Buttercup Corner

Winter Fun

2010-11-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

I am delighted to be studying Waldorf education full-time this year! I am up to my elbows in clay, watercolor and crayons as I learn the intricate beauty of the Waldorf curriculum. My children have been quite inspired by all the drawing I've been doing on the kitchen table, and have taken over the space.

I have become very excited about the possibility for Waldorf methods to grow in the realm of public education. If anyone is interested in reading about-- or even better, setting up your own-- Waldorf-inspired charter school, here is a website you shouldn't miss:http://allianceforpublicwaldorfeducation.org/ Maybe in a few decades I'll start one myself. :)

Amidst the delicious homework assignments I am offered so generously, I steal a few moments for knitting (of course) and for making some special gifts for the little people in my house. Both children wanted full-size dolls for Christmas, so that kept me busy... I'm still sewing the promised doll clothes!

We have been enjoying some spectacular winter weather, beginning with perfectly smooth frozen lakes and leading to several feet of snow. In fact, it is soon time for a sledding break.

The Best of Spring 2010

2010-04-03T06:44:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring! We have moved and are settling into the beautiful new house that we are so fortunate to inhabit. Definitely the very best part of this spring. We are so happy to be outdoors without all our rain or snow gear! Windy days have made perfect kite-flying conditions, and we are lucky to be right next to a large open hillside. We are also lucky to have a baby lamb down the lane (along with about 30 sheep that we get to look at and don't have to tend!)

What to expect when you're expecting and your sister is crafty

2009-12-28T14:08:00.000-08:00

I had so much fun making these gifts for my sister's first baby, due near Valentine's Day. We know that she is expecting a girl, so I couldn't resist making a doll out of some exquisitely soft pink velour I've been keeping on hand. (Speaking of hands, the doll did get some eventually, but I forgot to take a photo after she was all done.) The booties got a hat to match, too. I can't wait to see my first niece in her little tiny booties! Finally my knitting skills are up to the challenge of baby knits. Sadly, my children's infancies passed by before my commitment to gauge swatches began.

2009-11-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

I've always admired the Christmas Cactus for its ability to create a beautiful flower out of prickly darkness. The challenge is learning to love the prickly darkness. I think I might be ready to own one this year.

The Violet Backpack and Blackberry Jam

2009-10-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

Here are the last fruits of summer labors: a photo of our pot right before it became raspberry jam (now eaten) and the spontaneous free-style embroidery I did on C's backpack before I sewed it. I used the String Bag pattern from Green Pepper Patterns, and I found it easy to use with a good result; it was ready in time for the first day of school! (Even if I worked on it until 10 PM the night before-- who's counting?) Speaking of school, sewing projects for C's class have been monopolizing all of my sewing time, and then some... Starting to encroach on my knitting time too. The last time we had the privilege of being part of a Waldorf school community, we were only in the early childhood classes. I remember wondering back then how in the world the teachers of the grades found the time to do all that sewing for their students (little bags for crayons, pencils, "jewels", crowns, hats, costumes....) and also plan their lessons and eat their suppers. Now I understand. The teachers definitely do a lot of work, but the moms do (at least some of) the sewing! I will try to photograph some of the little projects before they are swept off to perform their important tasks in the 1st grade.

More Wonders from the Natural Kingdom

2009-07-31T09:13:00.000-07:00

We had the honor this summer of witnessing one of the most exciting transformations in the world! We watched a mysterious caterpillar become an even more mysterious (and beautiful) butterfly.

My children love fennel. Not bulb fennel (which they greet with apathy) but the herb fennel, which grows in long hairy stalks. They each have their own plant, and they munched on it happily this spring until we told them to stop or they would kill it. Then they came outside one day to find that they had competition: three caterpillars had eaten more than half of my son's plant. We decided to move two of them to my daughter's plant, and bring one inside to watch it transform. We (logically) fed it fennel-- from my daughter's plant, of course. It ate about six inches of fennel stalk a day for a week and then promptly stopped eating. In about five hours (while I was working, unfortunately) it made itself a chrysalis. Then we waited. For about a week and a half. And suddenly, one morning when we looked in the jar, the chrysalis hung empty and the butterfly was there! We had expected a yellow swallowtail (our best guess based on the appearance of the caterpillar) but we were delighted with what came out instead: an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail (I think-- if anyone knows otherwise, leave a comment please!) Whatever it was, it was gorgeous and provided our most exciting entertainment this summer! My son was very pleased at how friendly it was when it came out. He is pictured with his great-aunt.

