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The Present Moment

1/30/2015

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“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
        ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life

A Friday ritual adopted from SouleMama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

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Story Time: Annie and the Wild Animals

1/27/2015

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I recently found a used copy of the book Annie and the Wild Animals.  The story is beautifully written and illustrated by Jan Brett.  Although we have only had it a few weeks, I have already read through it at least thirty times.  Goen requests it over and over and I often read it several times in a row.  What I love most about this book is that it actually gets more interesting as you read it more (as opposed to some books that just get tiresome).  The artwork is what keeps the book fresh.  The first few times through, my eyes followed along with the text.  Once I became familiar with the story and the words, I didn't need to focus on it as much, and my eyes began to wander across the page.  I amazed to find that there was as much story in the drawings as in the text itself!  The main page art goes along with the text, but with the addition of showing the passing of time and the changing of the seasons.  The borders are just as detailed.  Some expand on the written part of the story.  Some are a prelude to the text on the following page.  Others tell a parallel story about what is happening with Annie's cat.  Between the writing and imagery, this story is much more detailed than a typical toddler book.  The up-side is that we both enjoy it each time.

Although there is a lot I love about Annie and the Wild Animals, one thing I don't like is the transition from the first page to the second.  The first two sentences read "It had been snowing for days.  Winter was lasting too long."  The page following says "Something was wrong with Annie's cat..."  Perhaps I'm just used to stories that introduce the characters right away, but I think the abrupt change of scene from outside to inside has something to do with it as well.  Whatever the reason, I have taken the liberty of adding my own line to the end of the first page: "Annie and her cat were stuck inside."  Problem solved!

I am starting to realize that story time does not have to be torture for the reader.  There are many children's books that appeal to parents as well.  I have found a few so far that I love.  When I find more I'll be sure to write about them here.  In the meantime, I would gladly accept recommendations for books that you enjoy reading to your little one as much as they love hearing them.

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My First Swap

1/24/2015

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I just took part in my very first sewing swap!  I signed up for the Itty Bitty Beginner Swap moderated by Jayme from the Finding Sweet Land blog.  The swap was designed for beginners, like me, who want to try out a swap and learn how it all works.  Each round of the swap (there will be four total for the first session) includes rules of swapping and lessons on etiquette posted on Jayme's blog for all to see (go on over and check it out to learn about swaps for yourself).  The first round was a fat quarter swap where I sent four quilt shop-quality fat quarters to my swap recipient.  The only information I was given was her Instagram name, her favorite color, and her preferred style, which could be very broadly interpreted.  It was tough to decide what I thought she would like.  Here's what I found:

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My original choices included a striped fabric that had coral, teal and light neutral tones, but my swap partner didn't care for it.  So I replaced it with the dark teal fabric with dots in the shape of circles.  As soon as I saw them laid out together, I knew it was a perfect fit.  It seemed right to give the bundle a name, and one came to me immediately: Symphony of Circles.  Wow.  It's almost poetic.  I
stacked the fabric, tied them with white cotton yarn, stringing it through a paper label with "Symphony of Circles" written on it.  A handmade envelope with a little note inside to add a personal touch and it was done.  I took my bundle to the post office, slipped it into an envelope, addressed it, and sent it off on its journey to my swap partner in Pennsylvania.

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Once the fabric arrived, my swap partner sent me a message to let me know it got there safely and that she liked my choices.  Her favorite, it seems, was the very fabric that was the last-minute addition: the dark teal.  It was meant to be.

The person assigned my name was Jayme (the moderator of the swap).  She also had limited information on me, but with the additional help of the many projects posted on my blog.  Here is what I received:

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The shade of purple is exactly right for my taste.  I love the colors in the three coordinating fat quarters.  The original combination included a leaf print that went well with the others, but I disliked it for one of the colors in it.  In hindsight, I think the bundle would have been better if I had trusted the skill of  someone with more experience than myself and let it stay.  No matter, the material is beautiful!

The next round of the swap begins in just a few days.  I'm super excited to find out what the theme will be and what I'll make and send out to my new swap recipient.  Have you been involved in a swap?  I would love any tips or advice you could give.  Recommendations for swaps would be great, too.  I like sending stuff I make to other people to enjoy.
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The Present Moment

1/23/2015

4 Comments

 
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
        ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life


A Friday ritual adopted from SouleMama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

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Midnight Stretches

1/21/2015

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They say that all babies want is to be held...all the time.  Well, the same could be said for toddlers as well.  All day, every day.  I spend a lot of time wearing, carrying, holding, and lifting my toddler.  After 22 months, it has given me quite a sore, achy back and shoulders (it's also given me a lot of experience in what not to do, which I'll share with you soon).

