A few moments...

...smiling eyes....

... pudgy little feet.....

....learning new things... 

....a few minutes of quiet...

Happy Saturday Friends!! ~xo, Sam

A Knit Vest~ Cable Practice

Last night, just as it was time to move to the body of this little vest, I decided to add a cable up the left side. (Sort of like the Milo vest.) I wanted to learn something new (mix it up a little!) and I thought that it just might be adorable! My project details ae HERE.

My first attempt at a cable went pretty well, I was surprised at how easy it was! What did we do before YouTube people? We didn't learn to cable at 2am, when all the kids are in bed, so that your mind can grasp a new concept...Then I went to bed at 2:30 and did nothing but dream about cabling (and nurse a baby) until I got up. Do you ever do that? Work in your sleep after you've learned something new? ~xo, Sam

Complete and total randomness...

Finally! A random post where I get to say whatever I want whether it ties into the subject of the post or not. I should have one of these once a week!

:: For the longest time I have wondered why I can reply to some of your comments by email and others I can't. Sometimes I will hunt down their email address on their blog or website and reply, but most of the time I can't do that. Then yesterday I commented on my own blog to answer a question (I couldn't reply to this persons comment/email either) and when I got the comment email I realised my account was set up the same way! People can't reply to my comments via email either! There are some sweet folks that have been stopping by connecting with me for so long that I feel like I know them, I like to be able to reply to them directly. So yesterday I set out to figure this out, and I did! It's too easy. If you would like other bloggers to be able to respond to your comments by email this is whatchado: Sign into blogger, go to your "dashboard", click on "Edit Profile", find the section that says "Show my email address" and click the box. Done and done.

:: I have a thing for temporary tattoos. The kids and I bought a set of like 50 pretty henna tattoos the other day at Michaels and they make me happy. Probably happier than they make my kids. Don't judge me. :)

:: I plan to have a new baby pattern out within the next couple of months! YAY! I miss work, but I wouldn't trade my place in life for all of the work time in the world. I love her so....

:: Claire should be the most rotten baby on the planet, but she's not! I have no idea how this is possible. She gets held for most of every day (there are plenty of willing arms), if she so much as looks like she may cry there are at least three people trying to fix whatever it is that could be upsetting her, The kids fuss over who is going to rock her to sleep for naps and bed time....and then when we have a day where we out and about, and she can't be held, and her naps happen in a car seat, and she is the most good natured little angel you have ever seen. I've always said that God gave me all good babies because of the bad pregnancies. I'm not kidding, I thank God everyday that she is such a sweet babe. Just perfect.

:: My kids are LOVING these window crayons right now (we got ours from Michaels). I'm going to let them decorate my livingroom window today. I haven't tried washing it off yet, but they say it's pretty easy, and if it can keep them occupied creatively it's worth the hassle. You know I really don't see myself taking it off anyhow unless they want to draw more. -I'm the mama that still has the "Molly" (written by a two year old Molly) on the wall in the bathroom because it was the first time she wrote her name. Yep, that's me.

:: For almost a year now I've been saying "Molly, I need a pot of coffee." and minutes later I smell coffee brewing....It rocks my face off. I feel like in a way I've arrived, which brings me to my next thought...

:: I'm ten years into this mothering gig and all I know now, that I didn't know in the beginning, is that I don't know a thing. If you would have asked me what I knew 8 years ago I would have filled you with more fluff than you can imagine! Ha! I knew all the rules, and the do's and dont's.....Now, my advice sounds more like "Hunny, if that's what you have to do to get sleep, do it!" or "Just do what feels right to you."

:: I say "Hun" and "Hunny" a lot. Is that a southern thing or do northerners do that too?

:: I cast on this little vest last night!!

It feels good to have that out. Now go change your google account hunny, so that I can talk back at ya! xo,Sam

Mama Style ~ Maddie Style

The In Threes baby cardi is done! (but not blocked)

You can see all of the details on my Ravelry page HERE. I had a little trouble deciding on buttons for this sweet little cardigan, until I found these in my stash! They are red with wood checks, very interesting. I don't really know where I got them from though I suspect that they were in an old jar of buttons that my great grandmother, "Granny Dear", gave me. They are just perfect! As I was getting ready to take the pictures I mulled over what dress I should use, then I thought "What would Maddie pick?" You see more and more lately this little lady of mine is teaching me about thinking outside the box. So I told Maddie "When mama is done taking these pictures, I want you to have on an outfit that you think will match this cardigan good."

And here it is. I think she may have shown me up a bit! Who would have thought? She has on her pink twirly skirt, a too short red and white dress from Target, a pink ribbon sash she pulled from her hair bow collection, and a pink silk headband. Perfect. This is Maddie style.

