Spring Rolls In...Some Exciting News...and Palm Sunday!

Spring is rolling into Carolina! Hooray!

This past week was a bit tempestuous, however.

We were treated to two days of dramatic storms that brewed flash floods and tornadoes all across the Southeast.  If you remember fall 2015 as well as I do, then you know I do not take flood warnings lightly. Not anymore. Amazing how some things stay with us, even long after we are healed from the trauma of it. Still, we were blessedly safe and all the anxiety resulted in two days of coming home early from work. I'm not going to complain about that as there was plenty to do here as always!

During the worst of the weather, I finished up my dad's birthday slippers. He turned 70 during the week but we celebrated yesterday. On Thursday, my son made his gift for my father, which was a homemade fruitcake.

Now that, my friends, was a true labor of love. We made the little one so we could sample it. My oh my. Definitely keeping this recipe for Christmas gifting. Here it is for you!
 http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/christmas-special-fruitcake

In preparation for the special day yesterday, we went out for strawberries last Saturday! This time of year many local farms let you pick your own, which is backbreaking work really that reminds us to truly appreciate and thank all of those who play a part in getting our food from seed to table.

These strawberries were used to make the strawberry shortcake for my dad's birthday party yesterday. It was a big hit. A spring and summer dessert staple around here. Luckily the storms this week didn't do much damage at local farms and we'll be able to go gather more throughout the season...

...because nothing beats strawberry jam, right?

 I was up to my ears in strawberries last Saturday it seemed, but so worth it to have several jars already for enjoying and gifting to others. We are still moving towards more and more homemade and handmade gifts for all occasions and nothing beats yummy foods! Everyone already seems to have so much stuff, don't you think? 

I also made a shoofly pie last weekend, and let me just say, oh...my...goodness! This is one I will definitely make again, maybe even today.

The recipe came from a little book I have been enjoying reading a bit of each evening. Because no one does simple living quiet like the Amish, correct? 

It's a great little read, filled with great traditional recipes from Amish country and reminders of how to slow down, step out of the hectic, consumer-drive pace of mainstream society and embrace the things in life which matter most.

Which brings me to a bit of excitement...I have secured a monthly meeting place for the SC based branch of Radical Homemakers! I am really excited about this and busy planning the year's curriculum now! What would you like to learn about and enjoy if you attended these meetings? I'm thinking of everything from learning to keep bees to making Christmas garlands from old cards. Oh, it's going to be delightful! Learn more about the Radical Homemaker movement here http://theradicalhomemaker.net/ and if you are local, join our SC group for updates and meeting times/location! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1731283990482692/

Today is the Palm Sunday Procession and service at our church and since our priest applied for and received a parade permit, and we know bagpipes and donkeys are going to be included, we are pretty excited about attending! Afterwards, a slow Sunday with lots of playing outside and a bit of painting for me. I've a commission to complete and a few new pieces, including this one, Pine Moon, to varnish for upcoming shows. 

Thanks so much for stopping by! Have a blessed and happy Palm Sunday!

Better Living Through Stitching Together...WWKIP Day!

I'm all for big holidays - Christmas, Thanksgiving, The Fourth of July...but I also love small celebrations, such as the Solstice Purging Ceremony I hosted a couple of weeks ago.

And I also love World Wide Knit in Public Day, which promotes 'better living through stitching together.'

Painted by local artist Shelley Grund at Aromas during 2013 WWKIP day!

For years that stretch back beyond number, women have gathered together in small groups to, in some form, 'promote better living through stitching together.' I felt a touch of this connection to women past and present a few years back, when I spent an afternoon swifting yarn  over coffee at the kitchen table with a friend while kids played outside. As a busy working single mom in a very modern tech-driven world, it is rare for me to feel I'm doing something that my grandmothers before me might also have done.

When this happens, it touches on something deep inside of me, something our society doesn't always recognize in these fast-paced modern times. It's simple, but so necessary.

Connection.

Community.

Creativity.

And one more...Celebration.

WWKIP Day represents, for my friends and I, the celebration of our craft, our community, our creativity, and our deep and wonderful connections as women.

This year, we celebrated WWKIP Day once again at the lovely Aromas Village Coffee, a locally owned shop with a great selection of coffees, treats, accessories for ladies,  and even creations by local artists!

 

All over the world, there are places like this, but this is our local coffee shop and cafe, and we love it!

