SouleMama

Sponsor Giveaway :: Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm

I love the way the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) model is being applied things beyond a bag of produce. Like fiber. Fiber! How beautiful is that? Today's Sponsor Giveaway comes from The Shephard's Tale - the blog behind Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm (with farms both in Martha's Vineyard and the Hudson Valley), where you can find just that - a share in a fiber CSA.

From Martha's Vineyard Fiber Farm:
"If you knit, crochet or spin, you have almost certainly dreamed of owning your very own flock of sheep or goats. Unfortunately, living in the city (or even the suburbs) makes it very hard to get in touch with your inner Little Bo Peep. Our Yarn CSA can make your dreams come true! You can purchase a share of our clip, and we'll take care of all the tedious details (like trimming hoofs, feeding during snowstorms, and cleaning all the poopy hay out of the barn). With a CSA membership, you'll receive a shareholders certificate, weekly farm updates on what's going on around the farm, and an invitation to our Shearing Day Celebration. (And if you get the urge to shovel poopy hay while you're here, we'll lend you a shovel.) After shearing, we'll let our friends at the mill work their magic and soon you'll receive your share of the harvest. The number of skeins, yardage, etc., will depend on the size of the clip, we be do limit the number of share holders so that everyone gets a bountiful supply."

(Note: One need not be local to be a member of the CSA. They'll happily ship your fiber share anywhere in the world!)

Today's giveaway is for one share of the Hudson Valley Fiber Farm Yarn CSA! If you'd like to be entered, simply leave a comment in this post. Comments will be closed at 12pm EST on Sunday, with the winner announced shortly after.

Limited shares of the Yarn CSA are available for purchase. Check out their blog for more details and for stories of life on the farms!

Good luck and Enjoy your weekend!!

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Comments Closed! And the winner is...

Oh this is seriously tempting!
And how adorable is the sheep in a coat in the snow!
Posted by: Thystle | Jan 31, 1:34pm

Congrats to the winner!! And thanks to the Martha's Vineyard & Hudson Valley Fiber Farms for the generous giveaway!

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SoulePapa Blogs :: In the Clutches

This is a season of ritual for northerners.  Over centuries of moving through four distinct seasons we have distilled techniques for coping with a long frozen winter that are as diverse as the people who  endure them.

Regardless of the approach, we are bound by nature at this time of year.  Whether you are curled up on the couch with a good book, an endless supply of yarn and enough tea to outlast the winter or attaching various contraptions to your feet and braving the elements in the name of a good time. 
The very old are wary of the damage that a slip on the ice can do to their aging bones.  The very young tuck their faces into your chest and brace from the cold. 

From the time I was four years old, my father and my grandfather and my uncles would journey into the wilds of Maine, waking me well before sunrise, to climb on snowmobiles and travel through the woods out across the frozen lakes and rivers.  In search of big fish and a little fun, they taught me that the cold was not an annoyance nor a luxury.  It was just...cold.  Like heat or mosquitoes or the breeze.  If you're cold, stand by the fire.  If you're hot, take off your coat.  When you've caught enough fish for dinner, go home and eat.  Being four, I appreciated and understood these rules.  I felt safe on that ice because they told me I was safe. 

In elementary school we'd head to the local sliding hangout, "Killers' Hump", and stay until darkness forced us home for dinner.  I still remember the feeling of warmth I'd get seeing the lights on in our house and smoke rising from the chimney.  My mom bustling around the kitchen.

 

I remember these times as we open the jars of food we worked so hard to save from the fall harvest.  We bring in the sticks of wood that have been stacked for months.  Shoveling out after a big snow.   Now, it is our time to provide those simple comforts.  To let our children know that, no matter how cold that wind is blowing outside, at home the fire is burning.

baby gnomes

I recently found an old favorite hat pattern - the Gnomey Hat by Hello Yarn (I used Cascade 128). And I remembered why it was a favorite - not only because it's a fun, quick and easy knit, but um, hello - is there anything more adorable than a baby in a handknit hat with pompoms? I think not. Except maybe two babies in handknit hats with pompoms - for two sweet cousins born just weeks apart (yay! cousins!).

