Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

I planned on posting quite a bit here today (including a hedgehog tutorial) but staying up late going over financial aid forms while dealing with a cold has me tuckered out. I also planned on posting before today but (again) that aformentioned cold prevented me. I will just have to talk about those things later in the week.



Baby' L's birthday crown is starting very slowly. I cut out the crown shape but haven't done much else. I am still debating if I should needle felt the images on or just cut out felt like I did for K and C's crowns.







I had some complications with Baby L's milo. Ok, what really happened is that I messed up my stitch count and didn't realize it until I was done with the upper body. I didn't feel like ripping it all out and starting over so instead I just changed gears and started a new milo with a different yarn. I could have photographed this yarn all day long. I love the color of it. It's called winter wheat and it's name suits it well. In fact, I was thinking of doing some kind of wheat cable on the milo instead of the traditional ones that come with the pattern. I fell in love with this one here, to be exact. The only (slightly major) problem is that chart goes from the bottom up and the milo is knit from the top down. I don't know how to reverse a twisted cable chart - do any of you?



I knit up another birthday gift for Baby L. He loves to play with our dogs' rubber toy balls so it seemed like he should have a ball of his own. I'm calling it his crossing the rainbow bridge ball. It's a pattern from Knitting for Baby: 30 Heirloom Projects with Complete How-to-Knit Instructions. I really like all the projects I have knit from that book, this one included. The ball was a fast knit, and it uses up those last little bits of scraps you have hanging around. I am now to the point where I felt it but I am changing up the pattern a bit by using a pre-felted ball inside of it instead of wool stuffing. This way I can machine wash it whenever it gets dirty. I am hoping I picked a good size ball to put inside. We'll see as I felt it. I'll let you know how it comes out.



I am also framing a new picture (thank you, Nadja) and finishing up some little projects for our school benefit auction next month, but more on those a bit later.

If you would like to join me and share your current works in progress please leave your link below. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Please remember to link back here for all of us to see. It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. Now please share and inspire us all!


What are you working on?! Happy creating!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Shaping her future

*semi-related photos from Martin Luther King,Jr day at school last week. I love that we celebrate him by having a day of organized community service for the children (and us adults!) instead of a day off.*

When I opened our latest school newsletter my eyes instantly fell on a certain article. I saw the name of one of the most amazing individuals I have the pleasure of knowing, the man who taught Kevin's friend growing up (back in upstate NY - where I am from), our favorite neighbor, and (most importantly) the person who will be teaching K for the next 8 years of her life. (In Waldorf schools the children have the same teacher and class from 1st-8th grade) That's an awful lot to say about one person, huh? Well, now you can imagine why my heart skipped beats and tears fell down my cheeks as I read this. I instantly felt that I had to share these sentimental words with all of you.

Goodbye, Grade 8....Welcome
Grade 1
By Susan Lake, 8th grade parent

I believe Mr. Conlon won the hearts and respect of our
children when early in their first grade year, he introduced
them to the Wild and Wooly Waterman. He would bring
them out onto the school field and from a distance, shout
out "I Am the Wild and Wooly Waterman...Catch Me If You
Can!" That's all a spirited class of first graders needed as
they charged forth trying hard to catch the swift and agile
Mr. Conlon.
Bringing learning while in motion became his signature....
going out and gathering thousands of acorns to be used as
counting tools for math, tossing beanbags while in a circle
reciting the multiplication tables, or the many mornings
spent in the gym playing "cat & mouse" and other favorite
games. Mr. Conlon's numerous field trips are legendary.
They have ranged from a simple walk to Elk Rock Island in
Milwaukie, to a grand sixth grade adventurous geology field
trip to central Oregon exploring Newbury Crater and the
lava fields and the more recent trip downtown to Occupy
Portland on the city bus.
Mr. Conlon has a tremendous awareness that children
thrive when they can move around. Their minds and
bodies are challenged, enhancing their confidence, their
respect for each other, a love of learning and the pure joy
of the teacher child relationship. Mr. Conlon is a master
teacher and a dear human being. He has often said, "your
kids are great....they are amazing! I can take them
anywhere." A child, who has gone through the grades with
Mr. Conlon, will be deeply rewarded for a lifetime.

