creative friday...valentines & the FINAL christmas gift! :)

first up the goodies i sent for our latest bits of goodness swap for valentine's day


hand knit cotton double hearts dishcloths (should have done a close up for these, sorry...)



each came with its own woolen gnome (our children LOVE these!!)


decked out in their 'love' cloaks just for the occasion...;)

next up, my first "pay it forward" 2011 project. this was circulating on facebook & i thought it was a super idea...


the "pay it forward" swap works like this...



"pay it forward 2011: i promise to send something handmade to the first 5 people who leave a comment here. to be eligible, you must also post this to your status offering the same to 5 other people. the rules are it must be handmade by you & it must be sent to your 5 people sometime in 2011." ...isn't that awesome??



so, this is my first project, to a close friend actually...her very own love dishcloth & 2 valentine gnomes (one for each of her children).


i have been thinking that i would like to offer up the same to 5 of our visitors/followers here on the blog. BUT THE RULES REMAIN THE SAME!! the first 5 people who leave a comment on our blog, in reference to this post, will receive a handmade lovely from me, but they must then offer the same on their own blog...ready, set, "pay it forward"!!

my final project for today's post is/are these super cool yoga/pilate socks...

i used a self-striping yarn, aren't they fun??

and they will keep your feet toasty during your workout w/o compromising your grip...;)

why yes, i have had issues with this in the past & so can truly appreciate their usefulness. BUT these are not for me, they are actually a, um...christmas present that got a bit delayed in the making...

they actually were pretty simple to make, and only took about 7 hours for the pair...

please join us each friday for...

an amazing crafting venture via miss linda @ natural suburbia...

saint francis & a new look @ my own spirituality...

we began the new year with a look into the life of saint francis of assisi.

(patron saint of nature, ecology, all god's creatures great & small...)

i began researching saint stories for grade 2 this past summer, delving into "stories of the saints" by siegwart knijpenga, a recommended waldorf grade 2 resource. the stories are absolutely beautiful & a much more approachable introduction to spirituality & christianity than the bible or other religious doctrines that i have sought out.

they read like fairy tales...and i suppose they are, as saints are the epitome of perfection & purity, devotion & loyalty...each one with his or her own journey into holiness & yet no where have i seen anything other that love for EVERYone else.

this has long been one of my turnoffs from mainstream religion...the underlying attitude that our religion is the one & only, the "right way". accept our savior/god or thou shalt burn in hell...why?? why would that appeal to anyone?? i have never wanted to be a part of anything, religion or otherwise, that would ever be so cruel.

my own spiritual path has been quite a jumble. i attended church with one of my best friends when i was younger, but think it was more of a social outing than an actual finding of my inner spirituality. that being said, i did take various "world religion" classes in college to "find my religion". some religions really did spark an interest in me, but there was always some part of the dogma that didn't quite sit right with me.

there have been times in my life, as i am sure in most every one's, where we hit rock bottom & would really love to put our trust in a greater power, in the universe...desperately wanting to believe that there is someone looking out for me. someone loving each of us from afar & though perhaps remaining in the shadows, always making sure that we don't fall (too far) into the abyss.

though i do not go to church, i do practice a sort of spirituality in the day to day, though there is not a name or label that i can place on it. just living according to my own moral compass, treating others the way i would like to be treated, caring for mother earth & all of her creations. living a life where i acknowledge & truly try to appreciate the everyday blessings that surround our family, giving freely to other in need...in whatever capacity that may be.

in reading of saint francis, in reciting & copying his prayer into our lesson books, i found that this was something approachable, in a way that a lot of religion has not been to me in the past. this was a prayer that i could see myself repeating each night.

when we were introduced to the waldorf approach to homeschooling, which i have always considered to be more of a lifestyle than a learning style, we began doing blessings at meals. this was a first for me...i had never been one for prayer or meditation, though i had ofter wanted to be. i do, however, value gratitude...

from there we began introducing ourselves to the many waldorf festivals, though we have only really "gotten into" a few. i really love this aspect of waldorf, the festivals rooted in tradition rather that commercialism (which is where i lose faith in so many of america's holidays :(

learning of saint francis & the way that he so unorthodox-edly surrendered himself wholly unto his love for god again ignited that flame of religious curiosity...

after reading our lesson stories of saint francis, i wanted more... so, i ordered "the life lessons of saint francis: how to bring simplicity & spirituality into your daily life" from paperback swap. i read the first pages when it arrived & was immediately drawn in...he is amazing! everything he teaches/practices really resonates with me. i am only on the second chapter, but from what i have read so far, this is the path i was already, albeit unknowingly, on.

i am reading with an open mind, and am excited to see where this journey takes me...

@ any rate, i apologize for that tangent, but this is all very new & exciting to me!

as for what we did lesson wise...

these are the books that i chose as resources for our lessons, although there are MANY more...