And so why don't I just skip the preliminary chattering on today, and get right to what this post is really all about. The gratuitous photos of silly and adorable babies-in-knits. I present to you, little gnomes Maggie & Harper...

 

 

 

 

The best part of all? I think the hats are big enough so that the pompom torture love can continue well into next winter too. Ah...

in the studio with Martha Miller

{photo originally posted in November}

One of the most amazing things to me about this blogging experience is the connections made through it. And how in so very many ways, it makes the world feel a bit smaller to me. Sometimes that manifests in connecting with someone clear across the globe, and sometimes, it means connecting with someone I never would have otherwise met right across town, and in my own 'neighborhood'.

Such was the case with Martha Miller - a Portland artist, teacher, and Mama (and Grandma!) Extraordinaire. She says she found her way to this blog after doing a search for "clotheslines," where she was led to this post. Martha has her own love of clotheslines, which has manifested in her art in many ways (check out this description of her performance piece "Woman Hanging Wash" - I so wish I had seen it!).

Last fall, when Martha began a new portrait series of creative folks in the Portland community, I was honored to be invited to sit for her. So a few months ago...with Harper still on the inside, I sat for Martha in her studio. I knit. She painted. And we talked. We talked of mamahood and art, of blogging and babies. The many things that connect us. I left her studio that day quite in love with watching her process. Being around people truly in love with what they do - watching people with passion for whatever it may be - I think it's one of the most beautiful things in this world.

A few weeks ago, a print of the finished piece made it's way here. In the time since our sitting, Martha continued to work on the piece, and incorporated a few of my photographs into the background as well (she has some great detail photographs of the piece on her blog). And even a wee bit of Harper and his red pants, too! Like magic with her paintbrush, she managed to capture so beautifully so very many things and people and colors that are so important to me and so reflective of this time right now in my life.

{photo by Martha}

Martha has written about her new portrait project and this particular piece on her blog here and here. You can see some of her beautiful portraiture work on her website (her self-portraits are especially wonderful!), and you can find some of her fibery art pieces for sale in her Etsy shop, barnfirestudio.

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The snow is falling so gracefully right now as a storm just begins. Stay warm and cozy, all you locals! It feels like a good day for making art...

the 2008-2009 Papa hat

Yesterday in the wee hours of the morning, I sent three of my boys off for their weekly ski & snowboard expedition. One of them was sporting a new hat. Yes, Steve finally got his hat for the 2008-2009 winter season. It's tradition, you see, that he gets a new one each year. But this year I was a little bit later than usual. One could blame it on Harper. Or the holidays. Or any number of things. But let's be honest here and admit that there's been no lack of knitting around these parts. The knitting time wasn't the hold up with this hat.

No, I blame Ravelry. And the gazillion hats I was trying to choose from to make this year. You think the regular torture of years past that I put him through to get his hat was bad? This year it was nuttier. Picture this man after a full day of work - either with the kids or out in the world. With everyone finally asleep in the house, the wood stacked for the next day, the dinner dishes done...well, you get the idea. He's tired. And then I appear in bed. With a laptop. All set to Ravelry.com, with a dozen hats queued up and ready for discussion. "I was thinking about this one, or maybe this one. But if I made this one, I'd have to buy new yarn. What color did you say you wanted? There's also this one, but I'm not so sure about the rim. What if I took the top of this one and combined with the bottom of this one. Blah Blah Yarn Blah Blah. What do you think? Steve! Wake up!"

Oh the torture I put him through. But he's a patient man and he does love his hats. So finally this week, I made a decision and went with the Boyfriend Hat (available free here), with two skeins of Manos from the stash.

He's as grateful and gracious as ever for his 2008-2009 hat. But I think he's equally grateful to know that he'll be going to bed tonight without surfing Ravelry. (Honestly, I think he'll miss it.)

why leave home?

That's been my mantra this winter. Oh, I'm sure I'll be feeling differently in a few months. But for now, on solo-Mama days at least, the thought of bundling up four kids in winter gear only to then strap them into (four!) car seats to go somewhere out in the world? It just doesn't excite me.

So Home is where it's at for us this winter. All sorts of changes in our space were made (starting with the grand studio-bedroom switcheroo early in the fall) to accommodate as much inside activity as this little house can handle. And outside there's some action happening too - in the form of a backyard ice rink!

