A Little of This and That

Catching up on knitting pictures and projects - so a little of this and that.

I finally finished up a finglerless glove and hat set. The hat that originally could only have fit a doll - not even a small child. Yes, I know, check your pattern. Now they are full size adult hat and fingerless glove.

You know how you start things with the best of intentions...well, I started this little sock last winter for K and quickly realized that despite the pattern saying it was for 2-4 year olds - there was no way it was going to fit my 3 year old, or for that matter any 3 year old whatsoever, so I left it with only the half the foot and toe to finish and started something new. Today, though, I picked up and finished that little bitty sock. And despite the infamous SSS (Second Sock Syndrome) that plagues many a knitter, I shook my fist a the gods of fate and cast on and completed the cuff today, a good start for a second sock. So these cuties should be up for sale this weekend. And they are really cute, aren't they? It makes you wish you were having a baby, doesn't it? Yeah, me neither, but I wish I knew someone who was having a baby.

And for Christmas, someone special requested a gray scarf. I wouldn't want to give away what the gift looks like, but here is a hint.

Yes, that is a gray ball of yarn. 100% wool from Ireland. And that is all you get.

And for myself I have been working on a lace shawl. I have been wanting to challenge myself with a real lace shawl, so I am and it is going well. Although I haven't actually gotten to the real challenging part of the pattern yet.... lol and it is a beginner's lace shawl pattern. Some of those lace shawls are just so exquisite. Mine is in handpainted purple silk yarn that I bought over a year ago on discount with the knitting guild. It is beautiful and so wonderful to work with, just like luxury.... and all for me. It is going pretty slow due to the other knitting but I have time. This is a project you don't want to rush, you want it all exactly right. This is a small pic of the edging, lace doesn't look so great until it is blocked, so I will just give you a little tease.

And that wraps up a little of this and that.

Family Friday - Just A Bit on My Little Family

This was such a big week. We began homeschooling and I was very unsure of how I was going to do everything. But it went better than I expected. L did work and was very excited about his new lessons. K probably did more bookwork than usual, since she naturally wanted to be just like L. Although she got bored a bit quicker, she did a great job just like her big brother. L read parts of Mark Twain's biography and enjoyed it, I found a game on Division of Wildlife site called the Fish Hatchery Game - which is just amazing since he wants to learn all about Fish, we worked on math, social studies and science - which is all about Fish right now.



And we all definitely like one thing about homeschooling and that is lunch in a cave followed with a beautiful view like this

After storytime we took the pup and hiking. And we ate lunch in a small cave, followed by more hiking until we came to that gorgeous view. See how happy they are? Success.

Ooops, that did look a little small

I had started a yellow hat to match the yellow gloves I recently made. And it was going along nice and quickly - and that should have been the first hint. And I was zipping along, The Husband asked if those were socks - that should have been the second hint, the man knows the size of a head and the size of a leg and those were looking sock size. And finally I think to myself yesterday, this hat looks a little small, so I put it on waste yarn and tried to put it on The Husband's head. Not fitting, so I went to the next smallest head - L's head and no, not even close. Tried little K's head - she told me it hurt when I tried to squish it on.

Uh, yeah, looking at the pattern, I am about 30 stitches around short. It would not fit anyone's head.... so I pulled it out, started over and now I am zipping along.... just not quite as quickly.

If You Are Cold, Put On A Sweater

Just like K does - although this was a summer photo. And yes, I made that sweater. She loves it, and picked out the butterfly button herself.

So, I am definitely the type of mom who tells you to wear a sweater. And if you are cold in the house, you should maybe wear a hat as well. I wear several layers of clothes when it gets cold. I can add and subtract layers as the day warms and then cools. I keep the heat at 64 during the day, which I admit is a bit cool, but I have a nifty swifty programmable thermostat and at dark it goes up a bit, and then you really don't want to know how low I keep it overnight. What? We are under covers, no one has suffered frostbite yet. Heck the kids sleep in blanket sleepers - that means they are basically sleeping in a blanket. And by the time we get up in the morning, it is nice and toasty 65.

The irony is that the little girl I watch afterschool on Mondays, well, she had a short sleeve shirt on yesterday. Sorry, not a good choice at my house. Sure, she wore a coat to school, and later she wore a coat in my house. Not surprising, I often wear my fleece in the house. Which is what made me think about that maybe I keep my house a little cool.

Lest you think I am cruel, she wasn't cold when we made sugar cookies since that meant the oven was on. Ergo, the kitchen was warm, smelled good and was a delightful mess from them decorating. It was nice and cozy and they ate warm sugar cookies and had hot chocalate.....

So if you are cold, put on a handknit sweater and make sugar cookies.

Sparkles

Today was a fun day. I spent much of the morning at the wheel, spinning some beautiful red merino wool that I will be making into Christmas yarn much like this.

I just put this skein up for sale today. Isn't it pretty and seasonal? I like it. I am really excited to add some little ornaments to the next skein to make it totally new and unique.

I Love Our Library!

Recently I heard about libraries that, wait for it, charge for a library card! Not a replacement card, a real card. What? A public library charging for a card? Not only charging, but charging $20 a year! Insanity! What would Ben Franklin say?

I am so thankful that my library does not charge for cards - and only $1 to replace a lost card. Recently they had a little calculator that figures out how much use you get from the library - my family gets over $100 worth of services from the library each month. From books and movies to storytime and Needlearts group and the incredible databases they have - I absolutely love Heritagequest. I can look up census records right from home - just cause I have a library card. Incredible!

Not only that, the people at the library are so nice. They greet K and I by name when we go to storytime. I order books online and they are ready for pickup in a couple days - unless they are really popular, then I do wait, but not for long. One of the security guards leaves books for my husband that he thinks he will enjoy - and he does enjoy them. What wonderful personal service.

This weekend I went to my knitting group at the library. It is a nice group and we enjoy each other's company. One of them even gave me some embroidered shirts for K. Another one gave K a baby blanket for her dolls - I guess a doll blanket. It is just so nice to have a place to meet new people and get together.

So thanks to all the library people out there. I really do love and appreciate all you do.

Family Friday - Russell Lee Brandt

Russell Lee Brandt is technically my father's cousin. His first cousin - but I doubt my father knew him very well. His mother, Grandma Alice, was one of 13 children and by the time my father was born, Russell Lee Brandt was about to be fighting in World War II, so there was quite the age difference.

Yesterday, we honored our veterans and Russell Lee Brandt was one of them. And what he survived is amazing. He was on the USS Indianapolis when it was hit by torpedoes from the Japanese Navy, it sank in 12 minutes. Wow! How scary - 12 minutes to get off a huge cruiser and into the water. And then for 4 days they drifted, were picked off by sharks, exposed to the sun and sea, and no one had even been looking for them! The military did not even know they were hit or sank until a patrol boat saw them. Out of 880 who survived the initial sinking, only 316 soldiers survived the sea. Russell Lee Brandt survived. I don't know how, I don't know how people don't give up. I don't know how he survived and over 500 people did not....

But he did survive and I am so proud of him and all the other great men and women who have served our wonderful country. I have many relatives who have served this country and I thank them all. Thank you veterans, thank you for the freedom we have and thank you for having the will to never give up. You are all heroes.