 

I can't think of a better place to hold our WWKIP Day gatherings, or just our random knit-in-public gatherings. So on a Friday afternoon in June, we gathered again to celebrate a craft that connects us, a craft that transcends age, race, and even gender. (Though I am focusing on women in this writing, yes, guys do knit and knit well! My son learned at 7 and my favorite yarn shop in Charlotte is owned by a gentleman knitter!)

The table was set, welcoming those who came (thank you Virginia for such a lovely display!)

My son settled in for a cozy afternoon with a little tech time...

 It was one of those days when just walking across a parking lot can leave you glistening, but Aromas was nice and cool inside, the perfect place to work on a fall sweater project!

Other hands were busy with infant hats and handmade dish towels...

 

Virgina with some of the many infant hats she makes and donates to hospital.

It was a great afternoon of not only being with friends and knitting, but also engaging others in the magic of our craft. It's a joke among knitters that if you want to make new friends, knit in public! I have met many people and even helped facilitate the love of knitting into children just by answering questions and sharing tips while knitting in a public place! Which is one of the primary reasons we chose to celebrate WWKIP Day! 

Organizations like the Finnish-based Martha Organization celebrate home economics and the value craft and tradition can add to our daily lives, and are so valuable to promoting the idea that being creative is not about getting rich by selling what you make, but rather about enriching your home and your life! In the past, I focused on creativity solely as a way to make a living...but through knitting, I've learned to focus on creativity to make a LIFE. And I'm so much happier.

And I fully agree with the founders of WWKIP Day...knitting does promote better living through stitching together! 

A special thanks to Aromas Village Coffee for letting us gather to knit in public there not only on WWKIP Day, but all through the year!

Sustainability in Small Steps

My son is a mega-fan of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Hobbit, Lord of The Rings, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. We have all the books and the movies and, often have 'movie marathons' on rainy days. I believe reading the book series will keep us busy for many evening hours over the summer. Often we taken The Hobbit on long walks and I read aloud from it while we're enjoying a snack or picnic outside.

I love to make things by hand, especially things for my home. And I love making things for my son. I think it's important to teach children the value of handmade or homemade things, and also the value of the work to make them. The love, time and energy vested into creating something verses simply buying a ready-made item.

For me, it's a lifestyle choice. It's a way of honoring the beauty of little things, like making a pair of socks or a kitchen towel by hand for myself or someone else as a gift. It's also a form of sustainability. I don't believe you have to move to a rural area and 'go off the grid' to be self-sufficient. Nothing so drastic as that, though for many people, that's a lifelong goal. For me, I am at a place in life for simple sustainability, small steps. Knitting is one of my favorite activities and I feel I'm taking part in generations and generations of sustainability and creativity.

So when it was brought to my attention that some Hobbit gear was needed, of course I was ready with my needles. If you are a knitter or crocheter and not familiar with Ravelry, please visit the site today! It's a great place, like social networking for fiber artists! I entered 'hobbit hood' in the pattern search and came up with a hooded cloak of sorts that met my son's approval. So I cast on using recycled yarn (yarn I unwound from another project. This is a simple process and can be a fun way to recycle sweaters you or your child/children no longer wear!) I had previously made him a 'methril' vest, which if you are a Tolkien fan you will know is a special type of elven-chain mail that offers great protection in battle!

It was slow going as the yarn I used was prone to snagging on the needle, not to mention it was many stitches to each round. When it came to the hood, I was not sure how deep to make it. It's not always easy to follow a pattern exactly. If you are using different needle or yarn than pattern calls for, as I was,  you have to make adaptations often and check to make sure your item will fit, etc.

 

Then finally, I was done and could present the finished work to my son, who was delighted. He now has a hobbit hood and methril vest. He's still young enough to enjoy dress-up play, which is so beneficial to the imaginations of children. I love to eavesdrop on his play, to hear his imagination in action! And he loved his new 'gear'.

His next mission is to make a walking staff from a found branch, and we've spent many days looking for the perfect one in our woods. He finally found it, and is keen to begin carving the top into some design from his mind. He watched a master wood-carver at a festival recently and is eager to try the craft himself. Of course I will supervise but I'm happy he wants to make his own walking staff rather than simply purchase one.

It's a valuable lesson to teach children the beauty and joy of making things by hand! I love knowing that we have a handmade/homemade home and lifestyle and now my son wants to continue that tradition by making his own items.

Sustainability in small steps.