yarn along...better late than never!

Eep! Almost missed yarn along day, but I'm sneaking in under the wire.

I've nearly finished my stripey socks, just 1/2 of the second foot to go. And while it doesn't really qualify as reading, I'm totally geeking out over my new planner, turning each page and getting to know what's in it. I lust after an Erin Condren planner, as many do, but simply cannot justify $50 for what is, at its core, a datebook. This one, purchased on Amazon and using some credit I had, came in at a highly reasonable $7.50 out of pocket.

Now I just have to make some plans to fill it up!

First plan: finish these socks.

summer at last

First day of summer vacation! Yes, our kids were in school until yesterday. Our schools start after Labor Day and end late in June. I now have a rising 4th grader and a soon-to-be kindergartener. Crazy! It is so true what they say: the days are long but the years are short. My babies are no longer babies.

Since we finally have a day with zero obligations and no place to be, I got around to hand washing the woolens, which saw heavy use this winter. I'm sure my neighbors are enjoying the lovely sight of a rack o' wool drying on my driveway, but it is the only available shady and breezy spot this morning.

I even got most of the kids' clothing sorted into keep/share/donate bags. Yeah productivity!

Also: pancakes for breakfast. It's vacation!

On to lunch and the pool since it is in the 80s today. Time to relax.

is this thing on?

So.

My baby graduated from preschool yesterday. My sweet baby boy, nearly six years old (his birthday will be on the first day of Kindergarten this September), and I am left wondering where the time went.

This was a challenging fall/winter/spring for me. In large part due to the weather, which, let's be honest, really stunk, and all the driving hither and yon to preschool and speech therapy. And also in part due to the transition we are making as a family. My kids are growing by leaps and bounds, after nearly eleven years of marriage some rough edges are showing (nothing dire, just typical stuff), my 24-hours-a-day time as 'provider of all things' is drawing to a close, and I am faced with what my own future holds. I have felt raggedy and cranky a lot so blogging went out the window because who wants to read that?

You hear so much about what is involved with caring for newborns, infants, toddlers, preschoolers...but not much about what comes next (other than the fact that teens are difficult, but duh, we all know that). What I mean is, where does my focus need to be now? How much does my life become about me? Should I immediately go out and try to find work, like most people seem to expect? Do I get a little "time off" to regroup and just sort of rediscover myself? Is that selfish? Shall I volunteer for every activity at my childrens' school now that I can actually be there whenever I want to be? Should I go all out and really increase my etsy business, to see if that is a viable way to make some income for our family?

I have no answers right now, only questions.

Oh, and about a ton of unfinished projects, ideas for projects, supplies for projects...so I will start there, and make these next few months about trying to settle down, untangle the knots, focus, and catch myself up.

late night ramblings

My son had his 7th surgical procedure this morning. He received his 3rd set of ear tubes to relieve the pressure from the sticky mucus that has been building up behind his eardrum. Not only is that gunk at risk of becoming infected, it also affects his hearing, his speech, and how comfortable he feels on a daily basis, so it had to be done.

I pray it was lucky number seven - as in, the last one. I don't know how many more times I can take it, truly. And I'm starting to worry about the effect of all this anesthesia on my little boy and his developing body and brain. When we walked in I was able to greet the recovery nurse by name, because our son has woken up with him twice before. He didn't remember us, which I completely understand. For me a day like today is terrifying. For him it's, you know, Friday.

So I've been up since 5 a.m. (we had to be at the hospital at 7, which is when we usually get up), I spent 4 hours at the hospital, I feel like I've barely eaten because since AJ couldn't eat, we didn't either, and I'm just totally out of whack. In fact I just looked at the calendar and was startled to discover it's still Friday.

I'm having a late-night snack of cinnamon toast and tea with lots of sugar and cream. Turns out I was starving. I just finished the top half of a little outfit I'm sewing for a special birthday girl whose party is tomorrow. We're going to the zoo in the morning with my best friend from middle school and her family, then to the birthday in the afternoon. I'll finish up the outfit in between and try to remember to take a photo.

I'm so thankful my kids are ok, and that all our problems have been pretty small problems in the grand scheme of things.

That was pretty random, I guess. Just wanted to get those thoughts out.

to blog or not to blog...

...well, that IS the question.

It's been two months since I put anything new in this space. Why? I'm not sure. I've certainly thought about it a lot in that time. I've completed a few projects and thought maybe I should take some pictures and write about them. We've gone on a few outings that were fun, and I got some good enough photos where you can't see my kids' faces clearly and I could certainly post about that.

But I'm not sure I want to. My kids are pretty big now (Daughter just turned 6 and AJ is over 2 1/2) so I feel very conscious of their privacy. I don't even tell close friends and family all the quirky things they do. And I have pretty minimal crafting time due to a really messy, rambunctious kid blasting around the house all day. When naptime and bedtime come, it's a mad scramble to clean up the kitchen, straighten the house, run that last load of laundry, and then I crash. I still squeeze in knitting and sewing time, but it's not huge, and when I have that precious free time I want to use it to create things, not write about creating things (I think). Life has done a 180 with this little boy of mine...he is nothing like Daughter, who would happily play nearby while I worked on something creative. He's just not a content-to-self-entertain kid, which is perfectly normal and ok, but it limits my time to do what I want.

However! I am also crazy-addicted to my hobbies. I don't know a single person in real life who is as obsessed as I am with making stuff. I am constantly frustrated and disappointed when trying to make new friends (like at birthday parties or school events) when I cannot find one mom who likes doing crafty stuff. I belong to the local chapter of knitting guild because even though it's me and about 200 grannies, at least the meetings are filled to the brim with women who understand what I do and why I love it so. Perhaps something is wrong with me that I haul a knitting project everywhere I go. Maybe it's completely abnormal that I can't seem to pack my sewing machine away for even a few days without feeling twitchy and getting it back out.

And that's where blogs and the internet come in. I can't find my people here in my real life, so I find them out there, in cyberspace. When I stumble upon a new blog I like the first thing I do is search their "about" page to see if they live geographically nearby. Nope, never happens. So I keep going back and absorbing all I can from these amazingly crafty women I'll never meet.

Now, there are some downsides to this, for me at least. The very best blogs, or I should say the blogs I enjoy the most, are the ones where the writer posts photos of her family, her home, her projects, herself - the really open ones that tell the whole story. I love this! But I'm not willing to do that myself. So sometimes I feel like I can't hang, you know? I feel I cannot truly participate in the world of craft blogging or mom blogging without being more free with my life. I'm sure it is boring to simply look at photos of kid sweaters or mittens or sundresses with no context, really. Right? Or no? I guess I can only say what I prefer, and that's the "whole story."

