Yarn Along - First Finished Object of the Year

Well, I did get what I wanted for Christmas, but not what I wanted for New Year's.  Instead of starting out the New Year with the intentions I wrote about in my last post, I started the year with a stomach virus and all the ickiness that goes along with that sort of sickness.  I'm simply going to call this a false start and begin again this coming weekend when hopefully we are all back to our normal selves, because, of course, it hit all three of us.  Only our poor black lab Easy escaped unscathed, unwalked sadly, but at least healthy with lots of family snuggle time.

I did manage to finish a knitting project as I was only half a dozen rows from completion.  Doing a couple rows a day in-between bouts of discomfort and 3 days later my first finished object of the year is done.  It's yet another, albeit now the last, set of 4 Cozy Coasters by Joelle Hoverson from her book More Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  I used Frog Tree Sport Melange Alpaca yarn held double and US 9/5.5mm needles to make a 4 inch/10 cm square, which I found to be a better size for our mugs than the much smaller size the pattern as written creates.  They will be the first addition to the knitted Christmas Gifts box for 2017 making them the absolute earliest knitted Christmas gift I ever completed which tickles me to no end.  The fact that I finally used up the yarn I purchased nearly four year's ago is just icing on the cake as the saying goes.

As for reading, this being Yarn Along and all, I just finished Sheepish:  Two Women, Fifty Sheep and Enough Wool to Save the Planet  by Catherine Friend.  I borrowed it from the Library on a whim and was I delighted with a wonderful story!  It's about a woman whose partner rather drags her into becoming a sheep farmer, the trials of being a writer and full time farmer and her finally understanding "Fiber Freaks" as she calls them in the beginning of the book.  It was a nice mix of reality (the romance of having my own sheep is now utterly gone), humor (animals are funny after all) and journey of discovery.  The fun fact that their farm is only a few hours from where I live was such an added treat to discover while reading, that we may actually go visit if they still do tours.  

Hopefully your beginning to 2017 went the way of your heart's desire and you are all healthy and well.  Are you finishing old projects or starting the year afresh?  I 'd love to hear all about it!

Turtleneck With a Capital "T"

The past few days have me cruising along on my Banded Turtleneck sweater by Kathy Merrick.  And, when I say turtleneck I mean TURTLENECK!  Wow, did it come out big!  Even when I made it a whole two inches shorter than specified in the pattern.  What do you think?  Is it too much?  I'll definitely be warm wearing it and with the sub zero Fahrenheit temps we've been having in Minnesota I better hurry up and finish it.  The body and neck are completed and I only have the arms left to knit.  Will see how it goes, but so far it's slow as increasing while keeping in pattern I find a bit difficult. 

I noticed something while knitting the arms that I find dismaying and humorous at the same time.  Look at the above swatch and see if you can see it.  In the first row of blue there are squares of the oatmeal colored yarn and on the top blue band there are dashes.  Now, the first is correct and the second is not.  So, which row style did I knit the whole sweater in so far?  The dashes of course!  Yup, I just glazed over that row in the chart over and over and over again.  There is really nothing wrong with changing the pattern, but I do prefer the look of the squares to the dashes. With so much already completed though, the dashes with continue on the arms as well.

My son and I finished the Blackwell Pages' last book Thor's Serpents by K.L. Armstrong and have moved on from the Norse Gods too reading about the Greek Gods in the hugely popular Percy Jackson Series by Rick Riordan.  We are on book 1 The Lightning Thief and enjoying it thus far.  It's a bit sillier, faster paced and more humorous than the Blackwell series which I think I preferred, but it's a bit too early to judge.  I gave my son the DVD of the movie based on this book as a treat to watch after we finish reading the book.  What books are you reading now?

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along

What to Say...

Even working diligently away on my distraction shawl I have very little new to report.  I'm about 2/3 way through the 3rd section (out of 5) and according to my pattern notes that means the shawl is at  60% completion.  In the beginning of a triangle shawl you progress so quickly, as the rows are short, that it pushes you to knit on, but as those rows lengthen it gets to become a bit of a slog.  We are now in that very slow section of the shawl.  I really want to finish it though, so I am going to try and be a monogamous knitter until it's done.  We'll see how that goes...

