This and That

I have lots of things to post and not enough time to post them!  A write-up of Clara's birth, pictures from Halloween, etc.  In the meantime, here's a bit of a potpourri of things that have been running through my head lately.

• I pulled out my sewing machine for the first time in a long time (a year?  two?) to make a dear friend a baby blanket.  I only have very basic skills--on a good day, I can sew a straight line.  But it was really pleasing and gratifying to turn out a sweet little blanket. . . .
• . . . Which sent me into a crafty turn of mind, evidently, because in the last two days, I've found myself planning all sorts of crocheting projects, looking up nice yarn stores, and joining a crocheting/knitting website called Ravelry, through which I found an Etsy shop with super cute patterns.  I think that with two little girls at home, I might have to get some of these rose patterns.  Check out how sweet they are!

 

• The other website where I've gotten some crochet patterns I've used a lot is aliciapaulson.com.  I've made Jane several sweaters and dresses from here, and there's a modified granny square afghan that I would like to make sometime, too.  Jane in the sweater I showed you the other day--->
• The biggest project I have in mind is to make all three of my kids their own afghan for Christmas next year.  I should probably start now, and they'll probably actually be done sometime around 2016. :)
• Speaking of potpourri, Nathan and I (and Clara) had a dinner out the other night (thanks, Mom and Dad!), and we ended up at a little tavern in my parents' neighborhood that turned out to have great burgers.  However, the pear cider that tasted exactly like potpourri was not such a hit.  Gross.
• Gasp-inducing discovery: It is really smart to have your kids spend the night with the grandparents when daylight savings is happening. You actually get to sleep in for that extra hour!