. I also scored some yarn at a yarn sale that I was going to post, but some of my photos are unfindable right now. SIGH.I made the card with a brayered background. I took a class about making these backgrounds last year and promptly forgot everything I learned. This card did turn out well, though.

I have been on a bit of a kick this summer where I am making fingerless mitts. It's one of those things I can do without the written instructions, so if I need to pick up yarn and knit I could pull the pattern out of my head. Noah obviously thinks these make great fighting gloves. My pattern is pretty basic and is called "Easy Fingerless Mitts" on Ravelry. As soon as school starts and I have access to knitting help, I plan to use a different pattern and step it up a bit. I have a slightly fancier idea in mind. The self striping yarn helps the simple pattern out tremendously.

We did take vacation this year in between the kids' summer camps and went to Atlantic City. We stopped in Gettysburg on the way and came home through Philadelphia. Noah did not want to go to the beach in Atlantic City, saying the sand bothered him, and that there were not any shark teeth to hunt for. He is spoiled by the teeth we have found on our trips to Myrtle Beach. In my opinion, the treasure of finding shark teeth is the only thing Myrtle Beach has going for it.

I loved Philadelphia and seeing the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Ben Franklin's printing shop and printing press...we all enjoyed it and we saw only a bit of it. It is definitely worth a return trip. Plus, it was all free except the parking. For those who feel like I do about how you bleed money on vacation, it was great to find a free day long activity.

This time with Pictures

Now you can see that I really do knit things. Above is the Three Way Shawl, knit with Lion Brand Amazing yarn in Aurora. I love it. Amazing really is Amazing to work with. Below is another Three Way Shawl, knit with Geologee yarn that I found on the clearance rack at my local store. It can be worn three ways, hence the name. It can be a scarf, a shawl, or wound around the neck like a cowl. I'd show you, but my model is still on strike.

Below is another use for the geologee yarn. It is called Lacy Baktus. You can knit a Baktus without the holes, if you prefer a less lacey look.

I prefer the holes, the yarn goes further this way. I can't wait to wrap it around my neck this winter and hope that it will add some style to my usual windblown and frozen appearance.

Even Mumbles the penguin approves. Just wait till I show Seth that I don't need him anymore anyway!

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.