a little knitting for a little tomte, and a hobbit house

This little fella has kept us busy lately. So much growing to do! He grew out of his first pebble vest, so I knit him up another one, and used some of the same yarn (along with a lovely soft silk alpaca blend) to make the super cute Alfalfa hat for him. He grew out of the hat the next day, but it was fun while it lasted. I used the notes for knitting the pebble in the round from my previous vest--love this pattern so much--he really does wear it every day (unless it is recovering in the wash basin from an especially messy mess). The yarn is Cascade 220 on size 8 circular needles.

 And my daughter has been doing some creating of her own. This is a hobbit house (she did have the help of dad on this one). We visited a local plant nursery recently and were inspired by some very charming fairy gardens on display. We all wanted to come home to make our own miniature homes for traveling tomtens, fairies, gnomes, etc in need of shelter. This one was scattered the next morning by an unknown creature. My daughter was disappointed, but applied what she learned from the three little pigs and build the the next house with bricks. It is still standing!

Hearts (and lungs)

This little one caught herself a cold that developed into quite a case of pneumonia. (She likes to sit and look out the window, watching the chickens scratch and peck around the garden. Not quite as entertaining as Dinosaur Train, but almost...)

Even with a fever and oxygen dipping down to near-hosptilization level, though, she is a tough one to keep down. She has a lot of spunk. So we've been taking breaks from reading books and watching chickens to make valentines.

Both ideas here came from The Chocolate Muffin Tree, and they were both so fun.

 These are the shaving cream marbled valentines.

And these are the blotto hearts. Each time my daughter opened up the folded heart to discover the design she exclaimed "Mom, this is BEAUTIFUL!" Yes my dear, they are!

this moment

morning has broken...

Joining in with  Soulemama today...

In her words: "{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

new

 New Every Morning

~Susan Coolidge

Every day is a fresh beginning,
Listen my soul to the glad refrain.
And, spite of old sorrows
And older sinning,
Troubles forecasted
And possible pain,
Take heart with the day and begin again. 

yarn along

I've been away from this space for so long! An awful cold ran through our house, followed by a nasty stomach bug, topped off by a beautiful babe who doesn't like to sleep anymore. So time for knitting and blogging has diminished. Today I finally finished these sweet little mitts, realized yarn-along is tomorrow and thought maybe I could just slap a photo up here real quick. After knitting one in the smallest size and realizing it would be too big for the 6 year old they'll be gifted to, I sized it down by subtracting 4 stitches from the whole pattern. I think they'll work out well now. The yarn is Wisdom Yarns--Poems. I used a twisted 1x1 rib for the cuff rather than regular 2x2.

I've been reading a great book recommended by a librarian (happy to have it around for that run in with the stomach bug!) called Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks. It's a historical fiction novel set in the early American colonies, about the first Native American graduate from Harvard college.

Joining in with Ginny's yarn along...

this moment

Joining in with  Soulemama today...

In her words: "{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember."

yarn along: halloween edition

Happy Halloween!

Knitting: I made a couple of these sweet little pumpkins for some young friends with October birthdays--they're the perfect size for a little hand to hold onto. And I finally finished a hat for the babe. I'm not entirely happy with it, and I think he will outgrow it soon, which is ok, because I really want to make one of these now.

Reading: Still working on Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse, and various kid craft and activity books, trying to come up with things to keep the little ones occupied on these rainy days. Our rain is just the normal run-of-the-mill fall weather, and we're keeping all of you on the opposite coast in our thoughts, sending continued wishes for safety.

Joining with Ginny for yarn along...