WIP Wednesday

The following are in progress today:

- a birthday quilt for Laithe. Someone is getting a big boy bed for his birthday - which is good because he is way too big (width and length) for his crib mattress on the floor. I haven't made a quilt in a long time and let's just say I will never be teaching "math for sewing" at the homeschool co-op, but I'm enjoying it nonetheless.

- a roof. well, part of a roof. It's probably 1/3 done and hampered by the next thing on the list.

- the never ending snowstorm(s). We had one last week that was kind of pithy, but this one is not as pithy and right now there is a small part of my brain that is pretty sure we're beginning another ice age and that spring will never come. I told my mom this morning that this storm could have at least had the decency to come when everyone was excited about snow -- like in December. Or even January. Heck even the beginning of February. John was reminiscing about a blizzard once during spring break when we were in college. Bleak I tell you. Bleak. We will be 1/3 roofed forever!



That's pretty much it. John has a cold and took the past two days off work. He sounds like darth vader albeit a little higher pitched. Actually high enough pitched that my first thought is that one of the kids is wailing somewhere in the house, it's disconcerting.

I did enjoy having everyone cozy at home during the snowpocalypse. We're all back to our proper schedules today though.

This morning, after lessons, my goal is to do a bunch of housework. Everything feels so crowded and cluttered. Possibly because it is - I swear you can't walk 2 feet in any direction without stepping on either a toy or part of a nebulizer or fabric. And it's not like I haven't been doing anything the past few days, it's just that apparently I haven't kept up. 670 square feet of living space tends to fill up fast when we're all here and using it - and keep going out in the snow so that there are a lot of damp, frozen accessories strewn about.

And I just caught Laithe trying to shove a pizza crust into the heater vent.

Yes, housework is in order.

Which is kind of unfortunate because what I'd really like to do is curl up with my book and a blanket next to the window and fritter away the day.


Happy Wednesday!

WIP Wednesday

A blowing snowy afternoon here. After yesterday morning's 65 degrees it feels really, really cold. The expected wind chill tomorrow night is like -30. I'm not ready quite yet for spring, but I miss puttering in the yard. I've almost had enough of a break from it. And I'm ready for us to be able to be outside without so many thick layers.

I realized that since it's post-Christmas I can start sharing what I'm working on again and there's already been a fair bit of crafting and knitting this morning so time for a WIP update!

The kids and I are working on a sky scarf. The idea is to record the color of the sky every day and then knit a row for every day to make a scarf. At the end of the year you'll have a sort of weather record. Every morning during circle time we discuss the weather and look at the color of the sky. Winter here is a lot of light blue sky and some white and gray.

I've been pleased that we've mostly kept up on it - there were a couple days here and there that I kind of guessed at. I'm hoping we'll keep it going for at least 6 months, but I'd love for it to be a 12 month project. The idea is that Guthrie will take it over in a few months when she's had more knitting practice.

The other project in the basket is a new cowl for me. Because everyone needs more than one - and I've had my other one for 3 winters now. Time for a new one! I picked up some Boboli yarn at Knit and Knot, our newish LYS, and it's got rayon in it.



Makes it kind of shimmery and smooth, but well, I'll just get used to the ease at which the strands split if my needle hits them wrong.  I do love the color though and I'm using Stephen West's Purl Ridge Scarf pattern - a free ravelry download. It's a bit mindless, which I need right now as my last few projects have needed more focus.


Think of us eating brownies and reading chapter 4 of The Long Winter --- it's the first blizzard of the year in October, and looking outside at our own blizzardy conditions this afternoon.



Maybe I can go a few more weeks until spring!

WIP Wednesday

brought in probably 15 pounds of tomatoes, half a mixing bowl of sungold tomatoes, 5 perfectly red bell peppers (triumph!) and 8 cucumbers.

no zucchini tonight though. waiting for the onslaught.

no pictures either as it was getting dark and i didn't think you wanted a photo of my produce drawer. not exciting blog fodder.


also on the knitting front - i've been work fast and furiously to get some warm accessories done before our trip where it will certainly freeze at night and possibly snow. a fleece lined hat for John is awaiting blocking before fleece gets sewn in. he will have a toasty brain. a shawl for me is ready for blocking and a semi-matching one for Guthrie needs about 3 more inches. she's always so excited to match mama.

next up - possibly a hat for Laithe as he has probably outgrown last years.

then i'll be free to start the christmas presents! yay!


also i did about 5 hours of housework today and aside from the shiny piano you can't really tell. damn. well, also the homeschool stuff is all ready. couple more materials to put together, but not a huge sense of urgency for those right now. *sigh of relief*

wip wednesday

oh man do i ever owe you guys a big post. it wasn't an intentional blogging break, but maybe a needed one?

we've been busy, but it's just been the day to day busyness of a family with young kids plus some bigger adventures just to add some spice.

i've been taking my time working on a few things here and there though and thought i'd show them off.

