beautiful weekend

Fabulous weather + the weekend can only = one thing:  photos...

Things are starting to become ordered.  I've a bit more to do this week to get ready for my family of multiples garage sale as well as Miss A & Miss J's 3rd birthday party on the weekend.  More on that later. 

fading beauty

I know I'm supposed to be on a self-imposed decluttering break and I still am.  We've packed up about 8 boxes of old toys, 4 boxes of books, a large pile of outdoor items, 3 bags on their way to good will, 1 bag on it's way to my niece's, etc.  I'm starting to feel like I have some elbow room.  We still have a long way to go, but one does need to take a break even when on a break, no? 


I stopped in to let you know I changed my banner over the weekend.  With the weather so cool these days, the beach banner was making me feel chilly.  Summer has faded out and though the coolness speaks of fall, nature has yet to make agreement and so the colors, still there, are beginning to fade and change.  As such, I thought I would make a new banner while in this seasonal transition of my summer geranium fading out.  In it's summer brilliance, it looked like this:


Those days are over now and it has been quietly going to sleep for the past two weeks to make room for the celebration of fall.   Now I must go and get a bit more things done.  I was planning on painting one of the basement rooms today, but I am behind.  My dear son J (I really need to use that term to remind myself) wasn't feeling well so he went for a nap.  When he woke, he didn't make it to the bathroom and sadly he vomited off the top of his bunk bed.  *yuck*  It was all over his blankets, his brother's blankets, the wall, the floor, I'm sure you can just imagine and I'm still doing the laundry.   It's times like these that I wish I had my mother's gift for sick kids. 

a bit jumpy

Oh yeah, before this post jumps all over the place let me introduce you to a new friend of ours...

Mr. Froggie didn't stay with us long, he came home from the beach with us the other day.  The boys had their hearts set on showing the wee sisters our little find.   Mr. J ever so gently helped one of the girlies hold the frog for herself.  She was enamored.   I may be making frogs next. 




Shortly after Mr. B and I went down to the River to release him.  Off he hopped on another adventure.  Speaking of which, I'm going to be away from my blog for a short break.  We are in the midst of de-cluttering our baby stuff, toy stuff, craft stuff, paper stuff, clothing stuff, house stuff & outdoor stuff.  We have way too much in this space and it is starting to slow us down.  Time to purge.  I'll be thinking of you. xoxo

back at it

I must be a glutton for punishment. I started knitting these leg warmers back in the winter but soon abandoned the idea when my wee girls were less than thrilled with the idea of trying them on. The other day my hubby brought home a video (actually the first disk of a new television series) from the rental store to watch. We don't have cable so when we want to watch something we have to rent it or buy it. He brought home "Heroes." I've seen it everywhere as of late. Well back to the knitting, I have a simple equation:  television + sitting on the couch for an extended period of time = knitting.
I started tackling the leg warmers again for lack of a better idea. This time I pulled them apart enough to get rid of the funky ruffle. It wasn't grabbing me. I ended up with this.



I made these ones so long they remind me of the babylegs that are all the rage for infants & toddlers. I like how they turned out. They are more utilitarian than my last version. They will keep the legs warms on those "must wear dresses days." Of course it never stops at just one pair when you have twins.



I'm hard at work on the next pair and my dear hubby has gone back to the video rental store another time so we could watch disk 2 of Heroes. I think I'm hooked, let's hope the girls are hooked on their new leg warmers too!

fragililty

Life is so fragile.  I was reminded of that yesterday.   Like water being poured out of it's container, it is so easy to be here today and gone tomorrow.





I was out running an errand with my children in tow when my son B exclaimed that he wasn't feeling well. This does happen on occasion and so we have become very good at "passing the bag" in case one feels a need to use it. What I didn't expect was the terror I felt in my heart when he cried out next that he couldn't move his hands or fingers. I haven't felt so scared and vulnerable in a long, long time. I pulled into a parking lot and quickly accessed the situation; I was now driving and heading in the direction of the children's hospital. I sent my mum, who was with me at the time, to the back of the van to rub his fingers to start them moving again. 
As it happens, by the time we were in the hospital vicinity, things rapidly improved and B was starting to feel much better and the feeling was completely back in his hands. I called my husband and together we decided that I would head home instead of going to sit in the ER for 5 + hours while the symptoms abate. I rationalized that B would rest much better at home and if this happened again I would call 911 and that way he would be seen immediately. Well, we didn't need to call emergency and after a wee lie down on the couch B was fine. I'm sure I will still put a call into his doctor to explain the situation and seek advice.

Though our bodies are fragile at times, I am grateful that B is a strong, beautiful, healthy child.  I am grateful that he is here with me today. 

latest wip

I've been stealing some time this week to work on a new project. It's a bit on the spooky side...Owooooo It involves black denim, patchwork & rickrack.



and pockets



and also appliqué

 
















I am totally in love with this little guy.  He is just so cute and colorful.  Doesn't every little spider need socks?? Stay tuned {{as the creepy organ music plays}}...

add a little color

It was a paint day at our house yesterday. 

We are trying to finish up the trims around our windows and doors.  We've been working at it for the past month and (yes) we are slow.  Our friend who is a professional painter so graciously came over and did the second floor windows for us.  Our ladder wouldn't reach and well let's just say it would have been forever if we had to add that to our list.

My dear sons, J & B asked if they could help, I wish!  It is a finicky thing painting trims, trying to make sure the paint doesn't bleed on the window or on the stucco.   We opted to not have the kids help.  Instead I pulled out the tempura paints, brushes, aluminum pans and a hefty roll of Ikea paper.  That should do the trick and keep them busy for an hour. 

It started out innocently enough with colors being spread about the paper in various forms of expression.  Even the odd image was easy enough to interpret.  Miss A & Miss J have never had the pleasure of painting in this medium before.  For them the textures and colors were new and so fun they couldn't help themselves.

The direction of the painting took a very quick turn to "body painting".   B & J were all too happy to comply.


As were Miss A & Miss J.


No harm done.  All ended well with a good clean outdoor bath, or two, and heaps more good memories. 

wip completed!

Patchwork, patchwork, patchwork, I really adore patchwork. It is such a creative way to combine fabrics and no matter what the project, it never seems to disappoint me. I've been loving this Denyse Schmidt book for forever. She is a master patchworker and she knows just how to put funky shapes and angles to her work. Check out her hop skip jump quilt, it's fabulous. There are so many other patchwork talents out there. One particular inspiration for these bibs can be found here. After seeing a few bibs that she made and how cute they were, I had to give it a go. 



Has it actually been that long since I worked on these? Summer really does have it's way with me. The patchwork bibs are quilted and completely reversible with reproduction
fabric that covers the front and a green linen on the back. Can I just say how much I love linen? I couldn't resist this particular shade of green.
 


Cotton batting is sandwiched in between and the bib can fit anywhere between infant or toddler. When I took this next picture I still had to finish putting on the ties but that's all done now too and I am completely happy with the way they turned out. 



I really need to make some more of these.