The Homesteady

How to make a watercolor rainbow pillow

When I was pregnant – well, even before I was pregnant – I thought about how much fun it would be to learn what my child loved and then fill their world with that thing, you know? Just support whatever it was they couldn't get enough of. At age 2, Miles has a couple of those: basketball, horses, ballet, and rainbows. And it's just as much fun as I thought it would be to watch him walk wide-eyed into the Basketball Hall of Fame, to ride perched atop a somnolent pony at the fair, to point out a rainbow arching over our house. 

I wanted to get him a stuffed rainbow toy for Christmas last year, and found this one [affiliate link] on Amazon, but it seemed a little pricey. My friend Katy had been doing watercolor painting on fabric, so I decided to make my own for Miles. 

(I don't have any photos of the process, which I feel bad about. My phone's camera started taking pictures on a delay, so they're all blurry. Kristie surprised me with a new one for Christmas though!)

1. I mixed fabric medium [affiliate link] with water and painted a rainbow using basic watercolors and a foam brush onto cotton muslin. I let it dry and then put it in the dryer according to the fabric medium's instructions to set the paint.
2. Once it was totally dry, I cut out the rainbow and a matching piece of gray felt for the back. I pinned the pillow sides together (painted side facing in) along with a piece of fun vintage trim I happened to have.
3. I machine-sewed along both arches and one short side, then turned the piece inside out and stuffed it. I stitched the other side closed by hand.

It reminded me of this project, and another one I did for Christmas which was so much fun.

I have to tell you about these five things...

1. For my birthday I picked out the most comfortable bra I've ever worn, and I ordered another one for Christmas. (Use this link for $15 off your first purchase.) Affiliate link
2. We had groceries delivered for the first time in October and we have not gone back! (Use code K9435AE165 for $10 off your first order.)
3. Similarly, I tried (and loved) Target's drive-up service.
4. I bought a very long down North Face winter coat on Poshmark for only $65 – it's like wearing a sleeping bag. (If you're new to the app, use code HWAREHAM for $10 off)
5. Miles has been showing interest in helping us cook dinner, and proudly using this knife to help chop things (carefully and with close supervision of course)! Affiliate link

A bright red statement sweater

I think probably like all makers, I really like knitting for the people I love. You think about them while you're working, knotting different intentions and memories into each row. It's an opportunity almost for meditation on that person, maybe something close to a prayer.

I'd hinted heavily to my sister that I'd be making a sweater for her for Christmas, and she hinted heavily back that she wanted something chunky and in bright red. I worked up this sweater in a size small. There's much pleasure to be had in super bulky yarn and a nice, thick needle – even just a few minutes working on it made me feel so productive – plus a bigger project like this warms your lap as you work! (It's the little things, isn't it?)

I'm trying to do a better job at keeping track of the patterns and supplies I rely on so I can report them better here. So: I used this yarn in the color claret. (I usually do my yarn shopping at Webs since it's a five-minute walk from our home, but they're closed on Sundays and sometimes I can't bear to not have a project on my needles!)

What to do with heels of bread

1. Make croutons
2. Make breadcrumbs
3. Make birdseed ornaments
4. Eat them like a grown-up (just kidding, you don't have to)

Here & there

This holiday season has been about 3,000% more magical because of Miles. He's so into Christmas, Santa, the Polar Express, and anything holiday-related. His interest and curiosity about everything is one of my favorite parts of him being two. (Yes, tantrums have ramped up, but gosh – I think this is my favorite age yet!) I will say, I think we may have jumped the gun by a year or two with the advent calendar. It's hard to see that there are more gifts in the waiting pockets, but only be allowed to liberate one per day. 

Anyway, everything else has been magical. Last night Katy and Allan came over to exchange gifts (we are so lucky, for-crying-out-loud!) and then after Miles went to sleep his new babysitter came over to watch the monitor, and the grown-ups went out for a late dinner. I've been listening to these songs at work. I have just one more homemade gift to finish, and then I'll be done with my shopping/making for the year! Nearly everything is wrapped, too. And we're taking Miles to a family-friendly show of The Nutcracker this afternoon – I think he'll like it. He picked out a ball decorated with ballerinas when we visited Yankee Candle last weekend (see? we're doing all the holiday things!) and we've been talking about what strong, amazing athletes dancers are. 

Kristie's birthday is 10 days before Christmas, so I've also been trying to gather extra-special gifts for her. We're going to celebrate this weekend with this breakfast (I make it for her birthday every year), a trip to the trampoline park, and then brunch. She and I are also always happy to visit Thornes on our birthdays for all the discounts, so we'll probably stop there too. On Dec. 21, winter solstice, we'll have her birthday dinner with my family. I'm hoping to also weave in some solstice practices (this list has good ideas – I've already put the ingredients for wassail on our shopping list) to help make that a meaningful evening.

