A bit of sewing

A snow day, an evening entirely alone for the first time in 3 years (I think), and a cancelled appointment meant a bit of extra time this week to finish up the list of "To Do's", therefore freeing up some time for a bit of sewing--the first in a long haul.  

First up, possibly my new favorite little kid pants.  These were made in 5 minutes, honestly! with helpers.  I used a women's petite (though it looked pretty big to me) turtle neck and traced a pair paints with the neck as the waist.  Pin, sew, cut, wear.  I'd love to add some cute ribbon to the cuffs, but seriously that's not gonna happen.  Maybe for the next pair.  

 

 

 

Finally got around to framing and hanging this sweet drawing by Kale.  Its from a few months ago, some of his very first people.  I love how the first guy looks concerned, the second pissed off, and the third all ho-hum.  Or maybe its a series of the same person...

 

Finally, I made it to that deep pile of thingstobemendedbutprobablyneverwillbe  (though I didn't dig very deep).  Kale's only two pairs of jeans got some new sets of knees, and are looking even cuter for it.  I used iron on patches from the inside, and stitched some scrap material on the outer knees. 

 

 

This book has got me dreaming up all kinds of deliciousness.  Last week I had a bit of a stomach bug, and while spending a day all nauseous and pukey finished reading it.  Of course that day none of it sounded very good--but on day two after having eaten nothing but Popsicles and mint tea for 24 hours it all sounded fantastic.  Never mind the B.R.A.T. diet.  After testing the waters with a piece of G.F. toast, I dove right into roasted cauliflower and macaroons with chocolate ganache.  Yum,  I highly recommend;  The book, not the puking.  

Make it!

These past two weeks we've all been feeling creative.  Rob's been hard at work rebuilding  the bridge, he and I are brainstorming ideas for a platform bed, and the kids and I  have been painting, cutting, sewing, knitting, you name it.  There's barely a surface that isn't claimed by some ongoing project, and since birthday preparations have begun (Kale is 3 this week!)  the studio is a wreck.  Its all good.  

  

Kale's first "sewing" project.  He's hoping it will be a sweater for his new baby cousin.  

 

 

And his first people ever...he made them as gifts for his friends.  I Love these!

 

Painting before breakfast.  

 

The kitty family (made entirely from old shirts, wool, and buckwheat hulls) flew out west for my niece's 4th birthday.   

 

Wylie's sweater (nearly done) and a little baby project Juniper has just begun for her new baby cousin (due in just a few weeks!)

Its that time of year---throw another log on the fire, put the kettle on, roll up your sleeves and get to it!  

Mr. Mean Boss Man, or 2 crafts in 5 minutes or less

In an attempt to prevent an argument over a coveted Playmo Guy I came up with this tiny robot superhero, complete with a CO2 cartridge rocket booster.  The whole project took less than three minutes, and he was quickly adopted and superbly dubbed "Mr. Mean Boss Man" by Kale, who is always up for a bad guy.   

 

                                                     Mr. Mean Boss Man fleeing the scene

Soon afterwards, though not related, Kale insisted he needed a skate board shirt--who doesn't?  I searched through his basket of clothes, and even into storage thinking surely there must be one, but no.  Not to fear.  Skateboards are quick and easy to draw.  When I said we'd make one he was thrilled and requested 

"a skateboard with a little boy and a mama".  Really I would have loved to make him that shirt--but I wasn't quite up for the art involved in painting a little boy and mama that I would want to look at several times a week.  Fortunately our Monkey boy is always up for a monkey, and I had a bit of sock monkey fabric left over, and somehow located iron-on transfer paper purchased 2 years ago.  

In 5 minutes we had a skateboarding monkey shirt ready to go.  

 

I think we may need to make a bicycling monkey shirt sometime soon.  Or, maybe a Mr. Mean Boss Man shirt.  

I would wear that.  

  

morsels

Last week was like summer again, and we made the most of it--especially knowing that a week of much needed rain was headed our way.  A brief glimpse, and very few words about what we've been up to, and a few new things around here:

Boats in the outdoor tub.

Brothers digging in the yard (clothing optional).

New leaves!  These were trimmed by a road crew and we couldn't let these tiny leaves wilt just hours after opening.   

