Done finally. There have been a lot of finally-s around here lately. Maybe it is the Christmas lights lit up bright and wonderful in the neighborhoods as we drive by. Maybe it is the cheery music on the radio morning, noon, and night. Maybe it is all the singing about snow and not having to break out the shovel and break our backs yet. Maybe it is just being squarely in the second trimester makes me feel like my old-get-it-done-self is peeking out again.(I did slip away to JoAnn fabrics for a few Christmas present patterns today. Could a bit of sewing be in the near future?)
These toddler mittens are made from this very, very, very simple pattern on Ravelry. I added a few stitches here and shortened a few rows there to fit my pre-schooler, but the essence is absolutely the same. And they are ready just in time for our 20° F frosty mornings.
Today I woke with a bit more energy and in a better mood. Lately I’ve been as lazy as the weather outside. Grey, cool, and rainy but not really. Just plain not really wanting to do anything but sit. Yucky. Not me.
Perhaps my better mood today, and more productive manner today, was bolstered a bit by accomplishments made FINALLY, yesterday.
Those pesky mittens. The pink ones are done. FINALLY.
That craving for soft, chewy molasses cookies, was satisfied yesterday. FINALLY!
 
It seems so counter to be so lazy during the most hectic time of the year! Aren’t I supposed to be running around crazed with sales fliers pouring out of my fists? Aren’t we all supposed to be gaining weight from eating too much bad food? And isn’t my house supposed to be a flurry of wrapping paper, bows, and blinky lights? (I take that last part back. I don’t like “blinky”.) Nay, not I. Not this year.
This holiday season we are picking through the parts of Advent that have meaning to us, that inspire us to act, and fill us with the warmth we need to get moving. Picking and choosing isn’t such a bad plan if I might say so.
P/S
The molasses cookies are gluten free, and we basically followed the directions on the back of the King Arthur Flour Gluten Free Cookie Mix box. Instead of 1T of water, we used 1T of blackstrap molasses. And we also added 1/8 t of cloves, 1/8 t of ground ginger, and 1/4 t of cinnamon. One final tip, the more you smoosh the dough flat before baking, the crispier the cookies will become.
I must be lost in the land of three mittens. Here on planet earth, you may already know that most human individuals really only need two mittens. One with a thumb fashioned on the left, and one with the thumb spaced a bit to the right. Two hands per body necessitate two mittens. Usually mittens are sold or created carefully by hand in what is called a “pair.” Not in this household. Not this season of intermittent knitting. And for some reason not in this brain at the moment. (Stupid sleepy stooper from being immobile for a week.)
Some reader friends might remember my two left hand mitten “opps.” Admittedly, I still have yet to complete another one for that poor cold and forgotten right hand. My needles and pink yarn are waiting.
Meanwhile, I thought it would somehow break up the mitten monotony to knit, well, some more mittens. (This time for the other child who will have cold hands in a few weeks.) So, I follow the pattern again, in a larger size, and lo and behold, the first left mitten is too small. We tried it on and my son declared it was “missing a finger” since I hadn’t yet finished knitting the thumb. And his poor little fingers were curled around. Too short!
Back to square one. I still have three more mittens to knit to finish out this season, even though I’ve already knit three. For only two pairs of hands. Land of three mittens I tell you.
I needed something a little extra for those chilly mornings and cool evenings that wasn’t going to inhibit movement or weigh me down. And I think I have found it. This hat is by SouleMama and you can find the pattern here. (Note: it is actually super quick, and really fun to knit up.) Now, where are my sheep skin slippers?
(Yup, and still working on that second pink mitten for Little Miss…you know, the right-hand one.)
It is beginning to get chilly, (though, yes, I was wearing shorts outside this weekend) and I am into my knitting mode this fall. How lovely it is to feel that wonderful wool yarn pull through your fingers and see your creation come alive, stitch by stitch. The colors, the endless patterns and possibilities always makes me excited. I’ve got hats, mittens, (even a pair for me!) scarves, leg-warmers, and small sweaters on my list. And I always feel a bit decadent sitting on the sofa doing no housework, e-mail, or cooking, and just knitting with my feet up sipping a mug of tea.
This pattern is wurm by katushika found on Ravelry.com. My mods for a toddler’s head are on my page.
It was the end of along day and my model wasn’t cooperating. Running away, ripping off that hot hat and throwing it on the ground with all the conviction a little two-year-old can muster. Actually pretty cute.
Now on to Mini Mister’s winter ensemble….
