SouleMama

snow days

It's been snowing! A lot for November, really. As seems to be tradition - I spent the first storm inside rearranging things. Ah! It's really my very favorite thing. For a long while I've been wondering about our big table in what we use as the living room - it's a oddly shaped long room with the woods stove at the end and always a little strange to arrange furniture in there. It's full of bookshelves these days plus the woodstove and what better place to eat than that? There's still a little cozy comfy spot in front of the stove, so all is well. Plus, COUCH in the KITCHEN! I have no idea if any of this will stick but for now it's going over surprisingly well with everyone and it will work perfectly for the large house full of people I'll have here on Thanksgiving. So, yay for new things! Or old things in new light. 

I've been knitting a little this week but mostly it's in the form of picking up dropped stitches because Ani is a new knitter! Woot woot! Exciting times. And her interest has sparked Harper's interest once again, and so the three of us are happily stitching together this snowy day, and good golly, if that isn't pure bliss I don't know what is. 

 

cathedral grove

I really do need to get serious about all the hat and cowl knitting I hope to do for the holidays, but it seems each time I finish a hat, someone snatches it up out of my hands and claims it as their own. And isn't that the goal really? Nothing makes me happier. (Says the woman who will clearly be scrambling on gift knits in less than a month, while having a house full of children with more hats than they know what to do with.)

This one is Cathedral Grove and I loooove it. Though the design is fun, the yarn might help a whole lot too - it's from Cashmere People Yarns, purchased from my Portland neighbor Casey at Port Fiber. I think this is the Cashgora - mohair and yes, cashmere. Ridiculous for a seven year old's hat? Maybe, but look at that face! It's the softest, yummiest of hats in that yarn. We all need a little bit of cashmere!

There's such a busy week ahead - a holiday to celebrate, of course, and a gathering at our Portland space for Taproot (our one year anniversary in Portland! Come join us!) and a whole lot more life and family fun in between it all. But I'm sure there will be moments here and there for some knitting too. I wish you the same! 

Silk Oak {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Silk Oak!    

At Silk Oak, we've been making our hand silkscreened, original design goods in downtown Ithaca, New York since 1977, having fun and making lots of friends along the way. In that time, we've printed over half a million shirts, sending them from our little studio in Ithaca, all over the world as goodwill ambassadors- from Galapagos to Katmandu, from Tahiti to Siberia. 

Silk Oak is more than just a way for us to make a living. We believe it's possible for business to help create healthier, more vibrant communities. We print on U.S. grown cotton, sweatshop free garments and choose organic when possible! We pay living wage or above and work to strengthen our local economy and keep more dollars circulating locally.

 

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about?

Jan: Since the last time we were featured, we have added a whole new line of accessories for babies to adults. There is something profoundly satisfying in being able to continue to reinvent ourselves and keep evolving, even after 41 years! 

We love color, cool design and the hands on feel of our traditional, low tech, eco friendly process. 

 

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook. 

 
This weekend, Silk Oak is generously offering the following gift to TWO lucky SouleMama readers:

$50.00 in our shop.

In addition, Silk Oak is offering all Soulemama readers 15% off with the code SOULEMAMA through November 30th.

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after.

Dean’sSweets {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Dean’sSweets!    

We are Dean and Kristin, a husband and wife team. We love chocolate, our Maine way of life, and everything our beautiful state has to offer. Our 100-percent nut-free chocolates take full advantage of Maine’s bounty to source ingredients for our hand-made, hand-dipped truffles, caramels, and seasonal confections: We use regionally harvested maple syrup tapped in Madison, sea salt from coastal Marshfield, cream from Westbrook’s Smiling Hill Farm, and butter from Kate’s Homemade in Old Orchard Beach. We use Maine blueberries, of course, and the spirits in several of our truffles come from Cold River Vodka, an award-winning distillery in Freeport. (Their vodka is made from Maine potatoes!)

We create more than 30 varieties of nut-free chocolates in small batches in our 1200-square-foot kitchen and storefront in Portland, using no preservatives or artificial ingredients. Our nationwide-customer base affirms that adding a bit of Maine to our signature sweets is a great thing! And for kids and families dealing with nut allergies, our creations are a haven for fun and chocolate. Every product we sell is completely safe from all tree or ground nuts.

Find us on Instagram: @deanssweets and Facebook: deanssweets

SouleMama: Welcome to sponsorship on SouleMama! Please tell us about the beginnings of your business, and how you've come to be where you are now?

Kristin: Our business began as a fun hobby that turned into an engaging passion and career. Dean was an architect, and I was working as a textbook editor and fitness instructor. Dean began making truffles in our home and what started in our kitchen, spread to our dining room, living room, and finally guest bedroom. When the 2008 recession hit and everything changed for a lot of people (including us), we decided to take the plunge, leave our home kitchen and double-down on the chocolate life in a tiny 700-square-foot production space in downtown Portland. The hope and dream was, if we could make our chocolate business work during the depths of the financial crisis, we could make it anytime. Our reasoning and our wager were that our business would grow as the economy grew. And (thankfully) we were right!

