New Year's Theme

Those of you who have been reading my blog long enough, or who have just known me long enough, know that a few years back, I took up the idea of a yearly theme. This idea, came from my friend Dana, for whom I am very thankful :)
This year, my new theme is a hard one. Not because it is unmanageable, but because it so goea against my natural personality :)

"Cultivating Patience: Every Second Counts".

I have known for a very long time, that patience is NOT one of my virtues. I am just not very good at being patient. I don't like to wait for my watercolour paint to dry. I hate how long it might take me to knit something- and I often make dinner at the last minute. When the kids don't 'get' something (usually something like cleaning up the living room floor), I am forced to bite my tongue, and shamefully, more than once, my patience was gone!
It's not IMPOSSIBLE for me to be patient, just hard. So when I found myself having to learn patience for things recently, or when I found out that patience really paid off, I realised that in there somewhere, was a message.
So I told my friends that I thought 'patience' was my theme. Later that day, I realised that it wasn't JUST patience I needed to learn, but appreciation of time. So often I feel like I have to do it all NOW- well with patience I get to do it all, just not at once :)

So that's my theme for next year. Of course, themes are not finite things. They kind of mingle and meld with the ones that came before, and I think you are supposed to continue improving.
Well- I am improving. This year I did well with beautiful, but simple is a work in progress ;) I managed to make great strides in my theme from last year- Hospitality. But the one from the year before- stewardship- is still eluding me. Somewhat. I did manage to start eating seasonally, and I am constantly tweaking our food to make it healthier! It's the house that needs work :) THAT is where patience comes in- learning these things one at a time, bit by bit...

Anyone else out there with themes to share? :)

And I knew in a Moment that it must be St. Nick...

Well, at least a knitted one :)

I adapted my St. Nicholas decoration from Little Cotton Rabbit's Tiny Christmas Bear Decorations- well worth the knitting! You can too!

Make the Christmas Tree Bears according to the directions here, make it the longer version with no legs. I left out the ribbon- you can keep it, just make it a little longer.
For the face, make two eyes as described, use your yarn to make a small nose, and make a straight stitch for the mouth.
For the beard, use white yarn and make small loops across the bottom of the face. You will need several rows, and the loops work best if offset from each other as you go up a row. Stop below the mouth.
Instead of ears, make a mitre. This is how I made mine:

Knit two of these.
Cast on 7 stitches. Knit 3 rows.
Row 4: Pearl.
Row 5: K2 tog, K 3, K2 tog. (5 sts)
Row 6: Pearl
Row 7: K2 tog, K1, K2 tog. (3 sts)
Row 8: Pearl
Row 9: Slip 1, K2 tog, Pass Slipped Stitch Over.

On one of the mitre pieces, embroider a cross. Sew the two pieces together. If you included the ribbon, just sew across this.

For the arms, make an I-cord as mentioned in the Little Cotton Rabbit's site- only switch colours after 5 rows, knitting 3 rows in the flesh colour. Run the ends inside the I-cord before attaching to the body.


Finally sew the mitre to the top of St. Nicholas's head- voila! A teddy-turned St. Nick :D

P.S. I used regular worsted wool on very small needles because I like the way it knits up ;)

Advent...

or at least the Advent bags my mum made.  Inside are presents for each day of advent.  One for each of the kids, and my husband's one.  My presents have yet to arrive, and I have to make a bag for them while I am at it!

I'll try to draw a few more seasonal things as I go along- I really want to document December :) I love this season :D

Picture Update!

Although I have not really been online much, I have drawn a little. Obviously my focus has been elsewhere, but I squeezed in some time ;)

"Snakey" is a toy that my kids both have. "Snakey" is a caterpillar. He chases children around and hisses like a snake. No matter how often I tell them he is a caterpillar, he always turns back into a snake.

Experimenting with watercolour pencils can enliven time spent waiting in the car. Here I am trying out techniques learned from Cathy Johnson's watercolour pencil CD.

The kids collected these somewhere, and I liked them so much I had to draw them. This was the first time my watercolour pencils actually came out the way I wanted them too!

I had to get a new orange watercolour pencil since my Derwent one was not working. This is a prismacolor one. It was probably one of my better attempts ;)
Sunsets of autumn are often spectacular here in Virginia. This particular occasion, the sky was a vivid yellow, and the birch tree's lacy foliage just looked so pretty against it. This was another watercolour pencil picture- they are now permanently in my bag because I love their portability!
While knitting one evening, I found myself needing to document it :) Cooler weather brings out the woolly knits!

