this is marzipan

brand new skills.

2012-02-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

Santa brought Owen a REAL bow and arrow for christmas. I was surprised (by myself)! Or maybe not so much after all, because I have clear memories of reading the Narnia books as a kid and spending hours imagining myself as Susan.

Our parks system has a little, barely-used archery range I drive past all the time but have never visited. But last week we finally pulled over and gave it a shot (ha, bad pun intended). Until now he'd just been shooting it around the backyard, which is great, but I think it was extra fun to have the line of hay bale targets to aim for.

I don't know what will come of this--a lifelong passion or a passing interest, or something in between--but I don't feel particularly worried about that part of it. He's at an age where so much is about becoming and potential: he's reading, discovering new music, coming into his own socially. It's all happening, but not quite done, and I'm relishing the moment.

As for myself, I was surprised to win a spot in Xanthe Berkeley's upcoming e-course, creating time capsules . It's going to focus on taking pictures with the aim of stringing them together in short, storytelling video montages--something I've never tried, so I'm excited to stumble into the opportunity to stretch my limits with this photography thing I've come to love so much. I've also never taken an e-course, so that in itself should be a new experience.

And Elliott? He is doing just fine as our new bike rider. Look at him go!

this and that.

2012-01-12T07:43:00.000-08:00

well! time for the one week+ review of those resolutions, right? it turns out that I have been here at this blog no more than usual, but I am really digging the 365 project and the daily photo-and-words journaling it requires. So if you don't see me here, check over on flickr. I'll try to add a more prominent link whenever that long-awaited blog update happens. we'll see.

also, I have made the bed.... sometimes.

I am at a coffee shop and the couple at the next table is being loud--he's explaining that "See, the north pole is water surrounded by land, and the south pole is land surrounded by water." She seems suuuuuper interested. As for me, it makes me think of chiasmus--this and that, that and this--and how I never thought about the globe being one.

In crafty news, I did some gift sewing and generally spent a ton of time knitting over the holidays, but now that I am back I'm on less of a tear--just a few rows here and there, and more time organizing and cleaning. A good way to start the year, as far as I'm concerned. I've been cataloguing my yarns on ravelry--I remember Beth writing about what a big difference that made for her in terms of being able to use what she has on hand. Several months ago, I stumbled upon an immense number of high end yarns at a thrift store--I think some LYS must have been offloading stock, or maybe even went out of business?--and now I need to work through them all instead of buying new.

And, finally, I did a long-overdue cleanup and furniture rearrange in our kids' room. The two boys share a pretty tiny space, so moving their kitchen in there meant taking out the rocking chair. Made me a little sad, but it's by the living room window now, which is just as good a place for snuggling and reading.

I also managed to clear out one of the two strange little cubbies in their space--they are two cube-shaped under-stairs nooks that someone carved out, and they'd been stuffed with toys and costumes for ages. Now this one, which sits about 2 1/2 feet off the ground, is for reading and playing, and the costumes got their own bin in the floor-level one. We're all pretty jazzed about it, as you can see.

Anyone else out there busy with midwinter cleaning? Have any organizational tips--or at least a surprising chiasmus to share? I'll take whatever I can get.

be it so resolved.

2012-01-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

[january 1.]

happy new year, bloglandia. I'm finding myself with an unexpected break in the day, and feel myself drawn here. the holidays were lovely and deserve their own post, but right now I feel like writing about this New Year of ours.

I'm usually not a resolution type of gal. I think mine for 2011, offered halfheartedly to a yoga teacher who gently prodded, was to "drink more water." some days I do, I guess. I have nearly given up on the diet sodas, as of the last few months, and it was a decision not consciously connected to the water thing--but now that I think of it, maybe that early intention yielded unexpected fruit. That's the way it goes, I think: we mean to, ask for, pray about, angst over, all these choices and goals for ourselves. For our lives. And what we get turns out to be something completely different, and unexpectedly wonderful. So I think I'll seize the moment, or the mood, and jot down a few of these intentions that have been springing to my mind the past few days--things I've been working on, or want to. Ideas that I'm a little scared to say in public. Places where I don't want to ask for help, but almost certainly need it. Efforts I will probably abandon in a week or a month or a season, but which may leave me a little bit better for the trying.

more time recording and documenting: I love this blog space and wish I more often made the time to visit it. I also read, last year, and loved, this post on keeping a journal, and I'd like to try it or something similar. Finally, I think I am starting a 365 project, in which I commit to taking a picture a day for the year. Erika has some great words on how it shaped her year in 2010. I already take a lot of pictures, but doing it this way will be both a drain and an invigoration, I think.
less time being a perfectionist. This goal is directly related to the one above--too often I avoid writing or sharing or photographing something because I haven't had time to format it or edit it properly, or because it doesn't seem noteworthy enough. I'd like to let go of that habit, and instead be more present, more spontaneous, less judgmental.
make our bed more often. (this is perhaps in direct conflict with the goal above, but oh well.)
learn to bake a pie. True story--I never make a pie crust; I either use frozen or get someone else to make the pie for me.
yell less. This is an ongoing parenting goal for me--I don't do it that often, but even when I do I feel like it's not productive, nor is it the best I can do for my kids.
sew more for myself. I was super proud of the top I made last year and I wear it often. I have several partly-finished projects I want to wrap up, and more I'd like to try.
revamp this blog.
call my family more often.
call my friends more often.
visit my sister in NYC.
say yes when I can, and no when I can't.

That's the list--for today, anyhow--it seems longish, but I think that gives me a higher chance of being able to say I achieved at least one of these things by the end of 2012. Or else I'll achieve nothing listed here, which can only mean I will have found something else altogether to be proud of.

seriously good cake.

2011-12-17T04:35:00.000-08:00

I recommend you go make yourself one of these cakes. Especially if you think you aren't into whole-wheat baking, you are in for a surprise and a treat. I have made two of these in the past couple of months, and ate the second one more or less by myself.

The recipe comes from one of my newer food blog loves, Sweet Amandine -- Jess pairs gorgeous prose and pictures with an unassuming selection of recipes that always manage to be exactly what I want to make... right. now. I've had good luck making a few of her baked goods with the kids, which is just what I need in a recipe--directions so well-written I can keep up with them in the midst of unpredictability.

yum.

not-so-recent knits: part 1

2011-12-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

It rained for two days this week; the predicted overnight turn to snow didn't pan out, but I know one of these days, soon, it will. In wool socks and galoshes I shuttle a carful of kids to school, each of us keeping a mental (or loudly spoken) countdown of days-left-until-break. We go to bed early and wake up in darkness, we listen to carols and watch as more and more houses add sparkling lights and tinsel trees to their yards. I think of faraway friends and family and recount holiday memories as I walk or drive or dream through it all.

And so it is winter, or almost, and I feel knitting season officially upon us. "Knitting season" is something new to me, a born-and-raised Floridian. But it's real, as real as the crunch of snow (and the shine of snot on my kids' coat sleeves--ew). As many nights as I can avoid falling asleep at kiddie-bedtime, my hands are busy with gift knitting or with my ongoing project for myself (my first Big Knit--more on that later). But before I move on to the new and in-process, I thought I would go back and pick up a few projects completed over the summer, or even last winter and spring--the ones I finished knitting but never finished blogging, for one reason or another. Maybe it was too warm to write about knitting, even if I still found the time to do it. But now that problem is long gone, and you would probably like nothing better than curl up with a cup of hot something-or-other and read and look and link. Or else you would have moved on by now. Shall we?

These are the finished mittens I previewed in this post last winter. I finished them, they got worn a lot, and now they are WAY too small. Such is life. I used the basic method in Morehouse Farm Merino Knits--the Buggy Mittens, minus the bugs. It was such an easy-to-understand technique that I was able to repeat (sans book) it this winter for the new-and-improved (i.e., made for big paws) red mittens.

The yarns are a combination of thrifted and swapped wools and cottons--the browns are Brown Sheep Company's Top of the Lamb and the same ones I used for this Thorpe:

(also pictured: fisherman sweater, circa last fall's jury duty...)

Look how versatile it is. Also, it's been a year and I have yet to learn the crochet stitch to finish the edges so I think we're just going to go with it like this, in all its helmet-y, hood cozy-ing glory.

The blue yarn from the mittens also turns up in this hat, Exhibit A in my case for Why Baby Knits Look Decidedly Less Cute on Big Kids:

The pattern is from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, the Heartbreakingly Cute Pilot's Cap. And on babies, it is indeed cute. But on a toddler? Heartbreakingly weird. Probably didn't help that I left the long ties off, but really it was doomed from the big-headed get go. Maybe, maybe he looks like he's pulling it off in that shot, but this one shows you the real problem:

Big kid hair=big kid mullet sticking out of the back of the hat. Like some kind of weird horse mane. Fitting, since we were at a farm, I guess.... Maybe it would work on a little girl with appropriately long hair, but from now on I will stick to knitting this hat for babies.

And then there were these mitts:

They were an end-of-year teacher gift last June, a special one for the teacher Owen was leaving after 3 years in her classroom. And I'm happy to say I've spotted them on her several times this fall--gotta love it when something you make actually gets worn. I really love the color and texture on these. The pattern is from Joelle Hoverson's Last-Minute Knitted Gifts and the yarn is.... well, I can't find the tag and have zero recollection of what it might have been, which is a bummer. I seriously need to add "catalog yarns on ravelry" to the 2012 to-do list. But at any rate I loved it so much I started this hat for myself over the summer:

And it turned out to be another Fail, for gauge-related reasons. Sigh. The pattern (Jude Webster's Vivonne Bay Hat) is lovely but I lost track and motivation once I realized the fit problem. I could finish it and give it to a smaller girl cousin-or-other, but I think I will be selfish and unravel it and maybe make some wristwarmers for myself. Because it was hard enough to give those teacher ones away.

I think I'll stop there, but I have a few more queued up to share: other not-so-recents and a couple fresh off the needles. I have also been trying to squeeze in some gift sewing, and there are so many good holiday ideas out there I could just about burst. Anyone else have favorites to share, or anything good and gifty planned? Let me know, because if even I don't finish all that I have planned, at least I can enjoy what others have accomplished!

a month of habit + gratitude.

2011-12-02T07:27:00.000-08:00

1. november 30., 2. november 29., 3. november 28., 4. november 27., 5. november 21., 6. november 20.,
7. november 18., 8. november 17., 9. november 16., 10. november 16., 11. november 15., 12. november 13.,
13. november 12., 14. 11-11-11., 15. DSC_0211, 16. november 10., 17. november 8., 18. november 30.,
19. november 29., 20. november 28., 21. november 27., 22. november 21., 23. november 20., 24. november 19.,
25. november 18., 26. november 17., 27. november 15., 28. november 14., 29. november 13., 30. november 14.,
31. november 11., 32. DSC_0216, 33. november 10., 34. november 8., 35. november 7., 36. november 9.

It felt so good to participate in these month-long photo projects via flickr--habit and 30 Days of Gratitude. Thought I would aggregate my pictures here as a little "pat on the back" for myself--I jumped in late and wasn't able to keep up every single day, but I still managed to create a more regular, thoughtful practice (in both photography and journaling, I think) than I have in the past. And for that I am thankful.

*********
hope your decembers are off to a good start--here are a few good ways out:

K's post on gratitude and emerging.

this hat (on ravelry), which I am itching to make for myself.

Katy's christmas tree skirt how-to (towels underneath=genius).

handy dandy clothespin (or whatever)-bag-from-placemat tutorial.

2011-11-29T07:30:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out a cabinet the other day and unearthed a big pile of placemats. We don't use them on a regular basis, but I always mean to, so I've accumulated quite a few between thrifting and hand-me-downs from friends and family. Looking at the pile, trying to decide what to keep and what to give away, I realized that--like so many things--placemats might be a handy raw material for other projects.

And hey, I was right! A placemat is basically a pre-finished, sturdy, lined rectangle--so I think they can be easily remade into quickie versions of anything you would make with lined fabric: bags, bins, mats, etc. I thought I would play around with some different projects and share a few here--starting with this handy-dandy hanging bag. I think it is the perfect size for clothespins, but you could use it for handkerchiefs, baby socks, toiletries, kitchen doodads, or pretty much anything else small and plentiful that you'd like to corral. Quick Christmas gift? Definitely yes.

I bet you could figure this one out on your own, but just in case (like me) you enjoy a little help, here's a tutorial showing how I did it:

you will need:
A placemat--the kind made from two layers of fabric; true rectangle is best.
A small clothes hanger--either from kids' clothes or the kind you use to hang pants
Embroidery floss
Freezer Paper (optional)
Fabric Paint (optional)
Scissors, pins, and whatever other sewing gadgets you like to use

step 1: add a stencil.

1. Start by folding & pressing your placemat as it will be when finished--uneven "thirds" as in the top photo above, with the top section being big enough to enclose your hanger. Mark where you want the stencil (or embroidery or other embellishment) to land.
2. Create and add your stencil (if you've never done this before, search around on "freezer paper stencil tutorial" to find many online how-tos).

step 2: make the hanger opening.

1. With pencil or pins, mark the width of your hanger's "neck" at the center of your top fold.
2. Cut a slit that size along the fold.
3. With your embroidery floss, finish the edges of the opening with a blanket stitch or buttonhole stitch.

step 3: assemble the bag.

1. With right sides out (i.e., with stencil showing), re-fold your placemat as in the first picture; press again if necessary and pin along the sides.
2. With your sewing machine, topstich a straight line down each short side of the bag.
3. Insert your hanger into the top of the bag.
4. With your embroidery floss, use a decorative stitch to close up the big opening a few inches at each side.
5. Fill your new bag with goodies and hang it somewhere nearby!

Well, there you have it: a good excuse not just to hang on to the placemats you have, but to accept more when the world sends them your way. You're welcome.

goodness around the internet.

