Notice the mallard duck all the way to the left, Nara on the right
Our neighbors have goats!! We saw them walking the goats down the street the other night.
Be back in this space Wednesday!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Weekend Glimpses
We are enjoying an extended weekend but I couldn't resist sharing a few glimpses.
Notice the mallard duck all the way to the left, Nara on the right
Our neighbors have goats!! We saw them walking the goats down the street the other night.
Be back in this space Wednesday!!
Notice the mallard duck all the way to the left, Nara on the right
Our neighbors have goats!! We saw them walking the goats down the street the other night.
Be back in this space Wednesday!!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Little Mama
Well, I knew this day would come but I didn't think it would happen this quickly. K has always loved to embroider with me, but ever since I started using my sewing machine more she has been really antsy to give it a try.
C picking fabric for K to use
I don't feel quite ready to have her use a machine just yet (never mind she couldn't reach the pedal anyways) so I needed to find some kind of compromise. She told me she really wanted to make clothes for her baby dolls. I went to my studio/sewing room hoping for some inspiration. Out of the corner of my eye I spied a lovely package that I won from Julia at Adirondack Mama (Who makes me miss my hometown in New York so much). Inside of it was all kinds of fabric pieces that I had yet to organize and put away. I grabbed a handful of them, some embroidery floss and a sharp needle and brought it all to K.
Starting to sew
I showed her how to hand sew and within minutes she was cutting fabric and sewing away. Here's her first completed outfit - a cape and skirt for Purple Grandma Baby (C gave her that name):
She was oh so proud of herself! She now has a basket of fabric, embroidery floss and a sharp needle (stored in a glass jar so C can't get to it) in her art cabinet so she can create doll clothes whenever she desires. I actually caught her sewing in bed last night - be still my heart! I have a feeling our dolls are about to have a whole new K-made wardrobe.
Bed head :)
Wishing you all a magical Memorial Day weekend!
C picking fabric for K to use
I don't feel quite ready to have her use a machine just yet (never mind she couldn't reach the pedal anyways) so I needed to find some kind of compromise. She told me she really wanted to make clothes for her baby dolls. I went to my studio/sewing room hoping for some inspiration. Out of the corner of my eye I spied a lovely package that I won from Julia at Adirondack Mama (Who makes me miss my hometown in New York so much). Inside of it was all kinds of fabric pieces that I had yet to organize and put away. I grabbed a handful of them, some embroidery floss and a sharp needle and brought it all to K.
Starting to sew
I showed her how to hand sew and within minutes she was cutting fabric and sewing away. Here's her first completed outfit - a cape and skirt for Purple Grandma Baby (C gave her that name):
She was oh so proud of herself! She now has a basket of fabric, embroidery floss and a sharp needle (stored in a glass jar so C can't get to it) in her art cabinet so she can create doll clothes whenever she desires. I actually caught her sewing in bed last night - be still my heart! I have a feeling our dolls are about to have a whole new K-made wardrobe.
Bed head :)
Wishing you all a magical Memorial Day weekend!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
WIP Wednesday : Prairie Girl
Glimpses of a project in the works for K and her skuut adventures:
I finished up the play dress for K (using that fabric on sale to make this a $4 dress & bloomers set) and she loves it. Kevin nicknamed her Prairie Priya (Priya is her middle name) because she looks like a little prairie girl wearing it. I may have to sew her a little pinafore for her to complete the look. The pattern for the dress is Butterick B4176 view B and the pattern for the bloomers is McCall's M4505
I love the pattern it's fast and easy. I added about three inches in length to it and a pocket (thanks to Mary) for nature finds. It seems like the perfect play dress for her so I will surely be making more from this pattern in the future. I think the next time around I will change the closing in the back, though.
I am not sure what I did wrong, but the elastic on her sleeves keeps tucking under. Maybe I made the elastic too tight? As you can see - I am definitely learning as I go.
