Stripe Hype Sweater

I finished my stripe hype sweater. I mean, it's hardly sweater weather in the middle of July, but It's Done! I didn't even need to block it. 

I used stash yarn--all fingering weight knit picks wool yarn. I ran out of some colors and had to improvise a few times but it still turned out lovely and I am obsessed. I can't wait to wear this all fall!

I need to bribe a child to get a full body shot. 

Because I used so many colors there were a million ends to weave in. I feel like that is what took the longest. 

Oh, but I love it and all the pink/purple/blue goodness. All the colors are my favorite and I swear my fashion icons are a mix between the rainbow and Miss Frizzle from the magic school bus. You only live once, why not make it magical? 

Days I finish a knitting or crochet project are the best days. 

Summer Break Week Two

We had a very busy summer break week where I said 'yes' to waayyy too many things outside my house and ended up burnt out and stressed at the end (and in bed for a day with a pulled muscle in my neck). Why don't I ever learn moderation? The kids had fun, nothing got done, and there was lots of driving. 

Monday we did four things. Four. Am I crazy? It would have been fine but Tuesday had three things and the fun kept on giving! Wednesday we rested like crazy and that was nice, followed by a crazy Thursday and Friday. Reuben made it to the playoffs for his little league flag football (I touched on this in other posts) but they didn't win. That's okay! They came in second which is a huge achievement! They did score a touchdown (I think the other team, the Commanders, scored four touchdowns) which was really nice and I know they did their best. 

Reuben with his team!

Friday we went swimming and to a potluck with our church. It was so cozy. Saturday was the farmers market where we bought too much sourdough bread (yum) and the day I had a pulled muscle...and here we are at Sunday again. My neck is better and I cleaned the kitchen and emptied the fridge of any leftovers that had overstayed their welcome and now my kids are running around with 600x energy and it's almost 8pm. Why do they have so much energy in the evenings and I'm running on leftover coffee and broken sleep? I'll never understand it. 

I got one sleeve almost done on my rainbow sweater!

I"m behind on laundry but that's fine. I'm behind on chores but it's fine. It's a season and I"ll be okay.

My husband found this old phone in a trashcan at his work and his boss said he could have it so he fixed it (which in itself is kinda amazing) and brought it home. The kids are obsessed. He linked it to his iPhone with bluetooth using something called Cell2Jack and taught the kids how to use it. The first time Reuben was confused how to hang up. Where's the hang up button, he said? We had to tell him you just put down the phone on the stand. That is what hanging up is. I was tickled. 

I'm so thankful for my husband yesterday who did both lunch and dinner while I laid in bed with a pulled muscle, in miserable pain. I'm also so glad it's better today and I hope it will be even better tomorrow. God is good.

Here is to another week--week three of summer break--that will start tomorrow! We have some busy days and some rest days but it's so much lighter than week two, I am sure we will make it through. Love you all!

Fingerless Gloves

I made these nice and cozy warm fingerless gloves with leftover wool in my stash. I love them, and was able to wear them to Reuben's second football game this Saturday! I wish I had worn more layers--it was so cold! But fun to see him play and grow. 

Gloves

I started on these when the weather got cold and I finished them right as it's warming up. That is the way of things, isn't it? They are cozy and warm and fun and I like them. Fun to knit and easy to work on while chatting with the kids. I made the first one a little big by accident (I was just making it up, no pattern) so I adjusted for the second one, but I love them both.

I might have some gloves done but now I need to go figure out what's for dinner. 

Wave Shawl

I finished another shawl. I knit all through fall and winter and as spring slowly warms up here my knitting bug is wearing off. I still have many unfinished projects to work on but no motivation. 

This shawl was inspired by Becky. She was telling me how I didn't have any blue shawls to wear with blue things in fall/winter, and thus I gathered up all my blue yarn and started on this. Or maybe she said she wanted a blue shawl? Probably both.

I made this with knitpicks stash yarn and used two worsted weights held together and a large numbered knitting needle. I forget the size. And lots of knitting and purling, obviously. I made up the simple pattern as I went along, trying to mimic waves coming in the shore.

We both love it and we both hope to wear it lots this coming winter.

Small Shawl - Green Peas

I finished this shawl in 2024, but here we are. I am calling it green peas and I love it! This color of green and yellow goes with everything and it's cozy and warm. I even threw it on Esther at church once and it was super cute. I made the pattern up so I could work on it while nursing and in between all the motherhood and housework. 

