5 Years of Sweaters

My firstborn Corbin is FIVE. I can hardly believe it and have been staring at him lately as he plays and pretends. I cannot believe how big he is and how much he has changed. I am so proud of him and the boy he is growing into. He has tons of energy and it can be hard for others to see past that initial craziness. However he has the biggest heart and is constantly thinking of the others in his family. The day before his birthday he "surprised" us all with breakfast. He got us each the cereals we liked to eat and had the milk poured. It was on the table and ready to eat. Another family tradition is going out for breakfast on their birthday. When we asked Corbin where he wanted to go he turned to Noah and asked if he would like to choose. I just love him so much and can't wait to experience the fast approaching school years. Christmas has already been so fun and I love getting to talk to him about the Christmas story.

It may be obvious from previous blog posts, but I make sweaters every year for each of my boys' birthday. As I was updating my ravelry projects page I realized that I had the history of sweaters and growth right there.

One Year Old, Not much of the sweater to see but it was the Wonderful Wallaby. It was also the first sweater that I ever knit :)

This is Corbin at 2, This was actually knit for Easter, I hadn't established my "tradition" yet. It is the Cobblestone Vest. It was knit from my handspun.

This is three! I loved this sweater and he wore it quite a bit! Only two skeins of Cascade 220 for this Twisted Tree Pullover.

Corbin's a fan of showing off his muscle's lol. This is four years old and I knit this out of Highlander a super yummy Alpaca and Merino blend. The Pattern is Langstroth it was a very fun knit.

And here he is a five this past Sunday. Sheesh!! So much bigger yet still a fan of showing off his guns lol.

His sweater for this year is Elizabeth Zimmerman's Tomten. I am in LOVE with this sweater and can't wait to make one for Noah. It was super fast and makes a great jacket with lots of ease for movement; as well as having a functional and fun hood! I knit it out of good ol' Cascade 220 and couldn't be happier with it!

Christmas Rag Quilt

I love Christmas Fabric. However I know myself and restrain most of my impulses to buy it all. I did last year buy this super cute line of Christmas Flannels! I colors all went with my house and my other decorations. I got busy and the fabric languished.

This year I conquered. Pulled it out and finished it up!! The result is this lovely, cozy, and comfy flannel rag quilt and pillow. After clipping all the edges I took it to the laundromat for it's first wash. Corbin accompanied me :) To him is was a grand adventure and he told me he "loved" being there. He was very well behaved and entertaining. He sang Frosty the snowman, Only a boy named David and played football.

Yesterday this same boy turned FIVE years old. So hard to believe :) I have an ornament on our tree that is recordable. It was a gift from my mother when Corbin was two weeks old. We recorded his sweet new born cry. It is my favorite ornament to hang on the tree. My husband and I tear up every year when we hear it. :)

The holidays have already been so fun. I have been waiting for this age with my children. They TOTALLY get that Christmas is coming and have loved everything that we have been doing to get ready for it! We have two advent calendars that we are doing this year and Corbin especially is grasping the countdown. Can't wait to decorate some cookies with them.

In other life news my husband is now a sworn in probational firefighter with the Anchorage Fire Department! His first day on shift is today!! I can't wait for him to be home tomorrow so I can hear all about it! I am so proud of him and the dedication that has brought him this far. I praise God for his faithfulness in our lives!! My God is so great!!

Here is the news spot they did on our local news. My hubby and Noah have a little spot at the end :)

Sweet Pea Cardigan and Capucine

Two more knits are off the needles and I am in love with them both.

The first is a darling cardigan for my nephew Rowan. It has many sweet details that make it such a satisfying knit. For some reason I did not get the sleeves in but there is a picot hem there as well. I knit it out of cascade 22o and it delivered as expected. My only disappointment is the sizing used in the pattern. It lists this size as 18months and it fits my 3 year old. And my gauge and measurements are correct. Heavy sigh. I am still very happy with it though.

Second is a hat knit for the Yarn Branch as a store sample as well as a class I will be teaching. It is the Capucine hat. It is so comfy and really don't want to bring it back to the shop ;P. It is knit out of one skein of Noro Nadeshiko. It has wool, angora, and silk. So soft and yummy with great colors!

My oldest will be going with my mother to see the Nutcracker this year. My mom first took us girls when we were five and I am so excited that my son will get to join in on this tradition! We have been reading The Nutcracker everyday and both the boys are loving the story. We have watched a couple of online videos as well. I want to make sure he is prepared and knows what to expect :) He is VERY excited and loves searching out any nutcracker decorations in the stores.

Noah fell asleep in the evening service at our church yesterday. My mom was delighted to have his warmth on her lap. There is just something perfect and sweet about a sleeping child. :)

Quick Knit!

I have been bit by a trend. All over the place I see people wearing these super cute and chunky knit/crocheted head bands with these dramatic flowers on them. I wasn't sure I could pull one off. But I jumped on the bandwagon and whipped one up yesterday and it's on my head this morning :)

Some gratuitous pics of my boys cracking me up yesterday. Noah with his goofy faces and Corbin spent a good deal of yesterday "scooting" himself around in his new favorite toy. Life is never dull with them around.

Baby Shower

Yesterday evening was the baby shower for my sister that I hosted through our church yesterday! There was a great turn out and it was so fun to get to together and fellowship! Our church is so full of young families right now and it's just wonderful to see all the babies. Though I will admit that I feel like these last months of my sister's pregnancy are going 5x slower than before. I am so excited for my little nephews arrival and I just can't wait to snuggle him!!!!

Here's some photo's from before the event started :) We did a woodland theme as her nursery is decorated in that theme. (We used my sister's camera for the actual event so I am sure we will get some photo's with people in them from her)

Spinning!

I finally got my spinning wheel back out. I can't tell you how long it had been. I would look longingly at my beautiful wheel and think tomorrow! Quite a few "tomorrows" passed and I finally sat down!

I can't remember what the fiber is as it is a wool blend that my sister bought. However it is dreamy! A very lustrous silky yarn is the result. I navajo plied the yarn and ended up with right about 200 yards of this yummy yarn. It is going back home to my sister and I am excited to jump back into spinning more.

Unfortunately I have some knitting that is in the front of the queue. A baby sweater, hat, cowl, and socks need to jump off my needles before I progress with any other projects get the front seat. The above are all samples I need to knit for my classes and I really would like them done before Thanksgiving. I want to be able to enjoy the holidays without them hanging over me :)

Halloween Catch Up

I think we had the best Halloween ever this year! I did lots of cooking with the boys during the day and then they took off with their Daddy and went Trick or Treating. It was Noah's first year and he was SO excited! I stayed home to help my Grandmother hand out candy and I had a great time talking and chatting with them. Whenever we (my grandparents and I) spend time together I learn more and more about our family history. I have been working on lots sewing and knitting projects and I hope to get to them soon!