She wanted it unbuttoned in the pictures too. There we have it, a new cardigan that can be worn Mama style or Maddie style. I love this kid. xo, Sam

Rockin' a sweet set of pigs. :)

I just think it's hilarious that my four month old (soon to be five months!) can have tiny little pigtails! Do you know what I've said for the longest time?  "When I get to Heaven I'm getting back in the hair line." I find it so funny that when God saw fit to send me my little miracle baby, that it looks like she was sent through the "hair line" twice. :) I love it! Happy Saturday friends! xo, Sam

New stitch markers make me smile. :)

I have been wanting pretty stitch markers since I started knitting, but it was one of those things that I didn't really "need", so  I never bought. I thought a few times that I could make some but I didn't have the stuff on hand so I would still have to buy something. Last night while I was knitting along, thinking about how much I would like to have a pretty little dangle where it was time to change from knit to purl, I got an idea!

I had some earrings in my jewelry box that my sensitive ears wouldn't let me wear!  A little twist on the part that goes through your ear with a pair of needle nose pliers, and here they are. Knitting eye candy. Why does it please me so to be knitting along and see a pretty little marker there? It really does make my project more fun.

Have you ever made your own stitch markers? Tell us how you made yours! Or link us up to your blog or flickr and show us! xo, Sam

I have decided...

...that these colors look good with just about anything (to me) and I am loving the way my new project is coming along (you can see the details here)...

....that the Harmony KnitPick needles are my absolute favorite, as smooth as butter....

....that this little sleeping face is one of the most precious things I have ever seen...

...and that after almost ten years, and three girls, these are still my favorite pajamas. :)

I'm still waiting on my yarn to ge here! But as you can see I have a couple of pretty good distractions. Oh, and the last load of laundry is in the wash now, but you know as well as I do that there will be two more loads waiting after baths tonight. *sigh* xo, Sam

Stuck on the needles. Hmph.

You see the problem? That yarn laying there should be connected to MORE YARN! Yesterday I went to four million craft stores and couldn't find another skein to save my life. Luckily I found some on the internet, but that means I'll have to wait....

While waiting I have:

:: Crocheted the flower -which may be a little too big and may make it hang funny, so it may come back off.

:: I've been rehearsing buttons -the vintage plastic ones are really speaking to me right now, but what color? Hmmm....

:: Looking for my next project on Crack-verly, I mean Ravelry - this one is making me smile. :)

:: Wondering why I just noticed today that you could friend people on Ravelry?? What?! Will you be my friend so I can see your projects too?

:: And in the words of my favorite cousin, Aimee, "Just tryin' to keep the piles of laundry under the windows so the neighbors don't see." Clean clothes are sooo overated.

More in progress pictures are bound to be coming soon, knitting, not laundry. Definitely not laundry.:) xo, Sam

On the needles...

To properly try out my new Knit Picks needles I started this little project on Sunday. (It has grown some since then.) It's the Striped Smock Top on Ravelry. (My notes are here.) I love it so far! I think this is a good first-sweater-project because the pattern so far seems very easy to read.

(picture from ravelry)

I'm making it for Claire in a 12 months so that she can wear it this fall. This is perfect for our weather here, she will probably be able to wear this fall through spring. It's going to be so sweet over a little dress! *LOVE* xo, Sam

A Birthday Skirt

I made this skirt for my little neighbor's birthday this weekend. I love the fabrics together, both are old bed sheets. :) I wanted it to look like a twirly skirt on top of a twirly skirt, and I really like the way it turned out. My girls liked it too so it looks like I will be making more soon, I guess it's a good thing that it sewed up fast!

Do you see that there? Those plants in my flower garden? It's squash! Somehow in all of the planting this Spring these little guys ended up here. When we were weeding it a few weeks back I told the kids to just leave them be. If they want to grow there we will let them. :)

My most favorite part about giving this skirt away was the wrapping! I rolled it up like a bouquet of flowers, stuck the end into an old cardboard tube, and wrapped it with tissue.

The girls had a very interesting *conversation* in the car, on the way over to the party, about who was going to carry it in....Maddie won. What's that? You didn't know that conversations could be won? Haha. Oh yes you did. :) xo, Sam

My "Early Morning Skirt" Tutorial

I am so excited about these! This A-line skirt (with a yoga style waistband) is made from two thrifted t-shirts. They are fast, easy, cheap, and flattering! It can't get much better than that! This little "recipe" will work for kids too. A few of you asked for a tutorial, and because they are so easy, I decided to whip one up. (By whip one up I mean that I made it up at night, when three of my kids were asleep and the lighting was terrible. Sorry about that.)

