while we're on the subject of recycled clothing books...

First discovered at the library, this book has some great ideas. It pushed my thoughts about sewing clothes in some different directions. Take two things and put them together to make one rather than getting rid of them and buying something new. I made many dresses, and continue to make more! The recycled T-shirt tunic is based on the same concept as the maternity tanks I was making a few years ago.

a fabulous new book about thrifting, recycling and sewing!

Once in a while you find a book or a person that is totally inspiring. That happened to me recently, when I discovered Jenny and Re-Sew, thanks to my crafty friend Kris over at Resweater who is hosting a giveaway for the book. Soulmates, I'm telling you! How incredible to know that rather than being odd, as I always imagined people thought, there are many more people who love the same things I do and they are all extraordinary! In honor of this realization and to help spread the word about this cool book, here's another giveaway, a tutorial this time. It's inspired by the concept of the book, and is for a sweet little zippered pouch. 

To enter, leave a comment here.
To enter again, become a follower (1st timers only on this round please).
For another entry, blog about it or share it on facebook.
For yet another entry, become a follower over at Jenny's blog, thewildcards.com
And finally, if you buy the book and comment here, you get five entries!

Comments will be open until next Friday, March 11 and will be announced on Saturday!


Everyone who responded will get a copy of the tutorial for the "zippy" pouch!

thoughts on waldorf ideas..

At first, I admit it was the little wooly gnomes, dolls, silk scarves and natural wood blocks that appealed to me. For a baby, or a child to interact with things that are natural, real and have integrity of their own is so important to T and me. After reading several books including The Spiritual Task of the Homemaker, The Incarnating Child, Beyond the Rainbow Bridge, Heaven on Earth, You are your Child's First Teacher, Seven Times the Sun and a couple of others, I'm learning so much more. Parenting in this style requires development of the human capacity. I heard that last night on a meditation to which I was listening. Now I'm changing the way I look at things.

It's so sweet to see Fyn caring for his baby yaya, kissing and snuggling her. One night, in a desperate attempt to get some sleep, after a wakeful hour and a half at 4am, I put one baby under each of his arms and asked him to get his babies to sleep. It worked!


Music is also a strong player in the waldorf educational program and I'm also learning to love myself and Fyn enough to sing. In my family, everyone winces when the candles on the birthday cake are lit and it's time to break out the song. We all dive in headfirst, singing really fast and sometimes clapping to drown out our own voices. Now I try to sing a couple times a day with Fyn, and he doesn't seem to care if I'm a little off sometimes. He still wants me to sing "wheels on the bus" again. and again. and again. All this practice makes me thing that my voice is growing and developing too. I'm so thankful for that!

Meditation is another area that is essential on a daily basis. For someone who can hardly sit still, I'm working hard to learn to do this as well. I spent 30 minutes last night stretched out with my feet up listening to a meditation. Ahh, relaxation. Why is it so hard to relax? All this is prompted by a program I found on a website which was sent to me with information for the lantern walk. They have an inner work program called "Be a Beacon" and so far, I love it! There was a great program last night, and there will be more, so I invite all my waldorf friends to join me!