Saturday, December 19, 2015

Every Year

It happens every year. The same day, the same time, the same everything. Yet for some reason, I can't seem to get ahead enough of myself to be able to relax during the week leading up to Christmas.

This year, I had it all worked out. I had most of the presents bought and made by October. But a couple of things slipped past me and here I am, less than a week away from Christmas, with three objects that need to be finished. One hasn't even been started yet.

I would like to congratulate myself, however, on having a backup plan. A few people who were originally going to get a hand knit this year are actually going to get them next year. Their presents are still handmade, and all is wonderful and well. My stress level has decreased since I don't have seven objects to finish in a week now.

Sigh. I'm starting on next Christmas the second I finish with this one. I WILL be relaxing this time next year!

Monday, November 30, 2015

Finished Object Roll Call: November 2015

This is the day each month that I post a bunch of pictures of things that I finished making during the month. This month, all I can show you is this:


Because all of the other things I made this month are for Christmas. So, altogether I finished 4 Christmas presents and am partway through 4 others. I'm gonna crank them out so I can start focusing on some "me" projects during December and January. Cause my sock drawer is disappointing me lately. 

If you'd like to see the FO's in progress, as they are completed, and some other random bits and pieces of life, follow me on Instagram!
I also do GIVEAWAYS on Facebook. Hat #1 and #4 were both giveaway hats. You should go 'like' the page, be sure to be following it too! 

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Happy Halloween! 

About a month ago I ordered this printable from The Abandoned Attic  and finally got it all put together and on our door today. I hope we get Trick or Treaters this year!

Monday, October 26, 2015

The Diffuser

One of the things I went into this oil journey with was knowing that I wanted to try a diffuser. I had seen some of the teachers at the lab school I worked at for my assistanship use them in their classrooms. They used them to calm children in general, keep a productive class, and things like that. I was intrigued.

So, with my second order with Doterra, I made sure to get a diffuser.

It was a rough start. The diffuser tells me to use "a few" drops in it. "A few"?! How many is a few? My first go around with it, I definitely overdid it. I won't tell you how much I put in, but it left both my husband and I having a hard time with the smell and, well, breathing in general.

The second go around I first made sure it was at a time when my husband was not at home. I'm still trying to get him on board with this whole natural health with oils thing, so I try to be covert. This time I only used 3 drops in the diffuser, and I think that's the 'magic number' for me. It's not too overwhelming, but it still is enough to do it's job.

So far I've diffused lavender, onguard (when I was really, really sick with that ear infection), Serenity, and a blend that I learned about from one of my doterra team members, she calls it "Productivity Please" and it's a peppermint-wild orange mix. It's quite nice actually.

I'm still on the fence about oils in general, though. Yeah, they smell nice and all, but as far as all the miraculous stuff I'm hearing other people talk about? Still not there yet. In fact, I'm not sure I ever will be. We are quite healthy and I think that oils are something that will be a great supplement to our routines, but not the end all be all of our healthy lifestyle.

Friday, October 23, 2015

Because There's No Competition at 5 a.m.


I have a really hard time waking up in the mornings when I have work. I don't understand why. But on days like today, when I can sleep in a bit, I physically can't. My body won't let me. The same body that acts like it's the end of the world at the exact same time yesterday thinks all is well and wonderful today.

One of the biggest positives I have found on days like today is that there is absolutely no competition at 5 a.m. in the laundry room. I can get all of our laundry done (last week it was 6 loads) before anyone else is even conscious enough to remember they need to do laundry.

I also get a weird satisfaction out of vacuuming at 5:30 am, just because I can annoy the neighbors who vacuum at 11 p.m.

(p.s. It is now currently 6:30, I've been up for 2 hours, for any of my 5 readers who are curious)

Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Hazards of the Job

I started a new job a few months ago. I've got a 'big girl' job as the lead teacher in a classroom. And unfortunately one of the perks of starting a new school year, at a new school, with a new demographic, means I get exposed to new germs.

I've been sick for the last month.

Around the same time I got started with being sick, a friend of mine introduced me to essential oils. While I will not say that they completely cured me, I did have some interesting experiences with them. I am still reserving my final judgment on them for later, after I have more time to try them out in different ways, but over the next few days I will blog a bit about what I've used so far and how I feel about it at this point in time.

Cheers!


