the honey home

Where nature meets nurture defined by purpose

a few cut & sew finds from spoonflower

I fell down a rabbit hole this morning, remembering suddenly the old cut-and-sew projects I did as a kid (as well as the cut-and-sew Cheshire Cat I found at a “junque” store, which is one of my favorite home decor items). I’ve got a seven-and-a-half-year-old who is begging to learn to sew, and a four-year-old who loves cat things, and a two-year-old who loves “dotties” (dollies) and pretty things, and a new baby girl on the way who needs her own share of “dotties” and pretty things. I searched the Spoonflower site for cut-and-sew projects (if there is another good place to look, let me know!) and wanted to share some of what I found. (For the record, this post isn’t even remotely an ad or sponsored. Just sharing my finds.)

For the boys

Tiger Lily by Nadine Westcott | As soon as I saw this, I thought of Anselm! I thought he would really like this one.

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crochet owl christmas ornament tutorial

Back before all of the kids came along, I kept a little Etsy shop with crocheted items for sale. These were mostly hats, with some amigurumi, iPod cases (remember iPods?) and ornaments. All of these items were generally owls or owl-themed.

I can trace with absolute precision my love of owls back to a college trip to Japan in 2004. At the time, owls were very big as a decor motif over there, but they hadn’t really begun to be very popular in the states. I saw owl mugs, owl umbrellas, owl plates, owl juice glasses, owl teapots–I was hooked.

that’s me on the left, in Kyoto

I think it’s the big eyes,  slightly squat shape, and grumpy expression that make owls so lovable to me. I decided to make this tutorial for the owl ornaments I used to sell in my shop–they’re relatively quick and easy, endlessly diversified, and just plain cute. I am assuming some basic crochet and sewing skills from the outset, but if you don’t crochet, felt pieces could work in place of the crocheted bits.

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Hope and The Home, part three

A friend asked me one morning: is homemaking archaic, or does it have value? I answered yes and yes–that we’ve made it archaic by losing both the home and the making, but it does have value. This is part three; you can read part one here, and part two here. 

 

the strength of the stayer

…but Aragorn went forth again to danger and toil. And while the world darkened and fear fell on Middle-earth […] Arwen remained in Rivendell, and while Aragorn was abroad, from afar she watched over him in thought; and in hope she made for him a great and kingly standard, such as only one might display who claimed the lordship of the Númenóreans and the inheritance of Elendil.
                                                                                                                                 The Tale of Aragron and Arwen

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Hope and The Home, part two

A friend asked me one morning: is homemaking archaic, or does it have value? I answered yes and yes–that we’ve made it archaic by losing both the home and the making, but it does have value. This is part two; you can read part one here. 

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five newborn must-haves from a mom of five

The baby gear industry is a huge and profitable one, especially for first-time parents who have no idea what to expect.  But my father’s eldest brother came a month earlier than expected, and my grandmother used to love to tell me that all they had for him was ten diapers and a couple of shirts, and they pulled out a dresser drawer for him to sleep in. Somehow he turned out alright.

The more children we’ve had, the more I’ve found myself becoming a baby stuff minimalist. We bought a swing with Ephraim (which I never turned on) and sold it when I was pregnant with Clive. By the time Elvie and Eldore came along, I wasn’t even using our bouncy seats or baby bath. I’ve never had an exersaucer or jumparoo, and even my trusty Johnny-Jump-Up wasn’t useful for all the kids. We survived!

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Hope and The Home, part one

A friend sent me a text one morning, before the children were up, after my eggs and toast and coffee had been made and eaten but not cleaned up after, with this question: is homemaking archaic, or does it have value?

I answered yes and yes. It’s archaic because we’ve both intentionally and unintentionally made it obsolete (by destroying the two things that make up the term–the home and making–rendering them both disconnected and useless); but it is valuable, whether we as a society will recognize it or not.

Is the home valuable? What is the message of the home? Why does it exist? Why make one? Why make one? Why must it be made? Can’t it make itself?

I want to work through my thoughts on this topic. It will probably take more than one post–and I will try this time (I really will) to finish the posts and thus present a complete and coherent thought. I want to apologize in advance for referencing works while assuming you, my reader, are familiar with them; it would take too much space to explain everything thoroughly.

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ten months (eldore rex)

Eldore Rex turned ten months on the 19th of September.

I missed his nine-month post, partially because I was sick and partially because he started crawling not long after he turned nine months, and there just wasn’t a whole lot interesting to say about the previous month in comparison.

So that’s our biggest news: all of his efforts reaching for things, getting up on one knee or maybe both, and rocking, rocking, rocking back and forth finally paid off in forward motion. Now there is simply no stopping him. He is into everything–I’m sure you’re shocked–he spends his time busily crawling from cabinet to cabinet and drawer to drawer to find all the things he’s not supposed to touch.

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