Busy, Busy, Busy

Life and preparations for the new baby have accelerated to a considerably fast pace, as well they should. We have a little over a month before we meet our little dude, and while with Hannah we found ourselves twiddling our thumbs during the last month of pregnancy, there just aren't enough hours in the day with this one. Why does that happen with subsequent pregnancies? Let me name a few reasons for me . . .

First, this little one keeps me on my toes. Every day she shows new, stunning independence. There are some days, however, when she understandably regresses. After we assembled the crib for the baby, for instance, she decided she wanted to take her nap there. We obliged, but after her nap we sat down and discussed what it means to be a big sister.

 I explained that yes, the baby will get special privileges like sleeping in Mommy and Daddy's bed or a cozy crib, drinking Mommy's milk, wearing cute little teeny tiny clothes that just won't fit a 3-year-old, etc. But there are also things that big sisters get to do that baby brothers can't! I've been keeping a running list with Hannah, so we can refer to it when life begins to feel unfair for her. Here are a few of the things she and I have named.

Baby brothers can't:
1. Eat ice cream
2. Run and jump and skip
3. Color pictures
4. Eat noodles (Hannah's favorite)
5. Change dresses as many times as they want
6. Call their aunts, uncles and cousins on the phone.
7. Go potty all by themselves
9. Walk
10. Sing all the words to "The Wizard of Oz."

Second, what started out as a small play group with preschool undertones has grown into a full blown preschool co-op with 6 moms and 11 kids! With the big move happening in November, this has been my first chance to host preschool. It just also happens to fall in the last month of my pregnancy! I wanted to make sure I hosted at least once before the baby comes, and what a tornado of joy it has been!

Beautiful puppet theater made by my talented sister in law

Celebrating 3 Kings Day

Dancing with puppets!

Third, I am teaching my final month of piano and voice lessons before taking two months of maternity leave. In December we had a small winter recital (only half of my students were able to attend), and though it was a small, intimate chamber recital held in my folks' living room, it took a lot of coordinating on everyone's part, and I am so happy with how it turned out. Music is such a gift, and I'm so grateful for students who are willing to share it.

Fourth, we are diving headfirst into the world of cloth diapering! We didn't really have this option with Hannah in Japan (at least from what I could tell), and now in America it seems we have too many options. After much research, asking around and deliberation, we (well, I) finally settled on a diapering system that will work for us, and I found a wonderful Etsy shop with the CUTEST cloth diapers I've ever seen. I mean, take a look at these beauties-for-baby's-booty!

Seriously, how can you NOT want to dress your baby's bum in one of these adorable prints?! The bottom three on the right are Happy Heiney's that I picked up at a consignment sale, only to find out later that it was one of my best friends consigning them (small world)! The others were made by Tabitha, a work-at-home-mom with amazing talent. Not only did I discover her wonderful Etsy shop KonstantKrafter while browsing Craigslist for diapers, but I learned that Tabitha lives right here in Leavenworth! I immediately contacted her and asked if there was a way for me to come see and feel her diapers. She had so many fabric options that I was getting overwhelmed making my choices. Tabitha enthusiastically replied and invited me into her home to check out the diapers in person, and the rest is history. With a generous supplement of size small Fuzzibuns diapers from my sister in law, I think we finally have enough diapers to cover our baby. 

Last but not least, I am still knitting and crocheting. :) Here is another shawlette (my third - I really like the pattern!) I made for a dear friend:

And a hot pink owl beanie (pattern from Inner Hooker) for a little one who outgrew her favorite hat:

Whew! This was just going to be a Yarn Along post to link up with Ginny at Small Things, Linda at Natural Suburbia and Donni at The Magic Onions, but it turned into so much more! This is my life in a nutshell right now - beautifully busy, messy and creative. I wouldn't have it any other way. A friend said to me recently, "this baby will slow you down from 100 mph to 1 mph." I'm looking forward to that slower pace, but until then I'll enjoy the chaos. :)

Yarn Along, Other Crafts, and Christmas Snaps

Now that Christmas has passed, I can post some photos of the handmades I gifted to family. You'll probably remember the piggies I was working on a few weeks ago. I'm so happy with how they turned out. These lucky pigs now have a home in Hawaii!

 I also tried my hand at candle making this season. With these little Japanese tea cups I scored at a thrift store I followed this tutorial, adding lavender essential oil to make them fragrant. I think next time I'll add more. :)

 For another sweet nephew I made this aardvark, another Mamma4earth pattern.

 The construction of this paper lantern was therapeutic for me. I worked late into the night before Christmas Eve, and then just sat there and watched it glow while everyone slept. Tutorial found here.

 And another Dory Shawlette for my sister. Seriously, this pattern is so quick and easy to wip up, I want to make one in every color!

 Upon request, I made my husband an extremely warm hat using a combination of Malabrigo worsted and some qiviut (musk ox) lace yarn I won from this blog. Having little desire to try my hand at knitting lace, I knew I wanted to double the qiviut with something equally as decadent and warm, and what could be better than merino wool? The pattern is a simple knit 5, purl 5 which I found on Ravelry. I had made Hans the same hat last year, and wanted to make it longer this time so it could be folded further over his ears for added warmth. It seems my efforts may have been a little too exuberant, as now Hans says the hat is too warm for this unseasonally warm weather. Picky, picky!

 So that's what kept me busy the last week before Christmas, and consequently my progress on Hannah's Milo vest/dress took a hiatus. Maybe I'll have it completed for her birthday in March. I'm not stressing. :)

 And here is what our Christmas looked like. Fondu dinner, a wonderful time with both sides of the family, and my very favorite part, a beautifully crafted handmade Waldorf doll for Hannah. Daria of Nobby Organics made this very special doll for us, and I couldn't be happier with how she turned out. Thank you, Daria!!