A little planting in the garden:  peas, carrots, beets, kale, and assorted greens.  And we built a frog pond. 

Also new to the garden, a sink!  Just in time for our first harvest, dandelion greens (and we didn't even plant them!). 

New fire truck jammies for our truck loving toddler, details soon.   

Summery snacks in amazing colors

Lovey, Maxi , Sleepy-Peep,   

and Betty Lou,  Oh my.

monday morsels: yummy

Right now, in this season I feel like I'm surrounded by yumminess. 

Hot chocolate with whipped cream while decorating the Christmas tree--yummy (add a little chocolate liquor for the adults).  

This morning Juniper wanted candy at breakfast.  Mama:  "Um no, candy is not a good choice for breakfast"   Juniper: "OK, but hot chocolate is a healthy choice for breakfast because it makes you warm for these cold wintry days"  Never mind that it was just over 30 degrees, with little more than a hint of snow on the ground.  "All right, yes, hot chocolate would be yummy with breakfast".  It was.      

* The kids have been watching some of our favorite holiday specials.  So far "Merry Christmas Charlie Brown" and "How the Grinch Stole Christmas".  Tomorrow Wylie is pushing hard for "STARWARS" prequel one, which I'm pretty sure is not actually a holiday film, but I'm feeling pretty generous these days.  

*This is our favorite wreath.  It is one Rob's mom made years ago and we inherited along with many of his ornaments from when he was a child.  Some year I'd like to make a few of these as gifts.  I haven't looked for a pattern (and probably never will) but it seems to be just three long, stuffed tubes braided together.  Its hard to tell in the pic but the red and green are a tiny wildflower print, and the white has polka dots.  Its very kitschy in really wonderful way. 

* The pine cone is the Maine State flower.  We've been collecting a lot of pinecones for various gift making and other projects and have noticed this:  some are really open and beautiful, and others are tightly closed and kind of skinny and fugly.  Hmmm.  Did the skinny ones fall before they opened?  If so, will they open if we keep them alive? We stuck these skinny dudes in water to see if they would open up for us.  I'll keep you posted.

* We added a few wintry touches to some corners of the house including these framed photos from last winter, and a make over for the seasonal table which had been terribly neglected since last spring.
Juniper sewed the little snowman herself.

* A sneak peak at a few little friends being created in the studio.

* Kale has perfected the side shuffle (think high school basket ball warm-ups).  He thinks he is so cool--and he totally is.  And those dimples--yummy!

* Chubby baby wrists, more yum.  

* Also yummy:  short bread cookies--the store-bought kind in different shapes sprinkled with sugar (though not gluten free), and this cardamom-chocolate-bark. We may be making a second batch of this, with a little more cardamom (we use dried, pre-ground and maybe it wasn't as strong as the pods suggested in the recipe).  Yum!

Back to School (or not)

I always welcome fall and the balance it brings:  cooling things down a bit, slowing the pace, and drawing us closer to home.  I love that the natural, seasonal changes coincide with (or perhaps create?) the desire I see in myself, and my kids, to settle in and begin some quiet work.  

I particularly appreciate homeschooling at this time of year, feeling grateful that we can still be outside enjoying the last warm days,  rather than getting caught up in the hectic back to school pace that signals September for so many families.  

September is my favorite month, but I remember when it wasn't.  Actually, I remember the year that I realized it was my favorite month, that it no longer created a twisted knot of anticipation and dread I had associated with having to return to school.  Wylie was three years old and Juniper 1.  Neither child was in school, I wasn't working at all, and we had the whole season ahead of us to ramble in the woods and play on the beach, and read stories in the grass.  September is the best month for all of those things--and so many kids (and adults as well) don't get to enjoy it. 

In the Sunflowers, September 2006 

This is not to say that homeschooling is lovely all the time.  There are many days when I think fondly of the big yellow bus that could come and take my children away!  All day!  For Free!  And, there is also a bit of nostalgia I have from early childhood of having my own cubby and my own teacher, not to mention a new back pack and lunch box and pencils (I really do love school supplies).  Sometimes people ask me, "why  do you choose to homeschool?--and I don't have an easy answer.  (More on that here).