Monday, October 19, 2015

Sorry for the Pause: Gridelin Again

Hi all! I'm back, hopefully for good this time. (But of course I say that every time and then life happens.) I have plans to blog a bit about some of what has been going on lately, I've been busy that's for sure.

So, here's a quick up date on the Curls project. I started Gridelin waaay back in August. I've been picking away at it since then, as well as trying to get some other projects done as well. I got to the point in Gridelin where I started to think, "I don't think it's going to be big enough."


Of course, these patterns were made to be used with that one "special" skein of yarn if need be. And I had this yarn, ready to go. It's one of "my" colors. And I just knew, deep in my knitter's heart, that one skein would not be enough. I'm being pickier with this one since I intend to keep it for myself. I bought the yarn a long time ago, and knew that the yarn shop would not have any more in the right dye lot.

I checked anyway.

Then, Ravelry to the rescue. I searched the yarn color. This led me to three people who had skeins of the colorway in their "for sale or trade" stash. I messaged each one with the dye lot number and crossed my fingers.

Lo and behold, one messaged me back that she had not one but TWO skeins in the right dye lot. She happily sent both to me, and I happily received them. Upon the receipt of the package my husband told me I got more yarn, and I realized that he now automatically thinks that any package I receive is yarn.

I'm nearly done with my first original skein, and have the next one ready to go.  After that I might have to pause for a bit, since I have 5 Christmas Stockings to make by Thanksgiving (a self imposed deadline, btw).

Happy Knitting Y'all!

Monday, September 14, 2015

A Decision

I recently made an announcement on facebook that I think needs to be done here too (for all three of you who actually read the blog...)

I have decided to close down my Etsy shop. I'm going to allow the current listings to expire and will not be actively listing new items any time in the forseeable future (is that even a word?). I've decided that being a made-to-order person will be much better option for me right now. And not having the constant 'pressure' to create and list new items on Etsy will be a huge relief for me in my day-to-day life.

This is a decision that has been months, yes MONTHS, in the making. I've laid awake in bed late at night contemplating it. I've spent my lunch breaks and evenings brooding as I tried to finish Christmas presents or a new project for the shop. Finally, I asked a few people what their thoughts were.

While I will still be making items, it won't be for the mysterious 'target audience' that I still haven't been able to define for myself. The cost, financially, emotionally, mentally, and in time, just isn't worth it for me right now.

So, for those of you who have seen my shop, and have any of my items on your personal 'wish list', grab them now! I have a clearance coupon ready and waiting. Just send me a message on the Facebook page, and I'll get it to you.

Thank You All!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Gridelin Grows


One hour: I am loving this stitch pattern! (Hopefully it will last, on the other two, once I got about halfway through I got really bored with the stitch pattern and couldn't wait for it to be done so I could start something new.) 

One of the greatest things about this shawl pattern, in comparison to the prior two, is that you can actually 'read' the knitting on it very easily. The other ones were mostly a variation of stockinette stitch, but this one isn't. It's a mock cable (yes, you don't need a cable needle for it), so there is a good variation of knit and purl stitches that are consistent on each row. This makes it easy to see where I'm at on both the right and wrong side of the knitting. 



Eleven Hours:
I am still enjoying this pattern. I love it! It's simple enough to not need the pattern in front of me, but still interesting enough to keep me from getting horrifically bored like the last two shawls from this book did. 

One thing I'm really enjoying about this pattern is that I can easily see how I could incorporate it into a baby sweater, or an adult sweater, even into a hat as a lovely design element. I could totally do that! It would look super fancy but not be super fancy during the knitting part of the garment creation. 

By weight, I'm a little under halfway done with this shawl. It might end up being smaller than I would like when I get to the end of the skein, so I might have to go buy another skein if I can find it in the right colorway and dye lot. 

Monday, September 7, 2015

100 Days of Sewing- Sort of

So, awhile back I decided to sew every day for 100 days straight. And I almost made it.

You see, I started in the summer when things weren't as crazy as they could have been, so I did awesome. Then, two weeks ago, I started a new job. New job, new hours, new responsibilities. It was a bit overwhelming (and still is). On the night of day 72, I crawled into bed exhausted. As I drifted off to sleep I realized that I hadn't sewn that day. At all. Had this been a few months ago during school and all that, I would have dragged myself out of bed and sewn a seam, lost sleep would have been no big deal.

