Ms. Ellaneous crafts a life

A basketful of hemp

I purchased this hemp about six years ago after designing a knitting bag that was crocheted hemp on the outside and lined with linen.  It was my "ultimate" knitting bag for awhile.  The liner had pockets all the way around and a hole at the top, to allow one strand of yarn through, discouraging little hands from rummaging around in my bag.  It was also very squish-able so I could throw it in the car with all of the other sundry back and forth to school items.  This bag is sounding pretty good, again.  I wonder where I put it?

Anyway, I had plans to make a few more.  That was six years ago.  Now, in my eternal quest to use up some of my previously purchased supplies, I am making baskets.

  Simple crocheted, one skein baskets.  There seems to be an infinite number of ways to finish the top and I may try some stripes with different materials.  I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do with them, but when I am done I will have ten baskets and I will have used up all this hemp.  Leaving a bin free for more supplies.  By the end of the summer, I could have all new stuff!  Just kidding.  Maybe I will use these as gift baskets.

I'm trying to re-organize something and make something everyday while the big three are at camp.  So far, so good! 

Nuts and bolts and screws

G, A4, and I spent most of our day yesterday going to IKEA.  It always seems like we leave with alot of merchandise but as soon as we get back home, I have the urge to go back.  Do you think they put something in the Swedish meatballs?  It's either that or I need to be surrounded by plastic bags full of nuts, bolts and screws.

G spent most of last night putting together a new computer table in the laundry, off the kitchen.  This made space for a painting table in the studio/schoolroom.  So G spent the morning putting together this...

Like all things IKEA, it is more complicated then it looks.

After trying to find new homes for all of the stuff we took out, and then cleaning up behind everything, I got a chance to play around a little.  I found a previously painted sheet of canvas and started attaching thing to it. 

I am trying to just create with no real purpose and no real plan.  I'm also trying to not get too attached to the outcome.  After I was done, I popped it into a frame and sat it on my shelf.  It felt good to play around with materials with no need to accomplish anything.  I'm going to try and do that more.

Hope everyone had a good weekend!

A different kind of silence

A1-A3 have been gone for a whole day.  My parents also left for a visit "back home".  So, here we are, A4, G, and I.  A very small, very quiet family.  This is taking a little getting used to.  Family dynamics have completely changed.  Now instead of four children, I have an only child.  Way different. 

This change has freed up a little mental space to think about completing projects that I have unfinished, and to think about where I want to go with some other ideas that have been bouncing around in my head for awhile.  The only thing is, this "space" scares me.  I feel like the pressure is on.  I have some time and I have to use it wisely, before it runs out.  That thought makes me want to eat a cookie and take a nap.

Instead, I am trying to catch up on blogging and reading blogs, working on A4's letters with him and exercising.  What do you do to avoid the things that scare you?

15 Years

Yesterday was our 15 year wedding anniversary.  We didn't really get a chance to do anything too special.  A4 came down with strep and was feeling pretty clingy and G and I were recovering from weekend travel and camp drop off.  We did get a chance over the weekend, during our unscheduled hour, to exchange new wedding rings.

G has been without a wedding ring for about three years.  His was lost during a pumpkin carving frenzy and is now somewhere on Not that W's farm.  I have been wanting to upgrade anyway, so we finally did. 

It's very hard to put into words how I feel about G or our marriage.  We met in college and married right after he graduated.  It seems simultaneously like yesterday, and a very long time ago.  I feel so lucky.  In so many ways I love him more everyday.  Happy Anniversary and may we have many, many more years together! 

The day before camp

Yesterday was very busy with the last minute errands for things like, the one flashlight that we forgot to buy, stamps, and stationary that they are not likely to use.  We also had friends to say a last goodbye to.

 

This is baby B in her signature sweater, playing with the world's greatest toys. 

I also had two last minute requests for journal covers to take to camp.  The hive with the bee is A3's and the funny duck/sea monster is A2's. 

 

 

(sorry about the lighting, this was taken at about 10:00 pm)

I made A1 a journal cover last summer.  So she was covered (HaHa), thank goodness.

We ended the day with A4 getting a bad cold and not sleeping well all night.  As a matter of fact, all of us were a little nervous about the transition to camp.

Silence

I'm sorry for the silence.  This past week has been full to the brim with the goings on of life and I have had little time for reflecting.  It's been all go, go, go.

I guess I should start with the announcement that I finished the Wedding Blanket just in time for the wedding.  In the spirit of full disclosure, I ended it at 14 1/2 skeins.  I just ran out of time.  I think it still ended up long enough at 55".  It is meant to be a throw, not a blanket for the bed.  I'm not that insane.  Here is a finished photo taken the day we left.

Now you never have to hear about it again.  Promise. 

The wedding was lovely.  A full weekend event that had us socializing non-stop.  We met some very interesting people, interesting in a really good way, and enjoyed many lively conversations.  It was a little hard to stay focused, however, knowing that the kids were leaving for camp in three days and we still had an enormous amount of organizing to do.  Not to mention just wanting to be with them before they left.

Here is a picture of the wedding reception from the bug-less dock.  There really is nothing like The Cape.

