As Summer Fades

Yesterday we had a misty morning and a rainy afternoon.  Today I ate lunch on the sunny front step.  And so the days bounce back and forth between summer and fall.

Last you heard, here, I was taking a month away from blog land to settle into a new house.  A month away became summer vacation, but that back-to-business September energy has finally caught up with me.  I'm here with a few tidbits to share.

From Home:  This fuzzy friend crashed our front-step lunch.  I'm no naturalist, but I would like to know what sort of butterfly he will become (assuming he survives Miss S's adoration).  Does anyone know?

From the Studio:  I've been adding new listings to the Etsy shop almost daily.  Getting the photos right has been tricky this time around, but at some point the listings just have to go live.  As fall creeps in, I'm enjoying the simplicity of this burlap table runner.  What do you think?

Linking to Mosaic Monday hosted by Lavender Cottage.

On Motherhood

Motherhood is a journey.  One that begins, I am convinced, well before the pink line on the pregnancy test.

There's timing to be considered.  Career.  Finances.  The desire to mother grows slowly.  It can take time for the stars to align, but then the congratulations roll in.  Joy on your own terms.

That's the path of the very lucky.

Some babies arrive on cue.  Others never come, though mothers' hearts are waiting.

My own path to motherhood was excruciatingly long.  I watched so many others pass ahead of me into the blissful realm of 2am feedings and endless snuggles.  I hated Mother's Day, when women who already had it all got flowers and kind words while the child-shaped hole in my heart swallowed me whole.

Until, by the magic of technology and the grace of God, I had my own sweet girl.

Motherhood, it turns out, is worth celebrating.  It's not easy watching a piece of my heart race headlong into life.  The joy of it is overwhelming.

I am mother to a growing girl, a ray of sunshine, an overflowing helping of joy.

And this year I am also mother to very small shimmer, a heartbeat lost into the arms of Jesus.

I share this because so few people understand that motherhood is heart wrenching even before it begins.  Celebrate, yes!  But please be kind to a mother in waiting.

This Moment

This is what I get when I ask her to smile.

Joining SouleMama and others in a Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments for all to find and see.

Tomatoes and More

I started pulling out the tomato plants this week.  I'm always a bit sad to turn so viciously on the same plants that I tucked into fresh soil a few short months ago.  Since May I've been trimming and tying, watering and wishing over these plants.  Now they're chopped up small, wilting on the compost pile.  There's not a lot of room for nostalgia in the veggie garden.  Besides, the tomatoes were good this year and I still have plenty of them.  They're mounded high in all my biggest mixing bowls and serving platters -- beautiful red and green -- waiting (not very patiently) for attention.

The cherry tomato plants, in the warmth and shelter of the eve, soldier on.  Little Miss has no idea that they too will succumb to the changing season.  She knows how to pick only the red ones and eats them out of hand like candy.

We ventured outside with a mixing bowl (I found an empty one) and basked in the sun.  There's been enough rain lately that we remember to bask when the opportunity comes.  I filled the bowl.  Little Miss filled her tummy.  The shadows were long and the spiders where out, both signs of fading summer.  

Then Little Miss had an idea:  a picnic.  Why not.  Dealing with tomatoes is hard work.  A blanket, some lunch and a glorious fall day add up to the perfect picnic.

What have you been up to?

A Personal Photo Challenge: Movement

This month's Photo Challenge is all about controlling shutter speed to capture a sense of movement in a photo.  This is all very new and very intriguing to me, so after pouring over Donna's suggested reading I found my camera's Shutter Priority setting and took my favorite moving target to the beach. 

Experiment #1:  Freeze Motion.  

She's just learned to jump and was more than willing to practice in front of the camera.  Here she is in mid-air.  It was a bright day and the picture is overexposed, but the alternative would have been to adjust the exposure compensation and lose that lovely smile to the shadows.  I've been contending with that little conundrum all summer and seeing faces always seems to win.  

Shutter: 1/640  Aperture: 4.5  ISO: 100

Experiment #2:  Blurred Motion.  

It takes 20 minutes walking along a forest trail to access this particular beach.  It's a beautiful walk and a lovely beach -- well worth the effort -- but a certain amount of prioritizing is necessary.  On this day, towels, snacks, bucket and shovel won out over the tripod.  I took this picture by steadying the camera atop a backpack frame.  The objective here was to use a slower shutter speed to blur the waves a little to create a softer image.  I included a bit of bare sand in the foreground for contrast.  When I compare this shot to others taken at the same time at faster shutter speeds, I'm not sure it made much of a difference.  I'm sure a tripod would have helped.  It was also a very still day.  Maybe the effect would work better with more wave action.