On the topic of dresses : I wanted to ask all of you if you have any personal favorite patterns for winter/fall dresses. I am going to the fabric store this Friday because they are having a big sale on patterns so I thought I would stock up now. With the weather here, I think we will get more use out of long sleeved dresses and jumpers, etc than the short sleeved ones. Thank you, thank you for your input!
Happy creating!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also the winner of the Waldorf Connection contest is:
Mom2Three said...
What a wonderful giveaway. I love Donna's stuff and I love Nicole's blog...very inspiring.
Kristine
Kristine please e-mail me at farmergopi@yahoo.com. Thanks!!
I finished up the play dress for K (using that fabric on sale to make this a $4 dress & bloomers set) and she loves it. Kevin nicknamed her Prairie Priya (Priya is her middle name) because she looks like a little prairie girl wearing it. I may have to sew her a little pinafore for her to complete the look. The pattern for the dress is Butterick B4176 view B and the pattern for the bloomers is McCall's M4505
I love the pattern it's fast and easy. I added about three inches in length to it and a pocket (thanks to Mary) for nature finds. It seems like the perfect play dress for her so I will surely be making more from this pattern in the future. I think the next time around I will change the closing in the back, though.
I am not sure what I did wrong, but the elastic on her sleeves keeps tucking under. Maybe I made the elastic too tight? As you can see - I am definitely learning as I go.
On the topic of dresses : I wanted to ask all of you if you have any personal favorite patterns for winter/fall dresses. I am going to the fabric store this Friday because they are having a big sale on patterns so I thought I would stock up now. With the weather here, I think we will get more use out of long sleeved dresses and jumpers, etc than the short sleeved ones. Thank you, thank you for your input!
Happy creating!!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Also the winner of the Waldorf Connection contest is:
Mom2Three said...
What a wonderful giveaway. I love Donna's stuff and I love Nicole's blog...very inspiring.
Kristine
Kristine please e-mail me at farmergopi@yahoo.com. Thanks!!
Monday, May 24, 2010
Impromptu Celebration
Preparations
The other day I was on the phone with my dear friend Marina while watching K pick flowers. K brought me some tall grass and told me we had 'wheat growing in our very own backyard'. She went inside and asked for something to grind it into flour. I gave her our mortar and pestle and she went to work grinding the grass with all of her might.
The concoction
Ready for baking
After working on her flour for quite some time she asked me if she could make a real cake with it. My first reaction was to say no, thinking of the mess that would be made, but then I thought why not?! What a fun experience for her and great way for her to learn more about the process of baking. So I let her have at it with out any direction or input from me. C came to help her out and they combined rice drink, their 'wheat grass' and whole wheat flour in a bowl. They mixed it up and poured it into one of my pans. K said it was a wheat cake. I guess the idea of cake made her think of birthdays because then a huge smile crossed her face and she announced it was K baby's birthday.
K with her birthday doll, presents and decorations she set up
K's birthday chain decoration
She ran off and wrapped some presents for K baby and then decorated the birthday table for her, too. I thought as a special treat I would bake cupcakes for them. I used this incredibly scrumptious recipe from my friend Sarahbeth back in Virginia. It's actually relatively healthy and sugar-free to boot! It tastes incredible by itself but K wanted K baby's cupcake to have frosting so I whipped up just enough for three cupcakes quick (so they rest could stay frosting and sugar-free). We put the cupcakes and K's wheat cake in the oven while C and K frosted their cupcakes. We then put two candles in K baby's (K said it was her second birthday).
Frosting her cupcake (Ughh at the paper wrappers, they were leftovers from years ago)
Mealtime candle/birthday ring set up by K (We eat by candlelight every meal)
The we all sat down at the birthday table, lit the candles and sang happy birthday. K helped K baby blow out her candles and we feasted. They both said they liked the wheat cake but only had a couple bites of it (while devouring their cupcakes).
K baby's yummies
Blowing out the candles
C's yummies
All of our guests partied until they could no longer keep their eyes open.
Impromptu celebrations are so much fun! We have done them in the past but I have a feeling after this one they will be happening even more often.
Happy Monday!
