More mei tais!

For those of you who don't remember (or haven't seen that word before), it's pronounced "MAY-tie," not to be confused with the tropical drink of similar name mai tai ("MY-tie"). (Though, I feel like I could really, really use a mai tai right now.)

I finished one this week, for my friend Kathryn's sister. And since I'm pretty sure she reads this blog (Kathryn, not her sister), I'm posting pictures because I told her I'd show her the finished product.

This also allows me to participate in "Sew and Tell Friday," a fun little "game" from a blog I read where you share the sewing projects you completed that week.


This mei tai has a cute little jungle print (Michael Miller Jungle Jam) and is on royal blue denim straps.
The back is a lovely, soft blue twill. So this carrier is very daddy friendly when worn blue side out (hooray for daddy's [daddies?] who babywear!).

I'm happy it's finished. First, because I get to share the love and send this out to my friend, but also because this one really gave me some trouble. I was going to do the reverse in a blue silk rather than the twill. I had the pieces all cut out. But I kept looking at them, and looking at them, and the shade of blue was just not quite right (and I'm a perfectionist), so I had to choose a different fabric and do it again. Then, I was literally two inches from being finished and I broke two needles for my sewing maching and bent two others rendering them useless. AAAAAUUURGH!!
(I really want a new sewing machine ... my goal is to purchase one for myself this December ... but they are a lot of $$$ and first I have to have a baby, which will also be a lot of $$$, so we'll see ... )

I'm also going to post this one, but I didn't finish it this week, so I guess it doesn't count for the Sew and Tell. After it sat on my sewing table for FOUR MONTHS nearly finished, I finally completed it when my mom was here. The only part I had left to do was to attach the waist band. No idea why I never just did it. Probably because I didn't really have a recipient in mind (know any one who wants a baby carrier? It's really beautiful) and other projects kept coming up.
I don't know the name of this Asian-inspired print, but it's lovely; the straps are a sort-of peach/sort-of terracotta denim. Reverse is a peach-y dupioni silk. Mmmm ...

Like a summer day

I tend to not post if I don't have the photographic evidence to go along with it. However, yesterday was a busy fun-filled day, so I feel like I should post anyway.

After Sierra and I woke up and had a little breakfast, we headed out for "second breakfast" (kind of). We picked up Sarah and Sophia and went to Real Food, which makes donuts on Wednesday mornings (only Wednesday mornings). Yesterday's picks were strawberry filled and honey glazed. Good stuff. Real Food is a great little local cafe with a menu that rotates on a weekly basis. They use a lot of fresh/local/organic ingredients and there's always something interesting on the menu. I took my mom there for a late Mother's Day lunch when she was visiting.

Since we were driving, when we dropped Sarah and Sophia at home, they invited to stay and play for awhile, which we did. We built blocks and read books and the girls chased each other from room to room.

Yesterday was also the every-other-Wednesday group playdate when a bunch of Woodberry little ones (and mamas) get together to chat and play. So we headed down there for a bit, and then, it was lunch time already.

Lunch was followed by a nap, and then we headed to the pool. Sophia was already there, and then three other families showed up, so it was quite the group of little kiddos. It can get to be a little bit of barely-controlled-chaos, but we had a good time. I love that the Woodberry pool has a "beach entry" area. It's just perfect for little ones. Let's them play in the water at just the level they are comfortable. Was it cold? Oh, no! We've had 90-degree weather here for the past couple days. Fun, fun!!

Little friends

Sophia came to visit us about a week and a half ago. Sierra has progressed from calling her friend "Pee-phah" to sometimes calling her Pee-phah and sometimes calling her Sophia. It's actually a little bit sad to see those little misprononciations go away because it's another little indication that my little girl is becoming a big girl.

We had a lots of fun and time flew while Sophia was here.

The girls played the keyboard. (This keyboard belonged to me when I was a little girl, though not quite so little as Sierra and Sophia)
And built (and knocked down) block towers.
They played peek-a-boo.

But the most fun was the dance party!
I've lost track of how many times I watched that video this morning. Sierra loves it. We watched it once and she said, "Do again." So we watched again. And she said "See Sophia again." And again, and again, and Sierra just sat there enraptured, smiling. Finally I could no longer stand the '80s synthesizer demo song that the keyboard is playing (remember that was mine when I was younger) and we switched to something else!!

Hightop Peak

While my mom was visiting, of course we had to make a trip out to Shenandoah. I thought it would be fun to drag her up to the top of Hightop Mountain. (it was!) The climb up was a little tough, yes, but the views were well worth it. And the walk back to the car was a cinch!! The trail gains nearly 1,000 feet of altitude in under 2 miles, and I think Jason was getting a little impatient hiking uphill with his pregnant wife and his 64-year-old mother-in-law. I love the man dearly, but his "goal-oriented personality" can really get in the way of enjoying a walk sometimes. I want to stop and look at this and that and take pictures and he just wants to get "there" (in this case, the top of the mountain).

