happy fall, and intro to kcwc!

happy fall everyone!

l to r:  the big guy, ash, bean, aunty emmy, boy b and girl a in the uc davis arb 10/9/12

ok, this blog is going to slightly diverge from the normal subject matter, so bear with me.  initially, i was going to hop on tonight to interrupt our normal programming for a few days, but i realized when i got here it's already been almost another month since my last post (!), so i'm going to start by doing a very quick catch up session, then get on to my digression.

in some parts of the country, it is fall.  technically, it is also fall in davis, but never living outside the midwest, my mind and body register fall with so much visceral stimulation and not just the date on the calendar...changing leaves obviously, but also the smells and sounds that come along with that.  the notable chilling of the air that i would assert also has a smell to it, the migration of birds, winter squash and leafy greens at the market, cider mill, apple picking, and football season.  surely, these clear markers of fall go on somewhere, but not all of them here.

we have come to the point where our overnight lows match chicago and michigan's daytime highs, still with no hint of clouds and temperatures settling in the mid to high 80s most days, though we've had our first days of 70s this week, and the mornings have gotten downright chilly.  however, we continue to dress in our summer wardrobes.  leaves haven't really changed here and i'm not sure they ever do?  

a lot of summer produce still populates the market, and for all of the fertile soil in this valley, apparently, apple trees don't like it.  i haven't yet confirmed this by taste, but certainly the scent of cider and donuts doesn't drift for miles around here, and i deeply miss the bright, happy faces of my golden apples i bought by the bushel every fall...what i believe to be the perfect fruit, actually.  sweet, crisp, refreshing, filling, nutritious, yet hearty enough to throw in a purse or backpack, apples are the perfect snack.  how i miss them.  fortunately, after many angry calls to direct tv, saturday, sunday, monday, thursday (really, is it not every day?  it feels like every day.) football remains our one steadfast reminder that yes, indeed it is fall.  somewhere.

as i mentioned, i have really embraced unemployment and possibly overbooked the kids and i with all our activities.  we have so many classes every week that i'm starting to get them mixed up and showing up at the wrong times!  i am still running with my group and doing cross country when the stars align and i can get away for most of a saturday.  the kids have picked out their first pumpkins, the initial step in what's slated to be a packed first halloween for them, and bean just went to her first birthday party.

so, gymnastics, school, music class, playdates, running club and book club have been keeping us plenty busy.  i am somewhat sorry to say my rn license did come in the mail a few weeks ago, so wheels are just getting in motion to try and find a job and childcare, but really, *just* getting in motion.  i'm not moving too fast on it.  clearly, we have plenty going on!  which brings me to my next point (and where you should duck out if you're not interested in serious craft talk):

i mentioned briefly in my last post that i've been able to do some serious crafting in my "downtime" (my usual 3 kid-free hours/24 hours continues to be cut in half by a stubborn gentleman's REFUSAL to nap).  i planned to do a post devoted to some of my diy once i completed a few more projects around the house (still underway).  however, while creating for your personal space is fun and rewarding, few things are quite as enjoyable as making children's clothing.  you all know of my passion for knitting, and for my birthday this year, now that we have the space, i finally got a sewing machine.  so i've gone from borderline obsession with baby clothes to actual obsession.  so cute!  so small!  so gratifying!  i can't help it.

people ask me how i learned to knit, and i hope one day i will be a competent enough sewer that they wonder the same.  in both cases, i had some exposure in my childhood watching my grandma and learning some basics from her (as much as a 6 year old can), and then went back as an adult and read books/ watched videos/ followed tutorials.  there is SO much out there on the internet now, you can really learn anything eventually with minimal formal instruction.  i am going about sewing as i did knitting, seeking out stepwise, gradually more difficult projects to acquire new skills slowly but surely.

in addition to instructional sites, there's an entire universe out there, the craftblogosphere, where legions of young moms make amazing, beautiful clothing for their children and blog about it.  i believe there exists within all of us a desire to create, and those of us who have children appreciate the lavish manifestation of love we can bestow with homemade wear, not to mention the great stress relief crafting offers.  our children look cute, yes, but i doubt any of us deny that these items are as much gifts to us who create them as to those who don them.

we are more connected each day through social media (much of which i don't even know how to harness...pin?  tweet?  what?), and ideas and inspiration spread like crazy.  i drool over all this eye candy and wish that sewing was as easy as knitting (it's not), or at least that my skills and knowledge could be matched, because there's SO MUCH TO MAKE.  i find that many knitters don't sew, and many sewers don't knit though, so i'm excited to be bridging the gap little by little.

anyway, as i became a cyber admirer of rae, dana, and most recently gail to name a few, i came across the kids clothing week challenge (kcwc) on another crafty mom blog.  you can click the button to read all about it, but basically, twice a year for a week hundreds of people (i imagine largely women) pledge to spend an hour a day for seven days making clothing in some regard for their (or other people's) kids. sewing is a clear winner here, since knitting and crocheting might require  many more hours to finish a single project.  

certainly i wouldn't be chastised for not keeping up with the gang, but i was nervous to commit because this week is even busier for us than normal, but i definitely find an hour to craft every day no matter what, and i'm excited to focus all that attention on kids' clothing.  just like committing to a year of handmade gifts, somehow just making that commitment to yourself inspires a lot of creativity, which is really exciting.  then we all post photos of our projects on a flickr pool an cheer each other along through our projects.  social support and handmade clothing, how retro.

my sister was in town the first three days of this challenge, and i felt guilty enough crafting let alone blogging about it.  so, my projects will come a little out of order, but i do plan to post on a project for each day of this week!  it will pollute the family blog a bit, but until i figure out the best way to organize all these ventures, this is the best place i have to put it all.  sorry!

and so, on kcwc day 3, i present to you a birthday present for baby sydney!  not even for my kids, i know, but it is children's clothing, and i did already challenge myself to a year of handmade gifts, and her first birthday is this saturday.  too convenient to pass up.  the skirt was fully constructed today and its' fabric i ordered 100 years ago so i have no idea what it is and i'm sure it's no longer in print.  if you can sew a relatively straight line, you can make a simple skirt, even a layered one.  you can find a great tutorial here.  no pattern necessary.

the sweater is a seamless raglan with offset closure (as in, it's off center on purpose :) ), picot collar, garter button band and moss stitch detailing.  thanks to elizabeth zimmerman, i have been designing my own sweater patterns because i really love seamless raglan construction. as a result, i have been exploring how much fun knit/purl combinations can be (i am not skilled enough to incorporate more complex designs into seamless patterns!).  i used acrylic blend (read, machine washable) yarn from michaels, which i try to do when knitting for kids/babies.  please email me or leave a comment if you'd like to make this sweater and i can write out a pattern for you.

anyhow, my future kcwc posts will not be so in depth in their description or construction!  you can definitely expect to see reversible baby pants and fall jackets since i have those completed, and for the other four days i'm aiming for:

-upcycled mom to kid pants for both kids

-a fall outfit for bean

-fall pants for reese (might get the shaft since i don't even have an inkling of an idea)

ambitious for sure...check back to see what i get around to!