Tuesday Make Over

Thrift shopping yesterday you  may remember I picked up this girls sundress…obviously way to big for Evie. But we liked the colors & the fabric was in fantastic condition

I removed the bodice leaving about an inch,

to fold over & create an elastic casing.

Erika and I were laughing because she was using Isaiah’s race car control as a walkie talkie to “call her plane to pick her up”  have no idea where she got that one!

Perfect fit for a size 3/4.  I left all the fullness in the skirt & she was twirling right away.

It took about 30 minutes from start to finish.  Would have been much quicker but I now have a “helper”  Evie is the official family “pin puller”.  As she removed each pin she would say “careful, careful, gently, gently…She loves to stand at my side while I sew and is starting to understand the process of “what comes next”.

I think I’ll have a sewing buddy soon as she is now asking “where’s mine sewing machine”

Last week we made reversible tunics. ”

One for her and one for “Baby Alix,

Prints for St Patrick’s Day on one side and Valentines on another

Evie slipped hers on as soon as they were done, Erika’s had to hide them to save for Valentine’s  I love this style for little girls, tunics in winter when an extra layer is nice and as a sun top with shorts or bloomers in the summer. 

It looks like winter may actually be coming to our part of the world as snow is in the forecast!

Timer is going off which means the Bread is ready to come out of the oven & I need to actually do something productive today.

Have a good one and stay warm out there!

Katie

Monday’s Thrifty finds

 

After running a few errands to today Evie & I stopped into our local thrift store.

I think Evie is going to be a another sewing nut.  I’d seen the fabric in this sundress and was making plans in my head for it when Evie spotted it and shouted ”a Skirt Grandma a SKIRT FOR ME!!

I had already been planning to cut the top off and have a ruffled skirt for her & I think there may be enough left in the bodice for a skirt for Alix.

After looking closely I don’t think it was worn and washed but once.  Not bad for 80 cents!

 

Evie’s no different most other 3yr old little girls,  & holds the firm  belief the color pink was created solely for her.

So, in Evies little world, in her mind anything pink is or should be hers.

Do you have any idea how many “pink” items there are in a thrift store?

I found this pink t-shirt still with tags that will soon become another skirt for her

 

 

At the check out I found a new Easter tablecloth, it’s 50X70  & perfect for the kitchen table.  It was marked $3.50 with an additional 50% off. SCORE!

Since I already have a nice one I think it may become an apron and napkins….bread wrapper & dish towels, who knows!

Now to carve out the time to get it all sewn up.

What good thrifting deals have you found lately?

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,thrifting,frugal finds,sewing,Evie

Wedding dress shopping

We’ve been dress shopping with my daughter Danielle.  Keep in mind she’s 5’10 and has been dreading this part of the wedding planning knowing finding a dress wouldn’t be easy.  It should be fun for her but wedding dress’ are designed for women 5’5-5’7.  The waist hits her at the ribcage.  It’s hard to even visualize what the style would look like altered. Not that we haven’t had a bit of fun with it…Erika, our “Bonus Daughter” Katie  have  brought Danielle some hideous dresses to try “just because”.

And why do designers think every bride wants to look like a fru fru ruffled 6 foot round puffy skirt Barbie? 

Seriously the dresses we’ve seen all look like

a.  you belong on a sugar crusted cupcake,

Doesn’t she look happy?

b. you stole the crown jewels and they’ve all been sewn on the bust and/or waist line,

c. “Art” dresses that looks as if they were made by crack addicts with scraps from the cutting room floor (seriously the entire  cupcake skirt was covered with these funky swirls of raw edged fraying fabric!)

d. dresses with real cup sizes.  There are many other letters past “C” and, not every bride is an emaciated model! 

e.  Sideways ruffles and pleats.  Please there are are women with actual hips!

I tell you in every every shop we would tell them cup sizes and they would smile and say “sure you are” .  Then she tried on the dresses….and would the girls come out to play! 

Her frustration factor is growing.

Come on designers, she wants a simple elegant dress she won’t fall out of….

Is that to much to ask?

Technorati Tags: Katidids,wedding dress shopping

6 More weeks, Really?

What crazy weather we’ve been having……a statement I’m hearing from everyone lately.  We haven’t even had a winter.  Areas that are generally mild are getting hit with lots of snow, others  such as ours have simply had dustings. First time in years we didn’t have a white Christmas.  Yesterday & today its low 60’s and the doors are open….not that I’m complaining I love the fresh air.  But its like mother nature is teasing me. 

