Old Lady? I think not!

While the kids are busy with school and Dad's at work, Mom and Gavin are isolated to the house day after day. Gavin is ignoring me more and more, so it's time to find something to do. Old hobbies...here I come.

Many, many years ago my Aunt Nina taught me how to crochet, but I did nothing with it. Then, my Grandma Pickett taught me how to knit a scarf. Again, nothing. I bought a sewing machine with the intention of being that great mom who makes cute outfits for her kiddos and saves so much money because she can repair holes in clothes, blah blah blah. NADA.

I love being creative and crafty... but have NOTHING to show for that love.

Well, not anymore!

My hands have been idle for far too long. So...knitting it is.

I started with what I know best: A simple cast on, followed by knitting row after row to create a scarf. It's not too bad, but very boring and I am tired of scarves. Yes, I know it is the most basic place to start--but I've got it and want to move on.

... ... ...

What's next?

Many web pages later, I settled on a knitted pencil case. Though I certainly don't need one, I thought I could use the pattern, make it a bit larger, and create a bag to keep all my knitting supplies in. This is what it should look like.

Not knowing anything about picking out yarn, I spent at least an hour walking up and down the aisles at Michaels. I probably looked like a weird, crazy lady walking in circles, rubbing yarn after yarn. I settled on a Lion Brand Yarn that is organic cotton. It's soft and not itchy...which is definitely a must in my opinion.

On size 13 needles, this yarn produced a very stretchy bag, with a large gauge. It's a bit sloppy and does NOT hide any imperfections. Here, you see what the piece looked like after knitting the pattern, using Stockinette Stitch. The ends are so messy. I'm not exactly sure what happened. Also, since I added the stripes on my own and wasn't really paying attention to the number of rows for each color, the stripes are very uneven.

I have this strange obsession with the inside of bags, purses, etc. The inside has to be just as cute, if not cuter, than the outside or I won't buy it. Many great purses have been passed by because the inside liner didn't "speak to me". That's not the case with this bag. The inside is by far my favorite part.



The end result is a slightly sloppy, but cute bag that is nothing like the original picture associated with the pattern. Not only did I try to enlarge the pattern, I also added more difficulty that I was ready for by doing stripes using 2 different colored yarns instead of using a self-striping yarn. OH...I also had to hand-sew the fabric lining and zipper for this one. YEP-TOTALLY CRAZY! But, I actually completed a project from start to finish. Exciting! I now have something to show.

2011...it that you?

Did 2010 really end that quick?

Yep...

Over the course of two moves, job changes, and all the other craziness of 2010, we've sort of forgotten about having fun and enjoying life. So, 2011 is all about getting back to having fun and enjoying God's blessings. We're breaking out old hobbies, creating new ones, and actually doing more than sitting around.

First up...what to do when school gets closed for an entire week due to a little snow and A LOT of ice? It's a good thing there is a fresh supply of Christmas presents to keep everyone entertained.


With what seemed like a million tiny pieces of plastic connectors spread all over the TV room floor, we set out building a HUGE, double ferris wheel. Not an easy task.


Morgan and Christian are great engineers. They worked really hard looking at the instruction pictures and following all the tedious steps needed to create their masterpiece.


They only needed a little help and a bunch of encouragement from mom to finish.


After two days, we finally completed the giant, double ferris wheel. It is now proudly displayed in the living room.


Up next, mom's wearing her glasses all the time and turning into an old lady. :)