Little Bicycle...

In case your wondering, those are her slippers.

A girl has to be prepared for bike riding. ( I know slippers aren't the ideal shoes for this but I wasn't going to argue with her.)

I have also been teaching myself a few stitches. Of embroidary that is.

I think they need some hair. 

Maybe a staff or basket?

This is going to become a little hanging cradle. I hope to get all these done by Lil's birthday at the end of next month!

Today we have been enjoying the sunshine and I finally remembered to bring out my camera! Lil has been learning how to ride a push bicycle. She is finally getting her feet off the ground here and there and going over bumps and grass. She seems to be enjoying herself. Dad and I are taking turns watching her so I get a chance to catch up on my knitting and sit back and watch her happily ride by.

Gratitude*Sunday.....

Joining the beautiful Taryn over at woolymossroots.blogspot.com for Gratitude*Sunday.

Today i am simply thankful for a clean house and the sweet little hands who helped me clean it! I can now take a nice deep breath and RELAX!

A Late Summer Nature Table...

Lil loves this sweet little chickadee and I have had to search for it numerous times  since I brought it home last Thursday. I've even found it in her daddy's car! 

 We are now using the top of our toy shelf for our "nature table". We have been busy bees here getting rid of unneeded things and preparing for school. I haven't been blogging much lately but this will soon change as I will have more time! I remembered to snap a picture of some outdoor gnome play yesterday. The children's gnome home naturally attracted children from around our neighborhood to come play. Good thing we had enough gnomes for everyone!

The Thumbsucker....

Oh, the thumbsucker's  thumb

may look wrinkled and wet

and withered 

and white as the snow.

But the taste of a thumb 

is the sweetest thing yet

as only we thumbsuckers know.

Shel Silverstien-

Lil' has managed to suck her poor thumb raw. I have been having to put lanolin on it 3 times a day and bandage it up with gauze and then put a mitt on it. A lot of work for a little thumb!

WIP Wednesday and Yarn Along..

I just received my copy of All Year Round on Monday! Knitting another simple drawstring bag.

Gratitude*Sunday

Today I am grateful for :
The abundance around me,
The ability to feel,
That I can be conscious of my ego,

My beautiful daughters.
For having the opportunity to have known my mama.

A Knitted Flower Garland...

Maybe this garland will help to draw the children into play?

I used leftover yarn. The next one I male will have a green cord.

A simple flower but very fun to make. I left the tail on the flower and used that to tie each one to the cord.

I hope they like it! 

Today while the girls are out with their daddy, I made a simple garland. I just knit about 10 flowers, felted in a soft yellow center, added a few leaves and attached them to a braided cord. I think the next one I make will have an i cord instead of being braided. I think that will add more stability and look a bit better. I plan on doing another one for Lil's very tiny family gathering we will have. What do you think of my garland? What quick and easy projects do you have to share? Leave a link in your comments! Have a beautiful day!!! I'm off to have a little "ME" time! :)

Sister Love...

When I see pictures of my girls like this, it reminds me that even though they quarrel, they love each other dearly. There is a bond between sisters like nothing else. A special connection that you have with no one else. I see that between my daughters. And I see the same bond with my sister's daughters too. Sisters truly are a blessing! I am so thankful for my sister and I cannot imagine life without her!

Playing With Dough Is Good For The Soul.

Sometimes it's just fun to make a mess!

Especially when you've been putting off housework all day long! Mound of laundry in the background you say? It'll still be there tomorrow so what's the rush? :) 

My juniper wood spreader made a nice little tool for cutting and squishing. 

I had to make a dragon.

And a dragon egg too of course!

We had a great time! Even if there were toys all over and a mound of laundry the size of  Long's Peak, Sometimes it's just better to play!

Last week we made a ton of play dough! We made it using a recipe for koolaid-scented dough and Lil really liked the way it turned out. I like to watch her roll it out and cut and shape it. It seems to calm her to sink her hands into the cool, squishy, smell-good mush.