Birthday Flowers and Doll Dresses

2009-07-16T10:34:00.000-07:00

My daughter had her birthday recently, and I had a long bout of tiny sewing to keep me busy. She requested a new doll dress and a Little Red Riding Hood costume to go over top. I sewed the dress out of yellow and blue calico, with a bodice I embroidered by hand (free-form). The cape is made of red cotton velour lined in rose-patterned calico. It was fun to make, but I have to admit I was glad to get back to my knitting. Deadline sewing stresses me out. Who can disappoint a 7-year-old on her birthday?

This year her choice for cake was lemon cheesecake, and we had an enjoyable (if lengthy) time making lemon cheesecake with a lemon curd topping. (Triple Lemon Cheesecake from Luscious Lemon Desserts.) This is a truly delicious cake... The kind you want to eat waaay too much of.

Just want to let you know that this post marks the arrival of my high-speed internet! Thank you, Comcast (and our boss who made the installation possible!) So hopefully, I'll be posting a little more frequently now. I also have begun dividing my crafts for kids (Buttercup Corner) from my own sewing and knitting projects (now at my new blog Threadblossom.blogspot.com.) Feel free to come find me there now too!

A Little Sunshine

2009-04-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

Ah there is light at the end of the tunnel! We had temperatures hovering around 75 degrees Fahrenheit today. It felt fabulous. Too bad I spent most of the day inside doing last-minute paperwork and folk-dancing! But I love it that I get to walk to and from workshops each day. Those 10 minute walks 4 times a day lift my spirits each time, regardless of the weather. Only 3 more days until we will begin our two weeks of spring vacation! We will be heading west to visit our good old friends and relatives... Can't deny that I also look forward to visiting all my old haunts: favorite bakery, my old LYS, and SALVATION ARMY, THANK GOD. I MISS YOU. (there are no thrift stores within one hour of my current location-- apparently New Englanders do rummage sales--which are mysterious and sporadic and in as-yet-unknown locations)

Here is a little sunshine (doll) to share with you. I made it as a special order for a special online pal, Alkelda, who is opening her own Etsy shop soon. Thanks again, Alkelda.

New Beginnings

2009-04-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

I find it almost impossible to resist blog post titles that are either cliches or in some way refer to spring! So today we will go with the cliche. But spring is coming too! Maybe. I have been warned by locals not to expect spring anytime before June. That way, I won't be disappointed (but maybe pleasantly surprised.)

The crocuses, at least, are optimistic.

But who needs spring when we have knitting, weaving, spinning, felting and sewing? I have been happily doing all of the above this winter. The thrummed mittens represent my desperate attempt to create something truly warm to put on my hands. They are complete and working well-- just in time for spring! (Maybe)

Now the weaving... I have to admit that weaving does not attract me the way certain other textile arts do, not to name any names. The only thing that even slightly increases my heart rate in regards to weaving is the thought of weaving huge lengths of silk, linen or wool which I could then cut up and sew into gorgeous clothing/ purses. I just can't get all that excited about table runners, placemats and dish towels. However, they have their place, and I am right there where they are-- at the beginner level! Hence my long lovely piece of uncut dish towel. I may not be excessively fond of dish towels, but I really do enjoy getting to choose the colors and pattern for the first time all by myself. Weaving is one of my job perks since the community has a gorgeous room full of looms to practice on while I keep the other weavers (the developmentally disabled adult residents of my community) company. It is one of the highlights of my weeks, to sit in relatively peaceful company and weave!

Longing for spring

2009-01-29T10:40:00.000-08:00

I don't think I have ever seen so much snow before. More comes at least weekly! However, we have beautiful sunlight here almost every day, which is very different than Michigan or Indiana.

We have workshops here to keep us busy during the long winter months. I have been leading a felting group, and here pictured are some of our recent projects. I hope to get more photos of the felting class posted eventually. My favorite workshops are in the weavery, and one of these days I will remember to bring my camera. I am thoroughly enjoying learning to weave. Not that I needed another fiber hobby!

I have been knitting... everywhere, it seems. I am currently working on a cardigan from a recent Interweave Knits magazine, and also another pair of spiral socks. Both are nearing completion, but here is an early phot of the socks.

