Today marks the beginning of a very big week. We’ll cross some milestones and anniversaries off our list this week, and I can tell my body is already feeling it. My mental fatigue is showing itself very clearly, so I feel the urge to settle in very simply tonight. I have a small project I’m going to finish up tonight while I watch some Netflix with Brady, but I’m taking all other pressures off.
Tomorrow is my one day with nothing on the calendar, and I’m going to keep it that way. I plan to do some things that are life giving, as well as organize a handful of things I know need to be done soon that I feel will be hard to wrap my head around this coming week. So please wish me luck for that!
Forgive the short post. There will be lots of information to come over the week, and lots to talk about. I will keep everyone in the loop all along the way. But for today, I’m going to wrap up my weekend with rest 🙂 I hope you all can do the same before Monday rolls in!
The forecast is calling for snow on Tuesday. This had better be the last of it! ❄️
We are kid-free today, thanks to the always lovely Rae and Tom 💜 What a huge gift these days are. For us, and for the kids.
Usually, these days are spent with our heads down, working on our projects, uninterrupted. They are amazingly productive days! This time around, however, we decided to run some errands. Errand days can get pretty hairy with the kids, though we’ve done it many many times. But this is MUCH easier. Plus, we knew the van would be a little extra full, so this was easier. We took advantage of the day off and headed into Saskatoon as soon as the kids were off!
I’ll be honest. It didn’t start off well. We were given a Costco giftcard a while back, and we were SO excited to spend it on a Camp Chef grill for the lake! However, the north location had none in stock. We were pretty disappointed, as they were for sure spotted there just the day before. I was fine to take the loss and keep on moving. So we did.
Next was Cabela’s in search of a good camping chair. Brady needs to be pretty careful with how he sits nowadays, so we’ve been on the hunt since last spring to find the perfect chair. Cabela’s had so many so recently, but that parking lot was fuller than a Walmart on Christmas Eve, and the once full camping chair section was scarcely stocked. Another loss, and off we went.
At that point, I had hoped to hit Michaels, and then we were going to go home. Brady expressed he would rather go south and try their Costco, and then maybe the Walmart or Home Depot would have chairs to try. So I figured we’d get Michaels on the way back, and we went south!
Guys. It was worth it.
Costco was first. And they had our grill!!
Truly, that grill was the biggest deal. We really wanted to get our hands on one before they all sold out. So we bought it, as well as some swim shorts for Brady, and then headed on our way. A generous stranger in the parking lot helped load the grill into the van. That kind of thing really makes a difference for us. We need more of those.
Then we went to Walmart, and had even MORE success!! Brady found a chair that checks all the boxes. He needs something that actually scoops his bum and holds him in there. None of those nice Costco director style chairs for him. He just slides out! So this chair had a tilted seat, plus lower back support. Its had to find both, but we did! Naturally, we found it while Cher was calling other stores and inquiring about what they had that would provide the right amount of support for her newly paralyzed brother 💜 So because she did ALL the work, of course we found it elsewhere 😆 Isn’t that just how it works?
Aaaaand while we were there, I found an elusive shade of blue (ebluesive?) yarn that I needed for my most recent tartan order! So that can begin anytime! Woot!
Walmart was also paid for on a gift card!
There was still yarn I needed, however, that wasn’t at Walmart, so we headed back into the centre of Saskatoon and hit Michaels.
I got everything I needed!! So much cotton for so many things. Soft blue for a blanket. And some fine, satiny yarn for scrunchies! Or, if you ask Brady, scrunches.
Finally, we had done everything we set out to do. So we stopped for selfies and lunch.
And by lunch, I definitely mean frosties and fries. Because we’re teenagers.
It was an incredibly successful day. We made it home recently, and its safe to say I’m pooped! But now I get to do some work in the comfort of my room, and watch some Netflix. Three-ish more hours until the kids are home! And then bedtime. And then band practice! Whew! 😅 Big day!
Thank you for your input these last days where I’ve had questions! I thought I’d do a quick sum up of whats happened, and what direction I’m moving in.
First – the farmers market! I actually need to fill out that application but I feel like every answer to every question is still pending 😂 Still. I should officially sign up. But I had asked yesterday what I should sell! Thank you for your input! I have done some reading up on marketplace tables, and its suggested to have some nice low cost items, some mid-range, and a few higher cost. At least until I see what sells and what doesn’t. So in my head, it looks like this.
Low range items would be kitchen cloths, dish scrubbies, facial rounds, towel hangers, etc.
Mid-range I’m picturing plant hangers, and maybe market bags? I’m not sure what else qualifies as mid-range, as I don’t currently plan to be making things like toques, scarves, mitts, etc. Maybe closer to fall? I don’t know. I know a couple of you said baskets! I hesitate a bit with baskets because there is another lady who comes who sells baskets as her entire craft. Yet hers are rope baskets, so maybe thats different enough? I’m not sure. Help?
