SouleMama

Can I possibly need another bag?

Um, definitely the answer is NO. But...I can't stop making them. It's totally addictive! I suppose this is why people start selling their bags? I'm hoping to add this one to the growing collection of Christmas/Solstice gifts that I'm making now instead of in November when I have a 4 year old, a 2 year old, and a 2 month old vying for attention with my sewing machine.

My sister had a bag shaped (round bottomed) like this that I loved, so I tried to copy the shape a bit for this one. It came out pretty well, I think, though it's a bit too tall, and could perhaps use some embellishment of some kind on the outside. Of course, it's Amy Butler fabric (leftover from the dress I made the other day!)

Ah, Spring

The temperature intown reads 55 degrees. 
Playing in the sand and on the rocks at Kettle Cove. 
A first trip for ice cream to Beals.
Flowers are poking their way through the snow and the mud.
The garden is half melted.
Birds at the feeders.
Open windows.

Today is a good day.

Finally, a New Knitting Endeavor.

I'm trying to recover from what has been possibly my worst knitting drought ever (a bit dramatic this morning?).  It started with--of course--a ton of Christmas/Solstice presents that eventually weren't so "fun" to knit night after night; and then there was the damned legwarmer saga ; and then the two (yes, two) hats I need to knit for a Craftster swap due in a few weeks (have I started? No! I'm a work under pressure-right at the deadline kinda gal); and lastly in my knitting stump has been a  linen lace washcloth on size 1 needles (!) that just ain't happenin' so fast (even though it needs to happen because it's part of a collaborative wedding gift for a knitting group member due basically, um, now!).

So, anyway, I've  found this wonderful cropped cardigan (aka, a bolero!) in issue 28 of Rebecca  that will get me over this knitting stump. I love it! And think it will be so much fun to wear with a pregnant belly this spring and summer. I wanted to use a yarn quite different from the one used in the pattern (GGH Amelie), and found this Classic Elite Beatrice merino wool that I really like at my favorite LYS (Stitching Mantis in Cape Elizabeth). Sometimes I kinda suck at colors (I particularly suck at picking out colors with a 2 year old on my hip, and a 4 year old running through the yarn store loading up with random balls of "yellow" yarn), but I think this tweedy effect might work. We'll see. I gauged and then started last night while watching Charlotte Gray (which I LOVED....Cate Blanchett is so hot).

In other exciting news....it's been raining here for two days and melting lots of snow. Yahoo!!! And today, the sun is shining, and I hear it might reach the high 50's. Spring really is coming, isn't it??!

Why I Need to Have a Girl

I finished this dress last night for a four year old friends birthday this weekend. I LOVE this Amy Butler fabric, and it was so much fun to make. I might try to make a matching sun hat today, though I've never done that before.  And I'd definitely like to try a scaled down version of it for the boys' dolls (even though I'm the only one that dresses the dolls!)

A YUMMY Tutorial!

aio from Shinhatsubai! has just posted a tutorial on Craftster for her delicious felt cake (created originally, I believe, for the Alice in Wonderland Month of Softies). I've been admiring this cake ever since I saw it, and am so pleased that she decided to share her tutorial for it (Thank You!!). How fun will it be to make variations of this for the kids' "play kitchen"? Or even better....for me!! YUM!!! 

My Baby Loves Me

Ezra is officially no longer nursing. At this point in my pregnancy with him (when Calvin was still nursing--and the same age as Ez is now), Calvin was persistent through the changes in pregnancy. There was NO way he was stopping. But with Ezra, it's been quite different, and the past few weeks he's been saying, "all gone" when he tries to nurse. And then he moves on. Miraculous. I'm thrilled that there will be a little break between nursing this one and the next...it's been over four years straight for me, and I'm happy to have even a tiny part of my body "back" for just a few months. Even though there is some sadness about it as well. I've got lots of reasons why Ez has weaned so much easier than Cal did--mostly having to do with emotional "stuffing" with nursing and things like that, but that's a whole other long subject. The point of this post is: now that Ez is not nursing, we need to figure out how to get him to sleep! For the past weeks, it's been a matter of lots of rocking, singing, stories, cuddles, some crying.....all of which usually culminates in Steve driving him to sleep, after complete frustration from both Steve and I.