KCCO... (Nana's Birthday Gift)

Today the girls and I worked on a little gift for my Nana's birthday. We were a bit surprised to hear that her party was tomorrow! (I assumed it was this weekend) That meant we had to make our gift a few days earlier than we had planned to. We made a simple plaque for her. Tory wrote out the saying and I burned it in with the wood burner. We kept Lil' busy coloring her a card. That way she feels included too. I think it may still need a border of some sort and I think we will use raffia for the ties.

Little Knitted Pouch....

I changed the bead to a green one. It looks a lot better now.

Working on Lil's sweater while the girls are playing. It rained last night so it was quite nice outside.  And for once I actually remembered my camera!

This week I've been working on knitting a small purse I can take with me to work. I fell in love with the yarn and had to make something beautiful out of it. I've changed the color of the bead since I took the photo this morning to green and it looks much better. I just knitted a long hat and after knitting about 10 rows I slipped a stitch every 10 stitches so I had room for my i cord drawstring . Next time I think I'll slip a stitch every 5 instead of 10 so it looks a little smoother. I am still learning how to knit more than just a tube or flat things. Being self taught I haven't learned these things as quickly as I've wanted to but I have always been a slow learner. I am also working on a birthday sweater (vest) for Lily's birthday.  My next project is going to be a gift for my Nana's birthday next week. What do you make for someone who has everything they need and want? I was thinking of knitting some sort of throw pillow for her bed to match her new quilt. I'm just stumped. What are you working on?

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Yarn Along and Wip Wednesday on a Thursday!

Just working on a simple drawstring bag in Malabrigo Worsted in Kalidos. I am loving the way the colors are pooling into spirals. I love knitting in bed before I go to sleep. 

Gone Fishin'

I have been trying to work more these past few weeks to save up a little money and Daddy has had the girls. Apparently he is more fun than I am! They love their time with him just like most kids do but he "lets them do cool things that I don't let them do". :)

Knitting Fever...

Yesterday I took the girls to The Loopy Ewe with me so that i could get some yarn for Lily's Birthday sweater and yarn for a future project. I really shouldn't buy yarn without knowing what I am going to knit first but the colors always draw me in. I bought 2 skeins in Malabrigo (my favorite) worsted in Kaleidos. I have never been able to choose a favorite color. It has always been rainbow. This yarn is a soft wash of gentle color and it is absolutely lovely. I am thinking of making a bag out of it. Any ideas?

I wish I could wrap myself in this yummy color. (I guess I could if I knitted a blanket out of it:) )

This is my sister's new baby. I am in love! He is such a sweet guy. Last Saturday I went to help my sister bake my niece's birthday cake and every time I turned around, another one of the 6 girls was holding this puppy like a baby. At one point I noticed him being rocked in the rocking chair. I am also excited for a nephew to be born just before Christmas! I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. This is the first boy to be born between my sister!!! Oh the joy!

You are beautiful.

Beautiful.

Beautiful.

Beautiful!

About a year ago, I stopped shaving my legs. I had had enough with all the time and work taken to make my legs more appealing to others around me. Last week I was at the grocery store with my oldest daughter when behind me I heard "Ew, Gross! Did you see that ladies legs?". I turned around to a group of teenagers snickering and laughing and pointing to me. I will admit, it got to me but I went on and forgot about it. On the car ride home I heard the sound of sniffling and glanced in my rear view mirror to see my daughter crying in the back seat. When I asked her why she was upset she told me it was because of what the kids in the store had said about me and that it made her feel embarrassed that I had hairy legs. That evening I had decided that I would shave my legs for my daughter! And so I did. Later that night, with itchy, naked legs I lay there wondering if I had made the right choice for myself. My daughter was happy but I was not. I am still not happy and I regret the choice to shave. It's a good thing hair grows back! I realize that my choice is not a popular one. I am going to face criticism for choices I make but I'm okay with that. I want my daughters to be proud of their bodies.  I want them to be proud of who they are naturally. I don't want them to think they have to alter themselves to be "normal" or fit in or to be liked by others.I don't want my daughters to feel like body image is something that should imposed upon them. So, here I will stand, and I will stand proud. With my furry stems and tangled hair and a smile on my face, because I know that I am making a stand for women everywhere. On another note, Lammas is here today but I will post about our celebration next week when we celebrate.