Breath by Breath

Home crafts ::: picnic rolls for friends

Holiday gifties for families we love...Picnic rolls inspired by Amanda Soule's project in Rhythm of the Family.  It took me a few tries to get the proportions I wanted and I thrifted silverware, useful utensils and napkins to tuck inside--ready to go to the park, beach, playground, festival hill...

I used cotton upholstery fabric in four different colorways (of course I forgot to take pictures of the others) and this vintage print (above), which I scored at the International Quilt Festival in Houston way back in 2006, when Silas was a mere 6 months old!  I tucked a thin layer of cotton batting between for cushiony comfort.

A mother's journal ::: independence & creativity

I love catching my little one doing unexpected things on his own initiative.

He got an awesome pirate ship and Peter Pan set up from Santa, which has provided hours of swashbuckling, crocodile-wrestling, kidnapping and swordfighting fun.  The other morning he said he wanted to wear his Captain Hook costume while he played pirates.  I helped him get it all out and on and went about my morning chores. 

A half-hour or so later the house was just a bit too quiet.  I wandered around looking for Silas and found this:

Not satisfied with costume alone, he sought out the face paints and happily decorated himself to reflect his vision of a fierce, not foppish Captain Hook.

A day or so later, I "caught" him exploring the master bathroom cabinets and drawers after masterfully clipping his own toenails for the first time.  Earlier in December I witnessed a similar determination while decorating holiday cookies for the first time on his own.

Is there anything more gratifying that seeing your young person exert his own will, execute his own ideas, and exude such self-confidence and pride in his own independence.  These small scale expressions of initiative foreshadow future actions and choices by a growing independent spirit.  His willingness to try on his own...that's my favorite part. 

 

 

A fresh start

Happy New Year !!!

Home crafts ::: St. Nicholas cookies

Our December 6 Advent Stocking not only called for investigating the St. Nicholas Day shoe. Some post-school & -gymnastics cookie baking also was on the agenda.

I used a traditional German spice cookie recipe with a simple glaze frosting (links to be added). They are meant to be cut into the image of St. Nicholas, but, alas I didn't get a cutter ordered in time. Silas didn't care and loved decorating these simple cookies. I halved the recipe so it made three dozen and I used about 1/3 cup of icing for all the cookies. The cookies themselves are not at all sweet, are gently spicy and the glaze provides just a touch of sweet. Perfect with tea or eggnog.

The recipe is perfect for little ones because the dough mixes up easily is gently kneaded and then cut and baked immediately. The dough was forgiving of a few stray lumps and extra rolling flour and separated easily from the cookie cutters. They looked perfect out of the oven, handsomely caramel in color with clean, well defined edges and a smooth surface.

We put the cookies in the oven, ate dinner, then decorated. The small amout of cookies and virtually unlimited decoration potential kept my 5 year old stayed engaged the whole time. What a pleasant evening we had!

Home crafts ::: Solstice elving is underway

We will be multiplying the number of friends with children gathered for our Winter Solstice Tamale Fiesta this year, and many thanks are due and offered to the community of families who have embraced us since we've moved to our new home in Clear Lake. Friends new and old will gather for an evening of crafting, creativity sharing, Solstice observing, feasting, and celebration. Plans are well underway...invites set, menu set, shopping lists created, and lots of elving....We have children from age one to teen attending, so a wide array of hands, hearts and minds will be seeking crafty fun.

Here are some previews...

Home crafts ::: the Annabel Cardigan

I know very few reasons to celebrate being sick for the better part of 2 weeks.  One good thing is that I am caught up on my unfinished knitting queue (except for one project which I've tabled until spring). 

I even had time to knit up this awesome sweater, the Annabel Cardigan from Quince & Co.  (Sorry for the view of our messy bathroom!) 

I purchased this purple-y blue locally produced yarn on our trip to the Isle of Grand Manan in New Brunswick last year.  It is bulky and pretty and fairly soft.   I've been saving it for this pattern and I'm glad I did.  Annabel is a classic, serviceable sweater, with just a hint of modernity.  My yarn was true to guage on this one and nothing knits up as quickly and with fewer brain cells as garter stitch with bulky yarn. 

