Reflecting on a slightly handmade christmas

Christmas was splendid. Fun, joyful, warm, it was a good Christmas.We decorated the house, picked a lovely tree, wrapped presents, baked cookies, all of the things you would expect to do in preparation for Christmas. Despite all of these amazingly fun things, the past two years since my daughter has been born, I can't help but feel that something is missing. I ask others what they plan to do for christmas and they know exactly what the day will entail and exactly how it will unfold all the way down to what time they plan to doze off after dessert. They all seem to have very well worn traditions that our little family lacks.  I long for tradition and familiarity. So this year I was really hoping to come up with some great traditions that we could continue for years to come. I didnt quite hit the mark I wanted to but I tried. I really had so many ideas of things to bake and wreaths, trimmings, ornaments, garland to make but I ran out of time. We did get our hands dirty and made a few glittered pinecone ornaments for the tree one day. Homemade cookies another day. Maddie made a hand painted crown to wear on christmas eve. And I accomplished embroidering a homemade stocking in one night, I managed to poke my fingers a million times but I did it and it wasnt too bad for my first embroidery project. As I say every year, next christmas will be even better. Perhaps I should start planning it now.

out of the studio: Colonial Williamsburg

During the holiday season, a favorite day trip of mine is to Colonial Williamsburg to view the historically accurate wreaths and winter decorations of yesterday. Doors and windows are decorated and wreathed in natural native materials such as holly, pine, apples, feathers and often accented with oranges, pineapples, artichokes, seashells and pomagranates. My favorite spot is the Colonial Nursery, a picket fenced little garden with seasonal vegetables growing in windowed hot beds and under large dewy bell jars.  It even has a little market where you can purchase seeds, plants, feathers, cotton branches and even reproductions of 18th century garden tools. I always want to buy everything. Every year I get so inspired by the simple yet exquisite hand made decorations fashioned out of everyday natural objects.Who needs all of the synthetic gaudiness and mountains of plastic that the 21st century is trying to sell us. I want to step out into my backyard and look around and find  Christmas.
My daughter Madeline is a bit too young to fully appreciate the architecture and decor of Colonial Williamsburg but she still loves this day trip. We cant leave without a visit to the delicious little candy shop where Maddie has a really hard deciding what to get and then to the 2 story toy shop with all of its wonderful stuffed animals, puppets, trinkets and figurines. Its a terrific little adventure.

Thrift Score #1 Mikasa Teapot

I love resell shops and thrift stores! I dont know what it about them. I love the prices, the hunt, the vintage treasures, the oddities, the bad music, the funky carpet, the old, the musty, the weirdos, and yes even the smell that goes along with them.  I can remember going to thrift stores in high school and having my older sister joking me for wearing what she called "old man sweaters." And yes they probably were older men's relinquished weary sweaters but thats not the point,  there is something about finding the beauty and use in objects that others have cast off and deemed useless or outdated.   Beside you never know what you are going to find. So here is the beginning post of what I plan to be a regular on this blog, a record of what I have dug up on my little treasure hunts. Some items I may part with on my etsy shop, others I will covet. So here is an awesome 1960's-70's Mikasa mid-century teapot that I just couldnt resist.

out of the studio: smithfield, va

The end of the year flys by so fast. It doesn't help that my "real" job at a publishing company always ramps up publishing at the end of the year to push all of its spring travel magazines out the door, causing an ever present sense of stress and panic around the office the entire month of December. Then of course its the holidays. Halloween turns into Thanksgiving and Thanksgiving rolls into Christmas with hardly a moment for a well deserved pause in between. Despite the hecticness, I absolutely love this time of the year and since I didn't celebrate holidays as a child watching my daughter marvel in the delights of such traditions is so amazing to me. Christmas is the peak of these moments. So last weekend we picked out a real tree(the first real tree I have ever had) and then headed to Smithfield, Va, just a hop and skip away from Portsmouth, to my favorite little shop, Wharf Hill, to see if they had any Christmas decorations. To my delight the shop was brimming with Christmas accoutrements. Trees chock-full of trimmings in various themes some were rustic with birds and canoes while others were flocked white with mushrooms and acorns. I fell in love with so many items, I couldnt decide what to purchase so we allowed Madeline, our daughter, to pick out a couple to take home for the tree. She chose an adorable owl made of pine cones and a little nest with three blue robins eggs. Wharf Hill is such a gem of a shop, I think it will definitely be a Christmas tradition to visit every year (along with several visits during the rest of the year).

Along with store bought trimmings, I am hoping that Madeline and I can come up with a few homemade ornaments this years as well. Maddie helped me gather some pine cones from the yard and I am going to try to add a bit of color to them and hang them on the tree. I have also seen all types of ornaments made from food items such as oranges, pomagranates and popcorn. Perhaps we will experiment with those. Or perhaps a few crocheted ones. Who knows, there is so much I want to do, I just hope we dont run out of time.  I feel that for next year I need to start planning January 1!

 I finished the poncho/wrap that I was working on for my daughter. I think it turned out quite nice. I used this lion brand seashell poncho pattern but added a few rows to make it a bit longer. I also added a couple of pom poms. I am a bit pom pom crazy right now, they are so easy and quick to make. The poncho itself was really quick to work up and fun. Perhaps I will make a few for my etsy shop.

Autumnal Days

 

It is barely noticeable at first, the sun starts setting a few moments earlier, the air becomes a little less saturated with humidity, the squirrels become busier and then before I know it, the first few brilliant autumn colors start to peak through the green leaves that so desperately cling to their chlorophyl hue. At first I am always a bit sad, perhaps it is because the first twelve years of my memorable life, like most, revolved around those few hot summer months that freed you from the drudgery of long boring winter school days, forever anticipating, forever wishing for June.  My school days have forever put a pock on Autumn. After the initial moments of sadness pass, there comes a twinge of excitement. Cooler weather, less humidity, no mosquitoes (which are the size of wasps around here on the coast of Virginia), inviting piles of leaves to jump in and the anticipation of the holidays. Fall and winter are my time to nest, to take joy in the warmth of the home and to dwell on all the little projects that are in need of starting or completing.  One of the places that  Little Grey (my three year old daughter) and I love to visit is the charming little Red Lion park in the historic Old Town area of Portsmouth. Its a wonderful place to take a few snapshots and enjoy the afternoon especially in the autumn. I am also working on a crocheted shawl with pom poms for Little Grey, I will show more pics of it when I finish.