AN EASTON UPDATE

The last pix I posted of lil E was at the end of March on Easter Sunday

when he was 5 months old.

Well here is our cutie patootie at 6 months.

Even though his hair is getting longer in front,

he is loosing small patches of it here and there.

My son's hair did the same at that age only it looked much worst.

Kind of resembled a sumo wrestler.

Ha ha!

Easton wakes up with big smiles for his parentals every morning.

Below was shot right before they had to lower his mattress for the first time.

You can akso see below that his tiny bald patches are filling in

 as he approaches 7 months.

We have him on my baby blanket from 1956.

My mother saved it,

 and then when she passed I found it among her things in 2013,

and of course my two were too old for it,

so I saved it for my first grand.

Those eyes, right??

At 7 months he has really figured out

 what his cubby little legs are for.

Not crawling forward yet, 

just backwards a bit,

and pulling himself up to a standing position 

but then boom right back down.

His abs are getting so strong.

His bubbly personality is really shining thru.

 He's also discovered real food.

He's still loving a bottle and binky,

and drooling like crazy.

Trying so badly to cut his first tooth.

And he rarely cries,

one of the happiest, sweetest little ones I've ever known.

Am I a bit biased,

you betcha!

But that's who he really is.

An easy baby!

I'm averaging usually 2 nights a week of babysitting.

Both parents work late into the night which works great for me

 as I'm a night owl.

I love giving him a bath and putting him to sleep.

It seems I can hold him for hours in my arms as he naps 

and I never want to put him down.

And goodness,

 what a snuggly bunny he is!

When I do put him down for the night it's right next to me on the couch 

till either mom or dad gets in.

His best buddies are right there with him.

First we have Miss Tatum who thinks Easton is her baby 

and is constantly checking on his well being and giving big licks.

She loves cleaning his face after every meal.

And even bigger, sloppier licks come from dog daddy Kepler,

a huge brown Lab.

He loves this little guy too,

and as you can see wants to always be by his side touching him in some way.

Then there is Granger, the Blue Healer, the meanie,

who wants nothing to do with the little fella. 

But because he is black and white,

Easton wants to get his attention the most.

Figures.

At 8 months his looks are really changing.

He's filled out into his pudgy self, 

and his hair is sprouting out everywhere 

and getting blonder from the summer sun

Just like his mommy's does. 

He's becoming so very expressive and animated.

And there is serious teething going on.

In fact,

 this week he finally cut this first tooth and it is sharp!

I read on social media that if you give babies the inner core of a pineapple,

it's the perfect teething stick as you can see.

And it numbs his gums at the same time.

I hate cutting up a pineapple,

but for this little love bug,

anything!

At 8 months he loves the camera and will sit patiently as you snap away.

And he has become so much fun to play with.

He wants to stand up constantly and explore surfaces where he doesn't belong,

so when I babysit I surround him with age appropriate taller toys 

that he moves from one to the other on his tip toes.

He pulls himself up so quickly from a kneeling or sitting position

 so you can't take your eyes off him, 

because there is still a lot of tipping over.

My daughter Dani has been taking him to swim lessons and he loves the pool,

and thinks his bath is a pool as well.  

He is a powerful kicker and wants to take off.

He's even been in the Colorado River boating and swimming 

with his parents, cousin, aunts and uncle and other set of Grands.

He goes early every morning in his jammies

with his mom and dad to the cross fit gym, 

and has since his birth.  

He is their honorary gym baby mascot.

You can see he has recently found the kettle bells

 and is practicing his balancing act.

So proud of himself!

Fourth of July was hot here,

in the low 90's with high humidity this year.

He accompanied his parents to several swim parties 

in his adorable little man outfit for the 4th.

He also is doing the cutest thing with his hands.

See below.

Holding them together as he tries very hard to understand 

what you are telling him.

Easton loves studying our mouth movements and sounds.

Dada is down and now we are working on "Mama", "Oh" and "Baba".

And of course he's making a lot of funny noises with his throat, lips and tongue.

Raspberry noises are his fav along with tapping his hand over his open mouth.

He started that this week.

And about two weeks ago he finally figured out "the Crawl".

And man oh man,

 is he a busy little rascal now.

He is super fast with his favorite destinations being the dog's water dish,

the wheels on his stroller,

the doggie door that leads out onto the patio, 

and the diaper pail. 

