laeroport

Recap #9 (#9, #9) - yarn over....

I couldn't resist that Beatles reference.  Nevermind.  Moving on....

We did not hook up cable  or buy a satellite dish when we moved to Manhattan, and we are so far out in the sticks that we don't get TV reception any other way.  So our watching for the past year+ has been limited to Netflix.  And I have loved it.

Aside from the occassional live sporting event, I have not missed TV at all.  We haven't been regular TV watchers in years.  We didn't have TIVO and frankly, our kids' bedtime routine was more important than making sure we were sitting down at 8:00 to watch some show.  And the beauty of being late to the game is that you can do it all in one go.

So in the last year we've watched all of Heroes and Lost, as well as the first two seasons of Glee, three seasons of The Cosby Show (Aidin's new favorite), half of the Young Indiana Jones Files and a whole lot more that I'm sure I'm forgetting.

But I can't just sit and watch TV.  Nor can I do something too complicated.  So I've made a few afghans.  It started with finishing a thrifted afghan for Aidin.  Then Eliot  picked out some yarn and I made him an afghan, which I will forevermore refer to as "The Lost Blanket" because I made the whole thing watching Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Charley, Hurley, et al.  It is huge.  Each of those blocks is a full skein of yarn.  I think I used 12 skeins, all told.

Then Tim wanted one.  I bought some yarn and stared, but he didn't like my color choices, so I put that one aside and drug him to Hobby Lobby with me to pick out his own colors.  Which he did.  And I love the way it turned out.

Well used already, and covered with lint and fuzz.  Hey ho.  That's the way things go in this house.

Lastly, I crocheted a graduation afghan for our former next door neighbor and favorite babysitter, Ally.  She graduated from high school in Lawrence last spring and started here at K-State this fall.  I made her an appropriately colored throw for her room in the scholarship hall.

 

They are all made the same way.  Single crochet down the row, double crochet back.  The narrower stripes on Tim's and Ally's are two rows of single crochet.  But that's it.  No pattern.  Just making it up as I go along and keeping one eye on the television.

I'm itching to start on another one, but really, how many afghans does one family need?

Autumn

 "When the trees their summer splendor
Change to raiment red and gold,

When the summer moon turns mellow,
And the nights are getting cold;

When the squirrels hide their acorns,
And the woodchucks disappear;

Then we know that it is autumn,
Loveliest season of the year."
-   Carol L. Riser  

the view from here

I keep my laptop on the kitchen table.  When it is time to eat, I move it to the little book case next to my chair, along with all the mail and school papers that threaten to overwhelm us from time to time.  I spend probably 50% of my time each day sitting in this spot.  When it is cold, I love the feel of the warm sun at my back.  It doesn't hurt that my chair is directly over the heat vent.  It is a good place to read a magazine or work out our menu for the week or do a little sewing by hand.  I have a straight view to the front door, the dining room, the family room and what's on the tv, and out the kitchen window. 

And yesterday, while going through photos for the annual Christmas calendar, I discovered two photos from this spot.  In January:

and in October:

I wish I had taken one in April when that redbud tree was in all it's glory.  But just look at the way those succulents on the windowsill have grown!  All from a little cutting from Ben & Martha's wedding almost exactly two years ago.  Amazing how things grow with a little love and light and a good view.

Recap #8 - school sewing

We had our school carnival last spring, which included a basket auction, so I sewed a few things to be included.

Aidin's class sponsored a K-State/KU basket.  Although it nearly gave me hives, I bought one yard of K-State fabric and sewed a K-State tote bag and coffee cuff.  It is lined with black.  I also donated a KU t-shirt to offset all that purple.

Horrible picture.  I think I took it with Aidin's camera.

Eliot's class sponsored a cooking basket.  I made two crocheted dish cloths, two potholders and two aprons - one in parent size and the other child sized.   I  refused to go with any local team colors on this one.

I liked the potholders.  It made me think I should make some new potholders for myself, but of course, I haven't.

Hey ho.

Fun and games

Eliot's reading skills have taken off over the last few months, and as a result, Family Game Night has taken on new popularity now that we can put Candy Land and Hi-Ho Cherry O's behind us.