It's made of wool and alpaca, and the alpaca makes it really soft for your neck.

It came out great and I am very happy with it! I need to wear it more. Accessories are hard when you are a mom of a toddler. 

Christmas Shawl

I wanted a shawl to wear at Christmas, and I wanted it to be BIG. Well, I got a good medium size before I gave up--it was a week before the holidays and I was tired of knitting on it. I was also running out of yarn. I decided to massively block it which helped make it a little bigger. 

I made this pattern up myself. I did purl color work rows for the first time! That was crazy, but by the end of it I got quite good. 

I don't like these pictures...it is so hard to get good pictures as a busy mom. Well, my son, who is 9 took the one below but the thing I don't like about it is the messy floor in the house (and my wrinkled dress) LOL! Not his fault--he's a great photographer, I'm a hot mess, and this is just my life. I love my life, but it does come with wrinkles of all kinds and messes, too.

What should I make next? A sibling. A little sibling for Esther? I don't know if that is a good idea, but we are trying. Here is to baby number four at the end of 2025, lord willing! I think it will take until 2026, and I'll be having a baby in my 40s. Which is kinda crazy in an of itself. 

I need to do more hot yoga. 

Wearing

Just a bunch of pictures of Esther wearing things I made her. I can't keep up with Reuben (9) hardly at all anymore when we are outdoors, and with chasing the toddler I forget to take pictures of the older two often! Life.

Baby Pants

I made these beautiful baby pants for my friend Julia who is expecting a baby on the first of November.  Julia is a beautiful mother and wife--she has three lovely kids, her eldest son Zebulon loves playing with Reuben, my firstborn. She had a beautiful baby named Siloam who passed away in the womb last year--and now her new baby that is due in November has been diagnosed with possible downs syndrome. Please keep her in her prayers as she transitions into whatever role God has for her and this new life he has blessed her with!!! She and I have lost touch a bit due to her church moving an hour away, and her family joining a different co-op, but even as she and I go our separate ways a bit as we raise our families--I love her and still think of her daily. And she's still my best friend, and I hope I can be a good friend to support her in birth and life. 

I forgot to take a finished picture of the pants before giving them to Julia, so this is the last progress photo I sent her. But they turned out SO cute--little newborn pants--and I hope to make a 0-3 month pair for her before she goes into labor...next week maybe? :)

Edit: she sent me a pic!!!

My 2023 Sweater!

I made another sweater! This is the Weekend Pullover Pattern by Neringa Ruke. I love it. This is my 2023 sweater (it just took longer than a year due to pregnancy and postpartum). I love it! Oh, I already said that. It was a yarn de-stash sweater and I played (and won) at yarn chicken. Oh, I can't wait to wear this all fall! 

My first sweater was Elwood in 2019. (I no longer wear this)

My second sweater was Engle in 2020. I still wear and love this one!

My third sweater was Juniper Crop in 2021/2022. This one is a little tight--I gained some weight with my recent pregnancy/postpartum, but I can still wear it. Also, as you can see I used the same colors in yarn to make this sweater as my Weekend Pullover!  

And this is my 2023 sweater, Weekend Pullover. 

What sweater should I make next? I still need a 2024 sweater and time is running out...

Hats!

Every year I make my kids new hats. This year was no exception, though I did tell the older two that hats for them will stop for awhile because each of them has 3-4 hats now that fit! Here are the hats for this year. 

The kids love them. But I also wanted to make some with ear flaps for Reuben so I made this one too.

And then Becky's ended up not fitting so I made her a new one. 

The kids each picked their own colors and I made the hat. I hope they love them this fall and winter! Now to finish a sweater for myself and some little baby pants for a friend and maybe a sweater for Esther. Love you all!

Knit Hat

I was looking for a picture of this hat (it's 2024 now) and I realized I never posted it to this blog? Or if I did I can't find it anywhere. I made this hat in 2021 or 2022 for Becky. I started a green one for Reuben that I never finished and I still have it on the needles because life happens.

Little Becky is so cute. I'm postdating this hat so I can find it again if I need it!

I have not felt this good since 2019

Yeah, the title says it all. If you know me (or have been reading my blog for awhile) 2019 was the best year ever!!! I was able to eat gluten again, felt great and healthy and had energy. While I am not currently eating gluten or really much of anything (going through gaps stages again, I am on stage 3) I am feeling good, and that means a lot to me. It means my energy isn't all going to survival, it means I am able to hang out with friends, laugh, relax, and live a little! 

