butter churning & all that jazz

Hi all. We have had a fun busy last few days with visiting and packing and christmas present buying. Mixed along with some bread baking, sweater knitting, and baby loving!~ Not long now, and we find ourselves sitting together as a family all talking about when we come back......its so nice to hear long term plans aloud; and discussing them somehow makes the short term separation more bearable.

Nesta here at MawMaw's yesterday churning butter. MawMaw and Barry have been dieting and cutting out bread at meals. MawMaw told Nesta yes churn her some fresh butter and she'll take a biscuit too!

Some random shots at MawMaw's yesterday, Paula and little Jeremy were there too, it was such an awesome family day. Uncle Barry cooked a deer stew for lunch and it was so comforting to all sit for a meal at the table together with children about.

MawMaw and I got an hour or so free time to go back to the sewing room to ramble thru drawers. She tells old stories of her grandparents, when she first met Poppy Jackson, and old friends and family. We look thru old quilt patterns and see hand writings from older generations gone past. Those are the moments to cherish in my mind for a long, long time.

Nesta and Jeremy are so cute together. Its great having kids the same age in

the family, they all be great little playmates to each other. We always were around our cousins growing up and it framed such good memories and times. Family is awesome!!!

I think i see trouble in these little minds........

Fresh yeast bread......recipe coming soon!

Jack standing watch; waiting for Aunt Paula to whisk him away for a spend the nite!

My new deliciousness; soon to be pack away and I just got it! Merino fingerings in such beautiful colors; bluesky organic cottons for kitchen towels; and some sock yarn in the mix. All in a felted homemade yarn bag.

Today is pack the kids christmas presents and clothes day. Bleccckkkhhharrrg. John has been busying around getting it all done 'Maurice' style for hours. And here i sit. I think there's something stuck in my ear. I could just curl up and go back to sleep. I am blogging. Motivation skills? None to speak of....its 11am, a beautiful cloudy day. Perhaps a nice walk outside to my favorite woodsy spot in the back will get me alive and kicking. I am going to dig thru my shed today until I find WALDEN POND it is going this time on the plane with me.

Good day all / over and out.

knick nacks knitting friends & vegemite

Hello everyone~! Taking a few shots around this knitting frenzied house. Hoping today will allow me some spare time to finish up some projects. Nothing feels better than takin care of unfinished bidness as my friend Brent says. We did a pseudo mock pack yesterday and it appears we will have everything fit and room left over! Well...I haven't added any of my yarn, sewing stuff, clothes, shoes, books...and then there's all the christmas stuff i've bought in mama's trunk John hasn't seen yet. Good thing we get two bags each. John better be eating his wheaties.

Isn't this bag GREAT?!! It's one of my favorite new pretties; its a little felted knitting basket. The pattern is listed on this chic's blog :

http://knit4ever.blogspot.com

Last time we were in Alabama thrifting i got a massive bag of orange canadian vintage wool for $1. Like 20 skeins of orange. This pattern took 3. What else can i make that is orange!

Unfinished business #1. Debbie bliss cashmerino cabled baby socks. Lavender. I was thinking girl...but they are Nesta's size...my first cable knitting and they turned out quite nice. I just have to motivate myself to do the other one now. I love knitting with this yarn; its dreamy soft. I got it for a deal on craigslist too; half price.

Unfinished #2 project i just somehow deleted the photo; was another debbie bliss pattern cornflower panty rompers. I knitted the small size and they too fit Nesta with room for an elephant to spare. I am thinking her patterns run .....large. I am almost finished with them just have to crochet a frilly leg cuff thing. Crochet seems so strangely out of place to me; I am always looking for that other needle.

Anywho, this BOOK I AM IN LOVE WITH. It is such a stunningly cuddly vintage knit collection it will leave even the nighttime dream knitter drooling for needles and knowhow. It is almost all fingering weight; which I am new to. I just started my first project (well really my second) this week and the fingering alpaca on size 2 needles is giving me PARkinsons or some other nerve problem. No just kidding I am getting it slooowly.

This little wooly project is hand dyed merino from a local gal. Started out a vest; took it apart. Decided on cloth diaper cover from this book; alas is not fingering weight but much larger making this more suited for covering diapers for the JOLLY green GIANT instead. Stick to the patterns ANGelina. Big PROBLEM of mine.

This is my friend JOHN PAUL. He has just spooned the most massive sized sample of VEGEmite ever. Good luck old buddy.....

Jack takes time and patience to craftingly playdough Mommy lifesize. Literally.

Ok here he is. He's not talking. He's not gagging. He's not swallowing. He's thinking to himself how to courageously get this terrible s*#$ out of his mouth!!!!!!!

My little darlings at play on what was probably our last smoking of meat for this trip. We all love spending time outside here with pops. Saturdays are always filled with outdoor adventures and memories to cherish. I can't wait until the next chapter of our Georgia adventure can continue when we come back to settle down and find a little piece of country life ourselves. Ta-tah friends.

october FROLIKING

A GAY AFFAIR

CUTE, ISNT HE? YES...THE LITTLE ONE. LATELY, HE HAS BEEN TEETHING AND CONSTANTLY BREASTFEEDING, UP SEVERAL TIMES AT NIGHT TO FEED ETC. LEAVING MOM FEELING...WELL.....SPENT. WHICH IS WHY LAST NIGHT I WOKE UP WHEN HIS LITTLE BUM WAS PRESSING INTO MY CHEST, AND FEELING UPWARDS HIS SHIRT WAS ALL UP ON HIS BACK UNCOVERED. PULLING DOWN HIS SHIRT, AND PATTING HIS LITTLE BACK I REACHED UP TO FIND HIS HEAD AND IT WAS STUFFED ALL UNDER JOHN'S PILLOW, I THOUGHT ...GOSH HE'LL SUFFOCATE! STILL COULDNT FIND IT, I WAS REACHING AND TUGGING AND TRYING TO FLIP HIM AROUND SO I COULD BREASTFEED HIM AND THEN I REALIZED.....IT WAS JOHN'S arm.

Nesta, sound asleep in his own bed. Laughing at myself , i went back to sleep.

These photos are from this weekend at the COTTON pikin' fair in GAYgeorgia. Yes, that is the real town name, GAY IS A HAPPY place. We went there as kids. I will post MORE PICS WHEN MY sleep deprived brain has RESted.