inkstitch

good morning

Yesterday's pigtails, this morning's bread, spring sunshine... yep, that makes for a good morning.

Easter was busy, hectic, and perfect here.  Not much slowness and contemplation, which [I hear] is nice, but full, with some of my most dear people.  There was plenty of inspiration and rejuvenation of the very best kinds.

I am so glad to welcome spring.  We're really, really ready for it in so many ways.  I pretty much have garden on the brain, but beyond that, I am also craving some re-birth and re-invention in the manner of starting new hobbies and resurrecting old, of getting in touch with our food and prioritizing our time, of remembering my intent in each moment despite all the distractions.  We need fresh air.  We need a fresh start.  We need a little hope and some fresh courage. 

So.  Welcome, Spring!  We are so happy to see you!  And we are setting out again, sun on our faces, hope in our hearts, plans in our heads...  We have seedlings in the window and blank sketchbooks in the car; the spring cleaning has begun and my toenails are painted; peas are in the ground and goals are on the calendar.  We are thinking new ideas and writing new lists of every kind.  It is shaping up to be a spectacular season.

Ah!  Good morning, indeed!

under the tree

These little girls are just a couple of the handmade goodies that were kept underground for the holidays.  I'll try to share a few more over the coming days and weeks (but you know me and blogging, so no promises!).  Inspiration came from the Black Apple, and of course it was easy to use only stash supplies.  In fact, these little dollies are the perfect project to use carefully saved bits of favorite fabrics, because they showcase them so beautifully.  I did put rice into their little bottoms, which gives them a nice weight, which I love -- but I wish I hadn't!  What was I thinking?  The girls already need a wash, and the washing machine would, um, come in handy for that.  Der.  So they each may need to endure a minor remodel when I rip a little seam and try to re-stuff.  I'm still debating.  Meanwhile, though, they are a huge hit, and are the constant companions of their new little mama.  Gotta love that!  :)

and the winner is....

Awww. This is so sweet. The coordinating pillow is a lovely touch. My daughter's doll, Lula, would love it! Thanks for entering me in this generous offer.

Posted by: Beth | December 04, 2008 at 07:24 PM

Beth, please email me using the link at left.  My girls had fun reading all the comments and then drawing one from the pot, the old fashioned way.  I hope Lula and her "mum" love it!  Thanks for playing, and thanks so much, all of you, for stopping by.  Giveaway Day was so much fun, and I intend to do more of them, so please do come back -- or better yet, subscribe!  :)

Giveaway Day (at last!)

Nothing pulls a gal out of a blog break better than playtime!  I've been busy making and doing and living, but not blogging -- nevertheless, I still visit craft blogs when I can (it's an addiction) and when I saw everybody's giveaway goodness all around the blogosphere yesterday, I couldn't resist joining, even late.  --  But then, of course, Typepad wasn't co-operating and ate two of my posts.  Gads.  But here I am at last, with a lovely little giveaway!

This little dolly quilt and matching pillow are made from 100% cotton and are machine washable for lots of carefree mommying.  The quilt measures approximately 12" x 15" and the pair will be shipped to whichever lucky commenter is drawn from the pot.  Since we got a late start, I will leave my comments open until midnight Friday before choosing, so please spread the word!  If you mention me on your blog, email me and I'll enter you twice.  Yes, Dona, Bridget, Kimberly... you can enter if you like, too! 

Click back Saturday morning to see if you have won!  See a full list of fantastic giveaways here.

PS: The comments from the previous post, which were left for Giveaway Day WILL be added to the drawing.  Thanks so much for visiting and for patience!  :)

a thrift post, just because

Because it was cute.

Because it was cheap.

Because I'm a sucker for Wendell.

Because wood toys are always better than plastic.

And because I need a quick post.

Have a lovely weekend!

On the table tonight:  Enchiladas

for cuteness sake

The bugs on the counter are gone, except for the caterpillar in his jar, waiting to become a hummingbird moth, and a very beautiful tiger moth whose wing was injured, which we mounted.  The new life and nature we are experiencing most now, are puppies.  Omigosh, these are the cutest ever!  Can we have five dogs?  Is there really anything wrong with that?

Orthoptera

I'll admit it right up front: these are not my photos.  I'm all in for the whole bug-catching thing, I am.  And I don't mind one bit that I have an entire collection of creepy/fascinating living things on my kitchen counter, right there where I chop my tomatoes and butter my toast, the praying mantis twisting its little head around watching every move I make, lick-lick-licking himself like a tiny, scheming cat....  No, I don't mind that one bit.  But I've got to draw the line somewhere, and a photoshoot with a grasshopper ready to spring, that's my somewhere.  I like a nice mason jar between me and my bugs.  You want wicked cool backyard bug photos?  Go visit Liz.  She's good like that.  Now that said, I give you the current residents of my kitchen counter (and yes, they have pet names):

We've got Hopper

Manty

Kate

The ants (no names)

Dinner for Manty (No names here either. That just seems wrong.)

