Recovery and Recreation

As most of you already know, I miscarried a week and a half ago. I have been recovering, and thankfully, work has been slow, so Dale has been home. He is back to work today, so I am flying solo today, and getting back into the groove of things.

While I have been recovering, the camera has caught several fun moments.

Isaac has been going through a Dr. Suess phase, where that is all he wants read. Esther has been his favorite reader. So, she has become quite adept at "Marvin K. Mooney, will you Please Go Now?", "Green Eggs And Ham", "The Foot Book", and "Ten Apples Up on Top". Isaac also loves "Fox in Sox" but for some reason Esther still has trouble with that one! When Benjamin was little he liked much of the same reading, and at one point I had "Fox and Sox" memorized. That was a long time ago, and I don't remember much of it now.





Isaac has found a new hiding place. The hamper really is never empty!



After a few days of bed rest I was able to get up and do some sewing. I finally finished Benjamin's bathrobe. He is happy to have it, and only found one pin I accidentally left behind.



At some point Esther wanted to make a cake and frost it. Well, the girl has frosting issues, I'm sorry to say. It ended up kind of runny, so she named the cake "Splatter Cake". I think the reason is obvious enough.



Jerusha had her 7th birthday, and though I was more of a participant than coordinator, it was still special for her. The kids pitched in and decorated, and made cupcakes, as the birthday girl wanted to do "decorate your own" cupcakes. Thankfully, her gifts were already purchased ahead of time, and I wrapped them in quick order.

She LOVES Fancy Nancy, so most of what she received was of that brand.

A Fancy Nancy Book and doggie from Grandma...



A Fancy Nancy Dress I found on Ebay....



Also, I got her a party shawl for her Fancy Nancy Doll, also found on eBay, but forgot to take a pic. Oops!

Needless to say, her birthday was a hit!

I've also been working on a little sweater for Jerusha. It occurred to me that I've never knitted anything for her, and I found a pattern that looked doable, and decided to just knit it up for her. I let her pick out her own yarn, presenting her with choices of the correct weight yarn. Big mistake. I knew she was going to pick a pink, but I didn't think she would pick the most blinding, bright, mind bending pink she could find. I tried to steer her to something a little more subtle, but she wasn't going for it. I ended up with Caron Simply Soft in "Watermelon". Watermelon? Ha! I've never seen any watermelons this color. If you are on Ravelry, the project is titled "Sunglasses Required". The pics really do not do the color justice. Hard to believe, but trust me, it really is brighter in person.





I've frogged out the Kindle Cozy. I just wasn't happy with the feel of the yarn. I am making progress on Josiah's socks, though. I just turned the heel and am starting the gusset. Jerusha's sweater has been getting the bulk of my attention as it is very easy knitting so far. Plus, Josiah already has a couple of hand knitted items from Mama, and Jerusha has nothing. I guess it is guilt knitting, but still very enjoyable.

My quilting passion has flared up, as I know from experience it is good therapy. :) I have a baby quilt ready to be quilted, started last fall for a friend who is expecting in March. I also continued working on a quilt for Caleb, as his previous one is almost loved literally to death! I am doing a disappearing nine patch design, eclectic, not organized at all.

I've also joined a free Block of the Month, taught by Amy Gibson on Craftsy.com I am encouraging Esther to work through the course with me as it will teach many quilting techniques. A good refresher for me, and a good teaching tool for her. I've printed up the materials list, though we are doing a scrappy version of the sampler quilt. January and February instructions are up, printable directions, and video tutorials, which I find very helpful. I will post pics of the blocks as we get them done. :)

That is about it for now! Hope you all have a wonderful day.

:)