Did you miss me? Every now and again, I feel a little too wired and I take a break from blogging, from flickring, from, well, pretty much anything that I can (except work, well, it's work) to regroup and spend more time with my boys. It always shocks me (and I realize this no profound statment) that one can accomplish a great deal in the way of productive crafting if one is not glued to the computer overly much. Now I am catching up on bloglines and trying to de-buzz my profiles and etcetera, etcetera. But there has been some crafty going on, of course.
Valentine's Day is a mere memory for most, and while we didn't get overly celebratory (it is rather a Hallmark-y day, is it not?), we did make a heart garland because Rae did, and I like everything she does. Little Sir picked the colors for the hearts. I wanted just red and pink (I know!); but, he wasn't having any of that monotonous ridiculousness (his favorite word right now = "ridiculous" as in, "Momma, you are so ridiculous." Sigh.).
Over President's weekend, we went to Vermont. I discovered Nido, which, in my mind, is the happiest place on earth. It's a fabric shop and yarn shop all in one. The owner, Phiona, is really nice and will have a conversation with you if you are feeling chatty, or she will let you shop and she seems very good about figuring out how to read a customer, which is a skill, in my opinion.
Also, Ashley from Film in the Fridge shops there, so it was very much a fun "six degrees" situation for me, and I like that sort of thing. Kids were not only welcome, I felt it was almost encouraged, there were toys for the Littles to play with, so everyone was happy. Well, almost.
Should you find yourself in Burlington, Vermont and in need of a crafty fix, do yourself a favor and hie thee to Nido.
While in Vermont, Little Sir spent a day in an all day ski class for 3-4 year olds at Smuggler's Notch. After falling the first time, his only concern was staying upright, with that as his goal, he didn't really care who he knocked down to accomplish his task.
While I felt bad for the other children who were unfortunate enough to cross his path, it was pretty funny. And the other kids weren't hurt at all, so there you are, if you want to see video footage go here. We also took the boys to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream; because that is what one does when driving through Vermont when it's freezing outside, I guess.
And then, I closed up my little millinery by knitting two more hats.
I made the Aran Cable Watch Cap from Charlene Schurch's Hat's On! again. It was made for a student who works at my library. He mentioned that no one had ever knit him anything before, which seemed sort of unfortunate to me. He mentioned that he liked the color red and cables, that seemed doable, so I did it.
And I also made myself a hat without a trace of possum in it. I spun up some beautifully dyed merino from Funky Carolina a while ago, but had no idea what to do with it. I ended up using it for a Felicity hat.
I am not sure if it is "Boho Chic" or "Hobo-esque" but I love it.
Have you been knitting Olympically? I tried, but I end up watching the Olympics rather than knitting through the telecast. So I will save my chit chat on my new cable-y vest project for another time. I am able to do other crafts while watching the Olympics though. I have been doing a bit of stitching (as in embroidery)...but more about that tomorrow. I wouldn't want to overwhelm you with my craftiness or anything.
Glad you're back. I missed you.
Posted by: Barb | February 24, 2010 at 06:16 PM
Breaks are good for the soul. But it looks like you were filling your time with wonderful things. LOVE the look of that nido.
Posted by: Kara | February 24, 2010 at 07:06 PM
Wow, you have been busy crafting! I love Little Sir's taste in colors. I would have stuck with your color choices. Thank goodness for children.
I somehow got roped into the Ravelympics. And surprisingly, I finished!!
Posted by: Oiyi | February 24, 2010 at 11:44 PM
I have the same pair of scissors! Glad you're back :)
Posted by: Becky | February 25, 2010 at 07:05 AM
Fabric and yarn, all in one store? That sounds awesome! Your hats both look great.
Posted by: kingshearte | February 25, 2010 at 07:40 AM
I've been gone way too long. You look great and the boys are getting so big and are so cute. I have been knitting off an on. Finished a sweater after a year and am now just tooling around.
Posted by: Kwana | February 25, 2010 at 10:13 AM
Wow, what a fun trip! And so much knitting! I have always wanted to go to Vermont and wish I had done it when I lived on the East Coast. I will have to make it there someday as well as visit that shop. I too think a fabric/yarn store is pretty much perfect.
Posted by: Erin | February 25, 2010 at 01:59 PM
Hey Novakkah crafty goodness. :) So jealous of your trip to Vermont. :( I'm ready to move there. Okay, not really. But a good long stay.
Posted by: Kathy | February 26, 2010 at 03:21 AM
Okay, I needed a good laugh this morning and you provided that. While I loved reading about all the other crafty endeavors you've been doing in your hiatus (hats look great by the way), the story and video of Little Sir learning to ski and knocking down kiddos definitely was my favorite part of the post. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Rachel | March 11, 2010 at 01:32 PM