Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.


A couple of weeks ago I came across these adorable jar cozies made by Amanda. I was instantly inspired to make one for myself. It was perfect timing, Kevin accidentally broke my knitting sheep mug awhile back and I have been using a canning jar with a cuppow lid since then. Thanks to this cozy, I don't have to worry about burning my fingers with my hot tea or coffee. I used some leftover toshvintage in the winter wheat colorway (one of my favorites!) so it feels quite luxurious. As an added bonus, it's superwash wool so I can throw my cozy in the washer every couple of days (because I am just klutzy with my drinks and spill them quite often).

I am quite pleased with my little cozy. I wonder if I can come up with any excuses to make some more? Thanks Amanda for sharing your pattern with all of us!

Oops! Forgot to add the link to my cozy. Here ya go!

What are you working on? Happy creating!

p.s. - I hope to talk more about this book soon!

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Tag Along

Our annual visit to the Oregon Air Show took place today. This time around Kevin worked his shift in the morning while the little ones and I attended Mass, so by the time we got there he was done and ready to explore with us. I am so very thankful that it was nowhere near as hot as it was last year and I even managed to get out of the house without forgetting anything essential. Phew!

It was a bit quieter this year but I rather liked that; less chaos. It's funny, I never pictured myself as an air show kind of gal but Kevin's job has made it part of our yearly rhythm. Now I can't imagine summer without it. I know my little ones feel the same.

This was the first air show that Little L was able to really participate in. He was just too little to do much at the previous ones. He liked checking out everything around him. He tagged along with his sisters on the bouncy slide but after one slide decided he was done. Something about that slide didn't feel right to him. He came and sat with me, contemplating it, while we waited for his sisters to finish.

He really took an interest in the planes on display yelling, "Big choo-choo!" to each one he saw. And oh my, those planes in the sky, they thrilled him to no end. He would bounce in Kevin's arms squealing, "Up high big choo-choo!!" over and over again. If only you could have seen the way his eyes sparkled as he said it. We may have a future pilot on our hands.

I was planning to post about our other adventure from the past few days but the sun has tuckered me out, so it will come later this week. I so look forward to telling you all about that one. We lived our dream for a day.

p.s - Does anyone else notice K's hair? It might be more noticeable in the photo above of her holding Little L with his platinum blonde hair (the same color she used to have). Something is changing... dare I say that it has a hint of red?! I keep wondering if any of my children will get my hair. Maybe, just maybe, K will after all!

Tag Along

Little ones can help, too! (and we did it!)

I recently gave K the job of vacuuming some of the rooms in our house and she seems to be enjoying her new responsibility. In fact, I think her enthusiasm has spread to her younger siblings (never a bad thing!), as you can see in the pictures above. Little L felt the need to vacuum part of the kitchen after the dogs came up for a bit. I think the dirt in the photos proves his point, need I say more?! He took out the vacuum on his own, had me plug it in and then got to work. I need all the help I can get if we are to get this place ready to sell, so I welcome the help with open arms. Now if only I could find a way to get them to want to do it more often...

In other news -
The fundraiser for my friend's daughter has come to an end. I am so very happy to know that Aayla will be able to get the help she needs. Thank you to all of you that helped out!! A note from the organizer:

"As I'm sure you're aware our fundraiser is now complete- and we exceeded our goal!!! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Hopefully Aayla will have some answers soon, and we'll post a video of her running wild and free :) We did it!!!
Much love, Emily"

Thank you, thank you! I'll be back next week after a couple of fun adventures we have planned over the next few days. See you then!

Little ones can help, too! (and we did it!)

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture or two and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.

I am starting to feel a bit under the weather so this KCCO may be a bit incoherent.

I thought this pattern would be appropriate for keeping with our ocean theme. I think the girls will get a kick out of their dolls turned into mermaids!! Thank you, Katrina for the pattern!

