Thursday, December 23, 2010

yarn ornaments for afghans


i have been collecting scraps of yarn to make the yarn ornaments i saw on the blog cakies.
my friend laura introduced me to this blog.  i love all of rubyellen's creations and her daughters are super cute!  they look like they have such a fun life.  


i followed the instructions rubyellen gave, modifying it a little by tying all of my little scraps into one long string of yarn.  they turned out very colorful and i like the extra texture from all of the ties.


i made one for each of the afghans that i recently finished plus a couple extra.  i think they look great holding the afghan bundles together.  thank you, rubyellen!  i can't wait to make more of your fun projects in the future.





Wednesday, December 22, 2010

C is for cookie


early this morning my mom came over to bake vegan cookies with me.
we made four different kinds:
pecan snowballs
salty cardamom snaps
sweet potato bars with chocolate chips and pecans
&
choklaboll
the cardamom snaps were veganized from a martha stewart recipe found in this year's special cookie issue, which i thought was the regular december issue of living when i bought it.  it turned out to be a happy mistake.  the other recipes were from vegan cookies invade your cookie jar.


i used this little animal shape to cut the cardamom snaps because if you hold your hand over the body it looks like a moomin.  last night i saw that uncle b made some real moomin cookies for mister mushroom  and i felt very jealous.  this was as close as i could get.


they turned out so beautiful!
  next time i might start a bit later and take time to eat breakfast first so that i do not eat as many when they are coming out of the oven.  i got a little tummy ache, ouch!


suki helped with the finishing touches.
we all had so much fun!


we put together thirty five boxes then adam delivered them to friends.
god jul!




Saturday, December 18, 2010

juan + laura


congratulations juan and laura!
we just finished looking at the engagement photos and they brought tears to our eyes.
this is going to be a truly memorable new year's eve.
we are getting our party hats ready.
love a & e



dedicated to our dear friends

bed time books


this is a selection of our favorite sleepy books.
  they help us to wind down and relax before drifting off to sleep.  
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

1. pajama time by sandra boynton
2. counting birds by alice melvin
3. the house in the night by susan marie swanson
4. time for bed by mem fox
5. big red barn by margaret wise brown
6. goodnight moon by margaret wise brown

what books do you like to read before bed?

Thursday, December 16, 2010

soft friends


suki, like most little girls, loves soft toys.  she likes to give them hugs, kisses, and share her snacks with them.  lately her favorite activity is cuddling with as many as possible.  


aarteita


look at these lovelies!

1. rebe farmer dolls
2. liam the fox by sleepy king
3. hillery dolls
4. apolline donkeys at makie

cuddle up!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

nap time books


this is a selection of books we have been reading before naps.
they are all so peaceful, it is such a comforting time before sleep.

1.  i am a bunny  by ole risom
2.  the snowy day  by ezra jack keats
3.  mama, do you love me?  by barbara m. joosse
4.  spring is here  by taro gomi
5.  hug time  by patrick mcdonnell
6.  the very quite cricket  by eric carle

ihana unelmat!

Friday, December 10, 2010

EEEEE EE EEEEEEE


suki on printeresting!  
this was such a beautiful show, we all were delighted to see justin quinn's work in michigan.  
i am excited to live with one of these prints very soon.
thank you justin!

Monday, December 6, 2010

japanese pattern project


i had been wanting to make something from a japanese pattern for a while but was a bit intimidated since i do not read the language.  i finally gave in to all of the beautiful images of these projects and decided to buy a pattern log.  when i opened it up i was even more nervous.  i can't believe how many patterns they squeeze on to one sheet!


while i located all of the appropriate pieces, then traced and cut,
i sent suki and adam to the fabric shop. this is the fabric they decided on, it is called "heavy metal".


over all i am pleased with how they turned out, and it was not as difficult as i expected.  i did not even seem rip once!  hopefully i will make her one of everything on that pattern sheet.  


