Chaz and Ginger

Thrifty Finds

2012-01-30T06:38:00.000-05:00

My, oh my, it was a thrilling weekend for me and my thrifty partner Zanny. Our men folk went off to climb some rocks while we headed to central Mass to hit several sales. As we walked out the door, my loving husband asked that I not buy anything that wouldn't fit in the car or that couldn't easily be resold. I think I'm pretty good at managing my purchases and actually carry a list of things I want to remember to keep my eyes out for.

At #1, I found this cow creamer for $1. A cow creamer has actually been on my shopping list for a year. I found one last month at a higher price and am glad I waited.

#2 was a bomb.

#3 was the bomb. I left with two shirts (one c. 1970 and the blue one homemade, a switch plate, a muff, a vintage tin, an embroidered pillowcase, and a gigantic wool blanket that easily fits a family of six under it. Total price: $8! I believe I did an excellent job of giving a calm, "yeah, that works" when I was quoted the price, though I shot Zanny a glance that said something more like, "Holy cow creamer, can you believe that deal!" And lest you think I've strayed into completely random purchases, I have to tell you that a muff was actually on my list. Is that ridiculous? I added it a couple of weeks ago and didn't figure I'd find one so quickly.

I also think I deserve credit for something I didn't buy. A c.1940 mint green sewing machine for $25 dollars. I tried to turn my back, but that mint kept calling me over again. Then I remembered the promise I made to myself before I went out...it went something like this...when one has no basement, attic, or garage, shares 1100 square feet with five men and owns two functional sewing machines, one simply cannot pick up every additional vintage sewing machine one sees. Oh, but that minty green. Alas, I must disclose myself fully, had that machine not been bolted into a table, it would have been under my arm the second I saw it. 'Tis true. I even investigated the underside to see if it was able to stand on its own without its base. In the end, I did walk away, but I cannot honestly say that I do not regret that decision.

#4 offered a1950s trench coat, a 1940s wool shirt, and a ball of twine (on my list). Chaz has actually been in need of an overcoat, so I was thrilled to find it though nervous it wouldn't be the right fit. At $5 each, I decided it was worth the gamble. When he put this coat on, Zanny and Chaz both said he needed a tommy gun. But Jonathan said he needed a furry Russian hat. My eyes lit up. We just happen to have one. Much laughing ensued. More laughing today when I asked my favorite model to show off his new duds for the camera. Thank you Johannes for being the photographer.

#5 was a bomb.

#6 was a thrift store we passed. It was run by some of the sweetest old ladies we've met and had wonderful small town thrift store prices. I resisted the red patent leather candle pin bowling ball bag and balls and instead picked up a few stitchy things. At 5 for 10¢, why not?

It was 1pm and we headed home with a back seat full of treasure and change from a twenty dollar bill still in my pocket for an afternoon of stitching.

Our House

2012-01-19T06:36:00.001-05:00

Never one to say no to list writing, I typed up a few items I would like to do/improve on this year. One of them is to slow down a bit as I often feel I spend my days running in circles without stopping to take a breath. I am certain that to some degree this is as it must be as one raises and home educates four little beings. However, I think there is also certainly room for a bit more time with my feet up and knitting in hand.

My New Year's list also included making more decorations for our home. You see, every time I turn around a boy of mine needs a new article of clothing. I have noticed though, that I rarely make anything "artful." The things that would be pretty to look at around our home always get pushed to the bottom of the list to make room for the more pressing clothing needs that always seem to arise. The result is that I've done little to improve the decorative appearance of our crappity-crap apartment. Long-story short (except that I already made it pretty long), this year I want to thrift more clothes and create more decorations.

I also made another January list...one that my checklist driven self adores: a list of crafts I want to make this year. Sounds sane enough until one considers that I also scheduled myself to make certain projects in certain months. I suppose that doesn't sound too batty, except that I am sitting here relishing in the fact that my January projects are done early and I now have "free time" and can make whatever I want or to work ahead on a February project or even go to bed at 6:30 like I did yesterday. This leaves me feeling just a smidgen silly. But what can I say, I love a good list.

The first project took less than half an hour, but makes me oh so happy to see when I'm in the kitchen. It is done with watercolor and sharpie and sits in a frame given to me by a friend.

Project #2 has been waiting to be completed for two years; I should have put it on a list sooner! I picked up the frame second hand for $1, removed the disney poster and painted it (anxious to complete my project, I also moved it before the paint was dry and some of it came off, oh well). This is Sijmon's birth announcement. I sewed some eyelet lace cut from a table runner around the raw edges and stuck it in. I was afraid the flatness of the frame and the three dimensionality of the wool would smush the little birdies too much, but I believe it looks just fine.

This next one is wildly exciting for me. Too much rambling is happening in this post, so I'll be short and just say that I salvaged an old window 10 years ago for a certain project. I moved said window across country with me and worked on it for many hours before accidentally leaning on it and breaking a pane, ruining the project. Fast forward to September. I picked up a window for $5 and have been busily hatching a plan for it while Chaz has lifted his eyebrows and mentioned broken glass, lead pain and our children more than once. Such pessimism, only motivated me to be sure I actually made something nice with said window before damaging one of our children (bad!) and proving myself wrong (worse?). I paired it with some vintage patchwork that I reinforced with canvas. The silhouettes are made with card stock and I couldn't be happier with how it all came out. Sorry for the glarey photo. I planned to retake it, but my mom said she liked seeing my reflection...and I didn't really want to retake it anyhow. Here's where I got my inspiration.

Oh yes and here's one from last month. I actually cut felt out for it two years ago but December has always been to busy. I decided to make the month less busy this year and now I have lovely little purl bee stars made from recycled sweaters.

Off to add a stitches to my "March" quilt; it's just the thing for our house.

Sijmon's Day

2012-01-18T12:43:00.002-05:00

Sijmon's birthday was delightful.

We woke up to our first snow since that blip in October.

Mother Nature got Grammy's memo and gave us an afternoon of rain so he could wear his new coat.

The sibling gifts were charming as always.

The black forest cake was delicious and I won't lie that the home canned cherries were my favorite part.

Sugar

2012-01-17T06:46:00.000-05:00

Oh, little Sijmon. Did you know you are two years old today? Two years makes you seem awful old, but I know you're still quite small. Sijmon, you are as sweet as sugar and I'm sure glad you requested a sugary sweet black forest cake for your birthday. You're not really that verbal yet, but when I look in my baby's eyes, I can read his heart. I won't let you down.

Here is a short list of what I love about you most at two years old:
You cannot resist dancing to music. If any sound remotely resembles a beat, your head starts bobbing.
You give an enthusiastic "yeah" to most any question (again with the head bobbing).
Upon waking up in the morning and just before bed you smile and ask for "chee chee chee" (cheese).
You giggle the cutest giggle there ever was.
You love to clean up any mess that you make, put your things (and other's) away without being asked and always pick up any trash that you see, show it to us and proclaim "guck guck."
You love garlic and onions. Raw. You steal them from their crocks in the closet and off the counter tops when you can reach. You'll carry a head of garlic or whole onion around gnawing on it for hours.
You love all animals, but especially "chick chick" (chickens), dogs and mowww (cows).
You bring daddy his slippers when he comes home from work.
When I give you a hug, you hug back.
Then if I pat your back, you pat mine too.

Today, I think we'll have cake for breakfast.
Happy Birthday Sweet Baby. We love you so much.
Thank you for giving us reason to celebrate every day.

Thrifty Finds

2012-01-16T19:05:00.003-05:00

This lovely littly number was hanging up in the front window of the thrift store.

I think it was looking for me.

$2.49 + tax

The Ladies Garment Union tag dates it to 1956-1973.

Who Needs Snow?

2012-01-12T05:14:00.000-05:00

Yes, that is right, he is riding his new sled down the bush.

Brothermade

2012-01-10T06:26:00.000-05:00

The most charming part about this Christmas was watching all of the elving. Miles and Johannes in particular spent the whole month around corners and behind doors working on and wrapping projects for their brothers. I suggested and helped with a few activities, but they did so much by themselves. By the time Christmas arrived, I believe I may have been as excited as they were to see it all unwrapped. Here are some ideas for your little elves (and here are some more from another year).

