Molly vs. Butterick Pattern B5629

Steps to sewing success:

Take a staycation. Go into start of staycation expecting to focus on LARGE list of honey-do projects that have been amounting while incorporating lots of play time, reading time, relaxing time with two adorable children.  Two days into staycation, decide that honey-do list is boring, and that completing to 65% is just as good as completing the whole way.  Shrug off the remaining 35% in favor of a "project". Surf internet for awhile, spend midnight hours on mommy-blogs, wonder why other moms are so awesome. Feel both strong dislike, and great admiration, for these D.I.Y. moms (seriously, they basically have their own sorority...sisters of DIY, we don't think we're better than you...we know we are). Only half-decide on a project, figuring that you can "flesh out the details" at the store.

Arrive at local Jo-Ann Fabrics.  Wander through aisles filled with colorful bolts of fabric. Having been seduced by said fabric (on sale! of course) and with delusions of crafting grandeur, venture into the abyss of the "sewing patterns" section. Go against better judgement to elect an easy project that could be completed over the course of an afternoon (new throw pillows, kitchen curtains...), instead, decide to sew a dress for your daughter.  (The plans said "Very Easy"...so it really can't be that difficult).

Emerge from fabric & pattern section half an hour later, with ridiculously well-behaved children in tow ("Oh, yes, thank you, they're always like this"). Pay for two yards of fabric, two Butterick sewing patterns, fusible interfacing and $15 worth of bonding/elastic/hook-eye closure/bias tape "stuff" that you know nothing about, but that you seem to remember as "important"...maybe...maybe not...who cares, just buy it.

Reward angel-boy with a trip across the mall to the sporting-goods store (or, "The Golf Shop" as it is referred to in our home).  Let him putt on the mini-green for 10 minutes, or until angel-baby wakes up and decides to pitch a fit.  Escort rumply, fussy, once perfectly-behaved children out of store.

Make it to car in just-in-time moment, only to realize that keys are lost.

Back into mall.  Tempting fate.  Search frantically through fabric store with crying baby and close-to-fit preschooler.  Allure of fabric store is lost after purchase has been made, and these other shoppers really seem to know what they're doing.  Feeling regret for such an ambitious project, but no time to revisit.  Keys are missing.  Run across to sporting goods store, smartly avoiding golfing section ("But I neeeed a 5 hyyyyybrid, mommeeeee"), realize five minutes into this crazy-lady search that keys were in front of stroller all along. Sigh of relief. Slap forehead with hand.

Lunch at Issei with Lizzie (best part of the trip!) and then home to piece through the goodies in the Jo-Ann bag.

After wrestling preschooler down for nap-time (unheard of), revisit contents of the shopping excursion with excitement and some uncertainty.  Sense of false confidence--check!  Am convinced that if Butterick says "Very Easy", it should be a walk in the park.  Get started making that "very easy" reversible dress with empire waist, button closure and gathered skirt for Kitty!!

About 2 minutes into instructions, realize that people who sew have their own super-special secret language.  Understitching? Grainline? Easestitch? Out-facing? Ok, that last one is sort of self-explanatory, but in the context of the overall plans it is just as confusing as the rest.  W.T.Elf Butterick Pattern B5629? Very Easy? Very easy for who, exactly? Martha Stewart?!

I managed to cut out pieces for the "bodice" (who uses that word?!) and have decided to just wing it for the rest.  Above is a photo of a cleaned-up version of what my dining room table looked like an hour into the project.

I'm going to preserve my crafting self-esteem and finish two projects that were already on my to-do list.  Sewing a ring-bearer pillow for the upcoming nuptials (SOOO SOOOON!!!  We are giddy with excitement--can you tell?) and a wedding bow-tie for my dapper nephew, Liam.  I'll post photos of those projects once completed and my confidence (or, over-confidence) in my sewing abilities will be restored.  Someday I'll finish that dress, I just hope Alice is still wearing size 12 months when it's complete.

Now, to enjoy the last day of staycation with a trip to visit my sister and Liam in Chambersburg.  A much nicer way to spend the day.

Eagle. Birdie. Hen.

I've heard the calls and am responding with a post...yes, a post...finally.

There is so much that I have to write about--it builds up and I end up with a logjam of ideas.  A "blogjam" if you will. Heh. Heh heh. Amused with myself.