For more expensive items, I plan to have a couple of blanket out for sale, as well as to showcase what I can offer.
Most importantly, there will be a portfolio and a custom order book. Because thats what I really love to do.
So I think my plan is in place. I think. I hope!
Secondly, I asked about grass. I really appreciate everyone’s input! What I’m reading and learning from friends is that sod and hydroseed aren’t so different in price anymore. If I’m willing to hydroseed, I may as well do sod. Yet, with that I imagine I’d need some more help. And across the board, everyone says water is the priority. WATER! Personally, I don’t give a hoot about underground sprinklers. Could take or leave them. I know they would add value to our house, so thats something to consider. But if we went to the trouble to install underground sprinklers, why not just seed and water, and seed some more? Fill in the gaps, and water some more? Wouldn’t that work too? But how much do those sprinkler systems cost? Ugh. I guess there is more research ahead! One friend said I can get a sprinkler timer at Costco (Thanks, Heather!) so I’ll probably look into that type of thing, but to get an even watering, underground sprinklers is my best bet, right?
Man. Weighing options in terms of cost and convenience is hard. Adulting feels finicky these days.
If you have tips on sprinkler or crochet items you think might sell at a farmers market, please be in touch! Show me your cool Pinterest ideas, or things you see on Insta that inspire you!
It has felt like a very full week! I know I don’t have a whole lot to show for it, but I’ve found myself busy, a little ragged, and somewhat unproductive. I can’t tell you if its because I’ve been busy with other things or just full in the brain but whew! Time moved fast this week!
That being said, tomorrow is another eventful day, and I won’t be home much for it. I won’t have a Finish Friday post, but not due to a lack of trying! I just know I don’t have enough minutes before then to show off anything of substance. There will be many more Fridays 💜
Most days, I crochet in my bed until its time to sleep. I know its time to sleep when I start losing stitches. I’ll go into my stitch, pull up my loop, and then when I hook the yarn to pull through the stitch, I miss, and pull my stitch right out. No damage is done, and I simply slip the hook back into the work and go again. But then it happens again, and again, and finally its just clear I’m not longer awake enough to crochet.
Unfortunately, my body is doing the same thing to me this afternoon. I am positively dragging. But that is just something I’ll have to get through 🙂 The day is still beautiful! I still hope we go for a walk this evening! I am constantly daydreaming about summer and the lake and creating and selling beautiful things at a nearby farmers market. Its going to be a busy, but beautiful season!
Quick. If you were at a farmers market and saw my table, what would you hope was on it? Kitchenwares? Market bags? Plant hangers? Novelty? Simple? Hit me with your ideas and whats trendy! I welcome all input and ideas!
Did you guys know that today is actually the official Tartan Day?! Its a real holiday! And I don’t mean it like the calendars that call everyday National Somethingorother Day. This is a real holiday celebrated in North America to mark the signing of Declaration of Arboath, which is the Scottish Declaration of Independence. It was signed in 1320, and started being recognized as a marked holiday in the mid 1980s.
You’ve probably noticed I’ve been really digging into plaids recently, making blankets of tartans, as well as other plaid patterns. I am really enjoying it! So its pretty cool to have a day where I’ll be able to centre on tartans in general 🙂
A LOT of love goes into these tartans. But at least in my opinion, it is SO worth it.
This is the tartan I did most recently.
Im in the process of one right now that I began while I was away at the retreat on the weekend. So, being that its tartan day, I figured I’d show you the unfinished product so you can see what all goes into it! Detail time!!
First, we have what I call the base of the blanket.
I know. It looks like it should be a complete blanket here, but it isn’t. Its actually more like a grid. Its 120 rows of spaces. This took ALL weekend to make. Hours on hours on hours. Its not quick.
Chains are next. Chains are a labour of love.
For this blanket, I need 93 chains. Since I have already started and measured up, I need each chain to be roughly 220 stitches long. So I have the pleasure of counting to 220 ninety-three times. As if I needed to say it, its also not quick. For this current plaid, I’m using these colors. I did all the black ones first because the darker the color, the harder to see, therefore the hardest to work with. Got them out of the way 🙂
Then I have to weave all the tassels through. If I really give ‘er and do it in one shot, it takes around 3 hours. Once they’re done, the body of the blanket is done.
Then there are tassels to cut. Ninety-three for each side. But two for each spot. So 372 all together. Then I have to tie them on.
And then I have to twist them, or braid them, or whatever the customer wants. That takes another few hours.
You can see why I have to charge for these suckers, right? Its definitely not super complicated, but its tedious. It takes time. The only complicated part is rebuilding the plaid on a graph so I can nail down the exact design before I start. That gets a little mathy.
