mother of squirrel

pure enjoyment

2012-01-25T12:32:00.000-08:00

walking on the frozen lake, where I usually spend my summers.
Enjoying every last minute of it.

gnome around the world

2011-11-28T15:35:00.001-08:00

Adding some more gnomes to my shop, and a miniature knitted gnome pattern.

a new Milo for Mattie

2011-11-19T05:38:00.001-08:00

foxie

2011-10-26T14:47:00.000-07:00

Matts wants to be a fox for Halloween.
A little white felt and and a few oil pastels and this is what we came up with.

new colors

2011-10-22T18:02:00.001-07:00

more hats in new colors

wrist warmers

2011-09-27T09:58:00.000-07:00

I made these for my sweet sister and can now post photos because I know her package arrived. Everyone needs a new pair of wrist warmers to welcome fall don't ya think?
I used this pattern from ravelry.

another blog

2011-09-18T21:20:00.000-07:00

I have decided to start another blog(yes, I am a little crazy!)
In my new blog you will find

WALDORF INSPIRED
handwork class ideas
homeschooling/classroom ideas
seasonal knitting and craft ideas for teachers.

I am in my second year of teacher training at my local Waldorf school and I am working 2 days a week assisting the first grade handwork teacher.
I hope you enjoy!

WIP goal with pictures

2011-08-28T13:14:00.001-07:00

Please send me a note of encouragement to help keep me focused!-I want to finish all of these up by the end of October!
What are you trying to finish?

thrift store finds

2011-08-18T09:31:00.000-07:00

loving the colors-loving the prices
all for about $11

this moment

2011-08-12T08:18:00.001-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

vacation time

2011-07-25T17:00:00.000-07:00

summer knitting part 1

2011-07-20T11:57:00.000-07:00

more gnomes

now that's a wrap

2011-06-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

taking photos today of baby wraps to add to the shop.

scratch one off the list

2011-05-23T16:57:00.000-07:00

I know Christmas is very far away, but I like to spend my spring and summer making gifts for my friends.
Here is a pair of socks I made for my dear friend Corey.
She never reads my blog, so I know all is safe.

the needle lady

2011-05-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

the needle lady is my one of my favorite on ravelry.
I am working on the latvian baby blanket with a steek!!!
Love seeing how these colors will end up.

2011-05-10T19:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend we did a little (ok, a lot of work) on our R.V.
Here are the before and after shots.....more to come.

gnome couple

2011-04-24T14:28:00.001-07:00

I am knitting gnomes to sell at the Chicag Waldorf School May fair-I am raising money to help pay for my school tuition.
My fellow classmate Chris dyed the purple yarn and I was excited to knit my first gnome couple.

happy easter

2011-04-22T13:52:00.001-07:00

this moment

2011-04-01T10:40:00.001-07:00

gnome if you want to

2011-03-31T13:03:00.000-07:00

making baby gnomes for our May Fair
still trying to raise money for school.

wedding gift

2011-03-23T15:54:00.000-07:00

experimenting

2011-03-21T16:39:00.001-07:00

working on a few workshop ideas

this moment

2011-03-18T12:19:00.001-07:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

favorite things

2011-03-14T20:02:00.001-07:00

These shelves hold a few of my favorite things
1. mouse pin cushion (bought on etsy)
2. sewing can (wanted to put my sewing supplies in a can like my mom always did)
3. photo of my trailer (where I spend all of my summers in the country)
4. ball jars (reminder of my favorite weekend of the year-spoon river-junk collecting weekend)
5. button collection
6. church photo-just cause!
7. photo of Jesus that I cut out of church bulletin when I was a child. It was always hanging on a bulletin board next to the back door of the house I grew up in.
(after my parents died, I had to go and take it off and keep it).

What are some of your favorites?

baby boy turns one!