Unfortunately, maintaining this kind of strict diet isn't feasible long term, but maybe it will heal me more and I will be better when I hit full Gaps again in a week or two. 

Life and all its seasons are perplexing, are they not? Today was the rush rush of getting out the door for church and then relax at home after cleaning the kitchen from lunch. Then we got a call from a friend about wood from a tree that had fallen into her yard, so Brian went and collect the wood for our stove! I took an epson salt bath and now I feel sleepy. But brownies (for everyone but me) are in the oven and I have a cup of tea, so life is good. The school day looms tomorrow with all its business but today, at least for the next few hours, I will rest. 

God is good, and as I meditate on his goodness and sip my tea, I can't wait to be part of this incredible journey of life that He has given me. Yes, I have problems and yes, I have things I could complain about, but today I am going to choose not to and just to contemplate the lovely world around me and enjoy some of Gods many wonders. 

Happy Sunday friends!

I finally finished this crazy green shawl and have been wearing it everywhere. This one is called "Campside" if you want to google it; it is by Alicia Plummer. Did you know I am working on two more shawls? What is wrong with me??! Oh well, next winter will be cold too. And I am not a minimalist on knitwear, lets be honest! My kids each own at least three hats, all of them made by me! 

Reuben Scarf

This was for Christmas for my Reuben. A nice warm scarf for fall in lovely autumn colors. He loves it! I knitted it in the round and "made up" the pattern, if you can even call it a pattern. Hooray for winter, wool and scarf wearing. 

Potter-y Scarf

I made this for a friend at church! She traded me sourdough bread for it--thats what got me interested into making it again. A fun knit, and a lot of rows. Glad to be done!

I actually really like how I made this scarf in the round. It has a nice weight to it and its so...squishy and comfy. Maybe I will make myself one in Hufflepuff colors. I'm such a hufflepuff.

Lanterns in the Forest Leg Warmers

I so rarely get time to knit lately. Between parenting, homeschooling, our "light" homesteading... I do miss the many hours I used to spend knitting and designing! It was nice to make these leg warmers based on a pair of socks a friend was wearing. I plan to make more; they will be great to give to friends this fall.

The pdf pattern is available here for free on Ravelry. These would make perfect gifts, it took about one and a half hours to knit each leg warmer making it a great December project for all your friends. I plan on making more in different colors...and wearing these with my "new to me" barefoot shoes from revivo barefoot. (I decided my Christmas gift for myself were new shoes. Sqeee!!! I already ordered them...)

Becky's Mini Unbearable Hoodie

I finally finished this unbearable hoodie!! It's adorable. And it was HARD! I also made a video reviewing the pattern and the sweater, so check it out if you want to know more!

Becky loves it. She has been wearing it NONSTOP and we can't get enough. 

It is knit in DK yarn. I changed some of it to crochet (check out the video) and made a few other modifications. Happy bear time!

Crochet Toddler Fingerless Gloves

It is really hard to find gloves that will fit tiny hands! At least it is for me. I created these crochet gloves for my toddler. You can download the pattern here, or see the video below! I also have a knit version of tiny toddler gloves if you prefer to knit!

This pattern takes under an hour to make and uses worsted weight yarn and a 4.5mm crochet hook.

 

Knit Pointy Ridges Hat

I'm designing patterns again and it feels so good! I started off with a hat for my son...or my daughter! This hat fits both my two-and-five-year-olds very well.  

This hat uses bulky yarn and 5.5mm and 6.0mm knitting needles, and it is finished with a crochet hook with a tiny bit of single crochet around the edging. You can always pick up stitches and knit if you do not know how to crochet.

You can download the free pattern on Ravelry here. And you can view the video here or watch below! Happy making!

The six year Cowl

There is a story behind this cowl. Or at least, I hope there is! I started knitting this in 2014 and...quickly lost interest. I knit a few rows every few years until finishing it up just in time for the two year old to steal it as her own. That is fine, it looks great on her!! It can be her new winter item for 2020.

Anyway, I used acrylic yarn in 2014 and now I use only wool...times sure have changed. This is 100% acrylic yarn and I made the pattern up myself. Whoo! I'm glad to be finished with you, cowl from the past. Now to finish all my other hibernating projects... I have two or three more from that era.