To start you need two coordinating old t-shirts (one of mine is a polo style shirt made out of jersey). The shirt that you will be using for the skirt part needs to be a couple of sizes bigger than what you would normally wear in a normal tee (so if a M fits you, you will need at least an XL for this). The shirt that you plan to use for the waistband can be your size or larger.

 Measure your waist where you will be wearing the waistband, and then take 3 1/2 inches off of that, now divide that in half (because you need a front and back). From the hem of your waistband-shirt measure up 13" and cut. Now using the measurement you have just figured for your waist, cut two panels that width (you will be cutting the width of the shirt, not the hem, the hem will be used as the finished edge of the yoga band). 

 

Measure from your waist to wherever you want your skirt to hit your leg, this is your length measurement. Using that measurement, measure from the hem of your skirt-shirt up and cut. Now fold the skirt and yoga waist in half long ways and lay together (as shown). Measure over 1" from where the waistband meets the skirt (A) and lay down your ruler (B), taper the ruler out to the end of your skirt (C) to create your A-line and cut.

Sew up the sides of your skirt and waistband with right sides facing.

Fit the skirt wrong side out inside of the waistband wrong side out (as shown).

Pin side seams to side seams, center front to center front, and center back to center back.

Sew or serge the waistband to the skirt stretching the waistband a bit to fit the skirt.

You now have yourself a super cool, quick and easy, summer skirt that you will never want to take off. There is a much better tutorial at Sew-Mama-Sew for a gathered style "Yoga Skirt" that you can make from knit fabric. I prefer the an A-line to a gathered waist because it is more flattering on me, but some of you may like this one better. :) If you have any questions just let me know and I will add the answers back to the post. Happy skirt sewing friends! xo, Sam

Nashville

Ben surprised me with a one night getaway to Nashville last week! I was so excited, we haven't been off alone in so long. I love me a good fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants-trip. We left Tuesday morning and got back last night (Wednesday), but we packed a lot of fun into our two days away! I packed just one small bag for us, to me that makes it more adventurous for some reason...like you may have to make-do or try something new. I also left my big camera at home, so I took pictures using my hipstamatic camera on my phone, I documented the whole trip in pictures....

The morning we left I got up early to pack (packing the day-of makes it more fun too!). While I waited for Ben to get home from the fire station I made this skirt from a thrifted t-shirt -I think I may be addicted to these, but more about that later -and I painted my fingernails with my new green polish. 

Our first stop was at Children's Corner, where I got the pretty voile on the left, and got to chat with our sweet market friends Ginger and Lezette. Their shop was so pretty and the staff were so very friendly. (I'll tell you where the other goods came from when we get there.)

Did I mention that we had a stowaway? :) This little one can only be away from mama for about two hours at a time, so she got to come too.

We ate at Darfons in Nashville, where I think I had the best Greek salad that I have ever tasted. It was so good! And the best part? I didn't cook it or clean up after it! I think that can make canned soup taste better!

When we settled in at the hotel I looked through my bag for these. You see, it's tradition. If anyone goes away and they have to stay away from home they get secret notes in their bag. So sweet.

At the restaurant the night before we decided to visit the Hermitage (Andrew Jackson's home). I went once as a teenager, and loved it, but Ben had never been. It is so interesting and they have done such a good job of preserving it. There was wallpaper on the walls there that had been up for almost 200 years! There were no pictures allowed in his home so I don't have one, but it was beautiful.

This was the inside of Alfred's Cabin, he was an enslaved and later free man who lived at the Hermitage until he died. 

This was the original Hermitage, and when they built the mansion they made it over as a "slave dwelling".

The princess taking a nap....

The gardens were beautiful too, probably my favorite part of the tour after seeing the mansion.

We ate a late lunch at Panera and headed for The Quilting Squares shop in Franklin, TN. That's where I got the Knit Picks needle set. I was so impressed with this shop! They are a sewing/quilting shop AND knitting/crochet yarn shop all in one!

From there we were headed to a book shop to get a gift for the kids and we lucked up on this place, Stitcher's Garden. OH MY GOODNESS. I don't think I have ever seen so much fabric under one roof before in my whole life. She had THOUSANDS of bolts of fabric. It was insane! All of the newest fabrics and all of the old hard to find fabrics...that's where I found the three little pigs fabric. My sister and I have been looking for this stuff for five years! 

I had such a good time away with my sweet husband and new babe. We have been together almost 11 years and we still have fun like a couple of teenagers, I love it! xo, Sam

PS. Skirt tutorial anyone?