But I just couldn't. I was waaaaaay too tired, and stressed, and worried about being late to work and falling asleep in training, and all that stuff that could make the new bosses not look too kindly on me. I decided it was okay to take a break, and it's been a couple of weeks now.

Today is day 50 of no buying yarn (minus ones needed for a custom order placed). 50 Days! . And it's day 31 of no fabric. I'm on a roll! So I decided to go ahead and take advantage of the streak and start 100 Days of sewing again. I'm sure I can make it, no problem. I've got quilt blocks, quilts, a skirt, and an alteration already lined up to be done. Not to mention the giant box of stash that needs to be used too!

Here's a look at what all got finished-finished in the first round of 71 days:
(Not pictured, yet, a vest for myself and a bean bag that I will be posting on in the near future)






Monday, August 31, 2015

Finished Object Role Call: August 2015

Knitting/Crocheting





Pre-service meeting socks. Three and half pairs. 


And no Christmas Presents

Sewing

These are Rosie the Riveter Overalls! 2 pairs for a cute mom and her daughter. They will be killin' it at Halloween. 
This is a mini quilt for a swap. The first quilt as you go and first applique I've done. 




If you'd like to see the FO's in progress, as they are completed, and some other random bits and pieces of life, follow me on Instagram!I also do GIVEAWAYS on Facebook.  You should go 'like' the page, be sure to be following it too! 

Saturday, August 22, 2015

Block Swap

I recently signed up for a block swap on Instagram. The requirement was to make a specific number of log cabin blocks in Bonnie and Camille fabric. I didn't own any, so I order some off Etsy and Amazon. I love pre-cuts. I ordered two jelly rolls and a charm pack. 

One reason I love pre-cuts so much is they make the project go so fast! No worrying about getting strips exactly the same width, or if your center square is wonky. That's already taken care of, you can just grab and sew.

Now that I've got a start on the blocks, I realized that my original plan to make two quilts is not going to happen. The first 6 and half blocks used up an entire jelly roll. I've set some of my favorite ones aside from the second one, and am going to see how far I can get without using them.

I found another pack of charm squares that I plan to use with the leftovers from this quilt (I'm only using 12 of 42 squares) for a crib or lap quilt.

The rest of the jelly roll strips, if I have any leftover, will be used in a quilt. Sometime. No solid plans yet, of course, since I don't know how many, if any, will be left over when all is said and done.

I've got only 5 more big squares to go, so I might luck out!






Thursday, August 20, 2015

On Stashbusting

I recently experienced some... criticism?... for wanting to successfully stashbust my yarn and fabric. In a forum for yarn stashbusting, I asked for advice on how others were able to be successful with it. And the first reply I got was an individual who said I was crazy for stashbusting because I don't have all that much yarn (over 100 skeins, mind you) and I was very stupid for doing so. There was no way I could stashbust because there wasn't enough yarn to do anything more than a pair or two of socks (15 by my reckoning) and some dishcloths (or an entire PL blanket, *cough*). I'm an idiot.

Well, I'm still working on thickening my skin, aren't we all? And my reaction was not a nice one. I knew I wasn't stupid for asking for help, I know I'm in the right by wanting to stashbust, and this person must have been having a rough day or something. A moderator chimed in saying that I was fine, and offered some nice advice, as did several other people.

Later, someone posted a link to their stash of over 300 skeins, laughing (I hope from worry) about needing more.

I would like you all to know one of the reasons I stashbust, and it is a very personal one.

You don't want to burden anyone with your overwhelming stash if you were to pass away suddenly.

Why did I come to this conclusion, and why am I such a stickler about it?

A long time ago, my grandmother had to be moved out of her house and into an assisted care facility. Mind you, I love her, and this experience did not tarnish my view of her or lower her in my eyes by any means. But it did teach me a very strong lesson.

You see, Grandma grew up during the Depression, so she was an expert at "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without". She would hold on to things that were useful because she knew that you never know when they might come in handy, or when the economy might suddenly tank again and you would be left with only what was in your house. I totally understand this.

However, right here, right now, it's better for us to not stock up on things other than long term food storage, water, skills to live without modern conveniences, and money (specifically not having debt, having an emergency fund, and disaster cash). Yep. I said it.

Did you notice that things like yarn, fabric, and shoes are not in that list? There's a reason.

