Handmade Friday - Sweater & Longies

This outfit is headed to TessaAnn for her baby.  She's going to make the buttons. I can't wait to see how she decides to adorn this sweet outfit!

Handmade Friday - Pixie Hats!

The pattern for this isn't widely available yet, but if you'd like to check out the mama who came up with the pattern, check out her Etsy shop  HERE.

Mama Jude also has a gift for dyeing yarn and putting colors together.  Just being around her is like finding a treasure.

Here are the hats I made for my boys.  The cutie gnome button was made by TessaAnn, and the fabulous wooden button was made by a knitting friend who doesn't sell anywhere yet.

And now....

Ready for some craptastic Blackberry pix?

Here goes!

Gift for a friend

We all have a cause.

Everyone has something that we need to share with the rest of the world in order to make it a better place.

One of the people I love most in the world moved away last year.

I admire so much about her.  Above all else, she is a caring mother to her babies.

The other thing, is that she has A LOT of causes.

And I love her for every one of them.

She just had a baby a few days ago and I wish with my whole heart that I could have been there for her.  I would've done laundry, cooked her and her family a meal, read her babies a bedtime story, and scrubbed the toilets- All so she could focus on bringing her sweet baby Earthside.

But, she's nearly a thousand miles away and Carl isn't ready for me to be away from him.  Actually none of the boys would be ready to be without me.  And I don't know that I could be without them.

So, I did what I could for my pal.

I knitted.

I used this pattern as my guide but I didn't want to do all those stripes and take away from the fabulous buttons I wanted to use.

Can you figure out all the causes?

Here's what the finished sweater looks like.

(Home Birthing, Co-Sleeping, Babywearing, Cloth Diapering, Breastfeeding)

At the time I made this, she didn't know if she was having a boy or girl (but I knew it was a boy). I would've added an INTACTIVISM button to it if I'd known for certain...

The buttons were custom made by Tessa Ann.  She is the best button maker on the planet.  She uses a special glaze that allows her buttons to be machine washable.  She is very fast with her communication.  Her buttons are amazingly cute and I can see how many people try to copy her.  But, in my experience- THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL TESSA ANN BUTTONS!!  Her prices are more than fair. Check her out here or here. 

Fast post about Poppie

Poppie is a stick puppet that I made to teach German in Grade 1 this year.  The instructions were very roughly posted HERE.

Any time I have tried to speak German to the boys, they cover their ears in disgust. They say, "Mama.  We don't understand you.  Stop it. That's not how we talk!"

But Poppie.  Oh how they LOVE Poppie!! She speaks only German and gets very shy when she doesn't understand what you're saying.

So they boys have been excited to learn German so they can talk to her.  When they sing her Welcome Song, (to the tune of Frère Jacques):
Wo ist Poppie
Wo ist Poppie
Ich bin hier
Ich bin hier
Und wie geht es Ihnen
Ich bin schones danke
Gehen weg
Gehen weg

She pops out of hiding and is ready to tell a story, or sing more songs.

I am not at all fluent in German.  Thankfully, I have had many many patient German friends and teachers in my life who have helped me with my wretched grammar.  But, I love learning German. I love German people and I love speaking German.

I hope that my love and respect for all things German will carry me through any mistakes that I'm bound to teach the children.