Also, I don't have the latest and greatest camera, not by a long shot. So many bloggers take such amazing photos with their Nikon XXX12345 camera or their Canon blah-blah-blah with the super special lens and here I am with my 10 year-old Canon Sure Shot A40, a camera so old and outdated you can't even get the drivers without doing an extensive internet search. It's like being in high school again and not having the cool sneakers or a trapper keeper when everyone else does. I also cannot afford to create with the same high-end supplies many crafters use. $10/yard quilting fabric is simply not in my budget, nor is $20/skein yarn, and I do get jealous sometimes when people show their stash.

Aaaaaaaaaand, along those same lines, there's some real nastiness showing up in the entire blog community of late. People are having a real hard time keeping their comments kind, often showering bloggers with judgmental wrath. Sure, I judge people - really, who doesn't at one time or another? But I don't feel the need to blast someone in blog comments (or on my own blog) who chooses to live differently than I do. No one is making me read these blogs, so if I don't care for someone's page, I simply click away and remove it from my bookmarks. Easy as pie and no feelings get hurt.

So, you see, I have a real love/hate thing going on here. My life has done a huge series of flip-flops since I started my little blog as a young newlywed with a 6 month-old baby. There are days when my PTSD from losing a child and going through what I went through with my son takes hold and I have nothing good to say to anyone. There are days when I browse my blog list and just feel angry and sad that my life "doesn't measure up." Then there are days of great inspiration when I love all the projects I see and feel I am part of an awesome group of creative, obsessive, loving, busy, intense moms who I really, really wish could come over to my house for a sewing/knitting/crocheting/embroidering playdate with their adorable kids.

Um, so...yeah. Where does that leave me? I'm not sure. I know that at the very least, I've enjoyed having a place where all my projects are catalogued. I don't want to keep a crappy blog, that's for sure, but I don't know if I have it in me to create an awesome one.

What to do...what to do...

life stuff...and a question for you!

Dear Winter,

It is really time for you to go now. No seriously, we have had just about enough. GO AWAY.

We had this one nice day a few weeks ago, and the kids made the most of it, romping around in the melty snow, playing under the huge pine tree in our yard, and generally soaking in the nice temps. (Also, trashing their clothes almost beyond saving...thank you, Tide Stain Release!)

But since then we've pretty much had snow on the ground. These are tough winters, the ones with no thaw from Thanksgiving straight through till March. We often get a long, late autumn, with no snow up to or even on Christmas, or some nice warmish days in January, up into the 40s or even 50s. BUT NOT THIS YEAR! And it is starting to wear on me, big time. I'm feeling so utterly housebound - it makes me think of the Ingalls family in "The Long Winter" and I wonder how on earth they didn't all go screaming insane.

It's just that when everyone is sick and playdates get cancelled and it is truly too cold to spend much time outside...well, it gets really boring and frustrating for everyone involved. I'm so, so tired of hearing my own voice as I snap at the children (again and again and again): stop it! don't push him! quit pulling her hair! if you can't agree on a video I'm turning the TV off! etc, etc.

We did end up joining the museum, and that's fun on the days we can go. And I've been leaving the house every single day with AJ, even if it is just to drive around a bit and go for a donut and coffee. We go grocery shopping a few times a week, hit the drug stores with our coupons for good sale items, browse Joann's and the other craft stores, and get donuts or bagels together. Sure, it's kind of bad for my pocketbook, but it is better for my sanity. Until we can go outside and wander the neighborhood, or go to the park, or spend the afternoon at the wading pool with lots of other kids, it will have to do. I wish we could do something a bit more...I don't know, educational? Valuable? We'd go to the library to get books or participate in story hour, but my 2.5 year old destructo-bot would unshelve all the books and disrupt the story hour. He's just not quite ready for that yet (maybe in the autumn when he turns 3). For now it's strictly outings where he can be trapped in a cart or the stroller.

Daughter was off school for a week recently and it nearly killed me, trying to keep them both from destroying the house or hurting each other. They are just so bored, and have pent-up energy to spare. Winter kind of sucks for little kids! I know so many people lament the growing up process, and chastise those who "wish childhood away" but good heavens, I have had enough of the toddler years. (And did I mention we are potty training? Aaaargh!)

I know it's just a phase for both of the kids, but right now it's tough. There are very few activities I can come up with that suit both a 6 year-old and a 2.5 year-old. They can paint together...sort of...until AJ uses the same brush for all the paints and wrecks all the colors or Daughter starts hoarding paints so AJ can't reach. If I try to start an activity with Daughter, or play a game with her, AJ will either disappear and get into something dangerous, or try to wreck the game/activity. And if I try to sit down on any piece of furniture in the entire house, my son wants to crawl up and sit directly on top of me. Which wouldn't be so bad if he could sit still. But he writhes and tickles and pulls at my hair and just won't settle.

I'm grasping at anything that will cheer me up these days. That means blowing off my responsibilities (nuggets and potato smiley faces for dinner again, kids!) so I can sew or knit. Making sundresses gives me hope that nice weather is around the corner, hooray! And I find that utterly losing myself in a detailed sewing project (like this somewhat complex dress pictured above) is like a meditation for me. Sometimes I play music or NPR, but often I just sew in silence after everyone has gone to bed, or during naptime when AJ is sound asleep and the house is nice and quiet.

*****

I do have one nice thing to look forward to, and it is this: Hubs and I are planning to take a little vacation together, just the two of us, which we have not done since our honeymoon in 2003. For real. Our marriage could use a little attention (no problems, per se, just a need to reconnect) after these last few troubled years taking care of kid issues, and we're going to head out for, oh, maybe a 5 day weekend journey or something like that. We plan to drive and keep it budget-friendly (because of Hubs' work we can get hotel discounts), and want to do something peaceful and quiet (no big cities). We're thinking sometime in May, and somewhere on the east coast. Where would you go? I'm looking for ideas!

early spring sewing

Oh boy - less than 1 week of February to go, everybody! And as our typical weather pattern around here is to get just one last giant wallop of a snowstorm in March, it is safe to say we are truly almost done with winter. And yes, sometimes we still have snow flurries until the end of April, but we also have had high 80s on Daughter's mid-April birthday.

My point is, spring is SO coming. We had a couple of truly lovely days at 50 degrees last week. The packed snow melted away, and the children were able to play outside. I can definitely feel the difference in the sunlight, can you? Just like in late August and September when the sun slants differently in the afternoon, so too does the sun seem higher in the sky and just...I don't know...friendlier, I guess, as February winds down.

So like I said before, while there is still knitting to be done, I am preparing for warm weather.

Here's one of Daughter's new dresses for 2011, nearly complete. Just needs buttons/buttonholes, and a hem. She has requested that it be "down to her ankles" so that is what she shall have. We are thinking this will be worn for Easter, along with the white cotton cardigan I fully intend to knit. Easter is very very late this year, so I'm thinking it will all get done.

