the mama: soulemama

I don't know how many of you have heard of soulemama, but I think she is fairly well-known. I've been reading her blog for almost five years now (woah!). I can't remember who directed me towards her blog or how I stumbled across it, but I absolutely adore this woman! Her name is Amanda Blake Soule and she hails from Maine.

I feel inspired by her -- inspired to create, to use what I have, to be resourceful, to be thoughtful, to be intentional, to be simple.

SouleMama is always creating something. Crafting, creating and re-purposing is a way of life for her and her family and this is something I admire. My favourite thing about her is that when I look at the things she has been making, I feel as though I could make them as well. Nothing is too fancy or finicky and everything has an organic/natural feel to it.

Also, SouleMama knits. She knits a lot and she knits lovely things. She knits for herself, she knits for her husband, she knits for her children. The only reason I knit this vest, is because SouleMama knit the same one for her youngest son.

I keep a list of things I want to make in my head. The list is always much greater than my capacity for creating, but it keeps me dreaming. These are a couple things SouleMama has made that I have been dreaming of re-creating for myself.

First of all: Banners. I want one for every occasion! Or even many for every occasion. I absolutely love them! I have attempted making them many a time, but have never had the motivation to actually commit to completing one. The main reason is that I love the mismatched feel of these. I don't have many scraps of fabric so I would have to go out and purchase it all... And I have such a hard time purchasing fabric because then I get too "matchy-matchy" and I hate "matchy-matchy". There-in lies part of the problem.

Look at these though! Aren't they beautiful?!?!?! And fun?!?! I think they are absolutely lovely and I want one in every single room in my house.

And they look so easy to make. I just have to sit down and do it because they would be so easy to make. I have to commit! Maybe I'll call in my own mama for re-enforcements. That lady does not know how to leave a project half-done. 

And this i-cord garland for the Christmas Tree. I have been intending to make this for four years! Every single year I sift through SouleMama's archives to find this lovely little garland. I love the yarn she used and even tried to contact the seller this year, but she no longer sells on-line so I will have to go to my yarn store and find something similarly breath-taking.

I think this would look wonderful on our tree this year. I am especially fond of the colours as they are unconventional for Christmas decorating. If they local yarn store disappoints then I am sure etsy will have something suitable for my own i-cord garland. 

My goal is to make a banner and an i-cord garland by Christmas. I'm going to start small with the banner and just make one that says NOEL. That way I am much more likely to complete it. I'll keep you posted.