2011-11-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

it's november, and I can feel it today: the wind in the trees, the chill in my toes. keeping me happy this month are two fantastic november photo projects over at flickr: the Gratitude Project, inviting you to submit one photo a day to express something you are thankful for, and an open-contributions month for habit. I've written here before about how much I love habit and the deep respect I have for the space Molly and Emily created and curate. so it's an incredible treat to be able to participate in the form with other people--mostly women--and to see my pictures pop up on the habit page a few times, too: you can see them here and here and here. but mostly you should check out both flickr groups, because there are some amazing images filling them up. happy gazing.

kcwc wrap-up: the Fail.

2011-11-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

and then there are the projects that don't go so well.

I was talking with a friend about the many sewing failures we've had over the years: some that have led to necessary and exciting growth in skills, and some that have led to madcap laughter--either way, really. And we agreed it is a shame that more folks don't share these, that sometimes craft blogs are all "ta-da, look at this series of perfect things I have made!" and not enough of the series of screw-ups along the way. Then on second thought, I realized that many people do share their process hiccups, but then they usually, generously, offer a workaround or correction that solved the problem. Not as often, perhaps, do we get to see a project that was worked to (near-)completion and still came out a FAIL.

well, I am here today to fill that void.

Like most of my biggest failures--and best successes--this project started from pure hubris. Flipping through the internet one evening, I came across this hat, which, like most everything from anthropologie, stole my heart with its sheer bizarreness. Looking at it, and its $128 price tag, I was seized by two thoughts: 1) That hat would look ridiculous on me, but super cute on my kids; and (of course), 2) I could totally make that! Having just read through Crispina Ffrench's excellent & inspiring book on sweater refashions, I tossed aside other kcwc plans and set to making the hat to end all hats.

I made & fitted a quickie muslin that seemed allright, thinking that the abstractness of the original hat was what had drawn me to it. But somewhere between cutting into the sweater, affixing piping, deciding to line the hat in some woven fabric to avoid scratchiness, adding a Whoville-esque point to account for the problem of the joining panels, and realizing that the bulk of this thing was way more than my poor Kenmore machine could handle, I realized I had gotten in way over my head:

[it definitely looks cuter on the kids.]

So, I had to admit defeat. And it's a good thing to do, from time to time--or maybe even every day. For now, I will leave fine hattery to the professionals, well trained designers with heavy duty steamer-shapers and industrial sewing machines. One of these days I may pick up the hat and handfinish the side seams so it can have a life in the costume bin--hello, Sherlock Holmes!--but until then, I'll just keep it as a reminder that failure happens, and that I should maintain a sense of humor when things go wrong. Because right now it's making a pretty darn funny iron cozy.

*******
some good ways out:

this photo wall idea looks fun/easy, which I need in a wall decor project.

this latte recipe intrigues me.

Melissa's new site rocks!

halloween decor.

2011-10-29T04:46:00.000-07:00

I am not one to go overboard on halloween. I like dress-up in general and have enjoyed making a costume or two in recent years, but I am not big on decorating the house, carving jack-o-lanterns (the smell makes me nauseous), or eating cheap candy. Still, there are these little people that live with me now. Little people with ideas.
So this year I outsourced all the decorating to my six-year-old; he did pretty well with the small (8 x 10 x 2") box of leftover decorations from previous years, but it was evident that the spirit of the season was lacking. We've spent the past few days making extra decorations:

a yarn and construction paper pennant...

crazy pumpkin faces, an old favorite from amy karol...

and this little hanuted house. The doors open to show different spooky scenes:

a witch; she is my favorite.

a bat.

I remember making these as a kid, and one in particular that my amazing artist of an older sister did--I got the willies before opening the witch door every year. It's a good parent-and-child craft, though I secretly wanted to take over on the spooky doodles. Maybe I'll have to make my own...

The decorations aren't much, I know, but at least I am feeling less grinchy.
still, there's those pumpkins to carve...

kcwc wrap-up: knitted hat

2011-10-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

Maybe you forgot it had been kcwc, but I did not, and I am going to milk a few more posts out of it...

Energy for sewing was nonexistent one night, so I spent my hour knitting. And hey! I finished up this little hat I'd been working on. Emphasis is on little--I didn't swatch for gauge (bad knitter!) and there's no way it will fit the intended recipient, but I'm sure I can find a baby-sized head to gift it to. The pattern is called Zaggity.

*******

a few good ways out, unrelated:

this phone (no, it's not an iphone link).
this discussion of freezer cooking--see the comments for more good ideas.
this post on the value of blogging

autumn colors week: brown.

2011-10-23T02:50:00.000-07:00

autumn colors week: grey.

2011-10-22T03:18:00.000-07:00

autumn colors week: orange.

2011-10-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

poppytalk's autumn colors week .... phoning it in today with some pictures from the archives.

autumn colors week: yellow.

2011-10-19T07:57:00.000-07:00

playing along with poppytalk's autumn colors week--happy fall, everyone.

autumn colors week: red.

2011-10-18T12:28:00.000-07:00

playing along again with poppytalk's seasonal color weeks--we'll return to our regularly scheduled programming of crafts and self-centered rambling later in the month :-)

hack your pants: adult-to-kids' redo how-to.

2011-10-17T20:24:00.000-07:00

well! my kcwc got pretty hectic at the end--I have a couple more pieces to share, but I didn't get to be nearly as diligent as I would have hoped. Most of the distractions were good (first grade class trip, neighborhood party), and one of them was a flooded bathroom. Because when you are a master of chaos, why not use the wastebasket to bail the bathtub onto the floor?

At any rate, I am back now and excited to bring you this pants-refashioning tutorial! I have made several pairs of elastic-waist kids' pants starting from the bottom hem of a pair of adult pants: Dana's method is a good one; I also like Meg's variation. But last kcwc I got to thinking that this approach leaves out what are usually the most interesting features of a pair of pants--the pockets, pleats, and closures that come at the waistband. Wanting to save those features as I transformed a pair of women's pants into trousers for my son, I came up with these:

This fall, I was able to successfully repeat the process and make these:

It was pretty fun to see my own (ahem) "outgrown" pants take on a new, ultra-stylish, life on my kids. This kind of upcycling brings you both the savings (environmental and financial) of reuse and the fun of having sturdy, unique clothes for your kids.

Before I go any further, I must first share two disclaimers:
1) this process is a bit of a hack. While I am super happy with the results both times I have tried this, I should say upfront that the nature of the project (turning something into what it is not) leads to some unfinished edges and a little bit of wonky sewing. Purists beware.
2) this refashion is great for making clothes for older kids, but it will not turn any size adult pants into any size kid pants--that is, the pockets and closures on a large size men's pant would never fit onto a six month old baby. Be sure, when selecting adult pants to cut into, that you read through the full tutorial and look at where details line up on your template kids' pants--if you are trying to make too drastic of a size change, you will end up cutting through back pockets or having a ridiculous overlap in the front.

Still on board? Let's sew!

Gather Your Materials

You will need:
--The pair of pants you will re-fashion. If it seems like the pants you have on hand will be too big to successfully downsize for your child (see disclaimers above), you can easily find small and extra-small size adult pants at the thrift store or the sale rack of your favorite adult stores.   Since not as many people wear those sizes, they often land on the clearance rack for cheap.
--A pair of your child's well-fitting pants to use as a template.
--Some 3/4" or 1" wide flat elastic
--A hair tie or other piece of thin elastic you can use to make a button loop.
--1 1/4" wide fabric or ribbon scrap to use for a "tag" at the back.
--Sewing machine fitted with a new needle of the appropriate weight for your fabric.
--Thread to match your pants.
--One or two buttons.
--Pins and whatever other sewing notions you normally use.

Cut the Pants

(wrong side)

(right side)

1. Start by carefully cutting the adult pants up the center seam. On the rear of the pants, you can cut all the way through the waistband, but on the front of the pants you should stop cutting when you get to the fly. Leave side seams intact and spread the pants open, as in the photos above.

2. Turn your template pants (child size) inside out and fold them in half. Lay them on front half of the adult pants, aligning side seams and waistbands as in the picture below:

3. Carefully cut along the "crotch" side of your template pants, adding seam allowance at the bottom of the legs for a hem and any additional allowance you would like for the center seam.

4. When you reach the fly area, go ahead and follow the curve of your template pants, cutting away the zipper. However, when you get to the waistband you are going to STOP cutting and leave the button area intact, like a long tab:

5. Now flip your template pants to the other side. Again aligning side seams and waistbands (see below), and adding seam allowances at the bottom for a hem (plus any additional you'd like along the center seam), cut the adult pants along your template.  If your template pants are elastic waist, be sure to stretch them out to get the full width at the waistband. In general, err on the side of a little extra width at the waistband since you'll be adding elastic and/or a new seam.

6. You'll end up with one side of your pants that looks like the picture below. Flip this over and use it as the pattern to cut the other side of the pants, again maintaining the long tab at the front waistband. Press both pieces.

Assemble the Back Waistband
1. You now have two pieces of fabric (with fancy waistbands, beltloops, and pockets already in place--score!) which will become the right and left legs on your new pair of pants. Let's start by adding the elastic to the back waistband. Lay one side of the pants out and cut a piece of elastic about 3/4 of the length from the center back cut to the first belt loop, like this:

2. The adult pants waistband should provide you with a ready-made casing for the elastic, which you can now access through the center cut. Using your fingers or maybe the eraser end of a pencil, nudge the elastic into the waistband.  Line the end up with the beltloop and pin, like this:

3. (This is the wonky part!) You are now going to wedge that thick waistband+elastic under your sewing machine foot and stitch it down. Be sure to push the beltloop aside so you're not actually stitching through it--the idea is to hide the seam underneath the beltloop so it's not noticible.

4. Reach in and pull the elastic out so that it's sticking through the opening at the center seam, gathering the waistband.  Stitch this end of the elastic about 3/4" in from the center seam and trim any excess. It should look about like the photo below. (The vertical seams are the ones I stitched, those smaller dots you see near the bottom of the waistband are from the tag on the original pants.)

5. Repeat steps 1-4 for the other side.

Sew the Pants

1. Fold each leg of the pants in half longways, right sides together. Pin and stitch from the bottom of the pants legs up to the crotch, reinforcing seams in the manner you prefer.

2. Turn one pants leg right-side out and insert it inside the other, aligning seams at the crotch and pinning around the U-shaped curve:

3. Starting at the back of the pants, stitch around the crotch. Stop and backstitch about 1" before you reach the front waistband. This is to leave a little room to pull the tab snug in the front. You'll have a small unfinished area where you stopped stitching--on the first pair of pants I just left it alone; on the second I pressed it under slightly and stitched it down. Your choice.

4. You'll now have a bulky seam at the back waistband. On the first pair of pants I pressed it open and topstitched it down, but on the second I just trimmed it close and covered with a square of grosgrain ribbon to make a "tag," like this:

(I should mention that my kids are not tag-picky, but I can see how a kid who was might find this annoying. Maybe you can find a more elegant solution--I'd love to hear suggestions.)

7. On the front waistband, pass the button tab over the buttonhole tab so they lay flat, as in the photo for step 6 above.   Depending on your original pants, the button may or may not fall past the first beltloop.

8. On the inside of the waistband, mark where the buttonhole falls and hand-sew a button there for an inner fastening point. If you're feeling fancy, you can add a second button for adjustability:

9. Finally, you are going to add a loop of elastic to the front of your pants to catch the button tab. I used hair ties but any thin elastic will do. Just lay your button tab flat, catch the loop of elastic around it, and pin/mark where you need to tack it down--then stitch across it several times to be sure it's secure.

For the first pair of pants, I was able to hide the stitching under a belt loop and trim the back half of the hair tie away, like this:

But for the second pair of pants, I ended up keeping the whole elastic and adding a "dummy" button to make it look like some kind of fancy closure:

That's it!   Hem the bottom of your pants and you will be all done. I promise the process is easier than I may have made it sound, and I know you'll be happy with the look and construction of the parts of the adult pants you've been able to save. Please enjoy this tutorial for personal use only, and do let me know if you give it a try!

kcwc days 1 and 2: strongman shirt and corduroy pants

2011-10-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Here's what I have to show for kids' clothes week challenge so far: a shirt and pants for my six year old.

The shirt, I must admit, is a bit of a cheat, inasmuch as I made most of his for his birthday a few weeks back. I have made freezer paper stencil shirts for all the birthdays for the past few years, and this circus strongman was his six year old effort. Except that I just finished stenciling the red "6 lbs." weight yesterday. So I'll count it for kcwc anyway, since one of my ongoing sewing goals is to stay more on top of final details and general mending/repairs I have queued up. Cross this one off the list--although I am not 100% happy with how the stencil came out...

And the pants! Don't you love those pockets? They were an old pair of mine, refashioned in the same manner as these from the spring 2011 kcwc. And if you are the pants-refashioning type, you're in luck: this time I took photos and notes for a tutorial, so I'll try to get that up in the next few days. (If you are not the pants-refashioning type, perhaps something else lucky will happen to compensate. Like finding a fifty dollar bill, or a piece of chocolate between the sofa cushions.)

Owen wore both to school today. It turns out the pants are a little big in the waist so I'll have to take them in somewhat, but with a belt today they did just fine. He wouldn't model for me yesterday, but today, since of course it was raining and there was no good light inside, he was game.

He even tried out his own strong man arms. Go get 'em, kiddo.

made with kids: embroidery.

2011-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

I keep an inspiration board near my sewing area, but I'm not very good at rotating things through. Two of its long-time occupants are embroidery hoops that Owen has made at different ages. The one you see above (next to my middle school band photo--work those bangs, girl!) was his first attempt, at maybe three years old. When I'm helping the kids make something, I try hard not to overcorrect and to let them lead the way with color choice, technique, etc., and I'm always so fascinated by the results. For example, aqua+black+orange is such a striking combination, but never one I would have come up with myself.

