Salmon and Souvlaki

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Year-End Programming For…Cute Pictures of Mark! With A Goatee!

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Laura

Posted in Mark | 4 Comments

Handmade Christmas 2013: A Grayling For My Dad

Posted on December 27, 2013 by Laura

Having sewn a little something for the rest of my family, I decided that I should make something for my dad too. So I asked my nephew, Noah, what Dad’s favorite fish was for fishing. He told me rainbow trout or arctic grayling. So I chose grayling, and thanks to Google Images, here’s what I came up with.

pretty cool, right? 🙂

I’m sure you really want to make your own grayling so here are some tips. Search for an image of a grayling to trace. I found my color inspiration here but used a different shape from somewhere else for some reason. Then use gray felt and thread for assembly (DMC 413 – dark pewter gray) plus these colors for the eye, gills, fin – 310 (black), the fin lines – 414 (dark steel gray), and the accent lines – 891 (dark carnation). I had some nice wool felt leftover from a long-ago project and so Dad definitely got the nicest felt out of all the ornaments I made this year!

It can even bend its tail to swim!

See all your accent lines first and then put another plain gray grayling on the back and sew around the perimeter with a running stitch (after adding a hanging loop).

And if you turn it upside down, it’s a shark!

Ta da! A grayling Christmas ornament! I’m pretty proud of this little guy. Too bad I don’t live in Alaska. I could probably make a lot of money selling these!

Posted in sewing | 2 Comments

Favorite Books of 2013: Fiction (both adult and YA)

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Laura

Although not my most productive reading year ever, I did manage to read over 100 books in 2013! I track my reading on Goodreads. So if we’re not friends there, you should join me!

Here are my favorite fictional books of 2013.
(with apologies for the repetitiveness to my Goodreads friends as these are my edited reviews from what I posted there through the year)

A Week in Winter by Maeve Binchy: I love Maeve Binchy. This is the last book she wrote before she died so even though it wasn’t my favorite, I’m still listing it. It’s quintessential Binchy – even down to the female character who falls in love with and then is burned by a handsome married business man.

A Place in Time: Twenty Stories of the Port William Membership by Wendell Berry: I love this community and WB’s way of seeing into the heart of people. Many times, I was struck by the deep truth of his characters’ comments

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan: I devoured this book in about 24 hours (even staying up way too late to finish it). The characters were really interesting, the storyline was strong and compelling, and I didn’t guess the solution to the mystery before it was revealed. The underlying commentary/reflections about the impact of modern technology (particularly the internet) on society and personal life was particularly interesting and thought-provoking. I did a little fact checking with my programmer-husband and he verified the programming stuff for me. So I think even programmers would like this book!

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty: I’m recommending this more because of the conversations/self-reflection that it prompted than because of the actual book itself. The story is interesting and the characters are pretty well-drawn. It’s a good, quick read. What the main character goes through really struck me – particularly about how many little decisions can add up to really big changes over time.

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall: What a lovely story!! I can’t wait until Ellie is old enough for me to read it aloud to her. The plotline is interesting, the characterizations are fun, and I love the interactions between the four sisters. I think boys would be interested in this story too, even though most of the main characters are girls – there is one main character who is a boy.

The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society #1) by Trenton Lee Stewart: I was only going to give this four stars on Goodreads but Nik said that he was trying to start conversations with me and I was completely ignoring him because I was so wrapped up in the book. I suppose if the ending is so good that I’m not even hearing my husband, I should give it five stars! This was a fun book!

I also enjoyed:

The Quilter’s Apprentice (Elm Creek Quilts #1) by Jennifer Chiaverini (plus a few others in this series. I’m working my way through it.)
the other two The Mysterious Benedict Society books by Trenton Lee Stewart
The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) by Maryrose Wood
The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Beach Stree Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil

Posted in books | 4 Comments

Handmade Christmas 2013: Trees and Sheep and Birds, Oh MY!

Posted on December 26, 2013 by Laura

Continuing last year’s “Christmas decoration” theme for my family, and having so loved the tree garland that I made for Eric and Meggan last year, this year, I decided to make three more for my other siblings!

For Jon and Leah and their two little girls:big red trees and little green treens

For Chris and Katie and their two girls:red with browns and blues

love those trees in a tree!

And for Rachel and Drew and their three kids:

big green trees with little red trees

loves the snowflakes on that tree!

For my mom, I made her a cute little sheep. (Actually, it’s the sheep made during the photographing for the tutorial!).

