Destashing for Girls

So as some of you may know I have been really trying to cut back my yarn stash. I have been doing a pretty good job so far. Let's just say I can now close my yarn drawer. :) This week I crossed two more projects off of my queue. Yay!!
Last year I found this gorgeous alpaca wool blend yarn for $1.99 a skein. What a bargain. I cleaned them out and now was stuck with 6 skeins of purple yarn that I still had not used until now. I do hope to have a little girl one day Inshallah. So with wishful thinking I picked out two projects that could really be used at anytime of year.
Project #1 Modeled by Miss. Panda Bear was the Shell Stitch Pixie Bonnet from Crochetlatte.com

Project #2 was Bev's Newborn Shirt/Vest from Bevscountrycottage.com

This week I am linking up to Frontier Dreams' KCCO, CrunchyCatholicMomma's Stash Bash, and NaturalSuburbia's Creative Friday.

The Chicks are Here!!!

Yesterday I got an e-mail from my friend saying that the chicks arrived earlier than expected and if I could pick them up right away. Well being how I am I was totally unprepared lol. I hadn't bought the feed yet and my son broke the bulb in the heat lamp.
So I packed up the gang and drove out east to my friend's house about 45 minutes from my home. On the way I stopped at the feed store and just my luck they were out of chick starter. Fortunately they are getting a delivery today. While I was there I got a bale of hay. Next stop Home Depot to get a new bulb.
When I got to my friends house she had the chicks all ready to go with a small bag of feed for me. She really is a life saver! We cranked up the heat in the car and hoped for the best.
This is my first time raising chicks or even chickens for the matter. So I am just a little paranoid. Every little sound I was freaking out. We all made it home safe Alhamdulillah.
I got 3 Cornish cross rocks and 3 Cornish game hens. Technically where I live chickens are not allowed but since these will be culled before anyone notices I should be ok.
Right now they are staying in my basement in my make shift brooder. I had them in a wooden box that I had got for the brooder but the walls were too high so I couldn't get the lamp close enough to keep them warm. So I moved them into a Rubbermaid tub. I put paper towels over some straw in the bottom. I don't have a proper waterer or feeder now but will get one today. 

Isn't it cute?

Baby chickies taking a nap.

I was nervous at first but now I am absolutely loving having these little guys here. It has been so much fun so far. Better than watching T.V.

This week I am linking up for the Barn Hop at

and I am linking up to the Farm Girl Friday Blog Hop

Hadith of the Week

It was narrated by Ibn Asaker that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

"And whoever has a child should act like a child with him or her."

Islam for Kids: Islamic Holidays

I was asked to add a page of songs and stories for Islamic Holidays to my son's homeschooling preschool group. This was much harder than I thought it would be. I wanted to keep everything as respectful as I could to the other faiths in the group.
The songs and stories I have compiled can be used for teaching both Muslim and non-Muslim children about Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, and Ramadan.

Islam follows a lunar calendar. The holidays fall on the same day on the Islamic calendar each year but changes by about 10 day each year from the Gregorian solar calendar.

Ramadan is the ninth month on the Islamic Calendar. This year, 2013, Ramadan starts after sunset on July 8th and ends after sunset on August 7th.
During the month of Ramadan healthy, sane, adult Muslims fast. Fasting means that they abstain from food and drink from dawn till dusk. 
Ramadan is a very special month because it is the month when the Qur'an was first revealed to Muhammad (saw).

Tippy Tippy Tiptar

Tippy Tippy Tiptar first day of iftar,

What do I take to the mosque?

A plate of rice and a pinch of spice,

That's what I took to the mosque

Tippy Tippy Tiptar, second day of iftar

What do I take to the mosque?

A bunch of dates, on a pretty plate

That's what I took to the mosque.

- Iftar is the meal after sunset that breaks ones fast.

- Mosque is a Muslim's place of worship

Here is a lovely song by Nancy Stewart called Ramadan. You can hear the song here.

Ramadan
by Nancy Stewart copyright 2001

I have a friend, his name is Omar
His family celebrates Ramadan
The ninth month of the lunar year
His family celebrates Ramadan

Chorus:
Ramadan, Ramadan
His family celebrates Ramadan

Every morning they get up
And have a big meal before the light
Then they don’t eat, and they don’t drink,
They fast until the dark of night
(chorus)

I have a friend, her name is Ameena
Her family celebrates Ramadan
We go to school together and play,
Ameena prays five times a day, during
(chorus)

On the first day of the month that follows Ramadan
Their families invite us to the feast that they
put on Celebrating
(chorus)

Ramadan Mubarak (have a blessed Ramadan) Ramadan

The end of Ramadan is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month Shawwal. This year it falls on August 8, 2013. This is called Eid al Fitr. In Turkey it is called Seker Bayram or Sugar Holiday since it is customary to give out candy to the neighborhood children and eat baklava.

Clip Clip Clippity- Clippity Clop

Clip Clip Clippity- Clippity Clop,

Here comes mother with her brand new mop,

splish over here, splash over there,

Cleaning scrubbing everywhere

Dusting all the cobwebs, beating all the mats,

Arranging all the furniture, hanging all the hats

Mother dear, please tell me- who is coming here?

She said my son, don't you know? Eid-ul-Fitr's near!

The biggest holiday of them all is Eid al Adha. Eid al Adha falls on the 10th day of the Islamic month Zul-Hijja. It will fall on October 16th this year.

Eid al Adha translates to Festival of the Sacrifice. It commemorates the Qur'anic and Biblical story of Abraham and his son. A cow, sheep or goat is usually sacrificed. Half of the meat is given in charity and donated to the poor.

Eid al Adha also marks the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.  This pilgrimage is called Hajj. 

