So grateful...

I just wanted to say thank you for all the kind people who supported HumbleLuna this holiday season. I really means a lot to me and my family! It is so wonderful to support handmade and the people who work hard to make a living that way. I hope someday I can make a living off of the work I create, it is my passion, and the best paying* job I can think of (besides a Children's book illustrator)!* Not best paying as in a lot of money, just best job that you can be paid for, unlike being a stay at home mama, which is the best job, but not a good way to make any money, unfortunately.
This is only my second Christmas season for my little Etsy shop. I am still new to this and learning as I go. I am also coming to realize that making homemade gifts for all of my extended family while running a business selling handmade crafts is very difficult. The problem this year was I was getting almost all custom orders, so that means I was selling things I hadn't made yet which can be very overwhelming. Can you believe I knit 57 pairs of fingerless toddler mittens?
One lesson I learned is that I need to stop knitting at night while watching foreign films with subtitles, I fear I will soon blind myself or go cross eyed.
Don't get me wrong, I am not complaining. I am very grateful, but still very busy.
I have a few large orders left to fill. Thanks also to the folks who were so very patient and ordered for after the holidays. Whew, is all I can say.
Also, a very special little man in my world is turning 3 on the New Year and this mama has a lot to get in order for that special day including a special request for a "Lellow duck cake".
A very safe and Happy New Year to all!

He came.....

Santa made it to our house!

Merry Making....

How cute is this little gingerbread house kit? I just love the little sugar people. We found it at Trader Joe's and even the box it came in was beautiful. Our cat Lola has been busted several times stealing licks off of it. Pretty cute!

We even found a spare moment to make some window stars for our Solstice party.

Solomon finally has a handmade stocking of his own this year. I have been putting it off because I have dreams of knitting gorgeous fair isle stockings with snowflakes and pine trees and reindeer for my children....with their names knit in too. But that hasn't happened yet and until I do this will be a good stand in.

Happy Winter Solstice....

I am looking forward to celebrating the return of the sun with some good friends tonight who are coming over for dinner and drinks, and to walk down a popular street in our neighborhood called "Peacock Lane" where every house on the street is decorated with lights. Hoping it won't be pouring tonight!
Did anyone see the lunar eclipse? It was cloudy here(shocking, I know).
Hoping that your longest night of the year is filled with light and love!

On the mend......

Well, my entire family ended up getting the stomach flu that my son had last Friday. Not fun. I am thankful that we had it then and not for the coming Christmas Holiday. It was a nasty one but now I am finally feeling like my old self again.
Too weak to knit and too dizzy to read which was a bummer cause I have several library books to finish up..or start eh hem, before I have to return them and wait another 6 months to check them out again.
But while I was sick I though a lot about people who are ill in hospitals or maybe at the end of their lives or suffering from terminal illnesses. While I was in the midst of my sickness as awful as it was I knew it was just temporary, thankfully.
Wishing peace to those who may be suffering from illness right now. The gift of heath is the greatest gift of all, one that I will not take for granted this holiday season. Sending blessings of health to you and your families!

This Moment...

(not my house)

A Friday ritual. 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. Inspired by Soulemama.

Knit acorn ornaments

Since the begging of December I have made 30+ pairs of fingerless gloves for toddlers to sell on HumbleLuna and in local stores(all sold btw,whew). This has left very little time to knit anything else, but I did manage to make a few a of these cute acorn ornaments that I found on Ravelry. How cute are they? They are quick and fun, you could knit up several in an hour. I just love quick easy knits like this, they are a great way to use up scrap yarn as it takes a very little amount of yarn to make these. I put them out on our Thanksgiving table in a little bowl and they looked really sweet. I am hoping to make a few more as holiday gifts, and our tree could use a few more too.
I am going to stop knitting the toddler gloves after this next batch of 12 or so as I have a lot of knitted gifts in mind and we are getting awfully close to the holidays now. Plus I have a Birthday boy on the New Year, busy times. I hope to share some more crafted gifts soon.
I have a little boy sick with a stomach bug, so we will be laying low this weekend, watching tons of Holiday movies. I will be knitting like crazy until I get it, and fingers crossed that I don't.
Happy holiday gift making, friends!

This Moment...

A Friday ritual. 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. Inspired by Soulemama.