2011-03-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

My sweet nephew turned ONE in February.
Here is the gift I made for him.

v-tines party at school

2011-02-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

I love the "old school" way of collecting valentines(in a decorated shoe box) so that is what I did with my class.

wrist warmers

2011-02-01T15:49:00.001-08:00

I designed these to sell in my etsy store.
I think they turned out pretty great!
There is a blizzard outside, school is canceled for tomorrow, and I might just have to start another pair.

blender socks

2011-01-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

I made another pair of blender socks for my friend Andrea.
She loves wool socks, and this pattern is so great for using up scraps.

doll close up

2011-01-13T11:08:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures of the dolls I made in December.
The purple I made for Squirrel and the white one(snow baby) I made for fun.I haven't quite decided what to do with it yet, but I just might have to keep it.
I love knitting the doll bodies for these-they knit up fairly quickly and are just adorable.

january

2011-01-11T18:02:00.000-08:00

I do not enjoy doing laundry at ALL! But I must admit, last week when I was pulling my clothes out of the washing machine, I had such a great sense of accomplishment-I was pulling out of the machine our families collection of hand knit socks, hand knit dishcloths & slippers that I had made over the years.
This time of year I love pulling out the wool socks-my husband by far owns the most pairs, and I will continue to make them for him because he Loves them. He is one of those guys who never asks for anything for himself- one thing he does love, are the knitted socks made by me. HOw can a girl say no to that?

ANd how can that same girl, who has made so many socks, abandon these wrist warmers that were started in 2008?-I stopped after the first one!!

My January goal is to finish the other wrist warmer.

What are your project goals for January,and what is longest it has taken you to finish a project?

wish me luck-now I am off to memorize a fairytale for school!!yes! memorize!!!

handmade christmas

2011-01-04T12:42:00.000-08:00

a few of the handmade christmas presents I made for the family.

doll

2010-12-29T09:57:00.001-08:00

Here is a group shot of all the dolls that were made during our 5 week doll making class.
(mine are the two on the far left)

tacky christmas part 1

2010-12-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

making a doll

2010-12-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

Learning how to make Waldorf dolls and absolutley LOVING it!!!
This one is for Mattie for Christmas-I am almost finished-just have to sew the body and knit some accessories.

this moment

2010-11-25T13:50:00.000-08:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

gnomes

2010-11-14T17:27:00.001-08:00

knitting up some gnomes to add to my etsy shop
hopefully I will sell a few.
I need to make some $ to pay of my school bill.

waldorf painting

2010-11-11T12:25:00.001-08:00

Learning the "wet on wet" painting style taught in the waldorf classrooms.
Tomorrow I will be observing a 1st grade painting class at the Chicago Waldorf School-actually I am staying for the whole school day. I am very excited to sit and observe and maybe I will get a little knitting done too.

waldorf knitting

2010-11-08T12:51:00.000-08:00

Here is what I have been making for my waldorf knitting class

this moment

2010-11-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

I am going to start the soulemama tradition for my Fridays

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

finishing up

2010-10-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

What I planned to be an August birthday gift, will now be a Christmas gift instead.
A sweet doll blanket for my sweet Mattie.

my nature bowl

2010-10-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

I am all about the seasonal decorations!!-must be the teacher in me.
I made a few things in the last few weeks for my little nature bowl at home.
You can find the oak leaf pattern on ravelry and I just needle felted the acorns.
What have you been making lately?

feeling blessed

2010-10-25T20:37:00.000-07:00

tonight I am sitting here feeling very blessed.
I am thankful for the job I have.
I am thankful that I get to spend my days doing something I love.
I am thankful for a good school for my children to go to and especially for all of the loving teachers.

Tonight was our school's fall concert/open house and I am feeling overwhelmed with gratitude.

my pilot caps!

2010-10-22T05:52:00.000-07:00

get a hold of this cuteness!!!

coraline

2010-10-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

I finished my coraline the beginning of Oct, but just got around to taking a picture.
I wanted to make this one more of a vest than a sweater and didn't quite have enough yarn to make it long sleeved. I really enjoyed this pattern and think I will make it again in an earthy wool green.

stripes

2010-10-19T01:30:00.001-07:00

stripes for the etsy shop

nature table

2010-10-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

My classroom nature table

finished knits

2010-10-12T12:18:00.001-07:00

a sweet vest made for a dear friend's (soon to be here) baby!!

WIP weekend?

