more to be grateful for

Showing gratitude.  Being thankful. Counting my blessings.


142. an "Awesome!" week of VBS according to Bubba

GO FISH VBS at FBC--Bubba's the one touching his hat

 143. fun Go Fish music at VBS all week (If you haven't heard of Go Fish, go HERE!)

 In case anyone reading this is wondering...our church used Go Fish's "Backstage with the Bible" VBS curriculum this year and it's a great choice!!!

144. a quick weekend knit and a new hat for me as a result! sorry...no photos. but it's really cute and looks quite nice on me!  :)
145. enough leftover yarn to make myself a new pair of fingerless mitts too!  at least, I hope so!
146. finding this adorable apple basket at the local consignment shop (my first time in there but it won't be my last!) i love that it matches my KitchenAid mixer perfectly! 

(lemons and limes not included)

147. (mostly) finishing up our American History Core for school (we still have some read-alouds left, but history is done until next school year...in 4 weeks!
148. shopping for curriculum...time to decide what to use this fall!

And that's this week's installment...come back next Monday for more!

Interested in starting your own Multitudes on Mondays post?  Click on the banner below to learn more about it!

a little this, a little that.

i see that i haven't posted anything here for a while.  not much to say, i guess.  i've been busy knitting, crocheting, and doing a little designing too for my soon-to-open Etsy shop.  it's taking me longer than i had hoped to get it all organized, but i'm just a few small steps away from actually posting items in my shop!  if you've been following my knitting blog here, you already know that. 

it's an amazingly warm day today.  35 degrees.  that's nearly unheard of up here in the northern minnesota tundra for early february.  i'm sure it'll cool back down soon though.  it usually does.  but for now, the snow is melting off the rooftops and is, i believe, the perfect wetness for packing.  which means my boys are going to go outside and play this afternoon.  and maybe even try to make a snowman!  this could be their only chance to make one this winter since our snow is usually like a powder of fine ice crystals that won't stick together.

i will probably stay indoors myself (unless the kiddos convince me that they NEED me to help them make a snowman) and work on a little housework and then maybe i'll have a little time to work on one of my knitting projects this afternoon too.

speaking of knitting projects, i'm very close to finishing a lightweight sweater that i'm making for myself--my first-ever adult-sized sweater.  {yes, i still make time to knit stuff for myself too!} i've been working on this one, off and on, since june.  it's a beautiful wrap sweater with some lace details that look like bubbles--hence the name of the pattern:  soap bubble wrap!  i can't wait to see how this looks/fits when it's done!  i think i'm to the point of seaming it, so unless sewing the seams in mattress stitch gives me fits {which wouldn't be a first} i should be able to finish it sunday. 

hopefully, i'll be able to get it done before the super bowl.  'cuz i'll probably be too busy watching the game--and commercials--to focus on seaming properly.  i'll have to work on something easy that doesn't take a lot of concentration during the game.  as a loyal Packers fan, i must say i'm hoping for a really good game against the Steelers {and that the Pack wins, of course}! 

have a great weekend everyone! 
enjoy the game on sunday! 
and, of course:
Go PACK Go!

where has the time gone?

has it really been over a month since my last post?  wowzers!

i guess i've been pretty busy this past month though.  besides homeschooling and other normal daily activities, i've been given the opportunity to start a home business using my knitting and crochet skills!  yay!

so i've also created a new blog for my business adventure, perfectioKnits.  i'll be starting off by selling baby hats, pods and cocoons (photography props mostly) on Etsy with plans to expand and sell other items like fingerless gloves, cowls, and miscellaneous other things too.  it's exciting and a little bit scary.  i've started doing a little designing as well which has been a bit of a challenge...especially getting the items to fit right!  but i am enjoying the experience and am glad to have the knowledge and skills to be able to do this!

i'm also grateful for other designers who sell their patterns and give license for other knitters like myself to sell items made using their patterns.  if someone else has a pattern i can use to make items that i can turn around and sell, that saves me from spending time and energy on designing so i can get right to making things instead!

it's a busy life!