This is a later project, after he learned to stay inside the hoop. I really love this one--he cut the felt shape himself, and it reminds me of a little bugcovered leaf, something Eric Carle-esque, maybe.

The pillow project was his idea, and I contributed the idea of an embroidered pocket. I forget who decided he should stitch his name, but I'm so glad that's what happened: there is something so sweet, and funny, to me about kids' early handwriting. I know that before long he will regularize his writing: the letters will even out in size, and that backwards N will flip itself in the proper direction. That's all well and good, but I am glad to have this tangible memory of his less-than-perfect, but nonetheless proud, little boy signature.

It's so much fun to see him follow a bigger project like this through to the end. He of course needed help with the different steps of making a pillow (pressing, measuring, cutting, stitching, adding fasteners--we used snaps), but not even as much as I expected. He is a longtime maker of "smelly pouches"--lavender sachets--for his friends and family, and what is a pillow but a glorified smelly pouch?

I have to wickedly confess that one of my favorite outcomes of this project was learning that five-year-olds are excellent (supervised) ironers. I am always struggling with how to make time for sewing while the kids are awake, and this has been such a gift--not only does pressing keep him occupied for a good while, but it really proves helpful as I move through different projects. And Elliott, at three, is content to pretend-iron alongside his brother. They're happy, I'm happy, stuff gets done: If you don't already have one, you should get a five (now six!) year old at your house, too.

***

If you are participating in kcwc, how is your sewing going? I put in an hour+ yesterday and should have something to show for it soon...

hi there.

2011-10-04T12:09:00.000-07:00

greetings elsie marley readers! I was super excited to write a guest post for kids' clothes week challenge, everyone's favorite kid-themed internet sew-a-thon. And I am super excited to meet you! Take a look around here or my flickr stream and leave a comment to say hello--we are, as it happens, away on vacation this week, but I am looking forward to being back in this space next week for some kcwc fun!

party.

fun with paper.

2011-09-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

I think Made by Joel is one of the most inspiring craft blogs out there right now--I am always blown away by how much he can make with so little, in terms of both raw material and time expended. I love his Paper City Playsets in particular--genius, and so generous. So when the boys pointed out the other day that their Peter Pan playset lacked mermaids, I was not stumped--I was able to say, "What if we drew some on paper and cut them out?" And so we did:

As you can see, I am 100% awesome at drawing. Look at how their mermaid hair is flowing--it's because they are underwater, and I pay attention to details like that in my art. At any rate, the kids were completely satisfied and the mermaids were added to the game (complete with serving-bowl lagoon). I was reminded that, with kids (and grownups), simple, immediate solutions are usually the best for play; imagination will fill in any gaps in craftsmanship and you'll save yourself the guilt of promising an elaborate scheme that takes ages to pan out.

Captain Hook was not as sure:

inter-mitten-ce.

2011-09-26T14:07:00.000-07:00

well. I suppose I could insert here a "sorry for the long absence" paragraph for any regular readers out there and regale you with stories of our busy month, but I think you all know how those go. Nothing too extraordinary, just a regular old (houseguest-, hurricane-, headcold- camping-, wedding-, birthday-, start-of-school-filled) busy month. Regaling is a grand concept to apply to a blog, and anyhow I think long gaps are pretty much the norm around here. So I'll just get on with it, OK?

These were part of my end-of-summer project to knit mittens for both boys. I made a pair for Elliott last year using the method in Morehouse Farm Merino Knits. I never remembered to blog about them specifically but you can see a process shot at the end of this post. At any rate between that experience and some adult mitts made in the meantime, I felt confident enough to wing these without a pattern--and they fit! I went with colorful variegated yarn (some of Berroco's Jasper I got on closeout) rather than stripes which made the process even faster than last year's.

I really enjoy this kind of knitting on dpns--mitts and mittens might just become my knitting "thing." I know what you're thinking--why doesn't she try socks? Same technique and no thumb to trouble with. But I tell you what, if I put time and effort into knitting something, there is no way it is going onto someone's FOOT to be shoved into a stinky shoe. No way. Probabaly famous last words, but there you have it.

Getting an action photo of the mittens was an adventure. There was the headshot-with-background mittens (above), the mittens-with-knees shot:

the "spot the mittens through the legs" shot:

the "invisible hands pushing baby" shot:

the "rearrange the mittens mama just laid out" shot:

and finally the gangsta hands shot:

Consider yourself regaled. By mittens.

Happy end-of-summer from here; hope you are enjoying some beautiful weather wherever you are!

seismic activity.

2011-08-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

Maybe you heard about the little shake-up in our part of the world today. I have never been in an earthquake before and I am not a geologist, but I think as earthquakes go this must have been a middlish one: big enough to knock frames off walls and rattle some bones, but small enough that the story-swapping afterward ("what were you doing when it hit?" "I was sure it was my washer/building boiler/neighbor's drug lab exploding") was lighthearted and the tiniest bit competitve.

And so in the spirit of the day I hereby claim the title for Best Kid Explanation--Elliott remains convinced that there was an orangutan outside the house shaking it. One that we should find and shoot (yikes). Also for Grossest Dash To Safety--Owen was up to his elbows in meatloaf we were making and Elliott was halfway down a popsicle, so as I grabbed their arms (well above the sticky elbows and wrists) to head for the hallway, I was much more focused on instructions like "Try not to touch the walls!" than "Get down and cover your head!" Priorities, people. Then there's Gladdest She Cut Down That Rotting Tree Next To The House and Fastest Response From a Traveling Husband, who called from Texas moments after the quake, alerted by an interrupted phone meeting with coworkers back here. Why he needs to be in Texas to talk to DC colleagues on the phone remains unexplained. And finally, I granted myself the prize of Very Deserving of a 3 PM Pint of Cider, because just when I was feeling copasetic about the earthquake, I remembered we have a hurricane headed our way. Ah, Mother Nature.

from the department of Almost Too Simple to Blog About.

2011-08-11T09:05:00.000-07:00

We have an odd-sized pillow, with an odd-sized case. Which, of course, developed an odd-shaped hole. I was grumbling to myself about figuring out what size it was and picking up another at the store when I remembered my mad sewing skillz. Enter the prehemmed vintage sheet, an eager helper, and about ten minutes of effort:

Voila.

in the garden/on the table.

2011-07-27T19:18:00.000-07:00

until recently, the garden was mostly my husband's domain; beyond aiming the hose every once in a while I pleaded ignorance. I'm starting to see the joys in the work as the years go by (and I always enjoyed the eating part), but even with two of us on the job we are far from the most impressive, or diligent, of gardeners. it's kind of a benevolent chaos out there: we're not big weeders; we're hesitant to thin rows; tomatoes go unstaked; we let the volunteer plants grow as they may. the kids run freely around, and over, whatever we can manage to keep alive.

And still it provides:

not sure if it is luck or just good compost. the herbs were our gateway drug, and we always seem to overestimate what we can keep up with (eating and tending). still, some slow learning over the years has helped us decide what does and doesn't work for us in terms of selecting plants--though we put in zucchini again this year?!--and we like this book a lot. the kids love the dirt, the blogosphere inspires, other slacker-gardeners cheer us on, and our understanding of where food ought to come from (but so often doesn't) evolves. at the back of mind I contemplate taking over the operations, pushing for neater rows or raised beds... but for now I am OK with taking a helpful backseat. except with the eating, which I will captain with a smile on my face.

in the middle of it.

2011-07-21T08:57:00.000-07:00

I had this feeling the other day that we were smack in the middle of summer. I get this often mid-seasons, I think: that vaguely-panicked sense of time passed and not enjoyed enough, of all the things we meant to do and places we planned to go and people we wanted to see. And at the same time anticipation: fall is coming. Or winter. Or spring.

This year our wonderful backdoor neighors -- a family with three boys -- moved out of the state for a better work opportunity. We'd been friendly all along, but in the past year or so, as our oldest boys grew more independent (or their mothers finally noticed it), our families had gotten closer and our kids had become inseparable. They left notes and trinkets on back doors, built impossible machines from lawn chairs and garden hoses, reenacted ancient wars with a treehouse for a stage, planted seeds. It was a beautiful thing, watching the grass wear down as small feet pounded a highway over chainlink.

Growing up, I was lucky enough to live next door to my three girl cousins--all a bit older than I, which means my memories are glossed with idol-worship, but anyhow I can still remember the thrill of sneaking off to our secret world behind the shed and sharing secrets, plotting adventures. And then there was my grade school best friend and the long afternoons of charting paths through the woods behind her house. We found the rusted remains of an old milk delivery truck and invented legends to go along with it.

These long-past moments are layered, now, with memories and photos from a few weeks ago. All my midsummers flood back: too-hot days of late pregnancy with Owen, early wondrous mornings with an infant Elliott, teenage intensity of friends and band camps, college jobs and loves, childhood evenings. Fireflies in jars mingle with sweat wiped from foreheads and poolside laughs over canned beer.

And so in the end I am happy to be here, now, in the middle of whatever this is. I find my mental list and choose an item to cross off. I walk outside, in spite of the heat. I bring sheets and clothespins for forts and relax rules for a few last, treasured days--full knowing these days will be replaced by other special, though separate, moments for my kids and my friend's. Full knowing that summer gives way to fall.

new shirt for me.

2011-07-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

I have been in the mood, lately, to sew for myself. Aiming to strike whilst the iron was hot (don't you love a good sewing pun?), I made the quick-and-easy Simplicity 2593 shirt. I went with no ruffly collar or sleeves--even though that's why I picked the pattern out in the first place, since I have a store bought top with that detail and I liked it. But it seemed like it would be a little much in this fabric.

There it is in action. I sometimes have that problem you see with the weird "shelf" forming across my chest. It's not that the shirt is too small, I don't think--it gaps a bit at the back and at the front if I lean forward--but maybe has something to do with the body of the fabric. Like I should choose something with more drape to it if I make it again? The fabric, anyhow, is lovely and feels super nice--it's a cotton lawn from the Lisette line that Liesl Gibson (of oliver + s fame) is doing for Jo-Ann fabrics right now. I'm just not sure if it was the perfect choice for this gathered-top style. Any thoughts from more experienced seamstresses out there?

Here's a shot that gets in the whole shirt, and a better sense of the color:

Infelicities aside, I am happy to have another top to add to my summer wardrobe--and I think this one will work for the fall, too, under a cardigan.

I'd love to hear suggestions for other simple, clean-lined top patterns--I really like the fit of some tops I have with no inset sleeve, just the body of the shirt extended into shortish sleeves. Sort of like this or this. [I'd go a little less 1980s than that second example, although she is definitely rocking the look.] These would be knits, most likely--which is another area of intimidation, but I think I feel up to it after all my 90-minute shirt practice.

someone turned three.

2011-07-08T13:44:00.000-07:00

Elliott had his third birthday. I have to say I am a little bit glad this time to be out of the twos, although I would still say that it is my favorite age for all the "stuff" happening developmentally--the emergence of language and independence and so much personality are super fascinating to me. Except when, you know, "so much personality" takes a turn for the exhausting.

And so it was a day to celebrate, and so we did:

Lots of little, lovely moments over the course of a birthday week. There was Eton Mess and birdhouse painting, singing and candles-in-brownies. This sweet boy surprises me over and over with a gentleness that balances his exuberance and a sense of humor that keeps us all smiling. Happy birthday, Elliott.

looking down, maine edition.

2011-06-19T20:11:00.000-07:00

it is nice to be back in this space. we did lots of things--one of them was maine. I can see why people love it.

kcwc: adult-to-kid pants refashion.

2011-05-13T18:53:00.000-07:00

Meg's kids' clothes week challenge has surely become one of my favorite internet crafting phenomena. And I was all worried I was going to miss this round due to houseguests--but luckily schedules were changed and a guest room was quickly re-transformed into a sewing space in time to get busy this week.

I've had this project on my mind since scoring a unique pair of ladies' jeans at Gap for super cheap--maybe 3 or 4 dollars? Their clearance sales can be pretty outstanding. And I remembered these super cute pairs Meg made last kcwc, and some similar ones I made for Owen from a pair of my old pants a while back.

But in this case the details I most loved--adjustable button waist, pleats, belt loops that went up and over the waistband--were all at the top of the pants. So the typical start-at-ankles, save-the-hem, attach-elastic-waistband approach I'm used to was not going to work.

Resizing adult pants for a kid and saving the waist details is much trickier. There may or may not be an internet tutorial for remaking pants this way out there (anyone know?), but I ended up using the old fashioned "wing it" approach--and I'm pretty happy with how they came out! I was telling someone on flickr that I may try this again and take photos toward a tutorial--we'll see if that pans out, but for now you can just enjoy some process and result photos.

The belt in the one shot, by the way, is one I made months ago but never blogged--also a wing-it effort but Meg now has a great tutorial for a similar design available. And the black and white shirt you see in the kneeling photo is my world-famous bias tape tunic. And the long tab fastening, with the little elastic band loop? Definitely my favorite.

sheep and wool.

2011-05-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

Here's what we did for Mother's Day:

An afternoon of sheep, shearing, ice cream, and a nice drive to see it all (not in that car, of course--we were just driving behind it and I thought it was cool). I missed seeing my own mama but got to talk to her on the phone, and generally enjoyed the time together with three people I love very much. I meant to choose some yarn as a gift but ended up coming home empty handed--nothing jumped out as more beautiful than the rest, and it was more fun to pet the sheep and people watch than to spend much time shopping. It had been a busy weekend (inlaws in town, school performance for the kids, a conference for me) but that afternoon was just us and just right.

spring break.

2011-04-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

we rode a carousel and met a robot. we painted eggs and then dyed some more. we made fancy dinner for long lost friends and ate popsicles in the yard with old ones. we dressed up sometimes and stayed in our pajamas others. at the end of every day, the kids were filthy and I was exhausted. we had a wonderful break, and I can't wait for summer.

it was for the best, it turned out.

