Kidhood

Part of why I wanted to start a blog was to share stories about my rather unique childhood. As perviously mentioned, I grew up as one of 9 kids in the middle of the woods. We lived in a cabin that my mom dreamed up and my uncle, with some help from my dad, built. We were home schooled, which is really hard to explain to anyone who wasn't. My learning, at least till I was twelve or so, was very unorthodox. To learn history we would read about, say, Leif Errikson discovering America, and then go outside and act it out. Or, to study fractions, we would cook and add together the measuring amounts to understand it better. We raised chickens, had pet goats and a rather failed attempt at a pony,  tried to grow a series of gardens, and spent hours playing in the woods everyday. 

Once I spent an hour standing by a fence on the edge of a field, holding my breath as I watched four fauns eat. Something startled them and they ran and my heart jumped to see the tiny deer leap over the tall fence.

Once our dog scared a poor baby bunny have to death and we took it home and fed it strawberries and named it Bonnie.

Once, we had an ornery old pony named The Artful Dodger who was determined that no one should ever ride him ever and took to biting anyone who tried to put his saddle on, namely me.

 Although a lot of times I was a typical kid that couldn't appreciate what I had, especially on Saturdays when we did chores all day, I most definitely appreciate my childhood now. I do think that growing up in the woods, surrounded by trees and animals, and being so free to dream and learn so free of rigid structure allowed me to be creative and use my imagination in my own way. That may have something to do with the fact that I sew animals obsessively :-)

What I Wore Wednesdays

For anyone who knows me even slightly, clothes have never really been a priority. I've always tended toward being a tomboy and considered taking time to pretty myself a massive waste of time, as well as a bit fake. If someone doesn't like me in baggy sweats with no make-up than I don't want them to like me in a sexy dress. I know, I know, I don't get how people work. To add on, I've just never been that great at dressing cute. I'm creative, sure, but I've alway been a bit fashion-crippled. Anyway, lately I've been realizing that dressing well doesn't have to mean looking like someone I'm not or covering up what I really look like or even looking super fashionable. It may just mean wearing clothes that look good together and show off my personality and taste.

I'm really not fantastic at doing that, but joining up with the link party What I Wore Wednesdays will be my fledgling attempt. Feel free to comment and tell me what you think!

 White shirt, blue spaghetti strap jersey dress, gray blazer, gray tights, pink scarf, and black boots.  All of them are Goodwill, thrifted, or hand-me-downs except the boots, which are Isaac's from, oh geez, some store.

Make It Monday- Sampler Ornament

I've been exploring a bunch of blogs lately, and one of my favorite link parties that I definitely want to get in on is Make it Monday! This morning before work I decided to make one of the ornaments I had recently seen at a craft show. They are made from the sampler hoops that I used as a little girl to do cross-stitch on. Unfortunately, just like all of my favorite little girl book heroines, I proved a bit too impatient for the tediousness of cross-stitch, so I decided to put my hoops to a new use!

Sampler Ornament

Okay, so here is what you need to make it:
Scissors
1 Sampler Hoop (the smallest size would look the best on a Christmas tree)
Yarn
A Template cutout (I used a deer, but you could use anything!)
Iron-on fabric adhesive
An Iron
Some neutral background fabric
A patterned or contrasting fabric for the template

1. After you get your supplies together, cut out a piece of your template fabric that is big enough for your template to easily fit on it. Cut a matching piece of iron-on adhesive that fits with it. Iron the fabric to the shiny side of adhesive until it sticks.

 2. Next, trace the outline of the template you chose onto the fabric and cut it out. 

3. Then, peel the paper off the back of the fabric and iron the template onto the center of the neutral fabric you chose for the background.

4. Then, put the fabric and template over the inner hoop of the sampler hoop and push adjustable top hoop on top of it and tighten till taut. Trim all but a little of the extra fabric off the edges.

 5. Then I taped the edges to the back of the hoop. If I was going to give this as a gift or hang it somewhere where the back could be seen, I would hot glue the edges down to make it look better from behind. Last, I added a little yarn hoop to the gold clasp at the top to hang it!

 I really like how it turned out!

Halloween and Costumes

Today is Halloween, the holiday I never really understood. Dressing up, yes, I absolutely understand that. Anyone who ever knew me before the age of 14 knew that I spent most of my time looking like this: 

This is me heading to a Victorian Tea- duh!

This is me dressed colonial style at a Revolutionary War battleground

This is Me, Deba's head, David, and Joe camping Colonial style

1. 

Yes, I occasionally donned trashbags and yes, I thought I looked AWESOME.

I loved dressing up as a kid and pretending to live in pilgrim times, colonial times, or World War II Europe. To me, living in those times meant adventure and a way of life that seemed waaay more interesting than just being a one of nine home-schooled kids living in a cabin in the middle of the woods. 

So I got dressing up, but whether it was because I wasn't ever allowed to trick or treat or because the one time my sister took cookies to our neighbor he cocked his shot gun on the front porch and scared her away, I never really got wanting to be freaked out or the give-me-candy thing. Anyway, tonight I'm going to hand out candy for the first time and see if I can develop a new perspective!

Mighty Mouse!

Last night Charlie came into the kitchen while I was doing dishes and said "Okay, so don't freak out, okay?" At which I got nervous, because Charlie doesn't really say that phrase lightly. "I found a mouse in the de-humidifier."

See we have a de-humidifier for our house that I found at a yard sale because our house is crazy moist and we needed something to suck up the liquid. I obviously have no idea how it actually works. The point is, there is a little space and a hole where the mouse crawled up into the humidifier and jumped into the water. I'd like to believe that this mouse was neither stupid nor suicidal, just a bit delusional in his climbing skills.

Anyway, this made me sad because I love mice. As a kid I tried to save a stunned mouse once by keeping it in a shoe box (not sure my mom was very aware of this!) I don't want them dead, and I definitely don't want them drowned in my dehumidifier! So I sewed a mouse today to make myself feel better!
Simone Mouse

Isn't he cute?

Waking World

This weekend I took a flash trip to Pasadena, Maryland, for my friend Steph's wedding. Charlie couldn't come, but Steph is one of those old dear friends I don't get to see as much as I want to, and I was determined not to miss her wedding if I could help it. So I drove across Virginia with Andrew Peterson's "Light for the Lost Boy" album playing, the gray autumn sky spreading out above my car, and I got to fall in love with God again.
Peterson's song called "I just want to thank someone for this" made my whole self shake as I caught a glimpse of the wonder and the power and the might of my God in creation. For a moment, I was able to forget about my small concerns and see the reality of a world holding its breath.

"To be more than merely innocent

But to be broken then redeemed by love

Maybe this old world is bent

But it's waking up

And I'm waking up

'Cause I can hear the voice of one

He's crying in the wilderness

Make ready for the Kingdom Come

Don't you want to thank someone for this?

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

Hallalujah! Hallelujah!

Come back soon

Come back soon!"

In Greensboro

Well, we are alive and well in Greensboro! It's been 4 months since we have been here and it is finally starting to feel normal. Moving sends shock waves through every part of my life, making me feel like I'm constantly trying not to run into things or get lost. Actually, that is pretty literal! But our house is starting to look like a home, our dog is starting to feel like our dog, our jobs are starting to feel like routine, and being with family and friends makes this all worth it. Here are some pictures of our new home!
My living room/dining room

My lovely new studio!