She played with fabric. I played with my camera. Together, we waited.
I can't help but sit back in awed wonder.
For all of time, we've done this--women gathering.
Sharing stories.
Passing time.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Praying.
And yet with each birth,
it must feel new.
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Between trips to Charlottesville during the week that was, all the lovely ladies gathered to celebrate the nearly-here birth of Baby Girl Foss. It's almost time to hold her!
My sister threw an incredibly beautiful and super-sweet pink baby shower. It was lots of fun to eat, drink, and be merry as Kristin opened gifts. There weren't nearly as many handmade items from me as I'd imagined. She's not even here yet, and I'm already not the grandmother I envisioned. But I thought I'd sew all of the last three weeks and that turned out to be not the plan at all. I have several layette items cut and waiting, so I'm going to get busy.
Karoline did make some very sweet self-binding receiving blankets. The tutorial is here. Don't believe that lady for a minute when she tells you it's a ten minute project. At least don't believe her if you're a normal, regular seamstress. Or if you're seven years old.
Katie did a great job embellishing some cloth diapers with Anna Maria Horner ribbons. So pretty!
And, of course, there was baby's first book basket:-).
I did do quite a bit of reading this week. I listened to Bob Goff's Love Does in the car as I drove. It was nice enough to pass the time, but I don't really recommend the audio version. i think I would have liked it better if I'd just read it for myself. And, of course, I read Surprised by Motherhood. I talked about it quite a bit earlier this week. Do drop by that post and tell Kristin what how you've been surprised by motherhood. You'll be entered to win a copy of the book!
In the book basket:
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
What have you been sewing and reading lately? Tell me all about! It's spring at last--what does that do for our needle project list?
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I've got a real quick needle & thREAD this week. Most of my reading has been related to a burnout recovery workshop I'm writing called RESTORE. I'll have lots more to share with you on that next week (God willing). This morning found me deep in the book of Job and C. S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain.
Katie and I played with beribboning towels yesterday, in advance of receiving some brand new unbleached diapers destined to become very pretty burp cloths. Let the baby sewing begin! A tutorial for those and for the embellished, quilted towels will be part of the RESTORE workshop.
That's all for today here. We've got a busy weekend ahead and my front door will be revolving with comings and goings of a half dozen people or more. Off to prepare!
What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!
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Last year, Kristin guest-posted and shared with us a quilt she was making. It's finished! She joins us again:
I started this blanket over a year ago, before we were expecting a baby. I was hoping to make a kantha quilt to throw on my couch. Now it’s the perfect play quilt, baby swaddler, mom’s-first-quilt-so-you-can-throw-up-on-it-but-please-don’t-rip-it-because-I-don’t-know-how-to-fix-it blanket. Truth be told, I had a baby blanket in mind from the first stitch.
There are a few small puckers on the back that perhaps one day I’ll be able to fix. I’m still new to sewing and very, very impatient. Bad combo when creating heirlooms but we’ll see how this one weathers.
Lately, I’ve been reading about pregnancy, labor and delivery during every free moment. I have 3 books {one for each trimester} I’ve found to be comforting and helpful.
Bump It Up: Transform Your Pregnancy into the Ultimate Style Statement
by Amy Tara Koch
This book was actually a gift from a close friend and coincidentally ended up being my first trimester bible, beating out all of the thoroughly researched and reviewed books I purchased or borrowed. As a primigravida who was not quite expecting that pink plus sign just yet, I was at a total loss when it came to pregnancy preparation. Koch has a savvy and chic way of celebrating pregnancy without asking mom to buy a new wardrobe or adopt a new lifestyle. She does not dwell on morning sickness. Instead, she explains how to cover up the appearance of being sick. I had a hard time in the first trimester, not only with nausea and dizziness, but with a thicker waste on my 5 ft body along with rashes and eczema that covered my face. Intentional meals were impossible to commit to and I found myself falling asleep before dinner. Low self-esteem and guilt does not mix well when you’re embarking on one of the biggest blessings of your life. This book helped me get out of the hole I buried myself in and enjoy the first semester. It also has advice for each trimester so I'm still reading through it today.
Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally
by Janet Balaskas {Intro by Michel Odent}
During the end of my second trimester, I grew a deep curiosity for labor and delivery. Suddenly, I realized that this baby has to come out somehow! As far as labor books go, Active Birth is probably my favorite. Balaskas lays out basic information and applies common sense and simple physics to childbirth. Although the book is a bit dated, so is natural childbirth.
Even if you have no interest in natural childbirth, I think it’s important to know basic anatomy of a woman with child and how to aid labor instead of work against it. I think it will make a difference to be aware of and understand what is happening physically instead of solely trying to manage my labor pains.
Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method
by Marie F. Mongan
Hypnobirthing is the latest craze in the birthing world. What I love about this book is that Mongan breaks down the phases of labor slowly, detailed and deliberately. This is a great third trimester book because it feeds the part of my mind craving more information without being overwhelming or redundant. The tone of the book is also clear and decisive. For example, she writes “You will be relaxed… You will experience…” There’s no ambiguity or speculation.
