In the Heart of my Home

A Pleasant Way to Spend the Afternoon

 

Stitch by Stitch: Reversible Totes

When I asked who wanted to make tote bags, every girl responded enthusiastically. What is it about girls and bags?

I made mine first and made it a little smaller than the one in the book (because I made a cutting mistake). I kept the proportions the same, though. My straps were supposed to be the same as the ones in the book. I measured and measured and measured again. They definitely look skinnier. Whatever the case, Sarah was very happy to have this bag as her own. I used Lipstick dots and Lipstick flowers by Darlene Zimmerman.

Katie made her bag from that ubiquitous quilt fabric that keeps and giving and giving and from some fabric Elizabeth DeHority sent her way in a stash box. I did the cutting for her, but she did the rest all on her own. She was tickled with the result and packed it full of clothes to take to Charlottesville with her last weekend.

Gracie's bag was made from some fabric her Nanny picked up and some different fabric from Katie's DeHority stash. Gracie and Mary Beth made this one together. I wasn't even around for the production at all. Gracie especially loves that magic moment when you turn a reversible object all to its right side and the straps are where they belong. Very cool:-)

 

Mary Beth chose the fabric for her bag. She's a devoted Amy Butler fan. No matter where she wanders on fabric sites, she ends up back at Amy. She's used Delhi Blooms in Rose and Peacock Feathers in Blush.  In case you're interested and you just can't wait, this Etsy shop was super quick--great service, great selection! (need a picture...hmmm.)

Skills we Learned

openings and reversibles

linings

handles and straps

flat bottom techniques

 

Our lessons so far:

See our knitting needle cases and Kindle case here

See our Fancy Napkins here.

 

Yarn Along: Slow Going

It's gray outside this morning as I write to you. I have half a dozen indoor things on my list, but I'm wrestling with the idea that the garden needs a good weeding and it's finally cool enough to do it. What to do?

My knitting has slowed to a snail's pace. I'm not sure why. I made a pretty major mistake and didn't discover it until 8 rows later. Knowing that with double strands and lots of increases and decreases between me and the error 8 rows back there was a good chance I'd irrevocably mess it all up, I called a knitting friend and we --ahem-- did the math. I've done more math in the last six months than in the last 26 years. The jury is still out on whether our rescue was successful, but I very much enjoyed the leisurely late evening conversation. I need to get past the sleeve divide and try it on Katie and see whether it's too bulky through the yoke. It's hard to tell on these cables.

It's been a lovely summer of slow stitching in both yarn and thread. I haven't minded the heat at all and rather embraced the opportunity it has granted to stay inside and feather my nest a bit. I have oh-so-many thoughts on hearth and home percolating around in my brain! I know that as the days cool the pace will quicken. There will be more knitting and less sewing because the knitting can go with me hither and yon to some of the most beautiful soccer parks in the country. It will be very pleasant company while I wait for games to begin and training sessions to finish. Right now, I'm happily humming at home, very much enjoying the slow.

In the comments section of this post, I mentioned one of my all-time favorite books, The Hurried Child. I read this book in college and, together with Miseducation, by the same author,  it probably had the greatest influence on my thoughts about childhood of any book at the time. And I read a whole lot of child development books! It was a new book then, in its first printing. The 25th Anniversary Edition brings it into a new century and really, when I stop to consider it, it is astonishing how much more the culture works to hurry children than it did just 25 years ago. (Incidentally, neither book is a homeschooling book.) Back then, I thought Dr. Elkind had a very solid argument and I set about to find educational philosophies that preserved the dew of childhood long enough to ensure that faithful souls and creative spirits were well watered. Now, the challenges are considerably more formidable. In a lovely twist of poetry, I re-read my cherished first edition paperback of  Miseducation last week, while I read the 25th Anniversary Edition of the Hurried Child on Kindle. The times are a-changing so very quickly. We simply must keep up--and slow down. Childhood itself is at stake.

Go visit Ginny for more knitting and reading yarns.

Stitch by Stitch: Pocket Mat with Bias-Bound Edges

I was definitely buoyed by the success of our first project, as I moved on to the second. I hadn't even planned to sew that afternoon--it just sort of happened. And my children absolutely were a cheering section.

The project in the book is a picnic placemat with bias bound edges. After making 12 napkins so that we'd have enough for our regular dinner table crew, I didn't much think I was going to make personal picnic placemats. Just not something we need around here. We did, however need a pocketed storage pouch for our knitting needles, a way to easily sort by size and keep them tidy. So, I set about making one of those, knowing that we actually need two and Mary Beth would be right behind me to make another.

The book calls for handmade bias binding. I picked up some packaged binding at the fabric store. I'm really glad I did. I look forward to making yards and yards of binding tape one day. Just not this day.

