Healing Hillary

{this moment}

This moment...

 

crafty crow

Please click here to go to the Beyond the Rainbow Bridge Give-Away.

I was featured on the Crafty Crow!  While it might not seem like a *huge* accomplishment, I have decided to celebrate *every* accomplishment.  So if you have not seen it yet, my post on Raw Chocolate is on there.

In honor of being included in the midst of such creativity...I decided we would partake in some Crafty Crow Valentining!

Now I should let you know, if you are new here...I never follow directions.  So all of these are a bit of a spin off of the original.  However, I will reference them anyway, because, I am that type of blogger. 

Felt rose, inspired by Our Hartbeat. I skipped the chalk outlining and just forged on with scissors in hand. I took a pipe cleaner and surrounded it with green felt and sewed the stem and the flower together and left a little leaf.  Just perfect for our Valentine's table decor. 

 

Ooh and these little paper hearts on the table lead perfectly into the next craft we tackled. 

These paper hearts were a thrill to make.  So easy!  I actually almost completely followed the directions for these little pretties from How About Orange. 

However, T on the other hand...went rogue {love}.  The little spiral in the middle just melts my heart. 

Enjoying hanging things in the windows we decided to make another garland, inspired by Little Birdie Secret's heart strings.  

I cannot resist making more of the little felt roses...so I had to include a few on my garland. 

Because I had a request of a self-portrait yesterday, within 5 minutes of receiving the flickr request (geesh...talk about pressure), I thought I'd share that with you. The colors just seem to go. 

Here is a picture of my in my 150 year old family mirror.  This is what it looks like clean. I like the fuzz. 

Well thanks for hanging with me today as I recounted all of my evening crafting escapades with my daughter.  I hope you all have a Happy Valentine's Day!  I'll see you back here on Monday with the winner! 

I'd like to leave you with a question...since I have yet to sort out our plans yet and need a bit of inspiration myself...how will you spend Valentine's?

With an open heart,

Hillary 

ephiphany

so i had all of these posts planned out in my head...about our holidays and what we did. with today being the last day of christmas, epiphany, i realized i never got around to all of my verbose posts. but i think that was natural, a good thing. i had the thought that for once, you may be like the child in me...more interested in the photos. with a bazillion photos at my fingertips, i decided to make a holiday collage. 

as i have said many times in my day to day life...so much so that T says it out loud now too, "I am only ONE woman" and to me...that is a little bit of an epiphany, indeed. 

wishing you an epiphany,

hillary 

 

new traditions

as i nestle more comfortably into the roll as mother, i have adopted new family traditions along the way. we light a candle at every meal and say a blessing (lately T has been saying the blessing, currently her favorite is "happy birthday hiney"...if nothing else it makes me grateful for laughter), this is just one example of a little tradition that we have in our home. 

during the holidays we have many holiday traditions. my father reads The Night Before Christmas ever christmas eve before the kids tuck into bed. this year we listened in our jammies as Papa read this classic story on speaker phone. while there are traditions from our own childhoods that are being passed down, we are simultaneously cultivating new traditions. 

 

during a recent conversation with one of my beloved aunts, i learned of one of her traditions. she has a christmas book. it is a bit of a journal and is where she writes down what happened this year, what she gave, what she received, what she ate, what she thought... my aunt, in a story about what she wrote last year and how it helped this year, indirectly shared the blessing this book has been in her holiday preparations. i loved the idea. i went to my shelf of blank books (yes, i have a shelf of blank books {wink}) and selected a perfect book for my holiday records. 

the book has been near my side for the past week, allowing me to jot down ideas and thoughts here and there. there is no real organization to the book, and perhaps to an onlooker it would be a bit of a jumble. but it provides me a sense of peace. i have a page dedicated to things i want to do next year (like video tape christmas and crafts we never found time to do). i am hoping i will in a way, help myself find peace and a bit of a laugh as i recall the memories of past years...putting it all into a deeper perspective. 

ever evolving,

hillary

for me

i could fill this post with pictures of crafts, baked items, seasonal decor, family, and the like, and yes...every one of these is happening in our house this season. 

but i wanted to share with you a the undertones of the current in our home. as i recognize how much i do in the world for others i am reminded of my needs and my ability to take care of my own needs. this is a bit of a balancing act. in the past i can remember going through my day still in my pajamas because i didn't have time to get dressed. i would stay up very late to get presents made for others...thus making a sacrafice. now, i am not saying that these things don't still happen, but the intention behind them has changed. if i stay up late i make sure to get a nap in to catch up on sleep. sometimes sneeking a nap in during the day before i stay up late {novel idea}! and staying in my pajamas only happens with the intention of actually doing nothing. 

i remind myself that my daughter depends on me and that before i fill her cup, i need to fill mine. i find that when i do the cup filling, i am more satisfied. 

so this week amidst the hustle and bustle of the season i have made some intentional changes in my thinking. i knit a mama cowl for myself. i never knit for myself...which is really silly. so silly, i've made a decision to knit one item for myself each month. mind you, the basket of christmas knitting still exists and i have made peace with the fact that some people will receive wrapped yarn with a promise attached. but it feels right for me to surrender to my healthy limits and to nourish myself. 

i also...on a whim, yesterday, got a haircut. i had the thought and the time and took a step and called and wouldn't you know...an appointment was available at a *perfect* time. i am realizing sometimes all i have to do to fill my cup is to ask.

