Wishing you a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend!
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finn's first ball
If at first you don't succeed, throw the towel ... along with the soggy ball ... into the dryer. Felting, that is. I thought this project was doomed. It wasn't shrinking enough, I didn't have enough dark blue wool to cover the entire surface, and it seemed to be drying lopsided. Good thing that felting, as a craft, is so forgiving. Nothing like a hot dryer to whip that wool into shape.
But oh, we had so much fun making this big ball of wool ... it wouldn't have mattered if the final product came out or not! After my hot water cooled a bit, Finn absolutely loved getting his hands in the water and on the wool.
The ball is large as far as felt balls go - about 4 1/2" in diameter. I've noticed Finn's interest in larger objects, and his very intense desire to move along the floor (albeit backwards, much to his chagrin) and thought a big ball would match his needs both at the moment and well into the future. (Can you picture seven year-old Finn tossing this ball around the house? I swear there are moments, expressions, in which I can see the person he will become through the baby chub and drool.)
I wound the roving round and round, as tightly as I could, until it measured about 6" in diameter, at which time I poured hot, soapy water over it. Finn and I turned, smooshed, submersed, and twisted it until it seemed pretty hopeless, as some of the outer layer of roving wasn't shrinking as it should.
Hot dryer to the rescue! A thirty minute whirl with some towels did the trick. I added the dots with a felting needle.
All in all, this turned out to be a great little project. It got rave reviews from the youngest critic, both for the process and the finished product.
looking for a band
Beginning guitar player looking to play in a local band. Strengths: muting the strings, drooling on the strings, and bopping up and down on knees. Can sing "ah" if backup vocals are needed.
We're getting more and more into a musical rhythm 'round these parts. We're always singing. In fact, I just had to ask Patrick to stop singing so that I could finish writing this sentence - we sing that much. This is nothing new - it's not like it just started when Finn was born so we could provide him with an enriching musical ambiance - we just sing. Some of us sing on tune and have a conniption if lyrics are wrong. Others of us have a more "free" way of singing and enjoy making up lyrics. I'll let you guess who's who.
Finny? He sings "aaaah". And he eats the guitar. His favorite song is "La Bamba".
The musical rhythm we've found is thanks to The Singing Day
Some of the songs came directly from The Singing Day
When you wake up in the morning, it's a quarter to one, and you want to have a little fun, you brush your teeth. Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch Ch... you brush your teeth (etc.)
Do you remember that one?
Singing throughout the day with predictable tunes can also help ease difficult transitions for toddlers and young children. It makes chores fun, and it has the wonderful benefit of making grumpy mamas happy once again. (I know this from personal experience!) If you're interested, read Nicole's post about the benefits of singing with her two young girls.
And with that, I'll leave you with a tune to stick in your heads - "Whistle While You Work" from Cinderella.
Off to cut some fabric for a really rad project for book number two! Do do do do do do do ....
it was a tough workout
We took our baby backpack (along with the requisite baby) for its first spin this weekend. (Thanks for the hand-me-down, Auntie Melissa!) While the Fall color had mostly abandoned the branches, the leaves were still emitting plenty of color on the forest floor, making our hike a bit like walking over a giant Persian rug.
Finn bounced along happily, "singing" as usual). All of this bouncing and singing is hard work, as it turns out.
May the memories of the weekend carry you through your work week, too!
holiday traditions exchange 2009
What is the Holiday Traditions Exchange?
The Holiday Traditions Exchange is a swap that incorporates craft, cultural sharing, and thoughtful reflection about what the holidays mean to your family. It’s an opportunity to celebrate all that is non-commercial in this holiday season – and an opportunity to adopt a new, fun tradition for your family’s holiday repertoire.
To your partner, you will send:
1.) One handmade holiday
decoration. Decorations made from any kind of medium are acceptable –
from fabric to yarn, paper to paint.
2.) Your family's favorite holiday recipe.
3.)
A “Tradition” Tutorial. This is description of one of your family’s
special holiday traditions. If needed, you should provide step by step
instructions. (For example, if your family makes graham cracker candy
houses each year, you would provide more concrete instructions.) You
might also consider sending along a couple of photos of the tradition
in action.
Guidelines
- You must be prepared to ship internationally. Your partner may be located in another country, as I can't take "country" requests. If you do need to ship overseas, think "small" and "flat" for your package - something that could fit in a Global Priority Mail Flat Rate envelope would be great. The cost to ship to all other countries is $12.95 US.
- You must agree to the time line: Packages must be shipped by Friday, December 11th. If you have too much on your plate this holiday season, think twice before adding a swap to your activities! There's always next year.
