Finishing for Friday

I am excited about so many things on so many levels. It is proving to be a busy month, and some of my initial intentions have yet to pan out. I wanted to have my first pattern up, my give away ready, their Halloween costumes complete (Saturday is our twin group‘s annual Halloween party, anticipating 40 sets of twins. Madness)…and none of these things are ready yet. But there are a few things that did come to be complete.


This weekend there is a great craft fair called the Village Venture in Claremont. I have attended for years and a good friend has always had a booth where she sold the coolest purses, vintage inspired with a bit of cheekiness imparted by saucy appliques. Well, this year she has struggled to find the time to make her purses and we decided I would make a few things to put in her booth, see if I could generate a few sales and fill a few open spots.

So I made a some bags and I like the end result, bright and fun and vivid. A few months ago I made myself two bags and I use them heavily, they fit on the wrist and carry just enough to make them useful.



There is another project that I will be selling tomorrow, here is a closer look.

I want to see how it goes over on the weekend, whether it is well-received. It is a pattern that came to me due to many long stroller walks, many fumbling moments and a few spilled bottles/sippy cups. I will say more later...but crossing my fingers and hoping it is appreciated.


I am linking this post to the Finished Friday posts. I came across this blog due to twin mamahood but was happy to find another crafty lady. I really love how the world of motherhood and crafting intersects so often on blogs. If you have some finished items go post them over at LitandLaundry on Fridays. it is so neat to meet other crafters through this medium.

Hope your Friday brings some completion to your week, a feeling of accomplishment, and a little something to share. Mine is bringing my 33rd birthday tomorrow. I have to say it again...the decade of the thirties is proving to be the best years ever. So grounded, so full, so fun. Bring it on, 33!

KNits :: Onward Ho, Matey!

There has been scads of knitting and other crafting going on but I realized I have been a bit lax in reporting it here. I am so happy with the pace of my Christmas Knitting. I chose fairly small projects in order to make it a realistic goal to make something for each family member (and you know how many of those there are).

My latest FO is Skully, this great little beanie made for a great little boy.

The original pattern is this, very nice but I was worried it would be a little much for a young boy. I scoped through Ravelry and found this version and used the same idea. Basically, I kept the skull motif and the beginning border and then just went with a basic beanie recipe for the rest, using the decrease method from this hat. It turned out just as I had hoped. I love the fact that the skulls look a little evil, their grins just a tad bit manic, very appropriate to the season even if it will be stored until Christmas. The deets are on Rav, if you have not joined up yet, you must. It is such a valuable resource for any knitter, novice or expert. Oh, the other modification I did was a knitted in hem, the original pattern suggests I knit in the hem later, but I find it much simpler to do the hem as part of the pattern rather than go back.

And I loathe picking up stitches.

Have to give a few props to my baby brother.

He gamely modeled the hat this morning (a bit tight, he reported, which is good as this is for a smaller boy). He even liked it. Now that is a major accolade as he is a high school senior. Hmmm, might have to revise my Christmas gift for him and whip out another one of these.

(Close up of grinning Skull, very Nightmare Before Christmas, eh?)

And the Bandwagon is done and buttoned up and blocked and requiring a photo session, which will not happen this week as we are going to hit 95 degrees today (WTF?) It never fails, I finish a sweater and the thermometer skyrockets. maybe I should knit a bikini so we can see some snow. Hurump.

Pumpkin Junkies

We are totally in Halloween overdrive in these parts. I think it is a weird compulsion I am having due to missing two seasons of Halloween. In '06 I was newly pregnant and just felt like shit, unable to muster much energy to do anything, except put on some cat ears and fake eyelashes (?). In '07 I was fairly newly Mama'd with a healthy dose of PPD and two 6 month old boys just barely sleeping (and not through the night). I barely mustered the energy to stuff them into ready made costumes and take them out that evening for a few hours. But this year, I am raring.

Decorations are up, house is quite Halloweeny, costumes are in planning stage and the pumpkins, well, we have the pumpkins.