2011-04-22T08:22:00.000-07:00

There was a home job we had been procrastinating. A tree needed to come down--it was close, too close, to the house. It was raising the corner; the walls were cracking. But it was our only real tree, and anyway no one ever likes to be responsible for cutting down a big, healthy tree in its prime. Well, maybe some people--like nefarious logging CEOs. And beavers. Neither of which we are. My husband seriously considered the prospect of chopping the room next to the tree in half to give it some room.

I put my foot down about that idea, so, sadly, the tree had to go. It made for some intense first-day-of-spring break entertainment.

Our sweet back door neighbors let the boys and I hang out in their yard so we could watch the process from a safe distance. I brought knitting and books but touched neither--I couldn't take my eyes off the feats of geometry and strength going on above our roof. These guys worked HARD.

This "before" photo gives you a sense of just how close it was to the house:

And this photo gives you a sense of just how big--and how decayed--it was at the base.

Those roots that are all wrapped around our foundation were attached to a rotting tree. So in the end, it was probably a blessing that we decided to have it cut down when we did. We really, really miss it and the shade it gave all summer, but rather than dwelling in suburban guilt I think we will move on, share the firewood, plant new trees, and work to keep them healthy.

Another unexpected upside is all the imaginative play that has come out of the event--so I'll close with these photos of the boys' new favorite game, Pretend Chainsaws (ahem).

scissors, paper, tweezers, tape.

2011-04-18T19:09:00.000-07:00

A new favorite activity has come home from school: flower dissection. This page has a very detailed description of the work in the Montessori classroom, and you can find a diagram and list of flower parts here. Even without going the full monty on the terminology, you could have a lot of fun with this with kids of all ages--comparing shapes of petals, seeds, and stem cross-sections of different flowers, counting various elements, or just practicing your cutting and taping.

skirt from tablecloth (or, I make more stuff than I remember to blob.)

2011-04-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am always having a hard time figuring out what I mean this space to be--it was fun having a few more readers last month during once upon a thread (and I hope some of you are still lurking around, hi!), but mostly this is a place for me to document, record, and remember... stuff. Family stuff, home stuff, yes, and also making stuff. And lately I've been reminded that I really do make something everyday. Not finish something, oh no. But whether it's a few rows knitted, a pattern laid out, a quick drawing for one of the kids, a photograph taken, a page written, or even just dinner (and yes! dinner counts as making. don't let anyone tell you otherwise), making is a huge part of my day. Something not to forget, I think.

To that end, with the warmer weather I've been wearing more of this skirt. I made it at the end of the summer last year and wore it quite a bit until the weather got too cool for the light colors and canvasy fabric to look right (even though I pulled on tights and tried to make it work for a while--I think I wore it to jury duty, ha). It's one of those items that is full of imperfections but I still like a lot, for reasons of comfort and whimsy. The waist is a bit too loose, one pocket is wonky, and I kept meaning to fix all that before I wrote about it here... but I think I will just live with it.

I wore it on our spring field trip the other day, hoping I could get my sidekick photographer (Owen) to snap a few shots. For some reason Elliott wanted to be in all of them, which was fine by me, but Owen kept trying to shoo him out... I guess he had a "vision." Anyhow we managed a few--and they even capture the aforementioned crooked pockets for you :-)

The skirt is inspired by this one that Melissa (tinyhappy) shared last year--as my title suggests, it used to be a tablecloth, one I thrifted because I liked the fabric, but then found that it clashed/overdid our already gray dining room. So, to the cutting board it went.

I was able to use the existing hem on the tablecloth and lined up another (vintage) skirt I like on top, aligning the folds of skirt and tablecloth. I knew I wanted the length and bottom opening to be the same but needed to add width at the waist to allow for elastic/gathering (vs. the original's fitted/zippered construction). So I just kind of guessed, laid my straightedges out in the place I show above, and cut! Then I used that piece to cut an identical one from the other side. As I mentioned, I could have gotten away with a little bit smaller waist or at least tighter elastic, but it is fine, really.

Of course I had to copy Melissa's lovely pocket detail:

They are lined with a little bit of Moda I got on the remnant table at Hancock's of Paducah, I think. Kind of a secret surprise when you put your hands in. Looking back at Melissa's, I wish I had gone with even bigger pockets to showcase the detail (and because big pockets are super useful), but again, it's all just notes for next time. Notes that I have because I am remembering to write this down. And the memory of the "photoshoot," the silly tree poses, and the sweet boys who were by my side for it? That is the one I will keep, long after I get tired of wearing any old skirt.

rainbow weekend.

2011-04-12T10:45:00.000-07:00

after a week of monochromatism, I found myself drawn to rainbows around the house this weekend:

The beads and crayons came from the same yard sale--a wonderful lady sold me all that and more (including a Marimekko bag, a copy of Knitting Without Tears and some vintage knitting patterns) for the grand sum of $2. Kept us busy all afternoon (and more... oh Elizabeth Zimmerman, I can see you are going to mean trouble). It was our city's official yard sale weekend, but the pickings weren't as good as usual--bad weather kept a lot of sellers inside, I think. But still, I had fun with the hour to wander the neighborhood on my own. The strange little gourd is also from the sale; a local pottery hobbyist had a bunch of beautiful pieces for sale out in her driveway. I do love a good yard sale.

We also spent time on an in-the-works sewing project with Owen; the second photo above gives a little sneak peek. Did you know that 5 1/2 year olds make excellent (supervised) ironers? I do now. You should give it a try. Hope to have a full reveal sometime soon; it's rainy again today and if the mood strikes him maybe we'll get it finished up!

spring colors week: white

2011-04-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

playing along with poppytalk's spring colors week--happy spring, everyone!

spring colors week: lavender

2011-04-07T17:43:00.000-07:00

playing along with poppytalk's spring colors week--happy spring, everyone!

spring colors week: pink

2011-04-06T17:54:00.000-07:00

playing along with poppytalk's spring colors week--happy spring, everyone!

yes, these are all from my favorite spring location. Can you believe we have almost no pink in the house? two boys. Owen took and directed the last shot--I was trying not to laugh about the pose but it came out kind of nicely--he's a natural. And this from a boy who adamantly did NOT want to participate in annual magnolia picture day. He's growing up. And I like it, most of the time.

spring colors week: yellow

2011-04-05T11:44:00.000-07:00

playing along with poppytalk's spring colors week--happy spring, everyone!

spring colors week: green

2011-04-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

playing along with poppytalk's spring colors week--happy spring, everyone!

time for another round of.....

2011-03-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

name that sewing machine accessory!

I grabbed this box at the thrift store for about $3 the other day. It was in a bag so I couldn't really check out the contents (a wiser and more brazen thrifter than I would have just ripped the plastic open, but I am a rule-follower, what can I say?). But it had a nice jingle, the small storage wars-type peek I could manage through the bag looked good, and I was feeling lucky.

There was a lot in there! To be honest, I'm still not sure if I was lucky or not--this is yet another in a series of reminders about how little I know about my sewing machine and the finer nuances of the fabric arts. I figure if nothing else, I know what to do with the little package of needles--and I'll use the rest to take up Civil War era surgery.

Some of the parts are clearly presser feet of one kind and another--can anyone out there name any of these? Is that big thing a walking foot? If so, a) can I use a Singer foot on my Kenmore machine and b) what the hey do I do with a walking foot?

I also picked up a little grab bag of vintagey notions. Good to know that I can now replace those slow, difficult, and dangerous straight pins in my collection:

I always feel a little sad when I see a glut of dated sewing supplies at the thrift store, because I know it likely means some older crafter has passed away or been moved out of their home. I feel like there should be some sort of ritual to honor whomever it was that left all this for me to discover. Pouring a little whiskey on the machine as I fire it up seems ill advised, however poetic it would feel.

gratuitous (and grateful) spring photography.

2011-03-16T07:49:00.000-07:00

winter is on its way out:

we are making way for spring.

the kids, the crocuses, the daffodils--even the weeds make me smile in gratitude right now:

with all the stunning news and images from Japan this weekend, this balance of beauty was important. I just wish we could send some of the calm their way. For material ways to help out, here is a good round-up.

once upon a thread outtake: ida pearle's x marks the spot.

2011-03-15T06:34:00.000-07:00

Although I am usually in the (sometimes unfortunate) habit of going "all in" with my sewing projects and not bothering with a rough draft, I did make a muslin for my tunic endeavor in a thrifted chambray-type fabric I had around. It was good because I was able to catch a problem with the width of my sleeves before I went to the main fabric. I thought I might use the blue one to stage Ida Pearle's illustration for "X marks the spot" for the Once Upon a Thread post, but my plans for some kind of sidewalk chalk masterpiece were thwarted by rain the day I needed to take photos.

So I ended up skipping it, even though I had already made the accompanying circus-type pants from one of daddy-pan's old work shirts (waistband is elastic with cotton ribbing casing). They passed the important test, anyhow:

giveaway winner!

2011-03-14T07:33:00.000-07:00

Hi there! I've chosen a random winner for the Hands Up Clap! giveaway: Congratulations, Kandice!

Kandice said...

Hi! I am new to your blog...sent over from "Once Upon a Thread"! My favorite music when I was a kid was Raffi...my 1st and 2nd Grade teacher would play them on her record player and we would sing along with her! I need to get those songs for my kids! Thanks for the giveaway!

I will get in touch to arrange shipping--thanks to everyone who entered :-) And Kandice, you should definitely pick up some Raffi, too.

I always forget guacamole.

2011-03-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

This bowl was maybe the second I have ever made, and the first was probably 8 years ago. Guacamole is one of those things I always ooh and ah over at a party, but never ever think to make. then just the other day, looking at our bowl of fruit and lack of plans for dinner, I remembered it. We probably have all the ingredients sitting around 7 nights out of 10 so it's a shame it took me this long to figure it out.

I won't tell you how to make it because you already know: avocados and limes and squish. I used cumin and onion powder and some other stuff to season but I hear that the premade jar of "greek seasoning" works just as well. And it ended up being the perfect thing to make with the kids, that they would also eat... we've been in a pickier-than-usual phase lately with Owen but this one was a hit. Healthy with chips--how could they argue?

don't you forget the Hands Up Clap! giveaway--comments open until Sunday night!

at no big dill: ida pearle outfits

2011-03-07T22:07:00.001-08:00

I'm happy to be guest blogging today for Katy's Once Upon a Thread project at no big dill: a full month devoted to one of my favorite topics: sewing kids' clothes inspired by children's books.

If you've come here from there, welcome! Please check out my boys' bias tape tunic tutorial and the giveaway of my sister's kids' music EP, Hands Up Clap! Say hello if you have a minute--I hope you enjoy yourself!

tutorial: boys' bias tape tunic

2011-03-07T22:07:00.000-08:00

This tutorial requires some familiarity with pattern drafting, or willingness to get it. Also, please be advised that this is my *first* sewing tutorial, so I will inevitably have missed a step or chosen confusing wording. If you try making a tunic from this tutorial, I'd love to hear any edits you might suggest--and to see photos of your finished tops! Leave a comment in this post or email me at thisismarzipan@ymail.com .

For personal use only--do not sell items made using this tutorial.

I designed this tunic to reflect the simple-yet-creative aesthetic of the cut-paper illustrations in one of my favorite children's books, Ida Pearle's A Child's Day: an alphabet of play. My guest blog post for the Once Upon a Thread project at no big dill describes my process creating several outfits based on the book.

And did you know it's also Celebrate the Boy month? I bet you did. Take some time to celebrate the young XYs in your life and sew them something special--there are tons of great ideas and tutorials available. Like many of those projects, this tunic is simple enough to be versatile--I see ours being worn to church, to dance in, on tree-climbing expeditions, post-swimming on cool nights this summer, and pretty much anywhere my boys want to look stylish (and they always do, of course).

Materials

About 1 yard of a lightweight woven fabric--I use quilting cottons in this example, but a lightweight linen or cotton voile would also work well. Wash and press before beginning.
Bias tape in a contrasting or complementary color--you can choose a thinner or wider tape depending on the look you want.
Old child's tshirt to cut for pattern template
One of your child's currently fitting shirts to check for sizing
Paper to draft pattern onto (I use freezer paper because it is stiff and I can iron it down to stick to the fabric if I want to when cutting)
Pins-and-needles (scissors and thread, too, of course)

Draft your pattern
Dana at MADE has written some amazing, detailed tutorials showing how to draft patterns, so I won’t entirely reinvent the wheel here. Briefly, here are the steps I followed to draft mine:

I started from a stained 18 months size t-shirt, which I deconstructed by cutting along the seams. Cut any collar off of your template shirt and leave it out of the tracing.
I used this shirt to trace the shape of the armholes and neck of both the front and back pieces. Next, I used a shirt that is currently roomy on my son to make the adjusted 3T sizing, adding width in the body and at the shoulders. Remember that woven fabric stretches less than knits, so you’ll want to err toward leaving extra space on the sides.
After drafting the pattern as though I was replicating the crew neck tshirt, I went back and traced a new “open tunic” neckline along the front—a kind of elongated S (or half a Y, if you prefer). Remember that your kid's head will need to fit through, so don't make the bottom point too high! (Also, remember that you’ll want to work with a half-pattern so that everything ends up symmetrical.)

Finally, on both the tunic front and tunic back pieces, you'll want to add a small rectangular "bump out," about an inch wide and two inches above the hemline, on the bottom corners (i.e., the side seams). This will be folded under to make the side vent in the finished tunic.

Adjusting the sleeves can be tricky, and if you are short on fabric you will definitely want to test these in muslin first. My tshirt had short sleeves, so again I used a currently-fitting shirt to gauge the width and length of long sleeves. I needed to add about 1 1/2 inches to the center of my folded pattern (so, three inches overall) to expand the width. I wanted a more open sleeve so I also widened the pattern as it moved toward the wrist (if you were modifying this for a girl, you could even experiment with flared wrists). I did not get a good picture of this part of the drafting process but will try to add one soon. In this picture, you'll see where I did not account for the extra width and ended up having to add an extra strip of fabric to this short sleeve--that's where I should have expanded the pattern, on the top of the sleeve (the center when it is laid out flat pre-sewing).

