stockings

much belated christmas stocking pattern: cut boot shape (i prefer small size) in red, white or green basic fleece. embellish with desired design on one side, snowman (2 white circles of varying sizes), pine tree (green, the more rustic the cut the better), lettering, a combination of the above, etc. i used blanket stitch on the those as well as all around. with some left over gems and beeds it is easy to make decorations: snowflakes, tree deco, etc. put on a loop at the top to hang - done. to make two of these in an evening is quite possible, i think. the hooks ended up having to be made as well. a damaged but favorite plate with some other ceramic bits and pieces, holiday deco balls, beeds, etc and basic hanging hooks.

Magog

It is not a crazy idea to take a 4 year old and a 2 year old cross country skiing for a week. You just need a lot of adults to tend to all the little details. Just dressing and undressing can be a major challenge and take up to 40 min, especially if there is an unwilling party. Though once outside, very little grown-up participation is required. Snow and child are completely mutually fulfilling. I could never have guessed (although i might have remembered) that a 4 year old could spend 2-4 hours outside utterly pleased just falling through snow and trying to get out.
More to say, but i will leave it for tomorrow. Must finish Balzac, begin Wilde and read 3 tomes of Bell.

holiday centerpiece class

after many seasons of talking about, i am offering a floral design class this december. in time for our holiday dinner tables, it will be a 3 hour centerpiece design class which will allow us to make our christmas/holiday floral arrangements and show them off to family on the day. sign up for a december 21st (sunday) 10am-1pm class in pennington. we'll have 10 spots, 9 are still available. it will cost $135 (cash or check) including the materials and you'll take a beautiful centerpiece home. we'll learn how to select, care for, clean and cut fresh flowers, how to prepare and green a container and how to make a natural look holiday centerpiece. we'll learn about vase life for different flowers and greens; how to make and use bows and other decorations in a floral arrangement, etc. all this right in time for the first day of hanukkah (monday the 22nd) and christmas is thursday the 25th.
bring your favorite low container or use one of ours. sign up here in comments or e-mail me at pensive.weeds@gmail.com with any questions. hope to see you there.

fun and games

this rooster costume was requested a long time ago by Fedia and he stuck to his selection. so about a week before the princeton parade i started making it with absolutely no idea of how to accomplish the look. the crest, the hardest bit, worked out as so many things in our lives thanks to t.Ira. she left me some bright red yarn that turned out to be perfect for this project. it was thick enough. i chrocheted without a pattern adding on every stitch in the third row to achieve the right curve. i reinforced on either side to help it stand up, but in hind sight should have crocheted a wire right into the backing. as it is, the wire is threaded in, sewn at the bottom and the crest still kind of flops over. the feathers were easy. an old sweater, fabric glue....a long evening, though after having done it and seen how hard and shrinky the garment itself got, i should have sewn them individually. the tail was a lot of fun. large feathers from a craft store, wicker-srapped wire and red fleece to make shorts to attach the tail. cannot do anything without a glue gun. red rubbery fabric to wrap old rainboots in and we were done. he actually liked it. i thought he may not want to wear it, but we are even keeping it all for dress up.

sonia was a frog. we have used this costume for the 3rd year in a row. it was too small. i forgot that i got it for fedia's 12-18 months. next year we'll have two make two and i cannot wait.

the farm

the farm, or as we call it 'ferma', is in all essence a member of the family. one would not be able to guess that it is the largest csa in the country, so understated in appearance, simple in operation and lovely in spirit the honey brook organic farm is. http://www.honeybrookorganicfarm.com/ we go once a week to pick our share in the farm stand and sometimes spend 2-3 hours in the field picking 'pick your own' crops. the kids love it and i cannot think of a better way to spend an afternoon. something so natural about a 4-year old recognizing different herbs, tomato and tomatillo plants, carefully pulling eggplant off the stalk and holding back his 2-year old sister from putting a hot pepper in her mouth. they both love to pick green beans and sample the different varieties, the dragons being the favorite, i suspect having much to do with the name. we have met at least two very large grasshoppers this summer, countless worms and caterpillars and have brought many a stink-bug home on the flower stems. at home we take the bounty out and sort. tomatoes stay on the table and sauce tomatoes sometimes get washed and cut right away for pasta sauce for the winter. one day this autumn fedia stood at the kitchen counter for over an hour, helping me cut plump plum tomatoes that he picked. and while the sauce turned out a little lumpy, it was nonetheless delicious.

spring crown wreath with ribbon streamers

i've made a couple of these. the idea came from the yarn itself. the softest llama unspun roving from a farm in massachussets. this is
a handweave that one of my grandmothers' taught me. i use it for

belts, bracelets, necklaces, etc. it seemed the right thing to try a headband as halloween and costume time approaches. it worked out perfectly. takes 15 minutes and offers hours of delight and playtime. i added a few beads in the front, ribbons in the back and spring crown princess look was complete.

adding to our family of hats

as the weather cools down my fingers crave once again for the crochet hook and the tender sweet yarns from the wooly lamb http://www.thewoolylamb.com/. i start these from the center with three-four stitches and work my way outward, deciding on the shape as i go along. someone might remember fedia's hat from last year in blue italian wool with the dr seuss accent at the
top - scroll down to may 25th to see. (he still loves it and has been wearing it these cool mornings and after the pool). hence i've been working on the girly ones. everything i make for sonia ends up selling before she gets a chance to wear it. this aqua one on the right went to fedia's friend mei. i cannot wait to get that picture. sonia is reluctantly modeling here. she happens to look serene, but i had to chase her before she ripped it off her head. the striped knitted sweater is paulina's brilliant present for sonia's birthday. it fits perfectly. and i think she is keeping the pink ribbon hat below.