Now, 14 years out from our home-kitchen start-up, we have a wonderful, thriving business. Dean’sSweets has continued to grow, has created jobs, and has become a constant source of deliciousness for customers far and wide. Dean’sSweets welcomes everyone, from loyal locals to folks visiting from far away. What’s most important to us is to keep our products at the highest standards while enjoying the bounty of Maine, choosing quality in our chocolate and being part of this wonderful community.

All photos by Melissa Mullen Photography

This weekend, Dean’sSweets is generously offering the following gifts to THREE lucky SouleMama reader:

1. Dean’s Maine Gift Crate – Hot Fudge and Maine Sea Salt Caramel Sauces. In a simple, elegant, and reusable crate, constructed out of Maine reclaimed wood, this gift package includes Dean's hot fudge and Maine sea salt caramel sauces. (each 9 oz jars)

2. Chocolate Holiday Tree - Our hand-made trees are an original design by Dean'sSweets. Built from dark or milk chocolate squares, the tree practically glows with holiday festivity. Each tree is individually decorated with white or multi-colored (red, green, and white) nonpareils. A stunning gift or holiday centerpiece. 5 1/2" / 5 1/2" wide at the base. approx 1 lb, 7 oz.

3. Maine Sea Salt Caramels(16pcs) – The number one best seller at Dean’sSweets, this box is a combination of dark and milk chocolate salt caramels. A definite people pleaser! 

Use the code Soule10 exclusively for SouleMama readers at www.deanssweets.com to get a 10% discount – good through Sunday, November 25th.

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Sunday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after.

Norwegian Star

I finished this hat last week for Adelaide. It's the Basic Norwegian Star Hat pattern, knit with (ack!) four of the five colors of our fiber that I recently got back from the mill. Satisfying, to say the least. Warming the heads of my babes with the wool from the very sheep we love. I've so been enjoying color work lately too, though it's new to me and I'm a little slow, and I have some things I need to perfect. Namely that my colorwork rows are generally too tight. Thanks to an Instagram plea for help, I got all sorts of ideas and was led here to Leah's tutorial that helped enormously. 

I cast right on for another (in a different pattern) after this was finished, and am trying knitting it 'inside out' as suggested. So far, it's helping with the tension on the colorwork and I'm oh so pleased. I have a great many hats on my holiday list, and the colorwork patterns just make each pattern fun in the making.

Also, my baby girl up there? She can stop growing now please. 

Minneapolis!

I'm just back from a wonderful time in Minneapolis for Vogue Knitting Live! What fun to be surrounded by so many knitters, and to meet some of you who stopped by the Taproot booth. Where else does yarn literally fall from the sky, and there's knitting for yoga, not to mention yarn tastings? At a knitting convention of course! 

I had a little time for exploring around town as well, with a constant but mellow stream of flurries it felt just like home. I loved wandering the Walker Art Center, as well as a few evenings visiting the North Loop and the fun spots there. 

But a highlight of the weekend was spending time with family, as Steve's sister lives there and Gram is currently staying there as well. It was a total delight to have so much family time together in the midst of a busy work weekend. 

And now...home to flurries today. It's the perfect day for tucking in with some of the knitting I've got going on right now. Oh the dream knit list is a long one this time of year!

 

Chasing Windmills {a soulemama sponsor}

Greetings from Chasing Windmills!    

We are makers of merino wool children’s apparel, and have a simple goal: to capture the adventurous spirit of childhood through the natural goodness of merino wool.

Springing from a deep appreciation of the outdoors, we longed to create a bridge for parents to share the goodness of nature with their little ones -- to be able to soak in the adventurous spirit of childhood everyday. By sourcing the finest merino wool from mountainous New Zealand and Australian ranches (courtesy of our friends at ZQ Merino), Chasing Windmills allows Mother Nature to provide the soulful base of everything we create. Amazingly, the merino wool used in our collection is naturally super soft, breathable, temperature regulating, and lightweight -- truly an ideal fabric for little ones all year round, and especially as the seasons change. 

Our collection includes merino wool long johns, hoodies, and basics for everyday play.

Instagram: @chasingwindmillskids   and FB @chasingwindmillskids

SouleMama: Since the last time you were featured on SouleMama, in what ways has your business grown or changed? Is there anything new you'd like to tell us about? 

Sarah: Since our feature last year on SouleMama, our long johns have received an exciting new design update - reinforced knees! We know many children live in our woolen long johns- for a comfortable night's sleep, and then also for a cozy base layer as they head to the great outdoors. We aim to make clothing that is comfortable yet technical, beautiful yet simple, and just as ready for a good snuggle as play in nature. So, this simple design update allows for extended wear in all of the adventures ahead.  

This weekend, Chasing Windmills is generously offering the following gift to ONE lucky SouleMama reader:

A shop credit of $75 towards anything in our collection!

In addition, Chasing Windmills is offering all Soulemama readers free standard shipping with code Soulemama through Monday, November 12th.

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To enter today's giveaway, leave a comment below (one entry per person, please). Comments will close by 9 am EST on Monday. Winners will be chosen by Random Number Generator and announced in this post shortly after. Comments closed.