The book also calls for two fat quarters of the same print. I opted to use coordinating prints. This fabric just makes me happy:-). 
 
 

And the new pockets make my knitting needles happy. (So perhaps now they don't begrudge the sewing machine its share of my crafing time.) Fabric from the Heather Bailey Nicey Jane collection.

Mary Beth made a pocket mat for the double pointed needles. After mine was finished, we recognized the need for a pocket for the needle sizing gauge, so hers has that included. It also would  have been cute to embroider the needle size for each pouch right onto the fabric.

Mary Beth chose Summer Garden by Lily Ashbury for Moda.

Nick REALLY wanted to sew, but had no need for a needle case or a picnic placemat. We took the encouragement from Stitch by Stitch and varied the size to make a Kindle case. He chose the fabric himself and we sandwiched leftover batting from Katie's quilt between the layers.

He was pleased as Punch!

Skills we learned:

identifying right side and wrong side

applying bias tape

binding edges

inserting ribbon

stitching in the ditch

channel stitching

combining fabrics

Next up: Reversible Bags

See our Fancy Napkins here.

On the Feast of St. Martha

I clearly miscommunicated with the Quilt Camp lady when I went with Katie to purchase fabric. We had over five yards of "extra" sunny, yellow fabric. What better project on the Feast of St. Martha, patroness of homemakers, than new aprons for all the little girlies (and mama, too)?

I'm going to use an old apron as a pattern and make simple reversible aprons with ribbon ties. But I did do a little apron tutorial research this morning, so if you're interested in stitching in honor of St. Martha, here are some ideas:

 

Stumbles and Stitches child's apron tutorial 

Meg McElwee's Montessori Child's Apron is here as a PDF. 

 

Michael Miller's Classic Reversible Apron PDF.

For me, I'm going to re-visit a pattern I used four years ago. I've grown to love this apron and it's truly a wardrobe staple. So, I'm thinking I actually need two or three more.

Come back later. I'm sure my girlies will be eager to pose for pictures in their pretty new aprons, so I'll update this post with more color and lovely later.

Yarn Along: Bright, Bright Sunshiny Day

Great news! It's only going to be 90 degrees today and it's only going to feel like 90 degrees today. Excellent. I have been knitting sunshine lately. I was gifted some sock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in a lovely shade of  Chamois. Mary Beth chose the color with a pair of legwarmers in mind. When the yarn came, she decided that she really, really wants those knit from Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran in poppy, the yarn I used for Sarah's summer sweater. So, I tucked the yarn into a basket in the studio and figured we'd find a use for it. 

I had planned to make the girls Tiny Tea Leaves cardigans from Rowan Calmer, but I just couldn't get gauge. On a whim, I tried the sock yarn, held doubled and totally fell in love. I love the color. I love the stitch definition. And I really, really love the ruching. Oh, this pattern has wooed me! It's a good thing, too, because if I'd read the pattern to the end and known that I'm going to have to, "Pick up 2 stitches for every 3 rows. Knit 3 rows" I might have never started. Now, I'm just going to keep falling in love and worry about the big finish later.

In honor of the abundant sunshine and our beautifully blooming sunflowers, I went to pull out the sunflower books for today. On my way to finding them, I was distracted by our Thoreau picture books. I'm in a Thoreau mood. Indeed, I think it's a Thoreau kind of day.

Walking with Henry: 

A fictionalized account of Thoreau for older children. The text is based on Thoreau's writings and the art is light-filled and majestic and absolutely fitting for the message

Henry Hikes to Fitchburg:

Henry Builds a Cabin:

These two are darling picture books for the younger set. Henry is a charming bear who lives Thoreau's life in the wilderness, collecting flowers, gathering blackberries, taking leisurely strolls. He builds his own house and he even nods to his neighbors, Emerson and Hawthorne.

Henry David's House:

In this beautiful book, the life of simplicity on Walden Pond is conveyed with Thoreau's own words and exquisite water color and oil paintings. In this one, he borrows an axe from his neighbor, Bronson Alcott. These books are such good food for thought and talk. I'm in the mood for one of those conversations today and I know just the children with which to have it.

 

I hope your day is all yellow and sunshiney, too!

 

Do go visit Ginny for more summer knitting and reading inspiration.

 

Stitch by Stitch: We're Learning to Sew

 “The human hand allows the mind to reveal itself.” 

Maria Montessori

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1. The end-product should be useful. The children should not “be employed in making futilities such as pea and stick work, paper mats, and the like.”
2. Teach the children “slowly and carefully what they are to do.”
3. Emphasize the habit of best effort. “Slipshod work should not be allowed.”
4. Carefully select handicrafts and life skills to challenge but not frustrate. “The children’s work should be kept well within their compass.”