Saturday, December 4, 2010

yarning for you


this fall i was planning winter projects.  the brisk chill of hat and scarf season inspired me to make something with yarn.  i had been neglecting these types of projects since our beloved, local yarn shop closed last year. the hat in this photo i made while i was still pregnant.  i love accessories for children!  the scarf shown here is one of my favorites.  suki's uncle b learned to knit so that he could make her this scarf along with a little hat and a beautiful afghan.  the afghan is shown on the far right in the photo below.  now that the weather has finally turned cold for the season suki has been sleeping with it at night.  


i decided to make a few afghans.  i had visions of keeping warm with my crochet and hot coffee while listening to records and watching the snow falling softly outside.  unfortunately, i was already finished with my fourth afghan by the time the first snow arrived.  i enjoyed my time making these and they did keep me very cosy in the process.  

  
my current project is this little embroidered drawing.  it will hang above suki's play kitchenette when i finish.  adam learned to crochet last week and has been working on an afghan for his grandfather.  it is turning out beautifully.  i will post a picture of that one soon.  
for now enjoy this tune by karl blau. one of our favorites from 2010.







KARL BLAU with LAKE "Dark Sedan" (Live @ Schubas 10/22/09)

Saturday, November 20, 2010

fall harvest stew


every week i like to make a meal or two that can be frozen or used as left overs for future meals.  this week i made a delightful fall stew, brimming with the season's colors: yellow, red, orange, and green. the soup freezes well and will make a nice quick meal for a lazy winter day.  i was inspired by the kale we gleaned from our farm in zeeland!  


this meal is fairly fast to prepare, it was ready to eat by song #4 on side b of a 90 minute mix tape.  i was listening to the mix i made last autumn for suki's birth.  


we saved most of the squash from our csa plus collected more from groundswell late in the season at the saturday farmers market.  we used them to decorate for the birthday party, and now we finally get to start eating them!  you will need two pounds of any kind of squash for the stew, this is what i used; one acorn and one heirloom (i don't know the name of the variety).


the ingredients needed are:
one large onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 tbsp. coconut oil
2lbs. squash cut in to small cubes
1/4 cup white wine
1-2 cups kale chopped small
1 cup of corn kernels (fresh or frozen will work)
2 cups of veggie stock
1 1/2 cup of stewed tomatoes (or 4 fresh tomatoes chopped small)
dash of salt and pepper 

first, cook the onions in the oil for about 3 minutes on medium high heat.  
add the garlic and cook for another few minutes.  once the onions begin to turn soft mix in the squash.  add salt, pepper and white wine and cook for 5-10 minutes stirring often.  add the kale, veggie broth, tomatoes and corn.  bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cover for about 20 minutes or until squash is tender.
enjoy!


Tuesday, November 16, 2010

birthday party


earlier this month we celebrated suki's first birthday!


                 her godmother, dorrey, came in to town for the celebration and to help
                                                 us get ready for the party.


i made many decorations but the finger puppet party favors were the most fun to make. 



laura prepared a delectable squash tart while the kitchen here was busy the morning of the party preparing kale chips, blistered almonds, muenster style vegan cheese, grapes, crackers, flautas, savory bread pudding, chili, and apple cider cranberry-ginger punch.  


 suki's granny made the delicious sweet potato cookie bars from "vegan cookies invade your cookie jar" and carrot cake cupcakes from "vegan cupcakes take over the world".  a party is not complete without a recipe by the amazing ladies of the post punk kitchen.  


suki loved her first dessert ever, adam made her raw pumpkin pie from "sweet gratitude"!


suki learned to walk only days before the party so she had to show off for all of her friends.  her party dress was made with kokka fabric using the playdate pattern by 
oliver + s. it is unfortunate this pattern is no longer in print i loved working with it, 
the sleeve detail is so lovely.


thank you to colin wade photography for some great pics and a special
thank you to all of our friends who were here celebrating with us. we love you!



Sunday, November 14, 2010

onnellinen Isänpäivä!

rakkaudella, suki & e

raggedy kids




one of my most recent projects has been making these little costumes for suki and beedle.  i was inspired by my first halloween costume and a fantastic collection of all sorts of things raggedy ann and andy.  peek at the collection on mister mushroom's flickr.
for the costumes i used a variety of patterns, three pieces are from oliver + s and the rest of the pieces are from a combination of two raggedy ann and andy patterns on loan from mister mushroom himself.  my friend susan made the wig for ann!