hurrayic

A little step forward

I'll be honest, I really don't like cleaning and housework.  I'd much rather spend my time cooking or knitting or reading a good book.  My house has dust, the windows are so fingerprinted and dirty that I do believe it acts as another protective layer against the sun's rays. If you visited (unexpectedly without prior notice) you'd most likely find that you could in fact eat off my floors (crumbs everywhere), or be treated to a free acupuncture session (step on a stray lego piece) or better yet...try your hand at the world's most challenging puzzle (walking through the maze of clutter in my home).  Seriously, that's how I feel some days about the state of my house.  I know in the scheme of everything, will it really matter?  No.  But it does help my sanity when the house is at least picked up and organized. 

So for 2012, I've begun a tiny baby step: organize the kitchen drawer.  You know the one.  The catch-all one (Not to be confused with the other catch-all drawer from several years ago. Once again, that one needs organizing.) near the phone that holds the address book(s) which may or may not be up-to-date, business cards, pencils, pens and all kinds of odds and ends that you don't know what else to do with.   Ours was overflowing to the point that I was having trouble closing it and papers would fall down behind it onto the shelf in the cabinet below.  It was a mess! I emptied it, threw out a whole slew of papers, changed my address books to something else (which I'll show you next week), and bought a Fohoja cutlery tray from Ikea to hold certain essentials.  The small box on the left was a thrift store find that I bought for a quarter.  It holds all the odds & ends that we don't know what they're for but don't want to throw out yet. 
So now I have a place for pencils, tape, sticky notes, scissors and sharpies.  There's still a little room in the back of the drawer for collected business cards (which I rubberbanded) and a copy of church's directory (only the most recent one). 

Admittedly, this is only a little step forward in organization, but a big step for more clear thinking.  While I was at it, I reorganized a few other kitchen drawers. Presently, I've got a nice pile of 'stuff' to give away or as the kids are urging me to do, add to our tag sale bags so that when springtime comes, we'll be ready.  Don't know if I can wait that long... may have to make a trip over to the thrift store for dropping off de clutta...

Green Giveaway Winner

Thank you, Everyone, for your movie and music suggestions!  Some we've watched; some we haven't seen yet.  Some we've listened to; some we haven't heard yet.  So thank you! And thank you to Sew Mama Sew for hosting this Holiday giveaway.

The chosen winner is: Kathy who said:

Love the greens, so pretty! We like to watch some of the classic movies with our kids, like My Fair Lady and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

Green Giveaway

For the past several years, Sew Mama Sew has hosted a Giveaway Day.  And for the past several years, I have not participated as a giver.  This year, I thought why not?  I was unable to make any handmades this year specifically for the giveaway (very busy with other handmades), but I figured that some fun supplies are always appreciated. Another plus?  I get to destash a few items...

I'm giving away to 1 winner...

1 skein of Alchemy yarn in Juniper
a small stack of fat quarters with green prints
a small stack of green felted wool squares made from recycled sweaters
    (all are from a pet-free, smoke-free home)

In order to be counted in the giveaway, simply suggest a good family-oriented movie recommendation (new or classic or foreign) or a music album in the comments below.  I'm always looking for suggestions.  Thanks! Oh...and leave an email in your comment so that I can reach you if you win.

Just a few other Sew Mama Sew (and Hurrayic) guidelines:
Only 1 comment per person/household please.
Comments will close promptly on Friday, December 16th at 5pm PST (8pm EST).
I'll post the winner by Sunday, December 18th.
Winner will have 48 hours to respond.
If no response after that time, a new winner will be chosen.