And this is just for fun - a 3-tier gathered skirt for Daughter. I am desperate to use up chunks of fabric before she gets any bigger. This is some floral quilter's cotton I got years ago when I worked at a quilt shop, along with some (Michael Miller?) red pindot left over from another project. I don't know what the pattern is...my good friend Karen sent me tracings years ago when we made these for a charity project. But gosh, it is so easy and could be drafted in no time. It's basically 3 rectangles, each roughly double the size of the one before. Cut two of each on the fold, sew them into tubes, and gather them onto each other. Add a hem and a casing for elastic and voila! A super cute, simple skirt. Daughter is actually wearing it right now - with tights and long sleeves of course. (It is, oh, about 9 degrees out today.) I look forward to having her help me pick out some more matching prints from the stash to make up more of these cute, simple wardrobe staples.

priorities

Sometimes it's so hard to decide what to spend our hard-earned money on. Yesterday I decided I wasn't going to just sit around the house with the kids during the mid-winter break, so I asked my mom if she wanted to go to the science museum today. They have an awesome kid area that's huge and entirely hands-on.

It cost $24 to get in for me, my mom, and my two kids. Now I'm kicking myself for not just spending $50 and getting the full year membership, which would entitle us to get in anytime. Dur. Stupid.

I have trained myself to be so utterly careful about our finances that I sometimes don't allow for frivolity. Not that an explorations lab at the museum is exactly "frivolous" but it's also not a true necessity in life, so I tend to talk myself out of spending the cash.

Depending on who you are, or what your circumstances are, $50 may sound like a lot of money or a drop in the bucket. My problem is that right now I am sitting at my kitchen table and right next to me is my leaky kitchen window. The wood surrounding it is literally rotting, and when the snow melts or it rains hard, water actually drips into the house. It's in terrible shape after 40+ years and it is next on our list to be replaced (we've already done two exterior doors that were in similar shape). So whether you think fifty bucks is a lot or a little, it is still a chunk of that window repair and could go toward a project that really needs doing.

However, after spending the morning with my happy, busy children in a beautiful, enormous, high-ceilinged, bright and airy room filled with station after station of educational and fun toys, I've forced myself to re-evaluate my priorities. I could save the $50 and sit here in the boring house, trying to get my kids to play and stay away from the boob tube, or I could just spend it and take the short drive to the museum anytime we want, 7 days a week, rain or shine. I can be with other parents, my kids can interact with other children. We can have fun and feel engaged in community, which is sorely lacking for us.

It's a leaky window vs. our sanity - kind of a no-brainer, isn't it? The home repairs will wait. There is fun to be had right now.

quick gift update

I took a little break from making Christmas gifts to make the Christmas clothing for my little humans, so not a whole lot of progress has been made...but I'm getting there. Hey, I still have 9 days, right?!? Yikes!

Sorry for the dark photos. I took them quite literally in the middle of the night after a long, bleary-eyed sewing session.

So far Barbie is getting 3 pairs of pants (one corduroy...ooh lala), one circle skirt, one lovely spring dress, and a shirt. I'm hoping to bang out a few more pieces but they are tedious. We'll see.

It turns out clothing for dollies is pretty tedious too...but at least a bit easier because of scale. This is a simple jumper for a medium baby doll (about 15") made of the same corduroy as Daughter's Christmas dress, with 3 tiny snaps to hold the back closed. I trimmed this with vintage silver ric-rac from my grandmother's sewing supplies.

This is a little dolly sunsuit, also for a medium size doll. The fabric is several years old from Joann's "tutti-frutti" line they have each summer. I still have a huge piece of this and I don't really like it, but I guess I'll suck it up and make something matching for Daughter next year.

Some doll clothes are really ingenious in their design and construction. This wee dolly nightgown, made for a smaller doll, is just such a piece. The entire thing is cut in one piece and cleverly seamed and finished. I had to make a small one because I only had a scrap of purple flannel left from a pair of pajamas I made for Daughter, and I wanted this to match.

My knitting basket was nearby when I took these photos so I thought I'd quickly snap the kneesocks I've been working on for Daughter. With 1" of leg and one foot to go, I think these will make it under the tree.

I have a huge Etsy order to finish up, for which I am very grateful, and then it's back to late-night marathons of sewing and knitting to finish up for Christmas.

What are you working on?

thoughts on education

I wonder if it is possible to mourn the loss of something you never actually had. Oh gosh, that sounds crazy.

I have long experienced a weird nostalgic feeling when I look at old (meaning from my early childhood) books and educational materials - I am sucked in by those awesome hand-drawn illustrations and the fonts that look like handwriting (or is that actual handwriting?). You know, the whole Free To Be You and Me thing, with the hippy-dippy style and the recipes for things like coffee-can raisin bread. Which you can't even make properly anymore because coffee doesn't come in 1 lb. cans these days.

I have vague memories of the Methodist preschool I attended in 1980, just as that era was ending. I can remember the smell of the room and of the poster paints, the look and feel of the sand table, the smooth oak of the furniture and cubbies where we put our coats. In my memory it is a serene place, warm and safe and fun.

Early elementary school holds some similar memories. Sitting around the table in Kindergarten, writing with those fat red pencils that clanged just so in the metal cup when you put them back. The metal scissor rack with those crappy scissors...and there were never enough lefties for the left-handed kids. And the milk - oh, the milk! - being wheeled into the classroom in a metal crate on a 4-wheel dolly. The cartons were red, I think. That was for snacktime, back when the school provided the milk and Kindergarten was only 1/2 day, because 5 year-olds were still kind of babies back then.

A week or so ago, the 4 of us went to Daughter's school for the annual PTA ice cream social. We're new at this, so we figured we'd better go. Don't want to look like deadbeat parents who don't participate, etc. The school holds 600+ students, and I think most of them were there with their parents, siblings, and in some cases grandparents. It's a big fundraiser, I guess. We paid our $2 each, got our ice-cream cups, and waited in line outside the cafeteria. Once we got in it was bedlam. There was hardly room to move, and as we made our way through the line with a squirming toddler, my sweater dragged through someone's ice cream. We got our melty scoops, sat at the nearest empty table, and Daughter burst into angry tears. We could barely hear her telling us she wanted to sit over there, where her classmate was sitting. So we hauled our gloppy ice cream and the children to where she was pointing. Of course right then her friend's family got up to leave, so Daughter pouted in her chair while AJ cried because he did not have his own ice cream. Hubs took AJ for a walk while I cajoled Daughter into just eating the stinking ice cream. It was so, so crazy in there. I asked Daughter if this is what it's like when they eat lunch each day and she said yes...except it's way louder.

