Yarn Along

I'm excited to have some knitting today to join up with Ginny's Yarn Along!  I haven't been knitting much these days, mostly sewing.

For my birthday I got a gift certificate to my favorite yarn store, Halcyon and that was all the inspiration I needed.  I started another Pembrook vest for my nephew in Vermont.   I call this a little man vest, I made him one early last year, and have been meaning to make another for a while now.  It's so stinkin' cute, I can't wait to see it on him.  I think that I may have used the same color for a vest I made his new baby brother it's of course Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino, one of my favorite baby yarns ever.
On the reading front it's that time of year, I've been digging out all my gardening books again to get ready for some spring planting. I'm just itching to get out there.  One of my favorite books is called Backyard Gardener, no link, it was put out in the early 70s by a now gone weekly paper called The Maine Times.  This book is all about gardening in the area I live it so I find it very useful, not to mention the old black and white photographs are pretty fun to look at every year.
New to me this year is Mini Farming which has lots of great info on raised beds as well as companion planting, crop rotation, extending your season and the such.  I have several others as well that I will be looking through as I get ready to head out and start with peas and lettuce...so very exciting!

Yarn Along

'Tis the season for knitting I guess, joining the Yarn Along again this week.  Nothing feels better some days than sitting next to the wood stove and knitting (with the smell of fresh baking bread of course).

I still haven't made any more progress on my own sweater, but I will, that yarn will be lovely in the spring I'm sure.  Right now I'm making up another Milo vest, this time for a special friend who's turning 5 very soon. 

I'm using some knit Picks Wool of the Andes from my stash that I've had forever (trying hard for the 2012 stash-busting challenge).  He's quite the adventure driven soul so I'll be calling this one some sort of magical Elvin tunic to make is special just for him.  I'm in love with the avocado color and wondering if it would be worth making my boy one to match.  Seams easy enough to make the pattern bigger, the question is will my boy actually wear it???  Maybe on Elvin adventures in the forest???
As far as reading, no new exciting book for me, I've been doing my usual perusing through a few that I have on the kindle reader on my computer.  The Unschool Unmanual, Unschooling Rules and Back to Basics: Raising Self Sufficient Kids.  Honestly don't have an opinion either way on any of these books as I've just started looking through so I'd love to hear what folks who've read them think.

Thanks to Ginny for hosting as always.

Yarn Along

Joining sweet Ginny for her yarn along this week, haven't joined in lately as we've been so busy, but it seems I'm finding a bit of time here and there.

I just picked up We Took to the Woods by Louise Dickinson Rich, She and her husband literally took to the woods of northern Maine in the late 1930s and made a life for themselves and their family.  I've only just started it, but so far I'm finding it witty and beautifully written.  Reading only as little as I have I would still recommend it if you enjoy this kind of thing.

As for knitting I just finished up a sweet little neck-warmer/cowl in my usual favorite malabrigo (I do kit with other yarn really I do).  The idea for this came from my dear friend who knit Molly the gorgeous owl cowl.  She then knit up one for herself with her own pattern, I wrote it down tried to whip it out at the hospital at 4:00 am and somehow couldn't manage it!  But at that point I wanted my own neck-warmer so the eyelet pattern was born.
This is a super simple pattern if you want to give it a try, great for a quick knit gift for yourself or a loved one.
I used malabrigo merino worsted and size 9 circular needles
the pattern is in multiples of 5 so it's very easy to make smaller or larger
this one is about 18 in around with a gauge of approximately 5 stitches per inch
CO 90 stitches and join for working in round
R1 p2, k3 around
R2 p2, k3 around
R3 p2, sl 1, k2 psso around
R4 p2, k1, yo, k1 around
continue in established pattern until desired length!
That's it, super easy and super quick, I think I'll link it up to Tonya's handmade holidays to share.

Looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to!

Owls Owls Everywhere

Things sure have been busy around here.  In the midst of the continuing celebration of Molly's birthday (She officially turned 11 yesterday), lots of work (both at the hospital and at home), homeschooling and a whole lot of crafting owls seem to be popping up everywhere.

