We're Exhausted...

I've never worked so hard on a project this size for this long! Our apartment is finally finished and it's beautiful. I'm looking forward to relaxing and already have most of our things packed to move. A number of good friends and myself have done all of the construction from the very start to finish an I'm very proud.

I've been meaning to post pictures of the murals that I've painted from the paint we picked out at Home Depot. From pictures I had drawn months ago each wall took about a day and a half to sketch and paint. It was a nice break from installing sheet rock and tiling. I just hope the kids keep the creativity to the magnetic chalkboard I built for them in the corner of their room and not on these walls!





I apologize deeply about the KAL this month. I've been spending so much time at the new place that each day was fading into the next. I hadn't realized how much time was going by. I'm going to post the remainder of the rows now and hope that everyone will catch up quickly. I'll be home tomorrow for a little r&r and will post up the first few rows of the February Mystery Cloth KAL by tomorrow night.
I wanted to thank everyone for knitting along and being patient and understanding during this time. It has truly been exhausting to take care of a family and physically build a home for us at the same time.



January Mystery KAL
Clue #5

row 42: (k1,p1)2x, k4, p10, (k1, p2)x3, k1, p3, k3, p1, k1, p3, k4, (p1,k1)2x
row 44: (k1,p1)2x, k1, p5, k1, p7, k1, p8, k1, p4, k1, p1, k1, p7, k1, (p1,k1)2x
row 46: (k1,p1)2x, k3, p7, k1, p3, (k1, p2)x3, k1, p5, k1, p3, k1, p2, k3, (p1,k1)2x
row 48: (k1,p1)2x, k1, p14, k1, p6, k1, p15, k1, (p1,k1)2x
row 50: (k1,p1)2x, k2, p1, k1, p8, k14, p11, k2, (p1,k1)2x


row 52: (k1,p1)2x, k1, p14, k5, p2, k1, p6, k1, p4, k1, p3, k1, (p1,k1)2x
row 54: (k1,p1)2x, k2, p5, k1, p7, k5, p2, k1, p14, k2, (p1,k1)2x
row 56: (k1,p1)2x, p12, k1, p2, k5, p2, k1, p16, (p1,k1)2x
row 58: (k1,p1)2x, k1, p2, k1, p11, k5, p2, (k1, p4)x2, k1, p5, k1, (p1,k1)2x
row 60: (k1,p1)2x, p9, k1, p5, k8, p16, (p1,k1)2x


row 62: (k1,p1)2x, p25, k1, p9, k1, p3, (p1,k1)2x
row 64: (k1,p1)2x, p5, k1, p7, k1, p5, k1, p10, k1, p8, (p1,k1)2x
row 66: (k1,p1)2x, p39, (p1,k1)2x
row 68: (k1,p1) to last stitch, k1 Repeat for 4 more rows
next row: bo in pattern

Weave in ends.

I Wish I Could Live Here...

It's been so long since I last posted. The Holiday's are to blame I guess. I apologize to everyone who has written emails over the last month or so. I'm starting to catch up slowly and will answer everything before Christmas. The kids and I have been so busy decorating and getting ready for Friday. They can't wait to see what Santa is going to bring them. Last night we made a Gingerbread House that I wish I could live in...

It took a couple of hours between the assembly and decorating. Waiting for the sugar to set was the longest. The kids helped me pick out the different candies that covered the house. It definitely took some patience, especially while Ella was trying to eat everything.




I was attempting to get some patterns finished before Christmas but it's not looking good. There's just too much to do this week and I won't be able to knit as much as I'd like to. I also have good news that the construction on the apartment is almost finished and we will moving in a few weeks. It has taken forever but I'm thankful the year is ending on a happy note and we're all looking forward to a fresh new start in '10.

We're So Thankful...

I have so much to be thankful for this year!

I'm thankful for my wonderful friends and family, my beautiful children, our health, and the many opportunities I've had this year. If you are reading this message today, then chances are you check this website out regularly. And for that, I can't thank you enough.

Thank you! Thank you!

Hoping your day is filled with lots of fun, laughs, great food and great company!

From our family to yours Happy Thanksgiving!

Bronx Zoo For A Day...

It's been so long since the last post and I apologize. Things have got the better of me lately. I even reinjured my eye at the beginning of this month. It turns out I am going to need surgery to correct the recurrent erosion on my right cornea. My doctors said that we may be able to postpone the procedure until after the holidays. I would'nt want to miss anything for the next month or so.


Ive been slowly working on many things lately and I'm going to be blogging more oftern now that I'm feeling better. I wanted to share some pictures from our family's trip to the Bronx Zoo a few weeks back. Victor and Ella have been obsessed with all the animals from the movie Madagascar 2. My son was so excited to see his friends that he watches all the time.