We have been to the pumpkin patch four times since October 11th. Hence the title. In our defense, last week we were a week early. This weekend was the official Pumpkin Festival and it rocked. So, we went two days in a row.

It was perfect...we went post-nap so the crowds had thinned a bit. And we had scoped out the situation the week before, so I knew that I wanted a few specialty pumpkins. We picked the special ones up at the Farm Store, had a crazy ride in the wagon courtesy of Mama.

We ate 'Dr Bobs ice cream (rated second best in the world. The world), wandered through the nearly denuded pumpkin fields, petted some sheep, watched a cow pee, (Omg, almost on Owen's head...and it was a river of pee, people, so gross) watched a baby goat try to brawl with a much bigger goat, carried some pumpkins,

took some pictures...all kinds of fun.



And today, we topped off the evening with a quick jaunt to our little city's Pumpkin Patch, where they have a barn and animals and there is a park over the tiny bridge and it is a few blocks from home. So, who can blame me for saturating us in the Halloween spirit. I have a lot to make up for.


Being at the Heritage Park patch today brought a vivid memory back. Last year, this very week, we brought the boys there for a few photos. I was having a really hard time at this point. Really hard. And we met parents of twins that were 18 months at the time. She must have seen something in my eyes (like, despair exuding out of their deeply shadowed depths) and told me a few times...."It gets better, really, it gets better". Which I absolutely could not believe at the time. I looked at her lovely kids and all I could see was a bigger version of my not-sleeping-not-easy babies. Today, I watched my boys in the exact same spot, running from chicken coop to bunny cage to piglet enclosure, laughing hilariously, tripping, babbling, trying to climb the rotting barn steps and I could have cried. Because it has not just gotten better. It is amazing. Amazingly fun, amazingly hard, but amazing. Tonight I watched Owen 'read' me the Edison bill and when I laid Mason in his crib, felt his little hands pull his blankie around himself, essentially tucking himself in for the night...and I thanked the gods. Thanked them that I am better, that they are happy, and that we have Halloween.

Regarding the Halloween costumes...they are actually quite simple, but it is all going to be in the hair. Stay tuned. The big reveal shall come.

Lazy Saturday Blogging

So far the weekend started out swimmingly with a nice dinner last night and a package in the mail. I am going to share my modified version of this recipe because it was delicious and the boys ate it with gusto. I am beyond exited about that as getting veg into their mouths has been a trial of late. The recipe uses butternut squash, but i am going to substitute many different types over the next few weeks and see how it goes.


For my version I steamed the squash a few days before and stored it in the fridge (such a lovely quick snack for Mama, the squash chunks are awesome cold or hot). Yesterday I pulled them out, in a medium saucepan heated up some olive oil and added a head of garlic (cause I am crazy like that) and a handful of dried herbs (basil and oregano, we are out of sage). Once the garlic was soft I added the squash and sauteed until the squash was heated through, then added the called for cup of Half and Half and some salt and pepper. I used our immersion blender to puree the sauce (one less pan) and added the pasta water to thin the resulting lovely, but thick sauce. (Oh, yeah, put on a pot of water for the pasta before you start the whole sauce making). We mixed the pasta into the sauce and ate it like Mac n Cheese, but I added some fresh shredded spinach for a little bit of 'healthy'. I watched with approval as the boys ate a whole plate. And the adults enjoyed it too. It is a great use of season veg, try it tonight, why don't you?

The package was a little early birthday present from Tim (well, Etsy, but from Tim, you know). I found a great fabric seller and scored a healthy amount of fat quarters and half yards from Heather Ross.

I have come to covet the fabric, but try not to look too often as I cannot resist buying when I do find her whimsical prints. These were a great deal and I am itching to go look at more, but I refrain. I have yet to use the lot that I do have, it feels almost sacrilegious to cut into them.

I am so weird with certain things like that. It will all become something one of these days, until then they can be my latest eye candy (and the cotton is so so soft).

Now, off to drink my tea and to do a few other bits. Have you ever tried these teas?

I am finding them a godsend during this dry, windy Santa Ana month. It is the only time of year I have 'allergies' but these teas usually do the trick.