Twenty-Something Things Thursday

I had to make my Ten Things Thursday a little longer this week.  Here are (about) twenty things that I handmade for Christmas this year:

Aviator hat for sweet Little Cameron

Odessa hat for my niece Meaghan

 

The Boyfriend Hat for Cody

Butterfly Hat for Ashley

 

Ribbed-edge hat for Aidyn

Earflap hat for Charlotte

Artistic photo courtesy Kelly over at Super Sevins 

Earflap hat for Cameron 

Dress for Olivia

 

Pillow and warmers for Cameron

Pillow and warmers for Olivia

Warmers for nieces and nephews 

 

The Boyfriend Hat for Wit

 

Butterfly Hat for Jennifer

Rolled-edge hat for Cole

Not pictured is The Boyfriend Hat for my brother Nate and an Earflap Hat and mittens for my niece Evelyn.  Phew!  That's a lot of creating, folks!!!

Purple Hat and Mittens

While there certainly has been a lack of blogging over here at Sevin Stitches, there has definitely not been a lack of creating.  Among many other things, I knitted a hat and mittens for my dear sweet Olivia.  She loves purple and tells everyone we see that Mommy made her purple hat and mittens.  She also thinks it is fantastic that her mittens are "attached to mine coat".

Broken leg in a cast still does not stop our little girl from playing in the snow!

This Can't Wait

I cannot wait until Halloween to post this photo.  My Mom did an awesome job on the kids' costumes as usual!  There is nothing like a handmade costume on Halloween.  Authentic and no one else will have the same one.  So enjoy this photo of my Knight in Shining Armor and his little purple dragon!
Oh, and that awesome sword and shield are from one of my favorite online toy stores, Nova Natural.

Sold Out

See that blank white space to the right?  That's my Etsy shop.  It's all sold out!  I'm so happy, happy, happy.  Now I have some knitting and sewing to do!  I am going to add some more leg warmers and hats by next weekend, so stay tuned my friends.  And thank you to everyone who made a purchase!

W.I.P. Wednesday #7

I had to make these

before I could finish Cameron's sweater.  Our friend Anna turned 2 today and this is her gift.  I got a little side-tracked (for a very WONDERFUL reason) but Cam's sweater will be finished this week!  I think the color is fantastic!  I can't wait to see him all snuggly and warm wearing it.  I think it's going to be quite stunning!

Have I mentioned that I love Fall?  If not, I do!

Fall

I know, it has been Fall for a few days now, but rather than blog I decided to just enjoy the newness of the season.  Of course, being in New England, the weather has been playing tricks on us.  It has felt more like summer these past few days.  But this morning was a gorgeous, windy, marvelous morning.  Chilly enough for my daughter to wear her new Fall sweater.

We went to a local farm and picked out four pumpkins, one for each of us.  We also bought some organic eggplant, broccoli, potatoes and cantaloupe.  Fall is my most favorite season.  The cool, crisp air has me dreaming of crock pot meals.  The Fall harvest is perfect for all my favorite vegetarian recipes.  Tonight we will be enjoying German Potato Soup (with "fake bacon", of course).  Sunday night I am trying my hand at Eggplant Caponata in the crock pot.  For the very first time I will be baking bread without my bread maker so I can serve my meal on top of toasted French bread.

The colors are starting to come alive in our beautiful neighborhood.  Yesterday, my friend Mzchef and I had the children collect leaves.  After nap time we will be making "Leaf People" and animals and the like.  I think we have enough leaves on the ground to actually rake them into a pile.  Great for jumping into!

My wonderful Mommy and I went to the fabric store and bought all the fabric and notions we need to make costumes for my wee ones.  My Mom always made our costumes and I'm so happy that the tradition is being continued with her grandchildren.

Oh Fall, how I love you so.

A Bonnet for my Baby

I made this bonnet yesterday. When I ordered the pattern I was so excited to make this that I checked the mail four times a day, even though I know exactly what time the mail carrier comes! Then, on Wednesday it finally came and I was so excited! I put it next to my sewing machine and... there it sat for four days, untouched. I was so busy that I could not find a spare moment to create anything, never mind this adorable little hat. Monday finally came. My scheduled "Craft Day" with my friend Michelle. The perfect day to make this hat! And make it I did. In about an hour. I really thought it would take longer, but it was super fast! And my darling little girl just LOVES it!

She's telling me to "Stop taking pictures."

But later she obliged and let me take this cute one!

My Little Monsters

I made these little monsters for my little monsters on Sunday night. They absolutely adore them! And I love that they adore them!

Going to New Jersey

Not me. These are going to New Jersey today...



A friend of mine from college had twins two weeks ago (well, his wife did anyway). A boy and a girl. I hope he sends me a photo so I can post it because I'm sure it will be squeal-worthy. They are teeny-tiny and just so darn cute! Their Mommy is my hero as she is tandem breastfeeding in the middle of the night. You go girl!

I wish I had learned to knit before my babies were born because knitting for newborns is so much fun! Maybe I should have another...hmmmmmmm.

Baskets, Bunnies and Bags

I have been keeping myself pretty busy in the crafting department this past weekend into this week. It started on Saturday when I bought the material to make little Easter baskets for the kids. I was to cut and prepare the fabric for my craft day with my friend Michelle on Sunday, but I couldn't stop at cutting and ended up making both baskets that night. The tutorial is from one of my favorite crafty websites, Pink Penguin.

