the work of hands...

I have a goal to be intentional about "making" this summer. Whether that be with yarn, fabric, wood, paint, or food, I have some aspirations.

First of all, I absolutely go a bit crazy when I have a project languishing for too long, That means I have a few things that I absolutely want to get done before we start back to school in August. First of all, I have a pair of socks that I knitted for Brad. I finished the second sock while we were in Tennessee in May, but forgot my dpn's so I couldn't finish the toe. And it's STILL sitting in the project bag now a month later! What?! That's definitely a priority. Not because Brad needs wool socks in the summer, but because I only have several rounds left on that darn sock and it needs finished!

I also want to knock that large crocheted afghan out of the park over the next three months. It's already quite large, but my goal was to make it huge so that multiple bodies could snuggle under it. I was working along at a very nice clip until I ran out of yarn and had to order more and then, subsequently, lost my momentum. I'm using this pattern by Attic24.

Another fun crochet project was the market bag. I literally made that entire thing in under 24 hours, start to finish. I used this pattern, and I love how it turned out. It's a bit bigger than I thought, but that just means I can fit more things into it. This was a practical item for me to make, and I do plan on using it when I visit the little farmer's market we have here in the summer. But I could also see this bag being very useful for the beach as well.

Lily is currently making a crocheted rug out of thrifted sheets. I made another thrift store run yesterday morning for more sheets. One of our local thrift stores sells flat sheets for $1 each, and you really can't pass that up, especially when you have a use for them. I bought enough sheets for her to make her rug, as well as enough for me to make one.

I also have a collection of vintage, thrifted pillowcases that I want to trim with a crochet trim. This will probably not be done this summer, but it's definitely on my list of creative "to-do's." I love the look of these pillowcases. In addition, I bought that charm pack last spring because I wanted to make a quilt. Not an over-the-top quilt, but, rather, just a plain, simple patchwork quilt. I've only ever quilted a few smaller projects, so I think intimidation has been preventing me from actually cutting into that fabric. That's silly though, isn't it?

Handiwork has become a very important pastime here in our home. I suppose it has something to do with me sticking the kids in their highchairs at the age of one with oversized paint brushes and non-toxic paint. They've always just seen the process of creating from both Brad and myself, so I suppose that they would just naturally assume the same habit. In the above photos, the sewn doughnuts, the woven candle mat, the rag rug, and the yarn on the spindle are all projects that Lily completed or is working on right now (plus many, many more.) That girl can create up a cloud of dust when she gets in the frame of mind to do so. She's always got her fingers into a project of some sort. Ian is more interested in working with wood or repurposing things (he gets that from him dad and a bit from me.) He made me the wooden coasters from a tree he cut down behind our house and gave them to me as a Mother's Day gift.

So, yes, we spend a lot of our time making things here in our home. Maybe that's foreign to some people, but I honestly couldn't imagine not making that a priority for our family. And I am absolutely certain that it is essential to me and my peace of mind. It's a big part of how I express myself. I just feel like I must create. Which is one of the reasons I have recently took up watercolor painting again this summer. I used to paint in high school and college and my hands-down favorite medium was watercolor. I recently started a nature journal which I am head-over-heels in love with because it is enabling me to practice painting again and learn and record so much about nature (which is another favorite topic of mine.)

Now I suppose I need to find the time to pursue all of these creative goals/projects this summer. I have a rather good feeling that I will not accomplish near what I would like to because I do spend most days out-of-doors in the summer. But there are always rainy days and nights around the campfire which lend to the "making" mood.

Some other crafty plans I have...

I love this Chevron Crocheted Bag

These would be great for storage.

I love this shawl by Cherry Heart.

I need one of these on the side of my barn.

finally finished

The afghan that I was supposed to have finished for Lily's birthday at the beginning of the month is finally finished. And the only reason that happened is because I had to break down and tell her that I was making it. Unfortunately, it became very evident that it was going to be impossible for her to receive it anytime soon if I stuck to working on it in secret when she was asleep.

Since then, I have been working on it in all of my free minutes. It's made using the crochet linen stitch which is extremely easy but also extremely time-sapping since it's just single crochets alternating with chain stitches. Makes for a slow go. 

But it's done! Yay! And she loves it! Yay! And it's huge, which I'm very much pleased with. The first few photos are of it laying across our queen sized bed. (As a side note: this little dog tried to claim the afghan before I could even give it to Lily. She loves soft, fluffy things.) 

I love making my kids handmade things. In my mind, I see them treasuring them forever, although that may not happen in reality. However, I feel like I give them a little piece of myself (and my life) when I make them something with my own hands. And for me, that's a wonderful feeling, and my whole tribe really seems to love and appreciate the things I make for them. 

Some project notes:

The pattern ~ Beach Stripe Surf Blanket
The yarn ~ Bernat Super Value (Although I would definitely consider myself a yarn snob and reach for the natural fibers for most projects, I have used mainly acrylic yarns for large projects like afghans. They hold up well, I don't have to worry about laundering them in any special way, and they are more economical. This blanket cost about $60 in yarn using the super value yarn. It would have been at least triple that if I had used a wool blend.)

her tenth birthday

Molly literally opens wrapped gifts. She uses her paws and teeth to pull of the paper. It's one of the funniest things I've ever seen.

What a great birthday weekend we had! Tiring, but very enjoyable. 

I spent most of Friday and Saturday baking. Lily had a party with her friends Saturday afternoon, and then we had some family over to celebrate that evening. 

She was beyond excited about the vanity dresser. You can probably see that by the expression on her face in the photos above. It was her favorite gift, she said, and she couldn't believe that we had bought it for her. 

She was also very excited to receive Miss Dandelion Doe (whom she decided to rename Felicity the Fawn.) I did finish it in time, except for the knitted headkerchief which was only half finished by 11:30pm Friday night. And at that point, I was extremely tired and done. I'll finish it up this week. 

She had a wonderful time with her friends. Ian made up a treasure hunt for them to do. It ended in the clothes dryer where they found a basketful of goodies, including craft kits for them to make mood blocks. She received many wonderfully crafty gifts from her friends (they know her so well) and the party ended with some play time outside and a wagon ride around the property. 

I had made homemade oatmeal cream pies for the party with her friends which were absolutely yummy. (I think Ian had also requested the same thing on his tenth birthday.) And then Lily had chosen a chocolate chip coffee cake for the dessert for her family party. I always let my kids pick out homemade desserts for their birthdays. And, truth be told, I always enjoy when they pick something different than the average birthday cake. This past September when Ian turned twelve, he chose a banana cake with cream cheese icing and key lime pie. Those things are much more interesting to make than a box cake!

I think that my favorite part of the weekend was last night. The boys had gone to a Super Bowl party, so Lily and I stayed home. The original plan was for us to watch a movie on Netflix, but we ended up spending the entire evening just talking and coloring in her bedroom. She actually did most of the talking. It was very refreshing to be able to sit there and hear what was on her mind.