Simple Lives Thursday - Family Work

On our journey toward a more deliberate life, one of our goals is to include our children in our work. To be home more, to be with them more, and to give them the opportunity to share in our work. Our handcraft business has grown in leaps and bounds over the past couple of months and we are excited that we are at a place where we can pay our teenage boys an hourly rate. Even Sarah, at six years old, asks to help. This picture is her helping Mike make the lacing set pieces by putting one piece at a time in the clamp for her father and then putting them in the bucket once the hole is drilled out of the middle.

No workshop for us yet, it may have to wait until next year. But it is amazing what can be done just making do with what we have.

The message is that if you wait to go for your dream until everything is in place, you may never get to that perfect place "first". For example, if we had not begun our business in earnest until we had all the best equipment and a workshop then we would still be so far from our dream or deep in debt (which we deliberately avoided while building our business - we never borrowed money, nor did we have start-up money). Taking small steps and working hard while keeping our thoughts on our goals has worked for our family.

Warm wishes, Tonya

Picking, Gathering, Baking, Preserving

I just love preparing food this time of year - both cooking and baking. The delicious flavors and varieties.

The children have been having fun collecting raspberries from our woods and Abby found a recipe in the King Arthur Catalog (which she loves to look through but we don't generally buy from) for scones and she added raspberries instead and most of the children loved it so she baked some more just two days later.

We have been collecting the chamomile blossoms each day to dry and use for our tea this winter

~chamomile growing in our garden~

~collected and left to dry~

Our neighbor has generously offered to allow our family to pick from their amazing blackberry patch. Many are probably about 10 feet tall. After our first picking, we will be sure to dress better, in long pants and long sleeves with gloves. The thorns are a bit tough. But the work is all worthwhile. We will be going back at least two more times. So far one pie and one blackberry crumb have been made. After buying some organic lemons at the natural foods store today, I will make blackberry jam.

~my favorite pie crust, from one my favorite cookbooks ~ The Amish Cook, by Coblentz & Williams~

~waiting for the bread to rise to put both in the oven~

What are you picking?

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Handmade Holiday - for Men

Well, I haven't actually started a project that will become a Christmas gift yet. However, having my notebook/journal devoted to my ideas and divided up by recipients, has been wonderful. As an idea comes to me, I reach for it and write it down.

This week I am summarizing some of the ideas that were shared for teenage boys and then requesting ideas for the second hardest category ~ men.

Julie suggested fleece throws.

Elizabeth mentioned knitting hats and socks.

Erin left a link for a handmade laptop cover.

Finally, another reader mentioned making a sunglass case, ipod cover, mp3 player holder, cell phone holder of a recycled felted wool sweater and using velcro to close it.

I came across this free knitting pattern for a men's or teenage boy's scarf that I look. I think it would look great in a brown or grey tweed.

I would love to share some images and stories of readers' projects next week. Just leave a comment letting me know about them - and, please leave ideas for homemade gifts for men.

And don't forget to visit the Handmade Holiday page to visit the blogs of those joining in. (Just leave a comment if you would like your blog added.)

Warm wishes, Tonya

Skort Capri Tutorial of a Pillowcase

I am not sure what to call these pants/shorts/capris/skorts, but I stumbled across this idea after making a pair of shorts for Abraham following the guide in Amanda Blake Soule's first book, The Creative Family, using an old t-shirt.

~Abraham's shorts~

Super easy to make. Then I knew that Sarah needed some more shorts and I had not been able to find any at the thrift stores of late (nor have I had much time to get to the thrift store). In addition, she has a tiny waist and we prefer longer shorts or skort style pants. I did have some thrifted pillowcases (25 cents each!) and realized I could basically do the same thing that I had done with a t-shirt.

Here is how ~

Holding the pillowcase the long way, take a pair of shorts the approximate size of the person you are sewing for, and with the shorts folded in half, line the sides up like in the picture below. The bottom edge of the shorts will be the already hemmed opening of the pillow case, so plan accordingly.

~I used chalk to draw the line. The pillow case is not turned inside out.~

Next, cut out on the purple line and then use what you just cut out, flip it over and line it up on the other edge, pin and cut out.

Next, open up both pieces and place right sides together and pin. Then sew from top down to crotch on both sides.

Now open piece up so seams are in middle of front and back and place pins down leg sides and then sew from crotch down to bottom of leg for both sides.

Roll down the top waistband 1/4" and press and then fold over another 1 1/2 inches, press. Sew around, leaving a 1 inch opening where you will insert the elastic.

Using a safety pin, pull the elastic around the waist opening. Be sure to measure your child's waist. Cut and sew two ends of elastic together. You can hand sew the opening closed.

That is it. I am not an experienced seamstress, but was happy to make these in only about 20 minutes or so.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

Wednesday Wanderings

Joining in with Garden Mama, just this morning I snapped a photo looking down at my feet as I went about my morning routine.

~Here I stand, although usually these feet of mine are not still. Back and forth, inside and outside travelling many miles each day, from morning baking in the kitchen to wiping the table after each meal and snack, running to the bathroom to help with potty training to dancing to classical music with my children. They travel over these worn wooden floors in our rustic cottage.~

A Femivore ....

When I arrived home Saturday afternoon, Mike (dear husband) informed me that I now had a label - that I am a femivor. He had heard about this new word on NPR.

He told me that a femivor was a homemaker ~

gardener ~

makes things from scratch~

... is a canner, lives simply and frugally, spins, knits, and is usually an educated women who chooses home and family over a career outside the home.

That describes much of what I strive to be in addition to wife and mother of course. These are all of the skills and more that Plain and Joyful Living strives to promote, share, support and encourage. A new word, femivore, that maybe we'll be hearing more often in the days to come.

Here are some links to read more.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/14/magazine/14fob-wwln-t.html?_r=1

And here's a link to the blog of the woman who wrote the book that recognized this trend:

http://www.grassfedcooking.com/radical_homemakers.html

Warm wishes,

Tonya

(Because our internet isn't working at home, I have had to postpone the Handmade Holiday post until next Monday. If anyone else would like to add their blog to the Handmade Holiday page, please let me know.)

Just Being....

... I envy her ability to do just that.