Not to be Left Out

I know that "less is more," but I completely ignored that philosophical nugget when I uploaded the pictures for this post. You're about to be bombarded. Forgive me. (Don't say I didn't warn you).



It's hard to be five. It's rough to sit around and watch your parents play with heavy machinery while they hand you a book, most likely with the pictures already drawn for you inside, and a box of crayons.



It's tough. Your mother is busy pounding away on something that looks like it has an accelerator and you've got a box of colored wax. Life. What are you gonna do?



Beg. Plead, if you have to. Take a knee (or two). Repeat yourself, over and over and over and over and over and over again. Please, please, please. Can I? Repeat.



Hop into her chair as soon as she gets up to grab some new fabric or the scissors she doesn't remember that she's left on the ironing board (again). Show some initiative.



Remind her, you are five. In some cultures, girls are practically married by the time they're five. Remind her that last week, when you told her it was your wedding day and asked if you could marry Daddy, your brother, your cousin, or your uncle, she said no until you finally settled on the neighbor boy, and then she said okay, but not yet, right now it's illegal. Tell her, you never let me do anything I want to do.



Shed a few (buckets of) tears, preferably over something of which water could ruin the finish. Time these tears to coincide with those of your baby brother.



Promise her. That you won't run over your fingers with the needle. That you will pay attention. That you won't drop pins on the floor. That you will only cut the fabric with the scissors. That you will clean your room. And your brothers'. That you will wait until you are six to marry the neighbor boy.



Smile at her. Remind her of the girl she used to be (the one who took apart her own mother's sewing machine in an attempt to figure out how the bobbin worked, unbeknownst to her mother). Smile, because now you've got her.



Audrey's first sewing project: a set of finger puppets. I showed her how a finger puppet was constructed by helping her make the little red-headed man. Then she sketched pictures of the other puppets she wanted to create - a butterfly, and (of course) a jellyfish. She gave them to Nathan for his second birthday.

For G on His Birthday

Not all the projects around here have been of the practical sort. Some are soft on the hands and warm up the heart like this little crown, made for a dimple-cheeked boy quick to walk and easy to hug, who knows his way around a hearty laugh. These are the projects that you can't help but smile while making because while you wish you could be there to squeeze the intended recipient on his special day, you know that at least this little felt hat will be hugging his head. This, hat (ahem, "modeled" by Nate) made a trip cross-country to help my nephew, Greyson, celebrate his first birthday. Greyson, we couldn't have imagined you any better. And, one year later, we can't imagine this world without you. Happy birthday, sweet boy.

In Progress

Every toy and book Audrey owned used to fit into two small bins in our playroom. The space was efficient, with a large open space to run and play - just the thing a child needs most from a playroom. A funny thing happened as Audrey grew, in essence, needing more room in which to run and play - those toys grew. They seemed to multiply as we slept, soon spilling out of our two bins. We cleaned them out and trimmed down the contents, but with the addition of another child and more birthdays and Christmases, those toys never seemed to get under control and running in that room became a challenge.

Taming that room has been on my mind for some time, but I like to take my time with these projects, figuring out what I want from a space before I invest time and money. I've never been an impulse shopper, or much of an impulse anything, for that matter. (Part of me would also just rather give most of the toys away. I prefer a few quality items and lots of space for imagination over a packed playroom). But, for those things that the kids come back to again and again - especially those things with multiple uses that encourage creativity, some storage is definitely in order. When I ran across this pattern a few weeks ago, I knew I'd found what I was looking for. Spare moments over the last week have been spent working on three of these baskets, two still in progress. With the exception of some interfacing, which I had to buy, the other materials were fabrics left over from other projects. The inside is cotton quilting fabric, while the outsides are the scraps of a painter's drop cloth, used to make Audrey's indoor playhouse. They won't contain all the ruckus that has become the playroom, but it's a start. At less than $1.60 each, it's a very effective start.

*This pattern calls for a lot of hand sewing, with no visible machine-stitched lines on the outside of the baskets, which might just make it an ideal first project for someone, especially a child learning to sew.

