Craft Domination

I guess I operate under the expectation that there will usually be problems in making the vision in my head manifest in the world. I mean, why should that be easy? Usually the creative process involves angst, so I have come to expect it now. There's always a row that needs ripping out. Or a seam that the machine goes wonky on. Or some error in my understanding of the pattern that means I sew the handles of the bag totally the wrong way in, so that they are encased between the two layers of the fabric and not poking up and out, like you need them to be. Usually whatever it is, it's fixable. We're talking about craft, not organ surgery.

or in this case, snow jump creation:

realizing that the jump was placed too high on the hill,

not enough momentum to get over it.

Remember how I was tentative about sewing with wool? My concerns were about how it would iron, sew, how hems would feel, would it be bulky, etc. Clever Joanie suggested I make a small project to test it out. Her exact words were: "I think you'll find the wool to be a willing participant."

I liked the idea that wool would be a willing participant. And Joanie always has good advice.

So, driving home yesterday, I thought of a Keyka Lou little modified pouchlet (one pocket only), like these. Except not with a magnet closure because I need a carrying pouch for my little device; I have been concerned about the health of the device longterm in the pouch I made for myself with the magnet (because of magnets and electronics not being friends).

Nice aqua wool exterior and a little hedgie appliqué for practice.

The wool was indeed a willing participant. Hello? Dream to iron (with press cloth)! Like, one second with the iron and zoopzoop---as though it had never thought of a wrinkle! Love that.

The wool was easy to cut and easy to sew. It looked adorable with a little zigzagging edge stitching.

OK, but the button hole. I have maybe done 2 before, and it always makes me hold my breath. How does this thing weird attachment for my sewing machine work again? Did I measure my button properly? What is the appropriate amount of "ease" in a button hole, i.e. not too loose, not too tight???

I did a tester and it worked. This felt like a big accomplishment. Rocking the buttonholer!

The best part was knowing the Keyka Lou pattern well enough to modify it, when to sew in the button, and now, being a good enough sewist now to try something new, eyeball that button placement, do the button hole, and ----voila---little pouchlet!

I'm proud of myself.

And here is what happens if you lay the chia paste on too thickly on your Chia Obama:

Check out those hot eyebrows! And the hardened chia crust afro, with the little green shoots coming out!

When Multitasking Makes You A Jerk

Guess WHOOOOOOO's turning 5?

The theme of the party is owls, her favorite bird!

Sometimes I am just so darn efficient. Yesterday, upon returning home with just one boy (the other two were having dinner elsewhere), I was juggling several things: the mail, my multiple bags, etc. The Little Magpie spotted something I would have put in the recycling right away: a Sesame Street activity pack promotional thing, lots of bright glossy pictures, Elmo, etc. He hopped right into a chair to examine "his" mail, while I got started on dinner.

she and Syvan correspond, so this seemed perfect

Are you able to spell with accuracy while sauteeing vegetables for soup, make a wholesome and attractive meal, set a beautiful table, manage an unbelievably splitting headache, and balance a cold pack on your head while doing the former? I was not only spelling out the words and numbers of our address, somewhat distractedly, but also providing visual reminders of what certain letters look like. ("D is like a straight line with a half moon attached to it...W is like an upside down mountain...") This is the type of spelling bee that would get really interesting and I am sure that many mothers would excel at! (I am sorry dads, but we do know that you are not that great at multitasking but really rock at hunting wooly mammoths and playing basketball.)

she is also a button-collector,

so here is a nice vintage one that looks like an owl's eye

Later, it came to our attention that Sylvan was writing his address, name, and phone number down so he could stuff it into an envelope to reply: "YES! Please send me the Sesame Street Activity pack for $3.50 and sell my name to lots of other companies so we will receive a lot more junk mail!!!!" (Oh, junk is in the eye of the beholder, I know.)

a pattern from my birthday gift from Poppie,

Amanda Blake Soule's A Handmade Home

It was so adorable to see his enthusiasm and diligence at all that writing, and his absolute certainty that the $3.50 would be worth it. And I had totally missed all this while it was happening only a few feet away from me, because I was so intent on my pain and my plan for the meal and the evening.

interior fabric so fun, like buttons,

from (where else?) Alewives Fabrics!

I am not beating myself up about it because there are so many many many moments like these, that I am sure I will catch the next one, and maybe miss the two after that, and hopefully catch some more in the future. (Michael Chabon, oh, another geeky librarian crush, writes of this phenomenon in his latest book, Manhood for Amateurs). Was dinner that important that I couldn't stop for 5 minutes? Was my headache so awful that I couldn't show some interest in Sylvan's agenda? Actually, it really was, but still.

looks as though he's in a stiff wind

And because I do have a FEW male readers, though I suspect they are all related to me, I will mix this post up with some pics of our own Chia Obama! Picture me singing this song (just the first part of the video) to the words of "chiOBAAAAAMA" when I greet our president each morning.

I was not the one responsible for the above,

I will have you know

a little male-pattern baldness

and look at how that ear hair is coming in!