Semi-Handmade

Semi-Handmade :: The Return

Thanks for waiting...

So what does a Part-Time Hybrid Mother actually do on a six month sabbatical? Believe me, I ask myself this question to.

To begin, I...

• Surgically fixed an umbilical hernia and diastasis, I did not personally fix it but I had a great surgeon do it- wow, it is nice to have core muscles connecting again and my intestines in their place at all times
• We moved the 'family bed' out of the master bedroom, and back in and back out AGAIN
• I made arrangements for a vasectomy and gave away our nursery furniture, despite the umbilical cord (figuratively speaking) still being attached to those pieces of furniture
• I knitted a lot- updates on Ravelry soon
• I listened patiently to a lot of inner dialog, had long discussions with my ego and tried to put it in it's place, with the help of a Kiisimaa consultant

 

• I relished in the joy of giving Cassidy and CJ space to find their own unique passions when it comes to winter sports, for CJ it seems one passion is snowboarding and for Cassidy a good ol' snowball fight seems to be here calling right now (fuzzy heart sweater details on Ravelry)
• I fell in love with this soy candle in the Tobacco scent, who knew Tobacco could smell so good
• I skied more than three runs consecutively for the first time in 6 years and it was thrilling to be back in the bindings
• I kept track of an American Girl whom changed her name every week for the past 12 weeks
• I overcame a reluctance to sew with the nicest fabric I know of - Kokka Double Layer Gauze and then went a little crazy with it sewing like a mad woman just for myself this time around
• Thanks to an Alcat Food Intolerance Test I was made aware of my intolerance to gluten and refined sugar and a few other odd things and have changed my diet and no longer have headaches or foggy head (I had been calling it mommy brain but it wasn't!)
• I improved my skateboard skills, perfected my jump shot and fine tuned my ability to catch fly balls
• We trekked to Santa Barbara again and truly enjoyed camping this time every last bit of it, loads of laundry and all 
• I savored sweet, so sweet moments such as CJ schlepping his Boogie Board up and down several flights of stairs by himself at El Capitan Beach, despite the board being twice his size- his tenacity runs deep
• I awaited patiently this gorgeous Loulouthi fabric (above) from Anna Maria Horner and thought about how I could do it justice - shall it be a tunic or a quilt, or both perhaps? I would probably cover my walls with this large floral print (it's called Totem) if I had the nerve to go so feminine- it is just stunning
• I thought a lot about this funny space called blogging, thought of new semi-handmade ideas to share with you, missed my blogging friends and readers and made great plans for this space right here - so here it goes..... I'm back

Corners (Part Seven) ~ In the Bedroom

 
The corners of our homes are all woven spaces of emotion, history, love, personal style, art and living. Corners of our homes tell stories, really they do. This is true of every corner that I have shared with you here to date. Today I share with you a corner that is an intricate lace, complete with fine details, beadwork and woven together with thought, love and attention to details (in this case the details of our needs).

This is how this story began. When it was obvious that the angst I had over my newborn baby girl rolling off our bed and hitting the floor, with a quick smack on the bedside table on the way down to the ground was impeding my "motherhood joy' our large beautiful wooden bed frame and bedside tables were deliberately moved out. I just did not have room in my head for such thoughts. Our mattress has been on the floor since 2006 and I built a fabric covered headboard to make the bed look a little more than something seen in a fraternity house. Then, when it was obvious that the co-sleeping in our home was not a short phase we would grow out of within a few weeks, I drove to Ikea. I deliberately took all the seats out of my mini-van, drove myself to Ikea and bought a second large mattress so that yes - I could lay it straight on the floor and then the four of us could have sweet dreams. Our master bedroom is now a room full of mattress.

 

We never really set out to co-sleep, as most people call it. It was not a plan Sean and I laid out. We had been through different phases with sleeping, even did some sleep "training". I bought the sleep training book and had my mom come to stay for emotional support and the training began. It even worked for some time.  But then we would get out of the standard operating procedures and the effort and struggle to get everyone comfortable and happy in thier own rooms became just too much and was not working for any of us. It was a major operation each and every night.

