A Blessing for the Impatient: Sewn Wool Socks

A long time ago I tried to knit socks. It was an enthusiastic beginning - the class was thoroughly enjoyable, and I learned a new skill. And then pfththhthth...

Those who knit habitually fill me with awe. It remains a little like magic to me.

So what to do about socks, then? Lovely, hand-knit wool socks are frankly out of our price range, and yet there is nothing better. And I would love a pair that go up to my knees, or ones that I can fold over the tops of my rainboots. Ooooo, Ahhhhh....

And then I found someone who had done sewn socks! And they looked, well, normal!

So before solstice, Safiya and I spent a day wrangling the pattern, as it really needs a custom fit to not look schleppy. We wanted snappy, not schleppy. We used an old work sock for a basic pattern (the link above has links to a couple of places for tutorials/patterns). I put my foot through a couple of test runs because the lightly felted merino I was using wasn't in balance with the snug fit I was attempting. So I loosened the fit, switched to a different felt with a little less give, and TA-DA!


Mr. S.'s Solstice present.

Snappy.

I'll be making more of those.....

The Dolmade Effect

I have a new lens for my camera. Don't you love the effect?


You may have noticed it in my previous post, as well. Unfortunately that lovely haze wears off. Actually, fortunately that lovely haze is wearing off, because it's the oily dressing from the dolmades that I stuffed into my bag before we went to the art gallery, thinking "I'm sure that will stay level."

Food and electronics don't mix.

Actually, they shouldn't let me have electronics, but there you are. Enjoy while it lasts!

The Gap

It's been nine months since my last couple of posts. And before that little bit last April, there was a gap of almost a year.

I've figured it out. You see, I read other people's blogs and they have babies and there are pictures of them (the babies) sleeping on their (the parent's) lap and the person is knitting. And they say things like "I just can't help it - I have to do something creative every day." They live creative lives.

I don't ask myself how. That I know: there is no such thing as super-mom, -dad, -whoever. You trade what you want for what you can do. Baby got new hand-knit socks, but I'm not even going to think about posting a picture of the giant dust bunnies under the bed who will stealthily come out at night and eat said socks. Right? (Everyone nod in recognition :)


However, I have asked myself why. As in, why don't I? Apart from hectic last-minute hours of sewing presents, I've barely stepped foot in the studio. Granted, half the time the past year-and-a-half it was full of crap from our floor renovation, but it's not like I went down into the depths to retrieve my sewing because, you know, I needed to make something. Apparently I don't. And this made me feel less of a crafter, less....genuine.

I've gotten over it :)

And that's 'cause I've figured it out. Mr. S.'s Nana (who sadly passed away almost a year ago) said of me, before Safiya was born, that I was going to be a mother "like a hen to baby chicks". I had no idea what she meant. I was hoping it was a compliment, but I could tell by her tone that it wasn't, not exactly. It's taken me a while, but I get it now.


Have you ever tried to take a chick away from a hen? Hens are vicious. And it's true, I'm that kind of protective and watchful over my children. But you know what else? That's all hens do. They eat and they take care of their chicks. And that's me. All my energy, creative or otherwise, goes into my baby. And that's just the way it is.


Until one day the desire comes back. That restless feeling starts. Fabric bins are sorted for no other reason than to feel the fabric and see the wonderful colours.

The last time that happened was the beginning of this space five years ago: Valentine's Day, 2007. Safiya was two-and-a-half years old.

Zinadine's almost two. So if you see the odd sight of a hen clucking down the road, needle in hand (wing?), a cloud of fabric scraps trailing after her, don't worry, it's just me, flying the coop :)

It Takes a Life (or, My Brother is an Artist)

(please note: I have yet to research how to do watermarks. if you love any of these images, contact my brother Jesse at leppjessearnold@gmail.com for permission to use them)

There are a couple of people I know who are artists. Not on the side, not having pretensions to art, not as an aspiration to a lifestyle, not as a job. It is who they are, living and breathing.

My brother Jesse is one of them.

Jesse writing out the info for his works before the opening

Growing up, he always doodled, always sketched, but has come to painting only just recently, and it's where he's found his voice.