I usually don't put down what I'm reading for Yarn Along, because frankly after reading aloud to my son each day I'm kinda done reading and would rather knit with my free time.  But, then I got to thinking you might be curious as to what books a nine year old boy finds interesting so here goes.  We have just started Gergor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins.  It's a fantasy series where a boy falls through a grate in his apartment building's laundry room and finds himself in a new world filled with giant bugs, bats and rats.  He learns he is part of a prophecy which might be the key to finding his missing father.  Thus far, it's good and engaging with a little bit of gross humor thrown in for good measure (seriously all you have to say is poop and my son starts rolling with laughter - I so don't get it.)

I'm leaving you today with a photo of my son taken at the MN Landscape Arboretum where we visited this week.  The butterfly sculpture in the background is not pixelated but instead is composed entirely of Legos as were 12 other sculptures on display throughout the gardens.  They are part of a traveling show and if they come through your area they are definitely worth viewing.  Each one lists how many Legos were used along with how many hours to complete - it was fascinating and so fun for kids.

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along.

Slow Progress

The thing about knitting a sweater is it takes a fair amount of time and while progress is definitely made it seems slow due to the size of the project.  My mom's Blaithin sweater is coming along nicely, but it's the slow stockinette "things don't look too different" phase and I'm a bit discouraged.  To help alleviate this feeling, I decided to take a break from the sweater body and start a sleeve as that is the next step in this sweater's construction.  And since I still have troubles knitting with double pointed needles (I discovered my pulling the yarn too tight is what is causing the ladder effect), I purchased a 12 inch circular needle from Chiaogoo so I could seamlessly knit in the round.  Well, let me tell you it's awesome!  I knit the above 10 inches of sleeve yesterday with ease and their are no ladders to be seen.  Yay!  I've tried 9 inch circulars for sock knitting in the past and my fingers cramped up quickly, but the 12 inch seem to be fine in that regard.  So, I think I am a convert and will be knitting my in the round sweater sleeves like this in the future.  Ah, more needles to collect :) 

I'm not reading anything presently, but I'm thinking of getting this book to help conquer the mess which is my house.  It has pretty good reviews and being from Japan with their small housing spaces (small by western standards) I think it might be a good match to our own tiny home.  Many western De-cluttering books have solutions for your home office, but not your home office/dining room/computer gaming room which is how our house functions.  It's not our living room.  It's our living room/ craft room/ exercise dance space/ music room.  See where I'm going with this?  Well, I feel it's at least good enough to download to my ipad for a read as the wait at the library is some 600 requests long and I certainly don't want to buy another book to add to the clutter ;)

Joining in with Nicole for Keep Calm Craft On and Ginny for Yarn Along.

His and Hers Finergerless Mitts

These mitts might look a bit boring after the last pairs I knit, but they will match all my clothes and sometimes you need something that will do just that.  The yarn is my own handspun using the same merino fiber from Ashland that I used in the aforementioned mitts.  It's colored a rich navy blue, called "Midnight", and was originally part of my first plan to spin scrappy yarn.  But that idea went horribly wrong producing yarn that was too ugly to even photograph (really you have to trust me here it was UGLY.)  I'm afraid I was rather wasteful too and threw the yarn in the garbage can.  I hardly ever do that so I'm trying not to feel overly guilty about it. 

Well, after that crash and burn I decided to just ply the navy blue fiber with itself for an everyday pair of mitts for myself.  I picked out this pattern on Ravelry which was free (as I'm still trying to cut down on my hobby  spending) as well as having a nice nubby texture pattern I thought the single colored yarn would show off well.  My only modifications were to go down to a US size 4 needle (I like my mitts snug) and add a couple of pattern repeats to make them the length I wanted.  They came out just as I anticipated, which is a win in my book.

What made them even more winning was my son Sam's admiration of them and his request for a pair for himself.  A couple of years back, when he was 6, Sam put the kibosh down on my knitting anything for him much to my dismay.  I mean really what knitter doesn't want to knit for their children?  So, I was over the moon with his request and quickly whipped out a pair for him using the leftover yarn from mine.  They are a little funky as I only glanced at the pattern thus missing some key points, but of course that's what happens when you relax and get cocky.  You can see my notes on them here.  Sam still thought they were great and put them right on and began making punching jabs in the air such as a Boxer would do.  This made me laugh because I thought of the mitts as keeping his sweet hands warm and he thought super action hero costume.  My son is such a boy.  Ah, I love him.

Joining in with Linda for Creative Friday and Andrea for Fibre Arts Friday.

