Upcycled Mittens and Headband

Before Christmas in the holiday hub-bub I accidentally shrunk my skiing sweater in the wash. I was sad for a few days, then realized I could make the tiny sweater into a pair of mittens. I've seen some around on Pinterest. I ended up using this pattern. 

The only change I made was not to line them. The wool makes them warm enough so I omitted the felt lining. I also was able to use the bottom of the sweater as the bottom of the mitten so it won't fray. 

I even had enough left over to make a headband.

I actually made two pairs of mittens, the first pair was much too small. I have abnormally long thumbs. When I tried to explain to Charlie that I have long thumbs, or more specifically, a long thumb, he didn't believe me. One thumb is longer than the other because I sucked it as a child. Charlie said he sucked his too and his were the same length. Apparently he didn't know that I sucked my thumb until the first grade. I even had to have a special retainer made to keep me from sucking my thumb. Anyways, weird thumbs aside, the first pair I made was way too small, now I have to find someone with short thumbs to give them to. 

So, with the left over scraps I pieced together enough to make a headband.  I think I might save the tiny scraps to make some little rice filled pocket warmers.

 Penny loves when I strangle her into a picture with my new mittens.

Please no more pictures!

Stay Warm! Lauren 

26 Years 26 Goals

With my birthday quickly approaching, I've decided to check in on my 26 Goals for 26. Here goes:

1. Get a dog. I really want one and I think my constant talk has convinced Charlie too. Yep! She's the best. I can't imagine our lives without our Penny girl. 
2. Buy a house. No. Not so much. Waiting for the time to be right. 
3. Move into house without hurting myself or being a mega jerk to others. Success on that front since we didn't move. I try not to be a mega jerk though. 
4. Stay physically active. Mostly. I haven't been running as much lately, but having a dog ensures that I at least walk a lot.  
5. Think more about things before I impulsively buy them. I've almost gone too far in the wrong direction here...thinking so much that I don't ever buy anything. 
6. Go on a honeymoon. Yeah! I just realized I never blogged about it though, I'll have to remedy that. Our trip was great. 
7. Take pictures. Yes. I need to work on taking pictures of people more though. I have a lot of pictures of Penny and mountains. 
8. Throw things away. Why must I save every card anyone has sent me? P.S. Thanks for the birthday cards peps! No. I've decided to embrace that I am super sentimental. I really like looking back at pictures, cards, momentos. I hope my future children are sentimental too or else I'll be on Horders. 
9. Finish things before starting other things. Kind of. I don't start a project until the first is finished, but I just make piles of things I want to do. This does not keep my work space much tidier than when I had 10 projects at once. 
10. Think before jumping to assumptions, especially in regards to the students I work with. I'm really trying. I seem to jump to an assumption, then back track and try to think of other possibilities. 
11. Stand up for myself. I told one of the teachers I work with that my motto at the beginning of the year would be "I don't take shit from anyone." I need to start following that motto. If only I could post it on the wall at school.... Somedays yes, somedays no. It's a work in progress. 
12. Keep working on keeping new and old friends. Well, I haven't really made many (any) new friends. 
13. Send more letters to people. Oops. The only person I send/sent letters to is Charlie's grandma. I send cards. 
14. Learn more about my family history. Oops again. 
15. Eat more vegetables. In the summer it's easy. In the winter not so much. 
16. Read more books. Yikes. I read a bunch this summer and then totally stopped. My Dad bought me a book for Christmas. I've tried to check books out from the library but all the good ones have waiting lists. 
17. Try to stop swearing like a trucker Friday night - Sunday night. Yes. I just swear all the time. 
18. Finish that gosh darn cross stitch for my Mom that I started in 2008! No but I am oh so close. Just check my constant instagraming of it.  
19. Make a quilt and give it away. Who will be the lucky winner? No. I didn't make a single quilt.With some friends expecting babies, this will change in 2013. 
20. Worry less. Ugh. No, definitely not. I have found however, that petting Penny before I go to bed helps me relax and sleep better.
21. Be more creative. In other words, spend less time online thinking about being creative and actually do something creative. I've been making a more conscious effort to close the computer and be crafty. I've also embraced the idea that sometimes looking at things online can help you get ideas, and other times doing nothing is just what you need to do.
22. Hike somewhere and spend the night, and not flip out about peeing in the woods or being dirty. Our Honeymoon meets 1/2 of the requirement. I did flip out one day though. After the flip out Charlie said he wouldn't make me sleep in a hut ever again though.
23. Stop and smell the roses every now and again. Sure. Whatever the heck that means.
24. Ask Charlie for things instead of assuming he can read my mind. I'm trying.
25. Spend time with my family and friends. Yes. I love doing this.
26. Continue appreciating what I have and feeling lucky, because I am. Most days I really do. Things happening around me make me so thankful for a loving husband, cozy warm home, fantastic family, cute as a button dog, and great friends. 