Once in a Lifetime

Once in a lifetime I will go,

I will be a pilgrim, my faith will grow,

Round and round the Kaaba I will run,

And I won't mind the shining sun,

Off to Mina and then Arafat,

This is a plain so wide and flat

The Kaaba is a square stone building in the center of the Grand Mosque is Mecca.

 

During Hajj pilgrims perform different rituals following the steps of Abraham and his wife Hajar. One of the rituals is to drink water from the spring of Zam Zam. Here is a short story about how the spring of Zam Zam was formed to help Hajar during this time.

 

One day a long time ago a man named Abraham brought his wife Hajar and their son Ishmael into the desert. He left his wife and son with a canteen of water before leaving. This water eventually ran out. Hajar became very thirsty, and so did her son who started to cry. Hajar hated seeing him cry. She set forth looking for water. As-Safa being the mountain closest to her, she climbed it and looked down at the valley to see if she could find anyone to help her. She found no one and so she descended from the mountain until she reached the valley. Then she climbed Al-Marwah Mountain in keeping her search for water but to no avail. She went back to As-Safa then back again to Al-Marwah for many times. On her last arrival to Al-Marwah, she heard a voice. She called out: “Help, if you can”. There was an Angel whose name was Gabriel. The Angel hit the ground with his wing until fresh and pure water emerged. That became known as Zam zam water. Hajar gathered the water with her hands and collected it in her container while it was springing out.

Eid Mubarak

Eid Mubarak to you and you,

Eid Kareem for you and you,

Everyone's happy to share in the fun,

Everyone's happy that Eid has begun.

Eid Mubarak- Happy Eid

Eid Kareem- Holy Eid

All Rhymes are from the book Eid Songs by: Fawzia Gillani.

Travel Size Playscapes

I have been on a major destash mission lately. I searched ravelry for small projects that would help me use up some of my scrap yarn.  In my searches I stumbled across the cutest project to make for my son. It is a travel size playscape.

Can you guess what's in the bag?

Keep Guessing...

Quack Quack. Two little ducks swimming in the pond. But these aren't any ordinary ducks. They are little finger puppets.

This is such a fun toy. My son is really having a great time playing with his ducks. I plan to use this little playscape for story telling. It will be perfect for telling the story of the Ugly Duckling.
The pattern is called Duck Pond Playset and can be found here.

The following day I was inspired to modify this pattern to make a portable racetrack for my son's cars. I had seen a pattern for a racetrack rug on ravelry but thought that this would be more manageable. So here is my creative juice baby lol.

It came out just how I had imagined. I do wish the track was a bit wider though.
I used stash gray yarn for the track and white for the drawstring.
My changes from the original Duck Pond Playset pattern are as follows:
Follow pattern up to round 10 substituting green for blue and black or gray for green.
Round 10: Ch 1. *2 sc in nest st. sc in next 8 sts. Repeat from * sl st. at end of round to connect round. 60 st. total
Round 11: Same as original pattern's round 10
Round 12: Ch. 1. sc in each stitch around.
Round 13: Change to green yarn. Chain 2. Dc in each st. around. sl st in first st in round. Finish off.

Drawstring done in white: ch 80. Add a matchbox car.

This week I am linking up with Craft-o-maniac.com's Monday Link Party Frontier Dreams' KCCO, CrunchyCatholicMomma's Stash Bash, and NaturalSuburbia's Creative Friday.

Needle Holder

Finally I have something to hold all of my crochet needles. It's been a long time coming. 6 or 7 years ago my mom had started sewing one for me. The furthest she got on that project was cutting out the fabric. Then about 2 years ago I put this pattern in my queue on Ravelry. Well finally it is done!
I used all stash yarn and a vintage "diamond" button that was from my grandmother's button box. As a child from the depression my grandma never wasted anything. She hoarded buttons and all sorts of things. She would cut them off any old or even donated thing she had. I inherited her lovely box of buttons and cherish it so much.

                                         The pattern is called Kluster and is from Berrococ.

                                                        And here it is all rolled up.

I really should have felted this a little more. I only sent it through the wash once. I am nervous that some of the smaller hooks might fall out so for now I am keeping the little hooks in my crochet bag. I do love how this project came it. I am even happier to be making a dent in my stash and to be crossing off projects from my ever expanding queue.

I am linking up with Naturalsuburbia's Creative Friday and Crunchycatholicmomma's Stash Bash this week.

Goals for 2013

With a new year comes new dreams. I started this year with a new appreciation for life and a strong drive to make this year the year I finally accomplish my goals so I can live the life I have always dreamed of living.
1) My biggest and probably most difficult goal for this year is to take control of my health and lose around 50 lbs. I have struggled with my weight my whole life but am determined to get to a healthy weight. I have been eating clean for the past 3 weeks. It has been wonderful. Not only am I eating better... I am saving time by prepping ahead and saving a bundle of money since I am not eating out anymore. The biggest change has been giving up soda. I never realized how addicting that stuff really is. The first week or 2 I kept craving it but now I have no desire for it.
2) Produce more of my own food.  With me transitioning to a clean real food diet I am thinking more and more about where our food comes from. The food industry is so corrupt that the only way to guarantee what you are actually eating is safe you must grow or raise it yourself.  I am going to try my hands at some meat birds this year Inshallah.
3) Get out of debt for good.  This has been an on going process.  I have paid $600 towards one debt this month and cut up my only credit card. I sold my old car so will be getting another $1000 to pay down our debt.
4) Spend more time together as a family. This is more my husbands goal but I have always wanted to become closer. We decided we will start praying together. This will be a great tool to help teach BB more about our faith.  It will strengthen our iman and our love for Allah (swt). Bonus, praying in congregation increases its reward too!

I have declared this year as my year of change! I am so excited to share my journey this year with all of you. Happy New Year!