gnomes

It was time. You know what I mean - that Byrd's song - "Turn, Turn, Turn (To everything There is a Season.)" A time to laugh, a time to weep ...

It was time for gnomes. How can they not bring a smile to your face? This messenger bag is an amalgamation of an old pair of wool pants and Heather Ross fabric. I love it. It's sturdy, the perfect size, and has plenty of pockets. The gnome patch on the front is the icing on the cake.

What do you think? Should I make this into a pattern in my collection? I would be more than happy to do so if you give me the thumbs up. ;)

Peace,
Meg

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thank you ...

... for all of your kind words. Your comments sent a much needed wave of warmth in my direction. I just wish that I could extend each of you a hug, or at the very least, respond to each of you individually. (Blogger is stinky for not giving me your email addresses when you leave comments.)

Just know that kindness goes a long way. I went back to school today, refreshed and motivated to be the best person I can be for the sake of my children.

My heart continues to go out to the families involved in the tragedy. May we all continue do everything in our capacity to bring peace to our little corners of the world and beyond.

xo,
Meg

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day of the dead

While the rest of Mexico will not be celebrating the Day of the Dead until Friday, I feel compelled to write about it now.

I debated long and hard about whether or not to mention this on my blog. After some words of encouragement from Jenny, I decided to break through the emotional dam that has kept the flood waters away from happy, crafty land.

This story begins 7 years ago, when I was 19. My friend Laura was killed. Michael Moore dedicated his film, Bowling for Columbine, to Laura.

I spent the subsequent years pondering questions of good and evil, free will and lack thereof, bad vs. abnormal, atheism and theism. I think a good number of my college papers dealt with these themes - thankfully I was in a Great Books program that allowed for such philosophical exploration. My senior thesis was an exploration of the development of "the human will" in the educational system (or lack thereof, really) and how this lack of development can engender a culture of violence. When you get right down to it, this is the reason I went into education, and the reason I believe so firmly in educational philosophies that treat children with the utmost respect. Children treated with respect will, in turn, treat others with that same respect. Violence breeds violence. Respect encourages respect. I just wanted to do my part to put a wrench in the cycle of violence.

Yesterday, I found out that my friend Marijke, who was in my Montessori training course with me, was killed. The circumstances are horrific. She is survived by her 3 1/2 year-old twin daughters, now orphans.

I didn't go to school today, because one of my students told me yesterday that his father is threatening to kill his mother. He is four. He is seeing this, hearing this. How will this little boy treat others when he grows up? I needed a day off to reflect and to attempt to digest the news about Marijke.

I am not the only one who has two friends that were murdered. The situation is astronomically worse in Iraq, and in many other forgotten corners of the Earth. Violence breeds violence. Perhaps this is why humans seem incapable of learning from history. They simply absorb patterns of behavior that their parents, televisions, and countries act out in front of them. What are we going to do about this?

************************************************************************************

Thank you for listening. Fortunately, I am generally a very content, happy person. You can expect to be back to your "regularly scheduled posts" very shortly. In the meantime, I'm off to take a warm bath, sip a cup of hot chocolate, and enjoy the beauty of the falling leaves.

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holiday traditions exchange 2007

I couldn’t help myself. I have no self-control. I tried and tried and tried. But I just couldn’t wait.

I broke out the holiday music.

I know, I know … I haven’t even given Halloween and Thanksgiving their due respect. I never have, really. I am that zealot who lobbies for tree decoration as soon as I’m finished with my third piece of pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner.

I feel this way because as a child, my family’s holiday traditions were plentiful and cherished. Of course I enjoyed the stockings and the presents – but looking back, it’s not the presents I remember. It’s the feeling I got during that time of year. The warming smell of gingerbread drifting from the kitchen. The songs sung while decorating the house. Drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows out of my special Christmas mug. Traipsing about in the woods with my dad in search of the tallest blue spruce – one that would barely fit in our house and would be sure to elicit eye-rolls and grumbles from my mother, a fan of the short and stocky tree.

As I consider the source of this wonderful feeling, I understand that it originates with my family’s own small, yet meaningful traditions – not with the decorations at the strip mall, not with those “feel cozy and buy this thing you don’t need” holiday commercials, and not even with the opening of gifts, lovely though they may be.

So I wonder … how do other families experience the holidays? How do they nurture that warm, holiday feeling? How do they make it special for their own children?

Let’s find out! Sign up for the first annual Holiday Traditions Exchange!

The Holiday Traditions Exchange is a swap that will incorporate craft, cultural sharing, and thoughtful reflection about what the holidays mean to your family. It’s an opportunity to celebrate all that is non-commercial in this holiday season – and an opportunity to adopt a new, fun tradition for your family’s holiday repertoire. Here’s what you have to do:

Let me know you want to participate. I will pair you with one swap partner. You will send your package to your partner, and this same partner will send a package to you. Hopefully, you will make a new friend in the process!

To your partner, you will send:

1.) One handmade holiday decoration. Decorations made from any kind of medium are acceptable – from fabric to yarn, paper to paint.

