Scarves..

I'm a fan. A fan of scarves. Recently (and not so recently) I have been crocheting a few...

For this crazy chunky one I took inspiration from my original ruffle scarf from way back when. I switched it up with some lovely thick, cozy yarn. It's snuggly and it dresses up my otherwise drab winter coat. :)

This second scarf I made a couple months ago. I love the green. It's pattern is Queen Annes Lace. Which is lovely design and texture. I chose a cotton for this and the resulting product is super soft to the touch.

And just because I'm in the scarf mood... Here's my stash at the moment minus one that is hiding out with my coat.  The gray one on the end is my first scarf, and the one that inspired the chunky ruffle. The patterned one is from my sister when she went to Germany. And well the silver one is just a silver one I own. No story to that one. :)

Not a scarf.. cute though. Sorry, ignore the hat if you would like. ;-) He just happened to grab it and put it on and did a dance. :) My crazy little helper!

Life just keeps going..

It never slows down. A new chapter is headed our way. Constantly I battle worry, constantly I wonder what our future holds. But, constantly I KNOW God has it all in his hands. He will guide us as we find our way through this season and enter the next. Whether we head into more schooling for Joel so that we can get moved around by the State Police. Whether we settle somewhere outside of PA state lines. Whether we find out we'll be parked here for a longer period of time. God knows. God cares. God loves. God is involved. This next year requires another dose of patience, another dose of faith. We're nearing the finish line in time to see that we're about to start again! It's exciting, sometimes refreshing, always challenging.

If I Stand, Jars of Clay

There's more that rises in the morning than the sun
And more that shines in the night than just the moon
There's more than just this fire here that keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger than this room

And there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
Stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise that you will pull me through
And if I can't, let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
So if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

And there's more that dances on the prairies than the wind
And more that pulses in the ocean than the tide
There's a love that's fiercer than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother's when her baby's at her side

And there's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiments
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver of all good things

So if I stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

So if I stand let me stand on the promise You will pull me through
And if I can't let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home

And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for home

I've fallen in love...

.... with Crochet. Shhh... don't tell Joel.

My first and failed project. :)

I made two other slouchy hats before this one. However this is my own pattern and fits much better. The orange wasn't my favorite but I had the yarn to use so I used it. I kinda like it.

This is also my own pattern. A cowl made out of double crochet and bobble stitches.

This ruffly scarf is from a pattern I found online. I like it a lot!

WIP Wednesday

In the sewing blogging community there is what they call Work In Progress Wednesday. A day that many crafters link up their blogs and do a show and tell of what they are working on. I thought I would join the ranks and add my little bit of sewing craftiness to the mix. I'm not going to link up to the other blogs yet because I would feel a bit out of my league there (there are some AMAZING sewers/quilters out there). And of course I am not at a point where I could do each and every WIP Wednesday.. that would get a mite boring for everyone because it would be the same thing over and over, week after week with just a few extra stitches here and there. I'm a slow crafter these days. So here we go!

Go Dog, Go! This is my first try at embroidery. I traced a page out of Isaac's favorite book and am practicing my split stich, back stitch and satin stitch. Eventually I hope to have it framed and hung on his wall amidst a few other pages from some of his other favorite books.

Another embroidery piece I've begun. This one I drew free hand on to the fabric. I was bad and just used some regular markers to draw on the fabric with.. not actual fabric markers. Oh wells. I'm pretty excited with the turn out and actually have a bit more done on it then this picture shows.

This is the fabric that I need to eventually cut into binding for Isaac's quilt. Not something I'm looking forward to, a bit nervous about that process.

And of course, Isaac's quilt. Still in the quilting progress but SOOOOO close to being done. I'm doing a large grid-like quilting pattern, so it's just a lot of long straight lines (lol, I called my lines straight....). The quilting runs horizontal, which I'm done with, and vertical which I am ALMOST done with. The vertical is taking awhile because of the length and because not all my seams matched up so it is a bit of trial and error.. more error actually.

And there you have it. My works in progress. I hope to be at a point someday that each Wednesday will hold a bit more variety. I'm excited to eventually show you the finished products too!

I might be insane..

