A Sweater and a Very Good Book

Lately knitting has taken a back seat to sewing.  Working with fresh, springy fabrics, creating items to be worn and used during the warmer seasons simply seems more appealing at the moment. I go through such phases with my crafting...knitting in fall and winter and sewing in the spring...it's the same every year.  I do, however, always have a knitting project on hand, even in the summer, for rainy afternoons spent on the porch.  Something about knitting while listenig to the pitter patter of rain is so very soothing. The last few weeks I have been working on quilts, summer nighties and even a few things for myself, and I can't wait to share those items with you. I, however, have been forcing myself to work on this sweater for Little #8, which will be very useful once the weather warms a bit. This wool sweater, with its adorable hood, will be perfect for the breezy days of spring when it's too warm for a winter jacket but not warm enough for shirt sleeves.  I am on the home stretch, really. The front and back panels and sleeves are complete.  All that remains is sewing the pieces together and knitting the hood.  I hope to complete it by the end of the month.  I guess I'll have to ignore those pretty spring  fabrics sitting on my sewing table for a few more days.

I have been thoroughly enjoying The Child From the Sea by Elizabeth Goudge.  This historical fiction engrosses us in the story of Lucy Walter and her relationship with King Charles II.  I have such a difficult time putting this book down at night, sometimes reading past midnight; it is just that good!

Joining with Ginny today.

A Chunky Cowl

I had such fun with this project, using size 13 needles and super-soft, super-chunky, alpaca wool. Oh, what lovely yarn (I wasn't the only one, however, that found this wool delightful.  I woke, not once, but twice, to find my entire ball of wool strung and wrapped around every corner of my bedroom. Our kittens thought they had won the jackpot of toys upon discovering it my knitting bag.)! It was my first project using needles larger than a size 9, and it definitely won't be my last. What a gratifying feeling to make such speedy progress! This project was so enjoyable it was actually contagious, inspiring Little #3 (my model) to knit one as well. It was only her second knitting project (the pattern is that simple). She chose a lovely charcoal gray and since her wool was not as floppy as the alpaca I used, she shortened her cowl a bit, which I thought was a wise decision...two different looks using the same pattern, only different wool. She was very sweet in agreeing to model my cowl for me...maybe I can entice her to model her own cowl and let me share her work with you. Not only was it satisfying to be able to start and finish a project so quickly, but the best part was being able to share the project with my daughter, sitting next to each other, near the wood stove, after the youngest Littles were in bed exclaiming on each other's progress and the different look and feel of the individual projects. Being able to share one my passions with my daughter was priceless, and I hope we do it again soon.

Sharing on Frontier Dreams today.

Snowing, Knitting, and Reading

With the snow piling up outside and the temperatures hardly climbing out of the single digits, I find myself quite content to sit next to the fire with knitting needles in hand. My sewing room is a bit on the chilly side, and although I have a few sewing projects that I am anxious to work on, the lure of the warmth of the woodstove quickly draws me out of my sewing room and back to the coziness of the crackling fire.

I have been working on a sweater for Little #8 and have the front, back, and one sleeve complete, but yesterday after receiving an order of  the softest, squishiest, loveliest wool imaginable, I couldn't resist setting aside the sweater to start work on my chunky cowl.  What fun it is to knit with this bulky yarn using size 13 needles! It's amazing how quickly it knits up, and the yarn is ever so soft and warm, making work on this project perfectly comforting.  With another storm on its way for tomorrow, I will be very motivated to complete this project, so I can enjoy its wooly goodness around my neck as soon as possible.

And when the house is quiet and all are asleep, I try to sneak in a few minutes, before my own eyelids start to flutter, to indulge in a Victoria Holt gothic romance. The historical settings and intriguing characters are a bit reminiscent of Downton Abbey and Jane Eyre...a bit of a mystery and a gentle romance...a simple and enjoyable read when I'm feeling sleepy and looking forward to snuggling in for a good night's sleep.

Joining Ginny and Nicole.

Hat Like a Wheel

It seems my posts lately have been predominately related to crafting, but during the bitterly cold New England winters, sewing and knitting keep my hands (and mind) busy. With such cold temperatures one cannot have too many hats, so hats have been flying off the needles. After covering the heads of my big boys, and then making two more for Little #7 and #8 out of the left overs, Little #2 decided it was her turn for a new hat.  Being a teenager, she was very concerned about style, and was quite particular in her choice of pattern and wool.  She knew she wanted a slouchy beanie, which seems to be quite popular right now, and it had to have a pompom. So after browsing through the patterns on Ravelry, Hat Like a Wheel seemed to fit the bill perfectly. She then had the overwhelming job of choosing the right yarn.  I pulled out my Quince and Co. color cards and Knit Picks catalog, and after much deliberation, she finally decided upon Knit Picks Wool of the Andes Tweed in Heather Oyster. I think it was a lovely choice.  The light creamy color matches most everything in her wardrobe, and the tweed gives the hat the organic, rugged touch that she was looking for.

