Wip let love in & vintage day

The towel is almost done..I am obsessing if it needs more. I added a crochet trim, as adding a fabric border just looked to busy. I am now wondering if it needs some stitching around the hearts. Here's a look..

here it is pre-sewn

I have been dying to use this yarn "seduce " by Berroco

 

So what do you think? I'll give it one more day of thought.

On another note, my mother gave me more of my baby things. This one is my favorite, isn't it sweet!

I guess I am considered vintage now (41)!! Well I am feeling it this week and because of this my 19 yr. old daughter gave me these today...

Isn't she SWEET!

Hope you are experiencing some sweetness today.

love and peace 

Ming

WIP Valentine embroidered tea towel

WIP Valentine embroidered tea towel, a photo by All things Ming on Flickr.

Let love In

“Hate is too big of burden to bear. I have decided to love."

Martin Luther King jr.

Most of us as humans have become hardened throughout our lifetime. 

Like that  ice cream condiment, you know the hard shell one, that you dip the ice cream ... that starts off soft and becomes hard as the outside elements hit it hiding the soft delicious ice cream underneath. Yes, it does add some taste but it's not the good stuff!

  We have to bite into it break it apart to get to that yummy soft ice cream. 

Yup ..that's the good stuff right there!! My youngest in Italy, 3 yrs ago eating Gelato !

This hardening often happens without even knowing it,  It is just what life does. As we make our journey we pick up attachments, fears, identities, anxieties, and conditions that mold us into who we become. Some of these are good and some, well I don't want to say bad, but they harden us. Creating a shell of protection. Sometimes this is necessary for our emotional survival in life. Cause let's face it life can be tough. We pick up a lot along the way. As this happens our true "self" gets burdened.

I often notice how hard or closed off I am when I am driving. There I am, just driving along, thinking all is well and then I notice the white knuckles of my hands gripping the heck out of that steering  wheel. It is a key sign that I need to do an internal check in of my mind. I look for all the places or thoughts that are hardening me, closing me up and making me heavy and becoming burdened, 

The quote above reminds me off this ...of all the heavy or burdening thoughts I can tend to hold onto and carry..Oh how heavy I feel some days! I wouldn't say they are all negative ..but think of it ( another example ) as a heavy hand bag carrying a bunch of "stuff" that we may have once needed and are finished with but still carrying. When we finally notice and say " Wow how did this get so heavy" and clean it out we are surprised at how light and soft it feels... 

In yoga one of the first cues in class is to become soft, put down the mind stuff and open up and become soft . This does not happen instantly ..TRUST ME!! It takes constant reminders and internal "check ins" Yet if we remember a few ques it may help...Open...Soften...and Let Love ...In  and watch that hard shell melt away or that heavy handbag become light and reveal our true nature. A nature that I believe is open and full of LOVE

 
So here is my creative inspiration this week...

work in progress embroidered  tea towel

I just love this print...sweet isn't it?

 I need to finish the applique and add some fabric or crochet trim. Perfect for Valentines Day!

 and I finally got some of that winter weather i have been longing for!

It's not much but I will take it !  

 Peace and Love

Ming 

  

 

 

Where is winter ???? and a frosty giveaway!

Hello Hello,, where are you winter ? I was so looking forward to the supposedly hard Winter we are forecast-ed to have ? It's been rather gloomy in Nj with lots of rain and rather warm temps. 

My gloomy backyard

 What is going on !? The wood pile is stacked ready, sweaters are out of storage and waiting and so am I!

I know some people think I am crazy but I love the winter, I love the stillness, I love the frosty air, I love the winter sky during the full moon. The luster it gives the landscape below. There is such a mediative quality to Winter. I love the fact that it is time to withdraw a bit into a semi hibernation . It's a time to regroup, rest and prepare for the Spring renewal.

Speaking of which, it totally bothers me ( yes I said totally ..something my 5 yr old is into saying these days) that the minute New Years passes all you see and here about is Spring . Winter just started about 3 weeks ago seriously..totally ?

 Well as they say if you want something done, you just have to do it yourself . So the other day I made some snowflakes of my own. Take a look...

