Crafting Mom of 1

Catching Up!

2011-05-07T09:14:00.001-07:00

In an effort to catch up with all that I've been up to, here are just a few of the projects/swaps that I've completed recently.

Top left: A Birthday set for my MIL. Made using Fandango by Kate spain. The tote was the first of its type that I've ever made and I was pleased by how it came together. I used a tute from FilmInTheFridge for the tote and a Sew-Fantastic tute for the eyeglass case.
Top Middle: I made this box pouch for the Pretty Little Pouch Swap through Flickr using It's a Hoot by Momo.
Top Right: Echino bag for me! The first real handbag that I ever made and I love it!
Bottom Left: Made by me using some great Home Dec fabric that I got from Joann's. It was the perfect fabric to make this Everything Bag from Heather Ross's, Weekend Sewing.
Bottom Middle: Sewing machine cover made for the Sewn Spaces Swap on Flickr. This was a hard one to give up, I love theGood Folks fabrics from Anna Maria Horner!
Bottom Right: I was thrilled to get into Doll Quilt Swap 10, it was my third DQS and my quilt turned out just as I had envisioned. I lov eit when a plan comes together.

Okay, so now you've seen some of what I've made, next I'll show you what I received!

Chickens!

2011-05-06T15:56:00.001-07:00

Chickens!, a photo by craftingmomof1 on Flickr.

We have chickens! Please meet Faye (the brown one, a Salmon Favarolle) and Samantha (the white Delaware). We were thrilled when both laid an egg the first day in their new digs. We've gotten two eggs a day ever since! Such good girls :)

The front yard at our new house is fully fenced and dog free (the doggies get the backyard) so this was the perfcet opportunity to get a chicken coop set up. We bought a small shed from our neighbours and converted it into a great raised coop with a flap door, roost bar and nesting box. Being at the edge of a National Park wilderness the are a LOT of predators in the area so a secure chicken run was a must - right now it's a bit janky but within the next couple of weeks, we'll build a larger more permanent run.

I hope to add at least two more chickens in the next month!

My Morning Cup - A beautiful day!

2010-09-27T11:51:00.001-07:00

My Morning Cup - A beautiful day!
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

Mwaaaaaah!

2010-09-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

When we decided to move I was soooooo excited because there was enough space that I could have a sewing room all for myself! My last creative space was great but I shared some of it with my son's toys - believe me when I tell you that Lincoln Logs hurt just as much as Legos when you step on them!

Now that his new bedroom is big enough for all of his stuff, my new room is all for me, me, me, me, me! I found my new desk on Craigslist and it's a lot bigger than my old one, and finally I'm putting my Eames shell chair to good use, I swear it's the most comfortable desk chair ever! My desk looks out onto a large wraparound deck and the beautiful trees and hills beyond.

Most of the furniture from my old space has fit perfectly into the new one. We loved our last house but I find it funny that I never actually put any pictures on the wall. I must have "known" that we would probably not be there for long. But look, one of the first things that I did here was put up some little paintings by a local artist.

This hutch barely squeezed into my new room! There were literally just inches to spare in getting it around the corner! This is one of my favourite pieces of furniture and I would have been heartbroken if it hadn't fit. But it did, and doesn;t it look great?! :)

One of my other hutches is now being used in our kitchen so this one is now filled to overflowing! It's straining at the seams but I can probably find room to fit a few new tchotckies.
.

M.I.A

2010-09-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Life has had me Missing In Action in blog land recently. With my 9-year old starting at a new school and an unexpected move to a new house, my blog has definitely been silent lately. Let's recap, starting with some recent craftiness:

This is the amazing Doll Quilt Swap 9 quilt that I received! Isn't it amazing?! It now has pride of place in my new sewing room. I absolutely adore the birds, it's just perfect :)

Next, we have the DQS9 quilt and goodies (camera strapcover & scrappy mug rug) that I made. They went all the way to the East Coast and I am pleased to report that my partner loved her package of goodies. Yay!

This is definitely one of the BEST swap packages that I have ever received. This was for the Urban Home Goods Swap on Flickr and when she posted pics of it (before I knew it was for me) I loved it and knew that it had to be for me! When I opened up the box I was so excited. It had been a rough week for me and this package eally put a smile on my face and brightened my day. The pillow is amazing and made with some of my fave Heather Bailey. I absolutely adore the embroidered gnome and pieced fabric wall hanging, it is also now adorning my sewing room wall. It's so funny that she made one of those little baskets for me because I had just made two for myself before I received hers. Can you tell that i love it?!

These little lovelies were my submission for the UHG Swap. This was a big deal for me as it was my first time making a pillow cover, making a dresden plate, making hexies, using the aqua/red combo and trying my hand at applique! I have to say that I was very pleased with the results and my partner was too!

Please welcome Henrietta! This gorgeous pincushion was what I recieved in the Pincushion Pass Swap on Flickr. I absolutely adore her and cannot bear the thought of piercing her with pins (although that's what she's for!) so for now she decorates my sewing table.

And last but certainly not least is a peek of the pincushion that I made for the swap. It is made of wool felt and hand sewn/embroidered. I did not use a pattern, just made it on the fly and I love how it came together. I don't have much experience with embroidery stitches and techniques so it was a really fun project.

my first knitting

2010-08-11T08:49:00.001-07:00

my first knitting
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

Finally I have learned how to knit!

Abundant..............

2010-08-04T16:51:00.000-07:00

......is the word I would use to describethe blackberries in our yard. At the end of last year when it was time to prepare the garden for Winter my husband very carefully cut back the blackberry bush in our yard. It looks like the work that he did paid off because we have an excess of berries right now! Every day we pick the ripe berries that we can reach and the next day we seem to pick even more.

I've been saving up all of the extras (and there is a LOT) to try my hand at canning this year. Canning has always been something that I have wanted to try, but did not have anyone to learn from. Yes, I know that I can just get a book but I would much rather learn first hand from someone who knows what they're doing. Lucky for me I recently discovered West Marin Free Skool. A kind local volunteer is graciously holding a class on canning both savory and sweet foods! I'm crossing my fingers that my blackberries will be put to good use!

While picking blackberries I discovered a little rosebush that was being swamped by some Jasmine. Another chore to put on my list............................

Summer Harvest

2010-07-21T19:38:00.001-07:00

Look at we harvested from the garden today!

I would have posted pics of the beautiful blackberries that we picked from our yard, but we ate them!

I have been working on my Jacobs Ladder quilt top and will post pics tomorrow.

Sewing Machine Cover

2010-07-11T17:45:00.001-07:00

Sewing Machine Cover
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

I have been trying out making all sorts of different handmade items recently. One of my favourites is this sewing machine cover that I just finished. The fabrics are fun and I really like the different machine quilting patterns that I used.

Another great way to brighten up my creative space!

As a favor........

2010-06-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

....to a friend I have put up these pics of a house that she is considering in Inverness, CA

Back deck, w. garden and stairway entrance on right

Front Deck

Garden area from outside 1st bedroom

Garden area off of back deck

Steps from street up towards the house.

Kitchen and dining area. To the right is the living area.

Picture of kitchen taken from outside front deck window.

1st bedroom, picture taken from side window.

Living room from deck window, looking down hallway towards 1st bedroom.

Yummy!

2010-06-21T19:01:00.001-07:00

Happy Monday to you. Look at what I came home with today!

In an effort to save $$ I have avoided shopping at Joann's for quite a while now. Typically I don't have much luck there but today I hit the motherlode! The Alexander Henry mushroom fabric was a real find and at only $5.59/yd I may have to go back for more. The apple and pear fabric also caught my eye so a yard of that came home too. Of course, I could not pass up a yard or Kona white and chocolate for just $4/yd.

I received my Fat Quarter Fabric Swap from my Flickr partner who lives in Canada! I love the Amy Butler FQ's and notecards, thanks so much!

Inspiration

2010-06-18T12:12:00.000-07:00

inspiring me on this beautiful first friday of summer vacation......

...I have committed to not buying any store made summer drinks this year so I have become and expert at making Sweet/Sun Tea.

...my "super" courgette is coming along nicely :)

...finally my cauliflower is showing signs of life!

...more peas to come

...my hanging basket growing just how I like it!

in gratitude, happy weekend!

my crafty area

2010-06-14T11:50:00.001-07:00

my crafty area
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

My very own little corner of the world has not looked this neat in a long time! My Eames shell chair is one of my favourite thrifted pieces.

Pincushion Pass Inspiration

2010-06-13T14:52:00.001-07:00

Pincushion Pass Inspiration
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

Just a handful of the amazing pincushions on Flickr that i love!

I have always wanted..................

2010-06-13T11:27:00.000-07:00

............a vegetable garden and when we moved, we were finally in a house where we could have one! Considering that we have three dogs I was thrilled to find that our garden area is fully fenced off. It wasn't much to start with, just hard packed dirt and some weeds. With some TLC, soil amendments and fertilizer, by the beginning of May it was ready to go.

My veggie garden May 2, 2010

My veggie garden May 22, 2010

My veggie garden June 12, 2010

When I first planted the garden it looked so little and forlorn, would it ever grow?! I'm not known for my patience and would look out at it every morning looking for any small sign of growth. While watering, I'd inspect every little leaf, pull invading weeds and talk encouragingly at them begging them to stay live and grow, grow, grow!! It looks like all of my begging paid off!

We have just started to harvest peas and courgettes. Our little local newspaper has a competition every year for biggest courgette (aka zucchini), our biggest is about 12inches so far so we have high hopes. The tomatoes are ripening on the vine, little cobs of corn have emerged and the cauliflower has just started to take off. I am so excited by new garden that I may just have to give weekly updates :)

DQS9 Inspiration - craftingmomof1

2010-06-06T22:55:00.001-07:00

DQS9 Inspiration - craftingmomof1
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

Yay! I signed up for Doll Quilt Swap 9 and was notified yesterday that I'M IN! I guess there are so many people that sign up that they have to pick participants by lottery, Yippee, I guess that I was one of the lucky ones. I also participated in DQS8 and it was a lot of fun

My quilting skills have definitely inproved so I am excited to be assigned a partner and see what I can do!

Our town.....

2010-05-31T16:23:00.001-07:00

Freedom Block Swap - its3oclockinthemorning
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

....is quite sleepy during the week, but the weekends (especially the Holiday ones) here a VERY busy. We have spent the entire long weekend at home, which has been wonderful, and I've managed to log a few hours at my sewing table.

Here are some of the fruits of my labour! I made these squares for a partner in the Freedom Block Bee. We are required to make one block but heck, I made three!

Also DQS9 sign ups are now open so if you haven't signed up already, hop to it because I know that it fills up fast!

In Gratitude for all that our Veterans and their families have given us,

Quilt Squares Galore

2010-05-27T16:59:00.001-07:00

Quilt Squares Galore
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

A Fun Family Friday.........

