mama urchin

365 Days a Year

Published January 31, 2010 This & That , Through The Lens 1 Comment

I don’t think I’ve mentioned that I decided do a 365 project this year. It seemed like a good year to do it, a new decade and all. Plus, this is a time I want to remember but often feel like I don’t have time to write it all down. My hope is that by taking a photo each day and writing a small bit will turn into a collection that reflects a year of our lives. If you are interested you can follow the project on flickr. This mosaic is the photos I took for the project in January. Click through if you’d like to see the individual shots.

Shalom

Published January 27, 2010 Fiber Crafts , Knitting 10 Comments

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have a finished knit for me that I love. You may recall how Juliet didn’t end well and that was the last knit for me. Shalom was a different story altogether. I altered the pattern a bit — details on ravelry — because it is written for one small size only. If I were making another — and I am not ruling out that possibility — I think I’d cast off fewer stitches for the cap sleeve and leave more stitches for the body. The yarn is Rowan’s RYC Soft Tweed in a sage-y color. I loved working with this yarn and was very happy with how it washed and finished. Especially since this pattern is free I highly recommend it if you are looking to make a really great sweater. And if you are looking for some inspiration try these made by Melissa (and this one, and this one too), and by Gwen, and by Liz, and by Amanda, and by Laura for starters.

Some Finished Knitting

Published January 19, 2010 Fiber Crafts , Gifts , In the Mailbox , Knitting 4 Comments

We spent the weekend celebrating the christening of a good friend’s baby at the Jersey shore. We had a great time hanging out with friends we don’t see nearly enough. It was just like when we were in college except now we have a whole bunch of little ones to watch out for. So strange. As for the giving it seemed to me that a bonnet and booties set was in order for this sweet little girl so that’s what she got. Both were knit from Jaeger Roma — which I love and got on sale — in cloud (015) and blossom (011). I used Larissa’s Feather and Fan Bonnet pattern and this Mary Jane Booties pattern. The gauge/yarn produced a small bonnet, just right for a two-month old head and the booties were also a perfect fit. You can find the details on the ravelry project pages but for the booties I switched colors on row 16. This is the same baby who now possesses last year’s February baby sweater and in the few moments I was able to steal her away from her adoring aunties and grandmother we were able to get a photo of her in all the handknits. Sweater, bonnet, and booties, I think she’s all set.

The Most Important Job

Published January 15, 2010 This & That 5 Comments

Do you ever think about how just by chance you were born into prosperity? Do you ever think about how the mamas in Africa, the mamas in Southeast Asia, the mamas in Haiti all want the same things as you do for their children? I do. And this week I’ve been thinking about it even more. I’m sure you have too. There is a lot of giving going on out there and I really hope we all can give until it’s enough. But this week I’ve been thinking about how the most important thing we can do every day is to show these little ones to live with compassion and kindness in their hearts. Don’t get me wrong, I think that our financial support is incredibly important — not just when there is an urgent need but also when the need is continual — but I really believe that teaching our children to live with generous hearts in every moment will continue to make all the difference.

Looking Back

Published January 3, 2010 Cooking , Fiber Crafts , In the Kitchen , Knitting , Sewing , This & That 11 Comments

So 2009 is out the window and I am so glad. It was just a crummy year in the urchin household and from what I gather, a lot of other households too. So, rather than dwell on the yuck, let’s take a look at the good stuff I got accomplished while in the mire. First up, the knitting:

To be honest, I’m not too pleased about the knitting. I intended to knit through EZ’s Knitter’s Almanac and did not get very far. In fact the February Baby Sweater is the only completed project from the book. I’m hoping to change that in 2010. I think there was a lot of starting in 2009, not so much finishing, I’m hoping to improve in 2010. Dare I say that going into 2011 I’d like to have no WIPs in my knitting basket?

The sewing however, required two mosaics so that’s something. Katie alone got about a dozen new outfits made by her mama. That is something that makes me exceedingly happy. I also finished four quilts in 2009. I have a whole bunch of quilt tops ready too so just like the knitting, I need to finish what I start. This may be a theme. I made a lot more of the gifts the urchins give their friends so I would like to continue that trend in 2010. In fact, I’d like to try to get a stash together so I’m not always sewing at the last minute.