---------------------------------------------------------
A few of you asked about our schooling choices for the girls in my last post and I can see how it can be confusing! I am going to try and explain it...
We have to pack up and move every four years for my husband's job so in four years we will be leaving Oregon :( It's wonderful for us to dream that we will always be near a Waldorf school but more than likely we will not be. I am pretty much counting on these four years here to be the only years we are able to attend a school. Because of the timing of this K will end up experiencing kindergarten and first grade in school but C won't be old enough to start schooling until after we move. Once we move both girls will be home schooled. So for K it will be a transition but for C that's just how it will always be. I feel fortunate to be in such a large Waldorf community here and I plan on taking everything in and learning as much as I can. I hope that helped explained it a bit and didn't just add to the confusion!
Friday, May 21, 2010
The Waldorf Connection : a Resource & a Giveaway!
Comments closed! The winner is:
Mom2Three said...
What a wonderful giveaway. I love Donna's stuff and I love Nicole's blog...very inspiring.
Kristine
Congrats Kristine! Please e-mail me at: farmergopi@yahoo.com.
Thanks everyone for entering. I hope you all check out the expo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recently had the pleasure of chatting a bit with Donna Ashton. Donna is the host of The Waldorf Connection, a tool for homeschooling families to increase their knowledge on Waldorf related subjects, parenting and rhythm. By hosting online workshops with Waldorf teachers, experts & visionaries, she bring this information to families who are using Waldorf-inspired education.
I have to say that I am really excited about what she has put together. She truly has created a great resource for Waldorf homeschooling. One of the reasons why I, personally, have been afraid to try homeschooling is because I feel so overwhelmed with all of the choices out there, and I am so afraid of doing something wrong. It seems like with her information I would feel a lot more confident and prepared to handle it all.
In her own words:
I am a homeschooling mom of twins, 7. We live in a serene beach town, where homeschooling support is minimal. In fact, there are only a few families that are using Waldorf -inspired methods.
When I began my homeschooling, I realized I needed much more that what was available to me locally. I turned to the online Waldorf community and what a help it was! I honestly don’t think I would be homeschooling in this way, had it not been for the resources I found online. At first, it was hard to find anything much about Waldorf. But in the last year or so, a wide variety of wonderful materials has become available!
To me, it was still a challenge to figure it all out. I am a visual person that like to “see it”. Or at least, ask someone questions until it makes sense to me. I was tired of waking up in the night wondering if, “Am I doing this right?” “Should I be doing more? less?” As homeschooling parents we make some very important decisions about our children's education and lives. I like to see all the pieces of the puzzle before I put it together.
That’s why The Waldorf Connection was created. A venue to ask questions, get ideas and put the pieces all together.
"The Waldorf Homeschool Expo" starts May 27 and runs through June 29. It was designed after a regular Homeschool expo, but online. I am hosting 15+ workshops on planning, grade overviews, parenting, rhythm, multiple-age homeschooling, rites of passage, music and more! Are you wondering which curriculum to choose for next year? Come listen to your favorite speaker and see what they offer before you buy. Peruse our Vendor Room with online store displaying their books, supplies, curriculums, toys, etc. Registration and all workshops are *free*. Just sign-up at thewaldorfconnection.com
Even though K is starting at a Waldorf school this fall, I plan on signing up for the expo. I feel it is important to continue the teachings at home. Plus, I am planning on homeschooling C (when she is old enough) and it's never too early to start preparing.
Donna has generously offered a wonderful giveaway - an entire set of all the Expo Workshops on MP3- over 15 hours of content. (value $57) You can listen to the workshops again and again, download to your Ipod or burn to CD. An excellent resource to keep for the future, as your children grow or just to refresh your knowledge.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. If you would like more than one chance to win, post about this giveaway on your own blog and then come back here and leave another comment letting me know you did so. That will earn you two extra chances to win. I will close the comments on Monday May 24th at 8pm PST and then announce the winner later that evening. Don't miss out - I would enter this giveaway myself if I could!
Thank you so much Donna for this opportunity. Good luck everyone!!
Mom2Three said...