He started to paint a year and a half ago, and has no training other than practice, passion, an excellent eye for composition and colour, and the little local "working with oils" course I gave him as a Christmas present last year. When I dream about being rich (idly, unfortunately :) among other things, I dream about being able to give him a studio and supplies, and shoving him in there with the imperative to "go, paint". He brings beauty to the world.

from the opening at the OPIRGBrock Infoshop

He has a wonderful sense of place. There are some artists who create idea art and whose art can only exist in public places. I once saw, at the Art Gallery of Ontario, a large installation (a word I'm getting a little tired of, honestly) of cheesies under boulders. Pieces like that are most definitely art - I love the public opportunity for interaction that these provide. It provoked much discussion amongst the people I was with, it was a statement of the human impact on environment and how we interact with our surroundings, and I still think about it.

But it wouldn't fit in my living room and I didn't want to take it home with me.

pieces I would like to take home with me

We all have vertical spaces in our homes and we like to put things on them to look at. Some of them are prints, some are photos, some you can see the brushstrokes - the fingerprints of the person who did them. Mr. S. and I have things on our walls, from friends and strangers, that still take my breath away or make me smile every time I walk down the hall or sit in our living room, even though they've been up there for years. And that's the power of good art - art that speaks to you.

"The Dreamers"

That's what Jesse is good at. His work is humane. It is grounded in what he sees around him and how he sees it. When I asked him about a particular piece and why he did it that way, he said very simply "because that's what it looks like there". Here's the painting:

"Approaching Dusk" Rodman Hall, St. Catharines, Ontario

I love it.

There is a show of his work in a small community centre in St. Catharines, Ontario for the month of May. It's at the OPIRG Brock Infoshop, 10 Summer Street, St. Catharines, Ontario. They are open Monday to Thursday from 10am - 4pm.

"God's Love," a hailstorm, Stewart Road farm in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario

Thank you Milica, Kasia, and Lisa for helping organise and set up, and Safiya for being cute

The opening was last night. It was exciting and I'm excited for him, for this first opportunity for his work to be in one place, to be accessible. He is generous and has a sense of humour about the whole thing - two of the paintings actually were gifts to two friends, but they wanted to give them back to him to be hung with the others. So Jesse let them each set the prices on those two pieces (which of course they set really high 'cause they don't want anyone else to buy them :)

"Logged"
this painting is for sale, at a price set by Jesse, not covetous friends :)

If you're in the area, please drop by, take a look, and sign his book. Or, if you're interested in any of his work, please feel free to contact him:

Jesse Lepp
leppjessearnold@gmail.com
inkwichsupplement.blogspot.com

My brother, the artist.

Takin' it to Town...

Zinadine has a grunty-growly thing that he does when he wants something, and wants it badly. I don't remember Safiya doing the same, so maybe it's a boy thing, and maybe it's just him :)

I was putting groceries away when he spied the plum. Never seen one before. Shouldn't have know that it was edible, but boy did that boy want it. Now, we're a lot more relaxed about food with this one than we ever were with Safiya, but still...should I peel it? Is it even ripe?


Whatever. The boy did not care. Grrrrr. Want it. Grabby grabby. So of course, I gave it to him, if only to see what he would do with it. And he took. it. to. town. Skin, didn't matter. Juicy, didn't matter. He yelled at me when I took it away to take the pit out. It was a both-hands-stuff-in-mouth kind of experience.

I love watching him, experiencing the privilege of watching another kid grow. I love watching him watch his sister, his open-mouth-face-lit-up laugh when she does something that he thinks is awesome. I love that he pauses nursing late in the afternoon and casually signs "Dad", as if, "I was just thinking about him...." I love that he dances to his favourite songs (Queen's "Under Pressure" and Regina Spektor's "On the Radio") as if he's just discovered dancing. I love may many things about him and about having two kids.


It's been almost a year since my last post. Truth be told, besides the greatness that is having the boy and our little family, it's been a hard year. And my camera died in the middle of it, so the record of Zinadine's first year is going to be a little spottier than Safiya's. Call it second-child syndrome.

