Inder Loves Folk Art

Black Acacia.

2012-01-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

When we moved into our house six years ago, there was a large black acacia tree overhanging our back yard, in our neighbor's yard but right on the fence line.

It was evergreen, and cast a deep shade over our back patio year-round. And it dropped leaves and little pink seed pods in abundance, which in turn were constantly being dragged into our house by our dogs and kid. I'm very pro-tree, but this was not a species I would have chosen for my backyard (and we have way too many trees on our property to begin with; when we moved in there were no less than nine badly maintained and half dead trees in our small backyard).

But if this were all, we'd probably just live with it. After all, we live with a lot of less-than-ideal things on our property. Like a lot of folks these days, we simply don't have the money (or equity) to make large improvements.

Here's the problem: Over the years, this tree just seemed to get bigger and bigger. And lean deeper and deeper into our property, until the fence was bowed out several feet to accommodate it. Even I couldn't ignore the evidence that this tree was essentially slowly falling onto our property. An enormous branch jutted out over Rebecca's bedroom and scraped the roof during storms.

Arborists getting ready to remove that crazy leaning tree.

The tree became known around our house as "Steve's Arch-Nemesis" because of all the time he spent trying to trim it back and disposing of trimmed brush and wood that didn't even seem to make a dent in this giant monstrosity (it turns out branches look a lot smaller when they're on the tree than when they're on the ground).

It was time to remove this tree, before it crashed through our roof during a winter storm. Since I wanted the tree gone and my husband alive, we opted to hire professionals.

We had no problem getting a tree removal permit from the City of Oakland. The City Arborist/Inspector said, "Black acacias aren't good for much besides firewood" and waived the permit fee due to the hazardous state of the tree.

Well, as of Wednesday, it's gone! The workers finished the work minutes before it started raining, and it hasn't stopped since, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect.

After: NO TREE. (That's Joe climbing a ladder with Steve to the left.)

(Note: Having guys with chainsaws in the backyard acted like methamphetamine on Joe, who ran laps around the house at three times his usual speed, screeching with joy and excitement for hours while the work was going on. This child's calling may be in power tools. Just saying. I realize it's a bit early to say for sure, but his passion for construction does not appear to be fleeting or fickle.)

It doesn't really look like much - basically, we removed an ugly tree to reveal an ugly fence and an ugly dead tree covered with ivy. But it's a major improvement in two areas, at least: (1) Sunshine!! (2) Safety. It's a little hard to tell right now, because it has been overcast and raining for days, but I think this is going to open up our back garden a lot and allow us to plant a much wider variety of flowers and vegetables, including some more heat-loving plants. I'm pretty excited.

And I'm sure Rebecca will sleep a little better knowing that there will be no branches crashing into her bedroom, this winter, or ever.

And we scored a huge amount of firewood!

In closing, it's pretty awesome. We've never had a lot of money to make huge improvements to our house or garden, but slowly but surely, we are making it a little nicer. And that feels good.

My heart was beating hard as I took this photo. As you can see, Joe was unfazed.

Also, in case you had forgotten, my son Joe is fearless, bold, brave, and nimble. All I can say is, he didn't get this from me.

Joe-isms.

2012-01-17T15:05:00.000-08:00

We like to play a game with Joe. We say a word or phrase or sound, like "Hee hee," and Joe responds by saying "No hee hee." Joe and I just made this up, but I think it's the perfect speech/play therapy game for a two and a half year old who loves nothing more than putting "no" in front of what you just said.

It usually goes like this:

Me: Hee hee.
Joe: No hee hee.
Me: Ho ho.
Joe: No ho ho.
Me: Hi hi.
Joe: No hi hi.

See? It encourages Joe to repeat sounds, while giving him the fun of saying "no" to everything! Enriching and hilarious!

The thing is, Joe uses made up words for certain items. Joe-isms, we call them. So, for some reason no one has fathomed, Joe calls cars "toys." (Did he get confused by "toy cars"? Who knows? This has been going on for a while.) He calls the garbage truck a "ga-ga guck." (An approximation, I think.) Milk has always been, and still is "gulky."

One of the strangest and funniest pieces of Joseph-ese: Fire truck is "tunnel ga-ga." I have no earthly clue.

So these days, this game often sounds like this:

Me: Car!
Joe: No toy.
Me: No car?
Joe: No toy. No toy.
Me: Fire truck?
Joe: No tunnel ga-ga.
Me: Fire. Truck. (Enunciating each sound.) Red fire truck.
Joe: No! No red. Tunnel. Ga-ga! (Enunciating each sound.)
Me: Fire.
Joe: No fire.
Me: Truck.
Joe: No truck.
Me: Fire truck.
Joe: No tunnel ga-ga!
Me: (Cracking up.)

