Category: Summer

Mama Sewing

8/12/2012

Earlier this summer, I was despairing over the lack of perfect tank tops laying around. Then I realized that I make clothes. Duh. I copied my perfect raglan T pattern from the armpits down and then added a bit of winging it for the neckline. Voila! Perfect racerback tank!
On the prototype (not pictured) the straps nearly outwitted me, but I think I have it figured out now. I have been so happy to have these few that I have made in the last month of near 100 degree temps, especially as I'm ridiculously picky about my tank tops. I prefer everything to be a racerback and it has to be fitted but not clingy etc etc.
Now I just need Joann's to have my favorite teal ribbing back in stock...

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August!

8/5/2012

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The summer is flying by so fast! It's a bit late, but I thought I'd try to catch up a little...

While I'm away at work all day, 5 and his Dad go on adventures! Every day! They go to the river, fish, bike all over town, walk to the coop for bananas, and get up to all kinds of mischief.
(5 is wearing one of his most recent mama-made tanks, refashioned from one of my favorite old T-shirts).

Also, since my last post, 5 has become obsessed with "counting". His method of counting is whimsical at best- there's usually a color or two thrown in and he repeats his favorite numbers at will. So far, I am loving 21 month old math.
He has become an avid copycat, repeating the most entertaining words uttered in any given sentence (read: watch. your. mouth. mama.)
My favorite August development though is his newfound use of the words big and tiny. Tiny especially, because it's all his. Fred and I don't say tiny. Our books don't say tiny. We're really not sure where it's from. But we love to hear everything in our lives that is now big or tiny.

The best parts of my day? The hugs and kisses I get leaving and then returning from work. The boy has really learned to show some love.

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Summer Sewing

7/21/2012

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What small amount of sewing I have squeezed in in the last few weeks has been thoroughly summer-y. With triple digit temperatures and all three of us spending so much time outside (some of us for work, some for play...), 5 and I have had need of more tank tops! There is a whole parade to be modeled and photographed, but that little dude is rather uncooperative while sleeping, so I'll just show you the one for now...

I'm so happy this one worked out. It's made from an old shirt of mine that is so ridiculously small I can't really believe I used to wear it. I loved this shirt and it makes me feel kind of magical to be able to change it into something my son can now love.

Here's a nice detail shot where you can see I took my time and did a little zigzag stitching so the ribbing would lay flat. I don't think I did it on the other ones I made for him, but I was feeling pretty proud of this one.
I also just perfected my own tank top pattern- all the things I like in a tank top, together, at once! Sometimes it takes me a really long time, but sewing for myself is soooo satisfying. It may just be enough to get me through another hot hot sweaty exhausting week. Hooray!

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End of Summer

8/31/2011

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Summer Food!

5 had his first strawberry this morning! Alas, it was not a local strawberry, but at least it WAS organic...
As you can see, he enjoyed it.
In the last few weeks, we've started introducing foods that are more common allergens. We waited until he was 9 months old to start, and we introduce a new one each week, making sure he doesn't have any reactions to it.
This has made meal times a lot more fun, now that he can eat so much more of what we're eating. For instance, today he and I had strawberries and yogurt for breakfast, he had cheese and tomato sandwiches with Dad for lunch, and for dinner we had home made pesto pizza with spinach, broccoli, and mushrooms. Yum!

We've also been trying to squeeze every last bit of enjoyment out of our local produce before the winter sets in. A few days ago we had RAW corn on the cob for lunch! I'd never had it that way, but my husband worked on a farm for a while and convinced me that good corn is DELICIOUS this way. He was right.

Preparing for Winter (in the cutest possible way)

And lastly, yesterday I made possibly the cutest hat EVER for my sweet sweet babe. I've been seeing all these darling knitted pixie hats everywhere, and I finally saw one in profile and realized- hey, I could make that out of an upcycled sweater! And so I did. I think it's adorable, but 5 just thinks it's hot. You probably would not be surprised at how hard it is to get some good pictures of a baby wearing a winter hat in August.

