Knitting on Tuesdays @ Beanwood!

I started a knitting group. Have I mentioned that? Over the summer, I'd met up with some friends locally at the Farmers Market where we've got a woman who comes with her Alpaca wool. We said we should start a knitting group.....back in JUNE! Here we are in February, and we've only had it rolling for a few weeks.



It was rather simple actually. Create an event on Facebook, leave it open for others to invite friends, and let it happen.



Boy did it ever! The first day of it, I had had a particularly trying day at work. I was literally in the car, a total basket case, on my way home when Raquel texted me, "Meet at your house at 6:30?" Oh, I couldn't do this tonight. Really? Seriously?! I opened the can of worms! I had to do it! And besides...I really needed to do it.

That was a month ago. I've gone every week since. I do need it. We all need it. And we are making new friends too! Can you imagine that!?



I tell you...If you build it, they will come!

ADD in Crafting

o you ever feel like you've got ADD when you walk into your studio space? Yesterday, I had a clear afternoon. Being my birthday and all, it was nice to have some time to myself without having a chore to do. I headed upstairs to my studio thinking I could surely accomplish something.



A thousand things run through my mind...my future dream of an etsy shop, some camera straps in the making, an uncovered pillow downstairs and the green linen I bought for them nearly a year ago, the hobo bag I've had in mind out of duck cloth, fabric to line it with.



Oh, I could go on and on. I sat on the floor for quite a while staring at my stash. I had tried to organize it a little when I redid my studio a while back. The blues were all together, as were the greens and the browns...and I sat there, just staring...and nothing was calling to me specifically. Was it my stash? I had variety, but just not what I was looking for. Oh how I wished I'd had some new Anna Maria Horner fabrics right at that moment, because somehow all the other acquired stash wasn't quite working for me.

In the end, I settled on finishing one camera strap. I also started my new hobo bag. When my little guy arose from his nap, he came right upstairs - someplace he rarely goes and finds it a special treat. He sat with me and we sewed a few straight lines, and while I didn't get much done, at least it was something.

Perhaps a working list of things I'd like to do might work for me. That way, they aren't all floating around in my head, trying to find a place in my craft studio.

A Birthday Moment

Just a moment from my week...one to savor and share...no words...Thanks Amanda Soule for your inspiration!

Cooking with Patrick

I like to cook with my toddler. If you walk into my kitchen, you won't find much childproofing going on. There are no knob covers, no stove blocker, just one cabinet with a lock, the one with my cleaning supplies, which coincidentally are becoming safer and safer as we go along. My child has free roam of this area. In the beginning, I really wanted a learning tower. The idea of the learning tower was everything that I embodied. The space it took up was not. So I didn't get one. We have this stool in our kitchen.



It is an Ikea Bekvam stool. We've actually had it for quite some time, but when my two year old adopted it, it finally came to life. I think it works better than the learning tower for us. He is able to move it around to where he'd like to be at any given moment. Only once have we had a toe pinching incident. He loves to be where we are, and he loves to help.



If you give him a task, he more than willingly takes on the responsibility. He'll stir anything in a bowl, run the Kitchenaid to his little heart's content, and even try and help cut things in half (which we work with him carefully, as he proclaims "Patrick do it!")

He's learning new things. That's what is most important. How do you cook with your toddler?

A Photo Booth Moment

Just a moment from our week...one that's extra special...wanting to savor it always! Feel free to share your moment this week as well!

That Groundhog

Well hello there February! Here we are again! It's National Pothole Month (I bet you didn't know that) and tomorrow is Groundhog Day!

Yes sir, Groundhog Day!



Every year, I wait in anticipation of that Punxsutawney Phil, famous groundhog from Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania to show himself outside of his hole and make his predictions about winter.

But this year, I find myself wondering, Can that groundhog even GET out of his hole right now? It's raining out right now. Hopefully it's not just freezing on my car, which it very well might be, but maybe even melting some of that snow that's out there! I really can't take much more, and when I glanced at the weather online this morning, I saw that dreaded four letter word again for Saturday! SNOW!

You see, my birthday is on Sunday. I won't tell you how much I despise a February birthday right now, I'll save that for another post. I'll only tell you that Mother Nature is notorious for giving me snow around my birthday! A nice present from her, or so she thinks. After all I was born in a snow storm!

Let's hope that groundhog comes out and gives us good news tomorrow. If not, I may have to hole up and hibernate as well!