I want so badly to get out and putter in the garden. At least I can use this mild weather to weed the strawberry bed and lessen the work in the spring. We’ve been the recipients of weekly loads of rabbit poo to be dumped in the garden.  We’d had quite a bit to mulch with last year and the veggies loved it!  I’m expecting this year to be even better as all we’ve received this winter will be tilled prior to planting.  Never thought I’d be so excited about poo~

It’s been a while since I’ve updated here & there is a lot to catch up on.

The addition is pretty much done. We’ve yet to finish off the studio but, Larry (the most awesome husband) brought me home an 8 ft table so I can set up the sewing machines.  The wool is all organized in bins & needless to say there is more than I thought.    Translate that to mean I could have insulated the new addition with wool if I’d needed to!  Yes, gathered all together there is A LOT more than I thought taking up much needed space…which means I need to get busy knitting.  I could store some down in the land from which people never return basement but  I know me and it would be out of sight out of mind. 

I’ve photo’s aplenty on the lap top I’ll post once It gets home from the computer surgeon.  Seems I had some nasty virus that was shutting everything down.  It’s due to be done today but I’m not holding my breath.

We’ve had a few changes as I mentioned earlier.  A new baby added to the family and a wedding in May OF THIS YEAR for our oldest daughter Danielle.

Which means there will be a lot of DIY projects to come

Stay tuned!

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,Updates,weather,family

Customs in progress, Mama update’s!

A hooded Cardi in progress using handspun from Little Monkey’s Stitch & Spin.  Wow, is it nice! Often handspun is overspun and kinks up while knitting with it…this is smooth and wonderful to work with.  The sweater is knitting up quickly as I want to knit to the next color change!

Also on the needles are longies for Sara.  Using Mosaic Moon Charlie” These longies are a fun knit as the colors are so bold they just pop !Friday I’ll be stocking again with Jenny on Little Trunks Knits,  I’ll have a few Christmas items & if your looking for overalls you need to see the Bayside Britches she’s stocking

Tonight they are calling for snow so you can bet I’ll be inside knitting & venturing out as little as possible tomorrow

Have a great week!

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids Knits,custom Knits,Little Trunks Knits,Customs,handspun,Little Monkey's Stitch & Spin

Friday Finds Me..

thankful for my garden & the time I can spend in it with the little’s in my life

From tiller to table, teaching them that the work we do pays off

sometimes it’s to the benefit of others & no matter what you do, once in a while thing just don’t work out

But that’s ok…you don’t give up, you try again.

Giving me the reminder that a garden is like children, it’s not just planting seeds,

but the seen and unseen they are exposed to

which form the strong vines of character they will develop & carry with them on the twisting paths life offers

& to live with purpose

Teaching them like the bloom, the heart is tender and life is fragile, and must be handled gently

What did you find in the garden today?

 

Technorati Tags: Gardening,life,random,Katidids

Projaholics…on the home stretch!

It’s been a while but after a lot of thought,I’m sticking my toe back in the blogging waters. Thank you to those who emailed offering encouragement to start back up.   Let see, where to start!

The addition is nearly  done!  We’re down to the finishing work.

My work room needs: the closet door track & doors installed and trim painted.   It’s the only room that had unpainted trim. We got a little ahead of ourselves on that one. (yes, we were to excited to wait)  After all the fussing I did about wanting color in my home, the paint color I chose is “Alpaca”.  A neutral cream-ish.  I thought I want a vibrant & bold color in here but after a lot of thought I went with something I could make bold and vibrant!  I’ve yet to find cabinets & counters I want or, am willing to pay for.   We’ve quite a few peddlers malls in the area I’ve been watching for counters & cabinets to repurpose. I think I’ll post on the local Free-cycle also.  It’s the time of year when a lot of home remodeling is going on & with any luck someone will be redoing their kitchen!

The laundry room is done.  The construction portion any way. Again I need to find a cabinet to go under the window. We have a repurposed counter stashed just waiting to be installed.

The Bathroom is painted (no trim yet) and has lights up.   Larry just created this beautiful tile floor, pretty darn good for his first tile work I think! The shower needs tiled next & once that is complete the vanity, sink & commode can be installed. 

The hall/entry area:    As this is the main entry area to the other rooms we’ve already bumped & nicked the walls a few times carrying things in. For now It’s painted, the temporary flooring is in and the closet door is up but to avoid re-doing work, we will finish this area last.

It’s been a long road getting here but we’re on the home stretch now!

Technorati Tags: Katidids,projaholics,addition,do it your selfers

Taking a Break for a few weeks…….

Knitting is on hold for a few weeks

Today my siblings and I had the honor of being home with my mother as she passed away. As with most things in her life, her passing was done with a quiet dignity, grace & quirky humor. 

Yesterday 26 December would have been Mom and Dad’s 63rd wedding anniversary.  We know Daddy was waiting for her with open arms & in true Cahoon fashion………………she was late.  But, Daddy wouldn’t have minded.