Charlotte Mason from Simply Charlotte Mason

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After several poorly-timed efforts to learn to sew and to teach my daughters along with me, I'm finally on a roll. All the girls have sewing lessons written into their "school" plans this year. And the boys, too, are gaining basic skills. We are really rolling right along. As we've happily stitched away this time, I've considered what our stumbling blocks were in the past. There is no doubt that one of the impediments for me was distraction. Try as I might to hit a rhythm and to understand, there were too many other things taking up my time and brain space. And then there was that lemon of a sewing machine. Another detriment, I think, was the wrong books by which to learn. There is a difference between a book full of good projects for beginners and a book which deliberately sets out to teach beginners to sew using good projects. I'm not terribly interested in analyzing the "wrong" books too much, particularly since they weren't bad, just wrong for my needs. Instead, I'm happy to report on the right book.

I've read every word of Stitch by Stitch now and stitched several projects. The book is friendly, conversational, infinitely practical and--so far--it delivers. Written in the warm voice of an experienced sewing instructor who has learned a great deal from books on hand and who has clearly taught and observed countless beginning stitchers, this is the book--the book that has  gotten me going. When I read the story of how the author, Deborah Moebes,  blossomed as a sewist herself, I could understand better the voice of her book. She seeks to be that sewing muse for the rest of us. (Go ahead read her story of Sandra--really cool.) Deborah has obviously carefully noticed the mistakes beginners make and the questions they ask and she addresses them in the book. I hear myself conversing with the author as I work and I think that is the mark of an author who has communicated well. With every project, I feel more confident in the skills I'm learning. I've promised myself to do every project in the book in order (though I am waffling on the curtains). Each project builds on the next.

I'm staying a project or two ahead of my children, sewing them myself first and then stitching them again alongside the girls (and an occasional boy). So, in the end, I will have sewn everything two or three (or maybe four) times--good practice, I do believe.

One of the great joys of home education is learning alongside my children.This summer, that joy has budded in our sewing room and I look forward to it continuing to bloom for many years to come.

Our first project together was fancy napkins with mitered corners. We chose some autumn-themed fabrics (mostly because I didn't know how long finishing this project would take). Everyone got in on the stitching and they were all quite pleased with their successes.

Skills we built:

stitching straight lines

mitering corners

pivoting

edge finishing with a zigzag stitch

I chatted with Sarah the other day. Remember? It was Sarah who got me into this sewing thing this time around. Anyway, she's promised that any minute--just as soon as the all day long morning sickness isn't all day long any more--she will join us in this endeavor. A Stitch by Stitch sewalong! You want to sew with us, too? It's just us and the book. A casual sewing circle, if you will. No competition and no hurries. Just a friendly gathering and a place for you to brag on small successes and be assured that we will ooh and ahh over your finished objects. Leave a link below after you finish your napkins, or just drop a note in the comments and tell us all about it.

 

Next up: A Pocket Mat with Bias-Bound Edges

 

And Then There was Quilt Camp

While Nicky was a golf camp, Katie was at quilt camp. They spent a week in Charlottesville together with my dad and stepmom.  I think I might have been as excited about this opportunity as Katie was. I left a note for Katie to read the first morning of quilt camp

P.S.  Katie, when you get to camp on the very first day, you'll find a sewing machine there for you. To keep. And bring home.

Really! That might be the second hardest secret I've ever kept. The first one was this one.

Grandpa said to tell you it's Christmas in July;-)

Sarah missed Katie terribly the whole time she was gone. On that first night home, the very special quilt found its intended owner. And Katie, who chose the fabric and stitched every stitch with Sarah in mind, snuggled right in next to her for a well deserved good night's sleep.

 

Yarn Along: Filling Up

I have a bajillion posts in my head: lovely kindergarten ideas for the 3-6 year old bunch, carefully crafted learning plans for everyone else (including a plan for Nick that literally kept me up all night, I was so excited), a very happy boy and his new golf clubs, sewing success for an 8-year-old at quilt camp, a pair of favorite jeans that I love even more, sewing projects all stacked up and pretty...

 

Sigh. 

 

There is this gap between doing and blogging and it's wide these days. Because doing is just so full. I had a beautiful day yesterday with my best friend from college. We filled up on girl talk and early childhood education talk and mom of big kids talk. It was a whole day of filling our tanks. I'm brimming over. 

Happy.

And I finished this sweet sweater last night (Sweater details on Ravelry), knitting in bed with my big girl while she told me all about her time at the Franciscan Youth Conference. She made a mistake on her blue sweater that left her 57 stitches short at a critical juncture. We worked through it together (I even did the math) and her sweater is going to be even lovelier for the mistake (now fixed). I'm certain there's much, much more to say there.