Willem (4) made fewer items than anyone else, but I believe he may have had a double helping of joy in the process as evidenced by his abundant grins giggles and belly chuckles. He used watercolors to paint a couple of pinewood trucks he picked out at an estate sale for Sijmon. For Miles he used glitter glue and pom-poms to make a tree. I made a simple cape for Johannes and Willem used potato stamps to decorate it with star and his first initial. The cape, by the way has barely left Johannes's neck since Christmas and he talks frequently about what a great gift it was that Willem made.

Johannes (6) kept busy with lots of secret projects including an apron and feather decorated vase for me and a poster for Miles. He also used porcelain paints to decorate a plate for Miles. I believe my favorites were the board books he made. Sijmon's is a nativity theme (note the pregnant stick figure Mary). Willem's is all about a digger truck. So cute. I picked up the books from Bare Books.

Together Miles and Johannes cut and decorated some over-sized shipping boxes to make a car and a house for their younger brothers. The details that went into the dashboard were wonderful, buttons to turn it into a boat or a plane and an ignition with a key.

Miles (9) made a rocket and bouncy ball for Johannes using this recipe. He also made a baby doll for Sijmon because Sijmon loves babies. Indeed he has loved the doll since he first opened it.

Holly Jolliness

2012-01-04T05:40:00.000-05:00

Here are a few photos of our Christmas day. I'm saving all of the kid homemades for another post. I managed not to take any pictures from our Christmas dinner or of this years cookie plate. This is probably a result of me trying to unplug a bit and not rush to document everything for the blog...of course I am now sitting here wishing I had a cookie plate picture for personal reference next year. I'll link to recipes at the bottom of this post.

The way to a woman's heart?

No, I made him rustic mayan chocolate truffles too.

Just the way to a human's heart.

I planned diligently to avoid 11th hours December crafting craziness. Mostly this involved keeping my project list short to begin with. Miles and Johannes each got a pilot cap. The three big boys each got a bookstrap to carry their new engraved set of scriptures (this was the only crafting stress of the month, you see they already had embroidered book totes from a few years ago, but wouldn't you know, the new hardback books I had ordered didn't fit...grumble...no worries though as I find the straps to be adorable).

And the best gift of all was a certain Auntie and cousin who flew in on Christmas Day. It was a last minute trip and we decided to surprise the boys with this one last over sized present that was waiting when they came home from church.

Oh what good times Christmas is filled with. Oh, yes and the cookies.

Oldies but Goodies (recipes here)
Snickerdoodles
Peppermint Bark
Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies
Spekulaas

Newbies
Gooey Butter Cookies - Gooey Butter Cake goes cookie. These were yummy, but perhaps not exciting enough to repeat.
Maple Pecan Cookies - like traditional sugar coated pecan crescents but with a bit of maple and orange zest. I'll make these again.
Almond Oat Lace Cookies - My friend Jess mentioned that she was making these as a less fussy alternative to florentines. Less fussy was the name of my game this holiday season, so I tried them out following her advice to keep them small and well spaced well on the cookie sheet. They were like a more delicate crispier florentine and I liked them a lot, but I think I'll stick with the chew and durability of florentines next year.

space

2012-01-02T06:58:00.000-05:00

Here I find myself in another year, brand new! I've had a delightful couple of days pondering what I'm going to do with it and wondering what it might do to me! I'm also holding back a few more days on sharing all of our family, fun and crafty holiday goodness in exchange for this...

Yes, that's right...a 3-month old picture of my pantry! Thrilling, right? Maybe not at first glance, but let's scrape the surface and discover some of the history and metaphorical goodness behind this seemingly bland shot.

This pantry photo op happened thanks to a variety of factors:

1. Chaz was out of town and you see, there are always more fun things to do than organize a pantry when a dear friend is around.
2. It was 11:30 at night and four small people were snoozing. You mean you don't stay up until midnight to clean a pantry? Well, around here, certain small people take down two jars for every one I put up, so I usually settle for tossing a jar in haphazardly and then shutting the door quickly to deter would-be mess makers.
3. The sliding closet doors had fallen down and I lacked the strength to heft them back onto their track. This unveiling of the pantry in its pitiful state of full topsy-turviness combined with a new ability to actually access all areas of the closet left me hankering to help it look a bit spiffier.

I was pleased with the orderliness of it all and took a moment to admire all the pretty bottles of home preserved deliciousness. I might have mourned that the blue cake crock stared at me half-full of mere potatoes. I could also have dwelled on the fact that in just a few hours, the smallest of the small ones would be up and taking apart my lovely pantry while I watched anxiously for the landlord to arrive and put the doors back in their place. I reached for my camera instead and then went to bed.

Now then, I seem to have taken so long to recount the story of the above photo that I fear I may be losing your interest for the pantry's metaphorical underpinnings. Perhaps I'll aim for brevity (not my forte). I've been pondering all that I do and that which I don't do. I've been thinking of those who are impressed with what I do and comment on how they couldn't do it themselves. I always think, "of course you could, if you really wanted to." Then I stroll over to a random blog and think, "gosh, I wish I could do everything s/he does." My mind quickly recalls my own advice: of course I could, if I really wanted to.

If you really want to educate your children at home, learn to put-up your own food and sew your own clothes, you certainly can. If I want to learn shuttle tatting, to play the mandolin, take better pictures, sing in harmony, and make two king size bed spreads this year...well...I can certainly do that too. But I need to make space. At first it might not seem to fit in behind that closet door where I've been haphazardly stashing all the busy stuff life is made of. But if I take a moment to consider my priorities and explore the world behind the closet doors, I usually find that I have plenty of room for all I truly want to do.

I think you will too.

Welcome 2012. I have big plans for you.

Wrapping Up; Opening Again

2011-12-20T10:58:00.000-05:00

A gingerbread house display, cocoa with Chaz at his office, a St. Lucia breakfast made by the boys, a gingerbread house of our own plus more cookies in the oven. Yes, Christmas is in full swing around here. The solstice is tomorrow and I can sense the light surging, preparing to return. 2012 is full of some very big and very good things for our little family; I can feel it and am ready to embrace whatever this new year brings.

First though, I'll embrace the final moments of 2011 and its Christmastide.

Merry Christmas and see you next year.

Sijmon checks out the view from the 49th floor.

St. Lucia's breakfast of spring rolls, fried eggs and potatoes.

Sint Gear

2011-12-15T11:31:00.004-05:00

Perhaps my favorite part of Sinterklaas is that I make warm wintery apparel to be given at the beginning of December. This means my big holiday gift projects might make for a busy Thanksgiving weekend, but they leave my December open and relaxed...though I'm pretty good at managing to fill it up anyway...ahem... As the weather cools off, I'm always glad to have already given these warm and woolly delights sooner rather than later.

This year baby Sijmon got two pairs of store-bought wool socks. That's what he needed most. They have not been photographically documented as they aren't particularly exciting and well, they may have been misplaced....several times...isn't that always the way?

I think I was most excited about Willem's gift this year, a jacket from the Japanese book Boys' Clothes. Once again, I was impressed with the intuitive, simple and easy to follow pictorial instructions. I've told so many people that Japanese patterns are much easier to follow than English, but I'm fairly certain that not a soul has believed me. This one however, threw me on the materials list. Usually, I just look at the picture or reference my list of common Japanese sewing terms. It looked like a woolen jacket trimmed with bias tape, but something was different in the picture and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. So, I asked my friend Q to ask the original Wabisabi Mama. The notion in question turned out to be corduroy bias tape, definitely not something I've ever worked with or seen before. I made it with brown corduroy from my stash and paired with with a perfectly sized piece of what I believe to be wind-block fleece sitting on the remnant table at my local fabric store. The corduroy really makes all the difference in this sweet little jacket, thanks to you Wabisabi friends.

The last two boys received pajamas. They got into their klompen and tried them on before the sun was up and put the PJs back on for bed after the sun had gone down so the lighting is less than ideal in these photographs. Nothing much I can do about that I suppose, save changing our latitude 2.58 degrees or so...easier said than done. I made Johannes's with pattern from the new book Sewing for Boys. A classic look for this charming little man of mine.

For Miles, there was a pair of pants with trains on them that I picked up at an antique store a couple of years ago. He began wearing them recently, but the rise was excessively high, the elastic was shot and the cuffs were tattered. I freshened them up for him and made a matching top using the 90 minute shirt tutorial. Someday I'll get another photo that shows you the blue embroidered engine on the front of it and the envelope style neck opening, but for now, just imagine it.

