simplesparrow

everyone's favorite mama

If you love Amanda's blog, Soule Mama as much as I do, then no doubt you will be thrilled to own a copy of her new book, The Creative Family. When I was offered to receive a copy I was so excited to say the least--Heck yeah!...um, I mean...why yes, please. THANK YOU.

Amanda writes with passion about her family and the bonds they have nurtured through creativity. I appreciate her efforts so much in involving her children with her and encouraging them in their own creative pursuits. I know how much patience and time it takes to do this and it is to be admired, trust me! I also love how she encourages us to make time for our own creativity--not to put it off until everything else is done because that often never happens, our to-do lists can go on and on.

Some of her projects fondly remind me of the things we did when our older children were young: family drawing time, drama time (Mark once--very spontaneously, drew a beard on with my mascara, threw a t-shirt over his head to act like a shawl and told us all a very animated bible story, much to the delight and giggles of the children and me) collecting bits of nature to bring inside to admire and to sketch, making our own knitting needles--learning to knit from a friend--and then all 3 boys and myself knitting together in church! You should have seen them all lined up, needles clicking (quietly clicking!). I have since forgotten how to knit, but there is no way I will ever forget those sweet weeks of learning and knitting together. It all encourages me to not let Noah's young years pass without the same kind of memories.

There are lots of reviews floating around on other blogs so I won't get too long winded here because they are doing a great job. Her book is a definite must have for any family that values creativity and togetherness and rolling it all up into one--it is chock full of fantastic projects. I do want to tip my hat to Amanda's husband, Steve. All of us mamas know that it takes a pretty special husband to be able to do what Amanda does, so Steve--take a bow, because we all are applauding loudly--with an encore even :)

Boy, whether or not I'll be able to manage two blogs remains to be seen (sometimes I wonder what in the heck was I doing!) I've updated my photo journal for those that are following and I confess that having a special spot to talk pictures feels so good right now--even though I may  need  will have to slow up here in order to keep doing that one. I'm going out of town for few days but when I get back a crafty post for sure! The little pink bird up there is a sneak peek.

a winner and a WIP

I have the cutest, little, freckled, random number picker you could ever want. He made my job quite easy. "Noah" I said, "pick a number between 0 and 51." and he said, "20." Perfect, thanks. He got back to what he was doing and I got back to what I was doing. Number twenty was ellen! You are the winner of my little bookish giveaway! Send me your address, K?  Pictures From Patchwork is yours.

Thank you to all who put their name into the hat! It's so much fun to have you play along. And, if you are feeling a little bummed out because you never win anything---well, I know just how you feel. I NEVER win anything either! :)

The photo above is my work in progress. I'm doing something I rarely do right now, and that is staying up late to make good headway on getting it finished. Time to get off the computer before all this typing puts me to sleep...yawn..no, no yawning! must.keep.sewing.

yawn.

It's not looking hopeful.

giving away some goodness

edited: my international friends are welcome to put your name in, I don't think the shipping will be too much. also, it sounded like a few of you might have thought i wanted a book in return--no! just pass along a title of one you love--if you want :)

I came across another copy of this great book at the thrift store the other day so I nabbed it! Books like this are just too good to pass up, even if you own a copy already. I mean, there are always crafty friends who can appreciate these bound wonders so I want to pass this copy along to you! The title is: Pictures In Patchwork, by Marie-Janine Solvit. (oops! no cover photo!)

The colors and shapes on these pages really inspire me. I love the 2 in the right top and bottom corners. Here are a few more pics. of the inside...

The book is full of color and black and white photos + illustrations. It was hard to choose what to show you, there is a ton more that are great. The author covers such topics as: techniques, materials, tools, planning, choosing a color scheme and more. This copy is a soft cover, published in the US in 1977. It was first published in France under the title Le Patchwork in 1976.

I love how inspiration can work--it's not that you always want to reproduce exactly what you see--for myself, I always want to come up with my own thing--but inspiration conjures up excitement about shapes, colors, design, textures, new ideas etc... you know?  It's food for your own crafty soul. But you guys know that already I'm sure. I just wanted to type it out.

Leave me a comment if you would like to be included in the give-away, and I'll draw one name at random on Sunday evening. Hey--you could also pass along any vintage craft book titles that you like. I'm always up for discovering new-old books.

loving this book

Thank you for all the towel quilt love!! It's so nice to get your feedback and support. So far, it's ranking right up there with some of the most favorite things I've made! If any of you make one, let me know..I would love to see it!

