Last minute finish

I got the binding on just in time to count this as my final finish of 2014!  My normal quilt holder is gone for the day, so you get the draped-quilt-on-the-couch shot.  Combined with the bright sun bouncing off of the snow, it makes for a less than ideal photo, but you'll get the idea.

I quilted it in wavy sections across the quilt.  The swirls are the newest pattern that I have been working on and they are getting better, although the hardest part was quilting them on top of fabric that is really busy...it made it harder to see and so my spacing got off in some places.  Jared doesn't seem to mind (or really care) as he is curled up with it, so I am not going to let them bother me.  :)

Jared's Fishing Quilt

50" x 75"

Handmade Holidays, Part 3

I finished my mom's scarf and she loves it, yay!

Timmy actually plays with his new animal masks and campfire, yay!

I made this super cute manicure bag for one of our Sunday school teachers (they are awesome and get extra love in my book).  She loved it.  Yay!

Timmy picked out blue sparkly nail polish which she loves and she has room for 3 more along with a zipper pocket for a few supplies.  (here is a link if you want the pattern)

And I forgot to take pictures of the other Sunday school teacher's bag (a drawstring bag and crochet hook holder), the finished table runner, and my sister and brother-in-law's quilt.  I also am short one binding strip to finish my husband's quilt that he got on Christmas without the binding on.  Yay!

At least I still have my head on my shoulders.  :)

I'll take some pictures of Jared's quilt as soon as I buy one more piece of 2.5"wide fabric.  From the store in Spearfish where I bought the fabric back in June.  I already called and they still have some on the bolt (score!) and set it aside for me.  I love how helpful quilters are to each other!

And isn't this the cutest?!?!?  Timmy is working on his name and I think he did pretty well tracing the letters I put on each light.  I think he is finally leaning towards a dominate hand and he is going to be on team lefty with me!  Yay!  :)

A New Hat

One day, my husband needed a new hat.  

He found a pattern that he approved. 

(and killed a ton of time exploring the wonderful world that is Ravelry.com) 

He picked out the colors from my stash.

I learned and conquered the rolled edge cast on and knit with two colors, plus gained some more experience on double pointed needles.

He loves it!

I had this hat whipped out in 3 days!  

Pretty incredible!

The pattern is here (and free!) if you want to make one too!

And Timmy wanted his picture taken too.  :)

December Craziness

While I was not updating here, we were busy here. 

I had a piano recital for my students!  I have 14 right now and 12 of them played (the two that didn't play just started this fall) and they all did a lovely job.  They followed up the torture with eating lots of cookies and an entire crock pot of hot chocolate.  :)

Timmy and dad took selfies in the pew while they waited for the recital to start and then helped with the cookies and hot chocolate.

The evening after my recital, the power went out!  We were out for 12 hours as freezing rain and then snow covered our area.  It was a chilly night, but once the initial fear was over, Timmy had a lot of fun wearing his headlamp and taking a bath by candlelight.  He spent a good amount of time checking each light switch in the house to see if they were working.  This resulted in every light in the house flashing on at 6:30 in the morning when our power was restored.  The kids in the area enjoyed two days off of school!

We also spent a good amount of time cleaning up.  Timothy was a big help.  Sort of.  :)  I keep reminding myself that it is good training for the future and the extra time it takes to clean now will pay off when he is older.  For now, chores take three times longer with little helper man underfoot.

Merry Christmas!

 We have one of the cutest little shepherds here.  :)  Timmy was so excited to be a part of the Christmas Eve program at our church with the "big kids" and he did great!

Christmas morning he got to check out his stocking before church...

and open the rest up after we were back from church (I know, we are mean like that).

Nothing like getting some new jammies and going on a mountain lion hunt.  Thankfully, Tigger obliged.

Merry Christmas!

Timmy is four!

Lover of anything that moves on wheels or with four legs.  Always has a ball in his hands or between his feet.  Compassionate towards animals (especially Tigger) and teller of tall tales.  Will never turn down time on a lap with a good book and his blanket.  Loves M&Ms, cheese, and applesauce.  Becoming more independent everyday and loves to celebrate when a task is done.  He wanted brownies for his birthday, so he helped me make a pan and enjoyed the singing. :)

Getting marked on our ruler!  He is almost 37.5"!

We got some new toys and books and skyped with Papa, Nana, and Aunt Mindy in Michigan...

and we celebrated with Jared's family over Thanksgiving. (he was waaaaay too excited to get a non blurry picture)  :)

Not sure if he is deciding on which candle to blow out first, or figuring out how to grab the toy off of the cake without getting burned by the candles.

A full size soccer ball!  We have been out in the yard or at the city auditorium everyday, kicking it around.  Again, he is always moving with the ball and we were indoors, making it impossible to grab a decent photo.  But I am pretty sure you can pick up on the excitement. :)

And a little throwback to when he turned one!  (those cheeks!!!)

Christmas decorating!

Timothy has been a great helper with the Christmas decorations going up, including a little wreath for his door!

This picture is blurry, but not only did Timmy get a wreath, but the cat got a little house out of the deal.  That is, until Timmy figured out that he could throw his football into the box and make a little game out of it.  I overheard him planning out drawing tiger teeth around the opening with his daddy.  :)  Not quite sure about how throwing a football into a tiger's mouth came about, but it is the greatest game since sliced bread around here!

Painting fun.  Still playing around with his left and right hands!

All done.  Don't ask me about the faces...all I ask for is a nice smile and this is what I get.  

And after 3.5 years of owning my camera, I have been learning about shooting in manual and getting some really cool effects, like the glowing tree!

Handmade Holidays 2014, part 2

I got some more finishes under my belt!  Only 218 started projects left pending...

Just kidding.

Sort of.

:)

Anyway, here is the felt nativity set I have been working on for Timothy.  I think I spent a total of $12 and 3 nights of cutting pieces and glueing while we were watching tv.  If you want to make your own, this is where you can get the templates.  And you heard me correctly, I glued the entire thing together, no sewing.  

It is located in our living room, right under the advent calendar where all of the pieces are now located.

We started with Mary, an angel, Joseph, and then the donkey so we can start with the angel coming to tell Mary and Joseph that Jesus is coming.  Then they can hit the road and start walking through the palm trees.  I think eventually I want to just glue the palm trees and manger to the background, but then I need to add three more pieces.  Maybe another camel, a fourth angel, and a barn cat?  Not sure, but we will see if I can get the scissors back out and dig through the pile of felt and crank through a couple more pieces.

Jared and I laughed about the fact that they look like they are in sleeping bags.  :)

And right before Thanksgiving, I got this cute pillow to the chair in the living room.  It lasted a whole 3 days out and then was put in the box until next year.  At least it will get some more daylight next year.  :)  I got inspiration from this pillow I saw a few weeks ago.

Timothy didn't want to smile, but he wanted his picture taken.  Go figure.

The back :)

The new owner of the pillow.  She totally took it over and slept with it every day.  :)

Edit: I forgot to include the link for the advent calendar that I made last year.  If you want to make one yourself, CLICK HERE.  :)  Onto the dentist with Timmy and then the sewing machine!