an unexpected evening hike...

The other night, Hub took me on this crazy "hike" just as the sun was setting. While I was thinking we were planning on walking leisurely along a trail...he went "off-road" (or rather "off-trail"). Being just days away from having a baby and wearing clogs, it was an interesting "hike" to say the least. Climbing uphill over large uneven rocks, there were little pink wild blueberry flowers and moss-covered rocks at our feet. And while dodging tree branches, bushes, and weeds, there were gorgeous trees filled with white blossoms all around us. It was refreshing and so pretty out at that time of day with the setting sun behind us and a pastel sky painted over the Lake. Sometimes the "unexpected" is good!

tiny cardigan...

As I talked about in a previous post, I finished my knitted cardigan for our soon-to-arrive baby! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. It is so tiny & soft & cozy! I love the book this pattern came from and only wish my hands weren't so bad so I could knit a matching hat and/or socks with the remaining yarn. Unfortunately, in these last few weeks of pregnancy I've been having trouble with numbness/carpal tunnel syndrome which has rendered me pretty useless now when it comes to doing what I love...using my hands to create things. It is forcing me to take things easier though which I guess is a good thing! Typing is right up there with knitting in the "things I probably shouldn't be doing" category so blogging is pretty much out for now too, I guess. Hoping this baby comes soon and my hands return to normal as well!

little handmade gifts

Springtime always brings many birthdays and such for me. This year, I decided to give a few handmade touches to some of my gifts. Here're a few recent ones...

This little knitted birdy, made using the same pattern I followed for my bird mobile, was modified a bit into a lady-like sachet by incorporating lavendar into the fill as well.

Another little crafty gift with a springtime touch, a paper butterfly garland.

Pretty simple to put together, this garland was constructed using a punch, pretty papers in pale pinks, greens, creams, and my sewing machine. I wrapped it around sturdy pieces of cardstock glued and stitched together with other little embellishments.

And lastly, little wool felt zipper pouches that I had seen the tutorial for on this fun, inspiring blog last year. They are rather addicting to make, being that you can use up little bits and things to embellish each one however you'd like. I used random colored zippers I'd found at my local thrift shop, vintage seambinding to top off the zipper pulls, and wool felt scraps that I had on hand. To embellish them I used buttons, fabric, flowers, and a bit of embroidery.

They are so fun to make in fact that I think I'll have to make a few more... Now that I've finished my big (little baby) sweater project! (Photos of that to come soon, hopefully!)
Happy crafting! ~L

what is, what's to come...

Marveling today in what is...like my sweet Grape Hyacinths in bloom....a cluster of brilliant white Rock Cress blooming in my garden in the woods. And marveling in what's to come...stems of Wild Currant Berry plants surrounding my garden hold the promise of pretty red tart gems later on....spying a wild Trillium plant, sprouting up at the base of a mossy tree with a flower bud soon to bloom!

Saturday Morning Cinnamon Rolls

I woke up especially early on Saturday morning, at the crack of dawn really, and couldn't fall back to sleep. I'd been under the weather all week long and not sleeping well. So since I was up soo early, I decided to do something that I usually wouldn't have time for and surprise Hub as well...I made Cinnamon Rolls from scratch for the first time ever. {unbaked cinnamon rolls}

And Hub was quite pleasantly surprised. Not long after I had put them in the oven, he awoke and called downstairs to the kitchen wondering what smelled so good? And that he thought he could smell cinnamon? He's got a good sniffer. I said I wouldn't tell him until he came down and looked in the oven...to see the look of delight on his face made me so happy!

{cinnamon rolls, just out of the oven}

And thankfully they turned out just as good as they smelled! They were pretty easy and quick to make too. I used an America's Test Kitchen recipe from one of their magazines we have...but unfortunately I can't access it online without registering at their site. That's just how they operate, I guess. If you're interested, you can do that or send me an email and I'd be happy to share it with you as well.

The only change I made to their recipe was using a basic powdered sugar frosting (mixed w/ milk & added a dash of vanilla) in place of their buttermilk cream cheese frosting...which I'm sure would be great, I just didn't have any cream cheese.Consume with some fruit & coffee and your weekend will be off to a happy start, as was mine! Plus, your whole house will smell yummy for awhile too! :)