I'm reading Mere Christianity these days. Simply God. It's good to visit with old friends again and remind oneself of essential truths, no?

It's good. 

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Go visit Ginny for more knitting and reading tales.I've settled into a Wednesday afternoon tradition: a big cup of tea and enough time to myself to click through a big bunch of the links at Ginny's. I am enriched by the yarns shared there.  Might not happen today, as I scramble to get out the door to register teens for dual enrollment credit at the community college, but say "hi" to everyone at Ginny's for me.

Working Outside the Box (or cubicle)

His "Office" Tonight

 

Production truck on site at the LA Galaxy versus Real Madrid soccer match

 

My "Office" Tonight

 

 
 

~home~

 

Yarn Along: Distracted and Determined at Once

Hi there! Happy summer afternoon! My knitting has slowed a bit this week. I spent some time away and accidentally left my knitting at home. We went to visit my dad and stepmom. Fortunately, I had sent her some new Dishie yarn from Knitpicks and some Harmony Needles in hopes of finding a few free moments to teach her to knit. We didn't really get that sit and stitch time, but when my fingers started itching from withdrawal, I couldn't resist casting on a dishcloth and knitting a bit to get her going. I really liked that yarn for kitchen and bath items. Definitely going to order more as soon as some of the other colors are back in stock.

When I got home, I was just a little distracted by this lovely stack of Anna Maria Horner flannel and some more puttering about in the office studio.Yes, my friends, it was 96 degrees outside and we had no air conditioning (again) inside, and I was in a hot southern-facing room, dreaming of winter pjs. The reading? Stitch by Stitch, Learning to Sew One Project at a Time. I'm reading this. All of it. It's an excellent primer for the beginning sewist (sewer?-I hear there's some sort of debate out there). I intend to force myself to read all of it and work through the book in order.

Eventually, however, I did pick up the knitting again. I sat and knitted a few rounds in bed at night, and in the mornings, I knit while I listened to the end of  The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity.   {What a great book! I was sorry to hear it end. I've actually begun to listen to it again and I plan to launch a book study here tomorrow. } And then I knit while I watched the Women's World Cup this afternoon, getting past the sleeve divide of the Girl's Cap Sleeved Shirt.. I'd like to finish this one this weekend. We'll see. {Oh, and, several of you have written to tell me that you can no longer find the pattern for sale. Me neither. Perhaps she's tweaking the numbers a bit?}

Hope this midsummer day finds you happily creating in your own neck of the woods.

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Go visit Ginny for more knitting and reading tales. I've settled into a Wednesday afternoon tradition: a big cup of tea and enough time to myself to click through a big bunch of the links at Ginny's. I am enriched by the yarns shared there.

Yarn Along

I finished the To Eyre shawl early this week and took just a few moments to cast on another Cap Sleeved Shirt. I'm not even going to pretend I know who will wear this one. This sweater sizing tends to be a bit unpredictable and I have a knack for knitting things in the wrong size. There are three girls here who are likely candidates for wearing the sweater when it is finished. I"ve begun this one in Cotton Supreme. I think I might have found my favorite go-to yarn. So far, it's really lovely to handle and the stitches look quite nice. (It is sort of funny that this yarn, which I purchased a month or so ago, is about the same shade as the shawl yarn, which was purchased way back at the beginning of this knitting adventure.  Anyway, I've barely begun, so there's not much to show here. 

I'm reading Educating the Wholehearted Child; it's a summer tradition. Sally Clarkson has long been my mentor and this year it is such a treat to be able to read a brand new version of my favorite homeschooling book as I look for inspiration this summer. My version is a prepublication copy . If you click on over to the Clarkson's site, you'll see a very thick new paperback version. It would not be summer without a visit to the Wholehearted Child...

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Go visit Ginny for more knitting and reading tales. I've settled into a Wednesday afternoon tradition: a big cup of tea and enough time to myself to click through a big bunch of the links at Ginny's. I am enriched by the yarns shared there.

Small Steps Together: Cocooning and Flying Free

I have long loved early childhood. From the time I was very little, I have invested much thought and prayer into the mother of young children I feel called to be. Much to the chagrin of pretty much everyone except my husband, I even majored in early childhood in college. (Just an aside: I had enough nursing and anatomy/physiology credits to also be certified to teach health and PE. God had a plan. I grew up to educate children who, when asked to name their school, inform the general public that they attend the Foss Academy for the Athletically Inclined. But I digress.)

 

I have held tightly to the promise that it's never too late to have a happy childhood. And since mine was not childish or carefree, I've set out very deliberately to create for my children what I think I might have missed and to enjoy it alongside them. Deep in my heart, my fondest wish was to be the very good mother of young children. You might say that I've dedicated my adult  life to that task.