Personally, I’m open to a changing birth plan and I don’t need a book or a doctor to convince me that I want this baby to have a safe birth. We, as expecting parents, are gradually gaining more confidence. I’m secure in one thing: Michael will be ready. He’s very quick in reactive situations... it must be a big brother thing. I, on the other hand, react passively and slowly. Hopefully we'll be a winning combination.
Next on the sewing list is a receiving blanket! I guess we'll need a few of those?
What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!
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Good morning! I've missed this space:-). I've been thinking about it a lot, but the actual keyboard time hasn't presented itself very much. The days have been full; we're working hard as a team here in my house to right the ship and get back on course after a season of considerable turbulence. I doubt our days will ever be smooth sailing, but I'm not feeling quite so seasick this week as last.
Enough with the seafaring analogy.
Sewing is slow-going. I finished Sarah's pajama pants. I made her a Size 5, which is clearly too big. I'm trying to decide whether I want to take off the waistband and cut off an inch or so and then re-attach it. I'm definitely going to re-do the cuff and cuff it up the entire width of the contrast fabric. I don't want the pants to drag. I'm toying with the idea of making the shirt in a 4. If she were a big sister, I'd make the 4 and know I could hand them down when she outgrew them. But, she's not and I'd kind of like to see her wear them forever...
I'm on a C. S. Lewis binge these days. Actually, I've been on a C. S. Lewis binge for quite some time. I bought the C. S. Lewis Bible when we renovated the house in late 2012. It matched the living room paint and looked so pretty perched there. I did read it, however; it wasn't just for show. I kept thinking of my cousin Ellie's reference to pretty Bibles perched in family living rooms of our childhood and didn't want that. However, I didn't write in it. It's out there in open space and I encourage the kids to use it whenever they want, so I didn't really want my notes and highlighting in it. At the beginning of the year, I bought another so I'd have one to highlight. I'm using these pencils to highlight and I do kind of love them.
Mary Beth, Michael, and I have all reading through A Grief Observed. Mary Beth and I come together occasionally to think on it together. Grief is a strange thing and I've found we are approaching it very gently with one another. At the most recent funeral (yes, our funeral-going has extended into the new year), the priest quoted from Lewis' book. I think Mary Beth was surprised to hear that; Lewis wasn't Catholic after all. This observation has led to some good conversations about truth and about the man-made divisions in communities of faith. It's also led me to pull C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church from my shelves and read it again with my current crop of teenagers.
I want to raise these children to know and love and understand the gift of the Church. I also want them to grow to be the kind of genuine Christians who meet people of all denominations in the place where Jesus is and to both share their own heart stories of His goodness and hear the stories others bring. Pearce's book is an excellent one for understanding how pride and prejudice of the denominational divide can affect the sense and sensibility of even the most brilliant and holy thinkers.
Homeschoolers have a reputation for hunkering down, for raising children in a bunker and not exposing them to either the secular world or to other religions, even other Christian religions. I think this is a mistake, especially in the high school years. Instead of avoiding anything that contradicts or challenges a family's belief system, it's important to come alongside them as they discover those things. They will discover them! If we leave that discovery to a time when they are supposedly more mature (and so, away from home), we might be surprised to learn that they have neither the wisdom nor the tools to navigate the confusion. It's far better, I think, to explore together and open a dialogue that will hopefully continue as they grow.
I'm also reading Lewis' The Problem of Pain with a friend. It's good to have a grown-up theological discussion right now. I'm in a place where I really want to dig deep and think some things through. And not just theological things. As I've pulled away from social media, I'm reading longer pieces--whole books, long articles, the slow, thoughtful pursuit of Scripture. I'm spending a lot of time with my Bible open and I'm journaling pages and pages on paper. I'm kind of obsessed with paper and pens these days. I think after years of tapping at keyboards, I've missed the feel of paper and the sense of order and satsifaction that comes with seeing my thoughts in front of me in my own handwriting. To be sure, those are the scribblings of pondering in my heart. I write them knowing that they are mine alone. Perhaps it's the assurance that I will protect them from exposure that has opened the floodgates. Or maybe it's just I really, really like using these pens;-).
What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the comments or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
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I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
It's been more of the same here this week. I did take on the Snow Queen challenge and spent some very happy time stitching up some magical snow on a tutu. We're all pretty happy with the result.
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Beyond that, it's been gift sewing. Can't show too much of that. Here's just a bit:
I read and re-read Lidia Bastianich's Nonna, Tell Me a Story: Lidia's Christmas Kitchen. I have to admit, she had me at the title. This is a darling story of an Italian grandmother who shares her Christmas traditions with her grandchildren and then spruces those traditions up a bit to make them work in modern America. Just darling!
(I've created a new category here, Nonna's House. New season in the heart of our home.)
So tell us all about your reading and stitching! Do you have Christmas secrets you can share in the combox?
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I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
Life's been a mixture of Sugar Plum and Maple Cinnamon Butter lately. Sounds like the kitchen, but it's really the sewing room. Well, and maybe a little kitchen, too. Take a little waltz with me through the pretty pictures?
