This Moment....

Very first haircut.

Homemade Cayenne Salve....

Last night I made some cayenne salve for sore and aching muscles and bruises. I got the recipe from learningherbs.com 
I've been spending a lot of time on this sight since Christmas when Tory got the Wildcraft game from Santa. We love the game! Please wear gloves while making this salve! You don't want to get any in your eyes or mouth because it is some seriously potent stuff! Although I would have liked to let the cayenne hang out in the oil a bit longer, it still turned out quite well. I also used a higher BTU cayenne which maybe made up for that. That recipe can be found here. 

I didn't get a chance to work on my mittens to much yet. I am still deciding how I want to shape them at the fingertips.

here

Yarn Along...Knittin' Mittens

Today I'm joining Ginny at Small Things for a yarn along. I'm reading an inspiring book called
Buddha Mom. It's about an expecting mama and her journey through childbirth. I cast on a simple k2p2 ribbing and I'm going to be knitting myself a pair of mittens. The yarn is so fun and bright. (Just the way I like it) its Malabrigo merino-worsted in Plena ( I think anyway.)( It seems a little fairy got into my yarn stash and seems to have ripped off all the tags!)

Making A Big Mess!!!

Etsy Shop Announcement....

I have a Shop on Etsy! Here it is! I've only got 2 things in there so far but mire to come.    The Woolen Garden on  Etsy. Please stop by and tell me what you think.

Snowdrop Peg Babies...

Being Sick had given me a bit of free time. So I made some peg people. I got the pattern from All Year Round which is becoming one of my favorite craft books!

They were only on the table long enough for me to get a few pictures.

They were then taken into some far away forest by my sweet little Lily. I know they will be well loved by how well they were received!

A Hanging Heart Decoration....

I made this pretty Valentine's Day decoration from a pattern in the All Year Round book. I just modified it a bit and used watercolor  paper instead of red card stock. 

I traced all the patterns twice and cut them out with a paper cutting knife.

I then put the unpainted sides of the paper together and sewed them all together on my sewing machine, taking care to sew in the center where I would later bend the paper to open up the decoration.

I left about 2 in. of thread between each heart to give some space between them.

I opened each pair of hearts up. I think the next one I make will be painted on both sides. I don't like the white backs showing. 

This is what it looks like hanging in front of a white wall. I think I may paint it with oil and hand it in the window to make it glow in the sunlight a little. What are you crafting?

Our Natural Cough Remedy Recipe....

 This morning Lily woke up with a  bad cough. So off we went to our local health food store to pick up a few things to make cough medicine and to stock up for what sounds like may be a rough cold season. We have been making this cough remedy for years and I think it works great! It works far better than anything else I've tried so far. We also use Elderberry Extract with this remedy.

For our Honey-Thyme cough syrup you will need the following:
About 3 tbsp of dried thyme,
Fresh Thyme if you have any on hand (1 tbsp or so will do)
1 cup of honey (I use raw honey for this but I don't ever use our high quality honey)
A sterile canning jar and lid ( maybe 2 depending on the size of the jar)
A mortar and pestle (or use your fingers if you don't have one)
A small pot with a lid,
A wire strainer,
Your favorite mixing spoon of course!
2 cups of purified water ( try not to use tap water as it will spoil more rapidly) 

Begin by bringing your water to a boil. As you are waiting, gather your fresh thyme and your dried thyme. You  may want to get the leaves off the stocks of thyme but I never do because it's all going into the pot anyway.

Gently smash them with your mortar and pestle just until you can start to smell the thyme. (My favorite part)

As soon as the water is boiling you can ass your thyme. Then remove the pot from heat and put a lid on it until its cool. This will take a half hour or so.You can add your honey here if you want or wait until after the next step.

Strain out the mixture through a wire strainer and add your honey if you haven't already added it in.

Take a few tbsp. every hour. I promise you, you will notice a huge difference in your cough. ( If you even have one after that!) You can store it in the refrigerator and it will keep for months! 

Drink it down. Don't worry it isn't that bad. See! We even have Lil's approval!

Now I'm off to care for my sweet little Lily. Tell me  what you think of this recipe. 

{This Moment}

{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. 

WIP And Yarn Along.....

Before wings...

I'll have to practice getting the batting just right between the legs and body. This way it  will stand up nicely.

Lily is hard at work too. She's making a park for her gnomes to play in. 

I'm also reading Coloring with Block Crayons. This way I can teach Lily as she learns too. 

I like how the horn turned out! I would give this pattern 5 stars. It's simple and well written. What are you working on? What do you think of Midnight?

Late Night Crafting...

While trying to stay awake until the midnight hour I made this wreath. 

The girls made these. (all except the hats of course) They made it until 11:00 pm!

This is Sweet Pea's Wreath. It is just one of the items in my Etsy shop to come in the next few weeks.

What do you think?