So, on to my current obsession. The other night my crafting buddy and her family were over for dinner and afterwords as the guys chilled on the couch watching a surfing dvd, we scooped up a pile of my vintage craft books to go through. As we were thumbing through them and sharing pictures of things we loved, I did happen to wonder what in the world was I doing with a couple of them. I mean they were, so ... so.. ugly! We were laughing as we skimmed through all the pages trying to find out what in the heck possessed me to bring THAT book home? That was pretty funny and those particular books are now in the Goodwill pile.

But after all that, I was so happy to become re-acquainted with the book in the photo-- Applique Stitchery by Jean Ray Laury. You can find it on Amazon here and it's cheap! But I'll say it's worth it's weight in gold. I'm loving it more now then even I first did when I bought it well over a year ago--maybe two. So now I'm working on my first ever wall hanging. This is kind of evolving as I go along, but for the most part it will be a grouping of trees. My plan is to fill it in with some simple embroidery and maybe some leaves for the trees--but I know myself all to well and often times I end up with something totally different then what I had envisioned when I started. So far I'm liking it. I think I might even have it done by the end of the week! Lightning craft speed around here this week. Amazing.

sock and glove cuteness

Melissa from Penguin Publishing Group asked me a while back if I would be interested in reviewing this book, Sock and Glove by Miyako Kanamori. Getting to this has taken much longer then I ever intended as I've had the book for a few weeks now. Just too much going on around here! Plus, I really wanted to post my review after I had made the adorable little elephant that charmed my socks off!! (yep, right off and into a wee sock ele)

This book was originally published in Japanese and is now in English. Oh please tell me this is a sign of things to come---Japanese craft books in English!! The book is full of adorable creatures to make from socks and gloves. How clever the author was to think of the different ways you can cut up socks and gloves and then fashion such cute critters! The animals are all charming in their simplicity and the directions clear and easy. Although I do need much practice in hand sewing limbs and heads on! That's not easy if you want it to look tidy.

Along with the elephant, I was quite smitten with this fish. It's crazy simple and makes me laugh. Not to mention that chair it's sitting on is rad.

The book has several animals to make (I've given you just a tiny peek) plus patterns for some simple clothing to outfit them in. Too cute.

I finished up this little guy this morning and then asked Noah what name we should give it. I suggested making it a girl this time and calling her Elenore (I'm so prosaic sometimes) He just looked at me with a look that said "get real, mom" and told me that it will be a boy and his name will be Fred.

Meet Fred.

I secretly call her Elenore.

(many thanks for the birthday wishes for Hannah (she loved them!) and for the Felt Club support! xo.)

suddenly...

...i've taken to embroidering trailers and turning them in to small pillows. i'm working on a whole trailer park you could say. don't ask why, i already told you i was weird.

also, here is the japanese craft book i made my slippers from and a photo of the style i chose. ISBN 4943309430771. there are patterns in the back that you enlarge with a copy machine. lets just say i enlarged mine much more then they suggested..ahem..i do not have petite japanese feet. the book has several cute slipper styles, some from leather even. you can click on the photos to get a better look.

Corners + Mail

I haven't done a corners of my home  post in quite a while. For sure I needed to add this one to my set , the light was so pretty. Early morning sun through my kitchen window.

My new *book love*, or should I say *loves*? No doubt you know all about these. I'm thrilled to add them to my own little bookcase. They are all fabulous.

I'm hoping to update my Etsy shop  by the end of the week with what I hope will be some nice Christmas gifts for the little people in your life. Stay tuned.

On Pure Style Living

I didn't think I would get a chance to post while here in the northwest, but I seem to have little bit of spare time. It very well may be my last though because my dad's computer only has dial up and it is so incredibly slow. Snail slow. Turtle slow. Molasses in January slow. Gee-whiz.

When Blair posted about this book , Pure Style living, It was such great timing for me. I ordered it right away from Amazon (only $8 used!) For the last couple of weeks prior to her post Mark and I had been talking about how desperate we were to simplify our home, and thus our lives. We have been going through a purge--slowly but surely we are getting rid of so much stuff. I can't believe how much clutter we had/have. It hides. And I guess I just tried to block it out because it felt way too overwhelming to deal with it. Until I have a bad day, and then I see it ALL and it drives my batty. Poor Mark, I was better at blocking it out but I think he was just secretly going batty everyday. So we are trying our hardest to bring this cycle to an end.

That is where Pure Style Living comes in. I have about 3/4 of it read already and it is so very inspiring, so full of the way I want to live and keep my home. In my words, it is a book about living simply but not without beauty--about paring down,but not being deprived--about savoring the simple joys in life and about creating a living environment with intention and thoughtfulness to the things that are important, practical, healthy, and conducive to happy family living.

