…must come to an end. Our day today, in pictures and a few words:

“Again, Again!” Rusty loves sledding.

This hill is steep – not lovin’ it quite so much…

Yeah, totally done with the sledding. Not lovin’ it at all.

Neither did Greg, once his face got run over by an out-of-control sled.

Make Baby Stuff Says So!

I have been meaning to post this every day for the past week, and I keep getting distracted by the multitude of craft projects sitting on my desk, and really, every other available flat surface in my house. How ironic, no?

Make Baby Stuff is one of the coolest sites on the internets – there’s the amazingly fun cardboard house, adorable little baby clothes, and some wicked cool toys.

So, go read my little Crafty Mama interview, and then go poke around and find something cool to make for your baby.

nana

I learned to knit + crochet from my Grandma, one rainy day when I was a little girl. (Isn’t that how so many of us learned? A weary adult trying to find a way to entertain us and contain a bit of the boundless energy? I fully admit to teaching my boys just so I could get them to sit down for a few minutes) Now, she’s too arthritic to be able to do any stitching, though she asks me about my projects whenever I see her. I know she probably misses being able to work with yarn, although it wasn’t an all-consuming passion for her like it is for me. I think it was more just something all women her age knew how to do, as much a part of a young Brooklyn girl’s education as knowing how to make gravy and meatballs.

Her birthday is this coming Monday, and I though there was no more appropriate gift than a handmade blanket, born of the craft she passed on to me so long ago. I started this on Saturday night, but had to rip out all but the first row I did that night, because I was distracted watching a movie and did the stitch all wrong. The pattern is the 5 1/2 Hour Throw, modified to work on a slightly smaller hook, with doubled yarn. I’m using Homespun in a plum shade, and Red Heart in a medium pink.Only for her would I suffer through these yarns, because I know she’s neither got the space nor the inclination to handwash a wool blanket. I know she’ll love snuggling up in this, and then being able to toss it in her building’s massive washing machine without worry.

Happy Birthday, grandma!

Here in Pennsylvania, we’ve got the singular pleasure of being home to what might be the most famous rodent in the world. Punxsutawney Phil, prognosticator of all prognosticators, saw his shadow yesterday, folks. We know what that means, right?

6 more weeks of winter. 6 MORE WEEKS OF WINTER, PEOPLE! How to take this news in stride? Throw yourself in front of oncoming traffic? Lock yourself in the closet and weep bitterly? NO! We’re knitters! Pull out the good wool, grab some patterns (20% off!) and k-n-i-t the winter away. It’s really the only civilized way to deal with defeat.

Perhaps you’d like to warm some feet for these remaining cold weeks? Lucky for you, we’ve just released the 2008 Sock Club patterns from the Vault. Not into sock knitting? (It’s okay, I forgive you) Maybe slippers are more your style? How about working up a new pair of mittens to replace those that got buried under the snow pile? Perhaps someone you love needs a new hat? Or, start thinking ahead to those warm spring days that are coming (they are, I promise!) and work up a sweet little dress?

I can’t make the snow melt, I can’t make the mercury rise. But I can help you survive the rest of the winter with some fabulous patterns made even better with a sale! Now through Sat, Feb 7th, our entire pattern collection is 20% off. Shop Now!

This is the funniest thing I’ve seen in a very long time.

Beware the Doghouse

Wow – giveaway day was so much fun! I got to enjoy a whole bunch of new blogs as I hopped around trying to win all the fabulous goodies, and then I enjoyed a mug of tea while I read all the lovely handmade gifts you’ve all received. Handcrafted rocks!!

So, I’m sure you’re all eagerly anticipating the winners announcement, so we’ll get right to it. Each comment was assigned a number (and then if you emailed me the code you were given a second number) and then the handy number generator (aka: my eldest son) selected the winners.