I've wanted to start a stretching routine for a while to help with the accumulated tension, but... Okay, so none of my "buts" are that good.  But (I know, I know) I do prefer to stretch alone so I can actually relax and not worry about getting jumped on or pushed over.  Last week I came up with the perfect solution: stretch after bedtime.  So, after getting Goen to sleep, I creep out of bed and, by the red glow of the heater's on/off switch, I stretch for a few minutes in the almost-darkness.  My routine is short, simple, and very basic.  Here's what I do:

 - Big circles with my arms, first one way and then the other
 - Arch and curve my back
 - Reach for the sky
 - Bend down, clasping my hands behind my back and stretching them towards my head

I do this a couple times through, breathing deeply the whole time, and then finish off with an all-body wiggle to shake it all out.  Even though I try to keep my stretching silent, every once in a while there is a popping sound as something loosens up.  Luckily, the sounds haven't woken Goen up (at least not yet).  The stretches are more satisfying than I thought they would be given how little time it takes.  I get to relieve a little stress and still be by my little guy in case he wakes.

Do you have a routine for dealing with tight muscles and tension?  Anything that works especially well for you?
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Book Review: The Unforgettable Photograph

1/19/2015

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Last year my husband finally bought his graduation present.  A "fancy" digital camera with interchangeable lenses.  It wasn't long after that I sort of absconded with it, claimed ownership of the camera, and became the family photographer.  Despite my interest in it, I never strayed from the little green box known as "automatic" mode.  My camera was just a magical instrument that made images when I clicked the shutter button.  The problem was that most of those images were pretty bad.  It was time to figure out how to use the thing!  Straight to the library I went.  Well, straight to the library's website I went.  After conducting a few searches and reading some reviews, I checked out The Unforgettable Photograph by George Lange.

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This book is not a technical primer on how to use a digital camera.  It's more of a way of seeing, exploring, and experimenting with photography.  In fact, most of the ideas, tips, and tricks from the book can be used with any sort of camera.  Although there is some technical information, it's not overwhelming and can be ignored for those without a high-end camera.  The focus is on how to capture the light, motion, and feeling of the moment, whether it's capturing your kid in midair as he jumps into the pool, seeing the joy in your mother's face when she's cooking a meal, or seeing how the sunset changes the energy of an event. 

The Unforgettable Photograph is the perfect way to ease into playing with your camera's settings.  It inspired me to move beyond "automatic" and learn about the settings on my camera.  The result?  I discovered a whole new world of picture-taking.  A world of captured motion, a world of #blurredonpurpose rather than #oops, a world of low-light drama and exposure experiments.  I won't lie.  There was trial and error (oh, so much error).  But it wasn't long before I started learning about light, distance, and motion and how they affected the resulting picture.  And, more importantly, I learned how to control the settings to capture the essence of the moment.

If you find yourself with folders filled with hundreds of unsatisfying photos and apprehension about trying out manual mode, go check this book out at a library or bookstore.  Take your camera off automatic mode, change the settings, and see where it all goes.
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The Present Moment

1/16/2015

10 Comments

 
“The present moment is filled with joy and happiness. If you are attentive, you will see it.”
        ― Thích Nhất Hạnh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life


A Friday ritual adopted from SouleMama.  A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week.  A simple, special, extraordinary moment.  A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.  If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.
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10 Comments

A Fabric Memory Book - Year Two Begins

1/15/2015

2 Comments

 
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Here are the fabrics I chose for my son's second year fabric memory book.  I went with brighter, more cheerful colors this time.  Colors with as much energy as he has.  The fabric for the cover (the bottom center one) coordinates well with the cover for the first book, so even with different colors for the inside pages there will still be a consistent theme.  I also picked out the main embroidery floss colors I will use to stitch down the printed fabric after it is fused on.  They match almost perfectly with the fabric, though I may switch up which color of floss is used on each color of fabric.
 
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I still have time to finish gathering materials for embellishing, but I already found the perfect button for the cover closure and some ribbon to stitch around some of the pictures.  I want a mixture of color and texture to make it a book he can experience with his hands as well.  The challenge, of course, is finding things that aren't too feminine.  I'm trying to decide if sequins to represent rain fall into this category or not.  Thoughts?

I toyed with the idea of making my own printable fabric using the Bubble Jet Set and Bubble Jet Rinse products.  Then I realized that was unlikely to actually happen given my time constraints.  So I searched on Etsy and found the exact thing I wanted
from Alice in Stitches.  She sells yardage of pretreated natural-colored fabric, the kind with the flecks in it (just like I used for the first book).  It's in the mail as I write!  I'll iron on some fusible web, cut it to size, and run it through a printer with the paper backing still on to print the words and pictures.

It's hard to believe that almost a year has passed since I made the first book.  It took several months to finish that one.  I'm getting a bit of a late start on this one, but I hope to have it done soon after his second birthday.  I'll wait as long as possible to do the printing so that the book represents as much of his second year as possible.  My next tasks are to finish going through photographs, write and organize the story, and make a mock-up of the book.  And each of those steps have multiple sub-steps.  Phew!  So much to do!  In the meantime, you can check out the tutorial I posted from the first fabric book here and read some helpful tips on each of the embroidery stitches I used here.

What are you working on now?  Any similarly gigantic projects in your mind or on your table?  Do tell!

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    Carley Biblin

    Hi.  My name is Carley.  I love to sew, craft, and create. As a Jane-of all-crafts so to speak, I enjoy sewing, writing, cooking, drawing, photographing.  But the constant thread (if you'll excuse the pun) throughout my weeks is needle arts. 
    I hope you'll join me in
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