Disjointed post #1

I guess by numbering this post it means that I am expecting more disjointedness in the near future.  That's probably a pretty safe bet considering G and I are leaving for NYC on Friday, for the day, and then on to the Cape for the wedding until Sunday.  I have not mentioned the wedding blanket lately because it has just been sitting in the bag.  This leaves two skeins of yarn to be knit, before tomorrow,  when I need to weave in the ends and wrap it up.  It takes about six hours per skein in this pattern.  Twelve hours!  I'm in shock.  I'm not exactly sure how its going to get finished.  If anyone knows any knitting elves please send them my way.

Today was a full scale effort to pack the kids.  More name-tag ironing, repacking, checking things off the list and the mother of all trips to Target for necessities like sunscreen, socks and soap holders.  While we were packing, this guy showed up looking a bit worse for the wear.

(Here he is all cleaned up and with a new bow)

This is Nicky.  I made about seven or eight of these when my oldest was in second grade.  I used to make them for birthdays, complete with a box cut up to be a crate, a little blanket and a felt bone.  They were all the rage with the under eight set.  This one has been with A1 for six years and he is a bit like the velveteen rabbit, well worn and a little "real" around the eyes.  He has been through alot, including a fall in the toilet and then through the wash where his insides were instantly felted.  Good times.  He reminds me of the kind of mother I used to be.  Always making things for the kids, creating elaborate themed birthdays, and managing life with a baby on my hip.  Things have changed quite a bit.  My mind is drawn to more "selfish" pursuits, things I want to make for me or just for the sake of making them.  It's not bad, it's just different.  Looking into that little dog's eyes, while I was mending him, I could almost see myself six years ago.  I remember thinking it would never change.

Lists

It seems like all I'm doing today is generating lists.  So many lists representing so many different things to get done.  I spent yesterday preparing for a Lacrosse game, driving to a Lacrosse game, getting way invested in whether they won or lost (they lost), and driving home from a Lacrosse game.  All the while wanting to be a person who was more organized, a person who can pull off a meaningful celebration, a person who doesn't shirk responsibility.  It just feels like time is speeding by and I can't keep up with all of the things that need to be done, and some things really need to be done.  The kids have to be ready for camp, G has to get his work done, and everyone needs to be fed. 

Celebrating Father's day fell into the optional category this year but don't think I can't feel guilty about that.  The thing is, he is the best husband and father that I know.  (Granted I am a bit biased.)  He is the kind of guy that takes care of whatever needs to be taken care of and he never keeps score, even when I am.  I could literally go on and on about how great he is but I have shirts and shorts and towels and bathing suits and socks to label, fold and inventory. 

 

So Happy Belated Father's Day!

I also need to give a big shout out to my Dad who is pretty outstanding in his own right and may have had something to do with why I ended up with such a great husband and father to my children.  Happy Father's Day to you too!    

All Lacrosse, all the time

It seems like this whole week has been taken up by Lacrosse.  We are at the end of the season, playoff time.  The boys have had a hard season, but now they are winning.  Which means more Lacrosse, games every day an hour away.  I'm happy that they are playing well because A2 is happy to be playing well, but I am radically unprepared for Father's Day and its hard to make something while watching a Lacrosse game. (I have to watch closely because I am quizzed about plays afterward)  Not only should I be mobilizing A1-4, but my father also lives with us, so I need to do something for him too.  Totally not prepared.  

Then there is the small matter of the never-ending wedding blanket.  The wedding is Saturday on The Cape, G travels most of the week, and I am traveling on Friday with him to NYC.  I have three more skeins to knit, really big skeins, and they seem to be getting bigger.  Every time I look in the knitting bag they seem to take up more space.  I am actually having dreams wherein I am knitting a never decreasing ball of yarn.  There has not been time for much else, including ironing name-tags on every piece of clothing that the children need to take to camp and packing their trunks for seven weeks!  As I am writing this I can feel the panic taking hold.  Must iron name-tags... must honor Fathers...must knit blanket.  I think I need a nap.  I hope everyone has a pleasant weekend, maybe with a little "down time". 

After a storm

I think sometimes all you need is a good storm to clear the air.  We had a huge one last night.  It reminded me of the storms we used to get in IL.  There was lots of lightening, wind that bent the trees in half, and blinding rain.  I have a great view of the sky from the chaise, so I was able to watch the storm role in from miles away.  It was quite a show!  I was up waiting for A2 to wake up.  (He has some anxiety around thunderstorms after a lightening strike close to the house last summer.)  When the storm came closer he woke up and we had a late night chat.  It was like the storm brought up all of his anxiety about going to camp and going to school next year.  It was a big conversation.  I think we are all feeling the shift into a new season and new challenges. 

So after all that wind and rain this is what the back yard looks like this morning, peaceful, sunny, and a little greener.

  I think we may all feel a little sunnier today.  It's not so hot, so there was time spent in the plastic pool and on the swing set.  A3 started some new knitting for Father's Day and A1 was back at Lacrosse practice.

Now, if I could just figure out what direction I'm headed.