{ yarn along }

I'm happy to say that this week I finished Lotte's little rag rug. She seemed to know it was hers right away when she crawled on to it and laid her head down, and gently pat the rug with her chubby hands.

I wanted to show you all some close ups of some of the feed sack fabrics that revealed themselves one print at a time as I made my way through each ball.
I really fell in love with the reds and blues...and especially when the ended up together.

I think that this will be a cozy little spot for her to go to when she's feeling tired, or a good place to park her bottom while she enjoys eating (reading) one of her little books.

I finally started my rae that I've been dying to try for a long time now. I picked a soft cotton and bamboo blend in chartreuse...I bought the last few skeins left so I got a really good deal. It feels too nice though for me to be using...I feel like I should still be *practicing* with acrylics.
One of Lotte's little tiny hair clips makes a perfect stitch marker, and I can easily move it up my work as I go, to count my increased rows.

and this folks, is my reading for the next month. Or at least until I get this task finished. 
I have years and years of one of my favorite magazines, Country Living, stored on a book case in my art studio.
And what's worse....I have both British and American issues. And they've gotten out of control. 

Hello, My Name is Corrie, and I am a Country Living Addict. There. I said it.

I've decided to do the unthinkable, and go through each one and rip (*gasp*) out my favorite recipes, articles, how to's and inspirations etc, and store them in a binder with plastic sleeves. 

I never thought that this day would come, but alas, it has. I want the space that they're taking up for things that just matter more. 

I thought it would be a dreadful task, but as I got going, I wondered why I hadn't done this ages ago. Now I'll be able to open up binders and immediately be able to see my favorite things without having to weed through the ads and articles that I don't care about. 
It's rather refreshing. I've gone through probably about 30 issues today, and already have condensed the space to about the size of two magazines. Incredible!

Playing with Ginny in yarn along.

Yarn Along

Joining Ginny today in the weekly Yarn Along...

I've finally finished the little grey picot sweater for my niece.
I actually finished this up a couple of weeks ago, but didn't add the buttons until last night. I had to add something pink to it, so that she'll actually wear it! (She's rather choosy about her outfits, you see...) I also made a little hat to go with it. She won't be getting this until Christmas, but I'll be sure to take a picture of her in it when she finally gets it.



I've gotten a little further on the baby blanket-I love that this has such a simple pattern, so I can take it anywhere and pick it up where I left off without looking at the instructions-until I get to the border that is.

 I've been taking this blanket along with me everywhere to keep my hands busy.

To the midwife's office, the hospital when I visit my sweet itty bitty niece and nephew (who are doing fabulous, by the way, and are no longer so itty-bitty) and even to church.
I've mixed the pattern up a little, and I'm using two different shades of pink, just for kicks.

I finally found a book of my own to read.

Aside from the boys' homeschooling books that is. As fun as they are, I need a break from Daniel Boone, William Tell, and every other macho historical hero!

I'm a good chunk into "the Help" and have fallen in love with it. I adore the way that it's written from the different perspectives of each character, and that it's written in the way that they would actually speak.

Unfortunately though, having always struggled to fight my already "southern" accent, I find that after reading a chapter or two my accent starts to come back.
The boys pointed it out this afternoon, I hadn't really noticed. Zeke asked if I had been speaking with relatives back home on the phone. It comes out after those long phone calls sometimes, I just can't help it.

I'm loving the book so much that I'm afraid I'll now be disappointed with the movie!

Yarn Along : Picot Bottomed Pee Pee Pants

Joining Ginny again in today's Yarn Along...

I've finally finished up a little project-wee soaker pants. I tried to find a pattern I liked, but they all seemed to be knitted, and alas, I cannot knit. (yet...) And the crochet patterns that I did find all seemed to be really loosely stitched, which sort of defeats the purpose.
So, I took a stab at making up my own. I still have to make a little drawstring of some sort, as these are perfectly square to accommodate those puffy little diapers.
And an added funny bonus, they're self standing!

I know these posts should include what I'm reading, however I haven't done much leisurely reading at all lately. Almost all my reading has been from the boys' homeschooling curriculum. (Which I confess, I rather enjoy...especially the history.) Right now we're starting into Canadian History with "Discover Canada".
I'm trying to get the boys off to a good start in so that we can take a few days off when the little Miss arrives.

I'm in the last stretch of pregnancy and scrambling to get some things done around here. However, I've been told to take it *really* easy at least for another week, until I hit 37 weeks. My midwife is afraid that I'll go early if I move too much. So I've been folding laundry, and organizing boxes etc from the couch...slowly crossing things off my list. 

Luckily, I have the sweetest mother and sister in the world who have come over to help me on several occasions and do the things that I'm not supposed to be doing. (Painting, carrying laundry and boxes etc-since we had to completely empty our baby room-it was our storage unit!)

Last week I made this baby sling (sewing is a sitting activity, thank goodness!!) I may post a tutorial on it soon. I love the way it fits and holds a position snugly. I even tried it out with my 3 year old niece. She thought it was pretty funny to be put in a baby sling, but cooperated for the sake of my experiment. I told her it was for the baby, and she happily obliged.

I've just started on this sweet little baby blanket in a really yummy strawberry colour. I really don't think that I'll get this done before the big day, but I'm quite OK with that. It's just going to be something to do when I *have* to be sitting...and maybe something I'll pick up now and then after the baby is born as we're cuddling. I can't wait for all those sweet snuggles!

Yarn Along

One of my friends, Rachel, has been blogging these glorious photos of her knitting work in stages and I asked her if I could join her in her weekly post. Apparently it's not just her, but a whole group of classy gals-with Ginny as their ring leader.

I'm not much of a knitter-(i can make a washcloth and a scarf, that's about it-think *square things*) but I have been crocheting quite a bit lately. Basically, any time I have to put my swollen feet up, I'm either illustrating, carving rubber stamps for my shop or crocheting.


I started this adorable little sweater last weekend. 
I'm fairly new at following patterns. My mom taught me a ton of stitches, and I've been crocheting for years, but I didn't know the names for any of the stitches, their abbreviations, or how to read a pattern.

Although it seemed to go smoothly for the most part, I ended up making it a little larger-which started out by accident (wrong gauge really..doh!) but then decided to continue it and make it for my 3 year old niece, who will fit it quite nicely.

I still have to do the sleeves and find the perfect buttons for it.
My nieces paternal great grandmother just passed away (Granny was one awesome woman!) and I'm told that she left a huge button stash-so I'm hoping to find some buttons from that collection for her.

Oh, and by the way, this sweet dresser is going to be our change table-It's the perfect height! All I have to do is add a cushion to the top.
(There are drawers, they're just already moved up to the baby room- I haven't moved the actual dresser yet.)


I'm debating at painting vs. refinishing. *neither of which will happen before the baby, I'm sure.*
I'm normally all for keeping old furniture in it's original state unless it's already been painted. But my sister told me that this would look neat with just the drawers painted, or everything painted BUT the top....

Any opinions? Either way, it's adorable!