lavender & rice pouch

These lavender and rice pouches are a nice way of using up those extra pieces of fabric you have lying about the house. They are quick and easy to make much like the bean bags I shared awhile back! My little one and I found some lovely lavender in the loose herb and tea section of our local co-op. When we got home we mixed it together with a bit of rice to give the pouches some more weight which is nice when laying them atop of weary eyes or when throwing them around the house, as the case may be. It is a good idea to have the pouches sewn together (with a small opening at the top to put the lavender and rice into) and to have a piece of thread on a needle so you are ready to stitch up the pouch once it is full without having to put it down. I also find it is best to leave about a half inch at the top so the pouch can move a bit and curve over the brow. Oh, and I decided to use two different fabrics on each side. One is an open-weave linen which is nice in that the smell of the lavender can really come out! The picture above was taken while we visited relatives who live in Provence. I remember thinking right then and there that I most certainly wanted to be a lavender farmer! It was so beautiful and smelled divine. For now, these pouches will remind me of that lovely lavender filled, homemade cherry and pine nut tart filled day!

some itty bitty notes::

This is a wonderful site for finding all things local. They have a nice section on lavender so you can find out if it is grown near you. You can also order it online directly from lavender farms!

.   .   .   .   .

I have been wanting to make these for awhile now and thanks to Childhood Magic for reminding me once again of the idea!

.   .   .   .   .

Though I don't usually share too much about my family in this space, I did want to say that my sister has written a wonderful wiki article about my grandfather who was the founder of Creative Playthings and one of the first male nursery school teachers in the United States. He was a remarkably creative and inspiring man and you can read about him here... if you want!