2010-05-04T16:03:00.000-07:00

is what we had last week. I kept Max home from school (with the blessing of his teacher) to explore the beautiful area that we are so fortunate to live in. Pt. Reyes National Seashore is right in our backyard and at this time of year it is a zoo on the weekends. We used Friday to our advantage and before the crowds came rolling in we visited the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse. It was an incredible day and we were not disappointed. After driving through the beautiful rolling green hills and passing the happiest cows you could possibly imagine we parked and walked the half mile to the lighthouse.

After a windy walk we came to the top of the stairs down to the lighthouse. They say that the walk down is the equivalent to walking the stairs on a 30 storey building. Down was no problem, but walking back up was another story!!!

Up close the lighthouse wasn't all that thrilling but the view out to the Pacific was amazing.

These are my guys and in the distance you can see North Beach which runs along the outer edge of Pt. Reyes Seashore.

After the lighthouse - a quick trip to Drakes Beach. Unfortunately it was much to Windy for us to stay for long.

Wow, I feel so grateful to live in such a beautiful and inspiring environment. Moving here was a fluke but we know that this is the town that we are meant to be in. With all of the craziness in the world at least we know that our roots are in fertile soil.

In Gratitude,

It's been raining.......

2010-04-12T19:49:00.001-07:00

Willa
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

.... a LOT in N. California and yesterday was no exception. Our school district will soon host a big fundraiser and this doll (Willa) will be in the silent auction - if I can bear to part with her! :) I haven't been into any Waldorf Crafts recently (probably because I have been quite torn about our school) and crafting Willa was a great experience for me. Lately I have been thinking a lot with my head but while creating her I really used my heart and the process helped me to think more about what are issues are with my son's school and what I/we can do to be proactive.

Needless to say, this was a great process for me and now I am making another!

ALFALC March 2010

2010-04-01T20:05:00.003-07:00

ALFALC March 2010
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

FQSTwist March 2010

2010-04-01T20:05:00.001-07:00

FQSTwist March 2010
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

Oops......

2010-03-21T23:36:00.001-07:00

.... I know that I have been a.w.o.l. all this past week and will continue to be silent through this one as I am off to Galveston, TX to wrap up some family business with my Grandma. I am sad to be away from my son and husband for a week (I've never been away from our son for more than one night), but look forward to spending time with my Granny!

Have a great week.

Just one more day........

2010-03-13T09:32:00.000-08:00

.....until Liberty of London for Target is available in stores!!! I have loved Liberty prints for eons - we lived in England when I was a youngster and I can remember loving the Liberty Store in London. When I saw the blog rumors that they were coming out with a line here in the US, I did a little dance. I already have a list of must-haves: headbands, sheeting (that I will probably cut up for projects), shirts, dresses, kitchenware and maybe even the cruiser bike! I think that my mom and I will make an online shopping attempt at 9pm PST and possibly brave a Target store or two tomorrow. For now, here is a sneaky peek of what's to come.................

DQS8 Received!

2010-03-11T16:29:00.001-08:00

DQS8 Received!
Originally uploaded by craftingmomof1

I was so thrilled to receive my DQS8 today! This was my first Doll Quilt Swap and I am thrilled with the quilt that I received - all of the way from the East Coast! I really appreciate the hand quilting and the colour combo is perfect. She also sent along some great Heather Ross fabrics too!

Thanks again partner, you made my day! :)

The Year of the Tiger

2010-02-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to San Francisco for the Chinese New Year Parade! My husband cannot stand crowds so I considered it a coup that he went with us :) The Boy just loved the sights and sounds of Chinatown, the crowds and excitement were so unlike what we are used to in our sleepy coastal town.

The Chinese Lion and Dragon dancers are my favourite. The colours and movements of the dancers are joyous,if you ever have a chance to attend Chinese New Year festivities I highly recommend going!

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

DQS8 All Finished!

2010-02-26T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have finally finished my doll quilt for DQS8! Although it did not turn out exactly like my original sketch, I have enjoyed making and handquilting it. The few chages that I made definitely made it better. I really hope that my swap partner enjoys it and the little goodies (snail eraser, Chinese New Year decoration, lavender sachet and FQ) that I have included. Now I can watch my mailbox to see what comes for me!

Look who's here................

2010-02-11T08:58:00.000-08:00

My guy has been fighting a cold for a few days now and this morning I put my foot down and decided to keep him at home. He was less than pleased with my announcement and has decided not to talk to me for a while. With secret Valentines at school and this being a Handwork day I can understand his disappointment. It's so hard to know when you should and shouldn't send your child to school. I know the health guidelines but beyond that when do you make the call? The last thing I want is for him to get worse because his little body is too exhausted to fight the bug! Oh well, for now, it's the silent treatment..................

On another note, I am finally making real progress on the DQS8 quilt that I've been working on. My hope was to try machine quilting on this project but it was not to be. My Bernina and I are not getting along and the quilting was just not turning out as I had hoped. Alas, I turned to good old hand quilting and I'm pleased how it looks. Outlining the mushrooms with hand embroidery was also a good choice and I may spruce up the quilt with a little more! Not sure about the binding yet, but I'm thinking orange?

Like the mushrooms?

A picture of the back and front of the quilt, see the back side with embroidered mushrooms?

yum

2010-02-07T19:27:00.000-08:00

I am loving this Orla Kiely mug. My grandma sent it to me from the UK. It holds the perfect amount of Ovaltine. The colours speak to me, yummy. :)

Another crafter in the family

2010-01-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

I am not the only crafty one in the family. Actually, my son is an avid crafter and we recently pulled my husband into the crafting realm also. Max attends a local public Waldorf School where we have an incredibly talented Handwork Teacher. Of all subjects Handwork is one of his favourites and with Ms. Ahart, he has blossomed into an amazing self-directed crafter. I am not a knitter or crocheter (yet) so when he crafts at home, he is on his own. Any mistakes that he makes, he has to figure out on his own. I am constantly amazed by the wonderful projects that he work on at home. Wouldn't you rather your son crochet on a four hour long car trip than play on a handheld video game?

Max made this knitted doll named Oscar at school, isn't he great?
He made the hat for Oscar at home.

This little drawstring bag was crocheted by Max yesterday. Amazing right? He tells me that it's a fishnet bag. A girl at school was making one for a project, he watched what she was doing, came home and made one all by himself.

Cruising around Joann Fabrics before Christmas I saw these looms called Knifty Knitters. They seemed interesting so I bought a set for Max. He opened the set on Christmas Day and lo and behold the first person to make a hat was - my HUSBAND! He slaved over that Knifty Knitter for hours and this (below) is his first hat. Then he made another and another. He wears the hat that he made for himself all of the time. I know that technically it's cheating but hey, they come out great and they're handmade. I even made one for a friend's daughter in Tahoe. My husband is constantly busy, it was great for him to just sit quietly for a while and work with is hands. I think that after hat #3 he realized how crafting can be a bit addicting for me! :)

Here's a pic of my husbands first hat and the knift knitter loom.

In awe of my family,

Yikes!

2010-01-30T11:45:00.000-08:00

Having only made three small quilts so far and then quilting them simply by hand, last night I decided to try my hand at machine quilting. I purchased my Bernina 1020 for a steal on Craigslist last year and it came with several feet. One as it turns out was a Bernina Walking foot! Initially I found the walking foot and the act of machine quilting very intimidating but by the end, I began to get the hang of it.

I wanted to start simply, here is my first try

For a first try I think that it came out quite well. How long should the stitch length be? I have looked online and not found a solid answer. I suppose that stitch length may just be a personal preference. I recently finished the top for my DQS8 and will need to consider quilting the top soon. Hopefully after a lot more practice I'll be ready to machine quilt it!

fun and more fun

2010-01-29T12:49:00.000-08:00

Last week we took a much needed trip to Tahoe. With over four feet of fresh snow at lake level, we had an amazing time and fun was had by all. Here are some pics of our family fun! We can't wait to go back, I've already made plans to go up for ski week :)

I had hoped to get my doll quilt for the DQS8 to the point where I could hand quilt it while we were in Tahoe but it was not to be. I get the feeling that my quilt needs to be more exciting.......

Snow!

2010-01-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

It is snowing like crazy so we're heading to Tahoe early tomorrow morning! I feel like a kid - I am soooo excited. I can't wait to spend some time relaxing with the family.

This is a pic from our last trip to Tahoe, I hope we have as much fine this time!

Have a great weekend..............

DQS8 Progressing

2010-01-19T21:38:00.001-08:00

Yay! I have finally made progress on the mini quilt that I am working on for the Doll Quilt Swap 8. Here's what I have so far. We're going to Tahoe on Friday, if I can put the quilt together by then, maybe I can do some hand quilting while relaxing in the snow!

I made this wonky log cabin block thinking that I would add it to the back of the quilt, not sure....................

Project Doll Quilt

2010-01-16T10:00:00.001-08:00

I have checked out my partners blog and so far these are the fabrics that I have come up with.

While trawling her blog I saw that she had recently used the orange and white checked fabric in a project so that seems a good place to start. The mushrooms definitely add some whimsy and fun and the bee fabrics are a favourite of mine. The flickr group for the Doll Quilt Swap is a wonderful way to find inspiration and receive some excellent advice/support. Being new to this swap I can use all of the help that I can get. I posted this pic of my fabric choices and possible quilt sketch - the feedback was great so I think that this may be it!

The back would just be a simple off white Kona Cotton -but a wonky log cabin square (tutorial found here) added in may be a fun surprise ..................

Doll Quilt Swap 8

2010-01-15T19:15:00.000-08:00

I was looking through SwapDex the other day and saw the announcement for Doll Quilt Swap 8. Quilt making is still pretty new to me but I decided to go for it. As luck would have it they managed to squeeze me in so now the work/fun begins! Typically I just make what I like but now that I have been assigned a recipient I have to do my best to make quilt that fits her style and aesthetic too! I have already looked at her blog and seen a few of the doll quilts that she has made. I am really excited to get movin' and have even started a few sketches and picked out some fabric possibilities.

So I suppose that since I have been given a recipient, I myself have been assigned to someone as well. What do I like? I enjoy simple quilts in bold colours, japanese fabrics, kokka fabrics, mushrooms, not a big fan of 'traditional' quilting prints.

Here are some kokka fabrics at Purl Soho that I like.....

also loving these quilts over at Mr. Monkeysuit..............

Have a wonderful weekend!

In Gratitude,

What next?

2010-01-12T22:20:00.000-08:00

I finally sat down to catch up on all of my favourite blogs and was totally inspired by this quilt over at Mr. Monkeysuit. Voila! I have found my first big project for 2010!

I have amassed quite a fabric stash but I think that some new fat quarters are called for. A trip to Peapod Fabrics in SF should do the trick. I found Peapod a few months back and it is such a gem. Located on 18th Avenue near Golden Gate Park,parking can be a pain but it is well worth the effort. A trip to the fabric shop can be really inspiring. Admiring the beautifully organised bolts of fabric and thumbing through the colourful fat quarter selection really gets my colour wheel spinning!

