What I've been up to

It's been a while... I know. A long while actually, and I sincerely apologize for that. 2009 was a really strange year for us. So happy to see 2010! It's going to be a good year, I can feel it.

So this is what I've been up to the last month. Snuggling, kissing, nursing, changing and bathing this sweet little thing my dh and I named Gabriel. Isn't he just the cutest little monkey? It's been 6 years since we've had a baby in the house and man is it great!

He weighed 8lbs 9 ozs and was 21 1/2 inches long. I promise this won't become a baby blog, but I can't resist to post a pic from time to time.

I wanted to end this with my thoughts on crafting for this new year. I have been knitting, but will be fairly quite till around Easter time. We are house hunting and hope to close late Feb. early March. I've had some ideas for my own knitting patterns for a while now but have been too scared to actually write them up and experiment.

This is my favorite handknit bunny from 2009. Wish I had kept this one!

Here's to a great 2010! ♥ Marissa

Christmas Knits

Have you seen the new free pattern section at Knitty? Go check them out! I really like this one.

Here's a little preview of what's to come this holiday season. I adore the norwegian star pattern and it was pretty easy to incorporate into this sweater. It was all the math that plagued me.
If you use the chart mentioned above, you will have to adjust your printer settings so it doesn't cut off some of the lines.

Be on the lookout for my hand knit Christmas ornaments coming soon. I am excited to be working on them at this time of year. Have to start early as I will be getting a very special "gift" this year right around Christmas Day. If you haven't noticed the little ditty on the left hand menu, we are expecting our 4th child. We feel so blessed to be experiencing this again, and my older children are very excited as well.

Happy knitting!

Country Living Magazines

This weekend we went to an antique mall in search of some bedside tables and walked out with a great find! Country Living magazines from 1989. I've scoured over these mag's all morning, reading beautifully written articles, drooling over the recipes and getting awesome decorating ideas.

I got issues Sept-Dec. What a find! I can see that I'll be spending more time searching for old treasures.

I came across many old mason jars, blue ones which are my favorite. There was pyrex as far as the eye could see, and many other treasures. I even found some old aluminum ice trays like the ones my Great Grandmother still used when I was a kid.

♥xoxo♥

Summer Cooking

We were just chatting about how summer changes what we eat during this time of year. Some grill more, some eat lighter... I tend to eat more seasonal foods like watermelon and strawberries, fresh salads and homegrown tomatoes. This is one of the things I love about summer - fried green tomatoes.

You will see these on many Southern tables this time of year, but did you know they actually originated in the North? I read here that Northern farmers found themselves in a predicament with too many green tomatoes on the vine when the first frost hits. They couldn't eat them raw so they fried them. I'm so glad they did!

I will type up my recipe and post it tomorrow.

♥Marissa

A birthday coming up

Patches playing in my dolly "stuffin"

Patches, our family kitty (shh don't tell him I called him a kitty, he pretends he is a tiger!) will be 3 very soon. I remember the day my dh brought him home. He was so little and scrawny. Pumpkin, our older female cat wouldn't have anything to do with him. Patches slept on my pillow for a few weeks, I suspect Pumpkin was bothering him during the night. Anyway, he fell in line real quick and now he is just like one of the kids. Pumpkin is no longer with us though, as she had an obsession of the outdoors and snuck out one day.

Lounging on the deck

Determined

That is what I am this morning. I am determined to learn to crochet. I learned to chain and do a single stitch (it might be called something else) 2 yrs ago and that is as far as I got. I ordered this

I have Debbie's Stitch n' Bitch The Knitter's Handbook so I thought her crochet book would be just as good! I'm so excited, I can't wait for it to arrive.

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I am busy this week knitting more bunnies. It's hard to have a crafting business when you make so many different things. I'm always torn on which to do this week/what to work on today. Now when I get custom orders, I drop everything to get those done, but I really like to work on my own stuff as well. Last week, I made rag dolls so maybe this week I can get a few bunnies done. It is getting closer to Easter afterall. I'm actually working on a boy and girl set. I've already made their clothes-lime green and aqua. So cute!

I also have an April fool's project I'm working on . When I saw this knitted toilet paper , I just knew I had to make it. The night before, I will be putting this in my husbands bathroom (we both have our own) oh I wish I could see his face when he sees this.

♥Marissa

Lots of Curls

This cutie has a load of hair on her head! Did I mention how much I love sewing rag dolls?

She just screams summer!

These 4 dolls will be on ebay tonight.

♥ Marissa

P. S. There will be a dolly giveaway on my blog soon, be on the lookout for it!