Fuzzy Weather Equals Fuzzy Sweater

Daylight savings time occurred this past weekend which for me means the dark days of Autumn have begun.  While I love the sunny colorful part of Fall, this time after all the leaves have fallen and the days turn gray and fuzzy is my least favorite time of year.  It's the waiting for Winter to come and blanket us with snow and cold that's hard for me.  Once Winter hits I'm fine again and just tuck in drinking tea, knitting, reading and sitting back to enjoy the inward season.  So, with what I call "fuzzy" weather (you know that dark, drizzly, hazy kind of day) comes knitting and what better to knit than a fuzzy sweater.  

That's right, I'm back to knitting Amber by Lisa Richardson in Cascade Ecological Bulky Wool (that I dyed naturally with indigo) and Aloft super kid mohair yarn from Knit Picks (which gives the sweater it's fuzzy look.)  I love how the very bright mohair yarn gives the more muted indigo a spark of color without being too overt (it is laceweight against bulky yarn after all.)  The body is done and I'm beginning to knit back and forth instead of in the round to split the front from the back (which also gives me two armholes.)  The pattern is not too hard, but I have been relying heavily on notes of other Raveler's to get the fit I want.  I'm gambling a bit too not having made a swatch (I know. You 'd think I'd learn by now after all these years of knitting to make a swatch, but they drive me crazy) on how much the lace will stretch out, but I'm optimistic as it's meant to be loose and has no shaping.  Hopefully I'll finish it in a few weeks if not sooner.

Since this post is linking with Yarn Along I need to share with you my current reading book.  It's Slowspoke - A Unicyclist's Guide to America by Mark Schimmoeller.  It was recommended by this blogger whom I read regularly.  Well, I'm only 70 pages in, and I'm hooked.  It's a memoir but somehow it feels larger than a story of just one man.  He goes back and forth in his narrative from his childhood and youth, to his long distance unicycle trip, to the present and while this could be confusing, instead it flows as naturally as your thoughts flow from one to another.  Really beautiful writing.  

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along and Tami for WIP Wednesday.

Spring Shawl Fever

After knitting a lacy shawl for my mother I believe I caught a Spring Fever of sorts.  This version resulting in the need to knit fingering weight shawls for Spring (if only I could of caught the cleaning fever, ah maybe next year.)  I just finished Miss Winkle yesterday and hope to share it with you here on Friday.  And now I'm currently knitting Pendulum with more yarn from my stash - YAY!  The light teal is another skein from Luna Grey Fiber Arts and the dark teal is some of my own naturally dyed yarn using Myrobalan over-dyed with Indigo.  Don't they look as if they were dyed to match?  

Continuing to use yarn from my stash is pleasing me no end, but I'm doubly pleased to use some of my Indigo dyed yarn.  You see all the yarn I dyed with Indigo is still "crocking" (meaning it the dye rubs off the fibers onto your skin) no matter that I've rinsed it many, many times.  Finally, I purchased some Professional Textile Detergent from Dharma Trading Company to try and remove this excess dye and I was met with success after two very hot water washings.  Lots of blue dye came out and I was so worried I would not be able to use this yarn, but after drying the Indigo did not rub off on my hands as it had before - Victory!  Now only about a dozen more Indigo skeins to wash, but that's a project for another day.

Since this post is for Yarn Along I will mention the book I am currently reading, or rereading in this case, which is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I love Jane Austen and find her soothing to my soul either reading the books or watching the movies made from her books.  This time I am reading it for a book club and I am excited to hear my friends views. Although I love all her books, my favorite has always been Persuasion.  Maybe I can convince my book club to read that one next?

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along and Tami for WIP Wednesdays.

Cute Cozy Coasters

 

Just a short post today as I might have over done it on my last post about my yarn stash.  My latest knitting project is making these Cozy Coasters from Joelle Hoverson's book More Last Minute Gifts.  I modified the pattern by doubling the alpaca sport weight yarn to make it thicker and upped my needle size to size 9s to make the coaster 4 1/4 inch square as opposed to her scant 3 1/4 inch square dimensions.  Once you get the rhythm of the double knitting down they cruise along, BUT they take way more time then the 4 hours per pair she lists in her book.  I would say it's more like 4 hours per coaster as double knitting is just very time consuming.  That said, you may wonder why I would take so much time to knit such a nondescript item as a coaster.  Well, I just really, really like the results:  they are thick (having the 2 layers instead of one,) they are oh so soft (so my mug does not clank down on them,) I have the yarn already (and no other use for it) and I simply love the look of them.  I am making 2 coasters in each color and then using the leftover yarn to knit 3 trivets which will probably be about 6 inches square or there about.

