Winter Season's Round Exchange: Part II

If the first part of my package was a disappointment, I have nothing but love for the second part.

I love everything about it, the whole process of making her, the way she turned out the feeling of giving her and knowing that she would be loved in her new home.

note: my package did actually go out on time, but it was right before me moved and it seems I forgot to post about it. I still have to get some pictures of the package from my partner. It's wonderful!

A His and Hers Birthday Celebration

We're in "morning after" mode here at the moment, meaning a slow moving, tired mama, lots of playing with new presents and cake for breakfast (with plans for leftovers for lunch!).

I think that the party went well for the most part. There were, of course, the usual assortment of mishaps...there was the neighbor who decided to come over and introduce herself an hour before guests were due to arrive ("so nice to meet you, but we're rather busy at the moment...", "oh, I'll just stay and chat for a bit..."), the full blender that I managed to accidentally turn on, sans lid...the frosting that outright refused to thicken, and a certain variety of cupcake; moist and lovely the night before, but glued to the liners by morning (one child actually returned his to me declaring that it "didn't work"), a pinata that refused to die, in a too small room with a too long stick, and a whole, whole lot of noise (quite a bit more then several of the adults could stomach to be honest). But there was also a lot of sledding and a lot of laughing, and a lot of friends that we haven't seen in a long time, all together at last. The kids had tons of fun and amazingly few things broke, so I'd say it was a success. One eight year old approached me at the end of the day, looking very earnest indeed, and said in a confiding sort of tone, "I just wanted you to know that this was probably one of the top three parties I've ever been to." So there you have it!

His:

Brownies and double chocolate cake in a woodland night theme.

I looked more into those India Tree natural food colorings and in my irritation at the price ($30 for food coloring? Seriously??), decided to get creative and come up with my own: blueberries, strawberries, bee pollen, and (don't tell the kids!) spinach.

Hers:

A bunny carrot cake with lots of fruit and cupcakes topped with "rosebuds" (raspberries and mint leaves).

The bunny cake was not my best work. I've made much nicer, but it was thrown together at the last minute (see "mishaps" above) and I didn't have enough frosting to do it right (and the frosting that I did have wasn't really the right consistency, again, see above.) and I never did find those toothpicks that I was going to use for whiskers...

I'll be back with another home made Christmas post tomorrow!

Tonight I'm....

*eating leftover frosting off of a spoon

*cramming for a set of birthdays that somehow snuck up on me

*trying to think through the details for the party this weekend, what to make, what to cook, what to buy...

~one year ago tomorrow~

*looking at old pictures

*sewing buttons on a sweater

*wondering where a year went

*or ten for that matter

*adding to an old Rainbow Bridge story and starting a new one

~yesterday-having a mini-celebration with visiting family~

*taking the time to watch them sleep

*feeling awed and proud and a little sad

*looking forward to the future, but hoping it will take it's sweet ole' time in getting here

*vowing to slow down for this next year, to live in the moment and cherish each one

*dreaming about who they will be next year, and tomorrow, and 26 years after that

*still amazed by it all, now and forever

The Second Robe

Same pattern as the first. After the trouble I had with Elijah's robe, I was hesitant to start an even larger version (Iain's), so I decided to make some adjustments on a smaller scale, while making Galen's.

~Galen and 'Burdock'~

Of the three, I think his turned out the nicest.


And, when all else fails, it's a great place to stash your sword...

Stuffed duck made from recycled sweaters by a local toy maker. Sword (a gift from my parents) by Isle of Man Woodworking.

2009

The First Robe

I made Elijah's robe first for two reasons:

1) With all of the crafting for my winter birthday kids (as in, everyone but him), I felt like I hadn't worked on anything for him for a while.

2) His light colored outer fabric made it out of the wash just as I was sitting down to sew (where as the darker counterparts did not possess such excellent sense of timing).


KWIK SEW 2705
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I purchased the cotton velour for lining these robes ages ago, when I found it at a good price through a co-op. The little kids Christmas pj's from last year were made of cotton velour and the older set were covetous of "fuzzy fabric-ed" garments of their own.

Now, the problem with buying the lining so far in advance was that I was them committed to finding a fabric to coordinate with it.

There is a part of this shopping trip that I didn't mention. The hour or so that I spent pacing up and down the flannel aisle, tiny fabric swatches in hand, muttering about horrible shades of red that outright clash with everything. The kind ladies working that day took pity on me and tried to help, but all the same, by the time Steve got back to pick me up I had the crazy-eyed look of a women on the verge of a break down.

And right then and there is where I did some letting go of my own and the kids learned about their robes.


