Knitting, crafting, meals, and family life.
It’s done! Assembly began to get messy, I’ll admit it. I thought about all the ways I could attach the strap, but by the time I got to it, all I had the energy for was to tie it on with a whole lot of crazy knots. To hide it all, and give it a little more durability, I crocheted a circle with a strip done in short rows, and a second circle and stitched them in. Oh my, was that a bit tough. The sense of accomplishment at the end is worth it, though.
Well, I stayed up late crocheting the hood for my middle one’s sweater. I was really on a roll and am anxious to get it done. I also managed to get the purse mostly done. It’s a little rough on the inside, so I’m crocheting a liner to sew in and hide all that.
While I was sitting here, hooking and drinking my morning cup, I decided I needed to do some yoga. I enjoy this video quite a bit. It’s soothing without making you tired. The instructor’s prompts are right on target for what I need and aren’t annoying. I also appreciate that its 20 minutes. Usually just enough time to help me feel more open.
I will admit, I skipped about 5 minutes, or so, towards the end. It’s been too long since I’ve been in a regular routine and I’m easing myself back into it. The kids joined in for a little bit too. Remote learning (Zoom classes at home all day) has the girls feeling a bit cooped up, so I’m hoping to help get them moving a little more too.
Back to crocheting. I really want to finish this purse so I can get back to the hat I’m working on for my sister.
The farther along I make it with these sweaters, the less time I have to work on them. It’s one thing for the kids to see the squares as I make them. It’s another when I’m stitching them together and it’s starting to look like an actual piece of clothing. So I’ve got some late nights in my future.
I’m also working on a purse for my 5 year old niece. She likes Frozen, like my youngest, and I was inspired to start making this one day. I always seem to forget just how long it takes to cover the plastic. Now I get to have fun sewing it all together (that’s not sarcasm; I love this stuff). I’m going to make a strip to go across the top and work as a clasp, and I’ll crochet a strap too.
I’m actually really getting into the Christmas Spirit this year. It’s quite a shock. The holiday is usually so overwhelming, I tend to turn into a short-tempered grump. Not this year. All the decorations were up the day after Thanksgiving. Unheard of! My husband even put up some extra lights around the house.
We’ve done some crafts and watched a few movies, even had some hot chocolate and holiday chocolate chip cookies. Simple and delicious. It has been really nice to have a toned down, quiet version of Christmas this year. Everything just seemed to keep getting more and more extravagant (not necessarily in our house).
So I’m wishing everyone a merry and calming holiday season!
I don’t mess with my morning coffee. Medium strength coffee with some French vanilla creamer and I’m a happy girl.
Afternoon coffee, however, is a different story. Since buying a coffee grinder and a frother, I have begun experimenting a bit more. This one is for the Christmas season. I use my oatmeal cookie oat creamer and cinnamon with a dash of nutmeg. Perfect.
I’ll just make a bunch of squares for each kid and then simply sew them up and be done. They’ll be really cool, simple, and quick. Riiiiiight.
Of course I can’t just make them something with a simple design. I can’t just follow someone’s pattern. Nope. I’ve got to play around with how to fit them together to make a garment that best fits not only their individual style, but they’re personality.
This is the front for my youngest’s. I’m really planning on getting another inch in dimensions after blocking. Her’s will be the only one completely made of squares. No real frills, although I’m going to find a pretty hem for the bottom and the sleeves.
I have not begun sewing anything together for my middle kid’s sweater yet. Her’s is not as far along as the other two. I sort of regret the square I chose, but by making all three at the same time, it keeps it interesting. I’m just finally far enough along with my oldest’s squares to start designing and the sewing and here I sit at 12am, sewing. I foresee many late nights sewing with granny squares in my future.
It all started with me buying yarn to cope with grocery shopping. It was a big stressful trip and the yarn made it much easier to get through. I swear.
It was chunky, and a deep purple, with flecks of just the right bits of white and brown. Such a comforting deep plum purple. I’ll share what I made with that (which I went and bought more of to make a whole set!) when I complete the final touches.
Anyway. I decided to make myself a hat, mitt, scarf set. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a set I like. I got to designing them as I went along and was so happy with the hat and how quickly it worked up, that I decided to make new hats for the girls.