My little poser, in her Christmas dress.

Fondu Dinner!

Ready to open presents

Opa tells the Nativity story.

Amazing puppet theater made by Aunt Kerri. Can't wait to use this for preschool!

Every new homeowner's dream come true.

Hannah's new friend, whose current name is "Felicity." We will see if it sticks. The tiny baby doll was another giveaway from Little Chips Handcrafts. Perfect for a little girl expecting a baby brother in 2 months!

 

 I hope your Christmas was merry and bright!

Joining Ginny's Yarn Along at Small Things, Creative Friday with Linda at Natural Suburbia, and Friday's Nature Table at The Magic Onions.

Craft Room Bliss

I always smile when I think that it wasn't me who insisted on a house with a hobby room for all of my crafting supplies, but Hans. I didn't buy an eight-foot foldable craft table, but Hans did. And I didn't organize this cluttered room so that my craft supplies were easily accessible. Yup, all Hans. He says it's because he couldn't stand the chaos of it all - that knowing this mess was lurking in the basement made him anxious. I like to think there's more to it than that . . . that he is nurturing my need to constantly create, and therefore made my creation room his top priority on his days off this week. Either way, I love him for it.

And maybe, just maybe, this means we can have our dining room table back. I wouldn't count on it, though. :)

Making Wooden Figures

 In October we bought a scroll saw for $50 on Craigslist. After much adoring and drooling over wooden toys and figures that we just couldn't afford, I told Hans it was time we learned to make our own. I was impressed with how emphatically he agreed! So we picked up the scroll saw and made our plans. I bought a sheet of pine, traced our figures, and he started cutting.

 At first I was worried about ruining the surprise for Hannah, but I think she has enjoyed being a part of the process even more than the end products!

 While some of the patterns were my own creation, I derived a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. :) Our Nativity set probably won't be completed this Christmas, but that hasn't stopped Hannah from playing with and recognizing the characters in their rough cut form. Childrens' imaginations are very resourceful that way. :)

Now comes the even longer and more tedious task of sanding, sanding sanding. I'm trying to be very zen about my sanding. I want them to feel smooth and warm to the touch. By the time they are all sanded, painted and polished, we'll either be sick of the project or have a life long hobby. Either way, we're  happy in the moment, and that's all that matters, really.

Unravelry :)

Some months back, I watched a youtube video on how to unravel old sweaters for the yarn, and I became obsessed with finding just the right sweater for unraveling. My first victim was this men's extra large multi-colored sweater, which I thrifted for $2. 

 I learned a lot from this sweater. First, if you're going to unravel a sweater, have a plan for how you're going to roll it into balls before you start pulling on that first loose piece of yarn . . . because once you get started, you won't want to stop. Seriously. It's like picking at a peeling sunburn. It's so much fun! But if you don't have a plan, you'll end up with a little thing I like to call "yarn ramen," or "yarn carnage," or better yet, "Yarnage."

Second, if you're looking for your sweater to yield nice long pieces of yarn, pick a sweater that is both one color AND doesn't have surged seams. You want seams that have been hand-stitched together, because a surger just cuts the ends off the sweater pieces, leaving lots of little yarnlets that you can't do much with except throw at the cat. Here is the yarn my sweater yielded. As you can see, there are quite a few smaller balls, and they are all multicolored, because I didn't have patience to separate the colors. This yarn is still sitting in my stash, and I don't really know what to do with it. Any suggestions?

 

So now that I've grown a little wiser, I waited for the right unraveling sweater to jump out at me, and it just so happens this purple number was the one. No surged seams, no felting of the fibers (it's 100% acrylic. I have yet to try and unravel a wool sweater), and oh, what a lovely color!

Now some of you might think, "what a waste of a good sweater!" But it just isn't my style. Or my mother's. Or grandmother's. So here we go! First, take your sweater apart at the seams. You can do this carefully with a seam ripper or small pair of scissors. This sweater was so chunky, I could do it with my fingers. Once you have the sweater in pieces (this one had three - one back and two fronts), find the "sweet spot" where the knitting ends and the magic begins. Get yourself a toilet paper roll, cut a slit on the top, and wedge the yarn end into the slit. This will make it possible to pull the yarn from the CENTER of your ball when you're all done (fantastic!). Then, have a blast unraveling!

Here is the finished product. Four lovely balls of lavender yarn, all for $2 and about an hour of work.

You will most likely still have some yarnlets from the collar. You can use these for doll hair, stuffing for a toy, or just throw them at the cat. He'll thank you.

Look what else I salvaged from our sweater? Four wooden buttons! Score! These probably would have cost 50 cents each at the craft store.

Unlike the first sweater, I knew exactly what I wanted to make from the unraveled yarn this time. Purple is Hannah's favorite color, so matching Milo vests for Hannah and her dolly were my choice. Within 30 minutes of unraveling this sweater, I had already cast on for something new and exciting. :)

And here is my progress as it stands now. This is the biggest garment I've knit thus far. In fact, it's ending up WAY bigger than I'd hoped due to the doubled-up chunkiness of the yarn. So I'm thinking it will end up more like a dress than a vest, which will thrill Hannah to no end. It's hard to believe that my sister taught me how to knit only a year ago. The human brain is truly an amazing thing. It makes me think, "what else can I learn in a year?" Notice the little heart detail. First cable knitting, too!

I hope to get this finished by Christmas, and a matching one for the beautiful doll she's getting for Christmas (more on that later). I better get to work!