Monday, November 24, 2008

Broad Street Mittens



Broad street mittens in progress using hand spun superwash merino.
I spun the singles very thin and even. I then plyed the singles into a sock weight yarn.
The fingers were much easier than I expected. I wish that I had used size one needles for the ribbing as it is not as tight as I would like it to be. Over all this knit has been a fun jump into gloves.


Wednesday, November 19, 2008

reusable bags

Question?
Do you reuse plastic grocery sacks or do you use reusable bags? I try but ofter I forget to take my special bags with me to the store. Any ideas for me on how to get better about always taking my reusable bags?
Please leave me a comment and if you are in need of some bags go check out the giveaway over at simple mom.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Another cold day in the house

I do believe that this is becoming a pattern on cold days we snuggle down for movies, knitting, and imagination play.

Mittens in progress abandoned on the couch while we play babies.


Lilly won't answer when we call she must think that she is completely hidden but I think she has forgotten one important part.



Broad street mittens again

This is the second mitten that is in progress. See previous post for more detailed information about the pattern and yarn.

These are the most current pictures of my first mitten completed.


Broad Street Mittens



I started and almost finished my first Broad Street Mitten. The pattern can be found at knitty.
I used hand dyed roving by Deb Dubinsky (not sure about the spelling on that) The weigh was about a fingering weight two ply. The mittens are knit using the recommended needle size. Stay tuned for more photos when they are finished.

Great Grandmas House

A day at Great Grandma's house is always an adventure. We never know what Granny Apple will have planned for us to do. Annabelle was tuckered out after our day of fun that she climbed onto grandmas couch and promptly went to sleep. I had to wake her to head back home.

While at Granny Apples we made granny's special fried apples. The recipe goes something like this. Slice several apples into thin pieces. You can also peel the apples if you prefer.
In a skillet melt butter about 3Tb then add the apples. Cook over medium low heat until apples are softened through about 30 minutes stirring often. Then add brown sugar 1/4 cup or to taste. Cook for a few more minutes being careful not to burn the sugar. Serve with your choice of sides such as bread, oatmeal, or pancakes. My favorite way to eat them is plain.

This is my Granny Apple. Granny loves to sew and read. Today granny is working on a small quilted chair arm cover.



Annabelle loves to play in granny's buttons as much as I did as a child.




Santa please stop here!

The Christmas wish lists have been started. Santa I hope that you are listening.

Winter is Coming!

These are my favorite things today. As the temperatures outside drop I love to start up a warm and glowing fire.

And on long cold winter days there is nothing like napping with your best friend.


Saturday, November 15, 2008

2 blog giveaways

Two blog giveaways, tis the season for generosity.

Simple Mom blog is giving away 5 photo books. Click on the link to enter for a chance to win.

Skip to my Lou is also having two give aways one for photo cards and the other for photo postage. Click on the link for details.

Both of these blogs have fantastic archives check them out after you enter for their giveaways, you won't be sorry!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Knitted Babes

These are my knitted babes. Some have names and some do not, some are gifts and some are not. The picture above me is a picture of Gorgeous Beautiful as named by the young lady who received her as a gift.
These two young ladies are going to say in the family. The dark haired girl is my first attempt and the other my second. The patterns in Knitted Babes by Claire Garland are just wonderful. If you have children in your life that like dolls go out and buy this book right now it is worth twice the list price.
The babies that are staying at our house are getting quite a wardrobe thanks to vacation knitting and sewing.
We are now going to spend the rest of our vacation relaxing toodles.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Leaf Play

The kids had a great time playing in the recently raked leaves. Later inside we realized that Annabelle had an allergic reaction to something in the leaves. Luckily it cleared up quickly.

This photo was an attempt at a christmas card photo but not good enough so we will try again later.


Sammy loves to play outside with the kids, he is never far from the action.



What Fall Days are made for

Stacking and splitting fire wood.

Burning bushes in full color.


Wind chimes that sing in the wind.



Family Reunited

After 50 years my mother's sister who was adopted saught out her birth family. We had a lovely reunion at a local restaurant filled with tears of joy.




This is a picture that I took of my mother. I think that this is the most beautiful picture of her that I have!



A perfect example of what dads are very good at! My children love the times when daddy gets onto the floor with them for a good old fashioned game of wrestling. The children are usually the victors.




self portrait

I recently read a post about taking pictures with your children especially if you are the primary picture taker in your family. I find that I have hundreds of pictures of my husband with my children but I have very few pictures of me with the children. With inspiration from another blog post I decided to ask my husband to take a few pictures. These are not photo studio quality but they are going to remain full of memories because of the fun that we had trying to get every one to smile at the same time.

We definitely need to take more pictures with me in front of the camera not behind it!


Simple Mom Printer Give Away

Dear Loyal readers: Do you like ot print fansastic projects? the simple mom has a give away for you. Check it out at simplemom.net/epson-artisan-printer-giveaway/. Hurry the chance to win ends Wednesday the 13th.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Summer's Inspiration

A post full of pictures that remind me of the joys of summer!
Black eyed susans
yellow squash and pumpkins


see katie sew giveaway

Hop on over and check out See Katie Sew for a chance to win a box full of beautiful fabric. Katie sew is celebrating her second year as a blogger.

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our home to yours.













Friday, October 24, 2008

Give away!

Hey readers go check out the giveaway through frugal mom. the drawing is over tonight so jurry!

Monday, September 29, 2008

Make and Take

Marie over at make and take is hosting a givaway including coupons for dough and baking goodies like a bread pan and oven mitt. Head on over to Make and Takes for your chance to win.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Kansas City Zoo

My best friend Tamy, my children and I took a day trip to the Kansas City Zoo. The day started out with a cloudy sky but we were luck and only got a few sprinkles.
The highlight of our day was feeding the lorikeets.

This lovely photo was taken at the elephant watch point.
Tamy had not been to the zoo since she was a little girl about Annabelle's age. Tamy enjoyed watching all of the animals and playing with the kids. All in all it was a great day.

We tried to find a yarn shop but were unsuccessful.

Monday, September 15, 2008

MONGWA

These are the lovely animals that were on display at the Sedalia Missouri MONGWA which I believe stands for Missouri natural growers wool association. Someone please correct me if I am wrong.


There is nothing like fiber bearing animals to make me smile.

While at the MONGWA gathering I took a class about mixing fibers on a drum carder. I learned a new skill and I brought home several batts that I can spin into yarn.