Embracing Winter

Knitting and Reading

Another Cobblestone Vest came off the needles and I was happy to come up with the idea of using one of Renee's sweet granny squares as a pocket.  I used size eight needles and worsted weight merino/mohair wool from Peace Fleece to make a size 6 - 12 months.  The buttons are hemlock from our property that our son, Nolan,made.

The cowl I wrote about a couple of weeks ago that  I was working on with this yarn from my local yarn shop was coming out too small, so I decided to pull it apart and start something new.  I found this pattern and am crocheting an adult hat.  Hopefully I will be able to share some good results next week.

Also, so happy to be reading two good books.  The first is Minding Frankie by Maeve Binchy - a nice fiction read that is just my speed.

The other is Plenty, One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally.  I found this copy in our local thrift store for just a quarter.   Of course I am enjoying it and it really makes me think about how our family could work harder to eat more local food and keep working toward producing more of our own as well.

I am really looking forward to checking out all of the knitting projects at Ginny's Knit Along today to get some more ideas for Christmas creating.

Wreath Making

I was excited when a friend offered to come spend the afternoon with us teaching us how to make Christmas wreaths.  In the past, I have generally made swags with cuttings I could find on a walk and would add pine cones or bark or other bits of found things.  These swags were just fine, but yes, I was very excited to learn a new craft.

With wire bases and wire spools, balsam we cut from our woods, red pine cones gathered from a neighbor's land, and some ribbon and dried flowers that Lisa had left over from when she made and sold wreaths, we spread out over our living and dining area.

I was surprised how much greenery it took to make just three wreaths.

Also, it took quite a lot of time.  There is the gathering, trimming, wrapping the wire around each small bouquet as it is attached to the wire, bow making, wrapping pine cones and then adding any other decoration.

If you end up buying a wreath, remember all of the time that it truly does take and see if you can find someone who makes them his/herself.  I can only imagine that a $12.00 wreath is not made in the best of circumstances.  (That the maker may not be getting a fair wage, for example.)

Abby, our 12 year old did a beautiful job with her wreath.  

We are happy to make this the start of a new tradition - wreath making the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

We have been...

Packaging birch branch ornament orders and getting lots of help.

Cutting and chopping for Thanksgiving (my Mom).  The onions were quite strong.

Abraham went and grabbed a pair of sunglasses to help with the sting.

Collecting pine cones for wreaths.

Making some firewood runs. 

 It was nice to have Thomas home and not just because of the help:) 

and

Playing in last night's snow fall!

Did you enjoy your Thanksgiving and weekend?

Warm wishes,

Tonya

So Thankful

for the abundance of food in our home right now - the pie making has begun and the plans are all made, each recipe in a folder on the kitchen counter

 that my Mom and step-father are coming from Connecticut to be with us for Thanksgiving

the trees that grow so abundantly up here in nothern Vermont that provide the material of which we make our living from

that our best seller this season so far  is the simple couple's ornament - which is nice because it  uses so little of the branch

for our children's abundant creativity (in the picture above they are carving on ice harvested from our pond)

for amazing thrift store finds yesterday - a log cabin quilt ($8.00!) and some beautiful handmade pottery (for just a couple of dollars total), and a shirt that our almost seventeen year old just loves (no worries from him about wearing used - thankful for that too!)

that our oldest son is home with us from college - all nine of us now snug in our cozy home for the week - I am remembering to be thankful for each one of them -  even among the noise and chaos

I just feel so blessed and thank God for every one of the blessings He has given me.  Practicing gratitude has been a gradual practice in my life that has now become a habit and for that I am thankful.   When all 7 of us lived in a small mobile home without electricity for over two years and I carried water, washed clothes by hand, kept our food cold with ice blocks, cooked on the woodstove - I realized that I could either be grateful for what God had provided me and look at all of the little blessings, or I could cave in and harden and be miserable.  

I just reminded Abraham and Sarah how blessed they were to be enjoying a piece of chocolate cake with milk and to be sitting in a warm house.  Sometimes it isn't always easy to find things to be grateful for and I know that sometimes we all go through trials, but practicing gratitude for even the smallest of things can truly lead to joy.

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving - it truly is a beautiful holiday to celebrate!

Making with Birch Bark

After birch logs have sat for awhile - say months - the bark gets very easy to peel.  This is actually bark from the gray birch tree.

We made heart garlands and star ornaments.

Moments from the Week

Coming home from a walk, we found Isaac engaged in some sort of creative experiment - it ended up not working - but I just love the thought process!

Isaac brought in a log and some boards and showed Abraham and Sarah about levers.

and with the fulcrum (log) near Sarah, he showed them how just a couple of 

large books could lift her.

It was really warm the beginning of the week.  Emmy loves being pushed on the little bike.

Wishing you a weekend filled with beautiful moments,

Tonya