Little wool owls I've been making to gift and sell at an upcoming craft fair.

This super gorgeous owl pillow (a birthday gift for the owl-obsessed girl) from Amerrysundayknight boy oh boy does this shop have some fun things.  And she's a good friend of ours which can only mean that more owl pillows may be in our future.

 Cute little Molly and Corey made owl jars as party favors.

Beautiful owl cowl birthday gifts from our sweet friend Sarah an amazingly talented crafts person we are so lucky to know!

I love the beads for eyes instead of buttons as the pattern calls for, adds a feminine quality.

sleepy owls that end up in the funniest places around here.

I feel a bit of an owl frenzy coming on....
this hat may be next on the list
How 'bout this snowy owl from purl bee, there is a girl in this house that will go nuts for him this holiday season.
a treat bag for the weekend?
or perhaps some holiday garland?

Trust me when I say that I could go on with these owl links but there is work to be done.  A certain birthday girl is expecting a pumpkin pie for her official family birthday dinner. 

Yarn Along

This week for the yarn along I've pulled out some unfinished objects that need to be dealt with.  This has nothing to do with my frustration for having to pull out that pesky vest again I assure you (wink wink).

First this is the gorgeous yet long forgotten sweater I started for Corey probably 3 years ago!  It's the Children's tunic from Knitting Pure and Simple.  If you haven't knit their patterns before they are "pure and simple", I love them and have knit this particular sweater several times.  Always in malabrigo which is one of the only wools that my sweet boy will wear without complaining.  Obviously when I started this sweater I went big because it's old and it fits!  He and I did decide this morning that we would make it into a vest so that he can wear it today:)  If anyone has thoughts on finishing the arms I'm open to suggestions, the neck also since I don't think I"ll make the hood.
Also I was trying to think of something quick for a friend at work about to have a new grandson when I remembered my "How many baby socks does one skein of opal sock yarn make" project.  I'll finish off this 4th sock and this little guy can have toasty toes for this cool autumn weather.
As far as reading this week, I've been looking at The Birthday Book a bunch due to the fact that my soon-to-be 11 year old daughter is having a birthday sleepover this weekend with 7 girls!  this book is full of great hand-made gift ideas as well as party favors and party games for different age groups, a wonderful resource that we have used for years.
Looking forward to seeing what others are up to  this week.
Thanks to Ginny for hosting.

yarn Along

Oh that chill is in the air.  Our days are gorgeous, we wear shorts/skirts and short sleeves, but in the evening or early morning it is there...which of course puts me in the mood to knit.  This week I've started thinking about hats and mittens that we'll soon need for early morning nature walks long before the snow flies.

Last night I started the ear flaps for this hat.  I love that the ears are double knit for extra warmth just where you need it.  I'm using a bunch of different colors of malabrigo worsted from my stash.  This stuff is so soft and yummy...great for warm winter hats and mittens. The first color combo I'm doing for Miss Molly is orange, pink and purple...yup we get a little nutty around here sometimes, but she'll wear it with pride and her ears will be warm.  The cover mittens on  this book are pretty much a go to for me.  They are pretty fast and fairly easy, the color work is small and simple enough that I can do it!  I'll use crazy color combos as I've done in the past, and I usually have the mittens mismatched...more fun that way.
That's it, no other reading right now...just too busy with school and teaching a child birth class.

What are you knitting?

Joining Ginny's wonderful yarn along again this week.  Thanks for hosting.

Yarn Along

Joining yarn along this week with the excitement of a finished pattern! I did it, I finished Molly's Autumn Snuggles Sweater and it looks great!

Adorable and she loves it!  The pattern can be found on ravelry here I hope!  It's been a long morning of trying to get the silly thing up on line, but I think we have success.  If you have any questions feel free to contact me!  It was a fun easy knit and using such bulky yarn gave me fast results (something I need sometimes).
As for reading, I've been quite busy getting our first week of homeschooling in order so nothing new for me.
Excited to see what others are up to this week.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny again for the yarn along at smallthings this week.

