can someone please tell me what just happened?

ok, so this is a baby poop story, so don’t read it if that grosses you out.

just now I was holding Abraham on my lap, sort of on my knee really.  he had on a fresh, clean diaper, so of course he pooped.  a lot.  (first morning poop.)  I waited until he was done because no mother in their right mind wouldn’t.  then about five minutes later I stood up to go change his diaper.

as I walked to the changing table I noticed my pant leg felt wet.  i looked at the spot and there was bright yellow baby poop all over my pants like around my calf muscle.  i mean like a sopt as big as my calf.  how on earth did it get there???  the area in question was about 7-8 inches away from the diaper, and there was no trail of poop between the two.  also, there was only a small spot on the inside of Abraham’s pants.

we knew Abraham had superpowers, but this is beond our wildest dreams!

I like life, life likes me

life and I fairly fully agree!
eating food, drinking milk

that’s the version of the song I sing to Abraham.  Except he doesn’t eat food yet.

I’m just having one of those “I love life” moments.  Which is surprising since it’s snowing outside and I want it to be spring, I am sick, and Abraham has been waking up every half hour it seems like (we’ve got a bedtime routine now and are slowly improving his sleep skills though).

Anyway, I am really happy right now.  I love working in my home, making it clean and pretty and meaningful.  I love Abraham and right now feel like I want at least 10 kids (ha ha).  I love that spring is coming closer every day.

Oh, and I rearranged some furniture.  Why does that always make me so happy?

Tra la la!
Oom pah pah!

house plans in 3D!!

yep, floorplanner.com now has an option to view your plans in 3D.

So here is my Passive Solar Small House for a Big Family, in 3D.  To see more about this house, click on the “house” tag.

1st floor south wall

here you can see the front door, and the main living area.  There are obviously a few bugs (staircase going through walls…) but you get the idea.  I made the area between the garage and the east wall of the house into a patio, with a roofed section (can’t see the roof) for a wood pile.

1st floor east wall

Here you can see the living area, dining room, and kitchen a bit better.  Ignore the shelf and cabinets that are sticking through the dining room wall.  The wall should be blank; those items are in the kitchen.  the wood stove/fireplace isn’t there -it’s supposed to be built in/in front of the staircase, facing the living area.  but I couldn’t find a way to design that with their program.

1st floor north wall

here you  can see into the main living area.  The floating TV would actually be in a cabinet.

1st floor west wall

and here you can kind of see the kitchen and dining room better.

2nd floor south wall

2nd floor from the front wall of the house.  obviously the staircase should be going down, not up!  I should have just deleted it for the 3D view but at least it helps you know there is a staircase in that space.  The beds might be bunk beds, depending on how many kids we have.  And those dressers are supposed to be closets.

2nd floor north wall

here you can see the bathrooms and laundry room, and the master bedroom.

pretty cool, eh?

sewing buttonholes

In preparation for finishing my suit (just need to do the buttons and buttonholes, and the skirt) I did a practice buttonhole today.  This is my first proper buttonhole.  Like many of my sewing techniques, I have had to learn how to do this properly, since before I just kind of made up something that looked more or less right.  My mom and grandma taught me the basics of sewing, but after doing a few projects with them I was allowed to run wild.  Then I took a sewing class at BYU, and got a job sewing costumes, and little by little have been correcting my techniques.  My buttonholes always looked rather bad, unless done on machine.  But my current machine doesn’t do those, and my treadle machine won’t either, so I need to learn how to do it by hand.

It’s really easy actually.  I was neglecting one simple step.

I used this book to help me.

My first one doesn’t look too bad, though not nearly as tidy as my grandma’s buttonholes on the dress she gave me.

My camera’s not good enough to really show the stitches, sorry.

