A Long Distance Hug.

This fall, in a moment of missing my oldest daugher - just wishing there was a way to hug her, even tho she was so very far away.......

I had an idea.

 A quilt.

I had never made a quilt before.  But I wanted my daughter to have a piece of me with her all the time.  Something she could wrap herself up in.  Something that would always bring my love to her - any time, anywhere.

Interestingly, when I went looking for the fabric I had in mind, there were 2 separate lots on etsy - from the same seller.   A whole lot of fat quarters, of my very most favorite fabric designer - 

Anna Maria Horner.

I feel a bit silly - i took the photos of it in progress, during the day - and then when I finished it, I completely forgot to take photos until evening - so flash it is.

As per my usual style - I chose to wing it.

Which means..... it's not even remotely square. 

That bugged me for a bit - when I was trying to trim it at the end and nothing made sense lol.

I realized that it actually makes perfect sense to be a bit more mindful in the cutting and sewing than I might have been.  Ahem.  But it's ok - it's beautiful - and full of love.

And did I mention how soft it is?

I had a hard time giving it up.  The other kids all wanted it.  

It's very cozy.

It has fabric from my daughter's last 2 Christmas pajamas, and my Christmas pajamas from this year as well.  I got us both in there.

 

I wanted it to be rainbowy too - because that just suits my girl.  

When she was a baby, my mom helped my little brother to sew a beautiful quilt - and it was rainbow.  With a starry sky on the back - cause her name is Skye   :)

And it was for her birthday, so even better.

I have to admit, that I am pretty certain there will be many more quilts in the future - and I'm even thinking I might be willing to put up with things like you know  - measuring, and consistent seam allowances - which to be honest - is why I never made quilts before ;)

She got the message, and now can wrap herself up in me any time she needs.  She will be reminded before she falls asleep - and first thing when she wakes up - just how much I love her.

Pretty Pockets

I spotted a skirt recently on pinterest with pockets much like these and knew right away that there were going to have to be some doily pockets happening.  It just so happened that a certain someone's legs grew and grew and grew this summer (must have been all that sun?)  and she was needing pants, so here we are.

I used a pair of pants that she liked the fit of (she's uber fussy about fit) and just traced them to make a pattern.  THe best part of all was that I already had the corduroy kicking around - picked up free or nearly free somewhere along the way.

A certain girl was spotted doing dance leaps around the yard in her new pants, hollering 

"I just feel like *dancing* in these pants Mumma!!!!!"

It only took around 2.5 hours - definitely worth it for the look on my girl's face.  Also handy, because in the past year I've gotten so chemically sensitive that going in stores isn't really an option right now, making shopping for clothes an online thing which = expensive.  I love that the solution to a somewhat frustrating problem makes us both so happy !

My New Purse a la Anna Maria Horner

I've needed a new purse for ...... well months.  First the strap broke, and then the zipper.  

It wasn't a nice purse to begin with ;)  

This week I decided it was time, and spied this fabric.....

I love this fabric.  To be fair - I'm absolutely head over heels in love with it.

Anna Maria Horner is by far my favorite Fabric designer.  Ever.

There is no other fabric that makes me so happy to look at.  Giddy actually.

I have had this fabric for ages!   I really just couldn't decide what to use it for. 

This was the perfect project tho.

Easy.  So.  Very.  Easy.

It fits perfectly.

The pattern is from her book.  Very clear instructions - comes with the actual paper pattern, so no tracing.

My little Miss wanted to help :)  I made her that skirt 2 days ago, and she's not. taken. it off.  

I guess she loves it ;)  Maybe kind of like I love this bag - tho I don't sleep with the bag - I swear ;)

(Yes she sleeps in that skirt too.)  I'm going to have to sneak it into the wash - or sew another couple ;)

I had so much fun embroidering around some of the flowers.....

The only change I made was to add a 2nd pocket.  The bias tape is from the same line of fabric.  The lining fabric ...... can't remember where I got it.

I will definitely be making more of these bags!  They'd be perfect for gifts.  

I was looking for some instant gratification the other day - some sewing pleasure that would also make my girl happy.  I remembered my tutorial!  As in this one.  I had picked up this pink skirt ages ago thinking it would be a great candidate.  It was !  

It came together quick and easy, in no more than 30 minutes, and my girl loved it so much that she slept in it   ;)

I call that a success!