I've made a little progress on Molly's sweater this week though not as much as I'd like.  I first posted about it here.  This yarn is such a dream to work with and I am truly disappointed it will no longer be available.  The way this sweater is coming together has made me quite happy and I will absolutely share the pattern (once I actually write it).
Any reading I've done this week has really been focused on getting ready for school.  All of the sudden it is upon us and decisions must be made.  I mentioned Nature Connection in this post and honestly just love this book for a wide age range.  The kids also have Rip The Page! Adventures in Creative Writing again a book that could be used for a wide age range (I'm thinking I may need one).
I've been reading through the What Your 5th/6th Grader Should Know.  Not using one curriculum I feel like these books are a good resource for us to know a bit about what is out there.  Of course I've been doing tons of on-line browsing as well and found some great lesson plans to go with Treasure Island as a free download.  That should be a fun read with the kids.
Thanks to Ginny for hosting and looking forward to seeing other projects.

Yarn along

So a couple of my favorite blogs to read do this yarn along over at small things and today I thought I'd try joining in.

As is very typical for me  I have far to many things "on the needles" at once.  However, I am trying very hard to get this Tiny Tea Leaves done for a special little friend that just turned 5.  I'm knitting in Maine wool from Romney Ridge Farm.  I'm so lucky to have this place not far up the road from me!  This is the first time I've knit this pattern, I've seen it around in blogland for a while and finally decided I should give it a try.  I must say it's a sweet and pretty quick little knit and I plan on making one for Molly in a spring green.

As far as reading goes, I've always got several books that I'm reading and looking through at once, I guess my nature is to have far to many things going on.  I've pulled out The Woodchucks Guide to Gardening again as I'm thinking a lot about my spring garden plans. This book is a fantastic gardening guide as well as a guide to the natural world around us.  I've been leafing through School as a Journey a bit lately.  I got this book years ago when our kids were attending a  Waldorf preschool, now I wondered if it would at all be relevant to my homeschooling journey.  There's a Porcupine in my Outhouse has short little chapters that I can read for a laugh.  It's the misadventures of a "city boy"  moving to the north woods of Vermont.  And lastly I am slowly making my way through Life, Keith Richards autobiography.  What more can I say!  I am a huge Rolling Stones fan and have a good time reading about the crazy life this man has led.  It was a different time in music for sure. 

well, thanks to Ginny for hosting this yarn along!  I hope that you all have a great day!

A shirt repurposed and a busy weekend

We were quite busy this past weekend.  I was at the hospital, Corey had a basketball tournament and a birthday party to attend, Molly had a Harry Potter slumber party to attend and a college basketball game with friends.  She did all this after ending up in a sling thanks to a shoulder injury during gymnastics Thursday night...

getting the news that nothing is broken

Greg of course was responsible for carting the two of them around to all these events while I worked. 
Corey's team won one and lost one, Molly had a blast and the Bowdoin girls basketball team did great!
So as you can imagine last evening after getting home none of us had much energy to do anything.  Greg and the Corey watched some All-Star NBA stuff (very special treat) and Molly and I got to work with the sewing machine (I had to do something useful).  Greg recently lost a few of his "good shirts" for the office to an ink pen in the wash.  I've had a hard time just getting rid of them, I knew there could be some purpose eventually.

 I've seen a few different recycled men's dress shirts on the web including this one over at mesewcrazy
 which was too cute to pass up.  so after a brief planning session with Molly we got to work.  I haven't bothered with a tutorial here as there are many already on the web and I can't take credit.  I've shown what I did to make it my own. First I started measuring miss Molly but quickly decided that using a shirt that fits her well as a guide would be quicker.

getting the right fit

  I found some sweet fabric in one of the "bins" and used that to make a bit of bias tape for the edging...not sure if this is the "technical" way to go about this, but if you haven't figured this out already I tend to "wing it" a lot (it usually works).  I love the two fabrics together.

homemade bias edging

  Next I did two rows of a basting stitch to gather the bottom of the shirt to match with the top which was much more narrow. 

a simple basting

I double checked with Molly on 3/4 length sleeves and then held them up to her one good arm for and exact length.  I laugh at the word exact here as I'm pretty sure one arm ended up longer than the other, but wow the end result was cute!  I'll post some pictures of her wearing it when she is out of her sling, but until then here is what we ended up with.

