I laugh when I look at my feet these days.
I always tend to think that shoes tell a lot about a person. Who they are, what they like, what kind of pain level they can tolerate, what their job is, who they wish they were.
Right now, in my stage of life I’m a Granola person.
I’m the mom of a two year old who likes to be outside.
I’m the mom of a boy thus I’m on my feet running around a lot.
I’m a mom so keeping comfortable while working long hours is key.
What kind of shoe are you right now?
Pretending
One of the things about childhood that I adored was pretending. I have found that John loves it just as much as I did.
It is quite a joy to give him something and see what he pretends or imagines with it.
A few afternoons ago we pretended we were on an expedition (expotition) with Winnie-the-Pooh. The grand day out ended with a Popsicle in a tepee and Kanga (i.e. me) reading Roo (i.e. Lil J) stories.
Yep, there are days where we don’t get much done. But these are the days for play, these are the days for imaginations. All too soon he will be away in school…
One of the things that I remember about my childhood Easters are new dresses. My dad didn’t allow us to participate in Easter egg hunts or have Easter baskets but my mom, for whom Easter egg hunts and baskets were a part of her childhood, would always try to make us new dresses and a hat for Easter Sunday.
My favorite was a pink calico dress with little lace trim and a straw hat with a matching ribbon.
When was out on my own I would buy myself a new hat for Easter. (Yes, I adore hats.)
Now that I have my own little guy not only do I plan an Easter egg hunt for him and the cousins and an Easter basket but a new little something to wear is a must.
This year I made a little cotton vest and matching bow tie. The bow tie was sooooo much fun to make and hardly took anytime at all I plan on making a few more for Sundays. ( Lil J wore my outfit for Palm Sunday and an outfit his grandma purchased for him for Easter Sunday. But I did go ahead and make another tie for his Easter outfit. They are too much fun to make. )
I thought you all would have fun making them for your little ones so here is the pattern:
Bow Tie
Berroco Weekend i.e. cotton worsted weight yarn
US #7 needles
Tapetry needle
safety pin to secure neckband at back of collar
Co 10 sts.
Row 1: K
Row 2: K
Row 3: K
Row 4: K2, p6, k2
Repeat rows 3 &4 until piece measure 4″ from co edge to needles.
Row 5: K
Row 6: K
Row 7: K
Row 8: Bo in purl
Bow Tie Center
Co 3 sts and work 6 rows of garter stitch, bo 3 sts.
Neckband
co 3 sts and work in garter stitch for 11 – 12″ (depending on the collar size of your little one)
Using the tapestry needle and a piece of cotton, sew a running stitch up the center of the bow tie to gather it. Wrap the Bow tie center around the gathered section and sew the bow tie center together at the back. Find the mid point of the neck band and sew it onto the bow tie in the back. Steam lightly with a steam iron.
Note: the vest is my own pattern. If you are looking for a good substitute try Summer Vest by Tot Toppers
JK is reading me The Girl with a Pearl Earring while I knit at night. I’ve enjoyed it so far. I can relate to the descriptions of washing and ironing and scrubbing. Why do I find it so comforting to know that those menial tasks are so normal and have been part of life for centuries? We’ll see though… I am getting the feeling that the book is going to take a turn and I’m not going to like what is around the next corner.
Joining with Ginny…
Holidays, Inspiration, Knitting, Mothering, Patterns | 
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Rain was trickling through the branches of our beautiful pear tree this morning as I made the family’s morning pot of oatmeal.
It is breathtaking in it’s garments of simple white flowers.
Last night we ate dinner out on the deck. Little white petals showered down upon us, sometimes sprinkling our food, other times falling at our feet.
“Is it snowing?” Lil John asked. How sweet! Yes, it was “snowing” spring snow – petals and the heavy scent of blooms.
I love the simplicity of childhood – it’s full of discovery and imagination.
I hope you all have a very relaxing weekend. Lil John has a terrible cough and runny nose so we plan to stay put and read lots of books.
If you are looking for some “free” patterns hop on over to Small Things. There’s a giveaway. And… if you don’t want to wait to find out if you won the giveaway there is a 25% off coupon for any CCKnits pattern purchase (only through the weekend)
happy knitting!
PS: for those of you who read the Small Things interview with me and are wondering about my mom and sister’s talent you can find them here and here. We’ve finally banded together to start a new project which you can see here!
Hello friends and a special welcome to Small Things readers.
Over the weekend I found these lovely crochet flowers in a cupboard drawer. Isn’t that terrible? These beautiful, colorful circles all crumpled together lying dormant and unused.
