Tulip Time :: April Clicks!

Do-It-Yourself Thieves Soap from Mountain Rose Herbs.
Covered button tutorial from Kate Davies Designs.
Living Under the Sky :: On time outside with children in Waldorf settings, practical considerations, and ideas for games and movement circles.
The History of Appalachian English :: Ancient phrases and their modern versions.  I especially enjoy the variation of "greaze."
A Changing Childhood or Changing Children? :: This has been on my mind a lot.
The Word-Hoard: Robert MacFarlane on Rewilding Our Language of Our Landscape :: I really enjoyed his book Landmarks and all the glossaries contained in its pages.  It's the best kind of geography.  I'm reading The Old Ways now.
The Camino Voyage :: Information about Glen Hansard's trip by traditional boat from Ireland to Spain.  I'm impressed!
Tiny Desk Concert: The Swell Season :: This is an older recording from NPR, but I really love most anything Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova do.
Nettle Cake :: This cake looks like it is covered in moss.  What could be better?
Waldorf and Minimalist :: Interesting thoughts here.  I certainly have a lot to think about for the future.

And with that, more April showers are in the air, clearing out a little later.  Rain and mist and fog are the way of it lately.  I've got lots of things to do today, as old things wrap up and new ones begin.  The joy in my heart is so profound.

Crafting On :: Cold and Dark

The wind is shrieking through the cracks right now and we're waiting for the mist to turn to snow.  Doesn't it sound cozy to be inside knitting?  I need to get the Elf Cap done so I can wear it!  Maybe I will turn my attention to it this evening. . . I've never made one for myself and I do admit that the design is a bit adventurous for an adult hat, but why not?

I waited too late in the day to photograph things, but here is the Hansel Half Hap I am working on.  I am coming along on the border, going from grey to blue now.  It is quite sizeable so far, which I am pleased with.  I wanted a generous shawl. 

And with that, it's time to tie up loose ends on the chores and make some time for knitting.

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Late Winter Scenes

Didn't we have a Spring bouquet just a last week?  Of course!  That is March for you, warm one moment and blustery and cold the next.  This week saw three snow days for the local schools, and we took them to nurse each other through a cold.  Back in the swing of things, we did have a little time to see the snow before it all melted.

There is bright green grass under the snow, daffodils weighed down by wet flakes, and birds singing in all the trees.  It is March and it's nearly half gone. 

I've been working on a hap of some kind for awhile now, since late January.  I ordered the softest tentative Spring colors.  I've completed one a couple times with different borders, none of them knitted, and then I unraveled the whole thing.  I've never done that, as I've always been pleased everything I've ever made.  Haha.  But, really, I've never done that, so now I am working my way through another hap with the same yarn and a knitted border.  Knitting with squiggly yarn produces some lumpy results, but I am hopeful blocking will tackle that problem.

In school news, we've begun new blocks for both of the children.  Roan is making his first book, a fairy tale verse reader of "The Mud Pony."  It's the tale of a boy who makes a clay pony that comes to life.  It helps him to find his people, takes them through a battle, and sees him become chief of his village before returning to the earth.  This is just Roan's kind of story.

Willow is working on math, per the Christopherus syllabus.  We've been carrying over for awhile without much issue, but borrowing is a new skill.  For this, we turned to Enki's grade three materials.  Tricky Mischief returns, learning to borrow jewels from her place value boxes to pay for a ship.  She often cartwheels her way along, so Willow made a moving picture of her making her way through the Kingdom of Jewel.

Well, the sun is up and the birds are singing, so it's time for me to get moving on my next tasks.  Happy Friday!

Crafting On

For yesterday is but a dream
And tomorrow is only a vision;
And today well-lived, makes
Yesterday a dream of happiness
And every tomorrow a vision of hope.
Look well therefore to this day;
Such is the salutation to the the ever-new dawn!

