Wanna Win?

Starting tomorrow, Ivy at Nault's Nook will be doing a giveaway series and first on her list is...you guessed it, me!  If you are after a free diaper, venture over to her blog and enter to win one!  She's doing a review and a giveaway of my one-sized diapers!  This is no April Fool's joke by the way:)  Check it out!

Jasper's Wool Stash

I've been meaning to post this for a long time now (like 4 months). He's now grown out of his newborn woolies and in between his smalls and mediums! This guy is growing like crazy. I know my other guys are growing too but it's just not as apparent on a day to day basis. But if our grocery bill is any indication, we are definately a house full of growing boys! I came home from Costco yesterday totally blown away at how much food we go through! They aren't even that big yet...maybe it's the food that's just expensive? Please, someone tell me that's it...Even in the summer when we grow a garden it doesn't seem to slow the spending on groceries. I feel like we just eat our money up! I'm sure in another 10 years I'll be an expert at cooking rice and beans with the occasional 'ramen' surprise to keep from having to re-mortgage our house to keep up our eating habits. Ugh.

Ok, back to the wool stash...here are the newborns.

Oh, and that's the little shirt that I dyed and appliqued. This is what he wore home from the hospital. Wow, I'm really late in posting these pictures! He looks nothing like this anymore!

And I had to add a picture of some of the stuff my mom has made for us over the years. She's the official 'bootie-maker':) She also made the adorable bonnet, but unfortunately that hasn't gotten much (any) wear from our boys!

Here is a jumper that I actually made the pattern for. I totally love it, but I actually made it for Noah and then never put the buttons on it until Jasper came along. I figured that I'd better get it done for this one or it would not get worn!

Here are some of his small longies that we are now having to phase out of.

The yellow and green pair were made by my friend Janice who dyed her yarn and made them in Tunisian Crochet. These are amazing!! We wear them all the time...and they fetch compliments all over the place. We love them! Here's her shop.

This pair is my upcycled debut. I bought a bunch of sweaters at the thrift store a few weeks ago and decided to try my hand at a pair of yoga pants. They turned out really cute and fit well, but I'm not sold on the soaker side of things. They don't really do the trick, maybe it's becuase they're too thin. Anyway, I am going to be trying some wool interlock soon (as soon as it arrives!). meanwhile, these are way cute on my little baby-J!
 
Finally, I do have one pair of medium longies that he's started wearing.  I went through an argyle phase...

I think I'll post later with my sweaters.  This is kind of sobering to look through, I knew I was a knitting addict, but I didn't realize I was THIS addicted! 

Spring Special!

Good morning!  I just listed a few new diapers at my store online and wanted to buzz on over here and let you know.  I'm running an Easter special for you, so from now until Easter (midnight Easter day) as a blog subscriber you can get 20% off your purchase instead of just the usual 10%!  This includes longies and even custom orders for shorties etc.  Just convo me when you check out and I will refund it for you.  I hope you're enjoying your spring like I am!  Although it did snow last night, for the first few days of this last week it was almost in the 70's...it makes me hopeful!

Really? Wow....

So the other day while trying to entertain my sick kids I pulled up Pandora and made a station for kids music.  You never really know what's going to come up when you do that kind of thing so I should have known that I might encounter some crazy stuff.  But, how could I prepare myself for this little gem?  Ok, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure how to react at first...but the humor of it and my own experiences with poop got the better of me and I just laughed my head off!  I ended up making my husband listen to it later that day and the kids just thought it was the funniest thing ever!  I can only wish my reaction to poop smeared walls would be so inspired...actually I have to say that I've been pretty lucky on that front.  We haven't had any poopy art sessions yet (mainly just accidents etc.) but it's amazing how it dominates our conversation, especially at the dinner table.  I'm hoping that #3 saves his artistic expression for the appropriate time too...we'll see.

Baby Cocoon Tutorial

Ok, this is my first attempt at a tutorial!  My hope is to have several of these over the next year but we'll see...I've written a few knitting patterns for myself but I've never pollished them enough to share with others.  So, I decided instead of waiting for the pollishing to happen I'd give you the rough draft and see how it goes!

I've absolutely loved this thing.  I've used it for photo props and even for nighttime warmth in our cold house this winter.  It's great for just snuggling your baby too, like a no fail blanket that won't come off or get bunched up where you don't need it.  These little cocoons have become a rage in the photo prop world because they basically make an adorable photo in just about any setting!  One of the best parts is that it's super easy to knit up!  I love the chunky texture of big yarn so that's what I used.  It would be easy enough to adjust the gauge for smaller yarn if you have something you just can't help using.  I've also added ribbon to them and fun furry yarns just add more texture which in my opinion is even better!  So, here is what you'll need to get started:

2 skeins super chunky yarn (I used Lion's Brand Thick and Quick - it's soft, fairly durable and comes in nice colors, plus it's cheap!)
Size 13 circular needle (at least 16")
crochet hook or darning needle for weaving in the ends

To begin, CO 45 sts. 
Work in stockinette st without joining in the round until the cocoon measures 6" ending ready to begin a RS row.  Knit around and join in the round.  When you come to the joint, k2tog (44sts.). 
Continue in stst until cocoon measures desired length (I made mine 21" long).  Cut yarn with a 10" tail, thread it onto your darning needle and then through your live sts.  Tie off and secure inside by weaving in the end.  Now just weave in your tail of yarn at the top and you're done! 

I liked the bumpier look of the purl side so I decided to do a reverse stst on mine after the collar. 

On this one I added little eyelits and laced some fun ribbon through for my cousin's little baby girl (finally a girl to knit for!). 

So, use this to sell them, make them for yourself or your friends I don't care.  Just enjoy!  BUT, please let me know if you do use it, I would love to know!!  I'd also love to know if you find that I've made a mistake here:)

Spring!!

Since we got home it's been sunny sunny sunny! It was almost 60 degrees when we got here on Saturday. For me, that's a breath of fresh air...for my husband (bless his heart) it means the end of winter is near...in other words, the end of ski season is near. Oh well! The garlic I planted this last fall is bursting through the ground and my rhubarb has started to sprout up as well! I just LOVE it when these little promises of spring burst out of the ground. You never know when you actually plant something if it will actually produce something so when it actually shows up green months later, there is something so satisfying about it. I think without the waiting in between I wouldn't appreciate it so much!