MommyCoddle

unfinished business

So, if you've been reading this blog for a looong time, you might remember a day when I was a button-maker. Remember the owl buttons?? * sigh.* I loved it. I think my button-making days began to disappear when baby number three and four arrived.

I keep making attempts at a return, but the time just hasn't been right yet. I even have a box of bisqued "ideas and experiments" sitting in my craft cupboard.

Even worse, I have a wonderful aunt who has offered to fire anything I want to send her way. It couldn't get any easier. Except for the fact that I need to unearth an extra four hours or so in my day. But I do miss it. A lot.

In the meantime, my personal stash of buttons is running extremely low, which means I have a few projects sitting here, waiting for the perfect buttons so that the projects can go from knitting basket to actually being worn by my children.

This little sweater was knit for, ahem, Elizabeth when she was a toddler (She's turning four in a few weeks.) from Erika Knight's, Knitting for Two (I've heard it's also in Baby Bloom ). And I confess, just like the shrug, this sweater has been put on babes in it's unfinished state, maybe pinned together with diaper pins? Not so classy, huh?

I have a few buffalo nickels that were given to me, and I think they'll be just the thing. And the sweater will fit Birdy perfectly right now, so I'm anxious to get it done. (Maybe even today?? I get my best knitting done when I have a really long to-do list of everything BUT knitting.)

This sweater is what I refer to in this house as Harper's Vest (aka. Pebble) But this is knit according to Amanda's experiments in making it in a larger size. Following the same pattern but with larger needles (size 9) and worsted weight yarn double-stranded.

I found a lovely soft cotton that I found at Michael's, of all places. The sweater is thick and chunky and warm. I love how it turned out.

But….no buttons. I'm envisioning really nice, simple, wooden buttons for this. I just haven't found them yet. Meanwhile the sweater is a little big for Birdy, but Elizabeth is trying to convince me that she can squeeze herself into it.

My current project, has been my Parenthood/knitting/late at night pleasure. (Am I the only one who can't make it through a single episode of Parenthood without tearing up at some point??!) I love this pattern so far and the yarn is from a small farm in Wisconsin. Dan bought me a sheepskin rug from this farm and we ended up visiting it a few weeks later when they were lambing. I've always hesitated to use the yarn because it's one of those beautiful yarns that requires the perfect project. But now, almost six years later, the yarn deserves to become something, don't you think?

What's on your needles these days?

I keep making attempts at a return, but the time just hasn't been right yet. I even have a box of bisqued "ideas and experiments" sitting in my craft cupboard.

I found a lovely soft cotton that I found at Michael's, of all places. The sweater is thick and chunky and warm. I love how it turned out.

What's on your needles these days?

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some things you might like

Good morning. It is March, people! The sun is shining. All my girls are at the barn riding horses. The baby is napping. And I have a few exciting things to share with you before I slip upstairs into their bedroom to surprise them with new curtains, hung and ready to go when they return….

**When you stay up too late, once your children have gone to bed and the house is quiet, you do crazy things like make a facebook page for your blog. Kidding, it wasn't crazy. I actually have been meaning to do this for quite awhile. My hope is that it will be a space to connect with all of you a little more–since I'm sure you can't get enough of me, right? But late that night as I was working on it, I knew that I wanted to give a little something from me to you. So sneak over there, "like" me, if you do, and check out the discussion. There's something waiting there….

**As if I wasn't asking for enough already, I have another favor…will you vote for me? I have been nominated for Circle of Moms Top 25 Creative Blogs. And right now, I have 5 votes (and ashamedly, one of those is mine, the other is probably my sister…) I know bloggers often ask for votes, and I know it takes some of your precious time, but I promise this one is quick and easy. Would you, please? I would be both honored and grateful.

** TO VOTE FOR MOMMYCODDLE CLICK HERE **

**A few blogs I've been enjoying lately:

the kitchen generation

modern parents messy kids

likely stories : this may be biased because Tiffany is a "real life" friend. But there's something about her blog and her outlook on life that makes me smile.

interior photos : sometimes reading this motivates me to clean. some times, it makes me think my house will never be clean.

L'E Dans L'A: i know i've mentioned this one before. it's how i keep my french fresh. (not really). but it is a beautiful simple blog. it will make you want to take lovely photographs of your children, just being children. (and dress them in bloomers, tights, and little leather lace-up boots.)

sally j shim blog : sally has a beautiful new blog + website. the design is clean and fresh and very "sally". i loved perusing it last night.

