Birthday Fun

It's been a fun, yet busy, week with Naomi. She turned 6 and in honor of her birthday she got to be student of the week at school, which involves a daily activity: bring a poster to school about yourself, bring someone to school to read to the class; ... you get the idea. Add to this a music performance her class was giving on Tuesday evening; 100 days at Kindergarten on Friday day, and a Spanish festival on Friday night. Yup, quite the busy week!




I hadn't heard of the 100 days of school activity prior to this year, but essentially the kindergartners get to celebrate their 100th day by dressing as though they are 100 years old.  Typically I'd go out and hunt for something, but given the hectic schedule we went searching through the closets at home. A simple dress and cardigan and a few props later, we were ready! The plastic glasses were a party giveaway, the faux pearls from a previous Christmas party, and maybe you recognize the shawl? It is the Handspun Henslow that I made many moons ago.

On top of the school activities, we've been working on the aprons for the birthday party.  That's right "we".  I can't tell you how pleased I was that Naomi wanted to play an active role in making these for her friends.  Cutting out the sleeve/pocket pattern, measuring and cutting the ribbons, and helping me stitch (sat on my lap, her hands on mine as we guide the fabric through the machine).  I was really impressed with how she got on.









The party was earlier today and they had such a wonderful time.  If you are in Colorado/Denver area, we went to Hot Pots in Littleton, and it is a great place with the most helpful staff. The space is beautifully decorated and there is room for the kiddos to be in a dedicated area of the store. I highly recommend it.


Well, time for me to put my feet up!
Hope you had a great weekend,
Sam xxx

Children's apron

It is rapidly approaching Naomi's birthday, and we have just settled on a party idea:  Pottery painting at a local studio. If you have been following me for some time you know that:
a) I love to make party favors and gifts
b) I have a tendency to leave the making of said favors and gifts to the last minute
This year is no exception!

Given the kiddos will be painting, I thought a fun apron would be a sweet thing for them to wear at the party and take home afterwards.  I found 2 strong candidates via Pinterest:
1.  Aesthetic Nest: Children's Reversible Fat Quarter Apron
2.  Brown Eyes plus Blue:  Pinafore Apron

There's something very appealing to me about the cool and utilitarian vibe of #2, and I had a vision of how this could look with the mochi mochi dots from my stash.  However Naomi preferred #1, hands down.  And what's not to love about this bright patterned apron with the whimsical details.



So, we started with a rummage through my fabric stash and found this fabulous children's print:  It is a Kokka fabric called Hello Animals by designer Nancy Wolff.  The backing will be a solid hot pink Kona cotton.  The ribbons and pom poms were picked up at Jo-Ann fabric.



I made a couple of modifications to the original pattern:
1.  I added both pockets to the 'front' of my reversible apron, and added some additional pom pom trim detail to them
2.  I did not add a button and button hole for the neck ribbon.  Instead I cut the ribbon at about 18 inches, so that it sleeps over Naomi's head.  In fairness, this is a snug fit, so I may alter the other versions to either use a velcro closure at the back of the neck, or simply add 2 lengths of ribbon that can be tied in a bow at the back of the neck.

et Voila!  I am delighted with how the prototype turned out.  The rest of my Sunday will be in mass production :)



Wishing you a great day ahead!
Love,
Sam

Happy Valentine's Day!

There have been a number of activities at Naomi's school this last week, most notably 'Tie Dye Tuesday'.  I decided that this would be a fun opportunity for Naomi and I to work on a craft project together.  I found this great tutorial for creating tie dye with Turmeric:  Natural Tie Dye Pillow from High on DIY.  We had everything we needed at home already so it was perfect! And the color that the turmeric creates is fabulous and sings that Spring is on the way!



This project was simple enough for a little one to work on (except the boiling part of course - that was my domain). She was delighted with the end result, and shared this as her 'Good thing' at school that day. By the way, I love that her school reinforces the idea of looking for the good in each day by encouraging the kiddos to share their 'good things' with the class.

A good thing for me: I took Friday off work to go to the zoo with my family. It seems people and animals alike had the same idea - it was a perfect day to be outdoors! We got to see some lion cubs, the bears, mountain sheep, etc. etc. and feed the lorikeets.  I loved seeing the bears, but feeding the lorikeets was the highlight of the day for Naomi and I.



Other good things - I splurged on some more yarn. This is 'high twist sock' from Pigeonroof Studios. I've yet to figure out what to make with this as there are only 240 yards. I could see possibly pairing with some other yarn in my stash and use this as a border on a shawl. Or maybe use on its own to make a hat. What are your thoughts?



But for now, and in honor of the day, I will spend a little time on this Valentine's cross stitch from the Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery:



Wishing you a wonderful Valentine's day!
Love
Sam
xxx

Superbowl Sunday!

Are you ready for the big game?


Each year I watch the Superbowl. I can't say I am an avid fan of American football, but I do love this event - the excitement of the build up, the shows, the camaraderie, parties, and of course this marketing gal loves the commercials. This year has been especially interesting to watch the support for the local team who have made it to the big game, and a young daughter getting indoctrinated at school, with 'United in Orange' days and other festive events. The indoctrination has worked - I have received her request that we go to a local party store so that we can decorations for the game! :)


I will also be working on a newly cast-on knitting project during the game - this is Clapo-Ktus. It is a wonderful combination of 2 popular patterns: Clapotis and Baktus.
 




I have a Clapotis that I knit many moons ago and it may be one of my most loved finished knits (and looking at the date on Flickr, my Clapotis is almost 10 years old!).  This modification of the original seemed like a fun addition to my wardrobe. It is also perfect plane knitting, and later this afternoon, game knitting!





The yarn that I am using is Skein Top Drawer Sock. Not only is colorway divine, but the yarn is ridiculously soft. It is a joy to work with.





Wishing you a great day ahead, and 'Go Broncos!' Sam XXX