I am once again busy home-schooling.  Teaching a 10-year-old everything from Math and Science to History and English (and everything else he needs to learn too!) while attempting to keep a 4-year-old occupied can oftentimes be a real challenge!  Thankfully, CJ now likes playing with Play-Doh and can stay entertained with it for a relatively lengthy period of time which allows Bubba and me to get through a lot of our work in the mornings.  But for read-alouds we need it a bit quieter...he needs to be able to pay attention as I read.  So we wait until CJ's naptime and do our read-alouds then. 

Bubba played soccer again this year.  We have a local home-school/Christian school league with 3 teams.  So there are practices, home games, away games, and even a tournament!   The season is basically done...we had our tournament yesterday.  Bubba's JV team took 2nd place.  It was a long day (and we didn't even have to be there at 9am when the tourney started since our first game wasn't until noon) but it was a lot of fun for the players.  I am glad the season is done though.  As much as I enjoy visiting with the other soccer moms at practices, it takes up a lot of our time and a bit of traveling too.

I'm helping out with our church's Pre-K Sunday School class (CJ's class).  This year I've switched from working with our AWANA Sparks to helping with the AWANA T&T girls.  It's a nice change working with just girls and the older age group (3rd thru 6th grades) is also a nice change of pace for me.

CJ turned 4 on September 30th.  We had a birthday party for him last Sunday--just a small gathering of family, but he really enjoyed spending time with his cousins.   And I celebrated my birthday on Thursday the 7th by watching an afternoon soccer game and then dinner out.

What else have I been busy with? 

Lots of knitting {and crocheting}, of course!

socks, socks, more socks!

i just finished this pair last night.  that's 2 pairs finished in less than a week!  this pair was my June/July vacation project...a pair of socks is easy to take along.  but i didn't have enough knitting time on the trip to get 'em done.  i spent a good portion of our 2 week trip out west looking at scenery and trying to take pictures instead of knitting.  ah well.  they're done now!

pattern: Twilight from 2-at-a-time Socks by Melissa Morgan-Oakes
needles: US1 40" circular
yarn:  Knit Picks Essential Kettle Dyed in Bordeaux

since i still haven't posted anything about our trip, i'll just mention that we took a road trip out west with my parents.  our drive took us through Glacier National Park, across Idaho, to the Spokane,WA area where we visited with my cousin and his family and then on to Mount Rainier.  from there we went over to see the Pacific Ocean and then up the coast through the Olympic National Forest with its beautiful rainforests!  fans of the Twilight series will know that the story's main setting is Forks, WA.  that's right...we went right through Forks and even took the drive over to La Push {beautiful!}!  if you haven't already figured it out, I am indeed a Twilight fan--i can't wait 'til they get all the movies done but so far, the books are still better!  so now take a look at the name of this sock pattern and you'll see why i chose it for my trip project.  (besides, it doesn't scream "I'm a crazy Twilight fan!" but i still thought it was fitting!) after touring the northwestern part of washington, we headed down to Yellowstone and after a couple days at Yellowstone, we headed back home to minnesota.  it was a busy, but good trip!  and one of these days i'll go thru my hundreds of pictures and maybe post a few!

new socks

at last!  i've been working on this pair since november 9, 2009.  of course, i've done a bunch of other projects in the meantime, but it feels so good to have these on my feet instead of still on my knitting needles!

pattern: Elfine's socks by Anna Bell 

needles: size US2 

yarn: Jojoland Melody Superwash yarn in MS16 (blues/greens)

a sock fix

I love my hand knit socks. 

So I was rather disappointed to see a weak spot developing on the heel of a pair I made last April.  Less than a year later and you could just about see through the stitches in that one spot.  But I knew that a hole would be worse, so I set them aside with the intent to learn how to reinforce the weakened stitches aka darning. 

It only took me 4 months or so to get up enough gumption to give it a go.  On Monday, I finally did. I Googled instructions and other helpful info on sock darning.   I learned that the kind of darning I needed to do is called "Swiss darning" or duplicate stitch.  I found a really good video tutorial here.  Armed with this info, the yarn leftovers from making this pair of socks (saved for just such an emergency!), a yarn needle, and a darning egg, I set forth into the realm of sock darning to tame the mighty sock beast!  Uh. Oops!  What I meant was to fix the weakened stitches.  But taming a sock beast sounds much more exciting, don't you think?


