Spring Break! Family Vacation to

Indianapolis has never occurred to me before as a place to vacate my reality and insert some fantasy. Luckily, my husband goes to conferences for his work that I would never consider, and we all tag along.

First day was cold, and the two year old was sick. I forgot the camera, but it was my 9 year old daughter, Sweet Pea's favorite day. We wandered around the park across from the hotel, and finally ended up at the Eiteljorg museum where they had an Ansel Adams exhibit. The Native American museum had a full size wigwam upstairs that you could play in, made of bark, the real, authentic thing. They also had doll-sized teepee's to build. The art was incredible. I've never been too inspired by Native American Art, mostly because I'm from the West and I think I was just saturated by it. Living away for a few years has made me more appreciative of this art.

The basement was amazing with an old western interactive display with a Chinese emporium, a stable, and a real stagecoach that they let us play in. If the two-year-old hadn't been sick, it would have been perfect. As it was, I had to hold her and the baby at the same time. Whew! That really worked out my arms.

The next day we walked across the bridge to the zoo.

This is the bridge we walked across. The kids were saluting the sun.

It was a very long walk, cold too, but a much nicer day than the previous freezing one. The zoo... it was the best zoo I believe I've ever attended. We held butterflies, pet the sharks, frolicked with the penguins, roared back at the tiger, and watched the dolphin show. 

The next day we headed downtown and hung out at the state capitol with our friend Senator Kruse. 

Great guy. Homeschooled his own four kids. Gave us a tour. If you're a native, vote for him. That felt almost like I was a real homeschooling mom or something, until my kids kept playing in the phone booths. They were pretty cool.

We went through the soldiers monument museum, took the elevator to the lookout roof instead of climbing 362 steps. Cheating really, but with a baby and a two-year-old... At any rate, it was a very educational day.

Our last day, we went to the IMA   Where we met a charming lady and her baby who happened to have a husband who is in my husband's department. She recognized me by my 5 children. It's better than an I.D. badge. The museum was great with wonderful guards who didn't mind it when the kids set off the alarms, opening and closing the curtains in the Rembrandt room. One of my favorite rooms was the Pointilism room where they showed all the artists influenced by Seurat, the same Seurat we saw  in the Art Institute of Chicago. I love it when the kids create links from all their different experiences.

So that, minus a gyro and a tea party pretty much sums up our 'vacation'. Hauling around the baby was fantastic exercise. I can't wait for the conference next year, in FLORIDA! Taking the kids while my husband sits and thinks ponderous thoughts with a bunch of other weighty minds isn't for the faint-hearted, but luckily, all my hiking has given me good endurance. Also, my older ones have begun to take on some of the gear that comes with it. They did wonderfully and hardly ever complained. 

I have to put in the little adorable independent fabric store I found on our way to the LEGO store (10 year old  boy's favorite part of the trip). The French Seam where I bought 1/3 yard of Liberty print for my 2 year old. It had elephants! I will have to post when I finally make something out of it. I also knitted a bit on the driving parts of our trip. That turned out quite cute.

Anyone else do anything for spring break?

Misty Mountains

I'm not sure where to start with this. I've been feeling like my creativity is kind of nil. I can sew, and I'm fast and efficient (and crooked) but I'm not particularly canny about creating my own patterns or anything like that. Except for sometimes which I tend not to count(not sure why). 

I was on this very fun site in wonder and awe at all the creativity and sheer originality that the woman pours into her clothing and textiles. I was thinking, "why can't I do that?" which is actually kind of silly because I CAN do it, and what's more, I do. 

To prove it to myself, I have here an image I tried to do a pdf link with, but absolutely failed, so instead I made it a jpg, which should be clickable and printable, but if not, sigh. I tried. I'm sharing my creativity to prove it happened. 

At any rate, this is a decal I created when I was trying to think of something to put on a onesie that would be wintery without being snowy. If that makes sense. I was thinking ravens, bicycles, but then the Hobbit, which comes out in winter, therefore is wintery, has the poem/song that fixated me for so long that I transposed it and made my children play it on the piano. If only I could figure out the upload pdf thing then I could share that too, as though someone else in the net is interested in my simplified piano version. Anyway. This is in the same vein. I originally designed this in adult size, and I sized down for the newborn suit, of course, but I have no idea what size it is here. It's embarrassing how little I know. 

This is the completed onesie on the newborn. It didn't fit terribly well then, but now it's perfect at 3 months. I always make things larger than newborn to start. This baby has been the sweetest, smallest baby I've ever had. He actually fit into newborn clothing for a few days. 

Beneath the extremely fantastic decal I embroidered, "far over the misty mountains cold" which is whimsical and wintery as far as I'm concerned.

Also wearing a goblin hat. Not mine though. Pattern is from Ottobre 4/2007.


I feel like I've gone about this creating thing all backwards. When I was young, I exhaled creativity, but I lacked skill. Now I'm all skill and no art, at least that's how I feel. Maybe as I go forward I can be a little bit of both. Happy thought.

Any inspiration you'd like to share but can't?

Happy Valentine's Day!

My mother keeps my doll well-clothed. This may be why it is difficult for me to grow up. 

Happy February 14th!