Mary Beth was pretty bummed when she tried on the costume destined to be the Sugar Plum Fairy costume. I snapped a picture of her in it because my mind started spinning pretty much the moment I saw her face. I'd love to show you the whole picture, but she'd be horrified. I promise her face was well worth a thousand words and none of them were lovely. I did send the picture to K. C. of That's Sew K. C. with Mary Beth's permission. K.C. is the tutu queen and two days later, a box of her beautiful lace arrived at our house. We began the tutu transformation in the studio, where Mary Beth's ballet teacher offered both practical and moral support. The girls were rehearsing. Helen and I were stitching. Oh, and then we moved to some other costuming issues and watched Paddy play soccer at the same time.
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I was on a roll after I left the studio and my mind was whirling with ideas. I had Mary Beth try it on at home and did some pinning. I handstitched late that night (she had her first performance the next day) and awoke early to get back after it. When I read the bodice parts, I felt like the stitching would be better if it were actually being worn while being stitched. Mary Beth was still asleep and I wanted to surprise her anyway. So, Katie volunteered to be my mannequin and Karoline took up the camera.
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Mary Beth was pretty thrilled when she awoke. (And truly, Katie and Karoline were so excited that their enthusiasm carried me for days.). I don't have any pictures of Mary Beth wearing the newly decorated tutu, but she took this one with her phone.
Oh, dear. The Snow Queen's costume is looking a bit shopworn next to the Sugar Plum. Whatever shall we do about that;-)?
There is some Christmas crafting underway at last. A dabbled a bit with this tutorial and that. And I've done a whole lot cutting and a wee bit of sewing. I'm pretty tickled with the results and looking forward to doing a whole bunch of these in the very near future.
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And a little something sweet to go along with the dish towels? Cinnamon Maple Butter! Yes, ma'am.
Cinnamon Maple Butter
yields about 3 half pint jars, with a wee bit left
Ingredients:
3/4 cup REAL maple syrup
2 cups butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
4 tsp cinnamon
4 half pint canning jars
Cream the butter, powdered sugar, maple syrup, and cinnamon in an electric mixer with a whisk attachment until it's all smooth. Spoon it into the canning jars and tie with a scrappy bow. The butter needs to be refrigerated and it spreads much better if it sits out a bit before serving. I'm not eating bread or muffins or all those typical things upon which one might spread this heavenly butter. But, oh my heavens!, it takes baked sweet potatoes to a beautiful, beautiful place.
(Note: Like most things in life, this is all the better if you scrape a vanilla bean into the mixture:-)
As for reading, I'm pretty much enchanted by Amy Welborn's new picture book, Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing. It's the sweet story of a little boy who visits his grandfather in Italy. Amy Welborn does a masterful job of bringing Italy alive as the little boy learns lessons in craftsmanship, forgiveness, and generosity. We learned a bit about the traditions of the presepe and Bambenelli Sunday, enough to want to research more and we all decided that this book went nicely with The Christmas Miracle of Jonathon Toomey (Is it possible that this book is out of print???). And of course, we have to make our own Bambinelli (Sculpey, clay, wood, peg dolls? A little of everything?)
There's a live event today. Join host Judy Zarick and author Amy Welborn as they introduce her new book for children. Just in time for Christmas, Bambinelli Sunday tells a wonderful story about sharing, comfort, generosity, and forgiveness though the lens of a long-standing Italian tradition.
Join us on December 5th at 3:00 p.m. ET (12:00 p.m. PT). Log in and ask questions through the chat area. Amy Welborn will answer them during her presentation. You must register first.
So tell us all about your reading and stitching!
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I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
Katie’s Book Report Dress is nearly finished. All it needs is cuffs and a hem. So cute: color blocks, sweet pockets, darling pleats. She thinks it's adorable. I so loved sewing this dress. It’s been pure magic to just be in my sewing room and have this creation come together. More and more, I am convinced that there is something about that room and fabric and just, well, all of it, that is essential to my soul at this point in life. So, yes, magical dress.
Except it doesn’t fit.
It’s entirely too narrow across the shoulders. I’ll finish it, I’m certain. Then, I suppose it will sit in the closet three years or so before Karoline can wear it. Katie is bummed because it seems to her like Karoline ends up with quite a few pretty wonderful things that don’t fit her. I still have fabric for an adult Lisette Market Dress pattern that might just fit.
My fiction was delivered to Christian’s apartment instead of to my house (I’m sure he was bemused). So, the whole plan to immerse myself in light fiction was most definitely thwarted. Instead, I’ve been reading back issues of Welcome Home magazine. Welcome Home has long been out of print. Once upon a time, I edited the magazine. Then, I realized that somehow this wonderful opportunity to work from home, in the margins of my life, was sucking the life out of my days. The irony was not lost on us.
I’ve been pondering a lot lately how the decision to be a mother at home and to make mothering and home the primary focus of my days is a decision I have to make over and over again. More on that later, I think.
So tell us all about your reading and stitching!
