When Little A was first born, our birth attendant handed us a book and said “if you read only one parenting book read this” and it was Magical Child by Joseph Chilton Pearce. It was far too intellectual for my baby brain in those first months but it is a book i pick up from time to time that i feel could make the world a better place. I have yet to read his new book; The Death of Religion and the Rebirth of Spirit. This was the basis of his lecture and workshop this past weekend. i was only able to attend the final 2 hours of the workshop where he spoke mostly of the heart brain/neuro-cardiology… i missed too much but what little i heard was so very inspiring and Joseph is a sweet and intelligent man, easy to follow. Alistair was able to attend the whole weekend and updated me some with his notes. He came home and nearly deleted all movies and tv as a result of feeling creatively inspired. Tv is a big issue that i have written of a couple time already and each time i revisit it is plain and clear; tv is not healthy for our littles growing creative minds!

Some photos from yesterday - slingin his wee friends and playing with the new oven insert (a trade with friends);

not a Hallow’s eve post by any means but Little A is getting ready for his first trick or treat experience. i’ve got yogurt raisins, banana chips, goji lollipops, stickers…we’ll see if i can hold him off the other fancy and ever so enticing packaged goods.

Sewing machine update; Bernina is alright. i got her back a couple of days ago and after some bobbin case tension adjustment and other fine tuning she is running smoothly. i am holding off on the new Pfaff until further research is made. My mom recently brought up the Husqvarna Viking machines made in Sweden and i must say i am impressed. So more research and reading for me as i continue to push Bernina to her limits. She’s so awesome! i have a stack of dolls cut and ready to sew for the shop and for Maternal Creations Arts and Craft Fair. i’ve got crowns cut and sewn in various stages for a special order and i hope to have more for the craft fair also. It’s a busy crafting time and i am so completely inspired by recent additions to my inventory. Some snippets;

i followed a friend’s tip to try out a delicious hot chocolate at the new 49th Parallel location on 4th. Yummy! Little A would only stir his…didn’t like the brown color. i love the blue and brown. We were so well coordinated with our Cat in the Hat book;

Yesterday was gorgeous and sunny after days of rain. We went walking around the duck pond with friends.

i wonder if an Autumn bride left this bouquet after a photo shoot.

i was in Bellingham on the weekend for my nephew’s 6th Birthday! His was the 2nd birth i ever attended. Pretty special. i can’t believe that i didn’t take 1 photo the whole time i was there. oops. Must have been all the rain that kept my camera in it’s bag. Of course i stopped in at a favorite toy store to restock my felt supply. i also took advantage of our $ at par and bought some books. Well actually i bought quite a few books;

Oh and i got to see some lovely friends that i have not seen in a long long while. Their little Sailor is so cuuute! i am so grateful for internet communication.

Daydreaming of my new machine which i hope to buy next week. i still need to decide between the quilting and the fashion styles but i’m sooooooo very excited. i’m spending my crafting time cutting into fabrics and revisiting the button tins;

Before my sewing machine got all fussy and demanded servicing i finished these 2 book totes for my nephew’s birthdays. No they are not twins. In fact there are years between them but i like this fabric for all ages. I’m second guessing the white canvas… what was i thinking? Anyhow too late to make something else. Each is filled with age appropriate books. One so great we bought a copy for ourselves.

Rain rain go away Little A wants to play;

i can’t complain really. It has been awesome this Fall and i think i wouldn’t mind the rain so much if i had proper attire (which i do not). We were caught in the rain on our walk this morning and i realized with the skies all grey the leaves are all the more vibrant.

looking up;

and down;

I hope you aren’t too bored with my matryoshka updates because i have another. These are what i work on throughout my days in various stages. i think my favorite part is choosing out the fabrics and since i finally bought myself some new scissors i loved the cutting stage - even the muslin lining. i have so many projects started that are taking over what vacant space we have and so i am quick to sew up those smaller pieces to make the stacked piles a little less cumbersome. The round faces i stitched here & there, out & about. i love having a project on the go and it’s been so beautifully sunny on my front porch that i have found myself sitting there many days while Little A “mows” the lawn. I remember when i first started using wool some years ago i really disliked the smell of so much of it around me but i have come to love and appreciate it. i can’t believe i ever used polyfil. Yuck. The wool is quite a lot more expensive but so worth it. It’s natural, softer, it doesn’t crunch when you squish the doll and it feels so much better on my hands when i’m stuffing. Little A has abandoned the doll making project to play with his own things; trains, blocks, puppet shows… He’s more into his own projects which gives me more time to myself and my own play. We check in with each other frequently. i am still following through with his idea to place a bell inside the belly of each doll. They are nesting dolls after all. Thank you again for all your lovely and positive comments. The requests for dolls have been a tad overwhelming but i so appreciate it. I am currently working on more dolls for a craft fair at the end of November and i hope to make enough for everyone who wants one for Christmas gifts. Let me know who you are. I have new fabrics coming in very soon!!!! and more of my favorite matryoshka fabric. So here they are - new gals in the shop;