This should be an exciting project as it will be my first time trying my hand at free motion quilting - maybe I should start with a large doll quilt first :)

Wish me Luck!

A Tasty Treat......................

2010-01-09T19:16:00.000-08:00

Every year my mother-in-law in Texas sends us a 5lb box of the biggest most delicious pecans. One of our favourites recipes using the pecans is Pecan Butter Cookies. For obvious reasons (the sheer amount of butter per cookie) I try not to make them too often. My husband has asked me to make these tomorrow and I have included the recipe below so that maybe you can too.

Butter Pecan Cookies

Ingredients

3/4 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temp.
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Toast your pecans on a baking sheet, about 5 mins until fragrant. Allow them to cool, then chop.

2. Cream butter with an electric mixer, then add sugar. Continue to mix until light. Beat in vanilla, salt and flour until dough forms. Gently fold the pecans into the dough.

3. Separate dough in half, then continue to separate into 12 pieces. Shape the dough into balls, then roll them in sugar and then place them on a baking sheet.

4. Flatten each ball with a glass then sprinkle with sugar.

5. Bake until golden brown, approximately 12-15 mins. Usually I check the cookies about half way through and rotate so that they brown evenly.

6. Brew a hot cup of tea, grab a book and enjoy!

A New Year!

2010-01-08T21:32:00.000-08:00

2009 started slowly and then ended in a flash. I aplogize for pretty much abandoning my blog but I will do my very best to be more present in 2010. During the next week I'll get you up to speed with my most recent pics, projects and endeavours!

Newsworthy Items:

#1: I actually worked up the courage to sell my handmade crafts! In the past few years I have done a LOT of sewing and general crafting - all of it has been for myself, my son or just as gifts. I have often received compliments and the suggestion to sell my items at faires. The thought of putting my items out there was terrifying for me, akin to making a dish for a potluck..... will they like it? does it look appetizing? will it be the only unto.uched dish?

Well, I put all of those fears aside and went for it. I had really no idea how to price my items and probably ended up pricing too low, oh well. I found two local Holiday Faires to sell at. Without going into tons of detail I can happily say that all went well, even better than I had hoped! Given my small success I have decided that I will try to sell again in the Spring, maybe at a local Spring Faire.......................only time will tell :)

#2: We have a new dog! His name is Chip. He came to us as a "change of career" dog from Guide Dogs for the Blind in San Rafael, CA. He is an amazing dog and a welcome addition to our family. So yes, we now have three dogs and two cats. Considering our high pet count I have decided to put off plans for our chicken coop. This saddens me but for now I just can't imagine feeding more animals :)

As you can see in the pic, Chip and Max are best buddies. Max finally got his very own dog.

PS. I am happy to report now that Max has his "own" dog it is now required that he helps to clean up after him outside. :)

A light at the end of the tunnel.......

2009-07-11T16:57:00.000-07:00

So just when I thought that I was ready to return to the blogging world, I had to disappear again! Effective July 1, 2009 we moved to Point Reyes, CA. Although we're further from my family and Max's school we are very close to the ocean and are thrilled to have moved here.

The yard needs an incredible amount of work; however, we see the potential and can't wait to get our hands dirty. So far we have counted two pear trees, four apple trees, a huge blackberry bush and potentially a walnut tree. The pears are very nearly ready to be picked and Max cannot wait to harvest our bounty. I also have a fenced veggie garden area, the soil needs a lot of turning and amending but I'll get there in good time.

My favourite thing about our new home is my new craft space, with three windows and a view of our lush garden what can be more inspiring?. I'll put up pictures once I have organized and cleaned up the space better.

Now I hope that I am really back, my internet connection is finally hooked up so her I am!

My sewing machine is finally unpacked, my creative juices are trickling back, here are some projects that I am hoping to try my hand at soon...... picnic blanket from sew mama sew, gathering apron (perfect for harvesting our fruit trees) and this oilcloth grocery tote.

Summer Vacation Has Begun!

2009-06-15T15:13:00.000-07:00

As of today Max's summer vacation has begun! This past Friday was his last day of 2nd grade, it's amazing how time flies........ On his last day his class hiked (about 45mins) to Roy's Redwoods near his school. This grove of Redwoods is very special to his class. During the school year every Friday - rain or shine - the entire class would hike to the grove to explore. This was called their Nature Day. Considering how sacred this place had become their teacher though it fitting that they perform their end of the year play there.

All of us parents gathered outside of the redwoods. The call of the childrens flutes beckoned us in and announced the start of the performance. Walking into the grove with the sweet sound of their flutes was truly magical.

The play was written by their teacher and was based on a Native American story.

This was the perfect way to end an amazing school year. I am so very pround of my little Max and can't wait to see what he does next year!

Time Off......

2009-06-06T07:55:00.001-07:00

Greetings from Santa Cruz, CA. Just sitting here outside of Coffeetopia on my wireless connection, drinking my latte, with my son and two dogs.

Last night we decided to be spontaneous and take a drive south to SC. During the summer we often come down here to play. Lucky for us a friend has a studio apt that we rent for a song during the warm season!

Today we will be garage saleing and heading to the beach (once the fog clears)

More crafty news tomorrow......

In gratitude for what mother nature has given us.

A

Something Old and Something New......

2009-06-05T17:57:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a LOT of machine sewing lately and a few weeks ago I finally came to terms with the fact that my "old Singer" was on its last legs. In truth it is not my "old Singer" but rather my husbands "old Singer". Many many years ago my husband and I friend started a clothing company. Instead of having someone else make their samples my husband made them himself. I am very proud to say that my husband is a very good sewer and initially taught me how to use his machine. It was an old machine when he bought it and it's even older now!

Anyhow, after many months of the machine shaking shuddering and violently stabbing mybeautiful fabrics I realized that it was time for "old Singer" to retire. The only problem was that 1: I didn't know what to buy and 2: I didn't really have the $$ to spend (especially with the threat of having to move looming). Number 1 was easy to handle, Judy at my favourite fabric shop (which is sadly closing its doors next week) informed me that I should invest in a Bernina. I was warned that unless you buy new, they can be very hard to find and expensive. Tackling 2 was harder - I held a mini garage sale (8 am - 11am) and raised just over $200.

Every day I trawled Craigslist crossing my fingers that something would come up. Many machines were put up for sale but only a few were Berninas and they were at least $400 and ancient!!

Last Friday morning I typed "Bernina" in the search box and lo and behold "For Sale: Bernina 1020, $125" appeared. This was it, this was my chance! I researched the machine and quickly sent an email to the seller telling her of my great need for a new machine and what a wonderful home it would have with me. Thirty minutes later my telephone rang and the machine was offered to me, she even bargained down to $100. One hour later I was on my way to sewing machine bliss. After 2.5 hours of driving I returned home elated with my treasure.

She is beautiful, with many additional feet, bobbins, a cover and all the bells and whistles I could want.

Here she is! My Bernina 1020

It has been a week and I am definitely intimidated by my new toy. Every day I read through the manual and try out a few new stitches. To help me get her mastered, yesterday I visited our local Bernina dealer and inquired about classes that they offer. I think that I may take some in the near future. While at the store I was pleased to find a very similar model (maybe 1008? I can't remember) with a few less stitches and features on SALE for $849.99 reg. $1200. Woo Hoo! What a deal I got on my 1020!

They say that money can't buy you happiness - and I fully agree. But I will say that after screeching in frustration at my old Singer while it knotted up/shredded my projects/vibrated and jumped up and down on my sewing table and then moving to my new machine that whizzes through projects with barely and sound and no fabric shredding - it puts a huge smile on my face. I cannot wait to tackle new projects that were previously impossible to try on the old machine.

In gratitude....

I'm Back!

2009-06-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

I took some time off of blogging to put all of my energies into this crazy life I lead.... and some quilting. We have had lots of changes in our home recently and expect more to come. Just yesterday our landlord informed us that he has decided to sell the home that we are currently leasing! Needless to say I am disappointed and more than a little irritated by the thought of having to move, but that's life.

On a much more positive note, Max's Waldorf School recently celebrated May Day with a picnic, Maypole dancing and lots of fun. Here are some pics......

Dancing around the Maypole

Max in his May Crown

Dancing in celebration!

I havelots to share and will be doing so all week! I look forward to catching up on all of my favourite blogs.....

Another To Do - DONE!

2009-05-03T10:31:00.001-07:00

Last week I decided to take a break from the computer, tackle a new project and finish another. During a trip to my local fabric shop I was admiring the quilts on display and resolved to make on of my own. Using tutorials from other blogs here and here I actually finished my very first quilt. It's a doll quilt, it's small, but I MADE IT! I was so pleased with my little quilt that I made another! The second one was larger with 12 squares and it turned out well too!

I did all of the quilting by hand and stitched in the ditch of the seams. My hope is that after a few more small practice quilts I will make one for our friends who are expecting a baby later this year. They don't know the sex yet but as soon as they do I'll get started.

I can't tell you how excited I was to complete my first quilt. I know that mine was a simple first try but I never though that I'd be able to tackle one at all. Yippee!

This is the other project that I finished in the past week. Her name is Ella and she's wonderful. She sat naked for a week and I finally worked up the courage to make her a dress. We love Ella very much and Max can't wait to introduce her to her new Waldorf Doll family.

Our Crayons..................

2009-04-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday as part of celebrating Earth Day, Max and I recycled some broken up crayons. I had seen this done on other people's blogs and after I found some silicone ice cube trays at the charity shop it was a must-do project!

After melting down the crayons we drizzled the wax into the tray, put the tray into the freezer (to help the wax harden) and VOILA!

New heart shaped crayons!

We are really pleased with how they turned out and can't wait to make more once we track down some more broken crayons. I thought that these would make a great gift or some fun items for a goodie bag. The brown heart shaped crayons look like chocolate!

Happy Earth Day

2009-04-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

Hooray for Mother Earth! Max and I celebrated Earth Day by planting some flowers, turning off/unplugging all of our appliances (except for the major ones that had to stay on!), keeping the lights off, walking to the market and recycling some broken crayons into new heart shaped ones!

In gratitude for the earth and all that she gives us,

Spring Break........

2009-04-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

What a wonderful Spring Break we had. Typically we stay local during school holidays but this year my husband mentioned that his friend had a house in Tahoe that goes almost unused! Aha, our Spring Break vacation was found! Here are a few pics of Max's fun.

We found this awesome sledding hill just a few miles from the house.

Although most of the snow at lake level had melted there were still a few patches dotted around. We found this one right outside the back door.

I am so grateful that our friend was generous enough to lend us his home, this trip made our break very special. Lucky for us we have an open invitation to use the house whenever we'd like so it goes without saying that we'll be back to Tahoe very soon :)

On Sunday we did this........

Amazing right!?! We spent Sunday at Stinson Beach playing in the waves and collecting sand dollars.

From sledding on Saturday to sitting on the beach in nearly 90 degree heat on Sunday. Only in California can you do that!