first - in the name of all things january (the official month of organization) my mom and i went to ikea and i got this bookcase for 60% off! it's to hold all my crafting crappe. ok well. that's kind of a ridiculous statement because clearly this bookcase is not of ample size. but it's to hold all the crappe i use often and like to look at.
i'm worried it looks a little, 'hi i'm opening a really tiny retail shop of oddly shaped cuts of fabric and wool in my dining room' so i'm going to add a couple rows of fabric velcroed to the tops of shelves to cover some. i'd like it to at least look cute and not like it does right now- where tiny hands have halfway pulled things off and such! i'll let you know how it turns out. work in progress and all.


i've been getting into using roving for felting and little bits of awesome here and there. during the superbowl (i always have good intentions of sitting through a football game, but about 1/3 of the way through i usually wander away) i created this - or started this - little playscape, trying my hand at wet felting using wool roving. i used the tutorial from Magic Onions and it was pretty much spot on. I only wet felted the brown underlayer and have been needle felting the river and grass. my plan is to add a little cave for tiny animals to hide it. i showed it to guthrie hoping to pique her interested, but (and i should have known this) laithe is much more interested. he plays so much differently than guthrie ever did and i don't think it's entirely because he's spent the past 2 years watching her - she still doesn't quite play like he does. i'll be curious to see how his tiny, strong hands do with the semi-fragile wool shapes.

guthrie's green socks are taking shape- no photo yet. one tube is done and i'm working on the other before i attempt to create a foot and heel. she's very much anxious for me to be done and was so pleased when i took the tube off my needles to check the fit and they were perfect. huge sigh of relief!


what's been up in your neck of the woods? i've missed you!

wip wednesday

Work in progress: nothin'.

for the first day in a l - o - n - g time i'm taking a true day off on my day off.

i mean, relatively, for a mama to two, for a full time working mama who spent 14 hours at work monday - in another state - and has a ridiculously full week coming up.

tonight i'm going to a movie with work friends. afterwards there might be a drink or two at $4 martini night. this afternoon i read and listened to the kids play with the neighbors. this morning i went out to breakfast with my mom and Laithe after Guthrie went to school.

and there was not a dish done.

there was some floor swept, but you really can't blame me, they're new after all and so shiny.

everything is done in our house, at least that is going to be done by anyone other than us. we've got some finishing work to do, but that will largely be john's work. i will be supportive with apple crisp and ice cream.

i told my friend melissa that i was feeling a bit weepy today. our house has been in flux for so long and now it's done. the checks have all been written, all of the furniture that we're bringing back into the house is put away, it's like i can let out the shaky breath i didn't realize i'd been holding since july 14th.

to say this project(s) has been difficult for our family would possibly be an understatement. we're all craving routine. the children are craving non-tired, non-cranky parents. our marriage is craving some quiet time that doesn't involve a staple gun or paint.

we have a really, really busy month or so and then we'll begin the slow descent into the holidays. which i'm bound and determined to be about the experience only. not about what we should do, or should buy, or should whatever.

i'm so ready to enjoy this fall.

there will be "after" pictures soon - i want to finish putting a couple of things away so it looks like, in theory, this is a house someone could comfortably be living in!

WIP Wednesday

Every dang time I'm just floored by this. This whole growing food thing.

Do you think it'll ever get used to it?
How do you go from this little nothing:




To this overgrown, tomatoes taller than me, cucumber completely taking over, monstrosity of green:



I cannot overstate how much I love having the raised beds! Love, love, love it. I can head out early in the morning, pull a few weeds, do some watering, putter, in my work clothes. It's just so easily managed.

And things are looking good!

**you'll have to forgive the low quality of these photos. it was hot. it was 8 in the morning and 85 degrees - without humidity. the 'real feel' -what they call the heat index in these here parts -is 91. awesome. another real feel day of 115!

wip

I don't have a lot of crafty going on right now - a pair of handwarmers I've been slowly, slowly picking away at. It's good to knit tiny things in this heat.

I do have a lot of yard going on though.

Every year I'm amazed by this whole growing business. Every year I crow: it's a miracle -- you put a seed in the ground and a plant comes up! How does that happen?

So - here's what we've been working on:


The raised beds are looking good. I had to replant some beans and the small seeds definitely pooled - like I have a group of lettuce, beets, and radishes in their respective areas in a clearly puddle-shaped mass. Our rain has been frequent and torrential - we've been lucky that our only "damage" has been this. The rain barrel is FULL.

Look! Asparagus triumph!! And rhubarb!! I'm happy there's a little bit of permanent in our yard.
Pea pods are being harvested by tiny willing hands. And then barely tasted. They are so sweet! I don't even care that I'm the only one who likes them because that means more for me! And really I'm just glad she's getting to see a full growing cycle in such a short amount of time. She planted all the peas and the biggest patch is right in the middle of the yard. John has been sweetly mowing around it until the season is over.

And the raspberries are looking alright. We shall see how that goes. I spotted the first japanese beetle on my birthday - thanks for that present!

This was also the first year I've really mulched and I'm really glad I did. There's still a lot of weeding to do, but the creeping charlie has been almost manageable in the mulched areas.

I do enjoy this time of 'just growing' in the garden. The anticipation. Although I do have some more peas and basil to gather today if the storm holds off.

