handmade

my beautiful knit socks, from my mama

Are we too far into January to celebrate the handmade gifts that were exchanged this year?  There is a certain amount of tooting my own horn here, I realize, but I feel like managing to get something made is a cause for celebration that the spirit if not the high standard of artistry is alive in me somewhere!   The holidays are merely a reminder of the great range of talents and gifts of the family and friends around us...I am humbled.  

"Meggsy"

"Foxy"

A little homemade feels important to me, and if I had my druthers I'd remember to begin much earlier, so as to enjoy it all a little more.  The best Made gifts are those where I get to learn something along the way of making something someone else will love.

Dan's package decorations - he's our resident Master Origamist

More Mormor

One of my favorite made-for-me gifts was just that sweet combination of satisfying to make, fulfilling to give - a collection of medicines made from the garden and in the kitchen of my dear friend, Jen.  This was so inspiring to me; we attended the herbal conference together in October, and she got home and harvested dandelions and burdock, plantain and comfrey, and much more, planning far ahead for the salves, lip balms, tinctures and herbal vinegars she was to make for solstice gifts.  This dandelion tincture apple cider vinegar is so delicious as well as good for you, and I've been using it sparingly on my kale salad.  It is such a spot of brilliant summer in my winter kitchen.

Most of what I got up to was silly.  My sister is understandably very attached to her newish i-pad, and I couldn't help but make an animated companion to cloak it in when it needs to rest.

Dan helped me with the personality (ie, the mouth) of this fellow.  

We think his name is Angus.

old felted wool sweater = new ipad cover

I somehow managed to not get a photo of a cozy made for my mom's nook.  You'll have to imagine it - large snail eyes peering over the edge of the case...Eliza has become fascinated with belt pouches, which inspired me to make one for my neice...and it quickly became a creature as well.  I mean, why not??

The weekend before Solstice I managed to sneak in an art-making session with my friend Molly, under the guise of working on my basket , and she helped me finish a Japanese sewn binding on a book for Dan.  I was so happy to do this - learning something new and beautiful - and it was a surprise for him, which made it even nicer.  When we opened hand-hewn pens from my brother-in-law on Christmas night, it made the gift even sweeter.

tortoise shell stitch

Part of my motivation of posting these photos and sharing this gifts is to open the floodgates of making that I'm feeling are pent up in my winter energy.  So far it's come out in more wool lanterns and a couple of felted wool stones...we'll see where else I can direct that desire to create!

Gallery: making gifts

So many gifts given (and received) were handmade this year, and I've been waiting until they've been opened to share some glimpses of the ones we worked together on.  First, though, Eliza made her sister a journal - a cloth-covered book that she found instructions for in the Daring Book for Girls. She did a beautiful job, sequestered in our bedroom while she created.

A long week (that fell waaaaaay too close to Solstice and Christmas for comfort!) was spent as a family making stencils for shirts, scarves and a bag! Phew! It was luckily also a lot of fun to do.  The girls mostly designed the shirts, while Dan and I did the cutting and ironing of the stencils, and everyone painted.

Dan and Ani discussing a tricky design

Ironing freezer paper designs to the shirts

Dan and Ani drove to West Virginia to the closest mini-metropolis for supplies while I was sick. Yes, they saved Christmas around here. One of my requests was for some cotton jersey knit for making simple scarves. Cut the swath, create the design, and voila - a scarf.

Chickadee-dee-dee

The designs were mostly of dragons. Or birds. With the exception of this little alien that Dan duplicated from an old shirt advertising his brother's band from the early 90's.

Waiting for paint to dry before removing the paper

Stencil in place, waiting for paint

A scarf for my mama

Oh yes, and there was this giant, fire-breathing chicken, which is probably my favorite design of all, made by Dan for his Dad. The train tracks are a nod to his Dad's love of trains...

 Most of my photos are pretty lousy - the light in the art room is great for working in but not so great for photography, but we wanted a record of what we created!

Chickens by Ani

 There are many tutorials on how to do this available on the internet; just google "freezer paper stencils" and you'll find dozens.  There was a bit of trial and error for us - we used paint we hadn't used before and found that the new colors were not as "fast" as the plain black, and some of it washed away.  Live and learn for the next time.

