growing things

 I think I owe you a little more about that new grandson that I mentioned!  It's so exciting, and so hard to keep it to myself until I had the go-ahead to disclose!  So, the Burke family of 4 will become a party of 5 next year!

March, to be exact, since that's when the other 2 boys have birthdays!  I guess the birthday decorations can go up for the whole month now!  We all found out it was a boy when they were visiting here in late August, and neither Ian nor Jack had been let in on the secret until then.  Because there is nothing secret in their world!  Ian, who is 4, was pretty astounded when Brita told him about the baby inside her -- "Really?  Is it there inside right now?  Can I see it come out?"  Jack, 2, didn't seem that impressed, but he did like playing the new game of "Jack, where's your baby?"

This was his answer every time!  He's a child of few words!  And it's a good thing he still wears a diaper because otherwise those pants would be on the ground!  I think he might need suspenders soon, because he's on the verge of moving into underwear.

So, of course, a new grandson needs new quilty and knitty things, so I'm working on some of those ideas.  With the fact that they live in Charlotte, NC, there's not much need of warm wooly things, so I have to think beyond the little knitted hats, mittens and sweaters.  But it is still cool there in March and April, so there's still a need to keep a little guy cozy!

But back to what's happening at home--

I'm experimenting with sewing on something new.  It's called Kraft-tex, and it's a papery fabric crossbreed.  I'm first making just an easy tote bag from a free pattern on their website.  Then, together with Leisl, we each want to make a new tote bag from a pattern we saw last week.  You'll hear more about that!

This is as far as I've gotten with my first bag because I forgot to pick out the webbing for the handles when I was at Bear Patch Saturday.  The brown part is the Kraft-tex after crumpling and wetting and mashing it around during sewing.  I sewed a bit of a decorative stitch on it with red thread to echo the chevron design of the fabric.  Next time I would do more of that, but for my first attempt this is fine.  The bottom looks like an old grocery bag!  I'm hoping it gets better when I get it finished!  It's strange to sew, because it has stiffness like real heavyweight paper, but it doesn't tear or rip.

Yesterday I had some time at home to take care of some plants that have been outdoors this summer.  Thanks to a birthday gift card from Dan, I was able to buy what I needed to make this little arrangement of assorted plants and rocks.  I don't know the names of the individual plants, but each is different.  Dan has nurtured some succulents indoors because he doesn't have a suitable outdoor space, so I'm hoping mine will do OK in the house, too.  A couple of these had to be repotted, and some leaves were broken off during that process so I am using them to try to propagate more plants.

Here's hoping the scant winter light will be enough to keep them happy!