Friends, are you feeling caught up on holiday to-do's? What are you enjoying most about life right now?

 

Links for your Friday

Santa got my Christmas list! Impeachment articles have been approved by the panel and sent for a House vote (NYT)

Amazon's predictions for the 100 most popular holiday toys [affiliate link]

This is a mouse deer and I love it

The Baltimore Museum of Art is buying only from female-identified artists next year

Knitting Mr. Rogers's Smithsonian cardigan

A heartwarming profile of Chrissy Tiegen and John Legend

Pinterest and The Knot are going to stop promoting weddings that romanticize former slave plantations 

I wonder how this cinnamon donut cake would taste with gluten-free flour...

I'm satisfied with the holiday crafting I've done this year, but next year I want to make dried orange and apple garlands to hang on the tree

A 44,000-year-old cave painting

A beautiful, beautiful DIY paper flower menorah

4 favorites (v. 11)

DIY lacing card
DIY drawstring bags
Chalkboard tracing set [affiliate link]
Knotted headband [affiliate link]

How to make a simple embroidered advent calendar (& what to put in it)

It was fun fun fun and felt so good to complete a new Christmas project...even if it necessitated taking the day off work! I drove to Katy's house so we could stitch advent calendars for our families alongside one another. (She is a precise and intentional crafter, and so exerts a good influence on me.)

As far as a tutorial for the embroidered felt advent calendar now hanging in our living room, I'll tell you what I used and what I did.

Supplies

• 1 yard gray felt
• 1/2 yard cream-colored felt (MUCH was made of synonyms for this color, and I ended up somewhere between "baleen" and "Civil War bandage")
• Interfacing and an iron
• Red embroidery thread and an embroidery needle
• Embroidery tracing paper [affiliate link]
• Fabric glue
• A wooden dowel

Steps

1. Decide on the height and width of your pockets. I had been leaning toward 3"x3" but luckily Katy talked me into 4"x4". Attach interfacing to one side of the cream-colored felt, and then carefully cut out 25 matching squares.
2. In Photoshop or another image design program, create your numbers in your desired font and size (mine are approximately 1.5"). Reverse the image and then print (they should be backwards!). Trace with the pencil and embroidery tracing paper. Cut the numbers out of the tracing paper, and use the iron to transfer one number to each cream square.
3. Embroider the numbers, using the transfers as a guide. Embroidery is not a strong skill of mine, nor do I have very much education in it, but I can tell you I went over each digit twice for this calendar.
4. Decide on the distance you'd like between your pockets, and cut the gray felt to meet those needs (leaving minimum 6" at the top). My pockets have a distance of 1" between each, and 2" for the side margins. Glue in place around three sides (leaving the top open) and allow appropriate time to dry.
5. Fold the top 6" of the gray felt back behind itself, and glue in place so that there is enough room to thread the dowel through (once all is dry). 

A few ideas for what to tuck into the pockets if your recipients are little kids (keep in mind some of these are quite tiny and may not be appropriate for a home with babies). Oh, and lots of affiliate links ahead...

• A felt crown (make it/buy it)
• A $1 bill
• Temporary tattoos (make it/buy it)
• A pair of socks (buy it)
• A little bag of pretzels
• A clothespin doll (make it/buy it)
• A small slinky (buy it)
• Washi tape (buy it)
• A piece of candy
• An Altoid mouse (make it/buy it)
• A mini quiet book (buy it)
• One French macaron
• Stickers (buy it)
• A small ink pad and stamp (buy it)
• A small photo puzzle (make it/buy it)
• A little car (buy it)
• Chapstick
• Mittens (make it/buy it)
• Road tape (buy it)
• Small Play-Doh or clay (buy it)
• Stick-on earrings (buy it)
• A new Christmas ornament for the tree
• A finger puppet (make it/buy it)
• Sunglasses (buy it)
• A few Band Aids (buy it)
• Small lacing card (make it/buy it)

These are best for younger kids since of course that's where our minds are, but it was fun to imagine what to put in an advent calendar for teens. We'll have to figure that out eventually!