Clearly Joe understands the words "car" and "fire truck," since he so consistently replaces them with his versions each time. No matter how many times we refer to the object by its correct name, Joe will patiently, with the tone of a caring but somewhat put-upon professor, correct us with the appropriate Joe-ism.

Rather than influencing Joe's speech, it seems Joe's training is having an effect on me, and I increasingly find myself referring to fire trucks as "tunnel ga-ga's."

It turns out that speech therapy can go both ways.

Another little thing for little Aspen.

2012-01-09T19:54:00.000-08:00

I had to make one more little thing for baby Aspen. These are Made by Rae's Big Butt Baby Pants. I finally buckled and bought the pattern recently, after seeing a guzillion absolutely adorable iterations on the internet. Of course, I'm a little crazy, so even though the pattern clearly calls for woven fabrics, I had to make it, for the very first time, using stretchy cotton/lycra knits. I just remember I preferred dressing my newborn Joe in knit fabrics, which are so soft and comfortable and washable. Plus, you can get a little more wear out of knits because they stretch to fit your baby a bit.

So I blatantly ignored the fabric requirements, but luckily, they turned out great and I am totally hooked by this easy and adorable pattern!

Babies in stripes!

I got my brother to pose with the pants, for scale. These seem so tiny to me. They seemed so ridiculously small that I actually pulled out a pair of newborn pants of Joe's to compare. If anything, these pants are actually on the big side of the 0-3 month range, so apparently it's just been a while since I handled any itty bitty infant clothing.

Orange bottom.

That butt gusset is so frickin' cute. Just saying.

I know, they're really loud. I hope and trust the recipients will appreciate a baby with a Blaze Orange butt as much as I do. Safety first, I always say.

(Did these pants remind you of something?)

On a totally different topic, what do you do when your toddler, who no longer naps, falls asleep over a late snack at like 5 p.m. (at the table, mind you), thus potentially wrecking bedtime?

Yeah, same blaze orange fabric for Joe's shirt. Two yards didn't seem like a lot of eye-popping orange knit, really.

Photograph him? Oh, good. Me too.

Something small for a small baby.

2012-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

Our friend Pauline is now home with her new baby and out of danger, and we are so grateful and happy for her whole family!

Of course, I just had to make her little baby a few small things. Remember that owl fabric I got from Spoonflower a couple months ago? Well, it has been sitting patiently all this time, waiting for the perfect project. And here's the perfect project! A "Baby Sleep Sack," a.k.a. "newborn gown thingy-ma-jig" for Pauline's baby girl, Aspen.

Wide awake owls. For a sleep sack. Hehe. I am so clever and funny.

I used the pattern from Growing Up Sew Liberated. The neckline is just like the envelope tee, which I tried for Joe a while back, with mixed results as you may recall. But sure enough, with more stable fabrics and a true "rib knit" the results were much better this time. I'm really happy with how this turned out. Spoonflower's organic cotton knit prints are expensive, at least by my standards ($27/yard!), but I will say that they sew up like a dream. Stretchy, yet wonderfully stable under the presser foot. The texture and weight is very forgiving and seams don't seem to wobble or stretch much at all. And of course, the prints just cannot be beat. It's really hard to find interesting printed knits at fabric stores; with Spoonflower, you can even design your own prints! (Not that I have done this, mind you. But you can! It's an option!)

This neckline turned out so much better than the "Flashdance top" I made Joe!

This is size 0-6 months, and although I don't have any newborns close by to measure it against, it seems pretty big to me. Definitely closer to 6 months than 0 months. But I'm hoping that's a good thing: Most parents gets heaps of newborn-sized clothes before their baby is born, and fewer bigger clothes, right? It's good to have a few things for baby to grow into.

Before sending this package off, I'm working on another small item to include. I'm excited. More about that soon! Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

Speech update/random tangent: Joe says "brachiosaurus" now! And I gotta say, it's really pretty hard to be worried about the speech development of a kid who can identify dinosaurs. We're so proud. He regularly uses three word sentences now, and can express a lot of basic and not-so-basic (i.e., wacky and hilarious) ideas. Joe will be getting assessed for school district services in the next couple of months (he ages out of the Regional Center when he turns three in May), and honest to goodness, we will be happy if he qualifies for services (because the services sound awesome and fun) and we will be happy if he doesn't (because that would mean his delay is now considered minor and not warranting intervention).

Basically, Joe's still a bit behind his peers but WOW: he has come a long way in the past eight months!

New Year's Resolutions.

