Two Wonderful Giveaways

The image above is of a gorgeous playsilk that is being given away at Frontier Dreams.  It was hand-dyed by Kathy of Desert Dyeworks.  Isn't it amazing?

The other giveaway is over at Garden Mama.  She is giving away charming spring-themed wood cutouts and an adorable angora knit rabbit from Mamma4earth.

Sorry for my lack of posts lately.  Our family has Olympic fever!  Sadly the Games are ending today, but that will give me more time to post in the days to come.

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In the Kitchen: Eagle Loft Quinoa Salad

Serve the Eagle Loft Quinoa Salad at your next potluck or enjoy it as lunch over several days.

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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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In the Kitchen: Quinoa Salmon Burgers

Join me in the Eagle Loft Kitchen as we cook up some tasty salmon patties, made with fresh salmon and herbs.

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First Serger Project

My first completed project with the new serger -- pajama pants for Little Man.  Although I started with a pattern, I had to heavily modify it to fit his skinny little waist.  I decided to make cuffs that are sewn with a wide stitch so we have lots of room to add length to the pants.  He has been on several growth spurts lately and is outgrowing things so fast.  I think they turned out really cute, and he was happy with them since he loved the monkey print.

It is really nifty to be able to make clothes that look professionally finished.  No more frayed edges, and much more comfortable seams against the skin.  Now to look for some time to make a matching pj top...

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Double Rainbow

Yesterday was an amazing day.  Little Man has waited a year to see a specialist.  At our long awaited appointment yesterday we were told great news -- what looked like a potential problem last year has turned out to have gone away.  No follow-up visits are necessary since everything looked good.

On the drive home, I saw the most brilliant rainbow.  I have never seen one with such intensity.  And then I realized there wasn't just one -- there were TWO rainbows!  I didn't even know that was possible.  I grabbed my phone and snapped some quick pictures while the car was moving (fortunately I wasn't driving).  Although I have cropped these photos, I have not altered the colours;  the main rainbow really was this brilliant.  I could only photograph a part of the rainbows as we moved through traffic, but we were able to see the full arc of both rainbows before I thought to get out the camera.  It is interesting to note that the outer rainbow has the colours in reverse order!

 

 

It was such an incredible sight, made even more special because the sky was echoing what was in my heart:  pure happiness and joy.

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In the Kitchen: Quinoa Crackers

 Stop by the Eagle Loft Kitchen for some yummy homemade gluten-free, vegan crackers.

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Two Great Giveaways

Zach Aboard is giving away a pair of Satch & Sol children's slippers!  I've had my eye on these slippers for quite awhile -- they are all so cute.  You need to hurry to enter as the contest closes tonight.

Homemade Serenity is also having a contest, for some darling felted wool hearts and a waldorf paper star lantern.  This contest is open until January 17.

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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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