2010-10-07T12:12:00.001-07:00

The things I SHOULD be finishing(top pic)are being pushed to the side, while
more exciting (smaller projects) are actually being finished.
MOnday I hope to share the projects with you.

we love bunnies

2010-10-04T12:50:00.000-07:00

I made this little bunny for my nephew-and now that I know he received it, I wanted to post it on the old blog. The pattern was easy to follow and I loved using up scrap yarn giving it a mismatch look and here is a cute pic of our mustache bunny Buttercup.

waldorf school

2010-09-20T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am adventuring down a long road-going to school-trying to get a waldorf teaching certificate.
I started school 2 weeks ago and so far I am loving it!!-There is a lot to soak in, a lot of new concepts and ideas swirling around in my head but It is a real nice change to my very busy week.

Here is what I made in my knitting class.
The first week we made our own knitting needles. We cut the dowel rods, sanded them down, and polished with beeswax-then she taught the class to knit. (because I have been knitting so long, I went ahead and finished the sleeping bag and made the doll)

believe it or not, this is what the kids will make in first grade at the Chicago Waldorf School-wow!!!!

matching longies

2010-09-15T16:33:00.000-07:00

matching longies-stash busting
available in my shop

joy update

2010-09-09T19:19:00.000-07:00

updating my shop-going back to work-(yep, that's me and the guitar)

leftovers dishcloth pattern

2010-08-28T14:56:00.001-07:00

Here is the pattern for my leftovers dishcloth .

worsted weight cotton-3 different colors
size #3 needles

co 29 stitches with yarn you have the most yardage (yarn 1)
knit 4 rows

change to new color (yarn 2)-do not cut any yarn-just carry it up the side
row 1 k1, p1 (repeat to end)
row 2 p1, k1 (repeat to end)

change to new color (yarn 3)
repeat row 1&2

change back to (yarn 1)
repeat row 1&2

repeat unil you are about to use yarn 1 for the 8th time and instead of k1,p1-
knit 4 rows
bind off

Let me know if you make one-or post it on ravelry.

Joy

another baktus

2010-08-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

this one took much longer and I had been working on it for awhile-size #2 needles
what was I thinking?

summer knitting part 4

2010-08-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

loving this baktus!!
made with sock yarn purchased from etsy seller blairqualls
I love her color combinations! remember the baby sweater for Harper? that was her yarn also.

summer knitting part 3

2010-08-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

Here is a custom order of pilot caps that i recently finished for a newborn photographer.I love the colors she chose.

summer knitting part 2

2010-07-21T09:30:00.001-07:00

some new dishcloths for a friend
all made of leftover cotton yarn
I am going to post this easy pattern on ravelry and as soon as I do-I'll let you know.

summer knitting

2010-07-20T16:27:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share some of my summer knitting with you.
Here is a little something I have made for the shop.
Love these colors!!

she's turning 40

2010-06-05T15:52:00.000-07:00

a dear friend of mine is turning 40 in a few days.
This is what I am going to give my tree hugger friend.
the pattern is from kris knits

love cuff

2010-05-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

I added the pattern for FREE into ravelry if anyone is interested-if you make one I would love to see it!

soak it up!!

2010-05-15T08:20:00.000-07:00

I made these for a friend of mine who is having a baby in June-I originally wanted to knit these to try out a pattern I am using for my shop. I knew the mom would love the look of them, but just found out yesterday that she has chosen to go the cloth diaper route -so now I am even more excited to give these to her.
Tomorrow is the baby shower!

2010-05-12T18:46:00.000-07:00

Pearl's best friend is in LOVE with pigs-so I made this for her.
Not exactly what a 10 year old wants for her birthday, but she loved it!!!

knitted rose bobby pins

2010-05-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Here is a batch of bobby pins that I made for the craft show-now available in my shop

mom-in-law love

2010-05-05T13:52:00.000-07:00

I ran across this pattern while spending WAY too much time on ravelry the other night.
I decided to make it for my mother-in-law for Mother's day -she is always, always, always, reading-so I know she wil get a lot of use out of it.
I am using up some of the crochet cotton that I snatched up from a recent thrift store purchase.
I bought enough of that cotton to make over 500 bookmarks-seriously!!!!

a new week

2010-05-03T20:18:00.001-07:00

I had a wonderful weekend in the country-too lazy to take any pictures.

I did have time to knit up another pilot cap though-I have a craft show on Saturday and wanted to make a few more hats-I also am going to make more fabric covered button barrettes and a few little purses.(I'll show you those as a finish them).