When tasked with cleaning out Grandma's house,  my mother and I found a lot of really cool, neat things that we love having. But we also found a lot of "what the heck" items. I rescued some dresses of hers to use as costumes, there were a couple of really neat antiques mom kept, I even got Grandma's sewing desk that I use every day and hope to be able to live up to her legacy with, each grand-daughter got an apron too. We kept things that had meaning to us, but there were also a lot of items that we just couldn't keep.

By far, the most overwhelming thing was the sewing and knitting stash. Overwhelming. And the issue with it is that, well, things that were bought 10, 20, heck even just 5 years ago are not what is in the market now. They aren't in style, they aren't the same materials, they aren't the right colors, and so on.

There was a moment when I said something, and my mother mis-heard me. Her response to what she thought I said was to burst into tears and wail "You found MORE fabric?!?!!"

And I felt the same way. Tucked in the dark corners of dresser drawers, back in upper corners of closets, stuffed in shoes, even under old black and white family photographs stored in shoe boxes.

My mom is not a seamstress, she is not a knitter, her creativity is expressed elsewhere (the kitchen is one place). She was in tears over all of the stash that Grandma had because she didn't know what to do with it. And, as a seamstress and knitter, I was completely overwhelmed as well.

Sadly, the majority of the stash was thrown away. Yes, we tried to sell it, we tried to find places that would accept it, and when all was said and done, the majority still got tossed. Now I can not look at my comparatively small stash without thinking of my mother breaking down over Grandma's. I would never, ever want to do that to my family, current or future.

So yes, lady who criticized me, I am stash busting even though you think I'm crazy. I don't want to be the burden that you will be to my family if I were to pass away tomorrow. I'd rather use what I have now instead of waiting for "someday" or the "perfect project". If I use it and need more, I can get more. If I find a project that's perfect, I can find the yarn.

I'd rather my family remember me for the sweaters and blankets I lovingly made for them, than for the closet stuffed with good intentions and unfulfilled plans.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Finished Object: The Noro Blanket

Today's Finished Object is the Noro Blanket. When I attended my first Yarn Haven Retreat, the ladies kept talking about Noro yarn, and how wonderful it was. At that point, I had not used Noro, and thought I might need to try some out. So, I got the idea to get some and make a blanket, because it made the most sense at the time.

Since then I have made some hats out of Noro as well. Sad to say, I don't really 'get' the hype over Noro. It's pretty and all, but it's not super amazing.

Date Started: April 12, 2014
Date Finished:August 15, 2015

Yarn: Noro Silk Garden Sock in color S 307 , approximately 6 skeins
Cost of Yarn: about $120 (yes, for real, you non-knitters are probably having a conniption right now. Eye opening, ain't it?)
Pattern: Modified from Mason Dixon Knitting's Mitered Blanket

Progress Picture! 
Approximate Hours: 72
Note on the hours: I didn't really keep track of full time. I timed myself making a couple of squares, averaged the time between them, and multiplied by the total number of squares.

Since this is a blanket, I knew it would take awhile to be finished. Especially since I was in grad school at the time, and had lots of other things I wanted to make because that's how life is.


I'm super glad to have it done! Finally. I'm having major mixed feelings on what I should do with it. Should I give it to someone as a holiday present? List it on Etsy? Hold a Giveaway? Keep it? I just don't know! Suggestions are welcome at this point.

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Curls Project: Gridelin

With the completion of Cerise, I am ready to start the next Hunter Hammerson Curl, Gridelin. In the planning stages of this project, Gridelin was one of the two that I wanted for myself. I'm still feeling that way currently. But am also open to that changing if it needs to change.

I will be using some lovely gray Cascade Heritage yarn:

I've cast on and gotten a decent start so far: 


Stay tuned for more info on this Curl! 

Monday, August 10, 2015

Swapping

I've been swapping on Ravelry for three years now. Off and on. Mostly on.

Recently I discovered swapping on Instagram. Sewing swapping. Which I thoroughly enjoy. However, it makes me super self conscious about my quilting skills. I don't have much right now, but I'm working on it.

Recently I realized I might have a problem. A swapping problem. So I'm trying to limit myself, especially since I'm not supposed to be buying any yarn or fabric. When I'm busy I'm really good at limiting myself, but I'm currently in the midst of a 3 week break while I wait to start at my new job.

Apparently 3 weeks was too long for me. I still have 2 swaps from the summer to finish up and mail off. But the little swap voice in my head kept whispering at me to 'sign up sign up sign up!'. I signed up for the Farmer's Market swap on one of my Ravelry Groups. Super easy, go to the farmers market, buy local, send it to your partner. I go to the Farmer's Markets here anyway, so it would be easy to pick up a couple of things for my partner.

