Summer Sky: Learning as I go

Where to start.

My house is a mess.

No, really. 

If you're a mama with kids at home, your eyes are rolling back in your head right now. But stick with me.

It's not the dirty dishes, piles of laundry (whether clean and needing to be put away, or dirty and needing a wash). It's not the scattered toys (and things that aren't toys, like wooden spoons turned into oars, or summer bathing suits, pulled out of the closet for playtime).

It's much more fundamental than that.  Things come into this house, several times a week, but very few things are leaving.

Up until recently, I didn't fully realize that I had a problem. In fact, I always thought of myself as quite the opposite.

You see, my family moved houses 7 times before I left home at 18. Not that much, when you consider some families move nearly every year.

Still, moving--over very long distances, each time--meant that I carefully culled my possessions. Each time we moved, I sat down with every single thing that was truly mine and decided whether or not it was worth wrapping and keeping, or whether it was easier to leave it behind.

We've lived in this house for more than ten years. We have no plans to leave. So that is part of it--no one is making me sit down with two boxes and telling me that everything that doesn't fit in them isn't coming along.

There are other parts to this story, of course. Two small kids who leave clothes, snacks, toys, and art projects like a trail of breadcrumbs.  (Yes, we're working on that.)  Besides this, all kinds and shades of personal circumstances beyond my control that I won't drone on about, any one of which could easily explain a terribly messy house.

At some point, you have to say, enough is enough.  And that is where I'm at.

What was inside.

 
 

Well, today has been a real humdinger so far. The dishwasher is backed up inside--must be a clog--and there's a slow dripping leak under the kitchen sink. I don't know if they're related, but washing dishes has come to a grinding halt.  (Funny, I'm not that upset.)

Then, I just discovered the hard way that I put an entire catalog in the wash. How could this happen, you ask. Well, I was hiding said catalog from my kids (there was some cute sewing inspiration in those pages) and so I had stuck it under the top layer of dirty clothes in the basket. It never occurred to me that I could possibly miss it as I quickly threw the clothes into the machine.  All I can say is, wow. Shredded kleenex has NOTHING on an 80-page glossy paper catalog.  (I put the drier on fluff and it's doing a pretty good job of getting out the shredded remains.)

In happier news, Kristy received her Vintage Swap package from me, so as promised, here's what she found inside. I really wish I had been able to find some lovely vintage fabrics for her, but that wasn't in the cards.  She loves to sew and I hope these items brightened her day.

If you saw my sneak peek post, you probably had a pretty good idea already of what I sent. But just for the record:

Sneak peek...

 

 
of a vintage wooden pattern tracing wheel.

 

Sneak peek... 

 

 
  of vintage spools of thread...

 

...sent in this little sewing basket.

Sneak peek...

 

 
  of a vintage, hand-sewn, embroidered pin cushion.  The fabrics were incredible bits of 1970's polyester. I wish I had taken a lot more photos of this little jewel!

 

Sneak peak...

 
 of a vintage sheet set.  I hope Kristy can repurpose this in some way.

Sneak peak...

 

...of old sheets.  These are not really vintage, they are just 'thrifted,' but I thought that Kristy might enjoy them just the same.

 

Last, I sent a vintage Atlas jar filled with old buttons (I think it was a swap requirement. Just kidding!).  In my efforts to be cute, I messed up and didn't take a "reveal" photo of the jar. So you will just have to use your imagination.

 Obligatory vintage jar with buttons. But you knew that already.

 

Hope your start to November is a little bit better than mine!

Scenes from Halloween.

Friday night I finished carving the pumpkin. 'Round these parts, you can't be putting out a carved pumpkin too early.  It just turns into squirrel food if you do.

 

This year, E chose to be a cowgirl.  The other day, I was thinking about how the 'cowgirl costume' is itself iconic--we all know what it's supposed to look like, circa 1957.

I found a cute thrifted vest at my favorite local shop (the vest once belonged to the store owner's daughter, who keeps her own second-hand store next door).  The bandanna was a party favor, the shirt was a hand-me-down, she wore last year's skirt, the boots were borrowed, but the hat was new.  

E was thrilled. Her favorite moment: the "girl who likes boy things" at school whispered in her ear that her costume was "cool."

 

N asked to be a mouse.

Why yes, I did make that costume. I have the absolutely filthy house to prove it. I washed one small load of laundry over two whole weeks and we ate a lot of pasta, soup, and sausages.  You get the picture.

