Teacher Appreciation Gifts

I found these to be an easy, quick and inexpensive gift for the kids' teachers this year. A handmade washcloth with some goodies wrapped inside!

Birthday Bolero

I finally finished Anna's birthday bolero. I used Sirdar's pattern 1676 but altered it significantly. I much prefer top-down patterns to bottom-up, and since I wanted this to be shorter than the pattern intended I decided top-down would be the way to go. I also hate seaming, and this pattern was written to make 5 pieces, sew them all together, then do the border. I figured it would be fairly simple to re-write as a raglan instead.


I didn't have enough yarn to make the long sleeves, so I went for short sleeves since this is for summer dresses. After working the body and going back to work on the sleeves I did some pleating and decreases before working on the cuff.


I am really happy with how it turned out, and my daughter liked it too! Last night was my son's preschool graduation, and since I finished the bolero yesterday I simply couldn't wait till her birthday to have Anna wear it :)

(you'll have to take my word for it that she liked it... she was in a bad mood in this photo!)

Mother's Day

We spent Mother's Day at my parents' house this year. They are out of the country visiting my brother, and we decided to throw a party in their house while they were gone (with their permission, of course!). My parents live only minutes from my house, but worlds away in atmosphere. They own 9 acres of land that is partially wooded; we live in a subdivision with people all around!

We invited our small group from church to join us for a getaway. We fished

played games, ate pizza and stayed up way too late Saturday night. We had a light breakfast Sunday morning and everyone headed off to their various Mother's Day activities.

With my own mom out of town we decided to just relax to celebrate. We took a walk around the property, took photos of the gardens,

and headed out into the woods to the little creek our kids love playing in.

All in all it was a lovely day!

not exactly fiber related

Things have been slow on the crafty front these days. We're filling our free time with exercise, fresh air, and sunshine (when we get it!). This weekend was a beautiful one after successive weeks of rain, rain, rain and we fully enjoyed it! We made our whole weekend family oriented and the kids blossomed in all the attention. It is wonderful to see how well they respond to positive encouragement from their folks! Last Friday I was checking my news reader and saw these cookies. Not too long later the kids asked for cookies. Was it a sign?! I thought so, so I quickly whipped up a batch. I have to say these may possibly be the best homemade chocolate chip cookies I've ever had! I will definitely be hanging on to this recipe.


I do have a few crafty projects going on. I just have some lace to sew on Anna's birthday dress and then I'll post pics. I am also knitting her a little shrug to wear with it. I'm using a neutral color so she can wear it with the myriad of cute little sleeveless dresses she's got.