I’ve been dedicating Bracken’s nap times to finishing up some handmade gifts for his birthday. He sleeps next to me while I quietly work and I glance over at him, again and again, amazed that he is going to be two on Sunday. I made him a birthday crown for his first birthday. I felt inspired to make him a new one for his second birthday. This time I chose the color blue. I made it with wool felt and did the stitches with wool yarn. What is his birthday crown adorned with? Blueberries! Saying that Bracken loves blueberries is an understatement. We all love them in this house, but my goodness that boy can sure eat them! I thought Jeff was the blueberry-eating King, but I think that has changed. Anyway, I knew blueberries would be the perfect thing on Bracken’s crown: something he loves. Now I’d like to stitch the letter B on it and it will be ready. 

Here is a peek at something else I’ve been working on for him….

I did not knit a vest for Bracken in time for his birthday, but I did make him one with felted wool. I took a secondhand green wool sweater and felted it. I cut off the sleeves, cut it down the front, and felted it again. Then I started decorating the back. I cut a tree trunk and green leaves out of wool felt and stitched them on with wool yarn. I also stitched some swirls. Then I needlefelting on some red apples and a red heart at the base of the tree. I chose to create an apple tree because it has special meaning for us, as I had a powerful dream before Bracken’s birth. There was a lot to that dream, but I shared part of the dream here. 

These pictures are before I finished the back of the vest, but it gives you an idea. It’s looking very whimsical, which is exactly what I was going for. Today I finished the back and then Bracken woke up right as I was about to sew on the buttons. It’s almost finished. I’ll show you more pictures when Bracken is wearing it. 

I’ve got some other handmade gifts in the works (and many more ideas, which will not be made in time.) We like to keep our gifts and celebrations simple and special. (I need to remind myself of that because I can get carried away with all I want to make and do.)

My mom, Julie, and sister, Samantha, are going to be visiting for a few days. We’re picking them up at the airport tomorrow. They are coming to celebrate Bracken’s birthday and I am really looking forward to spending time with them. I left most of the cleaning for today and I still have more to do. We’ve been in the process of organizing market stuff and it feels good to have an extra push to get it all put away.

Jeff pointed out that the date is 10.11.12. It’s been in my head all day.