Monthly Archives: September 2009

Michealmas

By the lake.

I love being there after the busy season has passed.


I’m so not a baby-in-car-seat (outside of the car that is) type of person, but in this case, Little Rosebud’s nap meant that I got to do a good bit of kite flying as well.


It was just me and the two little guys for much of the time. The lure of fishing with Daddy was just too great for the older ones. Iain went back and forth several times though. Elijah, devote fisherman that he is, settled for flying the kite back to the car once it started to rain.


In-between runs with the kite, I got a bit of work done on an autumn dress for Màiri Rose.



I was surprised to find this when I transferred my pictures. Galen took it when I wasn’t looking (he had been taking a picture of a sign when I looked away).

By
celebrations and festivals, Homeschooling, Kids
4 Replies

Season’s Round Exchange: Autumn

These are our contributions to the autumn Season’s Round Exchange. The theme was “harvest”. We took a few liberties there, but I think that one the whole, we did alright.


The sun catchers above were made by Iain and Elijah and they were inspired by the sunflowers at our farm. Sunflowers are Steve’s favorite, and we always fill the house with them in early autumn. Well, and what kind of autumn would it be without a jack ‘o lantern or two? We’re hoping that our partner has a window near his nature table!

Yes, his.

I’ll admit I was a bit panic stricken when I realized I had been paired with a man with no children. All along I had been picturing cute childish little things and I was completely stumped as to what to do for an adult. Especially considering the fact that it was out of country and therefore couldn’t contain any bits of nature. But then I got to know Tine, through his emails and his wife Pia through her blog Waldorf Heart and it was such a relief! I was still feeling pretty uninspired mind you, but they are such lovely people that I know they won’t judge harshly and they will accept our humble gifts knowing that they come from the heart. I’m kind of glad that, when I sent out my package, I didn’t know that Pia’s partner was Shelley of Waldorf Mama. Because seriously, talk about the potential for developing an inferiority complex, you know?

In looking through the contributions on the Season’s Round Flickr group (there is some incredible stuff out there by the way), I was kind of surprised to see that more people didn’t get their kids involved in the exchange. Actually I guess it makes sense since most of the people have their own kids to add to their nature tables. Accumulating stuff from other people’s kids is probably not high on the list of priorities, huh? Nope. Perfectly crafted Mama-made goodies where the submission du jour.

My kids really wanted to help out on this one and honestly I let them take the lead. Feeling over-whelmed by our whole housing situation seems to have temporarily stunted my creative mojo. I’m not sure what I’ll do for the next exchange, but for this one it felt right to let them forge ahead.

So, they made up the sun catchers, with a bit of advice from me. And this was my contribution…

in honor of my new love of course. Hey, wool is harvested too!

The boys sorted through my yarn basket and pulled out little bits of any color that they deemed “harvesty” and I just crochet each one in as it was handed up to me. The result is this funky little mat. I thought it would be good for putting a candle or a bowl on. That bright splash of yellow in the middle is some yarn that we dyed with turmeric several years back.

The card is from a local (to me) artist and features a series of farms along an autumnal river bank. It seemed just the thing to add to our package and if they so desire, to their table.

Meanwhile, I’m really hoping that this post hasn’t ruined the surprise! I’ve not gotten word that my partner has received his package yet, which isn’t exactly shocking. I know we sent our packages within a day of each other and his hasn’t arrived yet either, though we are all very eagerly waiting! Photo’s were supposed to be posted by today, so I thought I ought to get this out there.

By
celebrations and festivals, crafts, Kids, Yarn Crafts
3 Replies

I feel so dirty…

I’m so embarrassed, but it’s time to come clean and confess.

I’ve been having an affair.

It’s true, it started out innocently enough, but before I knew it, I got swept away. I haven’t forgotten my love, truly I haven’t, it’s just I’m starting to think that I might have to make room in my heart and my life for this newcomer as well. Because things between us? Well, they just feel so right. So right! It’s all so new, so exciting…I really don’t think I can stop myself!

That’s right…

I’ve been….crocheting.

And I love it, I really do. I started off crocheting years ago and never really got anywhere. Then I found knitting and well, I never looked back.

The Waldorf curriculum has crochet being taught in 3rd grade. I had planned on trying to get it together to teach Iain last year, but we both got caught up in our knitting and you know how that can be. It wasn’t a total loss though; he did learn several more advanced knitting techniques.