Felted Easter Baskets - Rainbow of course ;)

Ok - go ahead and laugh - yes I just finished these *after* Easter ;)  It's the thought that counts tho right?  And next year ?  I'm soooooo prepared now ;)

I did start them before Easter - 5 whole days in fact, but you know how life is....

This was a really easy pattern to follow - The Learn to Felt Easter Basket, by Staci Perry

Ravelry notes here.

The thing that made this project extra extra satisfying, is that it used up a bunch of the peace fleece that my entire family finds too scratchy.  I bought a bunch of it in my early knitting days - it's such a great price, and the colors are amazing...... but alas, I discovered that if I want my family (including myself) to wear anything I knit, then I have to use merino, or something equally as soft.

I'll have to see what else I can knit up for felting with the rest of the yarn!  The basket is actually square - not sure if that shows in the photo - but I was thinking that without the handle, it would work well for a storage basket!  We shall see....... with the stash busting potential I think it's a likely thing.....

Strong

I'm doing an online course with Sheye Rosemeyer this month.  This is my first assignment.   We were to to choose a word to describe a part of ourselves that maybe get's a little lost in every day life, and then take a photo to represent that word.

I chose the word "Strong" because I need to reconnect with my own strength. I've always struggled with my health, but this fall I had a health crisis that I'm only now recovering from. I've spent most of the fall and winter feeling very weak indeed. I chose to photograph the river - most specifically the current, because I admire not only the strength and power, but the *flow*. Trying to stop the flow is futile, much better to settle in and enjoy the ride. Surrender to the flow. I am reconnecting with my own strength, power, flow, and learning to surrender. I included the metal of the bridge above to represent strong foundations, and transitions. Crossing over into a new and different me.

I'm putting this here, because I want to remember this moment.

6 years old

 My girl turned 6 years old today.  She woke up and said to me,

"MOM!  I grew last night!  I'm sooooo much bigger now, cause I'm six!!

Rainbow Birthday

My 2 girls have birthdays 3 weeks apart, and decided to share a birthday party this year.  A very rainbowy birthday party ;)  I had a lot of fun (and spent way too much time on pinterest) planning.

I didn't sew the dresses this year - I just knew I didn't have time or energy for it, so I went looking on etsy, thinking that if I couldn't sew them, then the next best thing would be to have another mama sew them.  She did a wonderful job on them.  Here's the link

 A dear friend sewed this lovely rainbow banner for us :)  Isn't it gorgeous?  It's reversible - with different colors on the other side.....

Yes - I sewed the streamers ;)  Instructions found here  It's a really simple process, and it didn't take long to make a ton of them - maybe an hour altogether.  The only issue was that they aren't as gathered as they were supposed to be because my machine didn't like the high tension, and if I got the tension up high enough for it to gather, then the thread would break.  Very annoying.  I did figure it out, they just aren't as gathered as they could be.

The cake.  

6 layers of gluten-free almond flour cake. 

In 6 different flavours.

I did try so hard to keep food coloring out of it.  I'm really not a fan, but in the end, several of the colors would have been brown, and I'd have had some sad little girls, so I did use coloring for the blue, green, and purple layers.  Not a lot - but it's there.  

I went and photographed it with the colors the wrong way - oops!

Red was strawberry

Orange was mango orange.

 yellow was lemon  

(I coloured it with india tree natural food coloring that is tumeric based)

Green was lime 

blue was blueberry

purple was blackberry

I sweetened the cake using coconut sap sugar, which is brown like brown sugar, and did make it somewhat harder to color the batter.

We're not done with rainbows yet around here - now I'm knitting little Miss A a rainbow pinafore !

Regina - the hat, not the singer ;)

This is Regina, by Carina Spencer 

Knit using leftover scraps of several different colorways of Noro Silk Garden from Aeowyn's Tiny Tea Leaves.    This was an easy knit, thanks to Carina's excellent pattern - which didn't surprise me one bit, since she is just meticulous like that :)  And of course I am a big fan over patterns that are easy, but produce a result that *looks* complicated ;)

Man Hat

I've been knitting up a storm, but keep not getting around to taking photos.... Today is the day ;)

This is "Man Hat" by Haven Leavitt  (click to see my notes on ravelry) I used Mirasol Sulka in "biscotti.  It's a lovely blend of merino, silk, and alpaca and is absolutely dreamy to knit with.  This was a really simple knit, and has a great fit.  I will most definitely revisit this pattern again.  There's something about mens' knits that is intimidating to me.  I did attempt a hat for my man a couple of times, but both attempts were dismal failures ;)  That's fine - we got there eventually.  Perhaps it would have been sooner if I wasn't always knitting for my little cuties ;)  