Even though this wall-to-wall memory foam floor plan was not deliberate, I actually did have very deliberate alternative plans and clear ideas for this corner that did not involve wall-to-wall mattresses. Before it was obvious that this corner was going to be taken over by memory foam I shopped for just the right reading chair. I was looking for something smart, modern but organic in style, something comfortable that you could curl up in and read a book. It was going to be a "statement" chair, something you saw the minute you walked in the master bedroom and that drew you into the room. I even had searched ebay for just the right vintage reading lamp or funky chandelier to go along and light up this corner. I had a new substantial bed frame picked out waiting to be ordered. But then the second mattresses took over, the initial mattress moved to make room and the "reading corner" became much to small for a chair.

You can call us names if you like- granola, hippies, enablers, lazy. This is not whom we are but sometimes it is easier to judge with labels. It just was simply about needs and getting as much sleep as possible with the most comfort for all four of us. Just needs...needs being met. Certainly connection is also a need considered in this undeliberate and unfolding arrangement.

Believe me questions have come up, some psycholigcal and some just ego-centric material design dilemmas...

- Do you move the fabric covered headboard (it is screwed to the wall) once you have the moved the beds around to make room for the second mattress? Do you move the lamps attached to the wall, that where centered to the first mattress?

- Will our children need extensive therapy as adults?

- Do you make matching semi-handmade quilts for the two beds or go along with this hodge podge of West Elm, Garnet Hill and Ikea Bedspreads? I mean it is temporary after all. (The seashell colored crocheted blanket at the foot of Bed #1 was hand crocheted by my mother and is indeed King Size! That is a lot of crocheting!)

- Does making these two beds each morning count as a cardio work out?

- Will our marriage sustain such an arrangement?

- Will they ever want to sleep in thier own rooms (the kiddos do indeed have thier own bedroom with beds)?

Proof is in this post, this post shows Cassidy's bedroom now and this one shows her room a few years back before we rearranged most recently.

 

Nonetheless this is us, this is us right now. Right now... here we are.

So need I say, the looking around for the "statement chair" is on hold. I instead have enjoyed making this stretched canvas to hang over the fireplace. It has four birds in descending size made from textured home fabrics in  bluish seashell colors. Here is the free pattern for the framed version from the Amy Butler website. I just cut out the bird in four slightly different sizes, sewed them onto a piece of an old Ikea bedspread that had a stain and stretched this over a semi-handmade wood frame instead of actually framing one bird as the pattern outlines. I also enjoyed laying out the arrangement of frames above the dresser, using mostly photos from just this last year and then a few from before we even had kids. My favorite of the latter is this one of a donkey.

 
Sean took this when outside of Pemberton B.C. (near Whistler) when at a dear friends wedding. I like the look on the donkey's face and the texture of the wooden fence. I also love this photo of Sean putting on a golf course in Punta Mita, Mexico circa 2004 on a trip we took on our wedding anniversary that year.

 
A few other tweeks and this corner really is comfortable and ok to look at too, even when it is covered with children's books, the too often used humidifier, glasses of water, lego "dudes" that had to come to sleep with us several nights in a row and the other random objects that tell our story.

Holiday Memories

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of Holiday Moments, now Memories. I am sure this is true for you too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Happy New Year wishes to All!

Peace~ Amongst Poinsettias & New Boots

 
I have been thinking about chaos (thanks to a graceful reminder from Mary Allison) and trying to notice everything aside from and along with the chaos that ensues. Amongst all the chaos during this time of year combined with the chaos that comes along with motherhood I am finding some peace. Success! Sometimes it is a moment, sometimes it is a new awareness in a stage or step of a process, sometimes (rarely) it is an entire day full of peace.

It is a bit of a tradition to visit a local poinsettia farm (local to my parents in San Diego anyhow) and load up as many as we can fit in the car. I am awe struck each year that I step into the door of the green house and see the sweeping view of red and ivory. The light from the green house ceiling illuminates the flowers in such a unique way. This sort of every day awe and beauty is peace for me right now. Watching Cassidy walk around and take her sweet time picking out just the right poinsettia for her room along side my mom - that is peace for me right now.

