Yarn Along :: Thorpe

Last week I was so inspired by all the yarn along ladies!  Thank you for visiting and commenting too!  It's so neat to see that you guys are really out there.  All those posts are not not just pages on the computer but there are REAL people behind each one.  Who knew?  Hee hee.

So Wendy mentioned the Thorpe and I had to laugh.  My second daughter had just asked for a hat just like that.
 On the needles it goes!
Well, not until after a trip to the yarn store for yarn and double pointed needles.  I got the yarn that the pattern calls for and yum, it's so soft.  I think that I have officially become a yarn snob.  I walked through Michaels and felt each of the yarns and most of them felt so scratchy.  I really see knitting as an experience for me and I want it to be soothing and comforting.  Expensive yarn and bamboo needles seem to do the trick -
(I think I'm in trouble)

I don't know if it is because I'm a DPN rookie or not but putting 4 stitches on 4 needles (that seemed to be a size too small for the yarn) was tough.  As I was struggling through the first few rows I was wondering if this kind of knitting is good for me (you know, the experience).  This seemed too unruly and having to restart over and over was making the awesome yarn get all fuzzy.  I made it through and right now I'm not minding it so much. This picture is me in the middle of putting it on the circular needles (a bigger size too - I hope that doesn't make it too big!)
The pink my daughter chose is amazing.

The book is A Sane Woman's Guide to Raising a Large Family by Mary Ostyn.  It's very comforting reading a book by a woman who understands my heart.  It's like reading a conversation with a friend.  She has been there - double my family.  Wow, she's really been there.  In one of the first chapters she talks about how hard it was to share a baby sling with a relative.  She felt it in her heart and stomach that this was a sign of the end of babies.  The week before I started to read the book I had the same thing happen over a plastic potty chair.  It's hard for people to understand what getting rid of the potty chair really means.   I was so blessed to then read her experience and know that I'm not crazy!
I found the book randomly on the shelf in the library.   I think that the librarians ordered it just for me.  hee hee.

Blessings :: Ben

This is my guy.

He is a little man of many faces.

He just turned 5 this weekend.
He's growing and learning all too fast now.
The changes I've seen in him the past year are simply amazing.

Learning letters and numbers.  All his Classical Conversations memory work.
This boy even sings now, with words!
He's still shy but if you ask him to talk he will hold a conversation with you - a real one.

Ben is a blessing.  After having three girls the odds of having a boy where stacked against us.  We didn't feel our family was complete but after two miscarriages we weren't sure if God had any more children for us.  By God's grace he gave us another child and the boy we hoped for for many years.  (oh, and then right after that he gave us Bethany but that is another story)

So if you did your math you already know that we have five children.  I love them all so much and my life is a mix of joy and hardship. (boy would I say that I make most of my hardship!)  In all this I want to remember the multitudes of blessings, God's love and grace that He lavishes upon me, and I want that to scream out over all the negative thoughts that can run through my head each day. I'm starting my journey with Ann:



Thanking Him for:

1. my boy
2. a warm house (we are at zero degrees right now!)
3. a giving husband
4. soft yarn to knit
5. a Savior who never sleeps nor slumbers NOR tires of ME!

This Moment::Friends

Joining Amanda.

Someone to share your delights with.  Someone who understands.  Sometimes the love they share is so evident.  Sweet joy.

Yarn Along - Threes

I'm joining in (very late in the day) with Ginny and posting about something I'm knitting and something I'm reading.

This is the "In Threes" pattern found here.

So when I saw that Ginny had cast this pattern on her needles a few weeks back I just knew I had to try it.  I'm happy I did and Caitlyn is happy I did as well.  Although this is a size 5T, and my daughter is 8 years old, her chest actually measured the 5T size.  I do have to put this back on the needles though as she is skinny but tall and I need to add a few inches to the bottom.  The yarn is Mochi Plus and VERY soft.  All the colors make this sweater a little busy for me but this is what she asked for.   What do you think?

I also made a second one for a baby shower (I'll save that for another post) and I'm planning on making a third for Bethany.  The name "In Threes" made me think that I just had to make three!

The book is Ginger Plowman's Don't Make Me Count to Three.  This is about the third time I've read it and it gets me every time.  The subtitle is "a mom's look at heart-oriented discipline."  I so desperately what to get to their hearts!

  Now you might see a theme here.  There are a lot of threes in this post.  Believe me, I didn't plan this.  I actually think this is quite funny.  Shhh... there are even three buttons waiting to be sewn on  the sweater!

A Welcome

I have a little secret.  I blog in my head.  I can't seem to get myself together enough to actually sit down and write a post.  So I do it all in my head.  It is actually quite fun.  I find that I am very cleaver and the imaginary pictures are super cute!  As I go about my day I get ideas but when it comes time to sit down and type something my mind goes blank, I'm not as cleaver as I thought I was, and importing and exporting all my pictures takes so much time.  So.... if I can only welcome you to the blog in my head I think that you would like it.  *Sigh*

Instead I welcome you to my "newish" blog.  I've changed it again (this might be my third attempted) and I think that this feels right.  Woodland Rd. is our road.  It is where we live; where I spend most of my time.  It is where I try to enjoy my creator and the blessings He has given me.  It is the place I try to make beautiful and a place where I am working on peace.

There are things I want to share and moments I want to remember.  I will discipline myself to write even if I am late in joining in on things.  Oh, and if I suddenly post something about summer in the middle of winter please don't be shocked!

Belonging to that day

"...when Ma made the bread, they each had a little piece of dough..." ~Little House in the Big Woods

Kids Clothes Week::day 2 & 3

Well I did it! I finished a shirt! It's pretty cute I must say and its for a pretty cute person.




This is the Blossom Blouse from the Sew Liberated book. (See the side bar for the book info) It was super fun to sew. Since the seam allowances were all 1/2 inch, it was easy to finish it with french seams. All but one of the armholes though... I was rushing to finish at the end of the first day and I was too scared to stop and think about how to do this. It's actually very easy! I'm thinking that I'm going to have to wash this shirt a lot and I didn't want the seams to fray. She is a pretty messy girl!

All in all I think this is a good pattern. It is definitely on the short side and if I make it again I will extend the length. Maybe I'll even make it into a dress. That would be cute.

I finished this on Tuesday afternoon. No sewing for me on Wednesday. I've fallen ill and we had a memorial service to attend. I'm hoping to get some time in tonight. I've started to feel much better. Next up is a pair of PJ's for my 7 1/2 year old. Butterick 4913

Check out the flickr group for this weeks challenge. Such cute stuff there! Some of these women can really pump out a large quantity of great stuff. I'll be lucky if I get half of my next project done by the end of the week.