Little Miss Sunshine

"Those who bring sunshine into the lives of others, cannot keep it from themselves."

-JM Barrie

Savannah is so incredibly kind and thoughtful. Often in the morning she will get herself dressed, go potty, go downstairs without waking me, make a card for me and then come upstairs to present her thoughtful piece of artwork to me with a good morning hug. Today she went through that sequence except when I got up she was still downstairs brushing our cat (our feline companion is a 16-year old tortoiseshell Maine coon named Sage). I asked her what she had been up to this morning and she said she got dressed, and went potty, washed her hands and then brushed and pat the kitty and made her a card. I was in a hurry to get the house ready for a showing but thought it was funny that she never showed me her card to receive my usual compliments. Right before we left the house, I went down to the basement to check that it was in good condition for the showing. Sitting there at the bottom of the stairs, was the card Savannah had made for Sage, opened up for display so Sage could see it. She drew a little girl brushing a kitty, Sage's favorite thing. Melt my heart!

Savannah brushing Sage-y Bear.

By Savannah, Age 4

A few days ago I bought her a T-shirt that says "Little Miss Chatterbox" on it. At the time I wished that the store had had the "Little Miss Curious" T-shirt because while Savannah is a chatterbox, curiosity is perhaps the prominent characteristic of her personality. Now I'm thinking I should have gotten the "Little Miss Sunshine" T-shirt.

I am thankful to have a daughter who is smart, healthy, and curious but most of all, I am grateful that she is kind.

Kenpo Karate - Little Dragon in Training

We were so proud of Savannah today. She earned her second yellow stripe in karate class with her awesome instructor, Mr. Fred. With the opening of Kung Fu Panda, which is so hysterical, we've seen it three times already, she's extra enthusiastic about karate class. She practices her star blocks at home and it's great fun to see the awesome power this little girl is putting behind her punches, as long as you're not in the way! The best part is that she is learning how to protect and defend herself as well as what to do in certain situations, using her brain.

Peace and friendship, the karate promise.

KIA!

Peace and friendship, horse stance.

Savannah's sky blue poncho

Last night I finished Savannah's sky blue poncho in the big and bulky wool-blend yarn she picked out for herself. Here she is modeling it (while eating an apple!) I think it goes well with her blue eyes. I can't wait until the weather is cooler so she can wear it around the house and out for walks like a sweater.

Tres belle! The pattern for an adult version (called the Arrowhead Poncho by Pat Walker) can be found here. I didn't follow the pattern but followed the picture after measuring her arm length and cast on 37. I love simple cables since they give such a finished look to clothing and this poncho couldn't have been easier with bulky yarn and making two rectangles that I stitched together. There are tons of other free knitting patterns to choose from for ponchos here. Have fun and send a picture if you make one!

County Fair

I LOVE County Fairs and why I have never entered a quilt or photograph in one of their annual contests, I do not know! I should! The challenge would probably be fun for me.


Here are some of the things we saw this year. I am so excited that Savannah is such a farm girl at heart because we are moving from the suburbs of Denver to rural New York where we are building a zero-energy home in just a few months.

Savannah fishing for trout with her dad at the fair. She got three nibbles but didn't hook one.

Savannah drives her motorbike like a pro!

Here's a Thimbleberries log cabin style quilt that I liked.

And a Halloween quilt that I could definitely see myself making! Halloween and autumn are big deals in our house!



Here Savannah feeds the calf hay by hand and the calf seemed to enjoy the attention!


Savannah LOVES the pony. And her Daddy just MIGHT get her one eventually to keep her too busy for dating boys!

All tangled up...

I just finished up a bunch of half-finished quilting projects as well as a quilted wedding gift for someone. Here's a quilted table runner I just finished up. It's very bright and springy - not for everyone.
Springy quilted table runner - far away and up close.


And suddenly I find myself in the middle of a knitting frenzy! I recently purchased a camel peacoat for next winter. It was on sale since it was off-season and I figure I'm really going to need it since our family is moving from Colorado to upstate New York in September. So, I decided to make some new scarves to go with it. The first scarf I made is with a really simple pattern knit in threes, found here. The second pattern I designed myself and it's so soft and luscious I've actually been wearing it around the house in the evening if it gets cool. The beauty of it is that it simply wraps around your neck right inside the collar of a jacket and then tucks through a little flap to stay in place. Nothing hanging down in the way.

Savannah in bubblegum pink.


Savannah's Bubblegum pink neck scarf with slot for loose ends. Super cute on her too!

My new pink scarf (in organic cotton/bamboo blend) in cameo faggot knit pattern. It will look great with my camel peacoat next winter.

Here's a picture of the new scarf on the coffee table to show the cool texture.

As soon as Savannah saw my scarf she wanted one JUST like it, so I made her one out of a soft Bubblegum pink yarn that she picked out from Berroco. Now I'm making her a matching hat but if I end up running out of yarn for it, it'll turn out to be more of a headband/ear warmer instead.

Next I'm trying to make a cute poncho for Savannah in a bulky sky blue yarn she picked out for herself today. I'm also in the middle of a shrug for myself but I've kind of become bored with that for a while. Maybe after making a quick (I hope) bulky poncho I'll be interested in finishing my shrug.

I'm also planning to steal my knitting mother-in-law's time the next time we have a vacation together so she can teach me how to make socks from one of her time-tested knitting patterns. Will my plot work? I hope so!

One crazy year to come

Truly this is a crazy busy time for me and my family, well okay, for me, which is why I decided to start a blog. (I know, it doesn't add up to me either.)

My intention is to share family life and events as well as to post my eclectic crafting experiments. I sew, quilt, knit, scrapbook, write fiction, cook, and have just begun designing our next home, which will be a green zero-energy one if all works out well. As you can see from my crafting list, I'm a compulsive dabbler - I've not achieved expert status in any of my crafting outlets but I certainly have fun envisioning myself as a master crafter while turning out blue soup (think Bridget Jones) in the process. :)

This picture is of my rascal in training, Savannah, who is half pirate, half princess. I hope you'll visit us again soon to see what we are up to next.