From The Land Before Dreams

A few weeks ago as I was drifting off to sleep a vision of a new dress design floated before my eyes.  As sleep took hold I grasped at the idea and how to execute it.  The next day I sketched it quickly and then it just sat for awhile.  I worked on the dress here and there, drafting a sleeve, cutting fabric, gathering the bodice pieces, step by step until it was done.

All I’ve managed to capture were these two images of it before I added a bright red rolled hem to match the cuffs and neckline.

In those night visions I saw slashes of color and that’s just what I now have. When I slid the dress over my head for the first time I gave a little squeal of delight. I’m looking forward to doing a real photo shoot with it and listing it in the shop. As for the sample which I now have, I might be adding embroidery to it at some point. I’ll definitely be wearing it, and not just to dance in front of the mirror in my bedroom.

Signs of the Season: Anticipation

Most winter mornings are gray, without much color where I live, especially in February.  Sunshine and blue skies are a gift and make even the bitter cold seem warm.  On this gray morning I sat eating a bowl of steel cut oats across from L4, looking out the window into the backyard.  What was different today wasn’t the color or the snow, we’ve been seeing that for months now (and I don’t mind, really!).  It was that our seed starting bench was sitting there, Loki perched upon it studying the squirrels and birds in the yard.

As I watched him watch the outdoors I also looked at that blank white surface.  It’s much like an artist’s canvas because it holds the potential of the beauty and bounty to come in the growing seasons of this year.  Sipping tea, munching the oats with my girl, I felt anticipation welling up inside of me.  Soon our seeds will arrive in the mail (maybe today?) and we will begin planting and tending.  The seed stalking will begin, as I wrote about last year.  As soon as those thoughts came I realized that this anticipation is part of my winter ritual.  Oh how I hope the mail carrier brings me a package from Fedco today!

{this moment}

From Soulemama: “{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Creekbed Cowl

I finished this cowl on Friday and have been wearing it almost constantly since. I made it from the leftover wool I had from my mittens knit up last winter.

When I finished the cowl and put it on I wasn’t sure I would like it at first. While I can wrap it around twice so it is snug next to my neck, it’s almost too snug. I didn’t think that having it hanging long would keep me so warm. But it does! I am so, so happy with it and the fact that I used up some yarn sitting on my shelf. I think my girl is going to be requesting a new cowl for herself soon, too.

*** Edited to Add***

Ravelry pattern information here.

Turning Want Into Gratitude

As a teenager I lusted after Doc Martens, black, preferably the boots that laced up the front and had kick-ass soles.  They were not in my parents’ budget nor really in my realm of being as I just wasn’t cool enough (even then!) to wear them.  But oh! how I wanted to be. Several years ago I found a pair of kids’ Docs at our local GoodWill and bought them on the spot for my girl even though they were several sizes too big for her at the time (we still have almost everything in that picture!).  Today she wears them happily.

Last night I was gifted with a pair of Docs from my cousin. After reading this post recently the gift of them got me thinking as I rode my bike on the trainer this morning.  The shoes are cute-ugly, the kind you either love or hate, I think.  Me, I love them.  They may not be the pair I yearned for as a teenager, but I still am so happy, so full of gratitude to have them.

I think I get trapped in looking out at the lives’ of other so often, yearning for what they might have, jealous of it, to the point that I fail to appreciate what I have.  I am so LUCKY that I was able to contemplate all of this while riding my road bike on a trainer in my living room during the day, my daughter playing near by with a fire keeping us warm.  I’m so LUCKY that I have the time to make fresh bread every week for my family and that we eat good meals together at our table, that my husband and I have the TIME and the SKILLS to help with homework.  We don’t have to put off going to the doctor if someone is ill or injured, with have fantastic health insurance, and most of the time we’re all incredibly healthy and well, too.  Things might not be all light and joy in our home all the time, my kids might sometimes prefer digital stimulation to books or crafting, I might not practice my yoga or meditation on a daily basis.  But our lives are full of LIVING and finding joy in the small, the unexpected, the everyday.

Does this mean that from here on out I won’t feel want or jealousy or lack?  Hell no.  But hopefully I’ll keep working on practicing gratitude when I do feel those emotions.

What do you do to practice gratitude?

{this moment}

From Soulemama: “{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Getting Our Geek On

My son might like green hair, but we all like math in our house.  So much that we attended Math Night at the kids’ school.  It was fun!!  We had 3 different rotations during the evening.  At two of them we played games with the kids, adding twists to classic card games like War.

The third had the kids in the library learning about the math books there and some websites with computer games and we were in the auditorium with the principal and vice-principle where they discussed tips and strategies for homework and gave us a fantastic list of resources for math literature and websites with age-appropriate learning games.

The only downside was the time, as it went until 8 o’clock at which point my children become pumpkins.  Seriously, the last five minutes were excruciating.  We were playing cards and L3 got a gloating smile on his face when he won a round, which his sister immediately recognized and which immediately sent her over the edge of being tired into a place of where we wanted the ground to swallow us whole–until we started distracting her.  Thank goodness for distractions!  We made it out alive and home and everyone snuggled into bed without too much more fuss.  The blip at the end was worth the evening of fun with numbers.  What can I say?  We’re a family of nerds. 🙂

Will It Be The Last?

That’s what I think when I knit or sew anything for my boy now.  He’s nine and a half, and someday soon I feel like it just won’t be cool to wear something his mama has made for him and that he won’t be snuggling in my lap anymore (or he won’t fit in it!).  Each time he is happy with what I’ve made him, it’s a little celebration.  I finally got pictures of him wearing his solstice sweater and thought I’d share here.

Knitting Stats

Pattern: Boy’s waistcoat by Katya Frankel, size 30″

Yarn: Classic Elite Yarns Woodland in Prussian Blue

Knitting friends, this yarn was great!  It’s a wool/nettle blend.  Yes, I knit with nettles!  It has a lovely drape to it and spit spliced like a dream. 🙂

No mods to this pattern, save for leaving off the pockets.  Vests for the men-folk are rocking my knitting world!  Someday I’ll share the progress on L1’s vest.  Knitting is getting a bit difficult as the winter ravages the skin on my fingertips.  My skin keeps snagging on my wool, not pleasant.

My not-so-little boy in his serious photo-shoot mode!

{this moment}

From Soulemama: “{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.”

Sewing for Me & More

I have in an ipad in my life now and I wanted to protect it so that it would last a long, long while and to make it a bit less industrial modern, to boot. So I went in search of a case and came up flat. Either there was the plain black from Apple or a sleeve could have been had in many patterns. I did not, however, want a sleeve. I wanted something to protect the ipad while I was using it. I searched Etsy and found this pattern from seller Sewspoiled.

I am so happy with the final product as it does just what I wanted it to do. I shared it with friends who also have ipads. And now I’ve made a cover for one of them so far, too:

I have fabric to make some for other lovely people in my life. And now I’m extending the offer to my readers and beyond. If you aren’t a sewist or don’t have time to make one for yourself or you know someone who might like one, drop me a line or send me a request. I will be making them for $30 US, plus shipping as the designer has given permission in the pattern rights to make and sell these covers.  I’d love to make one for you!