the beginning of my favorite season with my favorite little man.

 Hey there autumn, you wasted no time in gracing us this year, with some early cool days, to enjoy warm beverages, flannel shirts and cozy slippers. This makes for one very happy girl. My favorite season is at hand!

 Liam is 14 months now and on the cusp of so many new adventures. He is almost walking, almost feeding himself with a spoon and almost saying or repeating new sounds and some words daily. It's a good season. Liam is growing, Snacky French is growing and I'm learning how to best manage time with Liam, Jason and my business. Some weeks are a crazy baking flurry, coordinating schedules, errands galore and some weeks I get to organize, pick pumpkins, knit and play at the park. Liam is reaping the benefits of my knitting. He got a new cowl! He even keeps it on. Major win. That's a bit of what's been going on around here, right now!

crafting some more baby things

 iron on onesies! perhaps my favorite projects, just because it was so quick!

 recycled t-shirt top knot hats.

 of course there are some knit items. i know it's july but it's cotton and who knows, maybe somewhere (definitely not our home) but some where might be really cool?

my love of flag garlands prevails. hand sewn felt flags.

more baby sets

i have been asked to knit for baby once again! i fell in love with this darling set from pickles! they have some of the most wonderful patterns i've seen! i always enjoy making baby things. they knit up so quick, that you can feel satisfied that you completed something in close to one sitting. i used a bamboo yarn for this project. soft and delicate and quite appropriate for baby, i think.

knitting roundup

 i've been knitting quite a lot these past few months. many fingerless gloves were made, for the kind people who were interested in them and wanted me to make them a pair! not to mention whippinp up a bunch for a craft show. it hasn't allowed me much time for projects i was interested in... till now. february has been a flurry of activity on knitting needles! so here are a few projects of mine. enjoy!

this hat was made up from a hat i saw on someone. it turned out pretty well, for this being my first time inventing a pattern from something i just saw.

this is a slouchy, comfy hat i made for my brother (in law). he pretty much never takes it off his head. felicity hat pattern can be found on ravelry.

this cute little headband was whipped up in about a day. the flower is crochet. pattern for headband can be found here.  (don't mind the picture of me. it was late and there was no one to take a picture, so i resorted to the  bathroom mirror)

 this is simply an i cord, that i just continuously knit and bound together when i ran out of yarn.i wish i could have looped it around a few more times, but i like it all the same! those softies below are the work of my mother ( in law). she's a mighty fine crocheter. she crochet the gnome and i pieced him together.  and the cupcake... well i just added the sprinkles! i love when crafty meets cake!

craft bazaar

 getting everything together = crazy mess

 fingerless mitts and other fun treats i made for my table

 cookie samples of my christmas cookie sampler

my wonderfully supportive mom stopped by to say hi and buy my goodies.

its was a fun day of sharing my goodies with some new folks. meeting some fun new people and knitting and eating in the free moments of the day

knitting season has begun

so i know there are many avid knitters all year long...not me. i am a seasonal one. its not until fall before i start thinking about the projects i want to try for the winter season. i am currently working on fingerless mitts. many pairs and many colors are being made in a frenzy for an upcoming craft bazaar.
i'm contemplating opening an etsy shop if i don't sell them all at the bazaar. this is new for me. another small step into self-employed territory. its exciting to have more time and energy for crafting. i am still learning to balance my free time with chores, a little me time and projects. its something to be mindful of. time can just run away from you  if your are not protective of it. i don't mean that in a selfish way. i am just beginning to see that i really need to prioritize, in order to work on the dreams that are near and dear to me.
i hope this season finds you well. bundle up friends. its the season of warm knits, rosy cheeks and frosty breath.

catching up

it feels nice to be back here more regularly again. life got pretty crazy there for a while. it actually still is a little crazy. but i have a few more quiet moments to come here and reflect a bit now. these wee little hat and booties are for a dear friend. i made them a couple of months ago, but just realized i hadn't mentioned them here. same patterns as the set i made earlier this year. booties from the purl bee and hat from ravelry . its been a baby booming year. so many friends and acquaintances are expecting children. exciting times. so here's to catching up a bit. having a bit more time for the things that bring me joy!

