Yarn Along ~ Lepidoptera

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I finally feel like it's that time of year to pick up knitting needles again and found this great lacey sock pattern called Lepidoptera :)

I had bought this soft alpaca yarn earlier this spring thinking it was going to make a great baby sweater for my sister but alas she had a little boy and the pink was definitely not going to do! So into the yarn stash it went until last weekend when I finally found the perfect use for it. A soft pair of socks for my daughter. 

And she is just itching to get her feet into them! We are constantly having little 'try on' sessions and I haven't even got one sock half finished yet LOL. It's a super easy pattern though. Nothing tougher than making a few extra stitches and it has my all time favorite heel to... short rows. Yay!! If I can avoid doing the regular heel flap type sock heel I will and in this pattern she simplifies the short row process even further by taking out all of those yarn overs that you normally find making it faster than ever and there is a video tutorial to go along with it so you can follow along if you happen to get stuck.

For my book I'm reading Eating Dirt: Deep Forests, Big Timber, and Life with the Tree-Planting Tribe by Charlotte Gill and it is a must read!!  It's the true story of her life as a tree planter here in BC for 20 years and was absolutely fascinating to read about areas right here in my backyard and get a peak at what their lives are really like as we see them so often around this neck of the woods and I must admit I've always wanted to know more about them. Her writing transports you instantly into the thick of the BC rainforest and leaves you wanting more :)

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all have been knitting and reading this week to!

Happy knitting,

Rosina

We're Sending Egg Mail!

How did I not think of this?!

Mailing large plastic Easter eggs for friends and family is like having the cadbury bunny lay an egg in their mailbox but even better LOL. When I ran across the idea here I went to the nearest dollar store to see if I could find eggs big enough to hold a bunch of goodies and accommodate a mailing label that I could write on large enough to be legible.

Two stores later I hit the jackpot! Brightly colored eggs that were a good 7 - 8 inches long and didn't feel to flimsy so that they would be able to take a good knocking around in the mail truck.

We filled them with chocolate, stickers, easter stamps, bunny masks and felted eggs that we had made. Nestled it all in a bit of paper easter grass and taped them tightly shut :)

Watch your mailbox... one of these just may be for you!

Hugs,
Rosina

Easter Bunny Masks

My daughter totally loves to dress up. Full length princess gowns, ballerina tutus and hand me down halloween costumes from her cousins. She especially loves all sorts of masks but somehow I don't think her hairy beard and moustache disguise or her bandit masks are going to cut it on the Easter scene. I was going to have to come up with something new and preferably of the 'bunny' variety *grin*.

So what I did was take one of her old masks and traced through the eye holes on to the center of a plain piece of paper so I got them spaced pretty much where they needed to be and then just winged it and drew some bunny ears and a simple face shape to go with the eyes. A little trick to getting both sides of your drawing symmetrical when you're finished drawing your pattern is to fold your paper in half so both halves of your drawing are back to back and then pick your favorite side that looks the best and cut out your pattern while folded with the good side up so you end up with both sides exactly the same :)

After pinning my pattern onto some felt and cutting out two pieces for our bunny mask I had some worries that the ears might flop over my daughter's eyes when she was wearing it because they were so narrow where they met the rest of the mask.

So to remedy that I sewed in pieces of stiff clear plastic onto the ears on the inside back layer of the felt, putting in a few stitches at the very bottom of the plastic. I also made sure that I placed the plastic far enough down close to the eye holes so that it wouldn't still flop because it wasn't far enough past the brow line of the mask. The plastic we used came from some of those 'windows' they put in some boxes. That's why there are still some strips of cardboard leftovers still stuck to them :)

With the ears reinforced, I sewed on some contrasting white for the centers of the ears, added a little triangle nose and some elastic to keep it on her head and then pinned the front and back pieces together to finish sewing it together which I fully intended to do until L asked to do it herself. Of course I said yes! I love that she wants to join in and do more and more sewing. Her growing confidence in herself and her budding skills are so heartwarming to this crafty mama :)

So slowly and surely she made her way around the mask keeping a close eye on her seam allowance and getting a good lesson on how to maneuver curves *grin*. She did an awesome job and kept it darn straight. Atta girl!

With the threads snipped my little girl transformed into a fuzzy little bunny and promptly hopped away LOL.

