Our House in the Middle of Our Street

I wound up doing a lot more sewing for Anikka this past week because not only are there a lot more patterns for girls' clothes, I really needed to add some bloomers to her wardrobe. Currently she has one pair that she wears over her diaper at bedtime...and that's it. She is such a heat-box, just like me, that if we dress her in regular pajamas she winds up sweating and uncomfortable. Not only that but they are handy for under dresses, too, and a lot of the dresses we have don't come with them. I love these cute little things. I love the prints, and I love how they fit her--perfectly. Again, another Lotta pattern, these weren't as simple as the book made them out to be. Jansdotter doesn't have many diagrams in her book and I work and learn visually, so that was a bit of a problem with the homemade bias that is supposed to be hidden inside...er...what?! The pair underneath, if you look closely, has it on the outside, and it crinkles a bit more. By the second try, I h...

The past week since my kids were at VBS Monday through Friday mornings, I had plenty of time to run errands, do some baking, and to learn to sew kids' clothes. I have made a number of things for my kids before, but I've never sat down to actually think about formation of clothes are put together. Kind of a big goal, I suppose, but I had the drive, and I had the free time to sit down, without distraction, and try it out. I was able to make about 7 items to completion and 2 more almost finished, which you'll see tomorrow. I used Lotta Jansdotter Simp le Sewing for Babies book and tweaked her pattern a bit by adding a ton of length for my 4 year old. The first pants, although they are adorable and are the most 'nicely done' of the three pair, turned out fairly short. These make excellent 'beach' pants, especially with the sailboat print, and would look adorable with a nice cream or blue sweater. (Another Lotta project here .) These, although long enough, were...

Oh.my.holey.moley. This year has been unseasonably humid and hot. The heat index (what it actually FEELS like) have been in triple digits for weeks. I am an outdoor person, but being as I'm such a cranky baby when it comes to heat (insert me: here ), I stay in as much as I can. I've got one week left until our mountain vacation in cool weather, so here is adding insult to injury for you weirdos who happen to like summer. Did I mention IT'S HOT out there? :) Source: flickr.com via Laura on Pinterest Source: soldesignco.com via Tanya on Pinterest Source: nbc4i.com via Kasey on Pinterest Source: farm1.static.flickr.com via Amanda on Pinterest Source: bleachblack.com via Annica on Pinterest (10 points for whoever can guess how that's related...twice!) Source: flickr.com via Jenni on Pinterest

picture taken by Oma. Join in the fun.

Source: scrapstudio.tumblr.com via Sarah on Pinterest It's been a fun week so far as my children have been at a VBS each morning from about 8:30-12:30. I've gotten a lot of sewing done, some new skills learned, and so many inspiring things on the brain to make...no thanks to Pinterest . I had planned on having a full week of blogging but not only did the time get away from me, but my chosen topics just aren't as cool as the ones I'm brainstorming in my head. I'll be back tomorrow with a {This Moment} photo, and lots of fun sewing related things next week! Have a good weekend.

photocredit Ever since I read and raved about Last Child in the Woods to my nature-loving friends, I have awaited what would next come from Richard Louv. Louv coined the term, " nature-deficit disorder ", a term that has come to be some what common in parenting and news culture. It's the term for this idea that our children and the current generation is staying indoors more, connecting with nature less, and has spun out of control adding to the obesity among children epidemic, ADHD and other behavioral challenges, a lack of care for the environment and a consumer mindset. Of course these are just the trickle down effect of a larger culture, and pieces of many pies, but his term has become so important that many new schools of thought have been created in the past number of years to try and deal with this issue. Have you seen community gardens around town? A school that has instituted the children work outside with compost and crops? More people joining local CSAs and a hi...

I'm enjoying a quiet week this week. Both children are gone at a VBS camp this week and from roughly 8-12 every morning I have a quiet house, a humming sewing machine, and a few good books to catch up on. Refreshing, and of course, quiet. I'm savoring my solitude. Source: umla.tumblr.com via Spirit on Pinterest Source: google.com via Karyn on Pinterest Source: ysvoice.tumblr.com via Baca on Pinterest Source: flickr.com via Rachel on Pinterest Source: jellysundae.tumblr.com via Source: etsy.com via Charissa on Pinterest