2012-01-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

Before New Year's this year, I had some ideas for New Year's resolutions. Self-improvement ideas. Ideas for building on my sewing and banjo skills, planting an ambitious vegetable garden, and scrubbing the kitchen floor more.*

But then we spent our New Year's eve terrified for our friend Pauline and her family, and now most of those ideas seem silly, self-punishing, and totally unimportant. What I'm left with is the following:

Treasure my family and friends.
Play a lot of banjo.
Enjoy learning some new things!

So this makes the second year in a row that I've really pretty much eschewed New Year's resolutions in their usual form. And it feels pretty good, really. I might make a habit of it.

* I know, right? Fat chance.

Banjo pouch.

2012-01-04T19:55:00.000-08:00

I made this little zip pouch for myself last week to hold my banjo finger picks, tuner, and capo (er, when I get a capo). I just used scraps from my stash and the shortest zipper I had (seven inches).

The outside fabric is a Japanese print I've had for a while. The lining is a deep read calico with dragonflies that I have had for time immemorial.

Making the pouch was really easy, once I figured out the mechanics of sewing the lining. I mean, it has some imperfections, but considering this was my first try, not too bad. It was definitely a good way to get back into sewing after several weeks of negative sewing mojo. Near-instant gratification.

One tip: Before you sew the whole thing together, open the zipper partway. I learned this lesson the hard way and some seam-ripping was involved.

I used this tutorial, but there are a million of them on the 'nets, and I'm sure a lot of them are great. This pattern has a slightly flattened bottom, which is nice, because it stands upright. Sort of. Turns out I should have flattened the bottom of mine a bit more (I wasn't following the directions that closely, so they are probably right). Live and learn.

It does what it was intended to do, and keeps my finger picks safe and snug!

New Year.

2012-01-02T17:32:00.000-08:00

We spent our New Year's worrying and praying for our friend Pauline, who had a baby girl on December 26th, then went into septic shock from an infection just a few days later. After several very tense days for her family and friends, she is now doing much better, has been released from the ICU, and has started down the long road to recovery. Our thoughts are with her and her family right now.

Happy New Year, everyone!

I will be back soon with some sewing updates and maybe even a 2011 retrospective or two.

I want to sew, but there is a seven foot tree in my way.

2011-12-29T10:33:00.000-08:00

One major downside to sewing in the living space is that sometimes your space gets infringed upon by, you know, living. I love our Christmas tree and all, but I need get this giant tree out of here so that I can access my sewing machine again. Now that I've chucked my ridiculous handmade Christmas list, I'm feeling like I might actually enjoy sewing again. Especially, you know, for me.

First up: A zip pouch for my banjo fingerpicks. I'm thinking something basic like this.

Did you know I have never made a zippered case? But it can't be that hard, right? Right?

I've caught another cold (this is just not fair!), so I'm calling in sick (honestly, all of my clients are on vacation right now, so work is deadly quiet anyway), and I'm going to recruit brother/uncle Harpal to help me with the task of packing up all of the ornaments and getting this tree outtahere.

Lois Short: Banjo Picking Girl.

2011-12-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

Things are still pretty busy around here, as we wind up this holiday season and this year with Chanukah parties, family gatherings, and trips to see friends. I'm still practicing my banjo as regularly as I can, though, and ~~spending hours scrolling YouTube for good banjo videos~~ researching banjo styles and techniques.

This gem gives me hope - maybe by the time I am Lois Short's age, I'll be able to play banjo this well (or maybe not, but maybe I can develop some kind of passable skill?). I still have some time. And check out her amazing smile at the very end. She's having a lot of fun. If you can watch this video without grinning from ear to ear, you might want to check your pulse. (What? Not everyone is filled with delight at the sound of banjo picking and purposefully off-tune folk singing? Well, you banjo-resistant folks are missing out, in my opinion.)

This amazing video was shot by Alan Lomax and crew in at Lois Short's home in Closplint (also known as Klondike or Rutherford), Harlan County, Kentucky. July 24, 1983.

Merry Christmas.

2011-12-25T08:20:00.000-08:00

Madonna with the Green Cushions (Maria Lactans), Andrea Solario, 1st quarter of 16th century, oil on wood, Musée du Louvre, Paris. (I just couldn't resist the adorable breastfeeding Jesus. Possibly Jesus breastfeeding as a toddler? Anyway, awesome.)

Christmas Eve.

2011-12-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

We made some Christmas cookies. Joe "helped" mix the batter in the stand mixer by getting his face dangerously close to the paddle. That is only a tiny fraction of the butter that went into this recipe.