For my brother Eric and his wife and five kids, I wanted to make them each something to have because they lost many of their Christmas decorations in a basement flood this fall. So I made them a flock of birds (using my design in this tutorial). I envisioned making them a flock of brightly colored birds, like a rainbow. When I asked each of them their favorite colors, I got five votes for blue (three for turquoise, one for aqua, and one for blue) plus one vote for forest green and one for “earth tones like brown or gray”. Not exactly what I was hoping for! Wanting each person to still have a unique bird, I managed to track down five shades of blue!

girls on the left, boys on the right

I added each person’s initial to the wing with thread matching the color of their wing.

and look, E and M are kissing! 🙂

Posted in family, sewing | 8 Comments

Close the Door of Hate and Open the Door of Love All Over the World

Posted on December 25, 2013 by Laura

Merry Christmas!!

We love you all!

Love, Nik, Laura, Ellie and Mark

Christmas Prayer by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894)

Loving Father, help us remember the birth of Jesus, that we may share in the song of the angels, the gladness of the shepherds, and the worship of the wise men.

Close the door of hate and open the door of love all over the world. Let kindness come with every gift and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing which Christ brings, and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning make us happy to be Thy children, and the Christmas evening bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts, forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.

Amen.

(Christmas 2012, 2011, 2010)

Posted in Ellie, family, love, Mark | 3 Comments

Recipe: Peppermint Molasses Snaps (Laura’s Family’s Christmas Cookie)

Posted on December 24, 2013 by Laura

I’m sure you have nothing else to do today so why not make some delicious cookies? 🙂

My mom made several different kinds of cookies every year for Christmas, including rolled gingerbread and sugar cookies and Russian tea cakes. Peppermint molasses snaps were by far my favorites, though. It’s a really delicious molasses spice cookie filled with lots of crushed peppermint candy. They’re frosted with a delicious peppermint frosting (the only cookie my mom frosted at Christmas.) What’s not to like?

Peppermint Molasses Snaps
makes about 6-7 dozen small cookies, plenty to eat and share (recipe is easily halved)

1 1/3 C butter (that’s two sticks of butter plus an additional 5 and 2/3 T)
½ C brown sugar
2 eggs
¼ C molasses
1 C crushed peppermint candy* (I used about 20 candy canes between the cookies and the frosting)
Combine and beat well.

5 C flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 tsp nutmeg (fresh grated is best)
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
Add in and mix until well combined. Roll into small balls. Bake at 350° for 12-15 minutes until lightly browned on the bottom.

Frosting

2 C powdered sugar
½ tsp vanilla
2 tsp finely crushed peppermint candy (the finer the better) (I usually use way more, closer to 1/4 to 1/2 C)**
2 T very soft butter
Mix together.

1-3 T milk
Stir in until spreading consistency. Frost cookies when they have completely cooled.

*This year, I realized that candy canes have artificial food coloring in them (not sure why I didn’t think about this sooner). We totally eliminated artificial food coloring from our lives many years ago but somehow, candy canes for these cookies escaped my scrutiny. This year, I found some corn-free, dye-free, organic candy canes at Mom’s Organic Market. They were expensive but worth the splurge to make these cookies dye-free!

**It’s pretty difficult to spread frosting that has big chunks of candy in it. I like to use all of the fine dust from crushing the candy canes in the frosting and the rest in the cookies.

my big helper!

Posted in family, recipe | Leave a comment

At 11 Months, Let’s Talk about 4, 6, and 9 Months, Shall We? (and 11 months, while we’re at it)

Posted on December 20, 2013 by Laura

Mark is 11 months now (HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?? HOW? HOW?) and so, I figured it’s about time to share his 4, 6, and 9-months stats with you. Clearly, the past nine months have gotten away from me in blog-land.

So, at four months, Mark weighed 16 pounds, 10 ounces. He was 27 inches tall. His thighs were deliciously fat and he was working on rolling over. He was laughing and generally delighting us with his friendly, happy personality.

At six months, he weighed 18 pounds, 12 ounces and was 28 inches tall. Almost exactly on his six-month birthday, he pushed through his first two teeth in quick succession. He also started army crawling somewhere around this time but refused to even consider the possibility of sitting. As in, “Why should I sit? You don’t go anywhere when you sit!”

Poor second child – I didn’t manage to take a picture of his first teeth until six weeks after he grew them (or ever blog about them, unlike Ellie)! 🙂

At nine months, he weighed 20 pounds, 3 ounces and was 30 inches tall. He still wasn’t interested in sitting but was (and still continues to be) oh so interested in everything Ellie does. He was a super fast tummy crawler and was starting to pull up on things. It amazed us (and still does) how quickly he has become a very present part of our family, rather than just a baby who needs to be held and fed!

growing hair, too!

