Hey, I could do that....

Ever have this thought?  I do -- increasingly often.  Usually, it's the result of extreme optimism paired with lack of experience.  But sometimes, just sometimes, it's true.   Today I sewed my very first item of clothing for myself.  It helps that I have no perfectionist tendencies when it comes to sewing, but I'm feeling happy with the results.

I remember a quote from Amy Karol's "Bend the Rules With Sewing" that goes (and I'm totally paraphrasing here) "You have to be good enough to know when you can bend the rules."  I must say, this quote doesn't apply to me at all.  It's more like, "If you don't know any of the rules, you just make up your own (and make a lot of mistakes along the way.)"   I am a beginner's beginner when it comes to sewing -- I'm not one of those crafty ladies that learned to sew perched atop my great-grandmother's knee.   In fact, it took me about a year after buying my machine to even learn how to thread it properly.  I'm not sure I should admit that publicly, but there you have it.....

I've been lurking for a while -- admiring others' handiwork, reading crafty blogs and books, and buying handmade clothing when possible.  I've been warming up with smaller projects -- quilts, bibs, pot holders; our resident doll, "baby" has a stunning wardrobe selection.   Finally, this blog inspired me to take the plunge.  The blog is a photo journal of a woman in Canada who has pledged to wear only what she makes herself (including shoes, underwear and the like) for a year.  Believe me, I didn't think "Hey, I could do that...."  But I did think that maybe I could begin to make some of my clothes....

I began with a soft cotton jersey fabric that's been lingering in my stash; I found it incredibly forgiving, with just the right amount of stretch. I just cut the shape I envisioned (no patterns yet for this no rules-er), sewed along the inner seams, and added a gather in the middle.  I didn't finish any of the edges, which was fine by my standards.

SO satisfying.  The skirt?  Another no-rules experiment (without sewing involved this time....)  I began with a secondhand top, the stripey-ness of which I love, but with an unflattering neckline....

A little work with a rotary cutter (much smoother than scissors) right under the armpits, and a sporty little number perfect for autumn layering was revealed.

Next: learn how to take self-portraits without angles that make the viewer dizzy.  I'm sure it's doable.

The Good, The Great, and The Wonderful

We've had some new discoveries and developments around here lately -- I thought I'd share a few....First, the Good: audio books!  Exploring the kids' section of our library last week, I found a bounty of free books on cd.  On days when we're mostly at home, I encourage about an hour of quiet playtime in lieu of a nap.  This time helps all of us recharge and gives me a much-needed break.  Audio books have begun to play a central role in this hour -- I love that they engage my son's imagination and unlike dvd's are completely guilt-free (for me -- I doubt S feels any guilt at all about watching a dvd.)  He prefers to listen using these enormous headphones - - perhaps it helps him to become more absorbed in the story.  At any rate, the audio books have been a fortuitous discovery.

Next, the Great: our other favorite library -- the toy library!  Silly us, we let our membership expire when baby A was born.  Life got full, we made do with what we had, and it's been 8 months or so since we visited.   Upon return, S was into a completely different world of toys....there were so many things we could have happily left with.  We chose two train sets and a beginner's scooter.   When we got home, S literally spent the whole day immersed in his new train sets -- not food, nor books, nor the urgent need for the bathroom could tear him away.  It was incredible.  As the week has gone on, the intensity has waned....but only slightly.  He now takes meal breaks (thankfully) but the trains are a huge hit.  Yay, toy library! 

 

Finally, the Wonderful: a new development for me.... My loving, supportive, DIY-competent husband has undertaken the project of turning our humble storage shed into a deluxe garden studio.  (Okay, I'm not sure exactly how "deluxe" it will be, but hey!  Garden studio!  With room to grow and upgrade as time goes on....)   He swears I'll be in there in the next few weeks.  I can't wait!  In-progress view below.

Will definitely post photo updates once I'm in.  Very exciting.

Inward Bound

In Nelson, we are having a truly spectacular autumn.   I love how this season refocuses our energy inward.  We spend more time indoors, and I notice myself yearning to rearrange, refurbish, re-purpose, and just generally improve our living areas. 

I've been taking a brief respite from Seedling pursuits to focus on some home and family projects - - trying to tackle a few of the items on my never-ending projects-I'd-like-to-do list.....First up, pillow friends.  I first saw this project in Amy Karol's "Bend the Rules With Sewing" -- so simple, so cute!  I used up some fabric scraps, some leftover textile paints, and voila: new friends (and yes, the car is pink -- no gender stereotypes here!)

Next, the creation of some fine art.  Our walls have been sadly bare for some time now -- we didn't move here with much, and I have a difficult time choosing and buying artworks worthy of display.    A few years ago, I found a pile of canvasses for a dollar each at a yard sale.  Seeing great potential, but without a vision, they've remained in storage for nearly three years.  I pulled them out recently to give them an undercoat of white.....

Then S worked his magic....

The end result -- artwork we are proud to display and love to look at....

Next up, I'm getting ready to tackle that pile of merino.  It's so gorgeous that I think I'm hesitating, waiting until my sewing skills vastly improve.  But, eh, that may be awhile -- and it's getting chilly!  So, simple merino projects to come....

Rare Birds

As you may be able to tell from my designs, I'm a total bird nerd.... Apparently I'm not alone; there are a lot of other bird lovers out there.   Below is my birds-of-a-feather showcase -- some avian favorites from Felt, featuring Black Swan, In My Backyard, SuperVery, Boo Craft, Peg Baby, Hjrd Design, Bird in a Bunny, Piou Piou Kids, Poetry Cloth, and Maisie Moo.  Enjoy!