 
Peace has come in many forms this season, not just in a beautiful green house moments. Peace has also come for me in acceptance. I have come to accept many things, SLOWLY, over the years. I  won't get into all this ...but one thing that has taken a long time to accept of all thing is my calves. I have gigantic, enormous calves. Last week as I walked up the stairs holding a 36 pound 3 year old with a 102 degree fever whose face was nuzzled in my neck, I realized I love my calves. I am at peace with my calves. Amongst the chaos of caring for my family I have realized these calves have propelled me up the stairs , carrying babies, then toddlers - sometimes two at one time. Sometimes a toddler and a bag. The strength in those huge muscles that are attached to the backs of my legs - well I am at peace. The gratitude I have for the strength they offer, that gives me peace.

The fact that after years of searching, followed by years of giving up, I have also found some boots that comfortably fit over my large calves. This may have played a part in new found peace. The dress is an Anna Maria Horner Pattern and made of her Little Folks voile fabric line too. What better way to celebrate new boots and new found peace than with a semi-handmade tunic.

Anyhow, hope you are finding peace amongst your chaos and gratitude in your air! 

Corners (Part Size) ~ Our Lil' Gallery of Memories

 
Like all the corners of our home, this one has taken up some of my (at times limited) head space for some time. I was inspired by two sources. The main inspiration came from an article I saw in a Martha Stewart Magazine, but you can see it live here. Play the video but fast forward to 4 1/2 minutes in to get to the segment on memory boxes. I was also inspired by an article in the Los Angeles Times Magazine, but I can't get my fingers on it right now. Go figure. And of course I was inspired by watching on a daily basis how quickly my children change, grow, adapt, learn, realize whom they already are and become whom they are meant to be...

Anyhow, I set off to update and redo the photo gallery we have in our staircase and hallway. The project went a little off track and into the two kiddos bedrooms as well. It was a lot of fun and really hard to be concise. In the end I added memory boxes I found at West Elm (they are in the stores now but I don't see them on the website) some kids art, more recent photographs and a few older (70s) photos of my family. The other main addition was two large canvases and one smaller canvas. The photos on the canvases were taken and created by my friend and talented family photographer, Carol Reach. The larger canvases are life size images of both Cassidy and CJ as of June 2010. The smaller canvas has three images of them interacting during the photo shoot. (Yes, it took me five months to get everything ordered, delivered and eventually hung just so!)

I wanted to include so many great memories but we only have so much wall space, it was hard to narrow it down but like many things I do, I just jumped in and quickly decided. I could have hemmed and hawed more but it would not have gotten me any more wall space so what was the point.

 
The images used for the life size canvases were taken in June, the result is like freezing a moment in time. I love the personality and twinkle in the eye that Carol caught with each image. I especially love the way CJ is trying to get comfortable with his hands in his seersucker slacks. Cj's canvas is a little bit shorter than Cassidy's canvas as he was (and for the time being is still) a few inches shorter than her. A skylight above keeps the canvases well lit. The white background and height of the canvases accentuates the height of the ceiling in this specific space.

 
I added some more recent photographs that I have taken and a few that Katie of Claire Alyse has taken. I also added this great pastel that Cassidy made last Spring.

 
At the top of the stairs are two memory boxes. One holds a photograph of CJ studying a skateboard and two miniature skateboards. These mini skateboards are all over our home, and often he falls asleep with them in his hands at night. The bottom box is Cassidy at 2 months wearing a knitted beanie I made her, and the beanie itself.

 
In the hallway is the third and smallest canvas, a floating image frame and two more memory boxes.

 
In CJ's room I added a memory box that holds the "King of Everything" illustration by Marisa Haedike and some photos I took of him in a crown that I made him. Those photos were also in this post here.

 
In Cassidy's room I added a memory box holding a photo of her feet in Capezio character shoes, as she was heading off to a sleep over with her aunt Judy. Post on that here. Also in the memory box are some of her baby shoes. I am still debating on this one, perhaps just one pair of black shoes will look better (less busy). Or maybe I should add as many of her baby shoes as could possibly fit. There I go again - hemming and hawing. I thought I was not going to do that.