So, I’m going to take a few weeks…to help take care of what ever needs done here & then go home & say hello to my husband again.

Any customs I have lined up will be a tad later than planned.  I will be contacting each of you & if you choose to have your yarn returned or cancel an order I understand as growing babies can’t always wait.

Thank you for your patience, prayers & support

Katie

 

Technorati Tags: family

Finished Knits & Customs In The Mail

Miss Gabby will be a warmly dressed baby in these longies!

Western Sky Knits, 3 Ply merino “Violets”

Super soft for those tiny noodles legs! 

Using a new pattern by Raya Budrevich of Blissful Knits, I had just enough left over to make a matching  Ruffled Hat. 

Here at Mom’s I don’t have my ribbon stash (or better camera for good photo’s) to finish it off but, Gabby’s Mama assures me she has plenty on hand.

I have 5 other items in the works.  OK, to be honest the knitting portion is done. I need to add buttons or a bit of seaming to finish them….the dirty details! 

Off to sew on buttons & hopefully the rain will STOP! At least long enough for some photos or, I’ll be knitting an ark!

Technorati Tags: Custom Knits,Katidids Knits,longies,Ruffle hat,Blissful knits

 

Taking the Knitting on the Road or …er Plane

I receive a call from my sisters that my mother’s health is rapidly failing. Tomorrow morning I’ll be flying out to California for an undetermined amount of time. Yes, I’ll be taking the knitting with me.  I want and need to be there but, I know me and I’ll want and need to keep my hands busy. 

I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone but it will be as long as need be. I’m very Blessed to have such a supportive husband!  Letting go is never easy so your prayers and thoughts will be appreciated.

Right now the plan is……….

Any customs that are in line will still be completed, I’ll just ship from Calif.

For those of you who have wool in route…my family will send it to me as soon as it hits the mail box.  Yes, it will create a day or 2 delay but, most had at least a week wait before I could start so…… at this point I really don’t anticipate any significant delays.

My awesome, super suitcase packers (THANK YOU Erika & Danielle!) will still ship orders for completed items in the Etsy Shop . 

I’ll have my laptop with me so don’t hesitate to e-mail

Katie

Technorati Tags: Katidids,etsy,customs

 

October Colors Available for customs

Colors, colors Everywhere!

I have 3, possibly 4 openings for customs in October, to the first of November.

Colors I have available from the top of the wool bin……

Starting with “Boyish”

From “Stash up Yarns” 8oz  Smudge Pot Blue! All shades of blue with grey, greens browns and a touch of copper. Great for boys by could be a gender neutral colorway

  

Next up the ever yummy Mosaic Moon.  8oz of Newgrange on MMR

Think all things chocolate with a touch of caramel and chestnut from Liberty Fibers 8 oz

Gender neutral and holiday colors are:

YUMMY Moonlight and Laughter, “Rainbow to the Stars” 7oz

Stitches Under the Sun

“Ice Skating “ BFL 7oz

Little Trunks Knits

“Santa’s Reindeer” Bulky Gaia 8 oz

And the Girly choices:

Wildflower Whimsy, “Autumnal Rainbow” 8oz  Lily

One of my color-ways,  6 oz on heavy worsted

Inspired Mama Makes, “Earthy Rainbow” 6oz twist 

Another of my color-ways, 4oz

Last but not least

Beautiful Nurturing Threads. Caramel Apple 4oz 

First come first served!  YYMN customs fall in order of date your yarn is received.

Longies, tunics’, baby-doll’s, overalls, hats…they are all open!

Technorati Tags: custom knits,babydolls,longies,elizabeth tunics,tickle hats,overalls,bayside britches,sweaters,katidids,etsy

I’ve a Guest Stocking on Hyena Cart with “Little Trunks Knits”!

I’m so excited! 

Jennifer has generously offered me a guest spot in her grand reopening of

“Little Trunks Knits” 

Starting…..

TOMORROW!

I’ve offered 2 pair of “Bayside Britches” (Jennifer’s pattern)

And a longie & hat set

Be sure and come check it out!  There are quite a few guests including:

Kristi of TFK-dyed yarn

Angela of Fairyblue-semi custom or custom slot

Heather of Dragonfly Graphics-a banner package

Sarah of Honeybee and small fry-gorgeous knits

Teresa of FCOL-advocacy shirts

Amy of Alligator Knits-dyed yarn

Stop in and say Hi!

Technorati Tags: hyena cart stocking,little trunks knits bayside britches,longies,guest stocking,katidids,hand knits

Here Fishy Fishy Wool Longies & Another Cutie!

Just Listed to Katidids Etsy “Here Fishy, Fishy” Medium Longies with coordinating hat. 

