Celebrating Candlemas

Yesterday we celebrated Candlemas for the first time.  This holiday has both Christian and Pagan roots, and it is the midpoint between winter solstice and spring equinox.

"If Candlemas Day be fair and bright

Winter will take another flight.

If Candlemas Day be cloud and rain

Winter is gone and will not come again"

                   --Festivals Family and Food

We took advantage of the good weather and spent time at the park in the morning and at the beach in the afternoon.  This good weather is apparently a sign of more winter to come, so we are outside every chance we get.

We visited a local honey farm and purchased some lovely blocks of beeswax.  We then melted the wax and poured it into molds to make ornaments, which we have hanging from our nature table tree.  (I used the instructions at The Magic Onions for how to make the wax ornaments.)

Dinner was eaten by candlelight, which was a special and memorable occasion for Little Man.

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Birthday Crown

Yes, the birthday crown was finished in time!  It worked out exactly how I pictured it in my head, so I was really pleased with the results.  And Little Man LOVES it.  He wore it almost the entire day on his birthday.  It is nice when you spend a lot of effort on a project to have the work appreciated by the recipient.

I used two colours of felt for the body of the crown, and repeated this layout on the back.  Little Man loves nature and the outdoors, and I wanted to create images on the crown that would have a lot of meaning for him both now and in the future.  There is a cedar tree, a sun, and a mountain towering over the ocean.

 

Although I machine-sewed the body of the crown together, all the designs were hand-embroidered (both the detailing and in attaching them to the body).

 

I sewed velcro to the ends of the crown, both to make it adjustable (it even fits me!) and reversible.  The moon on the reverse side of the crown makes it a great wizard's hat.  I know we will have fun incorporating this crown into our daily play.

For more photos of the crown, including closeups of the detailing, please visit my Flickr site.

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Work In Progress - Birthday Crown

One week to go, and Little Man's birthday crown is a pile of mostly uncut felt.  He has decided he doesn't want to nap anymore, and won't sleep when it is bedtime.  So my crafting (and rest, and blogging) time has been nonexistent for the last week and a half.

Much to do, but still time for it to be crafted with love.  Now I must go so I can tuck someone in... again.

Inspiration for birthday crowns:
Ada's crown
Dieter's crown
O's crown

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Hanging Snowflake Garland

I have a secret confession.  I've never been able to make nice paper snowflakes.  Ever.  My snowflakes looked like a child's art project, cut out with round-tipped scissors.  Not only did mine always turn out chunky, but they were never really symmetrical.  This year I was determined to learn how to make delicate, airy snowflakes.

A tutorial at Martha Stewart showed starting with the square piece of paper, folding into a triangle, then into another triangle.... then -- wait a minute!!  This is where I usually start cutting out shapes.  But there's not one, but TWO extra steps before that!  There's a double-fold plus an extra cut.  I think I know why my snowflakes have never worked before...

Armed with this information I started cutting shapes in November, well before it was appropriate to decorate the windows.  By the time December rolled around I was getting pretty good at making nice delicate shapes.  And then I found maya*made.  Her snowflake tutorial showed the exact steps I had just learned to make great snowflakes (apparently I was the only one that was never taught how to properly make a snowflake).  But she went beyond that and created a lovely hanging display of her snowflakes.  She crafted her snowflakes out of newsprint -- a wise plan to turn something targeted for the recycle bin into such lovely art.  This material also adds an extra dimension in that the snowflakes are so delicate that the slightest air current sets the garland twirling.  It truly adds a touch of magic, and isn't that what we seek at this time of year?

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Christmas Tree Bunting

I saw a tutorial for making a tree bunting at Sadie and Lance and knew I had to make one.  Since I am just returning to sewing, I don't have a stash of fabric scraps on hand.  This can be a good thing sometimes! My local fabric store (which conveniently opened less than a month ago less than two blocks from my house) had these gorgeous batik fabrics that I had been eyeing.  I knew I had to make something with them and this looked like the perfect project.

I chose three different batiks and a matching flannel for the back.  I hung the bunting between two rooms, so the back is always visible.

This project was pretty quick once I had all the materials ready.  The hardest part was wearing out my hand from using the pinking shears for such a long time.  Are everyone's pinking shears this hard on the hand or are my ancient shears special?

The photos don't really do the trees justice -- it was hard to photograph in the location I chose to hang the bunting.  They are very cheery and welcoming and add a nice feeling to the space.  I will be sad to have to take them down when the holiday is over.  Perhaps a spring bunting is needed to replace them at that time.  There were some lovely yellow and pink batiks at the store...

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Treasure Bags

What child doesn't want to collect "treasures" while outside?  Little Man loves collecting fir cones, leaves, rocks, twigs, and yes... dirt.  Soulemama's book Handmade Home inspired this project to give him somewhere to store his treasures while out and about.  Of course I couldn't just make one bag -- somehow he ended up with three!  One for the beach, one for in the yard, and a little sock monkey print bag for walks (I keep that one handy in the car).  The main part of the bag body is made of a plasticized mesh, so they hold up well to sand and water.  I did the handles and edging (along the top and inside down both seams) with a wide cotton twill tape.

The verdict?  Success!  Little Man now expects to carry one of these any time he is outside.  Earlier this week we were getting boots and a coat on in preparation for an adventure in the yard when he turned to me and asked "cone bag walk?".  Magic to my ears, which heard "Mama I love the bags you made just for me.  Let's grab one and go!".  So away we went, bag in hand.

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Wool Felt Ball

Inspired by a tutorial at Duo Fiberworks, I wanted to make a felt ball for Little Man. I am so pleased with how it turned out. He really enjoys playing with it, which brings me great joy.  I will be making another one shortly for a Christmas gift for a friend's child.

I made it with 100% wool felt from Holland.  Using quality materials makes a huge difference with this project.  The wool has a completely different feel from the craft-store type felt I have used for projects in the past.  The ball is also stuffed with 100% wool batting.

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Wristlet Purse

I made this little wristlet today following the pattern in The New Handmade: Simple Sewing for Contemporary Style.  It was my first time using the zipper foot on my sewing machine and I had to get out the manual to even figure out which direction to install the foot!  But once I figured that part out, it didn't turn out to be difficult at all to sew in a zipper.

This is the second project I have completed from this book and I have several more planned.  I really like the finishing details on the projects.  Everything is topstitched, which gives a crisp and professional finish.

This little wristlet is a gift, but I like it so much I may need to make one for myself.

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