Christmas in July

Last night we had a Christmas in July party/BBQ.... We had quite a good time... here is a quick picture recap.

Sawyer wasn't a fan of the Santa hat... big surprise. 

Look! We are having fun!

James telling Branda what he wants for Christmas

Branda made these AMAZING olive penguins! They are the cutest food ever!

Robby was telling the keg what he wanted for Christmas....

Yeah, that is the Christmas tree on top of the awning. 

It was seriously hot for the party. Like 74 or something. Out of control. I was very thankful for the warm weather though.... today it was windy and cloudy. 

In other news, I took the time to organize my fiber closet tonight. Pictures later, after the mess is better contained. I also have another plan (surprise!) to get more knitting done. All will be revealed in due time. 

Drive By....

I have finished two more skeins of yarn, bringing my total up to five for the tour! Pictures soon-ish. One skein is destined to be a hat for Weston (and maybe a matching one of Sawyer depending on how much yarn is left) which I also hope to finish before the tour is over. The other I have no plans for.

Sawyer has been crawling all over the house. He has mastered the army crawl and is a human swiffer. Even after sweeping two or three times a day and running the roomba, it is amazing what he can find and crawl through on the floor.

It was an AMAZINGLY gorgeous day out yesterday. We spent most of it outside.... I even did my tour spinning out in the backyard. It is looking like today might be more of the same....

I hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Yarn!!

I have finished three skeins of yarn during the tour so far, and I'm hoping to finish up a fourth tonight. Besides that, not much going on here. I went to the dentist for my 6 month check up and had no cavities! That is huge for me. I was really excited. Hoping to stay on the right track.....  ANYWAY, here are some pictures of my finished yarn.

This was spun for a bulky yarn challenge. It was hard for me to spin this thick after trying to spin thin for so long!! It is SUPER squishy and will probably be a cowl of something fun. 

Not sure what I will do with this, but it is so sweet looking. The soft, subtle color isn't something I would normally choose, but I really like the results. 

This is my favorite yarn!! I planned how I spun it and it turned out better than I thought it would, which is great! I'm hoping to knit Sawyer a vest with it. 

The view from my spinning wheel. :)

Tour de Fleece

It's Tour de Fleece season!! For those who don't know, TDF is a spinning challenge that coincides with the Tour de France.  I have been spinning my little heart out. I've finished two skeins and I'm working on a third.

Sawyer is officially crawling. So, keeping him out of things is pretty much taking up all of my time now! He is also very chatty lately. He's a funny kid.

Here are some pictures to tide you over until I have more time to write....

Ok, one picture. That is all I have time for. Sawyer is pulling on my pants now....

Forest Fair Fun!

My friend, her two little boys, Sawyer, and I all made the trek to the Forest Fair down in Girdwood today. It was a lot of fun, despite Sawyer deciding to cry the entire car ride... he has decided cars aren't his thing lately. We ran into a few people we knew, got to eat some yummy food, and enjoyed the music and hand crafts!

I was very good and didn't buy any yarn or fiber! Even though there was some awesome stuff at very good prices, I resisted. I knew I didn't have the space.... GO ME! I did buy Weston a flask with a map of AK on it, because the map had his favorite location (McCarthy, where he will be spending the weekend) on it. He thought it was very cool.

We also saw a mom and baby moose cross the road while walking back to the car, another moose on the drive home, and a dall sheep almost on the road! It was a great wildlife day. Between all of that and the moose that was in my yard on Wednesday, I have seen quite a bit of wildlife this week!

I also got a good chunk of knitting on my scarf done while driving to and from the fair, which was nice.  I hate knitting scarves, but I am teaching a "My first project" class, and a lot of people like to knit scarves, so I need one for a sample. I'm using scraps and it should be quite the fashion accessory when it is done. :P

I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th of July holiday!

Alaska Bears

It's been a while since I posted. Sorry.... I have been busy. Cleaning my house, going to weddings, playing with Sawyer, knitting, etc.

I had fun at the Solstice Sale!! It was a blast. I wound up getting yarn for three bears that I want to knit for Sawyer. My original plan was to knit one, but they didn't have the yarn I wanted, so I was looking at bulkier yarn. Then I had the idea to knit a small, medium, and large bear. THEN I had the idea to make them brown, black, and white like the bears of Alaska. Which seems like an amazing idea. Especially when it is after 10 and you are buying yarn on sale. :) So here is the pattern I am planning on knitting. I think it is ADORABLE! I can't wait for Sawyer to have his bears.... (but first I have to knit my class samples for next quarter, a scarf, an afghan square, and a felted clog)

Sawyer has officially moved into his own room! He slept in there the past two nights, and while it isn't completely put together the way I would like, it is a step in the right direction.  He even slept in his new crib last night! He did well, minus the fact that he woke up at 4:45 this morning.

We went to a wedding this past weekend out past Sutton, which was beautiful.  We met some fun new people and had a lot of fun until it was time to go home.  It was a long drive out there, and we had planned on camping, but then I decided that we should head home because I was worried that if Sawyer slept with me, he would not be able to sleep in his bed the next night... so we drove home and Sawyer was unhappy for pretty much the whole ride. BUT, he slept in his bed, and I didn't have to worry about it.

I hope everyone had a great week.... anyone have fun 4th of July plans??

Eating Local

As I have mentioned before, I really do my best to shop local.  I am also trying to eat local. When I eat out (which isn't too often) I try to avoid chain restaurants... why give my money to a corporation when I can give my money to a small business?  I have also started to frequent the farmer's markets, and trade friends for things.  We have a few friends who hunt and fish, so we trade them for things we may have.  This gives us fresh food that we don't have to worry about.... we have been enjoying deer tacos the past month.  They were delicious. And today I made chili with some meat that I bought from the farmer's market that was grown in the valley.

I really enjoyed cooking the beef. I normally don't like cooking meat (one of the various reasons we don't eat it that often)... but this meat had very little fat, and didn't smell like meat as it was cooking. It was easy. So hopefully the chili is yummy and I will be motivated to get meat again at the market.

Tonight I am going to a yarn sale at Far North. It is a Solstice Sale.... (yes, it is summer solstice.... sadly, the last day we will be gaining daylight) and I am going with a few projects in mind. I might also bring some yarn there to go into their donation bin so that maybe my stash will stay the same size. :)

Alright, off to try and finish two seams on a baby jacket before afternoon nap time. Happy Solstice.