greenclogs

a summer state of mind

We're heading into summer. I can feel it. Maybe it was the few days we spent on the beach in southern California. Maybe it's the last few weeks of surprisingly glorious weather during the usually gloomy April and May of Portland (although today it's finally raining). Maybe it's the end of year plays and potlucks and the sewing of graduation stoles for the seniors at Gunnar's school. However it has come about, I'm finding myself thinking about our summer plans and rhythm. Here's what I have so far. 

LESS

televison

Internet

time in the car

stress

deadlines

structure

obligation

MORE

outside time

beach

biking

relaxing

digging

books

art

talk

camping

making

rock hunting

hiking

spontaneity 

And somehow, I need to figure out how to maintain that past summertime. Slowly, I think, we're getting there. 

Summer. It's really a state of mind. 

into the great wide open

Dear Lindsay,

I'm still pretty speechless about the fact that you have graduated from college. It's especially poignant because you and I now share an alma mater. Watching you receive your diploma and hearing your name announced (and pronounced correctly!) was one of the proudest moments of my life. I hope you're now relaxed enough to reflect a bit on what a huge accomplishment this is and feel some of that same pride. You deserve it. 

I know the last thing you want right now is advice from your mother, but I'm going to indulge and give you a bit of it anyway. Things are pretty scary and uncertain for you right now, with looking for a job in an uncertain job market. Not having a plan is daunting for everyone, and is especially so for a planner like you. 

So here we go. Mom's advice on walking into the great wide open of the rest of your life. 

1. Relax. You'll find the process easier if you keep it in perspective. You're looking for your first job, not the perfect job. The job will come, I promise. It'll take hard work, but you're used to hard work. You can do it. 

2. Be creative. All sorts of places can use your skills. Look at nonprofit organizations. Grab a restaurant or a nanny job for the summer while you find the position you're looking for. Never assume that someone won't need or want your skills and enthusiasm. They probably do, but they may not know it yet. 

3. Contribute. Look for real work that makes an impact on the world. You may not make as much money, but the benefits of doing good are immeasurable. Be a voice for those who need to be heard. Give back in appreciation for all that you have been given. 

4. Live your real life. Your work (and the looking for it) is not your life. Your work can and should be rewarding, but your life exists in the spaces outside of it - with your friends and your family, with travel and quiet times curled up with a book, with dawdling over a cup of coffee or hanging out at the beach. Don't let work take over your life. 

5. Simplify. Stay light - don't overwhelm your budget with expenses you don't need or your space with stuff that weighs you down (I need to listen to myself more on this one). You can be open to so many more possibilities if stuff isn't weighing you down. 

6. Pause. To borrow from Maria Shriver's amazing commencement speech at your graduation. Be here. Right now. Be in this moment where everything is possible and life is wide open. Embrace being here in this open space. Don't let worrying and planning for what's next keep you from the beauty of now. Remember this one always and pause frequently. Her words couldn't be more true. 

7. Fly. Fly with your heart and your spirit and your life. Stretch your wings and take risks. We'll always be here to catch you if you fall. 

I love you more than words can say and I'm so proud to have raised someone who can do so much in the world. I can't wait to watch you tackle it. 

Love, 

Mom

p.s. That commencement speech should be required viewing for everyone. Go watch it. You'll be glad you did. 

what are you sewing this week?

It's that time again. I had some big plans to cut things out ahead of time, and make the most of this week, but I've been obsessively quilting instead, so the week snuck up on me. Yesterday I gathered my thoughts, my patterns, and my fabric and we were off to the races. 

I started out with the Tee for Two pattern by Figgy's. This is an older pattern that isn't on her website anymore, but I've seen it here and there locally. I bought mine at the Bolt sale last fall. The pattern is written as a raw edge seam pattern that's sewn on the sewing machine. Since I'm still learning how to use my serger, I decided to use the basic pattern, but use the serger instead. So, my finished result is a little different - my seams are serged on the inside, and I did an inset neck band rather than the method shown in the pattern. So, same pattern pieces, but a different methodology. These came together super quickly. I left the edges raw because they didn't need hemming - the pattern leaves the raw edges. I did serge the bottom of the pink shirt as an experiment, but I'm not sure I love it, so I'll probably just cut that part off. I showed them to Kit and she informed me that they were my shirts. So, it may be a little while before they see some action. She likes things to marinate in the closet for a bit. 