I know I said I'd have pics of the quilt top today, but it was rainy, so I don't. Friday! I promise!

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Breakfast Popsicles and Lunchtime Naps

8/19/2011

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Popsicles for Breakfast?

It's true, popsicles for breakfast. And other than their not being a "hot breakfast", they're great! I've had so much fun this summer with my $12 popsicle maker making vain attempts to kick my ice cream habit. Now I just have two frozen habits...
Anyway, back to breakfast. This latest is my most meal-friendly yet- I used 4 nectarines, a cup or so of plain, full fat greek yogurt, and only about 1 tablespoon of sugar, threw it in the food processor and then the freezer for 10 beautiful morning happy pops.

Just the thing for our last few hot summer mornings.

All things sleep-y

Today 5 took his first nap in a crib. I'm having mixed feelings about it. It's a big step (for me at least) and I thought I would honor it by talking about cosleeping and how we've dealt with sleep for the last 9 months.

Cosleeping is a fancy name for sleeping close to your baby, whether it be in a family bed (everyone in the same bed), or in a kind of sidecar crib, or some other arrangement. It is often part of what is called "attachment parenting", which is a fancy name for believing that you and your child know what's best for your family and ignoring other people's (often archaic and sometimes barbaric) parenting "wisdom". I find it to be using a lot of compassion and common sense. Some examples?

-Breastfeeding. The food that my body makes specifically for my baby is going to be better than something made in a factory in China. Also, just like you or me, my baby knows when he's hungry, I don't. So if he wants to eat, he gets to.

-Nobody likes to be alone. If you were brand new to this world, would you want to be alone in some contraption all the time? Probably not. My babe is near me all the time, whether I'm wearing him, sleeping next to him, or he's playing by my feet. I don't like to sleep alone in the dark, I could hardly expect him to.

Back to sleeping. Before we had 5, we knew we wanted to cosleep, but I was what you might call a "deep and thrashy" sleeper. So we set up a 3-walled crib right up against the bed. That way I could reach him when he was hungry in the night, but I couldn't crush him.
Well, he lasted all of five minutes in the crib- he was NOT having it. He slept between us and we discovered the amazing light-sleeper mommy hormones. He has slept in my arms every night since and it has been wonderful.
He can nurse all night if he wants and I don't even have to wake up. We don't have to worry about him not breathing, or being cold, or lonely, or scared. It's also about the sweetest thing in the whole world to wake up to that face. It could be coincidence, but he's been sleeping for around 11 hours a night since he was 2 months old and I get at least 7 hours most nights, sometimes more.

Naps have been a little different. For more than 6 months, he would only sleep in my lap. I didn't get so much done... Now that he's older, he sleeps more soundly. At first that meant we could lay down on the bed, I could nurse him to sleep, and then slink out of the bed. Now, I can actually pick him up and move him (like into a crib) and he stays asleep.

This whole crib issue only came up because 5 wakes up completely silently at least half of the time, leaving him free to explore the bed (and try to crawl off of it) without interference from pesky Mom. I've been checking on him every five minutes for months now and we've had some pretty close calls. This morning, I came in to find him at the head of the bed, having just thrown the alarm clock off the night stand and getting ready to throw the lamp off as well. That sealed it for me- this babe needs to be contained for his own safety.

If you're interested in learning more about attachment parenting, I would recommend The Attachment Parenting Book, but there are lots of good books out there now.

I would love to hear your stories about sleeping with babies!

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Home Again

8/17/2011

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We are at last returned from our travels and slipping back into daily life. 5 is happy to be home, but seems to miss having Dad around all the time. I have one more week in which to finish all my home/baby/birthday projects before I have to focus on making product again and here is the item I scratched off the list today:

The Scandi Man Tai!

