this moment...

Inspired by Amanda - {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. 

In the basket, on the lap

In my knitting basket this week, I've got a few knits in the works.  One is the second mate of socks that I have been working on here and there for the past few weeks. I finished one and now need to get the motivation for making the second one.  I can see the appeal of knitting socks two at a time now!  I also have a shawl that I'm knitting with my favorite (of all times) colorway Kelp Forest.  It has simple, plain lines and I wanted to not mess with any fussy lace so I can just enjoy the vibrant colors.  My third knit is  A Sun Hat for baby Logan.  This Friday my older boys have a class trip to the zoo and last year I came up with this hat for the very same field trip.  It was only fitting that I would make it again for him to wear.

On my lap, sans above mentioned baby, are more Magic Tree House books - now on #11 and Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and soon to be Jane Eyre by Bronte.  Both are free Kindle downloads and with the new Eyre movie coming about and all the buzz about the knits in the movie, I feel compelled to read them again.  Maybe I'll have them both done by the time the new movie comes on on DVD - the only way I see new movies!

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Joining Ginny's weekly yarn along!

After a busy weekend

After a busy weekend, we are slowly getting back to the rhythm of things.  Like most of the midwest, we have been hammered by rain.  Luckily, we were given Saturday and Sunday almost rain free and we took advantage of it. 

Plus, Nathan's parents were here for a scant day and a half - so we were able to take advantage of them too!!  Plant shopping and more yard work.

Nathan has put a lot of work into our yard this year.  I hope I can keep it up while he is away with work! 

All the boys like being outside so much.  Baby Logan especially.  He points to go outside all day and looks out the window often.  I just wish his allergies would be so willing to go out as well.

Easter morning was quiet for us with just morning church service and a day of desserts since we gave them all up for Lent.  The boys found their baskets and were excited to play with their new games.  We all felt rather ill by the night though.  We did a good job of giving up sweets and most processed food and after the weekend of indulging, we all didn't fair so well.  Now I just have to get all the junk back out of the house!

Trying to take a picture of all three of them is nearly impossible.  Logan has no patience for sitting still and Mason seems to be unable not to look like he belongs in a circus.  I finally had to show Mason what he looked like with crossed eyes and weirdo smile.  I hope it finally clicked that he is not cute at all that way.  At least he tried for me once.

And finally over the few days, I managed to finish a knit.  A fresh spring green for my littlest man.

{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. 

 

Have a safe Easter weekend!

following Soulemama's weekly moment post

In the Basket

With the weather unable to decide if it should be 80 and sunny or 40 followed by a tornado, my knitting basket isn't getting as much attention as it should (either has my house:) ).  On the needles now are a pair of ribbed socks in two soft honey bee colors from Quince and Co and a simple playground shirt on a bamboo blend for little Logan.  It stills surprises me how long a pair of socks take on size 1 needles.  I swear I knit for quite a while and still it barely looks like I did anything!   I do prefer knitting with two 16" circular needles vs. dpn.  I feel like I can put it down easier and don't have to worry about such a sharp little needle escaping my basket.  I did finish a scarf I had in the basket this week and was glad to see it done as well as the Easter basket I was working on with last week's Yarn Along.

As for reading this week, my boys and I are still working through the Magic Tree House series-#9 now.  It has been fun to make all kinds of predictions and my oldest is so in to them.  I am just about to finish Yarn Harlot's Things Knitting Has Taught Me and I've been reading through an interesting book about the knitting and textile industry in Ohio aptly named Ohio Knitting Mills.

-------------------  following Ginny's Yarn Along weekly knitting and reading posts 

Little Lush In Training

Just like his mama. 

{these moments} – 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. Inspired by soulemama.

Yarn Along Wednesday

Continuing to follow Ginny at Small Things for a weekly Yarn Along...

After some contemplating and a few auditions of last week's tunic, I decided to frog it and put it away for another date.  It just wasn't working like I wanted it to!  Since I had freed myself up for that obligation (even though my oldest doesn't have a spring jacket yet), I worked all week on my second ever pair of socks.

They aren't impressive and I don't like the yarn they were made from but they were great to learn from.  I'm ready to move on to another pair with better yarn and on two needles.  In the meantime, I just realized that Baby Logan does not have an Easter Basket.  I'm using this great free pattern and some Malabrigo scraps to whip one up.  I've never magic looped since most of my patterns I already have needles for but I needed to with this one.  It was finally time to learn and I hate buying needles for project after project-after all-that is what an Addi Click set is for!

