stocked up.

do you see this people???

 

 no? here. let me zoom in.

 yarn!

beautiful, BEAUTIFUL yarn.

we've been celebrating in the city with family and stocking up to return home. i'll be back soon with loads of handmade holiday highlights.

xx

christmassy things

it's beginning to feel a lot like christmas! the polar express is playing on the tube, i'm sipping on a cuppa joe and being fueled by these guys...peppermint whoopie pies.

 i see a few late nights ahead of me, tonight being one of them....finishing up some chirstmas gifts. actually... finishing up all christmas gifts. i have not completed or wrapped a single one yet!

 

buon natale!

 (i just discovered this christmas tune by nat king cole and i can't get enough of it.

  i play it over and over again.

 merry christmas in italian.

 buon natale by nat king cole, itunes it!

it's makes me really happy.)

boun natale!

wishing you lovely sights, yummy smells, and happy sounds of the season.

a new tradition.

peppermint bark

i love the name.

 the white chocolate.

the layers.

the peppermint crunches.

the look.

if you haven't tried this stuff, you must. it's divinity. a new tradition for us. this is my second year making this three layered wonder... and now i don't think i can do a christmas with out it!  i discovered the recipe via soulemama.... but the actual recipe is from orangette which is actually Bon Appétit’s recipe. i love how a good recipe is passed on and shared again and again! you must try it!

another batch...

of burlap.

it could quite possibly be my favorite fiber to work with.

 

 it's free. it's durable. it's rugged.

it has some serious character.

sunrise...sunset.

we don't visit the tundra much these days. between the darkness and the cold..it's hard to find the time. i've been missing it...i need to make time... for sanity's sake.  i went for a ski the other day.. it was cold, crisp, and clear...

sunrise: 11:46am

sunset: 4:01pm

4 hours and 15 minutes of daylight.

a loss of 3 mins and 34 seconds from yesterday's total.

sigh

a baby bonnet

or a helmet hat...
i made this hat for a new born baby... but it turned out quite large. i suppose my gauge was off. ..hmmmm. it's a fun knit, so i think i'll give it another go.
it's another great project from more last minute knitted gifts. 

and the winner is.....

thanks to all who left a comment. i loved making this scarf and if i could, i'd whip one out for each of you!

 xx loves, mori

our tree.

i've said this before.. but we don't have trees here. we have bushes. there are a few sporadic pine trees around... but if we were to cut one down for our christmas tree people would notice. so, people cut down bushes for their christmas trees. we did that once....and it was nice.... but i didn't feel satisfied... perhaps cause growing up my mom always got us a real tree, she had to order it, or called someone in a village with trees and ask them to put one on the plane for us. it was lovely.. and special and smelled so delicious.
my mom loves her tree. every year she decorates it with blue lights and dozens of handmade ornaments. it's beautiful. it never completely feels like christmas until mom's tree goes up. we'll be spending christmas this year with my ma and pa.. but we wanted to put up a tree for ourselves as well. we didn't want to spend big bucks on a real one since we won't be here... and we didn't want to cut down a bush this year. so, we decided to do something different.
we made one. (and by we, i mean my husband)
out of driftwood.
it's perfect.
we googled driftwood christmas trees and i was amazed and inspired by the variety of drirftwood christmas trees out there.
here is our version.
our christmas tree.
with blue lights.
love.

happy holidays!

 p.s. two day's left in the giveaway! leave a comment a couple posts down.

b is for....

blueberry banana bread!!!

blueberry banana bread

 preheat oven to 350, grease bottoms only of two bread pans

1 1/4 C sugar

1/2 C butter

cream together

add

2 eggs

1 teas vanilla

3 bananas

stir

add

2 1/2 C flour

1/2 teas baking powder

1/2 teas baking soda

pinch of salt

stir

add

1 C blueberries

fold in gently

split batter in half, put in greased pans

  bake for 1 hour.

enjoy!

perfect for a snowy december morning, with a cup'pa joe.

p.s. don't forget to comment on the post below for the giveaway!

a morimade giveaway.