Later, after Joe put on his special mama-made red PJs (so what if they were made almost a year ago?), mama rolled out and cut Christmas tree shapes, and Joe helped Uncle Harpal put the sprinkles on.

Joe was so excited about all of this that he hardly put his tongue in his mouth once. Sticking your tongue out really helps with concentration, don't you know.

Joe feels that it is important not to be too stingy with the sprinkles. Check out this look of rapt attention.

Some sprinkles were eaten. The cookies look great. I am pretty sure Santa will be pleased. Ahem. *Wipes crumbs off mouth.*

Joe thought Christmas Eve was pretty fun. He has no idea what's in store for tomorrow.

Merry Christmas and God bless us, every one!

Beginner's Mind (and other things I've learned from my toddler).

2011-12-22T15:45:00.000-08:00

I've been having fun learning the rudiments of banjo picking these past weeks. I have been practicing almost every evening, after Joe goes to bed. At this point, I can pick out a few songs. Slowly, tentatively, with long pauses before "difficult" chord changes. ("Difficult" in quotes because I'm pretty sure that most seasoned banjo players do not have difficulty changing from C to D7. Ahem.) My fast-pickin' banjo days are still in the distant future, but I'm making progress.

This experience has been especially interesting as I am reminded of what it's like to be an absolute, rank beginner at something. This is something that is easy to forget. Like most 30-somethings, I tend to do the same things I've been doing all of my life. Things I am at least moderately okay at. Even sewing - although I am always learning new things, I haven't been a true "beginner" at sewing since I was in junior high school. I left my "brand-spanking new lawyer" days behind quite a few years ago as well and I am well-practiced in sounding like I know what I'm talking about (sometimes I do know what I'm talking about). My frisbee catching skills have been dismal since the dawn of time, and do not appear to be very amenable to improvement. But it's been a while since I wholeheartedly embraced "beginner" status at a new hobby.

What does it mean to be an "absolute rank beginner" at something? Well, it means you'll feel like you really suck. For a long time. Totally sucking at something can be a challenge for a perfectionist like myself. I like to be good at things. I don't like to be bad at stuff.

This is where observing your toddler can provide helpful hints. After all, toddlers are rank beginners at a lot of things. Joe is a beginner at many things - building tall towers with blocks, configuring train tracks, communicating with words. Does it bother him that he is not expert at these things? As far as I can tell - not at all.

When Joe sees something he wants to do, he just jumps in and gets to it. With a smile on his face! When things don't work out the first time, when he falls flat on his face, he just picks himself up and gets back to it, usually still smiling (the black eye, on the other hand, will stick around for two weeks). He doesn't care what other people think. He takes joy in pointing out and naming things and it doesn't bother him that he doesn't enunciate every syllable perfectly. He delights in saying things as well as he can, and we delight in hearing him give it his best shot.

So here's a not-so-radical concept my toddler has a better handle on than I do: Learning is fun!

This is the spirit I'm trying to bring to the banjo. I'm not bad at the banjo. I mean, yeah, my Foggy Mountain Breakdown still leaves a bit to be desired (are you kidding me? I haven't even tried to play Foggy Mountain Breakdown), but that's not because I totally suck. It's because I'm a beginner.

There's a difference.

Thanks, Joe.

But I can still be inspired by truly great banjo players ... (Check out the way Earl Scruggs' right hand hardly moves at all! Dang! He could do that in his sleep! He probably does do it in his sleep! The man really makes it look easy.)

Christmas in Oakland.

2011-12-18T18:34:00.000-08:00

Despite catching a cold, we did manage to get a tree up this weekend.

This is probably the biggest tree we've ever had in this house. Since I can't even reach my sewing machine there behind the tree to the left, it's not looking good for any pre-Christmas sewing. That's okay. I'll just play banjo instead.

Banjo! (And bonus raincoat!)

2011-12-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while, there comes a really good day. Monday was such a day.

On Monday morning, I posted here about my desire to pick up a used banjo to start learning on. That afternoon, I posted a status on Facebook saying pretty much the same thing. Mid-afternoon, my friend Shelby offered me a free loaner banjo! Would I like to pick it up that night at our regular Sacred Harp singing?

Uh, YEAH!

When I got to the singing, my friend Linda handed me a bag containing a raincoat that didn't fit her and she was planning to give away. She brought it "just in case" I wanted it. She saw the FB banjo exchange, so she knew I would be there.

The raincoat fits perfectly.

The raincoat is totally gorgeous.

The raincoat is the perfect shade of tomato rusty red.

Heretofore, I have never actually owned a raincoat. (I also never carry an umbrella. I like to pretend that it never rains here. However, that is not actually the case, as I learn to my soggy regret every year.)