Done. No more swaps.

But then  a block swap came up, I couldn't help myself. It's so easy to do! Just make x-amount of blocks in a specified size. Send off some of them, get the same amount back. And voila! All that's left for you to do is sew the blocks together and you have a new quilt!

I think I'm going to like this one. For several reasons: I always struggle to find extras, then I worry that my partner won't like them. And I worry that what I make isn't up to par. And when I get my package, I sometimes wonder what I'm going to do with all the little bits and bobs that come in a package. (don't get me wrong, I love swapping, but sometimes there's too many extras and I don't know what to do!) Then I worry that after getting an awesome package that I sent a not-so-great one and the other person is upset that they received something not so great.

The stress!!!

I will keep you updated on the block swap.

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Cerise

Here it is, Curls Project 2 of 14 (this means I'm 14% done with the whole project):

Cerise
HauteKnitYarn 155g SWMerinoDK 
I don't know the colorway, it wasn't on the band, and I received the yarn as part of a Swap. (I will be reviewing the yarn, along with another skein from HauteKnitYarn in a future post.)
Start Date: July 4
Finish Date: August 1

Modifications: After several attempts to get correct stitch counts, I decided to change the double wraps at the end of each right side row, and the beginning of each wrong side row, to regular old knit stitches. As far as I can tell from pictures, this didn't really affect the finished product. 







Monday, August 3, 2015

August Stashbusting

This month I've decided to take a new approach to my stashbusting.

I'm currently about 2 weeks into a 100 day no buy zone, known in one of my Ravelry groups as "Cold Sheeping".  Last time I excelled at the no buying thing. I really did. However, I did not use up very much stash in that time period, which is part of the whole point.
Old picture, most of this stuff is gone already. 

This time around I've decided to keep track of how many skeins of yarn 'move out' during this month. They can move out by being used up completely in a project, being sold, or being given away (I recently inherited a load of yarn from the preschool that isn't going to stay).

I currently have roughly 100 skeins of yarn in my possession, that doesn't include the partial balls. But when I count up the partial balls will count because, well, they take up space too.

Friday, July 31, 2015

Finished Object Roll Call: July 2015

Knitting/Crocheting

Mielie Vest: This is a Me-Project. I had an urge to make myself some things lately. It was a long haul(not as long as some other projects....) but I'm super excited to use this in the coming fall months!


Black Socks: After the last pair of socks for me ended up too small, these are take two. These ones honestly feel a little big, but I'd rather too big than too small.

And two Christmas presents. Yep, that makes 7 out of  16 are done. And #8 is on the needles. 

Sewing


I finally finished this full sized quilt. It came back from the quilter... awhile ago. I got the binding on and all done. It will be up on the Etsy page soon!


This is a mug rug for a swap. The unicorn is a little wonky, but I'm learning! 



If you'd like to see the FO's in progress, as they are completed, and some other random bits and pieces of life, follow me on Instagram!I also do GIVEAWAYS on Facebook.  You should go 'like' the page, be sure to be following it too! 

Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Aloe Take Two

I discovered my first attempt at propagating aloe didn't take a few weeks ago. I set out to try again, this time with a few tweaks to the process.

1. I used a larger leaf. The other leaf I used was rather small, and just the tip of the leaf. This one I decided to try using the entire leaf.

2. I cut the leaf with a knit at an angle, as instructed by one youtube video.
 I also let the leaf 'dry out' before placing it in the soil. Many websites recommended allow the aloe to form a 'callous' on it's end before putting it into the soil. This is what mine looked like.



All the websites said the callous would be white, but mine wasn't. In fact the callous formed about 24 hours after the cut, and everyone said to wait 2 weeks for it to form. I waited two weeks, but it never changed the way it looked after the first 24 hours. 

3. I 'treated' it with honey. Honey is a natural anti-bacterial, so to avoid rot from bacteria attacking my aloe and to avoid buying 'root growing mediums' or 'root powders', I went with organic honey. I already had it on hand and at least one source said it would work just as well as the commercial stuff.

4. Instead of lying it in the soil, like some folks say you should do, I placed it upright in the pot. Like some other people say you should do.
And that's where I'm at. It's planted, upright, with honey, in a pot after waiting two weeks for it to 'dry out'. I will keep you all updated on how it goes in the future! 

p.s. I'm quite enjoying my little experiments. 

