Running Into the Woods:: 2.10

 Last Friday we had the great pleasure of returning to our old woods.  The place we learned to explore in together.  We were also joined by almost all the kids we ever hiked with in the woods, or at least a representative of their family.  A big gaggle of kids, lots of adults, it may not have been our most observant day, but it was perfect.

There was a lot of teamwork to break the ice.  I loved watching them work together.  It seems like the next level of friendship... helping one another.

We have been spending a lot of time outside this weeks, so I will be back soon with another adventure.  We had temperatures in the upper 40's this week.

Celebration Kickoff

 February marks a month of birthdays for our boys and this weekend, River turned three!  I can't believe it has officially been three years since I birthed a child.  We headed back to Urbana to celebrate with friends and we couldn't have asked for a more merrier celebration.  A warm home that welcomed us in, friends from all our years of living there, and the ability to step back in time as if we had never left.

Total Happiness.

T-Shirt Butchering

 To make Yarn.  I haven't been making yarn all that long, but I think I have figured out how to utilize the cutting techniques to get the most length per t-shirt and leave the least remains: which I am still debating if I can compost.
Steps 1-3:  Lay your shirt as flat as you can.  Fold it almost in half... you want to leave an inch that you will not be cutting and it is easiest to do if you fold with an inch to spare.  Using a rotary cutter cut off the hem.  Then cut one inch in width up to the fold line, be sure to cut the fold line, so you get through the folded hems side.

Cut across the rest of the shirt in one inch increments making sure to not go all the way to the other end, stop within one inch.  To finish this length of yarn put your arm cut in a diagonally across, please reference this awesome tutorial for more detailed photos.  Roll it into a ball.  I like to stretch the yarn out before balling it, makes it curl up on itself and also adds length :)

 Now move onto the top portion of the t-shirt.  Cut off the sleeves and then the chest and back from the collar and shoulder section.  

Next, look closely at the picture below, with the flat section of the chest and back will be cut back and forth, without cutting all the way through to the end.  It will have a bit of a bump in the yarn, but when you stretch it and crochet with it, it won't matter much.

 Connect the pieces of yarn together by cutting a small slit in both ends that you will be connecting.  Lay The one that you are adding on top of the end of your yarn ball.  Take the end and put it through the bottom and pull up through the two slits.  The end should go through the slit of the one it isn't connected to first and for more pictures and details this tutorial is a good reference and what I used when I connect strips of sheets.

Then Cut the hems off the two sleeves and cut them like you did the body tube of fabric.  Attach them to the ball of yarn with the slit technique as above.

Access the remains and decide what to do with them.  I have saved all the main body hems and have them hanging in my house as color inspiration and am trying to think of something to do with them.  The rest sadly I have thrown in the trash-- but so much less than any other butchering job out there.

Then go crochet something.

My Latest

Oh, I am in love.  With st. Vinnies dig and save.  I walked out with 40 T-shirts, 3 wool sweaters, a pair of wool pants and a full length wool winter coat for $16.  Half price Wednesday is my best friend as are the candy canes that I break off and make the kids suck on so I can dig in the bins.  

Craft number one is making yarn that will then be crocheted into a rug for our cozy wood stove room.  I anticipate the carpet will get ripped up in there soon and the rug will be necessary for the new tile floor.  My color inspiration is this quilt.  

I have been obsessed with the rug making before and we have many throughout the house.  I love looking at them and seeing the sheets that I ripped apart and tied together to make them.  I am excited to have a quick, cheap source for shirts and access to plenty of them and look forward to may many recycled t-shirt and sweater projects.

Welcoming February

In an attempt to come out of my blog drought, I offer a quick somewhat lacking post to break the seal.  I am here, we are surviving, we are having fun, we are living and regular posting will soon commence.  

I am so happy that February is here.  January was nothing to complain about, but February, oh sweet February, the celebration of my two birth stories the month of starting our first seeds, the month of anticipating spring (though in WI, that month may fall more to March).  We have starts of new growth swelling within the newly planted seeds, warming on the germinating mat in our kitchen on the plant shelves, promising to be full of green growth soon.

Welcome 2012

I am still figuring this new year out. I was planning heavily for lots of freezing weather and to my surprise we have spent the majority of this new year out of doors! Picnics on the back porch, decorating our play structure, running to the park, I even hooked the bike trailer to the bike today and went for a ride. We have plans for the new year. Plans to spend as much time as possible exploring this new place we have found ourselves. Camping trips, more than years past (not hard as we didn't go camping once last year and only twice the year before that), state parks to check off the list. Plans to simplify and focus on what really matters. Plans to garden, our biggest garden ever on our own.

Plans to celebrate. Not only the boys birthdays that are coming up, but the seasons and our days.

Plans to be thankful for the world we exist within.

Plans to watch the clouds, collect pine cones and build nests.

Plans to fish and walk in lots of water. Plans to play in the biggest sandbox we can find. Plans to run more.

Happy New Year.

Decorating Outside

Every year the boys and I man=ke an effort to decorate a tree outside for wildlife. This year we are even doing it without scrambling on solstice! We set out to make bird cookies last week and dehydrated citrus for some color.

