It was a quiet week compared to last.....well as quiet as it can be with 8 kids and 2 dogs and all that! The Christmas knitting is going strong and I am working on two new projects this week! The first is a pasha hat for my daughter Claire and the other is another in three's cardigan for Hannah Grace. The cardigan is actually for Thanksgiving....to go over her sweet dress I found the other day at the consignment shop. I am loving the hat and have also bought a few of Jane Richmond's other hat patterns, they all are amazing!

My mystery hat has been put to the side.....I got the second clue and am not really happy with my yarn choice. I need to rethink this and pick a yarn with better stitch definition. So for now I am waiting....although I love the hat band in the yarn I used....so maybe I will figure out a different hat body that is good for that yarn. It's a warm fuzzy alpaca and it would make a great hat.....

The boys and I have loaded The Adventures of Tom Sawyer onto my iphone and we are all really enjoying it.......joining Ginny for the weekly Yarn Along!

Well last week was quite the adventure as we navigated through life with no power for 6 full days!!No internet meant no yarn along post but I did get a lot of knitting done!

I must say I enjoyed the candlelight meals and staying close to the warm wood stove.......but no hot showers and very limited plumbing was no fun at all!! But we are now on the other side of it all and oh so very thankful for the many modern conveniences that we take for granted every day!

I did some Christmas knitting.......a Rosa hat for my Elaina Rose



and a Branched Out scarf for someone on my list.......shhhhh! (they might be looking!)



I also have to share this adorable little doll I made for Hannah Grace......it's the perfect size and oh so mushy and right for little hands! It was a great fast knit using up scraps!


This week I have cast on for another mystery knit!! I joined Wooly Wormheads latest mystery hat knit and I went shopping and found this amazing yarn at my LYS!!! The first clue is done and I found a button already that I think will go great!!

My driftwood has been put aside......I'm debating frogging what I have done already......I am not happy with the join in the round and how it is looking with the stitch pattern.....it just looks off to me and I need to figure out where I am going wrong with it.......

With no power not much reading got done and I had no chance to download a new audio book........it's on my list of must dos this week!!

Linking to the Yarn Along!! Happy knitting!!

Yesterday was a very long day.......in the car. And I decided to redeem the time by casting on for a sweater for me!  (Driftwood) I have been eying this pattern for a while and decided to jump in and just do it! The size of it is a little scary to me and I think it might take a while to complete but it looks so cozy and warm so I'm gonna give it a go! The yarn is knit one crochet too meadow silk in an amazing pewter colorway.....I am loving it!
Three hours in the car and I am two pattern repeats into the main body.......


 And since I can't seem to post without  at least one baby picture here is a silly shot from our road trip yesterday.....Hannah Grace is enjoying making faces in the side mirror....too cute!



Oh and remember that adorable little pink sweater I knitted up as a gift for a new little cousin? I got to hold that baby this past weekend and she was wearing my little sweater!!! Too sweet!!



I have made my list and will be casting on this week for a few Christmas gifts.....mostly hats and mitts. Small manageable projects that I can get done fairly quickly (I hope!!)

Not much reading got accomplished this week.....I do want to get a new book for my iphone and I'm hoping for to find some good ideas through this weeks yarn along!!

Joining Ginny for the Yarn Along this week.....Happy Knitting!!

I have failed......has it really been almost a week since I posted pictures? I have been taking them.....we have so many gifts to share but the reality is life is busy and I just can't seem to get them posted every day. I am trying.....really.....

baskets of babies and puppies....what could be better!

running errands around town

the gift of exercise and enjoying the outdoors

an amazing find while thrifting.....the perfect bike seat for Hannah Grace

a breakfast treat......warm cranberry scones

beautiful fall days for doing what they love best

this wonderful place we live with miles of trails for exploring

oh that smile!! Such a gift!!

another 5K race run and a third place medal!

buttery warm banana bread....a gift for the stomach!

 Hot tea, boxes of tissues and some good read aloud books is what you will find on the coffee table this week.....as most of us are battling a seasonal cold. Oh and of course some knitting!! I started a new project this week and it is almost done! I wanted to make the baby leggings to wear under her dresses......warm wooly leggings!! This pattern has been great I just adapted it from tights to leggings by putting ribbing at the ankle and not doing the feet. Simple but I believe they will be oh so cute on her! Ravelry notes here.