What a wonderful giveaway. I love Donna's stuff and I love Nicole's blog...very inspiring.
Kristine
Congrats Kristine! Please e-mail me at: farmergopi@yahoo.com.
Thanks everyone for entering. I hope you all check out the expo.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I recently had the pleasure of chatting a bit with Donna Ashton. Donna is the host of The Waldorf Connection, a tool for homeschooling families to increase their knowledge on Waldorf related subjects, parenting and rhythm. By hosting online workshops with Waldorf teachers, experts & visionaries, she bring this information to families who are using Waldorf-inspired education.
I have to say that I am really excited about what she has put together. She truly has created a great resource for Waldorf homeschooling. One of the reasons why I, personally, have been afraid to try homeschooling is because I feel so overwhelmed with all of the choices out there, and I am so afraid of doing something wrong. It seems like with her information I would feel a lot more confident and prepared to handle it all.
In her own words:
I am a homeschooling mom of twins, 7. We live in a serene beach town, where homeschooling support is minimal. In fact, there are only a few families that are using Waldorf -inspired methods.
When I began my homeschooling, I realized I needed much more that what was available to me locally. I turned to the online Waldorf community and what a help it was! I honestly don’t think I would be homeschooling in this way, had it not been for the resources I found online. At first, it was hard to find anything much about Waldorf. But in the last year or so, a wide variety of wonderful materials has become available!
To me, it was still a challenge to figure it all out. I am a visual person that like to “see it”. Or at least, ask someone questions until it makes sense to me. I was tired of waking up in the night wondering if, “Am I doing this right?” “Should I be doing more? less?” As homeschooling parents we make some very important decisions about our children's education and lives. I like to see all the pieces of the puzzle before I put it together.
That’s why The Waldorf Connection was created. A venue to ask questions, get ideas and put the pieces all together.
"The Waldorf Homeschool Expo" starts May 27 and runs through June 29. It was designed after a regular Homeschool expo, but online. I am hosting 15+ workshops on planning, grade overviews, parenting, rhythm, multiple-age homeschooling, rites of passage, music and more! Are you wondering which curriculum to choose for next year? Come listen to your favorite speaker and see what they offer before you buy. Peruse our Vendor Room with online store displaying their books, supplies, curriculums, toys, etc. Registration and all workshops are *free*. Just sign-up at thewaldorfconnection.com
Even though K is starting at a Waldorf school this fall, I plan on signing up for the expo. I feel it is important to continue the teachings at home. Plus, I am planning on homeschooling C (when she is old enough) and it's never too early to start preparing.
Donna has generously offered a wonderful giveaway - an entire set of all the Expo Workshops on MP3- over 15 hours of content. (value $57) You can listen to the workshops again and again, download to your Ipod or burn to CD. An excellent resource to keep for the future, as your children grow or just to refresh your knowledge.
All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post. If you would like more than one chance to win, post about this giveaway on your own blog and then come back here and leave another comment letting me know you did so. That will earn you two extra chances to win. I will close the comments on Monday May 24th at 8pm PST and then announce the winner later that evening. Don't miss out - I would enter this giveaway myself if I could!
Thank you so much Donna for this opportunity. Good luck everyone!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
WIP Wednesday : Finding My New Rhythm
To finish up with my projects from Kids clothes week, I thought I would share some recent sewing adventures. I say 'adventures' because I am truly a creature of habit... Knitting has been my habit for almost four years now so switching gears over to sewing is a challenge for me. I am not as happy with my end results when it comes to sewing as I am with my knitting. Then again, I often have to remind myself that I didn't like my knitting results when I first started out, either. So I am trying to stick with it in hopes that sewing will come back to me and I will feel confident and comfortable with what I make in the future.
Phew! Ok enough rambling, onwards!
For a quick project Tuesday morning I made K a fabric headband. I figured it will start to get too hot for her to wear her wool knitted headbands pretty soon, so some thin cotton fabric ones seemed like a good solution. I couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I just made one up. I used up the last of the scraps from her bonnet to make this tester. It fits great but just needs a couple minor adjustments and then it will be perfect. I hope to make her quite a few for the summer months as well as a few smaller ones for C. Both of my girls constantly have bangs in their eyes, poor things.
