Buggy

 Noticed today the percentage of my jewelry that involves creepy crawlies of some sort. This doesn't even include the actual creepy crawlies in tiny jars. Or the large ones for that matter.

 God help my poor beleaguered mother.

But then how fascinating are these animals really? What we've come up with for aliens doesn't compare to what really exists. On a side note, I added those studs to that sweater myself, a Goodwill find. I figured I don't need to push the Ms. Frizzle aesthetic too far. And its usually a close one.

Woodsy Lavender Sachet Tutorial

 These little sachets are one of my favorite gifts to give people! They are especially nice because the shape can be customized for the person you have in mind. I've done everything from turtles to little monsters.

 To get started you will need:
A few squares of felt (I like Joanne Fabrics for subtle colors)
One hank of embroidery floss for around every six small sachets
Leather or ribbon for hanging
Lavender!

You will need to draw out the shapes you would like. Simple is best, and avoid extremely thin areas, as they are hard both to sew and stuff. And keep in mind that these will be somewhat smaller looking when filled.

 Cut your shapes out of  the felt, two of each piece and any little embellishments you'd like. You may want to use pins to pin the patterns down for this, but I never remember.

 Attach the parts that overlap, like the acorn cap here. A blanket stitch is an nice way to do this, and adds some visual interest.

When you reach the edge of the front piece, I find in easier to simply continue across the other side rather than tie a knot and start over. You can then continue around the piece, inserting a loop of leather or ribbon at the top and leaving an opening for stuffing. 

When you reach the spot for stuffing, set aside the thread and use something narrow but not pointy (I find a chopstick works well) to fill your sachet. Finish stitching, tie a knot, and bring your needle through the middle of the sachet and out the other side, which leaves a bit of string for repairs. Cut off excess.

To add some more decoration, here are some helpful videos on different stiches-
Stem Stitch
Back Stitch
Chain Stitch

Thanks for reading and let me know how they turn out!

Holding Breath

Bastille's Pompeii, I can't wait until this can inhabit my MP3 player! Another terribly lovely song, I didn't know I was holding my breath until the end. I highly recommend anything from the Mahogany Sessions series if you are as enchanted by acoustic as I am.

Whoa Brown Betty (gluten free)

Today its about 40 degrees and raining so that I'm about tempted to build an ark. Instead I'll share this lovely recipe my brother made for a gluten free brown betty. 

You will need:
Four cups of granny smith apples
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup gluten free flour ( I like plain brown rice flour)
1/2 cup gluten free oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup room temperature butter, plus more for sauteing
A drizzle of honey

Peel and slice your apples thinly, and place in a pan with about two tablespoons butter. Saute until lightly browned.

Drizzle on the honey and add the spices and continue sauteing until apples are slightly soft.

 In a separate bowl mix together the oats, flour, butter and brown sugar. Scoop the apples into individual ramekins ( my favorite) or a 9 by 9 pan. Cover with the oat mixture and pat down. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the filling is soft and bubbly, and the crust brown. Absolute heaven with vanilla ice cream and the sauce from the apples drizzled on top. Enjoy!

And because nothing beats the classics, here is another-

Into the Wild

"There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,

There is a rapture on the lonely shore,

There is society, where none intrudes,

By the deep sea, and music in its roar:

I love not man the less, but Nature more,

From these our interviews, in which I steal

From all I may be, or have been before,

To mingle with the universe and feel

What I can ne're express, yet cannot all conceal."

Lord George Gordon Byron

The Turning Point

 I had a teacher once who told me that there are only about seven stories in literature, that are told over and over in different versions. This seems like an oversimplification to me, but there are probably that many commonly told ones. What brings this to mind is a recent trip to see The Nutcracker ballet. It was lovely, and a favorite of mine in childhood. The Nutcracker, Peter Pan, and The Wizard of Oz, all favorites, had a common element  A girl on the cusp of adulthood, having a final glorious adventure before making the responsible choice to return and take up the mantle of adult womanhood.

Clara of the Nutcracker and Wendy of Peter Pan both have suitors approved by their parents waiting. Dorothy came at a later time, and too young for marriage in the modern age, still had farm chores and three uncle who needed hot meals. As a child I could never fathom the choice, for the first two at least. What was it they needed to return to? Who decided that the life assigned to them was a responsibility, and who would benefit from their upholding the status quo?

It seems a bit like that in the real world sometimes. Beauty that takes your breath away, a relationship thats more than routine, adventures of the small and sudden, or the large and life changing kind, all are things its thought naive to expect. You stay on the sidewalk, you go with what works, you color inside of the lines and perhaps at the end of your life you will have earned the right to travel a little with your worn body and still have ample savings to leave to your 2.5 children.

I've walked that walk, with everything I had for many long grey years. And what it brought was what it was expected to bring, disappointment and endless toil toward things I did not even wish to acquire. This isn't the case now, and while I shirk no fair responsibility, its my goal now in any element which effects only me to choose for myself, regardless of how odd, how boring, how short sighted it may seem to someone else. There is no use following a map to someone else's destination, and it feels better to trip on the way to my own.

On the subject of childhood literature, a quote that has stuck strongly with me for many years-

“Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things - trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one.” 
― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

And a song, from another angle-

Restless Bones

I like lists. And I like chaos. The kind of chaos present in a house full of family, a few neighbor kids, ten projects, a meal and music all at once. And quiet, the kind where you are so far into creating something, reading something or thinking that the hours float by unheeded. But in between those is a discomfort, where time goes by just as quickly but it comes with a fear of waste, and an inability to move. Dissatisfaction with life clears its throat and fails to mention my own part in the equation.

That is where the lists come in. A place to wrangle all the things I'll be glad I did, that I must do, that will drag my brooding feet into one camp or the other for a little while.

That Gives Me Shivers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-_6FA7MYmY&feature=fvwrel

Desperately lovely- it gives me the feelings you get when you first discover that there is more to music than Old Macdonald.