Finishing

 

 

Knitting along with Ginny this week...

 

 

I finished this little Helena Cardi last week, but took awhile to find an evening to weave in the ends. The more I work with this cardigan and this particular yarn (Knitpicks Swish DK) The more I like it. Great stitch definition, no felting or weird yarn behavior as I knit it up or shoved it in my purse to take along to soccer practices and music rehearsals.

I have a particular weakness for this misty gray on babies for some reason. And now that I know there is an adult version I may find myself knitting one in the near future.

My reading time has been in little bits- 2 or 3 pages here or there- but it's been spent on Insurgent by Veronica Roth these last few weeks. I've read a few duds in the YA Dystopian genre this year, but I'm glad to say that I've gotten along well with this series so far. It's a bit light compared to something like Hunger Games, but still a good read. I'm a bit lost on where to go next with Fiction. My limited evening time has been taken up with knitting and garden planning right now (I know- garden planning in November is weird, but I have to get it in when I have the time and especially since this will be brand new gardening space and needs far more advance planning.)

Now to get Baby Girl into this cardigan and see if she'll sit long enough for a photo!

Yarn Along

{Yarning Along with Ginny for the first time in ages...}

 

 

 

I made a Christmas crafting list a few weeks ago and promptly felt a particular urgency to get the knitting going right away- possibly because I have about 14 handknits on the list.

 

Don't worry... I do this every year and somewhere around December 1 the list gets whittled down into something resembling "actually acheivable" (and then further whittled down around Dec. 20th...)

 

 

 

 

 

This is the first of the official Christmas knits this year: A Helena Cardi for my little girl. I've had this sweet little cardigan on my favorites list for about 3 years now, just waiting for a little girl to knit for. Alas, several nephews later I was still waiting until my own little girl showed up almost six months ago.

 

I'm using Knitpicks Swish DK in a yummy grey... I have this thing about grey cardigans over pink and white on little girls. In fact, this is Ellie's third grey cardigan. I promise to branch out a bit in the future, but for now I'm loving the grey.

 

This is my second project using swish and it is beautiful to knit with for the price. I've been trying to decide if I'm a yarn snob (said in all love and kindness) or not over the past two years, and after spending an unholy amount of money with knitpicks over the past 2 years I think I can safely say that I am, but only when it comes to projects I knit for myself. For kid knitting I love the affordability of Knit Picks so that I can use wool but not break the bank over an item they might only wear for a few months. About half of my knitting is for my kids and another chunk for my nephews, so I'm using Knit Picks yarns for a fair chunk of my knitted work.

 

 

 

 

{Apologies for dull indoors pictures, but have you seen the sun recently? We certainly haven't around here...}

 

 

I'm knitting this Helena in a 12 month size hoping we actually get to use it January through April-ish, but if Ellie keeps growing like she is this cardi may end up being a "Thanksgiving present" and I may knit something else to put under the tree for her. For now, though, I'm one good knitting night away from finished (plus blocking) and I'm calling that a great start on the Christmas knitting for now.

 

 

I am actually reading lately too, though everything is on the kindle these days, so no interesting cover for you- I'm in the middle of Insurgent by Veronica Roth at the moment for my own reading, and in the middle of reading Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone with Ender. He's reading some of it on his own too- his first "big book" as he calls it.

 

 

{Are you Christmas knitting too? Or is just me starting early?}

Oh, Hi!

 

 

 

Oh, HI!!!

 

 

I'm just taking a little ride in the stroller.

 

 

 

 

 

Is that your camera?

 

 

 

 

 

Can it be mine?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh... not mine.

 

 

Just kidding.

 

 

 

I'll just look extra cute so you forget about that whole "tried to steal your camera" thing.

Autumn

 

 

 

 

{The last little bits of summer before autumn really kicks off}

We're out in the warm-ish weather while it is still with us as much as possible.

 

 

Soccer practices and games for two separate teams continues to eat up our week.
(But not for much longer!)

 

 

Thank goodness for the crazy thunderstorms that canceled everything we had going on last Saturday.

 

 

I've never been so glad to have a day shut up in the house with little to do but knit and play legos and coo with the baby.

 

 

And she's not so much of a baby any more- we're definitely into "on the move". She's figured out that she can roll consecutively to get places, and she's already up on her knees "revving" up.

 

 

Mercy.

 

 

I thought I'd have another month or two at least based on what the boys did, but it looks like she'll crawl any day now.

 

So we're baby proofing a bit.
 

 

Mostly making sure that legos stay always always ALWAYS in the boys' room so that she won't get her hands on those tiny little bits.

 

 

Ender turned seven.

NO idea how that happened.


Suddenly I'm being asked if he can stay up just 15 more minutes because 15 more minutes might get him to the end of the chapter he's on.


Suddenly he's making up jokes that actually have a punchline.

He asked when he'll get glasses- we've warned him it's inevitable with the extremely poor vision going down both sides of the family- but it's not because he wants to fit in with all the aunts and uncles or even me or Brian... it's because Harry Potter has glasses.

And Ezra? My sweet Ezra is happily hanging out with everyone.

{Ender has been taking so many pictures lately... and Ellie *always* looks like this in his photos!}


He tried soccer this fall, he officially started Kindergarten, and he is *loving* co-op. I wasn't sure about that last one since he has always been the one to hang back with me at bigger gatherings, but the last few months have really seen him grow in a lovely way. He's excited to be out now, but also likes to tuck in at home, and he's the first to jump up and help whenever he's needed.

He *loves* Ellie and still wants to go in to wake her every morning. He finds such joy in finding ways to make her laugh and he is so gentle with her.

*   *   *

I am still getting back to normal myself, but the last month has been so much better thanks to finally finding some creative time again. I'm finally getting my energy back, and I think we have a good system in place now for this stage of life.

 

While I'm a big fan of summer, I'm so looking forward to the next months where we are home and quiet and maybe a little cold- but all the better to snuggle up in warm blankets in front of the fire with some hot chocolate. Right?

Learning All the Time

After getting a bit of a head start on our school year by starting during the hot days of July we've been able to take some time off from the more structured bits of learning. While I think we all enjoy the routine of our typical school mornings (or else we wouldn't school this way!) it is nice to have the option to call a week "off" and pursue life and projects around us.

In the last week we: 

 

Had three soccer practices

 

Had two soccer games

 

Took a trip to the ballpark for September baseball

 

Spent an afternoon at the local art museum to learn about portraits, self-portraits, still life, and landscapes

 

Made a math facts lapbook (Well, Ender did. I mostly just printed it out for him and offered advice when asked.)

 

Picked hundreds of pears (to can later in the week)

 

Went rollerskating

 

Watched Daddy complete his first 10K

And I started back to work last week, hence the "off" week. 

 

 

 

Today we are continuing our spontaneous learning by:

Making bookmarks (now that we have TWO little readers, we needed several more!)

 

Reading together- this is one part of our "regular" school day that isn't often skipped, even on our "off" days.

 

Quizzing math facts with the aid of that new lapbook

 

Prepping for some family art time this evening when I'm finished teaching in the studio.

Watching this video:

 

 

Loving this Monday morning!