Because of the awesome weather and the copious amount of yard work to do, reading took quite the way back in the bus seat this weekend.  I'm still pluggin' away on the Yarn Harlot's book, The Things I Learned from Knitting.

Looking forward to seeing what others have in their baskets! I always add to my queue of things to do!

Around this house

:: total chaos surrounds me

::my house is in a perpetual state of disarray

:: Logan is the Master of Disaster and can disassemble any room in a manner of minutes (usually while I'm cleaning up the last room he terrorized)

:: walking, running, and dashing boys makes for crashes

::I have the powers to get really muddy clothes clean

::I made a new recipe, and it was gobbled up by everyone.  I could have eaten it all myself.  I used pesto, Italian Turkey Sausage and omitted the cheese (because I forgot it).

::All the above is really cramping my knitting style...but it is worth it (at least I'll say that when the kids are in bed, laundry is done, dishes put away, and I've seen the latest Real Housewives)!

I go a walkin...

My baby is walking.  Now my household is so busy I can barely keep up with the disasters that they all leave in their wake.  This is for Uncle Ryan who tried to get him to walk on our vacation. When Logan got home, he started.  I'm sure it was from all of Ryan's loving encouragement.

I'd suggest not listening to me.  Logan and I speak a special monster-type language and I sound not so pretty :)

this moment...

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 Wednesday

~ Two of my favorite things are knitting and reading, and the evidence of this often shows up in my photographs...~ following along with Ginny's weekly postings.

Right now I have three projects on my needles.  A pair of socks I started last night, a shawl, and a tunic sweater for Reagan.  As I was drifting off to sleep the tunic was plauging my thoughts.  I think I need to frog it.  The yarn, one of my all time favorites, Marr Haven, is just not right for this. Plus, I'm trying to use of some scraps of dyed colorways in Marr Haven and I'm not feeling the colors.  So I think I need to rip it out.  Reagan asked me to make him something for spring to wear and I like this pattern but I can't decide if he'll wear it enough before it is too warm out.  This yarn might be too warm. 

I'm reading my third Yarn Harlot book, Things I've Learned From Knitting, and of course enjoying it well.  As much as I like long, detailed books, these short almost essay like books are nice for the bits of reading time I can steal in my day.  My boys and I continue to read the Magic Tree House books and it is fun to see them remember what happened books past and how they use pictures to predict what will happen next.  I'm also working through Knitting Socks to teach myself how to make them.  I made a pair of 4 sts per inch super thick sock and really liked it.  Now that I'm making a pair with 7 sts per inch, I'm a bit intimidated!

Busy little knitter

I'm a busy little knitter.  I love it.  My friend asked me how long it took to make something...maybe 3 days?  Obsessive she asked.  Yes I proudly answered.

Since late February, I've either started or finished these.  I've had fun with them all.  Grumbled with a few.  Gave some as gifts. Snuggled with those who wear it.

all knits are on my Ravelry page.

Beach babies

More than a week ago, my family traveled down to Florida to visit my family.  We had such a nice time.  It isn't too often that both my brothers, my sister-in-law, and parents are all in the same place at the same time.  Being in Alaska, New York, and Illinois makes it quite hard to do it.

The weather was perfect.  It was in the 80's, sunny, and humid.  We were quite lucky in that!

We stayed at Lido Beach in Sarasota which was in between my grandparents and Aunts and Uncle.  The hotel wasn't the best, but the view was.

All my kids needed were some sand, sun, and water!

It was Logan's first time in the sand.  He was frantically playing with it. Used to me taking away the dog dish and water bowl, he played in the sun and water like it was the last thing he'd get to do!  It was so cute!  We just let him go at it and he ate plenty of fresh sand and sea water.  I think that must be what cured his cradle cap for the week!

The bigger boys really love the beach and water too.  Mason kept getting knocked down by little waves and tripping over nothing (as usual) and was cut up by shells by the next day.  He decided to stay out of the water as it burned a bit.

Reagan wished it was a bit warmer like it was in the summer so he could swim in the water.  The ocean was about 70ish so it was a bit chilly to swim!

I failed as the family photographer and didn't take my camera with me many places.  We had such a great time and spent a lot of time at my Aunt Pam's lovely house.  When we got back and went to school the next week, my boys constantly asked me if we were going to go to her house yet!  Sorry guys, wrong state.

this moment...

{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

 following along with Soulemama's weekly moment...