I can take very little credit for this crafty project - except for maybe some slight nudging of my people out the door. Nope, this project was all the work of Steve and the kids. Measuring, filling, shoveling and now - seriously skating.

{The specs for those interested: there's some great info out there online, of course. Here's a good one. Ours was a bit more on the low-key, low-budget, ignore-the-directions DIY kind of scale we know best - for better or worse. There was too much ice on the ground to drive stakes, so we went with snowbank walls and a sheet of industrial plastic. After three consecutive days of below-freezing weather (um, that would be all month), the ice was ready.}

Since it's been skate-ready for a few weeks now, they've been taking full advantage. Skating both day and night on their own, with each other, with friends, and even with their wobbly-kneed skating parents. And just like last year, Calvin celebrated another 'birthday on the ice' with a day-long skate session this weekend.

For the most part, Harper and I watch the action out the window from the comfort of my rocking chair, right in front of the fire. But I get out there too. Ezra and I had a little nighttime one-on-one hockey session a few nights ago, and this sports-phobic (and seriously wobbly-ankled) Mama was a little freaked out at just how much I loved the sound of that stick hitting the puck. For real. It's a strangely satisfying sound...something akin to the embroidery needle poking through linen. (Alright, alright...so maybe I should get out a little bit more.)

Sponsor Giveaway :: Chest of Fairy Tales

This weekend we have a Sponsor Giveaway from artist Victoria Usova, of the shop Chest of Fairy Tales.

From Chest of Fairy Tales:
"Bright and light-hearted, these pendants are like a children's book crossed with a stained glass window. A unique collaboration between shoestringgallery' and me has produced these wonderful pieces of art that can be worn! The durable pendant, with colors that will never fade, is made to be worn. The pendant measures about 1.25 inches tall at the largest point. Pictured above is the reversible Art Pendant with "sunflowers" on one side and "little piece of summer" on the other side."

The Giveaway today features two gifts from our Sponsor. The reversible pendant pictured above, and a second one - to be a surprise from the Chest of Fairy Tales shop! To enter, leave a comment on this post. I'll close the comments at 12pm EST on Sunday, and announce the winner here.

Good luck, and Happy Weekend to you!

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comments closed! And the winners are...

#1 - for the pendant above:

Thank you again for sharing the treats.
posted by: hilary Franz | Jan 24, 7:03pm

#2 - for the surprise pendant:

These are adorable!! Thanks for another giveaway!
posted by: heather | Jan 24, 12:05pm

Congrats to the winners! And thanks to Chest of Fairy Tales for the Giveaway!

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two whole months

Harper is two months old today! Despite all the energy we've put into slowing things down around here and enjoying the moments, the time is still going far too fast for my liking. Slow Down I demand of Time more times than I can count in a day. But Time doesn't listen. Harper keeps growing.

Every so often, I think back to eight years ago when we began this parenting journey. The first baby who we could literally sit and stare at all day long. Whose every movement and twitch and smile and pattern we knew because it was all we were paying attention to and soaking up and loving. That complete absorption in the first baby was an amazing moment in time unlike any other. I'll always remember it as magical.

But this time? Life moves faster. There's so much more to do in a day - so many more little people needing just as much attention and just as much love. So Harper comes along for the ride - in the sling, on our chest, or very nearby. And when I have a chance to sit down, or at the end of the day when all is quiet, I wonder where this day has gone. I marvel at the difference in his first months compared to that of the first child. But each time that leads to worry...I find an oh-so-frequent sight like the ones above. I see it all day. And my photo files are full of them. The near constant hovering, performing-for, snuggling (a little too tightly) with, "beeps on the nose," and similar older sibling showerings-of-affection he gets all day long. And I remember - that for these younger siblings - this is their gift. A whole lot of love - distributed into many hearts.

Yesterday Adelaide asked Steve, "Papa. Do we get to keep Harper forever?"

Yes we do, my love. We do!

daydreaming about sleep & art

Riddle me this: how does one ridiculously over tired Mama (who, by the way, already has anxiety about 'public speaking' of any kind) wake herself up enough to construct a complete sentence on a live radio show without overcaffeinating her nursling? Hmnn...I didn't find an answer to that one in time. Oh well. (Thanks to those of you who were listening this morning!)