Icy Blue

2009-01-11T14:44:00.000-08:00

It looks like my online world skipped directly from summer to winter! I assure you, there were quite a few very long months of transition in between the two seasons. After three months in New Hampshire we have settled in remarkably well. C is enjoying her lovely local Waldorf School kindergarten, and J is happy in the predictable routine and social life of our household. We (my husband and I) have become houseparents at a community for developmentally disabled adults. We now have a much larger household to run, and that has taken some adjustment. The rewards are great however, and include the view above. My knitting hasn't suffered so far, but our internet connection has. Very infrequent decent connection means this is my first post in 4 months! I hope to get online more often in the months to come. Keep checking in!

End of Summer, Moving On

2008-09-21T11:21:00.001-07:00

Well, it's been quite a summer. So fast, yet so full of visits and activities. And now with big changes! We had incredibly pleasant weather here, with the least mosquitos ever! (Very nice after last summer which had the most mosquitos ever.) Our trip out east was a little too long but nonetheless lovely, especially our visit to Bethany Beach. We were fortunate to have a house near the (rather tiny) State Park in an area that was a bit of a respite from the generally crowded, over-developted mid-atlantic beaches. I must admit this summer was such a blur, I ended up putting my blog on indefinite hold. Sorry to those of you who were checking in when I was checking out. Now we are in a bit of a limbo here as we prepare for a move to New England. I am not sure yet whether or not I will take a longer break from blogging. We'll see. I will post in a few months after we are settled to let you know if I will keep this up or not! Hopefully I will have good internet access and a chance to do so. For now, I will leave you with some photos of our beach week.

My Something Beautiful

2008-06-30T11:47:00.000-07:00

Some of you may be familiar with a beautiful story by Barbara Cooney, Miss Rumphius. The first time I read that story, I knew it was a keeper. I also knew that I had already produced my (first) "something beautiful": my daughter, C. For Miss Rumphius, her gift to humanity was the sowing of thousands of Lupine seeds. The last photo is from the lupines blooming in our fields a few weeks ago.

It was my daughter's sixth birthday last weekend, and I was pleased to present her with her first birthday crown. I made it out of wool/rayon felt, needle felted with merino and silk, then embroidered and embellished with crystals in matching hues. She looked like a princess in it, as you can see. Note the two lost teeth! Time to start our letters. (You fellow Waldorf-obsessors will understand.)

Baking Season

2008-06-07T15:05:00.000-07:00

Summer has hit-- lows in the seventies, and highs around ninety degrees in the afternoon! And the humidity... don't even ask. Fortunately, it is also time for strawberries! And rhubarb! It is one of life's ironies, that the best time for baking (berry season) is also the hottest part of the year. However, I would put up with far worse than heat exhaustion in order to have my strawberry shortcake. The shortcake is based on the Vanilla Chiffon Cake in A Perfect Cake, then filled with very slightly sweetened whipped cream (with a touch of vanilla) and our fresh organic strawberries from the family farm. The rhubarb is from our garden, the eggs are from the family farm (my in-laws) and the pie is the Quick Custard Rhubarb from A Perfect Pie. Both books are by Jane Purdy, and are the only cake and pie books anyone needs! The instructions are clear (I learned from these books) and the recipes are delicious-- entirely from scratch, and involving lots of butter. Fabulous! You can't beat the price either...

Baking and gardening have been distracting me lately from my various projects. But our Week Without Internet or Phone Service allowed me to get an amazing amount of knitting done. Verrry bad thunderstorms here lately-- something somewhere important got hit by lightning, so our service was down until Dashing Young Tattooed Internet Fixer came and repaired everything (for $300). Boy, I hadn't realized I was so addicted to my evening internet fix. Anyone else relate to that? :)

Spring Chickens

2008-05-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I couldn't resist yet another Spring-themed title. It was just too perfect! Here they are: our spring chicks. My husband couldn't resist them when he went to pick up our illegal milk. (Don't tell.) So now we have two Bantam chickens, sex as yet undetermined. Anyone know how to tell? Chickens, to be honest, I find a little creepy. They seem verrry far away on the scale of evolutionary development. I don't feel even vaguely related. Which is why, I guess, it's possible to eat them? Anyhow, we won't eat ours. They are pets only, and amazingly well-behaved at that! Not a single pecked hand or toe so far, although they do poop indiscriminately, and several of us have been unfortunate recipients.

Below, you see one fourth of our tiny vegetable garden. We figured we would garden for the kids only this year, so it is all stuff that we thought they would enjoy eating or pulling out! For eating: they love kale (can you believe it?), spinach, peas, carrots, broccoli. For pulling out: onions and potatoes. We also added some pansies and a nasturtium, both of which they will pick and eat! Their grandparents up the lane raise organic produce for sale at high-end restaurants, and in the big city chefs love the edible flowers. Because of this, both my children will pick and eat any pansy they come across! I have to smuggle them into vases...

