arrival!

we have been awaiting the arrival of some wool!
our dear steph has been sweater hunting in texas since THERE IS NO MORE WOOL in NEW ENGLAND...at least i am not paying 9.99 for a sweater at the goodwill just to felt and cut up! crazy! i used to find the good wool sweaters everywhere, but no longer. they are practically extinct and as so are rationed and overpriced.
boo.
good thing i am able to outsource to the longhorn state where chilly days are few and far between.
which brings me to another point...
steph is joining me at mosey!!!! under the name *songs of flight* she will be producing her own line of woolies and wearables!
i am so excited for this!!!
go here to read steph's bio and see some her things that have been added to the shop- more to come, folks!

{this moment}

joining soulemama in posting one photo of the past week i want to remember.

all i needed was a mama, some stripes and some vintage buttons.

so as you may have seen i have been working on my little bits halloween costume...the purple, the tulle, the sequins...the knitted bunny hat. aha, when you put it all together you get a *bunny~fairy* anyone should know that! but all the kids in her music class has no idea what she was and i kept having to explain it...and it didn't really make much sense. i don't usually give into peer pressure but something wasn't right. it was ill fitting and too poofey! i called my mom right away in near tears...my bunny was all flopsy and mopsy, but not in a good way. my mom reminded me that some costumes that are handmade come out great and others just don't. that's the way. she said that not every costume she made us growing up was a success....and just hearing that was a relief. she mad an amazing *tin-man* for my little sister, complete with silvered funnel hat! and my brother and i had a few good rounds with raggedy ann and andy.
i woke up this morning with stripes and calico and ruffle on the brain and went right to work.
emma kept busy in the sewing box full of thread and by the time the morning was done we had it!
phew.
some of my fave details included:
old buttons from my dad's coat collection
reaaaaaly old red ric-rac of my grandmothers i have been saving for years for something VERY special
vintage polly flinders dress circa 1980 sized just right for em!

~the view from above~

there is something so simple, so topographical about charting from this vantage point.
i really do mean to map her.
i like mapping her.
i invite you to do the same of your little ones, dogs, cat, chickens with the simple promise that the view from above is a good one.

join me in mapping from above if you would like!

hatching something new for the season(craft fair season that is)

waiting to be sewn up!

one down...a few more to go!

finished my order for bella luna toys, yay! still a few custom orders out there and diving into craft fair preparation.
here we come california!
we are really axcited to be joining chez-sucre-chez at the renegade holiday fair in l.a. ...more on that soooon!

halloween sneak peek

before & after

i saw this lovely vintage handknit sweater (with grosgrain ribbon at the buttons) at the thrift store and couldn't resist. it is the perfect dark forest-y green and has a great sturdy cable to it. another mama who was also scouting about for cool vintage finds commented that she almost picked the sweater up for her 4 year old, but that is was a bit too big. i had to chuckle a bit under my breath knowing i had nabbed it for my not yet 2 year old....and remind myself not every body knows that magic of felting (lucky for me and my girl, in this case)! so for 4 dollars we brought home this lovely sweater and felted it in the wash...
this mama couldn't resist adding a few hobbiton features!!!

{this moment}

a Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.
thanks dear soulemama!

~the view from above~

there is something so simple, so topographical about charting from this vantage point.
i really do mean to map her.
i like mapping her.
i invite you to do the same of your little ones, dogs, cat, chickens with the simple promise that the view from above is a good one.

creature feature

thanks to amy and cristina over at kaboodle for the love!:
see it in full here & check out the blog while you are over there!

admiring little worlds

inspired truly by meg over at sew liberated i decided to see what fun em might have with a "bean tub". because we only had a bit of dried beans on hand and not a tub either i decided just to put them in the soup pot and see what happened.
i imagined messes everywhere...and that did happen. what i didn't anticipate was how involved she got at the end of her play by rearranging, lining up, comparing like and unlike and generally immersing herself in this little world.
she actually kinda of cozied up contentedly with the beans...i could almost hear the stories she was telling in her mind!

halloween in the works...

new(s)

i just got some really exciting mail over the weekend! furniture and some little treasures from my friends over at bella luna toys! be sure to check out sarah's waldorf inspired blog!
finally it feels like our little space is really coming together, last on the list some lazure painting...peach blossom anyone?
i'm working on a tutorial for the painting to be posted in the coming weeks!
my love, as you may know by reading, has determined himself the cook and me the handyman. i am cool with this. i kinda loathe the market trips because i always get distracted...as camille would say "by the cute little chevre in the tiny wooden box" and forget the eggs, milk and bread. i also always spend too much...so it is a big relief that alex has taken over the bulk of shopping, organizing the pantry and cookin' our dinners!!! likewise i am basking in the glory of my hardware store gift certificate left over from my birthday (thanks mom!) and getting all my tools in order.
this is the long way of saying these things arrived in a flat box and i put them together whilst my beloved napped on a full belly.
cheers!

{this moment}

schoolhouse rock(s)!

this morning little one and i got a chance to assist the nursery during their outside time. we arrived early so that we could explore the playground and we could have a little extra time outside.
she made us tea and even pitched in with the raking.
lovely way to start our day.

papa bear to the rescue

as craft season gets underway in a little yellow house in the woods of maine i am lucky to say that my dear has risen to the occasion! that being : looking after our little one and the house and all the things that need doing around here. he has is own style, that is for sure but at the end of the day our girl is happy, tuckered out, fed well and all giggles.
i snapped this scene the other day after a long afternoon of gathering and running errands...i felt a little like goldie locks thinking to myself this bed/napping spot is too messy--too papa bear. and then i laughed out loud and felt so glad to have such a good, kind and gentle guy by my side. long live the papa bear!

new, in the works

a few new projects on the ole sewing bench this week.
loving the greens and blues even in the middle of autumn.

learning & loving through imitation

i have read a lot over the years about learning through imitation in young children, the waldorf way. i have seen it played out in the classroom many times--by nursery and kindergarten aged children. but i am most delighted to see my sweet girl imitating the simple rhythms of our days at home. it amazes me that such young children (she was about a year old when she started putting her babies to bed, gently tucking them in) can learn so much through our example. i relish in seeing all that i have read about come to fruition in my own child, i feel so much love for her little hands working and learning and and sush-ing me when it's time for bed.
i know i am beaming a bit too much here, but i just can't help it this fine fall evening sewing projects all a go while my little one sleeps soundly in the next room and my beloved makes dinner.
thankful and loved.

my reading girl

my little bits will read just about anything- but still she has style!
she has been "reading" and pointing and calling out names of things since she was just a wee one. she will sit for what seems like hours and always impresses the grandparents with this "quiet time" which she naturally craves so much. she is her mommas daughter!