You will end up with three new pattern pieces: Tunic Front, Tunic Back, and Tunic Sleeve.

Method
1) Trace and cut two tunic sleeves and one tunic back -- because you are working from half patterns, you will lay the pattern on the fold to get a full piece. Remember to add seam allowances if you did not do so at the drafting stage.

2) Now take your tunic front piece: when you traced it, you were working from a folded piece of fabric (the original tshirt) that unfolded to make a single front panel. But now you are going to cut two separate pieces, adding at least 1/2" seam allowance to the center (in addition to the seam allowance you were already going to add at the side seam). You will still do this by laying your pattern on a piece of fabric folded with right sides together--but do not lay your center along a fold.

Your finished tunic front will be made of two separate pieces joined by a center seam. Lightly mark (on the wrong side) the point where the original neckline ended and continue the taper of the neckline down into the center seam allowance until you hit the edge. If you anticipate feeling picky about how a print will line up at that seam, now is the time to figure it out and cut accordingly! You can see in my finished black-and-white tunic that I got close, but not perfect, on that effort.

3) Sew the vents: with the wrong side of the fabric facing you, fold your "bump out" rectangle over once to meet the edge of the fabric, then again to lay flush with the edge of the fabric. Press and stitch in place. You will do this four times--twice for the two edges of the tunic back and once for each of your two tunic front panels.

4) With right sides together, pin one of the tunic front panels to the tunic back. Stich in place--when you get to the vent, veer out toward the side at an angle to finish the seam (see second photo below). Repeat for other tunic panel. Reinforce seams in the manner you prefer.

5) Continuing with right sides together, stitch at shoulders. Reinforce seams in the manner you prefer.

6) Turn garment right side out. Starting an inch or so below the mark you made earlier (the point where the pattern neckline ended), attach bias binding all the way around the neckline by machine or hand. I have used both methods; as you'd expect, the hand binding looks more finished and "dressy," the machine zig-zag binding looks more playful/casual. (Anyone have favorite bias tape tutorials I can add here?)

(finished neckline with hand slip-stitched binding.)

(finished neckline with machine zig-zag binding.)

7) Turn garment inside out again. Match the two front panels along the open edge; pin and stitch center seam, starting from the mark you made at the neckline and sewing in a straight line toward hem. Press seam open. (this is a good point to check for fit, if you have your child available.)

8) Sew first tunic sleeve by folding fabric longways, right sides together, and stitching along long side. Repeat for second sleeve.

9) Turn first tunic sleeve right side out and insert into assembled tunic body, which should be wrong side out (i.e., you will have right sides together inside the tunic). Fit sleeve into shoulder, matching sleeve to body at side seam and pinning all the way around the opening. Stitch into place; reinforce with your preferred method. Repeat for second sleeve.

10) Turn tunic right side out. Press and hem sleeves and bottom edge (you will hem front and back separately because of the vents).

11) Enjoy your finished tunic--and celebrate your boy!

my sister's music. (a giveaway!)

2011-03-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here's my sister, Teresa:

here is part of the ridiculous amount of ginger and turmeric she grew in the front yard:

here is her dining room:

And here is her EP--just for kids:

I can't say enough wonderful things about my sister and her music-making partner and husband, Michael. Besides providing my kids with opportunities to go wild on their drumsets and guitars, the two of them have a musical synergy the likes of which Sonny and Cher would envy. Their main project right now, the Silver Daggers, is a great live show with an album on the way (follow the link and click on "Holy War" to hear one of their grown-folks songs). They are the kind of people who eat a lot of ginger and turmeric, and invite you to share it.

But more pertinently for this giveaway, Teresa has a deep love of children and the vast and multifaceted experience of a preschool teacher, kids' yoga instructor, tutor, and performer whose power combined drive Hands Up Clap! (She also moonlights as a lotto girl, but I'm not sure that has as much to do with her singing chops.) The album is short and sweet--just the right amount of time for an after-dinner dance party or drive to the store--and it is packed with goodness your kids will love to sing along with. "Around the Corner" is a love song that reminds me of some of my favorites from Frances England and Elizabeth Mitchell, and "Cookies" and "Grizzly Bear" are playful, infectious, and Raffi-esque (in the best sense of that word, which I just invented).

Would you like to have a copy? Leave a comment below sharing your favorite song or album from when YOU were a kid, and I'll pick a winner from comments left before this Sunday, 3/13, at midnight. I know Teresa and I both spent many an hour belting out songs from Free to be You and Me , and the Sound of Music soundtrack was also in heavy rotation back in the day... whatever your memory, share it with us!

If you don't win or just want to sample her album right now, you can pop over to Amazon, itunes, or CDBaby to download individual songs or the whole album. Grab your bongos and kazoos--it's time to make some music.

at the beach.

2011-03-04T08:09:00.000-08:00

There are some places where it is easy, so easy, to connect as a family--places where joy of the moment overrides any difficulties of the travel that brought you there. The beach is one of those places for us, and I bet for many other families, too. I love going there in the not-too-months, and we were lucky enough to spend time with my parents and grandmother last month at my very favorite beach (one of those Gulf-coast gems you almost don't want to tell others about, for fear the hordes will descend and spoil its relative quietness).

It's easy to get caught up in packing for the beach--sunscreen, towels, sand toys, water, floats, chairs, umbrellas, snacks. Those things are great, but I think the beach is also a good place to practice a kind of family minimalism. Next time you visit, see how many things you can leave in the house or car, at least to start. It's the sheer immensity and naturalness of the ocean and shore that people love, and if you take a few moments to enjoy it just for that, you'll find a wealth of things to keep you busy.

Eight Simple Things To Do With Kids at the Beach When You Forget Your Shovel and Pail.

1) Improvise.

2) Jump hard enough to make a splash.

3) Footraces!

4) Look for signs of other visitors and residents.

5) While you're at it, feed the birds (my grandmother saves stale bread for this).

6) Dare the ocean.

7) Gather items for an arrangement, and watch how the wind and waves change it.

8) Watch the sun set.

this second child.

2011-03-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

He started the afternoon with a disassembled sewing machine then ran through:
--spraying water all over the kitchen and dining room
--flinging water all over the kitchen from a washrag (entirely different incident)
--upsetting the wastebasket, twice
--jumping up and down on my antique shaving mirror (didn't break it, thank goodness... especially since I "borrowed" it from my dad)
--coloring with marker on the rug and sofa cushion
--dumping all the kids' dirty clothes into the bathwater
And finished it off by peeing in my lap.

Phew, it feels good to get that down. And strangely enough, I don't really think any of it was particularly motivated by defiance--he just has Incredible Chaos as his superpower. When they said that second children are different, I thought they meant brown eyes instead of blue. Boy is he lucky I love him.

Hello to anyone stopping by from Rhythm of the Home--I'm so happy to be included in the Spring 2011 edition, and I hope you'll stop and leave a comment and poke around in my archives. I am now recovering from our disastrous afternoon with a dark chocolate caramel and look forward to posting here on a possibly-more-frequent basis in the coming months: sewing, making, traveling, and anything else I feel like writing about. Join me.

normal.

2011-02-21T11:57:00.000-08:00

It has been a pretty normal month around here, in the best of ways. Some cold, some warm. Some inside, some outside. Color is making its way back into my pictures. Leaning into the warm and outdoors feels good: just a little more left of this winter.
I'm in the best school-writing momentum I've had in a long time, which relates to less time in this space, for the time being. And that's OK. The behind-these-scenes world is as alive as ever and I am trying to enjoy the dailyness of it.

But I'm also looking forward to some fun in the big wide world of home/making blogging in the coming month: a piece here and guest blogging here. Wish me luck--I'm both flattered and terrified to be participating in these spaces with much wider readership than I'm used to in this neck of the online woods.

This week is an unexpected vacation of sorts for me and the boys--Daddy-pan had travel for work and there were a few days off of school, so we drove to Florida to visit family of all sorts. It's been an intergenerational whirlwind: the boys have been able to visit with three of their four great-grandmothers AND spend time with some second cousins their own age. (They have no "real" cousins and were thrilled to have this visit. I grew up next door and down-the-street from several of my cousins so I see those relationships as very special.) I'm loving this time with family, even as I anticipate the impact of disrupted routines when we return. Here's to mid-February anyway, whether yours is ordinary or not.

recent knits.

2011-01-25T07:53:00.000-08:00

It was Christmas so I did some gift knitting. Of course I wished I had started earlier and done more, and maybe this coming year I will. I forget how fast some projects can go, once you have your materials together (note to self: it's really, really time to organize the various pieces of knitting stuff strewn throughout the house). The neckwarmer above is the Dolores Park Cowl, made for my cousin from some Sublime Yarns cashmerino silk--two strands of aran weight held together. I quit after using up the two skeins so it's a little shorter than the pattern but I think it worked out allright. And for my other cousin,* I made up some Maine Morning Mitts in (now discontinued) Noro Yuzen. [*A note on cousins--I have more than two, way more in fact, but these are the two who came up in our local-family gift draw.]

Somehow I only just learned this holiday that my cousin to whom I gave the mitts is a longtime knitter herself--she's done some amazing, intricate scarves she had around at Christmas, and I'm sure lots more I didn't get to see. We were both tickled to find each other out, and I'm looking forward to swapping crafty ideas with her in the future (hi, Michelle!). Those are her snowy photos above--we've hardly had any to mention this year, darnit.

And here's me in my fancy new loop made from the same Noro yarn, but worked in the striping pattern you see everywhere:

I think most people work these kinds of Noro stripes in two different colorways so that you get a more striking contrast, but I just used two skeins of the same colorway because that's what I had around. I like how it came out--I had to be careful about where in the patterns I started the stripes, and there are a couple of spots where the striping almost goes away, but then it comes back in a way that I think is rather pretty.

The scarf may be the first thing I've really knitted for myself, and I'm thinking I need to fix that. Snow or not, we still have some cold days to come.

slipping in to the new year.

2011-01-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

hello, blog. hello, 2011.

I spent the last hours of 2010 asleep on the living room floor while my husband watched a football game, waking up around 12:08 to TV confetti and that guy(?) who's replacing Dick Clark on the screen. An inauspicious end to an intense year--a year full of life and death and change and stasis. I haven't written here much about the big losses in our family this year, but I feel like noting now that 2010 ended with the death, on December 31, of my parents' 11-year-old cairn terrier. "It's just a dog," as my mom likes to remind herself, but they never really are "just" that, are they? We--especially my kids--will miss his bristly personality and small-dog bravado; I know my parents and I will also remember his death as the one they were there for, after being unable to be next to their own fathers as they each passed this year. So things go.

That's all to say--I am READY for a new year. For the changes it will bring and the joys, and even the losses (not too many, please), we can't yet anticipate. I'm hoping for some quiet days in the next few winter months; I've already started some cleaning and reorganizing of the kind that feels so good after the holidays. Happy new year to everyone else, too.

good things.

2010-12-08T11:05:00.000-08:00

thoughtful neighbors.

library booksales.

a garden that's still giving.

notes home from school.

my aunt and her annual handmade ornaments.

cold weather and warm hands.

because this is not the time of year for a hole in the wall.

2010-12-03T11:01:00.000-08:00

that pretty light you see is shining through the 15 panes of our new kitchen door. and it's something I'm thankful for right now, because for a few minutes I thought we'd spend the winter looking at this:

you like fresh air? head to our place.

The door was the last piece in a kitchen re-do we undertook over two years ago--once we had running water and pretty cabinets, it seemed like a detail not worth stressing over. (especially since aforementioned kitchen work cooincided with arrival of afore-photoed toddler. enough said.)

this photo gives a little glimpse of the unfinished doorjamb we've been looking at all this time; strangely, I can't find a photo of the door itself or of the clever faux-roman-shade curtain I devised for it (the door was of the half-window variety).

but all that's a thing of the past. We found the new door at a local salvaged building goods place for 45 bucks--not a bad deal since we'd priced having a door company put one in and it came into the thousands for parts and labor. So daddy-pan and his manly hands saved us a ton of money once again.

the view right now is not the greatest (hello, minivan and trash cans) and there's been an 85% reduction in the amount of time I spend walking around the kitchen in my altogethers--so some kind of curtain will be in order, and maybe even some landscaping down the road. but for now I'm just enjoying a decision made, a project crossed off the list. so on to the Christmas gifting....

more barter fun.

2010-11-30T07:35:00.000-08:00

Here's my new favorite gift for new parents: a bottle of wine with some of Melissa's beautiful bibs tied on. The friend I gave these to said, "I don't know whether to use them or frame them." So true. Even though I hope she uses them.

This was my second batch of bibs I scored through the tigerlily tinkering barter exchange--an idea both simple and genius. I was also lucky to get some of Melissa's natural, homemade beauty products this time around and they are so good. If you see my glowing skin on flickr or in real life sometime soon, you can thank her.

I did my part with two pairs of booties from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings pattern:

The pattern was so clearly written--and so complicated. Too much so, in my opinion--my go-to bootie pattern is basically a one-seam project, copied from an old pair of Robeez. So when I hit the parts of the instructions that said things like "repeat steps 1-8 (and 20-24 and 32-36 etc) with second bootie," I knew I was in for a long one. But I persisted and they did turn out nicely--the mark of a well-written pattern.

For the second pair, I cheated a bit and used felted wool for the sole, back, and insole--which saved a lot of construction work (the original plan uses an outer fabric--batting--liner fabric assembly). So I think I will repeat that shortcut if I do these again. I'd also like to try reversible ones like these sometime. I'm a regular cobbler, I guess!

words to remember.

