Easter

Now that I finally got the Easter photos off my camera, I can put them up to share. However, since I don't have permission from parents to post pics of their kids online, they will be in a private set on my Flickr page. What this means is that I have to recognize you as family or friends and grant you permission to look at them. If you have a flickr account already, please let me know! If not, please consider opening one (its free) so I can share our family photos with you! You can find photos of Easter here.

Finished!

I finished my Fetching fingerless gloves finally. This was my first project knitting in the round and I learned a new cast-on for the project. I also picked up stitches for the first time, though had limited success. There are small holes where I picked them up because I picked up the wrong thread. This was a fun project and I learned a lot in the process.

Today, I started my first sock! It should be easy until I get to the foot... then I'm going to be scared...

Bunnies!

The bunnies are all done! It felt like a never-ending project but I finished them and was able to give them to the kids for Easter. They loved them too! The back legs came apart on Emma and Katy's... but they were the two most likely to actually play with them. Ethan gave his a hug and put it down but knows that "Mom knit them" and Layla acted a little scared of hers. I'm glad I decided to make them and that the kids like them so much.

Baking

Usually, I save my baking energy for Christmastime, but in an effort to eat healthier and not go broke (it shouldn't have to cost more to eat better!) I have decided to make my own bread from time to time. Today it was French bread. I've made this particular recipe before; it works quite well and tastes yummy! Its actually from what should be the basic cookbook in EVERY home (IMO), the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. You know the one... it has the red gingham cover. My mom used this book frequently when we were growing up and now it is the first book I grab when looking for the basics. There are so many new, specialized, gourmet, and fancy cookbooks out there and I admit I own some of them, but this one has never let me down.

I enjoy baking a lot, but don't do it as much as I would like because someone (usually me) has to eat what I've baked. I'm hoping if I move toward fewer cakes and cookies and more breads and healthier muffins, I'll enjoy baking just as much but consume fewer calories as a result :)

Festivities

Well, last weekend was Ethan's birthday and this coming weekend is Easter. Between these two events, I've practically been a knitting fool! For Ethan's birthday, I made him a washcloth with a picture of Winnie the Pooh. For Easter, I'm making knitted bunnies. Four knitted bunnies. I don't know what I was thinking. My grand idea was to give a bunny to each of the "kids"... Meaning Ethan, Katy, Layla, and Cliff's daughter Emma. I made the first one up to see just how easy the pattern was, then knit the fabric for the other three. By the time I finished knitting the fourth one, I was so sick of bunnies, I was ready to dump the project! So far I have sewn up 2 more, they just need their ears sewn on and they'll be done. The fourth one is currently just a square of fabric. It needs to be sewn and the ears need to be knitted. When they're all done, I'll post a photo of the whole bunny family.

Happy Easter!

My first entry

Well, while attempting to sleep the other night, I suddenly felt the need to start a blog. I don't know why, really. I've never been good at keeping a diary or journal.

So, I guess my goal in starting this blog is to chronicle my hobbies and activities of life in general. I'm a single mom of a 4-year-old boy. I live in a smallish town that I love, though I've only been here a year. I'm a knitter, crocheter, scrapbooker, photographer, quilter, and the list goes on and on, depending on my mood. Currently, my focus is knitting. I just taught myself to knit as part of my New Year's Resolution and am really enjoying it. I've joined a knitting group called Knitting Neighbors (they're actually my mom's neighbors, but they were kind enough to include me.)

Today is March 20, "Wear a Sweater Day" to honor what would have been Fred Roger's 80th birthday. Mr. Roger's Neighborhood was a wonderful show and I am only sorry that my son will not have the experience I did of growing up as part of the Neighborhood. In honor of "Wear a Sweater Day," I am wearing my blue Dale of Norway cardigan I purchased many years ago, but still love. Someday, I hope to have the knitting skills to replicate it in another color palate.