I went with the very popular pink and teal color scheme.

I love to hang these in my windows

All three as part of my monthly giveaway

To go with the snowflakes I made my Rustic Minestrone soup, Winter may not be here but the flu season is ..This soup is packed with nutrients!

Rustic Minestrone soup

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 large onion
1 cup carrots sliced
4 stalks celery sliced 
1 head cauliflower cut into florets ( keep them on the big side they will fall apart)
2 bunches Kale 
1 cup cooked Farro ( this is like an Italian barely , so you can substitute with barely if you can't find it) 
4 cups broth ( I used Imagine "no chicken" broth ) veggie or chicken 
1can whole tomatoes 

Cover bottom of soup pot with olive oil , add onion sauté a few minutes then add carrots and celery . 
Sauté another five minutes. Add the cauliflower cook another few minutes . You want to give all the vegetables time to "sweat " in the pan . Add the broth , tomatoes and salt and pepper .Cook for about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the Farro or barely as directed on package. Drain when finished.

Back to the soup ... Add the Kale and cook about another 10 to 15 minutes ...add the Farro/barley to the soup add sparingly at first because the grains will soak up a lot of the broth as it sits.  Sprinkle with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese if you like . Serve and enjoy!

And if your Winter is lacking snowflakes as well, just leave me a comment and these three snowflakes will be yours to add a bit of sparkle to your window. Part of my giveaway this month.! (i will pick randomly) Also I will have some kits this weekend in my Etsy store as well!

Have a great weekend and be well! 
Ming

P.S. just saw the forecast ....some winter temps heading our way ..No snow though :-(

Holiday 2012 & Happy 2013

Happy New Year! I hope this post find you all well and happy. It was a busy one around here and I am sad to see it go. We had a lot of family time and family visits. I am so sorry to see that when New Years day hits that the celebrations seem to end .  We are right in the middle of the 12 days of Christmas!! What about the Epiphany!! Well our decorations stay up till " Little Christmas" and I am looking to plan a holiday get together next year during this week. Wouldn't it be nice, why don't you join me.

I'm not big on resolutions (me no bueno). Yet I am hoping that the insanely busy fall that sidetracked me has passed and winter will allow me some space to work on this blog and get more into the etsy store !!!

Here is a peak what went on around here...                   

Decorations

The Santa room

My homemade Caramels with Tahitian Vanilla Sea Salt

My Hubby's Bar

A Christmas Eve dusting ...just perfect

 The Kiddies!!!

my gift tags for the Holiday Tag Along

 More decorations...

Never forget the real reason ..beauty, love, compassion to all

Wishing you all a wonderful new year filled with light and love!
Ming

Presents or being Present ?

I'm going to switch gears here, yesterday sewing, today yoga.  All Things Ming encompasses all aspects of me so I figure this month is a great time to add some yoga.

A bit of a back story:

I have been studying a lineage of yoga philosophy with an amazing teacher for about 10 yrs now. I spend a few weeks a year with her immersed in these teachings and then spend the rest of the year applying them. Well at least that is my intention! That is where the real work comes in, living in everyday world and doing this work. Some yogis renunciate from the world and spend their lifetimes in these caves doing amazing sadhana (practice). Others do what is called a householders practice which means to stay in the every day world. Not that I remotely close to be in a league with any of these amazing beings. However, I was lead to my teacher and the teachings and like a moth to flame I was immersed. I am in the presence of some AMAZING practitioners who blow me away with their knowledge and grace. And yes some times I cant not even keep up with the lingo but as my teacher says "It is not the words that are important but the experience and your consciousness" So here is some  yogic "philosophy" lets say and in layman's terms.

Our world is vibrating at an amazing pace these day. Everything and everyone is working at such a higher and intense frequency, Just look at the weather recently. It is an incredible indicator.  

 We are in what yoga calls the "Kali Yuga" the dark age. An age of severe discourse and destruction. Yet Kali the diety is often shown as being very fierce at first, she isn't called the destroyer for nothing!  She starts out dark and fierce. Once you surrender to her fierceness and let her in to destroy parts of the "ego" She becomes such a divine force or "Ma". After the force come the divinity. Or lets just say she eats away all our junk and helps to bring us back to an clearer state. 