And now, at 11 1/2 months, Mark is cruising along couches, letting go and standing by himself, crawling on all fours, making face at us when we don’t do what he wants, and generally amazing us with his kind heart and constant motion. He has six teeth and has kept me up many a night because of them. Despite that, we sure do love him!!

trying to play piano, just like his big sister! (Love those tip-toes!)

enjoying a little snack of dirt on a super-warm December afternoon

saying his favorite word, “ooooh”

I love my little boy!

Posted in Mark | 3 Comments

Tutorial: A Flock Of Sheep (for your Christmas tree)

Posted on December 18, 2013 by Laura

This year, I decided that we should have a sheep as part of our church’s annual ornament sale. Because we made angels last year, I figured it would be fun to have some sheep, too

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Luke 2:8-12

I hope you enjoy making these cute little sheep!

Supplies you’ll need to make one sheep

small amounts of cream and dark brown felt (I prefer premium acrylic felt for making ornaments. They end up feeling much nicer. Wool felt would be even better)
ecru and dark brown embroidery thread (I used DMC #838 for the dark brown.)
one 8-inch piece of cream ribbon
the sheep template and cardboard to make the template, if desired (Click here – sheep template– to download the Word file that has the template in it. You can modify the size for a bigger or smaller sheep.)
permanent marker, needle and sharp scissors
Instructions for a knot-less start for thread (so EASY!) are at the bottom of this post.

1. Using the template, cut out two sheep bodies in dark brown and two pieces of “wool” in ecru. If you’d like, you can trace the shape onto the felt using a permanent marker. If you do this, be sure to cut just inside the marker line so that the marker doesn’t show on the ornament. Otherwise hold the template to the felt and cut out the shape.

You’ll find that the curves are a bit tricky to cut out properly. Just go slowly. I think cutting them correctly is the hardest part of making these sheep.

2. Fold the ribbon in half to form a loop and sew the two cut ends to the inside middle back of one of the sheep bodies.

3. Use a running stitch and dark brown thread to properly sew the head and legs. The rest of the stitching won’t show so just put a few big stitches through the body to baste it together. (When you sew on the “wool”, it will fully sew together the body.) Tie off your thread when you’re done.

It’s hard to see but in this picture, I’ve only done some running stitches on the head.

head and legs properly sewn, the rest just quickly basted

4. Put one piece of “wool” on either side of the sheep body. It matches the curves of the body perfectly so make sure it lines up.

wrong!

right!

Put your needle through all four layers of felt.

Using a running stitch and ecru thread, sew all around the outer edge of the “wool”, aligning all edges as you go.

Tie off your thread and you’re finished! You’ve made a simple, easy, beautiful felt sheep!

If you want, you can even make a flock of sheep!

Ellie has requested a few more…they’re so cute nestled together!

And fair warning, if you have children around, be sure to sew that ribbon in securely. Your sheep is destined to be carried around to choruses of, “Baa Baa Black Sheep.”

P.S. Do you like all the wrestling going on in the background of these pictures? 🙂 That’s how I get work done – in the chaos!

Posted in sewing, tutorial | Tagged Christmas, felt, lamb, ornament, sheep, tutorial | 3 Comments

September/October/November Sewing: Ornaments for the Advent Bazaar

Posted on December 13, 2013 by Laura

For the fourth year in a row (here’s years #1 and #2 and #3), I was in charge of designing and coordinating the sewing of felt ornaments to be given as thank yous for donations made during the Advent season, particularly at our Advent Bazaar, supporting the mercy ministries at our church.

I was way behind on this project this year (part of that losing the ultra-productive me business) and didn’t manage to get all four samples made in advance at once like I usually do. But thankfully, my good friend Sharla took a picture of all four of them together after we’d had a couple ornament making parties. So I didn’t actually [necessarily] sew these but I did design them!

mitten (heavily adapted from this tutorial), sheep (designed by me – tutorial ~~to come soon~~ here!), Christmas lights (designed by me, inspired by 60 millions pins of the same Etsy shop on Pinterest), dove (adapted from this tutorial)

I have to admit that my heart was more than a little glad and proud when the sheep was the most popular ornament at the bazaar and sold out quickly! It seems everyone thought they were as cute as Ellie did! She immediately requested that I sew one for her and she likes to run around the house, swinging it and singing “Baa Baa Black Sheep”! 🙂

I am especially grateful to Linda for sewing just about all the doves, Sharla for sewing almost all the lights (and stringing them), Joy for sewing over half the sheep, and to all the other women and girls who helped sew the rest! This fall was a crazy one for me and these sixty ornaments (15 of each design) certainly wouldn’t have gotten done if I’d had to sew many more than the four samples that I did sew.

P.S. Has anyone caught on to the Nativity scene that we’re building? A star in 2011, an angel in 2012 and a sheep in 2013. Any requests for what should come next?

Posted in faith, sewing | 6 Comments