And in that moment I was flooded with guilt and anger that each day is like that for her. She wasn't really eating her lunch the first couple weeks of school, bringing home a half-eaten sandwich and both her dessert and fruit. I was so worried, but in that moment I totally got it. Who would want to eat in that environment?

Then she told me about how a kid has been hitting her in the head with his lunchbox. And that same kid, it turns out, punched her in the stomach during lunch, on more than one occasion. Now, before your inner mama bear roars, you should know that we pried the truth out of her and she had been snatching his glasses off his face. That doesn't excuse the punching, but it does save us from potentially embarrassing ourselves.

And then there is the fundraising, which we have been hit with 3 times in the first 7 weeks of school. Nowadays they just send the items home with the kid and tell you to either buy it or send it back. Awkward. Hate it. I find that highly inappropriate in a public school, for which I pay exorbitant taxes.

What am I rambling about? Well, I guess I just feel like my kid is getting a raw deal sometimes. She is actually quite happy, so this does not stem from her, it is coming entirely from me. It's just not, to my mind, the ideal environment to shape a small human. And that makes me sad. Because a kid hitting her in the head with his lunchbox is just the beginning, you know? Hubs, while concerned about her, tends to brush it off as part of the "learning to navigate the world" process. But how come a 5 year-old has to learn to navigate noise and bedlam?

I would dearly love for her to be in a calmer, quieter place. I guess that's what draws me to the homeschooling blogs and the Waldorf blogs. We live eighty gajillion miles from the nearest Waldorf school, so that's out, but I think she would really thrive in that environment. I wanted to take her there for their preschool program, but we moved away. I read the literature and I was so into the idea that morning snack was a group affair, and all the kids had the same thing (oatmeal and apple slices) which they were to help prepare. They would also observe the mothers doing the useful work of ironing the napkins and assisting with prep and cleanup. When my mom heard about that she thought I was NUTS. But I think it speaks to educating the whole child, I really do. And I think that incorporating all aspects of daily life into education might make it a nicer environment for all the kids...reducing the urge to, say, hit someone in the head with your lunchbox.

I have a degree in education, but only now am I truly seeing what all those articles and books were about. The segmented school day, the disconnected subjects and the noise level...oh my word, the noise level! My baby girl grows further away from me every day, I can feel it - it's in the clothes she wants/doesn't want to wear, the snippy tone she adopts, the eye-rolling when she is asked to help out with basic chores.

It's uncomfortable for me (us?), but it is what it is. Hubs says I worry too much...but I often think we're not worried enough. I guess I just don't know. I know others feel it too, which explains the rise in homeschooling and the popularity of alternative schools like Waldorf. I think folks are seeking a kinder, gentler educational experience for their precious children - a softer beginning, a more comfortable introduction to the world beyond the home.

I wish I could express this jumble of thoughts a little better, a little more clearly. It's really quite emotional for me so it's difficult to articulate well. I guess it's just something I'll continue to ponder as my kids (and I) move forward.

summer knittin', had me a blaaaaast

Yes, it was an unusually hot summer for us here in the northeast, but of course I got my knit on anyway. Back in the spring I ordered some stuff from fabric.com, and they sent me a coupon so I then ordered some yarn. I thought the kids could use cotton sweaters for Spring and Autumn.

I couldn't take photos of AJ's because he is napping and I'd surely wake him if I went in his room to dig up a sweater. But here is Daughter's:

Knitting Pure & Simple neck-down cardigan, size 6-8, on US 8 needles. Lion Brand Cotton Ease yarn in the "blossom" colorway, a mauvey-pink that suits my fair girl perfectly, about 2.75 skeins. The buttons we found at Joann's, and kudos to them for finally stocking some new buttons!

There is already food smeared all over this sweater, which is why the sleeve is folded funny. Yes, I tossed it in the wash right after taking this photo.

And of course summer is good for small projects, too:

Socks for me in one of the Kaffe Fassett colorways for Regia. It was nice enough yarn to work with, because it's Regia, but the Kaffe Fassett aspect didn't blow me away. I kind of don't like him, anyway. I can't figure out why people worship him when it seems all he does is smush obnoxious colors and prints together and call it "design." But hey, that's just me, and I tend to prefer plain things.

Socks for AJ, using Deborah Norville's sock yarn from Joann's. First Vanna, now Deborah...which blonde television beauty will be next to promote a yarn line? Anyhoo, this yarn is just ok in my book. It's extremely soft, but somewhat splitty to knit, and I don't know how it will hold up with repeated wash and wear. We shall see.

Gosh, I think that's about it. I'll have to dig around and see if I actually made anything else.

Today I got some red flannel PJ's about 80% assembled for AJ, and picked up a pretty piece of corduroy for a new jacket for Daughter...as I was putting her on the bus this morning I noticed her wrists were sticking out about 3 inches from her coat sleeves! I thought it was a size 5, purchased last year, but it turns out I lost a year somewhere in there...it is actually only a 4T and we got it the year AJ was born. Yikes! The poor kid needs a new jacket! And it's National Sewing Month, after all.

What are YOU making?

random stuff

Whoa, new templates and stuff on blogger! I can't decide if I like it or not. I'm kind of a simple girl, and the blog looks kind of busy to me now. We'll give it a try and see what happens.

So, what's up? Not much I guess. We started speech therapy for AJ. So far I mostly find it aggravating, what with a new person coming into my house at 9:00 two days a week, meaning a mad scramble to clean and prepare. Plus I'm just not sure about the therapist herself...she's highly disorganized and actually forgot to come one day last week, which irritated the hell out of me. Anyone out there have thoughts about speech therapy? What it should look and sound like? I mean, I have no idea if she is "helping" at all here. I have a feeling my son will talk when he talks and that's it...not sure if this weird woman coming here and playing with him two days a week will actually have an impact.

Other than that nothing seems to be going on. Life feels boring and I'm not sure what to do about it. I need to do something other than serve meals, do dishes and laundry, and let the kids veg out in front of the television. Today at least we hit the beach...

Unfortunately beaches on the Niagara River aren't too great. I had to keep reminding the kids to please not step on the dead fish parts. Yuck.

Anyway. I've been really into the farm blogs lately. Do you read farm blogs? Holy moly, I just lose myself in them! I know farm life is incredibly difficult and my wussy self would probably fall over and die on a farm, but there's something about it that I envy so much. It looks like such a pure, practical, good life. A day's work is grueling and if you don't get the work done it totally impacts your livelihood, but it looks like such a worthwhile way to spend your time. At the end of the day you've done something. I like doing something. I like work that matters. What bums me out is feeling like I trudge along day after day doing stupid busywork. Seems to me it sounds much more productive to say "I planted 200 lbs of potatoes today" than to say "I emptied the dishwasher for the thousandth time, did 3 loads of laundry, and went to Target."