Not too long ago, I can't remember where, I read about a woman around my age who said that she was too busy with her grown kids and teenagers to mourn the fact that her babies were growing up and there would soon be no wee ones in her house. I'm not. I'm not too busy. There are still small children in my house and they slow me, still me. I still stay with them at night as they drift off to sleep. I still sit with them at the table as they eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, ever so slowly. I bathe them and brush their hair and braid it up before bed. I sit and rock and hold and read. I still thank God for them with every breath, much like I did the day they were born. I have plenty of time in the course of my day to be still and know that these are precious moments that will not be a part of my days in the not too distant future. 

In a way, I envy those women who blithely move along to the next stage of life and smile brightly and say, "There! That's finished. Wasn't it grand? Now what's next?" I'm not one of them. Perhaps I'm just not good at transitions. I sobbed at my high school graduation. I remember how reluctantly I traded my wedding gown for my "going away" clothes. I cried so hard when Michael left for college that I had to pull over because I couldn't see to drive. I held more tightly to each newborn than the one before. And this last one? I don't think I put her down at all for the first twelve weeks. My intimate relationships are deep and rooted and meaningful. When I live something, I feel it. 

I know it's time.

I know because my environment cries out that it is so. My house is full to overflowing with people. Several of them are more than twice the size they were when we moved in here. Some have left and come back and brought with them more of their own stuff. We are bursting at the seams. It is time to acknowledge that we are in a new season of life and to allow my house to reflect that.

And so. I cocoon. Somehow I know that this is intense, deeply personal business and at the end I will be the same and yet, forever different. I spin a silken thread tightly around my home. My cell phone goes dead. I don't recharge it. I don't touch my laptop. I don't carry the house phone with me. I don't leave for several days. It is time to conquer all those recesses of my home that I neglected while I held babies. It is time to let go.

We need space. We no longer need a co-sleeper. Or the sheets to go with it. We don't need a swing. I begin in the basement.

We don't need three neatly labeled boxes of beautiful thick, pink, cotton clothes -- 0-3 months, 6-9 months, 9-18 months. I carefully save the christening gown, the sweet baptism booties, the first dress Karoline wore to match Katie and Mary Beth. The rest I fold into giveaway bags.  Michael takes the baby "things" to the Salvation Army on Friday.The clothes remain until Saturday morning. The Children's Center truck is due to arrive at 8 AM. After I've finished with the clothes, I cannot  stay here in this basement on Friday. I've done what I know will be the most difficult task. I also know I'm nearly suffocating.  I need to go upstairs and get some air. 

I begin in Mike's office. This isn't really my mess or my stuff or even the stuff of children who haven't been carefully supervised. It is just the overflow of two busy adults who pile and stuff a bit too much. He doesn't use this room. It's a lovely room in the middle of the house with a bright window. I put a new sewing machine on the desk. I rearrange shelves, discarding things he no longer needs. I spend an hour or so carefully dusting his youth trophies and 25 years of sports paraphernalia. I think about this post and I know that we can (and should) share this space. I move some baskets in. My yarn, my knitting and sewing books, a few carefully folded lengths of fabric, holding place for a stash to come.

I stitch a few things in that room. And I am happy there. I am no longer knitting in my womb. But I am still creating. And it makes me happy. My arms are ever more often empty, but my hands are increasingly free for other pursuits. Still, a small voice whispers, knitting and sewing are nothing like the co-creation you've done for the last 22 years. I hush the voice. I have no idea where this is going. He is the Creator. He has written a beautiful pattern for my life. All He asks is that I knit according to His plan. Trust the pattern.

On Saturday morning, that truck comes. I can't even watch as they load my dear boxes. My stomach clenches and my eyes fill with tears. Things. They are only things. The girls who wore those things are safe in my arms. Another mother will be blessed to hold a sweet pink cotton bundle close and nuzzle her cheeks. I descend to the basement.

Here. Here is where I must force myself to cocoon. Here is where ten years of "put this carefully in the craft room" will come back to haunt me. They have tossed at will every single time. It never recovered from the great flooring shuffle. I do pretty well with the rest of the house, but I dislike coming down to the basement and Mike rarely comes down here. So, here is where the disorder has collected. The "craft room" is a jumble of stored clothes, curriculum, craft supplies, and 25 years of family photos. It is a mess.

I am humbled by the mess. Quite literally driven to my knees. But I have spun myself into this small space and here I will stay until I can emerge beautifully.

I have banished all outside interruptions, but I have brought with me the Audible version of this book. Good thing, too, because I will benefit greatly from the message within and, frankly, I will need to hear the narrator say "You are a good mom" as often as she does. 

