Yarn Along

Today's Yarn Along is more of a Thread Along since sewing has been foremost on my plate lately.
We're celebrating Halloween today, as many of you are as well, and I had a little last minute sewing to buzz through this morning.
The Younger has a costume that he saw at Menards a month or so ago, a faceless ghoul, which I would be happy to let him wear to school today but, unfortunately, there are no scary or violent costumes at school.
So, instead, he'll go as a dragon this afternoon and change for trick-or-treating tonight.
We didn't have a dragon costume, per se, but we did have a stegosaurus costume that my Mom made for my brother many years ago.
The Younger has worn it a few times, and it's adorable.

 So, rather than re-invent the wheel, or dragon, I made some wings this morning.

 I found possibly the last wire hanger in the house and stuck it through the wings to give them a little structure,

 In an update from last week's Keep Calm and Craft On, I finished my shoes.
They fit o.k., they're fine for inside stuff, I wore them for ECFE where I spent the whole time on the floor and they worked great for that.

 As far as knitting goes, I finished up one leg on the doll that I started two weeks ago, and the red is the beginning of her dress.

 Gratuitous cuteness of the Youngest and the Elder all dressed up for Halloween.

Be safe and eat lots of candy, All!

Shoes!

Something special for Keep Calm and Craft On today.
I am making shoes.
For myself.
It's always been a little dream of mine to make my entire wardrobe from my hat to my shoes.
About a year ago I came across Shoeology and that dream became a possibility.
She has patterns for all sorts of shoes, and she has a soling material that will work out in the real world.
Around the time when I bought the pattern I happened to be at SR Harris, a local fabric warehouse, and I found this amazing stamped leather which I thought could make a swingin' pair of shoes.
The color is a little more red than this photo allows.

The first thing that the pattern says is make a trial pair of shoes, so before I cut into this stuff I decided to make a pair of shoes to wear in my ECFE class.

We're required to have shoes that haven't been out in the big dirty world but could be used outside in case of a fire drill, and I keep forgetting to bring slippers or anything of that sort, so these will be specifically for that purpose and I'll just keep them in my diaper bag.

The outer fabric is from a bag of slipcovers I got at IKEA in the as is section a long time ago, and the lining was stash as was the button.
I am really pleased with the look, though they're a little roomy. I may try these again in the 8.5 size instead of the 9. I'm also a little annoyed that I chose to machine sew the straps instead of by hand. I'll do that differently on the next one too.
What's on your creative plate today?

Walking With My Babes

The Hubby and The Elder went on a walk today for some special Dada Daughter Time, so I The Younger, The Youngest and I went to the woods.

 This was a deep creek this summer the last time we were here.

We, like most of America, have had a little drought the past month or two and you can certainly see it in the creek.
It made for some terrific climbing and adventuring with The Younger. The Youngest spent the entire time in the sling, but I can imagine her scrambling up and down these rocky shores next fall.

Handmade Ornament Swap

Christina Lowry is hosting an ornament swap on her blog.

I signed up a while ago, and I meant to share the info here but time flew by and tomorrow is the last day!

Head on over, and she'll pair you up with a secret swap partner. 

I have been swapping Christmas ornaments for the past 5 years, and I really enjoy the making and receiving lovely packages in the mail.
I will say, too, that my tree is the best looking tree around since it's all full of handmade goodness.

Yarn Along

Yarn Along day!
I re-knit the first slipper for the Elder and ran out of yarn a third of the way into the second, since I had used up so much yarn in my first try.
Since I was in a knitterly place I started on a shop model for the yarn store - a doll from Knitted Dolls by Arne & Carlos.
The dolls in this book are really cool; the construction, the design aesthetic, their names, the whole book is fun from start to finish.

I'm reading The Mysterious Island right now. I had always wanted to try a novel by Jules Verne, though I had heard that his writing was pretty dense, and when I saw this was one of the free books on the Kindle I thought this might be the time to read one.
It's been a fun read so far. The story is about a group of civil war-era prisoners of war who escape the Confederates in Richmond in a balloon and are caught up in a hurricane and land on a mysterious island, though I haven't seen what makes the island so mysterious yet I think it may be dinosaurs...
This here happened right after I took the first photo -

The Youngest is working on her mobility lately, and the knitting was too tempting for her to hang out with her appropriate toys.

What's on your needles today?

KCCO

Joining Nicole to Keep Calm and Craft On
Well, today I have to keep calm about my crafting on. :)

I was cruising Ravelry a few weeks ago and the Elder saw these slippers

(from Monique Rae)

She's 8, so I thought I would try to size them down as this is a women's pattern.

So I used one strand of yarn instead of two and they came out teensy. 

I think the Youngest will be able to wear them in a few years, but the Elder looked like Cinderella's step-sister trying to put these on.

I really should have looked at her huge shoes before I tried this, since I bet the 5-7 women's size will actually be just fine for her.

So these go into the clothes bins in the basement, and back to the needles for the Elder's slips.

Actually, I am glad that I did this dry run, since I think I will make a few changes with the next pair. The slips are a little shallow, and she has you knit the flap as a separate piece, but I think I will knit it in for this try.

What's on your needles today?

The Children's Museum

We have some amazing places to spend time with children in the Twin Cities.
Great zoos, beautiful parks and gardens, a superb science museum and a really fun children's museum.
We have been members of the children's museum for years, and the children love to go and explore their favorite places and learn new things. Last night we went to their extended evening hours for the first time, but it won't be the last. We went after dinner and the museum had just enough people there so that my kids had play friends, but not too many to be overwhelmed.
There was a new exhibit about the inner workings of a medieval castle and the Elder and the Younger had a wonderful time.

What made my day the most was the way they work and play together at the museum.

{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. 
with Amanda

Five Years.

1st, year one, year two, year three, year four (totally spaced that it was happening)

I have been keeping this blog for 5 years today.
How appropriate for my nerdy number brain that today is 10-11-12.
This year has been full of extremes.
Some amazing highs -

(photograph above by Anna Botz)

And, some pretty awful lows - rough labor, big medical bills, cancer for a dear one.

But through all of these things and the everyday beauty and wonder, you have stuck by us and it's been amazing.
I should say it more often than once a year, but this place, this virtual place to list my day to day activities, has been such a boon for me.
I have made wonderful friends, kept in touch with friends who might have been lost along the way, been inspired in so many ways, it's a joy for me that I can't quite express.
Thanks for hanging out with me.

Me? Why yes, I will be six months old on Saturday.

Fall in Saint Paul

The Youngest and I went on a fantastic walk this morning with my dear friend Nancy.

What a gift to live near so much beauty.