A Toby Update

My Dad just phoned to tell me that Toby is out of surgery and in recovery. All went as planned, so now we just wait, and hope the shunt works as it's supposed to.

The doctor who performed the surgery has implanted a LOT of these though, so I think Toby is in good hands.

Also,  thankfully, Toby was able to stay healthy leading up to the surgery, and slept through his fasting period beforehand, which was a blessing. We all know how difficult it is for a baby to handle hunger!

Thank you to everyone who has had Toby in their prayers! 

That Quiet Sort of Weekend

You know the one, the one where you stay home in your jammies.

 The one surrounded by family...and  yummy babies.

 The kind of weekend where you step outside and notice the kind of snowflakes that fall so slow it's almost as if time stands still.

 And yet, an hour later....

\

The kind of weekend that you just don't want to end.

{This Moment}...and a Prayer Request

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

. . . . . . . .

I know this is usually supposed to be wordless, but I have a request.

This sweet little set of babies are Tobias (left) and Edith,(right).

They're my precious little nephew and niece.

Born prematurely at 28 weeks gestation, they've been through quite an ordeal, and have had a rough start.
They've pulled through a lot, are now almost 5 months old,  are doing very well.

They have frequent tests, eye exams, ultrasounds, everything to make sure that they're on track, developmentally.

We've just learned though that sweet little Toby has continued to have fluid on his brain, and just it isn't draining properly. It's putting a lot of pressure on his tiny little brain, and it can no longer be left to wait and see, so he has to have surgery to implant a shunt to drain the fluid.

The surgery is this coming Tuesday, the 31st, at MacMaster Children's hospital.
It's a relatively simple surgery, but it still means

A baby in pain

A baby who has to go 12 hours without food or drink

A mother who has to watch her baby go that long without food or drink, and who has to 

try  to console him

A mother and father worrying

A sister who can't cuddle her twin brother

A brother who can't cuddle his twin sister

A mother who has to figure out how to take care of twin babies, in a hospital setting, without a bed for herself, for 48 hours or more.

Please pray for:

The doctor who will perform the surgery

Toby before the surgery, while fasting

A quick recovery

My sister and her husband

Success of the implanted shunt.

Thank you!

{Yarn Along} and Giveaway Winners

Joining Ginny this week again in a yarn along...

I haven't accomplished much in the knitting world this week, again. I'm still truckin' away on Dad's scarf though. He's a tall guy, so I'll be at it for a while. I'm also almost finished this project I'm working on. 

I did however get a little more organized this week. I have a hard time continuing with crafting/art/knitting projects when things aren't organized. I can handle a mess to a certain extent, probably more than a lot of people, but even I have my limits!

The  boys were gone for a day and I got SO much done around the house. I need more days like this. Laundry was put away, my dining room table looked like a table again, the dishes were done, the floor was mopped...and you wouldn't know that ever happened to look at it now. I think I need to send them away for the day again this week!

We took a trip to Niagara falls NY, and stopped in at the new Hobby Lobby (at last!!!) and I bought a tub for my yarn stash. My yarn finally has a home! I also bought a neat set of double pointed needles by "yarnology". I'd never seen this brand before in Canada.
They're acrylic, and they look like twisted glass on the inside (like a candy cane). I needed this size anyway, and they were pretty cheap, so I'm happy.

I'm still working on the Family Dinner book, and I like a lot of the recipes so far. They're pretty simple, but the idea is that the food is something simple and fun to prepare as a family. It also gives some ideas for discussion at the dinner table.
While I think that's great, I doubt our family will be using that part any time soon. Our dinner table discussions are never lacking, that's for sure!

I also just checked out Quinoa 365. I've always liked the stuff, but it will be fun to see other ways to eat it...like in bread.
Just curious...how do YOU pronounce Quinoa? I was initially told it was "kwin-oh-ah"...but then recently was told that it's actually "kinn-wah". Meh, I don't really care. It's yummy, and my kids eat it!

And now for the winners for last week's giveaway... (pulled from my vintage Pyrex for good luck..)

