Category Archives: Mama Collaborative

The Great Button Debate

Despite being slowed down a bit by several custom orders through the shop, the knitting is finished.  It’s now button time.  Isn’t amazing how drastically buttons can change the feel of a piece?  I thought I had found the perfect set, but at a total of six within my collection I was shy the seventh needed to complete this sweater.  So we have the runners up.  I think I’ve made my decision.

I picked up The Gargoyle from the library, which Jasmine recommended in this post and compulsively devoured the entire book.  At one point I found myself weighing the over-under on seriously injuring myself if I attempted continuing to read while chopping vegetables.  Common sense and a modicum of self-preservation won out.  That and the knowledge that one of the kids was bound to walk in on me and point out that I would never in a million years let them do such a thing, which is true enough.

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Books, Mama Collaborative, snapshots, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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Spring Awakening: First Flowers

Part two in my collection of nature study necklaces (you can view part one here).

“Coltsfoot“: The very first of flowers to appear in our area, we often spot their cheery yellow blooms surrounded by snow.

“Pulmonaria“: Also known as lungwort.  With it’s multicolored blooms, semi-translucent, and delicately veined flowers nestled in a bed of mottled leaves, pulmonaria is one of the first flowers to appear in our garden each spring.

“Viola”: The johnny jump up, the violet, there are many names for this resilient quintessential spring flower.  The spring garden wouldn’t be complete without its sweet fragrance and beautiful array of colors.

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crafts, Gardens, Mama Collaborative, pretty things, sewing
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Snippets: A Collection of Lace Necklaces for Mother’s Day

“Too narrow breadths for nought-except waistcoats for mice” ~ The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

Or for some lovely, delicate lace necklaces.  A much better use I think!  The mice can fend for themselves.  Available in Plum, Baby Blue, Mustard, Cream, Baby Blue Oval, and Navy Leaf Print.  Also for Mother’s Day a couple of hand embroidered wool brooches; Loved and Blessed.

The shop is just full to bursting with beautiful Mother’s Day gifts as well as a number of Earth Day inspired toys.

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crafts, Mama Collaborative, pretty things, sewing
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You know you must be a homeschooler…

When your 13 year old asks you to knit the sweater vest worn by one of his favorite documentary presenters and keeps pestering you to get on it because he can’t wait to wear it in public…I’m really quite convinced that I’m spending more time untangling the six balls of yarn attached to my work, than actually knitting.  Much more time.  This is supposed to be for his birthday in mid-May (as he keeps reminding me), but it’s not looking promising.

I’ve been reading Every Woman’s Guide to Foot Pain Relief by the brilliant Katy Bowman, not just for myself, but also for the sake of my child with severe growing pains.  Helpful hint on that one, the only thing we’ve found that is really making a difference so far is regular high doses of vitamin D.  At first I found it amazingly challenging to be walking the right way.  Actually I could barely walk at all and slowly inched my way about holding onto furniture.  But it’s starting to become second nature now and I’m feeling strength returning to those under-worked muscles, as well as a general improvement in certain sorts of pain.  I think in the long run it’s going to be a very good thing.  So much so that I am seriously considering assigning reading it as part of an anatomy block for the older boys.  Perhaps it will influence them in their proclivity towards toe pinching, high heeled cowboy boots!

A couple of things for the shop:

A headscarf in nostalgic homespun.  One for me and one for the shop.  This fabric is fairly light weight and really scrunches up nicely.  And of course it can also be worn fully extended as well.  It’s just right for everyday wear.  I have a narrower version cut from the same fabric that I’ll be listing later in the week.

   And a few sets of birch candle holders:

KCCO

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Books, crafts, Kids, Mama Collaborative, sewing, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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Our baby turned two…

Her last hour of being one.

And if you were to ask her about it, she would say, “Seria burday March! Get wet. Go creek.  Shovel keep going!  Seria get.  Maia Rose get.  Iain carry home towel.  Have bath.  Pop-pop come Seria burday.  Talkin’ Me-mom on tv!  Open presents, rip, rip!  Have treat.  Eat Booberries.  Blow candle *blowing noises*, sing (actually singing now) ‘happy burday to you!’”

The waterfall that she so adored the week before was no longer running, so they cleared away the debris and as the flow returned dubbed it “Phina’s Fall”.

She was in constant motion; dancing, laughing, singing; too excited to go down for her nap.  We did and ate everything that she likes best.

