out with the littles & their rudolphs...

ok, so here is the teaser picture that i left you with yesterday...

they were being so silly before we left (all the more reason for a walk, as their papa works nights & sleeps during the day ;)

 ehren & evyn with their strollers & their rudolphs...my sweet peas!

 the puddles are calling, the puddles are calling!

 (i love the reflections that you can see in the puddles)

 this one though is my fav...

  

 what a good little mama...;)

 these spider webs looked so cool in the morning dew.  well, they all do, but these were shaped differenlty than most that i have seen on our 'route'...they were almost shaped like little stork pouches..

 the flowering moss...

 this is another of my favs...

 **love**

(that is what these two posts leaning on each other makes me think of)

and a mantis egg, to close out our morning...

xo

the marshall handmade market...

this past saturday, the two littles & i went to check out our local "handmade market".  it happens each november, the weekend before thanksgiving& we LOVE it!!

it is a good time, with lots of good food & lovely handmades, all LOCAL, & many made by our friends, which makes it even more special.

this year i had not yet spent my birthday money (from oct!) & so that was our spending loot! ;)

& this is our haul...

they each picked out a turtle plush handmade by our friend sarah westhues-owen, also a member of our homeschool co-op & a family friend of us all...

they also each picked out a skein of yarn for a *special project* to be revealed @ the end of this post...  (i LOVE how their yarns match their turtles ;)

i bought this amazing cherry ladle, made by dennis ruane.  it is so soft & smooth, & dare i say silky (lance laughed because i was rubbing it on my lips like i do with my hair, but it was really that smooth!  ;)

my *new* favorite coffee mug, complete with chickens!  it is perfect, a bit rustic & everything that i love (well, aside from knitting, but she didn't have one with yarn/needles ;)

& the special projects??  well, sweaters for the rudolph's of course! 

ehren pointed out that rudolph #4 (his rudolph) & ev's rudolph (the original that i made our son aydin nearly 5 years ago) needed sweaters because they would get cold outdoors...

who can argue with that, right??  so, they each picked out a skein of yarn @ the market for me to knit up sweaters for their rudolphs...

the blue is ehren's & is plant-dyed with indigo, so i call it "hidalgo", yes, i know...nothing to do with a horse, but i like the sound of it...

 and here is ev's, i call it boisenberry...

this rudolph, wow, he has been through a lot in his short life.  as i mentioned earlier, he was made for our son aydin, when he was 4, & he will be 9 in march. 

he was my very first waldorf doll & loved very much from the beginning.  but last year, he was left outdoors & the neighbor's dog got a hold of him.  he drug him through the mud & all around the yard & who knows where else, but we found him a few days later. 

he was covered in dirt & grime & funk & all manner of dog stink...so, i did what no waldorf doll is made to have done to him & he was washed & in HOT water no less.  and he wash washed again & again after that...until @ last the stink was gone & i felt he was *decontaminated* enough to be put back into circulation.

but he is very much worse for the wear.  his hair is now matted & clumped & his body is no longer as soft & huggable as it once was, but sort of lumpy as the wool stuffing felted time & again. 

i am almost slightly embarrassed to have ev playing with him as he is nothing of his former self, but she chooses him time & time again over her other dolls.  that is a true testament to handmade...

i hear people say that they make this or that, but in the end, each stitch whether sewn or knit, is filled with our love for the child that we are creating for & that is something that children can sense...

**********************************************************************************

i am going to leave you with one last super silly faced photo of the littles before we took the rudolph's out for their walk today, in their new cardigans... 

xo to you & yours...

another hat for evelet, felted soaps & yarn along...

i recently made a new pilot hat for ev, for this winter.  the thing is though, that i wanted it to be a bit big on her so that she could wear if this winter & next spring & into next fall/winter.

the bad news is that is turned out o ofit her *perfectly*, as in...it fits her today & if even one more little hair sprouts up on her little head , it would fit no more...:(

so, i knit a new one. the same mods, but on larger needles, & i added a couple of repeats.

the evalinda (take #2 ;)...

 you might recognize these poses...do you??

 ehren & ev did a "modeling session" with me last week (some new mitts & crowns & things for the shop).

 it appears that his ninja poses have rubbed off on her...

 gotta love that!  i only wish that you could see her legs in the photos as well, they had their own thing going on as well.  it was AWESOME!!

 i also had a custom order in the shop for some felted soaps...

i think she may have chosen all of my favorites...;)

yarn along...

i am joining many friends & ginny on her venture the "yarn along" in which we are to share a photo of what we are currently knitting & reading & a bit about each.

