History is Alive :: Chinese Lanterns

We went back east in our history study and talked more about the mongols and the khans. We made another set of Chinese lanterns for this part of our study. We added them to our classroom celing. I love these lanterns and how colorful it makes our room look.

:: Yarn Along ::

Joining Ginny again this week.

On the needles :: I got finished last week with a couple of baby projects but never got the gumption around to posting. So I posted about those yesterday...I'm quite smitten if you'd like to check them out.

I'm still working on #3's sweater. I started a sleeve. The nice thing is how quickly a sleeve goes for a little boy sweater. The down-side, how boring the knitting is. Dull. I started a washcloth I had inteded to make for baby but my JoAnn's Fabric only had 100% cotton which just isn't the soft-baby-wash-cloth-feel I was going for. I've found the idea in a pattern I photocopied awhile back and the author used cotton chenille so I'm on the lookout but not sure I want to spend any money...I'm kind of over the idea already. I want to pull out Mr. Wiedz's sweater but it is so complicated that when the evening comes all I really want to do is anything but pay attention to the pattern...sigh, that thing is never going to be done. What I really want to be knitting is a Milo vest. I have decided on a color too that will be fine for a boy or a girl. Problem is I don't have the yarn, don't have the money to go buy the yarn and don't have the pattern, nor the money to buy it either. Sigh.

On the nightstand :: I finished the whole Sisters of the Quilt Triology and it was SO good. I loved every bit of each book. I did pick up another book at the church library the other day, Candle in the Darkness, it's a Civil War historical fiction so I should enjoy it. Haven't started it yet.

Now the boy outfit is really done...

I posted a couple weeks ago about my baby girl and baby boy coming home outfits.

I always had intended to finish the boy outfit with a matching hat and booties, just like the girl's outfit had.

So I did.

Don'tcha think it completes the outfit nicely...

Ravelry notes for the hat and the booties.

I'm not a couponer...but...

I've never been a couponer. But I've looked at the coupon blogs. I've watched Extreme Couponing on TLC. I've tried coupons. I've cut out coupons and gone to multiple stores and tried to figure out the deals. It just has never worked out for me. Until yesterday.

A few months ago I read Kelleigh's (I used to go to MOPS with her and still stalk her blog) post about toothpaste and wished I had known about that, we use the exact toothpaste she was talking about. Then Saturday night I glanced through the email from Rite Aid and there it was, the same deal. Buy a tube of toothpaste for $3.50 and get a $3.50 UpReward. So after church I asked Mr. Wiedz to stop by there (we needed some pain medicine for #1 anyway - more on that later). Look what I got.

Four tubes of toothpaste and a bootle of Junior Advil for $4.99 (the cost of the Advil). So really, 4 tubes of toothpaste for FREE!

I have to admit, couponing is quite a bit of fun!

Moments to Remember :: More Paper

Joining Jolanthe today to share and remember a moment from the week.

There has been an enormous amount of treasures being delivered from #4. Mr. Wiedz was getting a little overwhelmed my all the paper being used. I walked into the front/school room the other day and found this sweet set-up and my heart just melted. I'll buy all the paper I need to for moments like these.

Project :: Coming Home Outfits

For the first time ever I didn't find out the gender of my baby. Every pregnancy so far I've gone to the 18-week ultrasound, found out the gender, then headed straight to Target for a coming home from the hospital outfit. This time I thought it would be fun to be surprised.

And it is fun.

It is also more work.

Right when I found out I was pregnant I found this pattern for the puerperium sweater...and fell in love. I cast on right away in an adorable pink yarn that my mom had given me with a wide purple stripe. I blogged about just the sweater quite awhile ago. I figured I could find a pair of pants to go with the sweater. Then I knit the booties (ravelry link). Then I figured the best outfit would be with little baby pants I made myself.

Then I realized if baby *was* a boy I'd feel forever guilty about having a whole handmade outfit for a girl baby but an afterthought outfit for a boy. So...

I cast on for another puerperium in a blue yarn that my mom had also given me (basically she gave me a whole bag of Belle Organic Amy Butler DK - I've used a lot of it...love it, though it does untwist quite a bit). I messed up and had to frog the whole thing at one point but puerperium's knit up so quickly that I was able to finish the whole thing in a couple of days (gotta love vacation knitting) and I was so glad I ripped out instead of just making it work. In my first puerperium I did a stripe in the middle of the sweater which made my yarn go farther...this one, I used nearly every inch of the yarn. I got to the sleeve edging and had plans to use a lighter blue...Mr. Wiedz suggested the same green I had used on my cowl and hat (still need to blog about those with proper pictures). It was perfect! My mom brought buttons to dig through when she came last weekend and I found the PERFECT ones!

Add some adorable, easy baby dino pants and I've got a coming home outfit for a boy and a cleared up case of future mommy-guilt. I have plans for using the same green yarn for a pair of booties and a hat (which can and will work for a girl baby too).

:: Yarn Along ::

Joining Ginny again this week.

I'm promising myself that I will post my finished projects that I am so excited about tomorrow. I tried to get it all together for a Tuesday post, but it just wasn't meant to be. Come back tomorrow though, and see what I've been up to!!!

On the needles :: I didn't get very much done on #3's sweater. Gotta pick it back up...I'm really so close to starting sleeves. I've been doing most of my knitting on the pants for #6 that I've started. I love them. The KnitPicks Swish DK is so soft. I can't wait to see them all complete...I think that's what's got me picking them up over and over. Plus, now that I've gotten to the semi-close to being done stage, I'm already thinking about what I'd like to cast on. I have plans for another pair of booties but need the needles that the pants are using...all the more reason to finish those pants!

On the nightstand :: I got When the Heart Cries at the church library a couple of weeks ago and read through the whole thing in a matter of days. So good. This was the first book for this author and she did a remarkable job. Can't wait to get book #2 on Sunday! Course that means I'm out of a book until then and going to sleep just isn't the same without a little reading time.

Would love to know what you're crafting or reading. Leave a comment to share. And any book tips would be greatly appreciated...needing something next time we go to the library.