Thankfully it was very warm that day and we all had a wonderful time. We'll probably make another trip before it snows. I know this is a picture heavy post but my son is now telling me that I have to show everyone all of the animals. He likes to sit next to me when I blog and thinks of it as extra storytime.


I have lots more photos from Halloween, our day trip up to Salem and knitting.. So much knitting!. I'll try to get everything uploaded tomorrow to share this week. I'm also working on a new neckwarmer pattern that will look perfect on anyone for the holiday's.

Painted Walls...

There's been so much going on over here lately I don't even know where to start. As I type I'm waiting for chocolate pumpkin lollipops to finish chilling in the refrigerator so I can add the next color. I'm making about 50 of them for Ella's 2nd birthday party this weekend. We're having a pumpkin party on the 10th, which is actually my birthday as well and there's just too much to do. I even went to a local farm earlier this week and picked up about 30 small pumpkins for all of the children to carve. Weather permitting there will be lots of food and games. I have to start the goodie bags later tonight but I don't see that happening.

I wanted to share something with you that my kids have been begging me to paint for ages now. I've finally started the "Nemo Mural" on their playroom wall at Grandma's house.

I've had a blast sketching and painting on the walls. I'm just glad my Mother in law is as happy as I am to see the kids smile. It's been relaxing to just sit with them around me watching and helping me with the colors.


Victor is planning on having the entire cast on the wall and keeps telling me that I need to keep painting.

I guess what it comes down to is that I just can't seem to keep art out of my life for too long. I started this to take a short break from knitting while the family is in "party mode". But I feel it's time for a new set of cloths. Early next week Creepy Cloths "2" perhaps....? I need to find some delicious Halloween colors for these. I'll take pictures of all that I'm making for the birthday and share them. I'll be a baking nut on Friday I can promise that.

Painted Letters...

I'm sorry I haven't updated the blog in awhile. We've been busier than normal and most days I don't even have a chance to turn the computer on. I've made lots of progress on my current projects and will be posting pictures throughout this week. I finally ended up painting those wooden letters for Victor and Ella's room. I am so pleased with the way they turned out. Using only blue painters tape, acrylic paint and a few brushes they were done in no time.

Using a four shaded color scheme I gave every letter two coats of Anita's All Purpose Acrylic Craft Paint in 11001 White to start. When dried, I started taping sections off with the blue painters tape making sure that the edge to be painted was pressed down firmly. To make it go quicker I placed two sections of tape on each letter creating three empty areas to be painted. I painted each of these areas a different color. If you look closely you'll notice there are two sections of the same color in each letter. These are the areas where the tape was placed first. After a few coats in the three sections and some drying time, I then taped off the next two areas to be painted leaving some white on either side for the striped effect. For each letter the color that you paint these last two areas will always be the color you haven't used yet.


These are the colors I used.

Ella's Color Scheme:

Anita's Acrylic Craft Paint
11090 Melted Butter (yellow)
11170 Hot Pink (pink)

Folk Art Acrylic Paint
633 Baby Pink (lt pink)
526 Soft Apple (lt green)

Victor's Color Scheme:

Anita's Acrylic Craft Paint
11009 Medium Blue (drk blue)
11064 Morning Blue ( lt blue)
11056 Ocean Blue (drk green)
11036 Seafoam Green (lt green)

I truly love the look of these for any baby or children's room. They add just the right amount of personal touch to any decor. If you have any questions about the process to make these send me an email or leave a comment and I will try to help. Hope everyone is well and enjoying this new autumn season.

Another Blanket...?

When you have two babies your going to have to make two blankets. I woke up early this morning and started working on Ella's blanket before the kids got up. When Victor finally came into the living room he asked me when I was going to make him his "Birthday Blanket". My heart melted and I promised that I would make him one as well. After we all had breakfast he sat on my lap and we went through different patterns on Ravelry. He was so excited to see that they had a fish blanket. We had to run some errands today so I stopped by our local A.C. Moore and we picked out some big boy colors. At this point I wish I had a few extra hands to knit these things. I'm using a US size 6 and looking at 50+ knitted fishies.


I also saw these wooden letters that were on sale. They're about 5" high and couldn't pass them up. I know after I paint them they'll be perfect over the toddler beds.


I pulled out some of my mural paints and brushes when we got home. I had really forgotten how much I had. I haven't painted one in over a year an a half. Most of my brushes and paints came from an artist's garage sale. One of my luckiest finds, half of them have never been used.


