"If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world."The Hobbit, J. R. R. Tolkien, 1937.
The Sampler
My grandmother had quite a collection of fancy hand towels hanging in her bathroom. She taught me how to make these Swedish Weaving towels when I was little - some of my very first needle work projects.
When D was in elementary school I taught him how to make them. He made a few for teachers and other special people. My grandmother was so thrilled that he had learned how to do this that on one visit to her house she gave him this:
I wonder why I had never seen this sampler before.I love how she stitched just enough to show the pattern and that the patterns just run into each other.
Finding treasures like this makes sewing room clean up and rearranging all the more fun.
More Color Play
I returned from the grocery store today to find this on my living room floor.
B and D have been refining the design since the photo. I am curious to see how it will end up.
Meanwhile, I am working on a new quilt and finishing up a pair of socks.
Back to School!?
P is SO very excited about starting kindergarten in the fall. We went to Kindergarten Round-Up a couple of weeks ago and now the talk is all kindergarten all the time around here. Preschool is over and she is revved up. At Kindergarten Round-Up one of the teachers showed a backpack and demonstrated what would need to go into a student's pack. She pulled out a lunch box, homework folder, a library book, a "book-in-a-bag", a pair of snow pants, and a pair of shoes. P was amazed. She started asking me right away about her backpack. The well trained seamstress that she is came right into the sewing room to choose fabrics to make one!
We used this pattern by Cindy Taylor Oates. P chose the fabrics, trims, and even decided on the quilting patterns.
I reinforced the bottom gusset and the straps with denim cut from an old pair of jeans.We made the small size and had to shorten the straps a bit to fit her.
I like the finished look on the inside. I just hope we can fit all of the required items in there.
P loves her new pack and even wore it when helping with the field fire.
This could be a very long summer.
A Great Day for a Fire
Sunday was a great day for our annual field fire.
Each year we burn a portion of our prairie areas. The fire helps to discourage the plants we don't want and encourages the native plants we do want growing there.I enjoy being outside and watching the flames. If everything goes as planned that is all that we have to do. The fire puts itself out when it gets to the mowed grass that is next to the prairie.
The flares when the fire hits a thick patch of dry grass can be exciting.
It was a great afternoon. The fire behaved just as planned.
I like that the annual fire is something that the whole family enjoys. It is a relaxing work day and we come in smelling of smoke. It has become a spring tradition of sorts. Maybe we have an unusual definition of family fun.
Mother's Day
Happy Mother's Day
Petunia's Rose Dress
Sometimes I need a deadline in order to actually finish a project. This dress is one of those times. The Olympics gave me the push I needed to finish the knitting. The preschool Mother's Day Lunch is the deadline I needed to finish the rest of the dress. P has been telling me that she wanted to wear this to Mother's Day Lunch at preschool on Friday.Last night I sewed on the buttons and this morning I worked in all of the thread tails.
I am pretty sure she likes it.
I like it too.
There was a time back in March that I wasn't even sure I would finish this but now I am thrilled with the result!
The dress is knit from a 1945 vintage knitting pattern book. I used two whole skeins of Grandma's Blessing from Briar Rose Fibers.
The Dandelion Experiment
P has been telling me about two DIFFERENT kinds of dandelions - the yellow kind and the gray kind.
She could not be convinced that they were the SAME flower. So, we started "The Dandelion Experiment."
We marked an unopened dandelion flower and took a picture of it each day.
The experiment was, however, cut short by a rabbit.
We will be starting the experiment again but perhaps we need to find a wire cage to put around the dandelion.
The First Morel
P and I found our first morel of the season yesterday.It is nothing like last year's harvest yet.
Earth Day
The coming of Earth Day has had me thinking. It is like a New Years Day for the environment. I look back at how we are living and the choices we make in our daily life. Are we living responsibly? Are weliving sustainably? What legacy are we leaving for our children and grandchildren? This is a time to assess and perhaps set new goals.I like to think my family is doing a good job but I know we can do more.We have cut back a lot on our meat consumption and grow much of our own fruit and vegetables.We heat our home with a renewable fuel (corn) purchased from a farm less than two miles from our house.In the last twenty years we have planted hundreds and hundreds of trees on our property.We wash dishes by hand.We are using some salvaged materials in the renovation of our house, our new toilets will be low water use, and we have switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs.My dislike of shopping is also a big plus. We are not big consumers.Shopping at thrift stores and repairing items that are old and worn outare also good strategies.Things to work on:Avoid bottled water. This is not a habit but with better planning we could eliminate the use of disposable water bottles when we are away from home.Drive the car less. Combine trips to town and do errands in groups. Some errands really can wait until another day.Use the clothesline more. I do like to use the line but I will try to take better advantage of good days for laundry and try to use the line more on chilly days even if I have to pin the clothes whilewearing gloves.Plant a little more variety in our garden.Be more diligent about eating local food.Dress warm in the winter - (I'll have to knit wool sweaters and socks preferably from locally grow sheep or alpacas)Put in rainwater collection and storage system that will collect from the big barn roof.And, maybe, someday, we'll put up a windmill.--As I look over this list I notice several things. Environmentallyresponsible choices are usually less expensive and healthier choices.They also tend to help the local population. It is a win, win, win plan.Here are a few interesting links:Great Pacific Garbage Patch350 - The most important number on the planet and an action plan.How much water does it take to make...I had already read much of this information before but this one was new to me:"Individual Bottled WaterThis irony shouldn't be lost on anyone: it takes 1.85 gallons of waterto manufacture the plastic for the bottle in the average commercialbottle of water."This is just crazy and must be part of the reason Oberlin has eliminated the sales of water bottles.Here are a couple of films I highly recommend:Manufactured Landscapes, a documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky, is a beautiful yet thought provoking film.Rivers and Tides, a film with Andy Goldsworthy, will inspire you with new ways to appreciate your natural surroundings.--What are your favorite sustainable living tips?
