Lex and Toad are Friends

I have finally finished a l hat for my son.  After shrinking his previous monster hat, he requested a frog hat.  I didn't want to make him the garden variety frog hat so I added ear flaps and a nice contrasting edging.  What do you think? It reminds me of the great children's book, Frog and Toad are Friends by Arnold Lobel.  He loves it, but decided it was a toad because he said the color was to dark to be a frog.  So here it is the Toad hat.  If you like it  check it out at my Etsy Store to purchase a custom one.

Lilly had decided she wants a Princess hat.  That one is going to be a little harder to design.

Things I Learned on Vacation

1. Sick kids on vacation are 10 times as stressful as sick kids at home. You don’t have the privacy of cleaning throw-up from your own beds, carpet, ect.

2. Disney World will always be magical, no matter how old you are, or how high your kids temperature is. (We were able to take the kids to Disney World for the 1^st time for one day during our vacation.)

3. My husband is totallydicted to Angry Birds. I’m serious, it’s bad. It might be time for an intervention.

4. I will always love to read. With sick kids I had a lot of free time while they were napping. In about I week I have read 3 ½ books. It has been fabulous! Reading in the sun is one of the most relaxing, wonderful things you can do.

5. Sunshine is the best thing in the entire world.

6.  I love my husband. In the everyday hustle and bustle I sometimes forget how much I love him.  It's nice to get away and really talk to each other with out the everyday stresses.

Ty in his natural habitat, playing
Angry Birds

Finally a Hat for Me!

I have spent the last 6 months knitting hats and random items for other people.  Finally last night I made a hat for myself, and I LOVE it! The pattern is fantastically simple, with a very chic outcome. The cabling looks fantastic. Check out the pattern on Ravelry here.  Doesn't it look lovely?

I'm excited to start on an original design tonight.  My sons has requested a frog hat. Which I do quite often.  I sell them in my Etsy Store, but I think I am going to make this one with ear flaps and a couple other changes.  I'll be sure to post pictures and I work on it.  Let me know what you think.

Lex

Just for fun here a some pictures of my kids, Lex, who is 4 and Lilly who is 2 1/2.  They are the loves of my life. Now you know who I am knitting for.  All the money I makes goes to a fund for them so that we can go to museums, aquariums, and things we might not get to without this extra cash.

Lilly

Knowing Where you Come From

I spent Sunday afternoon cleaning out my grandparents house. My Grandmother passed away about 8 years ago, and my Grandfather just recently passed away. My Grandmother was my hero.  She taught me to spin, weave, quilt, dye wool, and any number of crafty things.  After she died I tried not to go back to the house, it was to painful.  So just going back into the house to clean it out was difficult.  It was hard, but it was wonderful too. She left me her two spinning wheels, a giant (seriously it fills half a room) loom, antique Singer Sewing machine and all of her craft items. Every time I picked something up to load into my truck, it brought back memories.  Picking up the baskets I  used to put my wool in to store until I spun it reduced me to tears.  It was a slightly pathetic display of emotions that afternoon, but I think I needed it.

I needed to remember what she taught me, and the joy it brought both her and me.  It reminded me that I want  teach my children those same lessons, and the kind of women I want to become.  Mary Francis Hayden, my grandmother, was an amazing women for her time.  She was incredibly independent, funny, intelligent, and old fashioned at the same time. The older I get the more of her I see in myself, and I'm happy about that.  It was hard, but nice to see and remember how I started this journey of crafting.  So thanks Grandma, you are a huge part of  who I am today, and I miss you all the time.

On another note, I've finally finished all my custom orders. So I currently have nothing to knit. I think I will finally start knitting a hat for myself! Look at this awesome pattern I found on Ravelry.   This bulky hat is georgous. I can't wait to start it.

My First Original Design!

My Nephew Fyo 

I've been knitting as a hobby for a while now. Lately in the last couple of years I have even sold some items at a local craft fair, but that was it. But now I feel like it is time to step up and really pursue this whole knitting business thing.  So I've opened my own Etsy shop, check it out.  I've also designed my first original pattern! It is a bumble bee hat.  Check it out!

I promise this blog won't always be promoting my stuff.  Most of the time it will just be about raising my kids, knitting new stuff, and my constant battle to obtain chickens!  So thanks for reading, and stick around. I will get more interesting!