Work in Progress Wednesday

I've been wanting to do something other than knitting lately, but machine sewing with Ruby (who never stops) is out of the question these days. So I pulled out a WiP cross stitch that I started a couple years ago.



I'm hoping to get it done soon so that I can start The Frosted Pumpkin Stitchery's Once Upon a Time sampler for Ruby. We've been reading a lot of fairy tales so this is perfect!

I also finally started my mom's Rocky Coast cardigan. I've been putting it off because of all the cables, but the body was actually very fast to knit.



Next up for the cardigan is sleeve island and then the collar. Hopefully the rest goes just as quickly.

And finally, some fibonacci socks that I made for my sister as a Christmas present. (They still need the ends woven in, which is why I'm calling them a WiP.)



The number of rows in each stripe are based on the fibonacci sequence; 1 1 2 3 5 8... My sister is a high school math teacher so I thought these would be appropriate. I also got her a pi shirt & math mug. :-)

Thanks for letting me share!

~*~Sharon~*~

posted from Bloggeroid

Merry Christmas!

It's 10pm Christmas night. The gifts have been shared, food has been enjoyed, & we're currently watching "A Bug's Life." Of course one of Ruby's favorite new toys is the box to my fabulous new Le Creuset kettle set, but she loves her mega blocks and is intrigued by the elephant shape sorter. She also got a great handmade soft book from Grandma & Grandpa.







I also have to share the gorgeous new necklaces I received. The first is from Winemaker's Sister (hopefully the link works!) on Etsy, it is a spinning wheel charm and a stamped disc that says "SPIN". She has some beautiful jewelry and great stitch markers in her shop including Doctor Who, fairy tales, & bacon!

The second necklace is a beautiful Stella & Dot pair of charms. One is an "R" for Ruby. The other is her April birthstone, which is diamond. Very simple and lovely.



I haven't quite finished the gifts I planned to make, but I'm pretty excited about the fibonnaci socks I'm making for my sister. We'll also be going to a pottery store in Casper soon for Ruby to paint some things for her grandparents!


We went for a family walk last night at sundown. It was a little colder than we thought, but we were bundled up nicely.



And we did some sledding today since we got more snow yesterday.



Ruby loved it!


I hope everyone had a warm & wonderful day. Thank you for visiting!

~*~ Sharon ~*~

posted from Bloggeroid

The Homestead

Well, Bloggeroid seemed to work great yesterday! I'm super excited about this because now I can work on my journal in spurts, as Ruby gives me time to. Then I won't have to pull out the computer (hoping that it's charged) and hide it away again before she gets her hands on it. ;-)

Last night we had a gorgeous sunset so while I was out taking pictures I thought I'd also get some shots of where we live. In September I briefly mentioned that we moved to the other side of the ranch that Jake works for. We're still getting settled, but it was a good move. Since big game hunting season ended for the year (he guides for the ranch) he's been home a lot more and gets to spend lots of quality daddy/daughter time with Ruby.



We now live 5 miles south of one of the smallest towns in the U.S.A.; Lost Springs, Wyoming, with a population of 4. We are 25 miles to the nearest gas station & 35 miles from groceries, libraries, and general town stuff.

The above picture is of the old barn with Laramie Peak in the background. I haven't figured out how to get a good picture of the mountain yet, it actually appears much larger in real life from our place.

Next is the old chicken coop...



The quonset huts and the old loading chute...



And the house...



The house picture is from last month because I liked it better than last night's photo. ;-)

And one more picture of the old barn from a few weeks ago. It's a little blurry, but I like how the pink of the sunset shows through the open spaces.



Thanks for letting me share our "new" homestead!

*Sharon*

posted from Bloggeroid

Trying Out a Blogging App

I'm not sure the last time I was actually on my macbook, especially to blog, but it finally dawned on me that there's apps for just about everything so there's probably for an app I could use for APrairieSunrise too! The Blogger app had horrible recent reviews, but people seem happy with Bloggeroid so I thought I'd give it a go.