I wish I knew how to take my paper pattern and turn it into a PDF for you! Maybe someone reading this will be able to share the secret with me *grin*. And in the meantime I hope you'll grab your pencils and whip up your own bunny version :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Mini Heart Bunting Valentine Cards & One For You

Each year the kids and I have fun making valentine cards to give away to friends and family and in addition to this we decided that it would be fun to participate in a valentine card swap this year as well that will provide us with oodles of mail which is just plain fun anytime.

What I hadn't anticipated was making 38 cards! Yes, that was definitely more than I ever could have imagined but creating things with the kids is always fun :)

I love making bunting and my daughter always wants to use my sewing machine so I thought I'd combine the two together and so our little mini heart bunting cards came to life :)

We started by cutting out little rectangles of burlap fabric slightly smaller than the face of our cards and pulled out a few threads from each of the sides to give it a frayed appearance. Then between the two of us we traced over 120 miniature little hearts onto the paper side of some Heat n Bond paper that we would later iron onto an assortment of red fabrics.

With our hearts traced, ironed onto our fabrics, cut out and then permanently affixed to the top of our burlap rectangles in a semi circle formation it was time to get stitching!

Using a nice bright red thread my daughter stitched on the string for our bunting so that it no longer looked like our hearts were just floating all alone finishing the mini heart bunting...

And then she took each of the finished burlap rectangles and stitched each of them to the front side of each of our little note cards. So much more simpler than mucking around with glue and then waiting for everything to dry! Plus getting to use mama's sewing machine is always such a treat :)

I just love how they turned out with their little red stitching from the sewing machine and I was so happy that my daughter had so much fun sewing them. Originally I thought that she would maybe make it through half of the cards we had to make but she just wanted to keep sewing and sewing which actually turned out to be a good thing because we now have extras to share with you!

So if you or your children would like a little surprise Valentine card sent to you in the mail just let me now in the comments below and make sure you leave me a way to get in contact with you for your address :)

The first five commenters will have one personally sent to you by my happy heart stitcher *grin*.

All of the Valentine cards have now been spoken for :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Weekend Blooms

More and more of the spring flowers are starting to bloom and it is such a treat to see them when I wander out the front yard. It was especially nice to see the bergenia this afternoon as I attempted to dig up the gravel pathway by the front door to get all of the grass and dandelions out that had made the rocks their new home. A little bit of beauty in a sea of weediness :)

The cowslip primula is one of my all time favorites with their big droopy clusters of yellow flowers and the smell is amazing. All you have to do is touch them and their sweet fragrance fills the air.

I have no idea what the name of this peony is but it pops up every spring. My mom planted it here nearly 30 years ago and it returns faithfully every year :)

A pretty little pink double primrose. This one is a volunteer that popped up in the driveway :)

And finally Therese Bugnet. I know there aren't any flowers on it yet but it won't be long and there will be masses of deep pink roses all over. She's super hardy to! You can really expose her to some harsh elements and it comes back just as full as the year before :)

Happy blooming Sundy *grin*

Rosina

Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

Oh my goodness, I adore the ruffled bottom of this sweater!!

I'm making good progress and have knit about 8 1/2 inches from the ruffle up. The pattern actually says to only knit 7 inches of the ribbed stitch but from what I've read on other ravelry member's pages who have knit this before is that it runs a little on the small side and I want to make sure it fits.

I'm already knitting the largest size possible so I don't think making it a little bit longer will hurt :) I stretched out the stitches around her waist and it looks like once I block it when I'm done it will just fit perfectly. Definitely no time to dilly dally on this one or she'll outgrow it before I finish *grin*.

A few more inches and then the pattern changes to divide for the sleeves and shaping the neck and I've read ahead on the pattern and it looks a little greek to me! Cross your fingers that I'll be able to continue knitting along smoothly without to much difficulty :)

On the book front I have to admit I really haven't done much reading at all. We've read a few more chapters in the Little House in the Big Woods but there hasn't been much reading time for mama. I've been so slow with my reading that I actually had to return my copy of the Happiness Project back to the library as it was requested by someone else and I couldn't renew it :( It will be a couple of weeks now before I can get it back. Hopefully when it's my turn again I'll be a little speedier!

Happy knitting :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I took the plunge and cast on my very first sweater :)
I'll admit I'm a little scared now that I have 288 stitches on my circular needle and the few rows that I've finished are like a drop in the bucket! *grin*.

I picked the Cowboy Butterfly Astronaut vest because I just couldn't resist the adorable ruffled bottom and sleeves and I'm using a beautifully soft acrylic this time called Marble Chunky by James C. Brett. My daughter plays hard and I wanted to have something that I could toss into the washing machine fairly regularly if need be and this should wash up beautifully without to much fuss :)

The photo is of the ruffled hem and then in a couple more rows it switches to the main color which L picked out and it's a really deep marbled purple. It's going to look quite striking against the soft pink ruffle.