The photographs are very beautiful. I have a sense of order and calm and being content with a whole lot less when I look at them. And that is the very thing I want to reproduce in my home. It won't happen over night, but I feel more committed to this now then ever. One cabinet, one closet, one corner, one room at a time.

I got to meet my very first blogging friend--Sally of shim and sons. She was so sweet and friendly. We share much in common and ended up talking for a good long while. I got to meet baby J, and let me just say he is 10 times the sweetness in real life. Give him a big kiss for me Sally! I want to share more on this later, but I'm getting called to come join the family. I'm c-o-m-i-n-g!

New Japanese craft books

As promised, here are my new additions to my Japanese craft book library. Library seems like a big word for my small collection of 10, but ya gotta start some where. Some of you out there have, like, a b-gillion of these--which is a library in the most truest and proper sense of the word. (read that last bit with a very slow and royal sounding British accent  :)

Love this one. Lots of very cute things to crochet. ISBN 4-391-62257-2

Beautiful, simple clothing. Very inspiring. ISBN 4-579-11097-8

This is such a pretty book. Instructions on learning to smock with patterns for clothing, bags, and aprons. ISBN 4-277-31151-2

This does say "Let's Knit Series" at the top, but in fact it is all about crochet. I was relieved because I don't know how to knit! There are several doily type projects in here, which I'm too excited about. But, there are also some cute drawstring bags, baby booties and a few other little things like the tiny pincushions on the cover. ISBN 4-529-04219-7

The title of this one intrigued me, "Sew Smart With Only 50cm Cloth" (about 20 inches) It is full of lots of cute little projects. ISBN 4-8347-2396-8

There's no time this morning to show you the other 5 I already had, but I do plan to put up a photo album in the sidebar with my...ahem...complete library soon. (Did you read that with a British accent? British accents just sound so official :)

Oh! Thank you so very much for all of your anniversary wishes. I think I was able to thank each of you personally, but if I missed one of you---Thank You! You guys are such a nice bunch :)

And one more thing, here is a link to a tutorial on how to order Japanese craft books. These instructions work for YesAsia.com  as well. I didn't notice if Amazon Japan offers free shipping, but YesAsia does on orders over 25.00 US. That's easy to meet...very. I also like that you can set your language and currency preferences at YesAsia.

Books today

I wanted to show you some pics. of the fabric buttons I've been making, but no time today to take the photos in good lighting. So, here are some books I'm reading right now that I'm really lovin...



I was eying this one at the book store a couple of weeks ago when I was looking for books with cupcakes. The cover is so very beautiful, and the price tag was a pretty penny too. I didn't thumb through it because I didn't want to get attached. To my delight I found it at the library today just as I was on my way out. This is chock full of the most amazing recipes, some of which I will try for Valentines Day. (notice I said "some", that's because there is no way you could just choose one!) The book is such a treat to look at took, so incredibly photographed. The cover page to each chapter looks like a piece of wallpaper, all different, all major eye candy. This is a "wish list" book for sure.



This is one of the books I'm reading aloud to Noah right now, actually not to many words in this one. It tells the story with pictures. The cutest and funniest pictures of frogs flying around on lily-pads! We love frogs in this house. If you have a little one, go check your library for this one...I promise it will be worth it. The author is David Wiesner.

(I had a photo, but it was so horrible I couldn't take it any longer! )
And lastly, this book I picked up over the weekend from a library sale for a dollar, Plenty of Patches by Marilyn Ratner. It's a introduction to quilting. I love going to library sales when I can, the prices for most things are so cheap. Magazines .10 cents, most all books .25 cents, such a deal. I got there early and waited in line for just a few minutes before they opened. When they gave the o.k., everyone rushed off in a mad dash! It was like a horse race and they just flung open the gates! I made a b-line for the craft/hobby books, and let me tell you, I was not the only one, ohhhhh noooo. All those crafty grannies that look so sweet and gentle turn into HAWKS at a book sale!! Their fingers were running over mine as we all flipped the books like hot pancakes...I knew then and there this was no leisurely browse..If I was remotely interested in any book I had better snatch it before the talons of those grannies beat me to it!! Anyway, back to the book. This does not look like much from the cover, but for an inexperienced quilter as myself the projects are very simple, and many are rather cute! No photos, just clear pencil drawings. I'm positive that techniques have streamlined since this was written (it's almost 30 years old!!) But I think it will be easy enough to redo the steps that seem to time-consuming. You can get it for pennies on Amazon, and thus bypass all those hawks in granny clothing.. ;)