Kali Ma fierce but beautiful.

This month marks a planetary event that will not happen for like another 28,00 years. It is going to be extremely powerful.  

Yes ,Yes, we all know the hype about 12/21/12 and the whole Mayan calendar, yet it is just the end of their calendar cycle.  Do we know when things end or if they ever do. Everything is a cycle and in a constant continuum. 

What I have been shown is that there is going to be a shift in consciousness. A shift in thinking and action. A shift that can unite or divide us. With this planetary line up and the energies that are here we need to be ever so present in our thoughts and actions. Because what every thought or action we will take will be magnified significantly. For the good or the bad. If we are deep in pity and doubt, negative thought, pettiness, and "I" well it just going to be destructive. Yet we can not ignore these aspects of ego because they are a part of us . There can not be good without bad or joy without sorry. What can we do, we can work towards being more present in our thought and actions. Really be aware of what we do and how we think. We can acknowledge the "I' in ourselves and really work towards being open and spacious in our actions and everyday dealings of life.

I read a great article called the "Zombie Apocalypse"from a homesteading sight that I follow. The title was a bit misleading but it sparked my interest. The gist of it was that when people think of survivalism they tend to think of "their" family and "their"survival . But the important  thing was to think of "we" and "community" to survive. That it would not behove anyone to just think of "them" as a single for survival. The only way for one to survive would be for us all to survive ...to think "community" and "we". 

Maybe this is the shift, we need to be more in the "we" than the "I".  To let go of all the junk that we hold on too. Yes, I know this sound like very common knowledge. But at the intense energetic vibration we are working from I think this very common knowledge is extremely important and will be very magnified. We need to get expansive in all aspects. We need to work from this place.

We are in the Holiday season where we run our selves a bit ragged, maybe losing sight of the importance of what the season is about ( whatever that is to you, Christmas, Hanukkah, the Solstice) and it is going to be an intense one . So maybe the best gift to give is taking a breath, being a bit still, looking at the quality of our mind and actions, seeing what is. Lets not worry about the "PRESENTS"too much ( well maybe just a bit, they are lovely) and enjoy the greatest gift and be "PRESENT".

Happy Holidays and Namaste and Thanks for reading. It was a bit of a switch of topics, but hey my blog description warns you !  WHo knows what will be next with my brain, Hey look a chicken! ;)

BAD BAD Blogger!

Well, I could give you millions of reasons why I have been such a bad blogger. Lets just say my little guy's new adjustment to kindergarten, a hurricane, a trip to Disney, Thanksgiving, and a let's not forget the household of nine.
BAD BAD time to start a blog . OK as my favorite actor, the late Bernie Mac would say, "NUFF SAID"!

So lets just jump into it, I joined a Tag -a -Long !! Making three Christmas tags a week with only what you have in your stash!! How hard is that for me, I am itching to get to JoAnn's, but I will not. I will stick to the rules (yeah right just like the Ayurvedic fall food cleanse I tried !!).heehee.

It is the creation of two of my favorite bloggers, Amy from Nana Company and Kristyne from Pretty by Hand. Click on over and check out their adorable creations! These lovely ladies are such an inspiration. I must say I am bit addicted to the Tag-a-Long. There is even a Flickr group. Make sure you to take a peak.

 It came at a good time too. My little guy has been home all week sick with walking pneumonia and I CANT LEAVE THE HOUSE !!!! Which means NO JoANN"S or QUILT STORES for me. NO COOKING, NO CLEANING and one other thing NO SLEEP ! So I did a quick run to my work area in the basement grabbed some stuff and got started . I did start a week late, but here is what I came up with so far.

A little Hexi fun

A little bit of French General

Swaroski crystals, Tonkin thread ,Weeks floss in "Noel"

My third tag , for my "star " that one is for my aspiring actress daughter!

Now back to the workshop to get started on the next designs!! Come on join in!