As for my latest read, I must admit I have yet to start it.  My homeschooling friends and I are having a book club meeting about it in 2 weeks so I need to get reading, reading, reading.  It's called Free to Learn by  Peter Gray and is similar in theme to the other book titled the same by Pam Laricchia that I wrote about in my last Yarn Along post.  It's about the importance of play in a child's life and how they learn best while pursuing their own interests.  I am excited about it, but am so tired at the end of the day (when I usually read) that it hasn't been happening.  Hopefully, I'll have more to share about it next week.

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along. 

Simple Things

Dishcloths are one of the simplest things you can knit (especially with this pattern) and yet as satisfying as all get out.  Lagging behind on a big project like a sweater or blanket?  Take the day off and knit some dishcloths.  They finish fast and you can put them to immediate use or give to a friend who might be having a less than wonderful day.  I mean everyone uses dishcloths - everyone.  So, that's what I'm up to today knitting cheery bright orange dishcloths from some Blue Sky Alpacas cotton yarn while reading Stephanie Pearl-McPhee's new book The Amazing Thing About the Way it Goes on my nook app on my ipad.  Laughter and dishcloths simple things are good things.

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along.

Fresh Off the Wheel - Earthy Rainbow Yarn

 

 

Rainbows are my favorite colorway to spin into yarn (maybe you've noticed?), so when I saw this roving in Friends in Fiber's shop I just had to purchase it.  It's a lovely BFL wool blended with a small amount of silk.  Blue Face Leicester is an easy wool to spin as it drafts so effortlessly; good for us beginners.  It spun up into a DK weighted yarn with about 215 yards total.  When I purchased the roving it was definitely an impulse buy (have I mentioned how deary this winter has been?) so I had no plans for what pattern to knit.  I use cowls more than any other knitted item I make so I decided to go with my favorite cowl pattern by Antonia Shankland "Honey Cowl."  This will be my 4th one to date( I did at least give one to my mother.)

Since, I'm joining in with Ginny's Yarn Along (late again, sigh) I thought I would show you my current book: Pam Lariccha's Free to Learn: five ideas for a joyful unschooling life.  We've been on quite a roller coaster ride this first year of homeschooling my son Sam jumping from curriculum to curriculum.  With each switch we'd start out strong then run into a wall were cooperation wasn't happening.  Then I started hearing words I dreaded like "I hate math" and "I don't want to read".  Ack!  Slam on the brakes!  We weren't sure where to go to next until we ran into Sandra Dodd's Unschooling website.  She talks a lot about how learning really happens everywhere and going with your child's interest will teach them what they need to know for their life.  So, we've backed off and are "deschooling" right now while Dan and I read, read, and read about this new to us philosophy.

Yarn Along - Fair Isle Dreams and an Afghan

Taking a break from serious reading this week as I find myself perusing a knitting book called Fair Isle Style over and over.  Do I need another knitting project?  A resounding "NO!" can be heard echoing throughout my house, but dreaming is always fun.  I especially like the Reeva Hat in a traditional tam beret style.

On my needles is an afghan I began last Spring using this pattern with a mix of Lorna's Laces worsted weight yarn.  The pattern is so simple and a really fun knit as you really could just stop at any time.  You start from the middle and work you way out in consecutive squares (the designer also has a circular version.)  So, you could stop right away and have a coaster or a hot pad, then maybe after a little more a chair cushion or pillow, next up a lap blanket or wall hanging, my destination - afghan would be next or finally a bedspread.  Really, a low pressure pattern.  I left it over the summer as, let's face it, wool is hot when draped all over you.  Now, with the cooler temps it has been calling my name.  I'm hoping to knock it out quickly so I can move on to my holiday gift knit list.  Oh, if I would only start on that list in July.  Sigh.

Joining in with Ginny on Small Things for Yarn Along.

Yarn Along - Homeschooling and Superior Socks

So, I'm only into the 4th week of homeschooling my seven year old and already I'm thinking of changing our curriculum.  Did/does this happen to any you?  Sam has been very resistant to the Waldorf based lessons and after attending our MHA Homeschooling Conference I'm seeing that there are many, many other ways of teaching that might suit Sam better.  Individualized teaching is a major perk to home educating right?  I've started by reading this simple book called The Three R's by Harriet Beechick.  I like it, but it's a little loose for me.  I'm realizing I like lessons spelled out a bit more with flexibility for sure and Sam likes games, modeling and anything active.  We're going to head out to the only homeschool bookstore in the state, Heppner's Books, this afternoon and see what they can help us find that might be a good fit for both of us.