Over at farmama, Sara just told about ripping out their lawn to plant grain. And I got really excited when I read that! Sometimes I feel a bit constrained by my cushy suburban life...I feel resentful that I'm supposed to make sure my lawn looks as manicured as possible (even if it means spraying toxic chemicals where my kids play). I would get a much bigger kick out of ripping out half the backyard to plant fruit bushes and trees, and a real garden (not just the 5x8 space I have now that holds a few tomatoes and some zucchini). Sara at farmama also often talks about just wandering the farm each afternoon to select their family's dinner. Envy!

I don't know what it is. I just feel itchyscratchy like I'm supposed to be doing something with myself and I'm just not. The kids are bored too, I can feel it. It's getting harder and harder to get Daughter off the couch, and that just shouldn't be. None of us are as perky and bright as we should be...and if we're not living right, and living well, it's on me as the person driving this train. I have to do better. Just not sure what that means.

another EZ sweater

I took down my woe-is-me post. I couldn't stand to read it, so how could you? Bleh.

Let's talk about knitting instead. That's what keeps me relatively grounded and happy and gives me a feeling of accomplishment.

Here's the latest F.O. - another Elizabeth Zimmermann "percentage system" sweater, this one for my son:

I was going for about a 26" chest measurement here, so I started with 120 stitches for the ribbing, then increased to 130 (26 inches X 5 stitches per inch).

The rest is just about exactly the same as the other EZ sweater I made for Daughter, the only real changes being the stitch counts, and 2X2 ribbing instead of seed stitch. The sleeves are long and the sweater is boxy...just what I am hoping AJ will need come fall and winter.

Needles used: US 6 and 7

Yarn used: almost exactly 4 skeins Knitpicks Wool of the Andes in the jalapeno colorway. I love this yarn. It doesn't feel really heavy when you're knitting with it, but it has a springiness that really comes through in the squishy finished garment. All the sweaters I've made with it end up feeling a lot more substantial than sweaters knit with other worsted weight wools. This will be a really warm sweater for my little guy.

Two sweaters in two weeks! That's a new record for me! I think I'll try the percentage system for a cardigan next...just give me about a week.

a little knitting

We haven't had any knitting content around here for awhile, hmmm?

Let's see, what do I have? Oh yes. First of all, the extremely boring socks I've been working on for Hubs...seemingly forever. These were obviously a labor of love!

Really, really boring and gigantic socks. I should have thrown something into that photo for scale. These babies are ginormous. I bought the yarn (Patons Kroy...I believe the color is called Linen, but I always call it "putty" because that is what it reminds me of) way back in, I don't know, maybe January or February of 2009. I intended these for Hubs' birthday in July of last year, but just wasn't able to get them done with all that was going on.

Well, now they are finished, and will be wrapped up for this coming birthday, even though he knows about them (and tried on the first one for me so I knew the size would be right).

Next up, something I started last weekend and could not put down...this was like knitting crack, people!

An Elizabeth Zimmermann "EPS" sweater for Daughter. Knitters, if you haven't made one of these, you really should. It is so satisfying! You just start out with whatever needles/yarn/gauge you want and magically come up with a sweater that fits!

For this sweater I used some pretty purple heather-y Wool Ease that I got for my birthday. I like to knit most worsted weight yarns on a US size 7 needle at 5 stitches/inch. The problem is, most patterns I've come across want you to knit worsted weight at a gauge of more like 4.25 or even 4 stitches to the inch on US 8 or 9 needles. Sorry, but I disagree with that! First, I can never actually get that gauge anyway, and second, it makes a loosely knit fabric that will tend to pill with wear.

I primarily used Knitting Without Tears as my reference for this sweater, though there wasn't much to look up. The basic idea is this: you come up with a "main number" based on measurement and gauge (for me this was 150: I wanted a 30" circumference at 5 st/in), then you base all other numbers on that. I wanted the bottom to be slightly narrower than the body, so I cast on 10% fewer stitches to start (135), knit the seed stitch on a smaller needle (US 6), then increased to 150 on the first knit round using my size 7 needle.

She recommends starting the sleeves of a child's sweater at 1/3 of the body number (1/5 for adults), but I didn't want a boxy sleeve for Daughter. She is very slim and has long slender limbs, so I went with about 1/4 (38 st) to start the sleeve, then increased to 50 (1/3 of the total body stitches) at a rate of 2 stitches increased every 6 rows. You can see the increases pretty clearly on the sleeve in the photo above.

Is this making any sense?

Once I got to the 50 stitches, I knit plain for several inches...I think the sleeve underarm ended up at 14", which is a bit long for Daughter right now, but summer is beginning and I intended this sweater to be for next fall and winter. It is oversize right now but should fit nicely for at least one and perhaps two winters.

I knit up the body in the round to the armholes (11"), then joined the whole mess, leaving 12 stitches free of both sleeve and underarm, to be woven together at the end. I got that number by using 8% of my "main number" of 150. How cool is that? It all works out so neatly.

Anyway, once I got it all joined and knit a few rounds plain just to make things look nice and tidy, I began raglan decreases, and as EZ says, you find yourself going along like a house on fire...the rounds just keep getting smaller till suddenly you're shaping the neck, knitting the collar, and voila! You're just about done! A quick kitchener stitch of the underarm and that's it. AWESOME.

I'm not thrilled with the collar, as I forgot to switch to a size 6 needle like I used for the seed stitch ribbing and cuffs. It's a bit loose, so for the next time I'll certainly remember to do it right. But Daughter loves it and I'm too lazy to rip it out, so I'm satisfied enough to leave it alone.

So addictive, I started another immediately, for number one son:

Sleeve halfway done while listening to the rain pour down last night with the window open...it was so nice! I love opening the windows! (I do find it odd that I'm still comfortable curled up under blankets, knitting, in the middle of May...it should really be in the 70s by now...)

This method, at its most basic, does not produce a particularly elegant garment. But modified with a little shaping or some pretty stitch patterns, it could! I'm envisioning stripes using up leftovers right now...and some stitch patterns in the yoke...so fun! Anyway, it works out fantastically right now for simple, hard-wearing sweaters for my kids to use and abuse as they run around both inside and out. I want them to be warm and comfortable and wrapped in handmade goodness. These EZ sweaters fit the bill.

a few more summer garments

Ok, so, it's May 10 and I am wearing a wool sweater. WOOL. It snowed yesterday, people. The highs this week are only in the 50s! Boo.

We can't wear our summer clothes yet, but the yucky weather gave me a bit of an excuse to continue sewing them:

More from Butterick 4176! Wow, I would say I am getting my money's worth from this pattern.

