Merry & Mod at home

one of those things that makes me happy

One the many things I love about living in our particular location are family bike rides. From our house we hop on a trail, cross only one busy street, and find ourselves at largest park in town, which connects to our elementary school. As far as quality of life goes, I don't think it can be beat. 

Following my first grader to school, watching him practice riding without hands, witnessing his comfort and confidence on his bike...these are memories that have become so deeply embedded that I'll always remember these precious mornings. After school, when the weather is fine*, we stop at the park, play in the little pond, have a snack, discuss the day.

My preschooler is learning to ride his own bike, and loves the trail-behind option we've introduced to our family rides. His enthusiam for teamwork! and constant thank you for my new bike! are just as rewarding as his newfound confidence and love of riding. 

When my husband surprised me with my jazzy bike, my first words were, "It has a basket!" But that wire basket, riding along a bumpy rock trail, is noisy. For years I've imagined dressing it up (instead of just buying a very European looking wicker replacement.) Just before school started, I created this liner with red cotton and a cheery daisy print. There is a special pocket for my iPhone, another buttoned pocket for my journal, a hook for my key chain, and plenty of room for water bottles, apples, and my trusty pocket knife. I even covered a little bungee cord (forever called "bumble bee catchers" in our home) with the daisy print to keep the entire contraption secure. 

It's one of those things that makes me happy every time I see it. Just like freshly painted orange toe nails, boys wandering around in bike helmets, and ripe tomatoes on the vine. 

* Unfortunately, local wildfires have temporarily stopped our rides to school. I pray that rain will come to dampen the fire and clear the air so our outdoor activities can resume before summer takes its last breath. 

patches and patches

A recent repair to a favorite hoodie. This delicate cashmere is no match for my razor sharp elbows. After years of wearing this sweater, it was nearly written off for good. Until I remembered this pattern for little crocheted hearts, and the leftover yarn from a favorite hat. An evening crocheting in front of the fire, a bit of sewing, and it's a favorite again for a whole new reason. 

(Note to self: chickens and cashmere don't go together very well.)

I used the same yarn to repair a tear under the arm and along the cuff. It's a shabby-chic-upcycle sort of thing...

And while we're on the subject of repairs...my six year old son has managed to tear a hole in the left knee of four of his five pairs of jeans. We spent an hour together cutting up outgrown pants and sewing on patches. The next Monday he puts on his navy courduroy cargo pants, which are so adorable on him, and comes home with...a hole in the left knee. It's a blessing that cutoff season is fast approaching. 

quilts for twin boys

Last weekend I had the rare opportunity to travel to Portland all by myself. Friday included lunch with a dear family friend, an afternoon at the museum, ramen noodles and old fashioneds. It was rejuvenation at it's very best; just what mama needed.

On Saturday, I attended a baby shower for a very dear friend about to welcome two twin boys into her life. I spent the evening with her, cooking dinner and reading letters from my past - from my year in France, from the month following my wedding, from the summer during college when I crashed the car...twice. It was enlightening and entertaining. Most of all, it was marvelous to sit with a friend of 16 years, admiring her abundantly beautiful belly, and to know that our friendship had survived so much history, and will create so much more. 

Preparing for the trip, I debated with myself the best gift. To make something by hand - when it was far too late for an heirloom crochet blanket; or to purchase something stylish and practical, like my favorite swaddling blankets.

In the end, I decided that she probably has many stylish friends and family members to purchase gifts from her registry. Better to go handmade. So I spent a blissful hour wandering the fabric shop, looking for just the right pattern and colors. That night I sewed up two simple quilts filled with a thick wool batting...the perfect warm layer for a walk in the stroller. (Which is what I would do with twin boys every morning - directly to the nearest coffee shop, which are, thank goodness, plentiful in her neighborhood.) 

This last minute project even included a pair of cozy gray booties. The babies won't arrive for over a month, and these simple boots work up in about 40 minutes each. Plently of time to create another pair. I certainly wouldn't want baby B to feel left out with chilly toes! 

the intersection of interest and creativity

While I treasure my grandmother's sewing machine, her collection of thread in the cabinet my grandpa made for her, and my Gingher scissors, I am not a sewer. Not really. I've made a few things, and I like knowing I can mend our clothes and made a simple blanket for a gift if interest and creativity intersect. 

Last week after school my boys found me in an agreeable mood and said, "let's make something in the studio." I keep a small stack of fabric and scraps stashed in my closet, so each boy selected a soft piece and found a spool of thread and a wound bobbin they fancied. 

The oldest decided on a pillow, the youngest choose a blanket for his baby. (As we have already established, there is nothing sweeter than a boy with a baby. He'll be such a good daddy, someday.) 

We gathered around the my desk, they patiently waited while I threaded the needle. It was pleasantly relaxing to be gathered together in a quiet room, making and creating. 

Earth Day Parade

The annual Earth Day celebration in downtown Bend is not to be missed.  Little kids dress up as animals, fish, insects, all manner of living things and parade around the block.  A drum circle and a pair of belly dancers led the procession. There were a few people on super tall stilts and another two guys wearing giant Burning Man-style puppets that my youngest son found highly untrustworthy.  

And, of course, there were my two tiger cubs.  They are adorable, cuddly, and only slightly tame.  

 

They make friends with their own kind easily.  