Humph. Only realized this AFTER I tucked in all the loose ends.
The temperatures are staring to drop here in Northern Virginia. We are only down to the 40’s in the mornings before pre-school and I know lower temps are only to come.
So, I started freaking out. I need to change out our seasonal wear! Warm coats are too short! Long pants aren’t long. And where did the mittens that fit go? Changing the seasons means thrift shopping, swapping hand-me-downs, and creating some pieces that require quality like warm hats, durable mittens, and legwarmers.
Out come the knitting needles, the dreams of arm-fulls of wonderful wool yarns, and cascades of colors. And out comes the wonderful headache of sifting through hundreds of patterns to find “just the right one for this season.” This is my start. My knitting fingers are moving swiftly. More swiftly than the temperatures outdoors are dipping, I hope. Will up date with pictures when finished. Hope you are keeping toasty warm out there!
I am a planner. I love planning ahead. And I know that the best laid plans don’t always go as planned. But I can still try.
Last year I spent Christmas sick on the sofa. Dog sick. And I didn’t finish any of the handmade gifts I’d plan to give. This year I thought I’d start in August, so at least I’d have a chance, with sick-days built, in to finish everything.
So periodically, I am not promising when, here on the blog, I hope to give a few updates about what I am stitching, knitting, and concocting. (Mostly because those who would want a surprise can’t read and the others who can read and will be future recipients, don’t read here.)
So far, I’ve nearly finished this embroidered pouch…and I’ve just started on this linen stitch knitted scarf.
The embroidery pattern is from the book A Rainbow of Stitches by Agnes Delage-Calvet, et. al.
And the scarf is the Cerus Scarf by Hillary Smith Callis. I am knitting in Huacaya Sport Alpaca by Furnace Mountain in Chocolate Heather.
When I asked my mother the other morning over the phone what she wanted me to give her for Christmas, she just laughed at me. Are you as crazy as I am and planning holiday gifts in August?
I don’t recall how I stumbled in this direction, but the other day I found the cutest knitted fruit basket project from Frontier Dreams via Living Crafts. I know we are still enjoying the throws of summer, but I am already starting to think a bit about the upcoming holiday season. How do we want to celebrate the year’s end? How do we keep it simple and sane, and budget friendly? How do we make our celebration eco-friendly? And what can we make, design, and create to more fully partake in celebration?
This incredibly cute, and easy to knit up, project caught my eye because of the colors. It is a soothing combination of autumnal orange, green, red, yellow, and brown all in one tiny tree ornament. Perfect. Petite. Precious.
So this is my green apple start anyway. The kids seemed to like these tiny beauties as well. I don’t know if they’ll ever get to stay IN the basket.
It has been a while since my crafty itch has really itched. Feeling under-the-weather usually has me sitting around knitting, stitching, or drawing. Hot and humid weather with a heat index of 107 degrees also usually has me indoors doing something cool, with a glass of iced tea. But this summer, it hasn’t been so. We’ve been doing a lot of book reading. Jig-saw puzzling. Cooking yummy gluten free recipes. And drinking a ton of water while waiting for the cool-weather Gods to come a bless our abode.
But I digress. I was so delighted when this book came in the mail. I am in the midst of researching educational opportunities for my children and wanted to learn a bit more about the Waldorf philosophy of teaching. This book is a wonderfully delightful read with a lot of information about Waldorf schooling and interesting activities and crafts aimed toward children 2 – 4 years of age.
Though I am not totally sold that such an unstructured education like Waldorf is right for my oldest, this book completely plays to my crafty, saw-it-in-a-book-wanna-make-it side. So, I set to work pulling out my yarn left overs to make a very petite and exceptionally cute knit bunny.
And thus followed, a small heap of c0lorful remnants made the journey to my sewing machine to be stitched into an adorable orange dress for my daughter’s dolly, Kaylee.
What are you crafting? And what comes along that inspires you?
|
thank you for stopping by my blog  I am a 35 year old mom to a 4 year old son, a 3 year old daughter, a son born in May, and a wife to my life wonderful. I write in this space when my crafty inspiration strikes or when I get to pondering about how we can live more simply and better connect with the earth around us. We are a family surviving the suburbs, contending with commercialism, and getting to a greener lifestyle. Welcome! ~Abbie a few blogs I like in no particular order Permission © Organizing-Life 2009
All images and designs are property of Organizing-Life. Please do not copy any original designs or photography without written permission. Thank you!
|