Today is a day of love. Who doesn't need a little bit of love and tenderness in the middle of ice slush and icicle drips? It is a great day to give yourself a foot massage. With oils. Mmmm. Better yet, trade one with someone you love! (my kids trade shoulder rubs for surfing ebay looking for elusive lego sets)

I'm going to go see if I can find something pink to wear. What makes Valentine's feel rosy and glowy to you?

Hope your day is fabulous!

Snow Pants and Sunshine

These pants work and play

I finished 4 pairs of snowpants today. I didn't sew them all in one day. A month ago I bought 2 yards of fleece, generic stuff from JOAnn's to make leggings to wear under normal jeans, (without elastic to hold them up, so they're not supposed to wear them alone, but they do anyway. I will have to do something about that) and then a few weeks ago I saw water-repellant nylon/wool fabric for $2.40 a yard at Fabric Mart (an online fabric store with delicious fabric and wonderful deals). This price compelled me in spite of my ridiculous fear of sewing outerwear, so I cut them out, sewed them up, and finished them while it's still winter. This is worth cheering about.

I sewed the coats too, not the red one, not when I saw it on Amazon for $17. I told my daughter that it wouldn't last long because it's a cheap coat, but since she'd rolled down a hill of mud the week before I was going to make her a very nice wool coat, a cheap washable coat is what she got. A button fell off the very first day it came in the mail, but it's warm, cheerful, and I didn't have to sew it. (More cheering)

On the left, Atomizer wears a fantastic coat that I'm particularly sentimental about. His grandparents brought it back from Alaska for me, a coat that while warm wasn't ever my style. Fortunately, he loved the moose and I made a coat for him out of it, interlined with thinsulate with a hood added instead of a collar, because he wanted one. The pattern comes from OttobreDesigns, Winter 2006 #20.

In the middle, my 2-yr-old wears a coat out of fabric that is dryclean only. She got it muddy before I could sew the cuffs on. It got washed, I put on the cuffs, she rolled around in the mud some more... It's also an Ottobre pattern, Winter 2013, #16.

The snow pants came in a fabulous size range from their most recent pattern catalog, 86cm-128 cm. Basically ages 18 months-8 years. This is perfect for me so that I can trace out one pattern with multiple lines saving time and pattern paper. That is OttobreDesign Spring, #18. I reinforced the knees and rear, double topstitching in white. I embroidered something on one knee for each kid, a lizard for 10 yr boy, a snake for 6 yr boy, a butterfly for 2 yr girl, and a house for 8 yr girl. She came last because she couldn't decide what she wanted. Finally I told her I was going to do her initials. She said, "No. I'd rather have nothing. Yes, do nothing and add a little house." So she got nothing and a house.

I'm so glad I got these finished. Now I can go back to SWAP.

Do you have any tips for staying warm this winter?

You Probably Shouldn't...

I have five kids. 5. I have no idea where they all came from. I think some of them crawled from the subterranean cavern adjoining the basement while I made gruel.

Anyway. I like to go places, particularly somber adult places like museums and concerts. In a few years it will be lovely to have children old enough to herd and corral those younger lego eating creatures, but for now, they are my entourage. All of them. All five, 5 of them.

Chicago Skyline behind my intrepid climbers.

Places you may wish to go, like a big city, Chicago maybe, you might not wish to visit in January right after one of the biggest storm's they've seen. If you do anyway, you might not want to take your squad as well. If you do go, and take your crew, you might not want to inflict the local high-brow Institute of Art with them, causing alarms to go off (the real kind) and guards to inform you that your children are a fire hazard.

Me? I knew I probably shouldn't, but I did anyway.

There was some snow.

And it was FANTASTIC!

Ten Pounds of Contentment

My little Goblin, one week old

Chasing happiness. I can feel it, especially in the winter, the uneasiness increasing until I stir, anxious, searching for that thing that's fled, the happiness, the sensation of sitting in the sunshine listening to Nat King Cole, the settled serenity that flees if you look at it too hard.

The days grow short, the sun shines blearily for a moment before disappearing back into its cave. Days are blinks, nights, eternal. The searching becomes a pawing, clawing, scratching thing at the bottom of my mind.

Distractions. Sewing. Dancing. Getting OUT! But, when you split open to create another person, the pieces of you lie there for months, weak, feeble, incapable of motion.

This year, somehow, the motionless insanity became warm contentment as small limbs curved over my rib, head nestled against my shoulder, pounds growing heavier, sinking deeper into me until there was no space between my heart and the warm, soft-boned contentment. I hold it in my arms.

SWAP 2014

Every year The Sticher's Guild has a wonderful sewing competition, Sewing With A Plan, otherwise called Swap. (my husband hates this because he keeps wondering what we're swapping)

This year the plan is 3 3 paks, and 2 wild cards, resulting in 11 fantastical garments to build your wardrobe.

I'm sticking with rust and teal, my hair and eye colors for two columns and one set of prints. Should be fun.

So far I have the teal ski pants in merino fleece finished. I've been wearing them every day because Brr! It's been cold! Stay warm people, and happy sewing! I had to piece together the merino rust fabric because I didn't get enough. Oh well. It's very artistic.

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year!!!!! 

May every day be a tea party. With hats.