And speaking of imaging I think that's as close to a white Christmas that we'll get this year. I can't complain too much though as three hour park excursions are also quite merry.

Decking Halls

2011-12-12T20:36:00.000-05:00

It is holly jolly time and the house is bustling. I'm feeling wiped keeping up with my most adventurous toddler yet, but trying to focus finding the peace and joy that really is all around. I'm excusing myself from doing much December blogging so I have time to seek more of that good stuff. Here's a little glimpse of what we've been up to though. Pictures of the Sinterklass homemades up soon.

Thrifty Finds

2011-12-05T06:55:00.000-05:00

I went out to two sales this weekend and you can imagine my excitement when I passed two more coming home. I bought an item for $1 at each.

First off, this charming enamel pot. It will be perfect for the indoor onions I've been wanting to start.

Hmm, this is more of a group of items, but still just $1. Two table runners, two doilies and a most charming set of hand knits for baby. Whose baby? Fantastic question...not mine. I'm hoping to give it to someone in particular, but as they are not yet wanting a child, perhaps some other lucky soul will be the recipient.

Oh, I do love old books with pretty binding. Especially when they are titles I feel I really should read some day. At a dollar, how could I resist?

Added 12/6. Oh yeah, I couldn't find the 4th purchase to take its picture...welcome to the black hole of my house. It was a lovely flowery napkin and pair of skinny suspenders.

{this moment}

2011-12-02T06:30:00.001-05:00

{this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by soulemama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

More Thanks to Give!

2011-11-29T06:33:00.000-05:00

When the last weekend in November is kind enough to offer you highs in the 60s, out of doors is simply the only place to be. We continued giving thanks Friday and Saturday by soaking up every drop of sunshine while visiting the ocean in Quincy, Salem and Gloucester.

Ahoy!

That water was just as cold as you might imagine the North Atlantic at the end of Autumn, but that didn't stop Johannes (or Sijmon) from getting right into it.

A lobster trap Christmas tree!? Instant love.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T09:31:00.001-05:00

A morning of cooking and launching rockets.

An Afternoon of

Mushrooms stuffed with blue cheese, dates, pine nuts and a balsalmic mustard reduction

Brussels Sprouts Hash with Caramelized Shallots

Mashed Potatoes and Turnips with Roasted Pear Puree

Sage and Apple Stuffing

Pickled Onions

Endless varieties of olives

Iggy's Rolls

Cranberry Sauce

Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Toasted Marshmallows

Caramel Pumpkin Pie

Maple Pecan Pie

An evening of Games and Grandparents.

What's not to be thankful for?

Let The Good Times Roll

2011-11-21T15:06:00.001-05:00

Sibling made gifts, new material for wearing, reading and playing with, and an excuse to make cake. What's not to love about a forth birthday? Little Willem is four and this is the first year he knew what a birthday meant (as far as "there is stuff for me"...the concept of aging is yet to be grasped). He asked to listen to The Cars most of the day, I happily obliged, and he even let me brush his rock and roll hair.

Construction Suit Case inspired by this

Thrifty Finds

2011-11-21T05:58:00.000-05:00

3 Hats

3 Boys

{this moment}

2011-11-18T06:37:00.000-05:00

Jumped!

2011-11-16T19:00:00.001-05:00

Thrifty Finds

2011-11-14T06:59:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I found an exciting sale listing:

A 91 year old woman decided to move to Maryland to live with her daughter. She took two suitcases and has left the rest to be sold with the house. There are lots of vintage kitchen items and enamelware.

Well now. This was most for a couple of different reasons. 1. My little brother is buying his first house soon and I've been on the lookout for kitchen things for him. 2. Vintage kitchen things usually mean vintage other things too.

I sent some pictures of enamelware to my brother and his girlfriend to see if they liked the style. Imagine my thrill when he responded, "I love it!" "Love" and an exclamation point from my brother in response to vintagey pots and pans? Oh my. I decided to arrive early and be sure I got a few pieces for them. In the end, I filled up two IKEA bags with goodness and I couldn't have been happier. I had a few moments of pondering mailing them everything in my kitchen and keeping all this cuteness for me, but in the end, I happily let it go and kept just a couple of other things I had picked up for me.

my can-o-mat...what it lacks in function it makes up for in cuteness

There were a few other odds and ends I picked up, but nothing amazing. As I was paying, I noticed a cookie sheet in a box on the porch. I asked if it was for sale or if it had already been bought. She replied that everything on the porch was trash and that I was welcome too look around and take anything I was interested in. The baking sheet was up being bent up, but I poked around a little and what do you suppose I found? Bags (yes plural) of vintage clothes and fabric.

Be still my heart.

I'm trying to control fabric levels here in our tiny apartment, so I resisted the temptation to just take all of it (a decision I have come to fully regret...I actually came back on trash day with hopes of finding them again). But I did come home with several items.

A red white and blue vintage tee-shirt that fits me perfectly.

My cute new blue pot with a hand-sewn threadbare calico house dress. I've been pairing it with jeans and a tee-shirt and I think it looks swell. Though it is so delicate, I'm afraid to wear it around the kids. Which means it is perfect for our late night dance class!

A hand-sewn turquoise gingham dress. Fits me...almost perfectly...except that it is too puffy in front...wait a minute...this is a maternity dress! Packed up an sent to a pregnant lover of vintage.

A brown dress that was either store bought or tailor made. The ties have been snipped off, but it is otherwise in mint condition and it almost fits...if only I were a smidgen shorter.

Can anyone who knows vintage help me to date this one?

love.

Lastly, a 1940s green plaid apron. The apron was a little small through the shoulders for me, but luckily there many many sizes of people in this house who are happy to help me celebrate this latest batch of thrifty finds.

{this moment}

2011-11-11T06:05:00.000-05:00

Dancing Apron

2011-11-10T06:01:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I discovered Dottie Angel and ever since I've wondered how I managed not to have found her sooner. In addition to being funny and making adorable things, I really enjoy the inspiration for ways to use various vintage notions. As I have a growing stack of vintage lace, doilies, buttons and whatnot, I decided to dive into it and make an apron wrap a la Dottie Angel. This was my first project on the cleaned, oiled and more or less functioning singer I picked up last month and it was so fun to put together.

Chaz thought the apron itself was vintage and was surprised that it was something I had just made with a pillowcase, a hankie, and some lace and buttons. Later he said I looked like I just stepped out of a 1950s kitchen. Perfect! No better compliment could have been given.

Although he continued to explain that that was why he wondered why I was planning on wearing it out of the house. Ha! How about because it is cute? I put on my shoes and we stepped out to dance class and a delightful time was had by all.

I'll have a "moment" for tomorrow and then be back Monday with some fabulous thrifty finds.

c. 2011 Bricks and Chairs on Flagstone

2011-11-09T06:07:00.000-05:00

Last month we had the pleasure of attending the opening of a gallery featuring the art of Ellen Banks and curated by out friend Kenneth. The gallery was quite enjoyable, the artist was sweet and Miles and Johannes found it absolutely peachy that they got to stay up late, go to a grown up party and eat cheese, crackers and bubbly water. This was also their first exposure to abstract art being introduced and discussed as abstract. They talked on the way home about all of the mediums they could use to create "abstractions."

A couple of days later this appeared on my back porch along with a little boy begging me to take its picture.

I took a deep breath, held in grumblings about him needing to move all of those bricks back where they belong and instead, reached for the camera.

Johannes's "abstract," as he called it, ended up being featured on our porch for several weeks. He and his brothers climbed on it (again with more breath holding by me), but it turned out to be quite stable - likely a product of the symmetry that Johannes was eager to show me.

Eventually, we wanted our table and chairs back along with a clear path to walk out from our back door, but fear not, the energy and creativity of this small person is much greater than his physical size.

So I'm sure he'll have something good to share with us soon.

Hitched

2011-11-08T06:37:00.000-05:00

On our trip ~~last month~~ two months ago, we visited Columbus which was quite the charming city, but the highlight of the whole trip was the delightful wedding we attended. The theme was green (as in no waste, not the color). Of course I loved seeing all of the eco-friendly creativity, but the darling couple was the best part.

cuteness!