The pattern is nicely written; it's super easy to knit with markers and a row counter.  It's worked from the top down, with sleeves added from stitches held on waste yarn while you finish the bodice.  I'd use a cable cast-on next time to keep the neckline from getting a bit stretchy, but overall I'm super happy with it.  I love the 3/4-inch sleeves (which my husband puts in the category of capri pants when it comes to ridiculous), but he doesn't wash as many dishes and do as much clean up as yours truly.

Give this one a try.  I knitted it in about three or four days of part-time work.  Enjoy!

You can see another view of this knitted in a lovely honey-mustard color here at Soulemama.

 

A mother's journal ::: St. Nicholas Day

Don't you LOVE that wooden shoe in he background!  It's an awesome antique Spanish wine caddy I found while thrifting with a friend last week--just in time for St. Nicholas Day!  I cleaned it up and gave it a good wood polishing and it's our new holiday treasure.

We instituted the traditional shoe outside the door method of inviting St. Nicholas to our home (we've used this mama-made stocking in the past). 

Silas, at 5 1/2 years old, was full of questions:

::: Does St. Nicholas visit everyone? 

Answer:  No.  He looks for houses where people have put their shoes out. 

::: But how did he know to visit my stocking last year? 

Answer:  He's smart.  He knew we hung it just for him because we hadn't found the right shoe yet.

::: Do you think St. Nicholas has tiny elves on tiny tractors on farms that grow the oranges, and a tiny factory where they make the chocolate? 

Answer:  I wonder?  I never thought about that, but it might be possible.  We talk about the difference between St. Nicholas and Santa, but apparently they both have elves according to Silas.

Clearly tradition is established.

Silas asked this last question in bed this morning before seeing his shoe.  He remembered exactly what St. Nicholas brings him each year:

::: one dollar for each Christmas of his life (gold Garfield dollars this year)

::: chocolate coins

::: dried fruit and nuts (what Silas calls Lessert (lunch + dessert)

::: an orange.  St. Nicholas mixed it up a bit this year with the addition of some chocolate rocks &  a grapefruit (because he figured out Silas doesn't like oranges much!).

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

 

Happy Birthday

My dear husband celebrates a milestone birthday today.  I have the flu and my men are not 100%, but we carried on with our at home party, complete with Martha's macaroni & cheese (a once-a-year event) and cherry pie.  Silas insisted we all wear our birthday crowns.  We don't look as sick as we are, and even though we are not well in body, our spirits are good and we are very happy and grateful for each other and for the joy and companionship we offer one another. 

More festivities of an adult variety ensue tomorrow (hearing Bill Moyers speak) and Saturday (dinner with 10 of Scott's oldest friends -- they've all known him longer than I have!).   I am hoping for a turn around in my energy and symptoms tomorrow, but at the very least I aim to get as much rest as possible and make the best of this once-in-a-lifetime celebration.

Happy Birthday, Scott....I love you.

Home crafts ::: finishing things

I am under the weather this week.  So, in pursuit of my goal of finishing things, I've been keeping quietly busy while I nurse myself.  Not all of these projects have been accomplished during my current bout with the cold/flu (how do you know anyway?), but I've been plugging away.  I set a goal of finishing all projects in progress before I allow myself to start on this with the yarn I got in New Brunswick last summer.

The two-years in progress Solstice sweater, finally ready for Silas.

The family picnic roll (inspired by a project in Rhythm of the Family), with awesome thrifted vintage linen napkins and silverware.  Some more are in the works as holiday gifts!  (Shhh.)

The hospital scarf in seed stitch (started while mom was in the hospital).  Finished.

Twenty-two of twenty-five advent stockings for my friend.

I'm on the last ball of this blanket/throw project, which I began more than two years ago!

A little warm for this week, but I'm looking forward to snuggling on the couch all winter long.

And, I'm on page 567 of Anna Karenina.  I can't believe how much I love it and that I've never before read it!

What do you do when you are sick?  What are you trying to finish?

Practice notes ::: gratitude list

Thankful Friday begins again...

::: cool nights and warm, sunny days

::: projects completed

::: this recipe which helped me use up last week's CSA bounty of persimmons and prepare for what to do when this week's ripen.  (I made some modifications, but still totally terrific!)

::: more spaghetti squash!

::: daylight savings time's impending termination

::: walking to and from school each afternoon

::: each return to the yoga mat

::: a short break from snipping, glueing, taping, & sewing and a return to the rhythmic motion of knitting.

Have a love-r-ly weekend!