Hammocks

Our spot in the woods.

The Hidden Patch

Clothing is more than just what we wear to present ourselves to the world. For me, it is art, affecting how I feel about myself and what I'm thinking about or hoping for on that particular day.

Sometimes I sew a patch onto the insides of my skirts and fill it with stones, herbs and spices, acorns or charms...just whatever I want. When I wear the skirts with what I call the Hidden Patch, I like to reach down and hold the stones and spices in my hand throughout the day to reconnect with their positive energy.

I sewed a skirt for myself a while back that I call Summer's Day, it's made of cheery blue and natural colored calicos. The Hidden Patch in that skirt contains Citrine and Amethyst for Joy, Optimism and Hope. Whenever I need a little boost of good vibes, I can just reach down and touch the patch, and let the stones work their magic :)

The Kitchen Table

Agnes posing beside her kill. The table doesn't look like that now. With great hope I set my machines out (we live in a small house and I keep my sewing stuff stored in a gorgeous old hope chest that my mother restored). They have been sitting there lonely for about a week. Riona got her shots on Tuesday and she has been having a bit of a hard time, therefore so has Mama.

Our Yule Tree

Guitar heroes

Not just Guitar Hero but Guitar Hero 3. They have entered another dimension, the dimension of Rock, a land where the gods of metal bless the believers with deft fingers and a tolerance for screeching guitar riffs.

Gnome house furniture

Well, whenever we get around to it! We have a gnome house and fairy home in the planning stages and these fraser fir scraps will make great furniture or just blocks for Wildwood Baby to play with. I salvaged them out of the tree trimmings bin when we got our Yule tree last weekend.

Scarves as holiday gifts!

I sewed variations on these styles for family members. They are made of calicos, corduroys and the one for Mama has blue velvet and a gorgeous batik that I made Riona's coming home baby outfit from.

New skirt

Haven't thought of a name for this one yet but the colors remind of spring flowers in the middle of brown winter.

A walk in the woods

We try to get out into the woods every day but we haven't gone for a walk in a while. Yesterday's walk was much needed. Riona has gotten better at walking on rough ground by herself and the leaves cushion her falls nicely!

Catnip mice carnage

The first two arrive, it's just the beginning...

Am I ever going to finish these stupid catnip mice? I am making a whole bunch of them for our kitties and as gifts for other kitties. I made some years ago for Kim and Bridget's kitties and they are still their favorite toys! So, by request I am making them a few plus some extras (13 in all) but the operative word is making because every time I bust out the catnip my cats get freaky. I know that I need to just shut the bedroom door and lock them out but I have forgotten both times to do that...next time I will. First Bo comes sniffing around, nostrils twitching and eyes big in anticipation of the mayhem that will ensue. Suddenly Seamus comes bounding onto the bed and it's total chaos. Eventually most of the kitties make their way to the bedroom and Riona is squealing at them in glee as half finished catnip mice start flying, their scrap stuffing hanging out of their half sewed bodies.

Handmade Holidays!

Handcrafters' Holidays Blog Meme from SewMamaSew!

Do you have a favorite gift that you love to give?

Every year I make Pumpkin bread with chocolate chunks and walnuts or pecans. It is really moist which is how I like it. I like my brownies nearly raw and you guessed it-I love Ben and Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. But I do bake my bread all the way, it's just made extra moist by using lots of pumpkin stuff. I use the recipe from Fanny Farmer but I change it a bit by cutting the oil in half and doubling the pumpkin.

If you’re making gifts this year, what are you making?

I'm making Scarves, Pumpkin bread,

Catnip mice, Shelly's Blue Turkle Skirt and Pioneer dolls.

Scarves

Pioneer Dolls

Blue Turkle Skirt

Catnip Mice

Will I ever get these done? I'm making a lot of these to give as gifts to the kitties in my life, a few for mine but most for other family's kitties. Even though we do 'catnip bombs' periodically to keep the masses happy here at home, they never miss a chance to get more catnip and so this project has turned into a big catnip mess. I'm just going to have to shut the kitties out of the bedroom next time I work on these darn mice.

Do you make and sell things that would make fantastic gifts?

I sew patchwork skirts to sell on Etsy and Ebay. Usually they are XL or larger because I know how frustrating it is to be curvy and never find special clothes that fit!

Drum Circle Deva Designs


What do you love most about the holiday season? What do you like least about the holiday season?

I think these two questions go together very well, because the holiday season is totally a juxtoposition of wonder and stress. For me it starts when the leaves begin to turn and I get this lovely desire to drink lots of coffee, listen to celtic music and gaze out the windows while curled up on the couch. Then as more and more leaves fall off the trees it gets closer and closer to gift giving time and I'm on the hunt for solutions to our lack of funds for giving those gifts. I am a stay at home mom and our family is supported by my hard working man therefore we have very little extra money. So I bake bread! This year, inspired by SewMamaSew I sewed scarves and catnip mice and dolls for family and friends. When all the leaves are gone and it's cold outside (well, for the deep south) there is another transformation. The stress and frantic running around fades into this awesome sense of accomplishment for the things I've made. And finally the holidays themselves: time to hang out with the family and stay at home in our robes-drink some more coffee and cuddle!

Foggy Morning

These are the woods in front of the house, to the right is our driveway and to the left is the path to the hammocks in the woods, one of my favorite spots.

Pioneer Dolls

Pioneer dolls were made back in the day for children to hold during church or other quiet gatherings so that when they dropped them, they wouldn't make any noise when they hit the floor. I made four of these dolls, but already gave one to my nephew, Crevan. The pink one is for Georgia and the other two are Riona's. I got the idea and the general instructions from this page at California Pioneer but changed a few things here and there. These dolls were very simple to make and gave me no end of joy to put them together! Riona loves to smell their heads; they are stuffed with rosemary from the pots at back deck. Already they have their own personalities. It would be fun to make some kitchen witches too, use this same pattern but buy little brooms and hats from the craft store and hang them up in the kitchen. Suzanne said that people put up kitchen witches to protect them from injuries and mishaps in the kitchen. I feel like the little dolls I made have very kind and protective energies.