Come and find the tutorial over at my mom’s blog, where I’ll be guest posting, Ponder the Path.

Our adventure began

We lived in Germany from when I was four until I was nearly eight. I went to a German kindergarten, and then went to the school on base for first grade. Now, it may be difficult to remember what I had for breakfast yesterday morning, but I can remember what it was like to go to school. In first grade, I remember I had no friends. Why? Probably because I just didn’t fit in, and even then I could tell they had “cliques”. I remember sitting at my desk, pretending like I was “knitting” with two pencils, and them rolling their eyes. I remember not understanding the task I was to do, and getting reprimanded. I remember getting bullied on the bus. But the greatest memory of that time was when my mom told me one day that I wasn’t going back to school, that she was going to homeschool me. I was so excited! I remember asking my mom if Marina (a German friend) was going to come over to our house and do homeschool with us. I pictured in my head all of us (Tristan, Marina, and I) sitting on the couch, my mom writing on a big whiteboard, as what homeschool would be like. Little did I know that homeschooling was nothing like that!

What homeschooling is

There are many things people think homeschooling is. Some people think it’s sitting around all day doing nothing while in your pjs. Some people think we do polynomial equations at age four. Some people think it’s a large group of kids all having school in one house (like public school, but in a house). Let me say, homeschooling is like none of these (well, except maybe the first one on occasion). Let me tell you what homeschooling is from a homeschooled kid’s point of view.

Homeschooling means:

• Your mom teaches you and your siblings at home. That means you are around your family all day.
• You are responsible for getting your school done. You are encouraged (made to) learn on your own.
• You can learn at your own pace. We’re not cookie cutter kids. For me, I’ve always struggled with Algebra (until the brilliant moment that the lightbulb finally came on), but Latin came easier. I think for Algebra and Chemistry, I took two years to do each of them. For business Math and Geometry however, they each took about a semester each.
• Sometimes, it is school in your pjs. Sometimes, things don’t get done. But it’s ok. The world won’t end if we don’t do school for one week, and then catch up on Spring break. It’s ok to take a Spring break before Spring.
• Learning is not always from textbooks. Before junior high, I did very little science from textbooks. Most all my science was hands on. Watching butterflies grow in a cage from caterpillars to beautiful winged creatures, and then setting them free. Catching frogs and learning what they eat, where they live. Lizards too. Collecting leaves. Most of all, I loved to read books about animals. I learned about all kinds of bugs (for those of you who know Hannah the bug collector, and Maddie who loved worms…I admit I did the same things!) just by reading and looking at pictures of them. I remember sorting cards that had all kinds of animals on them, and I learned about creatures like Ermine. And text books don’t really teach you how to tell a dog’s breed by sight. I may not have done much formal science when I was little, but that didn’t stop me!
• We have the freedom to do school at any time during the day. We’re encouraged (and the little kids have to) to do school in the morning, but as long as it gets done, it’s fine if we do it in the evening.
• No, not all of us are social butterflies. Hannah has never met a stranger. I don’t usually talk much unless it’s with someone I know well.