Tonight, after a crazy, chaotic and highly sugared day (um, yeah...who started this damn tradition of giving small children CANDY in the MORNING???!! I swear it stops this year!!), we began the long process of bedtime. My body was exhausted, and my thoughts were with all the "other" things I needed and wanted to do after the boys fell asleep. So as I lay there with Ezra (after doing all the books, singing and stories I could muster), pretending to be asleep (that never works--who said that works?), he started on his never-gets-old game of "naming" things--one word at a time--a perfect way to practice all the talking he's bursted out with lately. So the monologue goes something like this:

"ZaZa head. Mama head. ZaZa Eye. Mama Eye. ZaZa shoulder. Mama shoulder.  ZaZa Beard. Mama Beard. (SouleSpeak for "chin"..I don't really have a beard)." and through all the other many body parts he knows.  And then on to clothes and other objects in the room, "pants. shirt. diaper. blanket. pillow. bed. light. window. curtain." And then he moved on to songs. "Mama mockingbird."  and "California. Island. Forest. Desert." and "Rock. Baby." Next came a story, which sounded like this, "Happened? Lucy. Tree. Fall. Broke. Arm. Shirt. Owl Fix. Tape."  He went on like this--a stream of words, for a half an hour. And then he suddenly stopped, opened my eye with his finger, got as close as he could to peek in, and said, "mama. looooove you."

Be still my beating heart.
Please help me to remember these moments forever.

(and yes, we ended up driving him to sleep. ;) )

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! Welcome, Spring!



The easter hunt is over....the sugar rush has begun. Gotta go!! Enjoy the day, everyone!

Button, Button, Who's got the Button?

I've been so pleased lately to see so many mentions of others' vintage button obsessions--oops, I mean collections. ;)  Amy over at Angry Chicken put some beautiful vintage buttons to use on a jacket she made for her wee one. And at Craftapalooza, she recently found some cool "granny buttons" while thrifting.  And though they may not be vintage, I love this crafty use of buttons over at Split Yarn. I totally want to make some of those for the kids in all sorts of cool designs--birds, flowers, suns, etc.  And at Wee Wonderfuls recently, I saw what may be the most beautiful button ever! Hmn...and there was someone else who recently shared pics of her whole button stash, but it's too early for me to remember (anyone else remember?).

So....here's my stash.  Most of them are from my grandmother and great grandmother. I have this weird reverence for them (I'm so damn sentimental), that I almost never actually "use" them! But I love to just look at them, and play with them and imagine all the beautiful things that they once belonged on, or that I could create for them in the future.

And these are my favoritest of my favorites.....and they're exactly like the buttons on this vintage button bracelet that Steve bought for me in a Portland boutique when we first met (before I had shared my buttons with him! I thought it was a "sign"! LOL).  I adore the bracelet, and get so many compliments on it when I wear it. I wish I were at all competent at making jewelry so I could use these buttons for that!

Felted Bag and New Fabric!

I'm so pleased with this little bag I made yesterday. It used to be my favorite sweater! Until I could no longer deal with the peppermint candy stripes, and felted it to use as fabric. It's just a simple little zippered purse lined with cotton fabric--I think I'll use it for on-the-go knitting tools.  I have lots of the sweater left, and can't decide whether to make more of these as gifts, or to use it as my first attempt at a wool diaper cover (but yeah, I kinda need a serger and a snap setter first....minor obstacles, hee hee).

I must admit, though, a little dissapointment at how "easy" this project was...compared to how similar it looks to this other bag (below) that I've made many times in the past. This second bag I knit and then felt, and handsew in a lining and a zipper. It takes HOURS and hours. Of course, the bag above--from an already knitted and felted sweater, and using a sewing machine, took all of 20 MINUTES! I'm dissapointed at how they look exactly the same to me! Not sure I'll be knitting many more of these now....

And then, a happy mail day yesterday! A package from Sewzannes  with these fabric eye goodies (I love how fast her shipping is!!). Two Amy Butler fabrics (for a spring tote, I think), and 3 glorious yards of Munki Munki plaid flannel (for the baby blanket back, and maybe some pj bottoms too). Ah....heavenly fabric!!