Conveniently, I really enjoy making these plaid blankets 💜 I’ve really appreciated all the positive feedback along the way as well! Thank you, friends, for your support and care!
As the temperature rises and the snow melts, we all have spring on our minds. At least I’m assuming. I’m positive its not just me.
You might remember that the kids spent their last spring absolutely covered in dirt. Head to toe. Now I’m all for some good dirt. Its healthy and good to be outside, exploring, and getting dirty. But baths are no ones favorite in our home. Showers are even worse. So bathing every single kid every single day is NOT worth the effort. Not that I really have to justify it, but this year, I am ready for GRASS in the yard!!
Fun fact. Every time I type the word “yard” I first type “yarn.” Because, priorities.🧶
We had good goals for grass. We had planned to seed it ourselves last year, and babysit it until we got a lush lawn. But my goodness, that just wasn’t going to happen. Its laughable now, really. Of all things, we just couldn’t even think about that last year. No WAY. We made a good attempt to kill the bulk of the weeds, brought in topsoil, and got it all ready for hydroseeding.
Our neighbours hydroseeded their property a couple of years ago, and we were so intrigued! They paid as few hundred dollars, not very much at all, it seemed, and the guy travelled here, sprayed everything really thoroughly, and threw a big fat warranty on it. It seemed like perfect option for us! No fuss, no muss. Affordable. Guaranteed. So it wouldn’t be a super thick lawn right away. So what?
Brady contacted the same company this year and our yarn HA! See?!?! There!
Our YARD will cost around $700 to hydroseed. And the warranty is down to four weeks. I can’t help but feel a little shaky on my feet with this. The price almost doubled, and the warranty went down to less than a month! I said to Brady, at that price, we may as well do sod.
But. Sod is obviously more expensive than that. I assume. I really don’t know for sure, to be honest :/ Its always felt SO out of reach, financially. And even more so now that Brady can’t be the one to lay it. I know we cannot afford to get it installed, so we’re back to expensive, low warranty hydroseed. Maybe? Ugh. I don’t knowwwww!!
What I do know is that I really really want a lawn this year. Even if we only really get to be on it in fall. I want it to exist! I’m tired of our property looking ragged and dirty.
All of this being said, I welcome your feedback and advice! What would you do? Pay for the best and ask friends to help? Pay for midrange and hope for the best? Give hand seeding another whirl but just keep praying we can move? Guys. Input is the name of the game here. What would YOU do?
I promised to post about what Brady and the kids were up to this last weekend. But then I realized, if you follow him on insta, you probably already know. Consider this my shameless plug to to follow @icantstand.woodworking! Here is a quick photo play by play. They ate good food together, got the bikes going, played in the garage, driving, and did lots of reading and crafting.
Brady and I have always felt its important that we are able and willing to be alone with our kids over a weekend so the other can be free to duck away for a couple of days here and there. I completely accepted that this had changed in the last year, but Brady had not accepted it. He was determined, and he prevailed. I am incredibly grateful for a husband who wants to be with his kids, and now works ten times as hard to be on his own with them for an entire weekend. This was an excellent test weekend, and I know it was a stretch, but it was a success!
We both slept SO well last night 💜 Now the new week begins! The kids have today off of school, and we’re filling the day with some chores, baths, and planning ahead! Its spriiiiiiing! While we had hoped we’d be in a different house, or close to it, by now, we’re not 🤷🏼♀️ So we need to find a way to make this next season function a little smoother over here. 💪 I still need to unpack from yesterday also….. We’ll get there!
Late Friday morning, I was completely unexpectedly convinced out of my house for the weekend.
There was an event this past weekend that I have always loved attending – the craft retreat. I wrote it off long ago for a handful of reasons. Both financial and moral responsibility beat out my desire to crochet on a couch, among friends, eating good food. But the game was changed. So I spoke to Brady, who had only just learned that the craft retreat was coming up, was in full favour of me going. We haven’t spent a night apart since he came home from the hospital. With that, he hadn’t spent that long on his own with the kids since well before his surgery. He was completely capable before, and we both knew he’d be fully capable now, but I did worry he would tire out really quickly and struggle more. But we agreed that now was the best time to try it out, when I would only be a short 20 minutes away if something really went bad. And we were both confident it wouldn’t.
Spoiler alert: We were right. Nothing went bad 💜
We decided I would attend the retreat around 11am on Friday, and my ride showed up about three hours later! We got there in time to help unload, set up, and organize the place. We got tables and chairs set up, food put away, rooms assigned for night, etc. And then people started coming and we started crafting.
I sat on the far couch. See my big ole yarn carrier thing? Yup, that was where I parked my behind.
And this weekends schedule speaks for itself!
Remember when I could hardly eat? Man alive. I really enjoyed eating this weekend. Its possible mini eggs were part of my brunch plate.