Now then, on the topic of cuteness, Miles sported his new suit while Johannes and Sijmon looked dapper in suspenders and tweed bow ties.

Here they are with their cute granny.

The bow tie wasn't exactly a permanent resident on Sijmon's neck.

And Willem? I wound up making him the sailor suit from the Japanese craft book called Boys' Clothes. As with my previous Japanese sewing pattern experiences the construction was quite intuitive and came together more simply than the average English pattern. The only real hitch was that seam allowances are not included in the pattern pieces...kind of a pain, but once I figured that out I was good to go. I pretty much love how the outfit came out.

Willem and U-Jim cut a rug.

heap-o-cousin

Good Times! Thanks N&E for being such awesome people to celebrate.
And thanks to Grampy for all the great photos!

Thrifty Finds

2011-11-07T06:45:00.000-05:00

Chaz was out of town recently and came home on a red-eye. After bringing him home and tucking him into bed, I stepped out to an estate and was greeted by this lovely sideboard when I walked in. I prefer not to do furniture purchases without Chaz and I don't really have room for it in our ever shrinking apartment anyhow, so I picked up the lovely Singer 99k you see on top for $15 and headed home.

But I couldn't stop thinking about the furniture. So when Chaz ventured out of the room at 9:30am I apologized in advance of bombarding him with information on said sideboard I had found and loved that we didn't have room for and that I wanted him to come look at with me...umm...now? Luckily the dear soul had been missing me on his travels and was happy to oblige.

It was still there and now it is here. I was worried about the amount of space it would take up, but even though it isn't small, it provides enough storage space that it seems to be working well at actually decluttering our downstairs space.

Oh, and what is that? A missing knob in the middle? Perfect! Anthropologie, here I come.

The little people are rather fond of it too. Sijmon likes to dump all of the woolens we're storing in it out and then climb in. Willem is all too accommodating and shuts the door immediately. Then they both giggle. This mama looks at the sweaters on the floor, but finds she doesn't mind when she looks at the lovely furniture and listens to the giggles.

October

2011-11-02T13:36:00.000-04:00

Hmm, October has come and gone and I haven't had too much to say about it. We've been to Western Mass for our apples and beef. We've fished and wandered, canned and had more thrifty finds than I can keep track of. We've picked and carved, dressed up and generally enjoyed ourselves. Oh Fall, you are so good.

...but your pictures don't seem to be working so well...check back soon...
ok, now I think the pictures should work. Yes?

{this moment}

2011-10-28T07:35:00.001-04:00

this moment} - A Friday ritual inspired by soulemama. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

{this moment}

2011-10-14T06:06:00.001-04:00

{this moment}

2011-10-07T07:13:00.001-04:00

Alabama Style Shirt Repurposing

2011-10-05T09:46:00.001-04:00

At the end of a visit with our friends Peter and Lyssa several months ago, she thrust a tattered tee shirt into my hand and asked me to turn it into a treasure. Looking at the shredded remains sentimental cloth, I thought immediately that the techniques in the Alabama Chanin books would work best to preserve it. After a couple of months thinking about a design I put a throw pillow together and am pretty happy with how it came out. I forgot to take pictures before sending it back to Peter and Lyssa, but they just put some up on their blog if you'd like to check it out.

Another Biker

2011-10-03T06:20:00.000-04:00

We spent some time hanging around at the playground on Saturday. Willem struck some darling poses, but that's not the most exciting thing he did.

He spend the last year or so riding a balance bike and began asking about riding the big bike a few days ago, so we tried it out. Chaz held him up for a bit and then let go. He was off.

Johannes had a balance bike and there was a short transition period (2 weeks) where he used training wheels while he figured out pedaling. Willem on the other hand, never needed training wheels...he just rode off filled with laughter and excitement. Really, I can't imagine beginner bike riding has ever been so joyful. He wasn't scared, he didn't ever lose his balance, he just grinned and giggled. Frequently, his feet slipped from the pedals and he skimmed along until Chaz got him started again. We're still trying to convince him it is worth it to keep pedaling all the time, but he's getting there and yesterday we enjoyed a 3 mile ride together. Oh, how fun this is.

{this moment}

2011-09-30T05:48:00.000-04:00

Falling For:

2011-09-29T06:57:00.000-04:00

Oh Niagara, how beautiful and awe inspiring it is. I recall loving the falls when I first visited at Miles's age, but I think I actually had no idea how amazing they really are. This time I felt swallowed up in wonder at the power of simple water and gravity. From the oldest (Chaz) to the youngest of us, we just couldn't take in enough of it.

We walked on the boardwalk and I questioned, "are we really allowed to get this close?" I mean, we could just tumble over. Don't they realize that?

But how incredible that closeness was. It really seemed, at a few moments, that we were looking at the edge of the world. And I can't help but smile now as I recall that view. Could I forget its magnitude? Hmm. I suppose another visit is needed to help cement the memory.

A Morning in the Woods

2011-09-28T06:25:00.000-04:00

Right on schedule, small children awoke at 5am and commenced fussing. Feeling pity for those unfortunate enough to have a hotel room next to ours, we dressed quickly and slipped outside for secluded walk in the special woods of Palmyra, NY. Signs of Autumn's approach were everywhere, but the mosquitoes were still going strong.

And We're Off

2011-09-21T10:24:00.000-04:00

In just a couple of hours we're hitting the road for a wedding in Ohio. Getting a family of six organized for such an adventure takes some work and the travels aren't always easy-peasy and straightforward, but we hear there are yummy ice cream shops in Columbus, so, I think it will all work out just fine. I'll be back next week.

{this moment}

2011-09-16T06:31:00.000-04:00

Brown-Eyed Boys

2011-09-14T06:30:00.000-04:00

speaking of love.

loving: camping

2011-09-13T06:34:00.000-04:00

I love my husband who loves to play with camera settings and learn how to take lovely evening photos. I love that he takes my boys camping and takes pictures so lovely they almost make me want to sleep on the ground too...but not quite. Quiet evenings sewing and morning walks alone with my baby? Why I think I love those too.

beach moments

2011-09-12T06:26:00.000-04:00

Friday's {this moment} post was hard to decide on. We had so many beach-side moments that I want to savor and remember last week. These are all from Johannes's birthday celebration at Wingaersheek Beach in Glouchester.

{this moment}

2011-09-09T06:31:00.000-04:00

Let Them Eat Cake

2011-09-08T06:15:00.000-04:00

August was:
four cakes
three birthdays
& two discoveries

Campfire Delight: 6 Layer Rich Chocolate Malted and Toasted Marshmallow Cake

Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Buttercream Cake with Ganache Drizzle

We headed to the beach for Johannes's birthday and so we enjoyed this gateau de crepes for breakfast.

I was inspired by this smitten kitchen recipe, but opted to just use nectarines simmered with vanilla for the filling.

S'mores Cake in a Jar

And the discoveries?

1. Individual jars of cake are the perfect beach-side birthday treat.

2. 1 pint of cake might be more than one serving. Maybe.

Gone Fishing

2011-09-06T10:10:00.000-04:00

Oh, hello. We've had a grandma in town, a birthday celebration, a couple of beach days and a trip to the pool, a camp out and several fishing trips. My memory card is loaded and I have so much to share, but we also have a wedding to travel to, homeschool whatnot to organize and a pile of sewing projects to work through this month. I'll do what I can, but if you've been missing me and want to know what we've been up to, the fishing part of life these days looks something like this:

{this moment}

2011-08-26T06:07:00.000-04:00

fortunate

2011-08-25T06:17:00.001-04:00

Johannes decided this fly rod box would make a good fortune teller's booth and spent yesterday evening dispensing fortunes. Here is Miles finding out that he is going to be an engineer that designs airplanes.

Chaz was told, "You're going to be a lawyer. Then you are going to be a lawyer. And then you will be a grandpa."

My fortune? "You're going to be a mom. Then you are going to be a grandma. And you are going to have a grandpa to help you."

I'm pretty sure I couldn't be more fortunate than that.

Preserving Food & Family

2011-08-23T09:58:00.002-04:00

Each spring and early summer I dabble with a few relatively small canning projects. But then mid-August rolls around and the peaches are ripe. The beans are ready at the same time and on their heels are tomatoes and cucumbers. Then I'll realize there are an awful lot of beets waiting to be pickled. And then there are the apples to be sauced. Next thing I know I'm behind on hand-mades for Christmastime.