It should not have taken me anywhere nearly as long as it did. Let's just say, as I jokingly said to my husband, that I sewed about six or seven mouse costumes out of 1 1/2 yards of fabric. Well, it felt that way.

I confess: I love how the ears turned out. I couldn't bring myself to use the pattern's teddy-bear ears.

 

D's parents came over the afternoon of Halloween to check out the costumes. While they entertained the kids, I made pumpkin-seed brittle. It is delicious and I've been eating it instead of the kids' candy.

I used this recipe except that I suggest 1/8 cup honey, 2/3 cup brown sugar, and 4 T butter (half a stick!) per 2/3 cup of pumpkin seeds.  (We had a very large pumpkin, and it had about 1 1/2 cups of seeds.)  Just try not to eat it until you get a slightly queasy feeling, like yours truly.

First, as the recipe suggests, I soaked the pumpkin seeds in water for about 10 minutes. Then I spread them on a cookie sheet to dry in a 200 degree oven. I let them sit in there for nearly 30 minutes, because they just weren't dry until then. 

Then I cranked up the oven to 400 degrees and toasted the pumpkin seeds for 15 minutes. You might want to toast them longer if they aren't brown enough. Toss the seeds at least once midway so that they are evenly browned. I then tossed them in a smidge of butter and kosher salt, just enough to lightly coat them.

Next, I melted the butter and then added the honey and brown sugar. I chose to use less honey than the recipe called for because I wanted more brown sugar flavor.  My guess is the honey works like corn syrup (found in more traditional brittle recipes) by hardening the caramel into candy.

I cooked the mixture on medium for about five minutes, without stirring. You have to watch it closely, or it will burn.  Then I stirred in the pumpkin seeds, cooked for a minute longer, and then spread them out on a cookie sheet. (Butter the cookie sheet if you don't have a Silpat.)

 

 

 

Vintage gratitude.

Well, it's easy to see why swaps are addictive.

When everything goes according to plan, they are so much fun, from beginning to end. Except for that bit of tension in the middle when you start to worry that your package isn't going to reach its destination.

I know it sounds maudlin and silly, but I could feel my eyes welling up when I opened my package from Kristy and found these. She knows I collect vintage Pyrex, so I'm not trying to suggest that she's a mind-reader. 

Still, I found it very touching.  Such a sweet casserole and refrigerator dish, both (I'm pretty sure) in Butterfly Gold--a pattern I don't yet have. (If you adore Pyrex, and have never encountered Pyrex Love, you are in a for a real treat!) 

So, how gorgeous are these!! Right about now, I started to squirm. I am hoping Kristy likes my package as much as I like hers. Or at least half as much.

Napkins--love 'em!  I'm over here, scheming about how to put these to use in one sewing project or another.

This is detail on a beautiful gauze apron.

I see a proper, grown-up dinner party (preceded by a cocktail hour) in my near future. Martini, anyone?

Then there was this darling little zippered pouch.

 And inside...

Button happiness!

Also pictured above is a vintage postcard Kristy sent, circa early 1960's if the bathing suits are any guide. I thought I recognized the beach--it's the very same Dade County beach we used to go to when I lived there as a teenager.  But before you get any ideas, I was just a twinkle in my daddy's eye when this postcard was made.

Kristy, thank you so very much. You put so much thought and care into your package. I will always remember your kindness.

  

These two.

I really miss my old kitty sometimes. It will be two years in January since she passed away. She lived a very long life--nearly 20 years (give or take--she was a stray).  Some day I will talk about that kitty, but not today. More than once this past year, I've tried to type up a post about her, but there is too much emotion there, even still. So I will let that go for now.

I am so glad we have these two kittens in our lives. They have brought us so much joy. Our kids play with them for nearly an hour a day.

In our house, I'm the one who cleans their litter box. I suppose I could enlist E to help me now and then--she is 6 and would probably do a fine job. But for now, the job's all mine.

When our old kitty was alive, my husband took on the task, when I was pregnant with E. He continued to soldier on alone for four more years, until kitty died. His only condition for taking on our new kitties: that I would be the one who cleaned the litter box. (I laughed and said I'd do it for four and a half years, at which point we could renegotiate. Fortunately, he laughed, too.)