The Mama-mades

A few mama-made gifts managed to make their way from the knitting needles and sewing machine to the tree skirt this year in time for Christmas. The first (knit balls) found their way on my knitting needles early this year, accompanying my summer rides in the passenger seat (Nate even tried to get in on the knitting action, playing with the stray yarn yet to be woven in). I used the "Baby's First Ball" pattern in Melanie Falick and Kristin Nicholas' Knitting for Baby. I made sets of three balls for the littlest ones on our Christmas list.



The last of the balls were finished up during Audrey's costume changes as she performed shows this December. This was my first experience with the felting process (each ball was felted after being knit in order to close up any holes between the knit stitches - felting involves washing the knit item in hot water, causing the wool to shrink together). All three sets were made using yarn from Debbie Stoller's Stitch Nation collection. Jason was as eager to try these out as Nate, mentioning that they would be perfect for teaching our little guy some indoor baseball skills with no fear of broken windows.



While perusing a Pottery Barn Kids catalog one night this November for inspiration, I decided that Audrey and my oldest nephew absolutely, without a doubt, must have pizzas to unwrap for Christmas. Felt pizzas. With toppings. Wrapped in actual pizza boxes (thank you Eric and Debbie for donating the perfect gift boxes!).




I made these pizzas up as I went, tracing a dinner plate to get the right size for the pizza, playing around with crust until I found a method that worked for me, and free handing the toppings. The toppings include pepperoni (which Audrey refers to as tomatoes since we don't typically order pepperoni on our pizza), green peppers, mushrooms, and little white ovals of mozzarella cheese. The pizza has been a hit. What I didn't anticipate was the extra mileage the toppings would get as they become featured in other dishes Audrey concocts in her play kitchen, most notably soups stirred in some new wooden pots that Santa dropped off.



I love so many things about mama-made gifts. I love the creative process that begins with my idea and transfers to my kids' as they come up with ways to use the toys that I hadn't imagined. I love that I can work on them at home (or even book club), still spending time with those I care about rather than at a store by myself. I get an extra boost of accomplishment when I finish a project and cross a name off of my "to shop for" list. And, working on a project always seems to spark ideas for future projects, getting me excited about the next season or celebration. Ideas are already brewing for next year. Soon, after tackling a few organizational projects, I might just have to start a journal - a gift journal to keep track of my ideas for 2011. Oh, and did I mention Santa tucked a sweet new knitting book under my tree this year? Yes, I foresee a 2011 full of mama-made.

A Little Catching Up

We had a successful Thanksgiving break, the kind that involves days of productivity and days of relaxation, as well as a day of having others cook for us. In fact, I felt so successful following the break that Sunday night a wrote out a to-do list of all the tasks I planned to accomplish today. I felt confident in my Monday abilities. Until I woke up. It's not that I couldn't have pressed on - there's nothing wrong with me. But you see, somewhere in the middle of last night a slumber party ensued (it's been happening the last several nights, truth be told). It began around eleven when Nathan woke up crying and Jason tucked him between the two of us to settle him down. His sister joined the party, sidling up to my other side around five in the morning. And, well, their little bodies are just so warm, definitely not the incentive one needs for starting the day early.



So, we didn't. We lingered in our pajamas until the hour when I hope I won't be embarrassed by needing to open the door to my UPS man. The to-do list sat untouched on the counter and I renewed the library books online. It's not as if the library or post office are going anywhere, or growing faster than their mamas can keep up with, anyway. And so, we took our cue from the morning and introduced ourselves into this week slowly, with cookies. Audrey donned her apron (sans pants, since the moment she gets jelly on them she considers them "wet") and we got down to serious, non-to-do list work. The cookies we made seemed just right (banana oatmeal, if you're curious), the ingredients tossed together in one bowl with no need to dirty the mixer. Dough dropped by the lumpy misshapen spoonful onto a cookie sheet and sent to the oven to make the whole downstairs smell like cinnamon and blankets on rainy days. It was just that sort of day.