 

 

Corners (Part Six) ~ The Studio and The Gratitude

 
 
I am still calmly working around the corners of our home to clear some space, clear some cobwebs and leave a clearer footprint of the semi-handmade style here and there. That is a lot of clearing! The process also includes thinking about how we spend our time "right" now, and the evolving needs of our family. That includes me...I need/want/desire a nice studio, and I have one with just a bit more style now. I rearranged some furniture, reused a rug and two ottomans and cleaned up a bit - the studio feels brand new to me. I walk in and think - who has such a great work space - oh, I do. The gratitude for having just a little corner to work out my creative energy - is overwhelming at times. Gratitude for me comes in giant waves, which can be debilitating at times, and refreshing at other times.

The rug and ottoman covers are semi-handmade.The top of the rug is a piece of pre-quilted cotton, with a 7 inch wide band of some soft thick velveteen home decor weight leopard print all around (four pieces) and then finished off with a wide bias tape made from Anna Maria Horners Volumes fabric from her Drawing Room Home Decor Collection. I just used the volumes colors to create a striped bias tape. Under the ottoman covers are dingy basic canvas cubes/ottomans. I built the covers to fit and also to use up the last bit of that great leopard fabric.

I made these for our family room a few months back but the rug did not work well on the slate floors in that room. The rug works great on carpet though and adds a little more spirit to my sanctuary. The ottomans are also a great place for the kids to stand and be able to look out the window.

I also brought out one of my four handmade quilts for the sofa. I have four very large (queen or larger size) quilts in a closet that either my grandma or my mother made. We have a fairly modern home, so I have never worked up the nerve to introduce the quilts to our homes style. Well, alas. I have one out to use and look at and enjoy. It is a relief, they have been chomping at the bit to get the showcase they deserve. I am not sure the style/design of this exact quilt but I do love it. (Maybe you can tell me the design name?) It is a reminder to me, that I am my mothers daughter. As if I need reminding - look at that stash of fabric in the studio. That stash of fabric is proof of genetics, pure and simple.

Where do you retreat to let your creative spirit soar?

 

 
 

Turquoise Skies

Only two weeks now of turquoise skies and yet summer should be coming to a slow end making room for fall festivities and color. (Yes, I realize palm trees don't change colors) We are used to June gloom in these parts (Coastal So Cal) but June, July and most of August gloom is quite unusual. Nonetheless, these past few days of gorgeous turquoise skies have been such a treat. I seem to have had a thing for turquoise well before we saw any in our sky, perhaps making up for the lack of it above. I even have a file on my desk labeled turquoise - ok, so I am a little nutty. And I definitely have had a mental file in my head labeled turquoise, with a new habit of just pausing and taking special note of all things turquoise.

Around Town

  

1. Gum Tree Cafe and Boutique on our towns 'Main Street' has great outdoor, ocean view tables with turquoise umbrellas for shade (if the cloud cover was not enough).

2. A local interior design boutique, Waterleaf, has an ocean view patio with enormous turquoise pots with airy trees that wave in the breeze.

3. Our family hair stylist, Danielle, has bold turquoise striped walls in her salon.

4. I LOVE old rugged broncos (especially with good looking men driving them) but this turquoise Scout is pretty darn cute too, we drive by this Scout daily.

5. Our town's Main Street is in total upheaval, turquoise port-a-toilets line the street.

6. I can't imagine picking turquoise as the color to paint my house, but it suits this house perfectly. We drive by this house once each week, and I admire it each time.

7. In a public courtyard near our house is a water feature, the floor of the fountain is done with a material made of broken bits of turquoise glass. Gray or blue skies, it is beautiful.

8. A local boutique, Turquoise, tries to survive the afore mentioned construction that has closed down so many local small businesses due to lower foot traffic. 

Around the House

 
1. Hope in the form of high tech spandex fabric- a turquoise Spanx swimsuit, all packed for a swim party.

2. Turquoise glass rocks mixed in with finds from summer beach days on our kitchen island.

3. Some turquoise dry erase boards and cork boards above the kiddo's art table.

 
Design

 

1. From the Spring 2010 issue of Fresh Home Magazine, a plethora of turquoise inspiration.

2. The August 2010 issue of Architectural Digest has this fantastic turquoise couch in an over the top ocean view room, would love to sit and knit on that couch with a glass of wine.

