Peggie Swap!

I joined Peg Swap with Margaret from We Bloom Here.

One of my swap partners was Stephanie from The Knitty Gritty Homestead.

Even with her 4 kids and the life that swirls around that, she was the first one to get hers in the mail.

Just look at that hand work! I imagine her sitting with a cup of tea in a quiet spot of her day to do this. :} I'm sure the reality may be quite different, I'm choosing to stick with my story.

 Double sided wings!

 And she knit the clothes.

 A moth! A moth! Who woulda thought to make a moth?

Love the fuzzy wool she used too.

We are enjoying our little friends. More so since they last a lot longer the the daffodils.

Thanks Stephanie! We love them. Now you have to guess what I sent to you. I posted them last week... both in the mail and on the blog.

And thanks Margaret for hosting the swap. ' tis lovely indeed!

Happy Saturday.

Amanda

market bag in orange. and teal. and yellow

Somebody stop me! I can't stop! Well, just a few more and I'll move on to something else.

 Little peek at the inside pockets and binding at the bottom.

 3 pretty bags, all in a row.

 While I was out on this shoot in the deceivingly cool day, I wandered in the woods to look for signs of Spring.

Instead, I found lots of this!

There are great questions around here on where the deer sleep and where the buck may be and will there be any fawn this year. We could google the life of deer I suppose to educate ourselves.

This path was across the property. I thought it was deer, but it goes into a tree,
 just behind where I was standing.

And instead of deer hoof prints, there were these. Anyone know what they are?

Do you think it's a racoon?

 And a shot of the yard from an angle you don't usually see. Just at the edge of the woods, from the previous picture with all the bags hanging, looking towards the pond. Those blue barrels were a floating dock. We're hoping to put one of those in the pond sometime too.

And one more look.

Cheers,

Amanda

thrifty treasures

Today I found a few treasures at the Sally Anne. It's been awhile since I've found any, so this is super nice. 

I love crewel work. Changing the direction of the thread makes a difference in texture and detail.

And a smaller squirrel one.

These works need to be cleaned up. Anyone have any tips? I don't know if the dyes in the wool will bleed and I don't want to find out the hard way. A lot of time when into these treasures. 

I also found this fabric! A gem yes?! It's almost a duck fabric, so a little thicker.

Most perfect for making another market bag like this one! And this one in merimekko!

Love making these bags for now and hope to have a little collection to sell at the market! 

Oh, look for me on face book. I have a new page. By Hook and Thread. 

I'll put the link up when I figure it out!

Cheers,

Amanda

not your usual 3 pigs

Once... in a quiet little village, there were 3 low environmental impact houses. One of straw, one of twigs and one of bricks.. (the bricks were recycled from a highly protested demolished landmark)

The owners of these homes returned from a day of shopping at the local organic farmer's market.

On the edge of the meadow, not far from the windmill, (which helped them off the grid) watched a lone, cranky wolf*!

The oldest brother was worried to see the lone, cranky wolf nearby. The wolf was well known in the village and not very well liked!

The youngest brother, the outgoing, extrovert, was not afraid at all. He bought extra quinoa and beets to help round out the vegetarian stew.

So there would be plenty to eat for all!

And the wolf would get his sugar levels back and wouldn't be cranky. He's pretty nice when he's not hungry. Sometimes, he even brings dessert.

la, la, la, la, la. Happy day at Pig's Hollow!

:}

* The part of the wolf is played by a character from Margaret's bookMaking Peg Dolls

Glad to be a part of The Magic Onions for Friday's Nature Table.
And Creative Friday at natural Suburbia

The Mermaid and the Pirate- a little tale.

Once... there was a Pirate, sailing on the seas. Looking for someone, something to share his treasure with. Arrggggg.

He often heard singing and felt comforted by the creatures of the ocean. 

A mermaid, who had been following in his travels came out of the water, just as the pirate looked down.

He invited her to be his companion to explore unknown lands and caves on a never ending quest for treasure.

She was quite excited by this and swam to the bottom of the ocean to collect some of her possessions.

And together, they spent their days sailing, looking and singing to the land, the air and the sea.

Have a good one,

Amanda

Also glad to be a part of The Magic Onions for Friday's Nature Table.
And Creative Friday at natural Suburbia

Finger Knitting Woven Rug

Here's our progress with the finger knitting rug.