We were joined by some friends, which is always nice . Mixed up some flour, oats, bird seed and whole eggs and then cut the dough before cooking it.

And then off to the trees a couple of days later. A wonderfully sunny day.

And any excuse to climb trees is good for Asher.

Favorite Books:: Right Now

We love books. That being said, I don't love all books and for the amount of time we spend reading to the boys, I want to make sure that the books in our home are ones that I love to read. Books that really no matter what, if someone asks me to read a certain story, I can honestly say, dropping almost anything that I would love to. You can see my last list here.

Maisie, by Alice Schertle. I love, love this book. I rarely read through it without tears coming to my eyes. I dream of being Maisie. Not only do I love that there in an inherent outdoor living theme, but the matriarch has been very important to me as I have reflected on the death of my grandmother and the boys great grandma... really love, everyone needs to read this book. I was lucky to find mine at a quarter at Transitions in Urbana and it is well loved from a library, so I may be replacing it with another used copy as I would read this book everyday.

I was thrilled when my Aunt gifted You Can Do it, Sam, by Amy Hest. This is such a sweet story about a bear delivering cakes to all of his neighbors for holiday time. It is the book we read on the solstice, before delivering our own gifts of food to neighbors and friends. I found this book after starting this tradition and was so happy to find it. Love the whimsical illustrations.

All in a Day and Market Day by Cynthia McClure. All in a day is beautiful. A simple poem set to beautiful paper cuts. The past is sailing off to sea, the future's fast asleep. A day is all you have to be, it's all you have to keep. Words to parent and live by! This book is a blessing to begin your day.

And Market day is just a lovely book about reminding yourself where all your food comes from. Something my boys love to read about and discuss (don't know where they get it). It is wordy sometimes, but you can shorten it easily.

Another thanks this round to my sister in law, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site changed bedtime for River. I don't know if it was circumstantial, but once we started reading this book every night River seemed to be more ready for sleep. Perhaps it is a book he finally really just related to and loved, maybe it was being 2.5... I don't know but I also love this book. It has great rhythm and flow without having cheesy annoying rhymes. A must for all truck/wheel loving kids.

Sadie's Sukkah Breakfast. Another book that I simply adore. Such a cute story of a brother and sister fixing breakfast for themselves, taking it to the sukah and inviting their friends (stuffed animals). The brothers name is Ori, which was my pick for River and you can just feel that the sweetness of these children.

And my favorite short chapter books for both boys: The Tales of Tiptoes Lightly. Just sweet stories, no violence, just adventures of fairies, gnomes and mice. Some of the few Waldorf school inspired printed books.

Giving Thanks

I have been away from this space for longer that I had hoped, but life takes us on it's own adventures. Not that we have been up to much, but for us to be present in this place, present with the boys, present with the business, many things have been set aside. Many things I am slowly bringing back to my daily rhythm.

We had a lovely thanksgiving with friends and family. All of whom I am so grateful for. Also though are the friends who are no longer in our daily lives. Oh how I miss them and am so thankful for all of their amazing souls. Mamas, crafters, geniuses, awesome human beings that inspire me and daily motivate me to be a better person and for us to live the life we are meant to live.

I feel like we are hitting the true adjustment to our move. It no longer seems just like summer vacation when we see people less, now it is real. We are mostly alone searching for our way in a new place. While we are alone, we are happy, though the natural yearning for companionship other than family seems to be effecting some of us more than others.

We were thrilled to have so many people in our home for a feast. Thirty four pounds of turkey, and so much food, and all these people filled our hearts and home with the companionship we have been missing and now are willing to get out into the world again and seek.

And crafting came back too! While the turkey roasted, pies baked and the last minute details were prepared, I was able to whip up this needle felted garland from an old already felted scarf. I love needle felting!

Morning Adventure

We have been really slow to get out of the house these days. But these perfect fall, incredibly beautiful days are running out (rain the rest of the week) so I needed to get us out today and I am so glad that we found what we were looking for, a beautiful place close to home, sand, water, woods, trees and a great view.
Directly across from Ferry Bluff Natural Area, I could see these sandbars and knew that it would be an amazing place
The boys instantly got wet, which I struggled with too much this morning... but I would like to forget about my yelling about running through huge puddles in my crazy attempt to keep their shoes dry. I did successfully prevent Asher from swimming out to the other sand bar...
They got wet, dug in the sand. I enjoyed the view and explored the sand.
And thought about what a wonderful, amazing place this was.
We walked down river a bit.
And I came to the realization that this place is loved by a lot of people.
Mostly naked people. Which I really don't have a problem with, I just want to still be able to come here in the summer! I have known for over a decade now about the Mazo Beach, my friend parents knew of Mazomanie because of the nude beach, in fact most people bring that up when you tell them where you live. I just didn't think we would stumble upon it in such a manner, as me asking a man who was doing trail work on behalf of the Badger Naturist group if there were family volunteering opportunities to take care of the natural area. And he asked me if I knew where I was... which led to me finding out.
But, we climbed trees, ran and had a great morning... though I still need to deal with all of the sand that I stripped off my children.
and we will for sure be back.