...the wee ones

I am done having children. D.O.N.E. And, it isn't that I don't love my kids or love kids in general or love being a mom, it's just that two kids is just the right number for us and I'm ready to move past the whole 'tiny baby' phase of my life and into the 'engaging child' phase.

And quite frankly, this whole feeling just doesn't *jive* with the insanely excited reaction that I have upon hearing a friend is pregnant. And, right now, many of them are pregnant so I have lots of time to contemplate this dissonance. And, I think the obvious explanation finally hit me. I get to enjoy the joy of new life WITHOUT HAVING TO TAKE CARE OF IT! No responsibility just the excitement and adventure of it all.

So, of course, I take this enthusiasm to the sewing machine. And, really, this is just a long way of saying that I made another kimono top from the Heather Ross Weekend Sewing book. I used the last little bit of voile fabric from Anna Maria Horner. It is hard to express just how light and airy and cute and tiny this little top is. Almost makes me want to try again, this time for a girl. Almost, but not quite.

Summer Shirt

I recently made this top from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, which is truly one of my favorite sewing books...beautiful, clever, and has a mix of different 'I actually want to make this' projects. The shirt is made with Anna Maria Horner's cotton voile and is fantastic, light as air but sturdy. The fabric seems to wrinkle easily, especially when it's left in a wad in the corner of the bedroom, but it doesn't need ironing...it seems to smooth out after being worn for a while. It's low maintenance like that.

I wear this shirt a lot...after a dip in the lake or ocean, on a summer day with a small breeze, or on a hike (as in this picture from our family vacation) and it never fails me. I did use the serger for the seems and I'm glad because this top has been given the run-around. In fact I finished sewing it and put it on when I heard the baby wake up..he then proceeded to throw up all over me and it's survived loads more *family life* since then. I'm referring to the shirt, not the baby.

Feeling Scrappy.

My fabric scraps seem to get awfully friendly when I'm not around because it always seems like they have multiplied! In an effort to pare down them down and simultaneously feel good about myself for being so utilitarian as to use scraps for a real project, I decided to make two things from the Seams to Me book by Anna Maria Horner. The first is her tea towel. I cheated a bit and did machine, rather than hand, applique on the leaves but did my own embrodiery and hand sewed the flower tops (fabric yo-yos). It was actually really fun and allowed me to bring some sewing out of the basement and join my husband as we devoured episodes of Mad Men on netflix. (SOOOO good!)

The second project is this scrappy ball. It's exclusively fabric scraps and was actually easier than I expected it to be. Stuffing it with polyfiberfill took a long time but like I said, Mad Men. It's just plain consuming.
And, the boys are both really fond of it.

The Apron Mystique or Thinkin' About it Thursday

I have long considered myself a feminist. At times, even considered myself a feminist in a way that was fierce and off-putting. In high school I wore out a t-shirt that said "Women hold up half the sky". Interestingly, the most frequent question I got about it was "So, what do men do?" I usually answered, "I don't know. I doesn't say." But, what women do or don't do has always been a key component to the ways in which men define themselves. For this reason, I feel like we are all restricted when women's roles are strictly defined.


Over time I've come to feel that feminism, for me is about choice. The choice to be a parent in the best way I can, the choice to follow my interest in sewing for the home and family and the choice to cook foods I love for the people I love. I do it all from a sense of loving to do it rather than feeling it is an obligation or a duty or hoping to appear a certain way to the outside world. I find cooking, sewing, and even baking (!) satisfying to the part of me that needs a creative outlet. I also work outside of the home both for financial and personal reasons.

In this context, feminism for me often moves toward grappling with how to bring broader freedoms of choice to everyone. Sometimes this moves me away from concerns about women; mens' choices are severely restricted from fear of appearing 'gay' and people living in poverty see most aspects of their lives defined for them, particularly if they are receiving welfare benefits. This doesn't come from any feminist theorist and, perhaps, wouldn't pass muster in an academic context but it is where my life's journey has brought me.

So, what does this have to do with aprons? Well, to be honest, I've been a little perplexed about my fixation and love of making aprons. I mean, aren't they the symbol of women's servitude....look pretty and stay in the kitchen! For a while, I just chose to ignore that voice and enjoy making them but kept wondering 'where is this coming from?' I could claim that they are just fun and easy to make, that they require just the right amount of fabric that I can get create with my stash and not have to buy new fabric for a project. All of which is true but it wasn't the full story. I've been making aprons for the women in my family and thinking about the food they make very fondly. I've been putting loving thoughts into each one and purposely making them very feminine. With ruffles and pom-poms and ric-rac, these are not gender neutral aprons. I'm celebrating something purely feminine that joins the kitchen and cooking and womanliness.

But, I think I figured it out. Or at least I'm closer to it. Aprons could be viewed as symbolic of servitude in the kitchen OR recognized as celebrating the amazing things that women do to sustain their families. Because, as it turns out, the work traditionally done by women in the kitchen is pretty important. As childhood obesity, adulthood obesity and the global climate rises, we are taking a second look at food and the importance of food. Just ask Michael Pollan. His recent article in the NYTimes magazine explores, among other things, how eating at home can stave off obesity.
Did you know that the best way to fight childhood obesity is for meals to occur on a set schedule? That's it. Eating at a set time is even more important than what is eaten. And, no, it doesn't matter who mashes the potatoes or puts the napkins on the table. But, for a long time, and without much gratitude it has been women. Suddenly, we are looking back and saying "Oh right, that sweat that used to go into breakfast, lunch, and dinner...THAT was a really big deal."