Also up this week is the Oliver + S Playdate dress, which is also out of print. I traced and cut the pattern yesterday. Today, I took a deep breath and cut into 2/3 of a yard of Liberty baby cord that has been waiting for the right project for over a year. It had to be this one because if I wait much longer, she'll be too big for me to have enough of the fabric for a dress. I'll do the yoke in the off-white and I need to dig through and try to match to that pink for the piping. I think it'll be sweet on her. There are several fussy details on this one, so I think I'll take my time on it and be okay with not having as many things done. I'm hoping to end the week with this dress finished, along with a couple of knit tshirt dresses and some simple sundresses for both girls. Oh, and knit pj pants for Annika. She's been waiting patiently. 

Lastly, here's a sneak peek at the quilt in progress. It's not seeing much action this week. Two seams, and there's a finished quilt top that will be ready for quilting next week. It's so nice to have these fabrics back in my arsenal. 

I'm so glad Meg organizes this project time twice a year. I do try to sew clothes all year, but it's great to have a week in which other things are set aside and I focus on this (well, except for a few seams here and there). What are you sewing this week? 

Fourteen

Really? I swear he just turned 13. Or 4. What happened to 4? All I know is that he's on the speed train toward his own grown up life now and there's not much I can do to stop it. I'm just buckling in for the ride. Yesterday he turned 14 and I was informed that now he's a "real" teen, not just an introductory teen. Okay then. 

This has been such a year for him. A good year. He has grown up so much. He's taller, his voice is deeper, he gets those funny little blonde chin hairs, and he has finally recognized that, yes, a daily shower is a good thing. But the most remarkable growth has been in his sense of self and in the exploration of what it really means to be him. He has circled back to art and to writing. He considers big questions and discusses them with us. He has good friends and he moves in the world with the same open heart and love for his fellow human beings that he has since he was a wee thing. He works hard at everything he sets his mind to (and not so much at the things that he doesn't. Like turning off the lights upstairs. Ahem). 

It's not all roses. He is 14 after all. There's push back over video games and chores. He thinks he owns the right to control the car stereo. He's definitely in that self-centric teen space that is so hard to get through as a parent. But I have to say that he's still quite reasonable and fun to be around and I'll take it. We haven't been shut out of his life or his thoughts, and I think that's what makes the hard times pass quickly.

side note - I read this book - Getting to Calm: Cool-Headed Strategies for Parenting Tweens + Teens - and I think the philosophy behind it has helped me be a better mother at this stage in his life. I wish I had read it before Lindsay was a teenager. She was pretty fantastic teen overall, but it would have helped in those earlier teen years. I think it has saved my sanity this time around. 

I love this boy young man and couldn't be more grateful to be walking with him on his path to his grown-up self. Because that self - artistic and thoughtful, stubborn and funny, determined and strong - is looking to be pretty great so far. 

Happy birthday G! I hope all of your birthday dreams come true. Except the xbox. That one won't be coming true anytime soon. 

Love, 

Mom

Sun day

We had a long list of things to do yesterday. We threw it away. 

We ate a big Dutch baby for breakfast, piled into the car, and headed downtown to the river and the Saturday Market with the rest of the city. We felt a little silly in our jackets and jeans when everyone else seemed to think it was bathing and fountain splashing weather (I guess we still have AZ bones). But the people watching was fantastic, the food was delicious, and the sunshine by the river was just what we needed. Perfect. 

Easter dress, part two

I did manage to make an Easter dress for Kit in the middle of some other deadline sewing. At first I wasn't sure I would because I figured that there was no way that the weather could be nice enough to warrant a spring/summer dress. However, the forecast proved me wrong and on Thursday I was quickly cutting out the Sunny Scallop Dress by my friend Jona. I had purchased the fabric in February when we were at the beach, and it was sitting there waiting to become a summer dress for Kit. 

Since we *are* still in Portland where nice means a high of 68, it had to be layered with a tshirt and leggings, but that made it no less cute. I made the 2T which is still a little big on her - it will definitely make it through the summer and maybe even beyond as a layered piece through the fall. 

The pattern is beautifully written and comes together very quickly. The lower layer is a full lining for the top layer. I pieced together some white sheeting for under the dress with the underskirt section so the darker print didn't show through. The lining construction cleverly sandwiches the seams inside the dress until the lower section, where you snip and turn it to sew the seam in the other direction. It makes for a really nicely finished garment. I serged all of my seams (because now I can!) and am so pleased with how it turned out. The polka dot binding was a last minute find in the scrap drawer - it was a fat quarter from a set of fabric that I won a couple of years ago. It was the perfect finishing touch to the dress. 

I'll definitely be making more of these for summer. The whole thing only took a couple of hours, once I had traced the pattern. Luckily the pattern goes to size 9/10 so we'll be able to use it for several years. I'm going to grade it out a bit bigger for Annika because now she wants one too. 

p.s. while Jona is a friend and gave me a copy of the pattern, she did not ask me to make it or to review it. I'm really that big a fan of her patterns. I have also made the Shop Girl Apron and Annika has made the Evelyn Apron Skirt with equal happiness and success. Thanks Jona!