I'm still reading The Happiness Project but have put it aside temporarily as I reread the Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder with my daughter. Oh how I love this book and am enjoying it tremendously :)

Looking forward to seeing what you're knitting this week!

Hugs,
Rosina

Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I thought that I would have a finished little girls hat to share with you this week but I sort of dropped that in the dust to work on a pair of gloves :) My daughter already has a hat so it can wait just a wee bit longer but she could really use a pair of cute little fingerless gloves *grin*.

As I was visiting other yarn along participants I found a link to these gorgeous gloves! Unfortunately I can't remember whose blog it was so if you happen to know which mama made a pair of these for her daughter please let me know as I would love to stop by again :)

I am completely smitten with the 'moss stitch' that makes up the center portion of the glove. I had my mom model it for the photo since I haven't told my daughter I'm making them for her. It's going to be a surprise :) She has been anxioulsy waiting for me to make something pink for her so she is going to LOVE them! I've only got one done so far and it is still waiting to be stitched up but from how tight it was to fit it around my mom's hand I know they will be a comfortable fit for her. I can't wait to cast on the second one tonight :)

Now for the book that I'm reading this week. It is The Christmas Table by Diane Morgan and it is full of yummy recipes. I have marked quite a few already for this holiday season. I'm particularly looking forward to trying the radicchio caesar salad. I love using cabbage and radicchio for salads and I've never thought of using it for caesar. It will look gorgeous on our plates with its bright puple purple color!

Looking forward to seeing what everyone has cast on this week :)

Hugs,
Rosina

Yarn Along

A post of my current read and what is cast on my needles ~ Inspired by Ginny over at {Small Things}

I finished my little pixie hat that I was making last week and thought that I would challenge myself and try a new pattern using circular needles :)

I've had a copy of the cutest little book called Baby Beanies by Amanda Keeys but all of the hats are knit on the round or with 4 needles so I was a little intimidated but I thought that I'd give it a go and try this little beret. I just love the little lace pattern it has :) I'm using a soft merino wool and so far the pink ribbed portion has worked out well but I'm having a bit of trouble joining my green. The first time I didn't join it properly and it didn't knit in the round and the second time when I wrapped the two colors together like it said to in the book it messed up the dashes of green wool showing through the pink for the first purl row so I'm going to have to check out youtube for a little tutorial and see what I'm doing wrong!


What I'm reading this week... the November copy of the British Country Living magazine. Love, love, love this magazine!!! This issue was very fitting for my yarn along post as it a great article on Britain's wool production over the years and another article of thoughts on growing up constantly surrounded by sheep, a wool directory and even an article on one woman's small business of turning fleece to yarn :)

Can't wait to see what everyone else has been up to this week!
Hugs,
Rosina

Valentine Party

I had been planning to put together a little Valentine's party for the kids but my best laid plans went a little sideways *grin* and I fell behind on the preparations. If you happen to follow me on twitter you may have read my crazy message at 1am on valentine's morning when I was actually baking up a storm until about 2 am while I should have only been dreaming of cupcakes & cookies! LOL



Two dozen cupcakes heaped in pink icing and another couple dozen sugar cookies later I was ready to finish my Valentine's cards for them! Haha, did I mention I was seriously running behind?!

I had found the cutest little pattern for a crocheted heart garland and thought that they would make super sweet handmade cards so I only worked the first 2 rounds of the pattern and they were the perfect size to be hot glue gunned onto the cardstock for little ' I ♥ You ' valentines :) I tucked one on Hubby's coffee maker for him to find in the morning and off to bed I went to catch a few zzz's before I would be forced to open my eyes again *grin*.

All of my late night work paid off and everyone was thrilled to find a tin of sugar cookies, icing and sprinkles waiting for them after breakfast :)

You know it was one heck of a good decorating party if your participants are wearing more icing than the cookies and my little 3 year old was a true testament to that! I think that I'm the only one brave enough to eat his cookies to. There was an awful lot of licking going on during the whole affair. LOL

While they decorated I cut out little tea party sandwiches :) Heart shaped peanut butter & banana bites, scalloped cucumber bites all arranged around a stunning bouquet of red marshmallow roses *grin*.

Oh heck it was just one big sugar fest!