One of Ani's dragons with some wintry details added by me

a bag for a lucky cousin

Um...a groove-billed Ani. Look it up. It's unique, right? One of a kind?

I think the best part was that it was like a little elf factory in our art room and even though one of the four of us was sick (we rotated), everyone pitched in and added another coat of paint, helped iron on designs, or wrapped and wrote cards.  Making, together.

In this week after Christmas, life is starting to resemble something more like normal, which we haven't seen since...well...since before Halloween.  Between a raging golf tournament, two sets of visitors, and illness, not to mention Solstice and Christmas, we've been a far cry from any sort of routine.  It's feeling good to be slipping back into something more steady and predictable, if our life can ever be described in such a way.  It's a bit quieter, and there is space in our days...space to make messes, big messy messes of the artistic or emotional kind, and then space and time to move back into order.  

I've been feeling a bit introspective this week, though New Year's is not typically a time when that happens for me. Too much pressure. But I was at my Bando martial arts/yoga class tonight and I had a couple of thoughts come to mind that I thought I'd share, mostly as reminders for myself as we enter this new year.  They're a bit obvious, 'cause, well, that's me, but maybe you'll find them helpful too.

The first one is this: oxygen is good. I notice such a sweet flow of thoughts and creativity when I get more oxygen - as I walk briskly up the hill to class, and as I breathe deeply during class; this is the time when I have ideas, make connections, see things more clearly. So, yeah. Oxygen - get some.

The second thought I was having was that 7 months ago I started Bando, and there was this evil pose that I dreaded.  I was hampered by a sore shoulder that I couldn't seem to make better, and not only was the pose painful, I just didn't get it. It is called the Serpent Coil, and I came to loathe it. Now I could be considered a regular student of Bando, attempting to attend two classes every week, and the Serpent Coil is my friend. I get it. It no longer hurts, and I can actually breathe while doing it. 

Now, I am someone who thinks a lot about doing things before I ever get around to doing them, and sometimes that first step of starting is the hardest; I had been hearing about Bando for 2 years before going to a class. So, the second thought I had was this: Start something today. If I had never gone to the first class, I wouldn't be enjoying myself so much now. It is making me consider what else in my life is just waiting for me to begin.

So there you have it - my deep thoughts for the end of the year.  I also wanted to share a few photos of my favorite present that I received this past week; it was from my daughter, Eliza.  A month or so ago, as I drove my girls and their best friend, E, to the library, they were all talking about the cloaks they were wearing and how apparently no one out in the world seems to understand the difference between cloaks and capes.  They explained to me that cloaks are clothing - to be worn for warmth or for disguise (and maybe in some instances, to aid in magic).  Capes, on the other hand, well...they aren't cloaks.  I mused that maybe capes help you access your inner powers, remind you of all you are capable of, and went on at length about how there were some days when I could certainly make good use of a cape.  I'd wear it to make breakfast or to do the dishes, to remind me that I was doing important work worthy of superhero status: It is I, Super Me! Here to make your waffles! I will feed you greens to make you big and strong, like me! No clean pajamas? Never fear! I will WASH THEM!  You get the idea.  Guess what was under the tree for me?

 That's right. My very own, hand-made cape. I almost cried.  I immediately put it into action, cooking our Christmas day meal.

 And this is my super self, on alert for the cries of the needy, the hungry, those who need snuggles.

Now that's a good way to start a new year...Cape on!

Making a crocheted rug

Do you have any old t-shirts lying around? Wondering what to do with them? Read on...

I made a crocheted rug out of old clothes as a present for my sister last Christmas, but I never got a very good photo of it.  It was such a satisfying project on so many levels; I feel like many of the "crafty" things I get around to doing aren't producing anything very functional, and there is something so nice about creating something that looks good and is useful.  I initially started by thinking that I would cut up several of my niece's old dresses and shirts that Ani has outgrown as hand-me-downs, but then I realized that my sister might not have need of a very very pink rug in her home.  So I went to my next pile of old clothes waiting their reincarnation - t-shirts.  I have seen people use old sheets for this project, but they tend to fray and leave lots of little threads everywhere.  T-shirts roll nicely, hiding their edges, and feel nice and plump under your feet when you're done...

