Crafty Monday

We are in the midst of a craft!  Stop back later (probably this evening) to see how it all strung together.

Working Hard

Here at my house, we are in the throes of Christmas preparations.  Although it always seems to be a crazy time of year, we are trying our hardest to enjoy ourselves while we prepare.  Sometimes wanting to celebrate Christmas in a more simple way makes for other stresses that end up making it feel NOT simple.  Really, it's a trade off - one stressor we can't stand for another we are comfortable with.  Doing this make the stress seem less like stress.  Actually enjoyable.  For instance, I really don't like to shop.  But I do like to sew and shop at fabric and craft stores.  So, this year, I am making gifts for the majority of the people on my list.  Any shopping that I want to do is happening online for the most part.  I don't mind that as much.  And there are so many cool things to see on Etsy!!!

We've all been busy.

Hard at work. 
Sewing

Baking
Crocheting
Decorating

Cleaning
Crafting

And trying enjoying nearly every minute of it.

Boy's Hat and Scarf Set

I've finished up Boy's hat and scarf for Christmas.  The hat took a bit longer than I expected, but I love the way it turned out.  (Many thanks to my extremely patient pumpkin model who did not squirm, fidget, or complain even once!)

I found this pattern in Crocheted Gifts by Kim Werker.  I absolutely love this book and have made several things from it.  This hat is made with 100% cotton worsted weight yarn from Universal Yarn Inc. in brown.  Aside from using a worsted weight instead of a sport weight, I followed the pattern to a tee.  Check this out:

I love it!!!!  It looks like it might be tricky, but it's really very simple.  Clever.  Boxy.  Hat Squared - that's it's name.  It's really sized for a man's head, but I figured that way, Boy will just grow into it and be able to wear it as long as it lasts.  He has a rather large head anyway for a 6 year old.

I did not really follow a pattern for the scarf. 

It's really just a series of small shells [sc ch 2 sc] - 7 in a row - with a hdc at the end.  I used all 100% cotton worsted weight yarn for this as well - brown and beige from Universal Yarn Inc. and envy heather (green) from Simply Cotton (which, by the way, uses organic cotton).  I started out doing stripes whenever the spirit moved me, and then ended up with this as a finished product.  The scarf is about 4 feet long and somewhere around 5 inches wide - perfect for a small boy.

So, I've finished Sweetpea's and Boy's.  I've finished with Munch's hat and started her scarf last night.  I really need to stop crocheting at a reasonable hour and get my rear to bed.  I don't do well with not enough sleep, so although I am enjoying working on these gifts for my kids, I really need to sleep so that during the day i can enjoy them as well.

What are you working on for Christmas?!

First Snow!!! (Ahem)

I've been gone for a while.  I know.  I didn't intend to be gone this long.  But there was Thanksgiving.  And a long weekend off work for my hubby.  We've had a great time these last few days, and tomorrow is going to be tough.  But we will survive.

What have we been doing you may ask?  Well.  Since we both come from very large families (7 kids in my family, 11 in hubby's) we had lots and lots of Thanksgiving fun with family.  Lots of people.  Lots of food.  Lots of good times.  There has been loads of craziness.  And some quiet times.  There has been lots of crocheting.  Lots of music.  A little dancing.  Insane amounts of cooking and eating, of course.  We spent some time catching up on some very neglected chores.  And we visited an old fashioned Christmas display and craft show at our lovely local Mill Creek Park.

And...  we had our first snow!!  Well, it was a dusting really.  The merest covering of snow possible on the ground.  But enough for Boy to be bundled and out playing in it before I was even out of bed (hubby got up with the kids that day).  All three of them were out before long.  Together, they defied all laws of snow and built this...

Have you ever seen such a cute and tiny snowman?!?!?!

As you can see, this one measures between 2 and 3 inches.  It has been carefully placed on a thin plate of ice to ensure that it lasts as long as snowmanly possible.  Now, if only I had enough time to crochet a wee hat and scarf, we'd be all set. 