Still, this year I decided it was time to conquer this dragon. Somehow when I picked up a hook this time around everything seemed to click and I finally figured out what I’ve been doing wrong all these years. I’m really enjoying both the process and the results. Crochet has such a fun, old-fashioned, vintage kind of feel to it. I can totally see this getting addictive.

For a first project, Iain and I took turns working on a potholder. The theory being that we would felt it, thus masking our imperfections. I have a knitted one that I made this way, several years ago, and it’s everyone’s favorite potholder.


After that first project, Iain moved on to a solo potholder project (as seen in progress above), but I was looking for something a little more interesting. So, I grabbed some yarn and started making myself a cowl.

This was one of those great, near to instant gratification, less then 24 hour kni… erm…crochets??

Now before I show you my newly crocheted version, I have to show you the older knitted version…


This project and picture are both from sometime (early spring-ish) last year. I never shared it here because I’ve been thinking about frogging it ever since I made it. For one thing, the color was not at all what I expected. It was ever-so-much more…limey. Clearly, my monitor can NOT be trusted.

And then there is the design. I don’t know, something about those three tiers doesn’t sit right with me. It makes me feel like my head is perched atop the neck of some bizarre Dr. Suess character. So, I did finally work in the ends on it. And I do wear it from time to time, but it’s never found much popularity around here.

On to the new version, which is just so much more, me somehow.

This is one of those project that I finished up a while ago. The problem has been, as it so often is with things for me, in the pictures. I never seem to get around to taking them. Last week, when my mom was here to hold the baby and the sun was shining brightly, I asked My Love (the flesh and blood one, not the craft one) to give me a hand.

Any thoughts on what Steve could have said to me that resulted in this face??
For the record, I don’t really know either, I just thought it would be fun to ask. I mean it was obviously something.

This one is a little better…But let’s face it, when you look at this picture all you see is hair and boobs, both of which I seem to have in abundance these days. It really has nothing to do with the cowl, though I guess in a way they do kind of frame it.

One really does have to wonder about the kinds of hits I’m going to be getting from this post! Attention: scary, creepy people who are only here because I used some dirty sounding words: please go away now. Thanks a bunch!

That wasn’t really working out, so we tried it this way for a bit…
What do you think??

And then I took matters into my own hands.
I don’t know, I kind of like this one. Even though it doesn’t really show me OR the cowl.


Alright, here you go, me and the cowl.

And yes, it really would have been too much to ask for me to be actually looking at the camera.

By
Homeschooling, Yarn Crafts
8 Replies

Looking Ahead

I had every intention of doing a “Christmas in July” post talking about thinking ahead to the holiday season; planning and doing well in advance. But July got busy and the post never came. I did, however, get a start on things.

I have some presents tucked away here and there. I have many, many lists. Lists of things to do, lists of things to bake, lists of gifts to make, lists of gifts the kids want to make. I have lots of lists. And I have some supplies, because there is bound to be some crafting…of course, of course, of course!

I have extensive (and slightly delusional) plans for the Christmas pajamas this year. That link is from three years ago, wow! Look at baby Galen! Here are the ones I made two years ago, and last year’s are here and here.


This really is one of my favorite parts about being a mama. I love being the person who grows and sculpts family traditions. I love finding ways to add warmth, spirit, beauty and meaning to our celebrations. I love working with my own hands to create, with love, special things for those special times and making each celebration uniquely our own.

Also high up on my to-create list at the moment….

birthday sweaters for all three of my winter babies.
By
celebrations and festivals, Housewifery, Mothering, sewing, Yarn Crafts
10 Replies

Gray Thoughts

I found my first gray hair this week. I’ve actually probably got scads of them, but I don’t really look in the mirror all the often and when I do, it’s not like I’m sitting around examining my hair. So this is the first gray that I happened to notice.

Many of you may find this post ridiculous, I mean seriously, who spends time trying to take a picture of a gray hair??? Can you even see it? Probably not. Ah, but it’s quite the close up, so you can see all the beginnings of wrinkles spanning my forehead and between my eyes. Trust me, the hair’s there too; right in the front. Elijah, who’s fascinated by this whole transition, says it looks like the metallic silver thread I have. And Galen keeps coming over, cross-eyed from trying to look at a section of his own hair, and declaring that he’s found a gray one. So far I’ve seen nothing but brown, but he’s pretty sure that if he keeps looking, he’s bound to find one. I imagine if he looks long enough, that will turn out to be true. But, I suspect he’ll abandon his search long before then.