Mommy Politics

2008-05-11T17:43:00.000-07:00

As planned, I have posted some lovely cozy photos of things I associate with Mother's Day-- my son at age 1 (note the rash on the cheeks-- after months of agony, we discovered he was sensitive to all chemically fragranced soaps or detergents), and the baby quilt my grandmother and I made for him.

But for some reason I just couldn't get excited about this post. All day I thought about how much I love being a mother, how lucky I am to be home with two healthy, beautiful children. But then after supper, I listened to the Women's Circle on my local college radio, and found myself sobbing over the dishes (anyone else experienced this?) Yes, I have done it before, but usually it was for selfish reasons in the past. This time, it was less so. I was crying because of the songs I heard, songs about mothers whose children died in wars, about women who cried together to cope with the pain of losing their children. I thought of how lucky I am, how sad and ashamed I am to be so fortunate here in my safe little bubble while other women's worlds are destroyed by the deaths of their children. Then I began to feel angry.

I never identified myself as political until I became a mother. I felt rather dispassionate politically throughout young adulthood, maybe because I was fortunate enough to grow up unscathed by any major social evils, such as poverty, war, or abuse. With the birth of my first child, things began to change. Her very birth was a struggle-- a struggle to find a place and a doctor who would allow me to give birth in the manner I chose: drug-free and with low interference on the doctor's part. Then, the struggle to breast-feed in a culture that at best turns a blind eye, and at worst, looks away in disgusted awkwardness. And now: the struggle to teach my kids that constant accumulation of more toys, more clothes, more everything is not the way to happiness. The struggle to feed them things that I consider to be food and not garbage. Don't even get me started on trying to avoid/compete with television or other influences that would teach my daughter to mimic adult sexuality in her dress, speech and behavior. Last year my search for toddler-sized flip flops led me to 3 main department stores full of only high-heeled flip-flops!!!

I don't feel like my expectations are too high. I want to raise children who wait until an appropriate age (as in at least 16!) to become sexually active. I want them to have strong, healthy minds and bodies, affected less by the media than by their natural impulses to eat food that truly feeds them and explore the outdoors or act-out play stories of their own creation. I want to raise a daughter who values herself as more than a beautiful, sexual object or a sharp-witted brain. I want to raise a son who values himself more than his ability to win at a competitive sport or excel in school. I don't think it is too much to ask of my country or society that it provide a safe, healthy environment for my children. Unfortunately, it seems increasingly less able to do so.

Granted, my expectations seem ridiculous when compared with the basic requests of mothers across the world who would only ask that their children not be killed. My requests are insignificant in comparison, and I am willing to admit that I am grateful to my country for providing at least this amount of safety to my children. However, my country does not do the same for all of its citizens, and most definitely participates in the killing of children in other countries. I placed the button on my blog last week to start becoming vocal about my feelings on this issue.

With these thoughts in my head, I couldn't help but wonder, what would happen if mothers were a real political force? Just think: REAL maternity leave (ever hear about Scandanavian maternity leave!?), on-site daycare at your workplace, no marketing to children via television, billboards or the internet, more programs to help people recover from child or sexual abuse, school systems that actually produce healthy, happy, thinking children, juvenile detention and prison programs that focus on healing and reconciliation... The list goes on.

How could we mothers, in spite of our differences in race, culture, or religion, not see past those differences to our shared and very simlar bonds of motherhood? I think we could. I think the only thing stopping us is a belief that we cannot make a difference. Maybe we can. We have to start somewhere. Hence my Motherhood Manifesto. :) I would love to hear yours.

Spring Beauties

2008-05-07T09:40:00.000-07:00

Here are two of our most beautiful sights this week: Lilacs in perfect blossom, and a nest of Robin's Eggs, so conveniently placed on the climb-able tree! We all climbed up-- C on her own, me on my own, and then lifting J to see. He asks again every day, but then decides it's too scary halfway up. I just can't get over this gorgeous shade of blue. I would have to say it's my favorite color. Speaking of color, I was delighted with the way this shawl turned out-- my first Lace Project! This is the Shetland Triangle designed by Evelyn C. Clark for Interweave Knits Wrap Style book. I wanted to knit this pattern for a long time, but was too daunted. I shouldn't have been! It was a grat First Lace Project. The beautiful yarn comes from Cherry Tree Hill. Since it's a mill-end, it had no name for the colorway, but it was just the colors I was searching for. Can't wait to wear it! Now to sew a matching dress... Have to finish C's sundress first. :)

