Tiny Stitches

The mornings have been gorgeous and cool. After my walk in the brisk morning air, I have been picking up my needles to either knit or embroider for a bit. Recently I pulled out the Winterwoods sampler I bought last year from Alicia. I hesitated when she first released the pattern. I live in the southwest, and our winter is so very different from most of the United States. After our time in Virginia I changed my mind, I still love the feel of fall and the memories of my childhood spent in colder climates. With cooler weather here, it seemed the perfect time to begin the cross-stitch sampler.

Clad in jeans, a long sleeved shirt and flip flops, I took up residence on the front porch this weekend. The kiddos rode bikes and played in the driveway. Intermittently they would come over to check out my progress. Aine commented on how much she liked my shirt, a rare comment from the eight year old fashionista, who thinks her mom is rather pedestrian in her dress. Then she counted the figures on the sampler to help me figure out how much to finish each day. Eamon recounted to make sure she was correct, and because we forgot how many she had. We made a plan. So far I have two rows complete and the beginnings of a third. This meditative stitching is really perfect for me right now. My current knitting pattern requires too much concentration. The kiddos continue to race around our park and climb trees, while I marvel at the beauty of our world. With weather like this, I am sure the sampler should be done this week. It is too hard not to spend this time on the porch. 

A Plethora of Plastic

Aine has a new-found obsession - her rainbow loom. One of her friends introduced her to the craft of rubber band bracelet making over a month ago. Hooked, Aine begged for her own. We went to three different stores before we found a loom for her and a stockpile of rubberbands (Michaels is currently the sole supplier of the loom where we live). She immediately set to work making everyone in our family as well as most of her friends and cousins bracelets. One afternoon at the park, she made another group of children bracelets exhausting her supply of bands. She has watched videos online for new patterns, read the booklet and experimented with her own designs. Her enthusiasm quickly spread to her cousins and soon there were three more looms in the group. She is quite proud of her work and carries that loom with her all over the place crafting as she goes.

Revisiting the Old

I have always tried to keep my hands busy. As a child, my mother introduced me to many of the fiber arts. I learned to crochet, making caddywumpus creations like a yellow, asymmetrical scarf that was unwearable. There was also a brief fascination with latch-hook, and I loved my potholder loom. I made myself clothing and even studied with a Vogue designer for bit in my early teens. But the medium I chose the most in my early years was counted cross stitch and embroidery. I made many samplers as a youth filling up my parents' walls. My mom would select an image, and I would get to work. I even made Dave a stocking for our first Christmas together that incorporated a vintage Santa Claus. That stocking was the last piece I stitched. I no longer felt the needlework love. I moved on to knitting.

In the past few years I have felt drawn back into the world of embroidery. A friend of mine made amazing pillowcases and dish towels. I was inspired, but still not motivated to pick up a needle and thread. Then this past autumn, I bought Aine a sampler set. She had been wanting her own needlework project. While checking out, I threw a little something for me into the cart. This purchase kicked off my new habit. (I even bought another one from this shop for my niece's birthday earlier this year).

I let the sampler sit while helping Aine with hers. She took off stitching each of her ornaments. Meanwhile I kept knitting and making holiday gifts. Finally I started the sampler in between projects earlier this year. Although I enjoyed the process, it required a bit more attention. I didn't like how my lettering appeared and played with a couple different stitches. Finally this week at the park, I pulled it back out. My goal was to finish it by our close date. It is now complete and ready for a frame and new home. I am so pleased with the outcome. I am gearing up for more needlework. Yesterday I spent an inordinate amount of time browsing etsy looking for new samplers. I am dreaming of my own designs too. My next project may be finishing the holiday ornaments I purchased years ago from Alicia Paulson.

Accompanying my embroidery fervor has been bits of Dar Williams. The kiddos and I love her music. We have also been listening to audiobooks. Our current audiobook is the The Spiderwick Chronicles. It is a favorite with the older two. It can be a bit scary, but it spawns loads of fairy and magical creature talk and exploration.

Joining Dawn for a bit of making and listening this week...

And then there were two

We started with four houses. This year I bought a kit instead of using milk cartoons and graham crackers. The kiddos were ecstatic! I unceremoniously glued them together with the included frosting and we went about our day. The plan was to frost and decorate the houses the next day.

When I returned downstairs a bit later, the house on the right was gone. All that remained were a few crumbs and the shiny foil base. I checked on the floor for it. I looked on the other counter. I then sought out my youngest kiddo. He quickly admitted to eating it. It was just too enticing.

Left with only three houses, we all pledged not to nibble. The next morning, we still had three houses. I gave my house to the littlest for decorating. He was pleased. With frosting bags and candy, the three decorated their houses. Each took a different approach glueing on the candies or making the frosting the major design element. There was also a lot of licking involved. They each tok their job of sampling the products seriously!

The finished houses were displayed with pride for daddy and the grandparents to see. Once everyone saw them, Benton set about deconstructing and munching on his next house. He eagerly shared with his siblings and anyone else who wanted a test. So, now only two houses remain. Eamon and Aine are hoping to save theirs until Christmas. I am not sure if Benton is part of their plan.

