Oh yeah...

So here's the baby I made. Violet Elise was born on 4/4/12 at about 6:30pm. She was born at home, which was an incredible experience. Nothing can beat it! Violet is now 8 weeks old and is so sweet. She's very strong and curious and alert to everything going on around her. William loves her to pieces and is always giving her kisses and holding her hand and asking if he can "pet the baby". They are ridiculously cute together. Here are just a few of the many, many photos we have of this sweetie.

November is For Being Thankful

I figure this daily posting with a theme is good for something, so I'm going to continue for the month of November with a post about things I'm thankful for.



First up, my siblings! I love them dearly and can't wait to see them all in just 9 days. I get to spend two weeks in Utah for Thanksgiving and hanging out with these kids is going to be the best ever. I'm so thankful that all of us are friends -- even through all of our differences. Our warped sense of humor binds us together and we always have an amazing time. I'm so excited!

Quilt Finishing

Last spring or so, my brother Ivan got on a sewing kick and put together this quilt top. And then got burned out I suppose. Knowing that he'd probably never finish the quilt on his own, I took over. I bought the backing and batting, tied it, bound (binded?) the edges and gave it back to him for Christmas. It was a satisfying day's work (after having the quilt top since July and not doing anything with it...oops).

Popcorn on the Cob

Just some little gifts I quickly put together for all of my aunts and uncles and some friends. A couple cob of popcorn with instructions and a hot pad or two. Fun, easy and cheap!

Victoria Fingerless Mittens

I tried no less than 3 times to make some fingerless mittens/mitts/wrist warmers for my mom for Christmas. She had mentioned that she wanted a pair and I thought I'd be able to just whip them up quick and not even need patten. This was not the case. It took me weeks of trying over and over to finally admit I had no idea what I was doing and just get the correct yarn and use a pattern. Psh.



And I'm so glad I did. I am happy with how they turned out. This pattern is Victoria Fingerless Mittens from Knitting Little Luxuries. I've had this book for several years, and love a lot of the patterns, but this is the first one I've actually tried. One weird thing I noticed is that all of the mittens and mitts in this book are knit flat and then seamed. For some reason I couldn't figure out how to just knit it in the round so I did it the hard way. Also, even though the pattern only called for one ball of yarn, and I got a ball that was more yardage than the pattern called for, and I had the correct gauge, I still ran out of yarn about 3/4 through the second mitten. Annoying. But it was all worth it.

The Fam

These portraits were John's Christmas gift to my mom. He did all the photography, printing, framing and surprised my mom on Christmas Eve with them all hung up in the family room (special thanks to Trev for hanging them). I think she was pretty excited and happy. Especially since before these, everyones' photos were about 8 years out-of-date.

Mom & Dad
Greg
Trevor & Christi
Bethany
Ivan
Alexa
Ryan

Also, a little photo shoot of Greg and his girlfriend Erin and her son Griffin. Aren't they the most adorable little family you've ever seen? I love these kids.

Other Peoples' Crafts

My dad bought this vintage motorcycle when I was just a baby. In October, he finally finished restoring it to it's full 1967-y glory. John made this little mini movie to commemorate the occasion.

You can also see some of the beautiful-ness of the little Northern Utah valley where I spent the first 20 years of my life. Love those mountains...

1967 Aermacchi Harley-Davidson Restoration from John Stephens on Vimeo.

Music by Kidnap Kings -- a new fav-favorite!

I'm having a hard time coming up with blog content since all of my projects at the moment are gift-related! I do have a couple of things to show you, just as soon as I manage to get some pics taken!

Preikestolen

Ch-ch-check it out!

A Tale of Two Mittens

Once upon a time (last Christmas), a Brother asked a Sister to make him some mittens like hers. "Of course," said Sister and she promptly began to knit them.


She knit and knit, trying to finish them before leaving Brother's town for Her town. Soon it became obvious that the mittens were going to be much too small for Brother. They were too small for Sister, who was just a medium-sized girl. There was no way they would fit a large-sized Brother.


