Christmas presents in the works

Well, over time I've been slowly creeping out of the closet with this blog...actually admitting to friends and family (face averted) that I've got a blog (why is it so embarrassing?) Anyway, it's gotten to the point where I can't show everything I'm working on for gifts. But here's a peek. (I still have a LONG way to go. I was up sewing until midnight last night and I see more of the same in my future...) Details to follow after Christmas.

There's this:



And these:



And then there's this:



Oh, but this I can share. These are cards for my mom, again following Denyse Schmidt's example in her Quilts book.



And oh, yes, I have a new banner. That's Lucy, at work on her first-ever painting. I waited until the ripe old age of 10 months with her, because she does still tend to put everything in her mouth. But on her 10-month birthday, she joined the kids at the studio table, and kept most of it out of her mouth. Now I've got her at work painting Christmas gifts, too (to be shown later).

Experimenting with Longies

I finally found some time to do a bit of sewing this weekend. As always, Lucy was in need of some new diaper covers, so I did a bit of experimenting with new styles of longies.

First up was this pair:



I'd recently gotten myself a "new" sweater at Goodwill, and promptly shrunk it after two wearings. (Don't you hate that?) So on to the felted-sweater pile it went. As I considered its use for longies, I realized that the big turtleneck looked just about the size of Lucy's waist. So I decided to use the whole thing as the waistband, thinking it could be folded over (as photographed) or worn high to keep her chest warm and eliminate t-shirt ride-up bare belly. I've also been having some trouble with her made-from-sleeves longies tearing at the crotch, so I decided to add a panel there to increase the width. I didn't get the shape quite right, and will have to experiment some more to make pants that actually look nice, but these fit fairly well and surely won't tear.

Next up was this goofy-looking pair of overalls:



I'd come across some beautiful made-from-sweaters overalls on Etsy, and wanted to try a pair of my own. I laid a pair of her current overalls on top of a sweater, cut around the whole thing, and sewed them up. The sides came out beautifully. But those armholes! The sweater hadn't felted very well, and required some reinforcing along the cut edges. I tried a zigzag stitch, and it was a mistake. I don't like the frou-frou ruffly result. It doesn't help that I made the straps way too long, either. Maybe next time I'll try hemming the edges? Any suggestions for how to do it so it actually looks nice? Oh, well. We're putting them on her to wear to bed, for extra protection and warmth over shorties and a shirt. Works to keep her dry, if not fashionable.

Autumn books make way for Winter

With the arrival of the first snow, it felt like time to change the autumn book basket to winter. I had more help with the label this time: one of the girls wrote "Win," a boy finished up "ter," trimmed the cardboard around the word and punched a hole in the top, and then he and a friend tied it to the basket. Gotta love cooperative efforts!

I have a LOT of winter books. These are the ones we're reading now:

Winter Story by Jill Barklem. As the kids get older, they're really enjoying the books in the Brambly Hedge series. We love the tiny detailed illustrations. This one's perfect for the girls in my group right now, because they love to play "going to the ball." What could be more beautiful than an ice ball?

First Snow by Emily Arnold McCully. I am a big fan of wordless books, and have quite a collection of them. This one, about a young mouse braving sledding the big hill for the first time, is one of the children's favorites. (I see that newer editions have added words. What a shame!)

The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats. I can't imagine that anyone doesn't know this beautiful classic yet, but if you don't, get yourself to a library right away! I loved it as a child, and still do. It's got a gentleness missing from so many newer books.

Grandmother Winter by Phyllis Root and illustrated by Beth Krommes. A lovely introduction to metaphor, grandmother winter stitches goose feathers into a quilt, then, in shaking it, makes it snow. Again, I love the gentleness. And the crafty part and the collecting feathers part are just right for my group, who love to gather chicken feathers and use them in their artwork.

Stella, Queen of the Snow by Marie-Louise Gay. Stella's misinformation about the natural world to her inquisitive little brother Sam is highly entertaining to my 4-year-olds.

Snow by Uri Shulevitz. The boy knows it's going to snow, but none of the adults believe him. I love the way this book captures the magic and optimism of childhood.

The Mitten by Jan Brett. We read this one every year. This year, the kids are starting to notice and appreciate the details and hints in the elaborate border artwork. I love it when a book offers something new to discover each time you read it.

The Tomten by Astrid Lindgren. The kids expect the Tomten to be scary, and are surprised over and over again that he's not. I like challenging that strange-looking-means-bad assumption. Despite the troll-like Tomten, this book is sweet and reassuringly peaceful.

The Winter Noisy Book by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Charles G. Shaw. My mother gave me 4 of these "noisy" books when I began teaching; they'd been some of her favorites as a girl. Margaret Wise Brown hits the mark every time; she has just the right pace and tone for kids. My 2-year-olds, in particular, love this one.

