Soakers and Sleep Sacks

For the cloth diaper set............
These 100% sleeper sac soakers were a fun knit. Wonderful for newborn to about 3 months(or until they become scooters) and make for super quick night time diaper changes. I fell in love with the colors. The Pink & Purple color way is from Sarah at Babylonglegs, so vivid and fun.
I love her work, super soft but sturdy. I have 4 or 5 other hand dyed by her so you will be seeing them soon. I have a link to her website on my side bar

I used the free pattern (found on Ravelry) Booty Extreme by Jessica Meredith for the soakers. Great pattern, directions very clear and allow room for your own creativity. The yarn is another hand-dye. This one is called "Jiminey Crickets" by Monkeypal. Her link is also on my side bar. Both Fiber Enablers are wonderful about special orders and providing a quality product.

These should all be posteed to my Etsy shop today.

I think I need a Wife!

I think I need a wife! Someone to keep me organized. My Dust Bunnies & laundry are taking over. Plants and flower’s need planted and re potted. I’ve been ignoring my house to knit, I don’t think its ever been this messy, even when all my kids were still at home.

I have been digging thru my stash and its now spread all over the house.

My goal this month has been to have all working projects completed. I’m making progress but running out of time.

There are 4 sweaters waiting for buttons, 2 jumper or sundresses still waiting on embroidery or buttons. I hate sewing on buttons, they have been sitting there for over a week . Today I will bite the bullet and get them done…..maybe.

Projaholics, Yard Art & Lemonade

When we had to pull out the old garage floor, we had a HUGE mound of concrete I refer to as our “Yard Art”. What size do would you like, I can offer anything from 1 inch to 6 inch deep, and just about any size of slab! Hmmm….lemons….Lemonade!

Later this summer we were planning to create a court yard/patio area between the garage and house. It’s shaped like a slice of pie and just not quite big enough for our size family. Weeks ago, Larry & I were talking and agreed if we could extend it out “just a few feet” it would work. So yesterday morning we began pulling apart the Yard Art and started building a retaining wall. It will allow us to extend the patio area an additional 10ft in length and 12-13 ft in width!
We were going to purchase rock slabs to do this but…with a little bit of creativity we’ll work with what we have. Had a great crew, my husband (the mastermind) of course, daughters Erika and Danielle, Erika’s boy friend Chris, Larry’s dad and my grandson Isaiah. 4 generations playing with big puzzle pieces….big HEAVY puzzle pieces. And a lot more to go!
4 generations! Can you taste the Lemonade? I think we will enjoy the memories of this as much as the use of the area we are creating.

Some Things Are Just More Important!

We were moving the last of his tools from the carport back to the garage and this is what we found. We had to stop. Neither of us could believe it. She just sat there on those eggs watching us watch her! So, we changed projects. We can wait..... some things are just more important!

More garage photos, the sad face that put himself in time out. He was so upset he couldn't be on the bob cat. Lots of Help from Larry's dad and cousin Mike.

Projaholics R Us!

I think we are projaholics, we go from one project to the next. I am married to a world class do-it-yourselfer. I meant that in the best possible way. He finishes what he starts, and is not to proud to ask for guidance if he has questions. 2 years ago we built a garage. I say we as my husband, grandson and I. The house did not have one and my handman-jack of all trades husband was working out of a small room in the basement. So, after many years of waiting we built this. His dream, a 30 X 40 garage. We plotted it out, took down a tree or 2. We spent most of the summer preparing, doing it ourselves. A friend of ours was good enough to lend us a back hoe. We leveled and dug footers. Are we cheap or frugal? Depends on whom you ask but, neither of us like paying for things you can do yourself. At long last, up she went. A contractor poured the floor and put the actual building up with hubbys help in his off hours. I think Isaiah our grandson had as many hours as Larry did in the building. That kid can shovel some dirt! After breaking 2 kid shovels we bought a small gardening one. You would have thought it was a Pony he was so excited to have a REAL shovel. (wonder how long that will last).

So, At long last the garage was done, hand prints in wet concrete, doors in place, tools placed and work areas planned. He moved in. Just like a kid in a candy store! That is until my grandson was playing with a bouncy ball and we heard the most horrible sound. Thump, thump, thunk, thunk, thunk!
Huge air bubbles in the floor! It started cracking like a shattered window as soon as cold weather set in. What a mess! We were just sick! So this fall we had it dug out and re-poured. So, now we have “YARD ART” I ask you…………. how many people can claim this size of yard sculpture?

The Craft room cometh!

I’m getting a craft room! We are enclosing our car-port to move the laundry room upstairs and also creating a 2nd bathroom. The rest is MINE! It’ is still in the planning stages for the interior so I’m asking what is the favorite thing in your “room” or work area. I have a lot of ideas and but not sure how it will all fit together. What are your coulda/shoulda /woulda’s? I will be using it as a sewing/knitting room so, your comments & suggestions will be greatly appreciated. What was the best thing you did, what are the things you wish you had done differently?

I went on line searching and found a website (and have lost the link) with the ideal (in my mind) sewing set up, L-shaped for sewing machine & serger. Cone and spool thread on the wall within easy reach. A free floating table. I think a table against the wall would be too limiting for pattern & quilt layout. Windows, 2 big windows for natural sunlight. Storage for knitting, sewing and craft books.