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I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
I haven’t much sewing nor reading on which to report. I’m definitely yearning for some quiet morning hours in which to sew and some quiet evening hours in which to read. They are not presenting themselves just yet. I promised a picture of Sarah wearing her flannel Class Picnic Blouse. There she is, playing with helicopter seeds. Don't you love those?
I did begin to craft a dress for Katie this morning. I’d love to work some more today and finish it tomorrow. We shall see.
In the reading department, I’m still very slowly working my way though Living into Community. It’s great book, one that makes me want to reach for the highlighter incessantly. But I’m learning something about myself in the reading: my reading habits have been affected by my internet habits. I’m much more distractible than I used to be. I read a quote and have to fight the urge to Google the person who said it. I’m restless and can’t settle in to do the work of reading something so meaty. Needless to say, this observation about myself greatly disturbs me. It also makes me want to persevere—because it is a worthwhile book.
My friend Linda asked me to David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell (interesting thoughts on conversion in link). She asked me to read it because she wants to talk about it. That’s a guarantee I’ll read a book. Any book Linda wants to talk about is a book I’ll read. I’ve just begun. It’s my downstairs book. Living into Community is my upstairs book. Last week, when I was resolving some long lingering doubts and wonderings, I resolved to change some habits. One of them is “internet reading.” I’ve always been a voracious reader, but until recently it was “nose in a book” reading, not internet reading. I think the “nose in a book” me is more peaceful. Peaceful is good.
So tell us all about your reading and stitching!
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I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
The morning sewing time is working nicely so far. Firstly,
I’m motivated to get up quickly. When I hear the alarm, I remember why I set it—to have quiet time alone
in my sewing room with some fabric and some prayer. It’s a great incentive to
hop to it and maximize the time. I usually get at least an hour. It’s a little
tricky to discipline myself to stop, but for some reason, if I’ve gotten that
hour in, it’s easy to go back and pick it up sometime during the day, even if
just for a few moments. So, all in all, a fairly good report on the experiment.
We’re two days in;-)
Sarah’s top is finished. My model is sleeping as I type, so no pictures of the finished product. I’ll add those later today, perhaps. I made Karoline’s Class Picnic Blouse in a Size 8 this season. I made her a 6 last year. So, since I made Karoline’s two sizes larger I made Sarah’s two sizes larger as well. But Sarah’s is going to be pretty huge on her I think. Oh,well. My plan all along was to layer a turtleneck under it during the colder months anyway. It will be fine.
Now, on to cutting for Katie. I’d love to think I get both the Lisette tunic (for the sewalong) and the Oliver + S Book Report dress finished by needle & thREAD next week but I’m going to be away at a soccer tournament for three of those days. So, we shall see. I don’t really think the morning sewing time is all that efficient.
In reading news, my quilting fabric stash welcomed a new friend this week. My friend Marcia lived down the street from me during high school. She moved to Kentucky moved the day after graduation. We re-connected on Instagram and I’ve very much enjoyed keeping up with her family there. Marcia noticed that we had some overlapping circles. First, there was Grace. And then there was Erin from House on Hill Road. I don’t know either Grace or Erin personally, but Grace feels connected through Ginny, who is very much close personal friend. And it turns out that Erin is Marcia’s real life buddy.
So it is that Marcia greeted me at my high school reunion with my very own copy of Erin’s new quilting book. And since big parties are not really my favorite scene and quilting books most definitely are, I think Mike was a afraid for a moment that I would curl up in the corner and just read the night away. I am proud to admit I exercised all kinds of self-control and promptly took it up to my hotel room and left it there so that I wouldn’t be tempted.
The very next day, I huddled my feverish self under a million blankets and contentedly eschewed all the rest of life to read this book.
It’s an absolutely beautiful book. It begs you to linger long over gorgeous photos of lovely quilts and fabrics. Then, when you are properly motivated and want very much to create a piece of beautiful fabric happiness of your own, there is this well-written, everything-you-need-to-know text. When I first got the book, I flipped around looking for the quilt patterns. Don’t all quilting books have quilt patterns? Not this one.
QuiltEssential takes the focus off the product and endeavors to teach the process so well that a beginner can confidently design and sew any size quilt. It’s all here—from color theory and fabric choices to how to piece blocks and how to properly bind.
For further inspiration, Erin visits eight talented modern quilters who share their joy for the art. She talks to folks like Anna Maria Horner and Rita Hodge and gives us a real feel for the richness and diversity and pure joy of the art.
A couple of years ago, Carmen gave me a whole bunch of mixed pieces of Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric. There is certainly enough fabric here for a quilt top, but I asked myself which quilt top? I really couldn’t consider designing the quilt around the fabric I have at hand. Actually, so far, I have always purchased fabric a quilt pattern someone else has written and even then, usually purchased far more than I need because I’m so afraid of messing up and not being able to follow the plan precisely. This book is worth its weight in gold if it can teach me to go confidently in the direction of my own designs. Really, though, even if I never design a pattern of my own, this book is invaluable because it equips me to follow anybody else’s pattern. Nothing in the quilting process will be a mystery any more. It’s all here.
Did I mention that the book is beautiful? Oh. So. Very. Beautiful. Truly, everything you need to know about quilting in one incredibly beautiful volume!
