{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Indescribably Beautiful

 That was the view from our church parking lot on Palm Sunday morning.

Happy

With all the projects I had on my plate this Lent, getting the book ready and also knitting some things for gifts and our etsy store (to be posted this weekend), I knew I wasn’t going to be able to make three matching Easter dresses for my girls.  Instead I settled on two new dresses, as Miss Munchkin is benefitting from her sisters’ largesse of hand-me-downs and wore a dress with smocked pinafore that my mother-in-law made for Princess when the latter was a year old.  So I asked my mother-in-law  if she’d be willing to make dresses if I provided the pattern and  material. She was all too happy to comply!  She’s a much better seamstress than I am anyway.  I’m great at 2-hour projects–it’s all I can manage in this season of life!  ;)  Anyway, the pattern is this one by Carina Gardner that I bought at the end of last summer but never got to use.  The material on Princess’ dress is the A is for Annabelle line from the Tasha Tudor Store and Sunshine is sporting a dress made from the One is One line also from the same.

Real Funny

I am going to boast in this one.  I, Haus Frau, Wrecker of Cakes and Failure at Icing, finally succeded in making one work!!!  Further, it was the infamous three-dimensional Lamb Cake that my family attempted to make every Easter and all but one year managed to have it 1) fall apart when the mold opened or 2) lose an ear or both or 3) lose it’s head.  I thought to try it for kicks and using this cake recipe and this icing recipe*, I managed to keep it in one piece until cutting.  And yes, I e-mailed my parents every hour to let them know it still stood.  They are glad I’m not on Twitter.

The peas and carrots are actually from Jelly Belly and are mellowcreme.  It’s an evil mind trick, really.  Sunshine had a few of these and then had some real vegetable peas in her aunt’s seven layer salad, and then spit out the vegetable in disgust. Great.

And someone was quite impatient for the official cutting of the Lamb cake.

All in all we had a most Happy Easter surrounded by family and extended family, and fun with cousins and more sugar than we need.  And more than we’re going to have next year, so here’s my reminder to myself:

DON’T EVER BUY FOUR POUNDS OF JELLY BELLIES AGAIN.

*did not use real corn syrup but the alternative.

When Tolkien meets knitting (or in other words, I’m a total geek)

Last night, around this time as a matter of fact, I was rocking Miss Munchkin and trying to find something to do–why, browse crafting blogs of course!  So I thought of a few I hadn’t visited in a while, sipped my cocoa and ruined for myself the first new project I came across.  I took one look at this and thought:

LEMBAS BLANKET!

Seriously, that baby in there is adorable and while I do love babies and that green yarn and leaves for that matter, the lembas bread association is just too much.  I might have to forego this project as a blanket, but might do it if I want to knit a huge leaf.

For those unacquainted with The Fellowship of the Ring, lembas is the Elvish waybread that they made to sustain them on long travels and they wrapped them in a leaf because Elves do that sort of thing….

See?

Ok. now that I’ve proven my weirdness to all and sundry, as a penance for poking fun at a highly respectable knitting site (to whom I am much indebted for Sunshine’s hay bales) I promise to make something pretty with their yarn before the year is out.  Probably this yarn, and probably for Princess.  It has her name all over it.

My new niche

I have been knitting constantly ever since Christmas.  There’s always a project on my dresser; and in my incurable optimism I have about 40 other projects on my Ravelry queue–some that include items with stitches and instructions that I haven’t even learned yet (but will, by golly!).  My birthday presents from my little family almost entirely had to do with knitting (except the addition to the button collection, selected by Princess while we scrolled Etsy and of course are almost all pink).

Then today Haus Meister returned from an extended business trip to someplace in the Frozen North with another birthday present in tow–eleven skeins of lovely yarn and a gorgeous pattern for a shawl.  And another skein in another color to make him a hat.  There was a yarn shoppe in the area; something we rarely see in this region because, well… its 60 degrees down here and we have daffodils blooming right now (no joke).

I guess that makes knitting the silliest hobby I could have right now.  Then again, it makes me happy and content.   And although my yarn stash threatens to invade similar to my fabric stash, it may not be such a bad thing after all.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

Pretty

One of our number got to see some snow recently.  The rest of us who are cognizant of snow’s existence are jealous.

