Bag and Log Cabins

I finished a bag yesterday. I love how it turned out and it is exactly the size and type of bag I have been needing. Plus it has fabric on the pockets that I LOVE and find hilarious. I call them the creepy knitting ladies. I knew the instant that I saw the fabric that I had to have a project bag with them on it. The fabric is by Alexander Henry and it's called The Ghastlies. I for some reason could not get my head around this bag though. It took several tries, buying more fabric, and settling for a few things that I wouldn't normally accept but it's done. I think I would do much better the second go around, however I am still happy with the end product and love my new bag.

I am taking a quilt class right now, Classic Log Cabin. I have been anxiously awaiting a class like this. I am two weeks in and LOVING it. I didn't have much time last week to work on it, but all the logs are now cut and I am happily chain piecing away. I have four finished blocks and 16 that need one more round. This quilt will be for John to take with him to work for his bed there. I am hoping to get a maltese cross quilted onto it or something like that. It will be a gift for John graduating the Anchorage Fire Department Academy. One of the things I love best about a log cabin quilt is how amazing they look regardless of your fabric choices. I really stepped out of my comfort zone and bought all of the fabrics at 50-70%. As long as they were a light or a dark and weren't too similar to each other they went into the "buy" pile. I bought the backing at the same time for 70% off and enough of the center fabric to do borders and binding (although I am leaning towards doing a log cabin border too) at 70% off. The cost for the top and backing of this twin sized quilt will only be about $45. That is smoking! Anyhow I love a good deal and am excited to see the blocks coming together. I am using Judy Martin's method and I LOVE how easy it has made it. I am also using the organizers she recommended and they have been keeping my fabric so nice and ready to piece. I can't wait to post a finished picture!

Also here is a picture that my sister took from Noah's birthday party. I love it :)

Board walk, knitting, and boys

This morning Corbin had his second riding lesson (which went great!). But we had an hour to kill before heading to his lesson and decided to spend it at Potter's Marsh. I have great memories of exploring there as a child and love that my children get that same experience. My Dad had taken them earlier in week, which had made me realize how long it had been since I had gone. The boys enjoyed showing us everything and the day was so beautiful and the air so fresh. I needed that hour of respite in God's creation more than I knew.

There was also knitting (Skype socks)

While I was attending (another) baby shower the boys enjoyed more time outside! I came home and promptly gave them baths (although I am not sure how wise that was as they are camping out with their daddy in the yard tonight). This was Noah's feet just before bathing. I used to cringe at the thought of the kids getting this dirty. I feel joy in it now, a boys feet should look like that in the summer. As Corbin told me this morning "TV is boring" I must be doing something right!

Go Dog Go

I have a baby shower to attend tonight for a little boy that will be here soon. I got the dog fabrics from a friend and then had coordinating fabrics in the stash! So that made me happy and I think it turned out pretty cute. I am still working on my free motion quilting skills, but overall I am very happy with the finished project.

I have been knitting away like mad during my spare moments preparing for my fall classes. All the projects are going well, I just wish I had more time (Like everyone).

In other news, my husband is currently in the middle of testing with the Anchorage Fire Department and that has added a little stress to the mix. A family member also has some serious health issues going on right now and that has had me struggling to hand over the worry to God. I know He can handle it and knows the big picture, I just need to let go.

In happier tones our church just called an associate pastor. I am so excited for this man (and his family) to now be on full time!! The Lord has worked so amazingly in his life and he has done a lot for the church already!! I know it can only get better!!

2010 Iditarod

So John and I have always loved to go to the Iditarod start in Anchorage. We usually start downtown at the official start and enjoy the barking dogs, the crowds of people with their Fur Rondy dress, and the energy of the event! Then we go on to Goose Lake Park and get an up close and personal view of the mushers and their dogs running down the trail!

Unfortunately John was working today, but I took the boys anyways. My mother joined me for the downtown portion (though I have no pics from downtown, it was pretty busy!). But here are the pics I took from Goose Lake. The boys had a blast and I love getting to watch the sleds run so close! It was a great day for it :)

Oh! And we even came away with souvenirs! The mushers were throwing their worn out dog booties for people to take home...Corbin thought it was pretty cool that the dogs had their own shoes.

oh and P.S. The Alaska Fiber Festival is this week and I will be vending there next weekend. So come see me!! I will be sharing a booth with Sally, from Moose in Socks. I am knitting up some sample stuff to have for show, including some darling booties I cast on last night!