How could my heart not help but soar above the clouds after reading this?! I feel like we are the most blessed family in the world right now, and I know we are not the only ones.

In other news - The Dandelion Dream giveaway winner will be announced shortly in the original post. Also, I wanted to say thanks to all of you for your responses to Keep Calm Craft On. Wow!! It seems that most of you are ok with pretty much any day of the week but there was a slight lean towards Tuesdays so let's go with that day. Of course you are always welcome to post your WIPs on your blog any day of the week and then just link it up in the KCCO post for that week. Did that make sense?
So, starting next week I will be posting all Keep Calm Craft On posts on Tuesdays. My Rhythm In Our Home posts will be a bit more sporadic now but they will still happen. I'll go more into that later.

Have a most wonder full weekend!

Shaping her future

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Welcome back for our second installment of Keep Calm Crafting On {crafting on}. I am sorry that I have been a bit random wit the day and time of these posts. I'll get more into that in a minute. For now. Here is what I currently have in the works...

I finished up Baby L's birthday sweater and just need to be block it now. I started a couple other little projects for him as well.



I have had this yarn sitting out since I finished our friend's birthday Milo last summer. I think it may have even been on my rav projects page since around then. It was meant to become a fall/winter vest for Baby L. Well, fall is over and I am just now picking it up and knitting with it. I guess it will be his winter/spring vest instead. Keeping his core warm is so very important, so vests really work year round, at least they do here in Oregon.



Another birthday gift on the needles is cute little bear hat. I am quite pleased with the yarn color I chose for this. It's brown enough to be 'bear like' but not so dark that I can't handle it. I have issues with my babies wearing dark colors, I am all about the light and bright colors on them. That's just me and my silliness, though.







I have a finished project to share, too. A golden crown fit for a princess. (or prince) Isn't that yarn perfect for it? It looks very regal to me. I actually made this in September/October but then I hid it up on my top shelf and forgot about it (didn't I just mention that I need to clean off that shelf?!) it stayed hidden for a couple of months before I remembered it was there. I had a reason to make it but why that was, I do not remember now. So I just gave it to my children. It's funny because I modified the pattern a bit (rav notes here), and it fits K's 6 year old head, C's 3 1/2 year old head and almost fit's Baby L's 11 month old head...



but he isn't so sure about it just yet. Oh well. I have a feeling this will be my official dress-up crown pattern. I forgot to say that the yarn was just leftovers from K's slippers. I was happy to use it up. I am thankful for my friend Tricia hosting her weekly Stash Bash to help me continue to use up my stash and leftover bits. Won't you join us?

I really need to buckle down and make some definite birthday decisions. It's all so up in the air and 'making by the seat of my pants' right now.
Not only is Baby L's birthday quickly approaching but C's will be here in no time. I need to pick out her birthday sweater pattern, a dress pattern and also make her the doll papoose from this book (like I made for K) and fix up her C baby. If I want to accomplish all of these things I need to get a good schedule going and fast!

I have been meditating quite a bit on the day to host this link up. There are a few other crafting link-ups on Wednesdays, and I don't want to be redundant. I honestly picked Wednesdays because for the past few years I have posted my craft progress on Wednesdays (or late Tuesday nights) with or with out a group to follow or link-up with. It's just part of my posting rhythm. K's kindergarten class even holds a crafting circle on Wednesdays, it just seems to be the day of the week to create and share! That said, I could (make myself - ahem) handle change. Perhaps I should host it on Tuesday or Thursday, instead? What are your thoughts? Any strong preference for either of those days? I'll update you all later this week with the final decision.

If you would like to join me and share your current works in progress please leave your link below. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Please remember to link back here for all of us to see. It's as simple as that. Now please share and inspire us all!

