Hello Peabody

On New Year's Day, Karl and I drove down to Toulon, Illinois, to visit his Grandma Jeannette. On the way there, I knit this little pony. Jeannette named him Peabody.

News from the kitchen

This morning, Karl surprised me with a proposal-- to have breakfast with him! What a sweet husband.

I went to my mom's this weekend, but Karl had to work, so my mom sent this back for him. It's a whole roast chicken in a Zip-Loc bag, labeled "Karl's Chicken."

Climate Control

What it feels like in our apartment in the morning:

What it feels like outside:

This is a problem because I need to wear a lot of long underwear and wool items when I go outside. But it's a little hard to put all that stuff on while I'm sweating like crazy because it's so hot... thanks to our ancient radiator system.

Cupcake Miracle

The world is just so full of geniuses, thinking up new and wonderful things every day. And here's proof: the individual cupcake carrier. It keeps cupcakes fresh and protected in lunchbags, and it looks so darn cute. What really sets this product apart from other cupcake technology out there are the "wings" that serve to keep your cupcake in place vertically, so the frosting doesn't get mashed. Thank you to Lia, who gave us two of these indispensable little helpers!

Milwaukee Field Trip

Over Christmas break, my mom and sister and I went on our annual outing to Milwaukee. We always visit the M&I bank downtown and see their huge Steiff animal display. It is so cool! They have all of these huge stuffed animals, and all of the animals are dressed in ornate costumes. Every year there's a different setting, like a filling station or a candy shop. This year was a train station. And it was so so so cool.

Wheeeee! Let's go sledding!

Check out the big giraffe neck in the background.

After the bank, we went to Bucca di Beppo for the world's least healthy lunch. Then we dropped off my sister and drove back to Madison. Hooray for field trips! And the best part was, we drove a minivan from Community Car. What's not to love about minivans?

The Great Unveiling

Who is that? Oh, it's a little green alligator I made for my brother, Elsworth. It was part of his Christmas present. He has a future goal of having a Christmas tree entirely decorated with homemade ornaments, so I thought this could easily be an ornament, or it could just be a decoration any time of the year. The pattern is from a fantastic book called Irresistible Gifts To Knit. The best part of the alligator is the scaly texture on its back. So realistic. Well, as realistic as you can get with yarn...

The Stockings Were Hung By The Chimney With Care

Last spring, I started on what might have been my biggest knitting undertaking yet: making stockings for my whole family. And here they are! Left to right: Mom, David, Amanda, Elsworth, Hanna, Karl, and Lia. I swear they are not as misshapen in real life as they look in this picture... 

I decided to make stockings because my grandma passed away last May, and when each of us were born, she made a stocking for us.  They are very beautiful with hand-sewn sequins, beads, and lettering, but they are falling apart.  The ones I made aren't meant to replace Grandma's, of course; we treasure the ones she made!