I'm sleepy today. Harper apparently told his siblings that they're missing the midnight party around here, as there's been a freaky several-day stretch of everyone waking during the night. Often. Looking at this photo of him in his hammock, I'm wishing I could crawl into it myself for a snooze. Oh, that would be sooo nice. (So yes, I did end up getting the Natures Sway hammock! He likes it - though he still much prefers Mama or Papa's chest for sleeping on most of all.)

 

Enough about sleep, or the lack thereof. I wanted to tell you today about an upcoming event I'm quite excited about. In June, I'll be at Squam Art Workshops, as part of their 3-day textile-focused gathering. Specifically, on Friday night (June 5th) will be "An Evening with Amanda Blake Soule". After the talk will be a book signing/author chatting with some of the wonderful authors who will be at Squam this year. I can't wait to be surrounded in all that creative energy, amidst the natural beauty of the white mountains of New Hampshire. Maybe I'll see some of you there!

Oh! Ezra thanks you, by the way, for your votes of confidence - he was quite excited about that. You'll have to stop by that White House Community Art Studio in a few decades or so. How cool would that be? He's been constructing this dream studio in his mind - it's full of every medium you could possibly imagine. My suggestion was to add a woodstove. And now I think I'll suggest a family-sized hammock in the corner for naps, too. Bliss.

two things:

1. For those of you who have SIRIUS Satellite Radio, I'll be live on Martha Stewart Living Radio tomorrow morning on the Morning Living show - Wednesday, 8am ET.

2. I want a hat like Aretha Franklin's.

Presidential

{on halloween}

This little guy is quite interested in the Presidents - past, present and future - reaching all across the political spectrum. His favorites? Barrack Obama, Jimmy Carter, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and James Polk. In that order. (With a fabulous story for each.)

He loves to draw the presidents - this being one of his illustrated lists. He's slated himself to be #46. (So yeah, his math's a little off.) He says when he grows up he wants to be an "artist, professional skiier, and the president". Rock on, kid.

In anticipation of today's inauguration, he wrote one of his many Presidential Manifestos this week. I asked if I could share this one here on the blog, to which he replied, "Yes, and can you also post them to Ez dot Prez dot www dot com?" Apparently, he's ready to start campaigning.

So, without further adieu (and with his beautiful spelling intact), I pass along the:

Manifesto of President Ezra Soule

1. No wor.
2. No sterods in basball. unles ur sick.
3. cindness all ovr the world.
4. The president gits an art studeo. But everybody can use it.

Happy Inauguration Day!

weekend doings

It was a cold and stormy stay-at-home kind of weekend here. A weekend just right for baking and lazing. For falling in love with a new album from an old favorite. For watching crazy online snowboarding & ski videos and then running outside to try and replicate it on Papa's snowboard, the slope of our backyard "hill" and a fresh foot of white stuff. The skiing conditions were prime.

{Photo by Steve}

The knitting conditions were pretty sweet too: to-do lists I was happy to ignore; Papa home - narrowing the parent/child ratio to something manageable; a baby happy to sleep on mama's chest; and kids either outside playing, or inside rosy-cheeked and tired from being outside. Yup. Good knitting conditions, indeed.

{Photo by Steve}

So, a hat was made. It's the Butterfly Hat (free pattern found here), and I must confess that it was far easier to knit than you might think upon first glance. The 'butterflies' are created with simple slipped stitches. It's a bit on the big/slouchy side, but I'm okay with that. In fact, I've convinced myself that I did it intentionally because this way it's really warm and super cozy. All good.

The yarn, is my very first skein of Shivaya Naturals - a merino worsted. It's so pretty, and soft, too - a dream to knit with. And it's a perfect sweet landing pad for those magical winter snowflakes.

Sponsor Giveaway :: Shivaya Naturals Fiber Arts

This weekend we have a Sponsor Giveaway for all you fiber lovers out there! I was introduced to Shivaya Naturals Fiber Arts through their sponsorship, and am quickly becoming a fan of their yarn - it's truly beautiful and unique. I have two Shivaya-yarn projects on the needles now, so you'll be seeing more of their work here soon. But today...onto the Giveaway!

