SouleMama

out walking

"Can we go for a walk?" is surely one of the most commonly asked questions around here. Alright, if we're getting technical, it actually follows behind: "when is it dinner?", "can we do papier mache?" (there's a serious obsession going on) and "can we get our tree today?". If we're getting technical.

But the walks these days. Ah.Who could possibly say no to a walk here right now? We're deep in the loveliness of late fall (one of the eight seasons here, I do believe - the early/late of each of the four seasons are so different from each other), and there is much to behold and treasure out there. Today, some of my favorite images from this week's walks...I hope you enjoy them.

Oh! I'll be sharing mostly photos this week, as we get ready for all the holiday baking, the shop opening, the book writing, the merry making, and well, all that really special walking.

weekend elements

{I've been experimenting with doing a 'quiet' post on the weekend with just images and closing the comments on it. I love hearing from you! But I also love just sharing something without the expectation - yours or mine - of a response. Thanks for letting me try out my silly little idea just once a week, friends!}

down & wool & knits


coffee & friends & pretty packages

old things & needle & thread

I hope your weekend has a few of your favorite things!

making books

- - "Amy [Amanda] my lazy sister is thirteen years old. She talks on the phone for an hour or two at a time. She has her own room and it is a mess. She always keeps it messy. When she goes places with her friends she always dresses nice and leaves her clothes on the floor."

- - "When Calvin was about to climb up the swing, he saw something. A turkey! Then he showed the turkey how to do flips. They were both wearing clown ties."

- - "Then he went home. Then he played soccer. Then he went home. Then he ate corn on the cob. Then he played soccer again"

Excerpts from my three favorite books - My Lazy Sister by my sister written many years ago when she was 8; a collection called Stories By Calvin, written by Calvin two years ago; and Mr. Soccerball, written by Ezra just this summer (the sequel for that one is in progress at the moment-I can't wait). These books are so very dear to me - I read them over and over and over and smile, and I will most assuredly treasure them forever. These were the first, but there are piles of these books now - in various stages of completion - among our things.

I keep a supply of these simple little handmade books accessible and at the ready for when the kids' book-writing inspiration strikes. The construction - on my end - is basic - heavy card stock folded in half, with 10-20 pages or lightweight paper on the inside pages, all stapled together on the fold. I started making them this way after receiving some similarly made and loved books from the Grecos. They're quick and easy, and yet, an absolute favorite thing for the kids to work on.

Our bookmaking has been fueled in recent weeks by the arrival of two wonderful bookmaking books.The first - How to Make Books: Fold, Cut and Stitch Your Way to a One-of-a-Kind Book is a guide to basic bookmaking, containing step-by-step instructions on a variety of methods. It's got me itching to take the needle and thread to some paper. Calvin's often asked about the construction of books, and this has given me lots of answers on the different ways it can be done. Though I think it's really geared towards an adult reader, the kids have been really interested in what's inside it too - I see some fun collaborations happening.

The second book that's being fought over explored daily around here is The Book Book, by Sophie Benini Pietromarchi. This book is really hard to explain - it's such eye candy and poetry and instruction and inspiration all rolled into one. It's written for children and covers not only the how of bookmaking, but the what to include in your book - characters, themes, ideas for inspiration. Really really good stuff, and put together so creatively. It's got everyone around here thinking differently about our bookmaking - and including things like fabrics, found objects, and food (!). The Book Book is published by Tara Publishing - a small and amazing (I'm in love with nearly their whole catalog now) independent publisher out of India. In addition to Amazon, it's also available on the their website here (where there's free worldwide shipping and screen printed gift wrap - ah! - before the holidays), and of course - also available by request from your local independent bookstore. 

Ah...new fresh inspiration for the little and big writers / illustrators / poets / bookmakers in the house. We're going to have fun with these...

keeping warm

While we've also had some warm days, we've definitely felt the first real chills in the air this week. Slowly, I'm noticing the signs of the season happening inside too: the firing up of the wood stove; friends gathered round the fire for cozy visiting; rice pudding; wool slippers; soup nearly every night; hot cocoa; down comforters and flannel sheets; and lots of fireside knitting.

Keeping home. keeping warm.

falling now, coming soon

If the wood toy post from yesterday was of interest to you, be sure to read through the comments - there are some wonderful resources that you all shared, and answers to many of the questions that were asked in comments and emails yesterday. Thank you!

The colors outside are amazing right now - so rich and lush. Ezra says the leaves are dancing in the sky. Yes, that's just what they're doing. I've been hanging on to these last bits of fall - trying to soak them up and absorb them for the winter to come. Snow might come as early as this weekend. A holiday next week. And then, well...it's December. I'm seeing inspiring, creative and beautiful holiday work all over the internet, and admiring the Holiday Shop updates from all the crafty folk. A new season approaches...

This blanket is as child's size 'take-along' quilt. I thought very much of Ezra's 'dancing leaves' when making this. And I need look no further than out my studio window for the color inspiration I needed. This one is made with a very soft washable wool, and like my others - has ties on the end for rolling and carrying along.

