Part 3- Ahhhhh...

Ok, where were we? I've told you now about our St. Peter trip, about the proposal hat, the discovery of my future engagement ring, and a few other knitted goodies along the way... I guess I'm up to...

Easter:

Easter this year was a knitting extravaganza! I've been knitting a bunch of little projects for Noah and Alice for the several weeks leading up to Easter. I was so inspired to knit eggs and a basket after visiting the Y(the rest of the store name shall remain nameless) to pick up my Yarnharlot tickets. There was a series of very sweet patterns (albeit very expensive patterns) that were a must have- like a pre-Easter gift to me. I get to knit the little darlings and also have the joy of seeing my niece and nephew squeal with joy and they get to actually do the squealing. Win-win for all parties involved. So, check out the impressive (if I do say so myself) results...

Alice walked around all day with eggs in her hands.

Noah had a blast counting them, taking them out of their basket, throwing them high in the air, and letting them hit him in the head... 

The Whole Ensemble. Birds, Nest and of course the.....

Special dozen- 6 eggs for each of my chicks.

Frog Prince for Noah.

Pattern from The Crafty Hedgehog: etsy shop

Raspberry hat for Alice. Berry Cute hat pattern from Fiber Trends.

Jester Slippers for Noah. Old World Booties Pattern from Interweave Press.

Noah-o and Jen-je-o dancing on the slippery floor. Mom and Dad added fabric paint to the soles so this was a one shot dance around the kitchen.

Alice wanted her turn to try them on too.

So, all in all, I'd say Easter was a success. Many laughs, lots of food, and of course, the necessary knitted gifts for my two favorite peeps.

One Busy Month- Part 2

Feb 29:

Let me backtrack one day here, after all it was leap year and that day is definitely worth mentioning. My friend Michelle told me that she heard about a leap year tradition for women who have been waiting for their man to "get on the stick," "get 'er done," "take the plunge"... freaking propose already!!!! Well, the tradition states that on February 29th it is officially allowed for a female to ask for her man's hand in marriage. Now you all know that I'm not THAT traditional and really I can ask Grant to marry me any day of the year but I thought this would make for a funny story for our grandkids (if we ever get there!). So, following tradition, I asked Grant to be my partner for life but instead of presenting him with a ring, I gifted him the Boyfriend hat from Son of a Stitch 'n Bitch. He, of course, gave me his standard response of, "Not yet, dear," but it was a fun weekend....

Isn't he adorable?

March 7:

I had been waiting all year for this weekend. I was scheduled to go to El Lago del Bosque, one of the Concordia Language Villages. The Spanish teacher at school takes a group of students every year to the camp for a weekend filled with language immersion. The language villages are close to my heart as I was a villager at Skogfjorden, the Norwegian Language Village, for many years. I was registered, I got all my shots, and I was nearly packed..... until I realized that I had double booked myself and would be attending a grad class at Hamlin. OOPS!!! I felt VERY bad. I spent several days trying to find a replacement, calling in all the favors that any teacher owed me, and finally, out of the goodness of her heart, an English teacher said she would take my place. I thanked her profusely and informed the Spanish teacher about the switch. We were both relieved but I still felt terrible. As a consolation for my faux pas, I made mittens for both teachers... one in green Cascade with multicolored cool toned Mohair and the other in black Cascade with black and grey Mohair....

Greens for Kari...

Blacks for Bridget....

I felt a bit better after giving the mittens to my dear teacher friends. After attending the first evening of the grad class however, I knew it was meant to be.... I arrived late to class because of terrible traffic and there was only one spot left. I did my best to sneak in but when there's only 15 students, it is a bit difficult. I have taken some other classes from the professor so we discussed what I could do to make up the time. It wasn't a huge deal but once again my nerves were in high gear. I sat down and got to work immediately on the book they were creating. I introduced myself to the two women I was sitting next to and noticed the beautiful wedding rings they were wearing (did I mention that I would like to be married??). As my eyes darted back and forth between the two, I realized the vast differences among rings. Grant and I shopped a bit the previous weekend in St. Peter at a local artist's gallery but he and I hadn't been totally sold on any particular design. After meeting Alicia, my ring decision was over (for now)... Check out the ring designer that she used: Xen Jewelry. So, we shall see... time will tell. Oh, and the book arts class was fun too.....

My finished books from "Making books with Children- Hamlin."

Stay tuned for Part 3....

One Busy Month

I always seem to write when I have some time off from school. I need that time to reflect on what has been going on and more importantly time to get all my pictures downloaded to my computer, edited on Photoshop, and then finally uploaded here. Besides, I would rather be living life than just documenting it.

So, here is the latest....

Feb. 23: 

Baby shower for a kickball friend, Liz. I actually made a fruit pizza from scratch. Believe it or not! There was an entire fruit theme as Liz's parents own a blueberry farm and I made a blueberry and strawberry hat for the expected bundle of joy.

Feb. 24

Jamie, my spinning buddy, and I had a blast on Sunday! We spent the better part of the day dyeing Coopsworth fiber that we purchased last year at Shepherd's Harvest from Hidden Valley Farm and Woolen Mill. This was our third meeting of the minds and we finally have it all figured out. Our dyes were already mixed with vinegar and water but Jamie learned a new technique from a class at Creative Fibers. We experimented with the sprinkle technique using our previously mixed dyes and added some additional powder. The results are amazing!

Isn't she a cutie!!!! And such a safety girl.

 In the pot...

After its steam..

Yet another beauty...

Feb. 28

I finally finished Gabrielle's baby kimono and matching hat. After a bit of help from my friends at Borealis, I discovered how to draw the i-cord tie through the side seam and around the back for the closure. Those pesky things called directions are always difficult to follow if you don't read all the details. OOPS!

OHH!! Is that what they meant when they said, "Sew side seams leaving 1/2 in unsewn on right side seam for tie...."

March 1:

So this isn't knitting related BUT it is an interesting bit that happened this month. Grant and I decided to take a mini-break to St. Peter, MN. We're interested in the town for a possible move in the future. It's located between our parents and it is small enough for Grant and close enough to the cities for me. A very nice compromise, now if we could only get jobs there! We stayed at the only bed and breakfast in town, The March Hare, and it was fabulous. The house is decorated beautifully with bold colors on the walls and large paintings in random styles throughout. Check out the "snack" we received when we arrived.....

You think it looks good, imagine how it tasted!!!!!

Update to be continued....