Comforting Wrap

I finished crocheting this wrap this week, just in time for W. to wear it to the ortho doctor to x-ray her elbow. She fell off of a cement pile in our yard while she and Maren were playing. She did some elbow damage, but technically she did not break it, and all that is necessary is for her to be careful of it and re-x-ray it in a week to be sure there are no complications in healing. She is wearing L's old elbow brace for a few days to protect it.

The wrap worked great to keep her warm and comforted while we dealt with the doctor visit. We even got a couple of compliments on it! I had bought this grey wrap at a thrift store and noticed that it was really just two panels joined together. I figured I could crochet two panels and attach them. The grey wrap is about 50" long (without fringe) and each panel is about 23" wide.

I used appx. 5 skeins of cushy yarn (thrifted) in a variety of burgundy shades to work this. I used the huge crochet hook and single crochet with only one strand of yarn so it was not so heavy. I chained for appx. 90 stitches and then added one and turned and went back and forth in single crochet until I had used about 1/2  of the yarn. Then I crocheted about 1/2 way up the length and then chained the rest of the way to the end without catching the existing panel, then added one and turned and finished the second panel with single crochet. This gives you the joining of the two panels all in one shot. I did not make this wrap as large as the grey one, but it seems to be fine. It is about 50" long and each panel is about 19." Next time I would make the joint a little longer so it hung a little farther down the back when worn. I'd also like to try a lighter yarn, still with the large hook, to see if I can make one lighter and more lacy. This worked up fast and easy and would make a great gift.

More Harvest

 Church Farm

My home place with train

 

Husband needs his own blog! Since he got a smart phone, he has begun to take pictures. He also takes videos of farm-y stuff. In his down time he watches videos of farm and large equipment working. Not as interesting as HGTV, but valid, I guess.



Fall

On the way to town the other day, we went by this house. We thought these trees that were only red on top were pretty cool. The old barn and tractor in the shade add up to a nice fall picture.

The street outside piano lessons was carpeted in gold. Lovely fall.

Artist Andy Goldsworthy

Land art by Andy Goldsworthy

Land art by Andy Goldsworthy

Artist Andy Goldsworthy is a modern artist who does "Land Art." He goes out into nature and, using only what he finds there, he creates art then photographs it. His art is fleeting and at the mercy of nature. I wanted to try land art with my co-op art classes. We meet at a church with some trees out back, but I worried a little about what we would find to work with. Should I bring some leaves, rocks, etc. in to guarantee that this experiment would work? I decided to try it in true Goldsworthy style using only what we found. The kids were up to the challenge.

We looked at some Goldsworthy work on youtube and then donned our jackets and headed outside to try it. I was delighted with how the kids jumped right in. I allowed them to work in teams or work alone. Some took the whole time to manage their one creation and a few had time for two arrangements. I photographed each creation and will make prints for each child to take home next week. Below is a sampling of our 5th and 6th grade land art.

Liam and Finn's

John and Thomas

Marie and Grace

Tessie's

Daniel's

Fifth grade-Hannah, Daniel, Jonas, Micah, W.

My fifth grade class finished their individual creations, then got together and worked as a group on another design. It was their idea to do one as a group and they threw themselves into it.

And, I had to try a couple myself. (above) 

Riding With Daddy

 

 

Riding on the combine harvesting corn with Daddy tonight. The girls love it.

Featured

This week I began getting some post comments from people I did not know. Turns out that one of my projects was featured on The Crafty Crow blog. I looked at my stats, and you can see (above) where the number of visits went after it was posted. What fun!

Last Weekend

Last weekend we said goodbye to Husband's Aunt Mary, who was his godmother. Husband and his brother were two of her pallbearers.  On Sunday, Daughter A. and Daughter L. performed special music for church with Cousin Brittney. It was beautiful.

Splash the Sea Dragon

This is Splash. W. got him from D and Mac for her birthday. Mac crocheted him. He appeared at L's birthday supper last week. W. promptly named him and had fun with him all night. Mac did too.

Fusion

We have been enjoying these fruit/vegetable drinks. They're kinda' spendy, but make a good lunch drink when we are out during the week, or when we need a treat. Just 60 calories. Several kinds. I like this black cherry/pomegranate flavor. The girls like the one with mandarin oranges.

We Have an Anchor

I had the children's sermon again this week. Our pastor is gone and we have laity filling in. Friend Brenda had the sermon on "An Anchor for the Storm." Her texts were Act 27:13-20, 27-29, and Hebrews 6:13-19. I looked up anchors and saw a story in the way they are drawn. Kids always like to learn how to draw things. To start we talked about how you want the right anchor if you are sailing. You may not need a great anchor if the weather is good, but if the storms come, you need the best anchor there is. We talked about how Jesus is our anchor in the storms of life. I quoted the old song, "We Have an Anchor."

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
 Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
 Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
 Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.

 

I took a permanent marker and told them I was going to show them how to draw an anchor. First I drew a cross on each child's hand. (You could let the kids draw on small pieces of paper if you don't want to write on them. I knew all my kids, so I knew it would be OK to write on them!) The cross tells us that Jesus is the one with the power to help us through life. Then I drew three circles at the top three points of the cross. These three circles remind us of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit who are always with us in every situation in our life. Next I talked about the verse that tells us that "His banner over me is love." (Song of Solomon 2:4.) I told them the banner was a covering and that the next thing we were going to draw was like an upside down umbrella that covers us in a rainstorm. This would remind us of God's hands that are cupped over us and protect us with love. The last thing I drew on them was two little arrows at the end of the upside down umbrella. These arrows point "up" to remind us that our help comes from above. A lesson in an anchor!