We had a wonderful Thanksgiving as we spent time with family and friends. I'm still feeling rather stuffed from all the great food. On Friday, the girls and I helped my mom decorate her house for Christmas and then we decorated our home on Saturday. I just love pulling all the decorations out of the boxes and remembering special significances about each item. One of my favorite decorations (which I say about most of them) is my gingerbread man and peppermint garland. 
I made this about 9 years ago and I still enjoy pulling it out and hanging it up every year. It was so simple to make and the bonus is that it doesn't require any tricky sewing! I've added the pattern and the directions to my side bar so that you can make one yourself.You'll need:
Warm and natural batting or wool felt in cream
Gingerbread brown fabrics (any variety will work)
Cranberry red fabric -scraps
Red and white striped fabric
Wonder-Under® (iron on adhesive web) I used the heavy duty type to make the gingerbread men a bit sturdier
Buttons
Black paint
Blush
Needle and thread
Scissors
Iron
Button thread or sturdy yarn for stringing the gingerbread men and peppermints together
Trace the gingerbread man onto the paper side of the Wonder-Under®. Cut this out leaving some space around the traced shape. Iron this onto the wrong side of your gingerbread fabric. 
Cut carefully on the traced line. Now you can peel off the paper backing and iron your gingerbread man onto the Wonder-Under®. 
Iron him right side up, the adhesive should be on the back of the gingerbread man. Cut out, leaving a ¼ inch showing of the warm and natural batting. 
Repeat for as many gingerbread men as you desire. Next, trace the heart onto the paper side of the Wonder-Under®. Cut this out leaving some space around the traced shape. Iron this onto the wrong side of your cranberry fabric. Cut carefully on the traced line. Peel off the paper backing and iron the heart onto your gingerbread man’s chest.
To finish off the gingerbread man, iron on the heart and glue on a button. 
Dot his eyes using the end of a pencil dipped in black paint. After his eyes are dry, use a q-tip to apply some blush to each cheek.
To make the peppermints, trace the circle onto the wrong side of your fabric. Fold under the edge of the fabric to the wrong side and stitch on the fold, through both layers of fabric, using a needle and thread. (For more help with the peppermints, Heather Bailey has a great yo-yo tutorial here.) 
Make your stitches a bit long and that will allow the center to be drawn tight when you gather the stitches together. Once you’ve stitched around the edge completely, pull your stitches taut and secure with a few stitches to hold everything secure. Tie a knot and trim your thread. Flatten your peppermint with your hand. Ta Da!
Now just stitch the gingerbread men to the peppermints alternating until the garland is the length you desire! Hang up and enjoy! Merry Merry!
I used a small brown check and a solid brown on my gingerbread men, but they'd be cute in non traditional colors for a kids room. Feel free to leave the hearts off and put letters on their little bodies to spell out a special sentiment. Or just make some single gingerbread guys for creative gift tags. Anyways, you guys will come up with your own way to make them yours, I'm sure! Enjoy! If you make a set...send me a picture, I'd love to see them! Merry Merry!
The thing is, I want to reside in Thanksgiving. My heart is at rest when I'm thankful. Seriously, it's hard to be truly thankful and fearful at the same time. Have you ever been filled with gratitude and resentment at the same time? There's a verse in Philippians which directs me in how to find a home in Thanksgiving..."Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." (4:8) See, if I've got my mind on things that are excellent, like the power of my God or things that are lovely, like the family He's given me and the great friends that support me....then my mind is given less opportunity to set up shop thinking about and dwelling in fear or resentment. So, while I've said before that I want to be thankful...I've changed my mind. I want to abide in Thankfulness. 
Switching residencies back and forth between fear and gratitude is too wearying. I want my address to be Thanksgiving. I'm sure, it's going to take some time and concerted effort on my part, but the good thing is that my place there is already paid for in full...I just need to take advantage of the deal. Happy Thanksgiving my friends, may this be the Thanksgiving that we never leave.
She's a girl after my heart because as we were leaving the consignment shop she said, "Mom, maybe you could knit me a new scarf to go with my coat?" oh. man. melt my heart. She knew I wouldn't be able to resist that request. So, a couple of weeks later, as John and I were out on a 
Here's where you might have to be a knitter to appreciate the project. The yarn was hand dyed with some mohair and it cost $15. Yes, I recognize that was almost double the cost of the coat. But you know...it's rainbow for goodness' sake. It will match every coat she ever gets from here on out. It's an investment in the future (ahem) and a deposit in my little girl, who's not so little anymore.
So...here's the 
Today is gorgeous here in our neck of the woods. The sun is shining and the temps are expected to hit 70! Great weather for being outside...not for snuggling underneath a quilt. But that's OK...I'll take this perfect weather even though I have a finished quilt that's just waiting to be snuggled under. Yes, that's right, I finished my Scrappy Log Cabin Quilt. 
I took my quilt to Jessica, who lives in our area and quilts for a living, and she did the meander stitching on the quilt. Her quilting machine takes up an entire room in her house! Ginormous! I have since purchased a walking foot so I can learn how to quilt through smaller sized projects. (I'm wanting to try some quilted potholders for Christmas gifts). 
I watched this 
My family was tremendous as I worked on the quilt. They've cheered as I completed each milestone of the project. In the car the other day, I overheard John Samuel as he said, "Hey Kenzie, did you hear that mom's quilt is done at Miss Jessica's? She's going to pick it up tonight!" So touching to know that something so treasured by me is also high on their list of big news events. 