I know I promised that Lotte would draw the name for the rubber stamp giveaway, but she fell asleep when her call of duty came, so Mark filled in and drew...drum roll....

Ikkinlala and Tamara!! Thanks to everyone who participated, it was fun!

Have you seen my New Shoes?

I've been looking a long time for a pair of these (or in this case a triad) to use in a fun idea that I've had in mind for ages.

 I  finally found these three for a steal on a recent thrift shop run. I can't wait to finish it so I can show you the final project!

Of course, I can't mention or think about wooden shoes without humming this:

P.S - It's not too late to enter my giveaway, if you haven't already!

{This Moment}

Joining in with Amanda at SouleMama for This Moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

{Stash Bash} Felted Crochet Slippers Part 1

Joining in today for the first Stash Bash with Crunchy Catholic Mama. The idea of stash bash is to use up your pieces of your stash (of whatever your crafty stash might be), rather than purchasing new materials.

I have many stashes (Ask my husband) but this week I decided to go with the wool, since it is creeping outside of it's limits.

 I used up some wool I had found a while back at a thrift store on a wee, or not so wee crochet project.

 It's 100% wool, so I'm counting on this stuff to felt well.

I made some gigantic slippers for a friend , and they're about 5 sizes too big for me right now, and her feet are even smaller.
I plan on throwing them in a pillow case to felt them in the washer, and trying them on Reuben's feet (if  he'll let me) as we go, as his feet are just about the same size as hers. 

Next week I'll post back and let you know how the felting goes!

Also, I have a giveaway going on right now for a rubber stamp here, if you'd like to enter!

Cook Along, Yarn Along and a Giveaway!

Joining Ginny this week in another Yarn Along...

This week I haven't gotten a lot done, knitting wise. I've crocheted quite a bit, but I'm not quite ready to share that wacky project just yet.

pssst. There's felting involved.

I did, however, start on a tiny pair of mittens for Lotte with some of the leftover wool from her little leg warmers.

I'm making them without thumbs, since hers are so small. And anyone who's ever wrestled with a baby to get their thumbs in the thumb holes KNOWS how stupid thumbs are on baby mittens. (wow, that's a lot of "thumbs" for one sentence, isn't it?!)

Also, I don't know how to make thumbs yet (soon, soon...) so this is the perfect project. It also will give me practice with the kitchener stitch. I know I don't have to finish the tops this way, but I'd rather mess up the top of this tiny mitten than a whole sock. And socks are something I'd like to try soon!

Add it to the list, right?

I'm finally seeing the joy in double pointed needles for tiny projects. I started this one off  magic looping with a circular needle, but because it's so small i was spending more time pulling the cable through than actually knitting. I'm still not sure that I'd like to do this with a hat, but we'll see.

I haven't found a good book yet to dive into this week, but I have been thumbing smirk through some really good cook books that we checked out of the library last week.
I really like "the family dinner" , and I find it encouraging that there are others who find importance in preparing meals as a family, as well as sitting down together each evening.

It would be a really good book for those who are starting to cook with really young children and aren't sure where to start. There are some really good meal theme ideas too!

OOOhhh yes, and now the Giveaway!

For those who don't know, I'm also an illustrator and have a couple of etsy shops, and one of them is a rubber stamp shop.

I have a new stamp that i'm going to list this week, but I thought that I would give a couple away this week just for fun. And I can't think of a better group of gals for this stamp!

To participate, simply post a comment. For double your chances, follow my blog and post a comment to let me know you're following. Easy peasy!
Miss Lotte will draw a name at random, on January 24th at 4 pm. I'll announce the two winners at next week's yarn along.

Good luck!!

Weekend Wonders

The weekend always seems like a bit of a blur for our family. We try to coordinate plans with my sisters and parents as best as we can, and everything usually ends up turning into a bit of a gong show.

Let's just say that our plans, or lack there of, snowball and get messy.

Looking back though, no matter how crazy things felt in the moment, I'm glad that we did them.