Of course, I didn't think to take a "before" photo.  So you'll have to take my word for it when I tell you if I had but worn these colorful sockies even one more time, I would have had to learn how to fix a hole in my sock instead!

the darned socks!  

{note: only one actually needed darning at this time. thankfully, i've got lots of yarn leftovers remaining so this pair should last me a very long time now that i know how to darn 'em!}

{here you can see the darned stitches where the brighter not-yet-faded yarn is! :D}

So that was my knitting (repair) lesson for this week! 

Actually, I also learned how to do an invisible double increase as well.  But I won't bore you with that story.  At least, I won't today.  [grin]

shhh. be vewy vewy quiet...

i'm knittin' wabbits!  {ya.  i'd much wather knit them, than hunt them--of course, ewen bettew is knittin' wif their wovewy soft fuw!}

{oh.  alwight.  i'm not weally knittin' wabbits.} 

i'm weally knittin' fwingerwess mitts fow a couple of my nieces. 

{and being just pwain siwwy twying to type wike Elmer Fudd talks.}


so happy satuwday!  hope youws is pwoductive too!

Twilight knitting

I'm currently knitting myself a pair of mittens. They're sort of like Bella's mittens in the movie Twilight. I just recently finished reading the saga, and LOVED it! Note: I realize these books are written for teen girls, and I have to just say that I really wouldn't recommend them to pre-teen or teens. But just like the Harry Potter books (that I also don't think are appropriate for kids), I (as an adult reader) really enjoyed the story the author has written. A Ravelry member {and Twilight fan} saw Bella wearing a pair of gray mittens in the movie and wrote a pattern which the rest of us fans get to use in order to make some for ourselves. I've actually made quite a few alterations to the pattern because my gauge was different and I didn't want them coming so far up my arms. I used Ann Budd's formula for changing a pattern to work with a different gauge. Pretty neat stuff. And worked wonderfully! My mittens are going to be a rich red color since that's what I had in my stash. I like that it sort of goes with the red from the book covers. These mittens are gonna be warm and cozy. If I can get the second mitten done, I might even get to use them before it warms up too much! It was 40 degrees here today. Spring is in the air, snow is melting, but since it is only March 7th we're most likely not through with winter weather quite yet.

UPDATE: finished the mittens today {monday 3.8.10} so here's a photo!

Ravelympic Finish

the Ravelympics are done now that the Olympics are. it was a fun 17 days and i've completed more projects than i had first anticipated.

so just how many projects did i finish? 5
2 pairs of Fetching mitts (i really like the pattern!)
1 Darkside cowl in toddler size
1 Nest Tote market bag
1 Luna Lovegood crochet scarf

the bonus {for me} is that i've also got one more project that i sort of planned to do for the Ravelympics until i started working on it and realized it would take me too long. it's a beautiful scarf in Malabrigo lace yarn. the pattern i'm using also required that i learn how to ktbl and ptbl {that's knitting and purling thru the back loops}. so i got a new technique bonus as well!



it's such soft yarn and makes a delicately soft fabric, but the yarn is so skinny that i'm finding it much more difficult to knit with. i do like the way the colors are pooling. it's interesting. so this is one project i'm happy to have started {even though it didn't get to cross the finish line!} and will just have to keep working on it until it's done.

only a couple more days

of Olympic {and thus, my Ravelympic} coverage.

here's a quick update.

cj's darkside cowl

Medals were awarded:


Most recent project completed is a pair of fingerless mitts for my mom.

Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Cascade 220 wool in Navy #8393
Needles: US8 Bamboo dpns
Started: 2.23.2010
Finished: 2.26.2010
Medals:

I liked how this pair turned out even better than the 1st pair I made last week. Made one pattern change. I didn't go with the picot edge at the top of the mitt. Rather, I used a normal bind off...just doing so in pattern instead. I think I may have to redo the top edge of my brown mitts this way also so it doesn't roll back anymore.

more FOs and medals too!

