more on apples

We read so many books about apples, orchards, pies, and of course Johnny Appleseed during our apple unit.

We also did a few crafts including making this little flip book about an apple tree through the seasons.  This activity helped us summarize all that we had learned about seasons, how plants and trees grow, and of course apples.  We had learned about Van Gogh for art and we used I tried to put out as many textures/media as I could find like pipe cleaner, foam sheets, tissue paper, pompoms, and of course paint.  We had learned about Van Gogh for art, so we tried out some of different brush strokes and heavy paints like he used in his work.  I love that their handprints are included in this.  We used their painted hands for the leaves on the summer and autumn page.  But, we forgot to put in ladybugs and bees which are an important part of the process.

We also used fabric paint and apples cut lengthwise and crosswise to stamp the rest of our muslin.  Now, I have to figure out what to make with this fabric.  Any ideas?

And of course, we had a little taste test.  I only selected four varieties to taste - Honeycrisp, Sweetango, Golden Delicious, and Fuji.  Each voter received 3 stars (votes). I suggested putting two stars for your most favorite and one for your second favorite.  Of course, Nathaniel chimed in with every other possibility, so eventually I let them "cast" their 3 stars however they wanted.  Nathaniel put all three down in one spot, so he could be sure to make sure his apple won.  Jude liked the name delicious and sweet, so he divided his stars between the two.   Ethan was our most fickle voter moving his stars between the columns so he could be sure he would be on the winning apple.   Talk about personalities.

Once the voting was completed, they graphed the votes on a sheet that I created with the pictures of the apples.  This was the first time that Jude and Ethan did any graphing work. So interesting to watch their little brains go through the steps of processing this task.

a colorful quilt for baby harper

I am so excited that this is finished (before baby Harper turns one)!  Harper was born in April and her mommy and I did a Bible Study together this past year and will be leading another one together next year.

I started the quilt with the colors of Harper's baby room - pink, red, white, and blue.  I decided to step out of my comfort zone and pick some really vibrant colors for this sweet baby girl.  I have to say that it was quite fun to do, and I am pleased with the result.

Truth be told, this really counts as my very first quilt.  Well, at least the first one that I've gone through all the official steps - piecing, batting, quilting, and binding.   This one didn't have a batting.  So, here are the details... and wouldn't you know I forgot to measure it!

I used a cotton batting that's a really nice weight.  I decided on a gray cotton for the back.  I thought that would be a good way to tone it down, if needed.  I quilted it with straight lines; the simplicity of which really appeals to me.  And, I can't tell you how much fun it was to take it out of the dryer and see the crinkly-goodness of the fabric shrinking around the stitches.  And there it was, a comfy, snuggly quilt.  Like magic!

I do feel a little bit bad that I've never made one for the boys.  They kept trying to sneak it off my sewing table and snuggle with it.  Maybe we should put that on the list.  I would love to make one for each of them to have on their beds.  One day....

But for now, I'm glad to have this one off to baby Harper.

for the babes

I have a great excuse to shop for fabric!  I have several friends that just had or are expecting baby girls.  For a mom of four boys, this is exciting news indeed!

I am in various stages of creating blankets for some of them.  Here's one that I made for a friend who had her baby on Easter morning.  Her baby room colors are pink, green and brown, so I chose fabrics in those hues for the blanket.  It is a cozy flannel on one side and some flannel and cotton strips on the other.  I didn't add batting because the flannel is thick enough for a spring baby.  I quilted it with simple straight lines and added a little bit of green ric rac and brown binding.   I don't remember what it measured but it was generous because I do love a good-sized baby blanket that can double as a nursing cover.

I have another colorful strip quilt that needs to be finished for a friend... whose baby is almost a month old!  Yikes, I better get to that!  And then I need to come up with something lovely for my cousin's baby who will be born in a month.  I'm so excited to finally have a girl baby in the family!

And for the boys... well, they like to crowd into the office chair when I'm online and if I'm on ravelry they request things.  Here's something I made for them a while ago to their specifications. 

ravelry link here

These finger puppets were fun and pretty simple to make. I love the tails on all these critters although you can't really see them in this picture.  The pig was requested by Ethan, the cow (who looks like he has measles) by Nathaniel, and the dog by Jude who was most surprised when he saw that he had essentially ordered Clifford.

granny squares

there is something so fun about making them.  it's what made me want to learn to crochet (again) about a year ago.  it's a relaxing activity and you can make them in all different patterns, sizes, colors etc without needing intricate patterns and such.  for the past week, i've just picked up yarn and hook and worked through a few in the evenings as a way to close out the day with no long-term project in mind.