I didn't let it bother me, though (I was too busy looking at things and taking pictures! Ha!). There were a lot of wildflowers in bloom, including the Trilliums, which are just finishing up their blooming season. I was so glad we were able to see them; I just love those flowers!




Our uphill walk was rewarded with a great view at the top!

We paused for a rest and a snack and enjoyed the view.


My tiny naturalist had to point out the bird that she saw.
And she had some fun bouncing with Nana before we headed back down the trail.
Sierra, at nearly 2 years old, is still able to relax enough to catch a little nap while riding in a carrier on Mama or Daddy.

A day late

My mom was supposed to visit us for a week, arriving May 11th. Unfortunately, due to a late plane and a short connection time, she missed her connecting flight and got to spend the first night of her trip in Detroit. I know ... "Yippee!" Not what any of us had in mind, but she arrived safely just before lunch the next day. Her trip was way too short, but we managed to squeeze in some good times.

Mom wanted to visit an old friend who lives in Richmond, so we agreed to meet her in Charlottesville. We headed out a little early with Sierra on Friday morning because Yoder's Country Market has fresh donuts on Fridays. We had some donuts, and wandered down to look at the animals that reside there. Goats, chickens, ducks, turkeys, pheasents, peacocks, and more. Sierra helped me feed the goats, but then decided she was not such a big fan of goats. I thought they were great, but when I asked Sierra if she wanted to pet the goat she yelped, "Nope!" When I took a step closer, she said, "Nope!"


She was a much bigger fan of the birds.

When we had our fill of donuts and livestock, we headed to Charlottesville. After a brief stop so that I could get a speeding ticket (AAAARRRRGGGHH!), we met Mom's friend, Suzy, at the Charlottesville downtown mall. We did some shopping/browsing and had lunch at Revolutionary Soup before parting ways with Suzy and heading home.

MY Mother's Day

Yes, okay, Mother's Day was exactly 3 weeks ago. However, my day was lovely and it would really be an injustice not to mention it, even though I am rather late on posting this.

Jason, Sierra and I headed to Richmond. It happened that some friends from when we lived in Connecticut were visiting and we hadn't seen them in nearly 2 years! Norman (who was unable to make the trip due the boarding school schedule that prevents any time away while school is in session) and Tran have a daughter who is 5 months older than Sierra. The last time we saw them was the week before we moved from Connecticut to Virginia.

That teeny little one-month-old squishy in the foreground is Sierra. Amaya is the wee babe in purple in the background.
Tran's father lives in Richmond, so since she and Amaya were coming to visit, we arranged to go down and meet them for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. (Delicious, by the way. It was my first experience with Vietnamese food) After initially staring at each other, Sierra and Amaya decided they could be friends and proceeded to chase one another around the restaurant, look at the fish in the fish tanks, and generally give their parents a double dose of their usual curious spirit. I think they were purposely moving in different directions at times just to confuse us!!



It truly was amazing to me to see these two little girls together and remember how tiny they both were the last time they were in the same vicinity.

We all headed to a local shopping area and Jason and Tran were kind enough to toddler chase for a bit while I hunted down a couple short-sleeved maternity shirts (the many days of 80 degree weather we've already had in Virginia reminded me that spring in Connecticut is quite a bit different than spring in Virginia and I am not prepared with summer clothing since Baby #2 is due in August!) We parted ways and Jason, Sierra and I headed to REI. And well, any day I go to REI is a good day. And Sierra now has her first sleeping bag! Hoorah! (Not that there will be any camping this summer. Sleeping on the ground in the tent is not my idea of a good time when I'm 8 months pregnant) And she loves it. It is currently living next to her dresser, and sometimes she wants me to unroll it just so she can get inside. Perhaps we'll find an occassion to use it while we're out west this summer ("camping" in a cabin, maybe? or maybe when my parents are visiting, I'll just send Sierra off with them for a night. I'm sure they'd love that when she wakes up at 3am and I'm nowhere to be found!)

Happy Mother's Day

To all you mothers, and to all who have acted like a mother to someone (especially those who have played those roles in my life), I hope you had a splendid Mother's Day.

Scrappy

I sew. I've made a lot of different things.

Baby carriers.
Toddler clothing.

Skirts.
Curtains.
Appliquéed throw pillows.
Cloth napkins.
Purses.

Etc.

All of these projects amount to many pieces of scrap fabric. The little ones I just throw away. I use mostly natural fibers, so they will just biodegrade. The larger pieces, I tuck into my "scrap basket," which is one of those collapsable fabric drawers. Recently, as I've tucked a scrap into the basket, it has jumped right back out at me. My scrap basket was getting a bit unruley and had to be dealt with.

Sure, I could make a ton of little change purses, but then I have to do a ton of zippers, which I don't love, and who would I give all those change purses to anyway? I decided that I would make a scrap quilt. Have I ever made a quilt before? No! Do I have any idea what I'm getting myself into? Not at all.

