Buggin' Out

Since my children are only a year apart in school (one is in kindergarten while the other is is preschool) I get to do back to back school classes, projects, field trips and parties. Seems like I get one year under my belt and then here comes the other one. That can be a good thing as the previous year is still fresh in my mind.

For both of my children, preschool involved the introduction of the zoophonics characters. Does anyone out there remember The Letter People? A totally retro, 70s/80s curriculum of letter-learning. That is how I learned my letters people, by psychedelic half human, half letter puppets in bright jumpers and blue hair. It was groovy!

Now we have the super cute, not quite as groovy zoophonics characters and my kids are singing their songs all the time. Anyway, towards the end of each preschool year, the children are encouraged to dress up as their favorite zoophonics character. Imagine my excitement when I came across this costume that would have been perfect for Jerry the Jellyfish. I mean, cool right? I was positive that no one else would show up as a jellyfish. I would start off conversations with "You know what would be cool? Dressing up as a jellyfish!" But no, my son insisted on going as Deedee Deer. I tried the same tactic on my daughter with no such luck. She knew right away that she would be Inny Inchworm.

Okay, an inchworm. How does one go about making a worm costume? Giant shirts of course! Giant shirts are great for so many costumes and also for just wearing around. My nightgown of choice growing up was a giant shirt (mom's or dad's, it didn't matter). But I digress.

I started with a men's medium green t-shirt. The $7 kind.



Then I cut off the sleeves with pinking shears and used this pattern to form the hat. I was a bit nervous making this hat as the sleeves only offered the exact amount of fabric. I am not a one-hit wonder with the sewing machine so I prayed as I sewed that I wouldn't mess up. I added a snap closure as I didn't have enough fabric to do long ties. I highly recommend the cap pattern to anyone interested in taking a costume from good to great!



Nothing else was done to the t-shirt itself in the way of cutting. I only had to figure out a way to make the segments of the inchworm's body. Hm, I'm no entomologist but inchworms have segments of some sort, right? Oh well, if they don't I made segments anyway so my daughter could look more like a bug rather than a girl in a giant sleeveless t-shirt.

All I needed was some stretchy elastic and I was in biz. I didn't use the thicker, stiffer elastic that is used in waistbands as it is difficult to stretch. I cut a length of elastic that was about three inches or so too short for the circumference of the shirt. Sewing slowly, I stretched the elastic but left the t-shirt alone, gently guiding both through the machine. It worked! I did three loops around the shirt, creating four separate segments.

To finish off the costume, we just hooked some green pipe cleaners to a headband and we were done! I have to say this costume is pretty cool. Maybe I'll let go of the jellyfish idea. Maybe.


 Inny Inchworm and Catina Cat

On the path...

What We Did This Summer

Or to be more precise, What We Did Since the Last Post (A Sneak Peek):


So, it's been too long, eh? I think that in my absence, I've probably lost the few readers I had and for that, I apologize. Are you still there?

This summer has been wonderfully full and busy - so much so that I just now downloaded our summer photos from the cameras onto the computer. In late September. I know that's quite the norm for a lot of people, but for someone who's supposed to be a blogger, it's pretty shabby.

So, let's start with a recap of what we've been doing this summer, shall we? To start, we'll head over to the county fair where copious amounts of ice cream, hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy were consumed (much to the delight of the kiddos):

Hubby and I were finally able to carve out some time to celebrate our anniversary (a month late but at least we celebrated). This B&B is so awesome, we just go because of the great rooms.

I wanted to live in this tub. I think I did. Directly from that weekend we celebrated at the annual Great Lakes Folk Fest like we do every year. Mainly, we stay at the dance tent and shake a leg or two and make a few friends in the process:

More sunny days at the family cottage where being lazy and eating a lot reigns supreme!

We also spent a lot of time fattening up the ducks on our local college campus. Because, you know, campus ducks need more people food.

We drove MANY miles in just a couple of weeks.

No, we don't try to suffocate our daughter, she does that herself and sleeps like a dream. The boy, on the other hand, stayed wide awake and hyper, to his parents' chagrin.

We stopped by to see the elk and see what they thought about the impending winter weather.