I just decided to start another quilt. I won't really start it until I finish this current one. And I won't be able to disclose details about it on here other then that I'm working on one in the case that the recipient reads my blog which would in turn spoil the surprise for them. But the clues are as follows.. it'll be  small, it will spin in the wind (figuratively, not literally.. though I'm guessing if you threw it up in the air on a very windy day it might spin.. ok... I'm getting off track here...), and it will have a bit of whimsy to it. This one actually will have a deadline to it.. well Isaac's was given a deadline by yours truely yesterday too (by his birthday). So now I have two deadlines and a few others in my head that may also have deadlines... So, hmm.. I have work to do.

Walking walking walking...

Walking Foot. This little bugger gave me so much trouble to get.. but is making things so much easier now.

Wrestling with the machine.

Some quilting done, not the straightest.. but it's a start!

Finally!

I'm back to the quilt. My Walking Foot magically appeared in the mail a couple days ago (long drawn out Amazon transaction.. Oy!), so I've been doing some practicing on mini quilt sandwiches and finally made the switch to Isaac's tonight. It's going so much better then the hand quilting was! I was beginning to dread quilting when I was thinking of doing it all by hand. Not any more, my quilting excitement is back! I already have a good bit quilted and that was just in an hour! It still is not perfect, never will be. My machine is small so it takes some work to shove this twin size quilt through. But all in all I'm very happy with it.

What fun is it to do a project like this and dread it? NOT FUN. I still adore quilts and now I see myself stitching up more eventually! If hand quilting were all there was... I'd be one and done.

As I have said before though.. My next first quilt will be a smaller one!!!! ;-)

Stand still.

That's where I'm at right now with the quilt. I started hand quilting it a couple weeks ago. Oy! I'm NOT that skilled in the hand stitching department. I know, I know.. it takes practice. BUT.. I don't know if I'm willing to "practice" on this quilt. I just wasn't feeling very good about the quality of my stitches and how they would hold up over time. This IS a kids quilt. Kids are rough on things, Isaac is ROUGH on things. I don't think my hand quilting would withstand his destructive tendencies. So, I sighed, I groaned, I looked at my stitches and said to myself "Self, why don't we figure something else out before you go completely crazy...". So my fingers began typing away and soon discovered that my machine does in fact have an attachment to buy to help in the quilting department. A Walking Foot.  Now, I know Walking feet are not at all new, but I assumed that my cheapo machine wouldn't be able to work with a quilt. I still don't know if it will.. but the part is on it's way. I'll soon find out. And hopefully along with the Walking Foot's arrival my sighs and groans will fade away into oblivion.

My handy little friend that will soon land on my doorstep.

Isaac's reaction to his quilt is really great. I laid it out on the floor yesterday for him to see and he got excited and said "Wow!" over and over and danced on top of it. He's had similar reactions whenever he has gotten to peek at the fabric. I think he's into the bright colors! So am I! I should be onto the next stage of the quilt (the border) tomorrow. USPS tracking shows that the fabric is "out for delivery" at this very moment. I just have to work my way over to JoAnn's in the near future to purchase the batting! I don't think I'll be posting any more pictures until the quilt is actually DONE. But who knows, maybe I will.

 So today I whipped up a pair of shorts for Isaac out of an old t-shirt while I await the fabric. A little on the wonky side, but they'll work for playing outside. I'm not that good with knit fabric, it always gets a little bunched up and odd looking. Oh well!

All pieced... now back to cutting...

 More cutting you ask? Well.. yes. Welcome to the surprise twist! All my nine patch blocks that I have been piecing together are now cut in quarters. Now I am ready for the last stage of piecing before deciding on the colors for the border, binding and backing. I'm liking the new layout with all the blocks cut down!

Nine patch blocks pieced and ready to be sliced.

Sliced.

My blocks needed a bit of trimming to even up the sides.

Pretty pile cut and ready to be pieced again!

Working on the layout.

Piecing, piecing.. and more piecing..

Can't say this is the most fun part, but, I get into a rhythm with it and it goes pretty quick. Tedious but slowly making progress and still excited to see the finished product.

These newly pieced rows will soon be sewn into blocks. Before I can sew them though I have to iron each seam. In the end I get a nice flat pile of fabric beauty.

Pondering..

Now to start piecing!After putting all my squares together I measured and realized I'm going to come out short on size. I'll have to remedy this with a border. First things first though! And, stay tuned.. once the piecing is done there will be a surprise twist!

288

5" Squares.

The stage is set..

Here we go! Aren't these Batik's just brilliant? I think they'll make a beautiful quilt for my boy.. if the picture in my head comes true!

