The latest creative endeavors

turquoise ramikins with river stones

On the creative front, I have been busy. Sometimes my little projects take a backseat to chores, blogspotting, and other stuff but I have been making things. My little paper-cut collage card scenes have taken a backseat for awhile (the last one I posted was the Field of Poppies from April 4th) because I'm having so much fun with fabric and sewing. I got four cute little pieces from Sew Mama Sew that I wanted to use to make Tristan some nice summer pants. There is a nice little tutorial for making pants in the book The Creative Family that I purchased last month, and although it calls for repurposing an old shirt, it was easy enough to use the fabric, although I probably wasted more fabric than necessary. Of course I had to jump right in and try out my favorite fabric first, a cute little design by Alexander Henry 

 Toadstool but unfortunately cut too soon...I will need to increase that waistband! The next one I made was not to Tristan's liking. A dark green with froggies by Heather Ross. He didn't like the froggies on it, and wanted to know, "Where's the blue pants?" He had especially liked a blue that I had gotten, another one by Alexander Henry, called First Spring Light Blue. Ah, the blue pants. I'll make them for you little boy! These turned out very well. He wore them. He liked them. A successful story. 

I was also busy making this little buttercup bag (tutorial listed on my sidebar). I love Amy Butler fabric - so this was an obvious choice for me. I am almost finished with my belated spring top, also done with an Amy Butler fabric, but I've never used bias tape before so I'm waiting for mom or auntie to come over and give me a tutorial on that so I can finish my little smock top! It's so Easy by Simplicity turns out to be not so easy. At least not for me, but then, I'm a novice.

The photo at the top of this post of the two ramekins with river stones is through a favorite new blog of mine called Apples for Poppyanne. She's starting a new project called, "It begins with a color..." Her color this week is turquoise. I had these cute little ramekins being unused (can you imagine?) I love ramekins - in all different shapes, colors, sizes. I also had collected some river stones a few weeks ago. When I picked up the stones they were wet and I chose them because they were more brightly colored than the other stones around. After drying, they weren't quite as bright but still subtly colored. Anyway, my exploration of turquoise in my daily life! I like this project of hers. Join the fun if you get a chance!

I am also working on an exciting big project that will take a bit of time but I will let you know and see the outcome!

A lesson in composting

The last few days have been spring cleaning days, and I visited a woman with a compost in her backyard and learned something - mainly, what I've been doing wrong. I've been adding kitchen "green" scraps - banana peels, eggshells, stems, apple and cucumber peelings, etc. that's o.k., but covering them with dirt and adding water every few days. Not supposed to add dirt. Nope. I need grass clippings. This woman has a pile of grass in her compost and she dug her hand in there and said, "Feel how warm it is underneath all that." So I put my hand in the little grass pile and sure enough, it was baking in there! That stuff was doing some serious decomposing. I went out to the street today and got some grass clippings. Hopefully they're not filled with neighbors' chemicals!

Today was an office-cleaning day and I'm hoping this will inspire me to make the shirt I've been wanting to make out of some lovely Amy Butler Midwest Modern fabric. This little Spring Top Week contest is a motivation (see the little button on my sidebar).

Hope everyone's week is going well!

School, Stress, Sleep, Sunday

Well, I got back into the master's public history program. Now I have to think about sending my boy to preschool! That is the only way I'll have time to study. It's not a perfect world, so part of me feels a little sad at having less time with him, but on the other hand, I saw how much he blossomed during the few days we had him in another preschool. By August he'll be older and more ready - almost three. Wow, how time just shoots by. Seems like I was just preggo. The other night when I couldn't sleep I was stressing out about getting back into the rhythm of studying and reading and it was stressing me out more - I just have to remember not to gobble it all at once. One step at a time is how it goes best, and in fact is the only way it goes. That is how to not stress out - just remember to take it as it comes. Excitement and stress are wicked, prank-playing stepsisters though!

Speaking of not sleeping, I'll really have to remember NOT to finish the coffee in the afternoon by treating myself to a nice little sweet iced-coffee. My still-nursing boy is too sensitive to the caffeine and I found that out for the second time the hard way (I guess I'd forgotten the first time). Needless to say, we had quite a long play-time/story-reading time in the middle of the night. I got to watch him seriously avoid sleep by being impish and cute and kicking his legs just a wee bit too close to me! Finally though, he drifted off. And it gives me time to post something this gorgeous Easter Sunday morning. We have no definitive plans for easter eggs. I didn't do the egg-coloring thing - he's not quite old enough for it and I wasn't motivated enough to get the materials. I have been working on this cute little crown for him though...not the best sewing in the world, but then I've never had to sew around bends of a bejeweled crown either! My aunt said that every thing you ever make needs to have at least one imperfection to keep the bad spirits out of it. Not exactly her words, but the jist of it is, who wants to make something perfect? If it's perfect, how can you know it's yours? The mistake is your mark. Anyway, I'll take a picture of the crown on Tristan's head. I hope he likes it.