But his favorite place of all are the toilets.  

A fascinating discovery for him.

He loves using his hands and seems to already be very mechanical.

And that handle on the toilet is just irresistible!

Caught ya!

LOLOLOL

GIFTED

My lovely and dear cousin Susan

 wearing the shawl I gifted her on a recent visit.

You can see close ups of the shawl if you scroll 2 posts down.

PRAIRIE BOOTS

Loved the look of these knitted up in the local knit store via a Coco Knits pattern.

I knew I had some bulky Malabrigo wool yarn in my stash,

so at least 3-4 years ago I started on these and wasn't enjoying the pattern.

It was a bit difficult to follow,

 so after being half done with the first one, 

I put it away and forgot about it.

This January I ran into it while looking for projects to finish up.  

So I pulled it out, 

spent a lot of time trying to figure out in the pattern where I was,

and plowed thru.

The pattern wasn't as bad as I remembered and they sure turned out cute.

I had my husband cut some leather soles and punch a few holes,

and I found a couple of buttons to accessorize with 

and Woo Hoo,

they are done!

They will be a Xmas present for a favorite person in my life. 

ON A 2 DAY POSTING ROLL, ha ha!

Even though I'm rarely present on my blog anymore,

I've been busy cranking out knit projects that I started but never finished.

I'm trying hard not to allow myself to start something new

till I finish long forgotten projects which is incredibly hard for me.

This shawl was started many months ago to learn some new knitting tricks.

Fading contrasting colors, pointy scalloped edges,

 plus more lace work then I usually do.

I can't tell you how many times I messed up the pattern and had to frog back before I could move forward again.

It was so good for my brain.

Above is a picture of how I block my pieces with tons of sharp pins

and a special squishy board after I soak/wash the finished piece.

This locks in all the loose ends as well 

as stretches out the work to show off the stitch pattern.

After removing pins it's pretty much holding it's shape.

This is a kit I found on a new site to me called Ranching Traditions Fiber

located in Montana.

The kits comes with a lovely skein of wool yarn (you pick the color).

It's called Roots in the Valley and the pattern is housed in the sweetest booklet.  

It also comes with a wooden shawl pin

 that I can't seem to find anymore.  Ugg!

However,

I didn't use the yarn because I wanted to use up some of my handspun stash.

I thought I had enough yardage to finish the shawl

 but sadly ran out 3/4 of the way thru.

But I love challenges like this.  

It forces me to think outside the box.

I had some leftover Malabrigo Worsted which was about the same diameter

so I ripped out a couple of inches and faded it in.

Again more frogging!!

The fading was trickier then I've done before 

because the colors contrasted so much,

 and I had to cheat and go back after I finished the piece

 and weave in some more lines to help it fade more smoothly.

The beige handspun is wool with some small pieces of silk spun 

to bring in a touch of color.

I recently gifted it to a dear long lost cousin that I just reconnected with,

 and am asking for her to send a pix of her wearing it.

Hopefully coming tomorrow in an email.

And here she is, 

my lovely cousin Susan wearing the shawl.

I think it looks perfect on her and am so very happy I gifted it to her.

Susan is from my father's side of the family 

and lives with her family outside of Salt Lake City.

I haven't seen her or her mother Georgie Lou since my mother's funeral in 2013.

It's been way too long!

I'm so glad she reached out to me and came to visit.

Susan and her twin Karen are such lovely gentle souls.

Now it's up to me to pay all of them a visit.

So Utah,

here I come.

STILL HERE AND LOOKING BACK

My mom in 1940ish

I was recently gifted the most beautiful pix of my dear mother.

There was no date,

 but I'm guessing she was probably in her late 20's or early 30's here. 

Perhaps around the time she met my father??

Lovely.

Wish I would have been able to post it closer to mother's day.

WE MISS YOU MARY

Happy Mother's day to one of my favorites,

my daughter-in-law's mother and my dear friend,

 Mary.

It's been two years now since she passed but it still seems like yesterday.

Her image is still so very clear in my mind.

A very beautiful woman both inside and out, 

with a wonderfully fiery spirit and personality.

I believe I remember that her son choose what to put on her tombstone 

and it captures her so perfectly.

And her daughter chose the images around the words.  

Again so very perfect, 

and a great tribute and send off for Mary.