"Felt Is Fun"

...or so says Calvin (4), who's thrilled with his new bunnies (and their carrot to share) we made this morning:

Munki Munki PJ's

So I've been buying (way too much--ask my husband) Munki Munki jersey lately, because sadly, that's all that's really available right now. :(  And what else is jersey good for besides, um, pajamas!!?? (other ideas, anyone?!) So here's what I'm sure will be the first of MANY pair of summer PJ's for the boys. I used the Fireflies fabric ("always remember to set the fireflies free"), which I adore. I'm a little bummed that from a distance, it kind of looks like my kid is wearing hospital scrubs. Oh well. It's a Butterick pattern, and it called for velcro (velcro? Ick!) on the neck, so I substituted that with snaps.

Here's the big kid in his new jammies (and a closeup of the fabulous fabric!). Two seconds earlier he was jumping up and down with excitement about his new pajamas, so I have no idea what this face is for, but the battery ran out on my camera right after this pic, so this is what I got!

My Failed Attempt at Fun

Since my wee ones have decided lately that 4:30am is THE time to wake up, we've had some rough mornings to say the least. Today, after a morning of all grumping at each other today, I tried to "save" the day by taking them to the beach. (Steve did this last weekend, and of course, it went fabulously for him.)  So after the hours that it took to get out the door, and then the 40 minute drive, they were both asleep of course. I had some brief moments of bliss that involved Democracy Now , a hot fudge sundae (Beal's is open!!) and my knitting needles.  Soon, Calvin woke up THRILLED to be at the beach. Ezra, on the other hand, woke up PISSED to be at the beach. (Ah..what will I do when I have three personalities going in three different directions?) We tried for 30 minutes, of which all 30 minutes Ezra spent crying. Then we sadly went home, with the promise to try again later in the week.

So I swear, I was holding and comforting Ez the whole time, except for these moments I took these pics (I'm a terrible mother)--which is the only way I could stay sane and humorous about the whole situation. And yes, he did put himself in the middle of that tidepool.....marched right in there screaming.

A little bag

Not much craftiness happening here in the past few days, as we've been busy with celebrating the arrival of  Spring and getting ready for Easter. But I did manage to whip up this bag quickly yesterday for Auntie Ba--she wanted a change bag, and I thought this was perfect.  I was psyched--it's the first time I've tried the pattern (an "accessories" pattern from the 1950's), and it went so smooth. I'm looking forward to trying it out with different fabrics, embellishments, straps, etc.

Comfy?

I just peeked in on Ezra taking his nap and found this:

Apparently, he's comfortable. But, man!

This is crazy....BOTH of my kids are NAPPING!!! I don't even know what to do with myself! You'd think I'd be running around trying to get stuff done, or even *sitting in silence*.  But instead, what am I doing? Taking pictures of my sleeping kids.  I need help.

Spring Color

Feeling a little cabin fever stir-crazy, I've been crazily motivated to find ways to let spring in the house (even if it doesn't appear to be OUTSIDE yet!). I made these curtains last week for our living room doors--they're replacing a heavy, dark green jacquard, and oh, it makes such a difference to have COLOR!!! I backed the curtains with an unbleached cotton muslin.  Here they are (with Calvin, of course, who seems to always appear at the same moment that the camera does--never one to pass up a photo op!). And by the way, I swear the curtains (and the sewing on them) are straight! They look a little funky in the photo.

I also made a few pillows to match. I still need to make  a couple more, but I'm waiting for the forms to be on sale first. ;) I got the down-like pillow forms, and really love them!

And then, I finally made a cover for my sewing machine. I used the flannel that was part of the pillow/curtain mix. I know, it's kind of boring, but I'm just so excited I finally made a cover after intending to do so for so long now!

Hoppin' down the bunny trail.....

Pattern:  Lovable Toys from Last Minute Knitted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson
Yarn: Green Mountain Spinnery's Mountain Mohair
Pattern Notes: This was such a fun pattern to do! I got totally stumped at one point on the joining of the legs (for some reason, the simple step--albiet with two circular needles-- was getting me all confused), but the friendly folks over at Craftster set me straight. I stuffed him with cotton. Overall, I'm pleased with how it came out.  I am once again reminded that my embroidery skills could use some work, and I think the ears look more like an elephants.  But all of  that's okay....my kids are amazingly forgiving. ;)

Okay, one more bunny to go! Six days. I can do it. I can do it. I can do it. Whew.

A Very Mad Hatter

"The Mad, Mad Hatter" from Alice in Wonderland, by Calvin, 4 years old.