So here I am with a few days left in the month. Trying to enjoy a lazy summer day while simultaneously trying not to procrastinate and cause a scramble later. I'm recall of the words of a friend's grandmother, "Let's hurry now so we don't have to rush later" and I get up and start to work alongside my little ones.

Last week Willem helped me make pie out of our last three jars of peaches (perfect timing!) and the next day we picked up 5 half-bushels of fresh peaches. There is a lovely farm nearby that sells "utility peaches," those that have been bruised, split or are misshapen in 25-pound boxes for just $10. That's enough to make anyone smile!

A night of family canning followed. We each added our favorite songs to the playlist (Tchaikovsky, Benny Goodman and They Might Be Giants for Miles and Johannes, some Carter and Cash for me and the Clash and Ramones for Chaz). The boys sorted out and washed the ripe fruit. Miles scooped the sugar into jars, Johannes peeled peaches in the ice bath. Chaz did the sharp stuff and I did the hot stuff. The next morning jars were wiped labeled and packed away to be enjoyed on a chilly February day.

I've thought a lot recently on why I put up food. My commitment to eating local and interest in increased self-sufficiency is certainly present, but lately I've been thinking about a deeper purpose. When working with kids their sorting is not always perfect and there may be a few bottles of peaches with intended light syrup that became extra-heavy instead, but as we take the time to preserve food together, I can't help reflecting on how this work is preserving our family too. I'm reminded of a favorite essay, Family Work by Kathleen Bahr. I'll share the quotes that have been resonating with me and invite you to view the full text here:

"...In almost every facet of our prosperous, contemporary lifestyle, we strive for the ease associated with Eden. The more abstract and mental our work, the more distanced from physical labor, the higher the status it is accorded...Even the way we go about building relationships denies the saving power inherent in working side by side at something that requires us to cooperate in spite of differences. Rather, we "bond" with our children by getting the housework out of the way so the family can participate in structured "play." We improve our marriages by getting away from the house and kids, from responsibility altogether, to communicate uninterrupted as if work, love, and living were not inseparably connected...
...Ironically, it is the very things commonly disliked about family work that offer the greatest possibilities for nurturing close relationships and forging family ties. Some people dislike family work because, they say, it is mindless. Yet chores that can be done with a minimum of concentration leave our minds free to focus on one another as we work together. We can talk, sing, or tell stories as we work. Working side by side tends to dissolve feelings of hierarchy, making it easier for children to discuss topics of concern with their parents. Unlike play, which usually requires mental concentration as well as physical involvement, family work invites intimate conversation between parent and child...
...God gave us family work as a link to one another, as a link to Him, as a stepping stone toward salvation that is always available and that has the power to transform us spiritually as we transform others physically. This daily work of feeding and clothing and sheltering each other is perhaps the only opportunity all humanity has in common. Whatever the world takes from us, it cannot take away the daily maintenance needed for survival. Whether we find ourselves in wealth, poverty, or struggling as most of us do in day-to-day mediocrity, we need to be fed, to be clothed, to be sheltered, to be clean. And so does our neighbor..."

In much fewer words, I think this Nikki McClure poster also says it well.

Now then, off to harvest some beets.

{this moment}

2011-08-19T06:21:00.000-04:00

Now We Are 6 - Almost

2011-08-15T06:33:00.001-04:00

As I was going through new pictures, there were several nice shots of Johannes, most with a good story to tell. I thought of saving these pictures for a birthday post, but decided I would share them now instead.

He caught a bass last week and it was exactly big enough to bring home and cook up for dinner with his brothers.

He's definitely the monkey in our family. He loves shimmy up the pole in the middle of our living room and also takes down the hammock to swing from its rope.

or engage in other monkey business.

He absolutely dotes on Sijmon.

And he designed this birthday shirt for Chaz.

Pretty much the best shirt ever if you ask me.

On top of all of that, he's quite a dashing young man and in two weeks he'll be six.

What a dear.

{this moment}

2011-08-05T05:45:00.002-04:00

Drumlin Farm Again

2011-08-04T06:04:00.000-04:00

We were back at Drumlin Farm recently and there was much adorableness. I mean, does it get better than kids hugging kids?

I'm partial to this shot of Willem examining a severed hawk foot.

Recording the Harvest

2011-08-03T06:27:00.005-04:00

Over the weekend we picked quite a few blueberries. I was thrilled when the scale read 30 pounds exactly as that had been our goal.

We made a few of these:

And a whole lot of this:

How much exactly? Well, there were 5.5 pints of jam, 13 pints of blues and bays (a scrumptious recipe from The River Cottage Preserves Handbook ), 4 trays are in the dehydrator, two gallons in the freezer and 2 quarts in the fridge for eating fresh. This year, I've been enjoying knowing how much to fruit to pick and preserve thanks to the records I started keeping last year. I use a google spreadsheet to track all the details of my home preserved foods. How much jam do we eat in a year? How many berries must be picked to make that much jam? I know we ran out of tomatoes, but when and how many did we start with anyhow? All the answers are in one place for me and now I'm making the document public for you too. It doesn't contain everything I do, but some of the larger items are there. Feel free to copy my idea, improve on it, or just use the data in it to help you figure yields. Here's the link Ginger's Home Preserved Food Records.

Family Fun

2011-08-02T06:08:00.000-04:00

We had fun with Chaz's sister's family in town. Their daughter is Willem's age and he's been asking about her ever since they left. This morning, my little piglet woke up early and devoured and entire bunch of bananas which he proudly told me he was "saving for Irma." Such a cutie.

pneumatic fun, a favorite at Boston's Museum of Science

Buckets of Berries and Birthdays

2011-08-01T07:58:00.001-04:00

Hello August. You bring blueberries, raspberries and birthdays for half of our family. The fun starts today with Miles who turns 9. Nine. Wow. I say this every year, but my, that is big. Also big is the 7-inch tall campfire birthday cake I made this morning. Oh, yum. Happy Birthday to the boy who made me a mama.

Also, raspberries. Another yum. We picked this a couple of weeks ago, but we'll go again this month. Blueberries coming soon.

A Precautionary Notice

2011-07-25T06:56:00.000-04:00

The other day, Miles and Johannes spent an hour drawing warning signs. This was my favorite.

{this moment}

2011-07-22T06:43:00.000-04:00

Cooling off

2011-07-21T06:10:00.000-04:00

Ugh, it looks like we're joining the rest of the country for this week's heat wave. Our office in one of the hottest rooms of the house and I have no interest in sweating away at the keyboard today, but I think these pictures tell their own story.

3 Things I'm Enjoying Lately

2011-07-19T07:34:00.001-04:00

1. A visiting Cousin
2. Swings
3. The continuous shooting feature on my new camera.

Thrifty Finds

2011-07-18T05:25:00.000-04:00

I have a friend who keeps a blog about her one dollar a day "splurges." Last week, I enjoyed such a spending spree and got this bottle and two mini-jars. The bottle is dated 1965 and has an adorable cow picture on one side and and the dairy's name on the other. It looks absolutely beautiful with milk in it and was perfect for bringing with cookies to our picnic this weekend.

The sale the boys and I found them at was really fun too. The house was probably the biggest step back in time I've seen. Most of the time, we find old swing-top jars like this and various antiquities in basements, attics, closets and the backs of cupboards at the houses we go to, but in this house, all of the old stuff seemed to be their everyday stuff. Like the old wood-fed cook stove, it was the only oven and stove in the kitchen. And the hand-crank washer and drying racks? They were the only laundry facilities in the house. Everything was very neat and orderly and was just like we were stepping a few decades to another way of living. Very very fun and though I wanted to splurge on the $800 oven, I resisted and am content with my $1 purchase.

{this moment}

2011-07-15T06:00:00.000-04:00

moo to you

2011-07-14T06:24:00.001-04:00

I was looking through photos from our last visit to Drumlin Farm and it sure seems to me that these two are speaking the same language.

new suit

2011-07-12T05:31:00.005-04:00

Miles has been in need of new church pants and a short-sleeve dress shirt. After seeing this adorable suit last year, I decided to give it a whirl and in the end couldn't be happier with how it turned out. I did cuffed shorts, but am planning on making slacks too. The shirt is my own pattern and was made using one of Chaz's old shirts. The shorts are also my own pattern and the jacket is Burda 9671 .The jacket had 18 different pattern pieces and multiples of most were needed; yikes! I highly recommend giving yourself more than 4 days to complete it (which is what I did to myself when I decided that I wanted to finish it before Miles spoke in church on a given Sunday). The fabric is $1.99/yd cotton and the buttons are awesome brass Navy buttons that were in a button box I picked up at an estate sale. That makes the total cost of the whole ensemble $5.