3.  Also for the Spring 2010 issue of Fresh Home Magazine, a before & after lay out features a gorgeous turquoise flower painting, a peeling turquoise chest of drawers and a few flashes of turquoise here and there. The result is a soothing oasis.

4.  I have yet to meet the Mrs. , but Mrs. Lillien has a smart way of being unabashadly outrageous and wickedly friendly on her fun blog all at the same time. Her design sense and wit unending. 

 
 
5. The September issue of Sunset Magazine has a spread on Coastal Style. The colors from this shop in Costa Mesa (Molly Wood Garden Design) are a calming color of turquoise that looks so smart next to sand colors and textures.

6. Anna Maria Horner's Plume in Teal from her Drawing Room Collection has to be one of the prettiest home decor fabrics I have seen.

7. Again in Sunset Magazine, September 2010, they highlight a landscape design project in San Diego. The ever so surprising turquoise chairs above the pool are waiting for a party!

 

Making

 

1. An Amy Butler Barcelona Skirt and some turquoise printed fabric is in the 'to do' pile in my studio. (not cut yet!)

2. In the July issue (turquoise cover page) of Living there is a project for dying clothes. All the samples were shown in blues and turquoise - I am looking for just the right garment to experiment on. Think of it as modern tye-dye.

3. Some Patagonia yarn is slowly being worked into a boat neck sweater pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts for myself. I am on the sleeves but it is slow going.

4. Enjoying the burst of color in our living room, from the turquoise pillow I made using a pattern from Applique Your Way.

5. Some vintage turquoise fabric awaits my attention, to be turned into the summer shirt from Weekend Sewing. (Cut it out already!)

 

Children's Book Illustrations

 

I have been admiring more feverishly than usual these specific illustrations from a few of our favorite bedtime reads.

 1. Mama Mita written by Jo Napoli and Illustrated by Kadir Nelson has these amazing illustrations done from fabric collage and very little paint. Stunning!

2. The wordless frog books by Mercer Mayer are favorites for everyone around here. Once you try wordless books, they are really quite sticky.

3. I so admire Kim Lewis' illustrations and depiction of farm life in England in all her books.

4. The color combinations in Princess Hyacinth by Florence Perry Heide and Illustrated by Lane Smith are stunning, especially the pages with all the balloons.

5. We all like to read City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems and Illustrated by Jon Muth. In the part of the book where Fall comes along, the turquoise at the top  is a surprising but gorgeous way to highlight the colors of Fall. This is a great book for gently discussing friendships and change.

 

Hope you are enjoying your sky, whatever color it may be... 

 

Corners (Part Five) ~ Wine and Redefining Joy

I took a little bit of my free time this weekend to read an article in the New York Times that I had been carrying in my purse for weeks, All Joy and No Fun it was titled. There was also enough time to finish a corner that has been on my mind for some time. I did not think the two projects were related but as I was working on this corner, I realized some connections.

Let me begin. I am crazy about wallpaper. I especially love that modern wallpapers are so whimsical and quirky. I could never really commit to an entire wall of wallpaper though, at least not in our current home. I knew I wanted to do something to personalize our tiny wine nook. As I thought about this corner, I thought - 'Alas, I can use wallpaper'. I shopped a little online, and found quite a few that would be just what this corner needed, something unexpected, a little over the top. The wallpapers where pricey though and I really only needed a 1/4 of a roll. So I ended up covering 3 pieces of perfectly cut to size 1/4 inch plywood with some fabric that I found on sale. The black and ivory version of PKL Studio's Courtyard home decor fabric made the final cut for this role. I then put the covered plywood right in to make it look like the nook is lined in fabric. In order to personalize it a bit more I added a framed picture of a landscape that Sean (hubby) took on our last trip to Napa in 2002. The landscape was on a rainy day, looking out over a the Duckhorn vineyard. I added a small cheap Ikea light to show off the photo, as the nook is quite dark.