as you know, orin decided that he did not like the weasley sweater afterall. so, after bit of time on ravelry, he discovered this one...

enter...the grand unveiling of Orin's christmas sweater choice (also, take #2), "military, rainbow style". 

he is all over this pattern & it works for his size, though i might have to modify the length of the arms/body a smidge.  but it is worked top down, so it should be no big.

i am loving this patten so much more already...the yarn though, i am still warming up to...;)

as for the books, i am re-reading both "the creative family" & "handmade home" by amanda blake soule.  both are about living a simple, yet abundant (in the ways that matter) life.  integrating your (the mama's) needs with your children's & your family's for a peaceful, natural rhythm.  they are both good reads & well worth re-reading, as her words continue to speak to me each time in a different way depending where we "are" @ the time.

we are currently in "off" place.  three is a lot of squabbling & anger, frustration, aggravation & lack of patience on all fronts (mama included). 

it would be so easy to know the *one thing* that is our of balance so that we can set it right, but that is the thing, isn't it??  there is never "one thing".  each of us is constantly changing, both parents & children alike & the possibilities are endless.  yet, the destination remain the same. calm (which is of course a relative term, especially in our house full of boys!), peaceful, centered days.  but we each know & have felt @ some time, that felling @ the end of the days..."today was a good day". 

and so, we continue to do what we can, with what we have & where we are....hoping for just a bit more of that & perhaps a little bit less of the other.

the third book is "my old true love", but shelia kay adams. 

it is for my book club (that's right, i have joined my very first book club!)  it was started by a friend @ our co-op & we are due to have our first meeting this coming sunday evening.  i am super excited.

@ any rate, the book is set in the time of the civil war, right here in the mountains of madison county, nc.  a woman named arty tells the story, as she lived it or in the t hick of it rather.  and interwoven are ballads & love songs rich with Appalachian history. 

it is a rich tale, one that pulls you in.  it makes you ache for all that is not as it should be. 

it shows so much of how life was during that time in our region.  though the story is @ times painful, there is so much love. 

until next time...

octopuses (or is it octopi??) & more handmade holidays...

this morning ehren & evyn got out the sidewalk chalk & drew these super cute octopuses (or is it octopi??) on the sidewalk out front...

 this one is ehren's....

 and this one, slightly more jumbly, but NO less lovely, is ev's...

 orin got really into building card castles with dominos the other night.  wow!!!  that was a LOUD endeavor (glass dominos on the hardwood table).  youch!  my ears were feeling so old & tired. 

but you have got to admire the persistence... with 3 younger siblings, the table was bumped sooo many times.  but he just started over again & again.  i was so proud of his patience. :)

this one is his absolutely fav.  he used every single domino we had in the house....makes you wonder what he could have done with more, right??

 ahhhh, and "the evalinda" is not complete!  i LOVE it so much, don't you??  part of me is wishing that christmas was just a little bit sooner, but the other (more rational) part of me, knows that i still have quite a few gifts to make. :)

it took a grand total of 22 hours.  i think it will be perfect, or at least perfectly what i was wanting, which was to be a bit big on her for this winter so that she can wear it into the spring & then next fall & winter as well.

what do you think of the red buttons??  lance (my husband) picked out the colors for the dress, which are a bit more earthy than i was wanting to go.  i was wanting something a bit brighter & more rainbow-ish, but i like it well enough.  & i think it will look perfect on her, but then she has the sort of color that everything looks good on her (though, being only 2 1/2 she doesn't appreciate that bit yet, but she will ;)

he wanted me to put matching blue buttons on it, but i wouldn't go for it.  i wanted a bit of *pop*, right?? 

what are your thoughts??

@ any rate, i'll post photos once she (finally!!!) gets to try it on...

& on a different note, orin has decided that he does not like the weasley girl sweater afterall.  he hadn't realized that the whole thing would be "bumpy". this is ok...well, better now than later.

he wanted to to go on with it because i have already invested 3 hours.  that was sweet, but i explained that i would be investing @ least 15 hours or more (most likely more ;).  in that light,  3 hours is technically 'nothing' & better he find one that he really likes to make all the work worth it, right?? 

what's the point if he is not going to LOVE it in the end & wear it to forever & back, right??

so, we begin the search a new.  luckily though i have a couple custom etsy orders to work on until we do find the "perfect pattern" (take #2 ;)...

(luckily he really does still LOVE the yarn & a good thing that is as we have 13 darn skeins of it!?!)

xo