If only the lighting in my house was better. This one is purple with a tinsel purple running through to give it some sparkle. A pink pompom for the top as requested. Next up was the youngest one’s hat. I strung some regular pink yarn along with some chunky white. I’m pretty sure the pompom is dark pink, but it may actually be red.
Then I got to the oldest’s hat. She, of course, had picked out a black pompom. I used a tweed I had on hand and was working along quite nicely, when I suddenly noticed I had mis-crossed in two places. I have always marveled at those who can rip back a cable section and get it all back together. I have never been able to wrap my brain around it. I can handle ripping down a lot of other things, but not cabling. That is, until this hat. Thankfully it was only one row down, and with the purl stitches crossing, it made it really easy to see. Crisis averted, hat saved, and she seems pretty happy with it (even if it doesn’t look like it).
Two days and four hats! (I made one for my husband as well). It was a nice bit of accomplishment right before my nutty Christmas gift dash. I’m working hard at them all, but am totally fine with sending a few gifts off in January. I find enjoyment in ways many don’t understand.
Ah, breakfast. It’s my favorite meal any time of day. Naturally, scrambled eggs are one of my go to’s, but I do enjoy pancakes. I just hate cooking them one at a time, or a couple of small ones a batch. Then keeping them warm in the oven, while starting the next round. So I thought, maybe I could bake them in the oven. Sure enough, it’s possible. Just mix, pour onto a parchment lined baking sheet, and bake for about 20 minutes. Barely a fuss and almost no mess!
The first time around, I made my usual cinnamon pancakes. A few days later, I made chocolate ones with cocoa powder, cinnamon, and brown sugar, which were topped with powdered sugar. Definitely a recipe to repeat.
I also love casseroles for dinner. I throw a bunch of stuff together and it bakes while I can go about my business with only a minimal amount of attention from me. Egg noodle chicken casserole is one I often make. Dry egg noodles, canned chicken, frozen vegetables, chicken broth, and cream of broccoli or potato soup. I let that all cook up, then I mix it and add cheese and bake a little longer. This last time I got all the portions right and the spices. It was my best version yet.
This casserole was me scrapping the bottom of the barrel in our pantry. A bag of bread crumbs for stuffing. Canned green beans, chicken, and yams. And a whole lot of chicken broth. I just kept mixing and adding broth every 10-20 minutes for about an hour. Something to think about for Thanksgiving leftovers, which is exactly what my daughter said it tasted like. I honestly had no idea if it was going to be any good and was delighted to find it quite a delicious surprise.
When I was a kid we almost always had a puzzle set up somewhere for us all to work on. Some puzzles would take weeks or months for us to finish. One year, when my parents were still together, they gave me a box set of Thomas Kincaid jigsaw puzzles. I was pretty excited and I love Thomas Kincaid’s work. However, I never seemed to find the time or the space for them.
Recently, puzzles came up during a homework session and I thought, now would be a good time to pull them out. My kids are finally old enough I’m not afraid of losing pieces, or that they would get too frustrated. We made our way through a couple of small puzzles and then things got harder. These paintings are tough to put back together.
Thanks to my stepdad we have boards for the puzzles and can leave them set up and tucked away. It has brought back some really comforting memories and I love making new ones with my kids now.
The idea of listening to music while shopping is interesting to me. Music is often helpful in balancing my mood, but I apparently have sensory overload issues, which when I think about it, has been pretty obvious for most of my life.
Part of my issue is that I can’t exist outside of my surroundings. That is, I have to be hyper aware of my surroundings to give myself as much time as possible to prepare any necessary responses; especially social ones.
My upcoming shopping trip has got me trying to figure out how to get through it without a panic attack. This will be a long trip and possibly two stores. Even worse for my anxiety. So it got me thinking about my friend who listens to music to get through the chore.
I couldn’t do it. If I can’t hear my surroundings, things would catch me off guard. I would feel cut off and begin to panic. If I kept it quiet enough to also hear everything else, it would cause a sensory overload, and so panic attack.
Maybe if I just focus on grabbing a bit of what I need at both places and treat myself to some yarn and coffee and music on the way home, that might make the task more bearable.
The Accidental Domestic Goddess 