the fabric of our lives

I swear I really am going to take the Christmas decorations down after this weekend ; )
You see a certain small someone turns seven tomorrow(what? that can't be!) and wanted to keep them up for this one last event. 'Suits me' I found myself saying.
Truth is, this year was the first that I really entered in to the Christmas tree tradition in my own home.
I can't bear the getting up in the dark of these early Winter mornings and find myself wanting to turn the tree lights on as I'm going through the motions of making smallie's porridge, makes it easier somehow, warmer. And I find myself getting attached to our little collection of decorations, especially the handmade ones.
My lovely Aunt in Kerry has a personal tradition where she writes a little note when its time to take the decorations down (usually the 6th of January in Ireland) recording current family news, what all her children are up to at this time, and what she hopes for them all in the coming year...then she slips it into the box as the decorations get tucked away for yet another year. She mentioned this simple ritual in passing, and I was really struck by it. When she takes her decorations out of storage next December the note will fondly be found and read.

Our house has been a work- in-progress for some time now, ever since we moved in here two and a half years ago and so I never quite felt comfortable having people over. Either there were power tools permanently plugged in to charge and I worried about visiting children or there were mice, never ending dust and areas of chaos that I preferred not to share. Finally last summer after all this work, time, and expense we arrived somewhere, phew! It's far from finished still, but feels like a home.. after Christmas it was a joy to have some very special friends over with thier children to share a meal and just be together. Particularly special as the Mamas all share my passion for handwork and we've all worked together at one time or another in workshop situations, sometimes in the role of mentor, sometimes student... kindred spirits to treasure surely : )

Little Christmas gifts from my woolly friends, they know what a girl really needs ; )

And around that time, two lovely musicians in Oregon chose one of my Christmas illustrations for the cover of their CD. We've been happily listening to it : )

I love the optimism, hope and faith that people seem to so easily hold at the beginning of a brand new year. I loved seeing all the texts and posts on facebook saying, 'I know this years going to be a good one'. Reminds me of the resilience of humankind. The feeling that things do keep on deepening and progressing, despite difficult times.
And I too feel there is So so much to look forward to. and to feel blessed for.

I was driving down our road today thinking of when I used to travel a lot, and ended up moving quite regularly... and lived a life of relative freedom, though I had no idea of that at all at the time. Man, I do now. I think I used to feel that if I had to get up at the same time every morning, five days a week and drive down the same road, five days a week, I'd go insane. Guess what? I'm doing it and have consistently been doing it now for all of  2.5 years and it ain't so bad! Last time I checked I was feeling more solid and more myself than perhaps ever : )

The lads meanwhile, just planted 78 garlic cloves in the polytunnel, a year's worth apparently.
So, no matter what else fails, there will be pesto!

Thank you for reading, M

Christmas vignettes

So its New Years day. No resolutions for me, too much pressure ; ) Just hoping to ease in to this brand new year with a little grace and remember to breathe a little more. In my line of work just time itself, looking ahead at any future time is an exciting prospect as it represents the possibility and potential for more art-making and for new learning, that being one of my deepest joys. 
Speaking of learning, I got an order for a Nativity Donkey just before Christmas...Requests like these I find daunting, but I'm up for a creative challenge. It always amazed me when I worked as a painter how people presumed that meant you could, and would paint anything. I've found the same with feltmaking. So when a potential customer sees your work then asks you to make a specific thing for them, how can you say no..? They believe you can do it, so that must mean you can, right?! Up until these past few weeks I'd no desire nor idea how to go about the process of making a four-legged creature in felt. But I'm beginning to figure it out : ) I've learned that with all such things, you've just got to get on with it. You start by taking a single wisp of wool in your hands..

 I seem to have mixed feelings when it comes to this time of year somehow. I guess my resistance to the commercialism and consumerism is part of it. Although I'm not religious, I do believe in the need and the potential for a warm spiritual aspect to this time of year, in a quiet understated way. And that's all I can try and create simply in my own home and family.
 As it's my busiest time of year for work, I miss the sweet, atmospheric lead-up to the day and sometimes I regret that. Luckily though, living in such a rural area it's easy to avoid the madness, I don't make it in to the cities so we get to bypass that part. 
What I did love this year was the making of Christmas decorations with the children in the last couple of handwork lessons of the term. And I value the reuniting of my family. How our children love those days and nights spent with their cousins again!
 We were all together this year, all eighteen of us spanning three generations gathered in my parent's house for five days. Very grateful for the mild weather and clear roads. I didn't sit behind the wheel of a car the whole time. Feeling very allergic to being in the car at the moment. As we live quite a distance from the school community, the driving is intense and I'm relishing the break from it.

