Prince Charming and the Fairy Godmother

The fruits of my labor...

Prince Charming
and

the Fairy Godmother

I'm looking for a princess, my true love. Might you fit this glass slipper?

"You're really going to grant me my wish?"

and they all lived ...

Looking forward to trick-or-treats on Friday. Between last weekend and this coming weekend the kids will have lots of wear out of the costumes. They were so fun to create. The Fairy Godmother's was from a McCall's pattern and Prince Charming's was a doctored up suit I found at a second hand store. As thrifty as we are trying to be, going this route did not help us out but I hope the memory of the homemade costumes will be there for my children like they are for me from my mom. I tried to find a photo of the year when I was Cookie Monster and my sister was Big Bird. I'll keep looking. I loved that costume.

Happy Halloween!

Pure Wedding Bliss

Just a quick glimpse of the wedding I shot in September. Lovely day, fun couple, sweet kids, intimate wedding.

Hmm.hmm.hmm.hmm.hmm.hmm.hmm

That's the sound in our house lately. It comes from two sewing machines in operation. My daughter and I have taken over the formal dining room (who needs one anyways, right?) and have set up shop. I haven't purchased a machine yet but a sweet friend of mine is loaning me hers. My daughter got right into it. She started making things. I should really share what she has made so far. I'll do that in another post. Quite inventive I have to say. I found a cheap, working sewing machine at a thrift store for her and she just loves making "stuff". We have been sewing much and knitting not so much. This year for halloween I decided to sew the kids' costumes and it's been fun, challenging and definitely a chance to see what I really want in a machine when the time comes.
So how many three year olds do you know that want to be Prince Charming for Halloween?? That's what my little guy requested to be. He came up with the idea too. (I think from watching too much Cinderella, but he LOVES that movie :) Don't worry dear hubby, he did mention we wanted to be a pirate and some kind of superhero but that is not allowed at his preschool so Prince Charming it is! And I guess I'm supposed to be Cinderella (what a sweetheart) which leads us to my daughter's costume. I thought it would be cute for them to coordinate but since she has already been Cinderella in the past and she's way too cool for that now we opted for the Fairy Godmother. I've got to pull this all together in the next week. Halloween is celebrated big time here in the "Halloween capital of the world". Parades, Boo Bashes, 5K Gray Ghost Run, pumpkin carving contests, etc. etc.


Another sewing item completed is the bag I mentioned in a previous post. Love the fabrics but not so crazy about the functionality of it. Actually, it will make a nice small knitting project transporter. I just don't want to go digging for a cell phone, wallet, or keys in the thing.

Soccer has come to an end. She really enjoyed playing but has told me that she loved it because it's getting her in shape for the 5K Gray Ghost race!! She's going to run that with me.


Lastly, a picture that closes the chapter on summer and our garden. Did I mention what a flop our garden was? Some kind of mold or a white powdery substance took over. We picked a few cucumbers (that we never ate); there is tons of basil that's still there; beans that turned yellow (oops, I should have picked them on time); tons of carrots (why did I plant so many? Bandit, the guinea pig neighbor will love us though); one pea pod (mmm, that was good, for about a second); but thankfully we did have lots of yummy tomatoes and about ten zinnias that were cut and placed in vases. Live and learn.

I did it!

Sunday, October 5, 2008 Medtronic Twin Cities 10 Mile
My Time- 1:52:29

What an amazing journey! and I can't wait to do it again! The emotions I had when approaching and finally crossing the finish line were overwhelming. When my sister and I joined a running club back in June we had a very hard time believing that we were going to be able to run ten miles and survive to tell about it. But here we are :) Alive and well and maybe a little sore but so much stronger inside and out. I can't tell you how many times I heard people say "distance running is a huge mind game" and I beat it because at mile 8 my body was ready to quit. The rain didn't help either. I was soaking wet at the end.

Ok, so I'm not quite ready to run a marathon but I haven't given up on the idea just yet. I'm definitely doing this again. You should try it too!

Have you had your Honeycrisp today?

This past weekend we went to our favorite apple orchard in White Bear Lake. The weather was beautiful but it did seem a little strange wearing shorts. The kids had their pony rides, tractor rides, photo opps as well as their share of treats. Apple cinnamon donuts (served thumbs up style), carmel apples and a bag of Harrelson's is what I left with in my shopping bag.

Have you tried a Honeycrisp apple yet? They weren't ready at the orchard but a couple of grocery stores around us are now carrying them. It's my favorite eating apple. They are crisp, juicy and sweet-tart tasting. I guess they come at a premium price though. My MIL said last night that at the orchard they visited near Sioux Falls a bag of Honeycrisp was selling for $30!! Did they receive special sunshine or rain or something??



I paid $2.99 for a pound at my grocery which kind of hurt so I knit a special jacket to protect this piece of work. No, actually I am making these for my little guy's preschool teachers. It's Apple Day next week so they are each going to get one. The pattern is from here.

On another note I have received a couple of awards from some very sweet people that I haven't acknowledged here and I want to make sure that you know they are really appreciated. Life has just been a little overwhelming recently. So thank you, they made me smile and brightened my day.

From : Knitter Sue

From: Denise at The Knitting Den

And I'll get to that meme, Andrea :)

A List of Firsts

What I've been up to lately......

:: First family camping trip sporting a tent ::

:: First day of school ::

:: First time playing soccer (go #6!) ::

:: First year of piano ::

:: First day of preschool ::


:: First wedding photoshoot ::


:: First time training for a 10 mile race ::

Knitterella Inspiration

The opportunity arose to knit the Lacy Thong for a neighbor/friend who is getting married soon. The first I had heard of this idea was at Knitterella's blog and thought "how fun is that?" I had to knit these twice because the first go-round they would have probably insulted the tiny bride. I went down needles sizes and knitted the smallest size. They turned out much better. She did guess that they were from me but it took her a few seconds longer to realize that I had made them. Not a good picture of them as I was finishing them the second before I left for the shower! Nothing like a good ole last minute project. Seems to be the theme of my life right now. It's been a C R A Z Y August.

Here's one other project I had finished a while back but I had to thrift for awhile until I found the perfect pin to go with my cowl. Again inspired by Knitterella. I started making this cowl from the pattern of Last Minuted Knitted Gifts then began increases using the Dolores Park Cowl pattern. It ended up a little bit too big so I thought it would look nice pinned. I have one other cowl waiting for a button and then I'll post that one.

Did anyone do the Ravelympics? I thought "cool" I can finish a project in a few weeks. I picked an easy one too. Just knit and purl. It's a capelet. Did I finish? No... I was disqualified. I used the wrong size needle and forgot to switch needle sizes when stated in the pattern! DRATS! My hope for the gold will have to wait another four years.

That's all for now. I need to get to bed so that I can function tomorrow at school. Today was a struggle :(

Bear-y Buddy Bag

Just a quick post of a baby shower gift I've giving this weekend. It was created from this pattern. It turned out so cute that I think I might have to make a few more to have on hand for gifts. She is one talented knitter and designer!

This bag is perfect for that little toddler to tuck away a sippee cup and a book or some toys.

The two stripes are knitted from Vanna's Choice Baby for durability and machine-washability. I have to admit that I didn't enjoy working with this yarn but now I know. I'm going to try to find some nice cotton for the next go round.

Hopefully soon I'll be posting another project that I'm giving tomorrow at a bridal shower. It's currently in the blocking stage.

Have a great weekend.