Travel Tuesday: Postcards From Meknes

A glimpse into our week well spent in Meknes, Morocco. An amazing, chilled out city with a small town feel, some of the friendliest people, tastiest food, and a medina just big enough to get lost, but not big enough to stay lost - perfect.

Ah, The Weekend...

This weekend involved a lot of staying out of the house, so my husband would be able to have peace. He has spent his weekend days between epsom salt baths, bed, and couch, trying to find some sort of reprieve from the sudden case of pneumonia he has come down with.

It is difficult, for one little boy in particular, to avoid running in to see daddy every 20 minutes to see if he feels better, and if he would now like to play hockey, because "hockey would make [him] feel so better".
Doesn't hockey make everyone feel so better??

Here's hoping for good health for my hubby before the week is through.
Hope your weekend was happy!
xo

We *heart* Snail Mail

Long live the hand-written, postage stamped letter. Really and truly. There is nothing quite like sitting down and sharing your whozits and whatzits through a hand scrawled note, except maybe to receive one.

My Grandma and Grandpa have kept in frequent contact by letter throughout my life, and I have kept every one.

Today, Levi found something special in the mailbox from his Grandma and Grandpa. It reminded me of how excited I always was to find something in the mail addressed to me.
P.S Mom, this is still true of me ;)

The perfect letter for a little one. She replaced familiar faces and activities with easily identifiable photos, so that Levi would be able to understand and "read" his letter.

Thanks Grandma!

Travel Tuesday: Chefchaouen Weavers

There are beautiful handmade blankets for sale in Chefchaouen, Morocco. I had the pleasure of watching a few of the men work away at their looms. It seemed like such a meditative task. Ask any one of them about their work and they will share with pride.

There were many offers to visit the home of a local weaver, but we were quite happy hanging around the Ensemble Artisinal, at the edge of the medina, where we were free to walk around, compare prices, and watch the men at work.

Many men had their young sons working and learning alongside them, just as they had done next to their own fathers.

Of course, we couldn't resist leaving without one for each of our beds!

There is something so beautiful about a craft that has been handed down from generations past, family teaching family; hard working, experienced, and gifted hands delicately, and lovingly directing young fingers across the fibres, and the wood of the loom. That is what you are supporting, when you buy handmade - so incredible.

More Cloth Baskets...

I actually made these 2 Cloth "baskets" just before going away on our trip.

The top one was made as a gift for a very close friend. I'm unsure of the main fabric, but the smaller piece is a Kaffe Fassett quilting cotton, and the interior is a solid brown.

The lower "basket" is for little old me. This is a special one because the material, both the small strip, and main fabrics were picked up at a little shop in Hanoi, Vietnam when we were there in 2007. I've been waiting quite a while to decide what to use it for. I'm unsure of the interior, but it is a lovely yellow floral. This basket is a reflection of two of my favourite things - sewing and travel.

Back to reality...

Among many other things, travel has given me a new appreciation for home and it’s comforts. I’m not speaking of the mass quantities we tend to acquire and consume when at home, but the stuff you wouldn’t think you would miss. When I come home from an extended trip, I find the things I most look forward to are the daily tasks – washing dishes, sweeping floors, planning meals, preparing meals.

Routine can be a wonderful thing. As a child I obviously enjoyed the summer, but I looked forward to returning to school in the fall just as much as I had looked forward to leaving it. It was having a schedule and a routine again that I think I craved.

The funny thing about routine though, it won't take long for me to be over it again! Where to next? ;)

Quiet Book By Grandma

One of the most special gifts received this Christmas was a quiet book which my mom put together for Levi. A lot of work was put in to this book, and it shows.

I could easily share a lot more photos, but I'll let her do that for you. She has just started a blog of her own, and rightly so as a lot of my inspiration comes from her! Pop over to FUN FABRICATION for a peek!

Travel Tuesday: Don´t Tell The Kids...

A romantic dessert for two from the local Pasteleria...

Sneakily devoured in the WC. Oh yeah, sneaky cakes in the toilet. We are all about class.



This is what we have to resort to while traveling, all sharing one room, and are disappointedly forced to impose and follow through on ¨no dessert¨ as a disciplinary action.

If only Levi knew what was happening as he lay there chatting away, fighting sleep with every ounce of his ever-present strong will...

{This Moment}

{This moment} is inspired by Soulemama, and beautifully done by so many. It reveals a moment from our week that is special enough to stand alone, without need for expression, or explanation.

xo

Blanketing Slave Lake With Love

Earlier in 2011, I blogged about the town of Slave Lake, Alberta and the blow it was dealt in the form of a very destructive fire.
At my aunt's house this afternoon she showed us a beautiful hand stitched quilt that was given to her through a program called "Blanket Slave Lake With Love". I always hear about different situations where people contribute their handmades for people who have been through a difficult time. Someone invested their hard work, and their time (which is invaluable) in to creating this quilt for someone they have never met. Even more than that, a hand stitched quilt can not come together without an incredible amount of dedication, love, and care. That is an intensely personal, invested gift, and truly, who would not be uplifted by such a gift? In my aunt's words "It felt like [she]'d gotten a cuddle".

Back to the Machine

It feels SO good to get back to sewing after nearly 4 months away from it. I had the pleasure of taking my mom's new sewing machine for a spin. It has a lot of nice little features that mine does not.

I love these little reversible pants - Anna Maria Horner's pattern for the "Quick Change Trousers" from her book Handmade Beginnings.

The pattern goes up to 24 months so for the larger pair, Levi's pair, I enlarged the pattern, extending the length by 2 inches, and adding (by eye) as much to the entire pattern as it seems to increase with each size. They turned out a good size, and they should fit for quite some time, especially with all the room available in length.

The materials I used for these 2 pair are from Anna Maria's Folksy Flannels collection.

This third pair I gifted to my cousin's wee one a couple of weeks ago. They were made from a vintage Star Wars bed sheet I have had in my stash for quite some time.

I love a project that let's me combine several different fabrics, as these do.

Happy New Year!

Wow. Another year passed, in the blink of an eye.

2011 was a year of loss, but also a year of massive gain, and I have an incredible number of things to be thankful for to prove it.

*My healthy, happy, (slightly sleep starved) baby boy who has added so much to our little family with his big silly smiles, his enthusiastic encouragement for big brother's antics, and his love for snuggling.

*For my rambunctious, chatty, hilarious, and rapidly growing 2 year old.

*Our safe return to Canada after an incredible 12 weeks of travel.

*An incredible 12 weeks of travel!

*My husband as a Dad - his patience, his support, his love, and yes, even his crazy rowdy way of playing with our 2 baby boys.

*Footprints - What I mean is, the amazing impact that some people have on our lives so that even after they have gone from this life we are blessed to be left with beautiful memories, emotions, and even a permanent change within ourselves from having known them.

*That I was able to spend this Christmas with my entire family.

*That I have, to this point, been able to be at home full-time with my boys.

*My beautiful new nephew, Malikai, who I was able to meet and cuddle very recently.

*My newly announced nephew or niece, who is busily preparing for his or her June debut!

*For all of you who read and share on my blog. I love writing here. I love the communication it creates, the friends I have made through it, and the record I now have because of it. So thanks to you for the encouragement you bring by simply stopping by!

Happy New Year to you all!! I hope 2012 brings you a mountain of things to be thankful for!
xo