Green Fantail Brooch

blackswan

$19.00

Stitched Bird Fabric...

inmybackyard

$14.00

Dive For It Bird Pen...

supervery

$30.00

Black Bird On Blue B...

boocraft

$25.00

Peg Baby : Organic C...

peg

$28.00

Wall Clock #1 - Desi...

hjrddesign

$59.00

Untitled (two Birds ...

birdinabunny

$125.00

Black Woolen Hoodie ...

pioupioukids

$64.00

Harmony

poetrycloth

$50.00

Rainbow Birds - Funk...

maisie-moo

$60.00

I concede....

Lest anyone suspect that I'm one of those do-it-all mamas, it looks as though rag-rug braiding has been shunted back down to the bottom of the list.   I didn't really put up much of a fight.....  The deep crimson, hand-woven rug I've had my eye on for weeks went on sale.   It's lovely.  What can I say?  I'm not immune to a good sale.  Or the reality of a very full life.  Perhaps a rag-bathmat will be in our future, but for now, I'm going easy on myself.

What is life full with at the moment?  I'm very happy to be working on a collaboration with the excellent New Zealand company behind the organic baby clothing I use for my prints.....In the near future, Seedling Clothing prints will be available from the My Baby and Me website as well as sold on my behalf at various craft markets in the North Island.  This is a wonderful and very exciting development.....I've been burning the midnight oil getting the first collection together -- so far so good.  I've put together a few new designs, and all in all, it's been pleasurable and satisfying work.

Updates to come when everything is completed.  Stay tuned!

Our Daily Bread (Part 2)

It's fair to say that the bread recipe I posted a few weeks ago has become a bit of a fixation.  We've stopped buying bread altogether now; I sat down and figured out that we can save about $500.00 a year just by baking our own (factoring in the cost of ingredients and power to run the oven.)  With the added benefits of knowing exactly what goes into our loaves and the pleasure of hot, fresh bread, it seems well worth it.  As with almost everything, this recipe seems to get easier and better the more I experience I have with it......I've figured out a few shortcuts like using the warm sink bath for rising (keeping the dough in the original mixing bowl and separating afterward) and then later using the same water to rinse my baking equipment.  I've begun to double or even triple the recipe -- I usually make one regular loaf and put the rest of the dough into our large silicone cake pan, resulting in the gorgeous loaf above (baking time remains the same.) 

Recently, when we've visited friends, I've brought a loaf with me for the kids to snack on and to leave with our host.  This morning I made a breakfast bread by adding cinnamon, chopped dates, and sunflower and flax seeds -- I imagine that the recipe will lend itself to other combinations as well.  To top it all off, miracle of miracles, my toddler will actually eat the crust of this bread, protesting if I try to take it away.... Yes, my relationship with the No-Knead Wholemeal Loaf has advanced from crush to full-blown romance.    I can't help it; I'm in love.

This Week: Clutter and Floor Coverings

Let me say first, we absolutely love our home.... it is, however, what one might euphemistically describe as "petite."  A real-estate agent might call it cozy.  We've sussed out some good space-savers (a fold-away kitchen table, for example) but the single most important thing we've found that keeps "cozy" from feeling claustrophobic is continual de-cluttering.  We de-clutter daily, weekly, and in bigger ways, half-yearly.  Every six months, we comb the house to clear out any unused or unneeded items....often things that were hard to part with during the previous cleanse seem truly extraneous by the next.  So, each spring and fall, we rise early to host our own stall at the local flea-market.  We always share our stall with a friend, which has multiple benefits: splitting the stall-rental fee, better filling our space if we only have a few boxes of stuff to get rid of, and most important, companionship.  Companionship to while away the early hours, to lend moral support when haggling goes awry, and to buy one another a warming cup of coffee or watch the stall during a much-needed break.  Hooray for companionship!

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to be sharing our stall with a wonderful friend and fellow-crafter who just happened to be doing her own massive cleanse of fabrics and scraps.  I had the privilege of scouring her stash first and squirreling away some lovely pieces.  As we were packing to leave, there were still several large bags of scraps unsold, which were destined for the recycling center.    I grabbed them and tucked them away in our backseat.

In order to justify this massive re-gaining of clutter, I explained that I've had a scrap-project in mind for a while - -which is true, I do!  I saw this rag rug project a few years ago and then again in Amanda Soule's book "Handmade Home" and it has been on my massive projects-to-do list for some time - - unfortunately, always destined to stay at the bottom due to it's project-time estimation of "a season."  A season!  Eeep.   Our white (Yes, white. What were we thinking?) living-room rug has been on it's way out for a while, and from time to time, I find worthy replacements but can't justify the cost.  A rag rug is perfect.....I love that it uses up material that already exists (as opposed to buying new) and that it will display so much fabric from this friend, as well as cloth from our old napkins, clothes, tablecloths etc.  A wonderful extension of life for these objects.  Plus, with it's blend of colors and materials, I imagine it might hide our household wear and tear a bit better than, ahem, white.

So, the project begins -- the kids and I have spent the morning sorting our bags and and I've begun cutting and tearing material into strips.  I've been trying to focus on greens, blues, reds, and browns -- for the most part leaving out the pinks and purples.  Both toddler and baby love playing with all of the colors and textures....so this has been a good part of the project to share with them.  Wish me luck with this ambitious endeavour!  I'll let you know how it goes in a season or so......