The end of another January . . .

One month of the new year is already gone. Amazing to me how much faster time goes with a little one in the mix. I hardly had time to get depressed.

We've had a nice amount of snow so far this winter in the middle of the Mitten (look at a map of Michigan if that phrase has you stumped). Not too much, not too little. I tend to be more bummed if there is too little snow than too much. Too little means gross dead grass and mud all over the place. For someone who works from home most of the week, too much almost doesn't exist. I don't mind shoveling the walk and the driveway (especially when these guys help out).

And I'm usually pretty cozy inside and love a nice white backyard to look at out my window. If it's gently snowing, so much the better. I can put on some nice music and thoroughly enjoy the snow. We've even had about five or six days this month when the sun was shining, which is pretty phenomenal.

To tell you the truth, while I'm looking forward to spring when Calvin and I can resume our walks to storytime and the park and he can start helping me plant our kitchen garden, I'm not unhappy that there at 2+ cold months ahead. While I'm starting to think about what to sew for my Easter dress, I know that Lent must come first. While I'm wondering how the daffodils I planted this fall will look in the spring, the garden is far less work in the wintertime (well, it's no work at all).

All that to say that I'm mentally stable about the fact that tomorrow February begins. And that's partially because I just crocheted my first hat. Who wants to have a warm alpaca beret on her head when it's above freezing?

Here's the preview.

Tomorrow the reveal.

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Me and Oslo

This is who I have been hanging out with this weekend. His name is Oslo. He is a Eurasian Eagle Owl. I could talk about him for an hour.

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A Summery Apron for January

I made this with myself in mind, but my still-large waist doesn't do the style justice. You can find it in my Esty shop, Stuff To Charm You. It's made from a 1940s/1950s pattern (not sure which era, exactly) and I even made the bias binding myself. If you're a medium or a large with a slim waist, it's just right for you!

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Laundry Love

I don't know about you, but when it comes to laundry, I'm not a fan of socks (cheeky little fellows who like to play hide and seek), delicates (too prim and proper for the common dryer, are you?), or my son's tiny clothes (there are just so many of them in a load!).

Here's what I like: towels, sheets, and tablecloths. All things that are superbly stackable. There's nothing like a solid stack of fresh towels. And after getting de-prioritized for weeks and weeks (yes, that's a Christmas tablecloth in there) while we did loads of essentials that I hate having to put away, a lovely stack of tablecloths ready for the drawer.

Simple. Rectangles. Love it.

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My First Knit Shirt

Sewing Myth #82—Busted. Knits are not actually the devil's preferred fabric.

I am really happy with how my first knit sewing project turned out and I didn't find that sewing with a knit fabric drove me to the edge of insanity. It wasn't hard, just different. It required slightly different handling, but it is nothing to be afraid of. So if you're avoiding knits because you've heard they're too much trouble, I say give them a try. Buy good quality fabric and use a pattern designed for knits and I'm sure it will go fairly smoothly. You just have to slow down and read the directions and not pull too much on them.

And frankly some things are actually easier. I'll tell you, putting in the sleeves of a knit shirt is easy compared to set-in sleeves in a non-knit fabric. And there's no facing. And no closures. It's pretty darn cheap. And expanding to knits means more fabric patterns to choose from.

So, fellow seamstresses, maybe it's time to branch out a bit.

Coming up soon, I'll be doing this shirt pattern again in a very different, more open knit in super-springy green. I'll lengthen the pattern a wee bit and I may do 3/4 sleeves. We'll see.

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There is music in the word home . . .

Last night's low temperature was 0 degrees Fahrenheit. That's 32 degrees below freezing. That's -18 degrees Celsius, for all you rest-of-the-worlders. That's cold no matter what scale you use. Today's high is 16.

It's January.


Even though the days are supposedly getting longer, in late January it is usually so cloudy that it feels like it's getting darker earlier and earlier still. This is 4:30pm and the inside of the house is dark, dark, dark as the snow flies outside.

 And in January I'm reminded how lucky I am to live in a supremely cozy brick house with heat and a fireplace and hot coffee and slippers. It may be gray outside. The wind may drive the cold into my very bones. My fluffy half-Samoyed dog may actually want to get back in the house after going out in the morning rather than laying in a snow bank like she usually does (voluntarily) all winter.