Ick

Sphinx

Baby Sphinx

And even Speckles

All on the kitchen counter.  Right now.  We have read a lot about latin names and thoraxes and orders and larvae and amazing diets...  Some of these little (big!) friends we will release after watching for an hour or a day or two.  Some, like our Baby Sphinx, we intend to keep for awhile.  Just yesterday we watched our caterpillar burrow down into his jar of earth to make his chrysalis cocoon.  We have put dark paper around the jar in hopes that he will settle right up against the glass.  We also watched Manty bite the head off a small grasshopper.  All very cool. 

In closing, I have just two things to say: 
1. Caterpillars make a lot of poop.
2. I am sort of glad autumn is upon us.  Bugs are soooo much smaller in the spring.

On the table tonight: More corn on the cob, garden tomatoes, squash, salad...and maybe our first canteloupe! Woo!

Photo credits:
1. http://www.grasshoppercontrol.com/
2. http://www.naturesbestcreations.com/
3. http://unmuchodetodo.blogspot.com/
4. http://www.livescience.com/
5. http://www.utextension.utk.edu/
6. http://outernode.pir.sa.gov.au/
7. http://lifeinthebigtree.wordpress.com/
8. http://flickr.com/photos/quizicalcat/2539290792/
9. http://www.daylife.com/photo/07d6g9p9d216v

We're growing things around here

The summer has sped away from us and we can feel a little change in the air.  An almost-menthol scent that hovers under the breeze.  You can miss it if you aren't paying attention, because the days are still sticky and hot, but it is there: that subtle sneaking-in of crisp.  It's coming.

We've spent the summer well: there have been little adventures and big ones, a little bit of chaos and a lot of discovery.  Harvest is upon us, both in good tomatoes from the garden and in good conversations with young people who are becoming beings we like so much.  Despite a wagonload of demands, these are good times.

We're celebrating the growth of this little being in particular this month.  One year!  Omigosh, what a ride this has been!  You are rock solid despite your first year being rocked with tidal waves, little one.  You amaze us.  You are so incredibly whole!  The day of your birth was off-kilter, rushed, and frenzied.  Your arrival went differently than we planned, and yet, exactly as it was meant to be.  The days and weeks that followed were exhausting and intense, full of multi-hemisphered collaborations, 2:00 am conference calls, and public restroom feedings.  In all the newborn days I have lived, I have never been so tired.  Thank you for being patient through that.  You have already been my business partner, my co-manager, my buddy, and my light.  You are my gardening aprentice and my pouch-dwelling confidant.  You keep me grounded and you make me laugh.  Kid, you are truly the most person I have ever seen in a package so small.  We all love you like crazy.

Time is flying.  My baby is a year; my first-born is a woman.  My life is flowing over, and is so much different than I would have guessed it would be, but my dearest intentions remain a lot the same.  Those harvests?  I guess those reflect that.  We're growing things around here.

On the table tonight: whatever we can harvest

one-hundred-thirty-six pints. and counting.

All photos by Natalie...  Except this one:

On the table tonight: waffles with apricot syrup!

an amazing thing happened in the garden one day

It all started when Ian was digging weeds near the basil.  He found something.  It was very old.  It looked like a map!

It led to another map.

Which led to a place, which was hiding a box!  The box was old.  It had a rope.  It looked like a treasure.

Inside the box were secrets.  And lots of treasures. 

There was a collection of things. 

Really good things. 

Some of the things held more secrets. 

Some of the things could make us rich!

Some of the things were for sisters.

It was a great discovery.  His best discovery yet.

I bet he really will be an archeologist.

(Happy Birthday Ian!)

thirty-seven years and one month

I turned 37 last month, and whilst I was contemplating what sort of post I ought to write about that, the month went away.  Again.  Shoot, that just keeps happening.  A person who blogs now and then is still a blogger, right?  Regardless, I present 37 things from my life this year. 

1.  I love summer. 

2.  I am tan this year.

3.  Because I have spent the first half of the summer gardening and playing with my kids, in that order.

4.  I want to spend the second half playing with my kids and gardening, in that order.

5.  I really do have eleven kids.

6.  I have given birth to eight.

7.  When I tell people I have 11 kids, they look me up and down as if to decide whether they think my body could have done that.