From Shivaya Naturals Fiber Arts:
"Shivaya Naturals Fiber Arts is an all natural dye studio located on the front range of Northern Colorado. Our company is committed to not only providing the most eco-friendly, hand-dyed yarns available, but also to supporting other artists who are creating change through their work. We hand dye all of our yarns using on the most natural and gentle of materials, and all of our yarns are created in limited batches to ensure that the yarn you use is truly unique. We believe that ever person is an Artist at Work, and we love working with our customers to meet their individual needs."

The Giveaway today features three skeins of custom dyed yarn of your choice, one set of stitch markers, and a pattern of your choice from the store! To enter, leave a comment on this post. I'll close the comments at 6pm EST on Sunday, and announce the winner here.

In addition, Shivaya Naturals Fiber Arts is offering a 15% discount for all SouleMama readers! Simply enter the code soulemama at checkout (valid for one week).

Good luck, and Happy Weekend to you!

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Comments Closed! And the winner (chosen by the Random Number Generator for those who were curious!) is...

oooh, *covet*!

Posted by: Beth | January 17, 8:56 pm

Congratulations to the winner! Thanks to Shivaya Naturals for the generous giveaway! And don't forget that the 15% discount applies through the week if you'd like to get your hands on some of their yarn.

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i love...

that girl
those shoes
that rabbit hold
those saggy tights
...and this vintage wool coat that I found thrifting many years ago - before I even had a daughter - and had quietly stashed in the back of a closet for 'someday, maybe'.

I love that my sweet girl loves it as much as I do.

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She's going to need a lot more than this wool coat to stay warm this weekend. Fireside is where we'll be. It's - as we say around these parts - wicked cold. (It's a chilly 14 below zero at the moment.) Wherever you are, and whatever the weather, I hope your weekend is a cozy one!

right now...

Right now...

:: I know that it's 10:30pm. But I don't know what day it is.

:: the last of my bigger-boys has finally fallen asleep. But it took 12 "I forgot to..."s.

:: I think there's spit up in my hair again. It's definitely on my shirt and I think in my shirt. But I'm too tired to care.

:: I'm surrounded by the overflowing mess of our day. But I'm dancing around it with Harper anyway (and hoping I don't trip).

:: the dinner dishes are still on the counter, getting crustier by the hour. But they're easier to scrape clean that way, right?

:: there are taxes, work, a messy house, bills, and uninspected cars on my mind. But a sweet small smiling face in my sight.

:: I'm headed to my nightly 11pm - 1 am party-in-bed with some yarn (that may or may not get knit), a book (that may or may not get read), and two of my favorite men - one very wide awake, one very much wishing he was asleep.

But right now? Right now is all good.

SoulePapa Blogs :: Through the Door

Since the day I realized I was going to be a dad for the first time...even before that,  I was formulating ideas in my brain about how I would raise my children.  Not how we would right all of the injustices perpetrated upon us in our childhood.  Not how we'd eat organic or dismiss the TV.  Certainly not how, through hard work and discipline, my children would excel and succeed in a hyper competitive world.  Mostly, I would imagine climbing mountains. Outfitting my kids tightly into kayaks for multi-day excursions into deep river canyons.  Skiing.  Before starting a family, these were my passions.  My every day pursuits.  I wanted them to feel the connection to the Earth that I had felt.

Then, as the children appeared...and multiplied, I realized getting out the door, into the car and headed toward the beach without forgetting lunch or swimsuits or diapers could be an expedition of which to be proud.  And, while introducing my kids to the astonishing beauty and abundant challenges of the natural world is still at the top of my parenting list, engaging in a match of wits and wills with a three year old girl and her brothers remains my focus. 

Watching them grow and experience life beyond the door has been different and perhaps more pleasurable than I'd imagined.  I'd never been so aware of the energy that envelopes a child when they enter the water, until it was my child.  The significance of planting and nurturing a seed.  How that connection would be personal, entirely their own, and different from mine.  Yet, sometimes, these paths of connectivity intersect and an experience is shared.  These are the days for which I live.