The flowers are from her daughter's and my son's backyard garden.

Some are California natives (Poppies, Rockrose, and Salvia),

 and other delights that are more common 

like Geraniums, Dutch Iris, Carnations and Roses. 

These pictures are from our recent visit with lovely balmy weather.

 Mary is located in the most gorgeous and historical California surroundings,

the Santa Susana Mountains in an area called Rocky Peak Park 

where they filmed many a Western movie back in the day.

If you enlarge this last picture 

you can see the fabulous rock formations which are perfect for climbing.  

In fact there is a popular trail there that the kids want to take me climbing thru.

  They say it isn't too hard for this older lady.

Huh!

My knees get weak just looking at it.

EASTER AND BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS

Funny,

 I never thought in a million years I'd be 68, 

but this is what it looks like after a lot of hard work in the gym, Pilates,

Intermittent Fasting and only 2 meals a day,

 one of which is a big vegie/fruit salad.

Seven pds. lost so far and going for at least 25 more.

I feel like I'm never going to make it,

and it's so hard not to give up.

Plus I love food and I live to eat my ex tells me. 

He on the other hands eats to live and has never has a weight problem.

Ugg!

Everyone tells me I hide it well,

but only because of big blousy shirts.

On another note,

I can only remember 2 other times in my life 

when Easter was on my birthday. 

So this year was double the celebration with my beautiful children,

and my bestest buddy Easton.

We celebrated with an Easter egg hunt 

while E was busy tummy timing it with his music and lights.

I love that my kids still want my ex and I to hide eggs for them.  

They continue to be very competitive siblings.

Can't wait for next year when Easton can participate too.

And color Easter eggs!

My ex hosted at his home

 and my husband drove down to be with his daughter and two grandsons.

It was a very rainy day but my son insisted we still do a barbeque.  

Because it was my birthday the kids did all the cooking 

and it was delicious.

Sadly my ex took a bad fall the day before Easter and was laid up in a sling.

He suffered a broken/cracked humorous and a very swollen leg.

He tripped on a polished wood floor while visiting a friend in the hospital.

It's such a shame because he is still recovering from his heart arrest

and has been doing really well in his physical therapy balance classes.

I had so much fun putting together an Easter bucket for E.  

All was thrifted from our local mountain thrift shop except a brush and comb set.

And if you look closely 

you can see two antique baby rattles from the 50's/60's.

 I picked them up for only 75 cents a piece.

It's so strange to handle plastic that old because it's very brittle.

And of course all the thrifted items got a bath including the stuffed bunny.

What was a little more challenging 

was to draw and watercolor Easton's Easter card.

I haven't done representational figures since I stopped teaching 4 years ago,

so I'm really out of practice.

But it turned out being super fun, 

and my kids thought it was store bought.

Hee hee 

I love when I can surprise them with something I've made.

 ANOTHER TRIP AROUND  THE MOON

or is it around the sun?

No really sure

 but what I do know is I just finished another baby sweater from

Alexandra at Two of Wands of Season 8 Knit Stars.

I love this demo pattern she shows and I had some left over yarn 

from another project,

so why not try it again?

The only bummer I encountered

 was that I ran out of yarn when knitting the first sleeve.

Oops!!

So I went thru my stash and found another similar yarn from Malabrigo.

But it was a slightly thinner structure and a slightly different color way.

Nooo!

So what to do?

I ripped out the entire sleeve that I was halfway thru with,

then alternated every other row with the thinner yarn.

If you have never knit with two yarns simultaneously,

I don't recommend it.  

It's constant Yarn Barf (tangles)

I also ran out for the collar and waistband.

So for those I swished to smaller needles and just knit them with the other yarn.

You can totally see the difference in the pix for the collar and waistband,

but I kind of like it.  

They are slightly darker in value which I think is a nice subtle contrast,

 and pleasing to the eye.

So now I need another baby to gift this to.

Whose going to be next?

Got my fingers crossed for my son and his wife.

A NEW HOBBY

EASTON'S AQUARIUM

Back in November of 2023

 I was visiting with my son and his wife admiring their aquariums,

 especially Nicole's Freshwater one. 

 My son's is a Salt Water tank and too huge & difficult to manage.

But I thought I might be able to try a Freshwater one on a much smaller scale.

Tah Dah!

So the kids set me up with a 10 gallon tank when I was visiting,

putting in the dirt, rock and water.