In addition, we're including little notes that correspond to family experiences, or presents that are too big to fit in the calendar:

• Watch a Christmas movie together
• Drink hot chocolate with breakfast or dinner
• A family outing (these can correspond with holiday plans you already have, like going to see The Nutcracker, driving around to look at Christmas lights, or visiting Santa)
• Family service ideas (volunteering at a soup kitchen, picking out non-perishable foods together and donating to your local food bank or food drive, or picking out gifts for toy drives)
• Go "caroling" via Facetime by calling relatives and singing Christmas songs
• Build gingerbread houses
• Read a new holiday book together
• Paint nails together
• A free pass to wear PJ's all day (for everyone!)
• Bake and decorate cookies
• Have breakfast for dinner
• Make salt dough ornaments

Our first Samhain dinner

I'd been feeling a tug for the past few weeks. My soul was asking for more ritual, more connectedness with nature and our ancestors, more meaningful ways to mark the changing seasons. After a remarkably difficult fall, I ached for these things. 

We are not a religious family, and I don't have any plans for us to become one, so I thought I'd find some inspiration researching pagan traditions – and read about Samhain (pronounced "sow-ween") just in time. It's an opportunity to celebrate the harvest and mark the beginning of the winter, and is believed to have Celtic pagan roots. Some also see it as a chance to honor those who have died in the past year. We borrowed the rituals that resonated with us, and had a Samhain dinner for just our small group of three. I hope to make this an annual tradition and expand our guest list next year. 

Here's what we did...

We all dressed nicely – me in a dress, Kristie in an alpaca cardigan she'd bought at the New England Fiber Festival, Miles in a button-down. I taped a big piece of paper to the table, and sketched rough "place settings" for each of us. We piled the table with fresh flowers, lit candles, small pumpkins Miles had painted, and photos of each person (and dog) we lost this year. 

For dinner we had a fall vegetable and rice casserole (recipe from this book – affiliate link) and gluten-free cornbread from a box mix. I made gluten-free carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting for dessert – a practice bake for Miles's birthday cupcakes. We ate dinner together while talking about those we'd lost, with smiles and tears. I read this poem out loud.

It felt wonderful to create a space for us to grieve and honor, to slow our lives down for just an hour and observe the shifting seasons. We'll do it next year, too, we said to each other as we cleaned up.

I believe it could go unsaid that we'll plan for another in the hopes of far fewer losses in the coming year – but I'll say it anyway. 

Visiting the New England Fiber Festival

Our first visit to the New England Fiber Festival on Saturday was simply lovely. I really didn't know what to expect going in, although felt hopeful there would be animals for Miles to visit as he and Kristie came too. We also met up with friends and their kids, and strolled the aisles together. 

Since Miles was coming, I wanted to be honest with my expectations for the day. I didn't have a shopping list or any goals to meet (Webs is in our backyard, so I'm never short good new yarn), and figured I'd be happy just to browse and take inspiration anywhere I could for however long we lasted. 

We arrived around 10 (after all of us slept in until nearly 8 – thanks Miles!) and visited all the animals we could find. Miles alternated between stroller and walking on his own. While he was in the carriage, I perused stalls, and while he wasn't, I simply joined him petting the alpacas, sheep, and rabbits. Kristie, bless her, also chased him quite a bit.

The work at this stall was so beautiful. Fiber + Mud's owner told me she grows her own indigo for the dyeing. 

Miles sat down next to these sheep for awhile and picked pieces of straw off them one by one.

The Society for Creative Anachronism was on hand with weaving demonstrations. I wish I'd spent more time in their area.

I was stopped by a few people who asked if I'd knit the sweater I was wearing. Tempting as it was to say yes, it's vintage Gap. I realized my whole outfit was thrifted, except for the tights and inner wear. I think I'll wear the same thing again to Thanksgiving. 



We're already looking hungrily toward next year, when we can go back with a tighter game plan. "No kids in the morning" was suggested, which might be nice so we can get the dedicated shopping out of the way. Have you been? 

Here & there

More on Instagram

Life is creeping back to normal, and lately I've been leaning hard into wearing hand-knit sweaters, lighting candles, and finding little fall crafts to do with Miles in the evenings since we've started keeping him up later to get ready for daylight savings time next week. I have big plans for the slow cooker. And I'm wading slowly through the ebbing waves of grief and guilt, and finally starting to daydream about what the coming year holds for our family.

But! First things first. Tomorrow Miles is having a sleepover at his grandparents' house, and Kristie and I are staying home by ourselves. We're going to see a movie, and I made a reservation at one of our very favorite restaurants. And then? We sleep!!!

 

Links for your Friday

Meet Mattel's new gender-free doll

I've been devouring this series on Mother

How to support boys who want to dance

100 fun things to do that are free

Rihanna said no to performing in the Super Bowl halftime show in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick

The Literary Witches Oracle Deck pictured above [affiliate link]

I would actually live in this frat house

California has banned fur

We're planning to do this family new year's resolution for 2020

How to get your toddler to wear a coat (<-- need to try some of these!)

Gory makeovers for ceramic dolls

I'm hyperventilating a little bit about the trailer for Dickinson