The kids want me to paint them each a scene on their bedroom walls. Victor wants a whole Disney's Cars theme and Ella can't get enough of Dora the Explorer these days. It should be a lot of fun and I can't wait to show you the progress. The floors are going down today in the apartment so I can start sketching the walls next week.

What We've Been Up To...

I can't believe that it's already September! Where has the summer gone? I guess time slips away when you're working towards something everyday. Entire weeks go by and not much gets finished. Though I'd say we're about 80% done with the apartment by now.

Lately I've been keeping my hands busy with little projects here and there. I've started one of two Shedirs that I'm knitting for some friends before it gets cold. I went to a yarn store while on the Island this week and was hoping to find some Rowan Calmer but they didn't carry it. I wanted to start the hat right away so I settled for some Filatura Di Crosa Zara Solid in a light beige. They didn't have a dark grey that my other girlfriend asked for in Zara but they did in Zarina by the same brand. Zarina is more of a true sport weight rather than the dk that the pattern calls for. After checking my gauge it seemed to be working out so I casted on. After about 3 pattern repeats it's very stretchy and I think it will fit well. Fingers crossed!

My daughter had asked me to make her a blanket for her birthday on October 6th. It might be finished, it might not. I haven't made a granny square blanket since I first started learning how to knit and crochet. I wanted to make this one very special and decided on colors that will grow with her. This is a quick picture taken at night, my white balance is off so the colors might not be as true as I'd like but I'll keep taking pictures as I work on it. Each square is about 3"x 3".

The Fruit Cloths are all knitted up and blocked. All I have to do is take some photos tomorrow morning and design the pdf file. They might be up late tomorrow evening if I can find some help with the kids. Either way they will definitely be availible by Sunday. They are fantastic!


I feel like I've been trying to take on too much, hence the absent posts lately.I have tons to knit for baby showers, birthday gifts and charity. I can't even think about Christmas yet. I think this year I'm strictly going to gift to family. This way I can still find some time to design. I've been working on a calender for 2010 and hopefully a book by the end of next year that will cover knits for the whole family and home. I'm very excited and can't wait to devote some much needed kniting time.

A Little Downtime...

We decided to take a weekend road trip with some friends to Pennsylvania over the weekend. We were able to visit family and check out some beautiful scenery. It was a nice break from our tiring routine back at home. I had a memory card malfunction and lost a lot of pictures from our trip but still managed to get a few off the card before it broke.

Somewhere in the north east region of the state we found this wonderful field of wildflowers. I would love to go back one day. It was so remarkably beautiful at twilight that it felt like a dream. The kids and I were able to walk around and play for a while before it became too dark.


There was a beautiful lake where we stayed. Victor and Ella loved watching the people fishing. I wish I could show you the great shots I got but I guess no technology is fail proof. I did manage to move over one picture of the lake at sunset though.

We're planning another trip with our friends before the end of Summer and I'll be sure to take a few memory cards and lots of photos next time.


We're still working on the apartment almost everyday and hoping to be finished and settled in by September. It has been taking forever but we've been building it from scratch by my Mother's so that I can help her out with the house. Being almost ready for paint, I'm so grateful to her and my mother-in-law for all of the babysitting.

On another note, I've been finishing up many patterns. Everything from dishcloths to baby dresses, I'm losing some sleep. I need to photograph the Wedding and Fruit sets tomorrow and start designing the PDF files. By Saturday I should have one of them up. I'm also currently working on a charity pattern for a Lupus foundation. One of my best girlfriends suffers from this disease and we're working together to create something special for the cause.

Birthday Baking...

I haven't made these in awhile even though they are incredibly easy to create. I keep seeing different recipes for variations of the fun treat everywhere. Yesterday I decided to make some simple ice cream themed cakes to celebrate Summer and my Son's third birthday. With the camera out I decided to take some photos and write the process up for anyone who might've not seen them before. You must try them.


The first thing you want to do is pick up any instant cake mix. For these I used Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake Mix, Golden Butter Recipe. One box of mix will yield around 30-35 cones. Any type of ice cream cone will work as long as it has a flat bottom. I prepared the mix as instructed with the correct amount of water, oil and eggs, then whisked until smooth.


Then you want to fill the cones to the level shown in the picture, any less or more will have your cupcake coming up too short or overflowing the tops of the cones. Carefully spoon in the batter trying not to get any on the outside of the cone because it will burn slightly in the oven. Arrange the cones next to each other on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper so that the bottoms don't brown. I had to use foil because I was out of paper. I think I was able to fit 26 on the tray.


Set your oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Check your cake mix box for timing instructions. I left these in the oven for 20 minutes. Use a toothpick to make sure the centers are baked through. Cool completely for 1 hour.