I did do some crafts this past week, mostly making wool felt balls for friends and our school crafts faire booth. My next project will be another Waldorf Doll and some figures for our nature table.

Easter Surprises!

2009-04-14T12:11:00.000-07:00

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Max was up bright and early excited to hunt down his Easter basket. I love that Max still has that child innocence where he still believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny. We have decided that if we leave an empty basket and some eggs for the bunny to fill, he will stop by our house. The bunny was nice enough to leave Max some little toys, a book and a few chocolates. Mommies can add to the basket too, and Max saw that I also included a handmade bunny. I found the pattern here at Revoluzza.

Our Easter started with a group trip to our local Farmer's Market where we made up our menu on the fly. It was nice to just go with the flow instead of stress out about the menu and feel like you have to have everything perfect. At the market we also picked up some long bean starts which we will be planting today!

We celebrated Easter Dinner with family and family friends. We have clebrated several holidays with The Howards - it's been fun especially for Max because he associated Holiays with "The Howards". They have all sorts of fun big kid toys and a Nintendo Wii - Max has only ever played video games at their house so he's always very excited when we have holidays chez Howard.

I also finished my very first limbed Waldorf Doll this weekend - her name is Millie. . This was the first full head of hair that I have constructed. I found the tutorial for her hair here at Starry Sheep and I love the way that it turned out. I definitely need to work on constructing clothes, this is not my forte. From a distance they are fine but up close the work is a little messy :) See the wet felted eggs in the pic? Max and I eeked those out on Easter eve, we found the tutorial here.

We are now on Easter break - a friend has a house in Tahoe so Max, myself, a school buddy and his mom will be heading up later this week to hopefully squeeze in some end of season sledding!

Hello!

2009-04-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

I have been super overwhelmed by life lately - mostly struggling with Max's school. Our Waldorf school is such a huge part of our lives that when you start to question it, your foundation feels very unstable. Trying to center myself and come to terms with the realities of what is and is not possible in our school has been hard for me but I think that I am getting there. In meetings I tend to be the one person who is the "hard ass" asking the hard questions, making parents think about what is really going on - I know now that I can only be that way. It is not in my personality to just sit by and watch things happen. As of yesterday I felt more empowered than I have for the past week so HOORAY!

Onto the fun!

We've got lots on or plate today:

Natural egg dyeing
Wet felting easter eggs
Attempt to make some fabric eggs
Pre-Easter food prep
Easter basket assembly!

Maybe even a quick trip to the craft store........

All fun stuff but also time consuming so I'll post more tomorrow about what I've been up to :)

Lovely Things

Bread is a lovely thing to eat -
God bless the barley and the wheat!

A lovely thing to breathe is air -
God bless the sunshine everywhere!

The earth’s a lovely place to know -
God bless the folks that come and go!

Alive’s a lovely thing to be -
Giver of life - we say - bless Thee!

H.M.Sarson

In Abundance and Gratitude

Inspiration.....................

2009-04-03T20:28:00.000-07:00

My brother sent this video link my way. It's amazing and I really wanted to share it. This video really resonates with me right now, and the direction I feel like we (the world) should be going. This is exactly what I needed to lift my spirit.

This video was made as part of a documentry film "Playing For Change". Playing For Change is a movement to connect the world through music. Take a look, you can find out a lot more here.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly.......

2009-04-01T20:58:00.001-07:00

Let's start with the good....

I have been very crafty lately mostly cranking out lavender gnomes. I think that so far I have made 14 and may have the energy left for a few more. The great thing is that I have had a LOT of practice making doll heads - at this point I'm pretty confident that I can tackle a larger sized head.

Aren't they great? A few will live with me, some will be gifts and others I will give to the school for our craft booth.

I have also been working on some Felt Wee Folk. I borrowed the book from fellow Waldorf parent. I really enjoy making these although wrapping the body w. the embroidery thread does get tedious very quickly!

I just love the way that they have turned out, I have made several Wee Folk but these pics came out the best.

PS. Thank you Tammy for the amazing acorn caps, they are just what I needed!

Now for the bad......

After a very trying meeting at my son's school I am feeling very disheartened about our Programs commitment to staying true to the Waldorf pedagogy and its future. I know that I am committed and will continue to attend meetings!

And the ugly......

I hosted our third Waldorf Craft Circle and one parent showed up. Yes ONE. I am bummed but will continue to hold the circles hoping that "if I host it, they will come". This is hard for me because I feel as if I have a gift that I want to share with our parents and they are not embracing it. Despite it all, I will continue because I feel as if this is very important to me, my son, our Waldorf Program and community.

Ending on a happy note, I did receive a beautiful fat quarter as part of a swap and have two Easter swap packages ready to go in the mail tomorrow. I am also working on creating a felt mushroom tutorial - coming soon. :)

What Have We Been Up To?

2009-03-31T20:01:00.000-07:00

I have neglected my blog for the past week, but I'm back! What have I/we been up to? Here's a quick overview:

A trip to the dogpark in Mill Valley. This is Rosie - she has a tennis ball in her mouth. Rosie is a very dedicated fetcher :)

A visit to "The Scoop". The Scoop is our very favourite ice cream shop and the local hot spot. They use Strauss Organic milk and ALL organic/as local as possible ingredients. It is a tiny ice cream shop that on warm nights can easily have a queue out the door and down the block. Believe me - it's worth the wait. My favourite flavour is Mexican Chocolate. Yum.

My sister raced and won, this weekend at Redwood Shores, this is a picture of her Varsity 8 Lightweight team taking the boat out of the water (she's in the grey t-shirt). She is a very talented rower who has been recruited for the Stanford Rowing team. We are SUPER proud of her and we're so happy that next year when she goes to University she'll be nearby. My other sister is at University of St. Andrews, Scotland and I miss her terribly.

Spring has definitely sprung!

I have been doing LOTS of crafting. I'll take pics and post about it Wednesday. Tomorrow morning I am hosting our third Craft Circle, I'm crossing my fingers that we have a good turn out, wish me luck!

Another Jaunt!

2009-03-24T23:43:00.000-07:00

On Monday Max was off from school and we decided to take a trip to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was a gorgeous day, we have a membership, how could I resist? We arrived at the front door and lo and behold - it was CLOSED! Ack! I suppose I should have checked before we left......

As I said, the day was lovely and the Palace of Fine Arts (where the Exploratorium is located) is a great spot for a stroll and feeding the ducks and swans. Here are some pics of Max having fun :)

Max and this duck made fast friends although it may have been due to the crispy noodles that Max was snacking on.

He also found this wonderful Cypress tree to climb.

I remember playing here as an eight year old when we lived in San Francisco.

The Palace of Fine Arts, designed by Bernard Maybeck, was originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. They are currently doing a lot of repair and restoration work so unfortunately we were not able to play under the main dome, maybe next time.

I have not been working a lot on crafts for the past few days but plan on getting back into the saddle asap. I'm inspired to work on a new Waldorf Doll and continue to make my lavender gnomes. What next?

Our Sunday Excursion..............

2009-03-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

I am so grateful that we live in a place where so many museums, neighborhoods and cultural experiences are at our fingertips. I spent the first eight years of my life in San Francisco and then moved back on my own after for University. Max was also born in the City and loves to drive past the Hospital where he was born.

We live just a short 30 minute ride north of San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge - and yes it is even more spectacular in person. Often we go for quick jaunts into SF, which is what we did yesterday.

My mom, sister, Max and I took a trip to Japantown. This is one of Max's favourite places. He's 8 so for now he loves it for the food and the shops :) This year we plan on attending the 42nd Annual Cherry Blossom Festival (April 21st), George Takei will be the Grand Marshall. Remember him? He was "Sulu" on Star Trek and he's Hiro's father on the TV show Heroe's

Here are some pics from yesterday's trip:

This is the Peace Pagoda, it is the centerpiece of Japantown. The Peace Pagoda was designed by renowned Tokyo architect Yoshiro Taniguchi and donated to Japantown in 1968 by San Francisco's sister city, Osaka.

Godzillaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Max & my sister

At Japantown there is this place called PikaPika where they have dozens of photo booths. Each photo booth is different and offers different styles of pics. Once you take eight differentky themed pictures you can edit each one with stars, crowns, just all sorts of funny stuff. Here are our pics! For only $5 it's worth it!

No trip to Japantwon is complete without Sushi and a visit to our favourite shop, Ichibankan. Ichibankan is the most amazing shopped filled with just about everything. I love all of the funny logos and the style of their packaging. See the cookies shaped as mushrooms? Not only are they adorable but they are tasty too!

These are Max's favourites, little erasers that come in the shape of Pandas to Sushi

If you ever go to San Francisco be sure to visit Japantown. It is a lot slower paced than Chinatown but Parking is a LOT easier and the culture is amazing. They have done a wonderful job of telling visitors about the Japanes Culture in San Francisco, past to present through visual displays dotted all around the area.

Have a great week!

Say Hello To My Little Friend...........

2009-03-20T10:49:00.001-07:00

Welcome to Spring!

The little brown bulb lies quiet and warm,

Sheltered from wind and sheltered from storm.

“Awake, Little Bulb,” call the rain and the sun,

“Wake and unfold

Your green and your gold,

For winter is done.

by Paul King

I have two separate posts today so be sure to read on...................

Last week I bought a Magic Cabin Mermaid Waldorf Doll Kit. The person who I bought it from had already started the head and torso. Let's just say that I can see why she was selling the kit. :) The head and torso looked like a pillow/pancake! I was happy to rescue the 'Mermaid to be' and voila! Here she is!

It was fun to take pictures of her with one of my favourite old paintings in the background and the shells/coral that we have collected.

For my first try on a Waldorf Doll with proper arms and a torso I am very pleased. Attaching the arms was not as difficult as I had thought it would be although they do stick straight out! Any ideas on how I can 'relax' them? My one issue with building these dolls is the face/expression, I'm still struggling with how to structure the face.

All in all a successful project - time for the next ..............

Getting My Mail....................

2009-03-20T10:21:00.000-07:00

When I lived in San Francisco I always wondered "who in the heck uses PO Boxes, since mail is delivered to your house?" Little did I know that, duh, a lot of small towns don't have mail delivery service and you HAVE to get a PO Box - if you want mail.

After four years I'm still getting used to going to our PO Box and probably only go three times a week - unless I'm waiting for something important, like a package! When you have a package that won't fit in your box the PO gives you a little card to let you know you have a pckage. They must have forgotten my card because I discovered yesterday that I had had a box waiting for me for almost a week!

It was my package from Angela for the Winning Hand Swap! This is a swap that we participated in, in which we had to craft/buy items that represented the four suits - hearts, clubs, diamonds and spades. Below is a picture of what Angela sent to me.

Check out all of these fun goodies! You can see the hearts, the clubs are the St. Pat's clovers, the diamonds were in a little heart box w. chocolates (Max snagged those!). The spades were represented in the decorated box in the bottom right corner

This little box is great. The little jester is holding an ace of spades card and inside the box is filled with picks depicting all four suits.