Late last summer we were in the woods enjoying a rain storm from the shelter of our camp.  Calvin turned to me and said, "I want to go for a paddle".
For a split second, I was thinking, "Oh, man.  I do NOT want to go out in that rain".  I managed to avoid my initial response and we pushed off.  We paddled in unison, without saying a word, as the rain poured down on us.  I watched my son sitting strong in the bow of that boat, with his head up, taking in the wonder of that moment.  He turned around with the broadest of grins and just smiled at me.

"This was a good idea," I said.

This week, I road a chairlift and looked out over the western Maine mountains with Ezra as he skied down a slope for the first time.

 

Like the world around them, they continue to surprise.
They continue to inspire.
Yeah. A day and it's possibilities.          

I love...

...this little old typewriter, and the tip-tap-tapping sound it makes as you write. I love it almost as much as I love all the stories that my little ones write on it. This one, "The Fox Gets Lost", by Ezra starts out:

Once there was a fox who had 1234 legs but the fox did not have 123456789 legs.

Awesome.

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The stories you shared yesterday are wonderful - individually, and collectively, they not only help a new knitter, but they tell a lovely tale of craft, too. Thank you so much for sharing them!

on knitting

Nana-made Christmas knits for the kids. One of my kittens has misplaced his mittens. (Mama has some ideas, though...)

I feel so blessed that my grandmother's handknits continue to come into our home and our hearts. I'm sure these were made with the same pattern that she made all my childhood mitts from, and those of her children, and my cousins...and on and on. Surely, these are one of those patterns for her that are knit - well, without a pattern. She just knows it.

My Nana was the one who taught me to knit (and sew, too). I remember so clearly being a young teenager, watching over her shoulder as she patiently showed me what to do. I also remember how incredibly frustrated I was because I just didn't quite 'get it'. It wasn't until years later, pregnant with my oldest, that I picked it up again in earnest. Reading the steps laid out in a book triggered my visual memory of her teaching me those years earlier. And finally...it all came together and clicked for me. Since then, it's always had a presence in my life - in large and small ways at different times. And sometimes - I have some little ones joining me in the yarn and string action.

 
Calvin's knitting.

As I've been sharing a bit more knitting than sewing around these parts this fall and winter, I've received lots of requests from people looking for tips on how to get started knitting themselves. I think learning from someone is the best - for so very many reasons. If you can find, in particular, an elder member of your family, neighborhood, church to learn from. How wonderful for both you and them to share the craft together - and the stories and the time that go with it as well.

But if that isn't possible, there are so many other ways to learn if you're interested. A few favorite resources of mine:

• Books (Kids Knitting by Melanie Falick and Stitch and Bitch by Debbie Stoller are my favorite beginner books)
• Websites (check out Knitty and Ravelry)
• Online videos (search for a specific knitting techique, or a basic How To)
• Your local yarn shop (check out KnitMap.com to find yours - most offer beginning classes as well as one-on-one help)

If you're a knitter - past or present - I'd love it if you could share in the comments with us how you learned to knit. And any advice you might have for someone wanting to learn.

So, all you hopeful, future knitters: read on, and then, get ready to cast on!

Calvin's scarf-in-progress for a doll.

Sponsor Giveaway :: Crafternoon by Maura Madden

This weekend we have a Sponsor Giveaway from Maura Madden, author of the new book Crafternoon: A Guide to Getting Artsy and Crafty With Your Friends All Year Long. I love this book - there's something really wonderful about crafting with friends, and the book is a great guide to doing so yourself. The projects we come up with collectively and individually are always such a fun surprise. Reading this book has me eager for a crafternoon of my own!

Book Description:
"Named after a monthly event that comedian and crafting superstar Maura Madden began hosting in 2002 as a way to get her friends together, meet new people, and have a good time making some cool stuff, Crafternoon is both an entertaining how-to guide and an irreverent social manifesto. Organized by month and theme, Crafternoon explains how to create and host a fun-filled casual gathering (including recipes for snacks and decorating tips) that celebrates the art of crafting. Knot nautical-themed crafts to wear, quilt new additions to your home decor, make the perfect gift for any holiday, or feel free to BYOP (bring your own project). All crafters are always welcome and encouraged to bring guests, and if your knitting or clay-shaping skills are a bit rusty, that's fine, too -- there are instructions aplenty!A must-have for anyone who wants to get their craft on, this quirky guide offers a twelve-month blueprint for a year of connecting with friends old and new, and enjoying a possibly messy, but always fulfilling afternoon"

For the Giveaway, Maura is offering up two copies of Crafternoon! If you'd like to enter, please leave your name in the comments below. I'll close the comments, and announce the two winners on Sunday at 6pm EST.