There have been more than a few times when I thought "I should write that down". I guess I wasn't ready. Well, time to think of a new banner, time to share some pics, time to use my words again.

Hello there.

They Get Big Fast and a Sewing Confession

My midwife's only real rule for postpartum is, which she directed to me, but stated while looking squarely at Mr. S., "No cooking, cleaning, or laundry for 10 to 12 days".

I don't see sewing on that list, do you? ;-)

So, a skirt that should have really only taken a half hour finally gets finished (10 minutes at a time, using this free pattern from Oliver + S) by a Mama grateful, nay overjoyed, that her ankles aren't swollen like bloated baobob trees anymore. I did promise Safiya that I'd finish the skirt.

Having such a tiny baby around makes it just a little bittersweet that Safiya is so grown up.

That's a girl in that picture, you know? A real girl. And I said to Mr. S. this morning, the funny thing about having a boy, for all my "boys wear pink" and "we don't do the princess thing" (not the Disney version, anyway) is....it just makes me want to sew a bunch of skirts for Safiya. Lots and lots of skirts.

That is, in between sleeping and diapers and feeding and not sleeping and spending inordinate amounts of time adoring this sweetness:

You didn't think I could get through a post without a picture of him, did you? :-)

The Bump Arrives!

We are cozy at home, now the four of us. Safiya is happy to announce that Zinadine arrived yesterday at 4:40am after a rather intense and dramatic 5 hour labour. He's tired now, and is going to have a nap. And a feed. And a nap. And a feed.....nap, feed, nap, feed. It's a hard life, being just over a day old :-)

Getting Ready to Bloom

Today is a day of sun and warm breeze and, of unexpected peas!

Everything at our house is getting ready to bloom...


Including me!

Content, I have to laugh at a sidewalk chalk game that Safiya made up, 'cause it's something that I'm whispering to The Bump all the time now:

So Start!

Preparing for The Bump: Puddle Pads

One of the best investments that Mr. S. and I ever made was in our bed. After a lifetime of foam and springs, our hand-made 100% wool bed by Shepherd's Dream really was a dream. It's warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We don't use air conditioning, and the wool bed keeps us so cool and dry during hot muggy summer nights.

To protect it I use big thrifted wool blankets, which I just put down on top of the mattress under the fitted sheet, but considering how many accidents, leaks, and general wetness that accompanies newborns, I wanted something easily changed but still effective. We have two wool puddle pads that we got way back when we got the bed, when Safiya was still a babe, but they're now a little out of our price range (they were well worth the initial cost, though - over the years they've washed beautifully, stayed thick, cozy, and soft, and absorbed wetness and odour very well).

So I thought I'd just make a little stack of puddle pads for on top of the sheets, planning to whisk away the top ones as they get wet. Thrifted wool blankets run about ten dollars around these parts, and after felting them I can get four puddle pads from one (I just cut them and zig-zagged the edges). They're not as thick and luxurious as the ones from Shepherd's Dream, and the weave is a bit looser, but at about $2.50 each, I can afford to double them up....actually, I can afford to sixteen-uple them up, which would be the equivalent cost :-)

Cozy, cozy! One more thing ready for The Bump...

What to Do With All Those Scraps?

When I was little my Mom always had a little plastic bag taped to the side of her sewing machine table for the inevitable snippets and scraps that come with sewing so that she could easily collect them for the garbage.

As with any next generation, I went bigger and badder :-)

That big swing-top can sits snug against my sewing machine table and ever since I've started to seriously sew, it's been patiently engulfing all the little scraps and threads that are too small for my other scrap bins (yep - there are two more totes, one for wovens and one for knits/felt - those scraps are saved for projects like beanbags and blankets).

I choose to use mostly natural fabrics, which really wouldn't be a problem in the garbage since they would decompose pretty easily, but I use thrifted polyester-cotton thread and fabric some, and the idea of my craft resulting in bits of plastic sitting around forever and making their way into the food chain makes me shudder too much to sew a straight seam, so I've been collecting it (while trying to get away from the whole polyester thing in the first place). But what to do with all those scraps?