2010-11-16T08:11:00.000-08:00

while putting the kids to bed the other night:

O: Will you sing us a song, Daddy?
Daddy: OK--twinkle, twinkle, little star...
O: No--that's for babies. I want one for big kids. Like some jazz.

while riding in traffic:

E, after seeing one pass his window: I want a motorcycle for mySELF, mama.
mama: Um, a real motorcycle?
E: yeah. you get me one at the grocery store?
mama: oh, motorcycles are not for kids--just grownups, buddy.
E: awwWWww.... (and many tears of disappointment)

new sweater.

2010-11-11T12:22:00.000-08:00

Well, I did it. I said I would knit my kids sweaters and, thanks in no small part to our civil justice system and the interminable waits involved in a two-day jury duty stint, I've finished one before he even had a chance to outgrow it.

It's the fisherman's pullover pattern from Veera Välimäki, found via Soulemama and the sweater she made for her youngest. She mentioned it was easy and fast which was all the endorsement I needed to choose it. Plus it's rather cute.

and it's versatile! you can wear it to drive trucks in...

... or for picking flowers. Really, what more could you ask?

I don't think I'm a fan off the wool-ease yarn I chose; it's getting pill-y already and I haven't even washed it--I thought the "washable" factor of the blend would be a plus, but since I'll probably end up handwashing to cut down on pilling, it's hardly relevant. Still, it's soft and warm and DONE and that's really all we need.

and one more gratiuitous photo, if you don't mind--I really am proud of myself.

here and (kcwc+birthday!) making.

2010-11-09T17:27:00.000-08:00

It is indeed nice to be back to blogging after an unintended hiatus--I won't go into details but suffice it to say that laptops are great, and coffee is delicious, but you shouldn't use one to flavor the other.
In case anyone was curious: I didn't forget kids' clothes week! but I wasn't able to go whole hog with my own theme like I did last time -- because it was also time for a kid birthday around here.

I love my kids' birthdays--didn't anticipate enjoying that part of parenthood so much, but I do. I have fond memories of waking up on my own birthday to find the house decorated with streamers and balloons, so I've done the same for our guys (the party banner I made a few years back has to be one of the best investments of sewing time ever). and there's no better excuse for making special-but-useful items for them. when it's clothes, though, you always have to prepare yourself for the crestfallen look that might come after they open the box. because, clothes? come on. still, after a brief look of confusion that the package he opened didn't contain a toy, game, or, you know, candy--Owen said, "Thank you for the warm winter clothes, mama." Not a gushing response--just sweet and sincere. Just like my boy. And I loved it.

A quick round-up, for the record:

freezer-paper stencil birthday shirt (his handprint at 150% is almost exactly the same size as my own hand, it turns out)

handknit Thorpe hat (minus the crochet edge--anyone know any good crochet books/tutorials?)

sweater vest and scarf set made from a jcrew men's sweater I found at the thrift store a while back--used one of his old vests for a template. The grey binding came from an old sweater of mine I'd been hemming and hawing about cutting or saving. I'm glad I cut it.

and the piece de resistance:

yup, Owen wanted a Peter Pan birthday party. Except that he wanted to be Captain Hook. We invited the oher party guests to come as characters from the book/movie versions: fairies, mermaids, Indians, lost boys, or pirates--it ended up being a really great theme for a costume party because there was so much flexibility. The coat was a bit of a hack from a thrifted ladies' bathrobe and some gold braid, but I think it gets the point across, don't you? The ruffle is just that--a three-tiered ruffle sewed to a neck-sized loop of elastic, and the other costume parts were either ours already or available in our (clearly well-appointed) thrift store Halloween aisle. Oh, blessed timing of the fall birthday.

To set the mood, I downloaded the soundtrack to the animated Disney version, which turns out to be 80% beautiful studio orchestra tracks (and 8% offensive Indian stereotypes--sigh). The Mary Martin musical soundtrack is also a classic, though my kids are less familiar with that version. And there were a couple of other things-to-make for the party:

goody bags using a Yellow Owl Workshop stamp set we've had and loved for a while. (I'm not really a papercrafter but I love their stuff... the holiday stamps they have out now are lovely and I used their cityscape stamps set for last year's bike parade birthday party.)

and a bunk bed turned into the Jolly Roger by my brilliant husband. We didn't plan much in the way of games for the party, but this set up plus the vast expanses of our backyard did the trick for whatever imaginative play the kids could come up with. They had fun, I think.

So you see? Kids' birthday=me having fun, and getting stuff done. With a little help from my friends. way to go, Marzipans. way to go, kids' clothes week challenge.

today, I am:

2010-11-02T07:59:00.000-07:00

...eating toast
...enjoying november
...finishing things unfinished
...keeping my fingers crossed for a fedex package
...heading to vote and hoping for the best
...thankful to be back in this space

first haircut.

2010-09-19T12:46:00.000-07:00

I scheduled an appointment just for daddy-pan and Owen. I really didn't want to see those baby curls come off my baby. but wouldn't you know--as I headed out the barber's door to start getting the two boys into the car, Elliott turned around, marched back in, and demanded "I need haircut!"

my baby is not so much of one anymore, I guess.

he didn't cry a bit. just sat right down, put on the cape, and moved his head just how the lovely hairdresser asked.

next thing you know he'll be wanting dyed tips and a shave.

a lot of trouble, but still kinda fun.

2010-09-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

sprinkle circus cookies. from these cookie cutters, which we received as a gift last christmas. we broke a lot of the animals trying to assemble them, but the ones that worked out stood up pretty well. I'm really a chocolate chip girl myself, but every once in a while I let them talk me into sugar. and if you're going to the trouble and mess, they might as well be awesome stand up animal shapes.

incidentally, I bet cookies like these would be pretty easy to freehand: just a legless body shape then two bubbly H or wide Y shapes for the stands.
_______________________

speaking of the circus, Amy Karol's Tie One On theme last month was circus aprons, and I really love what people came up with.

knitting hubris.

2010-09-05T04:25:00.000-07:00

After successes with neckwarmers and a hat or two, I brazenly decided I was ready for Bigger and Better Things in my knitting.

And, thanks to inspiration from Beth and Allegra Wermuth's super accessible Boheme pattern, I'm able to pretend that was true:

Still needs buttons, but the hard part is done--and it came out not too bad, if I do say so myself. However, we'll see if my pride goeth before a fall--I felt so flippin' awesome after I finished this one that I used up a joann's gift card and ordered these with visions of knitting sweaters for my two boys for this winter.

but shoot, that's a lot of yarn.

the knitting happens.

2010-09-04T04:23:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I meant this to be a blog mostly about crafting, particularly about sewing. Between one thing and another, I haven't been doing much as much sewing as I'd like in the past months. But, almost without my noticing it, my hands have been up to something else:

I learned to knit about a year ago, and it is every bit as fun as people say. And every bit as portable, as reliable, as calming as people say, too. When I can't make time to sneak back to the sewing machine, measure, cut, press, pin, and stitch, I can manage to pick up two needles and finish off a row. And that, my friends, is a good feeling.

incidentally, I've also learned I get a weird amount of pleasure from blocking:

which is why I decided to block that long strip before stitching it into this:

this is one I finished a while back and mailed to some friends for their new baby. it's the Heartbreakingly Cute Pilot's Cap from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines, a book I checked out from the library and really loved--both for its witty prose and for its approachable projects. I've found Ravelry, of course, to be an endless source of inspiration, as well as knitting friends in the neighborhood (because everyone knits!--and now I don't feel left out anymore :-)

I finished off a couple of more recent projects this week that I'll share soon. I may never finish the wristwarmers in that first photo, which I started last winter and then set aside when I got all laced-out. But then again, it would be nice to wear them this fall...

a little good luck.

2010-09-02T10:40:00.000-07:00

may it find you just when you need it.

things to do when the weather turns cool in August.

2010-08-26T11:53:00.000-07:00

--leave the windows open overnight.
--get up early and head out the door.
--go back inside for sweaters.
--leave them in the car because it's August, for crying out loud.
--make an impromptu visit to a favorite spot, one you haven't seen in months because it's been all hot and sticky.
--task brothers with keeping each other out of the water.
--make sure the fish aren't too chilly.
--discuss plans to come back soon with quarters to feed them.
--run a little where you shouldn't.
--kiss the faces you love.

found on our walk.

2010-08-23T11:23:00.000-07:00

the last flowers of summer, the first of leaves of fall--ten cents--and a bottle cap (collected for something long planned by my oldest).

what we've been eating: white peaches.

2010-08-10T09:36:00.000-07:00

and some more cobbler, too.

I love this: nature+craft.

2010-08-08T05:24:00.000-07:00

the geology section of the Smithsonian's Natural History Museum has got to be one of my favorite visits in this town of great sights. can you believe all this comes out of the earth? I always love seeing other peoples' photos of non-rain-generated rainbows: vegetables, crafts, and food. But this exhibit takes the cake. The textures, too--who knew rocks could be bulbous and bubbly? If I were a painter, which I'm not, I would definitely come here for inspiration and color study. If I were a quilter, which someday I might be, I'd do the same.

And, it turns out, if you are a crocheter, you can participate right now in creating another array of colors at the museum. Check out this awesome upcoming exhibit--the Hyperbolic Crochet Coral Reef.

From the Smithsonian's website:
"In 1997, Dr Daina Taimina, a mathematician, discovered how to make physical models of the geometry known as "hyperbolic space" using the art of crochet. Until that time many mathematicians believed it was impossible to construct such forms; yet nature had been doing just that for hundreds of millions of years. Many marine organisms embody hyperbolic geometry in their anatomies, including corals. This geometry maximizes surface area in a limited volume, thereby providing greater opportunity for filter feeding by stationary corals."

Apparently this is an ongoing, worldwide project that uses the mathematic patterns present in both nature and handcraft as a way to think about the connections between the natural and the man-made world--and how the latter can either protect or endanger the former.

This may be the kind of thing that is old news to the crafting world, but it's the first time I've heard about it and I'm excited that our area will get a satellite project. You can check out the contributions from local crocheters here and find out how to get involved here.

breakfast of champions.

2010-07-28T19:53:00.000-07:00

it was my lunch and bedtime snack of champions, too. I probably shouldn't admit that I baked this midweek with my husband away, having the full intention of eating the whole thing myself. But I did.

I use a variation on cobbler recipe I learned from Fine Cooking, our very favorite cooking magazine. I have found no other food magazine with so many recipes I feel like I can actually do. And I do them. As with this one, many of their recipes are open-ended methods, giving you the framework for a classic recipe but letting you choose the specific ingredients and flavors. Genius. Especially when cobbler is involved.

So here's how this particular iteration of cobbler came to be:

Peach+Blackberry Cobbler (with a few blueberries for good measure)
[adapted from Fine Cooking #86, method by Abigail Johnson Dodge]

--Make the cobbler dough:
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
6 Tbs. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
a few shakes of cinnamon
3/4 cup sour cream

Combine dry ingredients by pulsing in food processor, then add the chunks of butter and pulse a few times until you have pea sized chunks of butter. Then add the sour cream by smearing it in with a spatula until the dough is moist throughout. Put dough into refrigerator while you prepare the fruit.

--Make the fruit filling:
6 ripe peaches, cut into thick wedges
1/2 pint blackberries
handful blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar (more if peaches aren't too sweet)
thick drizzle of maple syrup
2 Tbs. flour
a few drops almond extract
dash of nutmeg

Toss the above together gently, then spread in a baking dish (I used a large oval pyrex--something deep-sided in the 9x13 inch family will be your best bet).

--Remove dough from fridge and spoon large (maybe 2-3 inch) round chunks onto cobbler, leaving space between the chunks for juices to bubble.

--Bake in a 350 degree oven for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool for 20 minutes afterward.

Not so hard, right? Now go make one and tell me what you think.

assorted.

2010-07-24T09:24:00.000-07:00

--I dropped daddy-pan off at the airport for a week of work travel this morning. always a bummer. the people who wore pajamas to the airport are definitely still in them. Unless they are naked.

--I have this on the to-do list. Let's hope I can wear it half as well as Anna Maria Horner does.

--We are lucky to have occasional "open gym" times at some of the local parks facilities. I've always felt little uncomfortable in my body, not in a weight-obsessed sense, but just in an ungainly, clumsy, unaware of where I physically am in space way. I have vivid memories of hiding behind a sofa after a (probably well-intentioned) peer tried to force me to learn the Electric Slide at a fifth grade party. So I'm always glad to have these times for my kids to work on balance and coordination in a playful, noncompetitive setting.

I'd be interested to hear others' ideas for working on that kind of bodily awareness with their own kids (or themselves! I'm old enough now not to shun whatever help I can get).

--To go with the large motor skills, we've just seen a huge leap in the fine motors for Owen, too--let the record show that he tied both his own shoes ALL by himself for the first time yesterday. He'll be 5 in September. I can hardly believe it. I feel like we're on the cusp of an entirely new phase in parenting and I'm not entirely sure what to expect.

--check out this NPR story on the rise in urban beekeeping. I think chickens are a little yucky (sorry, chicken farming friends) but bees are definitely a wish of mine. Who cares if it's cliche. If I had bees of my own, they would certainly reside in stylish apiaries like these I saw in Paris:

--for some mysterious-to-me reason I turned on the WAMU bluegrass station this morning. uncharacteristic.

--I really dig the quilt in this post (scroll down) on design*sponge. the chairs are not bad, either.

enough, already--have a good weekend.

I'm not the only one who makes things.

2010-07-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

I think one of the most fun parts of marriage is seeing how your partner's interests emerge and evolve. Say you marry someone who likes mowing the lawn, then ten years later find yourself living in a well-manicured garden paradise. Or maybe you marry someone who likes golf, then wake up one morning to find a full-fledged mini putting course out front (someone in our neighborhood really had this, whimsical hazards and all. Then they replaced it with a badminton court--I was crushed).

daddy-pan has always liked tools and fixing things, but lately he's been acting on an interest that's been simmering for a while: woodworking and building things for our home. So I wanted to show off his newly-built, made-from-scratch arbor here.