"But, Em," you might say, "You know how to sew. What can be so hard about making a quilt?" The truth is: I have no idea! I haven't gotten that far yet. But imagine an American sports fanatic. Sure that person might know a lot about football, soccer, baseball, hockey, basketball. But ask them how to play cricket and they will look at you like you've lost your mind. That's sort of where I am. But I figure I'll just jump on in and see where I go.

Step 1: Dump entire contents of scrap basket on sewing room floor. At this point, it looked like the Fabric Monster had vomited everywhere. It stayed that way for about a week until I finished the scrappy part of my project yesterday and cleaned everything up this morning.

Step 2: Sew a bunch of scraps together. This is the sewing part. This I can do. No problem.

Step 3: Cut scrappy pieces into 12" x 12" blocks. This I can also do. I know how to use a scissors (or, in this case, a rotary cutter).

Step 4: Er ... um ... MOM?!?!

Anyway, I now have 12 scrappy blocks. Each one has fabric from one color family: a blues block, a purples block, a pinks block ... you get the idea. Since several fabrics have many colors, those are in different blocks, which I think will tie the finished product together nicely.
My plan is to put a 2" or so border of a neutral fabric around each block. Then I have to to the batting, the backing, the binding, and the quilting. This is the part where I am clueless. But there are a lot of resources online. And my mom knows how to quilt. She's coming on Tuesday. How convenient. I'm certain that helping me with my first quilt was just how she planned to spend her vacation!

LDP Service Day

Here at Woodberry, all sophomores complete a year-long program called the Leadership Development Program (LDP). I'm not sure everything that is involved, but the boys are divided into groups of 12, with whom they work throughout the year. Part of LDP is the Outward Bound trip, which Jason chaperoned back in October.

The culmination of the year is Sophomore Service Day. Within their small groups, the boys plan and execute a service project of their choice. This year, the woman in charge, Deb, asked me if I would be willing to work with her on Service Day projects, getting supplies and assisting her make sure all groups had what they needed for their projects. I agreed, and as it turned out, my role changed a little bit. One of the groups was suddenly a little stuck when their original project (raise money and visit a children's hospital with gifts for the kids) fell through. As it turns out, hospitals are not too keen on a bunch of high schoolers (and their germs, I imagine) coming to visit for a day. So I worked with Deb and the facilitors of that group to get them ready for a different project that would be still be service in the interest of children.

The group ended up taking on a blanket making project for Project Linus, an organization that provides blankets for kids in crisis (ER/trauma, fire, illness, etc.). Each of the 12 boys in the group made 2 fleece blankets as well as hand-made cards for Project Linus. I was in charge of obtaining materials and giving the initial blanket-making instructions. This is where my sewing/fabric experience came in really handy. It was a good day. A little tedious at times, with all those cuts and ties, but the boys seemed to enjoy themselves for the most part, and we ended the day with 24 new blanket for a very worthy cause.

Helpy-helper

I've posted about my helpy helper before. Sierra likes to "help." She'll hand me plates when I'm unloading the dishwasher, or hand me clothing when I'm folding laundry (that, or she'll take all the clean laundry out of the basket and put it on the floor. Um ... thanks?). Anyway, last week, I walked into the kitchen and was surprised to find this:

Yes, I usually have a towel or two hanging on the handle of the oven there, but not six! After a moment of confusion, I realized that earlier when I had been putting clothes away, Sierra was requesting, "Hep you. Hep you." So I gave her small stack of dish towels and told her to take them in the kitchen. I figured she would just set them on the table, as that is where she usually puts thing she takes into the kitchen (or directly in the middle of the floor). Instead, she put them "away," hanging them all up on the handle of the oven. She certainly is observant.

Today, she continued her help with putting laundry away by putting all the clean socks into the basket of dirty clothes.

Hey now, you're an all star

Jason is the all star. Really. He is. He's been playing in a hockey league in Charlottesville and was voted in to play in the all star game for the league. Normally, his games are late in the evening on Sundays or Mondays. Because this runs into bedtime and would make for a very cranky toddler, Sierra and I have only been to see Jason play once. Too bad. The all star game, though, was on a Saturday afternoon. Perfect. Not only did J do great and make some spectacular saves (he's the goalie), his team won. Hooray! And Sierra really enjoyed watching the game.



Sierra and I started out up in the stands above the ice, but during the second period, we moved down along side the rink. I had Sierra in a carrier on my hip for a bit, but she wanted down, so we found a chair so she could see the action.


When the teams switched which goal they were playing toward during the third period, Sierra asked "Where Daddy go." I told her he was down at the other end of the rink, so she took her chair and pushed it all the way down there, saying, "Go see Daddy. Go see Daddy."


And some more hockey shots, just for fun, including what I think is my best action shot of the evening. I love how you can see the puck and I caught Jason mid-dive. Yes, he made that save.




The next day, Jason had a play-off game, which is team won. J helped by having a shut-out against a team that had beat them 8-1 last time they played. So they went to the championship game the next week. Jason had another shut-out, thus helping his team to 1st play in the league. And he got a cool plague for being MVP of the tournament. Go Jason!