To quilt or not to quilt...

To quilt.

Yup. I've decided to venture into the realm of quilts. A slightly daunting endeavor but totally exciting to me. The plan is for a twin size for my boy. I'm sure it will take me many many months to complete, it will be well worth it. I've been feverishly checking out blogs and tutorials looking for the perfect pattern. Researching the ins and outs of this art form. I think I'm ready. The fabric is bought, it is on it's way. No turning back now!

Spring.

Sunny, happy, crisp, green and beautiful. Finally some spring weather!

On days like this I just know the day is going to hold some special awesomeness. Nothing huge. Just the special loveliness of an afternoon spent outdoors and happiness bouncing around the house. Anticipating another outdoor lunch, inspecting flowers and ponds, pointing out anything and everything that fly's, a chubby little hand gripping mine as we walk through the green.

I can dig it.

So many options!

Okay, so I told you how I diaper. Now I'll give you a run down on the other options in the cloth diapering world. There are quite a few. From All-in-ones to Pockets to Fitteds.. lots of options, lots of brands. I'm not an expert on any of these. I'm a Prefolds mama through and through. This is just to give you a glimpse of what some other mothers swear by.

All-in-ones.

These are the cloth option closest to disposables in how they are put on. They are what the name says. All in one. They have the absorbing layer, waterproof lining, and cover all built into one diaper. From what I have heard these are the most daddy-friendly diapers they also are usually what are required at day cares if cloth diapers are used. While they are easy to use and really cute and I really used to want to diaper this way.. there are a few big reasons I went with Prefolds instead. Cost. These come in the price range of $15-$25 per diaper. A big investment. Another con for me was the drying time. They can take a LONG time because of everything being built in. But all in all, if you have the money to spend (they still come out MUCH cheaper then diapering with disposables), these would be a great way to go and really they are what Modern Cloth is all about.

Pockets.

Pockets are somewhat like All-in-ones except they have one added step. There is a pocket (duh) that you stuff the liner into before putting on your babies bum. Pockets also sometimes need a cover. Depends on the brand. The thing that people seem to like the most about these is that you can customize the absorbency to the child. This is good for some children who are heavy wetters at night. I have a friend who makes what she calls the SuperDiaper. It's an overnight diaper that has a pocket where you add however much absorbency you need They are pretty awesome, I have one. I know. Check it out.


 Fitteds.

Fitteds. I've dabbled in making these. They are basically a diaper that uses elastic to fit to your child well. You can find them with hook and loop closures, snaps, OR you can close them with pins or Snappis. I used hook and loop as I was making them. Fitteds NEED a cover. They are just the absorbent part of the diaper and their specialty is keeping everything IN the diaper. Nice for the newborn stage when the blowouts are a joyfully constant occurrence (snicker snicker). There are many brands of these out there but if you want to try making them yourself here's a good tutorial.

Flats.

I don't have much knowledge on how to fold a flat. These pre-date Prefolds. But a lot of people love these to get the right fit on their child. They are good for those who hand wash and are incredibly easy on the wallet. You need pins or snappis and a cover for this system.

Good places to go for more info:

Nells Natural Baby
Kelly's Closet
Diaper Jungle
Diaper Pin

Thus concludes my mini-series on diapering. If anything, I hope I opened your eyes to the possibilities!

How to care for Cloth Diapers.

There are some rules to follow and you do end up with a lot more laundry. It's worth it though, and really.. once you get into the routine of it, it's not too bad.

The basic guideline is to do diaper laundry every 2-3 days, but not to go longer then 3 days. I do the 3 day or as needed laundering.


For prefolds the care doesn't seem to be as difficult as if you use one of the other methods. Prefolds dry quicker, and are virtually indestructible.

The basic wash cycle goes like so:

A quick cold rinse to get rid of stains, a hot wash with a cloth diaper safe detergent, and one more cold rinse to get rid of detergent residue. Diapers go in the drier, Covers and wet bags hang dry. As the weather gets warmer I plan on hang drying everything outside to save energy. The sun does wonders in getting rid of stains if you're having a problem with those!

I know that other cloth mothers have differing ways to approach washing. I formed my routine by researching and taking a bit of others ideas and in the end found what works best for me. You might find a different routine works better, and might need to change it depending on what kinda of diapers you are using.


One more thing to take care of diapers.. stripping.