It was a lot of hard work--the culmination of a fence-building project that's been dogging us for years. So when the time came to finish it off, and he suggested he'd like to build an arbor rather than a simple gate, I was a little worried it could drag things out even further. But his excitement over the idea won out, and I'm so glad it did.

Watching him go through the process was a really good reminder about why I love making things myself: there's such a joy in chasing an idea from plan to reality, from paper to product--whether that product is wood or fabric. And it reminded me about the importance of taking the time to do things well, even when it means digging holes and pouring cement late into the evening. Way to go, daddy-pan. I know our kids were watching.

moving things around -- in.habit.ing gets its own page.

2010-07-18T20:45:00.000-07:00

hi there. I've gotten a little carried away with this habit thing, so I decided to move my little knock-off project, in.habit.ing, to its own page--a function blogger now supports. so even though I won't be posting the photos here every day, please take a look every now and then by following the tab at the top of the page--I'll definitely keep taking a photo every day and writing all month, and who knows? I could get carried away and keep going after that.

among the reasons I love blogging, not least is that it lets me channel my inner yearbook editor. I like thinking about the pictures I take and which ones best tell the story I want to tell. I like moving elements around and adjusting to make things fit, or just for the fun of it. I like when people sign my comments "KIT! HAGS!" Just kidding.

I think I have some other July blogging promises to follow up on, but August is pretty much the same as July, right? Mostly we've been enjoying summer proper: spending time with friends, swimming at the pool, knitting and sewing here and there, leaving laundry unfolded, and wondering what would be the best replacement for my woefully out-of-season wreath. Door decor ideas, anyone?

in.habit.ing -- july 1

2010-07-01T19:12:00.000-07:00

[an occasional series in the style of one of my favorite photoblogs, habit--now participating in their july flickr pool.]

the new next-door neighbors are horticulturalists. I guess we'll have to step it up in these parts.

home again, home again, jiggity-jig.

2010-07-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

I kind of like jet lag. Getting up at 4 am makes me feel super productive. Never mind the afternoon headache, I did dishes and laundry and made biscuits and blogged, all before the sun came up. Beat that, Martha.

Anyhow, we are indeed back on God-fearing American soil. All jokes aside, London was wonderful: I have a long to-see list for the next time I'm lucky enough to visit, but this trip with small kids had just the right mix of leisurely sightseeing, time spent with friends, and in-depth park exploration. The kids did not have much energy left for museums, but since many of London's, like DC's, are free (thank you British taxpayers!), I managed to coordinate bathroom stops with quick visits into a few. More on that later....

july at thisismarzipan
In fact, I should beg forgiveness in advance for what might be a schizophrenic month for this blog: I have a lot of ideas for material I'd like to post, but none of it forms a coherent or logical narrative. I'll have to get over it, I guess.

I'll probably do a few "travel with kids" posts over the next weeks, partly to document our recent trips for posterity, and partly in the event that anyone in the vastness of the Internet might someday find the information helpful. And we'll have a visit from my parents and the 4th of July celebrations in these parts, so it might even be time for some local tourism advice.

I was also excited to read that habit--the lovely, lovely photo/writing blog on which I have a serious crush--is hosting a flickr pool and reader submissions for the month of July. So, I'm hoping to participate in that as much as possible--also a great way for me to continue getting to know my new friend.

We had two birthdays I've been meaning to mention....

And finally, there have been some bits of crafting happening, and I'd love to share those with you, too. (this used to be a craft blog, remember that?)

phew--those are some ambitious goals. But I've put them out there, so I have to follow through, right? Thanks for following along--feel free to take the mickey out of me if I don't follow through!

2 planes, 2 trains, 2 taxis.

2010-06-23T16:03:00.000-07:00

and then we made it:

not sure whose brilliant idea it was to bring a toddler and a preschooler to Europe, but we've done it. Things are mostly grand: the kids have enjoyed sampling new parks and playgrounds, and they've tolerated the art and monuments. I've walked along the Seine and made peace with Nutella. And I've only had to clean up puke in one patisserie.

We're in London now, where we have friends and a bigger hotel room--both welcome changes from our situation in Paris. It's such a privilege to be able to see these cities, where I'd never been before, and at the same time such a challenge to be out of our "natural habitat." Besides the puke, we've had one brief lost-child episode, one hand trapped in an elevator door, one on-train diaper blowout minus wipes, and more tearful exits from museums than I care to count. Lucky for me, I have a good sense of humor about crises and meltdowns (the kids' and my own)--I only hope I can say the same for all the innocent bystanders.

But do you know what? There have been some beautiful moments, too. The ones where we stretched our arms and our vision. The ones where we stepped outside our area of comfort and into an area unexpectedly playful and joyous. The ones where we spent uninterrupted days in each other's company. The ones where we saw that home is around every corner, wherever we make it--wherever we look and find it. Those are the moments I want to remember, and those are the reasons we travel.

We'll be back home next week. Until then, au revoir and cheerio.

in.habit.ing

2010-06-08T09:51:00.000-07:00

[an occasional series in the style of one of my favorite photoblogs, habit. one picture, just a few words.]

for once he was not the one asleep in the stroller. and the peephole was just the right height. chickens and little boys are fascinating creatures.

oh, canada.

2010-06-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

in case you noticed my mysterious disappearance last week--

we were here:

and here:

yup--we were lucky enough to tag along with Daddy-pan on a last-minute work trip to Toronto. Brought along my visiting brother, stopped at the Canadian side of Niagara falls along the way, saw the best of Toronto's kid-friendly offerings, and got us back across the border all in under 72 hours. Because we ARE that crazy.

This month has even more exciting travel in store for our family, followed by more visitors, so I'm not sure how active this blog will be for the next few weeks. Can we handle all this adventure? only time will tell. I do look forward to the quiet times after we return with as much eagerness as I do to the thrill of travel--and I look forward to reading about everyone else's summer escapes (at home and abroad) as well!

in.habit.ing

2010-05-29T03:47:00.000-07:00

[an occasional series in the style of one of my favorite photoblogs, habit. one picture, just a few words.]

sometimes I trip over a mic stand on my way to answer the doorbell. my own fault--it's on wheels, and shouldn't they all be, really?

dress-up.

2010-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

I still have some projects pending from my "inspired by children's books" efforts during kids' clothes week--I think it will probably become an ongoing theme for me. In case it wasn't apparent, I should explain that one of my goals with those outfits was for them to mix in with the rest of my kids' daily wardrobe. That is, even though the clothes were inspired by favorite book characters and images, they should fall into the "real clothes" category rather than the "costumes" category.

Not that we don't like costumes.

We enjoyed a rousing fashion show this weekend--it was more dressing up for its own sake rather than costuming for a show or make-believe.

We have such a great collection of costumes--some made by me, many of them made by mom years ago for us or our cousins. Snagging the dress-up clothes was surely one of the major benefits of "first to have grandkids" status. So I'm flooded with memories every time we get these wild parades of quick-changes. ("utter surprise... appreciative laughter!!" is how the audience should react. Or so I am told.)

Of course, dressing up comes with its own unique kind of mess, but it's not a bad one to clean up. Growing up we had a special laundry hamper for the dress-up things; for now we keep them in a reusable grocery-type bag, and it works fine. If the thrifting lightning ever strikes and I find something pretty and lidded, that would be fine, too.

Dressing up is also always a big hit during playdates (& the changing time guarantees a few minutes of uninterrupted adult conversation, too). I'm always intrigued by what the kids love to wear and what gets passed over--the clown suit is usually the first one to go on, but a very cool black cape usually lays by the wayside. What do you remember from your own dress-up clothes growing up, and what do your kids love now?

kids' clothes week: inspired by books [goodnight moon].

2010-05-17T11:03:00.000-07:00

Well, I fell off the blog posting bandwagon but I did manage to keep sewing.

This shirt, another 90-minute special (muscle-style inspired by Meg's), is just for my littler guy. I don't know about other parents of same-gender siblings, but I usually end up concentrating my sewing energy on clothes to fit my older son. Sewing with an eye to hand-me-downs just makes sense--because gosh darnit, if I spend time making something, I want to be sure it gets worn and worn again.

But every once in a while, you realize they deserve something all their own, even if it will only be worn half as often.

For some people Goodnight Moon might be the classic children's book, but we didn't have it on our shelves growing up. It took me many, many times reading it as an adult to get over how WEIRD it is. The colors! The stitled rhymes! The illogic! [sidebar: if you've never read Wise and Hurd's companion collaboration, My World, check it out. Even more bizarre.]

But when my own son started speaking, I realized that what Margaret Wise does so well is capture the way very young children think and speak. Her books started to remind me of the beginning of James Joyce's Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and if that isn't a favorable literary comparison (to an equally unsettling novel) I don't know what is. As for Clement Hurd's illustrations, I still think they are weird. But they are nothing if not recognizable, and so, since I wanted to make something for my second son--who loves Goodnight Moon even more than his brother did--I thought something from Hurd's palette would be appropriate. I got added inspiration from this amazing quilt, which captures the mood of the book so well.

After sewing the shirt up (again using a thrifted tee and ribbing from Jo-Ann's), I felt like the look was less "Goodnight Moon" and more "Good Morning 1982":

So I added the freezer paper stencil to make my point clear. It's from the page that reads "Goodnight cow jumping over the moon," and I may even paint those words on, in blue, later. I love that illustration and the way the picture on the little bunny's wall loses the frame it was pictured in earlier: I think it speaks to the way the bunny makes all the things in his room more real by bidding them goodnight, and the way all our kids' imagination works--especially in those moments as they drop off to sleep.

I plan one more post-kids' clothes week post, I think--it's been so great watching and reading about the amazing things others have produced.

kids' clothes week: inspired by books [ida pearle's alphabet of play].

2010-05-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

Still sewing away at my theme for the elsie marley challenge: clothes inspired by children's books. And I can't think of any book that makes me want to sew for my kids more than Ida Pearle's Alphabet of Play.

This is her letter "C", for "catch"--I could have picked almost any other letter, though (and I may have at least one more up my sleeve for this week... shhh!). Her illustrations are so simple, classic, and cleanly depicted that translating them from the page to the sewing machine seems like a natural outgrowth.

I've updated the outfit in the picture a bit for summer wear--a short-sleeved envelope shirt from a thrifted men's tee and the 90-minute tutorial, pants cut from a lightweight cotton voile (also thrifted), a turned up cuff that will roll down to a plain pant for fall. That last part was the trickiest--finding a pink that wouldn't feel too girly but would still "pop" against the grey and turquoise. I hunted through my own stash--mostly florals--then remembered the fantastic house on hill road scrap bag I recently ordered and found just the thing: a heather bailey print in dark pinks and golds. Even though the cuff in the Ida Pearle pictures is solid, I think the print captures the look of the patterned cut papers she uses in so many of her other illustrations.

One more funny note: to manage to stay honest on the time for the challenge this week, I dragged my sewing machine out to the dining room table to try to get some work done in between the little guy switching the power on and off (that little light bulb IS pretty darn cute to watch, I have to admit). And that's when I realized why I picked the turquoise+yellow combination for this first attempt at the envelope shirt:

apparently it's a pairing I've been surrounding myself with lately, right down to my dining room curtains. Here's to consistency, I guess!

kids' clothes week: inspired by books [frog + toad edition].

2010-05-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to the elsie marley kids' clothes week challenge not only as a motivator to sew consistently this week, but also to try out something I've been wanting to do for a long time now: make clothes for my kids inspired by some of our favorite children's books. Because how many times do I look at a great illustration and think, "Wow, I want to make that/I wish my kids could wear that."

[OK, really the thought is something more like "I want to live in this book and wear those clothes!!" And then the sad process in which I must admit how not cool I would look wearing Madeline's yellow coat or Olivia's red dresses at my age. Ah, three cheers, then, for reliving youth and wardrobe freedom through my offspring.]

So, did you recognize that outfit above? Arnold Lobel is one of my all-time favorite author/illustrators, and I recently realized how his "look" is defined by his very limited color palette: the browns+teals of Mouse Soup, the greys+oranges of his illustrations for the first two Oliver Pig books (written by Jean Van Leeuwen), and the greens+browns of the Frog and Toad series. So, when I found the fabric above at the thrift store--a really lovely greenish twill with lines of brown and yellow woven through--I didn't have to think long before I realized what they reminded me of.

I pre-cut some of my projects last week and got a head start on the sewing this weekend during some mother's day alone time (thank you, wonderful husband who wrangled both boys and assembled a 10,000-part IKEA bunkbed at the same time). Then I put in my "challenge week" hour early this morning--in time to finish up...

...and have an unusually-cooperative photo shoot with the other person around here who loves Frog and Toad:

fun!

Now the nitty-gritty: These are a simple "trace a pair of folded pants" elastic-waist number. I was aiming for an even shorter length with the cuffs for summery "capri" pants (what do you call that length for boys, anyways?") but they still ended up fairly long. Still, they are a nice light weight so I think they'll get worn this summer anyhow. And there's a second hem hidden under there, so all I'll have to do in the winter is let the cuffs out. Presto change-o, a two-season pant. (And p.s.--the jacket is a thrift store find, though I'd love to sew a nice boys' suitcoat someday.)

I may fuss with the cuff construction and add some patch pockets later, but for now it was nice to go from idea to wearing in just about 24 hours. Thanks so much, Meg (and looming eyes of Bloglandia), for lighting a fire under me.

more transitions.