Vladmira is moving to the UK;

Svetlana is moving to Brooklyn, NY;

Katerina & Laryssa are both headed to California;

Galina is moving to Maine;

Dominika is moving to New Jersey;

Agnessa is moving to Montreal;

Stefanya is headed to Lewisville, Texas;

Natascha is traveling to Portugal & Zoya will be moving to a new neighborhood in Vancouver;

Thank you so very much for all the positive communications and please do send photos of your wee ones with their dolls. It truly makes my day!

i suck at this. i’m just not a technical person and i never read manuals. i’m going to take my Bernina into the shop just as soon as i can and i need to be prepared for the possibility that she is beyond repair. Funny this should come up after briefly discussing machines with some crafty mommas this AM. If you have opinions to share regarding sewing machines or if you know of any great sites that i should know about please share. i like Bernina. i’m open to Singer or other well known brands. i have an aversion to cheap plastic and weightless. My Bernina is as old as i am and i want my new one to last as long. Does anyone know if the older foot attachments fit on any of the newer models? Well, gulp. i’m a little sad.

3 on a ring from this morning’s play - they lasted long enough for the photo and were too cute to resist.

i think this is my recent favorite photo of my sister. She’s so cute and playful;

Dry leaves crunch;

Little A and i hit an annual church sale this weekend. i wish i knew of more of these but this one was fantastic. The ladies who volunteer spend 1 day every week of the year preparing for this event so you can imagine how well organized it was in each room. We browsed the toy room where we found puzzles, books and a spirograph!! These ladies even go through all the puzzles to see if pieces are missing. Kind. Next we went through the fabric section where i scored some plain wool yards, new to me bedding and other exciting finds all for quarters and loonies.

i picked up another 4.5lbs of corredale batting so there will be dolls in the shop soon. i will be so vague for now. i’ve also been working on some felt balls for a little craft fair i’m doing at the end of November;

Up the street from the wool shop is Liberty Bakery where we love to choose out animal shape ginger cookie treats. This day a hen;

A lovely friend came to visit us last evening for tea, a walk and pie. We love you Kachina!

(Filed under beautiful people)

i love these mamas and their children. They are my saving grace and grounding and oh so very inspiring in their being and parenting. Little A had a great morning too playing alongside his buds.

The only plan so far today is coffee….it is an early start.

Scrap swap received, washed, trimmed and pressed. There are definitely some pieces for me to use in here. Thank you Natalie. i especially love the promo cards. There were more fabric pieces and aprons than what is shown here but my favorites would have been lost in the photo.

i am in the process of reorganizing and while i’ve given much away already i do have a small pile to give away if anyone’s interested. it’s an array of really small scraps leftover from my projects and some larger but still small pieces passed on or given to me as part of other swaps that i know i just won’t use. The first person interested can have them.

Finally he naps after 2 days without and i have much puttering to do…

This is what he asked me just before falling asleep one night. Several weeks ago and after what seemed to be far too many and frequent requests for Maisy tv i declared a “no tv day”. He’s never watched much anyways but for awhile i had been enjoying some extra bath time, sew time and yes even cooking time…generally just time for me to putter around home while Little A sat content watching mostly Maisy, Maurice Sendak in the Night Kitchen and Richard Scary’s Counting Day. After several days of this routine he became obsessed with it and didn’t want to do anything other than watch tv. We were fighting and making deals to eat, dress, go out….it felt horribly wrong and both our moods were foul. i have grown mildly irritated by his play which is now completely influenced by this ridiculous Maisy mouse. He loves it. “No tv day” involved some careful organization and attention to get Little A dressed and ready to leave the house (away from the temptation of tv) as smoothly and easily as possible without tantrums which had become far too frequent and escalating in severity. We did alright. i can’t even remember what we did that first day but it was a success and after just a few days of no tv the constant requests for it diminished. One night as he was falling asleep he sat bolt upright and said, “mommy i just need to ask you something. Did you take the tv away?” and so we discussed it. He was a little sad but then he got into coming up with more creative ideas. Now we are back to being able to spend some mornings at home playing with play dough, puzzles, tea party, puppet shows, coloring (Maisy pictures of course!)… i am careful to include him in my projects and try not to get too immersed where i put him off. It’s so easy to say, “just a minute….” he really is patient for a 3 year old. Ha, as i write that i realize how impatient he also is. There have been many times where i have just wanted to put the tv back on for him so i can play with my own projects. it’s a challenge. Ultimately we are better without it. Please share with me your creative ideas. What things do you do at home with your toddlers?

Here is a spontaneous game we made up one very early morning when i wanted to sew and he was tired of his puzzles. We call it matching matryoshka. Which fronts match which backs? i guess you can all see i have some dolls in the works. i need to make a trip to the wool shop soon…