I see the abandoned half-finished projects, the still shrinkwrapped books, the long lingering fabric and lace. Did I miss it? Did I miss the opportunity to do the meaningful things? To be the good mom I want to be? I am nearly crushed by the weight of the money I've spent on these things and the remanants of my poor stewardship.What was I doing when this mess was being made? To be sure some of the time was sadly wasted. It is easy to berate myself for time slipped through my fingers. Cocoons are really rather nasty things.

Determined, I clear out the clutter. I tell myself that life is not black and white. It's not all bad or all good.  I fold fabric and recognize that what I have here is the beginning of some new projects. I gather acorn caps and felt and label them and tuck them away for the fall. I make a very large stack of books to sell secondhand. I sort and sweep and remember. I see picture after picture of smiling children. I see, in those color images, time well spent. Time well filled.  Their mama always looks tired. I recognize in  those pictures that my children were happy--are happy. And I also recognize that it's been a little while now since I felt that tired. It is true that much of my time in the last twenty years, I have been filling well. I have been holding and rocking and nursing and coloring and listening and reading and giving and giving...I have been cherishing childhood. And it is a true that in a household this size, it is darn near impossible for every corner of the house to remain clean and every lesson to be carried out according to plan ,while caring well for babies and toddlers.  Messes happen.

The season just passed? The very long season? It was good and full and messy and cluttered. It was bursting-at-the-seams joyful in a way nothing ever will be again. It was also very hard work. Very, very hard work.There were utter failures and big mistakes. And there was a whole lot of good. 

This new season? I don't know yet. It's not nearly as cluttered. I have stayed in this cocoon until every corner of my home, every nook and every cranny, has been cleared of the clutter of the last season. Every poor choice, every undisciplined mess has been repurposed. Every single one. I can see my way clear to do the meaningful things. And the blessing is that there are still plenty of children in this house to do them with me.

As I sweep the room for the last time before considering this a job well done, I see a picture that has slid under a bookshelf. It is Mike and me at our wedding rehearsal. I stare long and hard at that girl. But I stare longer at him. He is still every bit as happy as he was that night. Happier, really. Really happier. These days in this cocoon, I have been brutally honest with myself. I've held myself accountable for every transgression. I have humbled myself before God and I have confessed my sins.  I look at his image and then back at mine and I realize something very important. Whatever my failings, I have consistently been a good wife. I wonder at the ease with which this recognition comes to me. I am certain that much of it is born of his frequent words of affirmation. I know it is so because he has told me it is so. But why is it so?

Grace. 

Ours is a gracious God. It is only by His grace that I am the wife I am. And it is by His grace that I have this sense of peace about the most important relationship in my life. These children willl grow in the safe home he and I have created together. And then they will fly. Mike and I? We will be us. Always us.

I carefully put away the very last picture, turn out the light, and climb the stairs.

I've cleared out the clutter, made peace with the past. I've learned a very valuable lesson that I'm long going to be pondering in my heart. It's time to fly free.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

 

Small Steps focuses on humility this month. Would you share your thoughts with us, let us find you and walk with you? I'd be so grateful and so honored to have you as a companion. Please leave a link to your blog post below and then send your readers back here to see what others have said.You're welcome to post the Small Steps Together banner button also.

It's a Wrap!

Just not sure it's a wrap for me. It fits Katie about the way I'd hoped it would fit me. 

 

Details here on Ravelry.

Intentional Weekend: Mommy Date

In six days, we leave to drive her down there. She'll spend the week, happily ensconsed in her grandparents' house. And every morning, for two and a half blissful hours, she will go to Sewing Camp. She has wanted, wanted, wanted to do this for so very long. Despite the fact that I've told her it is far too early to pack, she has reaarranged her drawers and I can tell that her clothes are already sorted into piles for each day she will spend away from home.

When a girl is the seventh in a family of nine children and she is four years older than the "Little Girls" and there are two brothers between her and the "Big Girl," sometimes she really needs a Mommy Date. When her little sister asks to come along, she might just shoot those big brown eyes at her daddy and beg him to "do something with those little girls." And he will.

We went to the fabric store to choose fabric for the quilt that she will make while she's in Charlottesville. She flitted happily from bolt to bolt, dragging the heavy load hither and yon so she could come up with exactly the right combination.

And then, she chose the perfect shade of  thread. We also shopped for measuring tape, scissors, and a seam ripper--all pink.

Of course.

And, after much consideration, she chose a box for all her goodies.

(That purple one on the lower right came home with us.)

Shopping finished, we shared a big bowl of Pho. Conveniently, there was big screen TV in the restaurant and we could chat and watch the US Women's World Cup match while eating our girly lunch.