Finished: Amy Butler Handbag

Pattern: Amy Butler's InTown Bag
Fabric: from Amy Butler's Ginger Bliss Collection (from www.fabric.com)
Pattern Notes: I find her pattern language to be a bit much (though I do think they're helpful for beginning sewers). This pattern did not call for any interfacing, which I found odd considering she called for only midweight cotton for both the lining and exterior. So I lined ALL the pieces--lining and exterior--with a heavyweight iron on interfacing.  I really like the button loop closure, but I'm not sure it will withstand much use--we'll see.  Overall, I'm pleased with this pattern. I really love the shape, and the handles, and the pattern is quite easy to use.

This bag is making it's way to Katie, who's been waiting patiently for a bag for ages now. Happy Early Birthday, Sis!

Knitted Toys

The knitted bunny is almost done....really it's close! Unfortunately, so is Easter, and I had hopes of making one for each of the boys' baskets. Hmn....still possible.

I thought a little inspiration for knitted toys would help me get motivated, so here's a quick pic of some other little bobbles I've knit for the boys.

The rug in the attic of the farmhouse is one that my great grandmother made when she was a little girl, learning how to knit! What a treat that I found it. The two large balls are from Melanie Falick's' Knitting for Baby book--they're felted. Really a fun project, and great baby gift. Which reminds me that I should make some more. ;) And then, in the "attic" is the shy sheep, the kitty cat, and downstairs is the gnome boy. All three of those are from a copyright free waldorf brochure I have, so I'd be happy to (legally!) post the knitting directions if anyone wants them--all three are quite easy.

Okay, back to the bunny!

You Must Hear This

You must hear this CD, and even better--share it with your kids! Released last fall (I'm a little slow), Dan Zanes Parades and Panoramas: 25 Songs Collected by Carl Sandburg.  An amazing collection of 25 American Folk Songs from Sandberg's 1927 book The American Songbag.  The CD is full of some amazing traditional American folk music--all from the "real people" making music--the miners, sailors, farmers and cowboys (and girls!).  And with Zanes' collection of musician friends playing on the recording, there's a wonderful sound to these old songs.

Go check it out.  You'll be glad you did.

The Bloggies are In!

The 2005 Web Bloggies were announced today, and some of my favorite blogs are winners. Yay for them!  Loobylu, Dooce (oh my--Heather  racked up some serious awards!), Wonkette,  Defamer and so many more that I now need to add to my everyday "must reads"!

Go on over and check 'em out!

Easter Inspiration

So, Easter's next week? How is that possible? There is a mountain of snow in our backyard that certainly isn't going anywhere in the next week! Damn...how will we ever do an easter egg hunt (that Calvin is so excited about--remembering last year). Oh yeah, and how will I ever get any Easter "stuff" done? I've got half of ONE knitted bunny done--I still need to do another. Yikes. 

So, in the interest of procrastinating on easter crafting even longer, I bought this book at Marden's yesterday. It's adorable! So much great stuff in there that I won't have time to make this year (but next year, you know, once there are THREE children in the house--then, THEN....I'll have LOTS of free time for Easter crafts!! Ha!). Here are two of my favorite "must do's" in the book..... the egg tree, and the "Ivory Eggshells with Lemon Cream". Oh yumminess.

A Motherload Stash

After we cleared out from the storm the first place I went, of course, was to the fabric store! I drove an hour to get to my new favorite discount fabric shop (further enticing me to move up there).  And on the way, I stopped by Jessie's to steal her away from her family to join me (thanks, Dave).  Now if I can just find a way to steal her away for a weekend fabric shopping trip to NEW YORK!! Hmn....

Here's what I found.  This first pic is the fabric I'll use for new pillows and curtains in the living room, which needs a serious lift (or rather, *I* need a serious lift this time of year--I suppose my living room doesn't really care).  I still need to find one more contrasting fabric I think--something solid or a really big print for the lining of the curtains. The middle is flannel, which I bought to make myself jammies with, but when I put it next to the other two, I love how it looks.

And then, this stuff. Which will turn into shirts for the boys (the animal print), baby bibs (the frogs and small fat quarters), and ric rac--because you can never have too much ric rac on hand, now can you?

Baby Bibs!

It's still snowing. I think we're at a foot and counting.

