pear butter and costumes

I made pear butter yesterday with some free pears that got sent my way. Yummy plus there's enough to save for a couple of Christmas gifts. I also made a no-sew tutu for Lydia for halloween and it is awesome! So easy to make and only took a couple of leisurely hours. Pictures will come sometime after trick or treat. I have to fix my sewing machine so I can sew the boys costumes before trick or treat tomorrow. The thread is getting all bunched up on the underside of whatever I am sewing. I have no idea what I am doing wrong, so if you have any suggestions please enlighten me!

Monday Update

1. House is a disaster!
2. Thinking about moving to the camper. Must get soil evaluation so we can get building permit, so we can get temporary electric run to the farm.
3. Homeschooling is not going as planned, but we are still learning things most days.
4. I have been working on Chloe's birth story, and it will probably be my next post. I am trying to remember everything so I can read it again in 20 years and feel like I am there again.
5. Thinking about making sprouted grain bread. Any ever done it? Have any tips or recipes?
6. I think I am gaining weight. Hence the thoughts about sprouted grain bread. Yes thoughts of sprouted grain bread while eating a cupcake.
7. I love fall. Spending a lot of time at the farm and the wood smoke in the air with the bubbling of the creek mixed with the damp, fresh country air... well it makes for an enjoyable scenic afternoon.
8. I actually nursed in a field while keeping cows in. In the dark. Chloe couldn't wait any longer, and the cows had to be contained.
9. Halloween costume ideas are welcome. Lydia will be a "tappy princess" per her request, Isaiah will be a pirate or an alien probably, Toby will be Jedi warrior Toby-wan Kenobi if I find the right material before Saturday, and sweet Chloe...I'm just not sure yet.
10. Vegetable soup for supper. Yum.

Crazy Crafting

I love making things. This year I am crafting with a purpose. Our Christmas is going to be a mostly handmade Christmas this year (hopefully!). I have a really good start on my sewing projects and am hoping to keep up the momentum. I am working on making this doll and this doll for all the little girls in the fam. I have already completed one, and most of another but I can't steal any more stuffing from the couch cushions to fill them with, so I have yet to put my 2nd and 3rd ones together. I am planning on making these capes for Isaiah, Lydia and Toby, and maybe a niece or nephew or two. I want to make some ribbon twirlers, felt shapes, and a geoboard also for Christmas. I have already started a magazine bowl (for a gift) and a rag rug (for me). Handmade Home has been an inspiration to get me started and then I found all the free patterns and tutorials at The Long Thread and now I can't be stopped!

Somebody posted a craft supply swap on freecycle that was held at the Jessamine County Public Library and I went today! I got two sacks full of craft supplies for FREE! This is stuff I was going to have to buy! Embroidery floss, fabric, ribbon, bias tape, zippers, lacing cord (a whole roll which I needed for my rag rug!), and more! I just had to take some craft stuff to exchange, which I already had a box of just waiting to put on freecycle! Plus I found some awesome vintage bedsheets, a tablecloth, and some fabric remnants at goodwill! It has been a thrifty crafty weekend.

In other unrelated news, the cows got out this week while Nathan was in Lexington at work and had the van. He rushed home and we all got ready. We found the cows in the neighbors yard munching on some hay. Nathan then led them up the road to our property with a little bucket of grain. Just picture me with the van parked across the road and the gate pulled across the road blocking the escape for the cows, while he leads three cows with a tiny coffee bucket of grain. He is working on fixing the fence and providing a water source other than the creek. They have been walking up the creek bed to escape.

The Farm is beautiful right now (minus all the rain) and monarch butterflies are abundant in the field. They love all the purple clover and the kids are loving spotting them. The mosquitoes and lightning bugs have gone for the season, and we can't hear the bees swarming on the sunflowers anymore, but fall is hands down my favorite time of year here. And we discovered that there are three black walnut trees on the property. Anybody know how to get one open? They have such hard shells that a hammer doesn't even make a dent.

Another fun find this week is Adventures in Odyssey and StoryNory radio programming for the kids online.

Happy crafting this week and enjoy this beautiful season :)