The picture of Napa that I used, is apropos - as it was during this amazing and luxurious pre-babies trip that we really learned to appreciate wine, especially Cabernet. It was also during this trip that we met and clung on to some dear favorite wineries, from whom we still order from or search for in local stores.

The funny thing was that the New York Times article I referred to mentions how parenting brings so much joy, but all the things that used to bring joy (like wine or traveling to Napa and drinking yourself silly for an entire week) really doesn't or can't any longer. I am paraphrasing a small section of the article. Actually the article takes you on a long journey through several research projects with statistics and winds around the very complicated road of parenthood.

So wine for us, was once a great source of joy. We enjoyed sharing it, drinking it, researching it and of course traveling to see where it came from (in this case Napa). Over the last five years, we surely have taken some turns. We once had a very well stocked wine nook (although not fabric lined!), and even had to put overstock in a friends wine cellar. We once had monthly shipments arriving at our house. We once threw elaborate wine tasting parties. Our cabinet was once filled to the rim with matching and shiny wine goblets, no it is over taken with sippy cups and Klean Kanteens. You get the picture.

Things changed, just like the NY Times article states. Now wine often gives me a headache (even the good stuff) unless I drink a zillion gallons of water and some green tea. It definitely interrupts our sleep. I am not sure if this is due to age or if it always was this way, we just were not so sensitive about the need for a decent night of sleep.

When we do have some wine now, we definitely make sure it is tasty. Since consuming less, we can really focus on enjoy the every so often glass of wine but we really make sure it is an excellent (though not necessarily expensive) bottle. A few of our favorites are:

Layer Cake Primitivo and Cabernet

Mi Sueno Cabernet

Frank Family all of the wines are good, but especially the Cabernet 

Revana Cabernet (an indulgence bottle)

So here is to you and to how things change when you are a parent and some things remain, to how life has a way of showing us new avenues for joy and perhaps even redefining what joy is altogether.

Cheers!

The Truth Is...

The truth is... life is gray and I am thrilled about this. This is my truth.

Nothing is fitting into a box for me as I thought it would at this stage, few things are black and white, everything is up for realizing. Most things have two sides to it. So many conflicting emotions, thoughts, realities.

At one time this was overwhelming, for the moment it is refreshing. This is my truth.

I aim to simplify, I have 26 pairs of jeans.

Ukulele lessons intended for the purpose of modeling determination and what practice can do,  both excruciating and exciting at the same time.

I am working toward un-attachment, yet never been more attached than at this moment.

I left the corporate world to devote myself more fully to my family, this has led to freedom and suffocation simultaneously.

The truth is... that life is gray and I am thrilled about this. This is my truth.

Gratitude on a daily basis overwhelms me, yet I yearn for so much more.

Equanimity is the goal, yet impatience and un-acceptance remain.

Non-Violent Communication is practiced with our children but I speak violently to myself.

With diminishing returns parenting can make one "un-happy" and we certainly have our hands full over here, yet my body aches to carry another and I can't give up the boxes of outgrown onesies. Nursing bras aren't even put away yet.

I am truly interested in music, design, art, politics and culture but it seems that I can only talk about one subject - my own children.

Aware of a need to stop and realize, stop and breathe, stop and live with intention - yet only two days in August are empty squares on the calendar and we have four activities today alone.

The truth is... that life is gray and I am thrilled about this. This is my truth.

 

Corners (Part Three) ~ Peace by the Rocker

I am still working on some corners, and there are still some corners to tend to. I recently finished and hung a peace banner above our beloved Dutailier rocker. This comfy rocker has held us during a lot of peaceful and quiet moments. The rocker holds some memories that I often forget about now, like how tired I was in those first months of motherhood and how I once fretted over sleep schedules. CJ still lets me rock him to sleep each night, lately though he seems a little annoyed with the fact that he is getting a bit too big to find that comfort zone in my lap that once came so naturally.

I did the peace banner in my favorite colors, an array of avocado greens from my stash. The banner idea came from Soulemama's Handmade Home.  The blanket on the rocker was my first attempt at knitting cables. I like sitting on it, it reminds me what comes along with patience. So this is our Peace by the Rocker...