Shutter: 1/60  Aperture: 16  ISO: 100

Experiment #3:  Panning.  

Minimal success here too.  I think lack of practice is the main issue and I know what to do about that.  Looking at this picture, I also wonder if the background is too simple -- too horizontal -- to blur properly.  Thoughts, anyone?  At very least, I had a good time directing Little Miss's energies.  Though this picture doesn't look how I hoped it would (with a blurred background streaking past a crisp little girl) it certainly gives a sense of motion.  She's running like the wind.

Shutter: 1/80  Aperture: 16  ISO: 100


finally, A Word of Explanation
This is my first post in quite a while.  I stepped back in an effort to do one thing well rather than many things half way.  It's working too.  My Etsy shop is thriving.  But I miss a few things about this blog, so I'm back in a sort-of-kind-of way.  I'll post when I feel like it and you might see a little more about my shop.  At very least, I'll do this Photo Challenge because I enjoy it so much.

Joining, for the first time in a while, Donna's Personal Photo Challenge.  

Pink Icing

We had a birthday party this weekend.  There were grilled chicken and salads aplenty.  Sunshine.  Grandparents and cousins.  Bubbles.  Presents.  Cupcakes with swirls of pillow-y pink icing.

Here is Little Miss Pink Icing herself.  She was all excitement and smiles and running commentary.  She dazzled.

It's been said by millions of mothers before me, but it's true:  I don't know where the time has gone.  I can't believe how fast she grows.  She is light and joy.  I love her so much.

Do you like her birthday crown?  If was a gift from Nana, who is busy making a pattern.  It's not ready yet, but keep an eye out for it here and here.

There Are Seeds And They Are Trying

Water is wonderful thing.  It sparkles and shines.  It feels cool and fresh.  It pours and splashes in endless ways.

It won't come as a surprise, then, that watering the new grass has become a highlight of Miss S's day.  She practically dances around me to wet her hands (or more) in the glittering spray from the hose.  It's marvelous fun for her, but I have to confess that there are few aspects of this twice daily routine that I could pass on.

For starters, I have to strip her down to her birthday suit at the font door and find dry clothes twice a day.  The bigger challenge, however, is keeping that excited little girl off the new grass.

We have a lovely story book out from the library this week that sums the situation up beautifully.

. . . or maybe it was the bears and all that stomping, because bears can't read signs that say things like "please do not stomp here -- there are seeds and they are trying."

Bears.   Toddlers.  Neither can read signs.

We're still waiting and watering.  Looking for those first green shoots.

. . . and the brown, still brown, has a greenish hum that you can only hear if you put your ear to the ground and close your eyes

That book, in case you're wondering is called And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead.

Growing

Warm weather has arrived sooner than expected.  I'm not sure if that has more to do with an early summer or conservative expectations.  Either way, I can feel the tingle of the sun all the way down to my toes.  Happy days.  

Busy days too -- in the very best ways.  Being outside is a pleasure when the sun is warm and the wind cool.  So are long walks to distant playgrounds and lunches on the grass.  Somehow the essential work is getting done.  Laundry.  Supper.  But I try not to fuss too much.

Just for a moment, I'm living in the moment, wondering which is growing faster, my garden or my daughter.  Both are pure joy to watch.

This Moment

First trip to McDonalds.  For reasons unknown, this is what I wanted to do for Mother's Day.  Her favorite parts of the Happy Meal:  orange juice and dipping.  The rest didn't leave much of an impression, for which I'm grateful.

Joining SouleMama and others in a Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments for all to find and see.

Colour

I expected to feature bright spring colour for Donna's current photo challenge.  My garden is full of bold reds and blues just now, not to mention that spring-fresh hue of green.  But an anniversary get-away drew me into the smoother, softer tones of the sea.

Standing on the beach, I thought of these two vistas as monochromatic.  It wasn't until I increased the contrast a little (as I do with most of my photos) that I really saw the depth of blue in sky and water.  Inspired (intrigued?) I bumped up the saturation the tiniest little bit.

This was the view from our private hot tub.  We watched the blue blue blue of sea and sky and missed a certain little girl with blue eyes, who kept her Nana and Grandpa very busy.

This picture is a couple of months old, but I love the colours.  Red.  Pink.  Blue.  All very saturated.  I used a vignette tool in Picasa to darken the edges of the photo a little and draw greater attention to Miss S's face.

Linking to Donna's Personal Photo Challenge.  To be perfectly honest, I'm scrambling a little to get this up today.  My mind has been full of other things this week, but it's been fun to browse through my pictures and think of colour.  I'm looking forward to visiting your colour too.