Knitting wise I am still working on the socks I started from our trip to Lake Superior.  I decided to step it up a bit and get them finished (usually I just keep them in my purse to fill in any down time out and about) as it is getting noticeably cooler here.  I just used Wendy D. Johnson's Gusset Heel Basic Sock pattern and added a knit three purl one rib to it.  I'm pleased and can't wait to wear them.

Joining in with Ginny for Yarn Along.

Yarn Along

Coming in a little late for Ginny's Yarn Along as I was finishing all those teethers and rattles to send off to British Columbia Canada.  I'm so relieved to be done - phew!  Now I get to focus on something just for fun like Mittens in May! or reading from my latest book The Power of Less by Leo Babauta.

I'm making the mittens for my mom to match her Mother's Day Hat as I had lots of handspun yarn left over.  Here is the pattern I chose which is a very simple basic mitten.  I'm struggling a little bit with "ladders" at the intersections of my double pointed needles so any pointers on avoiding them would be greatly appreciated.

The book I'm currently reading is all about simplifying your life so that you can achieve your goals.  The great thing I find about The Power of Less is that it helps you realize very easy "doable" things you can change to calm the clutter in your life i.e. do you really need to check your email 15 times a day?  And that when we calm are minds and environments we can then focus on what we want to achieve and actually do it.

What's on your needles/hooks and what books are you reading these days?

WIP Wednesday - Mobius Vest

Have you heard of Elizabeth Zimmermann?  It really is hard not to in the knitting world.  So much so that people just refer to her as EZ.  Well, I am going through an EZ phase where I'm reading all her books and making a few sweaters as well.  Her way of constructing a sweater is fascinating to me and how easily she makes the math work out to customize it just for you.  What I'm showing you today is her Mobius Vest from her book Knitting Around.  It's just two long rectangular pieces of garter stitch knitting (with a bit of short row shaping half way through) made into a vest by twisting the rectangles a 180 degrees and seaming up the sides.  That twist gives you the lapels for the front of this cardigan style vest.  It's really that simple.

Now, this vest isn't going to win any current fashion shows, but it's practical, comfy and warm.  Basically, I just had to knit it because I was curious to see how it would turn out.  The I -cord as you go edging, short row shaping, and "afterthought pockets" kept me interested and the garter stitch knitting made it a perfect sweater to knit while visiting with friends.  All I have left is to tack down the second pocket lining and put in a zipper closure.  Of course this has been sitting in my WIP basket for over a month with only these two little things to complete, but I will finish really I will.

The funny thing is I knit this sweater with 3 strikingly different dye lots of the same color Malabrigo worsted weight yarn.  The story goes like this - I bought 3 skeins on Etsy for cheap to knit this vest, but it looked HORRIBLE on me (really I can't say enough bad things about it, it was that awful) so it was frogged and laid in wait for another project.  Then I couldn't find any other garment to knit with that little yarn (yes I know, hats and scarves abound, but I wanted a vest I tell you.)  I thought I could buy a few more skeins of the same color thinking "I can blend the dye lots so no one will know." Well, they were so different blending would look striped so I knit blocks of color intentionally showing off the difference in hue.  When I was just about done I ran out of yarn and ordered 1 more skein.  Ack!  At that point I thought so what and went with it.  All in all I think it looks alright, but it's destiny will probably be a homeward bound sweater. 

 

I tried showing you a few shots on how it fits, but without photographic help tonight you only get a couple of glimpses.  The upper one shows how the lapel and "cap' sleeve look and the lower one shows how the pieces are twisted inward making a V in the back.  After it's finished and blocked I will post again and you can let me know whether I was successful or not with my different dye lots.

What's on your needles this week?

For Kicks and Giggles

Using up every scrap of yarn after I finish a project is a goal of mine.  You've seen what I do with the smallish felt-able bits here and the itty bitty bits here, but what do I do with the 1/2 a skein plus bits?  Well, it depends on the yarn, what I need (or think I need) and what might make a fun gift.  This time around I decided I needed a small bag to carry a sock knitting project with me wherever I go.  Knitting projects tend to get all tangled up in my purse so I thought a separate bag would solve that little problem.  Using the leftovers from my Missing Piece Hobo Bag (yes, it's done and a post will follow as soon as I get pics!) I knitted up this bag from the book Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson.  Here it is:

 

It measures about 8 inches high and 6 inches in diameter.  My modifications were to only do 1 inch before the drawstring holes instead of 3 (since I wanted more bag than collar) and to make the bottom rounded like a hat so it would "sit" nicely next to me.  The original pattern called for a three needle bind off across the bottom making it a flat style bag.  I did decreases just like you'd do for a hat, but with less rows between the decreases and I love the spiral it creates.