Thrifty Finds

2011-07-11T06:07:00.005-04:00

The sale I went to this weekend had a lot of great oldies, I ended up spending a bit more than usual ($40), but got some fun things. Perhaps the most exciting item was a wooden box of stamps. It has upper and lower case of all letters, plus numbers and several symbols. I see now that I should have taken a close up, but alas, you'll have to imagine. There was a sock blocker that just happened to be in my size (perfect since I just started knitting my first pair of socks for me) and a mold that will be perfect for Christmas pudding or if I ever decide to make some crazy gelatin dessert. I also fell in love with the vintage signal lantern. Isn't it cute? There were several other antique lanterns of more standard styling, but I loves the look of this one and splurged a little in the name of cute practicality. When I got home, Chaz said it was made to be a signal on the side of boats and that the thick colored glass wouldn't let out enough light be helpful for finding your way; also, it is really heavy. "Oh well, isn't it adorable?" was my comment to him. No response. Last night, we lit it up and played a bit in the backyard and I wouldn't call it completely impractical for lighting your path. In addition to the lantern, the boys each picked out a necktie (not pictured) and I got a adorable birdy salt and pepper shakers (very anthro at a very not anthro price). A good day for thrifting indeed.

cute!

{this moment}

2011-07-08T05:00:00.000-04:00

diaper choices

2011-07-07T05:20:00.000-04:00

Last summer I decided to write a post about cloth diapering options. I took this picture of my chubby little Sijmon sporting cloth and then promptly forgot about it. Well, it isn't so much that I forgot about it as I didn't feel like explaining the pros/cons of diapers out there and why I use what I use. Not that I'm not interested in sharing, just that it never seemed like an inspiring thing to spend an evening writing about. It still doesn't, but after answering the question, "what kind of cloth diapers do you use?" by email at least a dozen times, I should go ahead and answer it and a few other questions here. Below you'll find a blurb about our three favorite cloth diapers and answers to some frequently asked questions.

Isn't is a lot of work? No. We have a diaper pail and put our dirty diapers in it. If they were paper diapers, would put them in the trash can when the pail filled up, instead, I put them in the washing machine. Wash hot, rinse cold and no fabric softener.

But what about rinsing and soaking? I don't do any of that. If there is a solid in the diaper I shake it out into the toilet, but I'd do that with a paper diaper too because poo in landfills is gross. They do make mini shower attachement you can hook to your toilet, but I never felt the need.

$20 seems like a lot of money for a diaper. If you're throwing it away, it sure does. But you're not. Let's say you use a one-size-fits-all diaper three times a week and your kid wears diapers until he is 2.5 years old. That works out to 5¢ per use. If you have another baby, that drops to 2.5¢ per use. With a third you're down to about one penny per diaper. Even adding in washing related costs you're still paying 20 times less than you would be for discount diapers. Plus you have a cute diaper and you're being eco-friendly. Way to go. Oh, and $20 is only for the expensive brands of cloth. Imagine if you bought the cheap ones!

What do I do with dirty diapers when I'm out of the house? I have a washable waterproof bag I put diapers in. The bag just goes in the diaper pail to get washed with the diapers.

Don't you have to change them more? No. I change my babies frequently because I think it is gross to leave a baby in a soiled diaper, but cloth diapers a very absorbent and leak-proof. Oh, and another pro...those blow-out up-the-back explosion infants are prone to I have never had happen with a cloth diaper on.

How many do I need to buy? Count how many diapers you are using everyday. Decide how often you would like to do laundry (weekly, 3 times a week, every other day, daily...whatever you want). Then do the math and buy the diapers.

What diapers do you recommend? There are a ton of diapers out there. I've tried only a handful of them, but here are the favorites that we use:

Fuzzi Bunz - A pocket diaper available in sizes or one-size-fits-all-adjustable. Mine are all sized because I bought them for baby #2 before OSAF was an option. Pocket diapers have a waterproof "shell" with a fleece lining that you stuff an absorbent "insert" into. They work well, are the first cloth diaper we bought for Miles and we would still recommend them. They used to run about $18-20/diaper. I recommend hemp inserts over the microfiber insert the manufacturer recommends.

Swaddlebees Eco Diapers - This is another pocket diaper that is a one-size-fits all. Functionally, it is the same as a Fuzzi Bunz in style and quality, but the inner lining is made of organic cotton velour. With that, it costs a few extra dollars too.

Bum-Genius Organic All-In-One (pictured above) - As indicated by the name, it is a one piece diaper with no insert to stuff into the pocket. Pro: no diaper stuffing and super-duper absorbent. Con: they take forever to dry. I recommend snap closures over aplix/velcro too. Note: it looks like these are now call the "elemental" diapers. The cost is about $24/diaper. As an aside, I have been displeased with the other diapers made by Bum-Genius.

Here's Willem in a Fuzzi Bunz.

Happy Diapering!

Rejoicing in Summer

2011-07-06T09:22:00.001-04:00

Technically difficulties this morning; hopefully this post loads right for you now.

I found this quote on MommyCoddle this weekend and really enjoyed the perspective:

"In a final scene, John Adams is walking along a cornfield at dusk with his son, Thomas. His wife has died, all of his peers but Thomas Jefferson have passed away and this is what he has to stay:
'Still, still I am not weary of life. Strangely. I have hope. You take away hope and what remains? What pleasures? I have seen a queen of France with eighteen million levers of diamonds on her persons, but I declare that all the charms of her face and figure, added to all the glitter of her jewels, did not impress me as much as that little shrub. (pointing with his walking stick to a small white flower in the field.)
Now my mother always said that I never delighted enough in the mundane, but now I find that if I look at even the smallest thing...my imagination begins to roam the Milky Way. Rejoice evermore. Rejoice Evermore! ...REJOICE! EVERMORE! I wish that had always been in my heart and on my tongue. I am filled with an irresistible impulse to fall on my knees right here in admiration....If only my knees would bend like they used to.'"

When I pulled photos from my camera yesterday, there was no doubt that summer is here. Here are some of the things we've been rejoicing in lately.

swimming

sailing

smiling

celebrating

picking the last of the strawberries

plucking a few cherries and remembering how good they feel between my fingers

preserving

climbing

meeting new friends

cooling off at the library

and bringing home some good books

enjoying an excellent roadside find

noticing the little things that are making my lifetime and this summer time swell.

As American As...

2011-07-05T07:05:00.002-04:00

look closely for geese honking swimming away in droves

Happy Independence Day!
(And Happy Birthday Mom!)

Thrify Finds

2011-07-04T05:35:00.001-04:00

1 July
2 sales
$3
4 July - Happy Independence Day!

{this moment}

2011-07-01T07:54:00.001-04:00

{this moment}

2011-06-24T07:55:00.000-04:00

Backyard Braveheart

2011-06-23T05:16:00.001-04:00

Welcome Summer

2011-06-22T05:52:00.000-04:00

There's just no better way to say "hello" to summer than picking strawberries in the morning and playing under the sprinkler in the afternoon.

Garlic Guy

2011-06-21T05:42:00.000-04:00

Today I discovered Sijmon wandering around chewing on a leaf. It turned out to be a garlic leaf. Apparently he's been helping himself and actually eating them, not just tasting. This is particularly interesting since we haven't been cutting the leaves or anything to give him the idea. I'm not sure how he discovered them though his allium affinity could be a case for both nature and nurture. It's nice to know baby boy has good taste.

Happy Summer!

Thrify Finds

2011-06-20T05:56:00.002-04:00

This weekend, there were no huge estate sale finds, but there wasn't a huge price tag either.

Three: Books
Two: muffin pans
One: silpat mat, cashmere sweater, delft blauw candle holder, pie pan, tape dispenser, tin and scarf
Also One: Five dollar bill

{this moment}

2011-06-17T06:00:00.000-04:00

On My Day

2011-06-14T06:25:00.001-04:00

I just had to share the creative gift Miles and Johannes made for my birthday last week. I've known for a while that they were saving dental floss containers for a secret reason and on my special day I got to unwrap them...