Luna Lovegood Scarf (see post on 2.18.2010 for more info)

Medals:

my next project to cross the Finish Line was this grocery style bag:

Pattern: Elisa's Nest Tote

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in New Age Teal (knit with 2 strands held together)
Needle Size: US 10 straight and US4 dpns
Start Date: 2.16.2010
Finish Date: 2.20.2010
Medal:


And most recent project to cross the finish line is this cute cowl I made for cj!
(medals to be awarded later today)

Pattern: Darkside Cowl by Sarah Fama
Yarn: TLC Baby in Sky Blue
Needle Size: US 8 (16" circ)
Start Date: 2.21.2010
Finish Date: 2.23.2010

I'm REALLY enjoying this. I'm getting so many projects done or at least begun! What fun!

my Ravelympics 2010 medals {so far!}

well folks, here they are! my "medals" for finishing my Fetching mitts.





okay, so this last one isn't actually a medal...it's a cute avatar {the ravelry people call it a ravatar!!} with the ravelry mascot Bob the dog that i got for participating.

i'm hoping to soon complete one of the 3 other projects i'm working on. if i could just focus and do one at a time, i'd be done with at least my second one by now. i know i will finish 2 of them...but the scarf i'm making with malabrigo lace {really really skinny yarn!} is probably going to take too long. ah well, even if i don't get it done, i'm having fun and i'm glad to have started knitting with it...it's so pretty and soft!

will post more pictures when i finish something else!

Ravelympics 2010 update PLUS a funny kid story!

My first knitting project for the 2010 Ravelympics is complete!


Pattern: Fetching by Cheryl Niamath
Yarn: Berrocco Lustra in Lus Champignon {about 1/2 skein for the pair}
Needles: US8 Bamboo dpns
Started: Feb. 13, 2010 Finished: Feb. 14, 2010
Happy Valentine's Day to me!

{I'm not thrilled with the eyelet edging at the top of the mitts...with this yarn, it tends to roll back down. I may try to gently block it, but it's acrylic yarn, so I'm not sure how well it will block. If I ever do this pattern again, I'll use a wool or wool blend yarn. But I really like the cables and ease of the pattern.}

Since yesterday was Valentine's Day, and since I couldn't start my Ravelympics projects until the Olympic torch was actually lit, I made these 3D crochet hearts while watching the opening ceremonies.


And yes, I gave them to my honey as his Valentines Day gift...handmade by me, with love.

Now for a funny CJ story.
My boys went ice fishing on Friday with my parents and then spent a couple nights with them. Grandpa is a Nascar fan and on Saturday afternoon he was watching the Nationwide race.

Evidently Danica Patrick has started driving Nascar's Nationwide series. When CJ saw her on the tv, he said "There's Mommy!" He was convinced he was watching ME on tv!


Danica Patrick


NOT Danica Patrick!

When Danica's car was wrecked, CJ watched her get out of the car and was saying "Mommy's okay! Mommy's okay!" It was so funny, my mom had to call me right away and tell me about it. And ever since, I've been wondering why he'd think it was me. I do have a little bit "in common" with Danica. That is, I also have long, dark hair and our facial shape is similar too. But that's where the similarities end. I don't race cars, and you couldn't pay me enough to do the ads Danica has been known for! But I'm gonna guess the hair was probably what got him thinking she was me.

Anyways, I'll just take it as a compliment and have a good laugh!

Don't forget to cheer on our Olympic hopefuls!

Go Team USA!

let the games begin!

we sat up late last night watching the opening ceremony for the 2010 Winter Olympics. it was a pretty amazing program...too bad for the technical difficulty at the end, but it turned out okay in the end!

more importantly for me, the lighting of the Olympic flame marks the start of the Ravelympics! that is, ravelry's olympic games!!

this is my first time participating in one. basically, it's setting goals for your knitting/crochet projects to complete one or more projects during the Olympics. must be finished by the time the flame is extinguished. i've got 4 projects i'm planning on doing. i'm pretty sure i'll have no problem with 3 of them, but not certain about that fourth project...i might not have enough time since it uses lace weight yarn. i'm excited to begin though. i didn't actually start any of my projects last night, although i could have at 11pm. i was getting tired, though and didn't want to start off with mistakes. so i'm going to get started right away this morning.

let the knitting begin!

just showing off

quick update on T's truck...it's being fixed. in fact, it may already be done. but i'm not sure yet if it is so we'll leave it at being fixed and hope it's done soon if not already!

now for what i really want to write about: my knitting!
i've been knitting lots again lately. so here are a few more FOs i want to show off.

first i need to share all the Christmas gifts i made this year.