The next level of letting go came with the fabric choices. I had something very particular in mind. For months on end, I had been picturing some very classic looking Christmas pajamas. Maybe something in plaid or pinstripes, perhaps some paisley, maybe, just maybe, some discrete and tastefully done snowflakes; none of which I could find to match this red.

What I did find to match it was several different overly bright, overly loud and, dare I say, overly tacky fabrics.

And I found this:
With snowflakes and polar bears and tress and (this was the clincher) red cardinals that matched the velour exactly. It wasn't at all what I had in mind, and yet it was very, very Elijah (especially the cardinals). When I showed it to him and he hugged the bolt, I figured it was the way to go.

Sewing the stretchy velour to the stiff woven gave me all kinds of trouble, but it more or less worked out in the end. And he *loves* the robe. I think it's been on him, every single indoor hour since I gave it to him. He hangs it by the door and the moment the snow clothes come off, the robe comes on. Every time I see him in it, I can't help but smile.

Happy Monday!

So, I had plans to post a Christmas Eve status update (these photos were to be a part of that) and I thought I would put out a Merry Christmas sort of post, but then I got caught up in all that is life and none of that ever happened. So I am here this morning to wish you a Merry Monday After Christmas and I hope that you are enjoying all of it's charms (how many of you just cursed me into eternity?? Come on now, it's not that bad...).


It's actually no where near the end of the frantic holiday season for me. The holiday season doesn't end, and the new year doesn't officially start for me until January 6th, possibly a little later this year since we are a hosting a big double birthday party the following weekend. That is the earliest possible date for me to take a deep breath and have a good sit. But there has been a shift: first set of goals met (or at least a valiant effort was made) and it's on to level two. This year that means a shift from the sewing machine to my knitting needles, and I quite welcome the change of pace, along with the potential movies that might be watched during said knitting.

Christmas was pretty nice here. A fairly quiet affair. It was good really, but it somehow had a little less sparkle for me this year then usual. I think a lot of that has to do with it coming right on the heels of the stress of our recent move. Everything was lovely really, I just couldn't quite enjoy it to the fullest.

There was lots of fun to be had though. Iain and Elijah got this and I'm currently enjoying my reign as world champion....alright, well, house champion anyway. I've been joking that I finally found my sport. How sad is it that it's tabletop pinball?!? Do you think I can count the blister that I've developed as a sports injury??


I'll be rolling out some of the Christmas crafting, just as soon as I get some good pictures. Can you believe that my camera batteries died Christmas morning! Apparently some of my usual planning was overlooked. Gee, I wonder why. It's not like there was anything else going on....hmm...

In a way it was good though. I kind of appreciated the shift in perspective; the move away from viewing through a lens and just being with everyone without any other agenda. It was a good one I think, for me in that moment in time. But it means that you might just have to wait a little bit to see how far I got with the Christmas pajamas!

And we still have Christmas part II to celebrate, with the arrival of my parents and sisters on New Years day. As I said, things are going to be busy, busy here for a bit longer yet.

Onwards and upwards!

home for the holidays

We're all here still trying to settle in, trying to settle down. Things are mostly going very well. I'm walking around the edges of a migraine today, which always gets me down, but I know that once the fog clears, life will be good again (I know that it's good now too, but it's also rather painful and blurry).



The pajamas are coming along, though sadly, I suspect today is going to be a loss sewing wise. I'm almost done all the pajama pants, I finished a bonnet (ideally I would love to add a bit of embroidery...), and one robe is complete, with the patterns traced for two more.



Maybe today is a day for baking? Maybe it's just a day for rest. I know that it's a day to step back, take it easy on everyone and see where we end up.

WIP: the great Christmas pajama race

My life's purpose at this moment is centered around the making of Christmas pajamas for my four little ones. That's it. Seems simple enough, right?

Well, maybe.


Today I managed to: find the fabric.

And not much else. I unpacked the box that reads, "MELODY NEED THIS NOW". And while all that was true, there were about 20 other things that Melody needed, that weren't in the box. After the rearranging, unpacking, repacking, stacking, and unstacking, of several dozen boxes, now Melody has everything she needs. Everything that is, except for the entire day that was lost to the search.
(and for all that sorting, I still haven't come across the nail clippers *or* my size 4 knitting needles. I tell you, I have half a mind to chuck all of those boxes out the window right now.... but I really should find those nail clippers first...)

I don't know how far I'll get, but I have to at least try. I'm taking my own advice and going easy with myself, in-so-far as not holding on to keeping my work a surprise. The downside of that is that a finished product is now expected. Oh, the pressure.

Break time's over!

Now to find a space to work...

Into the woods....

and back home again...