Some Christmas gifts, (In January)

I know- I was busy in December. That means I still! have some Christmas gifts to finish up. Here are three that made it off the needles this month and I'm so glad they did! Both my mom and Aaron have wore them out so that makes it all worth the knitting!  I mean, I have to do something while trapped under a sleeping baby 80% of the time, don't I?!

Almost there!

Okay, let me try this again. I just wrote up an entire blog post then it disappeared! So here's the shorter version:

Last Saturday I had a friend surprise me with throwing me a mama blessing! We did my belly cast and everyone brought beads and gifts to celebrate. I seriously have the best friends ever. They are such an amazing group of women and I'm so excited to be bringing a new life into that circle. 

And here we are today, at 38 weeks.  It's getting so close to baby time and I'm so ready! We have checked everything off of our lists and are now just waiting on this little boy to come join us earthside. Now that everything is done, I've been trying to finish up some knitted things and start on some small Christmas gifts.  Just last night, I finished the sweater I'm wearing in the pictures below. It's the first sweater that I've made for myself that actually fits me the way I wanted it to! I'm pretty excited about it and plan on living in it all winter :) Ravelry notes are here.

I feel like you need a drum roll before you scroll down to see this big belly on me! He's definitely out there and I'm totally in that last month of largeness! 

As for a baby update, J's been head down for over the last month, and is active as ever. He's actually hurt me before and I have to do counter pressure on my belly because he's so strong!   We are gearing up for a super low key Thanksgiving tomorrow, with just us and my mom here. She's been staying with up for the last month and her presence here has been SO helpful! Just having her here for the girls to hang out with while I rest. I'm definitely feeling inward and calm right now, like something big, (birth!) is going to happen any day now! 

My next post should be on the girls. They are learning and growing so much! 

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.
- Joining in with Frontier Dreams today! 

The girls and I headed northeast on Saturday for an impromptu trip back to IL. Knowing that the weather was going to be noticeably cooler and running a little low on fiber at the house, I decided to make a few stops on the way. While in Des Moines, the girls and I stopped at this little lys called Knitted Together. I picked up two skeins, (on Saturday,) that are almost all knitted through!  

I've made a pair of longies for J and am almost done with a little button up sweater for him. I'm in love with the main colors of these pants! So dreamy!! 

Next, on our way east, we stopped at another store in Coralville, IA, called Crazy Girl Yarn Shop and boy did I feel like a crazy girl popping in at 4:56pm when they closed at 5! The woman working was very kind though and had lost track of time herself, so I was able to look for a few minutes without feeling rushed.  Here are some pictures of what I picked up and what will keep me busy over the next few days. I'm planning on some more baby things and some hats for the girls. 

Once again, knitting is and is going to be what is keeping me calm this week. What are you working on? 

He's going to be fancy:

I made another pebble, starting well before I knew (saw) he was a he. But, like I've been telling my husband and friends, I just knew he was a he.  This was made in tiny size on #5 needles, following the pattern otherwise.  It was a very thrifty project, as it used less than a full skein of Cascade 220, which I had on hand.  The buttons I found at JoAnn's.
I think he might need some bow ties to go with this sweater vest. Also, a grampie cardigan? Oh yes! That's to be shown soon :)  He's going to be a fancy dressed guy :)

Knitting:

It's 100* and I'm knitting again. I love knitting in the summer. Maybe it's because I'm anticipating the colder months ahead. Maybe it's because I just want to keep busy. Lord knows I'm busy! I just wanted to show a few projects off: 

These baby booties are addictive to make. I'm making another pair today in alpaca! yum! 

This is a pattern from the Purl Bee. It's their Chevron Baby Blanket and I love how it's turning out! I also love the yarn I'm working with. I recently purchased a huge bag of yarn at the thrift store for $3. I think it has enough to make the entire blanket! 

This sweater was finally finished last night! I started it back in February and finished all but the holes under the sleeves about a week later. Then it took me 5 months to just graft the sleeves together. Why!!!?! Anyway, A loves it and I'm so glad. I don't know how well it will fit her in another couple of months, but I'm sure she will wear it nonetheless. 