...and then Miles explained to me that they were now...

...travel containers for thread! Doesn't unroll when you drop it or get tangled up in your bag. This one was even preloaded with two colors. So awesome.

I made myself a new top and a cake. The shirt was my first adventure in knit garments. It is cute and comfy and I managed to get it to work with a zig-zag stitch, but I'll definitely keep a serger in the someday-maybe part of my mind.

And the cake was much more than a cake, it was a charlotte royale and it was oh, so good. Thanks for the tip Daniela.

Thrifty Finds

2011-06-13T06:21:00.000-04:00

The mega sale from last week was going on again to try and clear everything out, so I popped by to see if I could find any deals on what was left. For $3, I came home with a stack of fabric and a nice old watering can.

{this moment}

2011-06-10T06:06:00.001-04:00

Birthday Top for Mama

2011-06-09T05:57:00.002-04:00

For my birthday, I made myself a top. Actually, I just happened to make a top, but today is my birthday, so here it is. The pattern is Simplicity 3835 and the fabric is a lightweight cotton my neighbor gave me after her yard sale.

But even better than birthday shirts, I love my birthday babies.

Army Shorts with 3-D Cargo Pocket Tutorial

2011-06-08T05:44:00.048-04:00

When we were at the fabric store recently, Miles and Johannes noticed some camouflage fabric and immediately asked for army shorts, army pants and army shirts. I guess I knew thrill over lady bug pockets and polka dot linings would only last so long, and since they still enjoy all that and they *want* me to make them clothes, I'll celebrate those boys.

I used my regular pants tracing method to make the pattern, gave them a flat front and put on patch pockets. To add some authenticity, I lined them with a butt patch and also made three dimensional cargo pockets. I don't know about yours, but my boys can always use extra capacity in their pockets! It took a little bit of origami, but if you'd like to try it, here's a brief tutorial.

3-D Cargo Pocket Tutorial

Note: Make and attach this after sewing side seams of your pants, but before sewing the center seams.

1. Start with a 7" square piece of fabric (or 1.5 inches bigger on every side than your desired finished pocket size). I used these on shorts for 5 and 8 year old boys and they just fit for the 5 year old. If you are doing shorts for a younger boy, make it 6 inches.

2. Pick a side to be the top, fold over 1/4 inch and press. Fold over another 1/4 to 1/2 inch and press again. Stitch. *note* This step is not shown because I didn't think to do it until midway through, so in my pictures you see a raw edge. If you want to add a pleat in the middle of the pocket, press the fold and baste it in now (I didn't).

3. Fold over the sides and bottom 1.5 inches to the wrong side and press. At the corners, fold the point in at an angle and then fold the sides and bottom over it (shown in 2nd picture below). It should look like this when all pressed.

4. Next, open it up and fold one side down at a 45 degree angle to meet the bottom edge, wrong sides together. Then stitch along the fold line shown below.

5. Trim and repeat for the other corner.

6. Fold it back together now like in the first picture.

7. Now we are going to topstitch along the pressed edge to help the finished pocket hold its shape. You need to be careful when you do this so the sewn edge isn't sewed down in the topstitching. See here how the seam sits right on the fold line.

You don't want it there when you topstitch. You want to sort of shove it up and then pin it there out of the way while you do the topstitching.

shoving

pinning

Topstitch at 1/8 inch.

Now your pocket looks something like this if you unfold it. Make sure your corners can come free and haven't been sewed down.

8. Now we'll add the 3-D part by accordion folding the sides. Start with your pocket looking like this.

Then fold the edge back on itself leaving a half inch hanging off the side.

Then fold it back again and press so you are left with a 1/2 inch accordion side. Press well and move on to the other side and bottom edge. Don't worry about pressing the corners yet, just leave them kind of loose until the sides and bottom edges are done. Each side should look like this:

9. Now we come to the corners which are a bit fussy. You'll have to work with one hand on the side and the other on the bottom edge. Fiddle and fold a bit and they should be willing to lay flat. The little corner seams you sewed earlier should be at the corner. Once you get it, press well; it should look like this:

10. Add a button or two ( I did two for my second pair and like it better than the one in these pictures).

11. Set the pocket on your shorts or pants centered over the side seam. Make sure they are high enough that you have enough fabric for your hem if you're doing shorts.

12. Use tailor's chalk (or classroom chalk if you're like me) to mark the outline of where the pockets go, especially the corners.

13. Unfold the top of your accordion then set the inner most fold along your chalk line and pin (sorry this one is blurry). You want to sew along that fold so you anchor the base of the pocket but leave the body of it free to fill up. With your needle down, lift presser foot at corners and rotate fabric 90 degrees before continuing. Then stitch a 2nd time 1/8 to 1/4 inch from your first seam. That will help it hold more weight.

14. I didn't take pictures of the flap, but it is pretty basic I think. Cut two rectangles 1 inch wider and taller than desired flap size (mine were about 4 inches by 3.5 inches). Stitch together on short sides and one long side with a 1/2 inch seam. Clip corners, turn inside out and press. Topstitch.

15. Position flap in the open position leaving about 1/4 inch above the pocket. Sew on. Fold the flap down on itself, press and sew again enclosing the raw edges of the flap.

16. Mark the position of the button(s) and sew button holes.

A true cargo pocket would have an extra layer of fabric to conceal the buttons and keep them from snagging on things, but I think seeing the buttons is cuter.

Now fill them with dirt, legos, gravel, cookies, rubber bands and snails. Hopefully that won't all be in at the same time, but no guarantees.

Here's my model, thrilled to be spending his evening modeling clothes, can't you tell?

Summer Baby Boy plus Grandpa Pants

2011-06-07T05:16:00.006-04:00

It's Summer Boy Celebration Time at Made and Made by Rae, so I'm going to share a couple of other new items I've finished for Sijmon. If I manage to finish, I'll have another project to share later this week too.

This little number is Sijmon's latest. A white linen suit for a baby? Impractically perfect.

Not that the little man needs any help being scrumptiously adorable, but I do find him exceptionally delightful looking in this little number, don't you?

Both pieces are my own patterns made by tracing other clothes in the little man's wardrobe. The top is inspired by Rae's Charlie Tunic. I did raglan sleeves (that you can't see in these photos), trimmed it with pomegranate diamond mine cotton voile and finished it off with a wooden button from Windsor Button. The pants are reversible with more of the voile.

So cute!

And for the third and final project from Grampy's repurposed shirt, I present Sijmon in his Grandpa Pants.

Thrifty Finds

2011-06-06T06:04:00.000-04:00

Wow. We found quite the sale on Friday. In this home of an extreme pack rat, every room was filled floor to ceiling with dishes, baskets, crockery and picture frames. Six tent's worth of items had been pulled out into the lawn just so there would be enough room to squeeze into the house. There was no furniture to speak of, only two bed frames; all the "stuff" didn't leave room for a chair or table, let alone a couch. Though there were piles upon piles of total junk, there were also antiques galore. We spent about 90 minutes working through it and everyone found a treasure or two to bring home.

Classic children's lit and baby sized klompen *love*.

These signs were my favorite find.

Crate at work as our new table-setting caddy.

Price for all of the above: $50.
The afternoon: spent at the park.
Another good Friday.

{this moment}

2011-06-03T08:10:00.000-04:00

summer brothers

2011-06-02T05:49:00.001-04:00

These new clothes were on my plan for the kids clothes week earlier this month, but I ended up busy with other things and didn't do anything but cut out the fabric. I found time to finish this weekend though and I think they're pretty darling (and I love my new camera pictures. Yay!).

Sijmon is wearing the Oliver + S Tea Party Sundress Bloomers & Playsuit, a favorite of mine.
Miles is wearing shorts from my own pattern using side pocket, flat front, button cuff and mock fly inspiration and tutorials I've found on the web. The fabric all came from a neighbor who was throwing fabric out after a yard sale. There are lady bugs on the yellow if you can't see them.

You can't really tell, but I actually sewed one side seam inside out. Whoops. I didn't realize it until I was almost done and I decided not to bother fixing it as it blends in with the reversible rough-grained fabric I was using.

