house on hill road

Bring on the candy!!!

We are ready - the costumes are complete, the candy is in the bowl, the treat bags are waiting by the door.  All we have to do is eat dinner and get dressed.  Fun awaits!

It took me way longer than anticipated to finish Kate's costume and all its trappings.  And she has been so patient!  Jane has gone to two Halloween parties and Kate hasn't been to one.  Her whole Halloween experience this year is happening tonight.  Needless to say, she is a bit excited!  I am keeping my fingers crossed that it stops raining so she can get a good dose of fun.

Hope you have a Happy Halloween!  Eat lots of candy!

Flapper Hats

The weather is conspiring against me.  I have finally finished the flapper hats and it is 75 degrees and sunny!  I am not complaining, not a bit - it is so beautiful outside it kills me to have to be inside waiting for the plumber to show.  Hopefully he will come soon and then we can head to the park.

Back to the hats!  I love, love, love how they turned out.  Not only am I thrilled with the results, I really enjoyed knitting them, too.  They were easy, fast and inexpensive (!).  Sarah's pattern is extremely well written and easy to follow.  The provisional cast on almost scared me away, but because Sarah was kind enough to include video links in her post, after I watched how it was done, I knew that this was a project for me.

That provisional cast on is easy!  You use a length of waste yarn that you later take out to free up your original stitches.  Then you knit the facing back into the body of the hat - no tedious sewing required.  How cool is that?  No seams, either, because it is knit in the round.  Yippee!

For Kate's (the pink one), I used Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran (yes, again!).  I really like the softness of this yarn.  Unfortunately, one skein ($8 at my local yarn store) is approximately 90 or so yards so I had to buy a second ball.

Jane's (the orange one) is knit out of Rowan Cashsoft DK that I bought at Purl in NYC.  It is a similar weight to the Cashmerino Aran, but the yardage was closer to 150.  At $8.50, it was a better deal.

Do you see that wonky blanket stitch?  I know that it is not my strong suit so I probably should have practiced before I attached the flowers.  Oh well.  It gives them character, right? 

A Blank Page

Draw, cut, glue, color, write - this is what my kids like to do.  They are creating all the time.  Today started out with some Halloween-themed post-it notes turned into portraits.

Mr. and Mrs. Cat by Jane - I love the title and artist tag cut out of an index card.

Mr. Frankenstein by Kate - I think those are braces on his teeth.

Their friends, Bailey and Lilly, brought them each a blank notebook when they came over for a play date this afternoon.  Everyone in this house loves a new notebook!  They took their notebooks outside with a box of markers and a bag of crayons and intermittently drew and played for three hours.

Jane's outdoor nature study - funny how many of these things are not natural at all...and that phonetic spelling always makes me smile.

Jane's self-portrait - in reality, she only has about three freckles all on her nose.

Kate's drawing - of what, I am not sure, but I love the color combination and she did tell me she was practicing some lower case letters.  Not too shabby for a 4 1/2 year old.

When their friends left, they moved inside.  I found this in Jane's notebook.

And when they were finished, they left this behind:

I will admit that the mess drives me crazy.  It is constant.  I feel like once we get it cleaned up, it reappears almost instantly.  However, I am so happy that they are creative and that they enjoy exploring different crafts that it really doesn't matter.  Not a bit.  They have so much still to learn and so many different doors open to them.  My wish is that they never lose this curiosity and creative spark.  I hope that they always will want to explore new media and new subjects.  That in some way, shape or form, they will always be artistic.  I know it will serve them well because it has for me.

Swapping

Thanks to my friend Marcia for making aware of the Holiday Ornament Swap organized by cake + pie and freshly{blended}.  I am in the brainstorming stage and have a couple ideas that could work.  This is going to be fun!  You want in?  You can still sign up - the deadline is November 1st.

 

Black, White and Read all over

It's raining here and has been for a couple days.  Yuck!  It's hard to get a good photo in this gloomy weather so here's a little something from a couple of weeks ago.

It's a paper trophy honoring my fashionable friend Kelly that I made the Sunday we were in New York.  She out shined us all walking the streets of Manhattan.   When I saw this photo on the front of the Fashion (maybe Style?) section, I knew what I had to do.   All it took was newspaper, some scotch tape and some scissors.  I wish I could say that it was usable, but alas, the clasp is inoperable and the scotch tape is not so sturdy.  It made me think some about sculpture and what it takes to make it.  Also, constructing something three dimensional out of something other than fabric took me out of my box so to speak.  I think I'd like to get my hands dirty again. 

Speaking of dirt, to say my hands were filthy when I finished is an understatement.  I have never seen so much black water in a pristine white hotel sink.  Oh well, I had fun!

Getting There

A work in progress a day early...Kate's Glinda costume

And look what arrived on our doorstep this morning - hot rollers!  Glinda would not be complete without the curls.  Good thing I was a girl in the 80's - all that big hair!  Thanks for sending them Mom.

All the costume sewing has left me little time to do something for myself so I took my big pile of unread magazines...

