SouleMama

Home on the Range

Just under the deadline wire (because that's the only way to work, right?), here's my entry for Tie One On, with the June theme of Home On The Range. This is not at all what I had envisioned--it's way too Western for me, maybe because it reminds me of what a waitress would wear at a chain restaurant like Lone Star Steak House or something like that. This is what you get when an attempt at thriftiness prevents you from buying anything for a project (can you believe it? I'm so proud of myself--so proud that I think I deserve to buy something as a reward). And being the first apron I've made (yahoo!), it was fun to try out with a vintage pattern. This was also my first time doing gathers, which I must admit, was so much fun (yes, I know I need to get out more). And of course, a little bit of embroidery and ric rac makes me smile any day.

Bring on July's theme--I'm ready! Yeehaww....

New Bags

I've been making lots of bags in the past few weeks. These are the last two I made, and I'm kinda digging how they turned out. I used heavyweight fabrics for the outer, canvas for the linings, and appliqued felt shapes onto them, loaded them with pockets on the inside, and used lots of interfacing and stiffener on the bottom to give it a good hold. The bags are quite large--a good beach size, I'm thinking. Perhaps even diaper bag size...hmnn...

I might post a few more recent bags made tomorrow to show. I don't think I'll be selling any more of them, and instead will save them for gifts--solstice and otherwise. At almost 30 weeks (with both of my previous births being at 36 weeks! So soon!), I'm starting to feel crazily overwhelmed at all that I need and want to do before this wee ones' arrival. Ah...Breathe.

Self Portrait Tuesday

Kisses from Ez. And because I couldn't decide, here's another:

Lots more Self Portrait Tuesday bloggers linked over at Red Current.

Art Aprons

After lots of requests from Calvin, and a little insipration from Stephanie's beautiful apron, the boys finally have some new art smocks.  The last apron Calvin had made for him was for his first birthday, I believe..and it's, um, a bit small now, though he still tries to wear it everyday. (Thanks, Karine!). I used some Munki Munki corduroy with paints and scisors on it, and put some pockets on the front for markers and the like. Very fun--and with my serger, I can't believe how fast these whipped up. So if you're under 10 years old, and on our Solstice gift list...whaddya think?

Now on to an apron for Mama, just days before the deadline for Tie One On, of course.

Fiber Books for Kids

I'm always on the lookout for books for kids that relate to fiber/sewing, etc. I thought I'd share a few of our favorites--most of these are in our collection, but a few I'd like to add soon.

Pelle's New Suit, by Elsa Beskow. One of our absolute favorite books, about a boy who needs a new suit as his own is getting too small--he trades his "work" for all the steps of the process of a new suit--shearing the wool, spinning the yarn, weaving, sewing, etc. Lovely, lovely illustrations by Beskow.

The Mitten, by Jan Brett. The story of a mitten knit by grandmother that gets lost in the snow and has lots of adventures with the animals along the way.

Red Berry Wool, by Robyn Eversole. Lalo the lamb wants a sweater like his shephard. The story is his adventure as he tried to turn his own fleece into a sweater. Very endearing story of love.

Grandpa Bears Fantastic Scarf, by Gillian Heal. So sweet. Each day, Grandpa (yes, grandpa knits!) knits a bit of his life into his fantastic scarf--his feelings, experiences, etc...until it's a long, full life full of a scarf. He teaches his grandson to do the same--weaving the past of his ancestors in too. Lovely, lovely book.

A Symphony for the Sheep, by Cynthia Millen. A poetic story of the life of sheep and how their coat is turned into clothing, set in Irelend. Illustrated with hand colored woodcuts.

A New Coat for Anna, by Harriet Ziefert. In post World War II, a mother trades and barters to have a coat made for her daughter. In the end, they visit the sheep to show them their wool as a coat! Sweetly illustrated by Anita Lobel.

Something From Nothing, by Pheobe Gilman. (Thanks to LoriKay for this recommend.)  Grandfather, the tailor makes his grandson a blanket, which then becomes a jacket, a button, and a story. Beautiful illustrations!

That's all I can think of at the moment. Do you know of others?

Beach Update: My Back

Why it might not be a good idea to trust a four year old to apply my sunblock:

Happy Summer

In our house, we generally make a pretty big deal about the changing of the seasons--we change our nature table, find/write a new mealtime blessing, and try to do something special out in the world. Sadly, we spent the actual day of Summer Solstice with fevers of 103, watching movies and eating popsicles. So let's all pretend that today was actually the first day of summer, shall we? Good then.