Deck the Halls Part II

 

This weekend, I finished up the last of the pom-poms for our holiday wreath. It looks fantastic. The flexible blue pool noodle was the right size for the internal framework. Just a bit of duct tape sealed the ring into shape. A quick seaming in the back brought the wreath together. The pom-poms just seal the deal. I love it.

The Art of Making: Wooden Crafts

With a gift list in hand, the kiddos and I have begun our holiday crafting. Inspired by a toy we saw at a friend's home, our first task was painting and finishing some wooden peg people.  A few of my nieces and nephews will be finding these little people under the tree this year. I found the people and cups at one of my favorite online wood shops, Casey's Wood. We decided to use non-toxic watercolors since the recipients will be on the younger side. Watercolors are not ideal for painting wood, but worked quite well for us. The medium left a more stained look on the wood.

Armed with the watercolor palette, we painted the people a rainbow of colors. Each of the kiddos got into the action throughout the day. I was a bit strict about how I wanted the colors applied and how each peg person needed a matching cup. Fortunately, we had a few pieces leftover and each commandeered several for their own. Eamon decided to use his as a gift for the person he drew in our homeschooling gift exchange. Aine painted hers for her dollhouse, and Benton just likes to carry his. Those extra pieces were painted magical combinations of colors which pleased both mama and kiddos.

Once all the paint was applied and allowed to dry for a few days, we lightly sanded the toys. A very fine grade paper was used to smooth the edges. This went quickly with so many hands. In order to help seal the watercolors a bit, we mixed up a finish for the toys. I heated 1 ounce beeswax in a double boiler. Once it was melted I added 4 ounces olive oil. With this mixture, we polished all the toys and even quite a few wooden spoons we found int he kitchen. The polish really brightens up the toys. All that is left is sewing a few cloth bags to hold the toys and mail them off. We are sure the recipients will enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them.

Leftovers

Each year we exchange ornaments among the cousins on my side of the family. Usually it is handmade, but it can be anything. One year, I bought the ornaments because I knew exactly what would fit for each child. This year we have struggled with different ornament ideas. Aine made pipe cleaner candy canes with beads. I tried some felt creations. Eamon did some woodworking. Nothing was quite right.

Then I had an idea. When Eamon finished his ceramics class this fall, he still had quite a bit of clay leftover. We weren't sure what to make with it, so I stuck it in the closet for a few weeks. Inspiration finally hit, and we made some holiday ornaments.

Benton, Aine and I setup a workspace on the table(Eamon elected to continue building LEGO creations). Under Eamon's watchful expert eye, we laid out butcher paper in lieu of canvas. Rolling, cutting, and writing ensued. We made a bunch of ornaments, decorations and gift tags. Using a sprig of pine from our tree, the kids and I imprinted the designs. Benton also tested out the use of a pinecone for imprinting. I carried them outside to dry a bit. We then hung them on ribbon for gifting. They turned all out really nice and I am sure they will be well received.

The Slightest Twinge

It lasted only a brief moment, but I had a flash of holiday stress last night. I started to worry about finishing my nieces' and nephew's gifts in time for my parents to hand carry them this week. Not to mention a birthday gift that is needed for a special someone in that family as well. I wondered if I could squeeze in a little time to gather, sort and create a photobook to take advantage of a twofer deal by Monday evening. When would I be able to sew a few gifts that I really want to give this year. And what about my poor chilly spouse who could use a bit of wool to keep him warm. And that final kiddo sweater.

Sheesh! it was a big flash of panic, but I shrugged it off. Truly what will happen. The world will not end if I have to buy something for the people I love. They will still know I care even if I do not give handmade. I prefer giving gifts of thought that I create, but it will all be okay.

So, I returned to knitting while surrounded on the floor by my children who were also immersed in their own creations. We talked about what gifts they wanted to make and how we could make them. So much planning, preparing and togetherness. This is what I love.

Lanterns

Aine, Benton and I took some empty glass containers and a bit of tissue paper and transformed it all into Halloween lanterns. 

First we cut green, orange and black tissue paper into squares and rectangles. Aine and I tried to make them 1-2 inches square for easier application. While Aine finished cutting, I mixed some glue for us to use. I combined equal parts water and glue to make a modge-podge type adhesive.

We each selected our glass jar and set to work. Aine made a witch. I made a pumpkin. Benton freestyled decorating the inside and outside of his jar.

(Eamon's room in the background - he paid me $5 the next day to clean it!)

We had to wash hands a few times as the glue concoction was sticky!

We even decorated the lids.

The containers sat outside overnight to dry. The pumpkin did well with a lighted candle, but the shape of the other containers required battery operated candle-lights. They are sitting in our window sending spooky images out to all who pass.

Happy Halloweeen!!!

Building

I feel strongly about a lot of things. Some of these thoughts have remained consistent while others I have had to modify. As I get older and hopefully wiser, I see that some of my strong feelings may not be in harmony with my children and their strong opinions. One big area is guns. 