The First of May: Frog and Cake for Tea

2008-05-02T11:24:00.000-07:00

We had our Second Annual May Day Tea Party yesterday with a family from our Waldorf Homeschool Group. Since we are now out in the woods instead of in town, I thought it made sense to invite one family to stay for the afternoon, as opposed to the 5 girls who were dropped off by their parents last year. We had a lovely time eating the Flower Cakes we had made (well, I made). They were lemon Genoise (French Sponge Cake) with homemade lemon curd filling, and Italian Meringue Buttercream Icing. Yes, I am a firm believer in real desserts. Translation: truly delicious and worth eating! And they did take me almost all day on Wedsnesday. But boy, were they good. I probably ate half of the total quantity, sneaking off into the kitchen when they kids weren't loooking.

But the definite climax of the event was when we encountered a garter snake in the middle of consuming a live frog. No doubt about it, nature is riveting. Those kids could not tear their eyes away. Sad, creepy, but soooo fascinating. I love living out here for that very reason. It is the first time I have seen so many creatures outside (and inside, unfortunately) the house I am occupying This week alone we saw the following: insects, of course, snake (with frog), turtle, cardinals, blue jays, woodpeckers, sparrows, and today my first sighting of an Indigo Bunting! This bird is absolutely beautiful, and increasingly rare due to the loss of its habitat in some areas. If you want to see a photo and hear its lovely song, you can go to the Learn Bird Songs website.

May Crowns and Spring Fairies

2008-04-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

Although it seems we can't get winter to leave us behind (it's supposed to freeze tonight for the second night in a row!) we have at least managed to turn over the soil for our garden, and we spent this morning making May Crowns at our Waldorf Homeschool Co-op. I have been leading the bi-monthly activities for our group of 10 kindergarteners, and unfortunately, I rarely remember my camera! Today I did manage to get some photos of their lovely crowns. Each child finger-crocheted the base of their crown, and then sewed on felt flowers and leaves. Some of the flowers were made from felt we had felted ourselves at our previous session. If you are interested in trying it out, let me know, and I will post some instructions.

The fairy is another version of the needle-felted fairy in my last post. This one is available for sale in my Etsy shop, and I will be listing kits to make fairies in these colors as well.

Spring Woodland

2008-04-25T11:47:00.000-07:00

Finally a new felting kit added to the shop! After receiving a request for a felted doll kit, I designed this Spring Woodland Fairy in honor of the violets carpeting our woods. The kit includes everything necessary for beginning needle-felters. I wrote explicit instructions accompanied by detailed photos of the whole process. She is needle felted from pure wool and mohair roving, some of it hand-dyed by me. (Note the matching handspun yarn) I love the multi-purpose nature of roving. Makes me want to start spinning again...

Yesterday we had an incredibly blustery day, and C was delighted to take her new fairy out to fly. We are enjoying lovely weather here today, so back outside to swing!

Revelling in Ravelry

2008-04-16T18:26:00.000-07:00

If you noticed that I disappeared for.. (let me check... almost a month!) and you wondered where I went, it was to Ravelry. I cannot stop surfing that site! I had no idea it would be so engrossing to look at other people's knitting projects. Its almost embarrassing... strangely voyeuristic, and yet somehow inspiring. If you are a knitter, and have not yet joined, and you wonder, what is this for? Trust me. Try it out, and you will know. (I wondered the same thing.) So, if you want to find me in Ravelry Land, my ID is threadblossom. I have finally posted pics of all my current projects, and I am especially enjoying the one above.

When I began knitting (for the second time, and the first time as an adult) I knew I would have to plod through the scarves and hats to get to what I really wanted to knit: anything and everything with lace. Well, here I am, 10 years later, I am finally having some very long-delayed gratification. I am knitting (a not all that complex) lace shawl for the first time. I would consider this my first REAL lace garment-- I learned yarn-over techniques on a sampler sweater, but it wasn't really lace all over, just interesting stitch patterns. This is the real thing, and I am soooo glad to discover that I actually really enjoy the process. How terrible if, after ten years, I tried it and hated it! Instead, I can't seem to stop; hence the long absence. At least I am sharing my excuses now!

It's not all that impressive yet, but I promise to post the finished project as soon as it's blocked to perfection.