We had an absolutely splendid day today at the beach--with an ocean breeze,  summer sun, and lots of sand. This is truly my favorite time of year, and the only few months that I'm sure of our decision to live in Maine--heading to the beach a couple times a week sure isn't too shabby, and it certainly makes up for the months and months of snow we see. The boys and I spent a few wonderful hours building sand castles, playing in the waves, and running around with seaweed in our hair (no kidding). Blissful. Some images from the day:

 

Happy Summer to all (or atleast those of us having Summer right now!) Blessed be!

Knitting for Mama

I tried. Really, I did. I tried to resist all the amazing, wonderful new knitting books that have appeared in the past few months. I thought for sure it was going to be Teva Durham's Loop-d-Loop that did me in, but I've shown remarkable restraint. That is, until I walked into my local yarn store (I swear, it was only for stitch markers!), sans children, and with  cash in my pocket (you know, intended for groceries or something frivilous like that).  Bad, Bad News. I picked up the new Sarah Dallas Knitting book and tried desperately to talk myself out of it ("hmn...let's count again all your knitting books, Amanda, and how many patterns you've actually made out of each," or "what about all the fabulous FREE knitting patterns online," and "so, what about that HOUSE you want to buy?"...you know the drill). I put the book down, walked around a bit, and picked it back up. About three times. Atleast. And then....then, something in me snapped and the downward spiral of justification began. I was a goner, and so was that cash. Because not only did I have to buy the book (a mere $30), but of course, I needed to buy new yarn for my first project from the book. I tried to go "small" and settled for socks. You know, $40 socks.  Nope, I couldn't substitute the Rowan yarn in the pattern for something cheaper. Oh no. I was on a roll at this point with the justification--telling myself that surely, after all this baby knitting, I deserved just a little something special myself, right? Something for all those long fall days after the wee one is born, when I'm at home ALL DAY LONG because I can't figure out how to get three children out of the house.  Surely, on those days when I'm covered in baby spit up, leaking breast milk, and have peanut butter in my hair, I deserve a little bit of bliss on my toes, right? THIS is why I needed this book, and this yarn. 'Cause I'm a good Mama, damn it.

See the trouble I can get myself into? Yup, $78 later, I got those damned stitch markers, alright.

Placket Neck Sweater

Here's the finished Placket Neck Sweater from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. I'm lovin' the way the buttons look on the sweater. If you're very observant, you'll notice that in the original pattern photo, the placket is in the *center*, but alas...this pattern was seriously screwed up. Apparently, I have an early edition of this book, which has since been updated. I was almost "done" with the sweater when I realized there were a few things a bit wonky with it, and decided to look for pattern corrections online. Um yeah, there were definitely some serious pattern corrections--like the whole pattern. Ugh. Lesson learned.  I frogged almost the whole thing, and yet still, going back and forth between the two versions of the pattern, I managed to get the placket off to one side. No matter--it's still cute, I think.  Here are the details for those interested:

Pattern: Child's Placket Neck Pullover from Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: Pakucho Organic Cotton, in chocolate (this came from my stash, but it happens to be on sale at Elann right now for $2.98! Wow!)
Pattern Notes: Um, check the book corrections at Purl Soho to be sure you have the correct version of the pattern in your book! If you've got the right version, the pattern's a relative breeze. I love that it's given in so many sizes (newborn to 10 years), for all those freaks like me who like to make their children matching clothes.

Self Portrait Tuesday

A self portrait from 10 years ago--thought it feels more like forever-ago. I know so little about photography, and I've taken so few self-portraits, but it seems like the few that I do have are personally significant. This one I took after a particularly challenging couple of years, right before a long, hard journey of self-healing began. You can't tell from the photo, but I had a shaved head (loved it), a nose ring, and my clothing was, well, severe. I find it fascinating (only to me, I'm sure) that none of that is visible in this self portrait. Hmn...

Thanks for letting me share--for some reason sharing a "face"--even unclear and from 10 years ago--on the blog here feels a little vulnerable. I've already spied some other wonderful Self Portrait Tuesday participants today here, here,  here, and here, here, here, here and here. Anyone else?

Back Tack!

I'm done! I finished the sewing, filled it all with goodies, and it's in the mail! Yay!! I was totally stumped by this part of the Back Tack project--I received a lot of silk-like material (see my materials recieved here), which I'm not used to working with, so I was really grasping for inspiration/direction. But, after adding a tiny bit of Amy Butler  fabric and some of my own notions, and after lots of burning (of material--thank god my partner sent me so much extra fabric!) and even more cursing, something finally came together!  If you can stand looking at yet ANOTHER Back Tack project, here it is:

Here's the knitting tote--it's pretty big--large enough for a big project, book, etc. I embroidered a bit on the lower front with inspiration from Sublime Stitching Craftopia patterns. 

