hideout

Our house is small. It's cute, and I like it, and I don't even keep the space I have tidy, so I can't justifiably wish for more. But having a toddling baby doesn't always jibe with also having such a tiny home. We have a lot of stuff, some of which is valuable -- both sentimentally and otherwise -- and while I respect the methods of child rearing that dictate we must create an entirely child-friendly space, it's just not realistic for my family. Plus, I want my records out and accessible. I want George to grow up with a respect for the delicacy of certain things, looking forward to the special occasions when he is allowed to handle our treasures. After all, there are lots of no-touches in the world, for kids and adults alike. 

This is not to say that our house is one big barrister bookcase of Hummel figurines. Nevertheless, I still feel bad sometimes that George has such a limited play area. That, unless a door is shut, he can never escape my eyeshot. He needed a hideout: a cozy little retreat all his own for looking at books, for talking to his cow and baby about what a jerk mama is when she won't let him pick at the electrical outlet covers. I'd been looking at teepee instructions and tutorials online and in pattern books for awhile before I finally decided to just wing it. (This is by no means a tutorial, but if you're similarly inclined to fly by the seat of your pants, maybe this will give you an idea or two.)

I used:

• four 4-foot-long dowels
• some white twill that I already had
• some ikea fabric that I'd been saving for something special
• some hot pink suede cord leftover from moccasin making
• a scrap of yellow broadcloth.

I made pretty haphazard triangles that measured three feet on the bottom edge, just folded them in half and used a yard stick to cut a relatively straight diagonal line that would create a triangle when the fabric opened back up. The triangles are 3 and a half feet tall. 

For the dowel casings, I cut 3 inch wide strips the same length as the triangles' diagonal edge. As I sewed the triangles together at the long sides, I folded the casings in half (wrong sides together) and sandwiched them between the teepee side pieces. To make an opening, I cut the front piece in half lengthwise, then sewed partway down. I made some bias tape and bound the unfinished edges of the flap. For a little extra stability, I reinforced the top of the flap with a triangle of scrap fabric. I didn't want to get out the iron, so the triangle is uneven, but oh well. 

I looped a piece of suede cord around the tops of the dowels, and tied them up tight. I made the whole thing after George went to bed last night (in about 2.5 hours), so it was set up for him this morning. 

He was freaking STOKED. As soon as the next Joann circular comes in the mail, I'll get some shredded foam to make a big matching pillowy cushion to lounge on. 

For now, though, he's perfectly content crawling in, sitting for awhile, then crawling back out to check on Rody. 

thrifty sunday: you are my sunshine

Friday was great: playdate replete with teeny tiny cupcakes and on the way home, a surprise meet-me-for-lunch message from one of our best gals who was breezing through town on her way south. After some rice and beans and a margarita, I stopped into Goodwill to look around, blatantly milking my baby-free afternoon for all it was worth. 

Three treasures came home with me, totaling $9 and some change. Considering I would've paid a lot more for just one of them, I feel like I scored. 

1. Little wooly vest for George, for when he's feeling like a cultural anthropologist: 

The middle section of the vest is not symmetrical; this detail eluded me until just now. Anyway, I feel like he needs a graying pony tail and some hornrims to really complete the sensitive adjunct professor look.

2. Amazing homemade wallhanging that immediately went up in our bedroom:

It's pretty big, like maybe 18 inches by 18 inches, and fits beautifully on the wall that I often wake up facing. I've tried several other pieces of art there, and nothing ever worked. Clearly, the wall was biding its time until I found the perfect piece.

3. The sweetest ever, can-you-believe-someone-got-rid-of-this crewel work wallhanging:

I have my suspicions that the same person is responsible for both this and the above piece, and if that is indeed the case, I would like to call this woman (assumption, sue me) up and thank her from the bottom of my homemade-loving heart. This one is a little smaller -- maybe 9 inches by 14 inches -- and the lines are sort of wonky, but that only adds to its charm. As with a lot of things that I find at thrift stores, I wonder how someone saw fit to give this away. I imagine it being lovingly worked on after bedtimes by a long-haired lady in high waisted jeans, then hanging in a nursery circa 1978. I figured that it would be expensive, considering its awesomeness/similarity to something one might find at Urban Outfitters, but I turned it over to see the price, which said $3.99! Easily one of my all-time favorite thrift purchases.

Happy shopping and happy week, you guys!

nooks and crannies

For Christmas, Nathan's parents got me a bias tape maker. Forever, I've had one of those fiddly ones you use with an iron and I never make any bias tape because I wind up with burned fingers and a wonky finished product. Well, not any more. Sort of. I used my present for the first time last night, to finish a little quilt, and I definitely need some practice but it worked much better than the old method, plus it took about a millionth of the time.

Using this sweet book, Scandinavian Needlecraft, for inspiration (I wasn't up to copying the embroidery pattern and using carbon paper or whatever), I made a little light blanket to fuel my dreams of moving into a house that has nooks and crannies in which to snuggle and sleep. Just look at this picture and see if you can imagine a nicer spot to wake up in the morning:

Of course you cannot.

The green and blue pictured is lovely, but I had some peach gingham in the garage.

And some blue pique shirting, and some dark, sagey green flowers.

See, I told you I needed some practice. But, infinitely better than storebought.

Already used for snuggling.

And abandoned for play.

crafting

The other night, the mamas I hang out with and I had a baby-free craft night. All the pops took the babes for the evening, ate some pizza and did some wrangling while we had Thai take out at the dinner table (!), drank "champagne", made necklaces and gossiped. It pretty much ruled.

Using this massively easy tutorial by the most lovely Hobo Mama, we three cranked out some new accessories that are chew-on-able, cute and cheap so as not to break out hearts when they inevitably get smeared with...something. 

For our project, we used wooden beads (a multipack from Joann) and voile from Anna Maria Horner's  Little Folks collection, the luxuriousness of which cannot be overstated. When I bought the fabric, the woman at my local shop asked what it was for and when I said we were having a mamas' crafting night, she threw in a couple extra pieces of fabric that were lying around. It pays to be a regular at Two Thimbles, you guys. 

At the end of the night, everyone seemed pleased with her finished product, we were full of Thai food and the Papas got to commiserate. George has already taken to playing with my necklace as he nurses, which is a lot better than his other, much more embarrassing nursing habit (please tell me other mamas have older babies that -- ahem -- twiddle?). Thanks for the tute, Hobo Mama!

a shirt for papa

I'm not a sew-and-press kind of seamstress. I rarely use an iron while I'm sewing and most of the time I don't even use pins. I don't interface the things I'm supposed to interface and you know what? It usually works out just fine. But I'm also usually sewing for a baby. It's been a long time since I sewed something I would consider wearable by an adult; the patience and the time both elude me. For Hanukkah, though, I wanted to make something special for Nathan. He wears his clothes until they're threadbare and buttonless and torn at the knees, and we don't always have the money to replace the stuff he's worn out.

The pattern is McCall's 6044 and it came together very easily. I've never had much luck with collars, but wouldn't you know: pressing your seams and using pins actually helps. Huh! Note: the ghetto homemade label.

The only frustrating or difficult part of the whole endeavor was putting on the snaps, and there were two casualties. The pearly tops cracked twice, but the snaps were already stuck on so I just let them be. I got a blister using the blasted pliers, but it was worth it to avoid sewing twelve buttonholes. When, oh when will shirts that close with velcro become fashionable?

It looks super good on him and I'm totally pleased with the end product. Now that the pattern is cut out and I've worked through it once, I can make him a whole wardrobe of western shirts. Any volunteers to attach the snaps?