A lot of time was spent wandering up and down piers on one of the great lakes looking for birds, fish and making up names to imaginary yachts like "ComeonIwannalayya", "Stabin Cabin", and "College Fund". I prefer "Mortgage Part II".

Much time was spent gazing out across beautiful landscapes...


...exploring lighthouses...

...and hanging out under the Mackinac Bridge at Fort Michilimackinac. Say that 10 times fast. We had to pass the redcoat to get in (it was pretty easy considering his apparent boredom - no riots or gunfire to brighten his day).

Then on to explore a fur trader's camp:

The entire park was just wonderful. Channy spent most of the time insisting on watching and listening to a historical actor play the hammered dulcimer. I enjoyed watching a housewife make potatoes au gratin and apple cake in real dutch ovens and have her show me her (very real) stock of dried herbs and spices along with her very neat pantry. I really wanted to play too, but I think we were supposed to stay behind the ropes. Sigh.

During our travels, we also spent a lot of time checking out local libraries (a favorite past time). This one was our favorite:

Finally, we ended the season by going blueberry picking at the very end of it's season:
Good, GOOD times were had by all.

With all of that travel, I wasn't left with much time to craft, but I will report that I successfully completed a really cool hunting sock (complete with a secret message for good luck knitted down the side) that didn't fit my hubby's foot. A smidge too tight. Oh well.

Because we were traveling, I decided to whip up a great little carrying case. More on this to come.

Staying on the path...

Bagging It

I really have been on the craft path these past few weeks. This little tote was an inspiration from this style and the beauty of the fabric.


The star is reverse appliqué and was so much fun to do. I haven't done needlework in a while and it reminded me of the embroidery I used to do as a child. Back then, it was just made up drawings on fabric that I would follow with my needle. I need to find those...

Stay on the path!

Love

So, I have yet to finish this quilt. I actually DID finish this quilt; but I absolutely ADORE this one. It's going to make a certain little girl very happy in a couple of weeks.

Just in case anyone wants to know who it belongs to. LOVE it! More baby doll quilts to come I think.

Stay on the path.

Sewing

Just using up a little bit of free time to finish some sewing projects. This one is for a special girl's birthday coming up. (I get the giggles just thinking about it.)


THIS lovely bias tape maker is just that ... lovely. It has saved me so much time and burnt fingers. Hopefully some FO photos coming your way soon.

Stay on the path...

Gift Box Update

I have so many friends and neighbors expecting babies this summer so it must be that time of year again (seems like the babies come in waves). I'm busy trying to get some gift packages in the mail and this is a cheerful one going to a little boy due, well, right now.

The extra-long, extra-large changing pad is an absolute favorite of mine. My babies were big and long and they soon outgrew their changing pads that came with any diaper bag I ever received. I can just toss these into the wash and pop them in my purse or diaper bag for that emergency diaper change.


A sketch to come tonight hopefully! This day is shaking out to be a doozie.

Staying on the path...

The Start of Summer

Happy summer! After Memorial Day, we here in the wild north woods anxiously await that first day the thermometer tips upwards to 80 degrees (I hear my southern friends laughing right now). Memorial Day is truly the start of summer around here as the last chance of frost is well past and the Farmer's Almanac says we can start planting (more snickering?).

We are ready for the beginning of summer at our house. We're in the process of putting up a small fence in the backyard (good for containing children, animals and the rogue bouncy ball) and are planning to enjoy the summer months out there. A small raised bed went into one of the flower beds with a variety of veggies and the summer clothes are all unpacked and in our drawers.

We're ready, but we're just waiting on the weather to catch up with us.

In preparation for summer, Channy received some light cotton jammies:

Complete with dinosaur (what wouldn't be complete without a dinosaur?).

Inspired by all of the colorful totes out in the stores lately, I made a bright, colorful bag for myself from this tutorial:

After a brief crafting hiatus, I am back at the sewing machine!

On the path...