 I am quite happy with this results and am for sure in a sewing mood today.  Hopefully I'll have another fun project to post tomorrow.  In the meantime here is another little quicky knit I came up with on Saturday evening.  I'll be writing up the pattern soon and posting it on Ravelry in the next few days.

gotta keep the ears warm here in Maine, the snow keeps coming and the winter drags on...

Molly's mits

So after Miss Molly attempted to steal the wrist warmers I made for Greg I decided that she needed her own.  This is the pattern I came up with, and I call it Twisty Wristlets.

I used size 8 needles (I did magic loop, but you could also use 4 dpn) and Rios by malabrigo that I am in love with!  It's all the joy of knitting with malabrigo in a superwash!  What more can a mom ask for!  If you have not yet knit with yarn from this company you really need to it's simply amazing.
my gauge for this yarn and needle was 5 stitches per inch

with needles of your choice CO 28 stitches.  If using dpn divide evenly among them, otherwise place marker to mark beginning of round.  Begin knitting in a K2P2 rib for 2 inches (longer if you want a longer arm).
next rnd: twist (K2tog and leave on L needle, K the first st again and slide them both off needle as usual=1 twist)  **purl stitches are purled as usual, the twist is only for Knit stitches.
continue in K2P2 rib with twist every 3rd round (3x)
next rnd: inc K1 M1 K1 cont. in pattern around.
next rnd: pattern
next rnd: inc. K1 M1 K1 M1 K1 cont. in pattern around (this is also a twist round).
next rnd: pattern
next rnd: inc K2 M1 K1 M1 K2 cont. in pattern around.
next rnd: pattern w/ twist.

next rnd: BO 7 K st cont. in pattern around. At the end CO 4 st
next rnd:pattern (Knitting all 4 stitches you CO when you come to them).
next rnd: pattern w/ twist.
next 2 rnd: pattern

next rnd: dcr K2tog cont. in pattern around w/ twist.

next 2 rnd: pattern 
next rnd: dcr K2tog, cont. in pattern w/ twist.

next 2 rnd: pattern 
next rnd: B0 all stitches and weave in loose ends...voila


this pattern can be easily made bigger by adding 4 stitches to CO and ajusting length as needed.

 

handwork aka any excuse to knit

Handwork is something that can be very relaxing and rewarding at the same time.  We've been working on several afternoon knitting projects.  Corey is still trying to get the hang of things, I'd love to see him finish a little something so that he could see the reward.  It seems to turn into an entire story while hes knitting.  The rhyme "under the fence, catch the sheep, back we come, and on we leap" for casting on turns into a very entertaining adventure, I suppose I should be recording him.

Molly actually learned how to knit in the round yesterday (something she's been wanting to do for a while).  In an afternoon she made this lovely little neck gator to keep her a little extra warm in the cold Maine snow.

I've been very busily knitting lately working on projects for our adorable little nephew Charlie and the new baby being born any day now to close friends in VT.

baby legwarmers (will look much cuter on)

man vest for Charlie

hand warmers for Greg

The legwarmers are a design I came up with myself, I can't wait to see them on the baby, just laying there flat does not do them justice.  I knit them with Malabrigo super wash which is officially my favorite yarn to knit with right now! I'm hoping to come up with a sweet little dress to go with the legwarmers before we head over to Vermont next weekend...stay tuned...

The "man vest" is from a great website petitepurls.com I've just discovered this great link to amazing FREE baby/child knitting patterns!  I had so much fun knitting up this little cutie and and can't wait to see it on the little man! (I'll be sure and post pictures).

Finally, the hand warmers that Miss Molly has commandeered were knit over the weekend for Greg and his cold hands.  I thought the fingerless option would be great for working on the computer and even playing guitar.  Now if only Molly will take them off so he can try them out!

Until next time, I encourage everyone to find a little time for handwork.