I hope that she enjoys what I mailed to her. It was actually a pretty hard swap to do once I sat down and really thought about it. Another successful swap! Yippee!!

Thank you Angela!

Wee Ones..........

2009-03-18T16:55:00.001-07:00

At our last craft circle (which I wrote about last week) we talked about new projects, and skills that we could teach other parents. One skill that I have wanted to work on is the Waldorf Doll Head. My last two attempts were ok but definitely needed fine tuning. So, now that I have practiced building the head I have started to make Lavender Wee Ones. These are the first three that I have finished although I have several bodies and heads pre-made. With allof those bodies and heads on my craft table it looks a bit eery :) For me, attching the head is the hard part, right now they just kind of flop around - any advice on how to remedy that?

These have been a fun new project for me! Their bodies are made of upcycled velour from pants. jackets and dresses (hooray for the 50 cent rack)and stuffed with wool and lavender, the heads are wool, recycled t-shirts and organic outer skin fabric.

Recently I found and bought a Magic Cabin Mermaid Waldorf Doll kit on Craigslist for $5. Once I have assembled my Lavender Wee Ones I think that I will tackle the larger doll.

A Great Swap.....

2009-03-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

Last week I had writer's block and this week I have to much to write about! First, I must say Happy St.Patrick's Day!

So a while back I mentioned the Handmade Mushroom Swap that I signed up for. I made 5 felt mushrooms, sent them off and in return I was to receive 1 different mushroom from 5 other particpants. Well the long awaited box has arrived and my new mushrooms are amazing! I was so excited that I opened the box right at the Post Office. What I love is that they are all so different, made using different textiles and different crafting styles. Take a look!

From Sonja at HappyGoCrafty. I think that this mushroom is

made from clay and paper, then painted. Check out the great detail!

A crocheted pencil topper from Val at YarnisGras.

This is the exact reason why I HAVE to learn how to crochet! LOVE IT!

Needlefelted 100% wool mushroom from Logan.

The perfect new addition to our nature table.

From Lisa I received this papier mache mushroom.

The two halves actually come apart - it is a little treasure box. What a great idea!

This mushroom came from Rane. Isn't it wonderful? I was so excited that I removed it fom it's cellophane bag before I could take a pic of it all. The mushroom came with the wonderful yarn, tiny shells, acorns and maple leaves.

My intention today was to tell you about my most recent crafty project(s) but with the arrival of my new mushrooms, that will have to wait till tomorrow :)

in gratitude,

PS. Wish me luck at our School Board Meeting tonight! We need to hire a new Waldorf Kindergarten Teacher but the School District wants to make us take a Middle School Teacher with absolutely NO Kindergarten or Waldorf knowledge/experience. With the economy the way that it is the last thing we want is to see a teacher laid off, but we also need to keep the integrity of our Program intact - how can you have a Waldorf K without a Waldorf Teacher??????

Long Lost Relatives......

2009-03-16T17:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was visiting The Magic Onions. While reading about their big Garage Sale Day I noticed that one her favourite finds was a little red vintage elf. What was so amazing was that I too bought a very similar elf on our garage sale day. The similarity is uncanny, I believe that we have two long lost relatives! My elf is green and does have some condition issues, a chip, rubbed off paint there but he's adorable.

Do you know anything about these elves? I have never seen them before but they are so cute that I could easily see them becoming one of my "must look for" items. Oh geez, no collectibe figurines! I always said that I would never collect figurines ............

I am working on tomorrows post, it will be all about my most recent crafting and future crafting aspirations. :)

A Great Weekend..........

2009-03-15T20:41:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful weekend starting with a FAB Estate Sale that Max and I went to on Saturday morning. This has become a tradition for us, Max calls it "adventuring". We adventure around for a few hours and the husband gets a quiet house . Well this Saturday we found a treasure trove of wonderful items which you can see below:

This is all of our booty, actually not all of it.

The rest was still waiting to be unpacked!

How GREAT is that poodle?

When I spotted this mushroom motif three piece Franciscan set I was hooked. I had a feeling that it would be way out my price range but was thrilled when she only wanted $3 for all three pieces :)

So, for all of what is pictured above plus two large quilting hoops a huge stash (about 100) skeins of embroidery thread, a rotary cutting set, hundreds of sewing and embroidery needles, three rolls of vintage satin ribbon, and several other bits and pieces I paid $7. Great right?! With my crafting circle still in the works I will let the moms use the stash that I just bought. It was getting costly for me to give new crafters embroidery thread and needles from my personal stash.

Saturday night Max was in our local St. Patrick's Day Talent Show Fundraiser. He and 13 of his Waldorf School classmates sang a song and played their flutes in front of over 150 people. We were so very proud of him! My mother and sister were also there so it was an extra special night for Max. Pictures of the event are forthcoming. That's it for now. Sunday was a great day too but I'll save that for another one of this week's posts. I have been crafting a lot and will also give you a peek at my new project(s).

Hope you and your family had a great weekend.

Yours in gratitude and appreciation for family and friends,

Thank you!

2009-03-13T19:53:00.001-07:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I went to my mailbox today and what did I find? A padded envelope overflowing with natures perfect little hats - acorn caps. They were very generously sent to me by Tammy. Wow, I am so very grateful for such a kind gesture.

In gratitude.

Craigslist............

2009-03-12T16:12:00.000-07:00

Do you know about Craigslist? Have you experienced the wonder that is Craigslist? Have you ever received from the bounty that is Craigslist?

What is Craigslist? Craigslist is an amazing forum to sell things (cars to toasters), look for a job, rent a house/apartment, adopt animals, find friends, look for events/garage sales and EVERYTHING in between. I know that it is bigger in some areas more than anothers but from the list of cities it services from San Francisco to Singapore, to Edinburgh, to Sydney there’s a pretty good chance that you could use it in your area. I know that it is free to list items to sell, I think that they charge to list job openings.

I discovered Craigslist here in the SF Bay Area about six or seven years ago. When we were getting ready for a move I had all of this great baby equipment in excellent condition and I was not sure what to do with it. We did not have any friends with kids so it could not be passed on that way and we knew that more babies would not be entering our fold so holding onto it was not an option. Well, I sold it all on Craigslist. ALL of it within two days and had cash in hand! What you think is junk may very well be a treasure for someone else J

When we decided that our old SUV was no longer what we needed I insisted that we sell it on CL – my husband though that I was crazy and that it would never sell for what I was asking. Wonder of wonders I sold it in less than 24hrs for asking in cash. Yippee!

Have anything to sell? Got a garage full of stuff? Have an extra crockpot from your granny, a giant untouched box of legos? Maybe sell it on CL?

I trawl Craigslist almost once a day – you never know what you’ll find. I am looking to buy a Sizzix machine so right now that’s my new search item. I frequently check the FREE area where people list stuff for FREE. Two of my kitchen chairs were FREE on CL, I think that they were originally from Pottery Barn. I have also bought a brand new trampoline, furniture, antiques this list goes on. Below is my most recent SUPER DUPER find!

13 yards of Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric bought for only $3 a yard! These are some of my favourite patterns and colours so I am thrilled. I even have some projects in mind for them.

Not only am I finding great deals but I love the idea of recycling things. I get a great deal and the seller gets some cash, easy peasy! I could tell you a million wonderful things acout CL but you just have to see for yourself. So, take a look at Craigslist (after clicking the link look for your city, or one near you on the right hand side) and see what you can find!

New Project.................

2009-03-11T16:46:00.001-07:00

I've not been in the mood to blog this week and this is why:

This past Monday a fellow school mom and I hosted our second craft morning. I sent out an email to all families and announced it at last weeks parent meeting. 1 MOM ATTENDED, again. Yes, just 1, again. My initial feeling was disappointment, then I was ticked off, then I was frustrated, then I was confused. As I explained to families, the purpose for these circles would be to get to know one another, make crafts for the program to sell at a future craft sale and also to talk about our program for next year. Both the other mom and I are on the Administrative Council so we know a lot about admin and finance at our school.

I know just as well as anyone that we all have busy schedules - heck I work on Monday and asked my boss if it was ok that I came in late so that I could attend the circle. It's just hard when I KNOW that there are mom's who could come but choose not to. Do we give up? Do we keep scheduling these? Ack, I am just so frustrated. Our Waldorf crafts are very popular in our community, help to promote our program and raise LOTS of money for us - which in this economy with all of the cutbacks is crucial. I know that I need to get over this, I am SUPER dedicated to Max's school, I attend probably 5-8 meetings a month, and I need to realize that to many people it's just not that important and that's ok. It's not ok, but it is :)

Well, the three of us forged ahead. We taught mom #3 how to make the Waldorf Doll head and we are now in the process of making lavender gnomes & babies. Right now they are all just heads and bodies, once I put them together I'll put up a pic. I have a subject in mind for tomorrow, just have to plan it out in my head.

HOPE & PATIENCE are my words for the week. Lately I've been wearing a necklace that says Patience one side, the other side says "Patience is a tree with bitter roots that bears sweet fruits" - my new mantra.

News, News, News........

2009-03-06T10:54:00.001-08:00

Recently I have suffered from writer's block. I've done tons of projects but have not been able to put pen to paper. Let's see if I can get past it!

Home: Things have been plugging along at home. Max has had a great week with two after school playdates and a visit with MoMo (grandma, my mom). My sister is an accomplished rower with Marin Rowing Club (next year she'll be a rower at Stanford), she has a race this weekend in Oakland that I think we'll go to. The weather will be beautiful, it should be a great day. No matter what we have to go, my sister is Max''s most favourite person on the planet and he'd hate to miss it. During a playdate I showed Max and his friend how to make people using pipecleaners, now he is figuring out how to dress them. It has been a great project for him and a good lesson in trial/error and patience.

My creative space aka "Treehouse" is moving along nicely - I still have to re-home my husbands sport stuff. With the new set up I have been able to move my sewing machine in. It's been great to not have the machine in the kitchen and have to run up and down the stairs to sew. Now I can just turn from my cutting table to the sewing machine!

Crafts: After the sewing machine move, I did a big run of machine sewing. I ended up making about eight stuffies, some of which are pictured below. I really enjoyed making the skirts for the bunnies, cats and monkeys. I found the pattern for the monkey here and then adapted it for a cat and bunny. When we visited friends last weekend I took one as a gift :)

I borrowed a copy of Wee Felt Folk from a friend. I made this woman but she looks mad. I have tried several faces but they all look ticked off! Considering the amount of wooden beads that I have already put mad faces on, it looks like I'll have a lot of witches to make. I need to work on drawing more gentle expressions :) PS. I can't find an acorn cap big enough for her yet, so I just placed her hair on her head, I didn't want her to be bald in the pic - how embarrassing!

