Monster mash

It's been a crazy busy summer and I am trying to reap the most out of the last days.  We celebrate birthdays all summer and that means, usually, a lot of knitting or sewing.  This year it was knitting.  Monsters.  8 of them to be exact, or 10 if you count the 2 baby monsters.  There is a sampling below but all but one are pictured on my ravelry page.  Why monsters?  We went to see Monster's University for 4 of the birthdays.  So monsters.  They were fun to knit.  And I would do them again.  Maybe for great grandchildren.  I so appreciated my daughter's help.  She did all the stockinette in the round.  I did the shaping.

 This last week we've been making the use of the days.  Being children.  Lots of fort building going on inside and out using whatever is available.  Mattresses and couches and blankets inside.  Sticks and whatever outside.  A lot of art work to keep hands busy and fighting to a minimum.  Homemade play doh  bought me two hours!

 Painting rocks and paper, another 2 hours.

 And today, tye dyeing shirts for football season.  Duck colors of course!

 As well over the summer we worked on some sewing.  Learning some basic sewing on the machine and cutting and ironing.  All of the simple skills went into making 20 dresses for the Dress a Girl Program via a friend in Washington who is active in the program and is planning a return trip to Africa next summer.  We were glad to add 20 dresses to her goal of taking 1000.  More importantly than the sewing skills they learned was the way their hearts were touched for little girls in Africa without dresses.  One of my granddaughters prayed for the little girls as we were sending the dresses off.  That ranks success in a project to me.

Two more days of summer for me to play with them.  I will miss them dreadfully as they don backpacks and lunches.  They asked for mac and cheese...again.  My answer, yes!