The Collector

Hi Knitters,
My daughter came tearing in from the backyard yesterday wanting me to grab my camera and follow her back out. She spotted this tiny vine that formed a heart and she asked me to take a picture of it. Isn't that great? I love it. My daughter is a mad nature lover and an even madder collector of all things nature.

This assortment is what I cleared off the kitchen table last night so we could eat our dinner with some sort of space. Other nights I admit to simply clearing a space in the midst of the nature collection so a couple of hurried kids can quickly eat before running out the door. Every single time she goes outside she arrives back inside with armfuls of plants, leaves, flowers, sticks, etc. 

She spent a lot of time working on this grape-ant. I kid you not that the pile of sticks on the ledge there were all on my table. The other day she came home carrying a 4-foot birch branch (I have no idea where it came from) and she tried to bring it inside. I had to draw the line and tell her to turn around and take it back outside. It is so funny.

A few days ago she rode her bike along with my husband while he went for a run. He actually runs, not slogs. At several points during the run she had to get off of her bike to gather various flowers and such. I don't have them any longer but included in this bouquet where these gigantic leaves that were about 18 by 12-inches, there were two of them. I don't know what they were from but they were huge. My daughter was distraught about bringing all of this home so my husband had to run several miles carrying this bouquet including the leaves. I wish I could have seen that in action. These collections are such a mess but there is something so endearing about this little collector that I can't complain. Her urge to collect and craft is beyond her control and I relate to her on every level. I can't wait to see what becomes of this obsession.

We wrapped up these little birds in tissue paper and tied them up with curly ribbon. Off they went to school for several teachers and the principal. What a sweet little gift, I just love the simplicity of these birds.

I've been working on a bit of this....

...and a ton of this. Oy. Work, work, work. Designing can make your brain ache, big time. Toy designing is complicated and much work. I am challenged in the best way possible but it is slow moving.

This little thing graduated from 8th grade last night.

I love him.

Here are some odds and ends for you:
This is the funniest re-cap of TNNA I have ever read. Too good to be true. Hilarious.

Summer Knitty is out. I want to make these and these.

This spot has some super cute new bags. I love my bag more and more everyday. You should get one if you are at all interested.

Guess what? My sister has that Very Easy, Very Vogue sweater and I am getting it back. I will slap that baby on as soon as I get it and share it again in real time. I guess I loaned it to her at some point. She was laughing so hard when she saw that picture from the last post because she knew the sweater was hiding in her closet. The other thing is that I love to hear from others who have knitted that same sweater. Fantastic.

Okay Knitters, I am off to finish knitting a toy.
best, susie