Hell yes, I want your raincoat, Linda!

I have been wearing my super awesome new raincoat all week. Who cares that it's not actually raining? Tomato red is a neutral, folks.

And here's my loaner banjo! I've been practicing ~~vigilantly~~ er, diligently for three whole days and I can say with confidence that I still pretty much suck. However, I am having fun!

I have great friends.

My cup runneth over. Seriously.

Not sewing.

2011-12-12T10:57:00.000-08:00

Apparently, the mere idea of sewing all of those Christmas presents was enough to completely chill my sewing mojo. I haven't so much as touched my sewing machine since announcing my intentions to make a guzillion presents for folks. There's nothing like a long to-do list and a hard deadline to drain all of the fun out of a hobby, right? Let this be a lesson.

Since sewing sounds about as appealing as getting a root canal right now, I've had to turn to other obsessions. So I've become fixated on learning to play banjo, and spent the past few days combing Craigslist for used banjos. Watch out - this may morph into a banjo blog, right before your eyes! (If this sudden talk of banjos seems a bit random to you, just keep in mind that I gave my child the middle name Roscoe after the great Roscoe Holcomb. My close friends and family have seen this coming for a while.) Just what I need, right? Another hobby!

*****

In other news. Last night, we had dinner with our friends and their little boys. Getting ready to go, Joe was so excited to see his friends that he took off running towards the front door, and tripped and fell, hitting his face on a little metal space heater on the way down (thankfully, it was turned off). Ouch! He was pretty bummed for a minute or two, but characteristically got over it almost right away. I think I've mentioned that Joe has a freakishly high tolerance for pain, right? So we forgot all about it.

Well, a few hours later, we realized he had given himself a black eye! It took us a little while to remember the likely cause. (Ahem. A&J, sorry for jokingly accusing your child of punching my kid in the eye, ahem.)

It doesn't seem to be bothering him one bit now, but it looks pretty awful! My poor little bruiser.

Christmas Gifts Update, Harper's Style.

2011-12-08T15:01:00.001-08:00

Number of Christmas gifts I plan to make this year: At least 5 or 6.

Number of Christmas gifts completed so far: 0.

Number of Christmas gifts started: 1.

Amount of time spent on one gift I have started: 10 minutes.

Average amount of time that each gift will require: 4-5 hours.

Number of days left until Christmas: 17.

Back-up plan: Huh?

Old Man Jeans, with Photos.

2011-12-03T15:39:00.001-08:00

As promised, here are Joe's new "old man jeans." Old man because they are high-waisted, elastic-waisted, pleated, and bright blue!

Here they are cuffed (they're pretty long on Joe - an accomplishment these days, when Joe seems to grow a half inch between cutting and sewing) so you can see that they are fully lined. In band-aid flannel. An appropriate choice for my little bruiser (who doesn't use that many bandages, because honestly, most cuts don't even slow him down for a minute!).

I used to the Oliver + s Sketchbook Shorts pattern (of course), lengthened into pants. This was my first time lining them, and it was really easy. For the lining pieces I removed the details like pockets and fake fly. After sewing the legs and crotch seam, I basted the lining fabric to the outside fabric at the waist and then added the waistband. I folded up the denim for the hem.

Here's a detail of the fly. I tried the bar tack technique outlined in Sewing For Boys. I like it, although it does not mitigate the old man thing at all.

And here's a detail of the cuffs, so you can see the lining fabric. This bandage fabric was part of one of the sock monkey flannel lines, I believe.

Last, and probably least (it is so hard to get Joe to pose for photos these days!), Joe wearing the pants and relaxing on the couch.

And here's the side view. They don't look as old man on Joe as they do on the hanger. But I still think he needs a Fred Rogers cardigan to complement these.

I have a bunch of other projects just waiting for the sewing mood to strike. Check out this pile! I bought a couple new Oliver + s patterns for Christmas presents for some of the little girls in my life, and I'm excited to get started on them, and trying not to think about how unrealistic my holiday sewing list is this year.

That's orange corduroy on the bottom of that pile. And red flannel with bees, and blue velveteen, and a soft organic ditzy floral on top.

So much sewing to do! So little time!

Still no camera ...

2011-11-30T14:49:00.001-08:00

... So I figured it was time for a little update in list form. You know, like how I used to do?