In that same vein, before moving on with the details of this season, I thought I'd do a bit of catching up by sharing a few small things that happened around here in the last few months - items I meant to blog about at the time, but due to morning sickness and the busyness that has no regard for morning sickness, I never got around to.

First, I finally got around to lengthening the curtains (you can see the before picture above with the orange chair). It's a project that's been on my list since I bought them. I purposely bought the shorter panels when I realized how wide the hem was on each one, thinking I could save myself fifteen bucks a panel by lengthening them once I got them home. Sadly, they stayed in their short stature state for months before I got around to introducing them to my sewing machine. But, let's just focus on the finished product, shall we? Ahh, that's better.

This fall, Audrey took to watching birds, so much so that she (and Jason) decided she must have a birdhouse. So they made, I mean, bought one. One afternoon they traveled all over town looking for birdhouse kits to make their own. Unable to find a kit, they found this little abode, to which Audrey quickly added graffiti "to let the birds know it's their house."

They also brought home a feeder, which Audrey quickly hung from a tree next to the garden (I'm slightly concerned about what this will mean next year when the birds come to that spot looking for food). The feeder and house were hung so late in the season that we weren't sure they'd have any visitors this year, but the feeder has already been emptied once and Audrey was so happy to see this little guy above (one of the first visitors) that she quickly, accidentally ran him off. I have to admit, I understand the excitement. After my grandfather passed away, each grandchild was given something like $25 or $50 of his to do with what we pleased (I was a bit older than Audrey, but apparently young enough that I'm too old now to recall what my age would have been). I wanted to get something with mine that would last and remind me of my grandparents, so I bought a bird feeder (a large one that stood on a post), which my father very graciously put front and center in the backyard.

Finally, we captured some handprints before they do what handprints do and get abilities and minds of their own, and grow faster than any mama thinks they should. These handprints were captured during a meeting of my moms' club onto an apron. I love that once the apron is of no use, I can cut the handprints out and the canvas fabric can be framed or stretched like a picture. Of course, Audrey informed me that this is actually her apron, since she made it. Luckily, she's allowing me to wear it. At least while we make cookies.

On a Roll

I love when a project comes to completion: that moment of holding your work in your hands and seeing an actual something with purpose and function. I love it even more when the that purpose and function is meant to find its way into the hands of creative little ones. A few such somethings found their way onto my sewing machine this week.


These are felt pencil rolls, based off of a pattern out of Amanda Blake Soule's The Creative Family. I attached a design on the front of each one using embroidery floss and more felt. Inside are slots to fit 15 pencils and a flap on the top to keep the tops of the pencils secured. Once the pencils are tucked inside, it can be rolled up and kept closed by a couple ribbons attached to the side.


The four in these pictures were made for birthday presents. I think I might have to crank out a few more for Christmas. But for tonight, I'm going to smile thinking of four finished projects and four budding artists.

Happy Halloween!

We have been squeezing all we can into, and out of, October, wringing that towel for every pumpkin-spiced drop we can get. The week has been full: welcoming a childhood friend and her family into our neighborhood; putting the finishing touches on Halloween costumes; and making plans for a certain soon-to-be-four-year-old's (really!?) birthday. And while I have some catching up to do in this space, tonight I'm going to spend the last hours of October thinking of the weekend past and its sweetness, inside and outside of those candy bags.




You might recognize Audrey's costume. I made these wings from a pile of leftover felt back in March with plans of giving them to Audrey as part of a birthday gift. Then, a couple months ago, she informed me that she wanted to be a butterfly for Halloween this year. Not one to stand in the way of a Halloween wish, she received the gift early. Saturday morning, I covered a headband with felt matching the wings, and attached antennae by covering some thick floral wire with felt and twisting it around the band before sewing some pink circles (with light green circles inside the front pieces) on top. The costume made her sing, literally. She fluttered around the house Saturday morning sporting the wings and singing a made up tune. It may have been the before-bedtime sugar, but she woke up singing this morning, and those butterfly wings found themselves making a second appearance in, ahem, church.