The swing top is exactly the same as the dress, but shorter. Having made two of the dresses, I didn't even have to consult the instructions for the shirt. Very easy! The shorts are the same as those I've shown previously, also very, very easy to construct. Daughter picked the fabrics last week at Joann's. It took some convincing to get her to agree to coordinating patterns...once she saw a picture above the bolts of fabric of a little girl in a similar outfit, she was totally into it.

And the final sundress of the 2010 season (I think...), another from Simplicity 5489. Daughter also chose this fabric, so hopefully she will actually want to wear this one. I once again lengthened the top of the dress pattern and eliminated the bias band at the bottom, and on this one I added an extra inch. Daughter is so tall and leggy, she really needs the extra length. And once again the pattern runs between the selvage edges, so I had to cut the pattern pieces on the crossgrain. Which is fine, but I couldn't squeeze the facings out of the remaining fabric. I used batiste with lightweight interfacing again, just as I did on the white dress I posted last time.

I was also quite pleased to find a couple pairs of capri leggings at Old Navy this weekend, so Daughter can wear these dresses to the playground and to school in the fall. We got the "dress guidelines" for her new school and they recommend the children wear shorts, t-shirts, and sneakers to school each day because of gym class and recess. Um, I have made 7 freaking sundresses...she will wear those too! So capri leggings to the rescue!

I think that just about completes the summer sewing for Daughter, except for pajamas/nightgowns. I have one set of pjs almost complete (ran out of bias tape with one armhole to go), and am planning one nightgown. Those, along with the 2 or 3 sets of storebought pjs/nightgowns she already has, should get her through the whole summer nicely.

I still have several items in the queue for myself, and even though AJ does not technically need any more summer items (we got a ton of hand-me-downs from a friend), I have a pattern for a romper that is calling to me. I'm thinking a patriotic madras kind of look, perhaps with a matching skirt for Daughter? Hmmm? A little 4th of July matchy-matchy kind of thing?

Then there's always the knitting...got a Zimmermann percentage system sweater in the works for Daughter (body and one sleeve just about complete) for fall, several pair of socks hanging out on needles around the house, big plans for new mittens for both kids...so many things I want to make!

And there's the garden to get planted, and yardwork to do, and the downstairs powder room that is desperately in need of a paint job. And AJ starts speech therapy soon with an entirely new therapist, 2X/week, so I have a stranger coming around and must keep the house in order for that. I really don't even have time to breathe much these days. It's a little nuts.

How about you? What projects are keeping you hopping?

pulling it together (sort of)

I've been exceedingly frustrated with my total inability to finish ANYTHING lately. Like, to the point of anger and sadness. For the past 10 years or so, I've been extremely dedicated to creative endeavors, and despite a few quilt wips upstairs in bins, I've been pretty good about getting stuff done. But lately? Oh my gosh, lately I've just been letting stuff pile up on the dining room table and fighting to keep my sanity day-to-day.

When I am not able to dedicate time to being creative, when I lose that meditation, I can really, really tell the difference. And it's miserable.

Luckily, tomorrow is Easter, so I was forced to clear off the dining room table. I sewed the button back on AJ's yellow cotton cardigan (which was originally Daughter's...cotton ease yarn holds up well) and I patched my very favorite jeans:

The knee was ripped from seam to seam. I ironed mending tape to the inside of the rip to hold it together, then took a piece of regular cotton calico and sewed it right sides together, turned (like making a pillow), pressed, and topstitched the whole rectangle around the giant tear. Hopefully it will hold awhile, as these jeans are so awesomely comfortable.

Problem is, they are quite literally disintegrating all over. The denim is totally shredded at the hip. I used the same method here, just trying to make them last a bit longer. You can't buy comfort like this. I had to try something.

I finally hemmed the sleeves and stitched the buttonholes and buttons for this silly dress. Sometimes I like to buy those bags of coordinating buttons at Joann's (Favorite Findings, maybe?), which is where these brown plastic buttons came from. They are super inexpensive, and this way if one is lost or broken, it can be replaced quickly and easily. Just have to tie off the thread ends (I sew buttons on by machine), and this one is done.

And finally, these sweet "dublin" green Picky Pants (Little Turtle Knits pattern) for my sister's baby boy due this summer. I've finished approximately ZERO knitting outside of Etsy orders over the last month or two, so this feels really good! The only problem is, I used almost every inch of the yarn for the knitting, and that little swirl of yarn on the right of the photo is all I have left. I need to make a drawstring. I'm making a dark navy cardigan, hat and booties so this will be a modern-day "pram set" and I guess the pants will have to have a navy drawstring. Unless anyone has a bit of Knitpicks Swish in the dublin colorway they want to send me...ahem.

Anyway, they are city dwellers and have a gigantic dog which requires daily walks, so I wanted to make up a really warm set for the baby to keep him nice and cozy in the stroller this autumn. I'm also working up a plan for either a quilt or a knitted or crocheted blanket. I'm leaning towards quilting because my mom is making a blanket. Or perhaps I'll make both, who knows? But I need to bust a move because the shower is mid-May and I want my gifts ready then.

So I feel a little bit better having finished up some stuff. I still need to figure out a way to incorporate more meditative time into my days to keep me calm and sane. The kids are beating the crapola out of each other constantly right now - I mean I can't even turn my head without one of them pushing, smacking, pulling hair, shoving, kicking...it's awful! Hopefully with the nicer weather coming we'll get outside, work out some pent up energy, and quit it with the violence! We'd like to get the sandbox built this weekend, and I'm hoping to go BIG so there's something awesome to do in the backyard. Daughter tends to be really lazy without me goosing her to get up and do something, but she LOVES to dig (I often find her outside underneath trees, digging, digging, digging), so here's hoping a great sandbox will encourage more outside play.

I'd better get the day started. My parents have picked up Daughter for breakfast and the baking of Easter bread dolls, so now Hubs and I need to clean and prep for tomorrow's brunch, the eggs need to be dyed, and the Easter cutouts need frosting (I have the Wilton 101 cutter set, so we made eggs, crosses, bunnies, etc). Gotta cook and crumble the bacon for my quiche lorraine, and get out the dishes we want to use. Grandma's china? Not sure yet.

Happy passover, happy Easter, happy Spring! Have a wonderful weekend, all.

oh, me

Hey, so, where am I?

Gosh, I just don't know. I don't know how these amazing mamas do it, raising more children than I, and still churning out the creative blog posts day after day. Holy moly.

Right now I'm looking over a really messy kitchen where rice krispies are strewn far and wide, the table is sticky, the dishes are piled up, the countertops are covered with crumbs...the carpets and ceilings and corners of the hardwood floors are dusty and, ew, cobwebby...I just used the last of the diapers in the stack and really need to get off my butt to throw the dirties in the washer...I really must get organized and make sure the kindergarten papers are all completed and ready since I hand them in at 1:20 today...and AJ's speech evaluation is in 1/2 hour right here, in the middle of the maelstrom.

