Happy New Year to you! I hope your holidays were merry and peaceful.
I’ve been missing this space but have had my head down this fall, getting through four birthdays in my immediate family, three in my extended family and four holidays, all in only eight weeks. It’s kind of crazy for my calm, simple-loving head. Pretty much anything non-essential doesn’t get done from Halloween through the New Year. One thing that I always relearn during this time is the art of saying “No”. I say no a lot during November and December and it feels good. The January ‘Real Simple Magazine’ featured a great article called “Say Yes to Saying No”. It came at a perfect time (mid-December). I love that magazine!
Although I have been saying No (a lot) and not blogging much, there has certainly been a lot of crafting going on in this house. There have been many long walks in the woods too. I’m getting to know the forest that borders our property and we’ve been getting out for walks to the amazing beaver dams nearby.
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We have spent much time playing on the ice, looking for beavers and exploring. During the busyness of the holidays, I found myself pulling the family and dog outside for several beaver visits. There was one walk where certain children fought the whole way (and I was very close to losing it) but when we got to our destination, everything melted away and we enjoyed ourselves. Nature has this great habit of pulling us out of a funk and giving us a new perspective.
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As for the crafting, my children were very excited about giving gifts to others this holiday season. Each child got to pick out a gift for their sibling and they both made Christmas gifts for their special friends (a stuffed lion named Lioney and Kit Kitterdge, an American girl doll). They both worked hard on making each friend a small book. My son’s had pictures and letters written inside (he is starting to write letters now) and my daughter cut hers out of a magazine. Each were wrapped and put under the tree. I think I will keep these little books forever!
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We’ve also worked on sewing a pair of pj’s for Lioney and my son just finished a little book on all of the different types of boats. My daughter got a sewing machine for Christmas and we’ve made a couple of beds for various stuffed critters. Kit Kitteredge also got herself a little sewing machine which I think is extremely cute!
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During all this crafting, I’ve been doing a bit of sewing and cutting out lots of patterns. I even had time to complete another Esme dress. The first one I sewed is here.
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The material is a dark purple cotton with orange plaid. I can’t remember where I got the fabric, it might have been Marden’s in Maine. I sewed the pockets with the plaid horizontal to give it a little bit of contrast. I cut a size medium and this time trimmed the dress down to a small on the sides from right below the bust down to the bottom. I love the fit. I’ve been wearing it a lot with leggings and although this seems to be a quilting weight cotton, the fabric doesn’t bunch up with leggings underneath.
It seems we are settling into winter, going sledding when there’s snow and enjoying some post-holiday quiet time. I wish you a wonderful weekend!
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