- If you do not send your partner a package, you won't be able to participate next year. I keep a record of people who don't send packages, so if you signed up in previous years and your package didn't make it out the door, I apologize, but I can't accept you this year. Please only sign up if you know you can comply with the above guidelines!
How can I participate?
Click on the link below - it will take you to a form to sign up for the exchange. Signups are only accepted via this form! If your sign up has been completed successfully, you will immediately receive a confirmation email.
The form will no longer be available after 200 participants sign up, or after midnight on Friday, November 13, whichever comes first.
Click here to sign up for the exchange.
***Before sending your package, be sure to take pics and post them to the Holiday Traditions Exchange Flickr Group!***
Much warmth,
Meg
P.S. Feel free to take a button - cut and paste the following code to add to your blog:
the jane hat
Mnkay ... so you're right, this isn't a sewn garment. But it sort of counts as Design Fridays, right? (Nod your head.) Right.
I'm just having the toughest time squeezing in sewing time for myself. I'm at the machine whenever I'm not with Finn, coming up with project after project for book two, but boy - I can't wait until this book stuff lets up a bit and I can make myself some new, much needed clothing staples.
Thankfully I can find the time to knit myself a warm hat - an absolute necessity when you have bed head and haven't found the time to shower before going to the grocery store. This little number, "Jane" by Jane Richmond Designs, was knitted over two days during sleepy nursing sessions and other quiet moments.
I'm considering turning off the heat in our house so I can wear it inside, too. I'm in love.
it's here!
No, not the double chin, sillies ... the advance copy of my book! It's real! It's shiny! It has my name on it, and my name is spelled correctly!
Oh my. You can imagine the fluttering of the stomach butterflies as I leafed through actual pages for the first time. It's so surreal.
The official publishing date is December 7th, just a few weeks away. For those of you who are eyeing it for your own Christmas stockings, do let your significant others/mothers/friends know that I now have gift certificates available for sale that are good for all items in my shop. Simply let him/her know that *hint hint* you think that a gift certificate would fit nicely in your stocking, and then *forget* you ever mentioned it. :)
I love the baby trying his darnedest to crawl in the background. What he wouldn't give for Inspector Gadget arms right now. (Gasp!, you say, Did she watch cartoons as a child?!) Why yes, I did. And Inspector Gadget was my favorite.
Check in tomorrow (Wednesday) at 12 noon to sign up for the Holiday Traditions Exchange!
being neighborly
I want my son to enjoy nature - to feel comfortable there, to respect its beauty and its prickles. I want him to want to be outside.
Perhaps I'm more relaxed about dirt, insects, and leaves-in-the-mouth because I grew up in the mountains on thirty acres of pure bliss which practically bordered a national forest. I soak up the sweet smell of decaying leaves. I'm transported back to countless childhood memories when the mixed scent of pine trees and smoke from a wood fire finds its was into my neighborhood.
I totally get it that you want to eat those leaves, little guy. They feel so crinkly, smell so earthy, and look so enticing.
While a nature table is a nice way to bring a bit of the outside in, I feel strongly that the best way to experience Nature is by being among it - within it, on top of it, below it ... rolling around in it, smelling it, and feeling it, no matter its temperament (cold or warm).
I try to make it a priority to get out with Finn every day. Not for a fast, calorie-burning, mama-paced walk along the road, but for a slow walk to a little wooded area bordering a small park. In this stretch of land forgotten by people, the deer have moved in, along with other many-legged beings which we tend not to welcome into our houses. So, good neighbors that we are, we go to visit them in their homes, bringing along a baby giggle and a knitting project.
And there we sit, in the dirt, listening to the latest bird gossip and admiring the beauty of tree bark.
the nature corner
Even before we welcomed Finn into our family, I knew we would never be able to have a nature table. You see, we have cats. Cats with a love of wool. Cats who, while the rest of us sleep, go around pushing every small-ish object underneath the couch to be lost forever. Cats who love it when I knit more than I love knitting.
A table displaying the bounty and beauty of Nature would just be a feline free-for-all in our house.
Rather than succumb to feline domination (as often happens), I found a solution in the form of a nature cabinet.
Ha! Try to open that door without opposable thumbs, cats! This little cabinet is open for exploration when both the baby (and cats) can be properly supervised. We close it at night and when the human sentinels are out of the house (when all kitty mischief tends to break loose).
After months and months of looking for a corner cabinet in my thrifting outings, I finally opted for purchasing the cabinet from an Etsy seller, Buck Creek Furnishings.
The knitted goodness you see on our shelves (and the Autumn-colored silk) comes from my wonderfully thoughtful Seasons Round Exchange partner, Nicole.