My pregnant self tried to take a nap outside the other day, and was quickly and uncomfortably made aware of the dearth of outside cushions in this house.

So, Safiya and I sewed up a giant cushion from cotton canvas that I had, and stuffed away!

Oh, if you decide to do something like this, make sure you check your scraps thoroughly. Some things we found that would be unpleasant to sit on:

And hey - there's my bag of yellow embroidery thread that I thought I lost last year!

There will be grommets on each corner so that I can hang it up for storage, and some kind of colourful cover is in the works, but it's pretty functional as it is. A couple of years' worth of scraps handily dealt with in one afternoon. It's a bit lumpy, but certainly comfortable enough:

And yes, I'm really only delaying the inevitable, because that cushion someday will meet it's demise, but let's hope it has a long and nap-filled life...

Story Dice for Ursa

Once upon a time there was a friend of Safiya's named Ursa who liked to make up stories and who was having a seventh birthday.

Fortunately, Safiya's Mama was blessed with a solitary morning. This was because Safiya and Mr. S. had gone to proctor an exam at the university (it was Safiya's job to hand out the exams and remind everyone not to cheat). Safiya's Mama enjoyed her blissful morning by gathering up some supplies and leisurely crafting a birthday present for Ursa, having been inspired by some ideas for story dice that she saw posted on The Crafty Crow, by The Small Object, and by fo`ne`tic`lee speaking. It involved using her rather rusty drawing skills, but she approached the task with courage.


A house, ant, hot air balloon, orange shoes, green cat, blue elephant, clothesline, hopscotch, tree, paintbrush, bicycle, wings, wheelbarrow, mountain, rainclouds, stars, red purse, and birthday cake (with seven candles!) later, Safiya's Mama was quite pleased. She added some beeswax polish, a little sewn book (made from lined paper and a wallpaper sample from Farrow and Ball), a draw-string bag and ta-da!


A little bag of endless story possibilities, just waiting to come out!

It's the Little Things...

Mr. S. walked into the kitchen last weekend only to discover my nine-months-pregnant-almost-due self perched on top of a stool, cleaning the top of the fridge.

"Uh-oh.....how many days have we got, then?" he said. You see, the last time 'round I did perfectly reasonably things like scrub the inside of the washing machine and the dishwasher right before Safiya was born. So Mr. S. is, understandably, a little freaked out :-)

Of course, impending baby is a great motivator, so there have been lots of little things accomplished lately, which is awesome. Like handles on the kitchen cabinets:


Like me finally sewing curtains for the bedroom (thanks to my friend Sandra who passed the raw goods on for me to work with!):


Like, having given up on being able to tie running shoes and degenerated into Euro-not-cool-in-any-way style 'cause I just didn't care anymore:


to redeeming myself with a $5.99-Value-Village bit of slip-on relief and cuteness:


Now, if I could just figure out how to get nailpolish onto those far-away toes......

Safiya's Doll

This is not some horrible doll-torture picture. It is the loving process of adding the final touches to a very special addition to Safiya's world.

A while ago Safiya came to me with a request. She wanted a doll, nay longed for a doll. A proper doll that she could practise on for when The Bump arrives. She has a fair amount of stuffed animals (ahem, thank you, extended family...), but we'd not ventured into doll territory yet. Fortunately my friend Katharine had recently made Waldorf dolls for her kids using kits from Weir Dolls and Crafts, and had reported very favourably on the whole process.

Safiya and I chose the components together, and in this case, considering the imminent arrival of The Bump (we're now at about a week-ish to go....) and my propensity for procrastination and the whole I've-never-done-this-before thing, I chose a pre-stuffed head, pre-sewn fabric body parts, and partially assembled hair.

Safiya's growing excitement was infectious, and it was satisfying, trying this new thing. We stuffed and talked and planned and sewed. And I came to appreciate the instructions that were stated with regards to attaching the head to the body: "This will be difficult..."

Right, I thought smugly, that's for people who don't sew. Ha! It was hard! Which is good :-)

And when she was done, Safiya took her in her arms tenderly and named her Charlotte.


She looks happy to be here, and is well-loved, like any new addition to our family.