Spring: Robins and a Snowstorm

2008-03-21T13:01:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, we had a beautiful, sunny first day of spring. First thing in the morning, we looked out our window and saw FIVE robins! They were the very first ones we've spotted this year, too. They wouldn't let me get very close, but there is one in that picture above, right in the middle of the photo, in the shadow. Then today... four inches of snow! We brightened things up by making a Queen of the Spring doll for C. We were inspired by the beautiful dolls at Cherished Dreams. C chose the colors and I did the rest. I had forgotten how much fun needle-felting is! And below is our spring nature table, with our felted eggs, chick and flower dolls. I need to make a flower for the snowdrop doll, but for now she has the real thing-- even better!

A Little Spring

2008-03-13T12:03:00.000-07:00

Sunny days at last! We have been playing outside today in the sunshine without coats!!! It is marvelous to see my children so happy to run and jump and get muddy. We all had major cabin fever. Here are photos of our final bulb beauties. The sun came just in time since all we have left blooming is one daffodil! Now we get to watch for the "real" ones outside. And finally... my headband pattern is done, just in time for outdoor knitting! The pattern is called Dewdrop Beaded Headband and will be available from Earthfaire as well as from my Etsy shop, as soon as I have it printed up.

Noro Nostalgia

2008-03-11T12:39:00.000-07:00

First of all, let me say Thank You to those of you who wrote me such thoughtful comments on my last post! I am finally knitting again (and typing), and much to my relief it seems that the wrist/upper arm pain was caused not by the knitting but by the daily, repeated lifting of heavy wood and my wheelbarrow! We have a large house heated entirely by wood, and during those super-cold months I was stocking the wheelbarrow sometimes twice daily, and loading wood throughout the day. My husband works about 40 minutes away, so I figured why waste his time when he's home-- I can get the wood myself. And I have been, for about 2 months. Now it's his turn after all, I guess! Such a relief to not have to blame my knitting! With less lifting going on, my wrists and arms can easily handle knitting and typing again.

Sooo that brings us to this post: since I haven't been getting much new stuff made, I thought I would post an oldie but very goodie. This was the first sweater I knit for myself, and at that time (about 3 years ago) I decided to make it worth the effort and invested in 9 balls of Noros Silk Garden 228. I looove this sweater and I love to wear it in the spring and fall, especially. Aaaaah Noro... This is from Jane Ellison's Naturally Noro.

Handwork

2008-03-04T12:13:00.000-08:00

My hands are something I have always appreciated, but apparently not enough! For the past few weeks I have been suffering from some wrist pain... Don't say that C--- T--- word! I have forced myself to abstain from knitting, and to reduce my typing, and things are feeling much better, but I guess I will make this short. Here are some photos of more exciting arrivals. We figured that even though we only have daffodils blooming indoors, it was okay to bring the new Daffodil Doll out a little early. We are watching for signs of growth outdoors, but so far ice melting is the only sign of spring!

Tagged!

2008-02-26T11:33:00.000-08:00

Snow, AGAIN!

Thank goodness I have been tagged by the lovely Louise of www.lululollylegs.blogspot.com and have some distraction from the beautiful, but persistent, existence of snow outside. It was fun answering these questions. :) Thanks, Louise! I love your blog, and am honored by your request!

Name four jobs I have had ~
1. High School German Teacher
2. Auntie' Anne's Pretzel Maker on Ocean City, MD boardwalk
3. English as a Second Language Teacher to 7th graders speaking 4 different languages
4. Local Fruit Orchard Stand attendant (age 14)

Four Movies watched over and over again ~
1. Amelie
2. Blue (in French with Juliette Binoche)
3. Pride and Prejudice (with Colin Firth)
4. Beatrix Potter animated collection (it's all I let my kids watch)

Four places I’ve lived ~
1. currently in Michigan
2. Nevada, Missouri
3. Marburg, Germany
4. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Four Shows I watch ~
1. Lost
2. Battlestar Gallactica
3. PBS Mystery!
4. The Closer

Four places I have been ~
1. all over Australia
2. Taize, France
3. Barcelona, Spain
4. Puerto Rico

Four people who email me ~
1. my sister
2. Other bloggers
3. my Waldorf-inspired local homeschooling group
4. my local contra-dancing group

Favorite things to eat ~
1. peanut butter
2. Chocolate
3. Thai Food
4. fresh vegetables from my in-laws' organic farm (up the lane)

Four places I would rather be ~
1. At my sewing machine (me too)
2. Swimming in a blue, blue sea somewhere (me too!!)
3. in Germany (anywhere in Germany!)
4. in a Waldorf school, teaching

Four things I look forward to this year ~
1. Watching my children grow
2. Designing more knitting patterns
3. Visiting my family out east
4. Going to the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan County

Okay, now I am ready to pass on this game! I am tagging Amy of My Merry Way and Emilie of The Little Nest.