Nathan spent his first Halloween buzzing about in this costume (actually he spent it sleeping in the little red wagon while his sister dashed through the neighborhood), made from a black fleece that once belonged to my sister. The fleece found its way into a pile intended for Goodwill a few months ago, where it sat, because, good as my intentions might be, I just can't seem to make it to Goodwill. Once I began brainstorming warm Halloween costumes for Nate, that fleece got pulled back out (sorry, Goodwill), which may be my best rationalization for procrastination yet. The fleece gained a few yellow felt stripes and a pair of wings fashioned from floral wire and a pair of my pantyhose that had a run in them (yep, he's going to love knowing that when he's older). One stinger and a hat made from the same fleece later, and he was ready for his close up (or at least, running away from it). Two sweet winged creatures zooming around your house? Precious. One full bag of Halloween candy for a preschooler ready to devour it? Frightening. Two memorable costumes without paying a dime? Priceless.

The Stack

I have a stack (true be told, I have a stack and a box) of items that need fixing and projects awaiting completion. It's a pile in the worse sense of piles: broken (but, could be useful) or partially-made things are found and stacked where they sit waiting for me to mend or finish them. And wait. And wait.

This week, while searching for a gift I knew I had partially sewn, I unearthed the pile. I walked past the pile today and noticed a couple items that have just been waiting for interfacing to be ironed onto them. The ironing board was already out, so I grabbed the two items and got down to business. That led to two other quick fixes at the sewing machine.



Now, I've started a new pile - of items ready to be worn, again. There's a little something for each of us: a bib for Nate, pajama top for Audrey, swim trunks for Jason, a skirt for me, and a gift to boot. Progress. Ahh...

I'm Just Mad About Saffron...

I have a hard time throwing useful things out. Even things we bought replacements for months ago. Holey things. Dingy things. Wouldn't be caught dead in, on, with, sort of things.




This, ahem, compulsion led to a little sheet-dyeing experiment a couple weeks ago. Jason and I had replaced our once-white sheets. I couldn't bring myself to toss the sheets into the clothing donation pile. So, I tossed them into hot turmeric-spiked water, instead, following these instructions.



Our turmeric was a little on the dated-side (the expiration date read August 2005, making this a two-birds-with-one-stone project: a little aged spice use-up and color touch-up), so I wasn't sure how this would turn out. But, one brightly-colored pillowcase later, I was a believer. (You can also use turmeric to dye Easter eggs).




A little fun with bias tape, and pillowcase dress tutorial later, and we have one repurposed pillowcase and one new nightgown for summer. Because, what's cozier than sheets?



Even if they are a little spice-scented.

An Early Morning Lesson

I am one of those forever nerds. The type of girl you can take out of the classroom, but you can't seem to shake the classroom from the girl. (This might explain my compulsion to grab any DIY book on the library's new nonfiction shelves regardless of how many books are already in my stack.) This morning, I found myself with an empty house (minus the sleeping babe in his crib), pieces of a project waiting in a pile, and a never-before-used tool. It seemed high time to learn how to make my own bias tape.

I've used bias tape on several projects in the last few years. We used it in droves for Audrey's playhouse. Each time I needed some, I headed to the fabric store, picked up a three-yard package in a solid color, and plopped a few bucks on the counter - which is fine (if you're not using it in droves). But, then I discovered a little tool called a bias tape maker that allows you to easily make your own (for FREE - in ANY color or pattern you want! Do I hear you calling me a DIY nerd?).

This morning I tried it out, and hmm, that was easy. Nice and mindless and incredibly satisfying to see cheery yellow gingham bias tape coming to life. Sometimes, there is no better way to start your day than an easy, mindless task that allows you to focus your thoughts on planning your day or the projects and dreams to come - especially when that task affords you sweet gingham bias tape. If only I had bought the right-sized tool and not one too small. Hmm. Lesson learned.

