Knitting through the newborn haze

It's been a while. Hello again!

The blogging me ebbs and flows. The mommy me doesn't get to do that.

Say hello to Benedict. He's pretty special.

If you let your kids do stuff...

If you let your kids do crafts, they will eventually start without you one morning.



If you let your kids use tools, like scissors and hole punches, they will learn to cut.



You will also sweep up a mess like this at least once or twice a day.



You will probably also end up eating breakfast mid-project.



But, they will ask you for playdoh instead of TV...



And they will amaze you with what they can do all on their own.

Playing at Home

The school year is back at full swing and that means daddy is back to work and mommy has lots of time with her girls. We have been having a lot of fun with art, and games, and outside time.



Helen has started showing an interest in family portraits in all kinds of mediums... from blocks to chalk! We found most of these blocks at garage sales this past summer. I have always wanted a HUGE wooden block collection!



Don't you just love the "dogs on leashes" detail!

Clare loves to paint, and so does Helen... right now Helen loves to draw a picture with a black marker before she starts to paint.





Spiders!! I found these paint trays at Joann's. They come in packs of 10 or 12 for only a few dollars.

Today's adventure was all about sorting, charting, and counting. Helen liked lining up her beads and counting how many she had!

Reminder: Easy Thanksgiving Handprint Cards

Last year I wrote a post about making Thanksgiving Cards for the relatives with my kids' hand and foot prints...

These little Turkeys turned out so cute, I thought I would remind you to check out the post!

Turkey Hand Print Thanksgiving Cards

Cardigans for My Girls

The sleeves of my Tuckernuck cardigan are finally complete! (And sewn in too, but I don't have a photo of that yet...) This sweater is a real beauty. Size 5, in Berroco Vintage Lilacs, less than 3 skeins. I just need to knit the collar and button band and this is done!



After sewing the sleeves on I had Helen try it on and, gulp, it is super-snug. OH NO! All that work. Ok, breathe. Luckily Berroco Vintage has a high wool content (did I tell you that I love this yarn - it is SO reasonably priced, washable, and has A HIGH WOOL content!). So, I am going to block this baby out as much as possible. The style is a vintage "snug" fit. So it is ok it stays close fitting, I just want it to fit all winter.

Then I started Clare's sweater. It was going to be another Tuckernuck, but I really can't do all those cables again... even in a smaller size, ugh. So, I am seriously modifying the pattern.



I cast on a basic raglan cardigan and am knitting the Tuckernuck cables down the front panels only... everything else is plain stockinette and I like it that way, especially now that it is starting to get chilly and I want these done!

Last Year's Dresses

My girls got some wear this week out of last year's Christmas dresses. I am thinking about knitting another Principessa Dress out of the beautiful yarn from Family Pendragon. It is so nice that the pattern is a dress the first year and a tunic sweater the next... It really helps you get a lot of use out of you handknits!


No, we didn't brush our hair this morning....


Miss Fancy-Pants Clare


Miss Forced-Smile Helen

and, one happy mama :)

A Birthday Deadline

With my 30th birthday just a few short weeks away, I am making plans to do what I love best - spend time with my family (it's my mother's birthday too) and shop for yarn!

I will be yarn shopping with my mother at the Madtosh store and hopefully picking out two skeins of Madelinetosh Prairie to make a Simplicity Cardigan for myself. But in the mean time I am hurriedly trying to complete my Citron Shawl in hopes that I will be able to wear it on our yarn shopping outing - as yarn shopping requires the extra finesse of wearing your hand knits with pride.



In order to make this happen I have to knit 3 to 4 rows everyday leaving me about three days to get it washed and blocked. So far I am doing good, except this morning I noticed a pretty obvious mistake a few rows back... I think I am going to have to fix that tonight after the kiddos are in bed - hopefully it won't set me back too far :(  That is what I get for trying to knit lace weight with two kids climbing all over my lap!

Random Wednesday: Dogs & Bags

It is a frequent sight lately to see one or both of our dogs all prettied up. They tolerate all the primping quite well.