I have to share a funny thing. When I would clean her litter box (lo these many years ago!) my old kitty would head for the hills. Who wouldn't? It's a pretty unpleasant job. But the kittens come running. They rub and rub on my legs and purr so loudly. It really is like a big thank-you. Which I have to say, means that I clean their litter box pretty often. How's that for a bewitched owner?

Little pumpkins, popsicle sticks, and Halloween thoughts

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate  (five fingers up)

The first one said "Oh my! It's getting late!"  (hands on cheeks)

The second one said "There's a chill in the air!"  (hug self)

The third one said "But we don't care!"   (shake pointer finger "no")

The fourth one said "We're ready for some fun!"

The fifth one said "Let's run and run and run!" (swing arms in running motion)

Then WHOOOOSH! went the wind,

And OUT went the lights, (clap)

And the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight! (rolling motion with arms)

Some of the things that bother me (a lot) about Halloween:

it's become a month-long event.

there's a huge fixation on candy.

its focus, however toned-down for kids, is death and gore.

Some of the positives I see in Halloween:

it gives kids a chance to role-play within the larger community

we get to meet our neighbors, including some of the ones we never see

it's a safe way for kids to grapple with their fears of the unknown

E and her buddy L made popsicle-stick haunted houses. This was one of those rainy afternoon, make it up as you go, crafts-on-the-fly. Love that! 

They painted the sticks, figured out how they wanted the final structure to look, and then glued the sticks onto poster board. Meanwhile, they drew pictures of scary things to put in their haunted houses. (Technically, E's is a haunted barn.)

Haunted barn, with scary chicken, by E

Another swap. Another sneak peek.

I was smack in the middle of one swap when I signed up for another.

This swap was all about vintage.  I do love yard sales and thrift stores.  Unfortunately, I don't get much of a chance to indulge.

Like never.

On top of that, we live in an area where the "good stuff" gets snapped up pretty fast.

It shows up again in 'antique' stores--there are quite a few--costing more than the modern, brand-new item.

But part of the lure of vintage is the 'find'--the cast-off, the unwanted, that is a jewel in disguise. It has to be your find, not somebody else's.

 

It took some time, but I managed to scoop up some little 'treasures' for my swap partner, Kristy, of K.A. T Designs.  She loves to sew and re-purpose.

 

It was oh-so-hard not to just keep these for myself.  But I was strong.  Very strong.

Sorry to keep you guessing. All will be revealed soon--but Kristy has to open her package first.

What we shared.

I know, I was a bit of a tease with a previous post, showing only a "sneak peek" of what we shared with Leah's family for the Seasons Round {Harvest} Exchange.  We so enjoyed making these items. Some of them, I'm sure, we'll do again as gifts (or for ourselves!).

Anyhow, first up, E and N made this picture for Leah's kids.  E drew the picture, which shows her and her brother picking apples.  N colored the "frame" of the picture.

Next up, I thought it would be fun to make little drawstring bags for collecting nature table items. The bags could sit on the nature table, too, when not in use. So I sewed up two bags, one for Leah's boy and another for her girl. 

For the pattern, I used a great book called Sew What! Bags by Lexie Barnes. (Lexie has a website for the book, too.) The patterns are very, very basic--but I love having a "go to" book for those.

Bags is a great book for the novice sewer. Everything is explained, but particular techniques are described separately so that the steps for any particular pattern are kept short and sweet. For a simple drawstring bag, I loved how finished and clean the result turned out to be.

I used a fabric that I spotted a while ago on Superbuzzythat I couldn't get out of my mind. They no longer carry it (and I can't find it on etsy or ebay now), although you can still get a companion fabric (don't worry, I scooped up some of this too!).

I also had fun with the applique; I cut out linen apples and stamped the childrens' initials on them with Versacraft fabric ink. (Allow me to say I love these ink pads, and no, Versacraft doesn't know me from Adam. The ink works on fabric, paper, wood, even shrinky dinks. Someday I will own one in every color. At least, that's what I tell myself.)

Then I took the apples and machine-sewed them onto the drawstring bags with a very thick thread that resembled embroidery thread. I imagine it is already unraveling, but they sure looked cute right before they went into the package, if I may say so.  I used some pretty ribbon for the drawstring.

The third item we sent was a small felt board, probably 10" by 20" or so, that I made myself with input from the kids. It could be used as a nature table display or for playtime. 