but now thanks to sarah london, my granny squares have a purpose.  [i just love crafting for this reason.]  she's decided to respond to the flooding in australia (read more here) by providing handmade blankets to people as they rebuild.  in her words, she's looking to provide "comfort and colour... as a reminder that there is always a rainbow after a storm."

so if you can, join.  no guilt if you can't.

a sweater

I actually managed to finish a project!  It's a crocheted sweater called Bombay Love found here on ravelry.  The original has shorter sleeves, but I lengthened them given we do live in MN.  I used yarn that I had on hand in colors that I primarily had on hand because I wasn't sure how it would go.  But, this sweater works up so quickly (the beauty of crochet) you could seriously make one in every color scheme you wanted. 



More pictures to come in the next post. 

a little part

I read about Kelly who recently lost her battle with cancer and her husband and son that are dealing with this great loss in their lives.  Tonya over at Plain & Joyful Living was (as she says) "nudged" to pull together a blanket for Kelly's son Ari -- made from squares sent in by woman all over who were moved by Kelly's story and want to share some measure of love, prayer and peace to her family.  You can read more here.

I mailed in a couple of squares -- nothing extraordinary.  But, I'm excited to see how all these different squares are pieced and constructed into something beautiful and meaningful for Ari.

story telling

Today was one of those quiet days.  It came somewhat unexpectedly, and I sure wasn't going to complain.  The boys and I finally made our felt board and they took turns telling stories.

Some of N's story...

"They were having a party, and the boy's mother asked him to go get refreshments, so that's why he's getting apples from the apple tree"

"Inside, they just started writing with a quill"  [inspired I'm sure by his taking in a quill for show and tell for the letter Q

He was really interested in getting the car parked in the garage.  I suppose boys will be boys.

E picked up with his own scene and story telling.  It was slightly difficult to follow the story but very interesting none the less.  His house kept moving from the grass to the sky and then there was "the christmas tree but it has apples on it."  And of course, there was a lot of driving involved.  He drove his car on the grass and the road and everywhere in between, I think.

J, on the other hand, was way more interested in serving grandma a variety of foods (chicken curry, beans, rice, ice cream)  and all with "sauce."

Speaking of, I am delighted that my mom is now here helping out and waiting for baby to arrive.  I can't say how thankful I've become for my mom over the years.  Perspective, I suppose.

knitting child

With all the recent knitting activity in this house, my oldest (5) has been begging me to teach him how to knit.  So, as soon as I got my act together, we sat and did some finger knitting.  He was, of course, intensely focused and thoroughly enjoyed it.  And his mama was so very proud.  And when daddy came home, N was so excited to show off his work and daddy was a proud papa too.  The little guys keep saying that when they grow big, they're going to knit too.  Now we'll have to see what we can make with these pieces.

"crafts.org," he says

The boys were restless today after preschool.  Nathaniel suggested I look up "craft.org" to find something they could do.  Kids and technology, I tell you.  Well, crafts.org doesn't really exist, but I figured we would pull out the paints today.  Nathaniel and I worked on creating a solar system mobile while Jude and Ethan colored, cut, and painted to their hearts' content.

It is so interesting to observe the way they work.  N is looking to get it done right.  He's not terribly detail oriented, but he does ask often, "so, how's it looking?"  Today, J was focused on two colors and that's all he wanted - purple and brown.  E was more into the water than the paint.  He had a little black puddle on his paper plate that he would occassionally sponge around with paper towels. 

Is it nesting?

Perhaps so. Perhaps it is that a wee one will be arriving in 10 weeks (yeah!) or maybe it's that I'm finally feeling settled in our new home, or even that the current little inhabitants are giving mommy a little more time to herself, or a new year feels like a new beginning.

What are we talking about? A crafting craze. A long time ago, I used to do interesting things with my hands, but alas those days came to a halt when the twins arrived. So, I've been dusting off my storage boxes full of fabric, paper, embellishments, and even knitting needles. I even took out all the simple square blocks I had cut for a quilt (six years ago)!

Since it's been ages since I've sewn anything, I decided to piece together these blocks and attempt to make a simple striped quilt. I typically take a long while to get started because I want to know I'll get to perfection and not waste time, resources along the way. But I've purposed that this is a no-risk experiment. So,nothing fancy.. but hopefully something accomplished and something to get this ball rolling. I have no idea what the measurements will be of the final product; I'm guessing something crib-sized.

I'm trying my hand at a variety of crafty outlets. We'll see which ones stick.