Easter Hunt, 2017

Easter weekend - phew! We are still recovering. Easter egg hunts, brunches, neighborhood events, birthday parties, and soccer matches. There was a lot going on, and Mr. Jones was recovering from a terrible stomach flu. Still, the weather was great, we saw good friends, the girls had a blast, and Lulu tolerated the rabbit. She told us beforehand that she only liked "smaller rabbits" and when I tried to put her down next to him she wailed, "Nooooo". So we all got a photo with the Easter Bunny! Then we had donuts and got our arms painted, and went home for a nap, with enough chocolate for coming weeks. I think we ate sweets the entire day. Maybe that's what Easter is for.

PS. Penny's sweater pattern is "Pompom Rabbit", Ravelry link here. Lulu's sweater pattern is called "Sweet William", Ravelry link here. Lulu is wearing a Geranium Dress and Penny is wearing a skirt (no pattern used) in a fabric called "Garden Delights" by Gray Sky Studios.
PPS. Last year's trip to this Easter Egg Hunt is here.

January's Inside Out

January is almost over, and I don't quite know what to make of it. We had an epic snowstorm and we were inside for almost two weeks straight. For someone who doesn't like to stay home (with kids, that is, alone I can stay home for hours and hours) it was a struggle. Somehow with sleds and shovels and tons of art supplies and dress-up clothes, we got through it. I started a new job, we got a new President, and who knows what lies in store for all of us. One thing I know is that if life continues to be as sweet as it has been with these two ladies, we're going to be okay.

I've also been working on a New Year's Resolution to print and archive family photos. I'm not much of a scrapbooker, but it's important to me to have printed photos the girls can look through them without a device being turned on. So in January I've lived in 2017, and 2012 and 2013 simultaneously. I'm working my way to present day, and it's truly been a walk down memory lane. To look at the photos above, and think everyone is talking now, everyone is drinking from cups, and there are no diapers in this house anymore! It's truly mind blowing. We are growing UP around here, ya'll!

PS. Lulu's dress pattern is McCalls 8635 (from 1966) in vintage polyester bought at an estate sale. Penny's hat is Big Top Animal Hats by me! Details of Penny's sweater are HERE and Lulu's coat are HERE.

Alice in OMSI-land

I made Penny an Alice in Wonderland dress.  A friend gifted us the pattern (Simplicity 2330, already cut to a size 5) and Penny begged me for it as soon as she saw it, telling Lulu that the last homemade dress I made was for Lulu's birthday so it was her turn for one. Penny likes the book of Alice, and loves the dress. She's been asking me about my sewing progress for a month, and finally, this past weekend, it was finished. I made it from a cheap calico and white muslin from Jo-ann Fabric. She wore it to OMSI, the Portland science museum, and told everyone that gave her a second glance that her mom made her dress.  This girl is the best thing a crafty mom could ask for.

Meanwhile, there are a few things, including the spinning trick above, that Lulu has mastered at the museum. She goes right over to this whirring machine and starts balancing these wheels on a turntable, attracting 8 and 10 year-old kids, in amazement. Lulu, uninterested in their compliments, is continually fascinated by the machine.  We have a science Prodigy, don't you know? ;)

Of The Season

December is going fast, despite our city halted week after week by snow and ice. Our children love it. The Christmas season is filled with parties and cookies, advent calendars and ornaments, songs and cartoon specials shown on the laptop after bath time. We lose power overnight in an ice storm and they see nothing but a magical land like Elsa's, the morning after. They talk to Santa with confidence and trepidation and so much anticipation. Lulu's birthday party is tomorrow, and a great chance to have friends over, eat the cookies from the cookie swap, see all of the gorgeous children and talk about Christmas some more. It's almost too sad to think about this ending, and what challenges 2017 might bring. Let's live in December, and remember it as one of the best ones yet.

Things Made Recently

Whew! It's been an interesting week, hasn't it? I feel like this country has really been through something. It feels kind of like a road trip, where at the end you are so spent you have trouble mustering up any energy for your actual vacation. Though this isn't really a vacation, it's life, I get it.  It's just that the joy and  continued optimism I was feeling seems compromised. I find myself trying to give pep talks to those around me (as well as myself) but I'm been at a loss. Maybe it'll come in time. I still believe that we have more in common than what divides us, and I hate to feel so divided.  In the meantime, we keep creating. The things in our hands are what we have control of most, right?

I made Lulu some party hats, from a kit I've had for quite a while: Alicia Paulson's Prettiest Party Hats. They were an absolute joy to make. They taught me new techniques with simple wool blend felt, and now I'm completely inspired to make more things, not only from her patterns, but from felt. I had some of it left over in the kit, so used it to make flowers on her birthday jumper (made from Simplicity 1075, vintage and in reprint). This jumper is destined to be worn only once, being wool and worn by a girl who embraces mess, but I've stopped caring. I relish it, in fact. That's what special occasions are for and you're only age 3 once ;)

I made Penny a fancy dress from Vogue 9042, in fabric from Rifle Paper Company, lined with a peachy pink linen. The sweater pattern is Lottie (Ravelry link), made with a bulky yarn in size 2 instead of 4, so it would all work out to gauge.

I made a Toasty Blanket from a free pattern that I altered greatly. I made it exactly to the pattern, but had lots of yarn left over, so ripped it out, started again with 40 something stitches, and improvised the rest. It's a lap or baby blanket. I haven't yet decided its recipient. I've ceased working at a yarn company, so my crafting budget is very limited, though I was pretty pleased with this yarn I picked up on a whim, at Joann. All of the details are on my Ravelry page for this project, if you'd like to see.

Finally, I made Lulu a winter coat from Pendleton Wool I bought a while ago at the outlet here in Portland. I used Vogue 9219, but when it was time to put on the collar, I just didn't want to cover up the yoke pattern. So I drafted a hood for it, and it worked out great. I also used magnetic snaps for the closure. The jury (being a jury of one person, age almost 3) is out on how that will work, but I'm very anxious for the result.

I hope you've spent some time doing things you love this week. I hope it brings you as much respite as crafting brings to me.

Pumpkin Places

We decided to try a new Pumpkin Patch this year. A bit further afield (so to speak), this farm had a boat to ride, a pumpkin patch, horsey rides, a hay maze, a slide, free face painting, and a train ride with a spooky tunnel. You could not think of more things to please a two and a half and four year old if you tried. With so much excitement, it was almost possible to ignore that the pumpkin patch was a true mud pit. I'm just glad we were able to fit in a visit to this place between days and weeks of rain. 

The girls wore homemade dresses. The details on Penny's is in this post. I can't remember the name of the fabric from Lulu's dress, though I used Simplicity 1208 (without all the fancy parts) for a basic gathered waist dress. I bought it a yard and a half of the fabric off a clearance table at the craft store, as it reminded me of vintage sheets in both it's pattern and softness. I think it's by Michael Miller? I wish I had more, though I have no idea what I'd make with it.

Previous trips to the pumpkin patch include 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012. Wow, we've come a long way.