And then there’s the food. We ate mostly locally at almost every meal this summer and at many of our meals in the other seasons too. I canned so much — so so much — and looking at those jars makes me so happy. I remember one week in August where I canned something every day. We found a dehydrator on craigslist and expanded our repetoire to include dried food as well as canned and frozen. I canned jam and salsa, whole fruits and sauces, sweet and savory. We had to figure out a new system for storing it all. We’ll be eating well all winter I’m sure. In fact, on one of those stressful days before Christmas I realized I had gumbo in the freezer that I made back in the summer and it was so good.

But 2010, I have big plans for you. Plans that include expanding the garden and the pantry. Plans that include covering all the members of my house in their own quilt. But more on that later, for now I think I’ll just look at what was good in 2009.

Teacher Gifts

Published December 22, 2009 Crafting With the Urchins , Fiber Crafts , Gifts , In the Mailbox , Knitting 4 Comments

Friday was Tristan’s last day of preschool before the break. Katie was supposed to have her last day of school today. I say supposed to because on Saturday we watched the snowflakes come down and keep coming down until we had over 22 inches on the ground. Our county is largely rural and so the school system canceled classes for this week knowing that there was no way to get the schools and roads dug out in time. So, Tristan took gifts for his teachers on Friday and Katie’s teacher will get a New Year gift instead.

As in years past the urchins dyed yarn in their teachers’ favorite colors. This year we used kool-aid — an awful lot of kool-aid to get the saturated colors we wanted — in a squirt bottle for the photo that we include on the tag and we also dyed the yarn in a pot as well. Tristan’s teachers like burgundy and red so we used black cherry and cherry kool-aid. Katie’s teacher likes blue so we used ice blue raspberry lemonade. Since Katie’s haven’t been delivered yet they may get overdyed to a darker blue before they do since I am not happy with the color they are presently.

I improvised the pattern. I’ve made a lot of mitts so I just needed to figure out how many stitches to cast on — 28 for those wondering — and could go from there. I knit 10 rows of ribbing, 5 rows stockinette, increased for the thumb gusset, separated for the thumb, 5 rows stockinette and 5 rows ribbing and then bound off. I picked up the thumb stitches and 4 stitches from the mitt, knit 2 rounds and then rib for 3 rounds and bound off. Easy peasey and all four mitts for Tristan’s teachers were made in one day with plenty of breaks. I’d say they require about 90 minutes per pair. Bulky yarn is the way to go for quick projects. I think his teachers were happy with their gifts and they both have tween-age children they could give these to if they don’t think they’ll wear them all much. The urchins love making them, that’s for sure. I think we’ll be doing some more dying soon.

A Dress to Sing About

Published December 16, 2009 Fiber Crafts , Sewing 10 Comments

Katie needed a dress for her choir performance at church last Sunday. At about 4:00 I was able to sneak into my sewing room for about an hour to make her one. This is not a method that I advocate but if you are in a rush and need a dress I highly recommend going the raglan sleeve/peasant top route. I have a whole bunch of this tablecloth print that I bought for about $1 a yard at Joann’s sometime after Christmas last year that I knew would be a dress, someday. If you’ve never used a tablecloth print before it’s printed on the fabric to be made into a tablecloth. So in this case, there is a brown band and a winter scene along each selvedge edge. I wanted to use that edge as the bottom of Katie’s dress and the cuff of her sleeves so I had to cut my pattern pieces sideways. The bodice and sleeves were based on pattern #18 from Ottobre 03/07. I shortened the dress length to be a bodice length, then I added a gathered skirt. For the sleeves I increased the length of the pattern piece to be long sleeved and gathered them at the cuff. We added the ribbon sash to make it a little more Christmas-y. Next time I think I’ll try to start earlier but it’s good to know in a pinch my girl can look pretty cute in a jiffy.

Santa Lucia

Published December 14, 2009 Crafting With the Urchins , Fiber Crafts , Sewing 5 Comments

When Katie was three or four years old we read a book about Saint Lucia day and Katie was wide-eyed. When she was four years old we made a set of Saint Lucia clothespin dolls. Last year we decided Katie was big enough to bring buns to us in bed — I get up and help her get ready then go back to bed — and this year we added a crown.