And then, to make the afternoon truly perfect, we might just have picked up some happiness.

{A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. The cups said "Happy 4th of Gelati." Who could resist?}

She said she's going to send me letters from camp. 

I can hardly wait.

 

 

About that List

You know, the intentional summer list. We're working on it. Here's progress:

#2

 

 

Katie did it:-)! Pretty much all by herself. And the mistakes? She shrugged, smiled, and said they didn't bother her one bit. Good girl! (She does not get that from me.)

 

#13

A big deal. A very big deal. But he's quiet and understated and we'll just go with that. (But really, it's a huge deal.)

 

 

 

Yarn Along

Since my reading is much the same as it was two weeks ago and I just gushed about it yesterday, I thought I'd share Stephen's and Nick's summer reading lists today.

Stephen consulted reading lists from local prep schools to come up with his summer list. Most of his books are on Kindle. His current read, The Hobbit, is a well-worn favorite from our shelves. is reading:

The Yearling

The Hound of the Baskervilles

 Hood

Ender's Game

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay

Nicky chose his books from volumes already on our shelves:

Stone Fox (this is my favorite book to give to a child who is just ready to spring into chapter books. It looks like "real" chapter book. And it is. But the print if farily large, the pages small, and the book easily read in an afternoon. A great confidence builder!)

The Year of Miss Agnes

The Great Brain

Niagara Falls or Does It? (written by Henry Winkler, who is dyslexic, with a kind heart towards dyslexic kids)

A Boy at War

Red Sails to Capri

The Case of  the Baker Street Irregulars

In my happy little knitting world, I'm still making very slow progress on my To Eyre shawl. I'm coming around the bend to the decreases in front, so maybe by the weekend it will be finished. I'm kind of bummed to see how small it is, but I'm thinking about adjusting the numbers and knitting it in denim for fall soccer games. (Actually, I'm waiting for a friend of mine to adjust the numbers and knit it bigger and then I'll just do what she did;-) This one is a pretty little capelet kind of wrap. Not quite sure what I'll wear with it? And I guess I need a shawl pin. Where does one purchase shawl pins?

Below, please smile with Karoline, who is ever so happy with her newly seamed Baby Surprise Jacket. I didn't seam it. Alas, working with cashmere so much seems to have sensitized me further to cashmere. This jacket makes me wheeze. When I took it out so that a friend could show me how to seam it, we both noticed that the same allergy that was present when we visited the yarn store was back with a vengeance. So, she seamed the whole thing for me. Still pondering buttons and gearing up to highly medicate and weave in all those ends. Karoline absolutely loves this sweater. Her appreciation makes it so worth it.

Go visit Ginny for more knitting and reading tales. I've settled into a Wednesday afternoon tradition: a big cup of tea and enough time to myself to click through a big bunch of the links at Ginny's. I am enriched by the yarns shared there.

Maybe this sewing thing really can be as easy as

 

1

2

3

Katie and I started sewing yesterday afternoon. We made her skirt first. This is a super easy pattern. I was happy to discover that I actually remembered a thing or two from past attempts to sew. The pattern was a good one with which to get started. We learned all sorts of things about our machine and we made all sorts of mistakes had all sorts of opportunities to learn something new. See those cute "design elements" we added down the back? They may or may not hide some mistakes evidence of lessons learned.

 

Karoline's skirt is leftover Heather Bailey fabric from my last foray into sewing, which was four years ago when Karoline was a stationary, quiet baby.She's so over-the-top excited about this sewing thing that I think there are lots of ribbons and ruffles in her future. I was pretty bummed to find that my local fabric store no longer carries Heather Bailey (or Anna Maria Horner or Oliver and S or pretty much anyone else who has inspired me online). Maybe the store in Charlottesville will be more fruitful in our search to start the stash. And I'm really hoping you will tell me your favorite online sources for fabric and ribbons. 

Sarah Annie's skirt is made from what was left after I overbought for Katie. Yay for tiny little girls! She just loves to match someone. She wants ribbon, a bow, and a button on her back too. Maybe we'll add one later.

Tomorrow, I've promised Katie she can make one all by herself (sort of) and we have the fabric and ribbons for Gracie's skirt, too. . And I still have enough Heather Bailey for another skirt for Sarah.

 

How are you spending your summer afternoons?

Yarn Along: Sew What?

 

I've settled into a summer knitting rhythm that I'm really loving. And, at the urging of two dear friends, I'm sort of believing that we can venture into sewing, too. So, in the knitting basket, my To Eyre shawl is taking shape. Those gentle, barely there ruffles make me so happy! I'm just ready to begin the back part. Maybe another week or so of this sweet knitting and I'll have a finished garment. I finished another garment this week, as well, but it's a gift so we'll just wait on those pictures. 