Baskets and Bunnies

On Sunday I created the Purl Rabbit. The pattern is free from The Purl Bee, as well as the patterns for the clothes. The rabbit took me most of that day and into the wee hours of the morning. Michelle and I did do a lot of chatting and snacking and took a road trip to Lebanon, NH for more fabric. It was a wonderful craft day and I'm looking forward to the next one.

Monk's Bag

Between Monday and today I decided to finally make the bags I have been coveting for some time. The Monk's Bag is a free tutorial from The Purl Bee also. I think the Purl Bee is my favorite website! I absolutely love this bag. I love the fabric, the wide strap, and the cute little polka dot pocket on the inside for my wallet and keys. I also love that I finally made something for myself!

Grocery Bag

Then I made a grocery bag. I have been pretty good about bringing our reusable grocery bags to the grocery store whenever I go. In fact, so good that I'm almost completely out of plastic trash bags to put Benji's dirty diapers in! What I'm not so thoughtful about is taking a bag when I walk to downtown, or for that quick little run to JoAnn's. Plus, the reusable bags we have are just not cute! I made this bag to fold up and put inside my Monk's Bag to have with me everywhere I go, so I never have to use those nasty plastic bags again. I didn't use a tutorial for this, but it is made in the same way as the little Easter baskets, so thank you again Pink Penguin!

So, that's what I have been up to for the past few days during naptime and after the kids go to bed. The rest of the time is spent playing, snuggling and cleaning up after everyone!

Beret and Leg Warmies

Olivia is sporting her new beret and legwarmies. We walked to the Lynch house today and my kids both got all dolled up. They also love holding hands with each other instead of Mommy or Daddy!

Legwarmies

Olivia absolutely loves her legwarmies! The first pair got left at the mall this weekend so between yesterday and today I made her a new pair. I am starting a matching beret this evening. I think Legwarmies are my favorite thing to knit. Olivia saw them on the needles today and said, "Oooh, legwarmies. For me?" Then she sat and watched me knit for a while. When they came off the needles she jumped for joy and did a jig!

Finally!

My Mom's scarf is complete. Olivia models it here:

Pretty Potholder

I still had a bunch of fabric leftover from the curtains and cushions, so I decided to make some more things for the kitchen. I made four potholders using all leftover fabric and old receiving blankets as the batting. Next up is a placemat for the center island.

Ta Da!

From this:

To this:


I just love my new stools. Using mostly fabric and paint leftover from other projects, the transformation was truly an exercise in frugality. The total cost of each stool works out to be $6.48, to include the price of the stool, the orange paint, a paint brush and the flower fabric.


Damien said I should sell them for $30 each. But, that really is not the point. I just love these so much!

My Curtains

Here they are! My kitchen curtains. I just love the fabric and how it matches perfectly with my bright blue walls. Making my own curtains is so satisfying. I can never find the perfect curtain in the store, but I can always find the perfect fabric. Our kitchen renovation may be slow, but slow and steady wins the race! Next up, refinishing the cabinets and the floor and after that, new counter tops! Woo hoo!

Busy Me

Ah, vacation. It just so happens that my winter break fell on the same week as Damien's "Kelly Week" at the Fire Department (5 days off) and annual week off from the Post Office. So we took a family trip to NY to see Jennifer and Evelyn while Nate was away at military training. On the way there I knitted. Knitting has evolved into a peaceful, leisurely activity for me. I am knitting for the pure pleasure of creation and the end result of seeing my children in their handmade knits!

I call this my "Six Day Sweater" because it only took me 6 days from start to finish! It is knit using yarn from a local NH farm and Knitting Pure and Simple Tunic 232.


Then I knit the Ann Norling fruit hat using super soft merino wool. The hat only took me about 4 hours of total knitting time, so I made two. One for Olivia and one for Maria whose Mommy gave me the yarn (thank you).


After Cameron took the sweater off Olivia wanted to put it on. She wore it for a couple of hours this morning with her eggplant hat. She was so warm, and kind enough to model for me!


I forgot my camera for our trip to NY. Hopefully Jennifer will send me some so I can post them. We had a blast! The kids really enjoyed playing and I taught Jennifer and Lisa how to knit.

Happy Valentine's Day

How we celebrated... without my husband because he was working :(

New silkies and hearts.



Wooden hearts and red silkies from Nova Natural. Simple, and the kids absolutely love them.










New haircuts.



Olivia's very first haircut in a salon. She did so well. She sat still and had this serious look on her face the whole time.











Cameron did very well too, although he had this cute grin on his face the whole time!





New shoes.

Nana got Olivia these Crocs for Valentine's Day. Olivia loves shoes, and Crocs are her absolute favorites, but she has never had her own pair. Needless to say, she LOVES them. The fact that they have "Mickey heads" on them is an extra bonus!

And had lots of fun loving and laughing together.



I love that my kids adore each other the way they do.













Olivia showing off her new talent, hanging from the counter top! She's such a little daredevil!













Cameron showing me his dance moves.















Olivia and Cameron play so well with each other and make each other laugh like no one else! The sound was music to my ears!

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with love and happy healthy hearts!