Any I whipped this hat up yesterday for my sister-in-law who lives in Alaska and who's birthday is in a few days. Even though it's summer here, I'm sure she will be able to get some use out of it before long. Also, it's the same yarn as A's sweater^.  It was on sale, too, so I'm trying to use it up!

That's all for now. I'm going to be sewing in the next few days, so maybe a post on that? 

Today...

The girls and I went to The Yarn Barn:

It was a good day :)

Pip

I made this little sweater with the intentions of gifting it but I didn't know to who at first. Then it hit me, that my dear friend who was in a crazy accident could use some loving. She has a little girl, who is 8 months old, that I'm pretty sure this will look cute on. So, that's where it's going!

There's something about knitting, making rather, that really gets me praying. I love praying for whoever the gift is intended for. Whether it be art, something knitted, sewed, or just crafted, sending out love that entire time I'm making it is something that feeds my soul. I love doing it and I think that's why I'm always making.

Ravelry notes here.

Sewing for the girls

I've been sewing little things over the last few days and have been making/finishing little easy projects. It feels so good! We also started on E's room, which needed to be painted ceiling to floor! Lot's of painting going on around these parts. I am so excited for how it will turn out. The color is totally her, as are the things going up on her wall. Can't wait to post pictures on here! Here is the little corner that I have finished so far:

I love making new spaces!
Back to sewing! I've made each girl their own dress over the last two days. A gets the sparkly red one, as she adores anything red and sparkly. Her dress is just a t-shirt dress. I used an unused undershirt, cut off the bottom 3 inches and attached the red fabric. That stuff was so silly to work with! Here Jean, from the artful parent, shows just how to convert a t-shirt to a dress, (which is more or less what I did with this one, and definitely where I got the idea to do so :)

And here is little E's dress. I had this idea last year to make a dress with a knit top for the last year or so and even made the knit part last spring. Last spring! So, it sat there for the last few seasons, waiting for me to put it to something. I used two fat quarters that had originally been intended for napkins, but never were actually sewn. And the little flower I found at Hobby Lobby, in there scrap booking section. I think the pack came with 5 or 6 little flowers for a few dollars. So, I just made a tub with the fat quarters, cinched them up and sewed them to the knit top. I didn't sew the knit top closed but did have enough sense to put a button hole in. It fits her great and I LOVE how it turned out. I'm kind of kicking myself for not starting this last year, but oh well :) A wants one, too, so she's up next.

I think it would be so cute with pockets, or in ladies size :)

January Cowl

Last week, Aaron, the girls, and I all headed to Manhattan so he could get some books from the library for the upcoming semester that starts tomorrow! It really was a lovely day, with the temperature floating around the 50's and not a cloud in the sky. We started the day out by eating lunch in Aggieville. Then we walked around for a bit and headed to the school. Aaron showed me his building and "office" that he shares with the other grad students. It was interesting, to say the least. But we were on kid time, and had to get to the library. So, we went over to the library and the girls and I did yoga in one of their meditation rooms while the Mr. looked. After he found what he needed we went to a few thrift stores and then I found Wildflower Yarns and Knitwear, the LYS!! I was so excited, I didn't even know Manhattan had one. And it was open! Double score. So, my awesome husband took the littles for chocolates while I got a few minutes by myself to look around. I ended up with two skeins of rainbow Chunky Mochi and drooled over it the whole way home.

The yarn wanted to be a cowl, or I really wanted the yarn to be a cowl. So, after 3 attempts, both knitting and crocheting, I finally came up with this little guy. It's just a seed stitched panel, then twisted once before seamed up.

It is so comfy, that mochi yarn. It's my favorite cowl I've made so far, something about how soft the yarn is, with how bright those colors are. Love.
Ravelry notes are here.

A sneak peak

Here's a sneak peak of some of the making I've been up to for this Christmas season. This is going to be for E. Ravelry notes are here.

It's That Time Again!!

That time where I get quiet around these parts. Time to savor this quick holiday season with my lovies. Time to keep chugging away at the making going on around here. Time to savor each moment and love, love, love.
Here's one of the projects that's already under the tree waiting. It's the Meret beret by Wolly Wormhead. I do love their patterns!