My finished quilt measures 41" X 51" and is a collection of cotton, flannel and some upholstery fabrics. (I included my new chair fabric). The batting is warm and natural and I added a strip of quilt blocks on the lower back for interest. Thanks again Larissa for all the wonderful help and encouragement along the way!
[knitting rainbows for winter]
[capturing the seeds of the season past]
[cozying in and baking]
[being amazed at the changes in the woods...daily]
[starting on some secret Christmas crafting] 
[uploading the sounds of the season to come]
[and of course, gathering the leaves in our yard]
Just as I smile when I put on hand knit socks, I smile at each and every comment that you guys leave. (seriously!)
And speaking of cozy wool socks.....I finished my 
I love the 
In all my motherly wisdom, I said something like, "Sometimes the things you want to do have to be set aside for the things you need to do. That's what life is like. Don't let it steal your joy, there'll be time for the wants after the needs are checked off." As soon as I finished dropping my pearls of wisdom, I felt like someone had hit me on the back of my head with that very strand of pearls. You see I'd been pouting on and off all week when I hadn't gotten to the things I wanted to do. 
I wanted to finish my quilt top, but geometry took longer than expected. I wanted to call a friend and chat, but my little guy needed a snuggle on the couch. I wanted to sit and have a cup of coffee and knit, but Kenzie had a paper that needed editing. And each time I didn't get to my stuff I got a little more frustrated and irritated. Here's where lesson one hit home (almost as hard as those pearls hit me!). Lesson #1: I must not allow my joy to be stolen when my wants are set aside for needs...those needs that I'm meeting can't be done in love when I'm sulking over my stuff. 
Then yesterday, John Samuel's lesson suggested a nature walk. ughhh. I really didn't want to take a nature walk...you see the reality was that taking a nature walk would only make our day longer...it would mean I wouldn't be able to get to my stuff. (turn away if you must, I know it's ugly) But thankfully, by the grace of God, I was able to recognize that he and I both needed to take that walk. 
And that's when I learned lesson #2 from my week: Sometimes meeting needs means getting away from the to do list and taking care of ourselves. 
We needed the fresh air and the exercise. We needed to get away for a bit. The lists will always be there. But the memories we made on our walk and the time we spent together are so much more valuable. I'm so glad we took that nature hike. It was just what we needed. I'm positive I'll have more lessons to learn and more opportunities to practice these lessons I'm learning Oh, and ..I'll be on the watching out for renegade pearls. 
{this little guy is in my kitchen, on one of the counters}
{this arrangement is on one of our old school desks turned end table...in the living room}
{I made this scarecrow years ago and he's still one those creations that just makes me smile...he's sitting by the jelly cupboard}
{here's another scarecrow that I made....(I have a thing for scarecrows)...and that cute little pumpkin is from 
{this 
{our friends gave us tons of gourds (thanks 
{I redid our mantle this year, and I'm loving the 
{and I finished this 
Thanks for peeking around...and just to keep it real...here's my son's room
and a good thick layer of dust on the hutch...I wouldn't want to give the impression that it's all nice and tidy here all the time or that we don't have dust bunnies ready to attempt a coup, because we do.
Hope you are embracing the season and enjoying all the coziness of autumn. 
Make sure your holes line up when you stack your papers together. We scored our top cover page just so it would bend easily when the book was being worked on.
Now, insert a rubber band from the bottom of the book up through one of the sets of holes. 
Slip your twig in the rubber band (this keeps it from slipping out while you bring the other end of the rubber band up).
Now, thread the other end of the rubber band up through the second hole and loop it over the other end of the twig.
Ta da! You have a bound book. Make sure your rubber band isn't too tight or your book pages will bend....if it's too loose, the twig won't stay in. Now the fun begins...decorate your cover and have fun filling up your book. John Samuel's book is titled: Celebrate Autumn. Everyday he's writing some sentences about what he enjoys most about this season and then he's illustrating them. 
Here's where it gets fun....You can make these books for yourself or your kids can make them for presenting a school project or keeping a journal. 
Use a pencil for the binding instead of a twig and make a book to keep your lists in. Or, use a chopstick for an Asian themed book...or a short ruler for a book about measurement...try a miniature flag for a book about flags....see how fun this can be? Enjoy! If you're as crazy about books as we are, a great resource for making your own books is: 
John and I got away for a bit of a date on Sunday afternoon. It was a gorgeous day and the local artisans were hosting their 
Then we stopped at 
Dalis spins, and dyes her own fiber...she's got a great little studio. It's hard to resist all her temptations. I also got this
While I was fondling fiber, John visited with the chickens and the sheep. He's such a good sport! 
Come to think of it he was visiting with the "before" and I was holding the "after". 
Next, we made an unexpected stop at an Alpaca Farm that was having an open house. We got to talk to the owners, pet the alpaca and hang out in the fields watching them do their thing. They are really fascinating creatures. They are from the camelid family and they are quite curious and gentle. As soon as we showed up they all came walking towards us to check things out. 
Finally, we took the long way home, enjoying the fall colors, the beautiful scenery and each other's company. What did you do this past weekend?...I hope it was a good one. 
You're a pretty inexpensive knit as well...that goes a long way in my book. I can knit two of you out of one ball of yarn. No sweater could ever claim that! And the thing is, my friends seem to adore you as well, which makes you an extremely popular gift. The wonderful patterns that are available allow me to sharpen my skills and try out some new color combos; and you never seem to mind. You are so flexible. Well, I didn't mean to gush, but I couldn't help myself. You're becoming an addiction and I just wanted to let you know how much I really like you. Thanks for everything. 