*saint francis of assisi: a life of joy, robery f. kennedy

(this was our formal introduction to saint francis, truly a beautiful story)

*saint francis sings to brother sun: a celebration of his kinship with nature, karen pandell

(we read a page from this book each night before our bedtime story)

i have several other books on our paperback swap wish list:

*brother sun, sister moon: the life & stories of saint francis, margaret mayo

*francis: the poor man of assisi, tomie de paola

*saint francis & the wolf, richard egielski

if you have read any of the above, please let me know how your & your family liked them.

for our main lesson work...

for our copy work, we worked our way through "the prayer of saint francis", a verse a day...

day #2, we drew our portrait...

on day #3, we recalled what we had learned of saint francis & wrote our summary...

may your own journey be blessed as well...

braving the elements...;)

we have been having some insanely cold & windy, icy, snow-a-licious weather here lately, but we were craving some time with mother nature.



the boys were playing @ a neighbor's house, but the littlest ones & i bundled up & went fro a walk before dinner. it was one of the mildest days/evenings that we have had recently....



today?? well, it is snowing again!! which makes me even more glad that we ventured out...:)

ehren rode his new scooter (60% off @ target :) & evyn pulled our little red rider wagon all the way to the end of our road...it was priceless!

the sky was amazing!!


by then end of it all though, they were both ready for a ride home...:)

i really enjoyed having some special time with just the younglings...i love when we are all together, but i love them on their own as well. it is different, the way EVERYTHING is AMAZING & worth stopping to interact with...to smell, taste, touch...

seeing ehren as the eldest & the way that ev will follow him until the end of time...i LOVE it!

the new year...

i feel that our family has been shown much love over the years & has been blessed in so very many ways, by so very many people around us...both in our own local communities and online.

each day people show us kindness...whether by passing along a bag of clothes that their child has outgrown, by holding open a door, by asking "how are you doing today??". these "little things" that we can sometimes overlook if we aren't careful.

enter the "gratitude jar"...it may seem a simple oatmeal canister covered in magazine photos, but it symbolizes so much more...this jar symbolizes our family's commitment to be more mindful of the everyday blessings that we are shown.

each saturday @ one of our everyone-together-family-meals, someone draws a name from the jar. throughout that week we make cards for that person/family & also create something special for them. this could be anything from a handcrafted item to a special baked good.

and the following friday/saturday that person (family's) gift basket is delivered to them.

anyone's name can be put in the jar...i have put so many names in already, from family friends who have given us their hand-me-downs, to the librarian who always makes it a point to engage each one of our 4 children in a conversation, to the local grocery store manager who ALWAYS asks how we are doing & is always so helpful.

we began this tradition the first weekend in january (saturday, the 8th). papa drew that name & it was his own! :)

here are the goodies her received...

a lovely card from aydin, with why he is thankful for his papa on the back...;)

along with a card from ehren, evyn, orin, sammi & i, with the same...
one of his favorite dinners...taco salad. :)

we also made his favorite blueberry cheesecake, well actually we made 2! it has long been papa's dream to have a blueberry cheesecake of his very own. <3

blessings...

creative friday: sandy beach set & mamamade mei tei

more knit lovelies...

this set was a custom order from a sweet family friend of ours, for her daughter.


a slightly modified version of this hat...dubbed sandy beach...(it seem almost mockingly as we are currently 'snowed in' ;)

love the slouch...;)
this mei tei carrier was custom made for us by an amazing mama of 5, well technically her 5th isn't due until june)...i love it!!

i knit her up a few pilot hats for her youngest 2 & she made this gorgeous carrier...gotta love a good trade, right??

as does ev!... jayna made the straps padded & a bit wider that is custom for mei teis, as she know that i am an ergo kinda girl.

hooray! if you could only see the ergo we have been using...it is quite the sight! another mam gave it to me after she used it for her 3 children. i, then, slip covered it & used is for both ehren & evyn...

it is presently in need of some amazing tlc...if not a complete overhaul!

for more inspiration, please join linda @ natural suburbia for "creative friday"!

snow dayz...

ehren, sammi (my sister), kelsey (her pup) & evyn...

more handmade lovelies...

i call this set "blue suede shoes", although there it is not suede & there is nae a shoe involved...;) the scarf is another "ocean park scarf", my new favorite for lots of scarf for not so much wool...the mitts are my modified version of the easy fingerless mitts...

and the hat is the rib-a-roni...a fun knit for the name, if nothing else...:)

samantha, my sister, made me/us a knitting needles pouch. very cool & an improve pattern to boot! made from an upcycled fleece blanket & an old pair of ehren's fleece pajamas... complete with a red ribbon tie...

why did i say me/us?? you mean i haven't told you yet?? oh, my!

well, sk is one of the latest inductees into the club of knitters! (hooray!!)

her first project was a ball...(sorry, no photo :( )

project #2 was this hat...

not bad, eh??

she has actually already completed her 3rd project, a pair of matching mitts & is working on a convertible pair for a friend as we speak...

working on the mitts...why, yes! those are dpns!

she has taken to knitting like a fish in water...;)
another ocean park scarf, this one for a friend's wife... i call it "roseate"...

one of my latest mods is this sweet convertible mitts...i am so very excited!! they took a bit of finagling, but i got all the kinks worked out...

this pair was knit up custom for one of the co-op moms...complete with a pair of elk antler buttons that she scored @ a craft fair...

all the modifications are on ravelry, please let me know if there are bits that don't make sense...

for more lovelies, do be sure to check out "creative friday", hosted by the lovely linda @ natural suburbia...

happy friday! xoxo