I won!

Remember the Sew, Mama, Sew May giveaway day? I won something! Addie, of Waldreck Dry Goods, offered these personalized tops. When I won, I told her I would love to have a t-shirt that wasn't a onesie, as it's easier to use with Lucy's cloth diaper. This week, the shirt arrived; this is what she came up with:

Cute! Girly, and yet not pink. Strong, like my girl. (And check out the cute matching card!)

Now, if I could just finish up this diaper-cover-in-the-works, we'd have a cute outfit for fall!

You can check out Addie's blog here, and her Etsy shop here. (She has lots of sweet baby gifts.) Thanks, Addie!

Crochet progress and outdoor chores

Whoa! The last soaker took me a whole month to make; this one only took me a week! And it is so much better.

I was talking with my friend Julie last night about preferred methods of learning. I do not want to "practice." I never have. I want to do, make, create. Forget showing me a stitch and having me do row after row of it to learn how to get it right. I'm more likely to be motivated by a project I want to do: the pattern says double crochet? Ok, what's that? And then I need to do something on the front post? What does that mean? That's why my first attempt was such a wreck: I was trying to keep too many new things in my head at one time. But it's also why I was so satisfied at the end: I had a product I could really use. And then I was happy to make another one, trying now to get it right. Julie, on the other hand, would much rather learn one stitch perfectly before trying to use it in a project (and her projects look infinitely better than mine, no surprise!). How do you like to learn?

So now I've got a few other projects in the works. I've joined the rest of the class in making this:

There are only 2 more classes left; I'm really hoping I'll be able to finish it in that time. And I've already started a third soaker. And I'm working on some of these for Christmas presents (aren't you proud of me? I started earlier, as I'd hoped!) I started the first one today, and am trying to figure out the pattern on my own (so far, my teacher's been translating the patterns into regular English for me). I'm finding if I read it really slowly, I can do it! Yay!
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And outdoors...

We spent a few hours this afternoon at the park with friends, but naturally, I forgot the camera! I did remember to take it out when we hung one of the many loads of laundry I did today. Lucy likes helping with laundry: she takes each item out of the bag and hands it to me to hang. Later, she takes each item out of the bag again and hands it to me for folding.

(This made me think of one of my best tips for ensuring you get out every day: make sure you have some outdoor chores. I go outside several times a day, by necessity: I hang at least one load of laundry, take care of chickens at least twice a day, and get the stinky diapers and full-up compost out of the house daily. When you head out the door so many times a day, rain or shine, hot or cold, it stops seeming like a big ordeal. That got me thinking about a few other get-out-the-door-easily tips I've accumulated over 17 years of teaching and a year of mamahood. I'll share more as the month goes on.)

Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players- lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

At long last...

I've finally finished my first crocheted soaker--exactly one month from start to finish. It's a mess. I really struggled to keep track of where I was (front of stitch? back of stitch? which hole? decreasing now, or not?) and it's reflected in its lack of discernible pattern of stitches. And those leg holes? They're two different sizes and loose on her. That seam? Embarrassing! But I'm proud, nonetheless. I did it! And it fits her. And is pretty cute anyway.

And the best news? As soon as I finished it, I began another one just like it (I like to have 2 matching covers when possible, so we can change a damp one and still have her in the "same" outfit)...and it's coming out right! I've figured out how to keep track of where I am (thanks, Julie, for the most helpful tip of a stitch marker!) and am following the directions more accurately and can see and fix my mistakes when I make them. Can it be? Am I actually learning to crochet?

I felt so cocky with my success that I went to class tonight determined to tackle the sweater everyone else was working on (have I mentioned that I'm the only beginner in my class?). Just wait 'til you see...I'm actually doing it!
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Outdoors? It was scary hot today...nearly 90 degrees. That is just wrong for the beginning of April. But we took full advantage, anyway, spending the morning down by the river. (Don't worry about their layers; it wasn't 90 degrees yet!)





Play along with us during the month of April for Children and Nature Awareness Month by posting a picture of your child(ren) each day enjoying the outdoors! Get outdoors and climb a tree! Visit the other Great Outdoor Challenge players-

lisa, sanders, angelina, phyllis, sarah, christie, jennifer, debbie, dong dong, denise, luisa, joy, stephanie, cori, alex, dawn, kristen, catherine, tricia, becky, christy, ruth, kari, courtney, branflakes, jessica, renee, haiku, brynn, amy, clemencia, sherry, leslie, lise, renee, anet, jenn, marina, amy, ella, marcia, karen, beth, julie, kyndale, kelly, lizzie, eileen, ag, mari-ann, cindy, robin, nicole, debbie, julia, renee, anita, lisa, jenn, montessori, marita, jeannie, hallie, mandy, kangaroo, andrea, joey, carmen, teena, stephinie, gidget, elizabeth, emma, rosina, saminda, melissa, katie, becca, atouria, barbara, ariella, missy

Bum sweater

Lucy's been desperately in need of some new diaper covers. She outgrows them so fast (and it doesn't help that we're prone to shrinking them. Particularly the totally-adorable custom-made one I just got from Etsy, darnit!!) I had made her several pairs of wool "longies" this winter, but hadn't yet made any "shorties." Yesterday, I gave it a try, using this pattern for a "baby bum sweater."

I had a little trouble with the waistband--where all the points come together, I ended up with a peaked-up piece. I'll have to figure that one out for next time. But otherwise, I love the pattern. They came out so cute! (Well, yeah...they would have been a lot cuter if I'd had the right color thread. But we were going for immediate results, here, people.) I can see a lot more of these in her future.

One adjustment I'll make next time that I learned from this pattern for a "butt sweater": rather than use the sleeve cuffs to make the legs, I'll use the neckband, cut in half. I was sad that in cutting the cuffs off the sleeves of this beautiful pink sweater, I ruined them for the longies I'd planned to make from them. Hmmm...maybe I could cuff them instead with trim or fabric? Will have to think about that. But first, some more shorties!