I caved and went to the next town over to buy this yarn. Our local didn't have these sunny colours. And I really wanted to continue with the sunny colours. This side will be the back. I have a few ends to weave in. Rafael has taken over the making of this rug. I'm pleased. Less time with wanting a head in a screen.

 He has already finger knit a yellow strip and woven it in. We are figuring if we should add a few more spokes to keep the weaving tight. hmmm, not sure I want to tackle that. When I make my t-shirt one, I'll start with more spokes from the beginning.

I first saw this project at Spoonful, but it was Flax and Twine that inspired me to do it with finger knitting. Thanks Anne.

I'm joining Ginny over at Small Things for Yarn along. Finger knitting is a form of knitting right? And we are using yarn yes? Maybe I am pushing it a bit. :}
Also glad to be a part of The Magic Onions for Friday's Nature Table.
And Creative Friday at natural Suburbia

Thanks for stopping by.

Amanda

the Lion of March

Like a lot of places on this side of Canada, we're experiencing a late winter storm. The kids' Karate was canceled (my 2 hours of evening time alone, daddy was at curling, gone)

So we gathered in the dining room, stoked the fire,

made some after dinner hot chocolate

And started work on this... 

 After all the finger knitting last week, we decided to make this Hoop weaving rug from Flax and Twine. I'm using cotton yarn with this colour theme. We've done much more work since this picture was taken. I will have to go on a hunt for more of this yarn. I've only 3 balls. A few more would probably do it. I hope the one store with some yarn here has what I'm looking for.
The original tutorial is shown here. Take note to look for this in the tutorial.... you must have an uneven number of spokes. They tell you how. The picture below doesn't. I had to start over. Much better now. They also tell you how to finish it. I'm going to try my next one with T-shirts like they did. A.D.D.I.C.T.I.V.E.  

It was a lovely evening with the kids taking turns finger knitting, weaving, and playing the piano. Neve takes the lessons, is learning to read the notes and Rafael plays the song by ear. I so wish he would take lessons. He's a natural. Loving his 1 Direction singing these days and his harmony making for other songs.

With this new storm and another possible on Friday, I'll happily watch March go out with a bang. As long as it doesn't show up in April. It is kind of weird to have a snow storm and daylight at 7:30pm. 

Keep warm,

Amanda

duck bag

This cute little dude or dudette is a pattern from  Abby of While She Naps

I've made many of her things before. Here's the  bear bag.

I used boiled wool for these. Better known as a wool coat. After making the bear bag with one, I went to the 2nd hand shop and saw this yellow coat and a hot pink one! The piggy will be made next.

Happy St. Patty's Day and may ye find a glass to raise to blessings!

Amanda

market bag

I bought this fantastic fabric a few weeks ago. And the green was not far from it. This bag came to mind. It's a pattern (sorry, the pattern is not here at the moment, more info later)

It fits perfectly in my bicycle basket (that picture must be in my camera). I picture a bagette sticking out and some fresh veg and fruits in there from the market! I'm dreaming about the market.

We rode our bikes this day. A little chill in the air, but nice and fresh. The kids always spend some time on this chair. I think I'd like one for my yard please.

And a hazy view of the mouth of the harbour.

We've hardly been down here this winter. More time for the water in the warmer months.

Have a good one,

Amanda

Little Stuff Cuff

Repetition

Makes a pile and a sore back.

2 more of these to make ( I counted incorrectly. Boo) and these are out the door!

Bring on the March Break!

Family focusing time starting tomorrow.

Ciao,

Amanda

And the winner is....

This little guy was at our feeder the other day. He's tiny. Called a Common Redpoll. 

Saw only one. Only once.

I put Rafael to work writing out the names of commenters.

Then he cut them up.

Put in his hand. 

and the winner of these friends is......

We INterrupt this giveaway announcement to show you this...

more common redpoll appeared. Tons of them. on the ground, in the trees. So exciting. DH says he saw a bluejay in the tree today. Yes, my friends, spring is in the air.

And the winner is....

Bonnie! I'll send you a note for your snail mail addy.

Thanks for playing. I think I may have another giveaway next week. If I get my act together.

Have a good one.

 Look who else is back!!!

Amanda