Grand prize winner, for one skein of the farm merino in mojito, is the (nameless) blogger writing as I’m a medical student who loves knitting at http://fineneedleaspiration.blogspot.com/ She wrote:

The best present I’ve ever gotten was from my mom. Although she has given me tons of handmade things like ornaments, scarves, socks and a very cute ballerina bear; my favorite was a custom made science experiment set. It had all the makings for a few science projects like a volcano and cornstartch goo. As a kid who loved to experiment, it was perfect!

The winner of the first set of stitch markers is Code Crafter, blogging at Silicon Granola.

The winner of the second set of stitch markers is MissKnitta, who won via her entry with the RSS code.

But, don’t forget, you’re all winners! If you signed up for the newsletter, check your email later today for the free pattern. Congrats, all!

I’m so excited to be participating in this fun event this year. Sew, Mama, Sew is hosting, with a (BIG) list of folks who are doing giveaways – such an awesome way to celebrate handmade goodness.

It there anything better than a giveaway? How about several special giveaways, and a little bonus for everyone who plays? It’s Giveaway Day at LTK!

The “grand prize” we’ve got here is going to be for a skein of our 2 ply farm merino yarn, handpainted in the Mojito colorway. But wait, there’s more! Two other lucky readers will win a set of handcrafted stitch markers. To be entered for a chance at the yarn + markers, you’ll need to leave a comment on this post answering the following question:

What is the best handcrafted gift you have ever received?

For a second chance to win the yarn + markers (and a 25% off coupon for an order in the shop, you’ll want to subscribe to our feed (there’s a handy link over there on the right) and email me (littleturtlemama at gmail dot com) the giveaway coupon code. (You can then feel free to use the coupon code in the shop to save 25% off!) All comments and emails received by midnight tonight will be eligible to win. Winner will be announced tomorrow, with the goodies shipping out this week. We welcome international contestants, too!

But that’s not all! If you subscribe to our shop newsletter by midnight tomorrow, you’ll not only stay up to date on all the shop happenings and get insider-only sales, you’ll receive a brand-new free pattern for a great last-minute gift via email this Friday.

Happy Giveaway Day!

A life-changing, world-shaking conspiracy. Are you in on it?

That’s me and my two eldest boy-men. Ethan, the one on my right in the picture, decided that rather than read a book (like big brother AJ) in the car ride to Uncle Andy’s for our Thanksgiving celebration, he wanted to do some knitting on the hat I was working on. Since I was sitting next to him (a rarity – Mama hardly ever sits in the back-back of the van, but Grandma was sitting in my usual front seat) and I was, of course, knitting, I turned it over to him and gave him a refresher on how to work a knit stitch. This is the child that absolutely refused to learn a few years ago when I attempted to teach him on a few rainy days.

I couldn’t believe what happened next. He not only *got* my instructions right away, but he proceeded to work on my hat (him doing all the knits, me doing all the purls) for the remainder of our hour-long drive. And then he asked me a few a dozen times through the course of yesterday “when can I knit more?”

This morning, first thing, he again asked if he could knit. I pulled out a pair of short size 10 needles and cast on two dozen stitches for him, and my wild-child, normally bouncing off the walls (literally, he bumps him body into the walls and bounces around the room) boy – he sat on the couch and knit all afternoon. He shouted “gotta finish this row!” when I called him to dinner, and after he inhaled his food, he went right back to the couch and knit some more.

The big brother, not to be outdone, sidled up to the couch and asked for his own needles and some yarn. I gave him a brief rundown of the knit stitch, and he also spent several hours on the couch, knitting the afternoon away.

Snuggling with my boys, each of us engulfed in our crafting, passing the hours chatting and laughing, it did this mama’s heart good.

Dangit, Simple Mom’s had some rockin’ giveaways, but this one might be the best so far! I’ve been lusting after this printer, wishing I had gone to Blissdom just to get a peek at it. And now we’ve all got a chance to win one of our very own. Go check Simple Mom today for your chance to win!