Hunting for Monarch Caterpillars, 2008

But, this is what I do know.  When my children were infants I always felt capable.  From the moment they were born I was a confident mother.  It just felt like second nature to nurse them on demand, and sleep with them in bed, and to wear them close throughout the day.  I didn't always know how to make them stop crying, or how to help them latch just right, but I always knew that I was doing it well.  That they would be all right because of the way we were parenting them.

When Wylie was around four years old there was a shift.  I don't remember any exact moment, just this creeping realization that I was no longer as sure of my parenting practices.  I began second guessing myself, and trying to figure out what I was doing wrong, or what I could change in order to be better.  I read a lot of parenting books.  I processed a lot with friends.  I cried.  For me, parenting babies was simple, but children were a different matter.  I didn't feel so sure of what I was supposed to be doing.  

Except for school.  Whenever the topic of preschool came up, I knew it wasn't right.  When they were babies I hadn't planned that we would homeschool, but now that they have become children I know that they should learn at home. 

Now, after 8 years of this parenting gig, I still have a lot of uncertainty.  But, inside I know that homeschooling is what is best.  I can't say exactly why.  I know it won't always be perfect, and that I won't always know just how to teach them what they need, or be the best mom to them all the time.  But I'm grasping at intuition.  I'm taking this feeling in my gut that carried me through three beautiful babyhoods, and doing my best to follow it through the maze of their childhoods as well.  

Hunting monarch caterpillars, 2011

On Monday we'll be starting up a regular schedule of school work again, after taking a break for the summer.  I'm feeling pretty organized and excited to have some kind of routine around here after all of the crazy travel and running about we do in the summer.  I'm ready to have a few "at home" days where we don't have to leave home for any reason.  I'm ready to spend some focused time with my kids, following their lead,  learning along with them, and enjoying that we're not in school.

Oh, and I'm ready for a few new school supplies.  Here's what we've got so far: 

* School supply bag for Wylie, from scraps.
* New, re-fillable pens (less waste), tape, erasers, modeskin journals, and pencil grips from our local office supply store.  You can buy pens and pencils individually so you only get what you need, and no packaging!

* Snack bags and sandwich wrap for Juniper.  These are made from laminated cotton from Fiddlehead Artisan Supply in Belfast.  There were a few examples in the store that I copied--though not exactly.  This stuff is a pain to work with, but I'm pretty happy with how they came out.  Wylie's are in process.

I've also been doing a crazy (for me) amount of crafting for various birthdays this month:  bags, tops, headbands, and more!  Also, a birthday for me!

 Morsels will be a little late this week.  Happy Monday!

Goldbug and other crafts

We've really been crazy about Goldbug around here lately.  For Christmas we got Kale Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go, because he loves cars, trucks and all things that go.

But, turns out, that while he does love all of the diggers, dumpers, motorcycles, etc. in the book, his favorite part of the book is Goldbug.

He is hidden somewhere on each page, sometimes driving his own little vehicle, other times with just his tiny gold eyes peeking out from somewhere.  And, I kid you not, this baby can find him every time!  It is pretty darn funny to see.

So, the other day I made him this tiny little Goldbug of his own.  It's needle felted, and tiny, so it only took about 15 minutes. Wylie has been hiding it for Kale to find, and we've all enjoyed setting Goldbug up in funny little places.  The kids want me to make Kale a bigger Goldbug to sleep with at night, but I think half of the appeal is his tininess.  We'll see.

Unrelated,  I've also recently finished some long awaited projects:

I've been thinking about how to knit a brimmed hat for a while, and came up with this.  I basically knit a regular hat, folded the ribbing in front, and picked up stitches for the bill.  I knit the bill with two strands of yarn together, on the same size needle, to make it a bit more stiff.  I'm thinking of maybe sewing in a lining on the bottom of the bill to make it even more sturdy.  However, once I start wearing something I hardly ever get back to working on it.  This was knit in Peace Fleece, which I love-- purchased our local yarn shop, Heavenly Socks Yarns.

The sweater is the oatmeal pullover, found here. Knit in Cascade's Ecological Wool.

And, I finally got to these, fully lined pants, made completely from scraps. I cut them out months ago, but got to sew them last weekend.   He's been wearing them everyday.  I'm hoping to make a few more pairs, reversible for spring.  These were made without a pattern, inspired by these.
Thats all for now.