2.) Your favorite holiday recipe.

3.) A “Tradition” Tutorial. This is description of one of your family’s special holiday traditions. If needed, you should provide step by step instructions. (For example, if your family makes graham cracker candy houses each year, you would provide more concrete instructions.) You might also consider sending along a couple of photos of the tradition in action.

In addition, you could send a mix CD of your favorite holiday tunes, or a special book that is a seasonal classic in your family. Feel free to go above and beyond the three requirements, but please don’t skip! When putting together your package, think about the kind of package you would like to receive. The backbone of this whole exchange is that it should be meaningful and come from that tender place close to your heart.

Are you in?? Send me an email at montessorirevolution@gmail.com with the subject Holiday Traditions Exchange 2007. No need to include your mailing address – once you receive your partner’s name, you can exchange your address with them directly.

The sign up deadline is Sunday, November 11^th. Soon thereafter, you will receive an email from me with your partner’s name. It is then your responsibility to contact your partner, introduce yourself, and exchange mailing addresses.

Packages must be sent out by Monday, December 10^th. If you are sending internationally, you might want to aim for an earlier mailing date. But wait!!! Before sending your package, be sure to take pics and post them to the Holiday Traditions Exchange 2007 Flickr Group!

I look forward to your emails, and I sincerely hope that this exchange will, in some way, make your holiday season a little merrier!

xo,

Meg

P.S. You can place the Holiday Traditions Exchange button in your sidebar by copying the following HTML code:

<a href="http://www.montessoribyhand.blogspot.com/2007/10/holiday-traditions-exchange-2007.html"><img alt="holidaytraditions2007button copia /" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2117/1794694949_43cea59348_o.jpg" height="146" width="150" /></a>

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recycled bath mat

Did anyone guess correctly? Here it is - a funky addition to our bathroom decor, made from part of an old terry cloth bath towel and sewing "refuse".

I'm especially fond of the feet embroidery detail. I used my own dainties as the model. Patrick wonders where he is going to put his feet. (But really, my love ... the mat wouldn't have looked nearly as cute had your long, lanky, crooked toes been featured!) Wouldn't a bath mat sporting various sets of feet in your family be fun? A little pair, a big pair ... a pair for anyone who uses the mat's services with some frequency.

I will be putting together a tutorial very soon. I've decided to go the PDF route for my tutorials from now on, given that it is much easier for you to print out the instructions. That said, it will take me a schmidgin' of time to do the layout and write it up.

I wish you all a very, very merry Friday!

Meg

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patchwork teaser

Cut, stack, cut, stack ... sew, press, sew, press ...

The daylight is running off beyond yonder hill (although I love this soft, late afternoon light - don't you?) With no time left to take pictures of the finished project, you will just have to stop by tomorrow. A little tutorial will be waiting for you on the doorstep!

xo,
Meg

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flow

Have you taken the step into the quicksand of This American Life? While their stories will suck you in with no hope of ever escaping, they also leave you feeling ripe with human emotion. Depending on the episode, you might develop sore abdominals from so much laughter. Certain vignettes can spark philosophical discussions, while others will have you reining in the tears. This particular episode, Meet the Pros, was of particular interest to me. In Act Three, Martha, My Dear, the author visits his dream job in the crafts department of Martha Stewart Living. His query: if his passion became his job, would it still be fun?

This is a really important issue for me at the moment, as "my little sewing addiction" becomes a "job." It has become all the more essential for me to find ways to protect and nurture the creative process that brought me to where I am, an "official" pattern designer, in the first place. You know the feeling - that crafting "high," the loss of time, the ability to continue working on a project without eating for 8 hours ... the world could be falling to pieces around you, but you just blankly respond "In a minute ... I'm almost done, just one more seam/row/etc."

Flow. Have you read it? You should - as an artist, a parent, or an educator. C.'s theory is that people are most happy when they are in a state of flow— a state of concentration or complete absorption with the activity or situation at hand. Flow is an optimal state of intrinsic motivation, where the person is fully immersed in what he or she is doing.

To achieve flow, a task must provide sufficient challenge, but the person must possess the skills to surmount it. If a task is too difficult, frustration ensues. If it is too easy, it is simply not intellectually or physically engaging enough. Flow arises in this narrow spectrum where the person's skills are perfectly matched to the challenge at hand.

Tlaloc sews a button on an apron. He didn't even notice me taking the picture.

My job as a Montessori teacher is to match the child to the challenge, to provide him the opportunity to experience flow. We recognize the need for flow in our adult lives - we all talk about the need to create, the sacredness of the creative process, and how refreshed we feel after we've completed a project. Children need to have the same experience! How often to we swoop in on the child when he is concentrating, shuffling him about from activity to activity? Hold on ... let me whip out my pocket-sized Montessori holy book ... ah hah! Here it is ... Above all else, never interrupt a concentrating child! Welp, there it is. Children need flow more than anyone - they emerge from this state with a newfound self-confidence, increased problem-solving skills, and a love of learning.

My new mantra: protect the flow. So many good things come out of it, whatever your passion or hobby, whatever your age.

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