We have an 8-year-old in the house!

Okay, okay...this post is over a month late since his birthday was in February; however, the truth remains that my baby who first made me "Mama" is now 8. Where has the time gone? He has grown so much--physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. His imagination always amazes me. He has a constant hunger to learn more and reads whatever he can get his hands on. He still loves Star Wars and is always building some new Lego creation. He is in his 2nd year of homeschool and seems to still enjoy it. :) He loves music and is always whistling or singing (and now has his guitar to strum on). He loves reading his new Bible and then shares what he has read with me.

We had a small family celebration with a homemade chocolate cake. Rob took him and a friend to a UTPA basketball game and then out for ice cream, then we all went on the Starlight Safari campout with our Cub Scout pack the following weekend at the zoo. It was a fun time celebrating a terrific boy!

Happy Crafting.

Here is my latest completed project--a pair of pink knitted booties, and a pair of hand embroidered felt booties. The booties are for one of my Alpha Phi sister's new baby girl. This mama to boys really enjoys the times when she gets to work on projects that cute and girly. :) I have been dying to post photos of these cuties; however, I had to be sure that the gift was received before divulging the surprise.

The yarn for the knitted booties was one I picked up at a cute little yarn and ukulele shop in Hanalei, Kaua'i. It's a bamboo-wool blend and was really fun to work with. I love how the light catches the fibers and was impressed with how nicely it knit up. I have only ever used Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino yarn on this pattern in the past and was glad to find a second yarn that I thought made a good substitute. The most difficult part of constructing the booties is grafting the sole; however, it's a lot easier than it seems (and I am SO thankful for the ladies at Mosaic Yarn Shop in Blacksburg, VA for teaching me when I made my first pair of these booties nearly a year ago).

The felt booties were completely a last-minute project idea that I found on a craft blog I follow, and once the idea was planted firmly in my mind, there was no turning back. The "pattern" for the embroidery was what I envisioned and turned out better than I ever imagined. The ivy vine was embroidered with dark green embroidery floss, and the little forget-me-nots were a light blue color with a buttery yellow center. Anytime I work on something this small on my sewing machine, I get a little bit nervous; however, these were surprisingly easy and Heather Bailey's instructions are very clear and easy to follow.

Both of these projects were great to do when I was running very short on time and needed to fulfill that creative urge. :)