It just needed a button!

I finished this Chloe shrug last April, but it lingered in my knitting bag awaiting a simple button. Really, a simple button! Well, of course, it doesn't fit as well as it did last Spring. I'm glad I knit it much longer than the pattern specified, but Tess still won't get to wear it very long. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get this project out of my bag if only to make more room for more of my unfinished projects. I still have a ways to go on my tendency toward procrastination!

Yarn Along: Knitting in the new year

It's a new year and it's time for a new Yarn Along post! I haven't posted for Ginny's weekly Yarn Along in several weeks, but it hasn't been because I haven't been knitting. On the contrary, I've actually been knitting a ton. I've been working on this hat for a  few weeks, but it takes my full concentration so I've put it down a lot in favor of some mindless knitting. This hat is for my friend Trista who sweetly altered my pea coat and I offered her a hat in return.

I'm currently reading The Kitchen Counter Cooking School by Kathleen Flinn. I love cook books, food memoirs and books about food in general. I find this one fascinating as she recounts teaching nine fearful novices how to cook with confidence. The important lesson is that she teaches them to rely on themselves instead of prepackaged convenience food.  I was also given Jesus Calling as a Christmas gift and it's short daily devotional reading for every day of the year. So far, I find this tranquil reading and calming-perfect for my new year's resolution of seeking calm and gentleness.

That's it for this week. Don't forget to head on over to Ginny's for more yarn tales!

The Wildlife quilt

Luke and I had been collecting wildlife-themed fabrics for the last year for his new quilt. A couple of months ago, I decided that we had enough fabric and I started cutting all the squares and rectangles. I gave him the pieces and he arranged all the fabric himself.  I then sewed the rows together and just as I was thinking that it didn't take too long, I managed to sew one row backwards and upside down. I had to get out the seam ripper. That's where I lost my momentum and the quilt topper lay across my sewing table for a few more weeks until I strengthened my will to rip out that row. 

Today, I finally finished it. Okay, I still have to cut the fabric for the binding, cut the fabric for the backing, sew the binding, and buy batting. Then, there's the actual quilting. I will be sending this out to a very talented quilter.

Okay, so I'm nowhere near done on Luke's Wildlife quilt, but it always feels like a major accomplishment to finish the topper.

I'm hoping to have this one finished by the end of January so Luke can snuggle under a warm blanket the rest of  this Winter.

Happy New Year! Here's to a new year of quilting projects!

The year in review

Yesterday, the Christmas tree fell over and in that instant I knew that the holidays were over. We used to leave the tree up until Epiphany, but in recent years, I've wanted to start the new year fresh and that means taking the tree down on New Year's day. Yesterday, I took off most of the ornaments and packed them away. There's still a few left and the lights are still there. I felt like the tree needed to hang in there until New Year's day. When the tree fell over, I started thinking about 2011 and I started thinking about it more when I read this post. 

It's been a hard year. No, it's been more than a hard year. I think this year has stretched me more than any other year in recent memory. I'm not sure how much I grew, but it has been a year of enormous change for me. I looked back at my post at the beginning of 2011 and I had so much hoped  that it would be the year of calm for me.  I think it was anything but. That makes me sad. 2010 was defined by a difficult pregnancy and 2011 was largely the year of adapting to life with the twins. As much as I desperately sought the calm I hoped for, I felt rushed...all the time. I'm still learning and I've learned that I have to let go of some things. I won't be less of a person if I do. That's a hard thing for me. I'm one of those "Carpe Diem" types. I want to learn something new every day. I want to try new things. I'm excited by life. I try to do too much and I'm disappointed when I can't. Here are the things (in no particular order) that filled my life in the past year.