Otherwise we wouldn't have had a family weekend of :

Breakfast together at favorite local mom & pop's,

a weekend of flirty babies,

sleeping babies,

tea and knitting enjoyed together,

busking,

and two  family dinners that were a 'stone soup' sort of joint effort.

I see how blessed we are to have eachother. or as my boys used to say when they were wee..."ourchudders".

{Yarn Along}

Dad's poor scarf has been frogged, again. Let me explain...

First I was doing it in a garter stitch border and the rest in stockinette, but even with that gartered border, it was still curling horribly. It was also taking FOREVER.

did I mention that I'm a bit impatient?

So then I ripped it out, and began doing the entire thing in garter stitch, but it felt too mindless.

So I ripped it out one, self promised last time, doubled up the wool, and began a basket weave, which is working out fantastically. Not too boring, but not too tricky, and going much faster this time.

Lotte's little candy floss hat, finished up last week and it looks darling. I had to flip the edge up for it to fit her right now, but I figured I would. I made it large enough to fit a one year old because I wanted it to last a while.

Also, I think I've finally got the hang of double pointed needles, it's too early to say though if I prefer them to circular. It might just depend on which project I'm doing.
I've started on this, just as a little side project to keep working on with yarn scraps over time.

This is my first "hexipuff"-yup, I've got a loooong way to go.

I'm still not completely finished "Portrait of Van Gogh", but I'm near done.

I can't believe how much this poor artist went through to become what he did. He's often remembered as the artist who was "crazy" and the artist who "cut off his ear"...there's really so much more to his story than this.

He was eccentric, indeed.-However, he would tend to the homeless, weak, and the sick, giving them the clothes off of his own back, and it was more often than not, acts like these that earned him the reputation of being crazy.

Van Gogh was such a kind and generous person, living a chosen humble life, and looking out for his fellow man, which his paintings actually reflect.

Unlike other painters of his time who were painting the wealthy social scenes, Van Gogh was creating paintings like "the potato eaters" and scenes from low class pubs.

In the book are quotes from letters that he wrote to his brother, Theo, and this is one of my absolute favorites:

 "There may be a great fire in our soul, yet no one ever comes to warm himself at it, and the passers-by see only a wisp of smoke coming through the chimney."

                                                                                                                    -Letter to Theo, 1880



For more weekly yarn along stories, visit Ginny at Small Things!

Life Lately

Candy Floss Hat {Yarn Along}

It's been a busy week-I've just now realized that I haven't blogged since last week's yarn along, which is rather sad.
This should, I suppose, mean that I've been more productive this week than usual, but I'm afraid I haven't much to show for my absence, other than happy and well fed children, a partly tidied house and 90% of a hat.

I wasn't going to dive right into another hat after I finished the purple one last week, but I couldn't help it after I came across this wool on an amazing, quick thrift store trip. (This is how many of my projects in life begin...a "quick" trip to the thrift store.)
I stumbled upon bags and bags of beautiful wool, all still in their original labels, many from the same dye-lots.

This little gem, however, was a singled out wall-flower. No other like it, but I just couldn't pass it up. First it was the mossy green that caught my eye, but then the robin's egg blue, bubble gum pink, and buttery yellow started showing up in tiny ribbons throughout, and I couldn't put it down-it reminded me of cotton candy.
And at 25 cents for the whole skein, I knew I could think of something to use it for.
I decided that I'd make Charlotte yet another hat, but this time slightly larger. I followed the same pattern, but made the next size up.

I haven't decided what I'll do with the rest of the wool...I have about 10 skeins of each colour pictured below...and it's all 100% wool. I'm thinking it might be time for a felting project, especially with the 10 that are rug wool. Wouldn't rug wool make amazing slipper soles? Nice and thick!

I've just started reading "Vincent Van Gogh". (of course, one of my absolute favorite artists....)
I've been wanting to check it out  for a long time, but our library only has a few copies of it and it always seems to be out.
I'm fairly certain that it's intended for young adults/teens-It's written at a lower reading level.
I fully intended on reading this to the boys but I became intrigued when I started flipping through it...I may just have to "proof read" it first;)

Head over to visit Ginny at Small Things for more weekly yarn along stories!