Nicole and her girls were the recipients of the little needle felted acorn sprite which I found here. Their package also contained a very special something ... my first attempt at needle felting.
While my needle felting mojo is nowhere near as good as the creator of the acorn sprite, I did have a lot of fun making my Autumn Lady tapestry.
Sign-ups for the Holiday Traditions Exchange begin at 12 noon (EST) on Tuesday , November 10th Wednesday, November 11th - mark your calendars and visit on the 11th to reserve your spot. I'm only accepting 200 participants this year due to the time-heavy nature of organizing an exchange, but I've also streamlined the sign-up process. I don't know about you, but I've already started listening to a Christmas song here and there ... one must do such things when organizing a Holiday Exchange! :)
... oh, and Tastebook friend invites go out tomorrow!
xo,
Meg
more cooking fun (and a giveaway)
As if we haven't had enough cookbook craze here in the past week ... (Which reminds me - make sure you send me an email at MealCalendarRecipes@gmail.com if you want to be my Tastebook friend. I've had a good number of people email me at my normal address, which is really hard to keep track of.)
I'm so excited to be in cahoots with the talented Rae Grant - mama, blogger, and author of two children's books: Cooking Fun
Rae sent me copies of her books, and let me tell you - they just make me smile. Both Cooking Fun
Since nothing goes better with a kid's vintage-inspired cookbook than a vintage-inspired apron, Rae is hosting a giveaway of Cooking Fun and I'm chipping in two Lola Apron patterns! Go over to My Little Hen and leave a comment to enter!
P.S. Did you know the Lola Apron won first place at the Iowa State Fair? How cool is that?
photo and apron by letterwoman
the mcelwee's kitchen bible
Ask and you shall receive! So many of you were interested in the recipes in my meal calendar that I went ahead and made my Tastebook public: The McElwee's Kitchen Bible - full of quick, healthy vegetarian recipes. You can actually buy the book if you want - Tastebook gets all the profit, not me - or you could email me at MealCalendarRecipes@gmail.com and I'll send you an invite to join Tastebook (free) and be my "Tastepage" friend so you can see all my recipes without ordering the book. If you send me an email by Friday, Nov. 5, I'll send off your invite by Saturday (I don't have time to cut and paste email addresses nowadays - I have to do it all at once by importing my contacts - so after Saturday I'll close shop for this temporary email address.)
Oooh boy, I love this book! I figure I'll rotate recipes seasonally - keep the current recipes in front and the out-of-season ones in the back behind the recipe card sleeves.
You'll find all sorts of recipes in here, but you won't find recipes catering to those with dairy/wheat/egg allergies. In fact, by the time you've read through the recipes, you'll probably think that I'm made up of 88% cheese, which is probably true. Some of the recipes are easily vegan-ized, though - and I have a fantabulous vegan roast in there, courtesy of my friend Melissa.
Okay - so here's what my Meal Calendar looks like:
Week One - Corn Tortillas, Mexican Rice & Beans; Stir Fry with Tofu or Tempeh; Bean Loaf and Acorn Squash; Carrot Ginger Soup & Beet Salad; Chana Masala with Lentils
Week Two - Tomato Goat Cheese Bruschetta & Baby Greens Salad; Cashew Chili & Cornbread; Gorgonzola Gnocchi; Tortilla Casserole; Homemade Pizza
Week Three - Tortellini Spinach Soup & Sweet Potatoes; Black Bean Chilaquile; Bean Burgurs and Salad; Grilled Cheese and Broccoli Sandwiches; Polenta & Kale Salad
Week Four - Baked Potatoes; Spinach Pie & Zucchini Moons; Egg Rolls & Fried Rice; Nachos & Corn on the Cob (Mexican Style); Squash Soup
Again, this "schedule" is flexible. I don't have to fix Tortellini Soup on Monday and Polenta on Friday - I can mix it up. We eat leftovers for lunch, and I also keep a fresh loaf of bread around, as well as wraps for putting a new "spin" on the previous night's meal.
Here's just a snippet of what's in my cookbook (41 recipes thus far) ...
... one of those quick and easy recipes from my mom ...
... and plenty of dessert recipes - most of them handed down from my mom and gram.
Bon appetit, mes amis!
autumn it is
Somehow, life got in the way of Halloween costumes. He's too little to come up with his own, and he's also too little to like wearing something that's not a cozy knit.
But, his Papa will be proud to know that Finn is a golfer this year for Halloween. What do you think? Will a little hat do the deed?
This little acorn sprite thinks so.
May your Halloween celebrations be memorable!
