Crafted by Friends « mama urchin

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Summer Music Mix

Published June 13, 2009 Crafted by Friends , In the Mailbox 13 Comments

Over Memorial Day weekend we were eating outside on our deck and I was trying to figure out what music I should put on the stereo. What I really wanted was a summer music mix so after dinner I attempted to create one. Hmmm, easier said than done. Talk about an overwhelming task. So in a moment of inspiration I thought, what if I had my friends help? So here it is, a summer music mix created by a bunch of crafty girls.

The Captain –Kasey Chambers
Coney Island — Good Old War
Don’t Call It Love — Christa Wells
The Dress Looks Nice on You / Make You Feel That Way — Tor / Sufjan Stevens (f. Gift of Gab)
Heavenly Day — Patty Griffin
I Don’t Know — Lisa Hannigan
I’d Like to Know — Meg Hutchinson
Jacaranda Tree — Josh Garrels
Kamera — Wilco
The Littlest Birds — The Be Good Tanyas
Love — Matt White
Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat) — Jason Mraz
My Mirror Speaks — Death Cab for Cutie
Ok, It’s Alright With Me — Eric Hutchinson
Passe em Casa — Tribalistas
Slow Pony Home — The Weepies
A Summer Song — Chad & Jeremy
That’s Not My Name — The Ting Tings
They’ll Soon Discover (Album Version) — The Shins
Walking On Sunshine — Katrina & The Waves

With the loss of mixwit I don’t think there is a (legal) way for me to post the actual music but I encourage you to check out some of the bands/songs you haven’t heard of before. I love this mellow mix, just perfect for sitting on a picnic blanket or a day at the beach. Thanks go to : Alicia, Amanda Jean, Anina, Blair, Emily, Eren, Erin, Hannah, Kathy, Melissa, Melissa, Molly, Morgan, Rachel, Sarah, and Stefani.

Teacher Gifts

Published May 15, 2009 Crafted by Friends , In the Mailbox 4 Comments

Well, it’s that time of year again when we all are searching for the perfect gifts to thank our urchins’ teachers for inspiring, guiding, and sometimes just putting up with our children. I usually have trouble deciding whether to just go the cash/gift card route or to try to get some thing. The thing is often hard though since a lot of times these teachers come in pairs and what might be good for one is not always good for the other. This year, just as I was working myself up to deal with the procurement of the 13 gifts I need something serendipitous happened.

My dear friend Melissa decided that she was going to give full-time pottery a go. Perfect. You may recall that I’ve been a fan of Melissa’s work for a while, and we’ve even gotten to hang out and have coffee together. So, Bridgman Pottery is my official year-end teacher gift supplier. Tristan will be presenting the teachers and director at his preschool with tiny bowls and tiny soaps to go in them:

Katie’s various dance and choir teachers will be receiving little vases:

And the librarians and special teachers at Katie’s school will be sipping coffee from the world’s cutest mugs:

You might want to hop on over to Melissa’s etsy shop and order some year end goodies for your favorite teachers. And while you’re there you might want to pick up something for yourself. A little birdie told me that there are berry bowls…

Making Me Happy Today

Published May 11, 2009 Cooking , Crafted by Friends , Homemaking , In the Garden , In the Kitchen , In the Mailbox 7 Comments

:: wearing matching outfits with my girl on Mother’s Day ::

:: first berries of the season, and consequently the first canning session of the season as well ::

:: herbs in pots on my deck ::

:: a vegetable garden that is planted and ready to grow ::

Circus Quilt

Published March 20, 2009 Crafted by Friends , Fiber Crafts , Gifts , In the Mailbox , Sewing 7 Comments

If you read Amanda Jean’s blog you’ve seen this quilt before. She quilted it for me a bit ago and I just needed to get the binding on. I did a poor job of it but it is now bound and ready to send off. It will be joining the blocks and balls that were made of the same fabrics. The back is chenille and super soft — learn more about quilting with this type of chenille backing from Amanda Jean — and will be very tactile for the baby. I love this circus line by Felicity Miller for baby gifts. It’s so fun and bright. I think it’s still around so if you’re looking to make a baby something you might want to hunt for it.

Some Bootees and a Rattle

Published March 6, 2009 Crafted by Friends , Fiber Crafts , Gifts , In the Mailbox , Knitting 16 Comments

Next up in the parade of baby gifts is this pair of baby bootees. They were made for a friend who did not know whether she was having a boy or a girl. I went with this rainbow Cherry Tree Hill supersock merino yarn — leftovers from Katie’s kneesocks — thinking it would be gender neutral but in the end I think the bootees ended up looking a little girlish. All’s well though because my friend has since given birth to a healthy baby girl.

The pattern is Saartje’s Bootees. I made the newborn size and the colorway of the supersock merino is brights. The buttons are vintage mother of pearl and were part of this haul. I’m hoping they’re suitable for a new little princess.