Ooh. I'm rusty. Here goes.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving celebration at my sister's house last Thursday. So. Much. Food.
I have so much to be thankful for. Especially, my family and my friends. What a great idea for a holiday.
This past Friday ("Black Friday" in the U.S.) Joe and I got to see our good friends Melissa, Robin, and their little boy Miles, visiting California all the way from Brooklyn! The weather was great, the grownups had some good chats, and Joe and Miles chased each other around the house squealing and laughing. It was lovely. I just wish these folks lived closer!
For my part, I was perfectly happy not to set foot in a single retail establishment on Black Friday. I saw all of you crazy shoppers sitting in your cars, stuck in traffic backed up a mile outside the mall, breathing in a haze of exhaust. Shudder.
I did, however, take advantage of some internet sales at both Oliver + s and Britex Fabrics. Cough cough.
As intimated in a prior post, I am currently reading Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. Stating the obvious: It's really long. It's also really heavy, even in paperback. I'm getting a workout carrying this 1,200 page tome everywhere I go. It's also pretty great, though. Hugo knows how to build up a scene. Often over hundreds of pages. Going off in tangents until you've forgotten what it was the book is about. But then there will be a Transcendent Moment. Which usually finds me on BART (since that's where I do most of my reading), gasping for breath and wanting to read the scene aloud to a bunch of vacant-eyed fellow-commuters. I begin to understand the hype.
I am seeing the National and Wye Oak this Saturday! Super excited! I haven't been to a concert in a long time, I've wanted to see the National forever, and when it comes to Wye Oak, I have all the zeal of the newly converted. Also, a bunch of my friends are also going! Wahoo! I hope they don't play too late, though. I am ashamed to admit, it's hard for me to stay up much past 10:30 p.m. these days.
My brother and I just watched the first season of Sherlock. I am a huge fan of the Arthur Conan Doyle stories, but I thought the recent film adaptation was, as far as faithfulness to the story goes, awful (the steam-punky costumes were pretty cool; it was, you know, just the plot that was ghastly). After seeing that, I was burned out and purposefully avoided Sherlock, which is a modern remake of the story. Well, that was dumb. Because whereas Sherlock Holmes the movie was depressingly inane and nothing at all like the original stories, Sherlock is refreshingly intelligent and an absolute nerd-fest for a lover of Arthur Conan Doyle. So many inside jokes! So much fun! Ah, good television. My only complaint is that somehow, the first season is only three episodes? Ending in a cliff hanger? (One that calls to mind Sherlock Holmes, his arch-rival, and a waterfall, ahem.) Torture!
We haven't put up a Christmas tree yet, although we're planning to. Later. With two dogs and a two and a half year old, Christmas trees are a constant hazard that must be closely monitored. No need to rush into the dogs-eating-ornaments and kids-knocking-down-trees-on-themselves season.
Once again, I seem to be coming up with all sorts of plans for handmade Christmas gifts. Yet, I am pretty sure that it would be impossible to actually make all of them between now and Christmas. It's unclear how this will work out.
Joe's speech is progressing wonderfully, as is his potty humor. Suddenly, he spends half the day explaining that Omie (our dog) poo-poos, and daddy, and mama, and Harpal. Everyone poo-poos! *Gasp.* Recently, at a diaper change, he very seriously explained to Dad that in fact, Omie had pooped in his diaper, not him. "Omie poo-poo diaper!" He was totally framed, you know. That was not his poo-poo!
I know, I'm the one who said that I wanted to know more about what was going on in Joe's little noggin. And now I know. Wow.

Righto. With that ... have a great week, everyone!

Old Man Pants.

2011-11-27T20:02:00.001-08:00

So I made these awesome lined denim trousers for Joe. They ended up looking like total old man jeans. High waisted, elastic waisted, bright blue denim. Hilarious! I can't wait to show you!

But I left our camera at my sister's house on Thanksgiving. Drat.

Hopefully she'll drop it off this week. But in the meantime, things might be a bit quiet here. Or at any rate, visually uninteresting.

Joe's Quilt.

2011-11-23T17:09:00.001-08:00

Speaking of things that have sat on my sewing table unfinished for a year, this is what I'm planning to work on over this long weekend. It's a quilt for Joe. I'd like to finish it before he turns 20, if possible.

That little pouch was embroidered and sewn by my paternal grandmother, Nanny. She was quite the hand-quilter!

I thought that I was done hand-quilting this, but on second thought I decided it needed more quilting. I have never met a quilt that I considered to be too densely hand-quilted. On the other hand, I'd like to finish it while Joe is still a child, see above. It's a delicate balance. But. It needed a bit more.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! (If you are celebrating this week, that is. Otherwise, have an awesome Thursday.)

Lotta Jansdotter's All-Day Tote.

2011-11-20T16:44:00.001-08:00

I was cleaning my sewing area this morning (it does happen, very infrequently) and found an unfinished project, the "All-Day Tote" from Lotta Jansdotter's Simple Sewing. This book has a lovely Scandinavian minimalist aesthetic, and it's a great book for a beginning sewist. The projects really are "simple."

