Christmas holidays

I'm really enjoying Christmas holidays and having my 3 kids home all day.  First off, I don't have to make lunches and snacks for school - a huge deal!  Secondly, there's no need to rush in the mornings.  A couple of days this week we haven't gotten our act together until noon.  I love it.  The kids seem content for the most part, to play and play and play.  They make paper wings for all their stuffies.  They cut out paper tiaras for them too.  J is super into paper airplanes and he makes about 50 per day, all makes, all models!  You can imagine how much paper there is around the house.  Little bits everywhere, airplanes everywhere amidst Polly Pockets, Lego dudes and all their accessories.  I am so happy that my children love creative play, but I feel overwhelmed with the messes that happen.  It is good when clean up time happens.  I have to remind myself to relax and let my kids be in the space in their way.  We took a break from playing and had time to have tea in these fine China tea cups I scored at a garage sale in the summer.  I put them in the girls'stockings and couldn't resist getting one for myself too.



I've also had some time to crochet.  I have fallen in love with crochet lately.  I made some hats for Christmas presents.  These are two of them for my little nieces. 

As of late, I'm really inspired and completely smitten with Lucy's life and work over at Attic 24.  I want to spend all of my money on beautiful shades of yarn and crochet everything I see there!  I can't stop thinking about the colors, the possibilities, the fun.  A couple of days ago I bought some cotton yarn in hopes of crocheting some samples of Lucy's patterns and using them as dishcloths.  The fun!  The joy!! 

This one's already in use.  It is beautiful to use, so soft and cushy.  Here's a better picture:

This is Lucy's Ripple pattern found here.  Love it.



This is the Granny Stripe.  Not finished yet.  It'll make a cheerful addition to the dishcloth collection!  And this here is the Hexagon.

I really enjoyed the challenge of this one, especially joining the hexagons while making them.  I grabbed a few minutes and curled up in my favorite chair today to finish this one.  Who says dishcloths have to have four sides anyway?  This one has a great feeling attached to it because while I was hooking, my little M curled up in the comfy chair beside mine and worked on her finger knitting project. 

It was a wonderfully peaceful time together, the two of us with our projects, soft Christmas music filling in the silence.