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I heard you loud and clear - I'll be back here on Monday with my Meal Calendar recipes! Design Fridays will resume (hopefully) next week, once a few other deadlines are met.
meal calendar
Some of you must think I'm a clean freak. Yes, I have a somewhat tidy house, and yes, I like planning ahead. My own mom is a housekeeper extraordinaire, and my grandma has the cleanest house in the entire world, but the clean genes have gotten seriously diluted by my generation, I tell you. There's not much left to pass on to Finn. While having a clean house is a priority for me, other things are not. For example:
- daily showers.
- folding laundry and ironing.
- keeping my front yard presentable.
- having a clean car.
Motherhood has left me looking rather greasy and wrinkly, but one thing it's made me more on top of is cooking. For a while there we were struggling with the "What are we having for dinner?" question bomb at the end of each day. Eeek. Pasta? Again?? I dunno.
Between the two of us, we do love cooking and baking - on our own terms. Which meant that sometimes we cooked and sometimes we didn't. When one or the other of us was busy, cooking was the first luxury to cross off the list, after the shower. (Eeew, you're thinking, these people are gross.) Not cooking is a real bummer, however, especially if you're like us and enjoy eating good food.
Enter our meal calendar. After having my mom visit several times and whip up some quick, gourmet meals, I was inspired. In order for a recipe to get a spot on the seasonal meal calendar, it had to be a bit fancy yet deceivingly simple, and quick to make. As in "Gosh, I can do this while tending to a potentially fussy baby over a span of 30 minutes and still feel like I'm eating really, really well."
The calendar is flexible - we cook five days a week and eat leftovers for lunch. This gives us the option of using the other two days to go out to eat or to cook an extravagant meal, something that we enjoy doing when we have no pressing deadlines.
I wrote up the calendar, doodled on it in an unintentional amoeba-from-the-sixties way, and laminated it for the front of the fridge. I've been at this for several weeks now, and wow, what a difference it's made in the quality of our lives. Grocery shopping happens once a week, less money is being spent due to the planning, and we feel better. Healthier. More relaxed. All that because of this psychedelic meal plan.
book sling for little ones
In the getting-ready-of-the-house-for-a-moving-baby, we put up a book sling in our living room. Low on the wall, this sling is perfect for displaying three to four books, covers facing out, for the infant and young child. Once Finn can reach up and choose a book on his own, I'll switch out the more fragile paper books for a rotating set of wooden and board books, which he can manipulate (and masticate) as much as he pleases.
My sling was made by the talented Megan of Penny Carnival. If you're interested in making your own, she has a great tutorial available here.
The tiny chair is from Michael Olaf. Our current favorite book is Alison's Zinnia
And look who I found when I looked out the window! Two cute boys enjoying an Autumn morning together.
it's the little things
When you walk into my house you'll notice a few things. Little things. Child-sized shelving, an area rug with pillows instead of a dining room table, a book sling attached to the wall at baby-height, and a twin-sized floor bed alongside a cushy rug.
It's all in preparation for the day, someday soon, when Finn will be able to move himself around the house on his own. Patrick and I have been working diligently - a little here, a little there - trying to get it all done before The Day arrives.
Notice Finn's "Changing Chipmunk." I suspect he thinks it's some kind of kitty ... but this kitty lets him put his mouth ALL over it - pure bliss, if you're five months old.
One thing we've done is re-vamp Finn's room, changing a few key things to transition the space from a nursing/movement area to a friendly place for a scooting/crawling baby. Since we finally got an area rug in our living space, we no longer needed the movement mat per se - so we took his changing area set-up from our room and are now using the old movement mat for a floor changing area in his room. I knew it was time to move the changing area to the floor because Finn was starting to be quite acrobatic in his movements - best to be on the floor while practicing such moves, and not on top of a dresser!
We got rid of his first floor bed, a crib-sized annoyingly springy mattress, and got him a twin-sized Sultan Florvag. Big improvement. He's now able to nap on his floor bed (although he still prefers the Moby!) and I can lay down with him and catch a nap, too. Since getting the new mattress, Finn is going to sleep in his room at night. We still co-sleep after about 10 p.m., as he wakes briefly to feed around then, but this set-up seems to be working well.
There are still a lot of pesky details to be taken care of: finding a place for the books not currently in rotation (we keep out four books at any given time), covering outlets, finding a daytime spot for his bedtime beeswax candle, etc.
Sigh. It seems like he was born just yesterday. However, I must admit that this growing up is fun. Maybe I'm just crazy, but I can't wait for him to start moving. The cats, I'm sure, will not be so thrilled.
design fridays :: the me dummy
Here she is! I feel as though she should have a name. Headless Hortense? No-noggin Nina?