Galen made her leg warmers.  When she opened them she exclaimed, “baby warmers!” and quickly pulled them on.  Since her birthday was the day before Easter, he also made her a basket out of cordage plied from dried iris leaves.  Mairi Rose embroidered a tiny violet on some felt and strung it on embroidery floss for a necklace.  She also brought her own five dollar bill to dance and from the stock of used dance clothes picked out the tiniest pair of ballet slippers she could find so that Seraphina could have her own dance shoes when they put on shows at home.  My mother crocheted her a beautiful afghan, using this pattern and Swish DK yarn in ‘Sugar Plum’.  If hand-made = love, this child goes beyond being adored, she’s downright worshiped.

My parents were supposed to stay with us for the weekend to help celebrate, but my mother became suddenly ill and couldn’t travel.  My father still came for an abbreviated visit and we manged to work it so that my mom could take part in the day through skype.  Hence the “talkin’ Me-mom tv!”

Her darling lamby!  Dear Melanie agreed to make that little lovie for her.  She has been a very happy addition to our home.  I found my sweet little violet contentedly “nursing” her earlier.

I’ve been admiring the work of Little Edith’s Knit since Seraphine was wee, so when she released one of her playsuit patterns in English, I just knew it had to be her birthday sweater.  If you are at all inclined towards baby lust, do not click through to that site.  Just trust me on this one.  It was also made from Swish DK, in “Carnation” this time.  The bonnet is a pattern I’ve been working on and hoping to send to test knitters soon, shown here in Reverie ‘Melon’.

How can it be that this tiny little love of mine is two already?!?  It’s all going much too fast for me.

KCCO

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baby things, celebrations and festivals, crafts, Food, Kids, Mama Collaborative, toy making, Yarn Crafts
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Easter Sewing and Celebrating

A few of my necklaces were taken off the market, due to little people that I love being too attached to them.

Elijah finished sewing his shirt.  He consulted with me from time to time, but did all of the work himself.  Button up shirts are hard!  I consider that quite the accomplishment.  He used  Simplicity 1327, which we adjusted to fit him.

Dresses for my girls…there is kind of a funny story behind these.  Last year our friend and neighbor was here helping us with some carpentry work when, because sometimes I forget to just keep these things in my head, I exclaimed, “I really just want to make a baby dress out of your drop cloth!”  And of course somewhat to my embarrassment, she insisted I take the drop cloth.  And because it was a big old sheet, there was enough for two dresses and head scarves as well.  I used Simplicity 1264 which is a reprint of a ’50′s pajama pattern.  I simply lengthened the tops a bit.  I also put them together with total disregard for pattern instructions, just piecing it however seemed quickest and easiest. More on the bonnet in another post.

Let’s see, what else is new?  I’m currently completely lost in this book, working on Mother’s Day gifts for the shop, trying to get the gardens and yard cleaned up in preparation for planting, obsessively spring cleaning and trying to fit some remodeling projects in.  I’m seriously considering just assigning the kids some books to read and math sheets and devoting all of next week to decluttering, deep cleaning and repairing the house and yard.  I have this huge desire to get life in order right now.  I have such trouble finding balance in this season.  There is so much I wish to accomplish.  The pull outside seems at odds with the desire for that big push in the final months of the school year to try to fit in everything I would like.  Do others struggle with this?
KCCO

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baby things, Books, celebrations and festivals, Food, Holidays, Kids, Mama Collaborative, sewing, Yarn Crafts
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spring awakening

Spring here does not explode in a brilliant burst of colorful blooms.  For us that comes much later.  No, spring on our mountain, in the woods, emerges slowly.  It is a subtle, moody, almost brooding affair.

The world exists mostly in shades of grey and worn, dull, weathered brown, bringing the details that in other seasons go unnoticed into sharp relief.  The bright green of lichen and flecks of moss, emerging from a long snow covered branch.As the world warms, we slacken our brisk pace, stopping to take in all the minute details.Details: “Lichen and Moss“- machine and hand embroidery on wool felt with a gunmetal grey base, hung on an adjustable leather cord.

♦ ♦ ♦

The snow melts and as it recedes the creeks swell up over rocks and ledges, only to come cascading back down.

Details: “Cascade”- Hand embroidery, applique and needle felting on and with wool felt and cotton velour, with an antique bronze base and fixed 28″ leather cord.

♦ ♦ ♦

These ferns are evergreen.  You see them in the spring, sprawled in great rings, pressed flat to the ground where the snow of months past held them fast.  It is still early yet, but after a time the fiddleheads will start appearing, poking their way out of the mud and slowly unfurling their delicate fronds.Details: “Unfurl”- Hand embroidery on wool felt with vintage cotton ric rac accents and vintage button closure.