I have been very busy lately and it's only going to get more hectic before the school year is over- ahhhh!!!-

love cuff

2010-04-27T13:01:00.001-07:00

I designed these love cuffs to sell at an art show next weekend-

I am going to post my pattern on ravelry soon-excited to design!!

cute

2010-04-23T10:35:00.001-07:00

Here is the cute nephew wearing the pilot cap I made for him!

I miss you terribly baby Dylan!!-you too sister !!

on the needles

2010-04-17T15:27:00.000-07:00

a little something for the little sweetheart in my life.

harper sweater

2010-04-12T14:34:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Harper in her sweater!!
She looks so cute!!!

finished!!!-and just in time

2010-04-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning and finished knitting the last inch of Mattie's sweater!!

I am very, very, happy with how these turned out.

Happy Easter EVERYONE!!!

article

2010-03-31T11:26:00.000-07:00

Here is an article you can read about my hats and a % of money going to my local homeless shelter.
Be sure to check out the video in the previous entry too.

more caps-what else?

2010-03-24T13:23:00.001-07:00

goodbye farm

2010-03-21T19:49:00.000-07:00

another beautiful farm

another sad goodbye

my new nephew

2010-03-17T16:57:00.001-07:00

meet Dylan

I have been lovin' on him and knitting crazy cocoons for our little photo shoots.

He is adorable-I love him!!!!!

Cocoons now available in the shop

it's a boy

2010-03-08T12:40:00.001-08:00

I am an excited auntie ready to meet my new nephew Dylan in 7 days!!

I am traveling to Ohio and don't want to arrive empty handed.

and of course I had to make him a couple of pilot caps and matching booties.

I can hardly wait!!

a night at the oscars

2010-03-07T13:48:00.000-08:00

need there be an excuse for making this cake?

Mattie is my little baker-she helped me make the cake and then took the photo.

I will save my girls a piece, but I plan on watching the Oscars WITHOUT the children.

(and what is ironic about all of this?-I think the only nominated movies that I have seen are childrens movies!)

easter shirt for Pearl

2010-03-04T16:00:00.000-08:00

For Easter this year I decided to knit my girls each a shirt(it is ALWAYS too cold to wear a summer dress anyways).

I decided to go with this pattern .Pearl and I headed to the store, she picked a pink yarn for her shirt, and a light blue for her sister's shirt.

Pearl is a size 7/8 butI decided to knit her the size 8-10 so she could have room to grow.

I hope it doesn't look too homeade and baggy

hopefully we will atempt to brush her hair on Easter Sunday too!

more caps for the shop

2010-02-28T14:19:00.001-08:00

I made these last week- first two are still available-green one is sold.

*updated-only purple is available*

felted coasters

2010-02-24T11:46:00.001-08:00

just added these to my shop-I unraveled and knitted/felted these up from an old ugly sweater.

a knitting weekend

2010-02-22T11:20:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful knitting weekend-I will slowly show you over the week what I've been up to.

I am trying not to buy any new yarn and I am trying to use up what is in my stash.

Here is another kitchen towel.

mitered baby jacket

2010-02-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

I've had a love/hate relationship with this sweater-now that it is over-I love it..

One of my favorite friends had a baby girl and this was for her baby Harper.

This was knit in 1 piece and the only sewing you had to do was up the sleeves-sort of a EZ baby surprise.

valentines knitting

2010-02-15T13:10:00.001-08:00

A little mouse for each of the girls for Valentines Day.

(I was really happy with this pattern-they only took about an hour each)

more baby

2010-02-10T16:44:00.000-08:00

Here is another picture I found while transfering all of the photos.
Here is baby Mattie in her Rowan bulky sweater that I made for her.
You will be seeing a lot of baby knits soon-I am anxiously waiting for my sister to have her FIRST baby!!!-She doesn't know what she is having yet, so the knitting has been put on hold...but anyday now I am expecting a phone call from her.

feb 2007

2010-02-05T22:23:00.001-08:00

Today my husband transferred all of the pictures from our old computer to our new computer-(THANKS JOEL)that was a HUGE job that we have been putting off for years.