~The Waldorf Book of Poetry :: Edited by David Kennedy

Knitting has a real balm for me this Winter, and so I've kept at it.  There are many things that I cannot say right now about how my life has changed in the past while, but suffice it to say that it has changed tremendously.  Knitting, along with the daily things of school and meals and love, has kept on.  I started the Hap Blanket last week, and it has been coming together easily.  A big square of garter stitch has a way of doing that, and I hope the edging will be as kind.  This is a blanket-shawl for Spring, for all that it means and for what is beginning in our lives right now.  It is a Winter season of life for me, on the verge of something very new.  The above words from The Waldorf Book of Poetry have been a wonderful comfort and reminder.

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On :: Christmas in Killarney Cap

I finished this hat last week, and what a fun one it is.  The Christmas in Killarney Cap is the Star Tam from Homespun, Handknit.  It was pretty quick to make, though I had to go back a lot.  It pays to keep track of rows!  Willow really likes it and wants one of her own some time. 

I've got some yarn coming today for the Hap Blanket, and I'm excited to get started on it.  It's been a long time since I have worked in so many colors and I guess I'll be trying out different sequences.  I  made a point to choose soft, springtime colors.  Knitting is giving me lots of happy moments lately.

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On Along

Still knitting at a feverish pace, or at least a decent one.  I finished my Golden Leaves Scarf, which was such a pleasure.  My mother has requested one of her own, so that may be in the works in the next little while.  Of course, that happened after I ordered some yarn to begin a hap for myself.  I thought I'd choose something that would work with worsted yarn, in order to achieve faster results.  This is not a fingering weight season of life.  I will be glad to make it a shawl or a blanket or whatever use strikes my fancy.  I even have the romantic plans of blocking it out on the grass (in the shade, of course).

Still working on Roan's sweater, but not moving very fast, I cast on a hat for myself.  Red and green, it will be a star tam that I am calling the Christmas in Killarney Cap.  Yes, I know that tams are Scottish and Killarney is in Ireland.  Humor me.  I think it will be cheery, and I've wanted a tam for awhile, just to know what they're like.  So, a merry red and green tam to go with my Hollyberry Mittens.  And maybe I'll make another red and green hat, an Elf Cap, just because.  It's been far too many years since I knit for myself.

For more crafting visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting on Along :: Warm Things for a Warm Spell

The cold weather has washed away with the rain and now it is drippy and squishy. The ground is still quite frozen, but it is muddy where the earth swelled and thawed.  There is ice on the roads, strategically placed for those of us taking walks.  It's supposed to warm up to ten degrees above normal (or more), and I'll admit that we are glad for a little break.  Most homes are still decorated for Christmas because it was simply unsafe to be outside taking things down.

Weather report aside, I'm still plugging away on knitting, when I ought to be sewing.  These things come in moods, I think, so I am not too worried.  I have now become the Zipper Lady, and I'm a little apprehensive of my new role.  I cannot stand putting in zippers, but folks don't know so many seamstresses as they once did, so here I am.  Willow got a sewing basket for Christmas, so she happily does any household mending for me.  Her stitches are becoming so neat and it is always good to feel of use. 

But the knitting!  Yes!  There's a Two-by-Two hat for a Christmas gift.  I finished the hooded scarf, as you can see on my model.  Grey and black must be hard colors to photograph, since Willow is bleached out while the grey looks just right.  Oh, well.  There's another neck thing, this time for me, that I am going to call the Golden Leaves Scarf.  My favorite place for clothes, presently, is Gudrun Sjoden, and I have some dear family members who wanted me to have clothes for Christmas.  The color will go well with my new things, as well as the old.  And there's Roan's Knight Sweater in the first picture.  It's plugging along, mindless knitting as it is.

As for the book, I am reading Still Glides the Stream by Flora Thompson.  If you enjoyed Lark Rise to Candleford, this is another great title by the same author.  I'll share some quotes from it over the next little while.  It's got a bit more of a story and a little less nostalgia, which makes for a less depressing read (if you are the kind to mourn the passage of time away from agrarian living).  I am terribly sentimental, as much as I always have my eyes on the future and seldom dwell on the past.  There are some seasons that it pains me more than others, usually times like Michaelmas.  Something about those quarter and cross quarter days, I guess.