I can just visualize a little one with fingers swishing in a Koi pond saying here fishy fishy!

And, meet Miss Peyton!

Is she a doll or what?

What a sweet model in her custom knit Elizabeth Tunic & shorties

I love that red hair and such a sweet smile!  Thank you Nicole for sharing the pictures!

Technorati Tags: custom knits,customer photo's,elizabeth Tunic,longies,etsy shop,katidids,handdyed,knitting,stocking

Problem Solving!

Everyone concentrates on the problems we're having in this country lately: illegal immigration, hurricane recovery, and alligators attacking people in Florida.

Not me. I concentrate on solutions for the problems. It's a win- win situation…..

+ Dig a moat the length of the Mexican border.
+ Send the dirt to New Orleans to raise the level of the levies.
+ Put the Florida alligators in the moat along the Mexican border.
Any other problems you would like for me to solve today?

Yes!
Think about these:
1. Cows
2. The Constitution
3. The Ten Commandments

C O W S
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it amazing that during the mad cow epidemic our government could track a single cow, born in Canada almost three years ago, right to the stall where she slept in the state of Washington? And, they tracked her calves to their stalls. But they are unable to locate 11 million illegal aliens wandering around our country. Maybe we should give each of them a cow.

T H E  C O N S T I T U T I O N
They keep talking about drafting a Constitution for Iraq .... Why don't we just give them ours? It was written by a lot of really smart guys, it has worked for over 200 years, and we're not using it anymore.

T H E  TEN  C O M M A N D M E N T S
The real reason that we can't have the Ten Commandments posted in a courthouse is this:
You cannot post 'Thou Shalt Not Steal,' 'Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery,' and 'Thou Shall Not Lie' in a building full of lawyers, judges and politicians.  It creates a hostile work environment.
It is Time for America to speak up!

Gardening Must Have’s

This morning while watching  the morning news, a mention of gardening in the next segment perked my ears right up like little radars.  Fresh cup of coffee in hand and notepad at the elbow I was ready to jot down notes for any new info that might piqué my interest.  I was a bit disappointed to hear the segment was on gardening attire…thinking expensive wellies & what not. 

Let me tell you, after I cleared the coffee from my sinus’s & key board I laughed so hard I woke Miss Evie

Attire shown was similar to this outfit, which is what we all wear right?

It  included accessories such as

these which I’m sure are intended for soil aeration.

 

So, I  Google searched gardening attire for fun…… to see what main stream America finds important

Hats and head covering of all types and style were deemed the #1 item

for protection from the sun.  

Gloves to protect you hands were of course second on the list…

And proper tools for each task followed.

I’m sure my raggedy sundresses/cutoff shorts and tank tops are hopelessly out of fashion!  And the gardening police would defiantly ticket me for my lack of head covering and gloves!  And my baskets and plastic bowls to collect produce?  A major gardening No No!

What are your gardening must haves?

Technorati Tags: gardening family,humor

You have to read

Rural Revolutions.  If you’ve not  visited before,  your in for a treat. Today’s post is a  list of “Universal Laws”….so funny and so true!

Katie

Technorati Tags: Rural Revolution,humor

Nice & Lazy Morning

2 bowls of tomato’s harvested yesterday.  I’m becoming a bit tired of canning tomato’s but know we will really enjoy using them these next few months in soups, stews and on pasta’s Another 14 quarts and 5 more pints cooling on the table

Just to get out of the house I went for a drive yesterday & found a “new to me” road side market.  Her tomato’s were $1.00 each! I maybe in the wrong business! I did purchase 3 lbs of onions,  half yellow and half red to dehydrate for $2.00.  The local grocery had 1 lb of either type for $3.99 this morning!

I also picked up more peaches.  $10.00 for 1/2 a bushel.  Again less than half the price at our local grocery.  These will be halved and sliced for canning this afternoon.

Apple sauce and peaches I need to have a good stock of as they seem to be Isaiah & Mr.Fix-It’s favorite evening snack in the winter…that is unless there is pie or ice cream in the house!

It’s a beautiful morning, a nice breeze to keep the humidity down so far & mid 70’s.  Coolest its been all month!  I guess I can’t say that as its a new month but it the nicest morning in a month anyway.  I’ve been enjoying my coffee outside pulling weeds here and there in the neglected flowerbeds.   Larry is gone for the morning helping a friend so I’m in no rush to do anything with purpose

I think I’ve decided on a permanent area for an herb garden.  This year I have them all in pots and they have done “OK” but,  know they could do so much better in the ground not pots.

Well, the day’s a wasting so I need to get busy, more zucchini to shred and freeze…maybe even a peach pie for desert!

Have a great day!

Technorati Tags: canning,herbs,random