Torpedo Teresa? Please leave any suggestions in the comments below. The funniest dress form name (judged by myself and Patrick) wins a Schoolhouse Tunic pattern. I'll draw a winner tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Also, be sure to check out SouleMama on Saturday, as I'll be hosting a pattern giveaway (and a special SouleMama reader discount, too!)
So yes, I now have a squish-able, pin-able, alter-able, drape-able lady in my studio. Looking at her makes me want to recite this poem, which has always been one of my favorites. I have yet to fit my cover to myself and slip it over the form (the cover is hanging behind the form in the first photo) but I hope to do that soon, with the help of a friend.
I went with the Uniquely You after some consultations with my sewing friends and elders, with the idea that I can also use it to try out draping, which is of immense interest to me as well. Many of you suggested that I try making a duct tape dress form (thanks for the link, Aileen!), and I have, back when I was living in Mexico. Perhaps I'm just not adept with duct tape, but my form was ill-fitted, flat busted (not me), and really prone to collapsing, even when I stuffed it with packing material. That said, a duct tape form is a really great way to make a cheap dress form in a pinch.
And here's the fabric, which just arrived. I'm going to make the first skirt pattern in the black hemp/twill. Onward I march, through the baby drool on the floor, to make a basic black skirt. No better way to spend a Friday afternoon!
**********************************DRUM ROLL PLEASE***********************************
What a hard choice! Your dress form names are simply hilarious! I went with a name that didn't reference the Torpedos, given that, once I fit my cover to my actual body, they won't be nearly so Torpedo-y! The dress form's name, from Samantha, is: Acephalous Agnes! We'll call her Aggie for short. Perhaps this reflects upon my odd sense of humor, but hey - a headless, foam lady could use some heady humor.
stitch
The newest issue of Stitch is hot off the press ...
... and a few of my creations are a part of it! The Wool Wonderland Scarf and Baby Quilt/Play Mat were actually projects that were shifted from my book onto the pages of Stitch due to some space constraints. I was so happy to see these well-loved projects show up in such a mouthwatering magazine.
A little book love
Stitch is like a sewing book - 37 projects? This thing could keep my machine humming for quite a while. The project on the top of my list, however, is a Moroccan Pouf, an ottoman/cushion/soft coffee table that will be just the thing to put in my living room once the boy-ster starts a-movin'.
The scarf (which I'm wearing right now) is one of my all-time favorite sews. It's such a cinch to put together - just a rectangle of wide-wale corduroy and a wool plaid - and the ruched flowers technique is easy to get the hang of and becomes addictive (kind of like making yo-yos). I think several people on my holiday gift list might be getting scarves this year.
And the baby quilt/play mat ... oh, this is so nice, thanks to the softest wool flannel backing and velveteen binding. It's covering Finny as I type this (who is fast asleep on his new floor bed - more on that next week) and man, I want one for me.
In the magazine, they don't show the simple quilting detail on the back, which I like just as much (if not more) than the front.
Yes, this little quilt will be getting lots of use!
treasure basket
Finnian has found the pot of gold at the end of his rainbow ... a basket of household items of various textures, weights, temperatures and shapes for his exploration.
This is an idea I gleaned from How To Raise An Amazing Child the Montessori Way
The treasure basket currently holds: a salad spoon, a wooden spoon, a metal egg separator, a ball of wool yarn, a scrap of cotton flannel, a Russian nesting doll, a small fabric bag, a spice jar with sesame seeds, a wooden egg, a thick glass vase, a kukui nut necklace, a wooden scrub brush, and a felted wool ball.
Finn will sit in front of this basket for almost forty minutes, taking things in and out, touching them with his hands and feet, and putting them in his mouth. At times, I will remove the items that he has taken out and hasn't touched in a while, to keep the visual clutter to a minimum.
The treasure basket has worked its way into our morning routine. After waking, going to the bathroom and changing into clothes, Finn sits with his basket as we listen to some quiet piano music. Then - we're off on our morning walk to greet all of the kitties in the neighborhood.
Mornings with the babe are my favorite time of the day, even though they tend to start a little earlier than I might have chosen. They are so peaceful - so quiet - I can even hear the click, click of his two new teeth on the objects he is exploring with his mouth!
the picnic (& the potty) with mima and papa
When my Mom and Dad were here visiting last week, we took to the park with a blanket, lunch, a little green potty and a cute little babe for an Autumn experience a la North Carolina. Donning short sleeves and sandals, we took in the warm breeze and gently colored leaves.
When days like this one grace you with their presence, you drop everything and go outside. May your weekend be warm, if only figuratively!
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