Eliza and I are embarking on making a couple of rugs this fall - one for her room and one for an undisclosed recipient who reads this blog...(ahem)  I at first thought she would help me prep the material and then do a stitch or two as she felt like it, but she caught on right away just by watching me and I don't know that I'll get to do another stitch!  Here is a basic how-to...

Talk your family members into donating their old t-shirts for your cause.  If you can't assemble enough, or wish to have a wider variety of color, head to the thrift store - ours sells cotton t-shirts for 50 cents a piece (hint: look for the XXL).  I will also include a few shirts in prints because they look nice.  Cut your shirts starting at the bottom, and spiraling up all the way to the arm-pits (and through the sleeves if you wish).  You are aiming for about an inch and a half width, but it does not have to be exact.

Even this is a step that both of my kids enjoyed and wanted to help with. (Eliza is wearing Dan's old Phish shirt that he donated...we'll have to see if I get it back)

This step is not absolutely necessary, but it is nice to plan a bit ahead and have several shirts cut up before you begin.  Rolling the long piece of shirt is a coveted job apparently - during our evening story time the girls take turns helping me roll the pieces while Dan reads.

 

And here is just a close-up of the hair-do Eliza recently invented.
She is so darn cool.

Here is our current stash of material, ready to be crocheted.  We started working on it tonight, while listening to Dragon Rider (we're almost done).

Ani is rolling while Eliza crochets. You want to use the largest crochet hook you can find - I believe this one is a 15mm hook, available at any craft store.  The movement of working with this size of material and hook is really large and physical, which might be what appeals to Eliza.

It also goes quickly, producing a good size for standing on at the kitchen sink, or next to your bed, or in the bathroom, in just a few sittings.  I would love to make a braided rug like the ones my grandparents always had in their homes (we also  have one, handed down from a friend).  They actually made several themselves out of thrifted woolens, which I would like to try some day maybe with help from the girls when they're older.  This rug is a project that is within my realm of ability and time right now.

the rug for Eliza's room

close-up of the other rug (you can see where we are using something 

other than a t-shirt; sometimes sentimentality wins out over a little bit of fraying!)

Clothespin Photo Garlands

Clothespins + wool felt pennies = my creative moment for the holidays...

I know, it doesn't seem like much, but they were so lovely to make, and the girls learned the blanket stitch in the process (in the photo below, E made the one on the left, and A made the one on the right), and they fit my criteria of functional and purty at the same time. I also got to dip my toes into the waters of embroidery on a very very small scale.

We use clothes pins to hang everything around here - kids' artwork, poetry, photos, Christmas cards.

I also had these awesome gnome stickers that I'd been holding onto for years, and they made a nice set for my sister - I imagined her hanging her Christmas cards from them...I used modge-podge to affix them to cereal-box-weight cardboard before cutting them out and gluing them to the clothespins.

A smaller set hangs above the counter in the kitchen, holding some old family photos.
There you go! A simple project that makes a nice hostess gift, or small token, easily sent along in the mail, and simple enough for the kids to work on as well...Eliza even made a few and attached ribbon to make ornaments.

Family photo ornaments

Most of our gifts have been given and received by now, so I am feeling more free to share in this space some of what we have made this year. The idea behind these ornaments is simple, and it has brought family stories to the center of our celebration. I made a set of these for my sister's tree - my mom's family all gather around her tree, festooned with real lit candles for Christmas eve, so I knew many of the people in the photos would be there to see them - and a slightly different set for my dad, as I have become keeper of many of the old family photos; and of course there are many of these hanging on our tree.

My uncle as a baby, my Grandma Jane, and my dad

My dad wearing the Santa beard, seated between his Grandma Travis and Aunt Millie

My sister and I, confronting a scary looking Santa. This photo is ridiculous and frightening to me - my girls glossed right over the Santa part (neither has ever "visited" Santa) and zeroed right in on the outfits, of course.
My sister thinks we should submit this photo to Sketchy Santas...