For more crafting visit Frontier Dreams and for my first time, the Yarn Along.

Crafting On :: Tying Up Loose Ends

Just in the nick of time, shepherds came to visit the Holy Family.  I made the bodies, heads, and hats last year, but ran out of steam.  I squirreled them away, thinking I could add to Roan's Nativity each year.  It was a great plan!  They are a happy pair.  I used the instructions from The Nature Corner.  We set them out a bit ahead of schedule, since we are expecting company in a couple days.  Roan didn't mind a bit.

Here's the next leaf-edged scarf.  It went beautifully and I definitely have an almost no-brainer formula worked out for making another one for myself.  Some time.  There is still one thing left to make, but I've got time. 

And now, well, time to work on supper.  Happy Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve!  (The children love to say it that way.)

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On :: Flurry of Activity

I'm a day late, but maybe I am just only about five hours late? I'm up early, Lucia crown dough in the oven proofing, wrapped in a blanket and tying up loose ends.  It is 14° F (-10° C) outside and the wind has howled and whistled all night. 

Look!  I made another night shirt.  This is made out of an XXL men's pajama shirt.  It had no back, as I'd used it for a mob cap last year, so I cobbled it together out of the pants legs.  You can't tell a bit.  The sleeves were narrowed and shortened and I moved the pocket over.  Presto!  Night shirt/robe!

Speaking of things cobbled together, I made a beard, too, for a certain fellow to be Santa Claus.  This is made out of the scraps from tailoring a wool sherpa coat a few years ago.  I couldn't bear to throw them away and that was a good thing.  This beard actually works!  Roan tried many paper beards, so he is very happy now.  I also made him a red corduroy sack to carry to gifts in.

Things that are not cobbled together.  The Paris Shawlette is done, done, done! 

Willow and I made some paper star ornaments to give as gifts.  There are others.  I couldn't find them at the time.  Haha!  I'm a little tired of the mess of all this creating.  More than a little tired.  Oh, well.  Willow made herself a Christmas apron (complete with gathers!), too, but my photos weren't so great.

I've started a Hooded Scarf for myself.  Willow wants to own it part-time (that's our joke here), so I may let her.  I'm not much of a fan of knitting five feet of something.  Still, I have wanted one for a long time and this one seems like it will be nice, dense fabric.  It will be worth the work!

I made Willow a new Lucia gown using a pattern I've made before.  I think it will fit right now and not much past--she is so tall!  It is pretty, though, and I will gladly make another next year.

Roan completed his transformation into Star Boy with the hat and wand.  I used the pattern described in Lucia Morning in Sweden, which is very simple.  No tailoring at all, just subtle tweaks to get the neck big enough.  I'll make the sleeves narrower next time.  He made his hat, gluing pieces of regular paper together, and I provided the stars that were used in our Advent spiral a few years ago.

It would not do to leave out Laurel, even though her gown is not new.  I made it years ago now, when Willow was Laurel's age.  Laurel's crown is missing right now, but it will turn up before breakfast.  Right?

Well, the dough is done resting and it's time to get to work on that.  Here's the recipe we're using.

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Dark and Cold

I've got a candle near the thermostat, keeping it from dipping quite so quickly.  It's holding at sixty-seven.  It is cold and windy this morning, much like our January weather.  I keep wanting to sing, "On the winds of January, down flits the snow," but that's not right.  Oh, well.  I do love cold and windy weather where opening the shades and curtains is not advisable.  This pyramid was a yard sale find, not exactly German, but it is happy to go along with Roan's children's pyramid.  I couldn't leave it out in the cold. 

I want to immerse myself in all kinds of lights lately, twinkly Christmas lights and candles and pyramids and schwiboggens (have you SEEN schwiboggens?).  I could stare for hours at photos of schwiboggens.  Mike and I went to a Christmas market on Twelfth Night (in Italy--befana everywhere!) before we were married.  I didn't do much looking.  I should have! 