It's just been like that, lately. I can't finish anything right now, even emptying the dishwasher is often a job abandoned 3 or 4 times before completion. I spend most of my day trying to keep the kids from torturing each other. I knit a few rows here, a few there...so many things I want to get done, especially for my sister whose baby shower is in May. I drink gallons of coffee but still can't seem to shake off this logy feeling.

You know what? I went in for my annual exam last week, and after going over the usual health questions, the nurse asked me if I have any "anxiety or depression." For the first time since I had my first child 5 years ago, they asked me if I have anxiety or depression. I laughed out loud when she asked. Does feeling like a tattered flag at the top of an abandoned flagpole on a really windy day qualify? Cripes.

But then again, really, I wouldn't say I have any kind of serious problem. And my son is doing so, so well compared to even 6 months ago. He's actually eating quite a bit now, and hopefully with speech therapy will continue to improve. Things are pretty good, I'm really quite blessed. I just think it will take many, many months...no, years...to climb back up to a sense of normalcy. It's just been such a rough ride.

Oh dear. This wasn't supposed to be a "woe is me" post. It's just to say I'm here, chugging along. Just in a bit of a lull right now.

slow clothes movement

Oh boy, if you've been on board with what I've been talking about lately, go read this! It's good stuff, and comes very close to articulating what's been churning around in my head.

Did you read it? Ok, ok, let's talk about it, yes?

Do you like shopping? I hate it. I go into a store and look at the racks and racks of clothes, and I kind of freak out. Too many choices, too much useless "fashion" for me. I have become almost painfully practical, and cannot deal with the fast-changing styles in the store.

But, I admit, I also dislike shops like Goodwill and Amvets. I'm all for hand-me-downs and will take them from people I know, whose homes I've seen and whose care of said items was good. AJ's physical therapist, who has also become a good friend, brings me enormous bags of beautiful boy clothes, and has just offered me several pairs of winter boots for my son. Oh yes! I will definitely take those. But I haven't gotten on the used clothing train as far as second-hand shops. There is nothing wrong with shopping there, I have no problem with anyone else doing it, it just isn't for me at this time.

Rather, I like to buy and make very classic, standard wardrobe items and then wear them out. And I like to either find made-in-the-USA if I can, or make it in the USA, specifically, in my house.

It has long bothered me that the people making our cheap, mass-market clothing are likely very, very poor people, young children, or overworked and abused women in oppressive countries. I think we tend to believe that because the US has strict labor laws pertaining to children and to a legal number of hours worked by adults, other countries do, too.

HA. They do not. The 12 year-olds making our t-shirts in the Philippines are not subject to labor laws, I don't care if they are working under the Target umbrella. And I think it is kind of important to remember that. It is important to know what happens to get those inexpensive clothing items into your closet.

Sure, fabric production is not much better, but perhaps by reducing our insatiable desire for newer and more fashionable clothing we can reduce demand for these cheap items. At least by purchasing the fabric rather than the finished good, I have removed one part of the slave-labor chain.

That said, I broke my self-imposed rule of sewing only from stash today. Our local WalMart is eliminating its fabric department, keeping only notions from now on.

Considering most of my fabric stash is small cuts (1 yard) originally intended for quilting, I've been having trouble scraping up enough to make dresses for Daughter. So when I heard about the WM fabric clearance, I went to check it out.

In this case, spending a little money will turn out to be very frugal in the long run!

For about $30 I got enough fabric to make at least 3 dresses and about 4 or 5 sets of pajamas. This flannel (plus a red piece that is currently being washed), was $1.48 per yard, making even the largest pajamas for Daughter about $4.50. But if I cut carefully I'm betting I can squeeze more (like extra pants for AJ) out of some of these fabrics (where gender-appropriate, of course).

I'm picturing a fall school dress for Daughter - main body being the large print, collar and cuffs/pockets in the small print. About $5 for this. It will be perfect with some white tights (or better yet, handmade knee socks!) and brown buckle shoes. Love!

There are some other pieces too, which we cut right into for a sundress, and a large cut of dark indigo denim for another fall dress (also being washed right now so unavailable for photographing).

And we need to get the kids involved! Cripes, it is so sad to hear about moms and grandmas who cooked and sewed but told their offspring to get out of the way...it is a story I have heard more than once. (Princess getup is optional.)

Or how about some good old-fashioned repurposing? That was big in the "old days" too - you got a hand-me-down dress from your cousin/older sister/neighbor, and your mother made it fit. Gosh, I don't even know anyone who knows how to do that (I do not...I've never learned alteration skills, though I'd like to). Even Martha Stewart is getting in on it - next time one of Hubs' dress shirts wears out, I'm making one of these.

I mean, there is definitely the argument to be made that trying to clothe your family from handmade and repurposed clothing is time and labor intensive. Yeah, it sure is! That is why I am starting my Daughter's summer dresses in February! But if you step back from the relentless pursuit of more, and instead make do with fewer, better items, it could be done. There is a great post about that here, regarding buying and caring for very high quality items for your children, especially if they can be passed down. Why do our kids have to have 5 or 6 or more sweaters, when really 1 or 2 will do? My Daughter currently has about 10 pairs of pants in her drawer (several were Christmas gifts). She never even wears about 5 of them because she doesn't like them.

However, I certainly do not advocate going back to a time when the woman of the house spent every waking minute cooking, cleaning, and sewing. I can't imagine it, really - if I had to make my husband's every sock, I would keel right over. He has humongous feet and it takes me weeks to get through a big boring pair of socks for him! All I'm saying is that I wish we were all a bit more conscientious about our clothing (and our food, too...but that's for another day!) and participated a bit more in the process.

I know I am largely preaching to the choir here, and I promise I won't always rant and rave about this stuff. What I love so much about the internet and the blog community is the prevalence of thoughtful, like-minded women (and some men, too) who are taking back responsibility for what is worn, made, cooked, grown, etc. in and around their homes.

Boring, dreary February is almost over. Easter is coming soon for those of us who celebrate, and hot on the heels of Easter will be Spring and sun and warmth. Are you ready? Let's make stuff!

why sew?

When someone finds out that I made something (I very rarely announce it, but am often asked), I typically get one of two reactions. Either the person reacts with awe and respect, saying "wow, that's great...I could never do that!" Or they react with a sort of thinly veiled contempt, sneering "uh, don't they sell _______ in stores?"