I found some fabric on sale last weekend that seemed great for play dresses. It only ended up costing me $8.00 for enough fabric to make two play dresses with matching bloomers! I was so happy to find such a deal, now I am hoping I can continue in this direction. $4.00 a dress is cheaper than anything I could ever find at a thrift store, plus they are even more special because they are made with love... or so I am hoping!
I needed to add length to the dress pattern above but didn't have any tape so I had to make do with painters tape. Ha! Whatever gets the job done, right?! And yes, I am using my husband's childhood ruler.
Now to try my hand at making my own bias tape to finish off the collar on this dress. I plan on working on that tonight. I have a new rhythm going of knitting on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights (and whenever I can during the day, any day of the week) and sewing on the other nights. I am enjoying it quite a bit.
Lastly -
I finished the hem on K's dress, which thankfully is all even now, and I made bloomers to match K's dress and a pair to match C's, as well.
Picture taken before I finished the hem
Back to the sewing machine I go.
Happy creating!!
Phew! Ok enough rambling, onwards!
For a quick project Tuesday morning I made K a fabric headband. I figured it will start to get too hot for her to wear her wool knitted headbands pretty soon, so some thin cotton fabric ones seemed like a good solution. I couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I just made one up. I used up the last of the scraps from her bonnet to make this tester. It fits great but just needs a couple minor adjustments and then it will be perfect. I hope to make her quite a few for the summer months as well as a few smaller ones for C. Both of my girls constantly have bangs in their eyes, poor things.
I found some fabric on sale last weekend that seemed great for play dresses. It only ended up costing me $8.00 for enough fabric to make two play dresses with matching bloomers! I was so happy to find such a deal, now I am hoping I can continue in this direction. $4.00 a dress is cheaper than anything I could ever find at a thrift store, plus they are even more special because they are made with love... or so I am hoping!
I needed to add length to the dress pattern above but didn't have any tape so I had to make do with painters tape. Ha! Whatever gets the job done, right?! And yes, I am using my husband's childhood ruler.
Now to try my hand at making my own bias tape to finish off the collar on this dress. I plan on working on that tonight. I have a new rhythm going of knitting on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights (and whenever I can during the day, any day of the week) and sewing on the other nights. I am enjoying it quite a bit.
Lastly -
I finished the hem on K's dress, which thankfully is all even now, and I made bloomers to match K's dress and a pair to match C's, as well.
Picture taken before I finished the hem
Back to the sewing machine I go.
Happy creating!!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Market Time
Toadstools for the girls' kitchen
We had such a fun family weekend. We celebrated Mother's Day on Saturday *cough* Because Kevin forgot last Sunday... *cough* and it was such a sweet day. Then we spent Sunday out and about. We started out early in the morning checking out a local flea market. Kevin, C and the dogs went for a walk while K and I looked around. I was quite giddy to be there, I love hunting for vintage treasures, and being there with K brought back so many fond memories of flea market shopping with my Grandpa when I was little. It felt so good to be there and to chat with all of the vendors. I felt very much at home.
$5 for a set of five of my favorite canning jars? Now that's more like it!
Cute little tin for some sewing notions
Vintage linen love
I found so many goodies I wanted to bring home with me (and oh so well priced) but time and our budget limited me to just a few items. *Need I mention my dream truck was for sale there?! An old 1940's Ford farm truck! Someday perhaps...*
Country Festival
A lovely vendor gave K a book
K left the market with an angel she fell in love with
After our flea market fun, we all went to Nara's search and rescue training about an hour away (which explains why the flea market find pics are in the woods!). It was in a different location this time, so new land for us to explore. We spent most of the day hiking and playing while Kevin and Nara did training, and then cooled off in the creek before heading home.
Hiking
Bug friend (they were everywhere there!)
Nature girl
Nara swimming
I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. I'll be back Wednesday with some sewing adventures!
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