Benefits of homeschooling

• I get to be around my family all day long. I get to form relationships with my family that may have not developed had I not been around them all day long. I have different relationships with each of my siblings. I’m old enough to be Cooper’s mom, and him and Isaac are so young, our relationships are more like playful fun relationships. Maddie and Hannah love to do anything I do. We do girl things together, such as crafts, and I try to be a good example for them. Tristan, we’re best buddies. We’ve been around the world together, and since the next sibling after him is eight years younger then I, him and I are real close. All of us have really good relationships. No, we’re not perfect, and we argue and fight and bicker. We’re humans, with human natures. We’re all sinners, and being around sinners all day, there’s bound to be some sin coming out. But this has helped us to have self-control, to be extra kind, and to get along with each other.
• My mom says the most common phrase she hears when she home schools us is when she asks us “did you do your school?” and we say “but you didn’t help me!”. When we’re younger, my mom teaches us to do it even if she can’t help us. Many times, this means she had to ask us every day if we did our school. Through my high school years, I’ve had to learn to take initiative. Why? Because while in high school, there are so many things that you have to have in order to pass. So many years of such and such, and so many semesters of so and so. My mom had written down what I need to accomplish each year, and it was up to me to make sure it got done. I struggle a lot with procrastinating, and taking initiative, but years in high school has helped me a lot to learn to get things done.
• Learning at our own paces has taken away much frustration. Some things are easier than others, and there’s no use in trying to make a child learn something when they’re not ready for it. When they are ready for it, the lightbulb will come on, and it will be a lot less frustrating. School won’t be such a drag, because they weren’t forced to do it. And it’s encouraging when the lightbulb does come on, because then it’s exciting for them! Hannah just now came to me with a book, so excited because she read the whole page! It’s exciting to see her excited!
• In 2011, we left our house in Spain, and came over to the states so my mom could have Cooper. We brought our schoolbooks, but it’s hard for a mom to be pregnant, and to have her husband across the ocean. The whole year of 2011, we didn’t get much school done. Somehow though, we’re not really behind. We weren’t ahead to begin with, and we didn’t do much school, so I don’t know how to explain how we didn’t get too far behind. Maybe it was because we were able to quickly catch up, I don’t know! It was by God’s grace! Our family also travels a lot. This means school is put off for another week (we don’t often get Spring break in Spring, or Thanksgiving week in fall). But I can’t begin to name all the things we have learned by observing all the things God has created while traveling!
• Homeschooling really is fun! It makes school fun! Because of the freedom we have, all the extra time we have (it’s amazing how quickly school can get done around here!), we have taken on so many extra things. All of us (with the exception of Isaac and Cooper) have learned instruments. Tristan plays the guitar and ukulele, and can play the mandolin and piano (he’s also learning the banjo!). Maddie plays the piano, mandolin, and can play the violin. Hannah plays the piano and violin, and can play the mandolin. We have our own bluegrass gospel band called the Morning Stars (our last name, Lucero, means morning star in Spanish, and it reminds me of the verse Job 38:7, about the morning stars singing together). I also got to learn Latin and Spanish (I only needed one foreign language to pass high school), and countless crafts which I’m also trying to teach Maddie and Hannah. Tristan (who is almost fifteen) is learning programming, movie making, and plans to build his own computer probably within the next year.
• School doesn’t start early in the morning. We’re not really early risers, and everyone usually doesn’t get up very early. But this has encouraged me to wake up earlier, because when I do, my sisters do. And when they do, it helps everyone to. It’s not always easy to stay out of bed once my alarm wakes me up, but this has taught me self-discipline. If I want to do something (such as get up early), I have to work hard at it and not slack.
• There’s a saying I like: “People who don’t know me think I’m quiet. People who do wish I was”. Like I said before, Hannah has never met a stranger. For me, I’m not real outgoing. Neither is Tristan. But none of us are age segregated. We can talk to adults just as well as kids our own age. So even though some of us may be quiet, it doesn’t mean we don’t know how to talk to people.

Homeschooling summed up

Homeschooling is training up a child in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6). This is one tool we can use to glorify God (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Education is the kindling of a flame, not the filling of a vessel.     ~ Socrates

We don’t learn everything. My mom can’t teach us everything. She doesn’t know Latin or programming or how to build a computer. But one of the greatest gifts God has blessed my mom with is with the ability to encourage others. There are many things I would’ve never done had she not been there saying “you can do it!”. She has encouraged us so much that I love school! I love learning! I never tire from seeing how much she loves learning, and her love of learning has encouraged me in loving learning!

Life, and therefore homeschooling (as the graduation speaker said) is not what you do, but who you are. It’s not doing everything, but being all Christ wants you to be.

One more thing. The most important thing. She has based all of our learning on the word of God. She has trained us up to love the Lord, and to have a personal relationship with Him. Because of this, I’m encouraged to learn all about the world He has created, and to pursue the areas of learning that glorify Him most.

What God does to those who let Him lead in all areas of life

A few years ago, my mom started an herbal course. She asked if I would be interested in taking it with her, and I said sure. I didn’t know what I could use it for (other than personal use), but thought it might be interesting. This last year, I took a business math, thinking it would help me because I planned to pursue opening a yarn store. I got an A in the class, but I wasn’t all fired up about it. Recently, God has seemed to be opening the doors and planting the desire in my heart to be a midwife. Things such as knowing a midwife where my dad plans to retire seem to fit into place, and the herb course that I didn’t know what to use it for will now be an essential part of midwifery. God works in amazing ways, and when we honor Him with what we do, He blesses that!

The End?