But my little boy can tear around his warm house in slippers with fire engines on them. My husband can fix the model train setup in the basement by the space heater. And I can sit inside in tights, a comfy knit dress, a shawl, and slippers and be perfectly content. Add a cat on my lap and a dog on my feet and a cup of hot cocoa and I'm very, very, very happy.

I'm getting through this winter fairly well with only a few moments of despair at the blank sky. I'm getting back to clothes sewing this week and I am continuing my regular exercise as I work up to running a 5k. And next weekend I will spend about 12 hours working the Michigan Veterinary Medicine Association convention for the zoo. I'm slowly but surely gaining the upper hand in the battle against atrophy in the house, moving troops of towels and socks, taking command of piles of random stuff gleaned from various corners of the house.

Sweet the smile of home; the mutual look
Where hearts are of each other sure;
Sweet all the joys that crowd the household nook,
The haunt of all affections pure.
                                                   ~John Keble

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The Circus

Last night we took the boy to his very first circus. He. Loved. It.

Here he is ready to brave the single digit temperatures to go see tigers, elephants, and acrobats.

After we found our seats his little mind worked to take it all in.

Pretty soon he was all smiles, watching the clowns (which he found amusing rather than creepy), pony rides, and elephant rides, and anticipating the release of the six tigers that had just been wheeled into the arena in cages.

Sorry this picture is so blurry.

He also greatly enjoyed the snacks daddy got while waiting for the show to start.

And finally the show began with the tigers.

Two hours of pure entertainment with some really incredible and unique acts from all over the world. Performing dogs, cats, and pigs. People driving motorcycles across tightropes. Acrobats, hula hoopers, people spinning on ropes, vase balancing, plate spinning, people vaulting through the air doing flips, trick jump-roping. Yes, there was even a human cannonball. The only thing I could get decent pictures of was the tigers. After that the lights were too dim and the acrobats too fast to capture. Plus, some things are better to capture in your mind's eye, not from behind a lens.

By the end of the night, Calvin was dancing, bouncing, clapping, and giving a hearty "Woooooooo!" to encourage the performers and let them know that we appreciated their talent and were having a great time.

This is definitely on our list of things to do next year when they come back. What great fun during a bitterly cold and gray month.

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Grandma Wiggins' Cross-Stitched Quilt

My last heirloom post involved my great-grandmother Elizabeth Smith. Forty to fifty years after she finished her yo-yo coverlet, her daughter-in-law Helen Wiggins (married to two of Elizabeth's sons, Norval and Linny—not at the same time) was working hard on a very different quilt. In the 1970s, my grandmother Helen was cross-stitching this masterpiece.

You can tell from the colors that this kit was a product of the 1970s, can't you? According to my mother it took her mom years to finish the cross-stitching but she's pretty sure it was finished by the time Linny died in 1986.

After Lin died, Helen moved from Detroit to Bay City to be closer to my parents. She looked for a few years before she found someone to hand quilt the piece.

I don't know the identity of the quilter or how much Grandma paid, but I think she got her money's worth no matter what because it really is very fine quilting. It's hard for me to imagine putting all that work into hand quilting and then handing it back to its owner, no matter what I got paid.

This quilt is sized for a double bed. If we had a guest room, this would definitely be on rotation. But I don't envision a time when we'll have a double bed in the house, so for now we generally use this on the couch when Mom comes to visit overnight or on the futon downstairs on the rare occasions we have other overnight guests.

In fact, it's the only heirloom quilt I actually use because it is the only one that isn't pretty seriously damaged, probably because it is a more recent creation and has certainly never been washed. To my knowledge, Grandma never used it. I never saw it until after she died in the late 1990s. It's a shame that she worked so hard on it and paid to get it quilted and then put it in storage. If you're a quilter or a knitter or a crocheter, use your creations. It makes them happy to be used.


Helen and Linny



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Because I don't have enough hobbies already . . .

In the early aughts when we lived in Grand Rapids my husband suggested I learn how to play the bass guitar for our more contemporary praise songs in church (I use the word "contemporary" very loosely here). His sister had been playing bass for choruses, but she and her family had moved on to a different church so I gamely said I would try.