Peace

Sometimes I let myself get very frustrated. Today as I took muffins out of the oven my kids were going crazy. Corbin was just being a goofy three year old and was just making extremely annoying noises, normally I handle it. Noah was doing his whiney cry as food was not arriving as quickly as he thought it should to his mouth, normally I kind of handle it. However both of these together put me over the edge. I yelled at both of them, which resulted in them both crying, not an improvement. I hate looking back on those moments.

Peace. Now I am peaceful, all three boys are in bed and I love the joy that comes with knowing that they are in their respective beds, sleeping, hopefully dreaming. These are some of my favorite moments.

Now I am going to spin and enjoy my peaceful house (while it lasts! lol!)

Snow Sculptures!

After a quite hectic weekend (I have a future post coming with my Olympic Knitting projects) we've been just chilling and quietly working on various things around the house. Today we decided to get out and see the Fur Rondy Snow Sculptures. It has been quite warm (in the upper 30's to low 40's) and wanted to go see them before they fell apart. There were some really simple ones as well as some intricate and quite beautiful ones. Here's a little collage (the pics are black and white so that the sculptures stand out as they should).

I have been going to see these since I can remember and am excited to continue this tradition with my children. They both loved them!

What to say?

What I hate the most about "taking a break" from blogging is that I feel like I have to "catch up"...which makes me not really feel like posting. So I am just ignoring that fact that I haven't posted in over a month....

I have several projects to post about...I even have pics of most of them. Alas my camera is in the car and I am on the couch....so maybe tomorrow I will do a wordless post to make up for today's lack of pics.

The biggest change in my house since I last posted is that I have gone to once a month cooking! I now have a large stand alone freezer (thank you Aunt Connie!!) and have 50lbs of moose and 30+ meals inside it! It took me around 6.5 hours to cook and then I was done! It's been very nice knowing that I will be having a real meal each evening while not having to decide what to cook. Plus I got to break the food up into portion size that make sense for our family as well. I am already looking forward to planning and cooking for next month as I learned a few things and have found some more good recipes!

well that's all for now and I will hopefully be getting some good pics up by tomorrow!

December already!?!?

Whew a lot has happened since I last posted!! As I am sure for most people this time of year. I always feel busy year round, but the time just seems to be running at a constant fast-forward speed during the holidays.

So here's a photo run down!

Thanksgiving!

Corbin's 3rd Birthday!

oh and here's a photo of him and I when he was new :)

and my latest project off the needles - a birthday sweater for my big boy!

Hand Knit Love

This is my son with the blanket that he has slept under from the moment that he was born. It was part of a layette that was made by my aunt (you can see it here....[rav link]). I washed it (not for the first time lol) and it was drying over a railing. Noah did not appreciate that whatsoever. In fact it infuriated him, and he could not be distracted. Finally after some food and a nap he snatched it from the railing (albeit a tad damp in spots) and ran around the house victorious. He was so happy to have it around him and it just reminded me of the love and time my aunt had put into the blanket. This is one of the major reasons I love anything handcrafted!

Also big update in the shop....five new colorways of my Borealis DK weight yarn that my Mood Lifter Slouch was written for. Also if you purchase Borealis DK and the pattern I will refund $2. I also put up some more Cashnyro Luxury Lite and Terino Luxury. Whew that was a lot of links! :)

Fall

So these past few weeks have been a pretty true fall for Anchorage. Pretty impressive as we usually have (at least what seems like) two seasons - summer and winter. With the new place comes a fantastically huge yard. Not so fantastically there are lots of leaves. John probably spent a good 14-18 hours cleaning up the yard and getting it ready for winter, ending with a cold drizzle that brought him in cold and hungry. He thoughtfully took a picture of the bags. This was even after I asked him to cover the garden area with a good layer of leaves. Though I will add that probably half of the bags are from previous years of leaves, grass clippings, and miscellaneous wood scraps that had turned into a not good gooey mess in one untended corner of the yard. John is guessing that there are around 45 bags or so....