EDM #199: Draw your toe. OK So I drew 5 of them. There are five on each foot, I can hardly pick just one right? :) I never pass up an opportunity to draw my feet- they are great models, always do as I ask ;)

My latest read, a book of inspirations!! It's Danny Gregory's new book, a fat collection of great illustrated journals and notebooks. I think I like the commentary almost as much as the pictures, because I realise my 'weirdness' about my skectbooks is really not... ;)

After completing a summer accordian fold book, I decided to do an autumn one. This shows my very own, home-grown poemgranate :)

I call it October- because it is really October associations :) I grew the fig too... it was delicious! I hope for a few more next year! The second one never did ripen before the frost felled it!
An autumn staple... only my leaves do not reflect their true colours, which is a huge shame. The sweetgum at the left was a lovely, rich, purple-brown. My paints failed to capture that colour- the other one, a maple, was much brighter red. Oh well, I consider it a great excuse to get some more paints- I probably needed a better colour selection right? ;)

After all the cooking and eating, I managed to draw a piece of the pumpkin pie! I had really wanted to draw the turkey, but I just forgot- even to photograph it! Oh well, it certainly tasted good (even if I do say so myself ;)).
What can be more autumnal than apples? These golden delicious, sit on my table until M'Lady eats them. Or the rabbit eats them. Or both. I had wanted a nice apple themed poem to go with it, but the closest I found was a Robert Frost one about apple picking. Or loads of school-limerick kinds. NOT what I really wanted ;)

Daybook for Monday 1st December

To get the rest of the daybook entries, don't forget to visit Peggy over at the Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY

Outside my window... it's a chilly day. The trees are bare now and the cardinals are the only bright flashes of colour I see. There is a simple, stark kind of beauty in the late autumn, early winter.
I am thinking... that I am behind on the advent stuff. I really wish DH would get it out of the loft already! Actually I am thinking I wish he hadn't put it all there- I will hide it this year so he can't! I dont mind the tree stuff there, but not the advent stuff!
I am thankful for... long weekends. I really enjoyed our extended holiday weekend! I am also thankful for inspirational books, wonderful online communities and the gifts God gave us :)
From the learning rooms... we are starting our Advent study. I like to do the Tomie de Paola one started by Elizabeth Foss.
From the kitchen... turkey leftovers! I am considering a pot-pie today, I really love pot-pie. I also love the new microwave- I dont HAVE to remember to take out the meat anymore! Rest assured, I only use it for good things- and TV dinners one day a week ;)
I am wearing... grey skirt, green top. My hair is up, and I am waiting for the red-eyes to subside before I wear contacts again. Maybe I should try my visine.
I am creating... Christmas gifts for my secret Santa. I can't talk about them though, because she reads the blog :)
I am going... to a friend's to make the rest of the Jesse Tree ornaments on Thursday (or Wednesday). We had to delay it due to illness, but I am hopeful we'll do it this week :)
I am reading... An Illustrated Life by Danny Gregory- inspiration for people who draw in journals.
I am hoping... to get some baking done. I need to make a Christmas Pudding, but I might just try Mum's new recipe... also a fruit cake with my Mother-in-Law's recipe, a request from DH.
I am hearing... the press conference with President-Elect Obama and his National Security team. It just came on the radio while I was listening to music, and I am waiting for it to finish! If it doesn't soon, I'll put on a Christmas Carol CD or find some advent ones!
Around the house... laundry (it's Monday) and some decorating with the advent decorations! I need to acquire a place to display the Jesse Tree ornaments.
One of my favorite things... is baking... I love to bake. Cookies (Biscuits), Mince Pies (YUM!), cakes, bread... I managed to make a really great roll for Thanksgiving- REALLY good! It was an adaptation of a Scottish Bap from Soups and Bread by Crescent Dragonwagon.
A few plans for the rest of the week: make some stuff for Secret Santa, bake cake and pudding, bake mince pies, make Jesse tree ornaments, decorate and get a Christmas tree next weekend :) Busy week, since I also plan to school, draw and other things ;)
Here is picture thought I am sharing...
My pomegranate that I grew :)

Sorry about the quality of the photo- it just looked a lot sharper on the camera!! (This is for Jill who asked for one ;))