Far From the Tree

Although my dad was the Phys. Ed. teacher at our school, I just didn't take to sports. I had an overly developed sense of responsibility in team sports, always worrying that I'd be the one that screwed up. I was very self-conscious. I also had undiagnosed (till I was 10) exercise-induced asthma. Living in a small town, sports go by the season...in winter, there's hockey, curling, and skiing. In summer, there's softball, swimming, and soccer. For me, summer meant climbing up in a tree and reading endlessly.

Our local soccer program is just terrific. Herds of kids crowd the field in what we affectionately call "Daisy Pickers Soccer". There are enough balls for each kid to have one, and sometimes they participate in drills. Sometimes they climb on the goal posts or study the flora on the soccer pitch (hence the nickname).

This is our first year participating with our older kids, and to my surprise, I find myself wanting to go and watch every week. In addition to visiting with other parents, I have discovered the joy of watching this tempermental child of mine thriving in an athletic setting. She participates without complaint for the whole hour, and thanks her coaches when it's done.

Coach Mike warms the kids up.

We call her Spaghetti Legs (no, not to her face!), with a slight fear she might get them tangled up one day.

Listening to Coach Paul.

Her focus amazes me.

Coach Daddy (having spent his early childhood in England) gets into the fun.

Jude winds up for a mighty kick!

I love this little nerd so darn much!

It is at this point in parenting that I am coming to recognise my children as independent of me. Their relationship is their own, and I know that these are the days they'll remember; their summers will begin to blur together in what I hope will be a happy collage of swimming, camping, wrestling on the grass, sports that they love, and that ultimate gift of childhood: being carefree.

Violet pins Jude, who seems happy to be pinned. We know this isn't technically allowed in soccer.

Ah, the scent of new-mown grass.

These are the days.

Craft Classes: Felt Crowns

Last evening Maureen (of Twig and Toadstool) and I hosted the second installment of our series of craft workshops, aimed at mamas who want to create beautiful handmade gifts for their children. You can read about the first session here, where we made felt fruits and veggies for our little ones. Both Maureen and I are thrilled to pass on our skills and knowledge, not to mention the perfect excuse it gives us to drop everything and hang out together! As two part-time workers, and full-time mamas, it can be hard to find time to just visit and craft. To do it in the company of other enthusiastic wild women makes it all the more fun!  

Who could resist this rainbow of embroidery floss,

these colourful scraps,

a jumble of pins, needles, and scissors (recognise that toadstool pin-cushion?),

and an opportunity to create a gift of beauty and love?

Patient hands learned blanket stitch, running stitch, and backstitch,

and personalised and embellished with silk flowers, rickrack, ribbon, and buttons.

In spite of the uproarious mama-and-grandma-laughter, this little man dozed off (felt food in hand!)

allowing his mama to stitch this beautiful "L" onto his crown!

A sampling of the almost-finished results! (We used Amanda Blake Soule's crown template, found in her book, "Creative Family").

During these craft-lesson gatherings, the best moment for me is seeing the sparkle of pride dawn on a mama's face when she finally figures out how to make a nice, neat blanket stitch, or finds her finished product looking so much lovelier than she'd imagined it would. Crafty possibilities blossom, and everyone leaves with a feeling of accomplishment and renewed confidence!

Do consider sharing your skills and gifts with the world, either through informal gatherings like this one, where you collectively create an opportunity to create by bringing a bunch of materials (beads, earring hooks, string, feathers, mirrors, paper embellishments, etc.), or through classes. We've been so thrilled with the response to our Handmade Christmas series that we're already planning our Spring sessions!

Visit http://www.twigandtoadstool.blogspot.com/ for details of upcoming classes!

Felt+Friends=Handmade Fun!

The fruits of my labour (ahem), plus a wee knitted pear I made last week.

My dear friend Maureen and I launched our first series of craft classes yesterday at our local art gallery! A group of 9 wonderful women gathered to learn to make fabulous felt fruits and vegetables. The group represented a wide range of sewing abilities, but all went home with a start to their own collection of felt food. The excitement and pride everyone felt at creating handmade gifts for their children was palpable, and Maureen and I are very much looking forward to our next three sessions: felt crowns and barrettes, tree blocks, and a gnome/nativity set. Space is limited; for full details, more photos and links, or to sign up for future classes, visit Maureen at Twig and Toadstool!

We needle-felted green roving to fill this pod with peas!

I'm rather fond of this pear creation.

Can you spot the handmades? They're hard to distinguish from fresh!

Now is the time to start thinking about handmade gifts for Christmas. Some gifts we're planning to create here at the Homestead include this treehouse for Violet, and this marvellous set of Star Wars figures for Jude.We'll also be buying some handmades from other craftspeople, but I've declared this a no-Walmart-craptastic-present Christmas! Our kids are still at an age where just waking up to find a full stocking is enough to send them into near-paroxysms of delight, so we know whatever we pull off either with our own hands, or by supporting someone else's will thrill them.

We're not too strict with our families when it comes to the gifts they buy for our kids, but we do love when people ask us what they would like! Additions to our wooden train set, new books, costumes, art supplies, and outdoor activity-type gifts are always high on the list! Get creative when shopping for the little ones in your life this Christmas; don't resign yourself to buying cheap, easily-broken-and-hard-on-the-earth gifts just because you're not crafty. One of our favourite places to shop for beautiful gifts that will last a lifetime and beyond is Natural Pod, located in British Columbia. We also love the handmade wooden toys at The Wood Garden, located in Southern Ontario. As we work our way towards Christmas, I'll continue to post links to my favourite places!

Tell me, do you have any plans for handmade Christmas gifts this year?