The joy of waking up without the gruelling early morning ring of the alarm clock! I left my computer behind, and set my mobile phone aside. We don't have a television at home so it was fun to watch some films with the gang late at night, and feast!
 I cherished the opportunity in the evenings to work on some projects, in front of my father's roaring open fire.
When I was younger I would spend ages figuring out what clothes to pack for a trip, now that's easy but I spend a lot of time packing a handwork bag! Filling it with all the possible threads, needles and other bits I might need to work on different small projects while on the road. Inevitably, I get far less time to work on these things in reality. But not so this time! I packed several small projects that needed finishing off, this is never my favourite part ; ) and a crochet pattern to make (sharing this in an upcoming post) I got through them all, a first for me and satisfying.


 I had fun the previous days making presents for loved ones. I put small bags of materials together for the older set of my sibling's lovely children..

Little girls...so easy to make for, no?

I'd really recommend this idea of gifting a crafting kit that you can easily put together, and having a couple of  fun ideas for what can be made from the contents. Contrary to what people may think I reckon a crafting session is still a major draw for any children, in spite of any screens that may compete for their time and attention. These little Christmas trees are an ideal way to use up all your scraps of wool felt which I always keep, no matter how small! I happenend upon this this tutorial on Julia Crossland's blog. I made some changes to the method for cutting the circles, had the children do it all by eye. We made these in school too. 

I reckon you can put pretty much anything together with glue. But I'm interested in what you can make with children, what they can make, without using the stuff. Kids of all ages get such a kick out of realising they can stitch. I was so impressed with our gang, my nephews and niece made a wonderful job of these...

And I loved what my Mom and sis did with her Child of Christmas : ) 

I'll be back here on Wednesday for Yarn Along and after that with more seasonal pieces to share.

The very happiest new year to you and thank you for reading. M

Yarn Along

Happily joining Ginny and the gang over at Small Things for this first Yarn Along of 2012! 

I'm not ready to let go of Christmas yet ; ) 

Liz our lovely crochet mentor at the Woollygatherings brought along this pattern for a tree decoration, a snowflake with a flower centre at one of our last sessions. It was tricky enough to begin with... I finished it at home and very happy to be conquering the art of following crochet patterns. Very satisfying to work in this mercerised cotton with a small hook.

I have such a block about blocking these days ; ) no idea why. I've a stack of crochet pieces waiting. It's vital for this little piece, as the six corners get pinned out to lovely points. The pattern calls for spraying starch to stiffen it for hanging and I haven't been able to find such a thing in our local shops yet. I'm envisioning this hanging at the top of our christmas tree next year : )

I'm doing very little reading at the moment, just getting caught up with all my favourite blogs. It's so much more fun to talk about childrens books at this time of year, no? My sister gave this charming book The Story of the Snow Children to smallie for Christmas and we've been enjoying it, such a seasonal read. The illustrations are really darling. Sibylle von Olfers died almost a century ago, she was only thirty four. There's a captivating photo of her at the back of the book, complete with crochet collar (a little obsession of mine these days, sharing these in an upcoming post) and what looks like a silk smocked dress. She was born in a castle, was stunningly beautiful and became a nun. Fascinating, I really want to read more about her. 

Thank you for lovely comments on last weeks post and look forward to checking in with what you're all up to in this much calmer time for stitching. Warmly, M

Yarn Along

Great to be joining Ginny and the gang over at small things for this weeks Yarn Along. Last one of 2011, right?
 Many thanks for all your sweet comments on last week's post.
Hope you had a wonderful, warm time over Christmas. Hard to believe that the heart of it has passed for another year. Over the next few days I'll be posting favourite vignettes, makings and doings from mine : )


Since the weather's turned cold I've been craving a cosy neckwarmer. I was delighted to find this Cardiff Cowl pattern on Ravelry, it looked so wearable and do-able. But it threw me when I read the reviews, as they are very mixed indeed. The pattern seemed to confuse many. I consider myself at the intermediate stage with crochet, so it felt a bit daunting. Having completed it now here's what I think, it's rated Easy and I do think it's a deceptively easy pattern once you get going, but the pattern is poorly written and unclear in parts. I worked it out from looking at an image one of the reviewers had posted of her finished piece, once I saw that all the shells and other motifs simply lined up, mystery solved.
From my favourite local Yarn shop this Manos fairtrade Merino has become a firm favourite in our Woollygatherings. It falls outside my budget but is indescribably soft, and I needed something festive...the marbleized colourway is lost in translation here. And as these pieces are all for me to learn and experiment on, I couldn't resist adding my own edging. I've just worn it for the first time and did not want to take it off : ) I've just finished a second one now in different yarn, more on that in an upcoming post. Thinking what a lovely present this would make in two evenings work, if you knew someone well enough to know their colours. 