Zach played bass in two bands in high school and college and is very good at it. In fact he owns two acoustic guitars, one electric, one backpacker guitar, and the bass guitar. I never actually got very good, but I could generally play extremely simple bass lines. I never practiced during the week and we didn't use the guitars in church every week, so much of the time when we ran through songs before the service I could be heard asking Zach, "Wait, what's D? Is this a B flat?"

Still, I did enjoy it. Once we moved to Lansing I would occasionally play bass for church, but since there was a high school guy learning bass I thought it would be much nicer to have him play. And then I got pregnant and a big pregnant belly does not allow for playing bass. At this point, I don't remember any notes.

But I've always loved guitar (especially acoustic classical guitar) and there have been a number of occasions where it would have convenient and fun to be able to play guitar myself, as an accompaniment to my singing for special music for church, instead of adding yet another thing for my husband/pastor to do on Sunday mornings.

Then last weekend I got the pamphlet for Michigan State University's Evening College courses for this semester. Guitar for Beginners. Why not?

I signed up this afternoon.

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Great-Grandmother Elizabeth's Yo-Yo Coverlet

Elizabeth Smith was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1884, the third of eight children. Her father Samuel was born in Ontario and had been left an orphan at age two and was raised by a woman named Mrs. Wilson while his sister was shipped out west to another family and was lost track of in later years. Samuel eventually became a metal pattern maker (one of the first Henry Ford had) and moved around as his job demanded. Thus his children were born in various Midwestern cities, including Bay City, Michigan (where I grew up); Cleveland, Ohio; and Windsor, Ontario.

Elizabeth married Robert Andrew Wiggins in 1906 and among their children was Norval Wiggins, my mother's father, and Robert Linwood (Linny), my mother's uncle and, after his brother Norval's death, my mother's stepfather.


Elizabeth with her daughter Gertrude, son Linny (in the grass), and husband Bob

 I don't know much about Elizabeth. I have two heirlooms that belonged to her, once of which is this pretty spectacular queen-sized yo-yo coverlet.

My estimate puts this coverlet being constructed of probably in excess of 3,000 yo-yos. The patterned yo-yos were made from fabric scraps from the house dresses Elizabeth had made herself in the 1920s and 1930s (judging by the fabrics).


Elizabeth (far right) with a sister and perhaps a friend or relative (the tall one) in the 1920s

Elizabeth died in Detroit 1939 at age 55, just four years after her arrival in the US (she lived most of her life in Windsor, Ontario). I imagine that this quilt was completed sometime in the mid to late 1930s.

My mother passed this quilt on to me when I moved into our house, thinking that I might be able to display it and in any case that I would like to be its caretaker since I actually quilt. Unfortunately, 1930s colors don't match my color scheme and I'm pretty sure most men think yo-yo coverlets are hideous and too "country" looking, so I don't think Zach would be super thrilled to have it out (and I'm sure my Dad didn't care for it either). Still, I store it and I did spend a fairly significant bit of time repairing it once it was in my possession. Many of the yo-yos had detached from their neighbors. I searched for offenders and tacked them back together. Incredibly, there is only one yo-yo that is completely damaged.

Really, I'm not sure how practical yo-yo coverlets are. They aren't really used for warmth because they have no batting and are filled with holes. And they tend to be delicate because they are all hand-sewn. But they are impressive.

I don't know if Elizabeth produced any other quilts or blankets in her lifetime, but my understanding is that she was an excellent seamstress. Judging by the number of fabrics used in this coverlet, and if they truly did come from her leftovers after sewing house dresses, I have some catching up to do!

Elizabeth (second from right) with all of her living sisters in the 1930s. I want their hats.

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January Melt

In a moment I am going to have to relocate to a cheerier part of my house because the view out my office window inspired me to pen this little poem just now:

January Melt

It's raining

It's snowing

It's dripping

It's blowing

It's graying the skies

Delaying my brain

Replaying my sighs

This mournful refrain

So I'm off to a room with drapes drawn, cheery lamplight, green walls, and colorful quilts, remaining ever aware how blessed I am to work from home.

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Pilgrimage

Once a year I get out to Fabric Gallery, a high-end apparel fabric store in Williamston, Michigan. I go with my friend Valerie (that's her in front of the store) in January on a little outing we take to celebrate our January birthdays. We go on Martin Luther King Day because she always has the day off.

