swapped

below are just a few of the wonderful things that were sent and received in the seasonal celebrations spring swap! come peek at the flickr group to see even more photos. this swap was the pioneer in what i hope to be many seasonally themed swaps! i was amazed and delighted to see the packages everyone put together. bunnies, birds, nests, soaps, cloth napkins, kites, sidewalk chalk, flower seeds, candy, recipes, and many, many more spring inspired goodies were sent.

ThAnK YoU to all who participated! i am planning the summer swap and will post a sign up thread the first week of may! please stop back by and check it out~ you won't want to miss it!




1. swap package!, 2. spring swap bunny, 3. spring swap :: felt birds, 4. felted nests, 5. spring swap :: handmade nest, 6. noname(2), 7. seasonal celebrations SPRING swap, sent, 8. Peek at the spring swap contents, 9. Spring swap card, 10. noname, 11. noname(4), 12. noname(5), 13. Bubbles and chocolates, 14. felted nests, 15. spring swap items, 16. seasonal celebrations SPRING swap, received

mama made

a sweet little skirt for esme'

and a coloring wallet for a friend celebrating her 6th birthday today. we were the only ones who showed up to par-tay with a handmade gift. but handmade gifts are so much cooler than yet another barbie/bratz doll, this mama thinks! and my little gal happens to agree!

stitched and spun

while harper napped...

mama sewed! i made this little patchwork bib for a blessing shower i attended this afternoon. it was my first time playing with free motion quilting. the verdict, i like it quite a lot. the random pattern it creates is right up my alley!

i also plyed that wool that i started spinning on easter sunday. now i am looking for the perfect scarf pattern for it. it is a heavy worsted and i have roughly 200 yards. any suggestions for me?

random reflections :: shades

lions, tigers and kindergarteners... oh my!

yesterday we joined esme's kindergarten class on their first field trip to zoo boise. there is a new african plains exhibit that we were very excited to see. the giraffes were my favorite- they are magnificent! i would have happily spent the whole afternoon with them but when you are with a group of five and six year olds you are only allowed to spend a couple minutes with each animal and then you are on the run (literally) to see what is next.

after the giraffes we saw a big kitty ::


a big nest ::

a big egg ::

a small elephant ::

and a tiny tiger ::

i think the monkeys were harper's favorite. they were very cute and entertaining. they kept coming up to the front of their enclosure to check harper out. it looked like they were inviting him in to play! but no, we decided to pack up our sleepy little monkey and head home for a nice, long nap.

weekend

a back yard egg hunt with all of our friends ::

sunglasses from the easter bunny and esme looking a little hunter s. thompson-ish ::

and a lovely pile of fluff that i started spinning yesterday ::

random reflections :: sweet mess

chocolate cheesecake :: he wears it well, i think.

again with the birds!

i recently whipped up a few more little birds- a couple for our nature table and the rest for a special seasonal celebrations swap package that i put together. i never get tired of them! in fact i have this grand idea to sew up a bunch in different colors so i can change them out for each season. i am also on the hunt for a pretty branch to bring inside for them to perch on.

and check out my adorable little sewing buddy! how could i get anything done right without his company? peek a boo through mama's sewing machine has become a favorite sewing day past time of ours. but sadly sewing days have become very few as we have been busy spring cleaning and playing outside every chance we get. i have plenty of projects planned though. oh, there are always plans....

simple, but so sweet

i was away from my family last night while attending a good friend's birth. it was especially hard on little harper who still co sleeps and nurses during the night. it was hard on mama too. and daddy since he was stuck with a inconsolable 22 month old boy, missing his mama and his milky.

late in the night i got this text message ::

Harper says mama mayayam! Miss u! We are fine :)

that short little message made me smile, and feel lucky to have these incredible boys waiting for me. i came home at 10 o'clock this morning and was met with an enthusiastic hug from harper. and the hugs still haven't stopped- i have also had a good deal of cuddles and eskimo kisses from my little man. and that is simply the sweetest way to spend an afternoon, if you ask me.

our earth hour

we turned off the lights, lit some candles and participated in earth hour last night. it was just as fun as last year. this time esme' did quite a bit of planning so we had plenty to do. simon says, mother may i, a crazy dance contest, story telling, and a few made up games kept us occupied.

i tried to do an exclusive earth hour in-the-dark interview with esme' and here is what i got ::



amy from crunchy domestic goddess wrote a wonderful post yesterday about the importance of changing our daily habits to really make a difference.