Both of those make me feel sort of embarrassed and sad. The second because it's kind of nasty, implying that by sewing or knitting something I am wasting my time. The first because anyone could knit and sew, if they really wanted/had to. I certainly was not born knowing how to knit or sew - I was shown the basics by my mom and then worked and worked at getting better. I failed miserably many times, and tossed out a few "wadders" along the way. If you give yourself permission to fail, heck, you can learn anything.

So why do I sew (and knit, and crochet, and quilt)? And why do some women find it abhorrent? It's an interesting question.

I guess I do it because I get immense satisfaction from making something with my own two hands. It's a sense of accomplishment. And there is a certain gratification a homemaker and mother feels when something she has done actually stays done. Great blog post about that here. So much of housework is dirty and unpleasant...it is nice to make something pretty that stays pretty!

I also do it to save a bit of money when I can. Much like knitting, sewing can be done inexpensively if one is not tied to fancy name brands, gadgets, and equipment. A good machine, decent shears, good quality needles and threads, and fabric bought on sale (and don't discount the bargain table at places like WalMart - you can often find mill-ends and overstock fabrics that are of good quality for $1.50/yd), and you're on your way. Easy patterns go on sale for 99 cents all the time, and can be reused. I like to find 3 or 4 good patterns that Daughter and I both like and make them over and over with different buttons and trims for fun.

And I guess a big reason I do it is to keep handmade alive and well. My dad and I were chatting a few weeks ago about gardening...he often tells about the amazing gardens family members would grow when he was a child. They were Italian immigrants, and they knew how to provide for themselves. I want to grow a garden this summer and I have very little idea how to begin. Dad will help me as much as he can (he has successfully grown basic garden items like tomatoes, zukes, and herbs for years), but there is no one else for me to turn to for guidance. And I think that is sad.

Likewise, with sewing, I know my Nana (Dad's mom) could alter clothing, but I'm not sure how much of a seamstress she was. My other grandma could make almost anything - holy cow she was an amazing crafter - and I know she sewed because when she married my grandpa he bought her a Singer Featherweight with all the attachments (yes, we still have it). My mom learned to sew on that machine and tells about making simple shorts and tops when she was a teenager, because back then it was so much cheaper to sew than to buy ready-made. My great-aunt knit herself entire fine-gauge suits, consisting of jacket and skirt, on US size 1 and 2 needles. As a child, I would sometimes wear the pair of gray, yellow and white wool argyle socks she knit for my Dad. But that's about it on the sewing/knitting front. Other family members surely learned to do these things at some point, but no one does it anymore except me and my mom.

I have grown pretty tired of picking through endless racks of the same clothing in the stores. How many times have I been out with my kids and run into someone with the exact same outfit on their child? More than I like to think about! And when I look at the labels in those Target pants and Old Navy shirts they all say "Made In (poor foreign nation)." It used to be that imports were something special. Now we import quite literally everything. And I don't know exactly how to word it, but that makes me uncomfortable.

It used to be that people had just a few outfits, and one or two dressy items, which were of excellent quality and kept nice so they would last. I have tended toward purchasing cheaper clothing because I thought it more important that our drawers be filled for some reason. So off to Target we would go, buying 5 pairs of pants, 6 t-shirts, a package of socks, and maybe a dress or two. Then Christmas and birthdays come along, and before long the kids' drawers and shelves are overflowing with outfits that will be worn just a few times before being outgrown.

Now, I will never claim to be any kind of ace seamstress, but if I put my money towards good materials, and invest a little (ok, a lot) of my time, I can create a small but sturdy wardrobe for my children, supplemented with some higher quality store-bought things. And if we're talking about summer clothes, I can do this for myself as well (I have not conquered tailored pants or shirts for cold weather, and I live in jeans anyway). I can make nightclothes for all who need them, and knit warm socks and sweaters (necessary when it is chilly for about 8 months of the year).

By doing this I can feel just a bit less dependent on big companies and foreign nations for the things I need. I don't like the fact that, as a nation, we have given up control of our needs to anyone who will provide them. No one knows how to do for themselves anymore.

And the best part of making some of our things is that Daughter gets a real kick out of it. She goes through my patterns with me, chooses fabrics she likes, and picks out rick-rack and buttons to embellish her clothes. What a thrill, to be able to provide her what she wants while she is still young and doesn't feel the need to be exactly like her peers!

So that was sort of rambly, but it is hard for me to put into words why I do what I do.

Why do you sew or knit or crochet or quilt or can or preserve or keep chickens in your backyard? What does it mean to you?

a valentine

I bought some red flannel a few years ago - early fall 2007, I think - as part of a big fabric purchase for etsy sales and Daughter's wardrobe. I got several things made from that collection of goods, but then I got pregnant and most of my sewing plans went right out the window. It was too hot, I was too uncomfortable, etc., etc.

Now Daughter is outgrowing her clothing and pajamas by the minute. Her ankles and wrists are hanging out of everything she owns. What kind of mama would I be if I let that stand?

I want to continue on my frugal path, so I made her a Valentine's Day gift with that old cut of red flannel!

This sweet nightgown is about the easiest pattern I've ever sewn. It is Simplicity 9292, and I cannot recommend it highly enough. Three pattern pieces, people. Three. Awesome.

Another view. The sleeves are 3/4 length, and I don't know how that's going to go over with Daughter, so I did not make any more of these gowns yet (though I have another piece of stashed flannel waiting).

The nightgown is a pull-on style, with bias tape around the neckline. The pattern called for 1" single fold, but I only had 1/2" double fold on hand. So, oh well, that's what I used. Honestly, when using it folded in half to face a neckline, I can't see a difference.

I also have an enormous stash of laces in 2 yard increments. I think they were samples provided to the shop where I used to work. Not sure how I ended up with a big bag of them, but who am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I used some pretty eyelet trim on this gown.

Sleeve detail with eyelet lace trim. I just love this treatment, and it avoids having to turn under a traditional hem (I just pinned the lace to the right side, then turned it all under, using the edge of the lace as a stitching guide). I toyed with the idea of embroidering something below the neckline, to jazz it up, but then decided I liked the simplicity of it the way it is.

I did run into a bit of a problem when cutting out the pattern. I'm not sure what giant children the pattern makers had in mind, but the size 4 nightgown measures 34" finished length. My daughter is tall for her age (almost 5) and the gown would have dragged on the floor at that length. I ended up cutting off about 3" at the hemline.

Because it is so long, it did not fit on the 2 yards of flannel I had.

See it hanging off the bottom there? Poop. What to do?

Eureka! For a simple pattern like this, on fabric with no directional print or nap, it doesn't matter which grainline you use. So I just turned the fabric, folded the ends in to the middle, and cut on those folds. Reminds me of Ma Ingalls saying "we must cut our coat to fit the cloth." Yay, I squeezed this nightgown out of less fabric than the pattern called for! I feel so delightfully thrifty when that happens.

I sure hope she likes it.