paper and yarn heart

whats a girl to do with a blizzard swirling around her? finish and start some new projects? yes!
not much baking going on yesterday. a bit of knitting, crocheting, picture taking, crafting little paper hearts, and cooking. that is what my day was made of. of course there were also a few movies sprinkled in. those lovely little crochet hearts can be found here. although hers look like more pronounced hearts.
something so romantic about old sheet music! i couldn't resist cutting it up into tiny heart bits, and gluing it to some red rick rack. feeling festive.

in the process of...

many projects going on yesterday. only a few of which made it onto here. jason and i have been working on rigging up a contraption for my brownie duaflex camera to start taking through the viewfinder photographs! its something i've wanted to work on for quite some time now, but am just getting around to. this was jason first attempt. not half bad. we ran out of materials, so the tube was a little to short. more pictures to come!i made risotto for the first time! i've known about this lovely little rice dish for quite some time now, but yesterday was the day of firsts. its the classic version from the joy of cooking! it turned out better than i imagined! i've found a new favorite. thanks to suki from gilmore girls who peeked my interest int the dish in the first place! oh gilmore girls i miss you.
one 1/2 of a fingerless glove. for me this time. jason took a liking to the other pair i made last year. they fit him better anyway, so he gets to keep them and i am working on this lovely yellow pair for myself. now if only i could perfect the thumb hole without having to sow up some holes i left behind. knitting, as with most of my endeavors are learning processes. that is what i keep reminding myself.

...and done!

the cold weather rolled in today. glad to have my hat finished!

project updates

a hat i've been working on this past weekend. pattern found from the purl bee! i'm almost done and super excited to try it on for size. its the first hat i've knit for myself...well not counting a failed attempt, when i first started knitting. not that i couldn't knit a hat, just that it didn't fit me very well.
another goal of my was to learn how to crochet granny squares. so with much patience on my mother-in-laws part, i successfully have two granny square completed, and a much better understanding of crocheting! thanks leni!
and if you can even remember the start of these socks. here they are all finished! lovely and comfortable.
we unpacked our christmas decorations yesterday! and making its debut is this year is this christmasy apron i acquired last year, much after the season had passed. so with delight, i unpacked it and wore it most of the afternoon! happy decorating, cookie baking, and all the wonderful scents and sights of the season to come!

baby gifts

its so much fun to knit small things, for wee ones. maybe for the same reason its fun to bake mini treats. it takes us back to a time in childhood when things were smaller, and we played pretend.
these where a present for my coworker, who is having a little boy in a few short weeks.

busy bee birthday projects

a very special niece is turning 9. i was quite busy this week, getting together all the last minute little things for her present and bumble bee cupcakes.
the above was my last minute crochet project. rudy the rectangle. she had picked out this picture of the little guy and asked me over a year ago if i would make it for her. so for her birthday i scurried to get it done. added some homemade clips, and called it a birthday. she loved it all. so worth every moment!

cozy day

yesterday, my love brought me a favorite seasonal treat. pumpkin cream donut!
and i've been making more dishcloths! inspiration for the stripped one came from these beautiful ones. this is for a gift. to a friend who is moving out onto her own. other highlights of the day were thrifting, finding gorgeous vintage flower prints and an evening walk into the flaming sunset!

a tote & goodies

here we have a few late stragglers from the garden! the carrots, short and stubby may they be came in quite handy for my beef stew last week. beef stew and peach pie. a meal we got to share with some friends. quite a cozy meal. i love this stew/ pie season we're in! next up are the apples. i had hoped to get peaches a bit earlier than september, but indeed i did get to make a peach pie. after all, it is my favorite.


... and lastly. this tote ( pattern found here ) has been in my lap for the last week. working on it moments at a time. it came together in no time. it was shown in linen, but i just had cotton. i think it turned out quite well. i think they also have a similar pattern for knitters. i'm glad to have run out of yarn, at the top. i think it makes for a nice contrast. the light and dark.

happy weekend!

a weeks worth of goings on.

we had planned this lovely little camping trip in upstate pennsylvania... we tried to make it work. the rain did a very good job of sending us packing early. so we came home , dried off, lit some candles and played boardgames for hours! i recently got checkers and parcheesi at a thrift store. we are addicted to them right now. we both have fond memeories of playing these games with our grandparents. so we played games, ate cake, and lazed about. it was a great weekend after all.



on sunday we went to a flee market and found this beauty. i'm trying to figure out what exactly its called and its history. you plug it in, its air powered and sounds like an accordion. we've been having a lot of fun with it. it needs a little repair, but it was the best $5 find ever.