This hat was made about two weeks ago as a gift for a friend. It's the first hat I had done in a while, since last years colder months, and I'd forgot how much I like making hats. We just have so many that I hadn't made any in a while.This one took a while longer than most, since I did two repeats of the lacy pattern. But yes, I love how it turned out and that color!! Oh that's my favorite color right now.

Here's the ravelry link.


Also, time for some linky love. Here's some links to what I'll be up to during this next month!

This sweater is the easiest kid sweater I've made ever! I love it so much that I've made it 5 times in the two years that I've been knitting. I also love how easy it is to customize. I just finished E's last week and will be starting on A's shortly. They are their big mamamade gift for Christmas.

I am loving all the Christmas ornament goodness over at Craft Snob. So. Good!! I will be making at least a few of them with the littles and will hopefully be back over here to show them off.

Have you heard this yet? Oh, Florence.

I'll also be making our wrapping paper with the girls this year again out of recycled paper bags. These will only be for the gifts we bring to Illinois next month, as we use fabric for our gifts here at home. Christmas will be here before we know it! Go get crafty!!

It's a Cinch Head Wrap and Cowl

My dreads are loving these hair wraps I made over the last few weeks. It is the most simple pattern and I might even make some as Christmas gifts. The purple wrap was a modified version, using size 4 needles and much smaller yarn. It still came out adorable! Here and here are my ravelry notes.

You can find the author of the pattern's blog here. I love all her pretty things that even this thrifty mama can make.

Stuck inside

Yesterday was quite an ambitious day. The baby took an extremely long nap so I decided to start painting the living room. Aaron and I had gotten the paint about a month ago and just haven't had the chance to start yet. Then with all the snow we got hit with, Aaron was able to come home early, which led to me finishing the living room. It's Martha Stewart paint which I'm falling for. So far, I've used it for the living, dining room and kitchen. It's low ordor/voc and dries super fast!



Somehow, I also had it in me to knit an entire hat?? Yep, I did. It was made for the both of them... I love them :)

Christmas Making: part 5

Even the dog gets some mamamade knitting around here. Jasper, for the most part, is an inside dog. This dog sweater was made just for fun, was a super fast knit up and is very stretchy. Here is the pattern used for it, I think you have to be a ravelry member to view it.

Christmas Making: Part 4

This was an impromptu knit. I was just playing around and ended up knitting dear Elli a sweater. It's knit with Bernat's Roving and has vintage buttons for closures. It was simply yoked and the only seams were under the arms. This sweater is super stretchy and does fit her well. For now, though, it's wrapped and under the tree waiting for Elli. I enjoy making baby sweaters, especially the ones that only take a few hours.

making already

for His birthday and Elliot's birthday :) I know, it's only October but I've got a lot of making to do. Elliot's little sweater is very near finished and with her birthday in less than a week I better add some buttons!

because summer's almost over...

I knit myself some handwarmers. And I just learned how to cable knit so I incorporated that on them. The pattern used was just made up as I knit. They fit well and I cannot wait to use them!

 

 

I had a bit extra so I knit up a headband. I had seen similar ones on ravelry but just winged it. I cast on 80 and ribbed 2x2 until I ran out of yarn... about 12 rows. (I used size 7 needles.)

 

Now, I've got some pattern browsing to do for a baby's first birthday next month...

One hat, two hat, pink hat, blue hat

Hi!!

 

Here's my summer studio for the week! More fiber!

 

Two hats finished this week!

Boy I've been on a fiber kick! I really need to update my Ravelry profile because I've gotten some projects done here lately. I guess that's what happens when my sewing machine is put away. And I've been making things for me! There was that bag last week that was finished, which has proven great as a diaper bag. It's so stretchy. I can fit so much in there! The pink Urban Jungle hat was finished wednesday night. I love it. I thought about gifting it, but that's about as far as I got.I love it. It is a little on the brighter side and that is totally fitting for me. Now, if it weren't 90 degrees out every day I might get to wear it.

 

And this little hat is for a friend of mine who is due with her first this fall. The girls and I went to the library today and I rented One Skien, (Again!) and made the baby hat. I started and finished it last night. I do love projects like that. I've got a few more fast projects for other people to do this week.

Thanks for stopping! Have a great day with many blessings from Him!