shhhhh... all is quiet in the forest

silence

i never realized how much i would miss it until i had kids and then for last 10 yrs, finding a moment of stillness was something that i mostly dreamed about... well, at least when i stole a minute to dream, which wasn't very often either. now that all the kids are in school i cherish my quiet time alone in the house and most days i don't even turn on my itunes, instead reveling in the absolute lack of noise. 

now, you may think that with all this quietness, i would be super productive, the soft whir of my sewing machine or click-clack of the knitting needles softly breaking the monotony but being alone in the house brings with it a new set of distrctions, i.e. all the things i should be doing but don't really feel like doing, otherwise known as housework.  the list is ridiculously long and i find it so daunting that i try to ignore most of it and only focus on the things that need my immediate attention for survival.

soooooo, i have found myself making lists and taping them up on the walls of the studio in an effort to be somewhat organized and i'm not talking about little post-it size notes, i mean big-freaking-couldn't-miss-seeing-them-even-with-my-eyes-closed lists. hopefully it will help me stay on track.

i have managed to get a few projects finished though, commissioned pieces for friends and a new baby present for my oldest friend in the whole world who i have literally known since we were babies. i've also been working on getting groups signed up for our Earth Day festival in April and trying to get to Happy Healthy Cooks class between taking the kids to the dr's for strep throat, enlarged tonsils, ear aches, intestinal viruses, and now a heart murmur. between the 3 of them, i think i've spent more time in waiting rooms the last month and a half than i have in the last year, good thing knitting is portable!


so, without further ado, a few pictures of some of those projects:
(drumroll not necessary)

me want worms

this little phishy hat went to a new phan in Florida :)

welcome Michael!

 present for baby Ella  :)

inspiration comes in many forms, this time it came from a beautiful pop-up book

full view of nona's basketweave blanket

the original Strega Nona book 

by Tomie dePaola

Strega Nona pop-up book

(simply gorgeous) 

2 little pairs of matching pants

ah! love those bummy ruffles!

knitted basket weave stitch for the main body with crochet edging

 now that those are all finished and sent off i can start working on Ashton's birthday blanket (his request). gotta love a kid that wants mommy to make him a blanket for his birthday rather than buy some plastic action figure!

love and hugs to all of you on this Valentine's Day :)
xoxoxoxoxoxo