Colored pencil roll

I made this colored pencil roll for my friend's little girl who turned 3. I got the idea from Last Minute Quilted and Patchwork gifts by Joelle Hoverson.
I made a few changes to the pattern by making it smaller and adding her name appliqued on the back. This was fun to sew it was easily accomplished in one afternoon. My little guy is really into drawing and painting so I might have to make him one too for his upcoming Birthday.
I just loved the colored pencils I found too(Faber-Castell jumbo Eco Pencils) they are chubby and triangular and have the cutest little animals on them, best of all they are made from 100% reforested wood.

This Moment....

A Friday ritual. 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. Inspired by Soulemama.

Homemade advent calendar.......

Sometimes my craft ambition, mixed with my stubborn personality gets me into huge last minute projects, such as deciding 4 days before December to sew an advent calendar......

It is a tricky craft to photograph,especially in the dark gloomy weather we had. Please forgive the dark blurry photos.

I cut the mitten pieces out of felt and sewed them together by hand, I would have sewn the numbers on too, but I realized that would have taken me well into December so they are glued on with fabric glue. the mittens are individually clipped onto a piece of ribbon with tiny clothespins. I glued a star on one of the clothespins to mark the day of the Month.

I plan to stuff the little mittens with small candies and stickers and coins for my children to discover.

And I need to decide were to put it......

Tiny tea luminaries.....

I was at a friends house a few weeks ago when I noticed a beautiful homemade lantern on their dinner table that her son had made in preschool. Since I teach a weekly craft hour with children and I am always looking for simple and beautiful craft ideas for children. I was so excited with the idea of making these sweet little luminaries in time for Thanksgiving. My friend also happened to have box of baby food jars that she gave me to use. Later I found a bunch of tea lights at a thrift store that fit in the jars perfectly.
All you need to do is brush a layer of glue onto the jar, then stick on pieces of torn tissue paper and then cover tissue with another layer if glue to smooth it out. Light and enjoy!
Warning they are incredibly addictive to make. I can't seem to stop making them. They are slowly filling the dark corners of our home.They glowed on our Thanksgiving table as we gave thanks for our blessings. As we near the Winter Solstice these warm little luminaries warm our souls and bring much needed light into the darkness.
These would make perfect gifts for family and friends from your sweet child.
Thanks for the idea Hope!
p.s. You can see more beautiful homemade lanterns here.

Rare and simple beauty.....

The little puddles of light that the sun creates in our home are rare and simple beauties these days. I often try and get outside as much as I can when the sun makes a rare appearance here in the Pacific Northwest winter. When I am caught at home at such moments I find myself chasing sun puddles around the house like a cat...basking in the rare moments of golden light. This time of year reminds me what a gift the sun is... and not a simple gift at all.
A true blessing indeed.

This Moment...

A Friday ritual. 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. Inspired by Soulemama.

So Thankful.....

Thinking of family far away and wishing we could all be together. Sending everyone love and light!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Knitted Gnome

Just wanted to share my knitted gnome from the Craftalong. The pattern as with all the other projects are from The Children's Year By Cooper, Fynes-Clinon, and Rowling on page 84.
It was made up of several knit squares sewn together to make the gnome. It was fun to see it all come together. There is a little bell a the top of the gnomes hat that I cropped off accidentally in the photo. This will be a cute stocking stuffer for my little guy.....

A storybook hike....part 2

Another inspirational Autumn hike. I am finding it hard to believe it is the holiday season already as we have had such a mild November, until recently. So many handmade items to be planned for my family and friends, for the holidays and birthdays. I am welcoming this cooler weather(and the chance of snow!) with open arms as I knit or sew with my tea by my side...and as I think fondly of our recent times in the woods. Nature is the sweetest gift and all the inspiration I need....bring on the crafting.

This Moment...

(I couldn't pick just one photo this week..these were too funny)

A Friday ritual. - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. Inspired by Soulemama.

knitting to lift a heavy heart.....

(pattern: Fetching from Knitty.com Yarn:Cascade Yarns Lana D'Oro Ruby)

I made these mittens for a dear friend of mine who I have been thinking about a lot lately. I though about her so much I felt I just had to put my energy and love into creating something for her. There is love in every stitch of these gloves. I sent them off in the mail today. I hope her favorite color is still red.