i wish there was a yarn store in town... sigh
lately, i've been checking out knitting books from the library and have been inspired to make some spur of the moment knits. unfortunately, i can't just run to the yarn store to pick up the threads needed for my urge to knit. (due to the fact that there are no yarns store in town)
frustrating.
i didn't plan for these projects last time we flew to the city..... sigh
i've been dying to make this scarf for weeks... but i only have this one skein of ORANGE chunky yarn. it's not what i envisioned for this project... but it's all i have.. so i went for it.
an orange scarf.
in the works.
it's actually turning out quite lovely... but orange isn't my color... nor can i think of anyone who might appreciate an orange scarf  for christmas. SOOOOOOOOO, here's the GIVEAWAY! if orange is your color, and you like the looks of this scarf.... just leave a comment below before next wednesday, Dec. 8th. i'll randomly draw a winner...and the scarf is yours!

this lovely scarf pattern is from more last-minute knitted gifts 

 the yarn is wool-ease thick and quick, 20% wool, 80% acrylic, in pumpkin.

i'll post another picture of this orange beauty when it is finished..so come back and take a peek!

here she is! finished.

i took her out in the blizzard we are now having for a quick shot.. she held up quite well with winds gusting to 30 and heavy snow.

for sale!

the big craft bazaar was this past weekend here in town. my mama and i shared a table of handmade goodness..... it was full and fun. we had a bit of everything...from hats to pin cushions, to burlap bags and knitted socks.

this bag was one of my favorite pieces for sale..made of a heavy weight fabric and burlap. this lovely lady snatched it up and i had to take a photo before she walked away!

i love handmade everything.... buying it, selling it, seeing it, making it. it all makes me very happy. this holiday season i have pledged to gift handmade....and encourage you to consider it as well. whether you make it yourself or support another artist... handmade gifts are best. (in my humble opinion)

p.s. stay tuned for tundragypsy's first handmade giveaway! details SOON.

happy owls.

last christmas i participated in a holiday exchange hosted by sew liberated. from my exchange partner, kristi, from giggles down under, i received these sweet little owls. since then, these three guys have hung on my christmas tree, sat perched on a shelf in my sewing room, been played with over and over and over again by my lovelies.. and have brought us lots of smiles and happy thoughts. we love them.
so...... i've gotten a bit tired of looking for those guys over and over again after the lovelies have played with them and decided i must make a few just for them.
i tried a few different fibers... corduroy, wool, burlap, linen... and have loved creating these little guys.

wishing you all smiles and happy thoughts on this thanksgiving day!

caribou-bobs

there's something about grilling when there's snow on the ground that makes it extra tasty. i mean, grilling is tasty all the time... but during the winter i think we appreciate and savor the smells and tastes from the grill a bit more.... probably because we don't do it as often....probably because it's too cold out.
this past weekend we grilled up some caribou bobs.

i make a pretty scrumptious marinade for our shish-kabobs.. (if i may say so myself). in case you want to try some of this deliciousness... i'll share the secret recipe. i don't measure..so this is a rough estimate.

shish-kabob marinade

1/4 C olive oil

1/4 C soy sauce

2-3 Tbs ketchup

1 Tbs (or so) worcestershire

1Tbs (or so) oyster sauce

1 Tbs (or so) rice vinegar
3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

pepper

* use immediately or refrigerate.

i like to marinate the meat for a few hours in this concoction before sending it to the grill... but it's good to use right away as well....and i use this marinade for all sorts of meats.. this time it was caribou.

enjoy friends!

AND, since i'm on a food kick, we celebrated the lovely o's birthday this weekend and i made blueberry delight for dessert.

perhaps i'll share this recipe another time.

it's pure goodness.

hats.

i make hats.
my hats make friends.
it's quite fun to see who they pick.

feeling refreshed.

after a few days in the city, i always come back feeling full and refreshed. here's why:

a qiviut hat.

qiviut (kiv-ee-ute) is the warmest, softest, most amazing fiber ever in the world, and i'm so not even exaggerating. it comes from musk-ox... the cool, prehistoric looking animals that are scattered across the tundra. if you want more information about qiviut, go here, or here.. or you could just google it. anyway, i got my hands on some of this amazing fiber and whipped up my first lace knitted qiviut hat. this skein of yarn was actually a blend of 1/3 qiviut, 1/3 alpaca, and 1/3 merino wool. i have a another skein of qiviut that i actually combed out of a hide myself and will share more on that later.  i wanted to practice lace knitting with this blended skein before i indulge in the really really good stuff.  i found the pattern for this hat on ravelry....called the snowdrop lace hat. it's a simple pattern and was a great intro to lace knitting.



Here's a photos of the beautiful beasts, if you want a better view of these guys go here.