yarn ornaments for afghans

i have been collecting scraps of yarn to make the yarn ornaments i saw on the blog cakies.

my friend laura introduced me to this blog.  i love all of rubyellen's creations and her daughters are super cute!  they look like they have such a fun life.  

i followed the instructions rubyellen gave, modifying it a little by tying all of my little scraps into one long string of yarn.  they turned out very colorful and i like the extra texture from all of the ties.

i made one for each of the afghans that i recently finished plus a couple extra.  i think they look great holding the afghan bundles together.  thank you, rubyellen!  i can't wait to make more of your fun projects in the future.

C is for cookie

early this morning my mom came over to bake vegan cookies with me.

we made four different kinds:

pecan snowballs

salty cardamom snaps

sweet potato bars with chocolate chips and pecans

&

choklaboll

the cardamom snaps were veganized from a martha stewart recipe found in this year's special cookie issue, which i thought was the regular december issue of living when i bought it.  it turned out to be a happy mistake.  the other recipes were from vegan cookies invade your cookie jar.

i used this little animal shape to cut the cardamom snaps because if you hold your hand over the body it looks like a moomin.  last night i saw that uncle b made some real moomin cookies for mister mushroom  and i felt very jealous.  this was as close as i could get.

they turned out so beautiful!

  next time i might start a bit later and take time to eat breakfast first so that i do not eat as many when they are coming out of the oven.  i got a little tummy ache, ouch!

suki helped with the finishing touches.

we all had so much fun!

we put together thirty five boxes then adam delivered them to friends.

god jul!

juan + laura

congratulations juan and laura!

we just finished looking at the engagement photos and they brought tears to our eyes.

this is going to be a truly memorable new year's eve.

we are getting our party hats ready.

love a & e

dedicated to our dear friends

bed time books

this is a selection of our favorite sleepy books.

  they help us to wind down and relax before drifting off to sleep.  

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

1. pajama time by sandra boynton

2. counting birds by alice melvin

3. the house in the night by susan marie swanson

4. time for bed by mem fox

5. big red barn by margaret wise brown

6. goodnight moon by margaret wise brown

what books do you like to read before bed?

soft friends

suki, like most little girls, loves soft toys.  she likes to give them hugs, kisses, and share her snacks with them.  lately her favorite activity is cuddling with as many as possible.  

aarteita

look at these lovelies!

1. rebe farmer dolls

2. liam the fox by sleepy king

3. hillery dolls

4. apolline donkeys at makie

5. buttcrack character mr. kim by sandra juto

6. piggly and pebbles bulldog

cuddle up!

nap time books

this is a selection of books we have been reading before naps.

they are all so peaceful, it is such a comforting time before sleep.

1.  i am a bunny  by ole risom

2.  the snowy day  by ezra jack keats

3.  mama, do you love me?  by barbara m. joosse

4.  spring is here  by taro gomi

5.  hug time  by patrick mcdonnell

6.  the very quite cricket  by eric carle

ihana unelmat!

EEEEE EE EEEEEEE

suki on printeresting!  

this was such a beautiful show, we all were delighted to see justin quinn's work in michigan.  

i am excited to live with one of these prints very soon.

thank you justin!

japanese pattern project

i had been wanting to make something from a japanese pattern for a while but was a bit intimidated since i do not read the language.  i finally gave in to all of the beautiful images of these projects and decided to buy a pattern log.  when i opened it up i was even more nervous.  i can't believe how many patterns they squeeze on to one sheet!

while i located all of the appropriate pieces, then traced and cut,

i sent suki and adam to the fabric shop. this is the fabric they decided on, it is called "heavy metal".

over all i am pleased with how they turned out, and it was not as difficult as i expected.  i did not even seem rip once!  hopefully i will make her one of everything on that pattern sheet.  

yarning for you

this fall i was planning winter projects.  the brisk chill of hat and scarf season inspired me to make something with yarn.  i had been neglecting these types of projects since our beloved, local yarn shop closed last year. the hat in this photo i made while i was still pregnant.  i love accessories for children!  the scarf shown here is one of my favorites.  suki's uncle b learned to knit so that he could make her this scarf along with a little hat and a beautiful afghan.  the afghan is shown on the far right in the photo below.  now that the weather has finally turned cold for the season suki has been sleeping with it at night.  

i decided to make a few afghans.  i had visions of keeping warm with my crochet and hot coffee while listening to records and watching the snow falling softly outside.  unfortunately, i was already finished with my fourth afghan by the time the first snow arrived.  i enjoyed my time making these and they did keep me very cosy in the process.  

  

my current project is this little embroidered drawing.  it will hang above suki's play kitchenette when i finish.  adam learned to crochet last week and has been working on an afghan for his grandfather.  it is turning out beautifully.  i will post a picture of that one soon.  

for now enjoy this tune by karl blau. one of our favorites from 2010.

KARL BLAU with LAKE "Dark Sedan" (Live @ Schubas 10/22/09)

aarteita!

hello!

here is a cluster of little gems for you to check out. 

enjoy!

1. http://mabokids.bigcartel.com/product/baby-drawstring-pants

2. http://www.g-rad.org/benandbruno/store/

3. http://www.etsy.com/listing/50364407/speckled-spetacle

4. http://www.myrebe.com/shopexd.asp?id=438

5. http://newwordsproject.com/store/