Freezing Obama Mama

Inviting a friend to join in on the freezer paper stencil fun finally pushed me to making my own Obama Mama tee. And it just barely still fits my mummy tummy.

I was feeling badly that I haven't been able to articulate my own endorsement of Barack Obama as well as this, but then I'd be on the NY Times editorial board, too, and my kids need me right now ;)...
Freezer paper stenciling is easy-peasy (quick couplets are the theme tonight), and works for pretty impressively fine detail. Get yerself some freezer paper; I found mine at Food Lion. Draw on the paper side (can trace, which is awfully handy), cut out the innards with an exacto knife, iron it on your fabric whatever (until it sticks; my iron is pretty much always on "cotton"), slip in a folded bit from your recycling bin so the paint doesn't soak through, dab on dye or paint (I've used both Versatex & Jacquard textile dyes and they both are great; minimal "hand"), let it dry (like 15 minutes or so for impatient me), heatset with iron. I put some paper between, which I'm not sure is necessary, but makes me feel better, especially since my iron is cheap-o & tends to stick.

Look brilliant! from the 20th, while the girls played in the leaves (it was getting dark, but I promised we'd spend some time that day in the red leaves in the park across the street):Taken in the bathroom at the phlebotomy lab yesterday (10/28) while I waited for Marian, so this is the most current belly pic available!).

goates girls lately

The Mego Prego.
That's the loving new nickname I've had from my sweet man over the last few months. This photo is from the first of the month, but chronicles a moment that thoroughly impressed the girls: easily balancing a cereal bowl.

Good times.

The brave movie girl.
Marian listened to The Spiderwick Chronicles on our last Philly trip and finished it while weaving (on her Josefina loom, not the iris), so we rented the movie for the girls on Friday. Marian is still new to the non-cartoon, and, though thrilled, found it a bit intense. I shared with her my favorite old afghan trick: cover your head & still see!

The cyclist.Nathan broke his collarbone, effectively ending his cyclocross season, but Audrey participated in children's races on the last two Saturdays. Friend Christopher rode with her on the 4th, and they both showed up in their favorite baby blues: team Superstar! (along with Christopher's sister Natalie, age 7, on her unicycle). Audrey hasn't put in a lot of miles yet, but is drooling over a pretty blue roadbike at the shop that sponsors Nathan's current team. Both of them--and me too!--love her racing. So great. This last weekend was breathtakingly beautiful in Michaux state forest. Laurel Lake:

weave

Audrey & I did some impromptu weaving in the yard this afternoon while Marian read to her homebound teacher, the tireless Mrs. H. Our yard is a bit hapless, officially kept by our landlords, the funeral home next door who holds onto the property so they can keep their neighbors looking presentable. We thought we were temporary renters when we moved into town 2 years ago, but love the house we're in and frankly the someone-else-mows-and-rakes-and-shovels aspect just might be what has kept us here (and inertia). One nice benefit of that is not feeling guilty about things like abandoned beds of iris.

Audrey has a bountiful imagination and was creating a whole land of the backyard (complete with language, major exports, and new mathematical systems. Really.) and I, wanting something to do outside on this perfect fall afternoon, suddenly had to weave. Kitchen shears in both our hands, we harvested.

I love the variation in hue and the pale edges that are revealed by the juxtaposition of the iris leaves when we wove them. I think I'll frame one of the close-ups for the baby's room. Eek. That nursery is NOT done...
I went inside for awhile and came out to new weavings from my little elven child. Prettily embellished. We tried a basket together and...our 2nd try was better than our first :). Marian was reading on the side porch swing with her teacher, and rather horrified to have missed the goodness when they reemerged. It's a lovely thing to have a big sister who will do another.Audrey always plans big, so is drying the mats in the playhouse and will soon be covering all of the walls, to make it winterproof...she also has an idea for using a twig frame to connect them that I'm afraid I didn't fully understand. Our iris bed is only half dessimated, so there will be time.

baby girl

In the interest of keeping loved ones abreast even though I kind of avoid the phone, I bring you a report on Marian's emergency trip to Philly about a week ago: everything's fine. A left-over rash and a dull couple of days. Her first virus post-transplant brought a fever, and all fevers must be initially treated as serious infections, so we found a sleepover for Audrey and hurried along to the local hospital for IV antibiotics. Once checked in, we were in their power, so had to take the ambulance to Philly. I should have taken more photos, but was unsure that I was excited about our first ride in the bus. Remarkably, both Marian and I (very pregnant and seatbelted to a 1 1/2' wide bench) slept all the way, though reports are that we bounced around a lot. Small blessings.Why we were never really that worried: Marian in the ER.Anyone who has even barely commented on my pregnancy knows that I'm not that excited. Yesterday I realized the core reason why: I still have my baby. Maybe I need to let her grow up. But, look! She's still my baby girl--witness the cheeks! (sleeping in this morning):and can you see how her hair has grown in the two weeks between photos? Long enough to get messy now :)

wee pincushion

I put pressure on Sunday nights. I intend that they be lovely, and they seldom disappoint. Yesterday saw lots of family lounging. Lately, that means LEGOS. Which is great; the girls love to play with daddy and all are happily occupied. Historically, Sundays are often friend game nights, but our good game buddies recently moved and we're in game limbo, besides still being a bit of social recluses due to the Marian health/isolation drama. I did beat Nathan in Scrabble with a surprise slim margin move at the end, but neither of us was quite in the mood for more (Carcassone--Hunters and Gatherers edition because it's beautiful--and Upwords are our favorites right now).

Anyway, I can't play legos well because of the crouching on the floor difficulties that come with being 8 months pregnant. My book, American Childhood by Annie Dillard (which really has some brilliant moments, I don't mean to discount it), wasn't holding my attention. I finished yet one more wee crochet project and my hand was too numb to start another (technique not yet ergonomic).

Finally, I cornered Nathan in the kitchen, where he was serving himself yet another bit of ice cream (currently prefers to eat it in a wee juice glass, which necessitates many returns to the freezer), with this declaration:

I think there is only one thing that will satisfy me this afternoon. A bit of handsewing.

And it worked for at least an hour.

(one of the bottlecap pincushions I've seen all over, but one nice & exhaustive tutorial can be found here. The bottlecap makes the tiny size feasible: the plastic--here permitted as a craft material because recycled :)--stops the pins from going right through)

a segregated soul

My cousin Nikki has crazy amazing kids. Her daughter Faith, whom I can only think of as 4 and beautifully freckled, is 12 (?I'm bad at keeping track) now, but writing beyond her years. Her grandma just sent on this link to her poem "a segregated soul."

wonky trees

I've been needing a bit more couch time lately (3rd trimester...sigh...), so took an evening and taught myself to crochet again (good tutorials on youtube!). I love the nature-inspired & nature-themed little creations at resurrection fern, and was tempted by these trees. Mine are very wonky (not so much a counter...plus, my first crochet in many many moons--my crochet past has only 2 kind of weird double crochet blankets), but I love them anyway.