The pattern was actually quite simple, even though I frogged to the ribbing three times.  I concentrated so hard on following the cable pattern, but the smallest things would distract me, and I would forget where I was. For some reason, I could not figure out what to do and ended up ripping it out.  After the third frogging, something just "clicked ", and suddenly the pattern seemed so simple, and I was binding off in no time. I laugh at myself whenever I think about how foolish I was in making the pattern seem so difficult.  It was like a switch was turned on, and I suddenly could "see" the pattern and read my stitches, knowing exactly what was coming next.  I could even work on it in a room of roudy Littles with no difficulty.  Have you ever had that happen to you when working on a project?  Something that seems to difficult and frustrating all of sudden presents itself as being quite simple?

Joining Ginny.

Handmade Christmas Gifts (Part 1, Knitting)

It seems like ages since I have come to my little corner here.  The rush of the holidays and ten very excited children kept me quite occupied.  I did miss you, and it feels so good to be back.  I do hope all of you were blessed with a very happy Christmas and are continuing to enjoy the holiday break. I always look forward to the days between Christmas and New Year's, when I can take a deep breath and savor the slower paced days. It has been nice being able to putter about the house drinking coffee in my pj's until, well, whenever I feel like getting dressed, stopping to play dolls with Little #9, fixing a train track for Little #8, and looking forward to the end of week when Hubby will be home with us.

I wasn't sure where to begin with catching up, so I decided to begin with sharing the knitting projects I worked on for Christmas.  I already shared bits and pieces, but now I can share the finished items. They were small, fun items, perfect for a beginner such as me, except for the Little Bud's Sweater. I am so relieved to have this project completed!  I have been calling it the "sweater of imperfections". I frogged and fixed and frogged and fixed and eventually stopped frogging and fixing and kept knitting.  It's done, and I am ever so glad!  Little #9 is pleased with it and doesn't care a bit that it buttons on the wrong side or that the eye cording is wavy in spots or that the underarms are bit wonky.  It's warm, it's her favorite color, and she is content.

On to the more fun projects...cabled boot cuffs. I used this lovely (free) pattern and Chroma Worsted in Vermont, Sugar Cookie, and Wildflower.  This was my first time working with something other than solid colors and I found it quite fun.  I would, however, like to make a few more boot cuffs in solid, neutral colors for a different look.  

Of course, the men needed warm hats.  Hubby wanted a replacement for the one I made for him last year since it shrunk after accidentally going through the washer and dryer, and both of the older boys were in need of warm head gear.  Hubby's hat is a Regular Guy Beanie, and the boys' hats are London Beanies that I sized up.  I am currently working on a smaller London Beanie for Little #7, using the left overs from his older brothers' hats, and hopefully I will move on to one for Little #8 soon.

Finally, there were headbands for the older girls...all made from left over wool.  I'm so pleased with the way they turned out and especially happy that the girls found them both stylish and warm.  

So, that is a wrap up of my Christmas knitting for 2014.  Like I said, they were mostly simple, small knits, but I am so excited to have learned enough over the past year to feel confident in giving my finished projects as gifts. I already have my eye on a few projects for next Christmas (some a bit more involved, so I better start early).

Wishing you all a very happy New Year!!!

Joining Ginny today.

Christmas Knitting

Good morning to you all.  It's good to be back.  I do hope you all enjoyed a blessed Thanksgiving and are experiencing a beautiful start to your new week. With the feel of winter heavily upon us, I have finally gotten back into the groove of knitting and am working on a number of Christmas gifts. I've finished knitting two of these headbands and am working on a third.  I still have to block and sew the ends together, but I am so pleased with the way they are turning out.  The pattern is very simple to follow and knits up quickly. I was able to use left-overs in my remnant basket, Capra Cashmere, Andean Treasure, and Swish Worsted. These warm little headbands will be tucked into the older girls' Christmas stockings.

I'm still working on the Little Bud's sweater for Little #9. I had intended to have this sweater finished for her to wear last spring, but after slamming my hand in the car door, I was unable to knit for several months.  When my finger finally healed, summer was in full swing, and I hardly ever picked up my knitting.  A row may have been knit here and there while sitting on the porch, but usually I ended up tearing more out than I knit. Now that I am back in the swing of knitting, I still am having difficulty finishing this sweater, and it haunts me and taunts me, sitting in my knitting bag begging to be completed.  I want this sweater done! I have decided that I am going to do what it takes to finish it in time to give it to Little #9 for Christmas. I am working on the final sleeve and (hopefully) will be able to block and sew on buttons very soon.  I do hope she likes it.