Here's the knitting needle holder, and a notions pouch. More embroidery on each.

And the knitting needle holder, open. It's pretty basic--I made all three pieces without patterns, so I'm sure that was 90% of my frustration! I do like the shape of the tote bag, and might replicate that soon. I'm not so sure that I'm *thrilled* with how this all came out, but I must admit to being *thrilled* that it's done. ;)

Happy Papa's Day!

 

Happy Father's Day!!

Vintage Scariness

A few weeks ago when Steve and I were working on cleaning out the basement (oh, fun),  I found these two crazy things I just had to share. I must have picked them up when I was selling vintage finds on Ebay a few years ago. I think I couldn't let these go 'cause I didn't want them "out there" in the world! Scary!

"Play the game. Help with the housework" ! Perhaps this would have made a great father's day gift? ;)

And then there's this crazy game from the early 60's, "What Shall I Be:  the exciting game of career girls". Yup, the exciting game of career girls gives us these whopping six career options:

Teacher, Model, Actress, Nurse, Ballet Dancer, Airline Hostess.

Wow. A good reminder of gratitude to all the many, many women working for change in the past 40 years.

Little Bits of Goodness

I feel like I've been crafting all week, but have nothing to show for it yet --lots of things going out in swaps, bag sales, and back tack stuff.  So, a little SHOP UPDATE: For anyone who purchased a bag last week, they're at the post office and on their way to you! Same goes for any swaps I've promised out this week. It's all coming!! My apologies for a bit of a late start in getting them out the door--it's been a crazy intense parenting week for me (is it possible for them BOTH to be going through "something" at the same time? Oy! I'm trying not to crack!).

Now on to the fun little pieces of goodness that have floated in through the mailbox this week.

First, this amazing Camila print that I'm pscyched to have from her Tiny Showcase sale for Greenpeace. Beautiful!! I just saw the last print by Rachel Salomon that I'm bummed to have missed -- quite lovely.

And from Heidi of My Paper Crane through My Favorite Mirror.  It was hard to photograph, but it's a little pocket mirror with Heidi's fabulous A Forest image on the back. I've been itching to get one of her paintings, but they sell so fast, this mirror seemed like it might appease me until I can get my hands on one! But it only made me want a print even more! So cute!

And MORE embroidery patterns from Sublime Stitching. I can't stop buying these--they're just so fun.  I got Country Cool (hmn...what might that be for?), Flower Power, and Monkey Love for my monkeys. So fun.

Alright...enough stalling. I need to get back to FINISHING my back tack project. I think I can, I think I can.

Yummy Summer Salad

I've been craving this salad for weeks--it's my favorite simple,  yummy, summer salad. I can't seem to find an "owner" of the recipe (several organic farms have it on their free recipe list), so I'm going to share it.

Orzo Salad with Corn, Tomatoes and Basil

DRESSING:
2 TBSP fresh lemon juice
1 TBSP red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic, crushed

SALAD:
1 cup uncooked orzo
2 cups chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
2 cups fresh yellow corn kernels
1/2 cup vertically sliced red onion

Prepare all dressing ingredients and place in a jar. Cover tightly and shake thoroughly. Prepare orzo according to package directions. Drain and place in a large bowl. Spoon half of the dressing over the orzo; toss to coat. Let cool to room temp. Add the remaining dressing, corn, tomato, onion, and basil to the pasta. Let stand for atleast 30 minutes.

Yum!!!

Cooking Up an Apron

I'm totally lovin' all the amazing aprons I see cropping up all over the place for Amy's wonderful Tie One On (have you all seen Hilary's yet? Wow! I'm so in love).  And I'm thrilled with the apron posts Amy's updating over there too--so fun to share the apron love.  That said, this is about as far as I've come with getting my apron started:

Isn't this a great pattern? I think I'm going to go with the bottom right apron, and I have some ideas to "westernize" it a bit. I'm trying desperately to just use things in my stash, but wow, I'm so in love with all the way cool cowgirl themed fabrics out there. Have you seen these?

They're all from Reprodepot's Cowboy Roundup selection.  Someone please stop me from placing an order!! I've got a crazy craft list that I must get through before I allow myself the "treat" of this apron project (ah, the back-tack challenge that has me SO stumped, getting out bag orders, some swaps in progress, and oh yeah...my kids need summer PJ's NOW!).  Gotta get moving on it...

Self Portrait Tuesday

When the cool people lead, I'll follow.....check out other Self Portrait Tuesday folks I admire here, here, here, and here.  Here's my "view from above", at 26 weeks pregnant. My toes feel miles away...good thing it's flip flop weather--I don't think I could tie shoes if I had to.