I never wanted to have toys which resembled guns in our home. I believed that if we didn't have them and promoted kindness to one another, my children would not seek them. I was completely wrong on this count! My children would pick up sticks, dinosaurs, fingers, pretty much anything to use as a gun. My oldest would make shooting noises while holding one of these "weapons." I still didn't want guns in our home. 

Gradually small guns started to enter our home. Well, truly they were light sabers or pistols in LEGO sets. There were also guns in the Playmobil sets. First I would remove them. Then I decided to just go with it. The gun love did not skyrocket. My children were still the same. In fact some of the fascination ended. I still balked at life size toy guns.

Recently I saw a photo on Pinterest that led me here.  I thought my kiddos would love them and the pacifist in me could handle shooting marshmallows by blowing through PVC. So we set out to our local hardware store to buy some PVC and connectors. The kiddos and I sketched out the plan. 

We gathered two elbows, one "t" and an end cap in addition to our PVC. We decided to cut our PVC as follows: 1 - 5", 2 - 4", 1 - 3" and 1 - 2.5". This seemed to make a marshmallow shooter which could be used by each of the children.

Working together in the driveway we cut and assembled four shooters.  One would be a gift for a friend's upcoming birthday. Bags of marshmallows were distributed and each of my children set off to shoot marshmallows. They created targets and taped them to the front door. They tried to shoot over small LEGO and Playmobil people. Quickly with the help of a friend, they discovered that if you lick the marshmallow it will stick to your target. Fortunately only one got stuck on the ceiling. They had tremendous fun with their "guns" and I think I may just be okay with it.

I can hoop

I must confess that I have never been able to hula hoop. As a child, I practiced all the time. I watched most of my friends as well as my mom master the hula hoop. I could not do it. To clarify, I could hula hoop on my neck and arms, but never around my waist. The hoop just would not stay up. In recent years, I have tried time and again to hula hoop. I read countless blogs devoted to the fun of hula hooping. I watched as some of my friends discovered and mastered hooping. This past summer my daughter and I practiced hooping. Even she figured it out, but again I did not.

This all changed recently. While at my weekly Stitch 'n Bitch group, a friend told me I could hula hoop. I argued with her a bit trying to ignore her assertion that I could do it. Finally she urged me to go outside and try the hula hoop which she had brought that evening (don't ask why she had a hula hoop. Sometime knit night is like that). Tentatively I tried her hoop. I wasn't a master, but I could do it. It was amazing. The hoop did not fall. She then let me in on the secret. I needed a bigger, heavier hoop.

Armed with her directions, I made plans to craft hoops for the whole family. As I discussed this week, though, my intention took awhile to come to fruition. Finally, after seeing more hoops hit the web, we made our own.

Initially we tried our local hardware store, but they did not have the supplies we wanted. The local big box building supply store had everything we needed. Armed with 160 psi poly tubing, connectors, a cutting knife, electrical tape, we set to work.

 Eamon, Aine and Benton helped form the hoops. We measured each hoop to chest height. Eamon and Aine helped cut the tubing. I filled my hoop with oatmeal to add weight (my friend's secret). We used the hair dryer to warm the plastic for easier connections.

Each of us decorated our hula hoops with the electrical tape and some duct tape from Eamon's stash.

Once we had our hoops decorated, we showed off our skills. Even Benton is getting the hang of hooping. The kids then practiced tricks with their hoops. As for me, I can see quite a bit of hula hooping in my future.

Learning all the Time

I have been itching to replace a few of our playsilks. Some of them we have had for years, and they are showing their wear. They are used almost daily for capes, doll blankets, tents, rivers, and whatever else you can imagine. I purchased some silks online before our trip. With a little inspiration from online friends and instructions provided here, we decided to add glue batiking to our kool aide dyeing mix.

We started last week by drawing our images on the silks. I taped their canvases to cardboard, but I foolishly forgot to sandwich wax paper between the layers.

After they finished drawing with pencil, they used glue to trace their drawings. I did not have the two glues recommended, Elmer's Washable School Gel Glue or Elmer's Galactic Glue, so we used regular white glue. This didn't work so well. The glue came out thicker than desired and had a tendency to run. We forged ahead despite a friend's suggestion to wash the silks and start over.

Once the glue dried I noticed the silk was stuck to the cardboard. I remembered the wax paper layer, but decided I should be able to get them apart easily. I diluted acrylic paint with water for painting the silks.

 Aine set to work on her creation (Eamon prefers his unpainted). 

She painted the entire silk, and we set it outside to dry.

Once dry I attempted to pull it from the cardboard. I soaked the silk to remove the cardboard that had adhered to it as well as the glue. I hung it to dry. 

Throughout this project, I learned many lessons. First, silk tears very easily. Second, heed instructions when provided and don't forget the wax paper. And third, blue glue may have been worth the trip to the store to find. I ripped her silk when removing it from the cardboard. Not only did I rip it, I tore a hole in the middle. Aine was nonplussed about the ordeal. We decided we would buy better glue and utilize a better support system.