making a lantern - repurpose instead of recycling

I am getting ready for Christmas and Winter Solstice.  I wanted a lot of lanterns and candles around the house this year but I really did not wish to buy anything.  So I am making lanterns.

I am saving all our metal cans from the kitchen:  condenseded milk, whole tomatoes, chili.  Cleaning them.  Filling them with water and freezing.  I take the labels off.

I then take a hammer and a nail and punch holes in them.  Once I have punched holes where I want them, I empty them of all the ice and make sure there are no sharp edges.

Then I add a candle.  This is a tea light so I do not have to clean up any wax.

Is it not pretty?  I have more to make this weekend.  After a mai tai, another sling, more receiving blankets, .....  It could be a very busy weekend.

And somebody else likes Grandlady's shawls as much as Grandlady.  The smallest short person sleeps the best under a Grandlady shawl!

while we were waiting for the smallest short person to be born....

I sat with the Tallest Short Person and talked a lot.

I picked up these curly locks in Asheville, at SAFF.  The sheep they came from was named Bella.  I spent most of Saturday working with the fiber and talking to the Tall Short Person.

It looks like this.

And ends up looking like this.  It is something I can do while talking.  But not holding the smallest short person.

I do things like cook dinner.  I can do that with one hand.

Or drink tea and read.  The room we were in was a bit chilly so I wrapped us in an alpaca shawl I made years ago.  I am making another in a different pattern.  This gave his Momma a few minutes to get a few things settled before baths.

But I still need two hands to card wool.  The Smallest Short Person may slow down the process a bit!

a bit of crocheting

I had seen a lovely baby blanket on the Purl Soho blog but it was knitted.  I tried.  I really did but I could just not knit it.  I figured out how to have a similar pattern with crochet.  This is a wool that I used a double crochet with.  I just picked up the back of the stitch each time to make this pattern.  It is a little bit warm right now for the Smallest Short Person to use this but tomorrow may be different.

Are they not just lovely.  The Smallest Short Person (aka Marlarkey aka the Milk Monster) is two days old here.  Not quite.  More like 36 hours.  And his Momma is the best.  These two make it look easy.  Maybe they will get some sleep tonight.

getting ready for the Smallest Short Person (or Marlarkey as he is also known)

I obviously did a lot of sewing while we were in North Carolina.

Part of that was trying to get ready for the Smallest Short Person (or Marlarkey as he is also known).

I made bags for the Tallest Short Person with two pockets on each side.

I do believe you probably see a theme going on here.

She really likes skeletons and skulls.  Most of what I made for her for the babe is that theme to make here happy.  She says the Smallest Short Person could just be a pirate.

But then she pulls out fabric with fantastical sea turtles and butterflies and ....  This is my child.

But it does mean that she has really unique one of the kind tools for the smallest short person.  It makes her smile.

is it really only Monday?

It has been a full 48 hours.  The Tall Short Person went into labor yesterday morning.

I decided I really needed to get a sling done for her.

She picked the fabrics from my stash and reasoned the smallest short person would not mind becoming a pirate.

While she was in the early stages of labor, we talked while I cut.

And stitched.

The sling is finished and the smallest short person is here.

My role in the proceedings did not happened as planned.  The Tall Short person said she did not wish me there and was fine with her friends.  At about seven centimeters, that all changed.  My Beloved ran into the house and woke me to tell me I was needed.  I expected to find a baby born but instead I found the Tall Short Person needed me.  Her blood pressure was way to high and so was her heart beat.  The smalles short person's heart rate was much too high as well.

We ended transporting her from her home to the hospital on the advice of her midwife.  We lucked into the right hospital with the right doctor because the Tall Short Person still finished with a natural birth.  Yes, her blood pressure and heart rate were watched so closely.  Yes, she had oxygen and a bit of painkiller for sleep.  Yes, they were worried that the smallest short person was not getting enough oxygen there at the last bit because his heart beat was so high.  But Dr Piegari was tough and got her through it and the Smallest Short Person was born healthy hand whole.  Without a C section.  We were all very impressed.

7 pounds 13 ounces.  20 1/2 inches long.  3.57 am on 14 November 2011.  He looks very much like his mother did.

And now I am a Grandlady.  Both My Beloved and the Tall Short Person call me lady so to the Smallest Short Person, I am the Grandlady.  He is beautiful and whole and alive and healthy.  Not much more can you ask for.