Knitting For Baby...again

After knitting the sweater I finished last week in olive and blue colors "boy" colors (whatever that means), I thought it was safe to knit a pink hat (I'm way superstitious about these things).  I used the free, super easy and super cute pattern for this Gnomey Hat from Hello Yarn (Thank you, Hello Yarn--free patterns are cool).  Knit with some leftover merino I had from Handpainted Yarn.  I can't decide if I'm going to put pom poms on the side or not.  (Special thanks to the adorable Guthrie for modeling.)

And since my knitting friends were meeting for some group knit time, I quickly needed to find a new project. Thankfully for my budget, I went no further than my stash to find this yummy espresso colored organic cotton yarn from Peru. I have just enough to make the Child's Placket Neck Pullover  in Last Minute Knitted Gifts.  A baby can't have too many adorable handknit sweaters, can they?

THANK YOU!!

I wanted to post a quick Thank You for all of your wonderful, kind comments as I opened a shop yesterday. And thank you for buying my bags, too! What a treat for me--I was nervous about putting them out there--it's just so easy to be intimidated by all the wonderful, amazing, creative talent out there in blogland sometimes. But all your feedback was terribly comforting!

There are still a few bags up. And I do have a bit more of some of the green vintage fabric and a few others, so sometime in the next couple of weeks I'll stock the shop again with more. But not until I finish my back-tack project (have you seen all the amazing stuff people are doing? Wow!), and an apron for Tie One On.

Thanks, guys! You all rock!

It's Up!

  So here it is! After making and stockpiling bags for far too long, I've put a few up to share. I set up a little "shop" here on the blog--you can find it in the photo albums to the right, *SHOP SOULEMAMA*. I set it up with Paypal, so it should be pretty seamless.  I can't, however, seem to figure out how to make the "Buy Now" button dissapear once a bag is purchased, so I'll be doing that manually.  So there's a *slight* chance that a bag could be bought twice before I get a chance to remove it (in which case I'd quickly get a refund to you!), but I really don't anticipate that kind of a flood! ;) Please be gentle with me--this is nervewracking for me!

Cool Mail

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday!! From Kelly of Buzzville as part of a swap we did for one of my bags. As you can see, Ezra loves the snail about as much as I do! It's so beautiful!! And that wasn't all...

Look at all the goodness! Yummy candy, fun fabric, and such a treat--the peach!! After enviously spying one of these Kelly Peaches  around recently, I was so  was so thrilled to get my very own. Thanks for such a lovely swap, Kelly!

 
In other swap related news, the Flickr album for the first part of back-tack is up--go on over and see all the goodies.  This also means the givers of the fabric have been revealed! My lovely package (on the left below), arrived from Mizuna. Thank you so much! On the right is the package I sent to Amber of Life in Color (she's a Mentos lover!).  Amber just opened a new online shop,  The Ribbon Jar--very cool if you haven't seen it yet.

Ah, Much Better...

Last week I posted about trying to find solutions to fabric stashing, and I think sharing that photo of how awful it looked was just the shameful motivation I needed to get organized! So here's my little storage corner of our sunroom--underneath is full of art and craft supplies, too.  It feels SOO much better to work when I know exactly where everything is. Ah.....

I didn't end up using the plastic wraps for the fabric, as the shelving just wasn't working out. But I did sort, fold and organize all the fabric into this wooden crate, and these four old suitcases.

And the yarn! I'm so psyched that this is what's left. I eliminated about 60%  of my stash (headed to ebay and friends)--of yarn that I'll never use.

I sorted all my vintage patterns, and pattern books onto these wooden crates.  And then found a solution for my abundance of  bags--a coat rack! The bags are fast accumulating, and I hope to have a few up in a "shop" here on Friday.

Knitting For Baby

There really is nothing more fun in knitting for me, than knitting for a babe. Not only is it so wonderful to be thinking of a little one while knitting for them, but it's also so highly satisfying to make "small" things that are finished fairly quickly! Here is the kimono sweater that I just finished for our soon-to-be-arriving wee one, from the Spring issue of Interweave Knits. I posted the pattern pic a few weeks ago. The sweater went very well--a very easy, garter stitch project. Perfect to knit while watching movies...or children. Once the sweater was done, and there was some yarn leftover, I thought it was crying out for some matching booties. The verigated colors aren't so beautiful on camera, but this cotton is so silky smooth and the colors blend really well together. I can't wait to put this set on a baby!