I left it with them so they could monitor the progress of it getting all settled in,

and they brought it to me for my Xmas present,

along with a few snails, shrimps, plant life, and a piece of wood.

And I'm in love with it.

Since Xmas I've very slowly added 5 guppies, 2 neon tetras, 

and 3 other cuties that I forgot what they are called.

They are white with black and white checkered tails.

So cool!

I also added another piece of wood that I unburied in my son's backyard

(of course I cleaned it completely before I planted it in the rocks

and it has a very beautiful arch to it),

an Asian pagoda, a couple more of Nicole's snails that I adored

 because of their unusual coloring, 

and some multicolored baby rocks for more interest.

I've lost several other fish in the process 

who just didn't survive for one reason or another.

Probably at least 5 now.

One actually jumped out to his death.  :(

Oh,

 and my most recent addition were 2 catfish for eating up all the fish poop.

And the last time Nicole was by

 she brought me another piece of wood 

along with 2 really cute natural ball thingies.

They kind of look like tiny unopened pine cone balls.  

The snails love them and climb aboard and roll them 

around the bottom of the tank.

Everything has been relatively inexpensive,

 which I love, 

and so pretty to look at in our front room.

So you might be wondering why I call it Easton's Aquarium?

Because when he is old enough,

my plan is to take him to the fish store

 and buy whatever his heart desires to put into it.

And of course he will be in charge of feeding the fish when he comes to visit.

And perhaps when he gets even older,

and it's ok with mom and dad,

the aquarium can go into his sweet little bedroom.

But I have a funny feeling it will never be ok with them

Ha ha

VINTAGE ON DISPLAY

I love my button boxes and sometimes I find real treasures.

But for some reason I can't remember where this one came from.

Was it on a card someone sent me?

Or something I bought at an Antique Mall?

Did I frame it with the white surround and then stitch around it?

Sadly,

 I have no clue.

Aging sucks!

Anyways,

whoever sent it my way or wherever I found it,

 I love this treasure which now hangs in my little house/studio entry alcove.

I was just chatting with Nancy of Pomegranite Trail

and she was telling me how she has saved all her Mother's sewing things 

for many years,

 but is now ready to find new homes for them.

I bet there are some real treasures there!

Over the years I have parted with several of my mother's things,

but lately,

 I've started putting more of her things on display throughout our home.

I've got her favorite perfume bottle that I adored as a child,

 as well as her last pair of reading glasses with a pair of her earrings

displayed on a nightstand at the little house.

I just love seeing little vignettes of her scattered here and there.

I dedicated an entire bedroom to her up at our cabin.

I could have sworn I posted about it,

 but I looked thru at least 100 posts of the Crestline cabin and still haven't found it.

Maybe next time we are up there I'll reshoot it.

I even recently found an old but perfect pink chenille bedspread

covered in a floral pattern that reminded me of her

that now rests on the Crestline bed.

XMAS IN SPRINGTIME

 

I woke up to this surprise today when I opened the patio door.

These gorgeous amaryllis blooms that must have been buds yesterday.

I must admit they were partially hidden beneath some other leaves

 that I pulled away to get this shot.

What's funny is I don't remember planting this variety,

 but I'm thrilled that I did.

And usually my indoor amaryllis bloom at Xmas time, right??

Maybe this is a spring bloomer?

But who cares,

these would be lovely to capture in watercolor.

One day.

Ha!

ANOTHER SWEATER FOR MOLLY

KNIT STAR ALEXANDRA TAVEL

of  Two of Wands 

created this sweater pattern for her Knit Stars Debut in Season 8.

Her course is called the Duality of Knits and Crochet.

So she demos her pattern in both styles of handwork.

It has become one of my very favorite patterns to knit up.

It looks a bit difficult in it's textural Andalusian Pattern Stitch,

but it's super easy!

I like it so much that I'm almost done with another one.

Will I ever do an adult size of this pattern?

Probably not because I'd be scared I wouldn't finish it.

Baby/child size are more doable for me.

In Season 8 of Knit Stars,

 Alexander demos on a baby sweater so I just followed her demo.

and changed up the neck a bit.

It's supposed to be a full turtleneck

 but I thought it would be a bit uncomfortable for a baby,

so I altered it to a half turtleneck with a stockinette roll over finish.