Zoo and a cute little bag from a free pattern!

zoo animals

Today, we went to the zoo again, to appease my little one's daily need of adventure. Sometimes it's equally a way for us to get out of the house, we're a little out of sorts today - according to the ephemeris the moon was void of course and went to Leo at approximately the same time we left for the zoo. Things did seem to improve at that point, but the wind didn't help. In any case, Tristan may have been fine remaining on the pile of dirt in the backyard with his sand toys all day. We got home in one piece, less grumpy, and Tristan went to sleep fast! My good friend is in town and I am so looking forward to seeing her! Our boys are 6 weeks apart - we sort of wanted to be pregnant together and I was sort of waiting for her to get pregnant so I could too...nice way to do pregnancy, with a friend.

Anyway, there are bills to do, but I wanted to post this picture of a cute little bag from a free pattern I got from JCasa Handmade. I used fabric I already had (can't believe I actually had 2 different fabrics that go semi-well together!) - I don't have much fabric on hand, but it turned out pretty good - except the handle on this one is a little bit too lengthy.

kidlet wall pocket bag

Confessions of a dilettante and the joys of sharing sleep

dining room table and chairs

I admit it, I'm a dilettante. A dabbler. A gal with lots of interests and no specialty. My aunt, whom I would say is a master hand-craftsperson, gave me some leeway today when I mentioned that to her. She said she went through that and that's just something people have to do to find out what they are really interested in - what strikes their fancies...well, she is so generous. I have an unfinished quilt (but 4 finished squares!), somewhere between 3 and 6 unfinished knitting and crocheting projects, one unfinished apron, several patterns unattended to, embroidery thread and materials that were generously given to me by my mom and aunt but never used (the interest rose...and then fell - not to say it won't return someday). Does this sound familiar to anyone? These have accumulated over the past 5 years and I truly hope to someday get to all of them. One thing I find myself finishing over and over again though are these little collage-card scenes. Glad I can start and finish something.

Speaking of completed projects, Ida Pearle (see her website on my sidebar) put out out a book recently called, A Child's Day: An Alphabet of Play. I am always so happy to see her charming artwork. She uses paper-cuts also, mostly of children in play mode. The children in her work have no features, but they have so much EXPRESSION!! Amazing what this paper medium is capable of...

And while I'm on the subject of children's expressions, very early this morning as I lay with my son while he slept soundly after having been nursed back to sleep, I heard him giggle. Oh the sound of a child giggling in his sleep must be close to heaven's music...it delights me and gives me hope that I am doing something right! I feel so lucky to share my sleeping hours with my son, as his sleep-giggles occur at least weekly, if not more often. When it's light enough in the room I also get to see the lovely smile that accompanies the sweet laugh. As tired as I was, it was a joyful way to start the day.

Clear windows and Crafty Mamas

clothesline

This past week at Esalen in Big Sur, my hubby, son and I got a chance to rest and play. Tristan enjoyed the meadow, the ocean, the expansive organic garden and the Gazebo school while I got a chance to hang out all by myself for the first time since before he was born. One day I volunteered to work in the garden (not a selfless act, I love to garden occasionally, especially now that I don't have my own)! Two of the days had morning pranayama (breath) and yoga classes, which I thankfully took part in. Thomas was the teacher and at one point in the class he talked about how conscious breathing was like a window, and if you paid attention you could really see things - everything around you - clearly. I'm paraphrasing there, so it might not be exactly what he said, but it was very clear in that moment, and I was breathing consciously and seeing everything quite clearly at that moment. What a wonderful moment! Nothing in front of me, nothing behind me, just right there. I love being a mom but it does make for a very busy mind!

A week or so before leaving for Big Sur I got my new copy of Mothering magazine where I read a great article about crafty mamas! I began to look at these women's blogs and was hit again with inspiration...and a little envy! How I wished I could whip up something as quick as the Soule Mama and Angry Chicken moms can! Anyway, it inspired me to make a little wrap-around-skirt with a great fabric of colorful umbrellas hemmed with a forest green grosgrain ribbon. My first effort - not bad. I'm lucky to have been raised by a mom who grew up sewing her own clothes (even her own wedding dress!) and spent some time with me during my youth teaching me a little about how to use a sewing machine. I got my own machine while I was pregnant hoping to finish a quilt I started working on. I finished all the cutting but by the time I was done, I was 6 months pregnant and my hands were crippled with pregnancy carpal-tunnel, and I just couldn't finish...someday though! Looking at these women's blogs daily though, gives me further inspiration for what may someday become a master's project, or at least somehow incorporated: the history of women's handwork (in the United States). Lots of women bringing this back into vogue - through expression of creativity and sometimes necessity these days, I am so excited to research this topic. Someday soon hopefully...