Pattern Details, for anyone interested:
Sweater: Kimono Baby Sweater from Summer 2005 Interweave Knits, knit with 100% cotton Fiorini by Lang & Co.
Booties:  Stay On Baby Booties from Knitting for Baby by Melanie Falick.  This is my favorite baby bootie pattern--they really, really do stay on, and are fun to knit up, particularly after you've done the pattern a time or two. It's my standby baby shower gift.

Marker Crisis

Help! My favorite, favorite "kids" marker is no longer carried at my local art supply store. I was completely in love with these Giotto Turbo Maxi markers--so clean, smooth, and cheap to boot! I can't even seem to find them online to order anywhere (unless I'm an idiot and just can't search--very possible). Ugh!

So....I need marker recommendations. Markers that are okay for kids! They don't need to be washable--just long lasting, smooth, and not obnoxiously expensive. If I have to resort to buying Crayola or Prang, I think I'll cry. Markers are very, very important around here.

Weekend Finds

After a few weekends off from rummage sales, I finally went "sailing" this weekend for a couple of hours. Ah....bliss.

One of those funny old bassinets, that I just adore. And yes, I'm actually going to put my child in there. And two (more) old suitcases for fabric storage (pictures coming soon of my "cleaned up" stash!).

Fun old bowls that were a whopping 10cents a piece--how could I resist? I love the oven plate on the bottom--old and red seem to be a combination I'm drawn to lately!

Linens, of course. A large floral quilt-like blanket underneath, some holiday napkins, teapot embroidered tablecloth, and an old pink apron! (cause, you know, I need more of those!..oh, and btw, go over to Amy's and see what's she's got cooking up for an Apron collective!)

Some fun old books--origami, poetry for children....and look at that wild knitting needle case/holder in the back. Wow!

And, saving the best weekend find for last....an old quilt. This actually came from my parents house this weekend, and was made, I believe, by the same person who made my other two.  I love this new-to-me addition-- it's in such great condition, and such lovely fabrics. The colors are perfect for me and my home. And with the small  shapes (and size--this one's huge!) , I can't stop looking at all that amazing handstitching in awe.

Hat Swap Hats, Part Two

A few weeks ago, I posted the hats I made for a Craftster Baby Hat Swap. And this week, these hats from my partner  just arrived--aren't they so cute? And she included some adorable little baby booties too with the sweetest frog buttons. I think this is the one-hour baby bootie pattern from Stitch N Bitch Nation, but I'm not positive. Thanks, Michelle!

My Inspiration

My greatest inspiration really does come from my kids. Their open, free and fresh creativity is so inspiring to me. Calvin (4), drew this one this morning, and I know I need to turn it into something, just not sure exactly what yet. I love the colorful house on a hill with a sideways ladder to get in, the flowers with alphabet balloons attached, and the bird that's in mid-air. And Lisa, look! I think he's getting inspiration from looking at your lovely modbirds in my bedroom--it looks just like one!

Vintage Favorites

I have a huge love for vintage knitting and crochet patterns, and fortunately, a stash to satisfy. I love looking through all these old patterns, and trying a few once in a while.  Here's one of my favorites, Accesories from Red Heart Yarns, circa 1952.

Aren't these mittens / puppets so cute? Sometime I'll make these for all the little ones I know. Someday.

I love this yellow fanned bolero thingy. Isn't it cute? Too bad it's knit on a size two needles.

I ADORE the shape of the pink hat on the girl in the middle.  And what's up with the blue one on the littler girl?

This is just a fun picture. Fun hat...

And finally....a MUST HAVE for all of us....pom pom slippers. Definitely in yellow.

Who Brought the Cool Kids?

My kids are into accessories. WAY into accessories. So when we dragged the pool out today, they of course needed "swimming glasses" (I think this has something to do with Mr. Rogers scuba diving). This is what they came up with from the dress up basket. They've had them on for hours--quite seriously--I'm pretty sure Calvin can't see a thing. My belly hurts from laughing.

Back outside to play in the SUN....yes, that's right, the SUN has finally arrived. Life is good.

Stashing the Fabric

Fabric storage...a nightmare for lots of us, right? I've tried hangers, racks, and shelves and it always seems to end up looking like a big mess. I'm a fairly organized person and it just kills me to look at this all the time:

Appalling, I know. And this is only about half of it. So I was browsing online late one night for a solution and found this:

From The Fabric Organizer.  It seems so simple--hard plastic for wrapping fabric, keeping it slim, and easy to see! It's about $12 for 10, I think, which could get expensive to do a whole fabric stash. But I was thinking I could make my own--perhaps from cardboard.

Has anyone done anthing like this? Or something else that's successful? I'm taking full advantage of my pregnancy nesting instinct and want to get this organized!! The yarn stash is next....oy!