Clowning Around

Audrey left this afternoon for a sleepover at Grammy's, which bought mama the few extra moments she needed to put the finishing touches on one more costume for the dress-up trunk I'm hoping to have ready for her birthday this fall. The straps were sewn on these clown pants about an hour ago. The fabric has been waiting in a stash for decades. I recall buying the fabric for a dollar or so as a teenager. I was reintroduced to it when my mom had me go through a pile of fabric in her basement to see if I wanted to take anything home with me. When I saw it, I wasn't sure what it would become, but I knew it could be a costume. Then I ran across the clown pattern in Deborah House's Quick Costumes for Kids, and something called out that this was what that blue fabric was meant to become. I mean, look at it. What else are you going to do with white-polka-dotted blue polyester? (Let's not even ask what I was thinking when I bought it, shall we?) Ironically, the pattern in House's book asks you to cut out your own polka dots and adhere them to the fabric. Ahem, no need there. See, this clown suit has me laughing already. All I need is a red rubber nose.

A Little Weekend Planting, I mean, Painting

We brought our planting inside this weekend with the help of some paintbrushes and acrylic paints. We had been putting off a little project, waiting for the perfect weather to take our paint outside, and then waiting on me to be able to handle being out in the perfect weather without sneezing (therefore avoiding the bad combination of a paintbrush and unexpectedly shaking hand). Finally, we changed our plans. We spread some heavy duty cardboard out over the basement carpet and took our chances.

After a little sketching by mom and quick painting tutorial by dad, Audrey was ready to put some finishing touches on her playhouse. We kept things simple, just a row of flowers. Audrey painted the petals until her energy level couldn't handle the stillness required for painting. Then, it was off to clean up and play with Dad while I put a few embellishments on the artwork to hide some painting mishaps (I love that paint is its own magic eraser).

These little flowers add a much needed punch of color. We might just have to grow some around the corner on the other side. We kept things pretty nondescript so if she wants to pretend that the building is something other than a house, she can easily do that. But, the top is a bit bare. It might need a window painted on, or a sign of some sort. But for now, the playhouse is open, the kitchen furniture is moved in, and one little girl thinks it all looks just fine. That's masterpiece enough for me.

A Bag, A Bouquet, A Birthday

Yesterday I mentioned that we got a full dose of weekend, complete with a little bit of celebrating. My older, yet, younger-looking (I'm not just saying this, a few years ago she was asked if she was going to prom while having her nails done. My sister had gone to prom - a decade or so before) sister had a birthday. I had a present in the works. My sister and brother-in-law, like many of us with little kids and a sudden excess of "stuff," have been trying to reorganize and simplify things around their house. Both are neat by nature, so I was aiming for a gift that might be of some use, not just one more thing to organize or toss out later.

I settled on what I'll call produce bags - part mesh/part printed fabric with a drawstring and toggle closure. My goal was to make a set of three in different sizes with different fabrics that she could take to the farmer's market, the store, or even the beach to collect shells with her son - the possibilities are a bit endless. My free time, however, was not. I finished one bag before we stopped by her house to wish her a happy birthday. What's a little sister to do when her project comes up short? Grab a bouquet of her sister's favorite flowers and go on her celebrating way. Luckily, big sisters tend to grant their much less-organized little sisters a little leeway. Just one more thing to celebrate.

*I wish I could tell you where I got the inspiration for the bag. I saw it somewhere, most likely a book or magazine. In my idea pile was a simple sketch and some dimensions, halfway written down, which means I must have been interrupted by a certain toddler before I finished writing down the dimensions or a description of the directions. Sorry for the dark picture. What can I say, that's the quality you get when the photographer, ahem, forgets to take a picture until riding in the backseat of a car to her sister's house, sandwiched by her babes, on a cloudy rainy day.

A Birthday Bag

Today is a sweet little one's birthday: my namesake to be exact. She is vibrant and full of sunshine (as all Kristins are, I assure you). And four. Oh my. Thinking upon four and all its mystery, I snuck away to the guest room, where the sewing machine lives, Monday night. I searched through my fabric stash, selecting one modern print and a floral print passed on from my mother's stash (and most likely decades old) to mine. Then I got to work on a little bag - the artsy clutch from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing. The clutch is a no-fuss lined bag and fastens with a button and elastic cording. Just right for a no-fuss four-year-old with treasures to collect and store.