Spring Wedding in February

2008-02-22T06:17:00.000-08:00

Just to make you all jealous, here are some photos of my cousin's wedding held two weeks ago in San Diego. We had perfect weather-- in the high 60's. I got to be a bridesmaid! It was my second (and probably last) time-- I'm only 30, but almost all my friends are married. Since it was a cousin on my mother's side of the family, I had the added fun of helping to make all the bouquets and boutinierres (sp?). We have a wonderful tradition among the female aunts and cousins in our family of doing the flowers ourselves. Since the mother of the bride (my mother's sister) is a floral mastermind, and I have about 10 cousins helping every time, the flowers always come out gorgeous! What each bride ends up with is flowers just to her taste and waaaay below cost. A fabulous tradition, and one I benefited from greatly myself!

Robin's Egg Blue and a Daffodil Fairy

2008-02-20T10:45:00.000-08:00

After many weeks of anticipation, the bulbs we planted in January are finally blooming! We have many miniature daffodils and now a few yellow crocuses as well. Outside, the snow persists--but at least we have sun most days. Inside, we have been busy making more Fairy Dolls inspired by Sally Melville's book, Felt Wee Folk. Much to my delight, these dolls keep C entirely happily occupied during her daily Quiet Times (more for her mother now than for her!) Daily Quiet Time=daily return to sanity for Mommy. During Quiet Time, I have been completing my new pattern, soon to be revealed in its entirety. For now, just another glimpse above. However, the new Blue Felted Robin's Egg and Baby Robin Kits are ready and available in the shop! Have a look via the link to the right. On my second dyeing attempt, I finally achieved a perfect shade of Robin's Egg blue for the wool roving in the kit, and the finished eggs look great.

Various Distractions

2008-02-01T12:27:00.000-08:00

Here are four of my favorite distractions! I have acquired a love of knitting with beads, and here you can see my current project. I won't say yet what it is, but some of you know :). I will post more photos when it's finished; the pattern is still under construction. In the middle photo there is a more recently acquired obsession-- spinning. As you may recall, I finally managed to get my hands on a spinning wheel last summer, and here in the photo is my first gorgeous dye result. Pictured are wool roving, mohair roving and alpaca roving, which I am carding together to produce a lovely soft, bouncy yarn. Can't wait to knit with it... Must finish pattern... And of course, my two most important and most distracting distractions, looking their rascally best: C, showing off her new (handknit by me) hat with ponytails underneath, and J, who insisted on having his hair in ponytails too.

Spring is coming...

2008-01-28T12:57:00.001-08:00

I can never resist starting the springtime crafts before the snow has melted, so we have been busy doing our best to encourage spring along. A few weeks ago we planted dozens of bulbs, and their shoots appear a little taller every morning. We look forward to seeing them turn into crocuses, grape hyacinths and narcissi.

Signs of Spring are scattered about the house as well, since J has taken a liking to my Felt Eggs and Baby Birds. I have to hide the ones that I want to sell-- otherwise, he does!

Beaded Belle Bragging

2008-01-10T09:26:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to tell you that the beaded purse pattern I designed is now for sale at http://www.earthfaire.com/, and you can see the link directly by going here http://earthfaire.com/products_new.php and clicking on the picture of my purse. (It's called Beaded Belle Bag kit). Earthfaire is a beautiful online shop that sells both yarn and beads. I am so honored to have my pattern for sale among all those beauties!

Snow... Puppies

2007-12-15T07:22:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our first real snowfall, with just the right amount for good winter fun! Enough to make sledding easy, but not so deep that J couldn't walk in it! Our borrowed pets, Lily and Daisy enjoyed the fun as much as we did. C was convinced that Daisy wanted to sled, but I think she was just too dumb to get out of the way. :)

Little Elves

2007-11-25T12:26:00.000-08:00

Here are my two happy kids getting toasty by the chimney. Below is the doll I made for my son's birthday last month. He has become very attached to it already and won't go to bed without it! I hope to make a tutorial of how to make this doll and post it on the blog. If you are interested in the tutorial let me know, and I will definitely get it done sooner!