The All-Day Tote is a simple tote bag with a few pockets.

I've made it once before, from denim lined in brightly colored vintage tea-towels. Unfortunately, I didn't blog it. Although it didn't turn out perfectly, that was a hard gift to part with!

So, about a year ago, I decided to make one for myself, in gray wool lined in some of my beloved Joel Dewberry orange faux bois fabric. I love this fabric so much. It's one of my favorite fabrics ever. It's mid-century modern, quirky, tongue-in-cheek, and it's orange! Which is why it was just wrong that I only bought a yard or two of it when it was available. Now it is out of print. (Dewberry still makes wood-grain quilting cotton, but the precious and never-to-be-seen again fabric is a heavier twill with a dreamy soft hand.)

This has caused me serious and lasting regret. Why didn't I buy more? Why? Why didn't I get some in green too? Whyyyyyyyy?

For kicks, check out the last project I used this fabric for - Joe was just a little dude! Those were the best pants ever, and I kept putting them on him even when they had turned to "man-pris."

But I digress. So anyway, I cut out and interfaced the pieces for this All-Day Tote about a year ago, but then Christmas hit, and I set it aside. It was forgotten for a variety of reasons, including that I found some aspects of the project intimidating, and I think I had a premonition that it wasn't going to be all that I had hoped.

Today, cleaning off my sewing table, I carefully packed away some other unfinished projects, but took a second look at this one. Hmmm, I thought, I could just finish this. Right now.

And so I did. It was no problem. I don't know why I was intimidated (perhaps I'm a little more confident now than I was a year ago). It only took an hour or two.

Here, I tried to recreate the photo in the book. What? The photo in the book was not indoors and in front of a dog crate? Quiet, you.

Oh jeez, are those sewing threads still hanging from my cardigan? My blog is totally super polished.

It's a fine little tote, if a little bit floppy (and I interfaced the living daylights out of it!). It will be handy for the farmer's market and the library and hauling Joe stuff around. I used a different wool plaid with a bit of orange for the handles.

Glamor shot on ironing board.

The lining is a bit baggy. I really should go back in there and shave a little bit off the bottom all around. But after languishing on my sewing table for a year, what are the chances?

Here, it is holding my reading glasses, keys, wallet, and my current novel, Victor Hugo's Les Miserables. I know, you can't even see that enormous book in there, but it's in there, trust me. Anyway, you know, just the bare essentials. There is room for a lot more. I could fit The Grapes of Wrath and War and Peace in there as well.

It has a magnetic closure and a key fob!

It's definitely not my best work, but it's fine. I will use it. I'm glad I finally finished it!

And it is lined in dreamy orange faux bois!

Luka Hoodie "Reveal."

2011-11-17T04:30:00.000-08:00

I finished the Luka Hoodie last night, and I am so pleased with it. It's probably the nicest thing I've made for Joe to date.

Unfortunately, in a trend that does not appear to be improving, the photo shoot this morning did not go well.

Me: Joe, let's try on your new hoodie! It has blue trains!

Joe: No! No boo fway!

Me: Joe, let's just try it on real quick, okay? Mommy made you a nice warm hoodie!

Joe: No!

Me: Joe, can you just put it on for a minute to see if it fits and let mama take a picture?

Joe: No boo fway! No fway! No! No!

(Mild struggle ensues. I murmur reassuring something-or-others about how he's really going to like his hoodie once he gets it on, while Joe says "no no no no no!")

What happened to my hand?

Me: Let's roll that sleeve up a bit more.

Joe: No! Off! Off! Shirt off! OFF!

He's trying to take it "off."

Me: Please, Joe? Please? Just let mama take a picture?

Joe: No please!

Well, shoot. This is not going well.

Me (looking at that sad face): Sigh. Okay, we'll take it off. Sorry, Joe.

So, okay, apparently I am such a mean mother that not only do I spend days sewing warm, cozy, and practical clothing for my child, with his interests (blue trains!) specifically in mind, but I then make him try them on, and then I try to take photos of him.

I mean, what kind of monster?

(I am really appreciating this blog right now, because y'all are a way more appreciative audience than Joe!)

Blarg. Since my model was so uncooperative, you'll have to make do with a few detail shots on my ironing board.

I've been holding onto these great buttons for a while - I had only three! Perfect!

There is a hand-warming pocket and also a "secret" pocket under the flap. You'd think a child would love this, right?

And for you real sewing geeks, here's the inside, which I'm also really proud of. This gives a good view of how I lined it (to showcase but conserve blue trains - the rest is sage-green flannel) as well as the little placket that I added behind the buttons (not in the pattern) to help keep drafts out.