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Happy morning!
I think I might be addicted to the smell of steaming cotton. A part of me worries that it's actually finishes and dyes I'm inhaling and I do consider from time to time that perhaps I should only sew with organic cotton. Mostly, I push those thoughts aside. There is something about the smell of steaming cotton and the feel of flannel between my fingers that is soothing and comforting and inspiring all at once. It's Stitch Therapy and for me, it's very effective.
I spent all last week, most of this week, and much of the week before last with my heart in my throat. Every time I came up for air it seemed, someone I loved was in crisis. They were not small crises and not a one of them was within my control. I couldn't fix a thing. Instead, my role was to absorb. Fear, grief, panic, loneliness, more fear--I listened and I absorbed. Perhaps that's not my role. Perhaps I'm supposed to listen and deflect. I don't know. I just know that right now, I'm wired to absorb. And a person can only absorb so much before she is uncomfortably bloated with the pain of other people.
Enter cotton. I can't explain it, but the creative process brings me back to a place of peace. Maybe it's the control. I can subdue the fabric. I can cut and stitch and press it into something beautiful. Or maybe it's just the peaceful relaxation that comes with inhaling the steam of fabric dyes and finishes:-). Whatever it is, keep me pointed in the direction of my sunny sewing studio, please.
I have nearly finished this top for Karoline. It could easily have been ready to wear last weekend but I deliberately didn't hem the sleeves or add the elastic to gather the shoulders. I want it to be her birthday shirt and her birthday isn't until tomorrow. If I'd finished it early, she'd have worn it early. See? There's an upside to procrastination!
I've got two books going, each very different from the other. I'm reading Living into Community in the quiet of the mornings. It's a meaty, thought-provoking book that cannot be absorbed whilst surrounded by the cacophony of life in this home:-). A quiet book that challenges me to push beyond my reluctance to enter into groups. Any groups. I'm wary of groups and yet I'm starved for community. This is a conundrum I must resolve. The author, Christine Pohl, suggests that healthy communities are sustained by four things: gratitude, promise-keeping, truthfulness, and hospitality. I'm not far into the book, but I find myself looking again and again at that list and checking it against the relatinships in my life--the ones that remain strong and enduring and the ones that have failed. Yes, those four pillars are there in the strong ones and at least one of them is consipicuously absent in the ones that have failed. Something to think upon.
The other book is a cookbook. I bought The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen years ago and then I sent it off to a friend whom I thought would get more use out of it than I would. Tonia mentioned she was reading it the other day and was kind enough to look through her copy and see if it were worth my buying again or if there were just too many wheat recipes to make it worth my while. She encouraged me to get it and I'm glad she did. Mediterranean cuisine--particularly authentic Italian food--is my touchstone. When I call to mind "home" in the sense of my family and certainly in the sense of comfort food, it tastes of tomato and basil and garlic.The essence of family has always been time in the kitchen and lots of time at the table. My cousin Ellie compellingly captures it here. This cookbook is a nice guide to embracing the best of the Mediterranean diet--the vegetables and the legumes. It's so good that I don't think anyone would miss the meat and I can easily work around the gluten. Oh, and cheese. See? I've already forgotten cheese;-). It's that good.
I welcome you to needle and thREAD. What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the contents or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
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This morning, Katie and I made a disheartening discovery in the sewing room. She has outgrown my fabric stash. That is, nearly none of the fabric I have stashed was cut in lengths long enough to work for her fall clothes. Furthermore, she’s outgrown all but one of my Oliver + S patterns. I had the one pattern that fits traced and ready to go, but she couldn’t find two fabrics that would work for her.
So, did what we all do in times of sewing distress. I got on Facebook and asked for advice. There, Jennifer suggested the Lisette patterns. I have one of those in her (gulp—really?) size. Jen mentioned that she had a similar, but different pattern and a very similarly sized daughter. We decided to go for it together. Sew along! A couple other friends are joining us. It’s all very informal. I don’t even have fabric yet.
I’m sewing this one. Jen is sewing this one.
My friend Kathy has asked me about choosing fabric. Since Katie and I had some fabric shopping to do this morning, I kept Kathy in mind and tried to take note of my steps. In dase you’re wondering, here’s my fabric shopping strategy:
I spent a whole lot of time on sewing blogs back when I first started to sew. I got a sene of different designers and what to expect. Those are my go-tos when I’m looking for something new. They’re also where I check in periodically to see what’s new. All those blogs used to be safely bookmarked on my Google Reader. No more. I don’t read online much at all these days, so I’m sort of out of practice but I’m going to try to reconstruct the list. Here’s a brief list and I’m certain I’m excluding someone.
That list is what is represented on my shelves.
Sometimes, the designers have shops and I buy there. Anna Maria Horner is one I usually purchase in her shop, because I love her ribbons and patterns and other goodies and I’ll buy those at the same time.
I have hit some great Heather Bailey sales. Anna Maria Horner is on my very short regular blog reading list even when I’m not shopping fabric.
