A Different Kind of Gratitude

“I have learned silence from the talkative, tolerance from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strangely, I am ungrateful to these teachers”
Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet
With deep gratitude, I acknowledge my outer blessings....family, friends, house, etc. That is an easy way to feel truly blessed, and we should feel grateful for what we have.
With deep gratitude, I acknowledge those "other" teachers, for they make me who I am in unexpected ways.
Thank you life!

Handwork Bags

I am so excited. I did something organizational! I had to. Casting on a bunch of knitting projects is great, and starting knitting is even greater, and then having those projects kiss in the basket only leads to more kissing and codependent entanglement.
Yep, codependent! You see, those yarn balls had a history of addiction for sure. That's why they attract other addictive personalities to knit them together. Like me. And any knitting addict will justify their addiction, saying they have not lost their house or job because of it, and only had one teeny weeny little wreck while turning a heel in the car (while also driving). And if given the choice between a luscious Malabrigo and groceries, there is, admittedly, some waffling. One can always find enablers at the yarn store. Or Ravelry.
I'm not in denial. I'm powerless over my knitting addiction and I'm ok with that. I'm making amends to those who are neglected in the wake of my dreaming into the stitches. I'll plop a hat on their head when they least expect it and then they will forget all about the toast I promised  hours ago. Or the shopping trip I know I said I would do (Mall? Knit? Mall? Knit. No contest-sorry girls.But I will take my knitting to Starbucks with you and we can sit and chat)
And, to help get a handle on all this entanglement and denial, I made bags! yessiree, vintage pillowcases strung through with ribbon and packed with one knitting project each, its pattern and corresponding notions. Can't decide what to knit? Pick a bag and be surprised! Take it to go! No entanglements...we must now compartmentalize.
Alas, no pictures to see...camera/weather troubles...words will have to suffice today.
*oh, I forgot to tell you, Cadi is having a giveaway on her blog!!! You have to see these angels...*

Making Paper and an idea to add to your list

Today, we officially started our ornament making. It's a tradition of ours I started when Bri was 3 months old. We've done all kinds of ornaments through the years, ranging from the completely corny crafty to somewhat artistic to everything with glitter glued on (Love Shack ornamentation for your tree).
Last year, while waiting for my baby boy to be born, I decided to start an ornament project wherein I would blog a new ornament idea every day for a month. Phhhhtttt. What was I thinking? I did not finish, of course, in the blissful wake of baby #4. (There are a few ornament posts with that label if you dare to take a look.)
Today I am here to tell you that I STILL have ideas and I am going to blog about them without putting any type of time restraints on myself. So maybe that will help.
Two things we like: Making paper and carving stamps. A few years ago, we made a name stamp for my mom and printed paper with her name and gave her the stamp too. (there is your gift idea!)
So, I discovered that you can use the softcut printmaking blocks to make a mold for handmade paper, and therefore, make some pretty nice ornaments for your tree.
You will need:
-softcut lino blocks (the thick kind) in about a 3"x3" size, but you can do whatever size you want to
-a carving tool with the deepest cutter installed
-cotton linters for paper molding (you can also recycle watercolor paper)
-a blender
-glitter, seeds, herbs, etc.
-small scrap of screen, a doily, or netting
-small, but very thick towels
 (shred by hand your linters or your watercolor paper ahead of time and have them soaking in lots of water for a day or two before beginning)

-First, draw your design on your block. Carve into it, keeping in mind that you want to go deep without going through to the other side, and try to make your design nice and concave. The simpler your design the better. (Details get lost anyway and that gets you off the hook for being fussy). Clear the design of excess carving material.

-Next, put about a half cup of paper pulp in the blender with lots of water. Blend until it is smoother, then stir in glitter, seeds, or herbs (we dispensed with the gentle stirring and poured in the glitter). Take a nice big piece in your hand and place that lump in your mold. Remove any excess from the sides of your design. Make sure your lump is big enough to create a nice, juicy, watery mound.

-Take your screen material and place it on top of the mound. Place the towel on top of that and press straight down. Blot with your fingertips and really work the paper down into the mold.

-Bend the mold slightly to release the paper. Set your cast paper on a dry towel or a cookie rack to dry.
When it is dry, glue a ribbon to the back for hanging. I have also glued them to cards for Christmas cards.
Explore making paper. There are a TON of sites online and even a flickr set. There are even more books at the library.

This really is a simple, fairly quick process, and highly satisfying. I bought the blocks at our local Artist Craftsman store, and I have also seen them at locally owned art supply stores, which is where I bought my other supplies. If you want to explore printmaking on its own, the same thing as for papermaking: library and online. You can learn a lot just by browsing the art supply store. I found this site inspiring.

I hope you get to try this. Serena helped me today with the heart and the star...we made lots more and she wants to keep going. We need more stamping blocks and so will go get some tomorrow.

Please email or comment if you need more details. I'm trying to get some practice at writing instructions, and strive to balance inspiration with practicality.

And, after our weekend papermolding soiree, I will post some pictures. Pray for sun. People like me need it!

