All Things October (and November)

 

October began with a tour of Brown University (lead by the fabulous DG president Kelsey)! We had the most perfect October weather for our journey around Brown followed by a lovely meal and DG meeting afterward. The newly renovated Marlborough Public Library was finally completed and ready for visitors. We went on Opening Day and were in awe of how gorgeous it turned out (prior to this renovation the library was not a very welcoming space). A couple of days later we found outselvs back there during Morning Lesson. It was a lovely change of scenery and we decided to make that our Wednesday lessosn hang-out. Our hearts broke when Isreal was attacked by Hamas and Lewiston Maine became the latest place to have a mass shooting. It would be really fabulous if America would get its gun problem under control. Friendship bracelts were made and eras outfits chosen and we attended the Eras Tour concert movie not once but twice (the second time was just as incredible but the venue was 1000% better than the first)! Grace passed her drivers test on the first try and then went off to Production practice a couple of hours later! A Halloween lock-in at church and family pictures rounded out October. 

Since I forgot to "save" a post for November, pictures and summary are below: 

November was the month that I resigned from my job as Director of Children's Ministry in Holliston. While it had been almost five years that I ahd been there, and while I knew that my time there would likely end at the end of this school year, I ended up resigning shortly after Halloween. While I miss the children and families of the church, and was sad to leave while the senior pastor was on sabbatical, it was most definietly time for me to take my leave. 

November saw the girls take their first drive with Grace behind the wheel and me at home. It was yet another moment where I am sure that I saw the girls (espeically Grace) grow right before my eyes! We celerbrated Martinas and helped with the set up and logistics of the Veterans Day dinner at church. Emma did a beautiful job reading the Missing Man Table ceremony. She also spent much time knitting, whcih was a lovely surprise given that she had not picked up knitting needles in eight years and yet when she did this time she knit as beauifully as if she had been knitting all that time. Grace was at OSV a couple of times this month. Once on Veterans Day weekend and again during the first weekend of Christmas by Candlelight. 

We rounded out Novemebr with a lovely Thanksgiving gathering (and a rooster statue from Portugal that Jane brought back for us) and our traditional attendance of opening Night of The Nutcracker the following day. Other than the fact that it took us over an hour to get out of the garage after the show it was a fabulous way to being the festive season! xo 

Dancers Who Knit.....

 knitters who dance. xo

{This Moment} Evening Knitting

{This Moment} A weekend ritual. A single photo -no words- capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Wishing you all a weekend full of lovely moments! xo 

New Hats!

For the last couple of years the girls and I have had this goal of knitting hats for the upcoming winter. And yet each year it seems that winter comes before we have even cast on a single stitch. And, if I'm being completely honest here, two out of the three of us really need to improve our knitting skills a bit more before we attempt hats.

And so, as the first bit of winter was felt in the air I realized that the hats the girls have had for the last few years really were in no condition to be their hats again this year. Knitted winter hats are totally their "thing" and honestly, it makes it super easy to spot them when we are out and about since no one else will be wearing hats like theirs. I pondered trying to knit a couple of hats for them and quickly dismissed that idea (though I am bound and determined that 2017 will be The Year of the Hat). Instead, I decided to reach out to my friend Julie who made their last hats and see if she may be willing to do so again. A quick Facebook message to her and an equally quick reply back found us then discussing yarn colors and hat patterns followed by Julie casting on for the first hat a few days later.

They arrived last Friday and are absolutely gorgeous! These hats look fabulous with their winter coats as well as their fleeces. The girls were absolutely overjoyed to have such lovely new hats to wear this winter! With any luck these will last as long as the last ones did! And with just as much luck (and practice) we'll learn to knit some hats of our own before the end of next year!

Thank you, Julie, for sharing your talents with us once again! We are very grateful and  feel very blessed to have a bit of your handywork in our home again! xo

Hand Knit By Grace

Grace finished her first big project for knitting class today! She made this gorgeous cowl in exactly six weeks. Originally, she had set out to make a scarf, but when Miss Janet showed her what a cowl was last week she decided to go with that option instead. It came out incredibly gorgeous and Miss Janet was super impressed with the quality of all of her stitches, but most especially with how straight her stitches were when she was binding off. Well done, Grace! We are so very proud of how hard you worked on this project and how truly beautiful it turned out! You have a true talent! xo

Before And After

 Before: waiting for class to begin so she can cast off and complete the first part of her project. 

After: proudly displaying her completed project (or the first part of it anyway)! She did such a fantastic job on her first fingerless mitt (which contains both knit and purl stitch) and has already cast on for the second mitt! Great work, Emma! We are so proud of you! xo

Thursday Afternoon Knitting

Thursday afternoons will now be spent at this sweet yarn shop in Worcester. Since my knitting skills are not as far along as I'd like by now David and I decided that it would be wise to sign the girls up for the children's knitting class that takes place on Thursdays. I had wandered into this shop while the girls were at farm school one time last spring and I instantly knew that this was where we should all learn.

The minute they set foot into the shop this afternoon I could tell how much they instantly loved it. It's such a beautiful space and everyone is so very nice! The girls chose their yarn and loved watching as Miss Leslie used the swift to form it into a ball. I knew without them saying a word that they were already dreaming of owning their own swift (and my suspicions were confirmed as we walked to the car after class). The one other member of the class is a girl who is a few years older than Grace and Emma and who's also a homeschooler. This wouldn't be so surprising if it was a daytime knitting class, of course, but with it being in the late afternoon we really didn't expect to meet another homeschooler, much less for the class to be made up entirely of homeschooled kids!

The girls knit and chatted and before we knew it the hour had quickly passed. Grace was thrilled to finally learn to purl, and Emma was happy to spend the entire time on her beloved knit stitch. I have to admit I found myself wishing that I had brought my knitting needles with me so that I could have joined in the fun, too. Perhaps I'll cast on for a project of my own and bring my needles with us next week! xo

Gretchen And Her Girls

As I was deleting pictures from my phone this past weekend I came across a whole bunch that I had taken but never shared. Regardless of whether they were taken last week or many months ago I am going to use this week to share them before any more time passes. The first two pictures were taken back in early December when both girls had short hair and Emma still had bangs. The third picture was taken in early May, when it was still cool enough out to warrant leggings and a long sleeve t-shirt, but warm enough out to have the window open. Regardless, we can always count on Gretchen to find all the best sunny spots in the house! xo