8.  This bugs me beyond words, and I want to slap them.  Even the nice old ladies.

9.  I grew up with eight sisters and six brothers; my kids have 100+ cousins.

10.  I really like all those people; I love having a giant family.

11.  But I am actually kind of a loner; I revel in solitude.

12.  Solitude is in short supply in my very busy life.

13.  My kids gave me a kayak for my birthday.  

14.  It only has one seat.

15.  But now I have to learn to roll the thing. 

16.  I have always been terrified of water, so this freaks me out.

17.  As a child, I sometimes had panic attacks in the bathtub.

18.  But a solo kayak trip down a quiet river would be worth overcoming this.

19.  Besides, I would get great arms.

20.  I have always wanted Linda Hamilton Arms.  You know those arms she's got in Terminator?  Yeah those.  I gotta get me some arms like those.

21.  And then I should color my hair

22.  But I can't really afford a quality color-job right now.

23.  Yeah, that "afford" thing is the very reason I need hair color...  Before my whole simultaneous have-a-newborn/run-a-major-business/crash-course-retail thing, I had no grey.

24.  Now I have kind of a lot.

25.  I usually don't mind.

26.  But I will mind less when I drop ten pounds and get Linda Hamilton Arms.

27.  I typically bike, walk or just be busy for exercise.

28.  I don't like going to the gym all that much.

29.  Feeling great and having energy are much more important to me than weight.

30.  I am [generally] happy with how I look.

31.  But I'd like to be "tougher." 

32.  (Although my kids say I'm tough.)

33.  But I'd like to do a bike tour or a race.

34.  Or a nice long kayak trip.

35.  And as nice as solo is, Jonathan is invited. 

36.  I think that would be even better. 

37.  As long as I still have my own boat.

For The Papa

Dear Jonathan,

You have been a new daddy so many times now (Eleven! Who could have imagined that?), and every single time, every single life we greet (no matter when they come) is pure, joyful, magic.  With your patience and greatness, we built a family against all the odds.  I have seen you set aside your needs to care for them, spend your last dime to surprise them, skip sleep to watch over or wait up for them, and spend hours in prayer for them.  Every one of these young people we are trying to guide relies on you so very much (more than some will admit!), and every day you rise to new challenges with them.  You teach them endless good things, not the least of which are generosity, hard work, tenacity and how to have fun.  You inspire them, and you inspire me.  Lover, I am still so glad we came... and you still make me giddy.

Happy Father's Day, Sweetheart.

we've got bibs

A peek at one bit of making last month....
 














I made about a dozen of these, for Julia and for some of her smallest cousins.  I don't have photos of all of them because I suck at that, and they left my house before it occurred to me, yet again, that I like to photograph this stuff.



















They are all reversible, all from the scrap basket. 
 















That yellow one with little red flower-cherry-things is my favorite.  Red ric-rac?  How could it not be?  Besides, the back is from an awesome green tablecloth I thrifted a few weeks back.  Love that.















The patchwork was very, very fun.  This would be an ideal project for a beginning sewist, all those curved edges and the clipping and the turning and the topstitching... plus all the fun of selecting and patching the fabrics -- but none of the pressure.  Like, I didn't even change thread colors for the topstitching.  I know, I should have, but I let myself off the hook sometimes.  Because, well, it's a bib, and somebody is going to smear it with crackers and strained peas.

















(PS: Is anyone else going out of their minds with the new Typepad composition screen??  How the heck do you make your images align the way you like, without all this extra space between the text and the photos!  Gah!  I don't have  time to blog as it is, and fiddling with this is making me CRAZY!!)

an overdue post about an outing

Going through the photos a few days ago to see what was on the card that was blog-worthy, I remembered this little unblogged adventure.  (Of course, there are literally thousands of unblogged adventures... wouldn't it be cool if this could be a really complete adventure log?  No time for that, but I digress.) 













This was one of the first sunny weekends we got this year -- they've been obscenely late in coming -- so we ran up the canyon (5 minutes away) and had an impromptu picnic in between the usual chores and spring yard cleanup....













The little boys had such fun collecting rocks and snail shells and exploring the river.  I love that the simplest things bring such great joy.  I adore the wonder with which they view each new discovery.  I am inspired by the way they enjoy everything so simply.  This time is pretty fleeting (look at those tall frisbee-flinging dudes -- when did that happen??) and I always wish I could remember every good thing and inspire them to spend their life seeing mostly the good things as well...
 

time flies when you're having fun

We've had homecomings...

and outgoings...







sleepovers...















and beautiful mornings.



















We've done some catching up...












and cleaning up...

 








some hanging out...













and holding on.










We've been burning up...

















and cooling off...













cutting up...
 














and growing up...



