What are you working on? Happy creating!
----------------------------------------
There's still time to enter for your chance to win a $25 credit to Dandelion Dream here. Don't miss this great giveaway!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

Waldorf Inspired Angel Mobile Tutorial

Please come join me over at Bamboo magazine (once again) for their newly released Winter issue. This time I am sharing instructions on making a Waldorf inspired angel mobile - just like the one my girls' have in their bedroom. Let me know what you think.
I'll be back in this space tomorrow with my Keep Calm Craft On post. I hope you'll join me!

Waldorf Inspired Angel Mobile Tutorial

Rhythm In Our Home : Creative Spaces (mine)

Since I shared one of the girls' creative spaces for Rhythm In Our Home before, I thought I would continue on with my creative space. Everyone needs their own special place in their home to get away, wouldn't you agree? Well, this is mine - In it's full unorganized and messy glory. It's nothing pretty, but it serves it's purpose. Knitting, sewing and creating are a huge outlet of mine and help me hang on to my sanity. A space dedicated to these things seemed only proper.



My corner is located in the bottom level/basement of our split level home. It's dark and dingy down here and the 70's wood walls don't help much. If we had more time and/or money I would do something about all of that but that's just not a possibility. Even so, I am grateful and rather content with it. My sewing machine (Betty) sits out in her space on my desk all year round which is a blessing to me. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I had sewing projects I wanted to work on but never got to, due to having to dig out my sewing machine and set up at the kitchen table. I didn't have any kind of crafting space back in our Virginia home. Kevin, however, did have an office space (for the record label he was running at the time),and the dogs had their own bedroom - Hmmmm.... Anyways, this is where I spend my nights, right next to the warm cozy fire with the baby monitor humming, my husband in the chair next to me (if I am lucky and he's home at a decent hour), and a dog sleeping at my feet.

Because this space is basically in a cave, it is really hard to photograph it. I apologize for the lack of pictures and the pictures that I did post. I had a rough time just getting these ones.

I have a long thin Ikea desk that is just perfect for holding my sewing machine at one end and Kevin's computer at the other. Above it are some shelves Kevin installed for me. The top shelf holds secret surprise projects, my yarn swift and winder, things that need mending and a couple of other random things. (the fact that I am unsure of those things means that I need to clean that shelf!)The shelf below that holds all of my fabric, sewing notions and wool felting supplies. The next shelf holds my yarn stash and my drop spindle and then finally, the bottom shelf holds my knitting needles, embroidery supplies, current WIPs and my craft books.(most of which can be seen here)



One of my favorite pieces of K art hangs by my sewing machine. She drew this in school last year the day after her 5th birthday celebration. Things made by my children really inspire me.


I have an old, beat up filing cabinet we found on craigslist to hold all of my knitting and sewing patterns, wool felt, tissue paper and other things of that nature. On top of the cabinet sits my knitting WIP basket.



Kevin's cup from childhood holds some regularly used notions, and it just plain old makes me smile!

Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed the tour!

Please remember - this is just our family rhythm and what works for us at the moment. I am by no means an expert of any kind. This isn't meant to be hard and fast rules on how rhythm should go in every one or any one's homes. I just thought to share it because I receive quite a few e-mails asking about our home rhythm, and I also just wanted it documented for myself so that I may remember these times when they are older and/or on to another rhythm.

There's still time to enter for your chance to win a $25 credit to Dandelion Dream here. Don't miss this great giveaway!

Rhythm In Our Home : Creative Spaces (mine)

Sponsor Giveaway : Dandelion Dream

Today I would like to introduce you to one of my wonderful sponsors. She is an amazing mama, kind-hearted friend, as well as the owner of Dandelion Dream - Erin. You may remember the super cute squirrel shirt Erin made for Baby L, and you can see K's much loved Love Birds shirt by Erin above.

Erin and I have quite a few things in common, one of them being that we are both married to military men. In fact, due to our husbands jobs - my family moved from the east coast to the west coast (our big Oregon Trail adventure) around the same time that Erin's family moved from the west coast to the east coast. They are stationed where we were last. Funny how that works, don't you think?