After cooling I used a pastry icing bag with a long tip and filled them with whip cream. For the chocolate centers I used a milk chocolate fudge.


Using the same icing bag and a different tip I swirled some butter cream and chocolate icing on the tops of the cakes to imitate soft serve ice cream.


The kids had lots of fun decorating the icing. I know my kitchen floor had more sprinkles than all the cakes put together! You can use any topping you wish. We've used gummy bears, pretzels and crushed candy bars on other occasions.


They we're such a big hit at the party. I wish I had hid a few more in the house just for us.


Here's the recipe if anyone wants to copy and paste or print out the selection.


Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes:

Prep Time: 20 min
Total Time: 1 hr, 30 min
Yields: 30 to 35 Cupcake Cones

Ingredients:

• 1 box of cake mix (non swirl)
• Water, vegetable oil or butter, eggs and anything else called for on cake mix box
• 30 or more flat bottom cones
• Assorted decorations and toppings

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare cake mix as directed on box.
2. Fill each cone to about halfway with batter. Stand and arrange cones on a cookie sheet.
3. Carefully carry tray to oven and bake 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center of cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely 1 hour.
4. Add frosting and decorate to your hearts desire. Store covered at room temperature.
   

1 Cupcake Cone : Calories 160, Total fat 7g

A Bit of Sun and Chalk...

The weather we've been having may be making us all a little blue, but we're still finding some time to get out and enjoy the warmth. The kids and I played with chalk for a few hours the other day when the sun decided to show his face and dry up the backyard. They both helped me color this little masterpiece.

I have lots of things to post, but not enough time to pull the pictures and words together. I'm sure this happens to a lot of Mom-bloggers. I sometimes find myself writing posts in my head about things that I would love to share. Of course, I never write them down and get stuck at the computer screen as always. Tomorrow, I'll post up another entry about the dishcloths and hope that it helps some of you who may not be getting the best stitch definition.

We're Still Here...

To say that I'm a mess right now is an understatement. So many things are happening all at once I'm starting to feel dizzy. Though I wouldn't trade any of it for one second. I had re injured my right eye last weekend and that put me out of commission for the entire week. Alright, maybe that part I wouldv'e traded but everything else has been productive and exciting. The move is still happening by the end of this month and although I should be packing, I really do enjoy a hectic lifestyle. I don't know what I'm going to do after all the dust settles, maybe sleep a little more.



With somewhat limited vision and extra help I had with the kids this week, I managed to get some work started. Knitting was a little strange with the lack of depth perception so I stuck to just charting out some fantastic designs. I've already started writing up some of the patterns and knitting. There will definitely be some wonderful sets of cloths this summer. So far I have added plans of a beach, fruit, dessert and flower set ontop of the wedding, summer, and patriotic ones. I'll be happily busy over the next few months trying to make them all availible.

In the last day or so I have also been working on a pattern for a headband that I'm making for Ella. It is coming out beautifully and I'm going to try and tech edit the pattern to put on my blog for everyone in the next couple days. Right now its just living on crumpled and ripped graph paper.

I have to go back to the doctor next week just to make sure that everything is healing right. They were talking about surgery earlier this week but it turns out they don't want to go the more aggressive route until it happens again. I have what's called recurrent corneal erosion syndrome and I'm not looking forward to more pain when when it tears again. Hopefully with the drops I was prescribed and a more reasonable bedtime, It'll be a long time before another episode.

Mondays...

We've been having a really busy week over here. I keep trying to create more time out of thin air to accomplish everything but it's not working out too well, I'm tired. The weekends are filled with birthday parties and baby showers, play dates and visits to the park. During the week we go through our normal routines and before I can settle down and breathe a little it's time for bed. I do love being woken up every morning by these two beautiful kids though. I wish they could stay small forever. I already see how fast my daughter has become a little girl. Right now I can't imagine a day when I won't be able to cuddle them on the couch or tuck them into bed. But I'm just a Mom trying to hold on to all the wonderful memories we have as a family.


They really are the best children any Mother could ask for. I'm so thankful that right now I'm able to stay home with Victor and Ella and watch them grow. Lately we've been getting ready to pack for the move next month. This is where most of my time has been going, I'm sure anyone can relate to this kind of headache.


In the evenings I've been working on a School/Teacher set of cloths to put out next. My girlfriend had asked if I could create a set for her to make for her daughter's teacher. After I started charting a few designs I had in my head, I knew they would be perfect for any occasion in the school year. They should be up in the next day or two if I can manage a few hours tomorrow and finish up the pdf file in photoshop. Well, it's time for bed in this house, Have a goodnight everyone.