two hats and some longies

{today I am linking up to one of my new favorite blogs, Frontier Dreams, as part of her Keep Calm, Craft On group.  

Be sure to head over and check everyone else's craft projects out!}

I'm making another Little Gnome Hat.  This time I'm going to adapt the pattern to use some lighter weight yarn to make a soft silky hat for around the house.  The colors are light and bright to remind us that spring is truly coming.  It's a little hard to believe right now with 121.8 inches of snow...but more on that later.

I'm also going to knit another little hat for Riggs in this lovely brown tweed, as he has quickly grown out of his other brown hat, which I crocheted for him to come home from the birth center in.  This will be a Foxy hat, designed by Liz at The Sitting Tree.  I simply love her stuff!  I splurged a bit and ordered two pairs of upcycled longies from her Etsy store, and cannot wait for them to arrive.

They are 6-12 month size, so will probably be too big.  Which is sad because I want him to be able to wear them right now, but for the price I wanted to get more wear out of them, thus the bigger size.  I am in the market for some more organic cotton/bamboo/hemp fitted diapers to go under his soakers/longies and am hoping for some opinions on brands.  Right now we are having problems with the one-size pockets because they are not breathing enough and his skin is so sensitive!  So you if you have a favorite brand or type of fitted, non-waterproof diapers, please share in the comment section!

I managed to get to the thrift store to pick up some wool sweaters for making a few pairs of my own longies and soakers for Riggs, and have them cute out and ready to sew up.  I need to get them done this week so that he can wear them on our trip to Seattle.  I am so excited to get out of this snowy town and have a vacation.  It will be so fun, and my little sister, Beka, will finally get to meet Riggs in person.

Steve and I made the decision before Riggs was born that we would rather he not look at TV or computer screens until he is older, but have made an exception for short Skype sessions with his aunt Beka, since she left Anchorage to go back to college three days before he was born.  It is going to be so special to finally see them together; that is probably what I am looking forward to most about our trip.

I am also very excited to get away from the snow for a while.  Usually I love the snow, and wish it would snow more.  But this year we have had lots and lots of snow, and it just keeps coming!  {It's starting to snow softly outside as I type this}.

I mentioned this in an earlier post, but it is just no fun having so much snow while living in a basement apartment.  We feel very confined and are worried about the spring when it all starts to melt.  I also think I feel a little more isolated and oppressed by the snow as a result of having a new baby and not being able to get out and go skiing on a whim like I did before.  Despite all that, I cannot deny how beautiful it has been.  It has also put me in the mood for crafting, which is always a good thing.

My sister-in-law gave me One-Yard Wonders as a Christmas gift, and I have been planning several projects that I hope to start once I'm finished sewing the longies up for Riggs.  I'll be sure to share them here when I do get started on them.  

 I also have this fleece that I need to do something with.  I bought it when it was on sale because I liked the big stripes, but I have not done anything with it and am growing very tired of having it around, especially since I don't have a designated spot for sewing/crafting.  This is the current storage system for my sewing supplies:

Everything is in heavy-duty reusable shopping bags because I like to bring my stuff to my sister's house to sew with here there.  It is very frustrating not to have everything out and organized, especially because I love organization.  But I simply do not have a better place for it, so for now this is what I have to do.  When we move, I cannot wait to set up a permanent space set up with my sewing/crafting supplies, even if it is not my "dream" set-up.  Anything will be better than shopping bags!

gnome baby and household blues

This is the hat Kelsey made him.  Still a little big but so beautiful and cozy.

the little happy gnome, before he woke up sad and stuffy

I love this pattern and cannot wait to make more.

This week Riggs received a beautiful hat knit by my sister, Kelsey.  I love the shape of the hat, it covers more of his head and has a tie under the chin, so it stays on very well.  We are very thankful!

I also made him a hat, the Little Gnome Hat, and I love how it turned out.  Such a simple, quick pattern - I will definitely be making more of these hats!  It snowed nearly every day this past week, which has made me feel so overwhelmed.  I usually love it when it snows, but this year it has been different.  I haven't been able to get out and enjoy the snow in the ways I'm used to (skiing), and living in this basement I feel so closed in with snow berms covering every single window.