I also made this horse...........

and this kitty

There are a few new projects in the works. Once the schedule is set, I plan on signing up for a beginners quilting class at Sunflower Fine Fabrics. My hope is that a friend or two will do the class with me. My other project is getting some baby stuff made for friends. I found some great bib and burp cloth tutorials here and here. If I feel very brave, I may even tackle a blanket or some shoes. I highly recommend that you take a look a The Long Thread, she has a ton of great tutorials listed for all skill levels - a great resource.

Swaps: Check out the Easter Bunny Swap that we just signed up for. Max is excited to find out who our partner is and get crafting for this swap.

Fun Finds: This week I did take a trip to a few of my usual haunts. In addition to a stash of double sided binding (my new must have) I found:

This amazing large vintage heavy cotton tablecloth. Yes, it is covered in mushrooms of all shapes and sizes. I really love it and can't imagine cutting it up - if I found the right project though ....................

Four yards of this great vintage cotton ribbon/tape embroidered with "dutch" people and a heart/bird/flower motif. I am always looking for trims like this and finally found a stash. They had a lot more in other styles, hopefully the next time I return they'll still have some left.

Good Night.......

2009-03-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

The light has faded from the sun

And He who blessed your work and play

Will bless your sleep until the day;

So shut your eyes and fold your hands

And journey into starry lands

The love that binds us warm and deep

Will bind us closer while we sleep.

The earth is dark, but there the light

Eternal shines on us. Good night.

yours in reverence and gratitude,

Swaps........

2009-03-02T21:42:00.000-08:00

Wow, my mailbox has been busy lately. I recently participated in two fat quarter swaps and a book swap.

This amazing package arrived today from Jennifer, you can find her blog here. I was so excited to find this in my mailbox, I had to open it when I got to my car! Inside I found three amazing fat quarters, (one is pirate themed, perfect for Max) a great little notecard (I think that it's of the Chicago skyline) and a resin tree pendant. Thank you, thank you Jennifer, you made my day! PS. Jennifer was my partner for the "Wishing it was Spring" fat quarter swap.

I also received these little lovelies in the Sew Mama Sew fat quarter swap. Thank you to my swap partners Alicia, Alice and Adrienne (love your name) for these great fabrics, I hope that you like what I sent to you!

Max and I were excited to receive a copy of Shel Silversteins' book of poems "Where the Sidewalk Ends" from my swap partner Kipi and her daughters. I remember having this book as a child but I'm not sure where my copy went so it was great to receive a new one. So far his favourite poem is Boa Constrictor. Thank you Kipi and family for the wonderful pick, we will enjoy reading and laughing through the poems together. This swap was organized through Reading to Know.

Last Minute Adventure..................

2009-03-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

On Friday we planned a last minute adventure in Tahoe with friends. How lucky we are that the snow is just a few hours drive away! My husbands best friend and his family recently moved back to Tahoe after living in SoCal. Now that we moved south and they moved north hopefully our paths will cross more often. It was a big day for Max, his dad took him on his first snowboarding lesson, he ice skated and did some sledding.

Max and "Charlie the Monkey" on our drive to Tahoe. Charlie is one of my most recent projects.

Sledding and playing in the snow.

Our trip was last minute but very welcome. It was great to re-connect with friends. We were finally able to meet their little girl and Max loved playing with their son. :) What a great day!

Passing on the Award(s).............

2009-02-27T09:19:00.000-08:00

Okay, so now I have time to pass on the Lemonade Award that I received from Tammy. Thank you again, Tammy, it was exciting to receive my first award! I am still quite new to blogging and already have my regulars that I enjoy, many of which have received the Lemonade Award.

Here are the rules:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.

2. Nominate blogs which show great Attitude and/or Gratitude

3. Link to your nominees within your post.

4. Let them know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.

5. Share the love and link this post to the person from whom you received your award.

The Lemonade Award is passed to bloggers for showing great Attitude and/or Gratitude. The bloggers that I would like to pass the award to is:

Hege at Heges Hobbykrok - Her blog is wonderful, I especially love her most recent knitting project and her Friday Favourites are always great picks.

Beth at WeePereas - Beth was my very first swap partner and will always hold a special place in my blogging swapping heart!

Jeanette at Temporary Insanity - more on Jeanette below.

**********************************************************

I also received my 2nd award - The Tree of Happiness Award from Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes. Two awards in one week, thank you all so much.

I also nominate Jeanette at Temporary Insanity for this award. Jeanette is a teacher (gotta support the teachers), mom and avid crafter. The pictures of her kids and wild stash of crafting goodies amke me smile. Jeanette was also one of my first swap partners.

I've Been Tagged.............

2009-02-25T10:14:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Lisa over at 5 Orange Potatoes to post the 6th picture in my 6th photo folder. Love this pic, it's a great action shot, you can almost hear him yelling Whoooo Hoooo!

This picture of Max was taken in Tahoe Easter '08 on his first real trip to the snow. The trip was a wonderful experience for Max, the house that we stayed at was amazing and had the perfect sledding hill right out the back door. We spent nearly a week with my family and he still talks about collecting easter eggs in the snow. It was especially memorable for me because my dad took Max on his first adventure on skis - my dad taught me how to ski when I was 8, the same age as Max.

Now that I've been tagged, I now tag:

Angela at My Favorite Things

Tammy at Laugh, Live, Learn, Love

Laura at Dropstitch

Hege at Heges Hobbykrok

My First Award........

2009-02-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

An Award: So, I received my very first award! The Lemonade Award is passed to bloggers for showing great Attitude and/or Gratitude. Thank you Tammy so very much. Tammy's blog was one of the very first that I found when I discovered the world of blogging. I love that her posts are incredibly honest and inspiring - it can be difficult to be so honest with yourself let alone to a world of strangers (at least some are). I am awed by her daughters and all of the exploring that they do together.

I know that there are some rules to the award - it's getting late here so I will complete with the follow through in tomorrow's post.

Fun: In other news, Max had a playdate today with a great buddy from school. We have a mutual agreement with fellow parents that there will be no media (TV, music, computers) involved in playdates. When you let children use their own imaginations it's amazing where they will go. Max and his friend spent two inspired hours building a wonderful gnome treehouse out of every block and building thingy that they could find. I wish that I could have taken a picture before they proceeded to demolish it!

Crafting: My creative space aka my "Treehouse" is a mess. I am committed to getting it organized and cleaned up. The hard part is that it's a tiny room that is used for an office/storage/crafting/Max's art space and my husband's sports paraphernalia dumping ground. Yikes?! Where do I start? First I think that I have to clear my bedroom closet. This will give me space to box up and store my husbands junk, oops, I mean treasures :) Second............ hmm.

Dinner: My husband is out of town so we had our family favourite - Breakfast for Dinner and fruit salad for dessert. Does anyone else do breakfast for dinner?

I treasure the winter, but look forward to days like this.............

A Day of Rest.................

2009-02-22T16:47:00.000-08:00

The rain has started again, the house is warm and dry - the perfect combination for a restful day at home. Max and I have had a wonderful week off school and tomorrow our routine begins again. We had planned for more day trips but instead spent more time around home - playing and being crafty together.

I finally caved and bought the book, Softies Only a Mother Could Love. There were several softies that we liked. Max loved the Albert Monkey - a pattern from Fiona Dalton her blog is here. Here is a picture of Max with his new monkey buddy. They seem to be getting on famously well!

It's hard to tell from the picture but the monkey is wearing a pair of overall pants. He is made from a pair of wool trousers bought from the local thrift shop for 50 cents. I enjoy recycling items to make something new.

I find that my craftiness goes in cycles. One month I'll work solely on Waldorf Crafts doing a lot of needle felting etc, the next month I'll do a lot of work on the sewing machine and the next it will be something else. I would love to try quilting but will I become obsessed with that too? Maybe I should concentrate on using the supplies that I have before diving into a new pool!

Watching the rain............

In gratitude and inspiration,

A Break From the Rain.........

2009-02-19T10:41:00.001-08:00

Today is beautiful, blue skies and an ocean breeze.

Time for some outdoor exploration before the rain comes..........

In gratitude.

Two New Additions!

2009-02-18T09:35:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to my uncle and his wife on their new arrival - a baby girl named Grace weighing 6lb 5oz. They live in Greece so an in person meeting any time soon is doubtful but with the wonders of email, Facebook and Skpe I'm sure we'll be seeing her soon!

Another new addition to my house is:

Bella Bunny!

I think that she is quite wonderful. My sewing machine and I were getting on fabulously so I was able to make quick work of her - just 1 day. She is made using a mix of Amy Butler and Marimmekko fabrics. I'll probably make a few more of these before I move on to the next project. Maybe next time I'll try a boy version of the pattern but with shorts.

Check out todays great post from Sew Liberated, she makes some great points about child safety and development. Although we are a Waldorf family many of the Montessori principles do coincide with ours and as parents in the end we all just want what is best for our children.

Introducing.............

2009-02-17T13:43:00.000-08:00

Introducing the new addition to my sewing room!

Isn't she wonderful?! I found the pattern here. The pattern included the Mary Janes and a beret, but I may just make a bow for her. instead

It's still raining here which is great for California but Max is on Ski Week and is already getting antsy. We just took a rain walk, every puddle was fair game for Max and the dog. I put a coat on Rosie, she ran out of the gate and promptly jumped into a muddy ditch :) This is what happens when you have a Retriever!

Happy President's Day.................

2009-02-16T08:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Presidents Day, I hope this post finds you all well. Life around here has been slow this past weekend. The rain has kept us all from top speed which has been a relief.

I worked on a few projects this past week, one of which was making balls from wool felt. In the past I have bought these at Waldorf Faires but now wanted to try my hand at making them. I made quite a few in a variety of colors, and put a small pouch of rice in two of them to make them more weighty. You could also put a bell inside for a baby..... hmm.....

I was sitting back admiring a job well done when a lightbulb went off in my head. With two strategically placed buttons the ball could become a great pincushion! So, here you see the ball/pincushion before and after! I will definitely be making these for future crafts faires and as gifts.

This past Friday while with my Grandma we stumbled across the most amazing Thrift Shop. When I walked in it looked like any other thrift store but upon closer inspection I saw 'The Annex" tucked in the back corner. The Annex is a separate room overflowing with vintage items. Boy did I hit the motherlode. You name it, they had it - shelves of vintage linens, clothes from the 40's - '70's, old games, books, pictures - it was all there. To top it all of it was all additional 50% off already insanely affordable prices! Here are some of the treasures that I uncovered..............

This amazing framed embroidery panel. The frame is trimmed with green velvet - it is now hung with pride of place in my little sewing room.

The picture up close - great detail.

A cushion embroidered with a farm scene. The foam is horrible, one day I'll change it out.

An embroidered tea towel. Could this deer be any more precious?

I am currently working on a "Mollie Monkey", I found her at mmmcrafts. Take a look at her blog, she has tons of wonderful ideas. I am making the monkey for my uncle's new baby Grace - she is expected any day now. ;)

Moving Through Life .................

2009-02-14T19:46:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day

I hope that this day has been a lovely one for you and yours. This morning for Valentine's Day I let my husband sleep in and Max and I went adventuring. We found many wonderful treasures - more about that tomorrow. Max and the husband cooked dinner for me AND did the dishes.

