Firsts

First:
lace
shawl
cables
beaded row counter

I found The Luxurious Nursing Shawl in my new Nature Babies book and knew that I needed to tackle lace to have one, an added bonus is that I am also learing how to make cables! At my knitting group meeting I also learned how to make beaded row counters like the one to the right of my work. This is the first knit shawl that I have made. I have always wanted to learn these things. I guess I was just afraid to try before.

Barter Clogs

I've always been a fan of well made toys. I love, love, love HABA toys and all of my children have had some to play with, especially in the early years. I had a renewed interest in them however with the recent scares/concerns over lead in the materials that make up toys. So when Z was on her way I made a conscious effort to make sure that the toys that were to be for her early years were safe. Either hand made in the US with safe, if possible organic materials, and I added a few more toys from HABA.
Some of them were used and some were new. A few of the used ones came from my dear friend Vicki. Her girls have outgrown them so it was time to pass them along. We decided to barter. The first installment was the socks I completed right before Z was born.
Here's the 2nd installment.
You can see from this picture before felting how oversized they are.

Here they are after felting.

They turned out just like I watned them to and only after 10 minutes. I hoep they fit just right and if they need a little tweaking, Vicki can re-wet them and custom felt them the rest of the way!

what I see when I wake

3-in-1 bag done

1 week of knitting
1.5 machine loads of felting
70 minutes on dryer rack in dryer +1 evening air drying time
3 hrs fabric shopping
20 min to cut lining fabric
30 min machine seaming
3 hrs hand sewing
all with Zuri breaks, and it's finally done!

pre felting, yes this covers the chair!

Post felting.

Lining, with compartments for:
1. Zuri
2. Knitting
3. Me ;)

a few pics

A quick family pic for Mardie's Awana Valentine.

Daddy and Z.

Z on me. Catching a nap.

naptime

z's helmet

She still needs a hat outside since it's still cold many days,or the only thing exposed is her head when she's in the sling. She has hats but I thought she really needed one made by me. She had a growth spurt so this is only going to last a week or two.

daddy daughter time

From time to time I need Rocky to watch Z for a few minutes so I can get something done. . . or just grab a quick break. Here's some shots of what I saw. Of course I'm now the other woman! Sorry for the blury pics but I didn't want to turn on the flash and they were bouncing and moving this whole time.

I finally broke down and turned on the flash :( the lighting is all wonky though.

sneak peek

Here's a sneak peek at the bag before I line it. Our Family Blog has the story for this pic.

Awana drive In Movie Night

Two weeks ago for Awana the boys had a drive in movie night. Rocky built cardboard cars for them. Mardie had Lightning McQueen and Charmie had a Monster Truck. The rules were the car needed to be built entirely from cardboard, paper, tape or staples. Wood, glue, metal and plastic were not allowed. The boys loved their vehicles. Rocky really loves his boys and was so happy to do this for them.
The kids watched the movie Cars and ate popcord and had Sprite or Juice to drink. I made a few batches of my carmel corn to mix with the regular popcorn to add to their treat.

Zuri tagged along for a bit of the time. She just watched and took it all in.

New things

Last night in lieu of knit night (it wasn't a knit night week anway) Janet and Jenny came over. Janet brought her rovings and some drop spindles and gave beginning lessons in learning how to get started spinning. It was neat to try. I had to take a ton of breaks for ms. Z. I will definately like to try again when I can give it more dedicated time.
Jenny brought her jewlery making supplies and Janet brought some too and we learned how to make the prettiest stitch markers. I got to make one. I have another planned but not completed.
We had a lot of fun and I definately would like to do it again.
I've been wanting a bracelet for Zuri. I had not designed it yet. This morning since Rocky had the boys I took ms Z to The Bead Lady and made her this. Her birthstone is Turquoise. This bracelet is so tiny and it has just a little wiggle room for growing. The beads and findings are sterling silver.

I made a felted bag called My Constant Companion 2 weeks ago and have been using it as my diaper bag. Today My mommy and I went to MaryJo's to get lining fabric. I can't wait for a moment to be able to sit and sew it!
I also have some new shelves/racks that I'm trying to integrate into the room as I get time to move things around.