Tiny Tea Leaves

It took a month and felt like longer, but Abigail's cardigan is finished.

I love it (and so does she, which is even more important).

I love the yarn - Madelinetosh Vintage in Amber Trinket. I love the pattern. I even love the buttons, though I had to change those since they weren't keeping closed. They've been replaced for a couple of rustic-looking wooden buttons that I wasn't sure of at first, but now I think they totally work.

I've now started on my own Tea Leaves (finally!), though I think it'll take a little longer than a month to finish. (sigh)

Bullet points

...because that's how my mind is working at the moment.

• I got More Last Minute Knitted Gifts for Christmas, so the library can have theirs back. This Easy Cardigan is from there - wonderful to make (needs buttons, though).
  

  The booties are more from here.

  
• Finishing the second sleeve on Abigail's tiny Tea Leaves - another love to make, especially with this yarn (in Amber Trinket)! Praying, praying, praying I have enough to finish!
• Took the first week of January to build a new schedule from scratch. It was soooo worth it - I love it! (yes, I am a loser). Things go smoothly, there is somehow more time in the day to do things, less bickering and trouble-finding from the children. Definitely a worthwhile time and money investment (based on the Managers of Their Homes method).
• I'm making bread. Again. I've done lots of bread-making in the past - by hand, in the Kitchen Aid and with a bread maker. But the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day way is awesome. Truly. This past week we've had Boule, Couronne, Ciabatta, Stromboli & Sticky Caramel Rolls. Love it.
• Read Organized Simplicity and Family Feasts for $75 a Week. The perfect books to motivate at the beginning of the year. Clearing out junk (I think it breeds), starting a price book for grocery shopping, looking forward to a yard sale (I can't believe I just said that, since I kind of hate yard sales).
• I am now learning to deal with my children's complaining by dealing with my own. And their laziness with my own. And their temper tantrums via my temper tantrums. I'm noticing a trend, here...but God shows His grace as being sufficient, for them and for me.

Help-less Prayer

Shortly before Christmas, I was running errands with the kids. I was planning on stopping by Starbucks (never too cold for a frappacino, I say) when I drove past a young guy holding a cardboard "homeless" sign at a busy intersection. I figured I'd get him a hot chocolate while I was at it - 'tis the season, you know, and it was bitterly cold that day.

When I got back round to where he was standing, I pulled up, offered him the cup and asked his name. It was Steve. He was grateful for the hot chocolate, and I told him I'd pray for him (I would have prayed with him, but the traffic had started moving, and I didn't want him getting run down by a crazed holiday-shopper). And the kids and I did - we prayed that he would have a warm place to sleep, family to spend Christmas with, and that Jesus would meet his greatest need.

Now, here's the thing - when he told me his name, it got to me. That fast, he went from being a random guy, to being "Steve" - someone with a life, a family or friends, some kind of connection with others. I started wondering what had happened in his life that he had come to the point of standing at an intersection, in the bitter cold, hoping for generosity.

And what did I do? I gave him a hot chocolate. Big deal. In the main scheme of things, what difference does it make? It won't feed or clothe Steve, or put a roof over his head. It won't fill his belly or warm him for long. What had I done that would make any real difference? Nothing.

Except...I prayed for him.

My prayers aren't anything special - in fact, they're often rather bumble-y. But bringing a need that I couldn't even hope to meet to Someone who has the whole world in His hands is just about the most helpful thing one person can do for another. I don't know Steve's story and how he came to be standing on the roadside, but God does. I don't know what all his needs are, but God does. I don't know what will become of Steve down the road, but God does.

So, in the midst of feeling helpless, I was (and continue to be) encouraged that, when I'm looking at a problem too big for me to solve, praying is going to be the most important thing I can do and the best way to help.

Book suggestions

Overall, I was very pleased with my booklist this past year. It was ambitious, I know, and I didn't get to everything, but I did get to most. I even read a number of books not on my list, namely the Mistmantle Chronicles. I guess they would be my first recommendation - I like them and the kids like them. Intrigue, excitement, humor and cute woodland creatures - this series has it all.

From the fiction department, I loved The Blue Castle and Julie. Both relative classics that I never got to read growing up and came with excellent reviews.

The Blue Castle, the story of what happens when a woman who's living on borrowed time starts to live her own life, was a relative quick read, mainly because of how engaging it was.

Julie is apparently somewhat autobiographical, telling the story of a family who moves to a small steel-milling town to take over the suffering newspaper and becomes embroiled in controversy surrounding the exploitation of mill workers and the eventual tragedy that overtakes the whole town.

It's hard to narrow down the non-fiction field, partly because it made the bulk of my reading list this past year, and partly because it was all so good. The one book I keep telling folks about is Just Do Something. In trying to "hear from God", people can get stuck - is it God or me? Is this the right thing, or that? Should I move here, take that job or make this decision? Rather than telling you what to do, DeYoung lays out clear biblical thinking in making wise decisions without depending on an audible voice from Heaven. It's straightforward, easy to read, and pretty funny, too. I did a lot of note-taking and underlining in this book, so should I loan it to you...sorry.