The knitting storage is where I’m stumped. I think I would prefer open mesh cubes on the wall, yarn off the floor and visible. The type Anne at the Grinny Possum uses would be great as I could adjust them to meet my current need. Hmmm, a room that floats, where I am able to adjust the room to accommodate my current needs. Wow, with all these plans & ideas I need to measure the space again! I look forward to hearing all your ideas and suggestions

Friends don’t let friends knit Drunk

I was cruising right along the other night on a baby jumper. Fun simple knit, using Cascade 220. I had just joined the bodice and started the skirt. On the home stretch…just finish the a-line skirt add a bit of embroidery and done right?
My good friend Johanna popped in for a bit. You know the kind of friend your closer to than family. You can say any thing to and she’ll throw your words back at you when necessary? Well, she’d been out for sushi and brought some Japanese Plum wine for me to try. I’m not a big drinker, one glass of (insert beverage) and I get a bit loopy. We each poured a glass, and it was WONDERFUL! Chatting, knitting, sipping. I was on a roll, that skirt went up so fast! After a bit Jo left, I threw the (empty) bottle away and decided to cast off in the morning.

It was the most wonky thing ever! My A-line skirt was straight on one side with a large bubble hump on the other! I frogged the evidence. This is what’s left after a great bottle of wine and fun evening knitting. I laughed so hard, and was thankful no one was home to see it. The next time Johanna brings Plum wine I'll put training wheels on her Motorcycle.

Think I’ll pour a cup of COFFEE and finish it today.

Things My Mother Taught Me… that she may not know

My Mother is the strongest women I know.
She taught us not just by words, but more by example & action.
I'm one of many, proud to call her Momma.

Things my Mother taught me.......

That no matter what happens, you can keep going.

There are some things you can’t change, only your reaction.

The love of nature, feeling the soil and being a small part of the Bloom

That it’s ok not to have all the answers.

Home-made cocoa is always the best

The joy of cooking, with very little.

There are times for silence

What Butts are really for.

The Joy of books & learning

Its not where you are in life, It’s how you live it.

Always to leave a place better that you found it

You have to be happy where you are, before you can be happy anywhere else

That money is not the value of a person

Everyone has gifts, you just have to find yours

That if you have a little, you have a lot

To use our hands to create, and a gift made, is a gift of your-self

Mistakes can be forgiven

Every child has to walk their own path, not ours

To stand for what you believe in

To make my own choices, and live with the results.

That when adult children ask what do you think, they don’t always need an answer.

Supper is ready when your chores are done

We are the example

No matter what, She will always Love me

Happy Mothers Day Momma, I Love You.

Happy Mothers Day............ in Whatever Form

This has been around for a while and each time I read it I find myself in a different line. Oh, the wisdom of hind-sight. I have been blessed to be the mother of 4. 3 daughters, Danielle, Rachel & Erika, 1 son Aaron. We may not have always made the best decisions, but they were always made with love & best intentions. I hope they learned as much from us as we have from them.

I think one of the best Mothers Day Gifts is watching the cycle of questions, decisions, doubts and Love.....start all over again. And to know they may not always make the best decisions, but they will always be made with Love and best intentions.


This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, 'its okay honey, Mommy's here.'
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
This is for all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes and all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see and the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars. And that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner.

And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Moon' twice a night for a year. And then read it again, 'Just one more time.'
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls 'Mom?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college -- or have their own families.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year old dye their hair green.
For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good mother anyway? Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time? Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache she feels when she watches her son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time? The jolt that takes her from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put her hand on the back of a sleeping baby? The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when she just wants to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in her home? Or the need to flee from wherever she is and hug her child when she hears news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation... And for mature mothers learning to let go. For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers. Single mothers and married mothers. Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us... Hang in there.

In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray. And never stop being a mother..

Devils in the details & the Finishing

I hate finishing things. I’ll do the big project, sew the gown, knit the sweater…..I just don’t want to hem or sew the buttons on! It’s a bit of a joke in my family. One year I bought my husband 2-3 pair of nice slacks for Christmas, for his birthday in August I hemmed them. Get the idea? My May goal is to complete any and all working projects.
My husband is still laughing. So far going thru baskets and bins I have found, (read to the tune of 12 Days of Christmas) 4 pairs of Booties , 2 block baby sweaters, 4 pair of mitts & a kimono jacket waiting to be seamed. 3 hats waiting pom poms or trim, Mossy Jacket needing front bands, 5 cell phone cozies (made last fall) & my Mini pini needing buttons (just set there for the photo). What do you think, should I add the buttons on the bottom? That’s it so far but, I have 3 more bins to go.

The Considerate Wife

The mini is almost complete. Camping this weekend delayed the progress some, I was only able to knit about an inch. Simple mindless knitting but great for group setting where your attention is pulled in many directions. The knitting is done, I just need to add the buttons. Guess I HAVE to visit Grinny Possum this morning!…Photo coming soon!

I had a wonderful find at Meijer yesterday. My oldest daughter Danielle & I were at the check-out after finding a few plants for our back deck and her yard. The lady in front of us had this wonderful plant hanger! It’s a Mothers Day Special they have running, the plant and stand (your choice of 2 stands) for $20.00! Being the wonderful considerate wife that I am, (ok quit laughing and don’t spew your coffee on the keyboard) I saved him the time and trouble of bringing it home!