Stay tuned - I've got three more knit items to show you :)

Staying Real

Staying real.  With our kids, with our loved ones.  Being honest, even when it's really hard - It's so important, and is so key if we want to stay in our hearts - and where better to be if we want to really connect with our children, in our marriages.  And every time we take that leap and really take a hard look at ourselves and choose love - well our hearts just get closer, and there is a deeper intimacy all around.  Even if it's something as simple as not quite reining in frustration, and letting some words slip out that we regret - we have the option to stop right there, and make it right, reconnect.  Because really - it's not about being perfect.  It's about growing and learning - and our kids watching that process, and seeing it as a normal part of life.  Then they too can find the strength to take a good look at themselves, and see the bits they'd rather not see.  Every time we say to them - "Wow - I really lost it there - my words came out sounding really harsh - I wasn't meaning to direct that at you. I'm just feeling really tired and overwhelmed right now.  I apologize."  and we look them in the eyes, and we let them feel really *feel* our love -  well that's the real stuff.  So often there is pressure for parents to be "right" - that they are undermining their power and authority to admit they were wrong.  I just don't agree with that.  Our society needs more people who can admit they have messed up.  People who value connection over being right.

There is such a huge focus on the surface of kids - their outer manners, what they can and can't do.  SO much pressure, that is rarely age appropriate.  More important than any of that is what lies below the surface.  *Why* is my child acting out ?  What need isn't being met?  Do they *feel* loved?  We know we love our kids - but that's not enough.  So often kids don't feel loved - have lost the connection, in our busy lives that leave so little room for connection.  With 5 kids - it can be tricky to maintain a connection with each of my kids, but that is my number one goal, every day.  Maybe my kids will swear.  Maybe they'll.....pick their nose in public *gasp* or forget to say please once in a while.  Heck - they might be downright mouthy at times, but that is the surface, and the more years pass, the more I realize that that is not the part that matters.  That surface stuff - it matters, but it matters because it's there to signal us.  To let us know that a child needs *connnection* and lots of it, more than anything else.

And really - doesn't it make it all so much simpler?  Maintain that connection.  And the rest will follow naturally, almost, *almost* effortlessly.

I heart faces - Pink

I just noticed that this week's theme over at i heart faces is pink :)  Since I just finished doing a very pink photo shoot project with my lovely friends Andrea at tapestri, and Becca at all-about-afternoon-tea.com/ well I figured I didn't really have a choice now did I ?  So here it is - my entry for this week :)

Be sure to head on over and check out all the amazing entries...

Plain Vest - by Pickles :)

This was one heck of a satisfying knit.  

It was soooooooooo fast to knit.  Done knitting in 5 days.  Took me 2 more to work in the ends, and sew on the buttons - but that was ummm laziness ;)

The best part tho - was that because it was stranded, I was able to use up 2 balls of super thin, but lovely wool, that I would never have found a use for, and another equally lonely ball of wool that might have just sat sad in my knitting basket until ..... the end of time.  

My favorite part tho (did I say that already? - hmm ok I have a best part and a favorite part ;)

My favorite part was that the lovely light purple wool, was left from one of her very first sweaters - the 2nd sweater I ever knit.  The sweater that I knit in purple, in that very specific shade of purple, because it was *her* color.  I hadn't met her yet, but I knew.  It's still her color.  

So this sweater had to be knitted, and I didn't care one bit that at the start I hadn't enough yarn, and wasn't sure if it would turn out - I just knew it had to be.  

And so it was.

Here's the pattern

My ravelry page

A certain older girl wants one now - and she even picked out a bunch of other lonely balls of wool.......

Tho I must say I'm a wee bit nervous about her choice of colors, and whether or not there is enough, but since it all worked out with this one, I'll just have to have faith.  It will be somewhat of a coat of many colors ;)

One Hundred Million Gillion Fun

It was such a treat to photograph these little sweeties!  I enjoyed our time together so much - and unlike my own kids - they looked at the camera!  Don't get me wrong - I love taking pictures of my kids - but man I sure have to work for every shot I get ;)  They think it's so funny to run away giggling.  

These little guys' response when I asked if they were getting bored of having their picture taken was "NO!  This fun fun!  This is a hundred fun - no a hundred million gillion fun!"  

That just made my day :)