We just love her shop. Baby L has been wearing his squirrel shirt at least twice a week since Thanksgiving and it still looks brand new. You can hardly even tell it has been worn. I may have to get one for myself, soon! Erin's talent, workmanship and textile choices are above and beyond. Also,when you purchase one of her beautiful and fun to wear designs, you are helping her family on their journey to adopt a baby girl.

Why don't I let her tell you a little more before I ramble on. So without further ado, let me present Erin from Dandelion Dream.



Hi, I'm Erin. A mama of two wee ones, wife to one sweet guy and the creator behind my new shop Dandelion Dream. My shop offers eco-friendly shirts lovingly printed with handcarved images. Currently, our family is on a wonderful journey of adopting from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. My husband, Chris and I truly enjoy parenting and the idea of adoption is so exciting to us. We believe that every child without family is tragic, and in the Congo the need is so great: hundreds of thousands of children have been orphaned because of the civil war (the deadliest war since World War II, claiming an estimated 5 million lives, half of which are children under the age of 5), the Congo is the second worst country in the world where sexual violence to women occurs and the death rate of Congolese children ages 0 - 5 is one of the highest on the planet. Our hearts are set on a baby girl. Currently, all profit made from Dandelion Dream is going towards our adoption.



A bit about me and my shop...

I graduated from college as a graphic designer and freelanced for several years. While I enjoy design, I found much more enjoyment in the tactility of holding a carving tool and creating with my hands. The prints are something I've been working through over time. Most of them have a little story behind them (small memories that I savor)... the VW, was our big road trip from the west to east coast, the bike... when my little one was learning to ride, the squirrel ... our new yard filled with little squirrels and acorn tops.



What I treasure about handmades...

I've always loved handmade. I love the time and effort poured out by the artist, crafter, knitter, sewist. My kitchen is filled with handmade plates, serving dishes, mugs and bowls, that I've collected here and there. I love that none of them are exactly alike. I love that the plate Chris eats off of, is slightly different from my own. I love that personal touch. It makes each meal a bit more special, each cup of coffee a bit tastier, each time I look at a print and soak in with appreciation the handiwork, the individual effort, and the artist behind that specific piece. I love being part of that, and meeting other amazing people that share that same love of art and handmade beauty.

Thank you, Erin.
Today Erin would like to offer one of you very lucky readers a $25.00 credit to her shop!

For a chance to win, simply leave a comment on this post!
If you would like additional chances to win:

-Follow Danelion Dream on facebook with updates: www.facebook.com/ilovedandeliondream
-Follow Dandelion Dream on twitter: twitter.com/tinytwists
-Subscribe to Dandelion Dream's newsletter: www.dandeliondream.com/subscribe
-Post this giveaway to Facebook, Twitter, or your blog
-Let me know you are a dear follower of Frontier Dreams

and please make sure to come back and leave separate comments letting me know you've done so!
I will close comments on Thursday January 26th at 9pm PST and announce the winner within this post that night.

Thank you so much, Erin for this wonderful opportunity.
Good luck, everyone!

Comments closed!

The winner by random number generator is:

moogielight
Thanks for the opportunity. Lovely pieces - especially the clothes!

Congrats! Please e-mail me at farmergopi (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Sponsor Giveaway : Dandelion Dream

Crafting on : Red Light Knitting

Baby L's elf hat (from More Last-Minute Knitted Gifts) took a few days to knit up, unlike his sisters' hats that only took a couple of hours. This is due to me knitting his hat almost exclusively at red lights and while walking in the hallways at school. Did you know the hood on an Ergo baby carrier works great as a yarn holder so you can knit and walk all while holding your baby? Don't laugh, that's exciting news for me. I discovered it shortly after Baby L was born. It seems I get most of my knitting done while I am wearing Baby L, nowadays. But back to his hat... I followed the same mods I made for the girls' hats, knitting Baby L's in the adult small size. It should fit him for quite awhile. I really like the way this lumpy bumpy yarn knit up, and it is so smooshy on the inside. I bet it feels nice against his baby fuzz head. Did you see the adorable shirt Baby L is wearing in these pics? It's my favorite shirt of his, hands down. He has had it since Thanksgiving but I only got around to getting a picture of him in it now. (I blame the lack of sunlight) My wonderful and talented friend Erin made it for him. You can see more of her creations here.