Interestingly enough, I was having a conversation on this very topic, a week or so ago (before this discovery). And while the nuances of the conversation escape me (of dear, I am getting old), I remember thinking that I wouldn’t be upset when the time came. I didn’t think I’d be upset, but I wondered a bit if it was one of those things that you think won’t be upsetting…until it happens. All’s good though. I’m not the slightest bit concerned and I actually think it’s rather pretty, all shiny. And now everyone over a certain age is thinking that only someone who is still relatively young could think such a thing! No, I’m choosing to believe that gray is a good color for me, a beautiful color for me. So there. Besides, it’s really not me who should be upset here anyway. Obviously, it’s my parents who should be horrified. I mean, let’s face it, they’re old enough to have a kid with gray hair! (this last jab was made solely for their benefit since both of my parents have taken to reading my blog lately. Sorry guys! I couldn’t help myself).

No, the thing that’s got me thinking is that it feels like a kind of milestone. Like your first lost tooth or something. If it were one of the kids I would do something to mark the occasion. It’s really such a nothing sort of thing, but maybe it should be a something sort of thing? As an adult you don’t really honor milestones though. I don’t suppose there’s a gray hair fairy that I don’t know about? If there was, I think she would bring a beautiful sterling silver barrette to coordinate with your new silver highlights. In fact, I think that’s just what I’m going to do for Màiri when she’s old and gray like me (ha-ha! I joke, I joke! About being old and gray anyway, I truly will do this Màiri, though not in fairy guise of course, if I still remember). The boys will require a bit more creativity. Perhaps barrettes will be all the rage for men by then…

By
celebrations and festivals, Life
8 Replies

Iain’s Bubble Hat

Update: There is now an easy to print PDF version of The Bubble Hat pattern available.

For years now I’ve been trying to find just the right winter hat for Iain. It needed to work for both of us. He wanted something that was easy to pull on and off. I wanted something that wasn’t going to just fall off. He wanted something he liked the look of. I was all for good looks too, but more importantly I wanted something that covered his ears and kept him warm during the long hours he spends outside.

I think that we finally, finally, found THE hat.

bubble hat
And we’re both quite pleased.

He picked the main yarn; Taos by Tahki Yarns in the Autumn (004) colorway. He showed me the kind of look he liked and I designed the hat.

I wanted to use two different yarns for this and I just loved how the dark brown of this local alpaca/wool blend picked up the thread of brown through the Taos.

bubbles
I told him that since it was his hat, he could name the pattern. He says it’s a Bubble Hat, so there you go!


The Bubble Hat

One size fits most- older child through adult

materials: 1 skein each of bulky yarn in color A and color B
a set of size 9 double point needles
one stitch marker

Cast on 76 stitches with color A, join round, and place a marker
Work 15 rows of K2, P2 rib
note: I wanted it to come all the way down and cover his ears and forehead. If you would like a shorter style feel free to adjust the number of rounds accordingly.

Break yarn

switch to color B

**Work 5 rounds in ss (knit every row)
*K5B (see details below), K3*, repeat around
Work 5 more rounds of ss
K2, *K5B, K3* repeat to last 2 stitches, K5B, K1**

Repeat from ** to **

Break yarn

With color A K 1 round
*K2tog, K4*, repeat to last 2 stitches, K2
K 1 round
*K2tog, K3* repeat to last stitch, K1
*K2tog, K2* for one round
K 1 round
*K2tog, K1* to last 2 sts, K1 (24 stitches)
K 1 round
K2tog for one round
K 1 round
K2tog

Break yarn and pull tightly through the remaining stitches
Work in ends, and voila!

silly

K5B=Knit Stitch 5 Rows Below

Now I’m going to try my best to describe how to do this using words, but if you still aren’t getting it, then there is a nice picture tutorial here that should set you straight (she uses a crochet hook and I’m going to tell you how to do it with your knitting needles).

Ok, so what you are ultimately doing is working a stitch 5 rounds down from where you are.