I can't wait to see what 27 has in store.

Lauren 

Photo A Day Recap: Week 2

7. Street: I was rushing to get to work on Monday and remembered this word on my walk. I turned around and saw the sun rising over the hills. Since then I have made sure to turn and look behind me on my way to work in the morning, it's so pretty, it's a shame to miss out on the sunrise colors.

8. Something Beginning With the Letter "T": Tags. I registered my car, and also Penny at the town office. Now she has new tags. I love the little engraved tag made from a penny from my brother and sister in law.

9. Paper: Test booklets and evaluations were scuffled around my desk all day it seemed.

10. One O' Clock: This one was a cheat. I forgot to take a picture, and was also in a meeting so I said I was thinking about giving my co-worker the baby shoes.

11. Water: Part of the river we run near was frozen here. Penny usually surprises me and goes swimming, but not this day.

12. Surprise: A present from my sister-in-law. New shoes and a pair of long johns.

13. Circle: My favorite pin cushion. My mum used to have a bigger one and my brother and I would poke pins in the little peoples eyes and noses. We were so mean. Now if I accidentally poke one of the people I feel bad.

Fun week. More posts coming soon!

Lauren 

Baby TOMS

The other day I stumbled upon this adorable free pattern to make knock off TOM'S shoes for toddlers and babies. My co-worker is pregnant and had a baby shower at work today, so I decided to make her baby a pair. I also have another friend who had a baby in October so I made him a pair too. I find it's easier to cut out and make two (or four in this case) of something at one time than to do it twice.  I did these in an assembly line style.

Sewing such tiny things is fun, but also quite difficult. When I finished the first one I showed it to Charlie and we both said; "Are babies feet even that small?" Shows how much we know about babies. 

I made up little tags to look like TOM'S for the backs. It was actually pretty easy, same steps as the Twill Tape Labels I made a few years back. Just with a light blue band added to the top and bottom of the tag. 

The first pair has a contrasting top piece, with a matching inside sole. 

The second pair is all one fabric with a polka dot inside. The pattern was super fun to make. Although, as I mentioned, it was a little tricky sewing something this minuscule  I had tiny scraps of thread and fabric all over myself by the end of the night.

I hope the Mom's and babies enjoy these little shoes.

Lauren

Photo A Day: Weekly Recap

I am doing another Photo A Day Month. Last year I posted everyday on my blog, but I figured since I have Instagram to post, I would just repost the photos for a recap once a week. 

1. Today: We took down the Christmas tree.

2. Something New: My brother made me a shelf for Christmas. I love it so much I made a video about it. Watch It if you haven't. And if you have you should watch it again. I'm waiting for it to go viral so I'll be famous. 

3. Heart: This is a snowflake I made and is hung on the window at work. I used a pattern book. 

4. View From Here: Frozen waterfall on a walk with Penny.

5. Movement: Penny's tail wagging while she waits for us to get ready to go running.

6. Mine: Or used to be. I cleaned out a few drawers and am donating some clothes I no longer wear.

I'm going to try to take more pictures with a camera and not with the ipad, since the quality is not the best. Join in if you feel so inclined.

Lauren

2012: A Review in Pictures

It doesn't feel right to talk about the new year without taking a look back on 2012. It was a pretty great year. Charlie and I celebrated our first year of marriage, we went skiing and hiking a lot. We went on several trips, watched some great friends get married, and adopted a dog. Cheers to 2013. 

January

 

February

March

April

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Lauren