Sister got bummed out and put the mittens away. She worked on them on and off (mostly off) for many months. Then, Sister decided to finish them. After all, Sister-in-Law was a small-sized girl -- surely they will fit her!

And so now they are finally finished. And everyone will be happy. Well, except for Brother, who will still not have any mittens.



Pattern by Hello Yarn .
This is my 3rd pair of these mittens I've made and I really love them. They were my first experience doing color work and were a great introduction! Plus, cute as cute and free pattern! Why this pair turned out so much smaller than the others is still a mystery.

A Lazy Day

"I'm walking to Norway, Mama!"
Today is a lazy day. The weather is beautiful and fall-ish. The house is cozy and smells delicious. We're in lounge-y clothes making cookies and watching Beatles movies. Blogging the Norway trip and making plans.

John left for a shoot last night and won't be back until tomorrow night. We miss him.

My mama will be here on Saturday night and we are very excited. William's birthday is next Wednesday and we have lots of fun plans for the week.

We went for a wonderful walk this morning. Kickboxing tonight. Maybe another walk after dinner. More working on the trip blog (I promise more is coming!) -- I didn't keep a journal while we were there so I've got to get it down before I forget things.

I should be mopping the floors and cleaning the shower. Washing the windows. Vacuuming.

I think I'll continue to enjoy this lazy, comfy day and worry about the cleaning tomorrow. Hanging out with my best little buddy "cooking hot french fries" and "walking/flying/driving to Norway" is the best way to spend today.

Off On a Grand New Adventure!

Well kids, the time has finally come! By the time you read this we will be off to begin a 21 day adventure all over Norway (and I do mean ALL over), Svalbard, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. Oh yeah, we are totally rocking the entirity of Scandinavia. Woot!

I'll definitely be posting a few pics and updates from the road. Arctic regions here we come!

Nap Time

Excuses Excuses

So I have sucked at blogging lately. Again.

(As usual?)

The deal is...the photos are just so much work. To me, anyway. I take mediocre at best photos, so if I want something decent I have to wait for John. He either has take them for me or to help me set up the camera so I get good exposure, etc. I just can't wrap my brain around the ISO and aperture, etc. And then there's the post processing. And John's super busy. Etc. So there's my excuse for being such a lame blogger.

I really have been working on a lot of cool things in the past few weeks. There's the ripple afghan, a couple baby projects, cafe curtains, quilt, book covers, paper cutting. I've been busy! Plus plans for some baby gifts, some experiments in designing my own plush matroyshkas, and more crocheting. I'm also on a thrift/antique hunt for frames. I can't find any!! And I need several.

Also, I've been revelling in this amazing weather we've been having. It's like, insane how awesome it's been. Two weeks of overcast skies, some rain, and temperatures all under 75!!! I'm soaking up every second of it before the heat hits and then stays until Christmas. We love the cool, morning walks!

I may not have any craft photos, but I do have pictures of our weekend in San Diego last month. Enjoy!

William with his youngest uncle, Ryan.
Waiting in line for the bus.
Cute bugs.
Running down a big hill.
Sleeping through the new elephant exhibit (my favorite animals at the zoo!).
Checking out the chimps.
Will's first beach experience!
He loved the sand but was a bit wary of the water.
He's a kid now.
Our family, in feet.

What We Did...

...in Utah in April.

Saw a parrot driving a truck



Attended my beautiful cousin's beautiful wedding
(which John photographed)



Sis-tahs!

Did some creepy things with non-creepy people

$10 if you can tell me where we are with Mr. Brick Pants. Another $10 if you'll ignore the fact that I look like I could ingest Sheena in a single bite.

Got snowed on?

This is me saying "Seriously, UT? Snow? In April?"

But really, I enjoyed every minute of it.

Went bowling with sibs


Somehow the end scores weren't all that surprising.

The baby-child got injured



Ate cupcakes. And a lot of Indian and Thai food.