Outside of designers shops, or when I want to buy from more than one designer, my first stop is the Fat Quarter Shop. There are two reasons for this. (1) They are blog sponsors and no other fabric store wanted a spot here. I like to dance with the one who brung me. (2) They have incredibly excellent customer service. From answering questions to notifying when something is in to packaging to cutting to just plain getting it right—they’re top notch.
Other places I go:
Hawthorne Threads: I like that they offer coordinating color suggestions—nice design feature. I feel like their selection is different from the Fat Quarter Shop.
Pink Chalk Fabrics: Another with topnotch customer service and good sales/bargains.
A word about Fabric.com. They have a design wall feature where you can browse and pin fabrics to a wall so that you can see how they all go together. It’s a great feature. They have the worst customer service ever and after countless wrong orders, I won’t go back. Though their prices are better, the mistakes end up being costly.
The designers listed above usually put out a collection of fabrics, maybe in two different colorways, once or twice a year. The prints are intended to coordinate with each other. Frequently, I’ll find that a designer’s style conveys across collections, too. For instance, I stashed some Heather Bailey back when Karoline was a baby seven years ago. It’s sitting on my ironing board with what’s left from Katie’s Heather Bailey Easter dress a year and a half ago and I am certain the two will find themselves together on a garment this fall.
Usually, I just play with this, sometimes obsessively. I’ll go to the Fat Quarter Shop and fill my cart and delete and add and delete and add until I have combinations I like. Usually, if I’m shopping to stash fabric (to take advantage of a sale), I buy in 1 yard lengths. I’m rethinking that as the girls grow. This is all a huge learning process for me.
I’ve learned the hard way to never let a fabric line get more than six months old while I wait for a sale. I’ve missed some good ones biding my time.
Kathy, I hope this helps a little. At least, it might provide a starting place for your own rabbit trail through sewing blogs.
This week, I’ve been tracing and cutting and measuring and ordering. It’s been a ridiculously stressful week and this morning, when Katie handed me her pointe shoes to sew and I felt my heart rate drop as I threaded the machine, I promised myself that I will make time for myself in the sewing room today. I’ll update as I go on Instagram.
Not much reading happening, outside of necessary reads for my kids. But the time of year and the state of my heart have directed towards the bookshelf, where I’ve stored a gift from Tripp Curtis. Barbara’s last book. I couldn’t read it when he sent it.
Now, though, I would love to have these conversations with her and I’m grateful that her words are here with us even when she no longer is. So Raising God First Kids in a Me First World is my slow read these days.
So tell me: what are you reading? What are you sewing? And how do you shop for fabric? Surely, we can all help Kathy come up with a strategy.
And one more thing? I wrote this post last night in soccer parking lot. There's no wi-fi there, so that left a lot of linking to do this morning. Now that I've finished linking, I'm looking at my mail and my Facebook messages. Both Elizabeth DeHority and Shawn Kuykendell are in urgent need of prayer today. Please light a candle with us?
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It's been a rough week around these parts, the kind of week where the little inconveniences of a fire in the dryer and a broken dishwasher and croupy colds all around pale in comparsion to real life tragedy (that's my stepbrother talking to ABC).
I have attempted to sew, but all those pre-sewing details have stood in the way. It's tricky to do the pre-washing of fabric when the dryer isn't functioning. At long last, I finally have this delicious pile ready for pressing and cutting.
And I did get around to that necessary but tedious pattern tracing.
Of course, I'd need to clear the table to actually pin the pattern to fabric and get going. And I will. Probably today. But right now, I'm kind of pleased that day after day our table looks like this. We're getting it done and that's a good thing.
In addition to all that reading and all this reading, the only other reading I've done is my C. S. Lewis Bible (I'm very fond of Lewis' quotes interspersed throughout) and Youcat. When Youcat first burst onto the scene, there was a considerable amound of grumbling. I don't know if it's that my Facebook feed at the time was particularly contrary or what, but people seemed to think it wasn't Catholic enough? So, I just didn't even take a look. I ordered it the other day, along with the study guide and the prayer book. It begins with an invitation to read from Pope Benedict. I think he's Cahtolic enough, no? I think it's going to work beautifully in a discussion format with my middle- and high-schoolers. I'm well pleased.
That's all I've got for today.
What are you reading and sewing this week?
I am eager to hear!
Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
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We had two weeks off from dance after the end of the summer season and before the beginning of the fall season. During that time, my friend Heather and her husband completely overhauled the look of the studio. Heather bought some ready-made Martha Stewart drapes at Home Depot. They were each about 30 inches short for the floor-to-ceiling windows where she wanted them to hang. Her initial thought was for me to take a third panel, cut it, and sew it to the two window panels to lengthen them. I let that idea roll around in my head for a few days and decided that I couldn't really match the repeat and make that seam look decent. Kristin suggested colorblocking with the accent color. So, that's what I did! I'm fairly pleased with the result. My really good Shark iron tumbled from the ironing board in the process and heaved a final sigh. I still look at these drapes every day and think they need a better pressing. And I need a new iron.
I've started a whole new set of headbands. I'm not overly enthused about them;-) Headband burnout, no doubt.