I have the urge to knit the fastest hooded scarf out there, though I am trying to stay the course with all my neck things (shawls?  scarves?).  There's just one leaf-edged scarf left, I think, and maybe a hat.  I've finished and blocked the Paris Shawlette, and I'm just waiting for the darkness to subside to get a photo.  When the sun shines here in Winter, it is a wonderful, warming thing.

I'm in love with looking out over the snow towards the playhouse.  My mother gave us an old wreath with some lights on it.  Roan and I hung it on the woodpile and plugged it in.  Success!  And the twinkles inside!  It's too bad it's so cold out there.  We've got plans involving a space heater and some steaming stew for the Solstice.  We'll have some warmer days before then to get it all ready. 

Have I mentioned that our computer now lives on our enclosed back porch?  It's a room that has a half wall and the rest storm windows.  We've made it into a sort of library with an arm chair and pumpkins piled around.  It is cold, though.  Time to get inside and cast on!

Crafting On

The first scarf done!  I have decided to call it a Leaf-Edged Scarf, since I do not think "neck thing" is very appealing.  The calculations in the pattern do leave you coming out just right on the yarn.  I had a tiny bit to spare, but I think that depends on where you decide make your shifts between sections.  I'll add the scraps to my Mythic Tam O'Shanter stash.

It really is a pretty pattern Swish has such a good drape.  Blocking it was very easy--I just use some kind of clean (yes, of course) rug and regular straight pins.  I think it should be good for giving as a gift to non-knitters.  There are, after all, yarns out there only a mother (or knitter) would love. ;-)  Looking at these pictures, it makes me want to make one for Willow!

In addition to cranberry mors, we've also been hooked on making candied orange peel.  Willow helped to sugar and store these yesterday, in addition to helping with the Christmas pudding (more on that later).  Here's how it went: peel several oranges or clementines, cut into strips, boil three times, rinsing with water in between.  Cook peels in 1/4 cup water and 1/2 sugar until almost all of the syrup is reduced (watch and stir!).  Remove and lay out carefully on parchment paper, allow to dry, and then dip in sugar.  Store tightly closed in a cold place.  This stuff will spoil!  I've had numerous mishaps making it, but this recipe works and it produces good-tasting results.

Oh, and here's the Paris Shawlette.  It is coming along and I am managing half a dozen rows a day on it.  I feel pretty proud of that, considering how many stitches and how small the yarn and how long my to-do list.  The Eiffel Towers are almost done and then come the short rows.  Slow and steady wins the race!

I've got several things the children have made that still need photographing.  I tend to run out of daylight, as the last picture shows.  I feel like I need a vacation just to tend to basic things, despite having done seven hours of uninterrupted housework just a week ago Monday.  Oh, well.  Maybe today is the day I will make headway. 

Happy Tuesday to you all!

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On :: Christmas Neck Things

'Tis the season to be knitting!  I'm working on things for the in-laws, scarf-like things for their mild climates.  It seems there's a negative connotation surrounding "shawls" for non-knitters, and "shawlette" just sounds a little fussy.  Neck things.  There.  The blue is the Ooh La Lace Shawlette.  Tanya gave me nice long size five needles, so that is making the 243 stitches much easier to manage.  I look forward to seeing the little Eiffel Towers when I block it.

Here's the One-Skeiner No-Brainer, which just isn't a no-brainer, as far as I am concerned.  It requires weighing yarn and keeping records, which is clever when you're looking to work within your means.  It's pretty fast, though, and I'm also curious to see how it turns out.

And now, well, time for more knitting and sitting.  I was alone last night and this morning and really turned the house upside down for a Christmas clean.  I got everything right again with plenty of time to spare--a Christmas miracle!  The children and I have been making a few other gifts and I'll share those next week.  Happy Tuesday!