To see and participate in lots of other lovely giveaways, visit Sew Mama Sew!

~~~~ Comments closed! Thank you for the wonderful response. 

Come back Sunday to see who the winner is! ~~~~~

Enjoying

Happy October Monday morning again!

Before I forget, let me remind you of the yarn giveaway.

I'll announce a winner on Wednesday, so you still have time!

I'm enjoying...

wearing a 'new' pair of shoes from the thrift store ($5.00)

watching this little guy (or girl?) for several minutes: he moved first!

bringing home these pumpkin beauties and arranging an edible buffet for our backyard squirrels (it took the squirrels 2 days to snag the rotting black walnuts)

finishing (almost) a very purple knitting project...

spotting him wear a funny little hat around the house...

trying out a new recipe: beef & potato handpies with raisins (Everyone loved them - made 4x the amount of filling and used part for this recipe.  Added beef broth to other portion of filling and served it over brown rice the next night...should have compensated for more liquid by upping the spices) Still...very yummy... seeing my desk after months & months of paper and dust bunnies (not sure how long it'll last...)

anticipating the start of a new science unit for my younger two (who, by the way, are chomping at the bit to begin...couldn't have anything to do with the 'toys' involved, could it?) ...

loving that my 2nd favorite herb, rosemary, is still growing strong... (2nd only to basil!)

wondering (& hoping) that the black walnuts that we picked up on our last nature walk will ferment like this book said... Won't know for another 3 weeks...

Our 'New' Nature Area

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I wanted to try to show our 'new' nature area.  We've collected gobs of rocks, leaves, seashells, sand, flowers, feathers and other assorted sundries throughout the years.  We've cherished some, thrown some out when they get too brittle or too many, but mainly we've stored some away in baskets or boxes or stuffed in the back of a closet or shelf.  Forgotten.  Not easy for gazing on and wondering.

For years, I've had romantic notions of making nature study a part of our regular school day or week.  But somehow, it was rarely accomplished.  My ideas of frolicking in the grass, searching for bugs, sketching what we see, stopping to smell the roses happened only once in awhile when we'd make a point to drive to a nearby park. And that certainly did not occur weekly.  Not even monthly.  It wasn't for a lack of ideas.  I had (and have) plenty of ideas swarming in my head like a good & busy hive has buzzing bees.  Unlike the bees however, my dilemma was simply a lack of time.  Or a lack of making time.  Do you ever feel that way? 

Partially I think my lack of regular nature study was a combination of my uneasiness over spur of the moment activities (you want me to leave the house now, today, without forewarning?), my occasional perfectionist tendencies (we don't have that particular shade of green watercolor, and I won't be able to get to the craft store until next week, so therefore no nature study today, kids), and quite frankly, my thought that...well, we needed to do all the academics first and then do nature study (or art or music for that matter). 

Of course, the end of the day would arrive, and I'd be tired, my kids would be cranky or hungry, need a nap or want to play outside with their friends, we'd have errands to run, doctor's visits to attend or co-op classes for which to prepare... 

So to make an already super long story short I've finally decided to take a more deliberate effort in incorporating a weekly nature study.  I suppose saying that brings a sense of accountability, which in my case is a good motivator.  Rather than look back with regret, I want to look forward with new eyes and with a field guide in hand!

A nature area is perfect for all those lovely rocks and shells and leaves and sticks and occasional dead bugs that my kids (and I) bring home.  During the past few months I've seen so many great ideas for nature tables or nature shelves.  Very inspiring!  But rather than go out and purchase all things new, I wanted to try to stay within the Flour Sack mentality and make a nature area with things I already owned or could easily collect with little or no money spent save a few essentials...

Please keep in mind that my children now are all above the age of 10.  So if I had shown you a nature area in our house when my children were younger, I'm sure the arrangement would look very different.  I'm not sure what direction this nature table will take or if it will eventually end up as another surface to dump things, but it can't hurt to try.  I'm thinking that we'll rotate with the seasons or with a particular area of study.  The younger boys are starting a bird unit, and all of us are taking part using some of Barbara's new excellent nature study ideas. 

So I moved our library basket to another part of the house, and here is our 'newish' nature area (so far) squeezed into a tiny corner of what used to be the dining room.  I'm happy to say that the microscope has already seen some action!

~a $5.00 table found at a tag sale about 8+ years ago (and collecting dust & cobwebs in our garage)
~ repurposed basket & wooden dish for nature goodies
~ a stereoscope (okay, $$ item but we've had for many many years; it was hidden inconveniently away in its box in a closet)
~ a box to hold our pushpins and thumbtacks (decorated by my brother with homemade rubber stamp designs & given to me I can't remember when)
~ a moon phase poster (which I've had since the beginning of 2011...bought here)
~ posters (which I bought from here over 6 months ago & which have been rolled up waiting to be framed...I'll probably never get around to framing them so up they went with pushpins in the wall!)
~ lots of field guides from years' past
~ a tiny white vase from Ikea that I bought a few years prior
~ purchased specifically for the table: additional field guides & 2 smallish corkboards (Ikea!)

If you have a nature table, shelf or area in your house, what do you like to display on it?

Enjoying

Happy Monday! 
RIght now I'm enjoying...