Life and Clue and Sorry have all been popular.  Battleship has it's ups and downs as *some* people tend to cheat and *other* people storm off in a huff.  I'm hoping we can add Scrabble and Boggle to the mix soon - my Scrabble game seems to have gone AWOL sometime within the last decade.

We spent a good chunk of this afternoon playing Go Fish with Grandma Becky.  She is doing so well - we hope she'll be home in the next week or two.

Okay, I'm signing off on this Sunday night and moving my laptop to make way for the Life board.  I call the green car!  What are your favorite family games?

Recap #7 - some more sewing

I have been busy making little things, none of which have been stressful or time consuming.  Which is why they are easy to forget lest I document.

I made some pincushions from the One Yard Wonders book.  Quick, easy, and cute.  I made a batch of them to congratulate my Bronze Award girls on a job well done.  Another one with the Union Jack went to Stacy,  the winner of a Royal Wedding name drawing on facebook. Silly, but fun.

 

Teachers got coffee cuffs again at the end of the year. 

Eliot's friend, Kaylah, got an apron and my niece, Clare, got a potholder with cash stuffed inside.  I didn't embroider the cupcake - it was something I received years ago in an embroidered patch swap.  I was happy to finally find the right use for it.

 

I've currently got three different embroidery projects on the go.  One of them might see completion in the next week or so.

And thanks for the kid-gift suggestions.  I think part of my dilemma is not knowing what to give as we move up the age scale to tweens and teens.  My own internal struggle with being the mother of a ten year old is no small part of the problem.  And on that front, perhaps I am not alone. :)

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Yo, Daddy-O.  We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to attend the school 50's themed sock hop in honor of the 50th day of school. 

Back tomorrow with more sewing.  Happy 11/11/11 Veteran's Day Friday.

Recap #6 - some sewing

Please bear with me while I record, for my own memory, what I gave to which kid this year......

I made Aidin a 10 shirt for her birthday.  Per her request, there were a lot of different tens on it.  Ten, to be precise.

When two of Aidin's friends turned 10, she made shirts for Macy and Olivia, too.

 

There were birthday bags, too, for Aidin's friend, Amya,

and Eliot's friends, Blake and Max.

  
And for Eliot's friend, Lyric, who already has a tote bag and pencil roll, a t-shirt, and a robot, I made a towel (given along with a boogie board) for his indoor pool party birthday.  He was wrapped up in it when we left the party, so I'm taking that as a win.

And for all of the above gifts, I did not purchase one bit of fabric.  Stash busting has been in full effect.  In fact, the only fabric I've bought all year was a yard of K-State fabric for a school fundraiser (I'll have to find those photos to blog about) and for a special request birthday gift for the nephew. 

More sewing tomorrow..... but in the meantime, I could use some new kid birthday gift suggestions.  Any ideas?

swoonworthy embroidery

I have been swooning over the new Penguin Threads Classic Editions.  These first three by Jillian Tamaki have made me all wanty.  Combine classic literature and beautiful embroidery and I'm hooked.

And now there's word that there will be three more byRachell Sumpter.

 Something to aspire to..... and add to my Christmas list.

Recap #5 - good times

Tim and I have been to ONE concert in the last year.  One.  And it was fantastic.  Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers.

What a great show.  Steve Martin has always been a favorite of ours.  In 6th grade I had a 45 of King Tut.  My entire knowledge of his current banjo repatoire was acquired in one clip from last season's Austin City Limits.

When Tim saw that he would be at the historic Stiefel Theater in Salina, we threw caution to the wind and bought tickets.  Worth Every Penny.

The Steep Canyon Rangers - amazing.

Their fiddle player, Nicky Sanders -  phenomenal. Just listen to his work on Orange Blossom Special and you'll agree.

The CD we bought that night has not left the car stereo.  My kids know all the songs.  I love all the songs.  Driving to Topeka on Sunday, listening to Trail Mix, Yellow Backed Fly came on the radio  and it made me so happy that a.) my kids knew the song right off and 2.) they were excited about it.

Yes, we are dorks. Bluegrass banjo dorks.  And we're okay with that.

What are you listening to?