But I am happy with it and will start on my suit soon. 

a good day

I was kind of down yesterday because I didn’t get much sleep and then Abraham decided not to take very long naps all day.  I didn’t feel like sewing or doing much of anything.  It’s grey and damp outside and I really miss having the sun shine into our apartment.  Especially since I now hand wash the diapers (in a 5 gallon bucket, with a plunger to agitate) and I would absolutely love to hang them in the sun so the stains would bleach out.  But it isn’t possible.  At the end of the day Abraham cried and cried because I wouldn’t walk around with him.  I was so tired.  I just sat on the couch with him while he cried.  Then when Samuel came home I cried and made him take Abraham for the evening.  And poor Samuel is coming down with something. 

Anyway, today I feel better.

The house is a mess, especially the kitchen, but I have done a little laundry (those diapers again) a little sewing, a little baking, and a decent lunch, all courtesy of Abraham’s extra long morning nap.

I’ve sewed around the border of my quilt once!  Just three more times, and then the binding, and then I’ll be COMPLETELY DONE!!!!

The 40s suit is being hemmed and needs buttons and buttonholes, and I still need to sew the skirt together.  But the hardest part is done.

I made cupcakes, which I have been dying to make for months.  But we had no paper liners.  I bought some yesterday, and I made applesauce cake cupcakes and will frost them with brown sugar buttercream frosting later.  They are for Samuel to take to work: once a month on a Friday, each employee who has a birthday that month brings treats to share.  Samuel’s birthday is January 1st.  Samuel works with a lot of women (elementary school) and so he gets a lot of treats at work.  It was the same way when I worked at the costume shop   yum yum

Abraham loves to lie on the floor and kick or do leg crunches, or turn his head to look above/behind him, or all at once, and almost roll over!  He also loves to stare at his hands and fingers, and is learning how to suck on his fingers (we got rid of the guckie/pokey/pacifier.)  He also likes to chew on people, and blankets.

About washing the diapers in a bucket with a plunger:  I’m sure many people think I’m crazy, even just for using cloth diapers, let alone hand washing them.  But the thing is, they need to be washed frequently or they stink up the place, so rather than haul them to my mom’s 2-3 times a week (we do pay her a small amount to use the washing machine, so we’re not totally mooching I just wash them at home and then do the rest of our laundry over there once a week or so.  It is hard work -washing by hand.  I get quite an arm workout!  But I have always said I want to have the kind of lifestyle that keeps me strong and fit, without having to go to a gym or do much exercise on purpose.  I loathe gyms.  You pay money to do something that you can do almost anywhere for free (that is- stay healthy.  I’m not talking about athletic training at all) and you have to make special time to do it.  Why not do the “exercising” and regular work or play at the same time, pay nothing, and get a lot of personal satisfaction from doing chores and finishing projects besides?

laundry
sweeping and mopping
scrubbing
holding the baby
vaccuuming
mowing the lawn
gardening
walking places
raking leaves
caring for animals
home improvement projects
playing with kids

All these things are good exercise.  Add in some stretches, maybe some push ups and crunches and walking or jogging if needed and you’re good.  Oh and eat healthy food and don’t be greedy.

That would be my ideal fitness plan.  Do the work that needs to be done, and play, too.  And pay attention to your posture.

My, what a long post!

my sewing machine!

It’s still in Virginia, so I won’t get it until (hopefully) this summer, but here it is!  My father-in-law is going to refinish some parts of the cabinet for me.

Isn’t it pretty?  It has a modern, drop-in bobbin, and a bobbin winder!  The presser foot is old-fashioned but I have some instructions on how to modify it so that it will work with modern attachments.

I think they said it is a 1917 model.

feeling motivated

but Abraham wants me to sit with him right now, so all my planned tasks will have to wait.

So I will blog about them instead.

I got some inspirational Christmas gifts.  Some vintage patterns that I’m dying to try out, in particular a 4os skirt suit.  I am into suits right now because they are warm and the jacket is easier to move aside for nursing than a sweater is.  There are also several nice blouse patterns that will be easy to whip up.