I'm lucky to be of a generation that cooks for fun and is appreciated for it. My husband also loves to join in the fun. I hope I'm passing this onto my sons...a passion for food. But, the aprons. Well, the aprons are for the uncelebrated efforts of the generations before me and the hopes for the future. And, in the same way that I consider sewing a feminist act, so is cooking. Because, if you so choose, we should all be able to cook and eat good, healthy food.

And, I'm not alone. EllynAnne Geisel, who considers herself an apron archeologist, is collecting apron stories from all around in her effort Apron Chronicles. And Michael Pollan, is collecting food wisdom that has been passed down for his Food Rules. I love when the answers we are looking for have always been there. Others are exploring whether healthy eating is even possible on Food Stamps. If you have a bit of time, check them out. And, let me know what I am missing, what else is out there?

The apron in these pictures, is my latest. It's all vintage fabric, the top half is an adaptation of the Lotta Jansdotter reversible apron and the bottom half is from the Anna Maria Horner book Seams to me. I used ric-rac around the pocket and along the curve of the top. The gingham is from an etsy seller, beautiful living, that is good fun for the vintage hoarder. The body of the apron is from my local yard sale!

And, there is more to come. Got a big apron project brewing!

Favorite Apron to date

My first 'full contact' apron, made using the pattern in Seams to Me. It is for Grandma, who makes the world's best jam, applesauce, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, and banana bread in the world. And, this is exactly why the apron needed to be so sweet!

I really like this apron and the pattern is pretty great. I did do some shortcuts as Anna Maria's projects do tend to be meticulous and have lots of steps. That said, the apron has a pleat and a shaped waistband, all of which make the final product really nice. I decided against pleating the bottom half her style and did a quicker ruffle style, I also did not cut the head strap on the bias because I didn't have enough contrasting fabric. And, I skipped making a pocket for the same reason. Quick question: Why do aprons have pockets? I don't really use the pocket.

This was one of those projects where I spent the whole time thinking about my grandma and how much she was going to like this. At every step, picturing how much she would like the little details. And then, when it was all done, I had a quick little 'I kind of want to keep this for myself' moment. Somewhere in me a twelve year old still lives.

That's More Like It

When we added onto our house we put in this office desk. It very quickly became cluttered with mail and kid art on top of the computer and calendar, etc. It seemed a shame so I was determined to clean it up or at least organize it.

And, I feel like I mostly accomplished that. I added a cushion to the chair, a fabric-covered cork board (made just like this one), and a bill organizer for the back wall. It looks cluttered but it's actually much more organized and, well, prettier. I also bought a smaller desk calendar from Ruff House Art on etsy.
Here is the seat cushion. The chair we picked up at a yard sale we adore each and everyone of its nicks and knocks.

Here is a close up of the cork board and organizer, the fabric is all from Sew Mama Sew.

On the bottom of the seat cushion I put the pajama foot fabric to keep it from shifting. It's difficult to sew (because it sticks!) so it came out a bit wonky but that's ok, I don't have to see it and it really works to keep the cushion in place.

Getting Organized the Pretty Way

I've been meaning to get my crafting space more organized for a while now. After the work was done on our house I had just enough time to throw it all together and make it mildly functional. As I've had time I've been working on making it more organized. So, this week and last I sorted my stash and even my scraps and laid out my supplies in an organized fashion. I've seen pictures on lots of people's blogs of their crafting table and always admire how organized they are and how much inspirational material people keep up in their view. So, I decided to build an inspiration board that also organizes me. I've been meaning to create a wall organizer for a while after looking at the project in Lotta's book Simple Sewing. Then for Christmas I got Anna Maria Horner's (who just had her baby!) book Seams to Me. It was only in the last few months that I was able to really sit down and pour through it. She has a project for a fabric covered magnet board that I thought I could alter to use up some cork board that I have. In the end, I decided to create a cork board that incorporates a wall organizer. I love the way ideas germinate even when you don't know it's happening! So long story short...or longer, whatever. I adhered foam board to the size of cork I wanted as is picture below.


Then made a fabric sleeve with pockets at the bottom as in this shot, slid in the cork board and blind stiched the end. (Lesson for the future, leave the short side open for blind hand-stitches unless you really like hand-sewing, which I do not.)
This is how it looks completed. I don't have a picture of it hung up because my crafting space is in a dark basement. But, now, next to the boxes and grey walls is this great, bright organizer ready and waiting to inspire me.

Here it is hung up, on our oven. This is sure to cut down on the under-the-breath swearing in this household as I will be able to locate my exacto knife! I will say this was a fun project and is essential for a tinkerer like me. As I flit from one project area to another my list of 'must have' tools tends to shift, this way I can keep things right in front of me.

I'm thinking I need more of these, especially behind our kitchen office space for bills and cards and wedding save-the-dates. And, of course, kid art. Might as well use of the cork board. Both of the books, Lotta's and Anna Maria's are fantastic--elegant and whimsical projects.