One of the blessings...

of being a homeschool mom is that during those rare moments when:
my son is done early with school and in another universe (a lego one) and
my daughter is in latin land and
my other daughter is in science land and
my other daughter is done early with school work and is quietly playing upstairs with a friend....

I get to cook dinner uninterrupted. I get to check facebook and see people's blogs, and I get to read by myself. For a whole hour. Ahhh. Nice.


In other news, I finished one knee sock. I love it.
I've got to get a hold of another skein of this yarn to make another one. It is Dream in Color Smooshy and I got it for Christmas about two years ago...and I haven't searched for another one.
I might just make the other sock from an entirely different colorway. I hear mixing up socks in "In"

Third Quilt!

Several weeks ago, a lovely lady from our church had her third child, a girl.


I thought Hayley should have a baby quilt, so I made her one.

I loved the different fabrics, with varying textures.

There was a quilt number two. But I forgot to take a picture.

Finished quilt!

I finished my first quilt!

The pattern is beautiful and the help given is class was invaluable. I chose the fabrics with a little help from my kids, and love the wild result. It was made for my new niece, E. She isn't so terribly new anymore but I hope she will be able to use it often!

It was so fun, I am making another one, a different quilt pattern in pretty blues and greens and browns. My friend Tracy may never get her sewing machine back!!







For all those outside the immediate area: you wouldn't believe the weather here. For the last month, we have had many warm (85 deg) and sunny days, and many snowy days.

This squirrel seemed to be soaking up the sun. He sat there on the deck rail for along time, but had his laid laying flat over his whole back. The wind would lift up the tip of the tail, but it was quite a strange sight.

With so much winter still hanging on, I am thinking about planting still. Here's what the planting pods looked like after they were watered. I put seeds from last year's garden in it, as well as some new seeds.
Then they sprouted. The magic of seeds never fails to impress me. I can tell what we've got - several tomato plants, cilantro, basil, lemon basil, lettuce, and cherry tomato.

Still...while these baby plants grow inside, tenderly cared for, every few days, we get one of these snowy evenings.

Sneak Peek at a new craft

I have now taken a class on quilting and am almost done with my first quilt, a very late baby gift for a dear baby girl. I've started in on another quilt, another late one for a baby boy. I love this skill: quilting is so very different than knitting. Thank, Judy, for the teaching and effort you are putting into this class.


It seems the landscape has been filled with snow most of the year so far but two weeks ago we had a thaw. Everywhere was the dripping and water streams from so much ice and snow finally going away. Now the ground is all marshy and muddy, but the days often have warmth and sunshine in them! Hooray!

For Christmas I received a Kindle from two very special people - thanks mom and John! The first thing I did was download free classics. The second thing was to knit a cover for it. The yarn is from Tammy, a gift from her long-ago trip to Seattle, I think. It is a thick sock yarn in blues and aquas and I made my very first socks with it. I had some of the yarn leftover, doubled it for good protection against sharp things in my purse, and voila! My very own Kindle cover.
An old UFO has been getting some work on it too: the Log Cabin Blanket by Mason-Dixon Knitting I started years ago. Somehow it has been calling me. Here's the progress - it has about doubled int he last two days.

In The Company Of Others

Jan Karon (of the Mitford book series fame) began a new series a year or two ago. The first book in the series was fine, but the second, "In The Company of Others" was fantastic!

I've been knitting a sleeve for my new Kindle, which I love! I am using my very first ever sock yarn, a gift from Tammy...and I have no record of what it was (bright two-tone blue), but I know she got it from Washington when she was there for a wedding.

I figure the leftover yarn should be used for something cool, and new...so here goes the e-book protective sleeve. Hope it works.

We all gave and received lots of digital media for Christmas this year, and it was a good thing, but those presents sure looked small under that tree!

I've still got a whole container left of Christmas truffles, and a huge jar of jelly belly candies which have hardly been touched. If you are interested, my reading list for 2010 is up on my reading archive blog.

Ivanhoe! and more

Good books can demand your attention and can broaden your knowledge. Ivanhoe does both. While it does not aspire to the higher thoughts of some great authors, it's daring adventures, brave heroines, carefully crafted villains and all-star cast of extras (including Robin Hood, Little John and Friar Tuck!) is satisfying and fun!

I just finished Ivanhoe today (while I was supposed to be doing other things like grade papers) and it has wound itself into my list of favorites! The language is a bit ponderous for such a light romp, but it was written long ago - and is well worth wading through. It'll be on my short list of Middle Ages literature requirements for my kids when we reach that time period.