W.I.P - Spring is here!

Nature's got her own W. I. P!  We've already had a couple 80 degree days here in Central Texas. Flowers are blooming everywhere.  Here's the view under the tree in our front yard.

I've already done a bunch of Spring cleaning!  It's been so long since I scrubbed our bathroom baseboards with a toothbrush.  How satisfying that was! I also cleaned out my baking cabinet and found some items that I forgot I had, including some ceramic apple shaped ramekins.  They would have been perfect in Autumn!

I'm in the process of finishing a quilt that I started when my daughter was 8 months old.  I still have quite a way to go (making more blocks, picking a backing, sashing etc.)  Since it's been such a long time, I feel like I am learning to do everything all over again.  Do you have a favorite way to quilt or know much about the "quilt-as-you-go" technique?  I would love to hear your thoughts.  I would like to finish the quilt before Summer.

Here's what I have so far:
8 Grandmother's Fan blocks ( put 4 together to create a flower center)
4 Log Cabin
4 (made with triangles - don't know the pattern name)
4 Simple 9 patch
8 Flip and Stitch half blocks (top and bottom diagonal borders of central flower)

My mother and I took the quilt class together to learn many different techniques, so the quilt is more of a sampler.  She's given me her finished blocks for which I am very thankful! I plan on using a natural fiber batting.  I'm still not sure whether to use cotton or wool or even the newer cotton/bamboo blends.  The finished quilt should cover a twin bed.

Besides the quilt, I'm also working on a Lady Spring needle felted doll for our Spring nature table.
Here's some fairies that me and my little miss made recently.  They still have super long braids while our lovely locks got more than a trim on mother/daughter haircut day.

I'm also thinking of some simple way to celebrate Gaura Purnima this year.  It is one of most special Vaisnava holidays that happens on a full moon around this time in the Spring.    I may make some moon shaped cookies,  Bengali food and go to a kirtan the night before being led by the Mayapuris while they visit Austin.  Another fun festival is Holi - where there is a lot of merrymaking by splashing bright colors on others in a playful mood.

Hope your Spring is blossoming nicely!

Winter Time

I hope everyone is staying warm and relying on that inner sunshine!

We have had quite a few cold days and even a bit of snow!  Making snow angels, sliding down hills in a cardboard box, and eating Nature's shave ice by a frozen stream are rare in Central Texas. We've also enjoyed a couple slower days to recoup from night coughing and lots of warm soup.

With the coldest part of the year upon us, I have been quite inspired to knit.  I was able to send off some small gifts to a friend (Devadeva at Sabjimata) who had a baby with the most adorable name: Bindumati.  I am reminded of how fast babies grow and what a special time it is with a wee one.

I also made some super leg warmers for my little miss. They were finished just in time for her half birthday at school.  Since she is a summer baby, she celebrated with her class last week.  Her teacher gave her the sweetest peg doll with long dark hair and a cute acorn cap beret.  This will be her 3rd and last year in the kindergarten.  I'm feeling a bit wistful about the change but at the same time I feel lucky to witness all of the growth she's experiencing.



I am thankful for the cold and what it brings: a slower pace, a respect for Mother Nature and her power, and how good warmth feels from a cozy home and family.

Holiday Gifts

When your daughter is the only grandchild on both sides of the family, she usually becomes inundated with gifts galore.  This has happened every year since she was born on both Christmas and her birthday. I wanted our gifts be handmade and have meaning.
Here's what she got from mom & dad.

I asked her in the summer if she could have something knitted what would it be.  She said "a rainbow blanket."  Here is what manifested after a couple months and thoughtfully completed Christmas Eve.

I think it came out wonderful and the perfect size for cuddling under.
The happy colors bring automatic smiles.

The other gift from us was one I had my eye on for a while - a Baby Krsna doll made in true Waldorf style.  He is so adorable and so full of love.  Leslie of Govinda's Peace Farm created him with natural materials and wool from her own protected sheep.  Her farm and family are a true testament to simple living and high thinking. To have such a wonderfully handcrafted baby Krsna that one can hug and continue the process of bhakti in a simple, loving way, seems to be such a blessing!  My little one's name means the one who serves the beautiful and playful pastimes of the Divine.  She has already begun her service by making a baby crib from a fruit basket we received.

The director of the preschool my daughter went to asked if anyone would like to participate in the Holiday Project.  It is a special organization that helps to coordinate visits to the nursing homes, hospitals, prisons and other institutional settings on holidays.  Since I knew that we could not go on Christmas day, I asked if we could send some gifts along. 

hand made cards

rainbow bookmarks

We sent some clementines, hand drawn cards, and made some bookmarks from school watercolor pictures.  We hope our small homemade gifts brightened up their day and let them know that people were thinking of them.

