Good Work in the Woods

Just because you're on Weight Watchers doesn't mean you can't bake cookies! According to my WW team leader, it is possible to bake up a batch of sinful goodies and not eat any, until you're all finished and allow yourself one cookie. She says this lets you keep the love and social tradition alive while letting go of the fattening side effect of eating too many cookies.

I told the girls they could eat all they wanted while we decorated them, but that afterwards the cookies were going bye-bye. It turned out lucky that I overcooked some of them because they were still fun to decorate but easy to toss in the trash.

Somehow baking means more than just eating. I know I can't have cookies sitting in the house all the time. But I was just as happy to bake them, eat one, and give away or throw out the rest. No leftovers allowed. We took a picture that will last forever without unhealthy side effects.
Here is my one allowed cookie, accounted for in my calorie count today. His little head said "Eat me up. No, don't finish me off." I treasured this one sweet thing today.
Then I felt worried the gingerbread boy might somehow make me fat anyhow. So we went for a little hike.
Amber hues soften the woods. All the colors are fading to winter.
Ellie is such a big girl now. She did the whole walk without complaining at all. We're wearing our bright orange jackets because November is deer hunting season. We live in prime deer country here.
The sun dropped behind the mountain and hurried us home.
Still some time to sew. I've pretty much perfected the coffee cozy now. Looks so easy but it has been a time-consuming item. The best road to progress is repetition. I made a whole bunch like a tray of cookies. Now they are next to perfect.
My signature collection continues. It really takes time to make something detailed. It's much more interesting to sew that a coffee cozy. But it takes more time than can probably be paid back in any way. I guess you have to do it for the artistic reward. It's sort like a little quilt, very individual. I can't wait to finish it into the clutch it will become. Still a ways to go before that step.

Sewing Hodge Podge

My current interest is to layer things into a mixture that is appealing. It was great to get my sewing machine back from repair and cleaning today. I worked on four different clutch bags.

Gold is my favorite color to sew.

Laying out the pieces takes a while. It's really fun when the thing starts to come together.
Finally I figured out a way to make my clutch bags sturdier without using plastic or cardboard. I use layers. Behind the fabric layer is a batting layer. After sewing the pieces together, I adhere and sew on a very sturdy material called "craft fuse." Then there is the lining inside as well. All the layers together make for a very sturdy purse, yet still has the soft feel to it too.
Takes a long time to sew them up but I will feel really happy seeing a bunch of these in my shop.

Fabric Flowers

Today I tried making fabric flowers.

I read about how to do this on:

One Pretty Thing

and

Everyday Chaos

You take a strip of fabric and twist it around, using spots of hot glue to keep it together.

It was neat to see it working but I don't think I'd be sitting around doing this everyday. It's a little bit tricky. My glue gun makes extremely hot glue. And in the end, you're only making part of something so you don't get the final thrill of seeing your creation completed.

I'm hoping to sew these on a bag or notebook.

The good news is my sewing machine has been cleaned and repaired and is home now!

Dull like Dud Christmas Lights

My sewing machine is still at the repair shop. No creative outlet means I am bored. My colorful mind is hibernating, waiting and grouchy.

But alas, Moms gotta be moms. Julia and I roamed about after dropping Ellie at kindergarten. We stopped by the Montessori preschool where she might go to school in the Fall. Oddly enough, it wasn't the greatest first impression to either of us. We'll give it another chance on another day.

Then we stopped by this park with the tower. How can a tower be boring?

It was. Colorless. Boring. Dull. Lifeless. Cold and covered with offensive graffiti. As soon as we arrived at the top, we descended down again.
Even the view was lackluster. I just felt like, "where are we and what are we doing here." Let's just go somewhere else.
Julia was more interested in the slide. I was trying to keep her day from being as dull as mine. I wasn't the best company for her today.
She likes to do crafty things now. It would be nice if I could do some at the same time but it ends up being a disaster. Better for me to just focus on helping her do what she is trying to do. Julia's medium of choice is glitter.
During nap, I did not sew. I did not embroider. I tried to get our holiday card planned out. I got lost in my year of photos. Looking back over a year of blog photos is different than looking over regular family photos because there are pictures of everything, every day.

There are pictures of what I ate, where I went, what my kids were doing. There are far more photos than what go into the blog. It's like reviewing my whole year in graphic detail. The only difference is it seems better than it probably was because I try to take happy pictures.

Hours of photo review but no card yet.

Ugh. Not my best day. This could have something to do with slashing my caloric intake on this first full day of weight watching. My body is in shock from the lack of sugar, fat and intense carbs I usually enjoy. Instead it was cherry tomatoes and whole wheat toast.

Fighting the Battles

Today is Veteran's Day.