I also got The Mary Frances Sewing Book which is a 19-teens novel/beginning sewing course for little girls.  It is enchanting.  As you read the story and do the projects (patterns are included!) you end up with an impressive wardrobe for your 16″ doll.  I’ve already read it.  I don’t have a doll, but it inspired me to work on my handsewing.  I also ordered a reprinted victorian sewing book that is similar to the Mary Frances book, but is for adults.  Also, it has more detailed pictures.  The first thing I want to do is learn how to properly sew a buttonhole.  Mine always end up frayed.  I have a dress my grandma made, with handsewn buttonholes, and they are exquisite.

I read a blog (it is a private blog, so no link -sorry) of a woman my age who is a FIT graduate and sews amazing clothes all the time.  She uses a treadle sewing machine.  This woman, and the Mary Frances book, have inspired me to get a treadle machine and use it exclusively, except when a portable machine is needed.  The cool thing about them is that they are very durable and powerful, and yet inexpensive.  Most machines all cleaned up and ready to sew cost around $100.  Sewing was such a common activity back then that everyone had one, so they are not rare.  Individual machines might be rare for unique features, and there are rare models, but most are very common.  A brand new machine of comparable quality (an all-metal industrial machine, since, to my knowledge, you have to get an industrial to get all metal parts) would cost around $1000.  Of course, many vintage electric machines are all metal and very durable, so if you want a metal machine you don’t have to get the treadle kind.

Another plus is the simplicity of the treadle machines.  It’s a lot easier to fix a treadle machine than an electric, or even worse, a computerized machine.  A computerized machine made ten years ago might break and be totally lost, just because the software is obsolete.  But there will always be people who know how to tune up gears and fix driving belts.  I can’t stand computerized machines.  Basically if there used to be a knob to, for example, lengthen the stitch or move the needle position, there is now a touch screen button to do the same thing.  If the touch screen dies, the whole machine is dead.  Why is computerizing the knob an improvement?  Is it really that hard to turn a knob?

So anyway, I’ve done lots of research on the different kinds and found the type I want, and then found a guy on craigslist who restores treadle machines for fun and then sells them.  I asked him if he had the model I want, and he did (it is a very common model.)  This was on a Virginia craigslist because my father-in-law was helping me find one and that’s where he lives.  Anyway, he is going to go pick it up for me on Tuesday and clean it and tune it up (he likes doing that kind of thing.)  Then whenever we are visiting next I will get my machine!

This is the kind I’m getting, more or less:

Such pretty decals.  People made things so pretty back then, and such good quality.  Now everything is chipboard and plastic.  And EXPENSIVE!  Sigh.

Well now Abraham is asleep so I’d better sign off and start doing stuff before my motivation dies. 

ahhh…so pretty

I am so happy.  I went through my fabric, pared it down a bit, and then rolled up each piece in equal lengths and put them all away in my basket shelf by color (more or less).  I learned this trick at the costume shop.  It allows all the fabric to be visible and easily accessed from the front.

Isn’t it pretty?

I also started working on my quilt again, now that Christmas presents are done.  It is really nice to quilt in the winter.  Warm and cozy.

I scanned my quilt front and back just for fun -and to show off.  They look best full size, so click to see.

homemade Christmas

A lot of the presents I gave this year were homemade.  It was really fun to do and I hope to do it next year, too.

We drew Avram and Thora’s family for our Shannon gift exchange.  They have two girls, ages 3 and 1.5.  They both love dolls, so I made them each a doll from a pattern that my mom made a doll from for me and my sisters.  She got the pattern from her aunt, who had made her a doll when she was little.  Her aunt got the pattern from her mother in law.  So we are talking about a doll pattern that is around 100 years old!  I figured I should continue the tradition.  Besides, I really liked my doll when I was little, and I was never much of a doll person.

These are the first dolls I’ve ever made, as well as the first embroidery I’ve ever done (on the faces).  I made one with brown hair and one with blond hair.  Cute sister dolls!  They are big -supposed to be like a  life-size 12 month old.  These two are wearing 6-9 month clothes, I think.