1. knit cowl for my mom {and no complaints about the photo, mom! you look great!}


2. two knit dishcloths, also for my mom


3. and two crochet doilies for my mother-in-law

i then knit a lovely vest for my mom's birthday present. and forgot to take a photo of it before i gave it to her. she did take a few pictures of it for me, but i don't have one yet to share with you.

dad liked mom's cowl. {he was impressed with the way it works--it keeps your neck warm without scarf ends dangling and getting in the way.} he sort of requested one too, so i found a "manly cowl" pattern and made him one!

you can't really see the pattern when he's wearing it...it bunches up, but it was a relatively easy and nice looking pattern. and dad says it's nice and warm. the perfect neck warmer for ice fishing and cutting wood in the winter.

since i was on a cowl kick, i made another one--this time one that buttons up!--for myself. alas! it's another project i haven't photographed yet. :-)

finally, i would like to show off my scarf. i began knitting this back in september. it's finally done!

it's lacy, lovely, and i can't wait to wear it!

handmade christmas gifts

here it is after midnight and i'm {still} wide awake so i thought i'd put my alertness to good use and spend some quality time online. well, i'm not exactly sure if time online actually qualifies for having much quality, but i know it sure gets spent quickly enough! alas, i digress!

the Christmas season is in bloom, the Christmas celebration is just around the corner, and i've been busy knitting and crocheting gift items. i have little to no money to spend on gifts this year, so i've limited myself to using what i've already got on hand. i'm finding this decision is a good one for many reasons. first, i'm not adding to my yarn stash, rather i'm using my excess. {it's really quite like going on a diet.} second, i'm not spending money we don't have. and third, handmade gifts are, in part, a gift of the time spent making them and hopefully will be appreciated and enjoyed by their recipients all the more because of that fact.

the progress of my handmade gifts as of right now is as follows:
1 knitted gift completed
1 non-yarn {gasp!} gift that is basically finished
1 crocheted project that just needs loose ends weaved in
another crocheted project in progress
and another knit gift just started today
{and that's not counting the 5 knitting projects i'm working on for myself! }

for the rather obvious reason that i'd like to keep these gifts a surprise, i won't post photos of these works-in-progress at this point in time. :-)

i do have plans for a few more gifts depending on how much time it takes to make each one, so i'd better keep at it if i intend to have them all done by christmas!

happy knitting!

happy thanksgiving!

fall leaves
{since i don't have a thanksgiving day picture to share!}

we had a nice day celebrating thanksgiving yesterday. my parents hosted, but my hubby's parents came too. and one of T's sisters and family too.

i have so much to be thankful for!

about a month ago at another family get-together, one of my nieces, jillian, who is age 8 saw me knitting a pair of socks and started asking me questions about knitting. she ultimately asked if i could teach her how and i told her i would try to sometime. therefore, knowing jillian would be there, i came prepared just in case she might still be interested. she was! {grin}

i had brought along a few sets of my chunkier needles and some of the yarn i dyed with kool-aid back in january that i still hadn't used. i found it easy enough to teach her to do the long-tail cast-on, and she could do the knit stitch, but was struggling keeping the stitches on the needles and various other issues which made it impossible to consider doing an actual project. then her younger sisters, bethany, age 6, and katrina, age 4, both wanted in on the knitting action too. bethie could also cast-on well, but i knew there was no way a 4-year-old could handle it. seeing how frustrated these girls were getting, i took a few minutes and surfed the internet for ideas on how to teach children to knit. here's what i learned. it's easier for kids if they start off with finger knitting! and so i learned how to finger knit HERE.

i then showed the girls how to do it and they were able to make themselves headbands and bracelets. of course, i had to help little katrina with the wrapping, but she lifted the loops over and off herself. it was so much more rewarding for them than the needle knitting we had tried at first.

i'm so thankful for the internet and the many good ideas people share with it!

finally, jillian and i decided to try and make a scarf in the same way, but using 3 strands of yarn together to make it thicker. i added fringe to each end and it turned out super cute! i wish i had taken a picture, but i didn't think to until after they had gone home. bethany wanted a scarf too, so using up the rest of the color she had picked, she made one with only one strand. and after i added fringe, it was super cute too!

i'm so thankful to have nieces who are learning to play with yarn too!

