Things that make me smile...

....a kiss from my hubby

....a child sleeping

....knowing tomorrow is another day

....sipping hot cocoa

....laughing

....dinner on the table

....birds singing

....a good nights sleep

....reading a good book

....knowing that tomorrow is another day

....fresh flowers

....hot chicken noodle soup

Bouncing around

What energy these kids have. We went to a birthday party and Z jumped in a huge inflatable all night. She had a blast. The funniest thing though is she is so tiny that she just flies up in the air everytime someone bounces...hahaha! Lots of fun.

This was the same night as the birthday party we were going to. Bela loved her legwarmers! What a hit they were & how cute!!

Midnight Fuel...

It always amazes me how drained I get after a busy day. Spending a long day at friends house enjoying the 58 degree weather was just what the doctor ordered. Today seemed like an early spring day. Blue skies, birds flying, sun shining, & hanging out on the porch was hard to imagine in the middle of January in Colorado, but it happened. Sitting back & watching the kids play while sipping on yummy margaritas was how I would like to spend my weekends. With worn out toddler in tow, we headed for home. With no real nap for the rugrat, you would think sleep would come early...guess not. Z woke at 11:30 needing her mama. The joy it still brings me to be able to nurse her and have that unending love that only a mother can experience, is wonderful. I know my days of nursing are limited as she gets older, but I will cherish and long for them each day that comes. After soothing her back to sleep, I myself feel the need for a midnight snack. Hmm, what shall I have?? Thinking of my childhood and spending many nights with my grandparents, I remember. Bananas & blueberries with milk. Perfect. Oh, so satisfying as the flavors burst in my mouth. Now if only I too could drift off to sleep......

Cold Winter Days

I started these very cute legwarmers for my friends 5 year old birthday...hopefully she will love them as much as I do. This yarn is making the coolest pattern when it is knitted up. I love the bright rainbow colors. She can wear these with anything. One done, one to go. Birthday party is tomorrow night.

My husband & a couple guys went up into the mountains and cut down 6 cords of firewood. After a long day of chopping and splitting we have a mountain of warmth. Hopefully our days and nights will be cozy inside. There is nothing I enjoy more than a toasty fire and an evening of knitting. Hope your winter is as warm as mine will be.

One more wrap

I really wanted to make a nice winter wrap. I had some Natures Spun worsted weight yarn that I found in my stash.. so I began. I am using a diagonal seed pattern, very easy. The color I am using is a wineberry color. I think it looks warm & will hopefully have it finished in a week!! Yeah right. Anyway, here is what I have done so far....

Exciting new things

I decided to try my hand at dyeing some yarn that got a slight stain on it. I used the koolaid/ crockpot method. I turned out much brighter than I wanted...but I will find something to use it for. The process was very easy.

Materials needed:

Yarn, needs to be an animal product

10 packages of koolaid (less if you want it lighter, more for darker/brighter)

3 cups of water

1 cup of vinegar

crock pot large enough to hold yarn & water.

Make sure your yarn is in a hank. To do this wind it around a chair. Tie it loosely in four areas. Make sure it is not to tightYou want to be able to get a couple fingers under it.

Soak yarn in tub or sink of cool water. Do NOT move it around, this can shrink it. Gently press yarn under the water.

Combine water & vinegar, then add koolaid. Stir until completely dissolved. Pour into crock pot & place yarn in crock pot.

Carefully lift the yarn out of the water & squeeze out the water. Place in the crock pot & press into the solution. Add mor vinegar solution to immerse completely if needed. Turn crock pot to low & cover. Leave this for about 30 minutes. After about a half hour, check the yarn to see if it is accepting the dye. Lift the yarn where you tied it. Be careful, it is HOT. Now leave it for about 3 hrs.

You will know when it is finished when all the dye is in the yarn. Then water will be clear again. Turn the crock pot off. & let the yarn rest until it is cool enough to handle.

Fill sink with water the same temp as the yarn and carefully place into sink. Gently push the yarn down several times then drain water and squeeze excess water out. Repeat this process a couple times. The water needs to be clear. Lay the yarn on a towel and roll it until all water is gone. Let the yarn air dry.

Mine smelled like koolaid for a few days..but it did go away.

Have Fun!

Needles working...

I am working on a beautiful shawl right now. The pattern is Meadow Flowers Shawl from The Knitters Stash book. I am using Brooks Farm Primero yarn. The hand of this yarn is qwonderful. I use there yarn for many things. I had to take this shawl out 3 times...I can't do it anymore because the yarn is getting fuzzy...no more messing up. I can't wait to finish this.

Sweet Christmas Stocking

I never thought I would get this done in time. For those of you waiting...here is the finished Christmas stocking for Z. I did get it finished by Christmas. It was such a fun thing to knit. I used yarn from Be Sweet http://www.besweetproducts.com/ ( ribbon ball, knobby ball, and mohair ball).

Hmm,

Trying to figure out how to fit this in my life...