Which reminds me.  I've found the best way to crochet now-a-days.  Don't laugh.  I know it's not cool at all.  But it's sooooooo helpful when you just can't seem to find enough  light to see by.

That's me there, crocheting by the light of my hubby's head lamp.  I love the way it lights up just where I need it.  I may have to sneak that into my project bag when he's not looking.  Or perhaps I'll just find one in my stocking on Christmas morning.  (A truly subtle hint there...)

I have lots and lots of things in mind for the near future.  A ridiculous amount of projects lined up - craft, crochet, and sewn.  I'm hoping to be able to get them all done and documented so I can post them here.  Don't hold your breath, though.  I'm not the best at record keeping.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend!!

Getting Myself Organized

I really need to get myself organized.  Christmas is fast fast approaching, and I have not really begun to make all the gifts I intend to make.  So, I'm going to work on a big, long list and maybe I'll get around to the point where I'm checking it twice.  Probably not, though.

Here's a rough list of the things I want to do for Christmas:
make cookies (a big big thing in my husbands family, and subsequently, mine)
sew drawstring backpacks
sew car organizers
crochet hat/scarf sets for each of my kids
make some homemade skin care products
finish my gift for hubby's family gift exchange

That's the start of my list.  There's still time.  I keep telling myself...

How are you holiday preparations coming along?

Muesli

Wow!!!  Two posts in the same day!!  What am I thinking?!?!  Well, I'll tell you what...  Munch is turning 11 tomorrow.  And she's having a sleepover party on Friday night.  Saturday, we are having our families over for dinner.  Both me and my hubby come from large large families (there are 7 kids in my family, and 11 in his), so small family gatherings come out roughly around 40 people.  I'm supposed to be cleaning the house.  And preparing food.  And I am.  Slowly.  But I get bored easily with wiping dust from surfaces that only get cleaned 3 times per year (like the top of the hutch and the TV cabinet...).  I was also thinking of my yogurt, and getting hungry again for lunch.  But yogurt for lunch would really be too much.  Don't ya think?  ...  As I was thinking of yogurt, I was reminded how much I love a good muesli. 

Typically, I prefer muesli to granola.  I like the fact that it has no added oils or sweeteners.  I like the non crunch and the way it softens into the yogurt.  So, today, I think I'll mix up a batch for breakfast tomorrow.

Here's my recipe.  It's so versatile.  You can substitute whatever nuts, seeds, or fruits you prefer.  And you can play with the ratios.  I like my muesli to be about half oats and half (or slightly more than half) other goodies.

Muesli

4 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cup chopped dates
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup wheat germ

Put everything into a gallon glass jar and shake till it's all mixed up.  Simple, tasty, nutritious.  Of course, you can switch up the ingredients how you see fit.  It can be just the way you like it.

Making Yogurt

Sweetpea and I made yogurt for the first time on Monday.  It was not difficult, and we had a good time.  We made the yogurt basically following the directions from SouleMama's how we make yogurt, and by this highly informative site called MakeYourOwnYogurt. 

We started with an organic whole milk from an Ohio dairy that is not homogenized and only minimally pasteurized.  I don't have a double boiler as MakeYourOwnYogurt recommends, so I just used a regular saucepan.  I used a candy thermometer to get the right temp, cooled the milk using a water bath, added some organic plain yogurt I bought from the store (I used 1/4 cup per quart like SouleMama suggests), and put it into jars.  To keep the yogurt warm overnight, I placed it in the oven with the oven light (not the pilot light, mind you, just the light that lights the oven when you open the door).  Actually, we put it right in front of the light bulb so it would soak up as much heat as possible.  That kept the yogurt right around 95 degrees, which is not technically warm enough.  But when I took it out in the morning, it smelled soooooooooooooo yogurt-like and yummy.  I put it in the fridge for a day to firm up.

We ate it this morning - nearly half of the 2 quarts I made!!!!!  It tastes wonderful.  And the texture was perfect.  We'll definitely be adding this to our list of weekly food items.