Happy

I finished the haybales in time for the birthday celebrations!   I got the pattern out of this book.

Unfortunately I didn’t have any size 15 needles at the time so I did the best I could with size 11, the largest I had on hand.  It turned out perfect to create the haybales for the barn, and it turned out, a new John Deere.

Funny 

I reprised the Gator Cake. Haunted by the melting icing in our previous experience, I made some from a box and of course, ran out of icing.   My sister, present for the occasion, called my mom who was already at the store picking up the trash bags that I had forgotten earlier.  And on the subject of being forgetful, I forgot that there are only four wheels on a standard John Deere gator.  This must be an extended edition or something.  Oh, and who turned 3 or 1?  No one–put the two numbers together and you’ll see that my birthday recently came and went!  The gator cake was the cake for the big birthday bash for me and the darlings who both came so close to sharing the day with me.  I threw some people for a momentary loop by putting the numeral candles for Dino and Sunshine on the back–they kept asking who was turning 52.

Real

I wanted Sunshine to have a paddock/corral/stable thingy for her Schleich horses (dominating the barn).  I decided to be frugal and use the a “Melissa & Doug” wooden crate that used to hold play food until we started storing all that in one basket.  Then I took the side off a box of clementines and, turning it over, made the roof.  I also had some leftover Nativity scene “grass” for the flooring.  As I’m not very handy with wood, I enlisted my father-in-law’s help to make it look presentable (Haus Meister being swamped with work last week).  He did an amazing job–better than I ever could have with wood glue and spray paint!

(sorry about the bright light there)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Boy of the Greenwood

Croup, which is no respecter of persons, descended upon us two months earlier than usual.   However, I will take it now if it means we don’t get it at Christmas!  It has once again put Rascal under the weather, and to add insult to injury, it prevented him from attending his first ever Cub Scout campout.  Repeated assurances that there would be plenty of opportunities to camp in the next 12 years of Scouting did nothing to console him.  So, we opted for distraction.

I mentioned before that we love the 1950′s tv series The Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene.   The kids have seen the Disney Robin Hood several times, but only through rentals.  As our enormous dvd set of Richard Greene’s Robin Hood is more easily accessible, we’ve spent our rainy weekends lately watching these.  It made Rascal long for a bow and arrow set.  We were hoping to hold out for Christmas (and I daresay a more “real” set might appear in the boys’ stockings), but in light of Rascal’s disappointment, Haus Meister put together a makeshift bow and arrow from materials in the garage.  I daresay the bow Haus Meister made is better than the toy set one, but Rascal also wants “real” arrows.  He’s imaginative, but also particular.  That gets bothersome at times, but I digress.

After seeing my young archer trying out his bow, I sat down and searched for a Robin Hood hat tutorial.  My printer cable is out, so I had to eyeball the pattern and try to cut accordingly.  I didn’t have enough of one shade of green felt, so the hat is two-toned.  However, it sufficed!  I then, with Haus Meister’s blessing, took one of Haus Meister’s painting shirts–an old olive green T-shirt–turned it inside out (so I didn’t have to cut off the pocket, being in a hurry) and cut off the sleeves. I then folded the shirt and cut a deep V down the front.  All that was needed was to pop it over Rascal’s head and tie a green cord around his waist.  Voila–a Robin Hood costume in 15 minutes or less!

He did learn how to shoot that stick.  And he was inside, of course, when it happened.   Confiscation of weaponry was threatened.

Fortunately my little outlaw went back outside for a time.

The costume on Dino looked more like Friar Tuck’s tunic.  The Friar is threatening to attack the dog with the broken piece of a boat model.  I’ve learned just not to ask what this one is up to.

Yes, Grandpa, the hoodie has been through the wash.  It gets worn again as soon as it hits the drawer, though.

No doubt further adventures await!

Erring on the side of large

This weekend would have gone a lot differently if I was in charge.  For instance, I would be giving you a birth announcement right now.  Instead, after rushing to the hospital Saturday night at 11:50pm, we were sent home Sunday morning at 5:30am with little to no sleep and the nurse’s sympathy.  And I’m still huge.  And my daughter is still being stubborn.

