She played with fabric. I played with my camera. Together, we waited.
I can't help but sit back in awed wonder.
For all of time, we've done this--women gathering.
Sharing stories.
Passing time.
Waiting.
Hoping.
Praying.
And yet with each birth,
it must feel new.
Between trips to Charlottesville during the week that was, all the lovely ladies gathered to celebrate the nearly-here birth of Baby Girl Foss. It's almost time to hold her!
My sister threw an incredibly beautiful and super-sweet pink baby shower. It was lots of fun to eat, drink, and be merry as Kristin opened gifts. There weren't nearly as many handmade items from me as I'd imagined. She's not even here yet, and I'm already not the grandmother I envisioned. But I thought I'd sew all of the last three weeks and that turned out to be not the plan at all. I have several layette items cut and waiting, so I'm going to get busy.
Karoline did make some very sweet self-binding receiving blankets. The tutorial is here. Don't believe that lady for a minute when she tells you it's a ten minute project. At least don't believe her if you're a normal, regular seamstress. Or if you're seven years old.
Katie did a great job embellishing some cloth diapers with Anna Maria Horner ribbons. So pretty!
And, of course, there was baby's first book basket:-).
I did do quite a bit of reading this week. I listened to Bob Goff's Love Does in the car as I drove. It was nice enough to pass the time, but I don't really recommend the audio version. i think I would have liked it better if I'd just read it for myself. And, of course, I read Surprised by Motherhood. I talked about it quite a bit earlier this week. Do drop by that post and tell Kristin what how you've been surprised by motherhood. You'll be entered to win a copy of the book!
In the book basket:
Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
What have you been sewing and reading lately? Tell me all about! It's spring at last--what does that do for our needle project list?
I've got a real quick needle & thREAD this week. Most of my reading has been related to a burnout recovery workshop I'm writing called RESTORE. I'll have lots more to share with you on that next week (God willing). This morning found me deep in the book of Job and C. S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain.
Katie and I played with beribboning towels yesterday, in advance of receiving some brand new unbleached diapers destined to become very pretty burp cloths. Let the baby sewing begin! A tutorial for those and for the embellished, quilted towels will be part of the RESTORE workshop.
That's all for today here. We've got a busy weekend ahead and my front door will be revolving with comings and goings of a half dozen people or more. Off to prepare!
What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!
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Last year, Kristin guest-posted and shared with us a quilt she was making. It's finished! She joins us again:
I started this blanket over a year ago, before we were expecting a baby. I was hoping to make a kantha quilt to throw on my couch. Now it’s the perfect play quilt, baby swaddler, mom’s-first-quilt-so-you-can-throw-up-on-it-but-please-don’t-rip-it-because-I-don’t-know-how-to-fix-it blanket. Truth be told, I had a baby blanket in mind from the first stitch.
There are a few small puckers on the back that perhaps one day I’ll be able to fix. I’m still new to sewing and very, very impatient. Bad combo when creating heirlooms but we’ll see how this one weathers.
Lately, I’ve been reading about pregnancy, labor and delivery during every free moment. I have 3 books {one for each trimester} I’ve found to be comforting and helpful.
Bump It Up: Transform Your Pregnancy into the Ultimate Style Statement
by Amy Tara Koch
This book was actually a gift from a close friend and coincidentally ended up being my first trimester bible, beating out all of the thoroughly researched and reviewed books I purchased or borrowed. As a primigravida who was not quite expecting that pink plus sign just yet, I was at a total loss when it came to pregnancy preparation. Koch has a savvy and chic way of celebrating pregnancy without asking mom to buy a new wardrobe or adopt a new lifestyle. She does not dwell on morning sickness. Instead, she explains how to cover up the appearance of being sick. I had a hard time in the first trimester, not only with nausea and dizziness, but with a thicker waste on my 5 ft body along with rashes and eczema that covered my face. Intentional meals were impossible to commit to and I found myself falling asleep before dinner. Low self-esteem and guilt does not mix well when you’re embarking on one of the biggest blessings of your life. This book helped me get out of the hole I buried myself in and enjoy the first semester. It also has advice for each trimester so I'm still reading through it today.
Active Birth: The New Approach to Giving Birth Naturally
by Janet Balaskas {Intro by Michel Odent}
During the end of my second trimester, I grew a deep curiosity for labor and delivery. Suddenly, I realized that this baby has to come out somehow! As far as labor books go, Active Birth is probably my favorite. Balaskas lays out basic information and applies common sense and simple physics to childbirth. Although the book is a bit dated, so is natural childbirth.
Even if you have no interest in natural childbirth, I think it’s important to know basic anatomy of a woman with child and how to aid labor instead of work against it. I think it will make a difference to be aware of and understand what is happening physically instead of solely trying to manage my labor pains.
Hypnobirthing: The Mongan Method
by Marie F. Mongan
Hypnobirthing is the latest craze in the birthing world. What I love about this book is that Mongan breaks down the phases of labor slowly, detailed and deliberately. This is a great third trimester book because it feeds the part of my mind craving more information without being overwhelming or redundant. The tone of the book is also clear and decisive. For example, she writes “You will be relaxed… You will experience…” There’s no ambiguity or speculation.
