Runamuck Ranch

Felt for Christmas

While recovering I have finished a felted bag from Felted Knits.  This is a great pattern book because it has cute and simple projects and they all use size 13 needles and two strands of worsted yarn so they are super quick.  The pincushion is from wool felt which is suppose to keep needles and pins in tip top shape.  I loosely copied a design from Pretty Little Pincushions (Pretty Little Series) which I checked out from the library.  Both of these projects will be given to people I love tonight along with some homemade lotion that is the best stuff on the planet for dry desert skin.

Birthday Sweater

My first knitted sweater given to Memaw on her birthday.  Since she is over 55 she actually gets cold enough to wear a mohair/wool sweater.  Maybe she will let me borrow it in another 15 years.

Now, to cast on a cap for my poor neglected son whose ears get so cold when feeding the calves in the morning.  I guess being pitiful puts you ahead in the knitting queue.

Hurray, Hurray, Winter Vacation Begins Today

Today is the first day of our winter vacation from school.  We take off until Feburary 1st.  We do not have a big summer vacation.  In our climate it works a lot better for us to study in the summer when it is too hot to do anything else and take off when our weather is absolutely beautiful. 

My plan today is to put away the school books and turn our little school room into a craft room for the season.  We will have the sewing center at one of the desks and a big craft area at our table.  It will be a Christmas Craftapaloosa. 

We will then roll up our sleeves and get our housekeeping in order before Thanksgiving so we can decorate, craft, bake, and play for the Christmas season.  Thankfully, Thanksgiving dinner is never at my house so I do not have that to prepare for.  I am only in charge of bringing mashed potatoes.

The Farmer should finish picking our cotton today with good luck and no break downs.  The rood guys will be pulling in today to pick up the ground cotton and two of our trap teams will be practicing here so I had better get going.  Running around in my jammies will never do.

Seventeen Quilts For Seventeen Precious Children

Today Boo has her quarterly diabetes appointment at Phoenix Children's Hospital and we will be delivering 17 quilts for the children who need them most.  We have enlisted the help of April, a nutritionist at PCH, to let her heart guide her in placing each quilt.  We usually bring 2 - 4 quilts but we did a big push for the holidays.  My Mother in Love sewed 15 of the quilts and we tied them.

When we almost lost Boo we spent Thanksgiving in ICU and the holidays are tough at the hospital.  We wanted to provide extra quilts for extra comfort during this season.  This is our way of being our Savior's hands and wrapping each of these precious children in His love, comfort, and warmth.

While we give the quilts anonymously, through circumstances I have met two of the children who have received quilts.  One was a type 1 diabetic girl who is Boo's age and whose Dad just happens to be a seed salesman we buy seed from.  The other was a little girl named Samantha who has had 3 heart operations and was air evacuated to PCH one night with nothing and given a quilt which she sleeps with every night. 

When you are in the process of caring for a critically ill child the kindness of strangers really does feel like it is sent from heaven above.  So many were so kind to us.  We are so grateful to have the opportunity to pass it forward.

If it is on your heart to bless a child this Christmas you don't have to have an organization or sign up.  You can create something with love, go to a hospital and ask staff to place it for you.  So simple but so eternally important. 

Yarn Central Station

Two really great sites for free patterns are

• www.knittingpatterncentral.com 
• www.crochetpatterncentral.com

Dogwood Tree

TT my now teenager took this picture ..... 

Daisy is one with the mesquite branches.

Granny Square Poncho

Remember the poncho I was making for Caboodle?  Well it turned out a bit too big.  So Boo has a new poncho.  One sister's loss is another one's gain.  I am really glad since this was a lot of knit picky work and it will get a lot more use with it being worn by one girl and then the other.

Zinnia Centerpiece

Boo created this vibrant centerpiece from the zinnias in my container garden.  She set the table with simple white cotton napkins.  She also cooked chicken alfredo (with supervision) and a tomato and cucumber salad from the garden. 

The ordinary arts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest. - Thomas Moore

Corn Cob Doll

Boo and I are reading the Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  We made two corn cob dolls following the directions in the 

My Little House Crafts Book: 18 Projects from Laura Ingalls Wilder's (Little House) 

It was very authentic as we picked the corn from my garden, ate some for lunch, and used two ears for the project.  Boo named hers Laura (pictured).  Caboodle destroyed hers, tried to eat the cob, gave up, and has been using the cob as a light saber.  Still fun and a much better weapon than the green bean she was brandishing last week. 

Boo really liked this project.  It really struck me how spoiled we are in this age.  I don't know of any children who have a corn cob doll as their only toy.  However, this would have been common in pioneer days.  It also struck me how creative pioneer moms were to make do and still create a little treat for their children even when they were running on not much more than the barest basics to survive.

Dyed Cotton

Here is some cotton that I plucked from the gin last year and dyed using procion dye. 

To dye the cotton it has to be boiled until the oils and waxes that are naturally found in the cotton are removed and then the cotton is dyed.  This batch is varigated because I didn't let it soak as long in the dye, but it is really pretty in a heather kind of way.  This dye is very permanant as we also dyed cotton shirts and socks and they have remained bright after many many washings.

So Sue if you want some it will be postage for the cotton plus box USPS.

I have been shackled to the farm desk for the last couple of days finalizing tax stuff and working on crop financing.  YUK. 

We also started school on Monday and finished up our first week back.  It was a bit of a zoo!

Boo was inspired by reading about the Big Cats.

TT is working through a more formal art study in Barry Stebbing's "Feed My Sheep"

Now off for a date with The Farmer to Lowe's for a new water heater.  So romantic.