Still reflecting my way through The Four Temperaments which I wrote about previously here.


I look forward to seeing what y'all are up to this week. Thanks for visiting : ) M

Yarn Along

In festive mood, joining Ginny and the gang over at Small Things for this week's Yarn Along. I am crocheting for small felt babes. I made a collection of these, most of which you can see in a recent post here. Just working through the last couple of orders for these 'Child of Christmas' in the white, and beside her one of my leaf babies I'm making for my niece... I'm working on a design where children can wear these as a pouch : )


Along with the Christmas decorations, we've hauled our little collection of treasured Christmas books out of the crawl space. We bought Little One, We Knew You'd Come for smallie for Christmas a couple of years ago now, it's a beautifully produced book, one of our favourites for this time of the year. The tender illustrations rendered in watercolour and gold leaf are magical and evocative.. Perfect for snuggling up and reading with your wee ones on Christmas Eve. 
I look forward to seeing all the lovely gift-projects being finished up out there. Wishing you all a warm time with your loved ones at this special time of year. M x

This Time

Truly hoping that this is my last couple of days of intense work before the Christmas break. Got some late orders that I need to fill. Ever grateful for the work, but so looking forward to slowing down, catching up with my siblings and their children. I have some fun handwork projects planned for the little ones : ) their handmade presents sit waiting to be finished or put together.

My head has been so full, with lesson plans, trying to meet orders...crochet projects, while trying not to think too much about the ever-increasing pile of laundry that waits, the piles of wool scattered around our living room and the Christmas cards written in my head and heart, but not actually making it onto paper ; ) It may well have to be new years cards this year, and how bad. Time to let go of certain things and focus on the fundamentals. 

We've been invited to a glam new years eve party this year...know what I really want to do? Sit by the fire and crochet.

 I am struck these days, reading through my favourite blogging-sister's words, how far we working moms tend to push ourselves. The deep need to do our creative work for many reasons, fulfilling our role as mothers, and domestic tasks that simply have to be done sooner or later ( later in my case ; ) ) and how to strike that balance.What a fine balance, one I've coped better with this year than last, one I hope to manage even better next year, for that I wish.

Have I said that pretty much my all-time favourite thing to make in felt (apart from grandmothers of course) are little gnomes? Wish I'd known to make more of these ones, at the fair there was more demand from mothers and teachers than I could meet!

The kindergarten needed a duck and duckling for their puppet play..

This is part of  our seasonal table in the handwork room. I set it up thinking it would bring something really elemental to the space, I realise now how important it is also for the teacher. While teaching or preparing for a class, I get a glimpse of it and it so helps me remember the magic of this time of year, and what an honour it is to be working in the world of the child. 

Thank you for reading, and every warm wish for the Christmas season. M

Child of Christmas 

You know that feeling when you get a real kick out of something you've just made, because it's a little departure from what you typically create, a bit of a stretch..? And it's your own design from start to finish...

I haven't felt that in a while, but it happened with these : )

I love to combine fibres that are at different stages of processing, so I really enjoy integrating stitching and felting in my pieces. Spun and unspun side by side. This yarn is actually cotton. I've been combining crochet with needle felting in my work for some time now, and I still love to switch between the needle and the hook.

These babes were part of my Christmas collection this year, I wrote in the previous post about making work for this years Advent Fair. I had a snow-white moment while working on these, stabbed my finger and red blood threatened the white wool ; ) I know this is what turns many crafters off the process of needle felting but I just take a deep breath and needle on : ) I couldn't keep my mind from wandering to this though, and how the image imprinted itself on my mind as a child:


Once upon a time in mid winter, when the snowflakes were falling like feathers from heaven, a beautiful queen sat sewing at her window, which had a frame of black ebony wood. As she sewed, she looked up at the snow and pricked her finger with her needle. Three drops of blood fell into the snow.
 The red on the white looked so beautiful...


I always have to haul myself back to the present moment ; ) such a daydreamer.


And back in my present, I was
asked to make a fox for the kindergarten to accompany the story happening there at the moment. I'd never attempted a four-legged creature in felt before and this one had to be really robust, hardy enough for play. It took a lot of felting but I got there in the end.

There are lots of these elusive red foxes around these nights, we've been lucky enough to spot a couple, much to smallie's delight. Having made this I will look with a much keener eye next time!


.. I'll be back here later this week to share photos of the rest of the gang, gnomes and other characters recently made. 


Thank you for reading : ) M