This Moment

Riding the ferry to a busy weekend.  When cousins and candy and late nights lie ahead, it's nice to indulge in a safe, familiar moment.

Joining SouleMama and others in a Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments for all to find and see.

Pattern Review: The "Anywhere Dress" by Go To Patterns

I've been sewing up a storm lately and I'm excited to finally show you some completed projects.  These are two play dress for Miss S.  I really wanted to make her everyday clothes that can handle lots of movement and outside play.  The big pattern companies offer shockingly little in this category.  McCalls seems to think that little girls need closets full of frilly dresses that were in style a generation ago.  Not this little girl.  After much looking, I settled on a pattern from GoToPatterns.  This is my first experience with PDF sewing patterns and let's just say, I had my doubts, so I'd like to offer my thoughts on using this pattern.

But first things first.  Doesn't my Little Miss make a wonderful model?  She's just getting old enough to take instruction from the photographer.  I had her spinning around and reaching up to the sky.  We both laughed a lot.  At least half of the pictures were too blurry to use, but as every mom knows, if you take thirteen million pictures, one or two will turn out.

Pattern Review:  The "Anywhere Dress" by GoToPatterns

*Please Note:  I bought and paid for this pattern and have not been offered anything in exchange for this review.

A Versatile Pattern

I really like the simplicity and versatility of this pattern.  It's perfect for building a little girl's wardrobe.  The four sleeve options are a great start, but don't be boxed in.  I achieved two very different looks out of the same pattern through simple colour blocking and the addition of a coloured band at the bottom hem.  You could make this dress longer (as in maxi dress) or shorter (as in T-shirt).  You could embellish it with top stitching, trims, buttons, pockets or appliques.  You could add a belt or sew ties into the side seams.  You could get really brave and reshape the neckline or skirt.  So many options; one simple pattern.

On that note, I should mention that this pattern is drafted in one piece front and back with no seam at the waistline.  To achieve the colour blocking on the purple dress, I cut the pattern at the "lengthen here" line and added seam allowances to the bodice and skirt pieces.

Preparing the PDF Pattern

Printing and piecing the PDF pattern took some time, but wasn't difficult.  Every page has lettered tabs to match up, so match them and tape it all together.  Done.  This pattern prints in black and white, using different styles of dashed line to differentiate the sizes.  I found this a little hard on the eyes, so I traced the lines for my size in coloured highlighter to make cutting easier.

Sewing with Knit Fabric

If you haven't worked with stretch knit fabrics before, I strongly recommend reading the tips included with this pattern.  They're very helpful.  I used a slight zigzag stitch on one dress (my vintage sewing machine doesn't have the lightning bolt stitch often used for knits) and a double needle on the other.  I've had good results with both techniques in the past and both worked here.

Sewing the Pattern

This is a simple dress and it comes together very quickly -- an evening or two.  The cut pieces fit together as they should -- always a good thing -- and there is no complicated sewing involved.

I would have liked to see some markings on the pattern (I'm talking about the notches and dots that help line pieces up evenly).  They can be easily added by a marginally experienced sewist, but their absence could lead to less than satisfactory results for beginners.

Overall the assembly instructions are clear, the accompanying illustrations are simple and helpful, but that lack of detail shows up again.   There are no indications, for example, to trim bulky seam allowances, clip curves or press seams in specific directions.  These are little things that add up to a very big difference in the overall quality of the finished garment.  Again, anyone with a little apparel sewing experience will know to do these things, but beginners won't.

Fit of the Finished Garment

I made a size 2T for my tall, skinny almost-two-year-old.  As you can see in my pictures, it fits.  There is plenty of space for movement through the shoulder and sleeve areas.  The dress, as cut to pattern, falls at the knee (see the purple dress).  Great.  I did hit one snag, though.  It didn't go over her head.  I discovered this at just the right moment -- after sewing the neckline but before sewing the side seams.  Because the pattern uses a facing, I was able to easily add a keyhole in the back with a button closure (see my pictures).  This may not be an issue in the larger sizes, but if you're sewing for a toddler (they're known for having big heads) I strongly recommend adding the keyhole.

Conclusions

Preparing a PDF pattern takes a little time, but isn't complicated.  The sizing and fit are appropriate, except for the trouble I had getting it over my daughter's head.  Be sure to test this and add a keyhole if necessary.  Experienced sewists will see this simple dress come together quickly and can have fun customizing it.  The lack of pattern markings and overly simplified assembly instructions, however, make it inappropriate for beginners.  This is too bad, as the pattern is advertised to be "perfect for beginners".  

