Braided Rug--and a Bear Hood

Benji has been a great napper lately, giving me some extra time to work on craft projects I've been wanting to do for a while.  My first project was to "upcycle" some of Jonathan's old t-shirts (we needed some more closet space for Benji's ever-expanding wardrobe!)

I decided to make a rug that is braided while weaving the strands through the previous braid, so that there is no sewing necessary at the end.  I also decided to add a crocheted border.  Here are the instructions for the woven/braided rug that I used.  The biggest surprise in the project for me was how many t-shirts were needed.  I used about 12 large t-shirts to get this rug that is just 30'' in diameter!  Now it is brightening up our bedroom.

My second project was to try this hooded bear cowl pattern from the Velvet Acorn.  I made a toddler size so it should fit Benji best next fall and winter.  The pattern is really simple and quick because it uses extra bulky yarn and size 13 needles.  It did expand my limited crochet skills to make the ears, which was a fun challenge.

Now I have a cute little Ewok!  :)  I can't believe he will turn 1 year old in less than two weeks!

Valentine's Day Weekend

 It's been a LOVEly weekend (pun intended) for us as we celebrated Valentine's Day and Jonathan had the day off of school for President's Day!  Fun times included:

• Going out to dinner on Friday (some generous friends offered to watch Benji--I think it was our first dinner out with just the two of us since he was born!)
• Enjoying a special Valentine's breakfast:

• Playing tennis in 60 degree weather while my boys went on a hike:

• Receiving these beautiful azaleas and some chocolates from my thoughtful Dad:

• Eating a delicious stir-fry dinner prepared by chef Jonathan:

My valentines!

•  Finishing my first ever sweater for a friend's baby shower...Benji is my model:

• And working on our taxes (a President's Day tradition)...  So I guess the weekend wasn't ALL fun and games, but it was wonderful to be home and spend lots of time together before the busy tennis season begins--tomorrow!

 With love to all of our valentines--

Yummy cookies from Mom!  :)

Bethany Craft Sale and other Fun

This has been a really fun weekend so far!  Yesterday we got to help celebrate the birthday of my friend Olivia with dinner and ice cream cake:

Then today, Olivia and I took part in our very first craft fair at Bethany Church.  Every year I've lived in Gallup I have really wanted to sell at this sale, but never had the time to prepare for it.  This fall, Benji's naptimes have been my craft times!  I made knitted sheep ornaments, "Thank Ewe" notes, and photo stationery:

Benji "helping" me get the lamb ornaments ready

Olivia lent me her beautiful Nicaraguan Christmas tree for the display which just worked perfectly.  We had a great day selling crafts and enjoying some baby-free girl time between customers!

This evening the fun continued with an early Thanksgiving dinner at our friends' house.  Benji got really jealous watching us eat that delicious food, so we slipped him a taste of sweet potatoes...I also had my first taste of green chile apple pie, which was fantastic!

We are getting very excited for the holiday season and a visit from Jonathan's mom, dad, and sister in about a week!  :)

Fabulous Fall

It's been a while since I posted, here is a very brief update on what's been going on for the Newmans so far this fall!

I am enjoying taking care of Benjamin, tutoring, babysitting, and crafting and baking at home.  Fall is probably my favorite time of year to be in the kitchen baking yummy treats with ingredients like pumpkin, apples, and caramel.  I recently found a recipe for heavenly salted caramel sauce, which made a great topping for this Apple Harvest cake!

 When Benjamin takes his naps, I have some time to prepare for my first experience selling at the Bethany Craft Fair (November 15).  Among other things, I am knitting these little lamb ornaments/toys.  Benji likes to play with the ones dangling over his crib:

Speaking of Benji, he is growing, smiling, laughing, and keeping us thoroughly entertained!  This fall he has been developing friendships...

 ...surviving his 4 month vaccinations...

...playing with Daddy...

...helping Mommy with the laundry...

... and discovering new toys!

Jonathan is having a good year teaching so far.  He has continued to develop his class website and standards-based grading system.  Last week, the high school had a big day of service in the community.  Jonathan's class went to volunteer at the Red Rock Care Center.  At the end of the day, all the students came back together to share their experiences.  In the second picture below you can also catch a glimpse of the lovely fall weather we've been enjoying!

This week is very exciting because Mom, Dad, Emily, and Caroline are coming to visit!  We can't wait to see them!!

"Nesting"

A few weeks ago I was suddenly struck by the urge to start cleaning out, setting up, and decorating the room that we will be using for Baby's nursery.  This urge was so sudden and strong, I found the best way that I could describe it was with the word "nesting".  Although the room has some ways to go, the first project I decided to tackle was to create a wall decoration that would fit with our nursery "theme" of sheep and lambs.  Here's what I came up with:

First, I drew two patterns: one for a playful lamb and one for a sleeping lamb.

I used the patterns to cut out the lamb outlines from an old white t-shirt.

Then I pinned, hand-stitched, stuffed, and embroidered the lambs, and I hung them up with some gender-neutral ribbons.

My next project: some little knitted lambs to hang from a mobile over the crib.  It's been such fun to have this creative outlet and a way to prepare for Baby during the third trimester wait! 

Knitted Lambs

In the meantime, we are also enjoying visits from my parents and my friend Genavee, and Jonathan is very busy coaching tennis.  Hopefully I will be able to blog about all that excitement sometime soon!

Baby Shower Blessings

This weekend, my church small group put on a baby shower for a new mom whose own mother tragically passed away in a car crash about a year ago.  We  hoped that other women would attend and support this young woman and her precious baby girl...but I was just amazed by the outpouring of love and generosity that we saw that day!  We had enough food for an army, and so many lovely and thoughtful gifts!

I had fun putting together a "diaper cake" decoration for the gift table.  I have always wanted to try making one of these, and it really was a fun and easy project!

There are many different styles of diaper cakes.  To make my "cake", I followed the folded rather than rolled diaper method and decided to kept the decorations simple and feminine.  I loved the idea  of using a pair of baby shoes as a cake topper!  (You can find the instructions that I followed at this great blog.  My 12-in cake took a total of about 75 size 2 diapers.

To make each level of the cake, I arranged the folded diapers in a spiral and secured the finished spiral with tightly-tied twine.  Then I wrapped the ribbons around the center of each layer, securing the ends with a hot glue gun.  To finish the cake, I stacked the layers, stuck artificial flowers around the edges, put a circle of pink scrapbook paper on top, and finally added the baby shoes!

I love baby showers!   "Children are a gift from the LORD, offspring a reward from him."  Ps. 127:3