Here’s how:
Slip the stitch that you are about to knit off of the needle and pull out the stitch below it 4 times. I know, I know, don’t be scared, it will be ok, just keep a crochet hook on hand. Now put your needle back into the loose stitch. There should be a ladder of 4 strands above it. Alright, now, from this position, with the stitch in front, your yarn in back and the ladder in between, knit the stitch. And that’s it!

back
If you make one, be sure to leave me a link, I’d love to see it!  You can find the Bubble Hat on Ravelry here.

By
free patterns, Kids, Yarn Crafts
42 Replies

The Great Big, Gigantic, Food Post

This is such a great time of year for a devoted foodie like myself! I came home from shopping last week feeling incredibly inspired in the food department and ready to start cooking! And oh, there was a lot, a lot, a lot of yummy food shared in my house this week.


After several appetizers that first night (including the first two pictures below), dinner was sea scallops wrapped in bacon and smashed red potatoes with chevre and pesto (I would usually make this with olives, but I forgot to buy some) followed by fresh figs for dessert. Oh my. Now that was a treat!

The chevre was a trial run. We’ve not had any sort of dairy for a long while now. The jury is still out on reactions. It was certainly enjoyable though. We had it with the potatoes and then on a salad later in the week.


We usually avoid soy, but during those 2-3 weeks when fresh edamame is being harvested at our farm, all bets are off. And salt boiled edamame is on! My table that is…
here’s how:
pull all the pods off the plant
toss them into some salted boiling water
boil for 6 minutes
drain
toss with some more salt and eat the beans from the pods


Another weekly favorite around here at the moment is green crispies. At the end of the week I take any greens that I have left in the fridge and add whatever greens I can forage or add from the garden. I tear them all (setting aside the tough stalks) and toss them with olive oil and some other things that strike my fancy. Last week I used balsamic vinegar and added golden flax seeds and that was good, oh so good. After tossing everything together, I put it all into the dehydrator until crisp and then sprinkle with salt before serving (I find it’s better this way, otherwise the salt has a tendency to clump).

For the stalks, I’ve been experimenting with dehydrating them and then pulverizing them in the vitamix to make my own green drink, for adding to smoothies and whatnot. It’s turning out pretty well so far! I’m not sure how it will keep, so I’ve just been adding each batch to a jar in my freezer.


This is the time of year that our very favorite sweet Italian peppers are in season. Last week we fired them up with sweet onions and sausages, adding tomato sauce after a bit and then greens at the very end. This week there will surly be some roasted pepper soup.


What? Like you don’t take your produce outside to play?? Alright, so we don’t usually either, but it was too dark inside to get any decent photos. We actually do play with our produce though. In fact Màiri was entertained by the squash for the better part of a week. I kept putting off making it because I didn’t want to take it away from her! But mmmm….the first squash of the season? Well, there was only so long that we could wait. We prepared it quite simply this week; enjoying it’s rich flavor on it’s own, but I’m sure that in the weeks to come there will be squash soup, squash muffins, squash and apple bake and indian pudding a plenty!


As for the eggplants, I’ve been making my stand by baba ganoush, a mild kid-friendly version, but oh, then I tasted an eggplant dish that my friend Eloise made. It made my toes curl. So of course I needed to make that!

I can’t for the life of me remember what she called it, but here, in her words, is how to make it:

“you marinate the eggplant in pomegranate juice. i use about a cup for 2 eggplants. slice them a little thicker than a half inch.

after a couple of hours roast them in the juice until the eggplant is falling apart. if the juice dries up, toss them with some olive oil.

then, while the eggplant is still hot, put it in a dish and cover it with olive oil. add 3ish cloves of crushed garlic and something like a tablespoon of chopped fresh mint. it’s best when it’s still a little warm or at least room temperature.“

Mine didn’t turn out quite as well as hers or maybe it was something akin to a first kiss? It was still fabulous, but maybe not quite as exciting the second go round. I must say, I’m not the slightest bit inclined towards giving up kissing or eating so, I must like them just fine as they are.


Oh, and there were salads too! (and lots of other stuff that I can’t think of at the moment) The one below was a mix of lettuces with arugula, grated carrots, violas and chevre, served with a maple vinaigrette. For the vinaigrette you need maple syrup-it absolutely *must* be the real thing, don’t even talk to me about the other stuff, olive oil, tamari, either apple cider vinegar or balsamic vinegar and a bit of salt. Adjust all ingredients to taste. It’s quite the favorite dressing around here.

