Wednesday, January 15, 2014

"These are the beds to climb into" by Sylvia Plath

This morning while getting dressed, I was trying to decide on a craft activity for today. I realized that Alessia was reciting parts of Sylvia Plath's The Bed Book. Plath wrote the poem for her children and a selection of it is in one of our favorite books.

So out came the card stock and the scissors, some tape and the markers, and we made these:

Beds for snacks


Beds to spatter and spotter

Beds that fly


And go underwater


 

Thursday, January 9, 2014

A Coldweather Laundry Game

With the cold weather we spend a great deal of time in the house. Yesterday I came up with a new activity. I cut clothes out of plain construction paper. The kids decorated them with crayons. Then we added a clothes line to our box house. A pot was found for a laundry basket, and Alessia made a washing machine out of legos. She washed the clothes in the little house, and then we hung them on the line to dry. The activity took on life much beyond what I first imagined, which always a sign of a successful activity.

 

Monday, January 6, 2014

Making Stuff

For a blog with the word sewing in the title, I've done remarkably little writing about making stuff. I have managed a few projects in the last year. Some of my favorites are these:

These are for Alessia. I cut down an old pair of Adam's pants making use of the pockets on both sides. The elastic casing and the cuffs are made of some flowered calico I had leftover from a skirt that I made years ago. I am trying to make things from materials already in my house, which is both challenging and fun.

I am currently knitting myself a pair of long mittens to replace the mittens that finally fell apart last winter. The green, yellow, and black yarns I bought years ago in Maine. The blue is leftover from a vest that I made some years ago.

And then there is this:

Such a frivolous purchase. I have wanted a loom for years, and this summer I finally bought this one. It is sold as a tapestry loom. I am using it to weave rags. I had a collection of rayon shawls and lounge pants from travels to Europe and southeast Asia in my early twenties. I cut them into strips and am weaving them with a cotton warp. While most of my crafting is focused on making useful things, this project is completely decorative. I am making a wall hanging for my living room. I enjoy weaving so much. Like knitting I can do a little here and there when I have time. Unlike knitting though, more of the design process happens throughout the project, which I like. I'll post more photos when it is done.