Kind of a heavy day. But mostly for me today, the focus was on my own personal battle against the bulge. I joined Weight Watchers and went to 2 meetings today. It was nerve wracking, fearful, stressful and somewhat costly. On the bright side, I felt a lot better after doing it. I feel a renewed hope that maybe this will help me restore my body to some part of my former (pre-baby) shape.
I just did a significant amount of math figuring out the point values for my first day of eating. You're supposed to weigh the value of food before eating it but since I didn't get going until mid-day with the details, I just decided to retro-count out of curiosity. According the little booklet, I have already eaten too much today. Hmnmnmn....
Hopefully it will get easier with practice. If it starts to work, I will feel additional encouragement.

The Meaning of Meaningful (Sewing)

Meaningful: Full of purpose and value.

Value: (meaning number nine): having favorable regard.

Worth: usefulness or having a value of money.

Significance: having a meaning.

After a while with the dictionary, these definitions repeat themselves. I'll have to fill in some of the blanks. In my case today, I am pondering the meaning of meaningful in terms of sewing, as relates to the question of what to sew.

First of all there is value in sewing something useful. Sewing a quilt can keep you warm. Sewing a purse can keep your money safe. Great. Got it. Basic.
But some people sew things that go beyond the basic value of purpose. Some sewing has more value (including more monetary value). What makes a quilt more than a blanket? What gives it meaning?
Beauty. Special materials. Level of detail. Artistry: let's say these fall under the concept of "having favorable regard." The way a thing is made or how it looks are ways that it has higher quality, more value, more meaning. Ok great, got it.
Now what I want is one more. What I am thinking today is about the next layer of meaning. What makes it meaningful, beyond being useful and pretty?
Personal storytelling. Motif of personal significance. Historical meaning. Nature related. Am I getting warmer?
A quilt is a blanket. When it is well sewn with good materials and looks nice, it is a nice blanket. But when it shows images or uses materials that tell a story, it can rise to the next artistic level of meaning. It might become personally meaningful like a monogram or family photo.
Or it might become meaningful to a group of people. It might show the history of the Civil War or Hawaiian heritage. Maybe it teaches us about the Depression and the frugality of materials. The images or materials can themselves reveal a complex concept. Now the thing made of fabric is worth more.
So I could make a cute purse with a monogram on it or a picture of my child. Or I could take my time sewing with treasured bits of vintage fabric and lace to make a high quality, appealing item. Or I could use images to tell a story. This might make the item worth more money, but also justify it's existence more. It would be less disposable, more of a keepsake. Oh I guess that's another one, that things sewn for a particular occasion gain meaning by connection to the occasion, such as a wedding gown like the one I save in a box in the basement. How funny that a relatively inexpensive piece of fabric (made in China in a factory no doubt) is automatically meaningful enough to be saved in a costly box forever even though it will probably never be used again.
I don't like this easy-meaning. I can't just put a picture of Gettysburg on a purse and think I'm done. Clearly the meaning won't be real unless there is a true connection to my own story, or at least my own surroundings or observations.
Nature seems the most obvious and readily available candidate. I still have a feeling there is more for me in this line of thought. For the moment, I am out of ideas. Maybe I should go sit outside again. Or... laundry and dishes... ugh. I don't think I want to sew images of laundry and dishes (although I have seen some very charming ones).

Two Years Old, Armed and Dangerous

It was one of those strange days that feels out of place. The temperature was unseasonably warm. The sewing machine repair shop was closed. My shop was super busy with this sale, which really gives me a feeling like New Year's Day, of new beginning and renewal.

Julia is going through a rough phase of pre-potty training. She feels more aware now of her bodily functions and she gets sort of upset about it. I think we both needed a break. So we went to the park.

Parks are like mini vacations for kids.

Maybe she needed some mom-free time because she wanted nothing much to do with me at the park. I zoned out and noticed the bushes changing color for fall. This time last year we had snow I think. Last year she needed my help to get on the bouncy toy at the park.

Julia's next big milestone will be in March when she turns 3.

Dinner was Kix cereal and apricot fruit leather. I have no mental energy left for anything else until the kids are in bed. I should never have told Julia that I feel upset when she throws things on the floor. Now it's like her magic weapon of wiping me out. Kryptonite.

Today when she woke up from nap, I was carefully wrapping up orders from my shop. To pacify her for 10 more minutes, I offered her a piece of ribbon candy, which I had mostly as a decoration in my candy jar. "If you don't like this candy, please put it in the trash," I said in a positive tone. "Ok," she said. Well.... she didn't like it. Actually I think she was just still mad that I was focusing on my packages and not her. She threw it down and it exploded into hundreds of tiny shards of sharp hard candy. Desperate to finish my task, I ignored the pink bits and the tell tale "crunch!" of my steps.

Ugh. My brain is like jelly. The kryptonite of food thrown to the floor repeatedly in my day. I feel weak. Need... story time... need... Dancing With The Stars.... 8:00 p.m. cannot come soon enough.

Meanwhile, as I write this, we are watching Elmo Potty Time. It's excellent. Mind-numbing for adults but excellent for helping toddlers with potty issues.