And Thora, remember -I can fix almost any part of these dolls (severed limbs, shorn hair, gashes, stains) so let your girls have at it!  I would hate for them to be just to look at.

I made Thora an apron from a 1950’s pattern.  The pattern was free, from my grandma, as well as the fabric.  I forgot to get a picture of it, so only Thora will get this, but the floral fabric is actually from a home decorating swatch.  My grandma got tons of those from a friend who worked at a fabric store or something.

For Samuel, I made a kimono and will make a kataginu to go with it, so he will have a Samurai costume (he got hakima pants from his parents).  When that’s done I will take pictures and do a blog post.

For Abraham, I made a baby kimono and pilot cap out of a felted cashmere sweater.  It is super soft, and hand washable.  He looks cute and cozy in it.

And I made all of these things this summer and fall while pregnant or with a newborn!  I actually made Samuel’s kimono just a couple weeks ago and finished the pilot cap on Christmas eve.

I got lots of cool vintage sewing patterns for Christmas, so lots to do in my future!

2009

I don’t regularly write about the year in review but this year was really big, so I thought I should sum it up.

This is what I wrote on New Year’s Day last year.  In parenthesis I’ve added what I actually accomplished:

In 2009 I hope:

To graduate! (check)
To have a baby or have one on the way (check)
To celebrate my 2nd wedding anniversery (check)
That Samuel will get accepted to a good grad school with scholarship (didn’t happen)
That we will move somewhere awesome and bring my kitty (well, we moved to my home town )
To take horseback riding lessons often -going to start soon if possible (nope -I got pregnant and we didn’t have the money anyway)
To possibly adopt a dog (nope)
To finish reading the Bible (nope)
To sew a few more dresses (three)
To finish my quilt (almost -the massive amount of handmade Christmas presents got in the way)
To grow some vegetables (nope)
To read whatever books I want, instead of textbooks (check)
To grow another 4+ inches of hair (check)
To buy fewer things and be more content with what I have (I would say I did pretty good with this one, although it was partly out of necessity)

Some actual resolutions:

To buy no new clothes except underwear and socks if needed  (I bought some maternity bras (not used) and clothes, and some for post partum) 
To only buy used clothes if I need them (all the clothes I bought (not underwear) were used)
To not let senioritis take over  (can’t remember exactly, but I know I got pretty decent grades that semester) 
To read more instead of surf the web (very bad at this one.  But I blame recovering from a degree in literature)

2009 in one paragraph:
         The year started with my last semester at BYU.  Around January 31 I got pregnant.  I discovered that fact on February 15.  I graduated in April, and my whole family came to see me, my brother, and my mom all graduate from BYU.  In early May, Samuel and I found out that he didn’t get accepted to any grad schools.  In late May, we moved from Provo to Manhattan, Kansas, because of a job lead.  On the way, we visited Avram and Thora in Ohio, Samuel’s parents in Virginia, and his grandparents in Tennessee.  We moved into our Manhattan apartment on June 8th.  The job lead fell through, and we were unemployed until late July, when Samuel applied to be a water tester and got hired.  A week later when he found out that “water tester” actually meant “door-to-door salesman,” he quit.  We remained unemployed until late August when Samuel was hired as a paraprofessional working with autistic elementary school students.  Thanks to the large amount of money Samuel and I saved while living in Provo, we were able to survive the summer and only borrow about as much or less as our tax return should be in 2010, so we should be debt free when we get that.  Until  Samuel gets student loans. :P  This year has been one of extreme frugality, and I hope to continue what I’ve been doing for a long time, so we can be debt free as soon as possible.  On October 17th, I gave birth to Abraham, our wonderful baby boy.  Around this time Samuel applied to several grad school programs in Ohio, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Tennessee.  In December, Samuel’s family came and stayed with us to do Abraham’s blessing at church (kind of like christening).  We stayed in Manhattan for Christmas and then drove to be with Samuel’s family in Tennessee for the rest of the year.

I would say the motto of the year could be “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.”  1 Timothy 6:8

We certainly had that and much more!