In a recent post I mentioned my Great Aunt Sis. About a year ago she broke her hip and since that time her general health has deteriorated. My Grandma has become her advocate and has taken over her financial responsibilities etc. Considering that my grandmother is younger at 82 years old, the new reponsibilities have taken a toll on her also.

Since last year I have done all that I can to help them both, it has NOT been easy. After a lot screening and visits to dozens of homes we found what we hope will be the prefect place for her. On Friday afternoon we moved her to her new home. We wheeled her in, held our breath and - SHE LOVED IT! Thank goodness.

This issue has weighed very heavily on both my grandmother and I. There have been many days where I just wanted to cry in frustration - frustrated with the hospital, doctors, care home, lawyers - basically the system. My great aunt has always been like a third mom to me (my grandma is my second) and I just want her to be happy in her twilight years.

On Monday I am going to visit her - per her request Max will be coming also :) Through all of this I have learned a lot about my grandmother and my aunt. When we moved her into her new home they asked for a bio about her life - and after all the stories my grandmother has told me about her, after all these years I feel like I am really seeing her for the first time.

I write about this because this issue has been a huge part of my life recently. As the seniors in our lives move on we have to learn their stories and remember their memories and pasts because one day they may lose those. I am grateful for the time I have spent with my aunt, I regret that I did not spend more time with her in the past - but she needs me now and I can give her that. Embrace the people in your life.

Blessings

Fun in the Mail.........

2009-02-12T16:18:00.001-08:00

Whoo hoo! Went to the Post Office today and I had a package awaiting me. It was from my Simple Thyme Primitives swap partner Sharon and I LOVE IT! I opened the box to find a wonderful Valentine's gift cone and inside was a fabulous mouse! Love it, love it, love it, thank you thank you thank you. After looking at both more closely I believe that she crafted both of them. I am amazed at how wonderful they are. They are so fab that now I am having jitters about the package I sent her..............

On another swap note, I finished my five mushrooms for the Handmade Mushroom Swap. I'm quite pleased with them. I hope the recipients enjoy them.

Max has been making up new verses for dinner time. Here is his latest try:

I Love Food
The World is Nice Food
I Love Food
Food is Nice
The World Food

Can you tell what he has been thinking about lately? At age 8 I can't fill him up fast enough. At first I thought that he was just looking for junk food, but I've realized that he's just a hungry little guy. Luckily for us he'll eat just about anything we offer him - sushi, indian food, ripe funky cheeses, veggies, fruits - he eats it all!

Love the colours. Love my Pyrex.

The Rainy Season.............

2009-02-11T20:37:00.000-08:00

Mother Earth
Mother earth, mother earth,
Take our seed and give it birth.
Father sun, gleam and glow
Until the roots begin to grow.
Sister rain, sister rain
Shed thy tears to swell the grain;
Brother wind, breathe and blow
Then the blade green will grow.
Earth and sun and wind and rain
Turn to gold the living grain

Introducing My Cat

This is my #2 (meaning younger) cat Eric. He is almost 11 years old but still looks like a kitten. He is a Polydactyl cat which means that he has extra toes. He has a big extra toe on each front paw, it makes them look like boxing gloves. The picture came out all blurry, but it catches his personality. He's always chasing Max around with the hope of being picked up.

The Weekend & Crafting for a Cause................

2009-02-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

This weekend was great! Saturday I took my 'mom day off'. I sauntered around to all of my favourite thrift shops (spent $0) and then went and saw a movie. I saw a chick flick - He's Just Not That Into You (I love Greg Behrendt) and ate the wonderfully awful Kettle Korn. Sometimes you just need a few hours to yourself when you can do whatever you want in your own time. Coming home feeling just that little bit refreshed can make a big difference. :)

On Sunday, Max, my mom and I went to visit my great aunt at her care home. She loves it when we visit her, especially Max. The truth is that my great aunt is 86 years old, is very frail and thin, and looks a little scary. It's amazing that Max has never seemed to notice. He walks right in, gives her hugs and kisses and talks to her just as if she looks like everyone else. Maybe that's why she loves to see him - he looks past the facad to the person that she really is inside. Seeing him with her always brings tears to my eyes.

This weekend I also finished this Felt Wee Folk kit that I found in my stash.

Monday

A fellow Waldorf mom and I got together this morning to discuss starting regular crafts mornings for our school parents. In the world we live in today gathering to share knowledge and build new relationships is more important than ever. We feel that starting these mornings will benefit our community in many ways, three of which are:

#1: By meeting together outside of school parents are given the opportunity to build new and stronger relationships.

#2: Gathering and sharing a common skill or craft.

#3: An additional goal for these mornings is to help parents to contribute more to the Crafts Faire(s) that we participate in. In our community our 'Waldorf' crafts using all natural fibers are unique and have sold very well. It is our hope that parents will learn new skills/crafts and participate more in our Faire(s). By putting our skills '0ut there' it is a great way to 'advertise' our school and reach out to our greater community.

Of course there are many additional benefits to these mornings, we are excited to find out what they may be! Our hope is that periodically the group would concentrate on one theme or project such as: a group knitting project, making ornaments/items for our Holiday Faire........... Have any great project ideas? Please let me know, this is new for us and we can use all the help we can get!

My husband and I bought this gnome house from Bill at Heartwood Arts many years ago. These are some of our most chrished items. See the tiny gnome? He's about 1/3" tall.

Another week gone by..........

2009-02-06T11:44:00.001-08:00

It's still raining here in N. California but I wouldn't have it any other way. After a lovely few days of rain it feels as if the world is refreshed, the air smells cleaner and I get a free car wash!

Ack! This week I've joined four new swaps:

Swap #1: The Winning Hand Swap which is through Sweet Goodness Swaps. This is a fun one that is themed for the four suits - Spades, Clubs, Heart and Diamonds. You have to make four items each incorporating one of the four suits. I have to say that I'm having crafters block on this one but I'll keep thinking about it. Sign up deadline is today, February 6th.

Swap #2: Vintage Spring Sweetness Swap through A Swap for All Seasons. Make or find a lovely 'Vintage' item for your swap partner. Sign ups for this one is through February 7th.

Swap #3: A swap through Simple Thyme Primitives. This one is nice because it is more open ended. You can send a craft item or a fun trinket, just something nice for your partner. Deadline for sign ups is February 7th.

Swap #4: Reading to Know Book Swap this a great swap that kids and adults will love. You send a copy of your favorite book to your swap partner. Max was excited to find which book was his favourite - although he was relieved when I told him that we were not going to give our copy!

Here's a pic of the wool that Max and I hand dyed a few weeks ago.

Surprises................

2009-02-05T16:07:00.000-08:00

Surprise #1: Finally, it has started to rain. Yippee!

Surprise #2: We love getting packages in the mail. Thank you Beth for the fabulous Handmade Swap items. The memory game is awesome, Max tore the package open as soon as he got home from school. Once I'm done with this post we are going to have our first game. I am so impressed with the bag and all of the pieces inside. Thank you for the soap too!Great job, maybe one day my sewing skills will be so neat and clean. My sewing machine and I need to have a heart to heart.

Surprise #3: Went to a Thrift Shop that I don't usually frequent and found these fab items. I could not resist this salt and pepper set. They are handpainted and named Salty and Peppy, love them! I also found these small spools of thread. I always pick up the ones that are on wooden spools, problem is, I never use them, I just love the way they look. Also picked up some Gutermann thread, 10 cents ea - SCORE!

Surprise #4: Waldorf Doll #2 is now finished. Love the colour but the velvet is probably too stiff. But he's soft and cuddly so you can't go wrong.

My First Waldorf Doll !!!

2009-02-04T12:54:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, my local store was all out of the fabric I needed to finish my very first Waldorf Doll. This minor point did not stop me so I bought some lovely skin fabric in a brown tone, went home and promptly started my second doll. He is officially finished! So I suppose that he may be considered the second doll that I started but the first one finished. For this one I decided to sew him and his clothes completely by hand, no machine. Yes, he does look like a linebacker and he looks like he's wearing a diaper, but isn’t he great?! For a first/second try I am very pleased with how he turned out.

Trying not to spend money on additional supplies, I made his suit and hat from a chopped up a pair of velour pants that I no longer used. It was nice to know that I was remaking an old item into something new. For the next doll that I make I am going to try to perfect the face and add a nose. Maybe I’ll even make proper arms and legs.

Now I can cross one item off of my 2009 Craft To Do List.

Now knitting. Although my sister showed me how to knit, I have now forgotten. Oops. When asked Max for help, he rolled his eyes at me, sighed, and told me that he was busy purling a gnome and he’d help me later. Ha! We love to make things together and he’s often frustrated by my neat, small stitches vs. his big crooked ones. It’s fun for Max that there is something that he can do well, that I can’t. :)

Yippee!

2009-02-02T22:52:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post to say that I have finally tackled making a Waldorf Doll! I sat down and did it, finally. After many years of good intentions I have finally done it. It is 90% finished, I need to buy some more flesh coloured material for the hands and then, voila! As soon as it's 100%, hopefully tomorrow I'l post a pic.

I cannot tell you how good it feels to have finally done tackled this project. When Max was a baby (he's 8 years old now) I had bought a kit from Magic Cabin to make a Waldorf Doll. The poor pieces sat in its packaging until I gave it to a mom at Max's school last year. Actually it turned out well, I gave her the kit, she made the doll and then the doll was donated to the school for a silent auction.

Max was very impressed - he's my biggest crafts fan.

Treasures.........

2009-02-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

I have been trying very hard lately to keep my 'fun' spending to a minimum. Clothes shopping is a big NO NO and I haven't been to the craft store for over a week (that's a long time for me). Yesterday, while the guys ran errands and I had some 'me' time I treated myself to a quick trip to our local consignment shop. My budget was $10. My first find was a hand painted red mushrooms tea towel for only $3. Next I found three pairs of vintage(?) knitting needles, $1/pair. I love the colours. So, for $6 I had a good time. Yes, retail therapy does work form me and it's even better when I don't walk away with buyers remorse. I have tried really hard lately to look for fun stuff in thrift and consignment stores. My favourite is the Marin Community Food Bank Thrift Store in San Rafael, CA. I like know ing that the money I spend in there goes to help people in my community - and I get a great bargain! There is another thrift store not too far from me, they have a 50 cent rack, I found a purple wool sweater there the other day. I plan to felt it and then make something..........................

I love old things. As a little girl I remember riding around with my grandma and great-aunt to antique stores, thrift shops and garage sales. I suppose that's where my appreciation for all things old comes from.

Maybe I'm a collector. What do I like? Pyrex, I have several old pieces, my favourite colour is aqua, I'll only spend up to $5 per piece. Heath Ceramics - LOVE IT! The Heath factory and store are in Sausalito, CA - not too far from me. Every so often I'll stop by and find a bargain. Hey, in this economy who can afford not to be frugal?