I hope your Christmas was full of love and I wish you a most splendid New Year in 2011!

Gift of the Gita

Gita Jayanti is a celebration of the advent of the Bhagavad Gita.
It was spoken over 5000 years ago by Krishna to his devotee and friend Arjuna
on the battlefield of Kuruksetra.

On this day around the world, many recite its 700 shlokas (verses) and also
perform ritual fasting to concentrate their hearts and minds on this transcendental message.


In a nutshell, the Bhagavad Gita describes the Supreme, the living entities (souls), material existence,
and the nature of time and karma. 

What great souls have found a deep philosophy for life from the Bhagavad Gita?

Albert Einstein: When I read the Bhagavad-Gita and reflect about how God created this universe everything else seems so superfluous.

Mahatma Gandhi: When doubts haunt me, when disappointments stare me in the face, and I see not one ray of hope on the horizon, I turn to Bhagavad-gita and find a verse to comfort me; and I immediately begin to smile in the midst of overwhelming sorrow. Those who meditate on the Gita will derive fresh joy and new meanings from it every day.

Henry David Thoreau: In the morning I bathe my intellect in the stupendous and cosmogonal philosophy of the Bhagavad-gita, in comparison with which our modern world and its literature seem puny and trivial.

Ralph Waldo Emerson: I owed a magnificent day to the Bhagavad-gita. It was the first of books; it was as if an empire spoke to us, nothing small or unworthy, but large, serene, consistent, the voice of an old intelligence which in another age and climate had pondered and thus disposed of the same questions which exercise us.


Rudolph Steiner: In order to approach a creation as sublime as the Bhagavad-Gita with full understanding it is necessary to attune our soul to it.

Aldous Huxley: The Bhagavad-Gita is the most systematic statement of spiritual evolution of endowing value to mankind. It is one of the most clear and comprehensive summaries of perennial philosophy ever revealed; hence its enduring value is subject not only to India but to all of humanity.

Madhvacarya: The Mahabharata has all the essential ingredients necessary to evolve and protect humanity and that within it the Bhagavad-Gita is the epitome of the Mahabharata just as ghee is the essence of milk and pollen is the essence of flowers.


"One may cleanse himself daily by taking a bath in water, but if one takes a bath even once in the sacred Ganges water of Bhagavad-gītā, for him the dirt of material life is altogether vanquished."
-Gita Mahatmya verse 3
 
So in this season of giving and the advent of the wonderful, I would like to extend this gift of the Gita to anyone who would like one.
Leave a comment and I will get in contact with you to send you a book.

Handmade Gifts in the Round

Here's a couple handmade gifts me and my daughter have made, which just happen to both be round.

Pomanders
We started the process the week of Thanksgiving because I wasn't sure how long it would take for the fruit to dry.  It's quite easy and I think would be enjoyable for any child...especially the spice sprinkling.

An apple already drying out

Spices:  Whole Cloves, Cinnamon, Nutmeg

I poked holes with a bamboo skewer first, then we put in the cloves

Sprinkle Time!

Almost Done

The apple was also joined by a lemon and I would have to say that the lemon is probably a better choice.  We let the pomanders dry in a hanging paper sack with some more spices.  We shook them everyday. It's been about 3 weeks and the lemon is done. I will wrap them in some lightweight fabric and they will be ready to give.  My daughter's class made them last week, so it looks like I will get one made with love too!



Felted Soaps
I have seen these many places and they are usually out of my budget for soap.  My daughter was gifted a $14 one from Anthropology and she loves it.  After all the soap is gone, you can cut it open and use it for a little pouch to keep treasures.

We have a bag of wool roving scraps and this is what we used for covering the soap.  I found a good bargain on an all-natural traditionally kettle made vegan soap  with no preservatives or EDTA from Sappo Hill in Oregon for under $2 a bar.   They are such cute and fresh smelling round disks.  We picked almond and it seems like a good choice to mask any wet wool smell.

Sappo Hill Almond Soap Disks

1st layer - Remember to rub gently!

Many layers later - One rainbow and one cool blue

I'm not a master felter but I think I'm getting a better hang of it. All you need is hot water, soap, some towels, and maybe a little extra bubble wrap to aid in felting and keep your whole area from becoming terribly wet. Felting does take a proper technique and using the same kind of wool fiber will help it felt properly.  Most of all, it takes patience and gentleness at first.  I think anyone would love a felted soap bar and it's easy to make a different one for each person's liking.

I hope you are having fun with all of your homemade gifts.