First (and for this post) there is the matter of the increasing interest in the game of golf. Henry plays every day, almost all day.  He has indoor clubs (the plastic kind--a gift from Uncle J and Aunt Meggie on his 2nd birthday) and real outdoor clubs (including a putter that Mike claims is nicer than his...sneaky husband trying to get new clubs...don't think I don't know what you're doing).  He has outdoor balls (the real kind), indoor balls (the plastic practice kind), outdoor tees (again, the real deal) and indoor tees (whatever random small toy he finds that will act as a stand-in tee).

The daily golf game is a given in our house now.  It's just a part of our day to day.  Recently, however, this love of the game of golf even found its way into night-time routine.  Every night he'll ask to take a "pet" to bed.  This is a privilege afforded to those who remembered to bring their listening ears to daycare.  For the past two nights, Henry has asked to bring a pet to bed, and of the many different stuffed animals and dolls that he could choose from, he picks his outside driver and then his seven iron.  He says, "They're not soft pets, Mommy, they are hard pets, but I love them and I want to hold on to them when I am asleep."
 

Choosing to tee off from the "sand" (aka baseball diamond at the local park).  Also--as per usual, dressed himself.

It comes as no surprise then that Hen claims "I will be a golfer-man when I am bigger".  He asks to watch golf on the television, he asks for more clubs, he requests golf-related reading material--in fact, the other night he asked if I'd read him the latest issue of Golf Magazine as his bedtime story (that got interesting).

He's golf-obsessed.  We're supporting it, trying not to over-do it, allowing him to discover it on his own with some gentle guidance from his dad.  He seems to feel fairly confident already in his own coaching/mentoring skills and has said, "Mommy, when your birthday is up, you will get your girl clubs and then I will show you how to putt it in the hole. Is your birthday up yet? Is it tomorrow? When will we play together?" I am positively tickled by this, and also curious if Hen is at the age when I could get valuable information out of him--like what I'm getting for my birthday. 

At the same time, Mike and I know well enough not to move too fast too soon, because if we've learned anything about preschoolers, it's that they'll move on to a new "favorite" thing, a new curiosity, a new problem to tackle as quickly as we change the water filter--and that is perfectly fine and normal.  For now though, we're enjoying this. Hen is such a neat little kid with interests that he develops largely on his own. We are content to sit back, count strokes with him, cheer him on and to wonder what he'll discover next.

May 24: Kitty is Hen's #1 Fan

It's been a while since we had a kitty-clip.  Not that there is much variation between them--Alice bobbles, growls, drools, does something cute, I praise her, end of video. As similar as they may be, I do know that I'll be grateful that I took these videos two years from now when she is a living terror and I need to be reminded of a time when I called her "best-baby".

Speaking of living terrors (joking)...Hen is now demanding that we follow him into the backyard, where he will demonstrate how he hits the golf ball with his seven iron and then with his putter.  "You hit it hard when you are far away, and then you hit it softly with your putter when you are close to the hole".  Thanks for the lesson,  Hen.  Pickle Mickson (or, Phil Mickleson, as he is known to anyone outside of this home) would be proud.

Favorite moment in this video--when Hen (off camera) steps into the room and Alice immediately looks towards him and smiles.  This kid really loves her big brother.

April 9: Brother-Sister; Golf Star-Ballerina Princess

 

I have absolutely no idea why Alice's hair looks so dark in this photo...it's actually mostly reddish.  With that oddly-hued little tuft of hair she looks a lot more like her dad.  What I really like about this photo is something I didn't notice when I first took it--the very threatening raised fist.  "Mess with my brutha, and I will bring the pain." Watch out folks, that's nearly 18 lbs of business comin' at you.

In other news--we've all returned to normal, stomach bug crawled on out of here and we were happy to see him go, he was about as welcome as a stink bug.  We ran errands, bought groceries, played with Hen's toys and watched The Masters.  We're kind of tickled with Hen's growing interest in the game of golf.  He has indoor clubs and an outdoor club (a seven iron, made for ages 3-5, and his pick when shopping with Mike at Dunhams for a special "daddy birthday gift").  He understands the purpose of the game, and gets excited when a player has a good shot, and disappointed (but still excited) with the bad shots.  He can point out Tiger Woods, and is getting better at naming Rory McIlroy and Jason Day.  It's just one of those funny things he has taken a liking to.  As you can imagine, Mike couldn't be happier or more proud.  I'm pretty sure there is some mini-golf in their near future.  While all of this is going on, Kitten and I are upstairs looking at ourselves in the mirror and making up a song about her being a "Ballerina Princess".  Typical Saturday.