Now my mind can rest knowing that my pictures are backed up.

Here is a glimpse of what was happening 3 years ago-my babies are getting so big!!!

As far as the itching goes-my husband's aunt found the cause-I have cholinergic urticaria.So nice to know that I'm not just going crazy!!!

another cap-someone stop the itching

2010-02-02T19:41:00.001-08:00

I added another hat to my etsy store-are you getting tired of looking at these yet?
This one is ROWAN all seasons cotton and is my favorite hat /yarn so far.

Meanwhile, I can't stop itching....my skin keeps breaking out into a rash...not just a change in detergent kind of thing either-my body is reacting to heat!!???
wash my hands in hot water-they break out into a rash
walk into a store/house where the heat is turned up-break into a rash
feet hot in snowboots...break out into an itchy rash
and tonight I was baking lots of chocolate chip cookies /cakes in a huge industrial size kitchen-I had the oven doors opened (right at eye level)to load up all my stuff into the pre-heated oven..and guess what?-my face and neck broke out into a rash...
Pray for me-I am a very healthy person and this is soooo strange and it's driving ME CRAZY!!!

I

favorite customer

2010-01-25T20:02:00.000-08:00

I have had a great time selling my hats on etsy- this was one of my favorite customers so far!!
Thanks tracey for the cute picture!!!!

kitchen towel

2010-01-13T13:10:00.001-08:00

kitchen towel, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

here you have it!!!
I love it!!!-a nice way to use up ugly varrigated yarn.
You can see my notes on the project here.

kitchen towel

2010-01-11T13:17:00.001-08:00

kitchen towel, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

this is turning out much better then I expected.
I love my knitted dishcloths-why not make a kitchen towel?

slippers

2010-01-05T12:11:00.001-08:00

slippers , originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

adding slippers to my etsy shop!!

ohio sheep

2010-01-03T14:50:00.001-08:00

ohio sheep, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

Oh how I wish I lived on a farm.......
I love these little guys!!!

socks for Brian

2009-12-21T13:40:00.001-08:00

socks for Brian, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

I made these for my brother-love my new sock blockers from Loopy Ewe (thanks Nell).
Hope he likes them

singing once again

2009-12-16T05:24:00.001-08:00

singing once again, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

I have a concert on Friday and haven't had anytime to craft-only rehearsals-but thought you crafty folks out there would appreciate the banners in the background (GORGEOUS-huh?)

toddler socks

2009-12-12T23:28:00.001-08:00

toddler socks, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

for sale in my shop

palm tree dishcloth

2009-12-05T20:59:00.001-08:00

palm tree dishcloth, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

The second in the set.

shell dishcloth

2009-12-05T20:58:00.001-08:00

shell dishcloth, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

Kind of ironic to be knitting these when it snowing outside-oh well

mittens for mattie

2009-12-03T13:40:00.001-08:00

mittens for mattie, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

My first pair of little mittens made for Mattie-she loves them-me too!

knitted star ornaments

2009-11-30T14:29:00.001-08:00

knitted star ornaments, originally uploaded by little pearl knits.

I was looking through The knitters almanac and had to knit a few stars with my leftover yarn.
They knit up so fast-I know there will be more to come.

thanksgiving

2009-11-29T21:20:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful.

So much to be thankful for....

so much holiday knitting going on...I'll post pictures this week.

new hat for the shop

2009-11-21T12:47:00.001-08:00

I bought this yarn from Etsy last weekend and love it!
It's from moonlightandlaughter.
I wanted to add some new colors and some varrigated yarns to my hats.
I hope to have good luck with my shop in the coming months.
wish me luck

mom solo

2009-11-14T18:35:00.000-08:00

(spray watercolor on paper leaves)

My husband has gone to Romania for a week and he took my camera!!

Mattie misses him the most, she has cried EVERY day since he has been gone-and I am just trying to keep with the routine of our day and give them a little extra lovin.
I spent the morning shopping on Etsy and bought a whole new batch of yarn to make some more hats. (This week I am going to try listing some Pixie style hats)

I love reading blogs-I love getting a little glimpse into the lives of complete strangers.
This week I will post some of the new blogs I've been inspired by.

Until then, wish me luck-2 days until the old man comes home.