13 and 13

Raven is 13 months old today, on the 13th of October!  Too fun!

I don't have a photo to post of her because I forgot this morning before daycare and she was a mess of a child tonight... but, all the same, the day is here.

We are also anxiously awaiting news of a friend of ours whose water broke earlier today... we can't wait to hear the news of a new baby!

erin

Miss Lena's Sweater FINISHED!

Yay!  So excited to post this tonight that I finished the sweater.  I hope that the recipient loves it!  I'm really happy with the look... with how it turned out!

Though, I have to say that I did something unorthodox and I hope that it turned out okay... I didn't know the button size or how many to put on while I was stitching, so I didn't stitch in button holes, and then I realized that I had to figure out a way to put button holes in a knit piece.  I found a few ideas online and tried one of them and it seemingly worked, but I'm afraid of a possible integrity issue and I really hope that's not the case.  Also, I didn't have the EXACT same color thread as the yarn.  Whoops.

Regardless, I'm really proud of the end product and after trying it on Julia, I'm positive it will fit Miss Lena. 

erin

Buttons

Umm... aren't these buttons simply... DELICIOUS?

Here's another "If you know me"... so, if you know me, you know that I LOVE buttons.  So, it was pretty exciting when Miss Lena's mom suggested I use buttons from Miss Lena's Great-Grandma for Miss Lena's sweater... and the buttons arrived today.

I am in Button Heaven.

As you can see on the card (the ORIGINAL CARD with ORIGINAL TISSUE), they are made in Austria.  The second I opened the package I thought "edelweiss", which became familiar to me after our trip to Germany in Fall 2006.  So I checked online and I certainly do think that the flowers are edelweiss.  (Ah, to have that song stuck in my head now.)  That makes them extra special to me, considering my heritage.

The best part?  The BEST PART?  Miss Lena's mom said I could KEEP THE BUTTONS that I don't use on the sweater... umm, what?  How SWEET is that?  Yes, I am truly in Button Heaven today.

So... I will place the buttons on Miss Lena's Sweater tonight, take another picture for the webs, send the sweater off, and clutch the rest of the buttons in my grubby little fists.  (Okay, that is a bit gluttonous.  So, I suppose I will dream of a project on which I can use the remainder.  YES!)

erin

Surprise for Julia: Dolly Clothes!

Julia (and I) received an extra special package in the mail today... DOLL CLOTHES!

My friend Melinda over at 28 Peppermint Grove made this special set of clothes for one of Julia's dolls and they arrived in the mail yesterday.  I have been friends with Melinda for about 3.5 years now, and though we've never met, we've discussed family and crafting for that long... so it was really special to receive this package from her today.

I had been off the web for a bit this last weekend and so yesterday was delighted when I saw this post... I was REALLY REALLY hoping it was for us... BUT, being a crafter myself, I know that Melinda's always got a project on the table and sometimes those that don't typically have deadlines fall down the list... so again, what a great suprise when this showed up today!

This outfit combined with many that my mom surprised me with back in September gives Julia a number of options for clothing her babies, so here's hoping that we can start working on the fun of dressing our dolls.  After last night's interest in my sewing machine and wanting to "help" me, I think she might need a kid-sized one before long and maybe she can start making her own doll clothes much like I did when I was a young pip...?  *sigh*  To dream.

love ya!
erin

ps.  Melinda... you are the SWEETEST!  Thank you!

Project: Owl Quilt

Here is a sneak peek at an owl quilt on which I'm currently working... it goes to the quilter's on Monday (NEXT Monday, the 18th), so I need to finish it by then, but it's going swimmingly so far, so with a few more nights of the kids going to bed "on time", I'm sure I will be able to finish it...

erin

Project: Miss Lena's Sweater

Lately I've been blessed with the desire to work on projects (needle-related), and while my house may be suffering a bit, my creative side is on fire and spitting like a madcat... in a Happy Madcat sort of way.  :)

This picture is of an almost-finished sweater (it is waiting for buttons only!) for a friend's daughter, Miss Lena.  My first sweater attempt didn't turn out so well... well, the sweater turned out beautifully but it was the wrong size (by a long shot), despite following the gauge, and I was severely disappointed in the finished product after the amount of time I spent on it.  But, I was wanting to try another and offered to make a sweater for a friend of mine's daughter, and while again the sweater is a little larger than expected (and again, I followed the gauge), I'm really happy with how it turned out and it will fit well enough that it won't be an issue.

I found the pattern through a sweater search on Ravelry.com and it ended up being a free pattern through Lion Brand. 

 

My friend picked out the yarn after I suggested another of blends and colors through KnitPicks (this yarn in color Planetarium).  I think that I barely have about 50 inches left of the yarn that I purchased... just enough to put the buttons on. 

I'm excited to receive the buttons, which are heirloom buttons from the friend, and she graciously is allowing me to keep the rest of them... so wonderful of her!  I will post a finished project picture as soon as I have one!

Erin

Fall Festival

Saturday we attended a local Fall Festival with the girls.  Raven and Julia enjoyed the corn "sand" box, the baby kittens, and watching the horses, tricycles, and train.  I also gave Julia a wheelbarrow ride and we poked our heads through the pumpkin cutouts.  And, it wouldn't be a festival without a balloon animal (or two), and Julia was excited to take home a balloon dog and flower.  So glad we were able to spend some time together as a family at the festival Saturday morning.  Next year we might attempt the pumpkin painting and also getting Julia ONTO the horses, tricycles, and train, instead of just watching them.  It was a really neat outing and it was ALL FREE.

erin

Walking

It is such a fun thing to be able to say that Raven Is Walking now, as in, she is choosing to walk more than crawl and it is SO fun to experience!  She is doing this at a younger age than Julia did (by a couple of months), so it is fun to see her "know" less but still be trying... for example, Julia knew not to run into things much by the time she started walking but Raven just doesn't *get* that part of it yet... so much fun!  Next we need to work on going DOWN the stairs because she has a bit of daredevil in her and I think she's going to take a nasty tumble one of these days.

More video to post soon... yay!

erin

Julia Says Her Name

Love this little video of Julia... I thought I would teach her how to say her name... since she has been able to repeat the names of all of our family members.  How fun!

World Piece

A few weeks ago I took a quilt class on a pattern called World Piece, taught by Kelly Irwin, the owner of the quilt shop in Ames, Iowa.  It is always fun and interesting to take a class where you learn new ways of seeing and doing things, so while the pattern LOOKS simple, the piecing is definitive and creates a really neat effect.  It was also fun to take a day for myself (well, part of a day!) and do something for me!

This quilt was inspired by some Strawberry Shortcake fabric that I have had stashed for years, and I plan for this quilt to be Raven's when i finish it.

erin