Things You Didn't Know

If you've been following this blog long you've probably learned a few things about me.  I love photography, I love nature, I have cute kids, I (obviously) love to craft.  But what about those things about me that you don't find out through regular posting? Here's 10 things you probably didn't know about me:

1.  I'm a grouch most days before 10 am.  Coffee helps significantly.
2.  In the winter I wear my red fuzzy bathrobe approximately 50% of the day, even when I've gotten ready and dressed.
3.  I could live on pizza.  I would be a lot fatter, but I'd be happy
4.  I can make my tongue into the shape of a clover (like this)
5.  I have asked for and received both of the Lego Harry Potter Wii games the last two Christmases.  Most of the time I prefer to play them alone.
6.  Spiders really freak me out.
7.  I'm super sensitive.  I'm not easy to offend exactly, I just care a lot about what others think of me (working on this one).
8.  I wait till my kids go to bed to eat junk food if I don't feel like sharing
9.  I still sleep with a stuffed animal (its a comfort thing - like some people hold a pillow, I hold a dog)
10.  I watch Sliders, or other similarly dorky shows, while I knit and crochet.

So now you know.  Aren't you glad?

Oh, and just for fun here's a quick pic from a recent photo session with my awesome husband.  I love that guy.

(c) Micah Bell Photography

Stuff (aka: I have no cute title for this post!)

Its winter here in the Midwest, but its been a strange one.  We've had some record highs, and some typical lows, some snow, some rain, and some beautiful sunshine!  Along with parenting my 3 kids, keeping up on housework (which seems never-ending in the dreariness of winter), and hanging with my hubby, I've been keeping myself busy with a few projects.

First up is a Beard Hat in Colts Blue & White, as requested by another Indianapolis native.  Modeled here by my ever patient husband (he's probably modeled 16 of these hats for me now!)

Then a spring-inspired Swirl Hat modeled by my lovely daughter :)

Next, I made this quilt in a fit of crafting frenzy when I realized I didn't have a gift for one of my college roommates who just had a new baby!  I love how it turned out.

Lastly was this teeny tiny newborn Stripey PomPom hat for a friend of ours who wanted a hat for her soon-to-be-born daughter to match one she purchased for her son, but in girl colors.  She requested the pompom have stripes.  That was a new one for me, but I was pretty happy with the outcome.




And so as not to leave my other boys out, enjoy this shot of my littlest "reading" a book (love his smile!) and a photo my husband took of our oldest checking out the skyline of Chicago on a trip they took together this month.

Translation

There's not a lot new to share on the blog lately.  I have been busy as a bee working on patterns that you've already seen pics of so I'll only share a couple new ones.

Twin Owl Hats

Swirl Hat with flower and coordinating scarf

Something strange that happened is that recently my Raincloud Pattern has been popping up on French blogs all over the place.  I can only guess that somehow clouds are a popular theme and people were searching for patterns to make their own.  I have had many sweet compliments on the pattern and have enjoyed seeing people use the clouds they made for coasters, garland, and various other household decorations.  Recently I was contacted by Fabienne, a French blogger at Archibald & 3 petit points, offering me a French translation of my Raincloud Pattern.  She was kind enough to allow me to post the translation on this blog and put it on hers as well.  You can find her version here, and you can see the French translation on the Raincloud Pattern page.

Transitions

This has been a strange fall.  I have enjoyed the beauty of the season immensely, but it has gone by quickly, and brought with it some deep sadness.  Sunday I lost my grandfather to old age and natural causes.  He was the 3rd grandparent I've lost in the last 4 months, leaving me with no more living grandparents.  With his death came a disconnection with a place and a generation that had been a large part of my childhood.  I now have very few reasons to travel to northern Indiana.  I won't see Amish horse and buggy at Christmas time each year.  I won't watch the light shimmering off the river on a bright summer morning while eating perfectly-made toast in my grandmother's kitchen.  I won't have anyone to share with me what it was like during the Great Depression or WWII.  This disconnection is only physical though.  I have many many memories from my childhood that will stay with me.  I also carry with me the legacy of faith that my grandparents handed down from their grandparents generation to my own, and one I hope to pass along to my own grandchildren some day.

