Are you doing MeMadeMay?  I just heard about it and I LOVE it!

Today, without even realizing that it WAS MeMadeMay, I wore two me-made things:

I posted a tutorial for sewing an easy kaftan on the blog that I just started writing with my sister.  She’s a really great cook, and has lots of other good ideas, too!

Besides a few things that I knit for Mazie when she was a baby, I haven’t knit many seamed sweaters in the last few years.

For my next seamed project, I’ve decided to knit Breckon, by Amy Christoffers from Brooklyn Tweed WoolPeople 3. I love the texture of this sweater, and the mix of the tweed and the lace is really interesting to me.  After reading the pattern, I see that the body is knit in one pice from the bottom up to the shoulders – so the only seams are at the shoulders and armholes…the sleeves are set in.

This might be a good segue for me into the wide world of seaming!

I’ve ordered enough Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Thistle, and as soon as I finish my next Hope Shawlette, I’ll cast on for it!

The yarn arrived this week, and it’s so airy and the color is perfect.  I knit Nathan a hat in Shelter – so I know that I’m going to LOVE this sweater!  I can’t wait!

Mazie is FIVE!!

has it really been five years since this happened??

Here’s my big girl now:

This is Mazie’s first birthday since starting school, and so it was her first ‘real’ party – with people other than family.

We went to The Denver Puppet Theater.  The kids were able to run around and explore for a while,

They each got to make their own puppets: Then, we had pizza and cake.  Mazie got to sit in a really fancy chair!

After we had our pizza and cake, we all watched a puppet show (in 3 acts) about coyotes.   Three acts was a bit long for the parents, but the kids LOVED it and talked to the puppets through the entire ~45 minute long show.

The walls, even in the bathroom, are covered with marionettes and costumes.  Really funky and cool.  I’d love to know more about the owner and her career.

Interesting to imagine her travelling the world as a puppet master – lots of the posters & ephemera are from Europe.    

If you’re in Denver and looking for a different spot to have your next kids’ party – this is a good one.

Hi Everyone! I hope that you’re having a lovely Saturday!  It’s a very snowy March day here in Colorado – we’re expecting a few (up to 12!) inches today.

In the old (pre-kids) days, I’d get a list of indoor activities decided on and get to work, accomplishing most-if-not-all of the stuff on the list.  Nowadays, I find that it’s better not to try for a whole list – I choose one main thing that I want to do and a couple of little things.  After all, the whole point of having kids is to interact with them, no?

If I can get the main thing done, I feel pretty good.  And if I can get a couple of little things done, too – well, that’s just bonus.  And if my kids and I have a fun day together, that’s the best possible outcome.  (This is why my house is usually messy, and there’s always more laundry to do.  It’s a lifestyle choice, I guess.)

Today, I’m hoping to get my new alpaca (yarn bought at STITCHES) Hope Shawlette ends woven in and pinned out.  It’s so dry here in CO, even on a day with such heavy precipitation, that the shawl could be dry in a few hours.  Then…if I’m really lucky, I’ll get some fun pics of it in the snow, too.

Because this time I knit it I was practicing the chart more than anything, I made a few extra insertions of the lace chart.  I did a couple repeats of the lace chart every time I had a multiple of 10 + 3 stitches with 20 rows in between.  So, at something like 33, 53, 73, and 93 sts on the needles.  Even unblocked, I like how it came out.  I’m not normally a “tan” person – but I love the natural color of the alpaca, and how fuzzy and soft it is, and will probably wear this one a LOT.

OK, here I go.  I’m getting up from the couch.  Time to see how much of this one task I can accomplish today!

PS: I worked with the tech editor to get the pattern updated.  So if you’ve purchased it through Craftsy or Ravelry, you’ve been emailed the new version.

Nathan took Olive to see an art exhibit this week.  Here are some of her favorite pieces.  He told me that she went from one to the next, asking for her photo to be taken, then saying, “send that to Mom.”