Cozy Winter Treats

2007-11-25T08:49:00.000-08:00

Much to my delight, my father-in-law's spinning wheel is now in working order, and I am spinning up piles of wool. Between bouts of spinning, I have continued in my pursuit of bread perfection. Discovered last week that the Country White recipe from La Brea Breads makes fantastic baguettes! Had to bake them again. Baguettes, brie and red wine-- makes me think I'm not in Michigan!

Fall Felting

2007-11-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

It seems we skipped directly from summer to winter here. We spent the day without jackets on Monday, and woke up to snow and very cold temperatures on Tuesday. The cold weather has put me in a holiday crafting mood. Yesterday we began felting ball ornaments for sale at our local Farmer's Market's Holiday Fair. Along with our felt ball ornaments, I plan to make more of the needle-felted angels I made last year. This time I would like to try some that are top-of-the-tree size. I have also been busy making and selling! (locally) crochet necklaces and earrings. I sent some to my sister for her birthday. Need to call and see if she liked them!

The Colinette Conclusion

2007-10-19T08:51:00.000-07:00

This is the third and final attempt to not waste my lovely Colinette One Zero on an unwear-

able project! I wish I had photos to show you of the first two bizarre-looking things I attempted with it (a long tubular tank, and a misguided mini capelet). Or maybe I don't wish I had those photos! In any case, this one is a keeper, I think. Cute but not too cute? I used the Matador pattern from last year's fall Knitscene from Interweave.

More Fall Fun

2007-10-19T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, Fall! We had fun yesterday making snickerdoodles and a slightly scary Jack-O-Lantern. C decided she was ready for one that was "a little bit scary, but not too scary!" So we settled on three teeth instead of five. J had to look for a long time at that unreachable candle.

Autumn in the Air

2007-10-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

After a few abnormally warm days, it's nice to finally feel a chill in the air. Time to bake bread! I spent two weeks growing sourdough culture from wild yeast, courtesy of the instructions in Breads from La Brea Bakery. Fortunately, all that work (and flour) produced delicious results. I was particularly pleased with the oatmeal version I concocted on my own.

The beautiful fall colors inspired me to create a new crochet beaded necklace, which I just put up in my Etsy shop.

Birthday Treats

2007-10-05T11:10:00.001-07:00

Summer is the time for the girl-birthdays in our family. My daughter and I are both Cancers, and our sensitive feelings and bossiness can attest to that. (Even though I'm not a big astrology fan, I cannot deny that my family members are all true-to-type!) Here are our birthday treats, all homemade, of course! My daughter's cake was based on her request for a Lemon Meringue cake, and it is basic yellow lemon cake filled with lemon custard buttercream and iced with snowy mounds of lemon boiled icing. Wow that was good. For my birthday I kicked the kids and husband out of the house and invited all my girlfriends to my 30th birthday party. We had tea, and I baked five of my favorite pastries. That was good too!

Life is a bowl of...

2007-10-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

The summer flew past, but it's not too late to post the photos, right? Cherry pie is my absolute favorite, and here are the fruits of our friend's tree. Lucky for us she doesn't like sour cherries!

New Handspun

2007-10-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

After a few months of distraction while (while moving) finally I have a new post: my first attempts at real yarn, all created on my drop-spindle. The blue-purple mix includes mohair, the green is wool and the blue is wool mixed with angora.

Le Belle Purse Epic

2007-05-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

A little sparkle to spice up my knitting life! I designed a beaded, knitted purse for carrying my ball of yarn while I knit. It has been occupying my mind and hands for about 3 months now, but it is finally perfected (I think.) I'm finishing up the pattern, and then I will be teaching a class on it at my LYS. It's knit in Tahki Cotton Classic, with Miyuki 6/0 beads.

Sleeping Beauty

2007-05-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

My daughter is in love with all things princessy, so we have been enjoying needle-felted princess dolls. This is one I made over the winter. She is a Waldorf-style Standing Puppet doll, "Sleeping Beauty," according to my daughter.

May Day Tea Party

2007-05-15T11:59:00.000-07:00

We had our First Annual May Day Tea Party on the first of May, complete with flower-decorated tea cakes (Vanilla 1-2-3-4 Cake from The Perfect Cake filled with vanilla Buttercream icing.) Five little girls came for tea, and ate everything on the table!

Waldorf Nature Table Flower Doll

2007-05-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

Here is the first Flower Doll for our nature table-- The Snowdrop. I am working on several others including a crocus and daffodil. A few may find their way to my Etsy shop.