Morning light revealed a complete project and a few flaws that escaped the veil of nighttime lighting. The sweet little flowers that I had thought were yellow the night before are actually orange, which I think looks just fine. What doesn't look so fine are the brown spots left behind by an overzealous iron on the lining fabric. One spot was visible on the outside through a white spot. I covered it with a button and then threw on a couple of others for some four-year-old flair. As for the others, I'm telling myself that they are on the lining of a four-year-old's bag, a child whose name does not end with Bagley or Mischka, who (if anything like her namesake at four) will promptly fill the bag with dirt-covered rocks. (I'm also telling myself it's time to invest in a lamp). Oh four. The adventures to be had, the memories to collect...

*The butterfly hair clip was inspired by one I noticed as Audrey was getting her hair cut at a children's salon.

Malfunctions and Distractions

I'm experiencing a little technical glitch - camera-wise. I'm hoping it's simply a dead battery issue. I meant to go buy some today. But there was a more pressing errand to be run and the sun was shining, which (in my book) makes it a one-errand day. Sunshine is not to be wasted walking up and down the aisles of a windowless bulk foods store, even if one doesn't manage to make it out in the sun for more than grilling dinner. Even if one spends the afternoon in the kitchen doing puzzles on the hardwood floor while listening to the chink of aluminum bats hitting leather balls just outside. A slumbering baby, a toddler's pride at completing her puzzle, and a kitchen made new by a sunlit cast - all ample reasons to stay unplugged and put off batteries for another day.

So the only pictures I have for you are these of on-going projects. The first (taken with my phone) of Audrey creating her version of sock puppets - complete with arms and legs - using a kit given to her by a friend. The second, a picture I took a couple days ago as I worked on a project I hope to finish soon. Audrey named her creations: Audrey, Fluffy, and Gassy, ahem (I think she was actually naming it Cassie, but I laughed and said, did you say Gassy? - and it was all over then). I've only given mine first initials.

Maybe, tomorrow we'll go buy batteries. Or, maybe, we'll keep running on another kind of energy.

One Down

Our little girl stays true to her season. The Halloween books get pulled out all year long. She has yet to stop talking about trick-or-treating and keeps asking when we're going again. Just last week she asked me what I was for Halloween, followed by questions as to what her grandparents went dressed up as for Halloween. Headbands with rabbit ears or flower petals or crowns attached frequently find their way from the playroom floor to the top of her head. This week she's been stealing a whisk from the kitchen drawer to use as her scepter as she runs through the house telling me about the other creatures who live in her kingdom. I didn't have to brainstorm too long before deciding that a trunk filled with costumes for dress-up would be an Audrey-perfect gift.

Last night, I decided to spend the last few free minutes of the night sitting in front of the sewing machine rather than the computer. And, voila, today we have a pair of wings - butterfly wings. I used the Fluttery Butterfly pattern in Deborah House's Quick Costumes for Kids as my template to make this costume. House suggests that you use craft glue to create this cute costume in a mere hour. We're a bit rough and tumble at our house, so I'm not sure how a glued costume would hold up. I decided to double her pattern, so to speak, creating a front and back. I sewed each stripe and circle to the material (all felt that I had on hand) and then sewed the two pieces together, making it much sturdier. The elastic loops seen in the picture slip over the arms, while some elastic sewn in a figure-eight shape will hold the costume secure against Audrey's back. As for the hour timeline, I can't really say how much longer my version took. It's a bit like that song in Rent, which measures time by coffee cups. This project took a few bath times given by Daddy, one free night due to an evening meeting Jason had to attend, several 2-minutes here/3-minutes there to sew on one stripe or circle as Jason had Audrey preoccupied, and one final sewing session to connect the wings last night.

Now this costume gets tucked away for secret keeping until November or December. My plan is to make a costume a month until her birthday or Christmas (and to find the perfect wooden trunk to store the costumes in - if you find one, let me know). I'm hoping to have ten or so costumes (I bought a couple on clearance for a few dollars a piece following Halloween last year to add to the stash) to give her. We'll see how it goes. One costume down...