A more enjoyable fall activity has been carving pumpkins! Corbin is now the age that he is "getting" more of this seasonally oriented activity and has been getting super excited about everything. He got to help Daddy get all the "guts" of the pumpkin out and kept telling me how yucky and dirty it was. He loved it!Also I finished the 4th clue for the TTL KAL. So happy with these socks!! I almost just finished the toes, but then thought she might have some surprise that I would miss out on. So I'm thinking that tomorrow night I should have a newly finished pair of socks...not the greatest pic but you get the idea :)

A common and beloved sight.

I totally meant to put this in my last post but completely spaced it!

This is very often the scene around 9:30am on John's days off. He's employed as an EMT-3 for a local Ambulance service in Anchorage and works a rather odd schedule. It is what's called a "Modified Kelly Schedule" (not that I have any idea where that name came from!) and he basically works on a 9 day work week, actually working 3-24 hour shifts in that time. He rides his bike to and from work and so as he gets off at 9am, he is typically home between 9:30am and 10am. Of course my boys literally squeal with delight when they hear the door open and Daddy walks in. He is a fantastic Dad and I just had to share this pic of him with my boys

well I know it's not fiber related, but I thought it was pretty sweet :)

back in time...

So I meant to get this post up yesterday evening, but time did not allow...

Hubby and I decided to get out into the beautiful weather and fit in another hike/slow crawl (we do have a two year old with us walking after all) as part of our a hike a week goal. So far we have been pretty successful and Corbin (the two year old) still seems pretty excited to get out to go one "big walks". This time we went high up on hillside and walked up a gravel trail that is a nice easy winding trail with an amazing view. I brought along my knitting and managed to get a nice couple of repeats done on my sock hop socks as we walked. It was so peaceful to be out in the unbelievably fresh air. We had a great time and I look forward to many more such excursions. Another collage (click on it to see it bigger...) ....



Today is Noah's 9month B-day - I had quite a bit more written up regarding this, but when I added the pic I accidentally deleted it! DOH! >_<

In other news, my friend just opened up shop - totally awesome - check it out!

Summer, Summer, Summertime!

This week we had the opportunity to go camping! We had tons of fun and can't wait to go again. We went to the Matanuska River Campground right outside Palmer. This was Corbin's third time camping, but his first time really getting to participate in the activities, he helped roast hotdogs, ate his first s'more, and protected us from bugs with his "bug smacker". It was super hot and I was almost wishing that it had been overcast! This is our favorite "easy" campground, it is very well maintained and is a joy to bring the kids too. I know the hubby can't wait to take the boys on "real camping trips" - he and I have very different views on that! Lol! He loves to backpack in to camp and is already planning father/son trips! As we got to go during the middle of the week he had the campground pretty much to ourselves and emphasized again the benefits of my hubby's schedule.

In other news I got to go to a pretty awesome garage sale put on by the local spinning and weaving guild. I got some awesome dyed raw fiber and have already started hand carding it! More to come on that tomorrow!

Fleeting moments

Today brings the sixth month mark for Noah. He is amazing me more each day, I really wished that I learned so quickly and absorbed so much!! He seems easier than Corbin was, though is does have Corbin's constant entertainment. Speaking of Corbin - his energy constantly amazes me, though thank goodness it has been a more positive energy of late and we have been getting to color & bake together. He is starting to draw actual pictures and not just scribble, it really blows me away.

Finally got to dye some more tonight. A couple pounds of roving and a few skeins of yarn. They are steaming as we speak, and I can't wait to see them in the light of day. I won't have any pictures for awhile as my new camera lens is not here yet (but is on its way - yippee!) and while we have a zoom lens for the camera, it is almost impossible to take pictures in the house with it. I guess that just leaves me no excuse for not updating here!

Knitting has been cruising right along! I finished the back of my minimalist cardigan and started my first sleeve. I think I will get a great deal of wear out of this sweater and can't wait to finish it! I feel quite victorious that I have finished the largest single portion of the vest - especially as it has the largest area of repetitive knitting! Moss stitch for the win!! Lol!

Alright I can feel myself starting to go into ramble mode - so - I will spare you all and say "goodnight"

p.s. Sock Summit came out with tons more info and I am about to die with excitement.

p.p.s. I have one more sale to go in my Etsy shop before I hit 70 sales. Be the 70th sale and I will include a full priced like item in your package for free!

action photos!