You can visit Maura's website for the book here, and her blog here.

Good luck & Happy Weekend to you!

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Comments Closed! And the winners are....

love this idea.
x collette
posted by: collette~all over the map | January 10, 8:20pm

It sounds like a wonderful book!
posted by: Kyndale | January 10, 12:33pm

Congratulations to the winners! And thank you to Maura Madden for the Giveaway of Crafternoon!

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we've been counting

We've been busy counting hats. A lot of hats. I've put the final tally and some final words about the project on the Mama to Mama blog, so head on over there to check out those details.

This project grew in many ways that I never expected. By sheer number, certainly (pictured above is three days worth of mail). And it grew far beyond SouleMama readers, as you all so kindly spread the word about the project so that it reached people far and wide - of all ages and from so many different backgrounds. But I've written about some of that over on Mama to Mama.

Another way it grew, and exceeded my expectations was the way it touched my own little family of six. The way we all worked together to unpack the hundreds of boxes.

How my children "learned" so very much - from conversations about the situation in Haiti, to the math required to keep track of such big numbers, to the map-gazing that we did as some far-away packages arrived. Natural learning opportunities - the best kind of all. It even created a little stamp collector in the family.

Especially given the timing, I never could have managed this without the help of Steve, Calvin, Adelaide and Ezra. And a dear friend (thank you, Jean!) who came over one looong, late night as she helped me find my way back to my dining room, when the boxes threatened to take over my house. And my deep thanks to an old friend, Skeek, who dreamed up the Caps to Cap Haitien project, and got the wheels turning for all of us.

And most of all, thanks to you. Go on...head on over there and see what you've done!

for my littlest pixie

Steve and I both thank you for reading and so warmly responding to his words yesterday. I'm so thrilled that he'll be joining me in this space once a week or so this year.

What he wrote was so true - Harper is indeed unfolding right before our eyes. He's settling into himself, and opening up to us. There are longer awake periods. Extra chins and dimpled rolls are emerging (love that). Bits of personality are emerging. Smiles are happening. And coos are just beginning. Everyday, it feels like something new and amazing happens with him.

This little hat was knit up and appeared in Harper's stocking on Christmas morning. It's the vintage Pixie Hat pattern, found here for free. The yarn is Classic Elite Alpaca Sox. It's super soft and cozy, and I'm guessing it feels good on that soft (good smelling) bald head of his. This was such a fun little hat to make - the shaping made it a bit of a surprise as to how it would come out. Since I have so much yarn left from the skein, I'm thinking booties, socks, mitts...or something else to match. We'll see.

It's a wee bit big, but he'll grow. Sure enough, he'll grow.

SoulePapa Blogs :: Out of Somewhere

I walked in the small hours of the morning with the littlest of Soules cradled in my arms.  John Lennon had been beckoned by Pandora to sing softly and my thoughts drifted, between life and loss, as my thoughts do in the quiet hours of a day.  I held tight and he held back as each step wore gently into the wood floor.  As we circled I remembered a dream that I had before his birth.

I dreamt I was at the beach surrounded by children that I did not know.  It was sunny and warm and the kids were smiling and looking at me as I taught them to play a game.  I was talking and moving but I had no control over my actions.  This all seemed quite normal to dream me.  The children caught on quickly and began adding pieces and twists to the game that delighted them.  As they ran down the beach laughing in brilliant sun splashed haze, dream me stood still, captivated and smiling.

The waves closed out.  The dream was over.

As Harper slept lightly against my chest,  I felt a similar calm to the one I experienced after that dream.  I've been down this way before.  I knew enough this time around to realize that I wouldn't truly be ready for his arrival.  So, I was ready to not be ready.  I knew we'd love him and eventually it would be as if he'd always been here.  Still...to sit and watch him unfold. 

