Knitting Away

I've been knitting away over the holidays, but not with yarn.

I love Psalm 139:13 from the NIV version of the Bible:

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb."

I've been busily knitting a new little person in my womb. And despite the itty bitty size, it must be hard work, because I'm exhausted! I'm ready for bed about the time my children are every night! (Which has cut way down on my productivity!)

I'm still knocking things off my '101 things' list pretty regularly, though, which gets me excited.

I realized that I never shared a picture of my finished Bless sweater. This was taken during our Thanksgiving vacation to Michigan.

The pic wasn't really meant for the blog, but it shows the sweater (and I do wear it.)
I have an interesting post script to the Klaralund that I finished last year. I didn't like it when it was completed, but I get so many compliments on it every time I wear it, that I'm forced to feel good in it now! I rarely ever sew clothes, because to this day, I've never made anything that I love to wear. I have better success with my knitting, which is enough to keep me at it for a long time!

Traditions

I have a Christmas tradition that I love. Every year I create matching handmade Christmas Tree ornaments for each of my children.
When I left home, I had to go out and buy a bunch of Wal Mart junk to decorate my tree. You could almost feel the lack of sentimental value in those cheap ornaments.
I can't remember where I got the idea, but my children each have their own collection of made by Mom ornaments. Their first year away from home can bring warm memories with ornaments that were made by Mom's loving hands. Ornaments that are replicated on the trees of their siblings. Hopefully, it will alleviate some of the loneliness that we all felt in our first holiday 'out of the nest.'

Fair Isle

Finally, some progress to show on Katherine. May my present my first finished repeat:



Something finally clicked. I can now do fair isle and (mostly) listen to something else at the same time. I'm just loving it!
I also managed to pick up some speed. My only problem is that when I got faster, my tension got all mucked up. I have some puckering on the lighter colors that I am not going to unravel to fix. I'm trying now learn to keep up the speed as well as keeping an even tension. I love my sweater already! My goal is to try to complete it before the state fair comes around again next year. I have to admit that I wasn't much impressed with the knitting that was displayed there this year. Even with the puckering at the bottom, I still think it stands a chance at a ribbon, if this year's entries are any measuring stick.

I've now got another knitting problem on my hands. I don't want to knit anything else. My daughter may outgrow the the sweater I started before it's finished, and Hubby and Step Dad could both really use a nice warm wool hat this winter (which I've already bought the wool for) but all I want to do is fair isle.

Letting the kids be creative

Well, Amanda , letting the children explore their creativity sounded pretty nice, until now.

Medium of choice... brown sharpie marker.


The guilty party:


I find these situations to be almost humorous.
It reminded me of a story that I had completely forgotten. One of those that you want to be able to tell their grandchildren.
When my oldest was 4, she came to me and begged me to see the picture she had drawn. I was otherwise occupied, and said "I'd love to see it. Bring it here."
Her response? "I can't mommy, the wall won't come!"

Cute is as cute does.

I made these. I think they're adorable. Of course, it doesn't hurt that I think the girl wearing them is adorable.
They actually match my personality. Conservative, simple, down to earth, but the wild batik fabric edging showcases the little trimming of spunky non-conformist in me as well.


I used to hate making clothes. Don't know what's gotten into me this year. Quilts are usually more my speed.
Speaking of quilts, here's the layout of the sample quilt for my next beginner's quilt class.

I'm using 1930's reproduction prints that were in my stash. I guess you'd have to know me to realize how remarkable that is. Somehow, when fabric enters the stash, I never want to actually use it. I'm so proud of myself for overcoming the hoarding urge!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

The State Fair has again come and gone.
Our whole family loves the State Fair. The food, the rides, the Village of Yesteryear, the craft competitions and displays. Pretty much the only thing we don't do is waste money on the games, (because I have no desire for a house full of tacky, dusty, stuffed animals.)
None of us entered anything into the competitions this year, which made the fair a little less fun. Last year, my daughter entered something for the first time...and won a blue ribbon! (It was a cross stitched picture she had made for her baby brother.) Last year, I won an honorable mention on my son's Noah's Ark quilt, and a 2nd place ribbon for a dress I made for my daughter. (Which is too ragged and faded to take a picture of now. She literally wore the thing out!) Here's a picture of the Noah's ark quilt (which was made for my son named Noah. Mind you, it has a year's worth of wear on it as well!):

It has lots of paper-pieced little animals which are embellished with hand embroidery. Here are a few of my favorite blocks:




Here we are at the fair this year, watching some spinning action at the Village of yesteryear:

(Tip for going into a crowded place with a big family...wear the same color shirts. It really helps you keep an eye on everyone.)
The village of yesteryear is a building in which people display handicrafts that were common in the old days.
This lady and her husband also weave on a huge loom that dates back to the 1800's. I enjoy seeing them every year.
It's a shame that many of the old time crafts are being lost. Even the village of yesteryear isn't as great as it once was. They now have multiple people doing the same craft (pottery, quilting, etc.) I assume because there isn't enough variety to fill the place up.
I'm really fortunate, because my husband truly values the work I do. He thinks that my knitting, sewing, quilting, crewelwork, rug-hooking, smocking, soap-making, etc. are really important skills, and he doesn't mind my spending money for the supplies and equipment I need to do them. He also doesn't mind my taking the time to teach classes in quilting and knitting, because he really thinks it's important to pass those skills on to another generation. One more reason I gotta love that guy!

Balance

My comment on Autumn's blog explains my whole trouble with the blogging thing over the summer (and extending into this fall.)
"I have the same struggle with my time. Especially with blogging, somehow. It's a wonderful way to document things for yourself, and to share yourself with others...but it seems like if I have time to blog, then I'm not accomplishing enough...and if I'm accomplishing enough, I don't have time to blog."
I can organize "stuff" meticulously, but my time is a whole different matter. I'm not an extremely disciplined person, and I tend to just do the next most important thing. I have to 'create' deadlines for myself to get anything done. (Like entering a quilt in the fair to make sure it gets completed.)
I often wonder if I should work harder to make myself be disciplined with my time, or just accept myself the way I seem to be "wired" because it does have it's benefits. (Hubby is a self-employed builder and carpenter, and therefore has no set schedule. I'd be batty if I was one of those people who had to do the same thing at the same time every day when his schedule is so non-consistent.)

PS, Autumn makes the best purses around. I've been using mine all summer, and it still looks brand new!