As you may have read, I've been planning this carrier for a while, but I did all the cutting, sewing, physical creation of this piece today! It is a Scandi-style mei-tai made with man-friendly fabric. I used pieces of my dwindling stash of Ikea fabric that I brought back from Sweden a few years ago for the body and I think it looks just fab!

I followed this tutorial for the most part, but my straps are only 72" long and I used a much simpler construction for the body since I was using two heavier-weight fabrics. I LOVE this style carrier- it's good for front, back. and side carries, plus the length of the body (and therefore the height of the baby) is easily adjustable. Plus, I was able to make it reversible by simply using pretty fabric on both sides! Easy!

Feeding the Picnic Addicts

We got a bit hooked on picnicking in Duluth, so we just HAD to take our dinner down to the Houghton waterfront this evening. It was an absolutely perfect UP summer day- 75 degrees, not a cloud for MILES, the bluest sky you ever did see, and a nice breeze. And yes, that's a ski hill in the background. Should be a few more weeks at least before the runs are open though...

Future Marathoner

I remember in high school, the cross country runners would have to run all the stairs in the school as part of their training. I think 5 might have started his training already as he's decided he needs to climb halfway up the stairs every day. I guess that's ok, he makes sure I'm behind him before he starts and 7 stairs per day doesn't seem too strenuous for a 9 month old. I won't worry until he starts measuring his resting heart rate...

Join me Friday for a peek at the rest of the week's projects!

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Heatwave Antics

7/20/2011

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Local Lunching

Still in the midst of this oppressive (and rare) heatwave, and we are having to get creative in our coping mechanisms. Yesterday, I made a delicious COLD lunch of local veggies with cheese and yogurt-bleu cheese-dill dip. We have the obvious choices like cucumbers and carrots, but also sorrel (one of my favorites!), sugar snap peas, radishes, and dilly beans! The sorrel wrapped around super-aged gouda was delicious!

Climbing the walls, er, couches

Poor 5 has been such a good sport while I finish all my sewing, packing, and preparing for our trip to Madison (where it will be even hotter!), and now with the heat, I think it's finally gotten to him. He's started climbing the walls, I mean, couches.

We often like to peer out the windows during the day, or look at the beautiful mobile from this position, but I've always been behind him, supporting him. This morning though, he took his weight off of me and climbed higher, trying to GRAB that probably DELICIOUS mobile! He held himself like this for 5 or 6 minutes easily (until he did grab the delicious mobile and Mommy decided this game was over...)

An Important Message From Your Future Periodontist

Toothbrushes, despite their misleading name, are NOT just for teeth! They play an important role in gum care as well! Don't forget to brush your gums at least 10 or 11 times per day. This can also be achieved by simply chewing on your toothbrush, either end really.

Yes, 5 has no teeth, but he does have a toothbrush. My sister-in-law told me one of her daughters loved to chew on a toothbrush while she was teething, and now that 5 will most likely not poke his own eye out, I have given him one. He loves it, as you can see. I hope this bodes well for the future...

Join me Friday, where I'll be writing from Madison and giving you a sneak peak of my Craftacular display!

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A Day at the Beach

7/18/2011

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Like most of you, we were SO HOT this weekend. In between cold baths and sitting still in front of the fan, we took a trip up the coast and spent some time at Great Sand Bay on the lovely and freezing Lake Superior. I have here, in kind of photo essay form, documented the sand, the eating of sand, the sun and shade, and getting into the lake (some farther than others). I hope my beachy pics find you doing something to cool off as well! I hope to be here Wednesday with a successful summer jumper (if only my brain would firm up long enough...)

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Distraction Sewing!

7/15/2011

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Taking a Relaxing Break From Sewing Product

Yes, the title is a joke. Even I can appreciate my ridiculousness. I am down to the wire, making product like crazy for my upcoming show, and what do I do? I take a break to make up two new baby clothes patterns and then sew them!