And, I've ordered two new Oliver + S patterns, the Playtime Dress, Tunic, and Leggings and The Library Dress. Maybe I'll even take the plunge into knits this year.
Reading? Let's see, what am I reading? I've been chronicling much of our reading in the Storybook Year archives. as we ramp up to our fullest potential during our learning hours at home, I'm kind of hopping from one of their books to the next. Not a whole lot of time for me. But it's coming... I'm thinking that I need to take those Storybook Year posts and gather them together and categorize them by topic so we can all find them more easily. What to do you think?
What are you reading and sewing this week?
I am eager to hear!
Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
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{all photos credit: Katie}
This week, I tried to sew all the things that I've been promising the girls we'd sew "this summer." I didn't even come close. Karoline had a sweet piece of needlework long finished, that I'd suggested for a pillow. She chose fabric from the stash and pieced together a bit of a log cabin square. I referred to my pillow tutorial and she made a sweet cover. Delighted doesn't even come close to capturing how she feels about it (and herself). Bonus points: she happens to have a matching sundress. Everyone matches their dresses with their throw pillows, right?
Then, we made some notebook covers. The girls each have a new compostion book for the new school year. Sarah and Kari are using their for journals. Katie calls hers a "conversation book" and she's begun a dialogue with Kristin. Very cute. Kristin's thinking deep thoughts while barfing, by the way.
I've used Rachel's tutorial every time, embellishing a bit differently with each cover.
All in all, some fun playing with pretty fabric just before the school year kicks into high gear. That lofty list of sewing goals? Oh, dear. Time is closing in quickly.
In the reading department, this volume has become available at Amazon:-). I've been reading through (which is so not the way it's intended to be read) and pondering ways to create community online around folks who are using the book along with me. There was a book club suggestion on Instagram. Not sure what that would look like. I'd also like to find the way to make the Small Steps Companion Journal available to you in some form even though it's not going to be republished. Thinking thoughts. Dreaming dreams. Dream along with me? I'm happy to hear your thoughts.
What are you reading and sewing this week?
I am eager to hear!
Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
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Katie and I did some sewing yesterday, but I can't show you yet because they're a surprise. I do think a sweet girl and her doll will be very pleased. Katie's skills have improved greatly this summer--all those headbands proved to be great teaching tools. Good thing, too. We have 14 more to make. Yesterday's project was a perfect opportunity to practice French seams. Katie was duly impressed with tidy seams inside the dress.
I really enjoyed sewing while listening to Simple Mom podcasts. What a retreat for me! And Katie loved listening along. Bonus: I've discovered some fun new-to-me blogs, which, in turn, prompted me to give feedly.com a try after about six months of blog reading hiatus. Win, win, win!
I've got three books going right now. The Homegrown Preschooler is a gorgeous book full of full color photographs that captivated some of us right away. Karoline squirreled away with it for hours. I have spent enough time on soccer fields and in dance studios to know that some (many?) moms are very worried about the best preschool environment for their children. They invest a lot of time and energy and money into assuring that preschool gives a child a leg up on school and life. This book reassures a mom that an intentional mom and comfortable home can get the job done just fine.
I ordered The Introvert's Way after I read this article. I think the aritcle is spot-on. It's really an excellent insight into and introvert's mind. I am disappointed with book the book so far. It's not nearly as thoughtful, well-researched, and insightful as Quiet is. I much prefer the meatiness of Quiet over the breeziness of The Introvert's Way.
Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of Your Child was recommended by Sarah about a milion times. Sarah is about batting a thousand on book recommendations throughout the years so that worked for me. My kids were utterly confused about the title, by the way. The more literal they are, the more confused. This is an amazing book in the truest sense of the word; just really top notch. Brilliantly written, incredibly thought-provoking, and potentially life-changing. This is the perfect book for the beginning of a school year because while it certainly encourages us to develop imaginations in our children, it points out how ours might possibly have been squelched and inspires us to revive it. Truly great read.
What are you reading and sewing this week?
I am eager to hear!
Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
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I finished last week's headbands. Zoe and Katie and I sewed away the morning on Thursday and dashed all fourteen of them up to the studio in time for ballet. They looked so pretty all together.
And I totally forgot to take pictures.
Here are three I found in the studio this morning. Pretty cute:-)
I woke up super early on Tuesday with every intention of sewing something for myself. But I couldn't get past the "research" stage. This is where I get stuck sewing for me everytime. I look at the pattern, search Flckr for pictures of other people's projects, read all those notes, search the Lisette blog, and basically just psych myself out.
Really, I should just make a muslin and get on with it. But that would require cutting the pattern and once it's cut in that size, I can't use it for a different size if the muslin turns out too big or too small. And I don't want to trace. Besides, I don't have any tracing paper. All this to say, I'm still stuck.
But I'm going to sew this weekend. Mark my words.
I'm reading an advanced copy of Hands Free Mama's new book. Anyone who reads here at all knows that this message is probably dearest to my heart. I'm really encouraged by this book and I personally believe that a copy should be handed to every new mama along with her newborn.