Have a good time...........

2009-01-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

Yes, it’s Super Bowl time……again. Finally my Sundays and Mondays will no longer be dominated by the sound of crashing helmets, chicken wings and that infamous Monday Night Football music. Every year when the Super Bowl rolls around it reminds me of my wonderful Grandpa. He passed away just about four years ago on the eve of Super Bowl Sunday. I remember that Super Bowl Sunday was one of his favourite days of the year. I can recall watching it with him several times in the heyday of the 49ers.

I miss him so very much. He was like a father to me. I remember driving around in the car with him listening to KGO Radio (Sports) and A’s or Giants Baseball. He always had sunflower seeds and a handkerchief close at hand. He was a true gentleman and I’m proud that Max carries his name. I wish that Max could have known him better, I can’t imagine that Max remembers him. More than anything, I am happy knowing that my Grandpa was able to meet Max and that we have pictures of them together. After four long years I don’t think that I’ve truly mourned his passing. The best that I can do right now is to remember him with a smile and watch the game that he loved. :)

On a lighter note, I’m nearly finished with my five mushrooms for the mushroom swap. I’ve got one left to go and then I’ll post some pics. Because they’re ‘gifts’ I tried to make them a little more detailed than usual. I tried the new shape that I had found online and they just did not work out well so I went back to my own shape. I don’t use a pattern, I just eyeball it, they all turn out different. Love the mushrooms so I’m excited to see how other people make them. I am wrapping up my handmade swap item and will be sending it out in the next couple of days. I'll keep my fingers crossed. x

Yippee! It's almost the weekend!

Max's stack 'o rocks

More to do's

2009-01-28T12:41:00.000-08:00

I finished my Handmade Swap item last night. For my first try, I am quite pleased. Not sure when I am supposed to send it off........... I'll email my partner. This swap was organized through birdandlittlebird.typepad.com. My swap partner did a great 100 list on her blog weepereas.blogspot.com, very funny, sad, introspective, made me smile. I'm sure that if we all did one we'd have much more in common than we thought.

Mushrooms, I need to make mushrooms. That will be my next project. I think I'll stick with wool felt but may change the shape of my mushrooms. This will be a good opportunity for me to switch it up and try something new, again.

Another to do. Now that I have started a blog I need to figure out html and how to add links, just make the blog more diverse. I'll do that after I finish the dishes, sew up a mushroom, fold the laundry.........yada, yada, yada.

Once upon a time we lived 2 minutes from the Pacific Ocean,

I really miss this.....

Lots to do

2009-01-27T12:25:00.000-08:00

A new week begins. Max had the day off yesterday. For his friend's 8th Birthday a group of us went ice skating in San Francisco. I held the side most of the time, I am not an ice, roller or in-line skater. I can ski, other than that please do not attach things to my feet that roll or slide. It was Max's first time, he did really well and eventually let go of the wall. Although he had several bum numbing falls he wants to go again, it's great to have a new activity that he enjoys.

There were a lot of falls...............

But there were many more smiles!

So, I just signed up for another swap, this one through knitsonya.com. It is a mushroom swap, which is great since I love mushrooms. I have to make 5 so I'll start on that soon. I have almost finished my Buy Handmade swap item. I don't want to post pics of it until I send it off to my swap partner, I want it to be a surprise. This was my first time sewing this particular item so I hope that she likes it. There's that age old nervousness of is it good enough? will she like it? For me , I'm excited to receive a surprise in the mail. Here is a hint of what I am working on.

Just like most of the public (even private) schools all over the country our school is cringing at the current lack of funds, especially looking at future budgets. What to do? My hope is that we can band together as a school, as a community, as a county, as a state and as a country and make a great education available to our kids. We are very blessed in our community. Our one school offers 4 different programs, Open Classroom, Waldorf-Inspired (using CA State Credentialed and fully trained Waldorf Teachers), Montessori and Middle School. Does it get better than this? In these crazy times, thank goodness for my crafts - they keep me sane and give me an outlet to relax.

HOPE, is my word of the year and my new mantra.

Ta Da!

2009-01-25T20:44:00.000-08:00

We tried our hand at using natural dyes last evening and it went great. For our first try we were very pleased with our end product! I used Turmeric, Paprika and Cinnamon all with excellent results. Sorry the pics are a bit funky, when I used the flash on my camera the colours were not accurate at all.

So here are the four skeins that we have dyed so far. I need to brush up on my yarn gathering skills, yes they do look a bit messy.

The skein on the left was dyed using Paprika. Once fully rinsed it came out a very nice muted pink/peach colour. On the right is the Turmeric. This skein was dyed in the second Turmeric dye bath so it came out a light yellow.

On the left I used Cinnamon. This was my favorite.It turned out a light brown that almost has a purplish tint to it. The right was the first dye bath of Turmeric. Because this was the first one the yellow came out more gold and was a lot more bold than the second.

We have two more skeins left to dye. I think we will try using artichokes and berries. The problem with using natural dyes it that you love the colours so much that rather than use them, you just want to sit and admire them.

So, I have joined my first swap. It is a Save Handmade Swap and was organized through the blog birdandlittlebird@typepad.com. I already have my partner and am very excited to get started. Tomorrow Max has the day off and we're going ice skating at Yerba Buena Gardens in San Francisco. This is his first time and I have the weakest ankles on earth, I think I'll bring some Charmin and Ibuprofen!

An Experiment..............

2009-01-24T17:54:00.000-08:00

After a meeting at school the other day Max's wonderful handwork teacher unveiled the skeins of wool that she and the children had dyed. The range of colours was amazing. This has inspired Max and I to try our hand at dyeing wool using all natural dyes. I went by the local Indian food store and bought a 7 oz packet of Turmeric (only $1.99, what a steal) and then we went by Dharma Trading Co. and picked up a large 50% Merino 50% Wool skein. I looked up instructions on the net and the pot is almost ready for the wool. I'll let you know how it goes!

Here are some pics of Max and his classmates.

Max's little guys.......

2009-01-22T21:56:00.000-08:00

Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin, Rumpelstiltskin

I made this little felt monkey for Max. I found the pattern in "The Cute Book" by Aranzi Aronzo.

Valentine's Bunnies

2009-01-21T12:16:00.000-08:00

So, yesterday I mentioned the wool felt bunnies that I have been making. I found the pattern at MissyBallance.typepad.com. She has some great patterns that are really fun and cute. Here are some pics of the bunnies that I have made so far.

I tend to craft during meetings at my son's school (it keeps me balanced). My friend who was sitting next to me loved the one that I was working on (the yellow heart bunny). Anyhow, she wants one for her friend who is having a baby. It makes me happy when people appreciate the work that I do, all of the items that I make, I love. I have another meeting after school today, what shall I make?

This past weekend my sister tried to teach me how to knit. For some reason I just have not caught on. My 8 year old son is a whizz at knitting so I though that it would be no problem. Was I wrong or what?! We were just sitting quietly on Sunday night, Max was clicking away knitting goodness knows what, and there I was quietly cursing and restarting over and over again. I suppose practice makes perfect. I think that I will go to Dharma Trading Co. this weekend. They do a free class/circle for all levels and I really need the help. If I can master basic knitting that would be great. For now, I'll just keep listening to Max tell me how easy knitting is :)

Sending Max to a Waldorf Program has been great not just for Max but also for our family. But I'll save that for another post.................

Beautiful Days...................

2009-01-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

What an incredible weekend it was in the Bay Area! The air was clear, the days were bright. Saturday we had a family day at the new California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. We went to celebrate one a Max’s best buddies’ 8th Birthday.

This is my lovely Max holding a T-Rex tooth

I love that they have these bins at the Academy. It was amazing to see how many adults were struggling with knowing which bin(s) to use, but kids knew exactly what to do!

A picture of the Living Roof from below in the Rainforest

Yesterday was MLK, another great day and do I need to even say what today is? My son calls it Obama Day. Unfortunately Max was late to school because we had to sit and watch the entire Inauguration Ceremony. I know that Obama is not the answer to all of the world’s problems but the feeling of Hope that he has inspired in so many can never be a bad thing. Yippee! At least Max was not the only late one to school, when I dropped him off there were a few stragglers behind us.

I made a resolution to myself that this year I would work very hard to make handmade gifts whenever possible. So, for Valentine’s Day I have been making little bunnies out of wool felt. Each one has a little heart stitched onto the chest. I have made three so far. When I find something that I like to make I tend to focus on that one item for about a week. I can become a bit neurotic and I make tons of one thing. It works out though because if I have too many, I keep them as gifts for another day.

My favourites so far......

2009-01-16T17:05:00.001-08:00

My very favourite items that I have made so far are my wool felt mushrooms. I was cruising around online looking for inspiration and saw a picture with a felt mushroom in the background. Aha! I had to make one and at midnight I was finally done, it wasn’t perfect but it was mine. I was so excited I ran into the bedroom and woke up my husband insisting that he had to admire my new creation. Needless to say he thought that I was nuts.

For my original wool felt mushroom I did not use a pattern and I still don’t, they all end up just a bit different. I was inspired by one blogger (can’t remember who, but I’ll see if I can find out) who sewed grass on the stalk so I do that to some of the ones that I make. When I reluctantly sold some of my mushrooms at a school craft booth they were the first to sell, I was very proud and pleased that others loved them too.

I did buy a Simplicity pattern at the craft store the other day for a felt mushroom pincushion. I'll give it a try and see if I like it better than my own.

Here is a picture of some of the other fun stuff that I have worked on recently.I love the gnomes, my son does too! The ones on the far left and right are great but the cutting took forever. I am not sure if I'll let my little guy keep them for play or if we'll keep them for our nature table.

It's hard for Max to watch me make things that he loves, he always wants to keep what I make even when it's a gift for someone else. I guess that's life when you are a 2nd grader and a spoiled only child!

New to all of this!

2009-01-15T12:46:00.000-08:00

Okay, so about a year ago we moved from far Northern California to Marin County near San Francisco. My son started at this great public Waldorf-Inspired Program and the crafting began!

I have always enjoyed getting into crafty projects but have never really carried them with me. As a young girl my grandmother bought me a turtle needlepoint, it was great, I finished it in no time and she had it made into a pillow which we still have. I learned to needlefelt with my sisters, I have always sewn the goodie bags for my sons parties etc., but I have never really explored wide the world of crafting.

Wow! I am awed by all of the amazing crafts and crafters that are out there! What people are able to do with some fabric, thread and buttons is truly amazing!

So far, my medium is wool, roving and felt. I try to find 100% wool felt locally and online, it is so expensive. Recently I found cream 100% wool felt on sale at a local craft store for $4.50yd, I nearly jumped up and down! I need to go back and get more...................

Anyhow, as a beginner I thought that I might start a blog to get ideas and feedback from other crafters. It is great to get advice from others on how to make new things and/or improve on old ones. I have roamed around a lot on the internet and have found several blogs that I have found useful and inspiring. Hopefully one day I can inspire someone out there.