And somewhere in between, there has been making, thrifting, sewing, baking, reading, singing, collecting, planting, record-breaking, and even a little bit of sleeping.  More on all that later.  Happy May!

Thrift Thursday

Hi, my name is Denice and I'm a thriftaholic.

This is the latest pile.  Not all from one trip, mind you, but recent.  It is not everything, just the pretty stuff.  For instance, there are about six more pair of jeans in various sizes that could have been included, but you get the idea.  (Yes, that would be eight pair.  I have five sons who all have holes in their jeans, all the time. I never, ever pay full price for jeans, are you kidding?)  There is also a very big pile of cotton flannel, perfect for linings and fillings and diapers, but not so pretty you need a photo.  All super cheap though!  I have my favorite thrift shop all nailed down: On certain days certain colored tags are 50% off, and I always have at least a 20% off coupon, just in case there is something of another color tag I just can't live without (although I do try to stick to that color, really I do).  Mondays are awesome: every Monday all items of x color tag are only 99 cents!  Woot!

Recent finds include some great notions...

...and buttons (there are a couple of good ones in this little lot), and a pin box full of a variety of snaps.  I had it on my list to get more snaps soon, so yay!

I carried one of these around JoAnn for a long time last week before I told myself I didn't need to spend that cash and put it down.  But ten cents beats $6.99 any day! :)

Baby J won't fit these shoes yet, but they were too cute to pass up.  And won't they be sweet with those jumpers?  Makes me giddy just thinking about it.

Pretty Pyrex: the two smaller bowls even have a lid!  Plus there are those embroidery hoops, and the black blob on the floor which are perfect pumps for Natalie (gotta love perfect $2 shoes!), and the sweet ice cream dishes...

...and finally, the sheets.  Oh, the sheets!  I already have so many uses in mind...  I promise a project post using sheets very soon!

On the table tonight: ham sandwiches and tossed salad

 

just in time

May you have a peaceful and joyous celebration.

a good way to spend an hour

Simple Salt Dough Recipe:

1 cup salt
1 cup flour
1/2 cup water

Knead it all together; add very small amounts of flour or water as necessary; add color if desired.

Play.

The One About the Cats

You may remember Miss Kitty from a few posts back.  Meet Wyatt, Alice, Steve and Sherman.  They are her progenitors, my first attempts at stuffed toys.  I know I'm a little late to this game; there are some really great stuffed sewers around the blogoshpere, and they've inspired me, obviously.  This gang was created completely from "found" materials: from the stash, the scrap basket, or the clothing-on-its-way-to-donation box.  The topic of over-consumption is always on my mind, so I really enjoy this kind of recycling.

Sherman's blue was rescued from a musty, dusty box of found fabric in my mother's garage; Alice was formerly a great sweater (that I really never should have been painting in); Steve is quilt scraps.  Wyatt may be my favorite... He is made from a retired pair of wool pants.  He belongs to Ian, who feels his face is crooked and his eyes don't match, but has become satisfied with him anyway.  Hehe. 

The basic form for these came from Denyse Schmidt's pattern.  They were a quick and easy response to, When are you going to make something for me?  Well, right now.  One for each of you.  And they are very loved.

Grateful Sabbath

A quick thank you for just a few of the many things I am enjoying:

:: My sewing machine collection.  My Kenmore 12-stitch beginner machine that I bought when I was 16 is still going strong; my new quilting machine is a dream to use; my serger is a luxury; and the fact that my girls each have their own machine is pure joy.  These things make me very happy.
:: My Everything Room.  There are so many beautiful and inspiring studios and sewing rooms around the blogosphere, and I admire them all, but my not-so-beautiful jack-of-all-trades room, where my computer, the kids' computer, three sewing tables, the quilt frames, the TV, the printers, the scrapbook stuff, the make-do photo studio, the homework station, the books, the legos, my desk, and no small amount of every imaginable creative supply resides, provides constant inspiration and support to all our creative endeavors.  (We'll work on beauty sometime after the bathroom remodel!)
:: My friend Dona. Quite simply, she inspires me.  She is brilliant and beautiful and fun and wise all at the same time.  And that's on a slow day.  Besides, she raises kids that make me want to write fan mail.
:: My new sheets.  They are super soft and yummy and some astronomical thread count that I didn't even know existed until JB brought them home to me. Yes, he surprised me with sheets.  It was just before Julia was born. Jewelry?  Chocolate?  No way, baby, this guy knows how to gift!  ...On a side note, I wish I could spend a lot more time in them.  Sleep is in altogether too short of supply 'round here-- for some of us.

Happy Sunday!