More Postcards from Maine

Postcards from Maine

Our first ever family vacation....

I am blessed to have this time to spend with my family.

Knitting Rainbow Gnomes

Joining in with Ginny of Small Things this week for her Wednesday Yarn Along.

It has been quite some time since a knit up a set of rainbow gnomes.   For these I am using Peace Fleece worsted weight wool/mohair yarn.   I hand dyed the orange and yellow using Peace Fleece's natural shade of yarn.

My pattern is here and is so simple.

I am on to the second in the Anne of Green Gables books - Anne of Avonlea, and am enjoying this even more than the first.

Loving....

that we now have three teenage sons

how Abraham takes the time to put the tools back where they belong

that we were able to ship out so many orders yesterday

reading with Sarah


What are you loving right now?

Warm wishes,
Tonya

Anticipating

It was a beautiful dry sunny day yesterday, the perfect kind of day to wash and hang some newborn baby clothing.

My eyes welled with tears as I held each little piece, imagining the little one to come, feeling overwhelmed with feelings... feelings of excitement, overwhelming awe, thankfulness, and love.  God is good.

Entrepreneurially Minded Children

With our family earning our living now through creating and selling on Etsy, some of our children have joined in.

Nolan carved these rainbow gnomes.  We will be adding them to our shop after we find a paint that dries without smearing when wet and is child safe.  Does anyone have any ideas for him? 

Nolan is also making buttons - of hemlock, ash, birch and maple that have been selling well.  I crocheted a pencil case for myself from some beautiful yarn from Suzanne, and added one of his hemlock buttons.

Sarah, age 7, loves to draw chickens and she asked if she could sell notecards, each one individually made.


Our family is featured in an article on Etsy today in a series called, Quit Your Day Job.

Our Weekend

a picnic

swimming at the creek

making stir fry with veggies from our gardens

making Lemon Yogurt Cake

Lemon Yogurt Cake

5 T. softened or melted butter

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla

1 cup lemon yogurt

2  cup flour (I used 1 cup of white, 1 cup of wheat)

1t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Beat togther all of the liquid ingredients.

Add the dry ingredients and mix well.

Pour into a greased and floured pan and bake at 350 degrees until a knife inserted in the middle comes clean.

enjoying the beauty around our pond

It's nice that we have our whole family back together now - Nolan is home after working as a junior counselor and Thomas and Isaac returned after spending 10 days with the grandfather in Massachusetts. 

Although, the food disappears at a much more rapid rate, the music echoes down from upstairs throughout much of the day, and the work load may seem greater at times, I am so thankful to have them all home again and to enjoy the unique gifts that each brings to our family.

Warm wishes,

Tonya

this momemt

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

I am joining in with Amanda of Soulemama today.

Making Simple Boats for Our Seasonal Shelf

Using branch slices, I drilled a small hole into one end of each piece and then cut a branch to fit in the hole.

The girls and myself each sewed a sail of wool felt and now they sit on our summer seasonal shelf to sail on the shimmering blue sea of silk.

Knitting and Reading

Joining in with Ginny of Small Things again this Wednesday to share what I have been knitting and reading.

I am enjoying knitting these little caps/bonnets from - again Vintage Knits for Modern Babies.  

The pale green one is knit of yarn from Green Mountain Spinnery of 20% organic cotton and 80% fine wool which will be good for the in between days when the baby first arrives.

The other cap is knit of alpaca which is so soft.   I am knitting up several for market.

I am just beginning this book, Good Wives - Images and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England , 1650 - 1750.

I enjoy reading about what life was like for women during this time period.

What are you knitting or crocheting and reading?

Warm wishes, Tonya

Summer Joys

Our family's handwork business is now full time and we are blessed that the flexibility allowed us the opportunity to take a day to drive down to Woodstock, Vermont to enjoy the beauty of the town, some live jazz,  meet my father (Poppa) who took Thomas and Isaac back to Massachusetts for some time to work for their Poppa as well as go to

the Red Sox on the Fourth of July! 

Making strawberry jam from our local organic pick-your-own.

Going to a little local fireworks display and being just a little nervous because they were being shot off so close to the people.

Happy Summer Week,

Tonya

A Flower Shop

The other day, while the weather was beautiful outside, and the two little ones were not too motivated to go outside and instead were not getting along very well, I suggested they open a flower shop.

So outside they went with a pair of scissors for each and tray of "vases".

gathering the flowers on top of the chick tractor

Of course I had to buy some bouquets at just 50 cents each.