How the Boys Are Doing

I am a spinner. I am also a farmer at heart. Here in the city, sheep are out of the question. Well not technically because apparently you can have one large(r) livestock in your yard. And there are miniature breeds of sheep. Hmmmmm....I digress!
Honestly, I can't keep up with the bees and the dog and the cats, much less the kids that run through my yard. So it was only natural that two years ago, I would add to my list of creatures to keep up, I mean LOVE. The more, the merrier: enter our angora bucks, Buckwheat and Buckwhite. They have become our "therapy bunnies" (in the words of my friend). It's true, they nestle into your lap when you brush them. They are gentle and although they sometimes nip, they are never vicious and a good bunny brushing will calm you right down.
Now, the bunnies have been a source of endless drama this year. Their cage was not up to par, and I made the mistake of making the bunnies our dog's "job". It was her job to go fetch them when they escaped the cage, oh, every other day; this fact usually being ascertained with a baby in my arms, on my way to being late for work.
I soon discovered the fact that our dog, out of boredom, was creating work for herself by pushing her nose through the rabbit cage and letting them out. Several times I was seen running around the neighborhood, hunting rabbits with a look of sheer desperation on my face, and not wearing anything I'd be seen in public wearing, baby crying because I'd dropped him to go chase rabbits, Serena wanting breakfast.
Sometimes the rabbits would be gone a couple of days until we found them. I could never sleep with those rabbits loose. My first thought at 2 a.m was always, "Where are those rabbits?" Rabbits taunted me by running across my dreams. I could never catch them.

Needless to say, I had to purchase a new cage. Here they are in their new house. They have not escaped once. I can't blame them for wanting to leave. In this, a human baby year, I have not been a very good bunny mommy. But I'm coming out of the fog and brushing again.

And looking forward to some angora spinning.

The Davis Report

What do you have a blog for if not to show how incredibly cute your children are and to proclaim your undying love and admiration for these little teachers? I am no different and so today I want to show off Davis. I have needed the perspective of years into romantic relationships to appreciate the love a mother feels for a child. There is, absolutely, nothing like it. I have been deeply in love with this child for almost a whole year! (I am in love with my older children, of course, but there is something special about baby love that needs to be savored.)
So, here he is in all his baby glory:

Knitting Needle Fun

First of all, I must say, my pictures are fuzzy. I am sorry about that. It kinda feels like I am apologizing for my dirty house. Hopefully, it will encourage those of you in the blog world to go make some gorgeous photographs. And I will earn my reputation for pictures that suck. But hey, it encourages imagination, right? And you can see how I've broken all the rules and learn how NOT to take pictures. But, for whatever reason, I feel compelled to show you how to do something, and in order to do that, I have to work with the equipment and lighting that I have (meaning, cheap camera at night!) Don't let that stop you from liking my blog or trying my project :)

You need: at least 1/4" diameter birch dowels, cut in your desired needle length (10-14")(these make size 10 knittng needles...the ones I demonstrate are bigger and I think make size 17.)

Drill with small bit

Wool yarn (leftover sock yarn is perfect for this project)

Wool for needle-felting

fine felting needles and all your needle felting supplies

 Drill small-ish holes in the tops of dowel rods. These are cherry dowels, purchased at Woodcraft.  Make sure the holes are big enough for a large sewing needle to go through. Thread your needle with your yarn and pull it through; remove the needle. Please forgive my picture but the second picture down shows the needle and the yarn threaded through the dowel.

Now begin wrapping the yarn around the tops of the needle. Make sure to go up and around, and turn the needle to create a smooth, round ball. This is the top of the needle so far:

Once you have a nice yarn ball, you can stop here and sew the tail into the rest of the yarn ball. Yarn ball knitting needle tops are very cute and you wouldn't even have to go on to felt them. If you do decide to stop here, grab some needle and matching thread and really stitch your yarn ball, keeping your stitches on the inside and as inconspicuous as possible.

Or, you can get your wool and start to wrap the yarn ball with a base color of wool. Then start poking the wool in with the knitting needle, making sure you are working around the dowel and turning your work as you go.

I am not poking the dowel rod here, but rather am poking the sides, straight down.

Here is a first image that came out. The fuzziness of the picture evokes a serene watercolor, right? Reminiscent of Renoir for sure. (ha!) But alas, the creative process reared her lovely head and was not satisfied with this flower. She had other things to explore.

At last, my finished product.  The possibilities are endless of course, and you can felt little birds, flowers, trees, sheep, doodle with wool, etc. . I'm going to try sewing on beads, buttons, ribbons, wrapping silk fabric strips, folksy embroidery....there you have it! Soft sculture tops for knitting needles. (please give me credit and link back here if you decide to make these and show and tell. )

*I forgot to say this assumes the shaft of the knitting needle is already finished....the tips sanded, etc.You can use beeswax to polish them, especially nice with birch since it burnishes itself.*

Join the Dance

I just spend the weekend hooping. I know it sounds funny, like "I just spent the weekend playing bocce". But it was FUN. The teacher is trying to add elements of spirituality and calls it the hoop path.

For someone like me, who was, literally, always the last or next-to-last picked for teams in middle school, the dancing aspect was intimidating. I have trouble with any somatic memory, i.e. remembering sequences of movements...identifying and visualizing them in my body is hard. .I was never "in my body". I started running when I was 35, and did some yoga, and started to discover my body. It is so important to move. I have a heavy heart when I think of all the children in schools today who sit all day, (MY children), and are being deprived of bodily learning, who endure this cruel and unusual treatment of their young bodies. I had a more recess-friendly schooling, and still I suffer from all that sitting.

In this hoop workshop, the leader talked about being authentic and real and stripping away pretenses. Wow. I needed this message. I need to clear the BS. I need to move my body in ways that feel healthy and free. And so I am! I can hoop with my kids around...they like it. They hoop too. The learning is fast and while it helps to be a dancer, you don't HAVE to be. You simply have to move.