...and got a pedicure.  Aahhh - relaxation!

F is for ...

Finn - I made this t-shirt for our nephew, Finn, who turned two on Sunday.  Happy Birthday Kiddo!  Hope you had a ball! (note to his parents:  pun intended!)

Failure to post - issues with typepad last night - so frustrating!  Anyone else have problems?

Finishing Flapper Hat - almost done and so cute, I tell you.

Flying - off to school we go.

Sunday Dinner

Late yesterday afternoon, I decided I was in the mood for soup.  I was thinking something along the chicken noodle variety, but when flipping through Barefoot Contessa Family Style, I found this:   Roasted Winter Vegetable Soup.  A quick trip to the store and an hour later, we were in business.  Yum!

While the soup was simmering, I also made these delicious pumpkin cupcakes.  Thanks goes to Amy and Mailorder for that yummy recipe.  Topped with cream cheese frosting, these are the things that autumn-y dreams are made of.

After we finished eating and got the kiddos in bed, I curled up on the couch with a blanket and some knitting and watched TV.  The perfect end to a very nice Sunday.

Two steps forward, one step back

Success!  I finished the Dorothy costume with time to spare.  And even better, Jane loves it!  She was giddy with anticipation as we braided her hair and got ready to go to the party.  She spent quite a few minutes in front of the mirror, twirling around and admiring her shoes.  Doesn't she look cute?

The costume came together surprisingly well.  I had a few issues with the zipper.  I am not sure what the problem was, as I have successfully sewn zips many times.  It was close to 11:00 at night and my eyesight was getting a bit blurry - that might have had something to do with it.  I finally stopped caring after try number two, repeating to myself, "It is only a costume."  But overall, it looked difficult, but really was pretty easy.

But in the end, the zipper came back to haunt me.  Jane had a little mishap in the jumpie - one of her buttons got caught in the mesh side.  Her friends literally ripped her free.

I don't know if she was more upset that the dress had ripped or that people could see her back.  Not to worry - it is all fixable.  The rips are on the seams and can be easily re-sewn.  I'll just have to deal with that zipper one more time.  Wish me luck.

Work In Progress

Jane:  Mom, I got some mail!

Me:  Great!

Jane:  Read it, please.

Me:  OK.  Oh, it's a Halloween party at N's house.

Jane:  Yay! (lots of jumping and high-pitched shrieking)  When?

Me (scanning the invitation):  Um, tomorrow?  Yeah, tomorrow. (Panic starts to set in)

Jane:  Do I wear my costume?

Me (wishing I could lie): Yes, you CAN, but you DON'T HAVE TO, wear a costume.

Jane:  Uh, you'd better get sewing.

Me:   I think you're right.

Looks like it's going to be a long night.  At least I already have this much done.  And thank goodness Kate wasn't invited!  I'd really be screwed then.

The Letter H

This is my all-time favorite wall in my house.  No room for discussion - I love it!

Um, this is the clean version of our desk, but as I am looking at the photo I'm thinking it could use a little more straightening.  Maybe later.

One ball at a time

After some much needed sleep, I am starting to feel better.  A trip to the doctor's confirmed my suspicions - a sinus infection.  Thank goodness for the z-pack!

Besides sleeping, I have been knitting...

I swear that the ladies at my local yarn store must laugh when they see me coming.  They are thinking something like, "Oh, here's that lady who only buys the cashmerino aran one ball at a time."  Followed by, "At least her kids aren't with her."   I have now made five separate trips and have purchased six balls of yarn!  It hasn't been time efficient at all, but it is so satisfying to walk in and browse.  It is also helpful that the store is only a few blocks away.

Fatty's hat is complete and I have one project on the needles with three more small ones to come.  This small project knitting is so portable - I have been doing it in the carpool line, on airplanes and while watching TV.  It's easy to pick up and knit a row or two and then put down until I have a few stolen minutes.  Speaking of which, it's time to pick up Jane from school.

Home again

New York was great! So fun - everything I had anticipated and more.  I didn't take my camera along so I don't have any photos to share (Dumb of me, I know!).  I did make many little purchases and most of them are craft-related.  Here is smattering of fabrics I picked up at Purl Patchwork...

What a store!  It's itty-bitty, but because of the limited space, they only have the best.  Really, everything they have is sooooo nice.  It was hard choosing - I had to restrain myself.  There was so much more I wanted!  I am happy with my choices, though.  Looks like there will be some more of those patchwork belts in my near future.

My blog posting may be spotty this week - please bear with me.  I made some other purchases that I would like to share, but I came home to a full in-box, so to speak.  Mail, email, voice mail, laundry, cleaning, grocery shopping, costumes are all waiting to be tackled.  And then there's that sleep thing - I need to devote some extra hours to that, too.  I'll be back soon - hopefully tomorrow, but Wednesday at the latest.

One Corner

A little peek at one of my favorite corners decorated for Halloween...

The jack-o-lantern is from my childhood and actually has a small bulb inside so it can light up the night.  I love having this - wish I could find someone to make them for J and K.