This was the first trip I'd made there since I started sewing lots of clothes, so I had in mind that I should not leave without some fabric for a dress. But seriously, how do you choose?

One of the main benefits of going to a specialty store (besides the obvious one that the stock is higher quality) is the staff. They are so knowledgeable about their products. They know where they come from (because they were all hand picked by them!). They offer advice about technique. They look through their store with you, trying to find just the right fabric for your project.

This particular store also has the most extensive selection of unique buttons and trim in every color that I've ever seen.

It's a perfect place to spend time on a very cold, very gray January day.

Fabric Gallery also carries several brands of patterns that you can't find in any other stores. I broke form and actually bought a shirt pattern and fabric for it together, on the same day. Actually, for two shirts from the same pattern. I rarely do this. Normally I just stash up on both separately and match them up later.

This shirt will be my first attempt at sewing knits. I'm hoping I'll fall in love with it because I really do like a lot of styles that utilize knits.

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Tutorial: Recovering Dining Room Chairs

This is the easiest redecorating project in the world. If you've never recovered a piece of furniture and if the thought of sewing makes you break out in hives, this is the project you should start with. Any idiot can do this. And you're no idiot.

Here's what you need:

chairs
fabric (medium to heavy weight upholstery fabric works best)
scissors
screwdriver
staple gun

Seriously, that's it. You have all of that in your house except the fabric, right? (Note: if you don't already own a staple gun, you should.)

Picking fabric: Think of your dishes, your tablecloths, and your placemats. Think of your wall color and carpet color. Then pick something that will be flexible. You might love deep red, but in the spring when you want to set an Easter table it might be hard to work it into your lighter color scheme. You might fawn over an ivory brocade, but if you have a toddler or a husband or drink a lot of grape juice, this may not be the best choice.

This time around I've chosen a lovely textured fairly neutral chocolate brown. Because it is a geometric design, I just have to be a tiny bit extra careful when I put it on so it's not crooked. If you really feel this would be a problem for you then choose a non-directional design.

So, you've got your chair.

Yes, this fabric is cute, but it is restrictive (see also: Picking fabric), it's been on there for about five years, it's getting faded, it's getting stained, and frankly I don't think my husband much cares for it. You can pull off the old fabric or leave it on to give your seats just that much more cush. Be aware, however, that like a roof, you can only cover over the old for so many layers. At some point if you cover your chairs multiple times, you really will have to get rid of some layers underneath. You'll see why soon. Oh, and obviously if your old cover shows through the new fabric, it has to come off. Another reason to skew dark.

Now, turn your chair over.

Remove the screws holding the chair pad onto the frame.

Use the chair pad to determine where to cut your fabric. Don't skimp. You need enough to wrap around snugly and staple.

I find a square about 30x30" is a good estimate for my chairs when buying fabric. I probably use a little less than that, but it helps you get enough fabric. Multiply by however many chairs you have (6 in my case) and use that as your guide when buying your fabric.

Cut your fabric.

Staple the front part first, followed by the back, making sure that you are pulling taut and keeping any one-way designs from being skewed (in other words, you have to use equal pressure/strength when pulling at your fabric to avoid messing up the design).

Don't staple all the way to the corners. Leave about 3 inches open at the ends. I do corners last. Next staple the sides, again leaving off about 3 inches from the corners.

At this point you might trim off a bit at the corners, but not too much! Now, when doing the corners the point is to try not to have visible folds or bumps on the part that people will see. So you just pull, tug, and staple, working with your fabric, to try to achieve that. Also, you want the corners to be as flat as possible (which is why you can't have too many layers of old fabric under there).

I start with the middle.

Then ease one side in.

And then the other.

Don't worry about perfection. This is the underside of the chair. Just try to get as few bumps on the curve that will show on the outside as possible. Trim off any extra fabric that might hang down and be visible. Repeat for all corners.

And here's the top.

Screw it back in place on the chair frame and voila!

Once you get the process down, it should take only about 20 minutes per chair. So all told my 6 chairs will take me roughly an hour and a half to recover. That's an evening after dinner. Easy. No sewing. No excuses. So what are you waiting for?

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