Enjoying these spring like days and getting outside as much as we can. A few moments of handquilting for me, making pulleys out of old flower pots, sand play, running, mud pies, and the little ones actually wanted to run through the sprinkler today. Stripped to their bare of course! A bit too cold for me. Ready for the warmer and longer days ahead of us!
Spinning, oh how I love spinning! I have taken 4 spinning classes from Elke at Wellspring Farms over the past few months. I try to spin as much as I can after the little ones are sleeping, several nights a week. It is so calming and relaxing to spend an hour at the spinning wheel. Something about it is so meditative and it puts me in such a blissful state.
Feeling the fibers running through my fingers and onto the bobbin is such a magical process. I never could have imagined the creativity and beauty that comes out of a handspun yarn.
I recently purchased some lovely art batts and rovings from Liz at Hobbledehoy to spin into yarn goodness. She dyes her fibers and blends many of them together with a drum carder. Her work is amazing and her batts and rovings are so soft and scrumptious. They are almost too pretty to spin, but I know they will make beautiful yarns! I would like to try my hand at dyeing fibers this summer. There are a lot of local farms with plenty of sheep, llama, alpaca and goat fibers. I think the little ones would also enjoy the process of putting the fibers into the dye pot and drying them in the sun.
"Though a spinner's individuality is reflected in a yarn, the process the yarn goes through reaches beyond the individual spinner. The spinner is just one stop on a journey, one in which the yarn is perpetually destined for new hands. When you wrap yourself in a scarf made with handspun yarn, you can trace each stitch the knitter made. This connects you to the knitter through his or her work, just as the knitter is connected to the spinner through theirs. The yarn passed through the knitter's fingers just as it passed through the hand of the spinner; the fiber passed through the hand of the spinner just as it passed through the hand of the person who dyed it, and so on through the hand of the farmer who raised the animal, sheared it, and washed it. This phenomenon joins together hands through a single strand that stretches across spaces and through time. The yarn becomes a bond that connects separate people into a collaborative group, all working toward a common creation. The final form that the yarn takes is not the work of one artisan, but the synthesis of many."
I finished sewing skirts for my friend Alison's little girls, Lily and Naia. I traded a bit of sewing back in the fall for some of her lovely homemade wines and jams. I lost my sewing bug after the holidays and finally got the machine out and going. 
They turned out really cute and I have used the free skirt pattern before from MADE.
I also added patches to a pair of Kelwyn's pants. He informed me his brown pants had a hole in it and he wanted the green elephant fabric to patch it up. We decided to put one on the other leg as well. 
Now they are covered in mud after a day of digging in the dirt for worms. Worms!! We are so thrilled to welcome back the worms! Seems a bit early, but my little ones sure are excited. Nice to have the sewing bug back again and deciding on projects for the spring.
Adeline LOVES bunnies! Every time we go to my friend Alison's house she constantly wants to play with their adorable black bunny. She gives him lots of hugs, kisses and plenty of holding. She also carries on long conversations with him. She talks about him days after we have left. I am hoping to get an angora bunny this spring. It would make a sweet pet for Kelwyn and Adeline and I could use the fur in my spinning. They are incredible soft and fluffy. I know the bunny would get plenty of attention around here! Thank you sweet Naia for letting Adeline love on Super Rami Midnight!
We have been doing a lot of Valentine's Day crafting around here lately. The little ones have been getting into it more this year, in small bursts of course.
We made Valentines for all the children in Kelwyn's Kindergarten for our lunch tomorrow. 
Then afterwards we have a Love day gathering at a friend's house, so we made Valentines for our friends there as well. Plenty of glue, cutting, and sticking. We also made our favorite tissue paper hearts to cut out for the window. Kelwyn and Adeline put strips of pink and red tissue paper on contact paper. Then I placed another one on top and cut out hearts. They happily stuck them all over our windows for the sun to shine through.
I have secretly been working on my Valentines for my two sweethearts. I cut out hearts in red and pink felt. Tonight I will finish stitching around the hearts and stuffing them with wool. 
Speaking of love, my two have been getting along beautifully lately. They have been very sweet to each other with lots of hugs and play. They still have their moments, but seeing them smiling at each other brings joy to my heart! I saw them sitting in the sun the other day reading books to each other. LOVE. Happy Valentine's Day!
I just finished blocking Kelwyn's winter sweater, the Fisherman pullover. This was such a nice knit. Easy to follow and some wonderful yarn from my local yarn store. It has been such a mild winter he hasn't needed to wear too many sweaters. I went a size up so it would fit him next fall and winter too. 
Maybe we will get a small taste of winter, (and snow!!) before spring arrives. I would love to see him running circles outside in his new sweater!