2010-05-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Seems like everything's changing, everyone's getting bigger and cleverer around here. And part of that cleverness is the imminent and treacherous escape-from-the-crib maneuver that will happen any day now. That means it's time for a kids' room re-do, and I'm having a sudden wave of nostalgia for the room as it's been for the past year or so. The photo above, of course, is carefully framed to exclude all the debris on the floor on any given day (including that one), but I really do have a lot of fond memories of putting both kids to bed in that crib, and seeing their happy faces and reaching arms when I came in to get them from a nap. Not as many fond memories of morning wake-ups; those always happen way too early and lead straight back to nursing+cuddling in our bed (OK, cuddling on a good day, elbowing and squirming on a bad one).

I also have some very sweet, very recent, memories of rocking #2 in that chair--for some reason it took me this long to figure out how nice it would be to have a rocking chair in there. I'd just been sitting on the floor or on the mattress our older son used before. I moved that one out of the living room a few weeks back and we haven't missed it too much.

But it's bunk bed time, and that's exciting in its own right. I think we're settled on this one; we looked a bit for some used options but transporting an assembled bunk bed is more than we feel up for. Plus it's really cool and the low-profile construction is a bonus in their very tiny space. Here's a great, and also weirdly narrow, kids' room seen on design*sponge that uses it.

And I think it will also be time to change up the material on their clothespin wire, so here's a little "for the record" close-up of how it looks today.

Some good stuff there--class photo, original three-year-old artwork, cards from my sister. But I have some new family photos I'd like to put up, the new class picture should be coming soon, and we certainly have beautiful artwork by both boys to display. Maybe I am more excited about redecorating than I realized.

new writer in the house.

2010-05-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

We're in an exciting phase around here with our two boys' language skills: an almost-two-year-old learning to talk and a four-and-a-half-year-old learning to read and write. It's funny how the acquisition of both skills is so exponential, and how reluctance gives way to excitement. One day you get resistance for pointing out how to sound out and read the word "NO" (as in "NO PARKING", seems like we see that everywhere) and the next he's coming home from school with a paper where he's written "no," plus "on," and "off," all on his own--because he noticed those words on the oven.

This weekend I suggested a little drawing/writing project: a book of labeled pictures. We decided on fruits as the theme. I originally imagined a nice sewn-binding booklet like these, but we ended up repurposing a photo album we had running around--simpler, just as nice, and I think probably more fun for him to slip the pages he'd written into the plastic sleeves:

I've been trying to be mindful of doing things with the kids rather than just giving them things to do to keep them occupied. Hence my delicious-looking pear above. It was fun.

And there was also space for some of his "pretend" writing, too, which he's always done a lot of--just filling lines and pages of notepads in a very focused way with his own small scratchings--the things I suppose writing looks and feels like to someone who can't quite interpret it all yet.

Not to forget the little guy (he won't let us forget him, don't worry), I should add that his speaking pretty much started with "no," too--but this week I got an "I love you." He can stop right there, for all I care.

elsie marley love.

2010-05-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

In honor of the upcoming kids' clothes week challenge, I thought I'd share a previously-made item inspired by the--well, inspiring!--Meg at elsiemarley. She occasionally makes kid-sized messenger bags to sell in her etsy shop, and when I saw them last year it seemed like the perfect solution to a problem we'd been having with backpack reluctance at school drop-off time. (Actually, there were a lot of drop-off reluctances last year. So anything we could do to change the routine was worth a try. Plus, um, the bags are ridiculously cute.)

I don't think Meg has posted a tutorial for her bags, so I would consider her design proprietary--please consider this just a loose inspiration. I sized the bag according to the manila envelopes they use for home communication, but I forgot to leave any slack in that measurement, so the envelope usually ends up being folded in half--oh well. The outside is corduroy and I lined it with two different vintage/thrifted fabrics. The chicken-and-egg calico is also the back side of the strap. And I made a pocket-on-top-of-pocket for the back, if that makes any sense--the big pocket is as wide and about 2/3 as tall the bag, and I decided to have the bicycle patch as a pocket, too. The freezer paper stencil there was my first-ever attempt at drawing a bicycle, and I'm not sure it would be rideable in real life--but you get the idea.

here's a close-up:

this is one of those projects I did before I was really keeping up with this blog, so it's fun to revist it and remember the process! the bag is still kicking around the house, though it doesn't get used for school that often. Someone figured out that regular knapsack-style bags double as jet packs and rescue packs.

lucky us.

2010-04-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last spring, we played host to two robins who made their nest and raised four chicks in a corner of our front porch eaves. It turned into a fun science-and-nature lesson with my then-three-year-old son and a fun photography project for me: the nest was in just the right place for me to slip my camera above and snap a shot of its contents using the macro function ("flower button") on my trusty point-and-shoot. One of the photos from last year is the background for my first (and current) blog banner. And after the birds had moved out, we pulled the nest down and were able to examine the careful construction and use it as a place to gather some of the special things that make it from outside into our own home.

So this spring, we were really thrilled (and a little surprised) to see the first twigs and sticks of a new nest going up in the exact same spot. I have to assume that it's the same pair of birds--I guess all my intrusions were not enough to make the parents want to shop for real estate on a different porch. Still, I've tried to be a little less nosy this year, taking a photo only once or twice every week.

Here's what I'd been seing the past few times I peeked--four eggs, same as last year:

And here's what I saw today:

Wow! These guys are obviously very new; the tightly curled one in the middle looks like its feathers are still wet from being in the shell. One thing I haven't figured out is what the parents are doing with the egg shells once the birds hatch--we didn't find them nearby either year, so I'm wondering if they carry them far away to discourage predators who might smell them.

You can see a short (9 second) video of the birds today here and my full set of last year's nest and fledglings here. I'll keep checking in with the birds every few days as their feathers come in and they learn to fly--it was a remarkably fast process, if I remember right.

playing along--kids' clothes week.

2010-04-27T06:23:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to participating in the "kids' clothes week" hosted by Meg at elsiemarley.

It's a pretty simple challenge--to sew clothes for your kids for one hour each night during the second week of May. And this week Meg has gathered a ton of beautiful and inspiring tutorials and ideas, so I'll be looking there--and in my (small and underused) pattern stash--for inspiration. I also have a little idea for a theme, which I'll share later. No matter what, it's going to be good to have some new threads for my two boys, who have grown like weeds this winter.

made it there.

2010-04-26T11:16:00.000-07:00

check out Melissa's sweet post about receiving my item for the barter exchange. Something about seeing an item I made at someone else's home is both surreal and thrilling--so glad you liked it, M.!

A little note about the embroidery: I made the dandelion and the first few blowing seeds on the pocket fabric before sewing the pocket and attaching it to the bag. After the bag was made, I decided it looked too "framed" on the pocket and went back to add the seeds blowing off the pocket and around the bag. Something about leaves/seeds/petals blowing really adds a sense of motion to a static craft like embroidery--I first got the idea from this piece by one of my favorite online embroiderer/crafters, tiny happy. And I used a similar technique on this hat.

Speaking of embroidery, check out this unbelievable piece by artist Melissa Stanley. Again, I think it's the idea of embroidery leaving the frame that is so compelling, for me at least.

in.habit.ing

2010-04-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

[an occasional series in homage to one of my favorite photo projects, habit--one photo, just a few words.]

Some afternoons they just can't stop moving. It's exhausting, but then again it's a great excuse to be outdoors and ignore housework.

barter-rific.

2010-04-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

Something exciting arrived on my doorstep last week:

I received a stack of gorgeous baby bibs from Melissa as part of her brilliant idea for a barter exchange. I love, love her fabric choices! As part of the deal, I offered to attach the snaps using the swanky new snap press I received for Christmas. The press merits a post of its own sometime, I think, but here's a picture of the bibs all lined up ready for fastenerizing (I retain all copyrights to that terrific verb, thank you very much):

So stunning I may start a new fashion trend by wearing them myself:

just kidding.

Her package is on its way, so I won't spoil the surprise by posting pictures yet, but I will offer a link to the items I have offered to barter. You can visit tigerlily tinkering for links to all the barter participants--we've made a full round of swaps among the first set of participants, but I think there is still time to jump in and set up your own barter shop and arrange an exchange.

I have to say that as much as I enjoyed being on the receiving end of this swap, and as wonderful as it will be to have that stack of bibs ready as go-to gifts for friends' babies, the best part was getting to know my fellow swappers a little better. You'll forgive me for shedding a little tear about the wonders of Crafty Bloglandia, but I just can't get over how nice people are, how talented, and how generous. Happy bartering, everyone!

growing.

2010-04-13T08:38:00.000-07:00

the part of the computer I use to upload photos is on the fritz, but here's one I took a few weeks back. See how big that kid is getting? I can hardly believe it's been almost two years since he was born. He is a good helper like his brother, but more of a wanderer--I had a not-so-great parenting moment this morning when a neighbor knocked on the door with (my!) toddler-in-arms, because she had found him standing in the middle of the street in front of our house. oh, oh, oh. terrifying and exasperating both. I need a big bell to hang around his neck, I think.

it's just about planting time here, and we are excited to try some new things this year: carrots, beets, canteloupe, sunflowers, and cauliflower, to name a few. We are very novice gardeners, so there's no method to our madness--just put out some seeds and see what comes up. At the very least, we seem to have great luck with zucchini: I put "She-Ra," our 18-inch mammoth from last year, out to pasture during the winter, and just this weekend thinned out about a hundred seedlings that grew up from where she rotted. I just tossed them back in the compost but I was kicking myself later when I saw zucchini plants going for $2.99 each at our local co-op. A good second career for me if my current lines of work don't pan out, I guess!

I'll end this meandering post with some links for gardening-genre things we love--hope they are useful for some of you!

--A great book, The Family Kitchen Garden has recipes, gardening activities to do with kids all year long, and clearly-written and organized information on crop rotation, planting seasons, and other gardening basics.

--We bought seeds from this heirloom seed company through a local organic grocery, but you can order them online as well.

--We love this picture book now and in February.

--I've had row markers on the brain and love these, these, and these from Etsy as well as these DIY ones.

Happy gardening, everyone! I hope to be back in this space soon with new photos and news about a very exciting package I received in the mail last week!!

happy easter, everyone.

2010-04-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

hope you're having a great day. Our kid-made version of this beautiful project, as seen on design*sponge. Is it OK to admit we used toilet paper rolls for the stands?

you can have your cherry blossom festival.

2010-04-02T07:32:00.000-07:00

the arboretum is a favorite destination any day, but especially in springtime.

we go to look at things up close.

and far away.

to learn to climb trees.

and jump back out.

but mostly because it's good to have a place that takes your breath away.

back.

2010-04-01T08:35:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at my sister's wedding--the preparation, the anticipation, the joy. We were able to head down well ahead of time, and I am glad we were there to lend moral and material support (some to the bride, mostly to our mother!). Many, though not all, of our large extended family were able to attend; the setting was gorgeous; the music outstanding; and love-in-the-air abounded.

And all that said, we're so glad to be back home (and no, that's not home above! the wedding was held on the lawn in front of that house). Daily rhythms are returning, suitcases are slowly getting unpacked, and spring has stayed around long enough for us to continue relishing it. Piles of laundry and a bout of stomach illness aside, things are pretty great. I like weddings, but I love marriage--and I adore our family.

never would've believed it.

2010-03-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

My Christmas gift to myself was this book that's had all my favorite home/making bloggers abuzz for the past year or so. And my goodness, is it worth the hype. I never, ever, would have believed I would become the kind of person who would bake fresh bread regularly--and now I do!

I have so far tried only the regular boule and the light wheat version, pictured here, but I now feel like I have those down and would like to move on to the brioche, shaped loaves, and other "fancy" breads. Still, I think these basic, great-with-dinner (then toasted with coffee the next morning) loaves will be my standbys.

Amy Karol and Erin Harris have both posted helpful comments on baking with the book, and you can also check out the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day website for errata and new recipes and ideas. So I'll just add a few of my own beginners' thoughts here, for anyone who's interested:

--The book comes with a pretty extensive equipment list to optimize your baking. I do not yet own most of those items, and this was keeping me from trying anything at first. Then I decided to wing it. Things have gone fine. For example, I do not own a bread stone or pizza peel, so I have been using a well-dusted bamboo cutting board and a cookie sheet in the oven. I also ordered an oven thermometer, but it does not work--again, no major disasters.

--I *do* think that having all the right supplies will make this bread-making process even better, so those items have moved to the top of my thrifting look-out and/or birthday lists. In the meantime, I read that you can use an unglazed ceramic tile in place of an "official" bread stone, so I may try that next--I think they are $1-2 at home depot.

--The authors advise working with a "grapefruit-sized" portion of dough to form your loaves. I guess I eat smaller grapefruits than they do, because I found that my first loaves were too small, and therefore the crust/crumb ratio felt off. So, I've been envisioning more of a "melon-sized" ball, and that works for me.

--Again, I underestimated how deep my slashes on top should be--keeping them consistent and on the deeper side seems to work best, allowing for the loaf to open up more as it bakes.

--The loaf on the right above is cracked because I did not get a smooth enough ball at the "gluten cloak" phase of shaping the loaf. I don't often have that problem, but it does illustrate the importance of that shaping step.

Well, I'll leave off there--there are many other bloggers who have written about this book, so I'd encourage you to check out their notes as well. You really, really should try this--it's even easier than it sounds.

more gratuitous spring photography.

2010-03-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

hi everyone--things are busy but I wanted to share a few photos of our japanese magnolia in the process of blooming. We had to leave home during one of my favorite weeks of spring (for the best of causes--my little sister's wedding!) so I took these photos to remind me of what is going on in our front yard while we're away.

I should add that we mostly landscape with native plants, like good "green" gardeners, but this is one out-of-towner we really enjoy. How do your gardens grow?

spring equals.

2010-03-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

I can't say it too loudly for fear of jinxing it, but I think spring is here.

spring=birds in budding trees.

spring=knitting in cotton.

spring=crocuses (the daffodils are up now, too!)

spring=eating outside (and using this sunscreen stick, which I love for all of us.)

spring=sun. We missed you!

zoo day.

2010-03-11T08:02:00.000-08:00