Overall, this is a good little pattern.  It's a simple, versatile dress that will fit into any little girl's wardrobe.  I am sure to make it again and will mostly likely try other patterns from this designer.

This Moment: She Sells Sea Shells

Joining SouleMama and others in a Friday ritual. A single photo capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your moment in the comments for all to find and see.

Into the Garden

After days and days of downpour it was finally time to get outside.  Rain or no rain, here I come.  Imagine my surprise when, emerging from the house, I didn't get wet.  In fact, my walk to the grocery store got brighter and brighter.  "Sunny?" questions Miss S.  "Yes" I tell her, "look, there's a patch of blue sky."  She was tickled pink.  Blue sky.  What a funny thing.

Here she sits, enjoying that fleeting patch of sky and munching an apple while I inspect the garden and officially start spring clean up.

A Slow Start and Seagulls

I'm enjoying a slow start to this Monday morning -- reading blogs, reading the latest from Ukraine.  I'm drinking coffee and looking out at the drizzle while Miss S brings me pieces from her puzzles.  It was one of those weekends that need to be recovered from.  Instead of lounging at home with a tummy full of pancakes and a tall stack of story books, I was up bright and early on Saturday morning to volunteer at the high school Provincial Debate Tournament.  The weekend also included a late night chatting with out of town friends and our regular Sunday morning commitments at church.  It was all enjoyable, even exhilarating, reminiscent of a different life stage and some joys and sorrows past.

Life is a little simpler now and a lot slower, centred on family and home.  It's also a season, one that will be gone before I know it, so I'm enjoying the opportunity to start my Monday slowly.  

Switching topics, these pictures were taken late last week when very spring-like weather beckoned us to the beach.  We walked along the rocky shore, watching seabirds circle and swoop.  Miss S coined a sound effect for the slight splash and bob when a seagull lands on the water -- Boing!  We waded in to the tops of our gum boots and ignored the evil eye cast by parents of less suitably clad children who did the same.  Spring was here for a full afternoon.  

This Moment

One fish, two fish, red fish blue fish.  And pink and black and orange and yellow.  Miss S meticulously matches green fish tail to green fish head -- no designer fish allowed -- then gleefully dumps the works upside down and begins again with equal concentration.

Joining SouleMama and others in "a Friday ritual. A single photo . . . capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see."

This Moment

Inspired by {this moment} and SouleMama:  

A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

Busy, Stormy Days

The electricity faltered and flickered a couple of times today, but stayed on.  It's just as well, because, after days of wind and downpour, I'm less excited about stormy weather and the resulting days indoors.  Don't get me wrong, Miss S and I are west coast girls.  We don't mind getting rained on -- that's what gum boots and Muddy Buddies are for -- but this wind is something else.  We're starting to feel a little house bound.

How do we make the most of indoor days?  With projects, of course.  This is a little sneak peak at something I'm working on for my Etsy shop.

And this is a tunic dress that I started for Miss S.  I'm only just now getting my gumption up to sew for her.  Part of the trouble is that a pattern costs as much or more than an off the rack outfit, never mind fabric and notions.  But I want to sew for her, so I'm making extensive changes to an old dress pattern borrowed from my mother-in-law and hoping to end up with something Miss S and I will both be happy with.  Fingers crossed.  This is new territory for me.

Here's a little sunshine on a stormy day.  Miss S's project involved playdough and cookie cutters.

What do you do on indoor days?  Looking at the weather forecast, I'm pretty sure I'll need some more ideas.

Happy Saturday to You

An extra hour in bed.  Pancakes with cinnamon yogurt, home canned peaches and -- of course -- maple syrup.  Family tumble time on the living room floor.  Happy Saturday morning to you.

At Lorrie's suggestion, I'm linking, for the first time, to Sunlit Sunday.

A Cold Day

There's still a part of me, leftover from childhood in the tropics, that equates sun shine and blue skies with warmth.  This week has been a betrayal of the highest order.  I know it's cold outside, but a voice in my head whispers that if I find the right park bench in the right sunny spot, there will be a tingle of warmth.

I go searching for this magic park bench, but first things first.  Little feet have to be double socked inside their gum boots.  Mittens must be negotiated onto wiggly fingers, puffy coat zipped all the way up and a toque jammed down tightly onto an eager head.  Ready.

The Little Miss moves a bit more slowly than usual under all her layers, but manages to climb the playground stairs.  I circle.  Searching.  Hoping.  Wishing I'd worn double socks too.  She's at the top of the slide, maneuvering her padded bum into the right place.  "Ready" she calls, then weeee -- all giggles and smiles into my waiting arms.

Half an hour later, we found that tingle of warmth at home, in front of the fire.

Do you venture out on cold days?