** bluegrass on the tube : i LOVE bluegrass. i feel like i grew up on it, riding in my dad's car listening to 88.5 on the radio. and it was my dad who turned me on to this site. a new bluegrass video in your inbox daily. the website is a little plain and uninviting, but the videos are so good. here's proof below: (and if you don't like bluegrass this is probably what you think all bluegrass sounds like, which is exactly why you don't like it. and if you like bluegrass, you'll appreciate why this is so good.)

**Do yourself a favor, let your children get on polyvore. It's like internet paper dolls. And it is hilarious what they come up with when given free rein to create outfits at will. With just minimal instruction my children were creating "looks" in minutes. And let's just say, if shown in a lineup of polyvore sets, I could have picked this one among thousands as little Mary's. That's my girl. In the sets she created after this, she became obsessed with finding legs for all the dresses. Now that makes for some interesting outfits. The only downside? Everyone on polyvore now thinks mommycoddle has some really wacky taste in clothes and has a serious infatuation with ponies and princesses.

alright. If I'm ever going to get these curtains done, I need to walk away from this computer. Thank you friends for visiting here, for taking your valuable time to sit and share and read and say hello.

** TO VOTE FOR MOMMYCODDLE CLICK HERE **

**A few blogs I've been enjoying lately:

the kitchen generation

modern parents messy kids

likely stories : this may be biased because Tiffany is a "real life" friend. But there's something about her blog and her outlook on life that makes me smile.

interior photos : sometimes reading this motivates me to clean. some times, it makes me think my house will never be clean.

sally j shim blog : sally has a beautiful new blog + website. the design is clean and fresh and very "sally". i loved perusing it last night.

16 Comments

good finds

hello march friends

Just taking a moment this evening, to welcome my new blog sponsors for March.

Designer Digitals:

A familiar face here on this blog, but so happy to welcome DD back as the featured sponsor. Just take a few moments to peruse the products on the DD website, and you'll be inspired to try your hand at digital scrapbooking. Feeling intimidated? The site has great tips, freebies, clear directions for getting started and a welcoming community of helpful, encouraging and inspiring digital scrappers. Even Emma is eagerly awaiting the opportunity to give it a try. So over the next few months, we'll be working on ways to incorporate some digital scrapbooking ideas, and the documenting of our days, into our homeschooling curriculum….

Stubby Pencil Studio :

I'm so happy to welcome Stubby Pencil Studio as a blog sponsor. I have always been a fan of their amazing collection of creative goodness. When Kate and I were emailing back and forth, she sent me a link to their collection of gifts for Easter baskets. Move over hollow chocolate rabbit, I have a feeling that the bunny may be doing some online shopping this year. Who can resist such great art and school supplies? Seriously.

LetterGirl :

Welcome back to Gina from Letter Girl on etsy. She has a lovely shop filled with handmade and custom-designed stamps for your envelopes, gift tags, etc. She has that beautiful handwriting and style we all wish we had. Gina must have been a pretty popular girl in grade school. I bet everyone wanted her to decorate their folders and book covers. Gina will be offering a great giveaway on my blog in early April!

WhipUp.net:

Kathreen has done it again–creating a fabulous downloadable mini-mag for kids. I'll be sharing the magazine with you in more detail later this week, as well as offering several copies for giveaway. Here's a little hint: find yourself a source for beeswax and then come back to be inspired.

Terrain:

Consider yourself warned, this shop is crazy good. The flagship store is a mere hour and a half from my home and one of these days I will make the pilgrimage. But in the meantime, take a look around, and don't say I didn't warn you.

**A personal note about sponsors**

There is always a lot of talk among bloggers about sponsors—to have or not to have, that is the question. Here's my opinion (though I don't feel in any way that I need to defend myself)–it's your blog and your decision. And personally, I feel like one thing you can count on from me is that I am generally pretty upfront and honest about my life. And if I can pick a few great people, and artists, and sites to share with you, and in return I can keep this blog "in the black", then to me, that's a good partnership. And if you have a shop or a site that you'd like to share with my readers and are interested in sponsorship, please don't hesitate to contact me. I am doing my best to keep it affordable so that we can all glean a little good from it all.