The drawstring is a delicate 2 stitch I-cord with wrapped tassels - so fun!

The bag is very roomy with space for a full sock skein, pattern, needles and extras.  The only problem I have with it is that needles poke through the sides thus I will probably be lining this bag with fabric once my sewing machine comes back from the repair shop.  It will lose it's soft drapey quality, but will be more functional.

 

I still have some yarn leftover from making this bag too so stayed tuned for what I did with those little cotton/linen yarn bits.  Anyway, that's my project that was just for "kicks and giggles" this week.  

What do you do for kicks and giggles?

Yarn Along and Handmade Holidays

I found out about this Yarn Along from Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living, but it originates from Ginny of the blog, Small Things. It's a simple picture to share the books we are currently reading and what is on your needles. These are both pursuits that I enjoy especially knitting during this dark colder time of year here in the Upper Midwest.

I'm currently, or I should say still, knitting a striped scarf for my husband for Christmas (hence this also being my Handmade Holiday post). It was supposed to be his gift last year, but seed stitch seems to take me an inordinately long time to knit. My husband does not like wool as he says "It's itchy!" so this scarf is a test of the supposedly non-itchy merino wool. The owner of Linden Hills Yarn and Textile Design LTD remarked when I told her of my dilemma that what my husband is reacting to are the "barr" hairs (the hairs that make the wool fuzzy) that exist in most wools. So, she recommended the Karabella brand's merino wool, and I have to say it is certainly soft! Dan and I choose colors we both like so if the scarf does not work out for him it will then pass on to me. I'm hoping it doesn't itch and he loves it as I plan to secretly make him some fingerless mitts to match as well.

Reading time is something that is hard for me to find time for, hence I have been "reading" this book for quite awhile and I'm still only 30 pages into it. The book is Homemaking as a Social Art - Creating a Home for Body Soul and Spirit by Veronika Van Duin. It talks a lot about rhythm, relationships, artistic environment, caring, self development and more. The Spiritual side of this book is taken in most part from Rudolph Steiner's work, which is how I stumbled across it at our Waldorf School.

I'm hoping to have both finished this book and scarf by Christmas. I just need to eek out some time here and there. How and when do you find time to read?

Making Window Stars

Well I finally tackled a project I've been dying to try - making window stars. You know those beautiful translucent stars you see at Waldorf schools? I've purchased some in the past from harvestmoonbyhand on etsy, but I wanted so many(you know every season a different color scheme etc.) that the cost would have been prohibitive.

With the purchase of this book and some kite paper from Wonderment I was ready to begin. I did look at the book Magical Window Stars, but the stars were quite complex and confusing to my Mama fogged mind.

To start I cut my large square into four small ones and began folding each piece as per the directions.

Then I stared gluing each pieces folds down, then all the pieces into one star! It wasn't too hard and the directions were very easy to follow. Here is the results.

I made green for St. Patrick's day and for the coming Spring here in Minnesota - only 12 more days to go! Really the snow is melting and the weather is a balmy 45 degrees (I know not too balmy in most people's eyes but after being frozen all Winter with temps in the single digits and below it is a major relief!) Here are two others I made this morning.

I'm very pleased with the results and can't wait for what Sam will think when he comes home from school. I think I'll still buy the more complicated stars from harvestmoonbyhand as they intimidate me too much, but these basic ones are for me to make in the future. Maybe I'll do some rainbow ones for Sam's room? What projects have you been working on lately?

New Books

As I was going through Sam's books the other day I decided we needed something new to spruce things up a bit. I like to shop at Half Priced Books, but the books I want for Sam I can never find there. So, I let my fingers do the shopping at Amazon.com. We love Daniela Drescher's "In the Land of Elves, Fairies, and Merfolk" books so I purchased 2 more of her books "The Elves Big Adventure" and "What's Hiding in There".

There's a great fold out picture of Redcap Elf and Bluecap Elf trying to land Redcap's hot air balloon.

As you probably guessed "What's Hiding in There" is a lift the flap book. It's filled with wonderful little discoveries like elves, nuts, butterflies and berries hiding in the forest. Sam loved both books, but "The Elves Big Adventure" is the favorite as it has a dragon (friendly) in the story. What new books have you added to your bookshelf?