And something amazing happened this week. I will share with you my fellow knitters because I know you can understand the hugeness of this for me...... I have been  making knitted items for Hannah Grace since she was a baby....she always sees me with my knitting and I am always trying items on her and then of course she eventually wears the finished items. Well this past week as I grabbed her yet again to hold something up to her she looked at me and smiled....held that sweater to her chest and hugged it.......oh my........my heart just melted. Since then she comes up to me when I am knitting and in her 19 month old way asks to try on her sweater.....and when I finished it this week she ran around the house showing all her siblings and twirling in it! She loves her knitted items!!!! I can not tell you how cute this is and how it does my knitters heart good! I knit for my older kids as well and they are always appreciative and tell me so.....but to actually see Hannah Grace come to understand right before my eyes that this is a special thing for her and to see her try to tell me without words that she likes it and it makes her happy......that is just amazing!! Here are a few photos of her in her new pumpkin sweater......with our crazy new puppy! loved this pattern by the way... a great knit! Ravelry notes here




I've mostly been reading kids books this week and we have gotten back to reading from our favorite children's bible The child's story bible by Catherine F. Voss.  Our most favorite of all!! It's rainy here yet again and so it looks like another good day for snuggling up with the kids and reading and knitting.....

 Well it seems I am having a hard time getting to this spot every day but every other day is pretty good! I have been taking lots of photos every day but the time to get here and upload them is not always easy to find. The beginning of the week found most of the kids and even Brian sniffling and coughing.....it looks like a seasonal cold is going to be making the rounds this week....

Good health.....after a week of resting a sore knee this run was just what my soul needed....although my knee is still protesting and I am praying for total healing....

comfort food.......coffee cake in a mug in 5 minutes!?!?! What a gift!

what a gift this silly little puppy is......he keeps us giggling!

a finished project.......and the joy of starting another!!

Life is full and even though the weather was not so great our weekend was jam packed with more of HIS gifts.........

puppy love

birthday boys and special treats

9 years of loving this big boy!!

favorite food

the joy of running 8 miles in the misty weather on a rocky trail.......and placing first place in her age group

a little dirt to bring home

donuts shared among sisters

amazing weather today after a week of rain......we chose to enjoy the gift of his creation today.......

big brothers that love so well......

soft sweet cheeks

adventurous boys

heartfelt hugs

the amazing beauty found in His creation.......created just for us....so thankful!

Well I got the yarn along post up yesterday but was not able to get back to get my gifts post up....Weds. is co-op day and then we also brought home a new addition to our family....(totally unplanned) but it's all good.....

here is the new addition....Daddy named him Loki after the Norse god that delights in upsetting the balance of the universe....

it's good to have a napping buddy!

so grateful for baskets of clean clothes......and lots of hands to help with folding!

chocolate chip muffins for breakfast.....yummy!

 The weather has been just perfect for knitting! And it is getting to be just cool enough to begin wearing those knits as well!! I love fall...the colors.....the temperature and just the return to spending some time in the house....preferably knitting of course!

Here is a the picture I promised of Emily's birthday cowl.....love the color and I loved this yarn as well....so soft! Ravelry notes here.



 I am just loving making little jumpers for Hannah Grace to wear....this one is actually supposed to be a vest but I just increased a little and lengthened so it could be worn as a jumper! Then I attempted to embroider a little lamb onto it.....I'm pretty happy with the way he came out and Hannah grace squeals when she sees him and loves to pet his nubby wool! Ravelry notes here



And then I started a new project.......I fell in love with this sweater...it's the Sibella Babe pullover and it's done in quince and co. chickadee. I have been wanting to order some quince and co. and so I decided to make Hannah Grace another little sweater. Now I stopped for a moment and asked myself.....can a baby have too many sweaters? Of course that thought fleeted right out of my head and I continued to order the yarn....the pattern and get started! Ravelry notes here


I know I am supposed to share my reading in these posts as well......but I really had no time this week, because when there was time I was knitting! It's a good excuse I think and so hopefully next week I will share some new reading!

Joining Ginny over at Small Things for the weekly Yarn Along....Happy Knitting!