Meanwhile, I’m enjoying knitting to a ridiculous degree.  No sooner did I finish the smaller booties than I started on a ruffled hat.  It was my first attempt at knitting-in-the-round, and I was so intimidated by the thought of using double-sided needles that I avoided it until the last end of uttermost need.  I also needed to go out and purchase some.  Hours before I was hospital-bound, there I was in Hobby-Lobby filling my basket with yarn skeins and knitting needles.  Nesting? Probably.

So on Sunday I amused myself by finishing the hat project.  I had a feeling it would be a little larger than anticipated–and a few rounds more would have made it fit a big baby head…

But the project wasn’t a complete wash–I wove a long string of yarn around and made it into a little pink mob cap, now capable of fitting a much smaller head.

So will it fit Munchkin?  I hope to find out soon.  Meanwhile, I’m going to try again.  Besides, two of the boys have commissioned non-ruffled hats of their own, so I need to practice!

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

Pretty

Pretty as a peach!  It’s coming on that season again, and every year I’m curious as to what exactly I’m going to do with these delicious things.  Pies?  Sliced, lightly spiced and canned?  Jam?  Or just eat ‘em.

Happy

These pictures were meant for a “Summer Sewing and Read-Alouds” post that has yet to materialize.  I had some extra material from the pillowcase dress (see Funny, below), and used it to cover up some stains on a shirt meant for Munchkin.  I added a flower to an extra pair of pink newborn pants just for fun.

Funny

This could double as “Real,” but I thought it was pretty funny after I got over the initial shock of seeing my toddler-turned-gymnast.   I never do know what she’s going to do next.  Silly little girl.

Real

This was a brand-new pack of crayons two days ago.  Now some of them are broken, the wrappers are gone, the box is non-existent, and some of them have actually been eaten.  Blech.  Perils of giving a little one her own set of crayons, as she does insist upon coloring at the kids’ craft table (where her sister the crayon consumer can easily reach her).   The boys’ crayons are faring a little better.  They still have wrappers, have not (that I know of) been eaten, and Dinosaur’s at least are still in the original box.   Sometimes I fret over the crayon turnover in the house.  Once I even went with strictly colored pencils, but those require sharpening every 15 minutes and also get eaten by the dog.  Markers are out of the question (I fear for walls and carpeting).  So washable crayons it is, I guess.   After all, they are being imaginative and creative, and washing down the occasional wall is worth that.

Instant Gratification Sewing

Fear not, gentle reader, for I do have the requisite material for the creation of the ruffled dress shown in a previous post.  However, as I had been unable to sit down at my sewing machine for two weeks, I felt the need for something quick and simple to recommence my summer sewing marathon.  Fortunately, Princess had selected a fun owl print while we were fabric shopping.  I indulged her because, frankly, every other choice she liked would not have worked for anything I was going to make for her–particularly the prune polka-dots on a background of olive green.  I bought what I thought would be enough of the owl print to make a nightgown (text next to the sleepy owls says “snooze”) and then some, which would become a nightgown, a faux-pillowcase style top (not a dress), and some scraps.  Time for some “instant gratification sewing!”

Last night I made the top.  Tonight I sat down to make the nightgown, only to realize that I had forgotten to cut 2 of the dress pieces on the fold!   Darn pregnancy brain!  But I digress.  Anyway, I make the top, and hang it on the closet door for her to see in the morning.  I imagined she would be surprised, and I believe she was.  However, it was the Cowgirl dress all over again!

“That’s [Sunshine's],” she said, and refused to wear it after I had her try it on.

Now if this is the Cowgirl dress revisited, then she’ll be wearing it in a week.  Meanwhile, someone else doesn’t mind wearing Mommy’s creations.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing Contentment in the Everyday…

This edition brought to you courtesy of our whirlwind trip “North for the Fourth.”

Pretty

I did make the two other patriotic faux-pillowcase dresses on my list of things to sew.  Sunshine and her cousin looked very festive (and so did Princess in hers, but I was unable to get a picture of all three girls together in their matching attire).  My sister and I enjoyed seeing our girls toddling around together, considering last year at this time the tots were wee babies laying around on blankets and occasionally rolling over.  On the other hand, they were much easier to keep an eye on in those days….