The second part of the gift was a baby rattle made by Papa. This one, like the last one, is made with holly and finished with food-safe mineral oil. He’s been able to get back in his woodshop a little more recently and I think he’s been very happy about it. Is anyone seriously interested in buying one of these? I’m told that more can be made if there is interest. And, as promised last time, I’ll leave you with an action shot:

Eggsperimenting

Published January 26, 2009 Crafted by Friends , Crafting With the Urchins , In the Mailbox 3 Comments

Those scribblings up there are notes and observations by two budding scientists. Stefani recently published the first installment of her incredible project, The Book of Days and this egg experiment was one of the activities. Stef and her boys have obviously done a lot of work to prepare this incredible resource for families that want to, in her words, cherish their days. The February edition was released today and looks to be even better than January. It seems hard to imagine that’s possible since Katie’s response to the first edition was that’s the coolest thing ever! You should check it out, you may find you think the same thing.

Baptize!

Published January 19, 2009 Crafted by Friends , Gifts , In the Mailbox 23 Comments

My nephew Bobby was baptized yesterday. My brother was in charge of getting the cake for the luncheon they had after church and I guess he wasn’t sure what the bakery should write on the top. So, there in bright blue royal icing it simply said Baptize! All I can say is that we warned my sister-in-law before she married him. Back in my marriage, I asked Papa to make a rattle for us to give Bobby back in December but he forgot, I forgot, and then he went to Vegas for over a week. Bleh. So, Saturday afternoon while I took Katie to ballet — and got some gorgeous cashmere fabric for $15 a yard, yippee! — he sat Tristan in front of the playroom TV and went to his lathe to make this:

Can I tell you how wonderful it is to have a crafty husband? I know some of you already know. Seriously, if you’re single it’s something worth looking for in a prospective spouse. The wood is holly — light and tightly grained — and simply finished with butcher block oil to be totally safe for a baby mouth. He also chose holly because the wood is from a holly tree that grew at the house where my brother, sister, and I grew up. Papa might not be too sentimental but he knows the rest of us are. Congratulations on your baptism, Bobby. Hmmm, someone should have put that on a cake.

Right Now

Published January 5, 2009 Crafted by Friends , Fiber Crafts , Gifts , In the Mailbox , Knitting 8 Comments
Tags: januarysweater

I often wonder if the soundtrack of the urchins’ childhood will be the shrill beep of the smoke detector. That thing goes off an awful lot in our house. I also wonder if the tract home kitchen designer responsible for it’s placement has ever cooked anything. Oh, well. 2009? Can you believe it? I love the new year. A clean slate, a new start, and all that. I also really like the quiet stillness of January. A fire in the fireplace in the late afternoon while we wait for Papa to return from work.

Yesterday I dumped my yarn stash on the floor to see what I have. I’m planning to knit through Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac this year and first up is an aran sweater. A bag of red tweedy wool ought to be good for that and who knows, maybe I’ll even keep the sweater for myself in the end. I have lots more ideas and plans zipping around in my mind but for now, I’m going to stick with just this.

Thanks to Some of Santa’s Elves

Published December 31, 2008 Crafted by Friends , In the Mailbox 9 Comments

We’re a lucky lazy bunch over here. Papa is off of work on plant shutdown even though there hasn’t been a plant in years and we’re all enjoying our Christmas goodies. Santa must read your blogs because you all certainly helped with the gift selections this year.

First we had two beautiful backpacks made by Melissa:

I’m not sure how she got them done with all those babies but I remember from when Tristan was an infant, sometimes you just have to get something finished — it can be anything, really — and I’m guessing these backpacks might have been one of those things. Santa added a few books to them before leaving them under the tree. Katie got more Bob books for her collection and Tristan got My Friends and Sparkle and Spin as recommended by Martha.

Then there was this:

The ornament was made by Melissa — she has a few left — and is gorgeous. Santa also found a matryoshka necklace in MoonstruckMo’s etsy shop. The charm is hinged to reveal a small matryoshka inside. At the bottom of that package Santa gave Katie a real, live matryoshka. She has three of them now so a real, live collection has started. Papa’s been commissioned to put up a shelf.

My sister gave Katie a flower press and a few golden guides — trees, weeds, and wildflowers — as recommended by Stef. The guides are really good and inexpensive as well. Stef indirectly inspired another gift too. Tristan got an explorer pack. He is very into the idea of exploring and Santa went with the idea and gave him a kid-sized camelbak with a compass, thermometer, head lamp, whistle, and binoculars. I’ll have to get a photo of him wearing it because it is just unbearably cute. The other night he had Stefan and I pretending we were pumas so he could watch us through his binoculars.

So Santa did well this year even if (s)he was a little harried at the last minute. Thanks to all those elves who helped out, you sure made the urchins’ Christmas.

Flight of the Tooth Fairy

Published November 6, 2008 Crafted by Friends , Homemaking , In the Corners , In the Mailbox 10 Comments

It’s actually been almost a month since Katie came to me and said Mama, something happened to my tooth. The dentist told us last Spring that her bottom two teeth were loose but we hadn’t noticed any looseness until just the day before it came out. She was trying to open a lid with her teeth — not something we encourage, for sure — and out it came. Luckily, I was prepared with this:

A fairy portal by the absolutely wonderful Kim — seriously I cannot tell you how great she is. We did not want our fairy portals — you know I had to get one for Tristan too for when the time comes — to be mounted next to the baseboard like Kim’s regular doors. Instead we wanted to mount them higher on the wall — away from little hands. Fairies fly, right? So that is why Kim made us a circular door. Katie was thrilled when she discovered it in the morning. We told her she must be pretty special to have the tooth fairy build a door into her room. Now she’s just trying to figure out how to get the next tooth out.