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On :: Birthday Things

We've been working on birthday gifts for Laurel as of late.  Willow made Lily the Lamb from Knitting for Children: A Second Book.  I helped with the assembly and embellishment, but Willow gained a lot of confidence with stockinette stitch and casting on.  She has plans for the Leaping Cat next.

Roan and I worked on the Fairy House kit from Sarah's Silks.  Making peg people with silk clothes is tricky, but they came out well.  I found myself digging for acorn caps, when I am usually covered up in them!  The little girl's hat was held on with a clamp until the glue dried, in the event you try this.  There were enough supplies to dress a number of peg people, so I am planning to make three for Christmas stockings.

Lastly, a fun, fast craft--leaf crowns from Earthways.  These were very simple to do with fresh leaves that were ready to fall.  Just clip off the stems with scissors and then use them to attach the leaves to each other. 

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On

There's a blustery chill in the air, at long last, and we're reaching for hats and mittens.  It's such a nice feeling!  We're read "The Hedgehog's Harvest" by Suzanne Down for Laurel's story this morning.  It inspired me to complete three more friends for our wooden hedgehog.  Now they're settling in nicely to the felted pumpkin I made last year.  The story and instructions can be found in the Autumn 2008 Living Crafts that was sent to me so many years ago.

In knitting news, I finished Roan's helmet.  It was hard to get a straight face out of him, but he is pleased.  You can see my ravelry notes here.

I've started an In Caps Tee for him, with plans for long sleeves.  I really like the formula for the pattern, and it seems like it should be easy to modify for the colder weather.  In addition, I'm casting on a Little Kina sweater for Willow's doll Virginia.  It's a birthday gift, but I'm running short on time.  I don't think she'll mind.

Right now, I'm ready to go out and do some leaf peeping.  Everything's behind schedule this year.

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On

The birthday sweater is done!  It's so cheery!  I believe I will think of it as a Michaelmas sweater, since it seems to match this image so well.  I'm not sure if I've kept it a secret or not, but I feel Willow will be pleased.  Her last ten days of eight.  Sigh.

The younger two and I made some bath sachets using lavender, chamomile, calendula (what the deer didn't eat), and rose petals.  I look forward to trying them out!

Roan's helmet is nearly done--what a quick project!  This is for his half-birthday, since he gets left out of the two weeks of birthday celebrations. 

And Laurel Mae got a new dress, part of her witch costume for Halloween, unless she decides to be a pumpkin or a cat.  Hard to tell, you know.  This fabric was pre-quilted, which was a little tricky, but it came out well.  She lives in dresses, as all-terrain as she is.

And with that, I've got a little time to myself.  Time to enjoy it!

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.

Crafting On :: A Day Late

The darkness is coming with more speed these days, so when I find spare time, it's after supper and the light is nearly gone.  Oh, well. Here are the makings of the last week.  Everything is for Willow, because she needed various clothes and because she has a birthday coming.

Here's here Halloween costume.  She's planning to be Tiptoes Lightly this year, as she really enjoys the books.  The wings are from Sarah's Silks and I think they were a birthday gift to her when she turned three.  They're a little worn, but they are just right for this costume.  The dress has a peasant bodice with a very full skirt.  The sleeves have elastic at the wrists.  It's a simple design in blue flannel.

Here's a new nightgown made out of some very warm flannel (from Wal-Mart, of all places).  It's Simplicity 1569 again, with a pine tree button at the neck.  She'd already slept in it when I took this photo, as it got dark on us.  I'm really pleased with how it came out and now she's set for the colder months.

Lastly, another dress similar to her Halloween costume.  It's a tiny blue and white calico print, with a bit of red.  Very full and twirly, as you can see.  I imagine I'll have to make a similar one for Laurel, who really only ever wants to wear dresses. 

And lastly, the birthday sweater is nearly done.  I'm sure I'll finish it this weekend and cast on something for Roan.  It's time he and Laurel had a few things.   Well, we're off to the apple orchard soon, so I better tidy up. 

For more crafting, visit Frontier Dreams.