Happy

Trooper’s triumphs.  We’re told there is no cure for Sensory Processing Disorder, and that the best we can do is work with him daily to help him adapt to an environment that affects him so much differently than it does us.  When we first started heading “North for the Fourth” four years ago, Trooper was unable to stand the annual parade that occurs in my old hometown.  The parade begins with a blare of sirens from the fire engines and at that point, Trooper was ready to run as far from the park as possible.  Every year, we noticed he could stand to stick around just a little longer.  This year, he sat in a lawn chair and watched the parade  go by in front of him.  He only got up when he thought someone was going to pass out the balloons on a float.  He was patient and attentive, and only plugged his ears when the sirens went off.  Haus Meister and I couldn’t have been more proud of him.  On another day of our trip we went to a Children’s Museum.  Again, except for a bit of impatience at getting into the Museum (lines to pay for the tickets? So over-rated), he was golden once we got inside.  He rode the Carousel and visited his favorite Science exhibit.  He transitioned from these activities without a meltdown.  He ate calmly in the Food Court and if he rushed unheedingly through the Dinosaur exhibit (no dinosaur looked like his beloved Unk, after all), it was only to enjoy the antique trains.  Fireworks stopped scaring him last year, and this year he was able to laugh and react to the spectacle with as much gusto as any of the kids.  Finally, the see-saw toy you see in the picture above.  Last year we could hardly get him on it.  This year we could hardly get him off it at times.  Trooper, you are our hero, and we rejoice in your triumphs!  They may seem small to the world, but to him, to us, it means so much.

Funny

Blueberry picking with their little cousin.  I think the little cousin was a better blueberry picker than our Princess, whose idea of berry picking is to strip the branch of everything–including leaves and unripe berries.  We had to hurry her along lest the farmer think a blight had descended upon some of his plants.

Real

During the parade, the boys received candy from a local law enforcement officer.  If this man wasn’t a hometown hero to my boys already, he sure was after those lollipops arrived!

It was also a sweet moment when the float carrying the WWII veterans went by.  ”Proud to be an American” was blaring on a loudspeaker on the float as the soldiers smiled and waved at the children lining the street.  Rascal waved back and Dinosaur waved a little stars & stripes fan he had been given.  What with that song’s lyrics and recalling the sacrifices the veterans make for us, and seeing my young boys there, knowing they live in a free country and are part of the true hope for its future… yes, I about started crying.

And then I started kicking myself for not taking a picture.

Summer Sewing and Read-Alouds, Week 3

Well, the Daisy Dresses are done, and now the rest of that fabric can be saved for scrap works.  :)  I made just a basic tunic top with part of the fabric, and then lengthened the top pattern into a dress that I paired with matching bloomers from a different pattern.  The girls can interchange the dress and top between them, although really the top is for Princess and the dress is for Sunshine.

I finished the dresses in a late night marathon sewing fit Friday night, and the bloomers as well.  The girls wore them all day yesterday, and seemed to be very comfortable.

I had a lot of fun with this, but I’m going back to the pillowcase dresses in the coming week.  The pattern I used for these tunics/dresses is a Simplicity pattern from 1983 (I’d have to go down and dig up the number out of my stash, and I’m too pressed for time to do that at the moment).  It was also from my Grandma’s collection, and the girls have and wear the original eyelet dress that she made for me from that pattern.  At least, I assume she made it for me as I was the only grandchild she had in 1983.

Onto the reading for this week:

25. Fin M’Coul: the Giant of Knockmany Hill by Tomie diPaola

26. The Story of the Easter Robin by Dandi Daley Mackall

37. Aunt Green, Aunt Brown and Aunt Lavendar by Elsa Beskow

28. Around the Year by Elsa Beskow

29. Spring is Here by Lois Lenski

30. The Twelve Days of Christmas (Little Golden Book)

31. Stop that Ball! by Mike McClintock

32. The Art Lesson by Tomie diPaola

33. Corgiville Fair by Tasha Tudor

34. Bathtime for Biscuit by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

35. Biscuit Loves Father’s Day by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

36. We Help Daddy (Little Golden Book)