After the kids went to bed tonight, I did a bit of sewing while Steve shovelled off the roofs (that doesn't seem quite fair, does it?). I've been wanting to make some baby bibs for this new babe, because the ones I've used for both Calvin and Ezra are beyond gross. So I traced my favorite bib for the pattern, used a flannel for the back, cotton for the front, and some lightweight canvas for lining. And voila! Baby Bibs! I'm psyched--once I got in the swing, the last one only took 25 minutes. I'm hoping to crank some more out to keep on hand for baby gifts and showers, etc.

The Winter that just won't end...

This is about the point in each year where I seriously question our decision to live in Maine. This is what my garden looks like right now. More snow.  And more snow coming.

So while we're snowbound, I'm getting a few things done. I made a simple head kerchief from the vintage pattern I posted yesterday. Calvin wants me to make him one now too. ;) I love this fabric I used--it's from the Free Spirit line, I got it at Marden's for $2 a yard! WooHoo!

And here's a felted, knit bear that I made for Calvin a long time ago. But just today got around to putting on the face and clothes. The eyes are kinda freakin me out a bit, so they might have to go. But up close--they're really beautiful vintage buttons.

Okay, back to watching the snow with the boys, and knitting a bunny!

The "Homely" Fabric Stash

We're off today for a busy day of errands before the snowstorm comes (yup, another 8 to 12 inches).  I'll have my knitting project in tow, because yes--I knit at stoplights. ;) (I'm working on the bunny Lovable Toy from Last Minute Knitted Gifts). But I'll be thinking all day of this fabric stash I got from my visit to Nana's house yesterday, and what to do with it. She was all too happy to part with what she described as "homely" fabric. Ah, I love it! I think most of it will turn into handbags. And I love this pattern I got from her--I want to make the head kerchief (wouldn't it look fab with some gorgeous Amy Butler fabric?), and perhaps the clutch, and definitely some aprons (again with the Amy Butler! or even Munki Munki....ooh, have I got your attention, Jessie?). Perhaps I'll even get motivated to make some ahead to tuck away for Solstice gifts.  Hee Hee! Fun! I can't wait to come home and start sewing through the storm!

 

"Ride the Horse In the Direction It's Going"

One of the best pieces of parenting advice we ever received was from Pam Leo--a local parenting educator--when she reminded us of the quote, "Ride the Horse in the Direction it's Going", particularly in reference to bedtime. We were always struggling with the big energy they had at bedtime, just as we were trying to get them to  "wind down" from the day and ready for bed. When we shifted our focus, and decided to "run" with that before-bed energy....everything changed! We now have a nightly "pillow fight" which involves lots of loud, and energetic games. It's a blast, and it totally helps the kids transition to bedtime--really! They go right from the pillow fight, to a quick story, and then sleep....all in a matter of minutes usually.  Tonight I tried to capture a few images from our nightly games with the camera. Here's what I came up with!

"The Return of Spring" Coloring Book and More!

                                                                   

I saw this great coloring book on GetCrafty  and had to check it out. There are some really fun illustrations in here--perfect for bringing springtime on! Calvin and I have been having lots of fun coloring it in.

To get your own (free!) copy, visit her Jessica's blog and send her an email requesting the pdf file. In return, she asks you to link to a "finished" page (will do soon!).  Thanks, Jessica, for putting it together! What a great idea!

We were so inspired by the idea of creating your own coloring book, that we're doing just that! Yesterday I worked on a few pictures for it, and hope to do some more today. I've copied a few for the kids to color in already, but I'm thinking about putting together a bunch of springtime drawings, copying and binding them so they look like a "real" coloring book (hee hee), and including them in their Easter baskets. Here's a quick pic of the drawings I did yesterday to get started. Be gentle--my drawing skills are so rusty, but it was fun nonetheless. And luckily, my kids are forgiving!

National Women's History Month

In honor of  National Women's History Month, I wanted to share just a few images of some of the amazing women in US History who have profoundly changed the world in which we live. Since chances are good that we didn't learn about any of them in our high school history classes, check out some of these links for some wonderful perspective. And please--share your favorite woman leader in the "comments" section.

National Women's Hall of Fame
International Women's Day
National Women's History Month
Women In World History
Women In American History
Women's International Center

A Firefighter

By Calvin, 4 years old

Calvin drew this picture this morning (Papa assisted on parts of the truck). And the beauty of it is also in the story he told me about it, "when I grow up, and go to real fires with Grampie, I'm going to draw one of these for all the people that get hurt and give it to them."

He makes my heart swell.