Hats and Rosaries for Sale

I'm taking orders for knitted hats that will be ready for Christmas. All will be hand knit by me or my daughter, Kaleigh. If you scroll down just a bit you will see a post on several mens hats I knit for gifts for my family. All of those colors or any combination are available. I will also knit womens, childrens, and babies hats. I do have a very pretty pattern for a woman's hat but the photo is not very clear. It has a lace-edged bottom. Kaleigh knit one for me last year and I really love it.
The yarn used is either 100 percent wool or a wool blend. All of the yarn is of very good quality. Above is a photo of some of the yarn for children and babies. That yarn is really beautiful, top of the line... 100 percent wool and soft as can be. If you are interested, please e-mail me and let me know what you would like and what colors you would like. Also, for baby hats let me know if you would like a rolled hem or a ribbed edge. Below are the prices; all include shipping.
Adults - Men or Women...$20.00
Kiddoes - ........ 15.00
Baby - ........... 10.00
Rosary Beads - Please click on my sidebar under Sewing Basket and scroll down, there are two photos of the beads and pouches. They're there, I promise!
All made with glass beads by my daughter, Kaleigh. They really are very beautiful.
Rosary beads - ......$15.00
with cotton pouch ... 20.00
Handmade soap coming soon! E-mail me at Theirzykfamily@msn.com

Healthcare Reform Video Must See

Please take a few moments and watch this video regarding Healthcare Reform.

Hats, Hats and More Hats

Gads, you would think all I do is knit hats! Remember I made two for my nephews, the Hello Kitty hat and the baby hat? I talked about those in earlier posts. Well, I knit five more, all for men: one for each of my boys, and one each for my dad and hubbie. I enjoy knitting hats a lot but am now on to some other projects. Right now I'm knitting a shawl for Kaleigh for Christmas and working on a counted thread embroidery Biscourni. I adore counted cross-stitch and various kinds of needlework and am happy to get back to it. My next counted thread embroidery meeting is at the beginning of next month and we'll learn how to put the Biscourni together. I've never made one before so this should be interesting.
I would also like to make a couple Christmas pieces for myself but will see if I can. At least one seasonal piece would be nice to complete for myself.

Meat Chickens

My husband finished slaughtering the meat chickens today. Our freezer is now packed with 20 of our own birds! Mmmmm.....

Hello Kitty Hat

It's been a long time since I posted (sigh). Fall is a busy time of year for everyone. The usual tasks of getting ready for winter take over: stacking wood, leaves to rake, (in our case) chickens to slaughter, lots of canning to be done, a garage to clean, gutters to clean, and on and on. We still have lots more to do but I can see it beginning to wind down. The nice thing about this time of year is that the kiddoes come in from playing earlier which means I can get the nightly routine done a little sooner.
I've spent quite a few nights knitting lately. Here is one of my projects, a Hello Kitty Hat. One of the girls will get it for Christmas; not sure which one, probably Kierra. We'll see. It was fun and fast, too. I got the pattern from here: www.beadwhore.blogspot.com for free. I have another five (yes, that's right, five) hats to show you next time I blog, hopefully tomorrow. Keep an eye out :D

Burp Cloths and Baby Washies

My friend is going to be a grandma again and asked me to make some baby girl burp cloths and washies. I jumped at the chance to sew with the soft, pink flannel and terrycloth! I ended up making three sets of four burp cloths and three sets of six washies. I think she'll be set for awhile in the clean-up department.
The burp cloths measure 11" x 17" and the washies measure 6" x 6". They are both made the same way: Measure and cut, sew pretty sides facing using alittle over a
1/4" seam, and leaving a 4" or so gap for turning.
Turn right side out, iron and top-stitch all the way around, closing gap at the same time. You can also view a tutorial at www.Rocksinmydryer.typepad.com and clicking on the March 08 archives. Her post is simply lovely and more explicit than mine.
I will be making more of the wash-cloths, only bigger for Christmas. I'll post a pic when they're done.

Connecticut Children's Medical Center NICU Celebration

Yesterday we spent a fun afternoon at the CCMC NICU Celebration. The event was held for families that had babies that were in the NICU and the 40th anniversary of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. As you probably already know, I had Caressa 8 weeks early. She spent two weeks in the CCMC NICU and received excellent care there. Thanks be to God, she was born healthy and strong and didn't have any complications. Those two weeks will always be a very special time for my whole family.

There were a lot of kids there. The wonderful thing was you couldn't tell the difference between the NICU kids and their siblings. All appeared to be healthy, normal and full of energy! They had face painting...

a bounce-house train...

pumpkins to decorate and LOTS and LOTS of food! A full spread of kid-friendly luncheon fair including chicken nuggets, little pizzas, french fries, etc., and a beautiful cake, ice cream sundae bar, smoothie bar and on and on... We had great fun! What a beautiful celebration of LIFE!

Mmmmm... Applesauce

My house smells sooo appley tonight. We canned ten quarts of applesauce and three yesterday. My husband wants to go back tomorrow to his friend's house to pick more apples to make up some apple pie filling. We'll sure appreciate all this apple-goodness come winter. And best of all; the apples were free!
I'm sure you know how to make applesauce, but just in case here's what I do:
Rinse apples, quarter and core
Add a bit of water to a large pan and fill with apples.
Turn heat to medium, then to low, but make sure apples are cooking. Also be sure to keep a bit of water on the bottom so the apples don't burn.
When apples are soft; about an hour or so, put into a seive and mush around with a wooden mallet into a bowl.
Add sugar and cinnamon to taste, or not.
Ladle into hot canning jars and process in a hot water bath for 20 minutes.