A knitting book even a non-knitter could love

Is it ridiculous to be super-excited about a knitting book, when I can't knit? I don't think so, not when it's this gorgeous! I want just about every sweater in there! Now, admittedly, the author is a friend. But I would love this book even if I didn't know her. It helps that I've seen Lucy in many of her amazing creations:

a gorgeous reddish pink 3/4 sleeve sweater Lucy wore nearly every day for her first year, when she wasn't wearing...

this beautiful green and blue sweater. And more recently, this lovely combo:


Unfortunately, it was way too hot last night to dress Lucy in a Melissa special when we went to her book signing at Webs. Melissa and Cecily had all their sweaters on display, and they are absolutely gorgeous. (I got to try one on, and wanted to walk away with it! Gorgeous green, 3/4 sleeves, leaf detailing at the waist...ooh, ah...). Lucy got her very own copy of the book, signed by her favorite author, of course.



You need a copy, too. Seriously. This is not an ad--I promise! Just a rave review from someone who's super impressed by the work of her friend. If you can trust a review from a non-knitter, you should run right out and get your hands on this book!

Now, I just have to learn to knit so I can get to work on these sweaters!

In the studio: overhead design

Continuing with my in-the-studio series of happenings from my early childhood program, here's a story from this week.

I came into the studio to find this on the overhead projector:

and this on the table:

Apparently, the overhead-projector design/drawings had been going on for a while.
There were also glass gems:

And chalkboard erasers:

2 kids, working together, on a project of their own design. They chose the materials, arranged them on the projector, and looked at the projected image to draw what they'd made. I love their imaginative use of materials (glass gems on the overhead--expected. But erasers?). And I love the culture of drawing we've established here, so that when they do something cool, their instinct is to draw it.

(I've been inspired by the preschools of Reggio Emilia, Italy, to offer lots of opportunities for children to explore light--as with the overhead projector, which is always available to the children in our studio. And to encourage children to think in more than one "language" (i.e. ways of expressing themselves)--such as here, moving from the "language" of arranging materials to the "language" of drawing.)

Happiness is a polka-dotted basket

Check out my new basket! I found this lovely polka-dot-lined basket at the thrift store this weekend for 75 cents, and it's my new friend. It goes where I go, so everything I need is close at hand. In it when we headed outside today...

-my crochet pattern notebook
-the book Lucy asked to bring outside
-the book the older children asked to bring outside
-my clipboard for taking notes for the children's portfolios (a future post, I think...)
-my awesome new sewing-project bag--a gift from a friend--containing a soaker-in-the-works.

And sure enough, when the kids were making mud-pies and their play was so much more rich without interference from me, I was able to sneak in a few rows of crochet while watching from afar.

Independence Days challenge: green beans

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge, already? I've been a slacker blogger this week! Sorry. Summer's a crazy time around here, and it's been hot, hot, hot!! (Makes me grumpy.) Here's my meager update.

2. Harvest something:
Eggs. Grape tomatoes. 11 lbs. green beans from our CSA.

3. Preserve something:
4 1/2 pts. pickled beets with anise. 25 pts frozen green beans. 2 qts. frozen stock.

7. Eat the food:
Lots of zucchini-nut muffins. A rice-lentil-carrot-cabbage-basil salad that came out surprisingly well (with mayo/lemon juice dressing). Another, also good (I think I may actually be learning how to make up recipes--finally, at 41!): chick peas, lemon juice, lots of basil, grated carrots and turnips, chopped lettuce and scallions. Delicious zucchini cakes (our new favorite recipe is from Nourishing Traditions). Sweet and sour chard over rice.

Sharing the bird love

This week, Lucy and I had an unexpected, much-needed, gift of a free day. We took a road trip to visit my great friend, Julie.

Her unschooled, bird-loving daughters, knowing Lucy's passion for birds, set up this provocation* for her on their coffee table:

My favorite bits:
the pink bird, attached by a hair tie to a paintbrush so she could make it fly,
the small bird attached by wire to the eagle, so it appeared to be flying,
the green parrot, whose curves are aligned with the mussel shell it's set beside.

Later, they donned bird beaks as they made music together.

It was so cool to me that a 1-year-old, a 6-year-old, and an 8-year-old could bond over a shared interest in such lovely ways. Thank goodness for great friends and shared philosphies. It was just what we needed.

* Provocation is a word used in Reggio-inspired teaching, meaning something set up to provoke children's thinking.

In. Pig.

"In."

"Pig!"

"More. In."

Lucy's beloved Tim and Eric just returned from a trip to Canada, and brought her back a piggy bank. She's going to be rich in no time, because it is irresistible to watch her drop the coins in there. When she asks for "more," you get her more as quickly as possible! She spent a good 20 minutes last night dropping coins "in. in. in."

Independence Days challenge: the container garden is working!

Time again for Sharon's Independence Day's Challenge:

1. Plant something:
Well, I haven't planted anything this week. But I've tended my pots, and I'm thrilled--they're working! I grew things from seed and they're actually growing. Look at those beans, reaching for the sky! And the kidney beans and cucumbers are covered in blooms. Yay!

2. Harvest something:
3/4 lb. purple potatoes (total harvest from one trash can; very disappointing! Wonder what I did wrong this time...). A few more grape tomatoes. Sunflowers, basil, and rosemary from our CSA.

3. Preserve something:
7 1/2 pts. plum jam using this recipe (way more sugar than I normally like to use, but I liked this recipe's simple plan for seed removal and don't trust myself enough to mess with recipes yet). 5 pts. plum jam using the low-sugar Pomona pectin recipe. 4 1/2 qts. dill pickles. 2 pts. anise beets. Dried a bit each of carrots, rosemary, and greens for the chickens.

5. Preparation and storage:
Had a bit of good luck at tag sales this weekend: got a hand drill and a collection of drill bits, a life jacket, and a child-sized spade. And I got a handful of wonderful vintage children's sewing patterns at a thrift store, as well as a pile of great children's books.

7. Eat the food:
A good potato salad with green beans and hard-boiled eggs. Raspberry-plum-lettuce popsicles. Lots of carrots and zucchini. A pretty-good grilled zucchini pizza (would have been really good if I could learn to make a better crust.) Tomatoes straight out of the garden. Nothing particularly interesting, but fresh and good.