I started out with corrugated cardboard that I wrapped in burlap.  Then I wrapped that in a thin batting (I use a bamboo batting that is 50% bamboo and 50% organic cotton).  Next, I sewed a pillow-case shaped cover for the board out of linen.  I sewed a large pocket on the back of the cover, then pulled the cover over the cardboard/burlap/batting and hand-sewed the cover shut.

 
Front of the empty felt board.

 

 

Back of the felt board, showing the pocket for keeping the felt pieces tidy when not in use. 

Next came the fun part. E and N talked about what they thought we would see as the weather turned colder and the seasons changed, and together we decided to give Leah's family felt pieces that showed apple picking, pumpkins ripening, and an oak tree with acorns for the squirrels. So I set about drawing patterns for all the moving pieces and then cut them out of felt (I try to keep lots of colors on hand).  E helped with some of the cutting. 

It was fun seeing how the kids drew parallels between the human harvest and the animal harvest to prepare for winter.

That is it! We had soooo much fun with this that we can hardly wait to get started on {Light}.

For the record, as much as I am pleased with these little gifts to Leah's family, we definitely got the sweet end of the deal from them. It was so touching how Leah's kids were involved in every component of their gift to us. Definitely something to aspire to.

That warm and cozy feeling.

The Seasons Round Exchange {Harvest} is over. Thank you to Kyrie for organizing. And a big hug to Leah and her family for the lovely, handmade seasonal items that now grace our fall nature table. 

We had so much fun with this, we signed up for the next one, {Light}.  Although I must tell you, the {Harvest} exchange with my partner, Leah, was a nail-biter.

Both of us sent our packages right at the deadline, although she lives in Canada, and I live in the U.S. Supposedly, packages between our countries should only take ten business days to deliver. Both of ours took a good 15 (maybe more).

 Handmade, hand-grown, hand-picked, and hand-dyed loveliness from Leah's family.

There's nothing like the prospect of packages vanishing into thin air to bring home the preciousness of handmade gifts. I imagine Leah shares my sentiments when I say that we were was so fearful that our package wouldn't make it--and that her package wouldn't reach us either. All the caring that had gone into those boxes that might never reach their destination.

 

Well, enough of the melodrama!

 

The kids tore into the box and squealed with delight; Leah had felted little mice, one for N and one for E. 

The kids immediately asked to play with their mice.  The pumpkin, which Leah and her little children grew in their garden, is their mouse house.  The pumpkin is a sugar snap, which makes a delicious puree. So Leah thought to include their favorite pumpkin recipe for us to try:

 

But wait, there's more.

A handmade beeswax candle Leah's family made with a neighbor.  It has the most wonderful scent. 

A small juniper branch, fragrant with berries.

Tiny pine cones gathered by tiny hands. 

Rose hips from the wild rose of Alberta, Leah's home province, from a bush growing in her front garden. 

And underneath it all, a lovely bit of silk hand-dyed by Leah, that now covers our nature table.

 Thank you, thank you Leah & family. 

 

Savoring the day and the season.

I feel very conscious of time slipping away.  I've never minded getting older--it's not something I give much thought. Children, on the other hand, change much too quickly.

I certainly revel in those changes. But it would be nice if time with them stood still now and then.

We decided to take advantage of the continued good weather to go apple and pumpkin picking today.  There was a gusty wind, but the sun was very bright.  The sky was an incredible shade of blue.

We picked a variety of apple called 'Pink Lady.' I was reminded of how when I was growing up, I had only heard of three kinds of apples: Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, and Granny Smith. I can still taste the bitter skin and relatively flavorless flesh of a Red Delicious apple, although I haven't had one for many years.

I love how the apple trees in many of our local orchards are espaliered, so that even a two-year-old (or a shorter four-year-old) can pick from them.

My friend brought her precious newly adopted daughter. She's just five weeks old.  Talk about savoring the present. Every moment with a newborn is special. Though I s'pose some of the 3 a.m. moments might not be quite as special as others.

The kids each picked a pumpkin off the vine,

and jumped on the straw bales.

They ran toward the ducks,

 who were not the least bit afraid, and gave chase.

 We all enjoyed the farm animals,

laughed at the scarecrows,

 and I took way too many pictures of piles of pumpkins.

   
 

Last year's apple and pumpkin picking outing, so vivid yesterday, has already receded in my mind. I promise to try harder with today.