McCall's 5966

Eleanor is great to make for. She's little, so the projects don't require a lot of fabric or time, and she hasn't yet developed a particular taste, so she gets excited about whatever I make. Love that.

This is really just a trial run of the above pattern, made in size 3. It's big on her, which I wanted to check - the length is right, but around the body and the sleeves are too big. I think when I make it again in it's intended fabric (warm cord/cotton), I'll make it in size 2 but add some to the length.

The other change I made was to lose the zipper at the back and make it so it can be pulled over the head. Makes it easier to get herself dressed, and I'm all for toddler independence (to a degree, of course).

Taming the Hair Beastie

Three little girls means a lot of hair-type junk. Hair ties, clips, slides, grips, brushes, combs, headbands...ugh. For years we've kept it all (well, mostly) in a plastic food container. Occasionally, little fingers would tip it all on the floor and my blood pressure would hit the roof. But those days are gone! (Please don't burst my bubble - I'd like my blissful ignorance to last a while.) And it's all because of this:

I based it on this tutorial, with some changes. First, I wanted to store the hair ties on pegs, since we have so many. I used three, but next time I would add another for good measure. Also, I used just one strip of clear elastic for the clips, but again, I underestimated how many clips we have and wish I'd added another.

For basic construction, I stapled the fabric onto a cork board I bought at JoAnn's, after stitching the pockets on.Because of it's placement in the bathroom, it helpfully covers over the electrical outlet, which we rarely use. No worries about wet little fingers is a definite bonus.

Of course, this is only helpful if it's actually used, but it's so nice to be able to look and see what's where without having to make a mess to find matching clips. I think it will probably be used, for a little while anyway, even if only for the novelty factor. And it is exciting have a special, girly-styled organizing tool. Surely, I'm not the only one who thinks so!

On the tree

This Christmas has snuck up on me, though I suspect I say that every year. This year, it's really true. I haven't finished my shopping yet, even when I thought I had; even when I would normally be finished (except for the last minute "making") by now. And I definitely would have done more "projects" with the kids than I have so far.

Fortunately, some inspiration came from Sew Mama Sew blog in the form of the kids sewing some felt tree ornaments.

Ellie's creative juices are limited at the moment, but I foresee progress. First, though, she needs to not drop the sewing needle on the floor a thousand times.

I drew a tree in chalk on Noah's and had him outline it. It looks great, but it did involve sitting with him, holding the piece of felt and telling him where exactly to put the needle each time. It was totally worth it.

Anna went for a button theme. I love all the different styles she choose.

Abi wanted to do something with ribbon, so she hand-stitched the ribbons criss-crossed and the button in the center. I like the way she was so independent in her design and execution.

All that was left for me to do was stuff them and add a loop before sewing them up. I even managed to hang them on the tree the evening they were made - uncommonly quick finishing, for me - for the kids to find the next morning. And the best part was seeing how excited they were at being add a little something of their own creating to the Christmas tree. Me not feeling like a totally craft-negligent mother was (a close) second.

Halfdome

This hat took a little Noro Kureyon for the brim and exactly one skein of Noro Cash Iroha. Unusually, it's knit flat and seamed, rather than knit in the round.

Toby wears it all the time. I think that means he likes it. Thank goodness, too - it took ages to choose a pattern he liked.

Apparently, this hat is much preferred by bald men; I'm told this is because the hat doesn't cover the ears. I don't know what that has to do with anything, but what do I know? I'm not bald.

Little Jacques

This has been finished and worn for about a week now, but I've only just uploaded the photos. What can I say - time seems to run away from me...

So, this is the Jacques Cousteau hat. Notes and pattern links here. He loves it. He claims that orange is his favorite color (for now), and it looks really cool on him. Plenty of growing room (essential for a big melon), he should be able to wear this for the next couple winters. I hope.

Gratifiying

It has been so nice to spend some more time in my sewing room. This week, the girls have been the recipients of new dressing gowns (bath robes).

Everyone is outgrowing their stuff (still trying to figure out how to make them stop growing), so the little ones have hand-me-downs, but I wasn't in the mood to spend loads on new things for the girls. So, I took the dressing gown that Anna's outgrowing, cut larger pattern pieces based on that one, and viola! Warm, fleecy girls. I had the red for Abigail already (I think it was a remnant piece from JoAnn's) and bought the fleece for Anna in one of their recent sales (I don't remember how much it was, but I bought two yards and didn't use it all).

It was terribly easy to put together, especially since I serged the edges, rather than hemmed them. (For the unsure, a serger or overlocker is that scary-looking machine that sews with up to 4 spools of thread and creates that chain-type stitching you find in your t-shirt.) You could easily leave the edges unfinished, since the fleece is unlikely to fray, or you could use a wide zig zag stitch on your machine, or even blanket stitch by hand. Me? I'm all about speed.

I can definitely foresee making these more in the future. Sorry, Land's End and Mini-Boden, I don't think I'll be needing your dressing gowns anymore!