Oh She Glows! {for Lent}

I was so excited that the new Oh She Glows cookbook arrived yesterday. Even though my fasting was made perfectly simple thanks to a stomach bug, I spent several hours in bed yesterday doing some planning with a new vegan cookbook that I'd pre-ordered sometime last year. Menu planning while fighting a stomach bug is very similar to watching hours of Food Network to distract from morning sickness. It makes no sense at all, but I've done both.  I found the Oh She Glows blog to be a treasure trove of inspiration and guidance. But really, I so prefer cookbooks to cooking blogs. I think my aversion to clicking and clicking again is especially pronounced with cooking blogs. However, I'm a bit of a cookbook addict.

This one didn't disappoint. I've put to paper three weeks worth of meal plans taken from this book. Already! I'm so excited to get started (just as soon as my digestive system catches up;-). I think it's going to be very family-friendly. I might need to toss in a chicken breast or a hamburger here and there if they start to protest about the lack of meat, but with Lent on my side and this new study to point to, I like my chances of going totally meatless more often than not. 

As far as sewing goes, you get fabric again this week--lots of surprises in the works. Some pink. Some blue. Some for Michael's baby. Some for Bobby's baby. Both Kristin and Sloane have great midwives and they're both getting serious about getting ready-- the Easter season shines bright with anticipation. And the little aunties are busy as bees in the sewing room.

What about you? Sewing plans for Easter? Reading plans for Lent? Do share!

Lenten Reading and Baby Sewing

Good morning! I apologize to my faithful needle & thREAD folks. The last couple weeks just got away from me! 

We are happily stitching around here, but I think that for the next month or so, you are only going to see photos of fabric. Kristin's baby shower is at the end of March. Finished product photos and links will have to be an early April happening. Until then, just know that my little aunties are busy making sweet baby gifts.

I've got my Lenten reading all lined up and ready to go. I'm going to start and finish George Weigel's Evangelical Catholicism. I've been warned that it's not an easy-breezy read. I think I'm up for a little heft! I'm also reading an advance copy of Danielle Bean's Momnipotent. It's no secret that I'm fond of Danielle. It's always a pleasure to hear what she has to say. Momnipotent will be released in June, but you can preorder it now.

What about you? What are you planning to read for Lent? Have you begun your Easter sewing?

A very small peek at RESTORE

I've got a real quick needle & thREAD this week. Most of my reading has been related to a burnout recovery workshop I'm writing called RESTORE. I'll have lots more to share with you on that next week (God willing). This morning found me deep in the book of Job and C. S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain.

Katie and I played with beribboning towels yesterday, in advance of receiving some brand new unbleached diapers destined to become very pretty burp cloths. Let the baby sewing begin! A tutorial for those and for the embellished, quilted towels will be part of the RESTORE workshop. 

That's all for today here. We've got a busy weekend ahead and my front door will be revolving with comings and goings of a half dozen people or more. Off to prepare!

What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link

A Baby Blanket and Some Pregnancy Books

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Last year, Kristin guest-posted and shared with us a quilt she was making. It's finished! She joins us again:

I started this blanket over a year ago, before we were expecting a baby. I was hoping to make a kantha quilt to throw on my couch. Now it’s the perfect play quilt, baby swaddler, mom’s-first-quilt-so-you-can-throw-up-on-it-but-please-don’t-rip-it-because-I-don’t-know-how-to-fix-it blanket. Truth be told, I had a baby blanket in mind from the first stitch.  

There are a few small puckers on the back that perhaps one day I’ll be able to fix. I’m still new to sewing and very, very impatient. Bad combo when creating heirlooms but we’ll see how this one weathers.

Lately, I’ve been reading about pregnancy, labor and delivery during every free moment. I have 3 books {one for each trimester} I’ve found to be comforting and helpful.

Bump It Up: Transform Your Pregnancy into the Ultimate Style Statement 
by Amy Tara Koch

This book was actually a gift from a close friend and coincidentally ended up being my first trimester bible, beating out all of the thoroughly researched and reviewed books I purchased or borrowed. As a primigravida who was not quite expecting that pink plus sign just yet, I was at a total loss when it came to pregnancy preparation. Koch has a savvy and chic way of celebrating pregnancy without asking mom to buy a new wardrobe or adopt a new lifestyle. She does not dwell on morning sickness. Instead, she explains how to cover up the appearance of being sick. I had a hard time in the first trimester, not only with nausea and dizziness, but with a thicker waste on my 5 ft body along with rashes and eczema that covered my face. Intentional meals were impossible to commit to and I found myself falling asleep before dinner. Low self-esteem and guilt does not mix well when you’re embarking on one of the biggest blessings of your life. This book helped me get out of the hole I buried myself in and enjoy the first semester. It also has advice for each trimester so I'm still reading through it today.

Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally
by Janet Balaskas {Intro by Michel Odent}

During the end of my second trimester, I grew a deep curiosity for labor and delivery. Suddenly, I realized that this baby has to come out somehow! As far as labor books go, Active Birth is probably my favorite. Balaskas lays out basic information and applies common sense and simple physics to childbirth. Although the book is a bit dated, so is natural childbirth.

Even if you have no interest in natural childbirth, I think it’s important to know basic anatomy of a woman with child and how to aid labor instead of work against it. I think it will make a difference to be aware of and understand what is happening physically instead of solely trying to manage my labor pains.       

Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method
by Marie F. Mongan

Hypnobirthing is the latest craze in the birthing world. What I love about this book is that Mongan breaks down the phases of labor slowly, detailed and deliberately. This is a great third trimester book because it feeds the part of my mind craving more information without being overwhelming or redundant. The tone of the book is also clear and decisive. For example, she writes “You will be relaxed… You will experience…” There’s no ambiguity or speculation.

Personally, I’m open to a changing birth plan and I don’t need a book or a doctor to convince me that I want this baby to have a safe birth. We, as expecting parents, are gradually gaining more confidence. I’m secure in one thing: Michael will be ready. He’s very quick in reactive situations... it must be a big brother thing. I, on the other hand, react passively and slowly. Hopefully we'll be a winning combination. 

Next on the sewing list is a receiving blanket! I guess we'll need a few of those?

What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!

Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your blog post or your specific Flickr photo and not your main blog URL or Flickr Photostream. Please be sure and link to your current needle and thREAD post below in the comments, and not a needle and thREAD post from a previous week. If you don't have a blog, please post a photo to the needle & thREAD group at Flickr. 

       Include a link back to this post in your blog post or on your flickr photo page so that others who may want to join the needle and thREAD fun can find us! Feel free to grab a button here (in one of several colors) so that you can use the button to link

A little Bread and Wine with that needlework? (and giveaway winner)

Hello! Hello! How is your January going? I've done just a little sewing. I'm so thrilled with it and can't wait to finish, but my house is filled to the brim with people I love and I've been kind of running an endless circuit from stove to sink to laundry room. And around and around. The noise level is way higher than is our norm. Noise makes me a little nuts. So I ducked out this morning to a place where I could find a London Fog made with almond milk, an internet connection, and some groceries when I'm finished letting my fingers have their say on the keyboard. Yep. I left home to write in a grocery store because it's lots easier to concentrate here:-).

 

Those sweet Sleepover Pajamas are just as darling as I'd hoped. I've had to switch up the fabric a bit in order to have enough and it's taken some very careful cutting, which definitely slows things. Ruffling such nice, plush flannel is sort of tedious and I'll held my breath when I first asked my machine to conquer those layers, but she came through like the true friend she is and all is well in dear flannel ruffle land. I'm only slightly further along than these pictures depict, but I am ever hopeful for weekend sewing.

I'm reading Bread and Wine by Shauna Neiquist. I cannot adequately express how very much I love this book. I hesitated to buy it. I can't eat wheat (or many other grains). I didn't want that title taunting me and I didn't want to read lots of essays about people dipping crusty, hot loaves into fruity, heady olive oil. But I took a chance and I'm so glad I did. I began with the essay, "What My Mother Taught Me." Just beautiful. So often, the Internet makes a woman feel like everyone is thirty-something, cute, and hip and there is nothing after that. Shauna writes so movingly of her mother and how much she values her mother precisely for her wisdom and experience. And her mother reminds me, "the best is yet to come."

After that, I read about a scary hospital experience after her son was born. In that one, I was struck by her father. This woman is teaching me how an extended family grows together! It's really very beautiful and during this wearying holiday season of transition after transition, her perspective offers me hope and a reason to persevere.

As for the whole gluten thing, she's got that covered, too. Her husband cannot tolerate gluten and Shauna writes movingly and compassionately about their experiences. Shauna Niequist has a lovely knack for making her readers feel understood and nurtured and I'm very grateful for her words.

It was great to hear from so many of you last week. I learned two things: (1) You care very deeply about conquering perfectionism and managing your time online in order to be fully present for your families. You want the message in Hands Free Mama . (2) If I bribe you with a great giveaway, I can get you to tell me all about your sewing and reading. Point noted. Stay tuned for more great book giveaways this year.

What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the comments or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!

You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.

GIVEAWAY WINNER:

The winner of Hands Free Mama  is Stephanie K, who said, 

Oh lovely giveaway!

My sewing resolution is to try to make a few items this year. I've been on hiatus for, oh, 6ish years or so. Babies, homeschooling, housekeeping, life in general keeps pushing it out of the way! I hope to make a few tops from a pattern from Sew Liberated and to make at least a dress or two for my three daughters :) Oliver + S pattern I think!

I have a ton of books on my reading list this year. But I think I'm most looking forward to the release of Treasuring Christ When Your Hands Are Full by Gloria Furman. I loved her first book!

Thanks for the book recommendation Stephanie! I'm planning to read the first book while I wait for the second. Send me your address and I"ll get your copy of Hands Free Mama out to you!