This past Friday, May 11, 2012, I graduated from high school! It was (and still is!) a joyous part in my life! A feeling of accomplishment, a step toward adulthood, the end of the beginning so to speak. But it’s not the end, only a step toward what God has called us to do. It is interesting that my graduation was on the same weekend that Mother’s Day is! But it makes sense, because mothers usually are the ones doing the homeschooling. All of these things that I have been talking about, all about homeschooling, she is the one that sacrificed her time, and really devoted her life to teaching us at home! Aren’t moms amazing? Yay for mothers! Yay for my mom!

The Question

All homeschoolers know “The Question”. It appears when we’re younger, yes, but people take us more seriously when we’re older, and especially when we’re graduating. “The Question” is: What are you going to do after school? What they really mean, usually, is: “What college are you going to go to? Or are you going to go into the military?”. You should see the expressions on people’s faces when I tell them I’m not going to college? “What? You’re not going to get an education?”. I didn’t say that, I said I’m not going to college. College isn’t the only place you can get an education. I’m planning on going to midwife school. Most of it is classes online, and then an internship. When I tell them that, they’re like “Oh, ok, so you’re still going to school”. But I feel for all the girls that the Lord has led to become stay at home moms only! Not because their job is any less, no, God’s will is always the best thing to do, whether it’s as a stay-at-home daughter, or a martyr for the Lord. But because they will face much opposition from people who don’t think highly of “just” stay-at-home moms.

The reason for everything

What is the number one reason my mom has chosen to sacrifice so much for homeschooling?

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
1 Corinthians 10:31

Amen.

Praise God for godly moms who love the Lord.

Amen.

Disclaimer: I am NOT a country music fan

One of my favorite hymns (ok, I have many favorite hymns, but there are so many wonderful ones!) is His Eye is on the Sparrow. There’s just something about the simple truth that God is watching me. No matter where I go, no matter what I’m doing, no matter what time of the day it is, He is watching me. It’s a very comforting thought. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He’s watching me. Some may object saying, “If God is watching us, why do bad things happen?”. The simple answer is, to glorify God. How can bad things glorify God? Because through bad things, we can grow as Christians closer to Him. Through bad things, He brings others to the saving realization of their sin and separation of God, and gives them faith in Him as their personal Saviour. Through bad things, He brings even better things to pass.

Let me give you an example. My little brother, Cooper, was born with club feet. We had to bounce around from Spain, to Texas, and finally end up here in Kansas. Such a little thing, no one could’ve done anything about it. At the time, it seemed like a bad thing, but with each day that passes, I realize God is doing great things. Some of these things, we may not know now. But others, I can see. I’ve seen God work in our family, bringing us closer to Him, and sanctifying us every day as we walk close to Him. He has opened up doors we would’ve never thought even to look for before. Like the house in Brenham. We had only ever been to Brenham TX once before, and that was in ’09. My great-grandfather never had a particular reason for moving to Brenham. I had never even heard of Brenham before we went there. And now, we’ve basically fallen in love with the area, and plan to go back there in a year or so. And, it just so happens, a good friend of mine had a friend who had a sister who teaches mandolin and fiddle. Guess where she lives? In Brenham! I would’ve probably never learned any mandolin had it not been for God taking us to Brenham and using a sister of a friend of a friend’s that taught me fiddle and then showed me the mandolin. She also had a part in getting my brother into the ukulele. And also, now, Maddie, my sister is learning the mandolin. She also got us hooked on bluegrass, and now we’re a family band!

Now, if you had a hard time getting all that, you should hear about all the other great things God has done for us! But, there’s not enough time (or space in one blog post) to write it all down, so I’ll just leave you with, God is good and perfect in all He does. It’s not up to us to speculate if what He did was good for us or not. One of my favorite verses is (and I have a lot of favorite verses too!) Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.

Now, why am I choosing today to say all this? As I write, some of my family is sitting around the television watching the weather report. When I got on the computer, I went to check my mail on yahoo, and saw on one of the news clip things exactly what we are watching on the weather channel. All through the midwest there are severe weather warnings. Thunderstorms, hail, and even tornadoes. Last I’ve seen, there have been already 73 tornado reports. Tornadoes are popping up like daisies! It would be very easy to worry about tornadoes, especially when they’re all over the place. But this song reminds me, God is watching me. And whatever He does is good. As another hymn says “Trusting Him whate’er befall, Trusting Jesus that is all”. Whatever God does is good, and it’s the best for me. May God grace us with faith to trust Him even when it’s hard!

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31

Not exactly a sparrow, but you get my point!

Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heaven and home,
When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend is He:
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain:
I sing because I’m happy,
I sing because I’m free,
For His eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

“Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Refrain

ETA: We just got a tornado warning. We’re all bunked in the basement (where all bedrooms but the master bedroom are anyways). We just found there’s a tornado not too far south west of us, and heading towards us. Please be praying for us!

When I was little, maybe about six or seven, my mom taught me how to do the crochet chain. She also went to some sort of knitting/crocheting get together, in which one of the ladies taught her to crochet a bit. So my mom taught me a bit more, and together, we each made hats. I still have my hat that I made. But I never retained any of it in my memory, and so years later, although I got the concept of crocheting, I didn’t really know how to complete different stitches and such. So, about four years ago, my grandma (who started crocheting about the time I started knitting, and now crochets gazillions of afghans) taught me how to crochet. I learned single crochet, double crochet, and probably a couple other stitches. I made another hat. Last year, I started a crocheted sampler afghan so that I could learn more crochet stitches and techniques. I’m about half way done with it, but haven’t worked on it in a while. I knew the basic stitches, and could figure out how to do squares in each of the stitches and stitch patterns, but never really thought I could do an actual project that involved more than squares. Also, I wasn’t really enthralled with crochet. Not that I dislike how it looks, or dislike the finished fabric characteristics, I just never took to it.

Working at the yarn store, I get to meet a whole lot of people. There are a lot who both knit and crochet, and it made me want to learn more about crochet so I could get where crocheters were coming from and understand crochet lingo and such. We have this one gal that comes in about every week for our sit and stitch night. Every week she is working on a different shawl. I am amazed by how fast she crochets! Her latest one that I’ve seen was one called the Sidewalk Shawl. It’s a beautiful lacy shawl with pineapples all through it. It was at that moment that I just had to learn to crochet. I could’ve picked something that seemed simpler, but then I might not have wanted to crochet. So, I printed out the pattern, picked out some yarn from the stash my grandma gave me (some deep plum colored yarn), and sat down to what I thought would be incredibly hard and tedious. A half hour later, I could not believe it. I was crocheting! I had no trouble following the pattern (although, I do wish it had been written differently; it doesn’t show how to do the repeats very clearly, or how many to do). And soon, I had my first pineapple show up. I was so excited! If I would’ve known crochet wasn’t as hard as I had previously thought, I would’ve started a long time ago! Although, I think that a big part of learning to do it was finding a pattern I just “had” to make. So, without further ado, my Sidewalk Shawl!

This is me wearing it as a shawl. I really like the pineapples in the pattern!

This is me wearing it as a bolero. Very useful so that the ends don't get in your way.

And this is me wearing as a cowl, probably very warm come winter.

In the last picture, I didn’t smile because my mom told me not to smile. Some people!

The pattern was fairly simple, or at least it’s simple once you figure out how to do it. I didn’t like how it was written at all, it made it difficult to know exactly which repeats in the asterisks you did next, as there were two different sets of repeats in most of the rows. If you are used to reading patterns, and reading your work, then you shouldn’t have any trouble with it. And the end result is well worth it! Again, if I would’ve known I could make this shawl, I would’ve done it a lot sooner. But hey, I didn’t know I could crochet!

When I think of Spring, I usually think of bright new grass, flowering plants and trees, and gentle rain showers. As we drive down our dirt road (this is our third house in about two years that we’ve lived on a dirt road), I see calves with their mamas, and it reminds me too that Spring is a season of new life. Creatures people usually associate with Spring are chicks and bunnies. Well, a little over a week ago, we became the proud owners of six baby chicks!

You can read all about them on my mom’s blog over at ponderthepath.com, in her series: Chickens from Scratch. She also has a cute video of my two sisters talking about the responsibilities of owning chickens. It’s a very cute video! The chicks are growing up so fast! When we got them, we could probably fit them in a large eggshell. Now, they’re getting so big, it’s impossible to pick them up with one hand! Pretty soon, it will be difficult to pick them up at all!

The second well thought of Spring creature is the bunny. In our family, we don’t do the whole easter bunny thing. We want to keep our focus on Christ, the real reason there is an Easter. We try to keep the focus on His death, burial, and resurrection. Him, and Him only. But creatures are a part of God’s beautiful world that He created, and so I think it is nice to reflect on the symbols of new life that Easter brings us to help us remember the greatest new life Christ’s death brings those that put their faith and trust in Him alone.