I've also been working on these boot cuffs.  When my older girls told me they wanted colorful socks to wear with their boots, I thought these cuffs would be perfect.  I chose Chroma Worsted, and I am having such fun working with this yarn. It's fascinating watching the stripes evolve. The finished pair was made using the Sugar Cookie colorway, and I am now working on Vermont.  When I started this project, I realized the needles I needed were already being used on the sleeve of the Little Bud's sweater.  Not wanting to wait until I finished the sweater (that beautiful new yarn just had to be worked with immediately), I decided it was time to learn the magic loop method of knitting in the round. After many unsuccessful attempts, I finally found this tutorial (for dummies) and was able to make sense of the process and successfully knit a few rounds.  I am so glad that I was forced to learn this method because I now love it.  I just want to keep knitting up these cute little boot cuffs...oh, goodness, just another thing to keep me from finishing that nagging sweater!

Even though my days are still very full, it feels good to finally be at home most of the time, doing the crafts and handiwork that I enjoy so much.  In fact, due to freezing rain, the entire day on Sunday was spent at home tucked inside our cozy home, and Hubby practically insisted that I do nothing but sit in my chair and knit.  I made no argument.

What are you working on this season?  I would love to have you share your handiwork by leaving a comment or link.  It's always fun to see what others are creating.

Linking up with Nicole and Ginny.

First Snow

I have missed you all!  I'm sorry for my absence, but I have found it almost impossible to find the time to sit down and work on my blog. I decided last week to give the Littles a week off from their school lessons and allow myself some time to catch up on the mountain of things that I put off during our very busy soccer season. Many of the Littles were still waiting for me to pull their fall/winter clothing out of storage; actually, I had to pull mine out as well.  A few bedrooms needed cleaning and organizing (Oh, what a job that was!), and two out-of-state trips to the Children's Hosptial with Little #6 were made.  The yard and garden needed last bit tidying up before winter. I don't think we could have cut it any closer as we were raking up the last bit of leaves and tilling the garden only hours before wintry weather was upon us. A daunting pile of papers was finally filed, phone calls made, bills paid, and appointments were scheduled and rescheduled. It's amazing how quickly the little things add up when not attended to each day.

In addition to the many things that I wanted to catch up on, I felt a bit (okay, maybe more than a bit) discouraged, wondering if I could actually keep up with my blog.  I've enjoyed this little space I call my own, this little diary of our life on the farm.  I love being able to look back at our lives over the past year and have pictures and writings of the simple things that I normally might not have remembered or recorded.  I also have truly appreciated the opportunity to "meet" others from all over the world and cultivate friendships with those I may never have met if it wasn't for the lovely little niche of bloggers that I have found and connected with through blogging.  I have been discouraged about the amount of time, or rather the lack of time, that I have had for blogging.  My content is lacking because I don't feel that I have material that is interesting enough to share.  I feel that I have just been scurrying to keep up with everyday chores...dishes, meals, errands, dirty diapers, laundry...all, of which, are not very interesting.  In addition, the youngest Littles have been doing a great job keeping their mama on her toes. We have a two, a three, and a four year old all who seem to be in the throes of the terrible twos...one just coming into it, and one that has been there a while and doesn't want to leave.  I actually had considered giving up on my blog, but the thought made me so very sad.  I just couldn't walk away from it.  I wanted to stay connected to the friends I have made, so I've decided to keep writing, but taking it slowly, not pressuring myself to write on a schedule and allowing myself to be okay with fewer pictures or less words, remembering that simple is okay.  I'm hoping with time we will get caught up here on the farm and fall back into a healthy rhythm (and maybe my four year old will decide he is too old be stuck in the terrible twos).

So, now that I have shared all of this with you (I wasn't planning on doing so), I want to get back to the original intent of this post.  Sunday morning we woke to unseasonably wintery weather, our first snow storm of the season. Much hustling had been done the day before in preparation of the storm, so I was quite content to snuggle in next to the wood stove and take the first day off we have had in many weeks. I hadn't done much knitting since spring, except for the occasional row or two on the Little Bud's sweater.  I needed something fresh to work on, and this cabled headband for Little #2 was just the ticket.  I'm looking forward to catching up and enjoying more peaceful days in front of the fire with a knittig project in hand.