A tale of two dresses

Happy Easter! I hope yours was as full as sunshine and good food and family and love as ours was. 

Easter is, of course, a perfect occasion for a new dress for a little girl. One little girl in this house got not one, but two new dresses. Well, one was made a little early and it was worn because the official Easter dress wasn't quite done. But still. Two dresses!

Exhibit A: The long sleeve version of the Oliver + S Hopscotch dress 

This was made a couple of weeks ago, along with another one that I'm sure will make an appearance here sometime. This is my go-to knit dress pattern. I made one in a bright pink polka dot a while back, another one in an aqua tiny polka dot in the fall, and had two more cut out and ready to go. They then sat for months because I admitted that I genuinely don't like sewing knits on my sewing machine. Then, last month, a serger fell into my lap for a super good price and I was off to the races on these long neglected dresses. I love the serger, but I still feel a little reckless with it. The speed of it and the blade kind of freak me out, but I'm getting there. Plus, each dress took less than 30 minutes to sew up on that thing which is awesomesauce. I still need to figure out how to do a nice sleeve hem on it because it's a 4 spool machine, not 5 spool, and I'm not confident enought to try and run that small a circle through that thing. The sleeves are still unhemmed as of right now - I think I'll use the sewing machine to finish them off. Or keep folding them under because I am lazy. I did do a rolled hem on the bottom which is super cute. Maybe I could do a roll hem on the sleeves before sewing up the side seams. Hmm... food for thought. 

Anyway, I can't say enough good things about this pattern. I need to buy the bigger size before it goes out of print. I'm going to make a few shirts and dresses with short sleeves for the summer and experiment with just banding the armhole for a sleeveless version. She's always happy to wear these so I'll keep making them. This one is made in an Oliver + S knit fabric that I love. 

Exhibit B: the Sunny Scallop dress by Jona G in view B

(pardon the crease down the center)

This is the official Easter dress. I have some really good things to say about this pattern (and Jona's patterns in general). I am going to hold off on the official run down until tomorrow so it doesn't get lost at the bottom of the post. It's a fantastic dress pattern that I want to give some full attention. So, I'll see you in the morning. Now I need to get that little girl into bed because she did not nap today and she is TIRED. 

productive

I'm looking for a very productive week this week. Yesterday I did a ton of housecleaning (and there's a bit more to do) after moving furniture around and reorganizing spaces over the weekend. I think Jeff rolls his eyes at me whenever I do this, but it takes time to really figure out how a house works best for you. Then kids grow, interests change, and needs change so we move it around again. I have to say that it's lovely to live in a house that we can easily change around. There's something to be said for lots of smaller rooms over wide open floor plans. I've had both and I'll take the old style home any day of the week. 

So, we're taking my lead from those chickens of mine. I'm going to stay focused on my work each day and hopefully at the end, I'll have something to show for it.

Annika is in the middle of some fun projects, so I'm hoping she stays happily occupied with her work as well. She's studying all things Oregon and reading about DNA. She starts a new theater group this week, which is giving me high hopes that her dramatic impulses will have a new outlet. Don't burst my bubble. 

Gunnar is on spring break, and we all know what that means. Lots of sleeping in and a ton of painting. One of the room rearranges involved making him a painting studio. I'll expect to see more of these soon. 

Also, he's taking orders. Just in case you need a custom chicken portrait for your walls. 

Kit? She'll be busy with our new obsession. I'll be joining her. How can I resist?

Happy April! (and I still need to change that blog header. Adding to list)

after the storm

We took a day trip to see the ocean today. Yesterday there was a huge storm and while I'm sure not all of these logs arrived yesterday, our neighbor said that most of it was new. I'd call it driftwood, but I think I'm stretching the term with 3 foot diameter, 10-40 foot long tree trunks. The toddler was ecstatic about the trip (that girl is always ready for some beach, no matter the weather). The other two, not so much. After we lingered over lunch and visited friends, I dragged brought them down to the beach just to see what the storm brought. For that 30 minutes there was no bickering, no whining, no begging, no complaining. Just exploration and wonder. Beautiful. It made all that complaining worthwhile. 

Thank you ocean. You filled us up today. 

somehow she's two

Can someone please explain to me how this happened? 

Two years ago:

Now:

This girl. She is something else. She's funny and loving and oh so smart. She talks and talks and talks. And then talks some more. She has opinions about music. She says "I wuv you so much, Mom. You my best friend." When she walks, she runs with a little wiggle. She's so full of enthusiasm, which spills over to the rest of us. She is love, personified. 

Kit, we so needed you. You complete us all.