♦ ♦ ♦

All three were inspired by our woodland walks and all three are now available for purchase through our shop.

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crafts, Mama Collaborative, pretty things, sewing
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Spring Headwraps for the Shop!

Looking for last minute gifts?  Now in the shop, a collection of headbands and headscarves for little girls, with Easter baskets in mind….

Color-grown organic cotton in both long and medium length styles, in sizes from baby through adult.

Child sized in a pretty spring green daisy print.

Darling bunnies with vintage ric rac trim for that special baby or toddler in your life.

And a fun floral headband.

There are still many lovely spring treats in the shop, with more appearing everyday.

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baby things, Kids, Mama Collaborative, sewing
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Week in the Life, Monday

Clearly I’m having trouble keeping up with Week in the Life this year.  I took all of the pictures and made a few notes, but actually putting together these long posts, at this moment in time, is a struggle.  I’ve considered just completely scrapping the project several times now, but I really try to do it once a year because these are the posts that I enjoy looking back at.  And I think with life being as busy as it is, it’s perhaps all the more important to try to record a few details.

Iain and Elijah stayed after work for a lesson.  We woke to a dull, grey and dreary day.  The kids wanted a bath.  I thought I would sit on the bathroom floor embroidering.  It sounded like a lovely and relaxing way to start the day, but ended up being stressful and frustrating.

Together we fixed brunch: yams, sage and onion sausage patties, sauerkraut and rooibos tea and filled the dehydrator with apple slices, while listening to an Easter Sparkle Story.  Realized we are not eating eggs right now, what are we going to do for Easter?!?

Brunch all together, alongside a game of quiddler.

At every meal this little munchkin eats and drinks what she would like of her own share and then scoots herself over to the other side of the table to see what of interest might be left over there.

We normally go out in the morning for our walk before her nap, but today she was very tired and asked to go to sleep early.

Homeschool work while baby sleeps, heavy on geography and measurements.

Trying to find a bit more variety on AIP, I made a whole turkey for dinner, along with squash and gravy, thinking we would be able to eat leftovers throughout the week.  Mairi and I managed to find a bit of fresh thyme to season it, under all the old growth.

More supplies in the mail.  It’s been a strange week that way, so much happening all at once!

A small plane flew over while we were on our nature walk.  She mistook it for one of her brother’s little quadcopters and pulling off her mitten, held out her hand saying, “catch fly-fly!”.

The experience of water is a strange thing to them right now, frozen in some places, flowing in others.

Whenever it is warm enough to take her mittens off she goes skipping down the street making them flap and singing out, “skippin’ mittens!”

At dinner Seraphine laid her tummy on the table and started biting the giant turkey in the middle!

Always a project going on!  Right now it’s Wizard of Oz themed figures.

More quiet time to work on projects for my big boys once most of the little ones were in bed.

A late night for me working on our newsletter.

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Homeschooling, Kids, Life, Mama Collaborative, photography, snapshots
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Just in time for Easter…

Our Spring Celebrations collection is going live today!  We’re stocking the shop with everything you need for a beautiful and unique hand-crafted Easter and/or Equinox celebration.

   I’ve been having fun making these little hand embroidered pendants.  They remind me of sweet fancifully decorated eggs.  Each one is on a ribbon long enough that it can be worn as a necklace.  They are also perfect for decorating an egg tree, nature table, basket or just about anywhere!

Just click the title above each set to see the listing!

Little Lamb:

It’s hard to say for certain, but she may just be my favorite.  The colors are softer in person, more muted and delicate.

Bird’s Nest:

This one has a great textural quality. And the color combination ended up being just gorgeous.

Ladybugs:Inspired by the one I found climbing my bedroom curtain.  The first of the season.  Spring is coming folks!

Small Rainbow Pendant:

So cheerful and bright!

And the large Rainbow:

Just beginning to peek out from behind some needle felted clouds.

One little Frolicking Bunny:

In fun girly colors with polka dot ribbon ties.

And the Chick:

The kids say he looks rather disgruntled, but that’s just a part of his charm.  I say he’s all the cuter for it.  And several of them have claimed him as their favorite, so I can only assume that they concur.

There are going to be so many wonderfully tempting treasures added to the shop over the next couple of days!  Do stop by and check it out!  And be sure to order soon so that we can make certain all the loveliness arrives on time!

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celebrations and festivals, crafts, Mama Collaborative, sewing
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