The most precious reminder of how precious lives are in the Lord’s sight came along with a little bunny. And it happened sort of like this. I was coming outside to tell my mom something, when she called me over to her. “Kendra, come here real quick, look at this. I think it’s a baby bunny!”. She was looking over to some bushes in our flower garden. I peered into the bushes, and sure enough I saw a brown little ball of fluff in between two sticks in the bush. I thought it looked stuck. I asked my  mom if I could pick it up, and let my siblings pet it (I had forgotten that my scent would stay on the bunny, but it didn’t end up mattering anyways). I reached down, slowly, because I was sure it would bolt at any second. I was surprised when it didn’t move, nor did it seem stuck between the two sticks. It was the cutest little bunny ever! Adorable!

As I held it, it snuggled up close to me, and tried to bury its tiny head in between my hands and me.

As I held it, I realized it’s back legs weren’t moving. My mom said before, she had seen a dog in the flower bed (although we know the dog, and it’s very gentle; wouldn’t hurt a fly). She thinks the dog might’ve tried to pick the bunny up, and accidentally hurt him. As I waited, the bunny still wouldn’t move its back legs, and we realized it was paralyzed. We took him inside to care for him, and made him a little bed in a box with some pine shavings from the chicken cage. My mom and I didn’t think he would live very long, because often paralysis causes disfunction of other organs nearby. Also, he wouldn’t drink the milk from a bottle that I tried to give him.

I had to go to work soon, and couldn’t stay and care for him. I thought he would be gone by the time I got back. Imagine my surprise when I came back to the little guy running from my hand as I tried to pick him up, and seeming as alert as ever! He still wouldn’t eat hardly anything though, and I was afraid he wouldn’t last the night. But, before sunrise the next morning (because I read Eastern Cottontail baby bunnies eat before dawn and after dark), I found him still holding on, and seeming to do well. But the problem of him not getting enough nutrition from food was still there. We tried milk, alfalfa tea, moist alfalfa leaves, clover, and even carrot shavings, but could only get him to take a few drops of milk and alfalfa tea.

This whole time, since the moment we started caring for him, I prayed that the Lord might spare his little life. If the Lord knows every sparrow that falls, surely He would see the little bunny in my hands, and I prayed that He might let him live. Often, God allows the hard things in life for the better. It helps to sanctify us, and train us to be more like Him. But I prayed that if it would bring Him the most glory, that He might let the little creature live.

There was a lot of praying for that little guy. The next day, today in fact, I warmed up the milk in a pan. I usually would just leave out the milk so it would get to room temperature, but this time I heated it up. I also held the bunny on its back to feed him. Oh, how happy I was when he started gulping it down! Afterwards, I took him outside to get some fresh air, hoping he might find some grass or clover to nibble on. He started eating some of the grass! When I picked him up to bring him inside, he was a happy, stuffed little bunny as we could tell by his round little tummy, full from all the food.

I know that the Lord had a hand in letting this little creature live. If the little bunny hadn’t made it, I know the Lord has a purpose in everything, but praise Him for letting him live!

Refrain:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful:
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors,
He made their tiny wings.

Refrain

The rich man in his castle,
The poor man at his gate,
He made them, high or lowly,
And ordered their estate.

Refrain

The purple headed mountains,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning
That brightens up the sky.

Refrain

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one.

Refrain

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day.

Refrain

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

Refrain

How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well!

Abi Boberg!

Congratulations Abi!

And for all the rest…sorry…there could only be one winner…BUT, there is hope! You can find the pattern for sale on Etsy, at TinyOwlKnits shop.

Thanks to all who entered!

A few days ago, I read a thing on Ravelry about a giveaway they were doing. Twenty-five people would get twenty-six books. All you had to do was watch a tour on the new library features (which was very informative, I never really knew what the library feature was!). With two-million people on Ravelry, the chances seemed extremely slim, and I hardly ever enter any kind of giveaway. But I thought the tour might be interesting, so I decided I might as well just go ahead and watch it. A couple days later, I received an e-mail stating in the title: “Congratulations! You won a book bundle in Ravelry’s library giveaway!”. Needless to say, I had to read through it at least three times before I was convinced it was for real, and I had really won. Me, out of all the 94,000 people who entered, I was one of the twenty-five people who won! Woo-hoo! I’m still really shocked! As I read on, it said something about them mailing the books to me. When I entered the contest, I had thought they were e-books, and wasn’t completely excited. You see, I’m an ink on paper kind of girl. There’s just something about being able to hold a book in your hands and turn the pages that e-books just can’t begin to compete with. But what a surprise to me when I found out they are real paper and ink books! Twenty-six of them! In our house, we have many bookshelves. I have my own bookshelf that is so filled with books it even has over fifty books lined up on top of it! I’m going to have to find some room somewhere for all those books!

