And Another Thing...

Whew! What a great weekend!

This weekend was a whirlwind of activity.  On Friday, we went to our orthodontist's annual ics skating party.  I didn't get any pictures of this, I was way too busy eating pizza, pigging out at the chocolate fountain and ice skating with the kiddos to photograph anything.  Suffice it to say, it rocked!

When we got home, we had to bathe the girls and get them into bed so we could all get up early for Olivia's First Communion!  But first, I put Olivia's hair up in rag curlers.  It was so much fun and she looked so cute!

So when I was done, I shooed her off to bed and finished getting the house ready.  Then we were up early and bustin' our butts to get out the door on time for Olivia's mass.

Ben and Braidon served this mass so I thought I'd include ths shot of them and our beautiful church. 

Olivia in the dress my mom made for her, the sweater I knit for her and my own First Communion viel re-made to be a little more modern.

Olivia with my dad, because my dad made his First Communion this spring too!   After 40 some odd years, he finally relented and became a Catholic.  Olivia actually made her first communion at the Easter vigil with my dad.  This is technically her second communion.

Olivia with Grandma and Grandpa.

Olivia with Grammy and Papaw.

Olivia with Mama and Daddy.

It was a great mass,  Olivia got to read the second reading and enjoyed spending the morning in the limelight for her special event.   It's not very often in our house that you get a whole day just for you!  After mass, we went home and started getting ready for the party, of which I have no pictures beacause I have apparently taken leave of my senses.  I don't know what's wrong with me, people...

On Sunday, we got up and a bee-yutiful morning!  Oliver's parents stayed the night, so Oliver made french toast for everyone to selebrate Mother's Day.  It's super yummy french toast, and uf you ever spend the night at our house, chances are, you'll wake up in the morning to find Oliver in the kitchen, frying up a batch.  Yes, he deep fries his french toast.  Yum-o!

Then we spent the morning outside chatting with Oliver's parents and generally enjoying the first really fabulous day we've had this spring.

Good times :o)

A Whole Lotta FO's

Get ready for it, I need to catch up!

This is the Robin's Egg Blue hat, except mine is the rainbow handspun hat :o)

Saragh's new horse, Equine Fabulous.  She loves her horse!  Raveled here.

Saragh's Twirly Skirt in colors that she picked out herself.  Just sayin'.   Raveled here.

Tulips Sweater for my new little neice.  I can't wait until she fits into it!  Raveled here.

I think that just about catches me up, but if I missed anything, I'll let you know!

My new best friend

While we were in Chicago last week, I stepped into the Crate and Barrel store because I just can't resist brightly colored kitchen-ware.  But, because of the nature of the store, I knew I would be mostly window shopping.  However, I came across this little guy and I instantly knew we were soulmates.  Meet Hank, my knitting buddy...

Hank has many pockets to keep my knitting notions and paraphernalia safe.  On the front, there's a zipper pocket to hold my stich markers and other small things.  There is also a nice pen pocket and a larger pocket behind that is the perfect size for an 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper folded in half.  Very handy and it will keep my patterens tidier than before.

On the other side there are three nice sized pockets that hold my tape measures and darning needle pouch.

On the inside there is enough room to house my craft journal (where I keep bits of inspriation and notes on each project), my scissors, needle guage, crochet hooks and loose needles.

This is what I have been dreaming of for ages and just could not find or atriculate weel enough to make up a pattern.  Everything fits perfectly and the bag can just be tossed into whatever I am taking my knitting in.  I LOVE Hank.

A Beautiful Butterfly...er...Wallaby...

Ta-da!  Olivia's new wallaby sweater in a custom dyed colorway called "A Beautiful Butterfly".  I originally found this yarn at a Yarn Harlot event in Detroit last year, in a fingering/lace weight.  After some deliberation, I messaged the dyer and asked her to do a custom dye in worsted weight for this sweater.   I had her dye it using a superwash merino so that it would last through all three girls, because this yarn did not come cheap.  I knit a 10 and added a little bit of length because Olivia has a long torso and long arms.  This will fit her for at least 2 years and then the other girls should get plenty of wear out of it.

  I'm so happy about how beautiful this turned out!  It has all the colors of the butterfly at the end of The Hungry Little Caterpillar and it is indeed beautiful.  Thar yarn is absolutely wonderful to work with and I enjoyed just about every minute of this project (I admit that the sleeves and the hood were daunting, but that had nothing to do with the yarn, only my impatience).  In fact, there are two colors in this yarn that I am thinking of asking Ann to dye for a sweater for Saragh. 

Christmas Crafting :: Anna's Sugarplum Socks

Simple, cozy wool socks in the perfect colors for Anna.  Raveled here.

FO :: Ezra's Ella Funt

Such a fun knit!  And Ez looks so handsome in his new sweater!

Raveled here

The Boobie Hat

These hats are all the rage right now in the breastfeeding world and I decided to try my hand at creating my own version.  My friend (the mama in the photo) suggessted that a tattoo and peircing would make my hats unique and I have to say they are my favorite parts!  This is a prototype, the next generation will feature ribbing intstead of the roll brim, but will still include the tattoo and peircing.  If you're interested, I'll be taking orders right after Christmas for nursing babies/toddlers/children.

On the Needles

In addition to my Socktoberfest Mystery socks (which will be revealed at the beginning of November), I have been working on Olivia's new Wallaby sweater.  This is one of my all time favorite yarns!  I found the colorway at a Yarn Harlot event in Detroit this past spring and I bought a sock weight skein of it.  After loving that skein for a while, I decided that it would be perfect for Olivia's much needed new sweater.  So I asked Ann of Color Bug Yarns to dye 1000 yards of it for me.   The colorway is called A Beautiful Butterfly because it is all the colors of the butterfly at the end of A Hungry Little Caterpillar.  I love this yarn, not only for the colorway, but because the feel of it is so wonderful.  Not to mention that the colors are great for all three girls which will help justify the cost of the yarn.  I can't wait to see how this sweater turns out and I'll be sure to post pictures when it's all done!

Maker Faire Fun :: The Purl Street Scarf Project

We were so excited when we happened on to the Purl St. Scarf Project booth!  I had not heard of this porject before, but once we knew what was going on, we just had to participate.  Olivia, Anna and I all knit a little bit for the scarf.  The ladies manning the booth were so happy to have the girls help out, they thought it was really neat that they just grabbed some yarn and needles and got to work.  Anna picked a scarf peice that had rather long rows, but she was determined to finishe the row, and she did!  She sat there for a good 20 minutes repeating her little knitting poem over and over again until she had finished her row.  Of course, Olivia snatched up the first pink fuzzy yarn she laid eyes on and got through about 3 rows.  I am so happy that the girls got to take part in this project.  Soon, we'll be able to go visit it and they will be able to see that they helped create something that made the world a little more beautiful and fun.

Swift

This has to be my all time favorite Mother's Day present I have ever gotten.  I am so blessed to have such a talented husband! 

This swift turns like a dream!  It was super easy to use, the movable pegs make it totally customizable for each hank of yarn.  And can you believe it, he's hard at work on a handmade ball winder to go with the swift!  I am such a lucky girl.