My son, Josh, gave me an online art class for Christmas. It just started on Monday. Step one was to copy a portrait (the instructor supplied one). Step two was to shade/color using charcoal. Now, my children will attest that my drawing skills are pretty basic. And I’ve… Read More »Learning
The last sweater I made for Sophie met a rather unfortunate end. I think she tied it around her waist while she was riding her bike late this past fall and the wheel must have rubbed against the knit, making quite a large hole and my darning skills… Read More »Sophie’s Waltyn Sweater
I bought a hank of yarn before Christmas to make a quick messy bun hat for one of my daughters, but I ran out of time. And then I realized that the daughter I had in mind didn’t wear her hair in a messy bun. So then I… Read More »My Clara Cowl
I went to bed last night knowing that a cold had taken hold, but other than upping my vitamins a bit and drinking more tea than usual, I didn’t have the energy to do anything else. This morning I felt even worse. Knowing that our calendar was clear… Read More »Roasted Garlic Soup
At the beginning of the year, I indulged in fantasies of hours upon hours of sewing; all sorts of beautiful and handmade items making their way from my sewing machine out into the world; launching my way from hobby status into an actual business that could not only… Read More »Slow Making
The girls have been watching me while I work on embroidering doll faces and they asked if they could do some hand stitching as well. It’s been a while since I first taught them how to embroider. Like so many things children learn, they’re interested for a while,… Read More »Teaching Them Embroidery
I have long believed that certain items of clothing belong to certain months. Sweaters for November, loose skirts in July, and mittens in January. There’s something about the month of January that calls for mittens. Not gloves, mind you. Mittens. And I found myself lacking mittens to wear… Read More »January Mittens for Mama
The kitchen addition that we started early last summer came to a screeching halt in early fall when we ran out of essential resources – time and money. We’ve been picking away at it a little at a time, and this past weekend he was able to finish… Read More »Making it home – kitchen painting
I started to knit a cowl for myself not too long ago. I wasn’t 100% certain about the yarn though. It’s yarn that I picked up at a fiber festival last year. I bought it because we were researching sheep breeds and this one was on (very long)… Read More »Remaking – a Life Lesson in Good
We had a flurry of making during the days before Christmas. Some things I remembered to take pictures of before wrapping and giving, some I didn’t. But there was one thing that I never got to. A new Christmas stocking for Silas. Actually, new isn’t the right word. … Read More »One Last Christmas Project