I noticed this week that 5 was having trouble crawling when his pants cover his feet- duh. I think we all have all kinds of problems when our pants cover our feet- remember when all teenagers wore pants that could hide gallons of milk? Did you ever see said teenagers try to walk up or down stairs? This is my point.

So, I decided I should make him some clothes that will cover his knees (to protect them from the carpet) but will be fitted around his ankles. Then I decided it should be bizarre. And also have no closures of any kind. (Why? I'm not sure. Sometimes I make really weird and difficult decisions out of "laziness"). I did some measuring, but then 5 fell asleep, so I just winged it (wung it? wanged it?)...

I had intended for this to be a much roomier garment than it turned out to be. In fact, I had to go back and open the sides a bit more because I couldn't even get it over his thighs at first! I immediately made notes on what I would change and how I could improve the fit, etc. I cut out the pattern pieces and promptly made a funky jumper that is truly impossible to get on. Still working on that fix. If I can ever get it on him, the fit will be lovely...

Here it is. It's symmetrical right left and front back. The top half is lined and top-stitched. The woven fabric is a bit gathered going into the stretchy jersey cuffs. I was terribly excited to use this fabric- my sister brought it back for me from Niger and it's so perfect for baby clothes I think. When I finally figure this piece out, I'm going to make a whole bunch of them and then perhaps I will figure out an adult one...

Tough Biker Wear

This strange little upcycled number has been nearly finished for a few weeks, just waiting for snap tape. I think it is SO cute, if ever so "handmade" looking. It's made from a t-shirt his dad was getting rid of. We'll be picking up his new bike helmet early next week (no he's not riding a bike yet, but he will be going in a bike trailer soon!) and he will be ready to mingle with all the other cool bike nerds in town yay!

I was going to attempt a lap-shoulder but then it turned out that the head hole was actually a nice fit on him. I ended up liking the futuristic wing shoulders on this one, but I think I would change them the next time around.

What kind of Summer sewing are you working on?

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Today I Am

7/13/2011

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Eating local strawberries like they have their own food group.

Planning a fantastic aloha-shirted family photo since I thrifted a lovely blue and yellow baby aloha shirt the other day.

Watching my boys laugh hysterically over alphabet block nonsense words together. They are the sweetest.

Loving that my 8 month old is suddenly such a big boy that he would prefer to nurse sitting up, or even better, standing.

Feeling a bit sad that I can't give my baby everything he wants because mostly he wants power cords, scissors, and the pincushion.

just a sample of the new lovelies

Enjoying the sense of accomplishment that arrived when I finished sewing throw pillows for Craftacular today. Whew!

Secretly wishing that 5 would take a little bit longer to fall asleep so I could read a little more of my latest book,
The Informationist. It's really too good to put down...

Trying to find the VERY fine line between working too hard (and making mistakes), and being as productive as possible.

you can't see it, but there's broccoli in that little fist

Delighting in 5's desire to try any kind of food we give him, be it broccoli, cucumber, raw onion, or basil leaves.

Soaking up a beautiful UP sunset, made even more beautiful by a house full of laughter!

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<<Previous

Mama Sewing

August!

Summer Sewing

End of Summer

Summer Food!

Preparing for Winter (in the cutest possible way)

I know I said I'd have pics of the quilt top today, but it was rainy, so I don't. Friday! I promise!

Breakfast Popsicles and Lunchtime Naps

Popsicles for Breakfast?

All things sleep-y

I would love to hear your stories about sleeping with babies!

Home Again

The Scandi Man Tai!

Feeding the Picnic Addicts

Future Marathoner

Join me Friday for a peek at the rest of the week's projects!

Heatwave Antics

Local Lunching

Climbing the walls, er, couches

An Important Message From Your Future Periodontist

Join me Friday, where I'll be writing from Madison and giving you a sneak peak of my Craftacular display!

A Day at the Beach

Distraction Sewing!

Taking a Relaxing Break From Sewing Product

Tough Biker Wear

What kind of Summer sewing are you working on?

Today I Am

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