The best part of these costumes - for me - were in the making.  I purchased a half a yard of this furry fabric (at a 50% off sale) when we picked up the materials to make the birthday banners.  Happily, I remembered it just in time.  Following Amy Karol's swing swing smock pattern from Bend the Rules Sewing - used before when I made M his suit of armor - I created the tops.  The ears and tails followed easily.  Two evenings of relaxing on the couch with a bit of hand sewing and ta da!  

 

 

The Puppet Family

We miss my brother and his family.  A lot.  Since we can't be there to visit more often, we sent facsimiles of ourselves in the form of small puppets. 

We drew simple stick figure bodies under color photos of our heads, then I used the color printer to transfer the images onto ink jet printer fabric.  With the sewing machine I sewed scraps of fleece onto the backs and didn't worry about hemming the bottom.  Using a coupon from Michaels and supplies on hand, it was a very economical project.  

I can only hope that we'll be on our best behavior in their house.  (No mischief from the Oregon relatives!)  

I wear short shorts

 
I briefly debated the propriety of sharing this photo.  These are my new unmentionables, after all.  But it's such a coup, I must crow about it.  These little cashmere tap pants were once a turtleneck sweater that I bought years ago for $19 at Hidden Treasures in Topanga to stretch over my pregnant belly.  After years of being stashed away, I got busy with my scissors.  First I cut off the bottom half of the sweater, then I snipped up the middle on both sides, sewing the front side to the back side to create a...ahem, crotch seam.  Then I folded, pinned and sewed the top to create a casing for elastic about as wide as my hips.  Finally, I rolled up the cuffs and added a few invisible stitches to keep them in place.  The tiny blue bows were deemed a necessary frivolity.  This is recycling at it's best, really. 

quilt for baby A

 

Years ago, at my first baby shower, a dear friend gave me a copy of The Very Hungry Caterpillar - surely one of my most beautifully illustrated children's book of all time.  This past winter, when I learned of her pregnancy, I remembered this lovely Eric Carle print and a imagined cozy, lightweight quilt for her California baby.  So my mom picked up a few yards of this fabric at The Stitchin Post in Sisters on the way into town one weekend.  And I carefully folded it with the rest of my fabric while maintaining the best of intentions.  There it languished.  After the baby shower.  After the delivery.  Until a few weeks ago when I hauled out the sewing machine and got to work.  (I presume this sweet girl is still small enough to be swaddled.)  Regardless, this fabric is perfect for a young child just learning colors and animal sounds. 

 

The pattern for this blanket is from Amy Karol's Bend the Rules Sewing.  A previous version of the blanket - sewn for my own baby - can be found here. 

Sewing for Spikey

Allow me to introduce Spikey.  He's a friendly baby gorilla who sleeps next to my oldest son, often presides over baths and mealtimes, and occasionally causes mischief.  We have learned not to take him to preschool, lest he be forgotten in a cubby overnight. 

I was an avid collector of stuffed animals as a child.  Each creature had it's own name and backstory.  One in particular has traveled to Europe to keep me company and now sits on my (made!) bed every day.  So I appreciate the attachment and I encourage this friendship of sorts. 

Last week, while trying to amuse ourselves during the youngest's naptime, we sequestered ourselves in the studio.  Earlier that morning he had found the scrap of fabric left over from his chain mail and decided he wanted to make a suit of armor for Spikey.  I looked at his dad's knight book with him and agreed to sew something. 

I almost got out the sewing machine for this and am relieved I reconsidered.  I spent an hour hand sewing the chainmail, breast plate and helmet - complete with a chin strap - while trying to keep a four year old from pawing through every perfectly organized drawer, compartment and small box in my studio.  (This special place is, I admit, a cabinet of curiosities and I am trying to find a balance for us there somewhere between creative play and pure stress.) 

I share this here so you will notice how cleverly the breast plate snaps in back.  How carefully I painted a crest on the front (though it doesn't show very clearly).  How chivalrous Spikey appears in his new get up.  Because the four-year-old was about as impressed with the finished product as he was with muesli for breakfast this morning.  Oh well.  Win some, lose some, I suppose. 
 
 

the bravest knight

 
  
 

 

Parenting a very young child is exhilarating and challenging.  (I know that's not a particularly new piece of wisdom that I'm spinning out into the ether.)  Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of parenting is discovering one of your children's interests and fostering the exponential learning curve that follows. 

M began learning about knights when we acquired a Playmobil castle, knights, and dragons from our neighbor's garage sale.  His dad built him a gladius out of a wooden stake and some duct tape; apparently a modest knighting ceremony followed in the garage.  

Using wool felt, some glittery nylon fabric, and a simple iron-on transfer, I sewed some simple, suitable armor for chasing after bad guys and searching for wild lions.  The patterns for the chain mail, armor, and helmet all came from Bend the Rules Sewing, with a few minor alterations.*  The beauty of felt, which facilitated an easy evening of sewing and crafting (a Christmas miracle!), is that it doesn't require hemming.  Just a few simple seams and, lo!  A knight of the castle, prepared for battle or whatever chivalrous deeds may follow. 

It must be obvious, but allow me to say it anyway:  oh, I love that boy. 
 

*As I've said before, I do not really sew.  I certainly do not do so competently.  But I've come to think of this book as the sewing book for sewers who do not sew, but happen to own a sewing machine.  So there.  (Another pattern I've made from the book can be seen here.)