Stripping is needed because after a lot of washes detergent begins to build up (the build up will happen faster if you are using a detergent that is not safe for cloth diapers, natural detergents are a better idea for cloth diapers) in the diapers. The build up can cause unpleasant smells. So if you are beginning to get frustrated and fall out of love with cloth diapering because of a stinky ammonia smell coming from your childs behind or the changing station.. chances are you need to strip the diapers. I do this once a month or as needed. My routine for this is to wash as I would normally and then start a HOT wash cycle WITHOUT detergent. As this cycle runs you will see suds coming out of hiding in the diapers. It's amazing how much build up can happen! After a good strip the diapers are fresh smelling again and go back to having no odor. From what I understand prefolds are the easiest to get rid of build up. Another plus for prefolds!

I think those are the main points in taking care of cloth. It may sound like a lot.. but once you start doing it, it's really NOT bad. It becomes a part of your life and really I would never go back to using disposables fully. I love fluff.

I can't hide it anymore..

I have a deep love for Cloth Diapers. Okay, so I haven't ever really tried to hide it.. But the point is. Cloth has changed our diapering lives for the greater good. I feel very earthy, very frugal, and, well my son has a cute (and rather large) butt. It just makes me smile.

When people think about cloth their minds automatically go to plastic pants, pins, and diaper bins full of dirty diapers and nasty water. I know, because that's where my mind went when I first heard that people still use them.Think again though.. it's not like that. Not in the least bit. Modern cloth is cute, easy, pin free, and no, you don't have to use a diaper pail full of water.

Here's what I use.

I've chosen the cheapest method for diapering. Prefolds are older fashioned then other modern options. You CAN use pins on these. I don't. I just fold them and put them in a cover and on my little guys booty. There are different size options on these and MANY different brands. I chose the Indian cotton Prefolds because of their durability, absorbancy, and ease of washing. When I have another kid, I'll probably just use the Gerber Prefolds for the infancy stage until they fit into the larger ones we already have. I bought 32 of these. I probably could have done alright with a few less, but it is nice to have the extra for the diaper bag or if I'm delayed in doing laundry.

Indian Cotton Prefolds

The covers I chose were Thirsties Duo Wraps. They are cute, come in a myriad of color options, and either use a snap closure or hook and loop. I have both and a lot of the colorways. I tend to like the snap closure because they don't wear out in the laundry like hook and loop do after awhile. Also, Isaac can take the hook and loop diapers off, snaps he has yet to figure out. The hook and loop are nice for easier changes (night time) and are easier to get a better fit. I like to have both on hand. The Duo Wraps come in One Size sizing. They adjust to the size of the child by use of snaps and you can by the large or the small one size wraps. I have the large at the moment which I believe can be used from 18-40 lbs (or something like that). So for the next child I will have to invest in more covers.

Thirsties Duo Wrap Hook and Loop Closure

 

Thirsties Duo Wrap Snap closure

Other things that I have found necessary.

These I use when Isaac has a diaper rash. Most diaper creams are not cloth diaper safe, meaning they will coat the diapers and start to repel moisture. A liner keeps the cream off of the diaper. Fleece also pulls moisture away from the babies bum. There are natural diaper creams out there that are cloth diaper safe, but they are expensive. 

Planet Wise Wetbags. I have three. Two large and one medium. This is what holds all of the dirty diapers. They have a water proof lining inside and cute fabric exteriors. I use the two large ones in his room and the changing area and the medium goes in the diaper bag. I also use these if I'm using disposables when out and about. Why waste more with those little plastic bags when you can just throw the dirty diapers in these cute bags and wash and reuse?

Cloth wipes. Why use disposable wipes when you have already switched to cloth everything else? I made this realization awhile ago when I had to throw out the disposable wipes but didn't have a disposable diaper to wrap them up in. I bought 12 terry cloth wipes. They work well. Especially on the toughest of bums to clean. Right now I'm in the process of making more our of flannel. Easy, cheap, and just makes sense.

 So, there. If anyone was curious that's how we diaper in this household. That's not to say that we don't occasionally use disposables, we do. On vacation, if I'm having a low motivation day, on some day trips. But for the majority of the time we use cloth, and we love it. I'll do another post soon on how I wash cloth diapers. There is a little bit of method to it, but really, it's pretty straight forward and simple. I might even do a post on other methods of cloth diapering. I like to educate people on this subject, because it really isn't as hard or nasty as people seem to think it is. The more you know..