Knitting/Quilting: Looking back on the past year, most of my posts centered around knitting. If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me how I had the time to knit with 5 small children to mother, I'd have piles of money (for more yarn of course!). Knitting has been so much more than knitting for me. This won't be the first time that I  mention the calming effects of knitting on my soul. I'll stay up late when the house is quiet and knit contentedly for hours. The joy I get from creating something for a loved one is something I find difficult to convey. The tactile joy of handling beautiful yarns and the rejuvenating effect of the repetitive motion is like being rocked to sleep. Like Elizabeth said in her post, knitting is so much more than knitting. Amidst my sometimes chaotic life, knitting has kept me sane.

I also got back into quilting this year. I've been quilting for several years now, but I had a lot of not-quite-finished quilt toppers that really needed to be completed. Now quilting isn't like knitting for me at all.  It isn't portable and it isn't really super relaxing for me, but it's enormously satisfying. There's something about piecing all that fabric together. Somehow, my brain starts churning with the endless possibilities of beautiful fabric. I've collected a lot of fabric this year and I have plans for it all. I'm giddy over my fabric collection. There's something about quilting that makes my brain work harder, better...something I can't quite describe.

The Twins: I was blessed with the two most adorable boys ever! They are one year-old now and I love these two little faces so much  (a little bit more each day), but mothering twins has not been easy for me. I didn't get to mother them the way I mothered my other babies. For instance, I barely made it to a year nursing them. I wanted them to have what my other babies got and my other babies got more nursing. I just didn't have enough milk for both and I had to supplement. This was difficult for me, but I tried not to feel like a failure. It's been difficult to accept that each mothering experience is going to be different and a little unexpected.

It's hard to cuddle one twin when I always feel like one twin is being left out. I sometimes feel that the twins aren't getting everything the other babies got, but maybe (hopefully) having each other makes it all okay in the end.  I'm still learning how to mother twins. It's not just the twins though. I just want to be a good mom to all five of my children. They stretch me and force me to be unselfish and hopefully, I will be the mom I want to be.

Counting Gifts: This book encouraged me to write down all those gifts I might otherwise overlook. If you look closely and pay attention, there are gifts everywhere. Gratitude. Thankfulness. I stopped and noticed the small things in my crazy life. I know that seeing every small thing  has changed the way I see life forever.  I started recording them here at my blog, but my whole list never materialized. I will do better at capturing those moments here in 2012.

Just the other day, one of the twins was in the Exersaucer  playing with one of Tess's birthday balloons. He was absolutely enchanted with that balloon. It was something I wanted to remember. I stopped in that moment to capture the image, not with a camera, but with my heart. It was one of those small gifts. God's glory is everywhere and I might have walked on by without ever truly noticing how adorable the image of a baby boy and a simple helium balloon.

Anniversaries and Birthdays: This year, I turned 39.  I entered my last year of my 30s. It's been a great decade. In July, Paul and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary.  It's so cliche to say that the time flew by, but it did. How was I once 23 year-old bride now heading into 40? All I can say is that life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and take a look around, you could miss it. (I got that from Ferris Bueller.)

My Word for the new year: Last year's word for the year was Calm. This year, I have two words: Calm and Gentleness. I want to be characterized by gentleness. I know this would go a long way to being the mom, the woman I want to be.

What will 2012 bring? More gifts....Choose to look closely.

 Happy New Year my friends!

The Snow Princess

December is always busy no matter what. There's always so much to do.  Every year, I try to simplify, but some things are just beyond my control.  I thought I'd get this cape done in time for Tess's 3rd birthday, but now, it's her Christmas cape. You can't see it, but the yarn sparkles and it lookes like glittering snow. I bought a "diamond" clasp to match and now, she's ready for all of her Holiday social engagements!

I tried....

to get a good picture of the twins together for the Christmas card, but I am officially giving up. They needed a nap after this photo shoot. I need a nap too!

On the last day you are 2

This is the last day you are two.  I can't believe it.  You aren't my baby anymore. You are my big girl. You are my big girl who picks out her own clothes and loves them to be pink. You think that everything that I knit is for you. You are my only little girl and you are growing too fast. I cherish every day with you.

                                                        Tomorrow you are three.

                                                  Happy early birthday beautiful pink girl!