I got a mountain of work done. More than I ever would’ve gotten done at home. We can talk more about that another day. It was all so last minute, I didn’t have time to acquire the yarn I needed for pending orders, so I just crocheted *gasp* what I WANTED!!! So that was a riot, hahaha! I worked and ate and slept a little, though I forgot my pillow at home, of all things. But I made it work, and had such a nice weekend away.
I was greeted at the end of our driveway by my husband 💜 What an incredible way to come home. The kids followed within the minute of my arrival. It was pretty awesome to be received so warmly.
I LOVED my time away. I felt LOVED while I was away.
I LOVED coming home. I felt LOVED at home.
Thank you, Lord, for this weekend. I feel incredibly fortunate 💜
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I’ll show you what Brady and the kids were up to tomorrow 🙂
Ok, I’m pretty sure you saw this already. Maybe? I don’t know. I bought some super cute cotton yarn and made really bright, summery dishcloths. I can’t tell you why I like these colors so much but I just really do.
Dekker looked like a teenager this one morning, so it needed to be captured 💜 Ugh. This kid just keeps growing.
We exchanged our phones this week, as you know 🙂 I didn’t get a picture of the three of us, because Brady was being responsible and we were hanging back a bit. But we had fun 🙂
Also this week, I bought something SUPER exciting at Value Village! Ok, so probably I’m the only one who cares, but this thing is the cats pajamas. Its a yarn winder! I will admit that I did buy one of these for myself brand new last year for my birthday. If I remember right, it was about $60. This one, I paid $3.50 for. It needs a clean up, but its way sturdier than my other one. What a steal!
A while back, one of Brady’s friends, Doug, drove out to show Dekker around his trailer and all his tools. He gave Dekker a bunch of stickers and one of this company hats. It was very cool of him to make such a special effort for Dekker! Turns out, he has been working on getting hats for ALL the kids 💜 They are a total hit, as you can imagine. I’m partial to Waverly’s hat, but who is surprised by that?
Brady and I got to go for a solo walk just the other day 💜 It was nice. When he uses the Batec, we can hold hands! Between having a bunch of young kids and now paraplegia, I’ve really missed holding hands.
We put the Batec through some rigorous testing this last week and I think we’ll try to keep it on the road lol! Brady was able to get through everything by driving with his right hand and pushing his wheel with his left. Thank goodness for his grippy outdoor wheels! We got through, but you’d better believe we took a different way home!
This last picture was worthy of a giggle for me. You know when you try to drink out of, say, a wine glass or champagne flute, and you also have a nose? And it just doesn’t work?? This is the toddler version, hahaha!! Her hat made it next to impossible to steal that last little drop, but she maintained her style while earning that teeny little spec of coffee. She’d say it was worth it.
Thats been our week! Pretty quiet, but in a way we are completely happy with. More rowdy days to come, I’m sure. If the weather can ever sort itself out, hopefully we’ll have grass started sooner than later. Sod? Spray? Seed? Always planning for whats to come…
Today’s Finish Friday is brought to you by this plaid shirt, hahaha!
Cher got this shirt from Cabela’s a while back and I was instantly very jealous, hahaha! I couldn’t put my finger on why, but I LOVED it. Turns out it was half price, and I drove in to Saskatoon the very next day to buy it for myself. Its kind of fallish, but it also isn’t just fallish. It works for anytime. I love the colors so much.
So as I sat and worked on my crochet projects, this shirt just sat in my closet, staring at me. And I do mean it stared at me, because from my side of the bed, I can see into our walk-in closet, and that sucker is right there. Looking at me. Still. Anyway.
I couldn’t shake it. So I had to make it.
Ta-da!!!!
#shakeittilyoumakeit
For the details…
This blanket is pretty square. Its about 5’x5′, with twisted tassels. Its beefy and will be really warm. Maybe not one an adult could wrap around their shoulders, but a good one to sit with on the couch. Also would be a goooood cozy choice for a kid! This one in particular is tied nice and tight, so while there is still stretch and comfort, there are fewer holes and snags.
To me, this blanket is a testament towards unlikely colors going SO beautiful together!! I owned this purple yarn already, but it just sat. It was a more reddish purple than I usually gravitate towards, so I hadn’t reached for it. Navy I always have, because we need some good dark colors that aren’t always black. And that orange. Never would I have bought that orange. I have loved orange in my life, and there is still a place for it. This orange, however, it a little weird and dark. But not like that nice deep dark spicy orange. Its just – weird orange. The label claimed its carrot orange, but I call foul. Definitely 🙅♀️ not 🙅♀️ carrot 🙅♀️ Who would’ve thought these weird colours would go so beautifully together?? Not I! But I am so grateful I had the chance to prove myself wrong.
Sometimes we’re just inexplicably drawn to something. And I am not mad at it!