Thank goodness the sun was shining and I could send all three of my sugar pops outdoors to burn off some of that buzz on their bikes! LOL

Hope you all had a lip smacking good Valentine's Day to :)

~ Rosina

Heart'felt' Hearts for Valentines Day

When I think of Valentine's Day I think of plump little cherubs with bows and arrows, lots of heart shaped candies, and little 'Be Mine' valentine cards that you leave for loved ones in places they are sure to find them. Nothing says I love you more than a handmade gift, especially when it is made by a child. These little felt hearts are sure to bring a big smile to mom, grandma, aunty, or whomever you pick to share one with this Valentine's Day.

I actually wrote this article in the fall of 2008 for a Canadian homeschool magazine, but the article never made it to print as the magazine folded before it was Valentine's Day. So I thought I'd dust it off and share it with all of you :)



Below are the basic supplies needed to make your felt hearts plus a great practice heart for preschoolers that aren't quite ready for a needle and thread yet. All of this can usually be found very inexpensively at your local dollar store.
Heart shaped template on cardboard
Felt in multiple colours
Embroidery thread
Craft foam sheets
Magnets (optional)
Hole punch
Scissors
Needles
Buttons
Ribbon
Stuffing

Start by making yourself a heart shaped template on cardboard. We used a large cookie cutter for our pattern, but you can easily draw your own if you don't have something to trace. The cardboard will make a nice stiff pattern for your child to trace around with a pen or marker onto your colored felt and then have them cut it out with a sharp pair of scissors. Plastic kindergarten scissors will not cut through felt very easily if at all, so you may want to pre-cut some hearts for your younger children if you don't feel comfortable with them using larger scissors. Once you have your two heart pieces cut out you can start to decorate the one which will be the front of your completed heart with some simple embroidery stitches.

My son really wanted to make a heart with a little phrase on it. So we used a smaller heart inset into a larger heart as shown above and instead of having him stitch the complete words we used the letter 'I' along with the heart and the letter 'U' to symbolize I Love You.

Many of us have younger children that really want to sew just like big brother or big sister but need something really simple, so how about buttons? They are great for beginning sewers since all it requires is to go in and out of the holes, plus you can put a few stitches in first to secure it and they can loop around to their hearts desire. We created a cute little button flower by sewing three buttons on top of each other, adding on two green leaves which my five year old stitched some lovely veins onto and there you have a super easy flower to embellish your heart with. But let's not forget about the preschoolers! Who says you need to have a needle and thread to sew? You can make a quick and easy heart shaped lacing card out of a sheet of craft foam by punching holes around the edges of the heart with a hole punch and using a piece of ribbon or a shoe lace as the thread to weave in and out of it. Now you've created sewing fun for the entire family.

After you have finished decorating the front of your heart it is time to stuff it. Place the front and back pieces of your heart together with the right sides facing outwards and stitch around the outer edge with a simple whip stitch. Make sure you leave an opening somewhere around the edge so that you can get your stuffing inside. You can make it as plump as you like, and when you feel it has enough continue stitching up the outer edge until your heart is completely closed. Now that your heart is all sewn up you can attach a little ribbon hanger to the top of it or glue a magnet to the back with a little bit of hot glue so that it can be used as a fridge magnet.

The only thing left to do now is decide on who to give your heart to :)
Check out another one of our Valentine entries from last year to see what we did with all of our little felt hearts by making a Valentine Tree!

~ Rosina

Valentine's Garland ~ 'Sew' Easy To Make!

We are totally into Valentine's Day mode around here! I know it's a little bit early but if we don't do it now we may not do it at all *grin*. I love paper garland and thought it would be so much fun to make a Valentine themed one.

I made some quick cardboard templates of X's, O's, hearts & kissy lips. Of course we had to have big kissy lips to go with our X's & O's which if you aren't familiar are for kisses & hugs. Perfect for Valentine's day :) I made the templates out of an empty cereal box and traced them onto construction paper and then my little crafty helper, L, cut them all out for me :) Kids and scissors just seem to go hand in hand so this was one fun project.

Then came the fun part for mom :) I took each piece, repeating them in a pattern and sewed them all together with the sewing machine. So easy!! I mean there is no work involved. The machine stitches through them without any trouble and as I finished each one I gently pulled it and the thread out in equal intervals between each piece.

Done :) We swapped the kitchen curtain and put up a fun red gingham one, hung our newly made valentine garland & added some cute little tin birdies that I attached to the curtain to :)

It is so stinking cute and anyone can make this! Have fun creating one of your own :)

~ Rosina