Not only does it block the view, but it is a big concern come spring because of the threat of flooding.  Steve is going to have to shovel us out and move the snow away from the house to try and lower the threat of flooding.  That will be a lot of work and I know he is not looking forward to it.

We are feeling more and more unsatisfied with living in the city and are slowly saving up to be able to (finally) move and buy some land and a house.  It has been so hard having our beautiful Homer property but not being able to live on it full time due to Steve's apprenticeship and the lack of jobs for his trade in Homer.  We have been looking around at many different types of property in an attempt to narrow down what we are really looking for.

What we know we need are a bathroom and a half (two full bathrooms would be nice but not necessity), a gas kitchen stove or the ability to easily install one, two bedrooms (three would be ideal), at least an acre (if we decide to buy in Anchorage we need a yard that is large, somewhat private, and can be driven into), and finally but most importantly, a large shop or garage for Steve.  These are the things we will not compromise on.  We are willing to purchase a fixer-upper, as we both enjoy customizing things to our own taste and don't mind putting in a little sweat equity.  But at the same time, we don't want something that is too much work.

That is what has been on my mind lately, and I have been a little down feeling like there's nothing at there that speaks to me, that I can see myself living in.  On the bright side, I have been going through all of our things and slowly weeding things out that I don't want filing our home.  We have acquired so many things living in our little basement apartment and it is driving me a little crazy.  I love to get rid of stuff but sometimes Steve has a hard time parting with things he thinks he will be able to use in the future, so that can be sort of a struggle.  In this world it is so easy to get focused on material things and wanting to acquire more, more, more, but Steve and I have a strong desire to live more simply and have been striving to make that a reality in our lives.

I have also been thinking a lot about how we want to parent Riggs, especially thinking a lot about his education, and have found some great related reading.  I have been reading about the Waldorf/Steiner theory/method of education and have been very drawn to it.  As a final note, I wanted to share this thought that really stood out to me:

“Our highest endeavor must be to develop free human beings who are able of themselves to impart purpose and direction to their lives. The need for imagination, a sense of truth and a feeling of responsibility-these three forces are the very nerve of education." 
– Rudolf Steiner 


I hope you all have had a wonderful weekend and also that you like my new blog layout.  I have been itching for a change and finally took the time to come up with something new.  

well....

Holy cow it has been a long time since I blogged last. I've been pretty busy; busier, in fact, than I think I've ever been before. Ever. So that's why I haven't blogged. But I have the day off tomorrow and can do homework then, so I decided I could squeeze in some blogging tonight.

Lots has happened since I last blogged. My niece was born, which was pretty exciting. She was born at 7:31am, Tuesday, September 7th, 7lbs 6oz - Morgan Serena. She is so beautiful and perfect and I got to fly down as soon as I heard the news and spend some time with the new family, trying to help out as much as I could. She is now three weeks old today, can't believe how fast time flies.

Steve with week-old Morgan

The happy family the day after Morgan was born

Things have been super crazy at work, since we are in the process of switching over from our summer stuff to winter, which has been fun despite the craziness. The "official" day of the switch it snowed on the mountains and little baby flurries even floated around in Anchorage. I was and am so excited! I love winter, it's by far my favorite season. It's cold so I get to wear lots of cozy clothes and drink hot cocoa. Plus all the best holidays are in the winter, and it just feels like the best time of year. I love playing in the snow, skiing, biking, snow angels, whatever. And there is nothing, seriously nothing, like walking in the winter, feet crunching loudly in the snow, breath clearly visible, but other than the crunchy feet there is almost complete silence, like the world is a wonderful, peaceful place and you just smile and smile. (Can you tell I love winter?)

In other news, I've started knitting! I am very excited about it and have a page on Ravelry where you can check out my projects and other cool stuff. I've knit two hats so far and am in the process of knitting up some baby legs with stirrups which I know will be very cute.

Infant hat I just finished. It's even my own pattern!!

Me at the Zoo this past weekend with my nephew, Noah. He's wearing the hat I made him for his birthday and the sweater him mom (my sister) knit for his bday.

Schools been CRAZY and I just can't wait to be done, so that's all I'm going to say about that. I don't even want to think about it until I have to tomorrow when I work on the multitude of reading and writing I have to do.

What do you all love about winter?? This is a positive post, I don't want to hear any complaining!!!! So if you comment you have to mention something you love about winter :)