In for bedtime.

modern photography

2011-06-01T05:52:00.002-04:00

We got a new camera. And I love it.
It is a Canon EOS Rebel T1i 15.1 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera.
I don't know what all of that means, but it looks like this:

And what is even better is that the pictures it takes look like this:

That and a new air conditioner in the kitchen make for one happy mama.

Fridays

2011-05-31T05:30:00.002-04:00

We've started a new Friday morning tradition. First we throw together a quick dinner and put it in the fridge. Then I find a nearby estate sale and hit it right at opening. Next we meet up with homeschooling friends at our favorite playground until it is time to go home for dinner.

The boys enjoy it all, even the part where we go to a sale because there is always some small treasure they pick up. Last week, Johannes found a magnifying glass, Willem picked up a Ukelele and Miles was thrilled to have a new multi-colored pen and coast-guard airplane poster.

I chose one leather suitcase and packed it with white table linens (more practical than it sounds...that's all we use), a tin and bag full of sewing notions, vintage Polynesian and Simplicity sewing patterns, a double boiler, 6 sweet embroidered newborn pinafores, an electric typewriter, a wooden bowl and ulu knife,

And my favorite: a 64 piece set of English china.

Even better: It is the same set my Grandma uses

But the best part: My kids remembered who we know with the same dishes before I did.

Oh and the price? $20 for all of it. Definitely the best way to shop. The boys did have good time, but I think this was their favorite part of the day.

And when the sun started getting lower, we headed home for the quiche we had baked in the morning served on our new china. Makes for a pretty swell day.

Brimfield

2011-05-30T06:00:00.000-04:00

So my {moment} on Friday wasn't actually our boat, it was one at Brimfield from when we attended a couple of weeks ago. Brimfield is the largest antique market in the world featuring 6,000 dealers who peddle their ware out of doors three times each year, and lucky me, it happens to be just one hour outside of Boston.

My ideal day involved getting a sitter and spending hours strolling the tents with Chaz, but he's been busy at work so I ended up going without him and in the end, I decided to bring along the boys too. I figured we would only have a short visit and would stop at nearby Sturbridge for them to play on the way home. I was wrong. They loved it! We strolled for 3.5 hours before Willem became too tired to walk and we headed home. Miles and Johannes would have gone on for days. You see, there was just the perfect mix of cute antique kitchen wares and linens that I enjoyed and model planes and military memorabilia to keep everyone happy. A well timed ice cream cone made the walk back to the car bearable for little Willem and our day was made when we passed a vendor we had visited earlier who gave Miles an antique airplane model kit he had been eyeing earlier in the day. The man was thrilled that a young person was interested in "one of these old planes." What a swell guy.

Again to my surprise, the kids asked on the way home, if we could come back Saturday with Dad. Alas, we had other plans, but I'm glad to know they'll be game to head back when Brimfield happens again in July.

Thanks to Miles for taking all but the first and last photos in this post.

{this moment}

2011-05-27T05:46:00.000-04:00

(photo credit to Miles)

Mermaid Rides Again

2011-05-24T05:23:00.002-04:00

Okay, so I'm not sure where to start. You see, I am simply over the moon with my new bike which doubles as our second car and my gym membership. It is a Dutch-style box bike from Joe Bike.

As a young adult, Chaz lived in Holland for a couple of years and since Miles was born, he has been telling me about Dutch cargo bikes. They sounded like a fun way to haul our little people around; too bad we didn't have such fun bikes in the states. Well, ten years later and increased usage of that newfangled internet has made tracking down such global curiosities much more manageable. My friend L is living in Amsterdam and provided wonderful consultation about brands she knows about from other moms, and I sifted through online reviews and info about various European options. In my search I also came across Joe Bike of Portland, Oregon. In the end, I had narrowed my decision to Joe Bike's Box Bike or a Dutch-made Bakfiets with a longer basket. After meeting a mom with a bakfiets at the park last week and comparing bikes, I'm happy I went with Joe.

The bike was custom built (meaning Chaz selected technical bikey stuff and I picked out the color of the frame and box). It has 3-point harnesses for two children, though it can fit a few more . . .

There is room under the seat for a diaper bag, and two bags of groceries can fit in front of the children. I'm planning on sewing saddle bags for the back so I can carry more (and keep kids from eating up the groceries on the way home). The burly 4-point kickstand keeps it plenty steady while I load it up.

The optional rain fly not only covers the kiddos, but also cover my hands to help keep them dry and warm. It is handmade in Portland and is available in a variety of colors.

Is it hard to pedal? Nope. It is an 8 speed, so I can switch it down if I need to; it's been totally fine for getting around our hilly town.

Is it hard to balance? Nope. The cargo is held low and in front so it is quite easy to ride. Much more manageable than a back seat in my opinion.

Is it hard to steer? Not really. It is different and definitely took some getting used to. It doesn't turn as tight as a regular bike, so you just have to familiarize yourself with it and then you're good. I rode it in the park a couple of times before taking it on the street.

Hmm...what else? Did I mention that I love it? Because I kind of do. So do the kids. Willem laughed uncontrollably for our entire first ride. I thought it was cute, but when I took my first ride I did the same thing. Such fun! The view is much better than they would have in a trailer, and as the mom, I like being able to see what they're up to.

Our first family ride was to church. The frame set-up is actually perfect for riding in a skirt.

Funny story: I spent days consulting with friends and agonizing over the frame color. When I let my mom know my final decision, she commented that I had picked the same color bike when I was 10. Really? After spending all that time decision-making, I could have just asked Mom what color bike I rode in 5th grade? I guess I've always had good taste. Mom asked if I was going to name my bike and I said I hadn't really thought about it yet. Then she told me that my old bike was named Mermaid. Well, how could I do any better than that?

Riding Mermaid off into the sunset.

*note: the last two pictures were taken by DerShin. Thanks Dershin!*

New Summer PJs

2011-05-23T06:34:00.000-04:00

For Elsie Marlie's Kids Clothes Week Challenge, I made summer PJs for three of the boys. I used more fabric from the New Hampshire flea market I had picked up for $2 and the Oliver & S PJ pattern. I whipped them up assembly line style and there were some technical difficulties when Sijmon's sleeves were accidentally placed on Johannes's shirt and vice versa. Whoops.

Sijmon was just able to wear his shirt with the extra long sleeves, but Johannes's top needed some work. I had used up all but a few scraps of the fabric, so I pieced them together to make a hodge-podge of a sleeve at the underarm and left the overall length a bit short. All's well that ends well.

this moment

2011-05-20T06:31:00.000-04:00

violet evening

2011-05-19T05:41:00.002-04:00

We found ourselves in a bit of a pickle over the weekend. We were away from home, it was past dinnertime and we had no food left. Willem was exhausted and if we drove too far, he would fall asleep, miss dinner and then wake up hungry and crabby when we got home while remaining charged from his nap until late at night. We consulted the GPS and it identified one Italian restaurant in the nearby small town. We drove right past the first time as the pizza sign next to the service station didn't jump out at us. Not exactly what I had in mind, but the kids just needed to eat and any food would have to do.

I was pleased to discover it was nice family-owned full-menu restaurant that actually looked quite good. When we took our food behind the building to a picnic table, you can imagine my delight upon finding the small flock of sheep and a donkey that lived at the neighboring farm. They were all to eager to press against the fence and eat the fistfuls of grass my boys picked for them. The sun was going down and the grass was full of violets. Miles and Johannes diligently picked a cup full of violets which we used to make violet jam the following morning. It was, in a word, perfect. How nice it is to find peace and joy in unexpected places.

Weekend Fun

2011-05-18T09:02:00.000-04:00

Recently, our friend DerShin was nice enough to take all four boys to the park so Chuck and I could get some time to relax at home. As if that wan't kind enough, she also took some great pictures of our little people. I thought I'd share a few of our favorites. Thanks DerShin!

Vote for Me Today Please!

2011-05-17T09:02:00.004-04:00

WooHoo! I made it through the first round of panel votes and now I need YOU to vote for this top today.

C lick here to vote for the Split Season Split Sleeve Favorite by Ginger!

4-Day Old Piglets & More

2011-05-12T05:40:00.006-04:00

We recently attended a birthday party at Mass Audubon's Drumlin Farm Sanctuary. The setting was idyllic and I have the birthday girl's Uncle Dan to thank for most of these photos.