In the Snow by Sharon Phillips Denslow and illustrated by Nancy Tafuri. I love Tafuri's simple animal drawings. In this one, a child leaves out food for the backyard animals, and as they each come to eat, they're identified by specific name--a lovely introduction to the animals you might see in your yard at this time of year.

Gingerbread Baby by Jan Brett (again). A variation on the classic tale, in which the gingerbread baby gets to live happily ever after.

Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson and illustrated by Jane Chapman. This is one of those books that I think has been over-marketed, with too many spin-offs. But this original one, I love. Great language, great rhythm, great illustrations. We read it over and over, every year.

Let's Go Home, Little Bear by Martin Waddell with illustrations by Barbara Firth. This author/illustrator team is always a winner, as far as my kids are concerned. This is probably my favorite big bear/little bear book.

Winter Poems collected by Barbara Rogasky and illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. Great poems, beautiful illustrations, and nothing about holidays, so it's perfect when what you want is specifically "winter."

Tom and Pippo in the Snow by Helen Oxenbury. I have several of the Tom and Pippo books, perfect for reading with toddlers because they so well represent their experience (here, the fear and then thrill of a first time on a sled).

In the Snow: Who's Been Here? by Lindsay Barrett George. A brother and sister find evidence of animals in the snow and we try to guess "who's been here?" The kids ask for this one over and over again, I think because they're trying to remember all the hard-to-guess answers.

The Snowman by Raymond Briggs. A classic wordless book, so fun to study for all the tiny detail. Be prepared to cry at the end!

The Snow Speaks by Nancy White Carlstrom and illustrated by Jane Dyer. The tone of the poetic text of this one is probably better suited to bedtime than to the energy of midday, but I had to include it in the basket anyway, because I am in love with Jane Dyer's illustrations.

Fox's Dream by Tejima. The boys in my group can't get enough of foxes. This one shows fox gently, dreaming of spring and family, which I appreciate as a balance to all the fox-as-bad-guy books out there.

All You Need for a Snowman by Rebecca Bond. I am in love with Rebecca Bond's vision of childhood. In this one, all the neighborhood children collaborate on "this place, full of grace, in the snow"--an amazingly elaborate snow-plow-mountain fort.

What are you reading?

Ooh...what's this?

All right, somehow I'm going to work around these annoying technical problems. Thanks for your supportive comments!

I've managed to squeeze in a bit of sewing this week, so more on that as soon as I can take some photos.

In the meantime, here's Lucy on her first day playing in snow on Wednesday. She was born in the winter, but was worn or carried through those first snowy months. Now, she's big enough to crawl in it, taste it, tip her head up to catch the snowflakes on her face, stomp in it...really experience it. What fun to share it with her!

In preparing for the winter, I wanted to get her some soft-soled infant snow boots. How hard could it be? Turns out, it's much harder than I expected. Most of the reviews I read said "keeps baby toasty warm in the stroller!" or "in the car seat." But I want "keeps baby toasty warm and dry while she drags her feet through snow that's deeper than her legs are long," "stays on while crawling," and "won't trip her or hinder her as she learns to walk." Thankfully, I finally found just what I was looking for. And they work! After an hour in 20-something-degree weather today, her feet and legs were still warm. And she was able to stand and dance and maneuver around to her heart's content. Thank goodness for good gear. (And for so many hand-me-downs that when there's something I really want, I can splurge on it.)

[And no, I'm not connected to this company, just thrilled with their product and hoping other mamas who want their babies to fully experience snow might find a review helpful.]

Bad, bad blogger

Camera problems (new camera's broken already and replacement is not yet chosen; old camera's held together with a rubber band and finicky about whether or not it will work today.)
Computer problems (power cord won't attach properly; battery keeps dying and then we can't recharge it.)
Time problems (no time to deal with above issues, make anything to blog about, or write.)

I promise I'll be back as soon as I can.

Basking in the sun

Weird as it feels to have a day in the 60s in December, it was just what we all needed today. Here are my two favorite images from a morning outside.

One gift down...? to go

Andi's grandmother is wishing for an autumnal wreath for her front door. We bought her one at the Farmer's Market, but ultimately decided it was too fragile for mailing and for her habit of storing it and hanging it each year. Which brought us back to making one, which is what I'd wanted to do all along (those market ones were just too pretty to pass up, but no problem--we just hung it on our own door!)

We spent an enjoyable few afternoons, collecting leaves with our friend and her daughters in Boston, and then collecting pine cones and acorns by the roadside and in a local park. Then came a fun evening of dipping the leaves in melted beeswax to preserve them. Finally, over the long Thanksgiving weekend, we assembled the wreath. I'm thrilled with how it came out. I hope "GG" (great grandma) will be, too.