This is my first time doing a half linen stitch. It's hurting my wrists a bit with this bulky yarn but I'll make it through. I plan on making these mermaid tails longer and adding straps so they are a whole outfit. I'm not sure that I have enough yarn though so I might need to add trim in aqua or something along those lines. I tend to just make things up as I go. Anyone else do the same?

What are you working on? Happy creating!

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Waldorf handwork grade one : a year in review

K's first grade handwork projects in order (From September to June):

playing with fiber (drafting wool)

wool clouds (original post here)

Knitting needles (made from wooden dowels and acorn caps) *Unfortunately I do not have a pictures of these. We lost one on our trip to Idaho. She'll be making a smaller set this fall so I will share them then*


horse reins (finger knitting and embroidery)

kitty and mat

baby bunting

chick

lamb (last photo is of K's huge lamb with one of my first Mama sheep! You can read about my learning to knit experience with this lamb project here)

rainbow ball

lion (finished the very last day of school)

Please forgive this somewhat sentimental post, I am just so proud of my sweet K! Handwork is by far the favorite subject in school for both K and I (if only I was so lucky to have had it myself) so I thought it would be nice to have a record of her school knitting projects to look back on. Not to mention that this will be helpful for me in the coming years when I teach first grade to my younger children.

I was getting a bit misty-eyed as I uploaded these photos, remembering her bringing each one of these creations home so full of pride and excitement. And oh, the stories she had to go with them! All of these creations currently dominate her bedroom and cuddle with her every night. She tells me all the time that she just loves them so much because she made them herself.

I can't get over how much progress she has made as well as all the techniques she has learned in her very first year of knitting (the knit stitch, casting on and off, basic shaping, color changing, and finishing details, such as the sewing together and proper stuffing of a three dimensional piece. She also learned to make two different types of cords: "twizzled" and a variation on braiding.) She really picked it all up quite easily. Her teacher told me that it might be from all her years of observing me as I knit. My goodness, I was nowhere near as adventurous as her when I first learned. I stuck with sheep my first year and knit them over and over again until I had an army of them. Only then did I feel confident enough to move onto something different.

I was so fortunate to have had a meeting with K's handwork teacher to discuss second grade handwork curriculum before the end of the school year. I am so very grateful for her plans, help and advice. I will be teaching K how to purl! I am excited to dive into the projects she'll be making; one of which is a gnome, need I say more?! Handwork is an area I feel fully prepared and confident with right now. I can't say the same about the rest of our second grade lessons but hopefully that will change once I have our complete curriculum in hand and can begin studying and planning everything out.

Waldorf handwork grade one : a year in review

Weekly Walnut Hill (our great outdoor playspace)

Part of our summer rhythm is once a week playdates at our school's early childhood playground - Walnut Hill. We look forward to this event every week. The girls enjoy seeing friends while Little L's priorities are a bit different. He knows when that day of the week arrives and wakes up with a smile saying, "Choo-choo to weeeeeeeeee!" Translation - drive to the slide!!!!

There are a couple of new fun additions to this great outdoor play space. The first is a sunflower playhouse. They just planted a large circle of sunflowers leaving one small opening to be the door. The sunflowers grew so tall that children look like little fairies and elves nestled in their summertime home. K seeks this playhouse out when she needs some downtime from all the excitement around her. I love this simple idea and hope to use it at our next house. I wish I could have captured the whole thing better but alas, no wide angle lens.

The other new addition came when the city had to tear down a great oak tree nearby. The school convinced the city (from what I was told) to let them keep the limbs for class projects. They even received a huge piece of the tree that they flipped upside down and turned it into a massive play structure. Brilliant! I am sure you can only imagine the ideas going through my mind after seeing that.

Everything else is the same and just the way we love it. There is just something about walking through the front gate there, and seeing familiar faces (and new ones, too), that makes you feel welcome and embraced with love. Although we will be moving soon, we still consider ourselves part of this great school community and are so thankful that the feeling is mutual!

Weekly Walnut Hill (our great outdoor playspace)