Yummy!

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!

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

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. :)

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

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.

Treasures.........

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...........

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

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.....

Valentine's Bunnies

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.................

My favourites so far......

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!