This baby demo will probably fit up to 12 months.

I also learned a new bind-off called a Tubular Bind Off

 which is super stretchy and so much fun to do.

This photo is a truer example of the colors 

even though I took both pix at same time in same light.

Weird??

Can't remember where I got the yarn but it's a worsted weight 

in a super soft Merino wool.

And it washes up in the sink (wool wash) and dries beautifully.

And I felt the colors could be worn by either a girl or a boy,

although I'm not even sure if that's a thing anymore??

Ha ha

COMING UP HEARTS

After seeing my recent post on watercolor and woven hearts,

fiber artist Liz Ackert and dear blogger friend in Texas,

wove one for her granddaughter's birthday.

I sent her my little demo heart  (above left) I used to teach with,

along with a piece of the background fabric middle) she had admired.

And another blogger superstar and fiber artist Deborah Lacativa sent her 

that gorgeous embroidered heart that she sells in her shop.

I adore Deb's hearts so much that I've already purchased two.

Plus Deb dyes her own embroidery threads that she calls "Dirty Threads"

and sells those as well.

But they go fast!

Many of us here in blog land and elsewhere use her threads in our projects

because they are stunning and add so much to our beauty to our work.

Here you can see that Liz used hand dyed fabric strips to weave with.

And she stitched them together for a longer weft.

It's so colorful and happy.

Your granddaughter is going to love it Liz!

FORGOT TO SHARE THIS

Easton's Baby Blanket

I wanted to make sure my daughter Dani had input into the baby blanket 

that I wanted to make for our little man,

so I had her chose a pattern and the yarn.

I knew she would never like what I would have chosen.

Our tastes are very different so I played it safe.

Both yarn and pattern were from Shelly Brander's Knitstars shop. 

Have I talked about Knit Stars?

Can't remember,

but it is the most wonderful knitting/crochet store/community

of famous knit stars from all over the world.

And I mean really famous!!

Every year Shelly and her very professional crew

 travel the whirrled to find knitters who are trending.

Then she films their beautiful landscape surroundings,

their studio space, 

and the pro knitter demonstrating their trending patterns and designs.

I have done (paid for) all 8 seasons/years

 and have currently signed up for number 9 at her early bird pricing.

And you have the Seasons forever!

I feel the pricing is very reasonable for all that you get.

I have now traveled the world by armchair with Shelly and her team 

to some of the most amazing locations on earth

 to watch these incredibly prolific fiber artists.

And oh my,

I've learned so much in the process!!

Tomorrow I will show off a baby sweater I knit for sweet Molly.

Just finished it last week and I'm hoping the weather continues to be chilly.

The Knit Star was featured recently in season 8.

And it's probably one of my most favorite patterns to date.

So stay turned dear friends as I try very hard to be more present on my blog.

 

A side note:

After some recent blood work,

 2 of my doctors told me to get my butt to the gym.

:( :(

I have a fatty liver and pre-diabetes 

which I understand is something else that is trending here in America. 

Realistically,

 I need to shed at least 30 pds. 

which as of late,

 I disguise rather well under baggy tops.

I've gained that weight since I married my husband 12ish years ago.

He is a fast food junky because he worked in that industry his whole life,

and he's been a very bad influence on me.

When he had his gallbladder removed a few years back his doctor told me

it was the "biggest shit show he'd ever seen."

Ha ha!!

LOL  :):):)

So I'm not the only one who needs to loose weight in this household,

but that's a whole other story for another time.

Anyways,

in the last month I joined a Pilates club and average 2-3 times a week there,

 as well as 2-3 times a week at the gym for weights and cardio.

Love going to Pilates which really surprised me,

but I still HATE going to the gym.

That I have to force myself to do.

Have I noticed a difference?

YES!!!!

I've lost my first 5 pds which thrills me

 and an inch in my hips and another inch in my big old tummy.

My arms are looking way more toned and defined,

oh,

and I also lost weight thru my legs which look slimmer thru the thighs.

Woo Hoo!!!!

Now to just keep it up.

I also feel different when I walk.

I'm standing up straighter

 and my thighs are not rubbing together as much.

But let me tell you I'm spending a fortune at the Pilates Club.

Over $200 a month.

They are all very expensive in our community,

but I talked them into giving me a senior retiree discount,

but it's still a ridiculous amount of money.

:(