gingerbread and peppermints

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!

setting up residence

My intentions are usually to be a thankful person. I try to look at situations and see the good in them. In my head, I can easily recognize that there is much to be thankful for in my life. And most days, I do a pretty good job of having a heart of gratitude. I've noticed however, that when things aren't going according to my plan, or they don't have my goal as an end result, that I easily move from being thankful to being resentful. Another place I've found myself lodging is in fear. I end up here when I look too far down the road. Circumstances, relationships, financial issues, and personal faults all send their calling card to invite me to dwell in fear. 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.

"Oh, thank God - He's so good! His love never runs out." Psalm 107:1

justifying a rainbow

If you're a knitter (or a mother or a daughter) you'll see the logic in my newest project. My middle daughter Mckenzie got a new-to-her (thrifted) winter coat. We had one here at the house that her older sister had worn two winters ago...but Maggie and Mckenzie are very different when it comes to certain things. Maggie's old coat was a bit 'too puffy and too purple' for Mckenzie. That was fine I told her, but I wasn't spending $80 on a new coat just because the one at home was 'too puffy and too purple'. It worked out however, that we were both blessed to find her current winter coat at the consignment shop for $8.00. BONUS! And it was tangerine to top it off. We've never had a tangerine coat before. 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 date, I found the perfect yarn for my rainbow girl with the tangerine coat. 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 knitty gritty on the scarf:

pattern: none..but I did follow the directions to Jared Flood's Noro Striped Scarf

yarn: Dancing Leaf Farm's Salsa and Paton's Classic wool in ivory (which I had leftover from another project...so it doesn't count)

needles: size 7

length: 75 inches

being able to knit something special for my girl: priceless

*Mckenzie is thrilled with her new scarf. So being the obsessive knitter good mother that I am, I asked Maggie if she would want one too. She said, "It's really pretty mom, but it's Mckenzie's style...not mine." enough said.

quilt weather?

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. Larissa was my teacher and she is fabulous. I referred back to her tutorial more times than I can count. Some days as I was working on different parts of the quilt I even had my laptop right beside my sewing machine. If you're wanting to try a quilt but have never done one before, I would loudly urge you to gather your supplies and link over to Larissa's! She knows her stuff! With that said, I followed her directions for all the different parts of building this quilt...but I did not have the courage or the equipment to quilt it myself. (The quilting is the top stitching that holds all three layers of the quilt together. ) 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 video (several times) to learn how to make the double fold binding, sew it on and do the mitered corners. Each part of this quilt project was a learning experience for me. I am not a precise person by nature so I learned the importance of measuring accurately and pressing carefully. My favorite part was choosing the fabrics and doing the binding...my least favorite part was all the ironing. 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!

daily bits of beauty

I've been busy enjoying life - Training my eyes to look for the lovely that surrounds me. The days are just whistling by... nothing monumental, nothing to stop traffic or make the evening news (thank goodness!), just little bits and pieces of the daily beauty that's this life of mine.

I've been:
[enjoying the beauty of the season and all the bounty that it brings][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]

'"May you live every day of your life." Jonathan Swift

like cozy wool socks on cold feet....

....that's what you guys are!
Thanks for all the heart warming words on the interview. Jodi emailed me the sweetest note commenting on how wonderful all of you were leaving such nice sentiments on her blog. I've been so blessed by this blogging community...It's been a surprising, wonderful and unexpected blessing of blogging. You all are the best!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 Mystery Socks. {The Mystery Sock Knitalong is a fun event that Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops so graciously runs. She specially designed a pair of socks for this knitalong and each week a new part of the pattern is posted for you to knit. In a month, you've got a cute pair of hand knit socks. (or at least that's the plan) I participated last year and I enjoyed it even more this year. Thanks Kristen.} I love the yarn that I used for these socks and I love the pattern...just not sure I love them so much together. I might have been better off with a solid yarn that would have shown off the stitch pattern better...oh well, live and learn. I'll still enjoy them and I'll smile every time I put them on. Unless Maggie steals them from me. I've got to keep an eye on her, I had her model them for blog/ravelry pictures and I had a hard time getting them back.

greetings from the weekend

I'm just popping in briefly here to let you know that my new friend Jodi, over at the Jolly Bee, is doing a series this month spotlighting some of her favorite blogs. She's a former reporter and editor so interviewing and sharing comes naturally to her. She interviewed me for her series, which was a lot of fun. If you'd like to check it out, you can read more here. Thanks Jodi, this was my first ever blog interview and you made the experience a wonderful one!