Reading time is all about sewing. I retrieved Seams to Me from my shelves again. I truly do think this book a must-have. Anna Maria Horner offers such wonderful information along with her patterns. And the pictures are infinitely inspiring. I'm going to take this one along with me to the sewing store this weekend and see about making sure we're properly supplied in the basic necessities. 

I also read Growing Up Sew Liberated this week. I want so much to love this book and I think I would if my children were all younger. Now, it sort of makes me pine for a baby or two. There's not much here for bigger kids. I love the look, the feel, the whole spirit of the book. And I do like Meg McElwee's blog.  Sigh. The book is beautiful and truly well done and we'll find a thing or two to make our own, I'm sure. The art satchel and play capes caught our fancy.

Now for pink wonderful: Yesterday, Sarah Annie and I snuggled on the couch during a "funderstorm" and paged through Girl's World. Oh my! What darlingness! There's plenty in this book for girls up to middle school age. We're going to begin with this free pattern online  (completely unrelated to the book) and then, I'm all in to Girl's World. 

Go visit Ginny for more knitting and reading tales. I've settled into a Wednesday afternoon tradition: a big cup of tea and enough time to myself to click through a big bunch of the links at Ginny's. I am enriched by the yarns shared there.

Yarn Along: Mama's Passion, Purpose, and Sanity

About a month ago, I was standing in front of the yarn aisle in my local Michael's store. A woman nearby was enthusiastically explaining to a stranger that knitting has a chemical effect on the brain. "They've done studies, you know. When you knit, you get into a zone, and your body releases endorphins that calm you. Also, your brain organizes itself. It's the most amazing thing. And it's addicting." The man taking in all this information left with enough acrylic yarn to make a man-sized sweater.

I keep meaning to go research the claims. 

I didn't knit at all last week. Early this week, I picked up Mary Beth's project because I couldn't bear to hear her whine about ribbing one minute more. I like to do 1X1 ribbing. So I ribbed the better part of 18 rows, wheezing, because for some reason, the DK weight of Belle Organic bothers me much more than the Aran weight. And of course, Aran is being discontinued.

That has been a running theme the last couple of weeks. Seems like everything I've swatched and loved is being discontinued. I just don't get it. I'd link to the yarns, but what's the use? You'll love them, too and be sad with me?

Her ribbing finished, I wanted to knit something calming. Something I was sure wasn't going to cause an allergic reaction. Something that wouldn't stress me about size or fit. Something maybe for me. To wear for the next date night?

A few weeks ago, I ambitiously bought some Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima/Silk for a sweater for me. (There's no alapaca in it.) I think it says it's DK weight. I can't get DK gauge with it to save my life. I have been obsessing over this shawl pattern. It's just so lovely and simple and beautiful. Gentle, gentle ruffles. And gentle is the theme for June. I found that I could hold the pima/silk doubled and almost get gauge for the shawl. So I forged ahead. I made it all the way through the left front, just absolutely loving the genius of the pattern and the way the yarn was coming alive as it was knit into gentleness. 

I have found that the rhythm and the yarn and the experience of knitting is everything the Michael's saleswoman promised. Knitting this shawl restored my sanity with a passion:-)

This morning, I got up and listened to my current read while knitting. And I missed a K2tog. It's a wonderful book by Dr. Meg Meeker, who wrote such excellent books as Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters and Boys will be Boys. The book is everything the title promises: The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers: Reclaiming our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity.  She writes from the shared experience of motherhood with common sense and wisdom. I've been thinking (as I'm knitting) about this musing of Kate Wicker's. I know from where Kate writes. Been there, lived that. would have done some things differently had I known. Meg Meeker knows. This book is for Kate.

And for me. It was during the chapter on friendship that I totally messed up my knitting. I didn't notice the mistake until several rows later and I went back and tried to unknit. But those short rows and my inexperience were my unravelling. I'm going to have to take it all out and begin again. I remind myself that all was not lost in the process.  I did genuinely enjoy the knitting for knitting's sake.

Back to the book: this book is the handbook. It's the wise friend, the good idea, the common sense advice we all need at some point or many points in our mothering journeys. I plan to write more on it when I finish. For now, go buy this book. Actually buy two. Keep one and give one away to a mom you know. Any mom. We all need it. 

I did receive my hard copy as a review copy, but in the end, I bought it anyway, to listen to the audio version on Kindle. I will continue to listen and to knit, paying closer attention to both the book and the yarn the second time around.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Go visit Ginny for more knitting and readling tales. I've settled into a Wednesday afternoon tradition: a big cup of tea and enough time to myself to click through a big bunch of the links at Ginny's. I am enriched by the yarns shared there.