she wrote ::

While I believe it has the power to affect change, I think if people, businesses, corporations and governments just do this one thing - turn out their lights for one hour - without changing any other of their habits, it’s really moot. And I question how many people are doing it just to be a part of something trendy and make themselves feel good. Turning out our lights for an hour isn’t going to solve global warming. However, if everyone uses Earth Hour as a springboard to take another step and another step and find little changes they can make to live greener and more sustainably, then it’s a great thing.

i completely agree and will continue to make staunch efforts to live greener and more responsibly beyond earth hour.

so, this earth hour... it may not be saving our planet in 60 minutes but it sure makes family time fun!

sun lovin' dirt worshippers

spring suits us well!

cupcake

a new summer top for esme'.

the pattern is wonderful- quick and easy, just the way i like them! the yarn is cotton ease in berry and taupe. the needles i used were addi turbos in sizes 7 and 8. the little girl wearing the top is very happy.


the end result is very sweet indeed!

swap lovelies

two felted nests with birds for my seasonal celebrations swap recipients ::

a charming handbag from bend the rules sewing for another swap ::

and little extras tucked inside the bag- handmade gift tags, fabric covered buttons, a fabric button ring, and fabric button hair pins (fingers crossed that my partner likes fabric buttons, cuz i sure do!)

felted nest :: a pattern

celebrate Spring by creating a whimsical felted nest and eggs!

materials

:: 200 yards of worsted weight, brown wool. i used lamb's pride for my nests and knit them double stranded.
:: 3 ounces of undyed wool roving
:: 1 ounce of blue wool roving
:: us size 10.5- 16 inch circular needle
:: us size 10.5 dpn
:: stitch marker
:: tapestry needle
:: old stockings for felting the eggs
:: fabric scraps (optional)

pattern

using your 10.5 circular needle, double strand your yarn and cast on 75 stitches. place marker and join in the round. knit in stockinette stitch until piece measures 5 1/2 inches from cast on edge.

decrease as follows switching to the dpns when necessary ::

round 1: *ssk, k11, k2tog. repeat from * to end- 65 sts
round 2: knit
round 3: *ssk, k9, k2tog. repeat from * to end- 55 sts
round 4: knit
round 5: *ssk, k7, k2tog. repeat from * to end- 45 sts
round 6: knit
round 7: * ssk, k5, k2tog. repeat from * to end- 35 sts
round 8: knit
round 9: *ssk, k3, k2tog. repeat from * to end- 25 sts
round 10: knit
round 11: *ssk, k1, k2tog. repeat from * to end- 15 sts
round 12: *ssk, k2tog. repeat from * to last 3 sts, ssk, k1- 8 sts remain. cut yarn and thread your yarn tail through remaining stitches and pull to close the hole. weave in yarn tails. here is what your nest will look like, pre felting. kind of like a big, floppy hat.




now, thread pieces of your yarn, various lengths, onto your tapestry needle and weave them randomly through your nest leaving a couple inches of tail sticking out. when felted they will look like little twigs. you can also use strips of fabric or brightly colored yarn, or anything a bird would use when making a nest!

time to make the eggs. using the undyed roving in 1 inch strips, start winding them into a ball. keep winding around and around until your egg is 25% larger than you want the felted egg to be. then cover the egg with a thin layer of the blue roving.

you will place the eggs into the leg of a stocking and tie a knot in between each one. these are baby tights that i cut the legs off of.

to felt the nest and eggs, place the nest into a pillow case and tie the top shut with a piece of yarn (do not use wool as it will felt together and make it hard for you to untie) throw the eggs and nest into the washer and add a little soap. wash them in hot water on the longest setting. check your nest every 6 or 7 minutes to see how it is felting. some yarn felts very quickly, and some may have to go through a couple cycles before it is felted enough.

after felting pull and stretch your nest while it is still wet until it is shaped the way you like. i rolled the the top down to make it more shallow and nest-like. you may have to squeeze the eggs a little to make them egg shaped. let them dry and that is it- you are done! if you would like a little birdy for your nest there is a free knitting pattern here and a free sewing pattern here. or how about an origami crane? if you create a nest and eggs from this pattern i would love to see! please make as many nests as you want for you and your friends, but do not sell items created from this pattern- thanks a bunch!

HaPpY Spring! enjoy!