WIPs

We were super busy this week!!

 But I managed to knit 11 hexis!  I think that is a record for me.  The one in the middle was an experiment - I'm not quite sure how I feel about it....

 I really like the stripes on this hexi.

 Almost done with one of the woven kitchen towels that I am making!

 I have to admit, I did not get this far on my own!  I had some helpers!

 The 10 year old reading the pattern, moving the levers and weaving,

 The 7 year old weaving

 and learning how the levers work.  Soooo much fun to work with my kids!

 My nephew graduated from Kindergarten - how cute is he?!

 "Someone" is super excited for him :o)

 The cousins together on his special day.

This is the book we are reading together as a family.  It is by the same author and in the same style as "Hugo Cabret", but we are finding that Hugo was a much better book.  It has been so much fun to spend more time reading, playing and creating together.  Well, I'm off to the pool with the kids - catch you all later :o)

See more wonderful WIPs at Tami's and Ginny's.

Perler Bead Bowl

The current Finished Object is brought to you by the ever so lovely and creative 14 year old.

 We saw this idea on Pinterest and she immediately wanted to make one.  She is up for almost anything, this one :o)  Here she is selecting perler beads to make her bowl.  Then we sprayed the bowl with Pam Cooking Spray.

 She poured the beads into the bowl and pushed them up the sides to try and create a single layer.

 Then we placed them in the oven to melt.  We used both a pyrex soup bowl and a pyrex custard cup.

 The resulting bowls are very colorful and quite cute although they don't hold very much of anything.

 Kind of a decoration and catch all for small bits of stuff.

 I really like how colorful they are and found it interesting how bumpy they are in the middle and how smooth they are on the outside.  The bowls also feel a little "rubbery".

 My husband feeling the bowl.  He sometimes thinks we are nuts with the things we come up with.....

And the cast-on of a new project.  Lazy summer days let us be so creative!!  There is no schedule, no homework, no "musts" and "have to's" - just time to hear yourself think.

Take a gander over here and here for more finished objects :o)

Milestones

The end of the school year is such a whirlwind for us!!  So many things coming to a close and all seem to need their own special event!

 10 year old daughter had her cello recital in the "Big Hall" at her music school.  She was so nervous to be up on the "Big Stage" all by herself with "All Those People" looking at her.  She did great!!  She was totally prepared and in no small way because of her fabulous teacher pictured standing next to her.

 The last elementary school orchestra performance of the year.  They sounded really nice.

 Last band concert with at middle school for our 14 year old! - playing her sax

 playing her clarinet

 8th grade awards night - the Jazz Band played.  

 6th grade orchestra concert.  You can just see our 12 year old - he's the blondie looking straight at the camera.  This was the only good shot!!  In all the other ones he is making funny faces.

 Our middle school grad - the one in purple near the back.  I am shocked that she is moving on to high school next year.  Where did all the time go?  I know that she is ready, she has grown and matured so much this year - it's truly amazing, but I am not ready.  High school means one step closer to college and one step closer to leaving the nest.  Sigh.....

 A new driver in training at our home!!  Watch out!  Upside?  I have my own personal chauffeur for awhile.

 A favorite evening routine of these two.  They sit on the couch and read together.  So sweet!

 With all these kids there are a lot of teachers and support staff to thank at the end of the year.  So many people make a difference in my kid's lives (38 to be exact!!) - my kids are so lucky. 

Each child wrote a special note to their special people and then we attached the notes to the breads (pumpkin in case you were wondering).  The kids surprised me and wrote some really heart felt thanks - even the 7 year old and they were thrilled to hand them out.

AHHH!!  Now the fun and relaxation of summer time!

That Christmas Stocking!

I have been working on this stocking almost every night and it feels like there has been almost no progress at all :o(  Good thing I am not really minding the backstitch so much anymore.

 This is the last picture I took.

 This is what it looks like now.  I think you might need a magnifying glass to see the difference!

The new book I am immersed in right now.  I can't seem to put it down!

More good things at Tami's and Ginny's :o)

Tuesday Tallies

So... one of my favorite DPNs has bit the dust.  As you can see, it snapped in half - while I was knitting with it!

 Huge bummer!  I really liked this set of DPNs.

 Just to show that I can't just use the longer half of the broken one to knit with :o).  I actually thought about sanding it down so the end was smooth, but I think it would be too short to safely hold the stitches.

 Enter less attractive metal DPN of same size.  I am using this one with my other wooden ones.

 These are the current hexis.  I am still knitting with the mini skeins from Tami and I love all the colors. More, I think I love the names of these yarns.  The green stripey one up there is Mint Chocolate.  How yummy is that??

This one started out with one of Tami's skeins and when I ran out I added in the light purple and the cream from my weaving ends.  No waste here!  :o)

Baby blanket

Another baby in the family, another baby blanket!

 This fabric is just so cute!!

 I fell in love with these elephants.  I hope the baby likes them!

 Could you get any cuter with this backing fabric - and it's made of flannel so it will be soft and warm.

 This time I hand embroidered the name and date - last time I used my machine and really didn't like the outcome.  Handwork is so much better!  Obviously it has taken me a little while to make this blanket.  I need to get it in the mail soon!

 Can't gift without a label :o)

Edging detail.  I love making these blankets for people, especially with the embroidery on them.

Take a look over at Tami's for more eye candy.

More Weaving - YEAH!!

I have been learning so much in my weaving class!  Our teacher let me measure the warp on her warping board and helped me to get it rolled onto my table loom.

 Then I brought it home and got the threads through the heddles.  Before I could do that, new heddles had to be made because I didn't have enough.  No problem, Hannelore showed me how to make a heddle maker!!

 Here it is with the threads through the reed and tied on to the front of the loom.  Sounds like everything went easy peasy doesn't it?  HAHAHA!!  Like every project, it had some challenges :o)  First, when I tied it to that front bar, I tied it on backward so that the finished cloth couldn't be wound on.  Then, as I was checking to make sure that there were no crossed threads, I discovered that I didn't have enough of a shed to get the shuttle through.  Hmmm....It seemed that my harnesses were not tied up high enough.  So, a little loom operation and the harnesses were higher.  Finally, I retied the threads to the front bar in the correct manner and I think this will work out fine now.  WHEW!!

 Here is what it looks like from the back.  I truly, truly hope that it is wound right so that the tension remains steady.

 This is the free ebook from Weaving Today that I found my new pattern in.

 The pattern is for placemats, but since I don't really need any more placemats, my teacher helped me to figure out how to make them into kitchen towels.  I think they are going to be so pretty!!  I can't wait to start weaving.  Hopefully sometime today.

 Look what else followed me home - an 8 harness, 12 treadle floor loom with a 48" weaving width.  It needs some TLC, but other than that, it should work just fine.

 From the back

The harnesses and an extra reed.   Restoring this will surely keep me busy this summer :o)  No picture of my current book because it is the same as last week - I am a very slow reader!

Run on over to Tami's and Ginni's for more WIPs