This pattern, which came from Sewing For Boys, takes some time and care, but the final results are absolutely smashing, and I could not be more pleased. The pattern instructions are probably perfect for an intermediate seamstress, and I would warn beginners that there is not much hand-holding. Readers are expected to understand technical sewing language. But in my opinion, this is also the great strength of this book: While I love an easy project as much as the next person, I also love how many satisfyingly complex patterns are included in this guide. It's the more challenging patterns in this book that really kick the genre of "sewing book with patterns" up a notch or two.

(Hey, look at me! I think I might be an intermediate seamstress now! Wahoo!)

I should note that I was not able to finish the hoodie hem and sleeves the way the book suggests. It's a long story, but basically, I had made a few changes and taken some steps earlier in the sewing that precluded the origami-like finishing process. When I got to that point of the pattern, I was like, "Whoa! Complicated, but total genius! Too bad it's too late for me to do that!" So then I finished it in a more standard way, just folding everything under, pressing, and top-stitching. Ah, well. Next time, I suppose.

The size (2/3) seems perfect, with plenty of room to grow (I added length to the sleeves for the cuffs, so don't be fooled by the super long sleeves). It goes up to size 6/7, I think!

Basically, it took absolutely forever and a day to make, and I love it. The million dollar question: Forget loving it, will Joe even wear it?

Well, we'll see, but I think so. I think there's something about the whole trying-to-photograph-him-for-the-blog process that just makes Joe contrary. Too much pressure. So tempting to assert his independence by saying "no no no!" I bet if I put this on him and let him run around a park or something, rather than asking him to pose for photos, things would go much better.

Toddlers can be fickle creatures.

Poor kid. I hope I haven't scarred him for life by sewing him an awesome hoodie and then hoping he will wear it!

Luka Hoodie.

2011-11-13T20:38:00.001-08:00

I'm finally trying one of the patterns from Sewing For Boys! I was ambitious and started right out with an "advanced" pattern, the "Luka Hoodie." It's a pullover hoodie/windbreaker.

Luka Hoodie.

Super cute, right?

I cut this out on Friday evening, so I was hoping to blog the completed hoodie today, but it was not meant to be. This pattern earned its "advanced" status not by being super difficult, but by having kind of a lot of pieces! Doesn't help that I decided to use a different lining fabric in the hood and on the cuffs than the rest of the lining, in order to showcase (but also conserve) my precious and costly Spoonflower blue choo-choos.

See them there, in the hood? Here's a better view.

Periodically, Joe stops by to point and say, "blue fway!"

So far, it's coming together well, with just a few idiosyncrasies caused by my modifications (as usual). I'm hoping this will make a really cozy little pullover for my little train/fway-lover.

More soon!

Train tunnel.

2011-11-08T10:41:00.000-08:00

The other day, when we were all just trying to keep moving in order to ward off the chill,* I decided to turn a big shipping box into a little house for Joe. Well, I thought it was going to be a little house. I put a window in it and everything. But Joe had other plans.

He didn't want to get inside it or set up his dolls in there (who was I kidding? his baby doll is currently buried up to its neck in the back yard). He wanted to push his trains through it. Duh. So I cut out a little opening on the other side, making it the strangest looking "fway** tunnel!" you've ever seen.

Can I just say that my cardboard crafting skills leave a lot to be desired? Wow. Martha makes it look easy (to state the blatantly obvious). My cardboard box house/tunnel looks like total crap. I'm going to blame that on lack of appropriate tools. Yeah. I'm sticking to that story.

But he likes it. And it was free. And it kept my hands from getting frostbite for a few minutes (however, the exacto-knife did give me a blister; cutting sturdy cardboard is not as easy as it looks, see above). So. Anyway. I'm reminded once again that it is usually not the most expensive toys that children like best.

* We finally buckled and turned on the heat. Just in time for temps to dip into the low-40s last night (which isn't so bad if your bedroom is not also that temperature). That means, according to this table, that in just the past week, we have seen 40 degrees of variation in temperatures. Nutso. Can we go back to 80 degrees, please? Heck, I'm not greedy - I'd be happy with mid-60s.

High of 81, low of 41.

** "Fway" = Train. The speech therapist calls this "consonant cluster substitution." Some children will substitute easier consonant combinations for more difficult to pronounce clusters. Which is why it's really funny when Joe says "fway track!"

Slightly blurry proof that Joe willingly wore his shark costume.

2011-11-07T15:49:00.000-08:00

I know I'm biased and all, but wow, that is the best-looking little shark I have ever seen.