The cooking for this week is not looking good. This morning Iain went to get some toast out of the oven and flames shot out at him! Which is a large part of why this post is going out in the evening instead of this morning as planned. All is well and everyone unharmed. We put the fire out, but the repair man is not even coming to assess it until Wednesday morning, which means we are without stove and oven for a bit (also means to heat water for say, washing dishes or wiping down a baby). At least I can still have that honey crisp apple that’s been waiting for me.

By
Food, recipes
10 Replies

More on the Rainbow Dress

See how tricky I am? Posting about previously knitted items to distract from the fact that I don’t have any new projects finished? Ah, but you’re not going to let me off the hook so easily are you?Well, I finished working in the ends on one project, but it hasn’t yet arrived at it’s intended destination. And I finished another thing for me, but I’ve not been feeling great lately, and a photo shoot featuring me and the dark circles under my eyes, doesn’t appeal to me in the least. I think my best bet is to turn my attentions to some of the things I’ve made for the boys as they are both local and photogenic. And of course I’ve cast on for another project as well, so that’s distracting me a bit too.
But back to the dress! Or in this case, tunic, shirt, vest…

I asked some little friends to help me out by modeling it so you could get a feel for how it would look on different sized children. Three year old Miss Solena above thought she would like to help out, but then immediately changed her mind and this is the only photo of her that I got!

And this is 5 year old Tove, wearing it with many layers (her choice) for her own personalized look.

And 9 year old Gabby sporting a layered tank top look. I don’t think that it would fit most 9 year olds. She’s on the petite side and even so we felt that it was a little tight through the chest.
She looks really adorable in it though, doesn’t she?A big thank you to all the girls that offered to try on for me!I had a bit of a delay in getting out the pattern to my test knitters. With packing, everything is getting rearranged and ending up in odd places and I misplaced my sketch book with the design. I finally found it last night, so I should be able to type it up and get it out to them soon! And once I get some feedback from them (this is the first pattern that I’ve written for other people after all, and who knows how the gibberish in my head translates), I’ll be posting it here for you to, hopefully, enjoy.
By
Yarn Crafts
2 Replies

A start to the Autumn sewing…

Sewing seems to have fallen by the wayside with my current kitting obsession. I have managed to churn out a couple of quick things and I am hoping to get back into more of a groove soon.


First up is a quickie pair of pants for him (also seen here). There has been this weird plaid/gingham trend around here lately, so don’t be surprised to see more of this sort of thing showing up.

The fabric is twill from Chez Ami, when they were having one of their fabulous clearance sales and it’s awesome. I have some more (in an even more vivid pattern, yikes!), that I’m looking forward to working with soon. Life gets interesting when you start letting the kids pick their own fabrics!

I actually love these pants and think they look adorable on him, but so far, most other adults that I’ve come across seem to disagree…

And a quickie skirt for me, from some wool jersey that I’ve had kicking around for ages now…

Iain was kind enough to take several pictures of me in it. He caught me in the process of pulling back my hair in this one, but this was the one that Steve liked, so this is the one you get!

I’m still rather rounder then usual (well ok, I guess with all the babies it’s more usual at this point for me to be quite round then not). I am not loving my lack of clothing at the moment, nor the way most things I own fit. I was rather slim (for me anyway) before getting pregnant this time around and in some kind of fit of insanity or something, altered most of my clothes to fit my smaller self.

Like most women, I struggle with the whole body image thing. I want to be healthy and to feel well, but at the same time I also want to accept where ever I’m at in a given time. Posting a full-body picture, by the way, was a step in the direction of trying to be content with where I’m at! There is lots of conditioning to go against here, but I feel like it’s really important, especially now that I am raising a daughter. I’m really sick of storming around trying on various combinations of anything that I think might work, and ending up frustrated and feeling poorly, when all I wanted to do was walk out the door looking presentable. In the interest of being a good role model for my girl (and maybe, just maybe, being a bit more caring to myself), I’ve been trying to pay close attention to what I like, what I’m comfortable in, what I feel good in and little by little, start making myself a couple of things. The goal is to be able to easily get dressed in the morning, glance in the mirror, smile, and get on with my day. I’m not in love with this skirt, but it’s comfy and it fits and it gives me some more options, so it’s a start.

By
Kids, sewing
13 Replies