I'm off in the morning for a girls' trip to NYC.  Can't wait!  The thought of sleeping in, shopping (thank you, Susan, for the fabric store info) and good meals with good friends has me giddy.  First, though, I have laundry to put away, dinner to make, kids to bathe and, because I am a procrastinator, bills to pay and a suitcase to pack.

Have a great weekend!

On the way to Oz

One costume has been cut out (!) and apparently we are off to see the wizard this year.

J is going to be Dorothy and K is going to be Glinda, the Good Witch.  They really want me to be the Wicked Witch of the West.  I'm not dressing up this year, but if I were going to I'd choose the Wicked Witch of the East.  She had much better shoes!

Spoooooky

I was able to check one thing off my list today:  Halloween decorations.

Mind you, I only got the outside completed.  And that spider web stuff, what a pain!  Thanks to Mailorder, I did manage to get started on the inside.

A couple of trips to the basement for a few more small things and then we'll be finished.

On to the next thing - costumes.  This one I am dreading.

Chicago

We're back!  We had a great trip to Chicago this weekend.  I can never manage to do everything that I would like to when I am there and this trip was no exception.  Friday we went to American Girl and then spent some time with my sister-in-law Georgia and my nephew Ian.  Saturday, we took the girls to the Shedd Aquarium.  I hadn't been there since high school and it has changed a lot.  There is a great oceanarium with dolphins, beluga whales and penguins in addition to the wonderful assortment of fresh and salt water fish that I remember.  The Wild Reef exhibit is very cool, too.  Here we saw sharks and sting rays and many different types of coral.

The trip was really all about the dolls, though.  They went everywhere with us.  American Girl Place is quite amazing - lots of age appropriate fun!  I took plenty of photos - here are a few...

Jane's Elizabeth and Kate's Bitty Twin "Lucy" had their hair styled in the salon.  There were multiple styles to choose from and both dolls left with matching ribbons tied in their hair.  The mini salon chairs and purple capes were cute - the attention to detail is just amazing.

After choosing a new outfit for the dolls, we lunched at the cafe.  It is really cute - wide black and white horizontal stripes line the room with lots of hot pink daisy and button accents.  Very Dorothy Draper, I'd say.  The dolls each had their own little chair and miniature tea cup.  The food was good, but the dessert was great.  Look at how cute it is!  Chocolate mousse with cookie crumbs in a small green flower pot with a sugar cookie and petit four on the side.  Yummy!

Here is my favorite picture....the four little ladies toting their purchases on the way back to the car.  They had a lot of fun, but, man oh man, they were exhausted!

I am wiped out, too.  I have a lot to do before I turn around and leave town again on Friday and I am trying to figure out how I will squeeze it all in.  Laundry, groceries, Halloween decorations, costumes and more painting.  And sleep.  Definitely sleep.

Packing Up

The girls and I are leaving today for Chicago (my home town!) with my friend Lynette and her two daughters.  We'll be seeing my brother, sister-in-law and nephew and doing the aquarium, etc. with the girls.  I can't wait!  I am especially anxious to see little Ian - he's turning one next week and I have a car full of goodies.

While packing, I found the old ski hat I knit for Fatty.

Yep, black with blue and purple!  And look at what I knitted into the facing...

That's young love for you!

I'm bringing along some more knitting - this time for a Christmas present.  And because I cannot sit still, I have packed up my embroidery supplies, hoping to organize them while Lynette drives.

The anticipation of this trip has been unparalleled.  Can you guess our destination?

That's right: American Girl Place.  I have told the girls that they can each buy one outfit for their doll.  But I am likely to cave - I almost always do.  I am hoping I don't - keep your fingers crossed for me!

Have a great weekend - I will be back on Sunday or Monday!

No Helmet Required

It's finished - the little project I started awhile ago.

I was inspired to start this project when I read this post of Amanda's.  When I met Fatty (13 years ago!) I knit him a ski hat.  It was black with a green and red blue and purple fair isle pattern, knit in the round (it was so long ago, I can barely remember!).  We were living in Telluride.  Fatty had a real job as general contractor and I was a ski bum who waited tables and worked in the sports store.  Oh, I had just graduated from college and I was poor - so poor that I think he probably even bought the yarn for me!  He's that kind of guy.  When I read about Amanda knitter her hubby a hat every year, I thought that it was about time for a new hand knit for my man.  I referred to the Knitty pattern that Amanda used for the raglan decreases and I used the Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran that it called for - it is so soft! And it was easy - done on straight needles and sewn up with a mattress stitch.

As I was nearing the end of my decreases, I started laughing out loud.  Fatty asked what was so funny.  I said, "I don't know why I am knitting you a ski hat - you wear a helmet!"  So now I guess it's an après ski hat.  Either way, he'll be looking good!

When One Just Won't Do

She's finally here - Jane's Olive!

These dolls are well loved!  They are being dragged all around the house, participating in all kinds of play and Kate has been sleeping with her Olive.  True signs of a great toy!!  Archie is coming soon...