I know I've been gone for a long, long time. What can I say? I'm definitely not tech savvy and terrible about blogging. Hopefully (if I even have any followers left) you all follow me on Instagram, especially since I haven't even introduced you to my little Ruby and she just turned 8 months old the other day!! And she is constantly on the go, if she's awake she's getting into something! ;-)

So, here she is! My beautiful daughter, Ruby Verna. Born April 10th in the middle of a blizzard.



Since I don't know if this post will actually work or not I'll keep it short, but if it does work I hope to do a lot more journaling this coming year.

Thanks for sticking with me and I hope to chat again soon!

*Sharon*

Craft Book Month

When I signed up to participate in the Craft Book Month blog hop I had NO idea that I would be in the middle of a move to a different part of the ranch! So this is going to be short & sweet so I can get back to unpacking.  ;)


Books & crafts both have a very important place in my life and I was so excited when Lindsay invited me back for another year.

I chose a project from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design because, since Ruby was born, I've hardly had any time to sit at my sewing machine.  But I have been doing plenty of knitting and hand stitching. Natalie Chanin's designs are all about the art and love of hand stitching.  She uses basic shapes for her patterns, but through the use of stencils, thread, & embellishments you can make unique clothing that is all your own!

The projects and the photography are so beautiful and very inspiring.

 

 

My interpretation is much simpler.  I cut a Wiksten tank from a green rib knit then hand stamped a simple 3-flower pattern that I made.

 My favorite part is the stitching around the arms & neck.

I used the same green knit to make a Basic Poncho.  I then cut leaves from a coordinating blue rib knit and hand appliqued them around the neckline.  Of course, it's packed away in some box right now, but I will try to share a picture as soon as I find it.  I also have a T-Shirt Top in progress in a lovely purple jersey.

There are so many great craft books out there, go pull out your favorite and make something you love today! You can link up your own craft book projects on the Craft Buds website for a chance to win some amazing prizes.  And be sure visit all the other blog hop participants as well.  Thanks for stopping by!

An Evening Stroll

Jake took off this morning at sun up with his truck, trailer, and horse to gather some cows for work.

A prairie sunrise

And he came home just before sun down, which is rare.  Normally I don't see him until after dark.

So he got a little playtime with the corgi and then we went on a short walk.

Corrals at sunset

The homestead

Rough housing in the snow

"G" the mustang decided to join us on the last part of our walk since we cut through his pasture.  He came out to join us and followed us all the way back over to where El Gato was getting his grain after a good day's work.

"G" & Jake

It was a lovely way to wrap up a nice day.  Thanks honey!  :)

Stash Blaster: Week 8 - The Outhouse Edition

Last summer we had some plumbing troubles for several days and I was VERY thankful for the homestead outhouse.

Although we were still able to do dishes and get drinking water from the tap, the septic had backed up into the shower & tub which made bathing difficult.  So what did I do? Sponge bath on the porch!

I filled up a bucket, took it outside, and thanked God that it was 90 degrees and that we have no neighbors within 2 miles of the house.  :)

Before I did that though I decided that if I did in fact have to take a sponge bath outside I was going to do so as luxuriously as I could with what I had.  So I found a nice fluffy towel and some yummy smelling soap.  I also found a washrag pattern and knitted myself up a new washrag for the occasion.  It was a very quick knit (about an hour) with great texture and was an easy to memorize pattern.

It was actually kind of a fun experience and helped me realize what I can deal with, but I'm glad I don't have to do this on a regular basis.  Especially in the winter time!


So what does this have to do with this week's Stash Blaster?

Well, I have lots of cotton yarn from when I was first learning to knit and with Baby Tuckey's arrival just a few weeks away I thought we could use more hand knit washcloths around the house.  I whipped up these 4 in no time and have another one on the needles now. I'll probably end up making a giant stack of them and use them as gifts since I know of a lot of babies that are arriving this year!

How'd your week go?  What did you get done?  Grab a button from the sidebar and link up your most recent finish(es)!