And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I need this message, well beyond the obvious need to control technology. Karoline confirmed it for me. This week, we've been blessed to have a baby around. While her mom teaches dance, we've been playing with Kenley, who turned one yesterday. On Monday, after I dropped Sarah off at the studio, I surprised the kids at home by bringing Kenley home with me. Mike stopped to play with her before he left for the airport (again). Kenley loved Mike. Mike loved Kenley. And my girls were impressed with his baby skills.
Later, Karoline remarked, "I think Daddy is better with babies than you are. He had nine babies. I know you had nine babies, too, but I think he's more confident and comfortable (her words; I kid you not). No offense, Mommy, but I think he just got good at playing with kids while you were busy cleaning."
Ouch.
I will not miss another season.
What are you reading and sewing this week?
I am eager to hear!
Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
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We're binge sewing this week! Monday afternoon, I found myself alone in the house and I wandered into my sewing room to see about putting together the blouse I cut for Katie weeks ago. I didn't have the right shade of pink thread. Since I really wanted to settle in with my machine, stitch a little, inhale steaming cotton, and feel the contentment that comes with creating a bit with my hands, I found another quick project.
It's been the Summer of Humidity here. It rains nearly every day and when it's not raining, it feels like a steam room out there. My hair is looking ridiculously unruly. My go-to is always a folded bandana to pull it out of my eyes, but that look isn't the greatest very often.
Andrea posted some really cute headbands on Instagram last week, so I followed her lead. I used the turtorial at Happy Together (I love the name of that blog!). Once I finished one, I saw the potential.
Last spring, I promised several girls in Katie's dance class that we'd sew this summer. These headbands are perfect for dancers and they are also the perfect small project to get girls sewing. Yesterday, we had a friend for Katie and a friend for Kari come sew with us. Each girl chose her own fabric and I helped each one make hers individually. After making the first four, I recognized that the younger girls' probably needed a slightly smaller band, so I cut Sarah's down as I went. There is actually a link to a smaller pattern at the Happy Together site. I think I'll check that out before our next pair of sister friends come to sew next week.
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All pictures above are kindness of Katie with my iPhone. I had every intention of taking good pictures with my big camera but quickly discovered that I had my hands full.
I've been reading Educating the WholeHearted Child this week. It used to be that I read this book the first week of July every year. The book was revised a few years ago and now it takes me much longer! It's so well worth the time though. I don't tend to go to homeschool conferences or retreats. This book is it. I take time to sit with pretty pens and notepaper, a cup of tea, and intention to pray and I let the wisdom seep into my bones (hopefully).
The nice thing about the revised copy is that the Clarksons have perspective now. Their children are grown. They can look back with some sense of confidence. They can also draw upon the reflections of their kids. What worked? What didn't? I can tell you this. The Clarkson clan is real. They struggle like the rest of us. But a great deal worked!
Lest you think all the fun was had by girls druing yesterday's crafternoon, I assure you the boys created, too. Nicky made cupcakes while we sewed and then everyone got in on the act of decorating. A good time was had by all:-)
What are you sewing and reading this week? I am eager to hear!
What's on your summer reading list? Do you have a summer sewing list? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo (or more) and a brief description of what you're up to? Will you tell us about what you're reading, also? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much.
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"There is no sadder sight in life than a mother, who has so used herself up in her children's childhood, that she has nothing to give them in their youth. When babyhood is over and school begins, how often children take to proving that their mother is wrong. Do you as often see a child proving to its father that he is wrong? I think not. For the father is growing far more often than the mother. He is gaining experience year by year, but she is standing still. Then, when her children come to that most difficult time between childhood and full development she is nonplussed; and, though she may do much for her children, she cannot do all she might, if she, as they, were growing!...Is there not some need for 'mother culture'? But how is the state of things to be altered? So many mothers say, 'I simply have no time for myself!' 'I never read a book!' Or else, 'I don't think it is right to think of myself!' They not only starve their minds, but they do it deliberately, and with a sense of self-sacrifice which seems to supply ample justification.Mother must have time to herself. And we must not say 'I cannot.' Can any of us say till we have tried, not for one week, but for one whole year, day after day, that we 'cannot' get one half-hour out of the twenty-four for 'Mother Culture?'--one half-hour in which we can read, think, or 'remember.'The habit of reading is so easily lost; not so much, perhaps, the power of enjoying books as the actual power of reading at all. It is incredible how, after not being able to use the eyes for a time, the habit of reading fast has to be painfully regained...The wisest woman I ever knew--the best wife, the best mother, the best mistress, the best friend--told me once, when I asked her how, with her weak health and many calls upon her time, she managed to read so much, 'I always keep three books going--a stiff book, a moderately easy book, and a novel, and I always take up the one I feel fit for!' That is the secret; always have something 'going' to grow by. If we mothers were all 'growing' there would be less going astray among our boys, less separation in mind from our girls...A brisk walk will help. But, if we would do our best for our children, grow we must; and on our power of growth surely depends, not only our future happiness, but our future usefulness.Is there, then, not need for more 'Mother Culture'?"~Charlotte Mason Volume III, no. 2 The Parents' Review
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