At the beginning of the year, I made a list of goals that I hoped we would accomplish throughout 2014. One of those goals was to build a new front door. Mike worked on the door secretly for a few weeks before he surprised me with it one sunny afternoon. As you can see from the picture, it is a slight improvement from our old door (on left).
Installing the new door
At the beginning of the year, I made a list of goals that I hoped we would accomplish throughout 2014. One of those goals was to build a bed for Alma. We have been very blessed by what has been passed down from older generations. Mike’s father built him a bed when he was a toddler, and now, many years later Mike has turned it into a bed for our daughter. The bed went through a few kids in between Mike and Alma, and has changed form a few times, as well. Now, it lives above the foot of our bed.
Afternoon story time
The finished bed, complete with Peter Rabbit bookshelf
I am in the process of making a quilted duvet cover for Alma’s bed. I’ve done the preliminary bits, but still have a lot of work to do. I plan on making little animals, her name, and a few other things to stitch on later. For now, here is the quilt and some inspiration:
Quilt, stage 1
When I heard that my sister-in-law was in labour, I immediately started working on the knitting project I had been planning on starting for weeks. I spent most of the evening/night knitting and praying, and finished the bunny a few hours after my sweet little nephew was born.
Grumpy Bunny
Thank you to Petite Purls for the free pattern.
I must be missing my students, because I have been on a bit of an “educational toys” kick lately. Because I know how important it is for young kids to become acquainted with letters and numbers, I want to have a variety of textured alphabets and number sets for Alma to play with when she is interested. At this point, she enjoys tossing her rag letters in the air, but mostly stuffs them under the couch cushions. Eventually, she will explore the letters more carefully and will learn the shapes of them. Once she knows what they look and feel like, she will be better equipped to learn their names and sounds.
Already missing a few letters
Thank you to Happy Together by Jess for the letter print-outs and tutorial.
Every few months I become completely engrossed in a new project. Usually, I have absolutely no talent for said project and end up leaving it half finished in a box for years to come. This time, however, I actually finished the project and knit a doll for Alma. Of course, I tried to leave it half finished, but felt guilty every time she played with her naked, faceless doll. Thus, I gave her a face (awkward though it may be) and made her a dress. Thanks to talented, generous people I found a free pattern for the doll here.
Alma’s Doll
girl in a tree 