Custom Pillowcases

The first slip of paper out of our Summer Fun Jars under To Make was Pillowcases. I gave the girls 3 choices:

... Pick fabric and we'd sew pillowcases.
... Write then embroider their names on pillowcases.
... Go to town with fabric markers on plain pillowcases.

Shockingly, they picked the colouring option.

(That's a drawing of a tiger quilt on your right.)

Over the course of a week they drew, they coloured, the signed, they went crazy on two cheap pillowcases I picked up at a big box store. The fabric markers I already had, leftover from the days when I would colour all my quilt labels. Like most of our crafting I let them be, with little direction. This was their project, not mine. I believe in setting them up and letting them do what they want.

 Now, at night, they curl up with their personal artwork. It's pretty darn cute.

Slow Down

Stop it! Stop growing so fast!

I say that in my head very frequently, whether I'm looking at my chunky monkey baby, Death Wish Arkison trying yet something new and scary, or the depth of my conversations with The Monster. I wish they would stay teeny and innocent and full of natural curiosity. And not talk back to me.

The Monster turned six this week and Death Wish was four last month. I would be lying if I didn't admit I was thankful that Nikolai keeps me grounded in babyness.

Case in point. The Monster lost her first tooth last week. It was wiggly, oh so wiggly. We were chilling out watching Swamp People when she became very insistent that Daddy pull her tooth. Oddly, she frowned upon a solid punch to knock it out. Instead, we got some embroidery floss. Wrapping it and a quick tug and we had a tooth in hand.

That, of course, meant we need a safe spot for the tooth to rest until the Tooth Fairy showed up. A couple of carefully chosen (Tiger inspired) fabrics, cut into 3'' squares, sewn back to back with a little Red Light Green Light. She was clear that there be no closure of any kind - to make it easier for The Tooth Fairy.

What about making it easy for Mama as she grows up too fast?

In Theory...

Any guess on what this is?

...

... Giving you a chance to guess here...

...

...

Here's a hint...

Got it now?

Yup, it's a small pillow made to mimic a bladder. Those aren't arteries and a vein coming from the bladder pillow. Those are the ureters (red) and urethra (blue). We had no pink ribbon in the house.

The girls have been listening to me whine about this baby kicking me like the dickens in my bladder. It's a pressure I've not experienced before. So The Monster, the wise one she is, suggested we make a pillow that looks like the bladder for the baby to kick instead of me.

So, she pulled out her anatomy textbook and human body books for reference. Consulted with my brother, a surgeon, on the correct colour of the bladder. She raided my fabric stash for what she thought was the appropriate fabric. She even drew the pattern herself. And did most of the stitching by hand on her own. She and her sister stuffed it to what they thought was the appropriate puffiness.

And now the baby has its own pillow to kick instead of me. I only wish it actually worked.

And dammit, I love this kid. She is pure awesome.

Bunnies

Easy sewing, right? A great project for beginners, right? Apparently Lotta Jansdotter doesn't know my kids.

At Market, Lotta Jansdotter gave out these cute little charm packs, pre-printed with a pattern for a little bunny stuffy. Even she commented that they would be a great first-time sewing project, or at least a fast one for the experienced sewer.

So I thought I would bring my little packets out one cold afternoon. The Monster has been begging me to teach her to sew after all. We reviewed our lessons from playing with sewing cards and embroidery hoops. We redrew the pattern, marking dots for where the needle would go in and out. We picked a giant needle to make it easier for little fingers.

I'm happy to report that there were no tears. This, in an of itself, should make it a successful venture. When The Monster is learning something new and can't do it perfectly from the very first effort there are almost always tears. No tears and only minor frustration, but frankly, they were bored. They kept asking if I could just do it or could they try on the machine. At that point I should have put the project aside, to be picked up later. Did I do that? No, of course not. I made them finish, by helping a lot. We had the distractions of pins, scissors, and the red pen we used for marking. Oh, and tiger costumes. When it got to stuffing their interest was renewed. And after I closed them up they went to town with a pen to draw on a face.

And they haven't asked me to sew again.