I first saw the idea in Living Crafts magazine — love this magazine by the way — and considered seeing if someone could make us one but never got my act together. So this one was made by me at the last minute but was so worth it when Katie realized she would be wearing a crown this year. The crown is made of wool felt with machine appliqued embellishments with a cotton strap in the back. We’re not Scandinavian, Italian, or Catholic so celebrating Saint Lucy is not part of our cultural or religious tradition. However, the darkness of these days as we near the solstice is something we want to recognize and the idea of a child reminding us of the coming light of Christmas is magical. So, our tradition has evolved to this, a little girl with candles and a crown helping us remember what this season is all about.

Addicted to Aprons

Published December 7, 2009 Cooking , Fiber Crafts , In the Kitchen , Sewing 4 Comments

It seems I’ve been on a bit of an apron bender. It started with making an apron and mitt set — fabrics are Alexander Henry sweet treats and petiti fours– for Tristan’s friend Mallory’s birthday to go with a baking set — I now buy the rolling pin etc. in a set from IKEA. Before her birthday we asked her what she wanted and she said cake! so a baking set seemed like a good idea. She made Tristan cookies to say thank you, aren’t four-year-olds so cute. He told Mallory that she’s a really good cooker.

Then I decided to make aprons for the urchins and their cousins for our annual family Christmas cookie bake-a-thon. Tristan picked out this Thomas the Train Christmas print sometime in the early Autumn. I’ll admit it was bribe to get him in and out of the fabric store with minimal fussing. I had no idea what I was going to do with it until I started making the aprons. So both boys got Thomas aprons using the same pattern as Mallory’s. For my nephew — who is only eighteen months — I sized it down a bit by reducing the length and the width but keeping the overall shape. For the girls I started with a top shape from a Simplicity pattern — 3949 — and then did my own thing for the waistband and skirt. The Simplicity pattern just had way too many pieces for me. I also changed the neck and waist ties to be more like the toddler apron with an elastic neck and velcro closure on the waist. I’m all about the urchins dressing themselves without frustration.

When Tristan’s best friend decided he wanted to have a chef party I knew he would be getting an apron and baking set too. I decided though that instead of an oven mitt Sam should get a chef hat. After a bit of figuring I made the chef’s hat with a coordinating stripe. The band is adjustable with velcro so it should fit a variety of head sizes. I think it made a pretty cute set.

I think before the end of the holiday season I may just have another apron or two up my sleeve. We’ll see though, I still have a lot to do in the next 18 days.

Pirate Party

Published December 3, 2009 Crafting With the Urchins , This & That 3 Comments

Back before Thanksgiving someone in our house turned four. It might be hard to believe but it’s true. He asked that we celebrate with a pirate party so Captain Tristan invited his mateys aboard the dread ship Compass Rose for some looting and pillaging and all around treasure hunting. Every time his birthday rolls around Tristan requests the same fare — hotdogs, goldfish crackers, marshmallows, and candy — and I figure who am I to argue with the captain? So we taped butcher paper to the table and drew a great big treasure map. We had the pearl islands — where there were bowls of marshmallow — and the fish islands — bowls of goldfish crackers — and Frank’s place — hotdogs — and a spot in the ocean where there is good fishing — swedish fish — and most importantly Treasure Island where Captain Tristan is reported to have hidden his treasure — the cake was here. Somehow I didn’t get a photo of the table so use your imagination.

We played two games, toss the treasure and pin the treasure chest on the X. We made a treasure chest out of a wood crate and some cardboard. We used cheap plastic coins from the party store to toss — each child got 5 coins to toss — and also decorated the chest with dress-up necklaces and rings. For the pther game we made a treasure map from a photo paper cutoff and I burnt the edges. Each child was blindfolded and spun around three times before they attempted to put the treasure chest on the X. The urchins are notorious for cheating at all versions of pin the tail on the donkey and Tristan’s marker did end up right on the X. Pirate captains like to win you know.

For decorations the guests had to walk a plank onto our porch to get into the house — this was huge hit with the kids — and we had a ship’s wheel just inside the door cut from a sheet of cardboard — you can see a bit of it in the treasure toss. We hung pennant banners made from scrapbooking paper and ribbon. The maps and a few pirate toys rounded out the decor I put out. Katie thought we were missing something so she added this sign, quite possibly my favorite thing from the party.