A year ago I was inspired by Attic 24‘s lovely Japanese Flower Scarf and desperately wanted to start one of my own. You know how that goes, I hope. Peer pressure, envy, inspiration – at times they are one and the same. But I just didn’t have time to finish the scarf so my completed flowers lay for an entire year in a dark drawer.
“Why not stitch these flowers together and make a table runner.” I mused to myself. And so I did. While John played cars Monday morning I “played” cars with him and stitched these lovely flowers together. And now, voila, I have a lovely springy table runner.
Yesterday was a beautiful day, 68F and sunny. So I brought the table runner to the sun room, grabbed my work and did a little number crunching for a new pattern between little bits of playtime with John. Absolutely blissful.
PS: This month I’ve joined the sponsorship team over on Ginny’s wonderful blog, Small Things.
If you haven’t had the opportunity to spend time on her blog, head on over there. I’m sure you will be delighted with her writing style as I have. And don’t forget Yarn Along Wednesdays – I always look forward to that!
Hello, friends! How was your weekend? Are you all staying warm? We’ve hit a bit of a cold snap. I’m not going to complain because I’m hoping it will kill off a few of the colds and flus that have been making their rounds.
This weekend I was getting over another cold. So I canceled everything on my schedule for Friday and Saturday and rested (i.e. crafted)
I finished my lovely Union Jack made out of recycled felted wool sweaters. It is not perfect, but I am quite pleased with it and it looks so cheery in the playroom.
And I made some bunting for John’s room.
The paper chain garland John and I made for his room for Christmas came down and was played with (before it was thrown away… shhh… don’t tell).
So his baby room is being transformed into a little boy’s room. Can’t believe it. Time flies.
As you can see from this picture, a few more wall hangings are needed, a quilt is needed and a rug… but that will come.
“Mama,”
I felt a little hand on my knee and stopped the breakfast preparations.
“Yes, John.” I said. I looked down. John was bending down to inspect the new shoes I had put on this morning. They were much different than my normal brown comfortable tie shoes from Naturlizer.
“Are those your dancing shoes,” John asked, very seriously.
I grinned… what a happy thought.
“Yes, John, they are my dancing shoes and I am going to dance through today with you and have such a happy day.” I said.
“Okay.” came his simple reply. “They have lights on them.”
Gosh, I love my kid. I love the simple happiness and the fresh perspective he brings to my life.
So friends, put on your “dancing shoes” and dance through the day – just because you can!
Hello Friends! So sorry for another little absence.
Towards the end of last week I found myself busy, tidying the house for company.
And then the weekend came and with it company and the house was filled with laughter, little children, lots of food, heaps of tea and fond memories.
The house is quiet again… but not for long… in a couple hours fun and laughter will descend upon the house… Heather and mom are coming over to work on a project with me…
I’ll tell you about it soon!
ta-ta for now!
C
So many people shutter themselves inside during the cold winter months. But there is so much quiet beauty outdoors that I cannot do that. Almost every weekend we make some escapade into the woods for a little jaunt.
I remember doing going for winter walks as a child. I remember the crunch of the snow under my boots and find that sound fascinating. I remember drinking hot jello out of a thermos and how yummy the snacks always tasted because one seemed hungrier in the cold.
Now I’m following in those same footsteps and taking John out for winter walks. He seems to marvel at the same crunching sound under his boots. I haven’t fed him hot jello out of a thermos but somehow I think he’d like it. So far we’ve opted for hot tea at home or coffee out at Starbucks.
I realize that so much of what we do as adults is what we are used to doing and have done… beginning with the adventures and things we did as children. We are less likely to do things we are unfamiliar with.
Perhaps little John will take his kids on winter walks one day.
I’m so pleased you all liked the two new shawls. Yesterday was an exciting day when Mama Ruffles drifted up to the 13th most popular knitting pattern on Ravelry. What excitement… and then it drifted down the ranks again… yep, things come and things go.
Last week John and I made these mittens together. I noticed he had done what every child does during the winter… lost a mitten. So it was time to make some more.
He waited, somewhat patiently, while I finished the household chores for the morning. (I had given him the plain cut out pieces to hold while I did the dishes, laundry and mopped the floor.)
Then we went down to the basement (i.e. the project room) and began.
“Would you like a car or a funny face on them?” I asked.
“A car.” he said (of course)
“Would you like a red car or a blue car?” I asked again.
“A red car.” (of course)
I could have predicted his answers but it drew him into the process. Then I had him sit on a chair to one side of the sewing machine and he watched, entranced as I sewed the pieces together.
When we were done he was so proud of his new mittens! And it was a fun activity to do with him. The one thing I need to add is a little band of elastic to help them stay on a little better.
As soon as I’m feeling better (have another blasted cold in my nose) I’ll write up a little tutorial.
ta-ta for now!
Christina