Spring Transition
Spring means clothes dried outside on the line,
playing in the dirt.
planting,
and tending the gardens,
and generally spending a lot more time outside.An early bedtime for small children is not to be seen again until fall.
Grandma's House
I thought you might enjoy some of P's photos from her visit at Grandma's house.
A Day (or two) at the Beach
We had a great spring break week with B's mom. We saw some sights near her home, relaxed around her house, and when the weather got warm and sunny we made a quick overnight trip to the shore to visit Chincoteaue National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island. 
It was quite lovely and relaxing.
I think everyone enjoyed themselves.
Vacations are great but is is also good to be home.
Vacation Knitting
Our spring break trip has been fun and relaxing. We have been staying at my Mother-in-law's and taking in a few sights. Yesterday we had a wet tour of the cherry blossoms in DC.A relaxing vacation means I have had a bit of knitting time. I finished D's socks in the car.
I brought yarn for some projects I have been wanting to try but didn't want to start them until the smocking on P's Olympic knitting dress was finished. I have to admit that the smocking part of this project was not my favorite. In a fit of frustration I said "M, I'll give you ten dollars if you finish smocking this dress." I was teasing but he actually took me up on it! I gave him a little tutorial and off he went!
That allowed me to start a pair of pink socks for myself. I am trying Judy Gibson's You're Putting Me On socks. I really like this pattern.
The first sock is almost finished now! Larger needles and yarn make for quick sock knitting.I have also started one of these super cute Estonian Sheep puppets that have been on my knit list since I got summer 2006 issue of Spin Off.
It's time to get back to the knitting. I hear the needles and a bowl of ice cream calling me!
Through the Eyes of a Child
P was thrilled to be allowed to use my point and shoot camera yesterday.
She took 250 photos! Many of them were out of focus because she was moving on to take the next picture as she pressed the button. It was really fun to watch her walk around the house and yard taking pictures.
I really enjoyed seeing what she chose to photograph. 
Everyday objects through a child's eyes.
I am looking forward to more of her photos!
Savoring the Sun
The warmer, sunny weather has been a welcome change.
We are off to soak up some more sun. I hear it is supposed to snow again this weekend.
Brighter Days
We have been busy around here lately. Last night P's preschool performed the 3 Piggy Opera. Oh, my what a sweet performance that was!M was up in the wee hours of the morning to head out to Detroit. He anda few others from the House Orchestra were live on the radio (WJR) from6 to 7 this morning. I, however, slept right through it. I am hoping WJR will have it available on their website. Tonight he and a few friends will be performing at the local pizza place. 
This morning I went went bowling with P's preschool class. I love how preschoolers are not worried about form. They are happy just to get the ball to go the length of the lane!
We have enjoyed two beautiful days of sunshine and blue skies. How wonderful it is to be outside without the full winter armor.
I hope you are enjoying some brighter days too.
Ah, spring is in the air.
Thaw
Yep, it's March. Longer days, lots of sun, and MUD.
The thawing out is always interesting. Today we had little rivers of water running down the back drive.The trip to the chicken barn is not icy anymore but does require boots.
P and I actually went to the park this afternoon, something we hadn't done since early fall.Yay! Spring is on the way!What do you do when energized by the spring sun and warmer temperatures?
Thoughtful Sunday
"A good detective is always in demand."Nancy Drew Mystery Stories: The Hidden Staircase, Carolyn Keene, 1930.
Designing
My sewing room is directly under our bathroom reconstruction zone. Without a ceiling, plaster debris and sawdust often rain down onto my desk from the work area above. I have resorted to keeping my laptop closed most of the time and vacuuming my desk and the computer key board several times a day. It is difficult to work in this environment so I have been spending some time writing down a few knitting designs. I have several sock and hat designs swimming around in my head.P has watched as I try to work the patterns out on graph paper. This is the first she has seen of graph paper. She was so intrigued that she wanted to try it herself and has designed her own sock. She has moved on to planning out a few doll quilts
and even a dress she wants me to make. It has pompoms on the bottom, sides, and even the sleeves!
My designs seem to take longer. I figure, knit, pull out, knit some more, make more notes... my mind races. While I am knitting on one idea my mind is working on another. I think I'll start knitting another sock tomorrow just to get the design out of my head so that I can knit on one or the other peacefully!
I 'll be sure to let you know when I have a pattern written out. In the mean time it's back to the drawing board for me.