So I couldn't wait for Easter and badly wanted my boys to wear their vests today! So they did! I sewed the button's on Noah's vest this morning and they are a perfect fit! I will definitely be ordering from Wooden Treasure's again! (In fact they are a Phat Fiber Contributor and are doing a give away contest right now!) The boys both seemed pretty comfortable in the wool and Corbin loved pointing out "his vest" and "Noah's vest". I am totally brain washing him to love hand knit items, I talked to him the entire times that I was knitting his, showing it to him, having him feel it. It was awesome! So here are some photo's of them both in their vests, taken just earlier this evening! (Don't mind the drool marks from Noah ;P )

Beating the Winter Blues

So in a totally non-fiber related post (did you see that I still got the word "fiber" in!) it is now March. Many other places it is already getting warm, or they know that warmth is on the horizon. We up here in the AK still have a good couple of months before it will truly be warm. So for this short and simple post I have a short question.....

How do you beat the winter blues?

or if you don't like that one...

What is your favorite thing to do inside?

Thankful

Sometimes I let my own frustrations build and I forget how blessed I am. I have a wonderful husband who loves me and bends over backwards to care for me and his boys. Not only that but he listens, responds, and always squishes my yarn when I ask him too (I am trying very hard to reciprocate in the area of snowboarding....).

My toddler is two, and I think I am having my lack of patience constantly thrown in my face. I have been reading the book "Making children mind...without losing yours", (don't laugh) seriously seems as though the author wrote it personally for me. I had been doing really well, but being sick was seriously bringing me to my limits. I also felt like I was in a downward spiral of feeling too sick to do anything, but then feeling even worse because I was doing nothing. So I used the excuse of running out of milk to head out to the store. I was amazed at how much better I felt at just getting some fresh air. My head instantly cleared and I felt so much more like my normal self. I think it did the same for Corbin as he cheerfully (and loudly) sang his version of the alphabet down the aisles of Carrs Safeway. After groceries, dinner, and hot chocolate, we made our way home and things ended on a sweet note with me reading to both my boys before tucking them into bed. As things are tight right now I have no "professional" pics, but here are a couple pics I've taken this past month of my boys. I thank God for their health and the light they bring into my life.

Before getting my butt off the couch today I did make lots of knitting progress while watching P.S. I love you (A great movie) and Blues Clues - Blue's has a Baby Brother (yes, I could probably recite this movie to you). First, I finished the february baby sweater that I had started in January and I am very satisfied with how it turned out! I wish I had taken pictures when there was natural light as there is no "shine" to this yarn at all, nor is the purple so bright, but you get the idea. Secondly I finished one mitten out of my handspun, the yarn was a little hairier than I expected, but I think it will wear great and feels very squishy on my hand.




I dyed up quite a bit of my new yarn bases and can't wait until they are set and dried and I can share pics! They look very promising!!!

*Waves Hand*

I so had grand plans for tonights blog. I finished spinning some yarn for mittens, finished a pair of booties, and starting knitting and almost finished a hat. Today. It started off so well, but then I was thwarted by Mommy Duty. My toddler is sick, but what I had thought was just a cold moved into puking mode. In the car. Really, really not fun. Especially when the water in your home is turned off. Without notice. Thank goodness for family in town! So more later on my project progress.

Big project for the year!

I am dyeing, spinning, and then knitting some Blue Faced Leicester wool into this! I dyed the wool last night and it is drying now! I am SOOO happy with how it turned out! I kettle dyed it in charcoal tones with touches of burnt orange (which both are some of John's fave colors) so it should produce a nice heathered yarn. I would post a pic now - even though it is still wet, but John snatched the camera as he is out snowmachining with my Dad. So the pics will have to wait until tomorrow, plus then it will be dry!

This will be the biggest spinning project I have ever taken on! I dyed up a full two pounds to make sure I would have plenty for the sweater!

Facebook and networking

I now have a page for my business up on Facebook. I am trying to be less shy about getting my business out there! So as I am my only fan right now I would love to get some more!

Northern Lights Fiber Co on Facebook!

I will say that I am a little ashamed of myself as it has been easier to upload pics of my fiber to my business page than it has been to upload pics of my kids on my personal page. My sister know's how bad I am about pictures. In fact her Christmas present to me was going through the pictures on my computer, sending them off to be developed and putting them into an album for me. It was one of the best presents ever!

Tonight I am super excited to be going to Knit Night at Knitting Grounds with my good friend! I have been trying to do this for weeks!!!!