I am now working on Baby L's first birthday sweater.(Our family tradition) It's killing me as I knit it up knowing that he will be a whole year so very soon.



His upcoming birthday also has me working on his birthday crown and planning a trip to Rose's for felt. I am thinking of changing up my usual design a bit and maybe needle felting the pictures on his crown instead of sewing on pieces of wool felt. What do you think?



Lastly, I thought I would share K's current works in progress, a star child and a felted needle book.

So after I mentioned Keep calm craft on - a new crafting link up, I ended up posting more knitting than anything else. Go figure! Anyways, if you would like to join me and share your current works in progress please leave your link below. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on, and that you link back here so that we can all share. I didn't want to steal 'WIP Wednesday' from it's creator Shellyfish (always must give credit where it's due!) so I am starting a new work in progress link up all together. I was thinking of just calling it Crafting on for short... what are your thoughts on the name? More on the link up later...

What are you working on? Happy creating!

Crafting on : Red Light Knitting

All over the place

I'm not being artsy here, our driveway is steep!









Blue skies and ice wherever we go,
slipping and sliding deep in the snow.

Uphill and downhill, neither leaf nor green:
the sun bright and clear, no grass to be seen.

Woollies and hoods, on toboggans all day.
Gloves on our hands and spring far away.

Back home Mama's baking big loaves and small.
How hungry we are - we'll soon eat them all!

From Around the Year by Elsa Beskow

King Winter visited us for the day today and what a beautiful day it was. I had to giggle when I awoke to the snow this morning. You see, my friend informed me that she would be going up to Mount Hood with her family over the weekend. She then told me that every time they go there, it snows in Portland afterwards. Well, I guess I owe a big thank you to her for bringing King Winter to us!

The girls spent most of the day back and forth between playing outside and warming back up by the fire inside while cutting out paper snowflakes and reading Snowflake Bentley. They couldn't believe snow was finally here. The last time we saw it was when Baby L was born. That's a long time! We moved to Portland thinking it would snow all the time, we should have researched that a bit more first. We were in serious withdrawal of those white crystals falling from the sky during the four years we lived in Virginia. It was much too hot there for snow to fall, (I am so glad I no longer have to endure that heat!) but of course after we moved it started snowing. Go figure! Someday we'll move back to the Northeast,(I am from New York and Kevin from Pennsylvania so we are used to the never ending snow and bitter cold) and be back to the weather we love. Until then, we will soak up every snow gift we are given.

I thought it was the perfect day to try out Amanda Soule's recipe for Everyday Oat Bread from The Rhythm of Family. I altered the recipe slightly by replacing the brown sugar with honey and the butter with coconut oil. It's quite delicious, and just what we needed on such a day.









Remember those mittens? They still fit!





On Saturday Kevin took K to work with him leaving C, baby L and I alone in the house. It was a nice treat for K and a nice unexpected break for me. C and I made some delicious Paleo friendly pumpkin muffins (thank you, Molly) while Baby L took his nap. Only 3 hours into the day C wanted to call K at work to talk to her. It's so funny because I thought for sure she would really like her time alone with me, (those two have really been at each others throats lately, it's been quite intense) but they obviously can't live without one another. Such sweetness! They talked for a good 45 minutes before K had to go.

Baby L had quite the weekend, too. He played in the snow for the first time (Ok, really he just sat there unsure of it) and did his first baby sign. It was the sign for dog, much to Daddy's delight. Looks like we have another animal lover in our home.

How's that for a post that's all over the place?!

All over the place