To be touched so deeply by a hand so light.

we're all superheroes

It's true. I'm a superhero. My boys told me so - in their super-fabulous, totally surprising, handmade gifts to me this year - Comic books (their new obsession, led by Tin Tin and Calvin and Hobbes).

Calvin made me the subject of his book Mama of Knit Knit, in which I knit our way out of trouble. Need an escape from this tall, tall building that's crumbling down around us? Let me knit you a ladder! Pow! Bam! The other resounding theme through the tale is baseball...and all the baseball gear that I knit. A handknit baseball bat? I don't think so. But Mama of Knit Knit does!

And from Ezra, I got Amanda Sew-Sew, though he's my little phonetic speller, so it's really, Amanda So-So. (Ahem.) And in this tale, each story starts with him asking me to make him something, always followed by a resounding, "Yes!" from me (though this may not be the case in reality, I'm sooo glad this is how he imagines it to be). Then...he goes to sleep (with pages full of the comic book "zzzzzzz's"), and wakes up with whatever he asks for...finished. Presto! Voila!

{The books, by the way, are blank Bare Books. A household essential around here.}

These books are by far my favorite holiday gifts ever, and also? They're definitely among my favorite 'things' ever. If - heaven forbid - our house caught on fire, I'd surely be going for these books among the first things to grab. Followed by my knitting needles and some yarn, because according to my two favorite writers, surely I could just knit our way out of that kind of trouble.

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A real-life superhero of my own will be popping in to say hello tomorrow. I'm so excited to tell you that Steve will be sharing this space with me a bit more this year. Yay!!

Also sharing this space...are January's newest Sponsors - Shivaya Naturals, Chest of Fairy Tales, Crafternoon, and Mad Maggie Designs. Welcome & Thank You!
 

holiday rewind :: the handmades

There's nothing like having a baby (um, the fourth baby, I might add) born just weeks before the holidays, to get a good ole lesson in 'letting go.' Yup, there was a lot of that this year. Letting go of all the things that just didn't fit into our need and desire for new-baby-mellow for the holidays.

I must admit that the letting go wasn't always so graceful on my part. There were a few evenings, after a long and full day, with three little ones in bed and the house finally clean-ish and quiet-ish, when I'd get a crazy notion in my head to get the sewing machine out and start a gift...at 10pm. You know...just something little....like a quilt. There may - possibly - have even been some whining on my part. Ahem.

But thankfully, each time, Steve talked me down off the Handmade Holiday ledge with the gentle reminder of how little sleep I was already getting. And that a sleepy, grouchy, tired, cranky Mama? Well, that's a recipe for a bummer of a holiday...no matter how much handmade goodness you surround it in.
And so the sewing machine sat quietly. And so did I. The matching Christmas dresses for Adelaide and I? Didn't happen. The quilt top I was hoping to back, quilt and bind for Calvin? It can wait. A stocking for Harper? Next year. A family gift like our bird calendars of last year? Not this year.

Letting Go. Tricky...but oh, so good. It leaves a lot more room for sitting. And staring. And breathing in all those good new baby smells (yummy).

{edited to add: The very life-like rabbit is from Imagine Childhood. And the pajama pants weren't made from a pattern, but using the tracing method I describe in The Creative Family.}

But wait! You didn't think I'd have a totally handmade-free holiday, did you? I did sneak one sleepless night in. I decided to spend it on the semi-matching annual Solstice Jammies for the kids. The ones wrapped up under the tree when we come in from a sunset bonfire...with the house all lit by candles and a 'feast' prepared on the table. The kids change out of their cold wet clothes and into the warm jammies before we eat and do our tree. It's one of my favorite moments of the year and it just wouldn't be the same without the pajamas. So the pajamas? They made the cut.

As did the gazillion (alright, just a dozen) pair of Toasties that I knit. Most of these were actually knit in the pre-Harper knitting frenzy. It seems as these were the go-to gift knit for so many this holiday season - and with good reason: they're super easy and fast to knit, and they're fabulously fun and cozy to wear.

So it appears that "simple", 'warm' and 'cozy' was the theme of the few gifts I did make this year. I guess that's pretty fitting, as it seemed to be the theme of our holidays this year. Simple, warm and cozy. Just right.