WIP

It has been forever since I've done a Work in Progress post. Which is not to say I haven't been doing any WIP'ing, it's just been slow going. Imagine that.

I'm a scarf person. Come to my house mid-winter and observe my bushel basket full of them. Before Laithe was born I picked up Debbie Bliss's Baby Knits for Beginners. It's all soft colors and pretty yarn and cute babies. What's not to love? I decided to make the scarf on the front cover for the baby for this upcoming winter. I finished it when he was a couple of weeks old.

So then I got this idea to make scarves for the family for the Autumnal Equinox - where it may or may not be scarf weather here. And so here's where I'm at.



Laithe's: done.
Guthrie's: needs binding off.
Mine: maybe 2/3's done. if it's to be short.
John's: uhh, still yarn.
October 1st is the new goal.

The other project I've been plugging away on is Laithe's sweater. I'm crocheting it, so it's fast when I actually get a chance to pick it up. I'm making a 9 month size cardigan. I'm thinking it'll get finished in this next month or so. The pattern is made up of a series of rectangles and squares. We'll see how that somewhat lack of sizing works out.

and him? he's my constant craft companion these days. hell-bent on felting my yarn with his drool before I can get it on the needles.

WIP Wednesday

Yay - outside WIP!!
We've been busy outside working away - between thunderstorms at least.
The herb garden is thriving already. I had bee balm, sage, oregano, parsley and onions (to keep the rabbit away) return with a vengance this year. I added some chives, basil, thyme and lettuce. We've got new neighbors on the right side of us and they have two kids around Guthrie's age. They helped me out with the planting of the lettuce. I don't think they had ever planted anything before. It was fun and I've had to thin it out quite a bit.I need some mulch, huh?

The big veggie garden took a little more work to get into shape and should be planted by early next week. I was hesitant to plant any earlier as the weather was so strange and a couple of years ago we had snow as late as the end of April. Iowa didn't have any apples that year. So, here sits part of the garden empty except for some errant beets and strawberries I won't remove until after they've fruited. Because I just can't stand to get rid of them.
Although I'm a little more heartless this year as they've become more aggressive. Invasive strawberries. How bad can that be? Everything is pointing toward both a good strawberry and raspberry crop this year. We'll see though. I haven't had good raspberries yet I'm going to give them 2 more seasons and then reassess.

This has been the best thing between the last thunderstorm and then next one. Our irises have had time to bloom - unlike last year when they lasted all of 24 hours. And the plant has at least doubled in size. Yay!In other garden news, apparently I'm toying with the idea of creeping jenny as the best cover crop ever. I will never be rid of it.

During the rain though I've been working on these two projects. Remember the slippers I talked about before? Well, I think I've finished the base of one of them. It only took like 2 months and 8 tries. Now I've got another one to try and make exactly like this one. Good thing she won't need slippers until the fall!And then I finally got the guts to start a sweater for Laithe. I'm making the 6-9 month size so hopefully I'll be done with it by then. I'm loving crocheting with this Bamboo and Ewe. The wool makes it substantially easier to work with than straight bamboo. I'll keep you posted.

WIP Wednesday

I keep meaning to do a WIP post but it's never Wednesday these days until it's Wednesday and 11:00 at night and these days I'm trying to be almost asleep by then. Some days that goes better than others, but never is that because of the 6 week old in our bed. Seriously. He's the best sleeper in the house. Except maybe his big sister who at a whopping 3.5 years of age is now sleeping through the night -- can I get a woo hoo!!?? And in her own bed!! After5 nights in a row she got a new lawn mower that blows bubbles. Sweet. On our visit out west I told my dad that I hadn't had a full night's sleep in over 4 years. I'm crossing my fingers that that day will come sooner rather than later because Laithe seems to have it down. It's bliss.

Anyways.

So, the week before Easter saw a flurry of crafting for Easter Baskets. Guthrie got these bunny finger puppets which I kind of followed the pattern for. It was kind of a miracle they turned out at all given that I only had time to glance at the picture and print out the pattern.
She also got new stamp pads for her stamps and a few other little things.


Laithe got a crocheted rattle. It's a duck. A point that I think could be argued. But it was super easy to make and I'll be making some more crocheted toys for him.

About a year ago I put together a pj bag for Guthrie inspired by a project in Amanda Soule's The Creative Family which quickly got changed into a 'next day's clothes bag' making our morning routine substantially faster. Of course Laithe needed one so that was also in his Easter basket. Here are the two bags ready to be packed up with tomorrow's clothes.

I'm also working on a pair of slippers for Guthrie that are taxing my postpartum brain. Holy cow. They're the Dolores Slippers from Lucinda Guy. Maybe maybe there will be pictures soon.

I think the last time I did a WIP I was still pregnant. Goodness. How much your life can change in a couple of months. Here was the other special thing about Easter week - Laithe had his first bottle. He did pretty good - a little irritated that when he was done he couldn't just hang out for awhile. It made me a little sad just because it's a milestone, but I was happy these guys were so happy and it's no small thing for a completely breastfed baby to take a bottle so well. I think I was also sad because this signal that my time for returning to work is coming. Awfulness ensues in my belly.