{and maybe someday they'll be as addicted to the stuff as their aunt is!}

sock knitting

i finished a pair of socks for my 3 year old. they turned out so cute!


Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL {color #52} leftovers
Pattern: The Classic Sock by Melissa Morgan-Oakes from her book 2-at-a-time Socks
{adapted for toddler size}

the only problem i've discovered with making toddler socks is how slippery they tend to be on our kitchen floor. since i don't want my son to fall on his face every time he tries to walk thru the kitchen, i decided to add a little grip to the soles of his new sockies. i dug out my old puffy paints from my craft stash and made a pattern of tiny dots on a good portion of his sock soles. {i used the blue paint since it was the best match!} after letting it dry a couple days, we tried them on again and tested them on the kitchen floor once more. it worked! cj can safely walk in the kitchen wearing his new knit socks without slipping and falling! yay! and since the paint dots are so very small and not very puffy, it doesn't appear to make them uncomfortable like the grippy stuff i've seen used on some slipper-socks.


Yarn: Zitron Trekking XXL {color #52}
Pattern: Muscari by Suzi Anvin
{adjusted pattern slightly to knit 2-at-a-time on one 40" circular needle}

as you can see, i used up a bit of leftover yarn from this pair of socks i made for myself back in march. cj's aren't quite as fancy as mine, but ever so cute on him!

all in all, i'm very pleased with the results!

our projects

my new knitting project:
one of my husband's sisters, annie, gave me some fun yarns for my b-day this year. last night, since i had finished my kureyon kowl, i decided to start knitting with one of these, so i cast on a really easy lacy scarf using the ball of Artful Yarns Portrait which is basically a mohair yarn. it's really soft and fuzzy, and looks nice in the pattern i chose. it should be a really pretty scarf when i'm done. thanks, annie!


Artful Yarns Portrait
Pattern: One Row Lace Scarf by Turvid
{another free pattern i found via Ravelry, but this one's published on the designer's blog!}


T's woodworking project:
we decided the boys need a bunkbed ever since cj graduated to a twin mattress. so a couple months ago {at least}, T went and got materials for building it himself. since then, he's had little opportunity, but when he can he heads to his wood shop and has been cutting the pieces, assembling the bed frames and sanding everything smooth. yesterday he worked on it again for a few hours {he took the afternoon off from work so he could} and we took a few photos of the bunks in process. he's out in his shop again this morning because he wants to get all the pieces ready for stain. maybe he'll even get to start that today. i really can't say, since i'm not sure how much else he needs to do before the pieces are ready for that though.


T reminds me of a stormtrooper with his goggles and mask on.
it must be time to watch something Star Wars-ish. ;-)

bubba's school project:
a writing assignment! after 3 years of pulling out my hair every time we tried to do a writing assignment with Sonlight's LA programs {and i just LOVE Sonlight}, i finally realized that their methods just weren't working for us. so this year i switched to the English 4 workbook {since he's Grade 4} by Bob Jones University Press. i bought it thru Christian Liberty Press because of a friend's recommendation and am so glad i did! i especially like how CLP has published their own teacher's handbook and a test booklet for the student too. it's cheaper than buying the classroom-style teacher's book, yet makes my job much much easier than if i'd just bought the workbook. i also really like that it alternates a chapter of grammar and then a chapter on writing. this was bubba's first writing chapter with the new curriculum and it was so much easier for him. each step was well explained, and he was shown a really good example of what, in this case a personal narrative, should be like. all in all, i'm thrilled that this is working so well. and i'm proud of my son for a job well done!

cj's learning project:
uh. being three. he's learning his ABCs and can count to at least 15 without help. he can now climb up the ladder for the slide on our little swingset without help. and he is learning to pray at mealtimes.
{which is really cute!}


my boys helping mix up a batch of cookies last week. what fun!
too bad we ate 'em all already. gonna have to make more!

well, that's some of what's keeping us busy these days!
thanks for stoppin' by and taking the time to read all about it!