the colors of a quick sewing project and learning to make my own bias tape ~ waiting for a larger bias tape maker to arrive (the one above made tape that's too narrow) ~ hoping it gets here before the 11th!

a few handfuls of sungolds from our back deck

the constant creations with all things Lego which have a tendency to pop up all over the house

being surprised by the colors of this melon

a wonderful and very needed lunch and swim date with a lovely friend

making good use of overly ripe bananas

this little bee's tireless working

his 9 cent t-shirt found at a local thrift store...9 cents! (camera shy for sure)

the recent evening and morning rain that cooled things off (temporarily ) and showered our poblanos with little wet kisses

watching a family of ducks paddle away

the straggling remains of an impromptu dinner with friends from the night before and using a tablecloth (usually tucked away in a drawer) for the occasion ~ btw an tablecloth not only adds festivity to the room, but can also hide lots of pencil marks and smudges very quickly

What are you enjoying today?

UPDATE: several of you asked what kind of watermelon we ate.  Not sure, but  I googled a quick search and these two might fit the bill: Golden Midget or Royal Golden. 

Thrifting

As I should be decluttering and cleaning out stuff, I thought it only appropriate to visit some local thrift stores of course...and bring home MORE stuff.  Reasonable, yes?  When the kids visit camp in the next week or so, I will declutter. 

But for now, here are a few goodies I found:

a pair of 'mid-century modern' style Danish candleholders (29 cents!) & a tarnished silver creamer/sugar set  (I actually like the tarnished look ~ lots of interesting colors and textures on the metal's surface)

a brown & green quilted comforter and vintage green sheet (the comforter is HUGE! & looks like it was never used)

and a blue & cream plate (transferware? not sure ~ I just like the simple design)

Have a wonderful long weekend! 

Oh, and Happy July!

 

A Little Sewing: A Monster

One of the very first blogs I ever visited (after realizing what a blog was) belonged to Hillary of Wee Wonderfuls.  So naturally, when I saw her book, I was interested in trying out a wee wonderful of my own. 

There are so many lovely dolls and toys in the book.  I love her color combinations and the folkart feel.  I also like her odd little creatures. 

My youngest does too!  He thought the monster, Koji, was very cute.  I can understand why he was drawn to it: humor and mischief wrapped up in one funny little toy. 

 
I chose a kelly-green baby-wale corduroy (it looks minty in these pictures) for the body and used a thrifted sweater (multi-striped) for the spikes down Koji's back.  For his eyes, I used another thrifted sweater and added a simple French knot for the blue centers. 

Here's the ham with his monster!

 

A Little Felting: Bears

Some of you may remember these.  Several years ago, I began making felted purses (cats & bears) from thrifted fulled sweaters and little bits of embroidery.  I made several for a lovely friend. Soon afterwards, I gave a few of them away to other fellow bloggers in a giveaway.  At one point, I thought perhaps I'd try to open an Etsy shop for all kinds of handmade goodies. 

That was 3 years ago! (whew!)  Life stepped up in various ways, and the purses (actually a lot of crafting) were put on the back burner.  Recently, I began to finish a few of the them that I had begun and that were gathering dust (not literally; they were covered) on the shelf. 

I do hope to begin an Etsy shop.  Baby steps, of course.  But for now, I was just glad to add a few finishing touches to some of them.  Still have several more to finish.  It lifts the spirits a bit.

Knitting - Matryoshka

When I saw the nesting dolls in Itty Bitty Toys, I was immediately drawn to it.  Of course the color in the book, a beautiful pale aqua, caught my eye, and the fact that it was a small project, was another plus. 

However, what really made me want to knit this was the fact that I love Matryoshkas.  Years ago, my dad presented me with my first nested doll, a highly-glossed burgundy & black set of ten carefully painted wooden nesting dolls.  From that time on, I began collecting a few Matryoshkas.  My collection is not large by any means, by I like all of the ones I have for various reasons.

The yarn I used was a cream colored cotton.  It came from a thrifted sweater that I unraveled several years ago.  I used a slightly larger needle than the book suggested so that the gauge was correct.
 
I really like the way they turned out, however I am thinking that the each body might need a little more decoration like a few colored stitches in spots.  Haven't done anything more yet.

This is the largest girl.  I wasn't too fond of the embroidered faces that were in the book, so I created my own with wool felt and then attached them with embroidery thread.  I like them much better.  The hair I should have done in a different manner, but she has a pink flower to decorate her features.

This is the 2nd girl.  I gave each doll a different face.  I'm not that experienced doing hand embroidery, so I chose some rather simple stitches: back stitch, single stitch, lazy daisy and french knots.  She obviously received a rosette for her hair and a wisp of brown has escaped her coif.

This is the 3rd girl.  She's a little squatter than her sisters but has a lovely ribbon adorning her locks.  Since I learned how to kfb with my another recent project, I was pleased to put this new-found increase into action.  There were many times in this pattern to use kfb.

This is the baby.  I forgot to include a ruler for comparison.  She was the most difficult to knit simply because of her size:  1" wide by about 1 and 1/2" tall.  She got a little squished, and poor thing...she has no nose with which to smell the roses!  But she does have a pink barette.

They are soft and pliable.  Maybe a bit too much, but this is a toy (according to the book).  I think they might just enjoy sitting on a shelf watching the day's happenings.  But who knows? 

They're planning something special I think.  They keep whispering to me they'd like to do some traveling very soon...maybe even visit a little someone who lives in New York (and who has an older brother)and stay there for awhile. 

Raverly Info.