To share a bit of my excitement (and also because I already have one of the books), I will be having another giveaway of one of those books right here on my blog! (It may take a couple weeks, as I still have to wait for the books to actually get here!).

For those who haven’t heard, tomorrow is the big day when we will announce the winners of the giveaway for a free Beekeeper’s Quilt pattern! If you haven’t signed up yet, all you have to do is comment on my post about what you would do with your hexipuffs, and you’re entered! So much excitement lately!

The first is Multnomah. It is a very simple garter stitch/feather and fan shawl, and I made it using a tonal wool/bamboo blend, hand-dyed by the owner of Oddballs, Tracie.

It was very simple, easy to memorize the repeats quickly, and a great on the go project as we were traveling at the time. There are, however, two mistakes in the pattern; one on repeat six of the feather and fan, and the other on repeat 10. Because the shawl is at the shop right now, I don’t have exact directions on how the pattern is supposed to be written, but I will try to explain. The lace repeat is on 18 stitches. When you’re on repeat 6 and 10, however, you are given more stitches to work with (in the case of repeat 6, you are given 20 extra stitches instead of 18). I fixed the problem by just knitting the extra stitches as part of the outer border, and not starting the lace part until I knitted up to the correct 18 stitches it was supposed to have. I hope that helped clear up that errata!

The next pattern was a Simple Summer Socks, which I also made out of Tracie’s hand-dyed wool/bamboo blend. But with this one, I used her self-striping. I hope to buy some of my own sometime! Wouldn’t matching pairs of lacy summer socks for each of my sisters and I just be adorable?

The pattern for this was straightforward, and also easy to memorize the repeats. One word of caution, however. If you’re doing Judy’s Magic Cast On, as I was doing, please use magic loop for the cast on! I am a big fan of DPNs, but there are a very few select time when I will use magic loop, and this is certainly one of them! As I didn’t have my magic loop needles at the time, I spent many minutes trying to fiddle with getting it correctly knit. Although I did it successfully, let me advise you to get magic loop for the cast on if you can! Ok, back to the pattern. These socks were cute, but I think for me personally, I wouldn’t use the self-striping next time. A nice variegated tonal, yes, but self-striping–maybe not. It kind of takes away from the lacy pattern just a bit. Anyways, the pattern was fun, easy to read, and I learned a new, interesting way to bind off. Yay for learning something new! Isn’t that a great way to end a project?

Technically, the 2 year anniversary of my blog was February 18th, but for it, and because this is also my 100th post, I wanted to do something special. Recently, I’ve been working on a project designed by Tiny Owl Knits over at tinyowlknits.wordpress.com. I’ve also videoed a review on it. Introducing…The Beekeeper’s Quilt! As a special treat for it being the 2 year anniversary of my blog, and the hundredth post, Tiny Owl Knits has graciously sponsored a giveaway of a free pattern! Woo-hoo! I mean, who wouldn’t want to make an adorably cute pattern like this? I know for myself personally, I have three Beekeeper’s Quilts that I’m making. One out of LionBrand Homespun (the “Monster Puffs”), one out of LionBrand Cupcake (very cute little girl’s daybed quilt!), and then the fingering weight one for which I will need to save tidbits of yarn for probably a very long time.

For those that live in Wichita, Kansas, stop by Oddballs Yarn Store to take a look at their tidbits wall: an entire wall of 10 yard hanks, perfect for those who can get a whole hexipuff out of 10 yards, or even for those that can’t, mix and match hexipuffs are cool too!

For those that don’t live in Wichita, come check out some of my hand-dyed mini skeins (hand-dyed by my two sisters and I) at my Etsy shop!

The drawing will be held March the 25th. To enter, simply post a comment here about what you would like to do with your hexipuffs (ginormous quilt; baby quilt; pillow; fill a tub with them, roll around in all the hexipuffs you’ve made before throwing them all up in a hexipuff shower…You know, things like that). Come on, has no one ever thought of swimming in a pool of hexipuffs?

P.S. Oh, and a correction. I said in the video I thought it was her newest pattern. I was very wrong, she actually has several more new, really neat patterns! Go check them out!