2011 recap

 

I know it's a little late into the New Year. I had to decided to do this, and then I had to get a little help from a friend to remember how to do this. But here are some high points from 2011. I had a hard time picking just these 36 pictures. There were many many more that I wanted to include, but the mosiac maker would only allow 36 tiles. Enjoy, I know I did, looking back through images from the past year. 1. Side view, 2. DSC09149, 3. DSC09178, 4. DSC09181, 5. DSC09276, 6. DSC09295, 7. DSC09315, 8. DSC09342, 9. My little Princess, 10. DSC09378, 11. closed with swifts, 12. DSC09505, 13. Navajo ply on Vespera, 14. Avion mine, 15. We need kickstands, 16. Untitled, 17. Visit to Tom Bihn, 18. My sweet precious nephew, 19. DSC09813, 20. Apple chips, yum!, 21. Untitled, 22. Ham the rescue dog, 23. Camper and mini camper, 24. No more spider man, 25. The rough section, 26. Studio and School preview, 27. Untitled, 28. Beach ride, 29. Untitled, 30. Untitled, 31. Untitled, 32. Lunabudknit art batt spun wild, 33. Untitled, 34. New favorite spinning basket!, 35. Untitled, 36. First ride

Simpler Toys for Simpler Times

, a photo by mom2rays on Flickr.

Recently we have significantly cut back on TV, videogames and computer time for the kids and guess what? I have new kids! Suddenly reading, constructing a megastructure or drawing an illustrated picture is fun. Imagine that!

I love this and want to wholeheartedly encourage it because it has been kind of a hard transition for the kids from what they are used to and it's my fault for compromising on what I knew to be the case.  If they don't have those distractions, they recreate themselves in a more creative way.

Today when we were shopping for groceries at Yoder's Amish Market, Charmie found a yoyo and Zuri found some stamps (her latest fixation). Mardie wasn't with us because this was his special weekend with his grandparents for his birthday.

I was kind of surprised that Charmie and Zuri were fascinated with the toys they selected. Usually they are interested in Legos or dolls or other more complicated toys. These were simple. . .

I decided to make Mardie's toy since he wasn't there to pick it out. By choosing something different from Charmie, they can both learn new skills, and there should be less competition between them over newly gained skills. Hopefully, I may even see them encouraging one another o.O

Mardie's footbag is made with green embroidery floss and craft thread with a size C hook. The pattern is a free Ravelry download. It was rather quick to make and I stuffed it with Poly Pellets vs. lentils in case it gets wet and needs a cleaning.

I am thinking of trying to make a set of juggling balls as a Christmas present for a special someone who wants to learn how to juggle.

bib, wipe, burp, just cloth????

I finally broke down and bought some of the yummy organic yarn I've been seeing in stores. Lion Brand Nature's Choice Organic cotton. It is more of a Aran to light bulky weight and a single strand twisted around a mass of soft cotton fibers vs. a twisted cord. It's very soft. I liked the look crocheted vs. knit.
Here are some baby cloth's I made. The sides are between 8" and 10". This was from one ball of the strawberry and one of the walnut. I have since gotten one ball of Pistacio and one of Pecan and am working on three more in the middle of my other projects.
My plan is to use these as bibs with my bib clips, but also to use them as a wipe or burp or lappad if needed. So basically multi purpose cloths for the diaper bag or at home.
If they survive till after Zuri I can use them as hot pads or kitchen cloths.

My 2 Ray Boys

Here Mardie and Charmie sit watching Clifford, or as Charmie says, Pi'pard wearing wool. Mardie has on a hand crochet Tickle Turdle crochet wrap wool cover with a snappi fastener. I made it from Cascade 220. Charmie has on his Down Under triangle soaker with lizzard embelishments from various wool scraps. The body is from LB fishermans wool.
my 2 ray boys