Personally, I’m open to a changing birth plan and I don’t need a book or a doctor to convince me that I want this baby to have a safe birth. We, as expecting parents, are gradually gaining more confidence. I’m secure in one thing: Michael will be ready. He’s very quick in reactive situations... it must be a big brother thing. I, on the other hand, react passively and slowly. Hopefully we'll be a winning combination.
Next on the sewing list is a receiving blanket! I guess we'll need a few of those?
What are you sewing and reading this week? I really do want to hear all about it!
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Good morning! I've missed this space:-). I've been thinking about it a lot, but the actual keyboard time hasn't presented itself very much. The days have been full; we're working hard as a team here in my house to right the ship and get back on course after a season of considerable turbulence. I doubt our days will ever be smooth sailing, but I'm not feeling quite so seasick this week as last.
Enough with the seafaring analogy.
Sewing is slow-going. I finished Sarah's pajama pants. I made her a Size 5, which is clearly too big. I'm trying to decide whether I want to take off the waistband and cut off an inch or so and then re-attach it. I'm definitely going to re-do the cuff and cuff it up the entire width of the contrast fabric. I don't want the pants to drag. I'm toying with the idea of making the shirt in a 4. If she were a big sister, I'd make the 4 and know I could hand them down when she outgrew them. But, she's not and I'd kind of like to see her wear them forever...
I'm on a C. S. Lewis binge these days. Actually, I've been on a C. S. Lewis binge for quite some time. I bought the C. S. Lewis Bible when we renovated the house in late 2012. It matched the living room paint and looked so pretty perched there. I did read it, however; it wasn't just for show. I kept thinking of my cousin Ellie's reference to pretty Bibles perched in family living rooms of our childhood and didn't want that. However, I didn't write in it. It's out there in open space and I encourage the kids to use it whenever they want, so I didn't really want my notes and highlighting in it. At the beginning of the year, I bought another so I'd have one to highlight. I'm using these pencils to highlight and I do kind of love them.
Mary Beth, Michael, and I have all reading through A Grief Observed. Mary Beth and I come together occasionally to think on it together. Grief is a strange thing and I've found we are approaching it very gently with one another. At the most recent funeral (yes, our funeral-going has extended into the new year), the priest quoted from Lewis' book. I think Mary Beth was surprised to hear that; Lewis wasn't Catholic after all. This observation has led to some good conversations about truth and about the man-made divisions in communities of faith. It's also led me to pull C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church from my shelves and read it again with my current crop of teenagers.
I want to raise these children to know and love and understand the gift of the Church. I also want them to grow to be the kind of genuine Christians who meet people of all denominations in the place where Jesus is and to both share their own heart stories of His goodness and hear the stories others bring. Pearce's book is an excellent one for understanding how pride and prejudice of the denominational divide can affect the sense and sensibility of even the most brilliant and holy thinkers.
Homeschoolers have a reputation for hunkering down, for raising children in a bunker and not exposing them to either the secular world or to other religions, even other Christian religions. I think this is a mistake, especially in the high school years. Instead of avoiding anything that contradicts or challenges a family's belief system, it's important to come alongside them as they discover those things. They will discover them! If we leave that discovery to a time when they are supposedly more mature (and so, away from home), we might be surprised to learn that they have neither the wisdom nor the tools to navigate the confusion. It's far better, I think, to explore together and open a dialogue that will hopefully continue as they grow.
I'm also reading Lewis' The Problem of Pain with a friend. It's good to have a grown-up theological discussion right now. I'm in a place where I really want to dig deep and think some things through. And not just theological things. As I've pulled away from social media, I'm reading longer pieces--whole books, long articles, the slow, thoughtful pursuit of Scripture. I'm spending a lot of time with my Bible open and I'm journaling pages and pages on paper. I'm kind of obsessed with paper and pens these days. I think after years of tapping at keyboards, I've missed the feel of paper and the sense of order and satsifaction that comes with seeing my thoughts in front of me in my own handwriting. To be sure, those are the scribblings of pondering in my heart. I write them knowing that they are mine alone. Perhaps it's the assurance that I will protect them from exposure that has opened the floodgates. Or maybe it's just I really, really like using these pens;-).
What have you been sewing lately? Or are you embroidering? Pulling a needle with thread through lovely fabric to make life more beautiful somehow? Would you share with us just a single photo and a brief description of what you're up to? Would you talk sewing and books with us? I'd love that so much. Tell me about it in the comments or leave a link to your blog. I'll be happy to come by and visit!
You can get your own needle & thREAD button here in your choice of several happy colors.
I'm Elizabeth. I'm a happy wife and the mother of nine children. I grab grace with both hands and write to encourage myself and others to seize and nurture the joy of every day. I blog here with my daughter, Mary Beth, a wholehearted young lady on the brink of adulthood.
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