I also have a new project bag to love. Made by a friend's mother it is the perfect size for a little project and notions.



And yes! That is the pair of longies I am knitting to give away! Don't forget to enter for a chance to win!

Baby W's Striped Knit Blanket

I love to knit baby blankets in the round. It is so easy to just go around and around... knit, knit, knit, knit... again and again and again. But for Baby W I wanted a square blanket, so I decided to try my hand at knitting a mitered square in the round. It turned out beautifully (though not perfectly square).

I found a similar (free) pattern on Ravelry: The Constant Baby Blanket, if you want to knit your own.

Baby Clare of course was happy to help model her new cousin's blankie.










(look at my tooth!!!)

Sweater #5 - The Buttony Sweater

Sweater #5 is complete! This one is destined for my baby sister who will be celebrating her college graduation this upcoming weekend.... though, I may have to be mean and save it for Christmas as I had originally planned.



The Buttony Sweater is a well-loved free pattern on Ravelry.  It is a very basic pattern and written in the size of the designer.  Each individual that knits it has to adjust the pattern to suit their own yarn and size.  And most use the notes of others to make these adjustments.

I was no different.  I referenced the notes of WindingRiver's Tweedy Fall sweater and Raptwithfiber's Bulky Buttony.  Adding some short rows in the top for a little more breathing room, and following the lead of many of the knitters by keeping the sleeves short and sweet. The result will hopefully be a sweater that will fit my sister!



I used Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky Yarn in Indigo. I have never used this yarn before, but really liked it. It is soft and washed up nice. I wanted something machine washable and not super-pricey, so this was a great choice. And the fact that it is a Bulky weight yarn meant the sweater knit up very fast. I have one skein left that is destined to become some kind of chunky baby sweater for my stash of baby gifts.

Here is my Ravelry project page: Blue Bonnets for Amee

Easter at Our House

Today we celebrated the Risen Christ with family, sunshine, and apricot-bourbon glazed ham.
Happy Easter.

Organizing a Closet for Two Children

Fitting two children into one closet can be a challenge... especially if you are trying to fit ALL their clothing.  I have a few tricks I would like to share about how I have organized my girls' closet, and if you click the photo above, it will take you to Flickr where I have labeled the photo with what is stored in each drawer.

How to have two kids clothing in one closet without chaos:

1. Keep clothes separate. Just because they share a closet does not mean their clothes need to be all mixed up together.
2. Have a system. Our system is simple: tops on hangers, bottoms in drawers.  The only exceptions are pj tops and onesies... I like those in the drawers. Another mini system is that empty hangers get moved to the center. This helps keep the clothes separate and makes grabbing hangers when you are ready to hang clean clothes easier.
3. Only keep the essentials in the closet. We store all out of season clothing and future "grow into it" clothes in labeled plastic bins under the daybed or in the garage.
4. Make it easy. We keep all the shoes tossed together in the crate because it is easy for everyone (even our two-year old to put them away. Her drawer is also the bottom drawer so that she can easily reach her clothes. I also put labels inside the drawers to "help" my sweet husband when he is putting away the girls' clothes.

Under the bed.


Helpful labels.

Now, if only I could keep my own closet this organized! Any tips??

Restyling a Flower Girl Dress

Yesterday, I turned the flower girl dress used in my wedding into a new flower girl dress for my sister's wedding! It was fun! Though, I learned a few things in the process I would like to share:

1. If you are working with tulle you need lots of patience and LOTS of safety pins. It is also good to not work with tulle in the presence of two year olds.

2. If you are adding a waistband to a dress, pin it on before you sew it (and mark where the two  ends should meet in the back. Otherwise, when you zip the dress back up one side may be a full inch lower than the other - and that looks funny.

The dress before (lovely for my Christmas wedding, but wrong for my sister's summer wedding):

The dress after (tulle!):

The happy model wearing her "White Princess Dress":

A motion shot:

A happy flower girl!:

I think she likes it :)