Thursday, July 23, 2015

Propagation Update

Here are the spider plants. I think they look bigger, maybe. They have definitely rooted. I found a website that said you can tell if a transplant has rooted by gently tugging it. I tugged, nothing happened, so they are rooted!


Here's the bright green plant. I think it has rooted. At least at each end, but not the middle. The tug trick pulls the middle, where the big leaves are, up but not the two ends. At the tip that was growing has gotten bigger, so that's a good sign right?

Monday, July 20, 2015

I was concerned about my reading...

This summer as I've been reading and recording the books I've been reading, I became slightly concerned with the amount of books I was reading. You see, I love reading and I read a lot. But according to my calculations, I am behind for the year.

Yes, I have not read as much this year as I have in years past. And it worries me. Odd, yes, but reading is something I love to do and if I allow myself to stop doing things I love, I become a very different, not so great, person.

Then a lightbulb went off in my head. I have been reading a lot more than is showing up on my books page.

As of this month, I have edited (which means I read them entirely) 34 books and papers on fivver. While some of them were 2 or three page papers, some of them were unpublished novels of over 100 pages.

So, while I feel like I'm behind with my reading, I think I really am not. I haven't kept track of page numbers on fiverr, but it should be near 1,000 pages in Word. The next step for me is to keep going, so I can build an awesome portfolio. Maybe one day I will read for a living!

Friday, July 17, 2015

Three On

I like knitting. I love it, in fact. I can't get enough of it and really wish there were more hours in the day for me to knit.

It's a bit unusual that I only have three projects on the needles right now. Yes, you heard right. Only 3. That has to be a record of some sort, I mean, I usually have at least 5, sometimes up to 10 going at once.

I've only got three on right now because I really wanted to finish projects. I like starting them, and I like working on them, but for awhile there I felt like nothing was actually being accomplished. Now that I'm down to three, I want to cast on again.

But not really.

Two of the project on the needles currently are blankets. And blankets take a long time for me. I really need to finish one of them, since it's been on the needles for over a year. It needs to be done and I can't have other things like new sweaters and Christmas presents distracting me from getting these big projects done.

I'm trying to determine if I'm more productive with less projects going on at once. I've heard rumors of folks who only have one project going at a time. I mean, they can actually cast on a project and NOT start any other project until they finish their current project. That's pretty dang impressive if you ask me.

If I cave and start casting on.... well. I guess it wouldn't be that bad because I still have a lot of Christmas presents to do. And I really want that new sweater.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

An Experiment

I like plants. I like gardens. I just like them.

Currently we don't have an outdoor space and I thought I would be okay with it. But, the further we get into our lease with this place, the more I notice that I miss having an out door space. So what do I do?


I decide to see if I can propagate some plants from the plants at my preschool. I had to move my pots from our neighbors patio, so I threw some of the bigger ones out, and thought that a couple of the smaller ones would work well for houseplants. I'm about two weeks into this project currently. Here's a couple of pictures of the plants as they are right now.

I don't know what type of plant this is, but it's a nice bright green color. I had one back in Utah that my mum tried to kill repeatedly, but never succeeded. 

These are Spider Plants. I'm super hopeful on these ones, because they were shooters from the original plant and already had started their roots out the bottom. After some research, I found out that Spider Plants are supposed to be really good at cleaning air, reducing the need for filters. 

I know, this looks like just a pot of soil. Look closely. There's an aloe leaf in there. According to the internet,it will eventually start roots out one side the side facing down in the soil, and the other side will grow the new plant. 

These are some rescued succulents. They have been around since before our trip at the beginning of June and are looking better than they did before. I'm calling them a success so far!

This is a Baby Jade. It's supposed to be easy care (like the succulents and aloe). This is another plant that I chose because it was a shooter already developing roots and looking for a place to grow!

Finally, here's another picture of the first plant. That little stem coming up out of the soil wasn't there when I first tried to propagate it. I think it's a good sign, right?

The succulents and Baby Jade are in the living room, and for now the rest are in the Craft room on the windowsill. I will move them around once they all get established a lot more. While they are baby plants still trying to get their roots in and start actually growing, I will keep them all right in the windowsills.

I also am attending a class on propagation in the next week, and will hopefully learn some good pointers to help these plants all grow up and be awesome!