I'll have this quilt, a few others, and maybe some other little treats - in the shop on Tuesday, November 27th. I'll remind you when we get a little closer. For now, though, those leaves are certainly calling to play, and I'm doing my best to stay present in this season while also looking forward to the next.

acorns are fun

I placed an order a few weeks back with what has become a favorite local wood shop. I first learned about this place, ironically, through Siri - halfway across the country - when she posted her source for wooden acorns in this post (which I still refer to often for all of its acorn goodness).

We were running low on our wooden acorns - they are often given away, lost, and otherwise disappear. Which means they're played with. A lot. They become little people, pieces in homemade games, treasure, tokens, money, food, and so many more things. Sometimes - like with most good toys - they're put away and forgotten about for a time, but they always reappear in the play eventually. So we replenished our stock - a fresh bowl full of dozens of them. Sometimes we mix them in with bowls of 'real' acorns. Ah. I will admit to just running my fingers through the bowl often, turning them upside down. Like a salad. A mixed acorn salad.

With this order, I got a few wooden beads too, for a project Calvin's been asking me about. And some wooden people, as well. Though I made an error in ordering the wrong size - these are super tiny at just 2 inches tall, which makes painting features a little tricky (Ezra declared on many of them, 'this one doesn't need any eyes!') But still - the kids thought they were fab - to paint, dress, and decorate. Adelaide thought they all needed a hat - a pink (all the colors are 'pink' by the way) button hat. And now - a bowl of these 'people' become another tool for what will amount to - in the end - hours of creative play. What I love about them is that they're blank canvases, really. Blank canvases for imaginations to run wild with, and that they do.

I've been reading some of the news accounts about the mass toy recalls, and I get a little bummed when the story ends with the bit about wooden toys all being so expensive as an alternative to plastic. If you're really looking to have less plastic and more natural materials, it really needn't be so. Sometimes, we do chose to spend a little bit extra to have the toys/tools we like best - those that come from natural materials, those that leave room for imagination, and those that are made in a way that fits our values - but that also means we buy less, evening the cost in the end. Buying less also means we have less - which I believe is always more when it comes to toys and imagination and the growth of our little ones.

But there's also all this other stuff - this 'free' - and yet incredibly valuable - stuff out in the world - rocks, leaves, acorns. Cardboard, newspaper and wood. And all the incredibly inexpensive stuff - paper and crayons and paint. And wooden acorns and beads and cubes and eggs and hearts. I mean, really, all of the above cost me less than $12. What would I get walking into a big toy store for $12?

I'm just sayin'. Acorns are fun.

easy like sunday morning

Yup. That's how I feel about these pants I made on Friday night. They ARE Sunday mornings.

It's the Wide-Leg Lounge Pant pattern from Amy Butler's In Stitches. The pattern was smooth and clear - I paired it with some vintage sheeting - and it came together much faster than I expected.  And then I put my new pants on and fell in love. I thought the pattern was cute - love the cut and the wide leg. But I had no idea how comfortable they'd be. Oh, so good. And I had no idea how good it would feel to wear sheets as clothes. I mean -think about it - it's like lying in bed while you're walking around. Or something like that. It's good, I tell you. These are going to be my winter uniform. Paired with my plethora of ultra-comfy, ultra worn-in, and ultra-stained ribbed maternity tank tops (not pregnant. just still wearing maternity leftovers from seven years ago. Come on, Mamas - admit it - you've got some comfy leftovers too. Don't you?).

Ah, comfy jammies - or, lounge pants, if that's what you prefer. Is there much more one needs in life than that? I'm not so sure. Chocolate? Yes, chocolate and comfy jammies. Maybe some wine. These are the important things. Oh! And bubble bath. Anyway. I wore them all weekend. Except when I was forced to leave the house and dress warmer in which cases I seriously whined and moaned, because I do not want to take them off. Ever! I was beginning to get a little panicky about the inevitable washing they would need.

Ah, Problem solved. Oh, Sunday morning pants - I love you. This pair, and that pair, and all the pairs to come.

yellow, in my studio

I hope you're having a lovely Sunday!

what i love :: ocean gold

what i love :: the yellow gold of the ocean that shines at sunset.

Thank you for your beautifully kind, lovely, and funny comments and emails this week! You make me smile. Wishing you a wonderful weekend...

art interpretation

We've hit this incredible milestone in the ages of our children and the growth of our family, in which craft projects have become so much easier than they were just a year ago. Beads are no longer eaten, paint is no longer ingested, and as a general rule - markers stay at the table. Generally speaking. It's heavenly, really. The result is days worth of craft projects and piles worth of finished projects. This mama is very happy, and so are the little ones.

I consider myself a fairly mindful, sorta crafty mama. I know well enough to never insert my own interpretation of childrens' art before they have. I never do. And yet - every once in a while - I find myself so very convinced and so very sure that I know the subject of the art, that I dare presume an interpretation. On this particular day, we had just returned from a long walk in the woods when the painting began. The table was covered in inspiration brought in from the outside -  leaves, pine cones, acorns. I had just finished reading an autumn poem, and we had even been talking about the foliage through the whole painting process. So when Adelaide finished her painting and proudly handed it over, I quite confidently said, "It's fall! The trees! The leaves!".

I was met with an icy chill and a stare from my sweet little one. Followed by an emphatic, "No, Mama!!! Milkey! Me Milkey one side. Me Milkey other side."

Oh, right. What was I thinking? It's a painting of my breasts.