Pretty Little Things

Today was a good day. Such a good day in fact that I almost have a hard time believing that tomorrow is in fact Mother's Day. I got to do two of my favorite things sewing and shopping and I even won a gift certificate from a local craft store! Good times. I love those gentle reminders from God that he does love us and want us to have joy in our lives, it truly lifts my spirits.


Upon waking this morning I immediately went to my craft closet (before even going downstairs) and riffeled through it looking for a few fun things to make. I remembered that I had been wanting to make a brooch from an old belt buckle I found in a button bin. Such a simle project so I knew that that was going to be one of my projects for the day. I just broke off the back piece and hot glued a pin backing on and I wore it around all day. I wish I could find enough belt buckles to make a whole bag full of these babies!



While riffled I also came across an old pair of curtains which really fit the bill for the pillow I have be working on. My mom always taught me to save all my linens even if they don't match your current decor and I have found this to be such good advice. Years go by, things change and sometimes they end up being just what you were looking for (even if not for there intended purposes).

The rest of my day was spent on an outing with my mom, 2 of my sisters and my girls. We shopped and went out to ice cream and just had a really good time together. My mom is a self professed shopaholic and is such a fun person to go on these outtings with. We talk, eat, and find that in some cases we do actually have similar tastes.

Happy Mother's day everyone!

4 Month Slippers

I am amazed with just how long it took me finish the clogs I started way back in January! The actual knitting was finished in oh, about 3 weeks (including taking classes for it and learning new techniques). Then I hit a road block, you can't felt them in a front loader...which I have. So, they sat and sat waiting for me to either A. go to a laundry mat with 2 kids and be the weirdo trying on wet slippers every 10 minutes or B. Go to a someones house that has a top loader and ask to use there machine. So you can see why they sat and sat, a combination of forgetfulness and lack of motivation were to blame.

I finally managed to get them felted up when we were visiting my in-laws last month. So, here they are in all their felted glory, just in time for the warmer months, perfect............


As for more recent projects that I don't plan to let languish unfinished for months here is my very first baby blanket. I know that this is a common project amongst most knitter, but MAN it's a lot of work! This is for my nephew that will be born this October, when I knit this I can't help but think of a cute little baby all snuggled inside.

A Handful Of Pastels

Ever since L watched a Holly Hobbie video a year ago she has been begging me for a bonnet, and she wanted it pink. So this Easter I finally got around to making up a couple of bonnets for the girls in pink of course. I used Amy Karol's pattern that you can find here if you are feeling so inclined as to make up some bonnets.

So much pastels nearly gave me a headache, but the smiles on those there two faces that morning was completely worth it...

One A Month Update

The last time I posted about this was way back in January and I have been quietly working on them one by one, just forgot to post about it. For anyone who doesn't know, the One A Month Challenge is about making one thing every month for a charity bringing awareness to our children and hopefully ourselves. This is just a personal challenge I've given myself this year to teach my children about giving and I'm knitting hats for the homeless.



Acrylic yarn is really not my favorite thing to knit with, but with these babies durability is key. The hats are a bit stiff, but I knit them on smaller needles then usual so they would be nice and tight, and therefore very warm.

In non-hat related news my Easter Baskets made it on to Whip up! You can see the post here. Just want to say hi to any crafter's that may have made there way over to my little space from the post.....hi :)

Smilin'

Throughout my childhood I loved to draw. I was never much of an artist rendering lifelike portraits with exquisite details or anything. I drew horses, people, houses you know that type of stuff. I did it for me and it made me happy. It's one of those things that I now regret having stopped. Art is not perfect, it is unique and imperfect and has the ability to make people happy, whether that person is just you or many. It's silly for me to think back and remember that I stopped because a boy in my class teased my portrait and I wasn't as talented as my brother. Silly stuff.

Last week I started up again and it made me happy so now I'm going to share one with you guys.


It is hard for me to put something like this our there, something straight from my heart, but I love it.

This embroidery is on it's way to being turned into a pillow for our bed. I hope to encourage the unused talents of other, perfection is not the key, smiling is and I can say that this made me smile.

Trivets!

Trivets, yes I'm making trivets. So simple, so functional and totally fun to make. Using some left over cording I made this up in less then an hour. I just used the basic coiled cording method for this tutorial again. I have already made two and I'm really feeling as though these would make good Christmas gifts, no?

Things have been a bit hairy around here, Spring time is in full swing around here and I'm not talking about the new flowers and fluffy baby chicks. I'm talking about sneezy, rashy, asthma ridden children keeping me on my toes all day. I've also been recovering from attack of the Corned Beef. Did you know that stuff is filled with Nitrites, preservatives and all sorts of nasty stuff? Well, I didn't and I got very sick for over a week, feeling better this week, but my house is a mess. I should really be mopping the floors right now, which I think I will go do. More crafty goodness to come next week.

Dandelion Wishes

We have been soaking up the sun around here, trying our best to ignore all the Spring cleaning that should be going on around here.

(The girls both needed good doses of benadryl after running through this field of wild flowers on our trip to Redding last weekend.)

I agree with L when she made her dandelion wish, she wished for there always to be flowers in her house.

Another month has started and I am amazed with how fast this year is going. They say that when you have kids, it's as though someone turns the dial up and years fly by, I definitely feeling this lately. My days are sometimes long, but the months and years are wizzing by leaving me blurry eyed.

I have more to share, but for now I'm off to get ready for a date with my hubby.