i hope that you are finding balance this season...finding time to nourish yourself by filling your cup first. sometimes just a tiny shift in thinking makes all the difference in the world for me. 

wishing you all deep peace,

hillary 

peace filled holidays

after some acceptance over what i can and cannot do (after all i am only one woman), i decided that this year...instead of sending out a christmas cards and letters, i would use the technology of email to spread holiday cheer. with all of the hard work of balancing this little pictorial solution...i wanted to share it with my readers as well. may you have peace filled holidays!

peace,

hillary

p.s. don't worry there will be more as we build to the holidays. today just felt like a good day to reflect over the changes and growth of the past year...a good day for such a project.

adorning warmth

as the chillier temperatures settle in i am more aware of the internal warmth required to stay warm. i remember growing up learning to be able to attune what i would dress in for the day according to the chill on the window in my bedroom. i never found the numerical degree of temperature very helpful, instead i could make a better decision by placing my hand and arm on the glass in my bedroom. 

over the years i have become more aware of other signs and indicators of warmth. when i get cold i get agitated and jumpy. i notice these same behaviors in T. so with a new awareness and intention we are paying more attention to our bodies needs for warmth. 

we sip on warm beverages...

and wear layers of warm clothes. this article, Warmth, Strength and Freedom, by Anthroposophic physician Mary Kelly Sutton, addresses the importance of warmth. the thought of three layers on top and two on bottom seems to work for both T and myself this time of year. 

as i sit here and write i have on my silk long underwear, jeans, a cotton turtleneck, a wool turtleneck, wool socks and my smartwool/timberland shoes. i am very comfortable. T is happily playing with embroidery floss and her father. she is in her engel woolies, wool pants, cotton turtleneck, wool vest, wool socks and wool booties. i love in Shelley Caskey's article Case for Warmth in Rhythm of the Home (new online montessori and waldorf seasonal e-zine) how she keeps saying "wool is best." i believe it, wool is best for us!

earlier this morning during some outside time T put on warmer shoes, a coat, mittens and hat and her hands and toes were still warm and toasty when she returned back inside.  

 

as the daylight hours wane, i am trying to cultivate warmth an light in our house. 

here is an ornamental symbol of light that i will soon share for the seasons round swap.
 
and this one i will share with a special mom, who is fighting for restored health, as a symbol of warmth. 

i hope that you find ways to adorn your body and your home with warmth this season. 

one of my sweet friends, nicole of frontier dreams is having an ornament give-away...i am certain her loving hands will grace the winner's home with adorning warmth. 

yours in warmth,

hillary 

wip wednesday :: stockings and such

knit, knit, knit...the holidays are here...

  

must finish the stockings...
  

the works in progress of a child...

can we trade little one? you work on the stocking and i'll work on the marbles and beads?
 

 back to knitting,

hillary

 

wip wednesday :: see in green

did you know that green is all the rage these days? well, it is in my house. we've scavenged and rummaged to locate green in my ever dwindling stash...and i will be knitting legwarmers with needle point wool. yup...that's me using what i've got instead of buying more. 

in an effort to use what i have i am knitting some legwarmies using long since forgotten kppm wool. i bought this yarn when i was pregnant with T. called an unnamed yarn location and asked for a kppm color way recommendation that was gender neutral. this is what i was sent. you may love it...me, i think it has an earthy beauty...but not for a baby blanket, i mean come on!?!

 

using some of the scraps of this yarn are being turned into my christmas ornament of the week, wee little mittens...which i am starting to think i might need to step up a bit and turn out two a week... hmm.

 

thanks to everyone for the leaf recommendations. i ended up dipping them in beeswax with T's help. goodness i love that smell. they are now hanging in a little garland over our fireplace (though have to move them when there is a fire).

T's slippers are now finished and both pairs got a make-over this weekend...with new chamois cloth soles added for traction. i am still thinking of adding something to the green ones. they look a little too old man for me. any thoughts? 

crafting on,

hilary 

wip wednesday :: many in progress

did anyone wonder when i would ever finish T's quilt...well it was last week. after ordering and reordering bias tape makers (which sort of de-railed my momentum), just a wee bit of time and some focus and it is finished!

i am not sure who is more thrilled T (loves snuggling under it, telling visitors "mama made it" and pointing out all of the sea creatures folded into the fabrics), David (loves that i made it and backed it with possibly the softest organic fleece ever), or me...i mean, look, i did it!

here are some baby booties that i am knitting for a friend who is expecting her first in these next few weeks. these are my first booties and i am head over heals for them. i forgot how teeny tiny brand new feet are. 

T loves the booties too. she kept asking for me to make her green booties. so these are works in progress too. although they are a bit funny in a toddler size, i think i will add some felt applique to them...any recommendations as to what i should put? i am hitting a bit of a wall here and would love some input. 

we gathered many leaves this morning and i can feel a project coming on. i am just not certain what form it will take. suggestions on how to use these are also welcome. 

and lastly...i am hoping each wednesday to have an ornament to share (that way by the time we get our tree i'll have some handmades to hang). i remembered this only today and strung this together. i used sea shells that we gathered from our trip this summer. i think it is perfectly simple. 

please join me at the flickr group mamamadeholiday...there are several of us sharing the gifts and decorations we are making for our holidays. it is quite inspiring. 

grateful for progress,

hillary