Mommy Guilt and Easy Toddler Aprons

I often struggle with Mommy-guilt. Don't we all? Am I paying enough attention to my kids? Am I paying too much attention? Are they learning enough? Do they feel loved enough? Are they getting a balanced meal at least once a day? Will they someday be telling their therapist about the time Mommy made them wear dirty pajamas because she didn't do the laundry? Am I doing ENOUGH? All the magazines tell us to give ourselves a break, but honestly ladies, I really think we're hardwired as moms to beat ourselves up from time to time. For those of you who never do, please send me a link to your blogs! I will need to read your personal guilt-free mantras when I get in these moods.

Anyway, these times always inspire me to do something really fun with my kids. Not out of guilt per se, but out of a need to have some fun and forget about my worries. So, I decided to have a cookie-making session one afternoon recently.

Nothing about that sounds particularly exciting but it was the BEST for my kids. They love to help out in the kitchen and my son will sometimes cry if he can't help me out (Frying wontons in hot oil? I don't think so.), but will be a busy bee when he can (Topping the pizza? Yes!). Now that he loves helping in the kitchen, his sister has to do it too. If she can't be all up in his business all the time, then she is not happy. This activity makes them both happy.

First, we donned our special toddler aprons for the occasion. They were both so proud and these were very easy and quick to make! I didn't have enough contrasting fabric for my son's apron so he had Thomas the Tank Engine on both sides and of course, he didn't mind.

They never stand this still for me, but I'd like to think that they were admiring the superb construction of their aprons. Or they were just being still for just a split second.

We made fairy cookies! You can find the recipe here, and please take a moment to read this blog. I love catching up on all of the crafty bits as well as all the exciting things happening on their farm.

So, Chandler was in charge of cutting the cookies. He is holding a plastic Zyliss salad knife. Doesn't cut the skin, but is strong enough for soft things like potatoes, lettuce, soft cheese and of course, cookie dough. See how carefully he holds the knife?

We are learning how important it is to be safe with a knife while you are using it in the kitchen. Once he cut a cookie, it was then passed off to his sister who took a lot of time and care to arrange each piece on the cookie sheet.

She would put one down, take a look, rearrange and then rearrange them again. I didn't touch them and into the oven they went. I can't say they turned out as good-looking as the recipe at Jelly Wares, but they were tasty!

On the path...

Can I Make This Dress?

I am in love with this dress by Jason Wu (yes, the famous inaugural dress designer) as featured in the Elle January shops. However, the $3,000 price tag makes me think that it might be a tad too much for an Easter dress to wear to church. Ya' think?

I think I owned a $3,000 car once...

I am wondering if this dress can be made. What do you think? Any similar patterns out there?

On the path...

"When 'tis fair, be sure to take your greatcoat with you."

I am sure Benjamin Franklin was talking about a really great coat. I wouldn't want to be without mine. Now that the weather is warming up (oh yes, to a balmy 26 degrees), I finally put the finishing touches on my new wool coat.

Oh, yes I did.

I have a heavy down jacket for the sub-zero days but ended up having to give away my absolute favorite wool coat to a good friend as it didn't fit anymore. I think my rib cage expanded and will not go back down since having Ava. Hm.

Undaunted, I ran across this pattern during a 99 cent sale and kept coming back to it. The clincher was when I found this gorgeous rust colored wool ... on sale. How can a girl pass that up. Paired with chocolate brown lining, I just had to give it a try. Voila!

Okay, so I have to pin the lapels down until they settle into place and I modified the sleeves to be full length, but other than that, this coat really was a snap. I am not so scared of clothing patterns anymore. If I can make a coat, then the sky's the limit, right?

Stay on the path...

Happy Apron Day

So, I've been waiting to share this apron with you since it was supposed to be a surprise for my swap partner. But it's posted on her blog now so I think it's okay that I share!


This apron was so much fun to make and turned out so great that my husband questioned whether or not I could let it go. But I was completely fine mailing it out to my swap-ee because I KNEW that I was getting an equally fun, if not better, apron in the mail from my swap-er.



Oh, and in other news: I joined Facebook.


I can't believe it did that - since it is yet another complete time-suck (Ravelry members will know what I mean) but I'm excited about it and am finding old school chums that I'm hoping to reconnect with. Especially the ones from grade school - I can't believe I found them!

On the path... (on too many paths?)