 Arthur and Annabelle Evans

This fall has marked the transition from my grandparents being the eldest in the family, to my parents, aunts and uncles taking on that roll.  It is sad to lay a generation to rest- especially a generation who showed us that hard work, resilience, and faith can rebuild so much- however my parents generation has much to teach us also.  I hope that my children will value their grandparents the way that I value mine.  And I long to have the privilege of growing old and sharing my life with my own grandchildren.  My only hope is that by that time I will have lived a life worthy of reflection, and have experienced enough of life's ups and downs to earn the title of "wise elder".

Harold and Rose Marie "Rody" Weaver and their children (in order of age), Dave, Mike, Elaine (my mom), Anne, and Greg

I love you, Grandma and Grandpa Evans, and Nana and PopPop Weaver.   I look forward to seeing you again and sharing with you in person the result of your lives' impact on the future generations.

"Falling" Behind

See what I did there?  That was a pun... cause its fall and I'm falling behind in blogging...... *ahem* moving on.

September and October have been eventful for me, most of which I enjoyed.

In the past 6 weeks I've walked in the woods;

gone to the pumpkin patch;

enjoyed warm days outside and cool evenings by the fire pit;

practiced some new photography tricks;

visited cities;

spent time in my favorite places;

celebrated birthdays (he's 2 already!),

   
         (and he's 34 already!)

and remembered two special lives passed.  I lost two grandmothers in the span of 3 weeks...

But in the midst of it all I've even had time to work up some new projects.  I just haven't had the time to share them with you.

(left to right:  Red/White Kitty Hats, Gina Giraffe and Newborn Newsboy Cap, Striped Brimmed Hats)

(Swirl Cap with large flower)

So now we're all caught up!  What have you been doing to enjoy the glory of fall?

Mixed Breed

I was recently contacted by a previous client to see if I could make her a baby sweater and rattle set for her new baby girl.  She wanted the sweater to feature an applique of a dog similar to her beloved little pet - a black half scottish terrier half cocker spaniel with a schnauzer haircut!  We did a little digging and found a great applique at my favorite doggy-related Etsy store.  The sweater turned out very sweet in red and white stripes with the black dog.

The rattle pattern was another Etsy find.  While the seller of the pattern does not allow them to be made for sale in large quantities, she granted me permission to make one for my client.  Such a cute cute pattern!  I was a little confused by the sewing on of the legs of this guy, but once I got it all tacked down I was very satisfied.  And best of all, the client was very happy with how it turned out!

Playing Catch-up

Whew, I knew it was coming.... I'm rolling in hat orders right now!  September is the time people start thinking about looking cute in the warm weather, and I don't blame them.  One of my favorite things to do is pull out all of my sweaters, scarves and hats and accessorize at the morning bus stop!  I have worked on quite a few things over the past few weeks, but here are a few of my favorites:

First is a set of 3 hats for a newborn boy, and 3 & 5 yr old girls.  Their mom wanted them all to have coordinating hats, but for each to be unique.  We went back and forth with ideas on colors and styles and came up with these.  I'm so pleased how they turned out and I can't wait to see how their family photoshoot turns out!

I had tons of fun working up these fall-color teacher totes!  I love how they have fall/Halloween colors while still being cute and trendy :)

My daughter went gaga over this sweet red and white Kitty Hat and I'm pretty sure she'll be bummed if there's not one of these in her stocking this Christmas.

Another fun hat was this dino newborn photo prop.  It was a special request by the winner of my 200 Fan Giveaway on the Knits and Knots Facebook page!  I hope she'll send me a pic of her sweet boy in it when he's born :)