Category Archives: Craft/Design

July 14, 2010

Ten Things of Happiness

By fionaeason

Right now there is a lot buzzing about in my head…here are few things that are making me happy.  How about you?

1. The wonderful images created by Bianca Gomez, especially the wonderful birds she created for Poolga.com:

2. Cucumbers, they taste so good right now…looking forward to when they will grow in my yard:

3.  Hoping to find a spot in the new house for crafty things, and with this in mind, I want to source some better quality materials on our arrival, like this wonderful plant dyed wool felt.

4. Gingerbread, and the little one’s delight at eating ‘Men’ – especially the overjoyed dance of foodie ecstasy:

5.  The gorgeous images at The Vintage Moth:

4. Finding some good thinking about eating locally has been going on at our destination.

5. My orange mint plant spilling abundantly out on the balcony – not much else can thrive out there, but this little hardy number gives me some hope!

6. I’ve not worn these for years, but they fill me with thoughts of sandy summer afternoons:

7. Slowly a little Autumn wearing for the wee guy is taking shape on my needles:

8. I know I am horribly conservative here, but my feet are so particular, and the last pair of these I owned were SO comfy that I overlooked the slightly less than stylish thing…and I could walk for days in them and they lasted AGES, it is time for some new ones this winter I think:

9. This bag – I know, not terribly practical, but rather lovely all the same:

10.  These guys…they ALWAYS make me happy…

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Arts, Baby, Craft/Design, Dreams, Nature, Ten Things

July 7, 2010

Chalkboard

By fionaeason

Credit to our lovely friend Denise almost ENTIRELY for this crafty activity.  She provided the inspiration (though I can’t for the life of me find the link she originally sent) and modeled it in her own kitchen and as a gift for a wee friend of ours last year.  Then she also left me with the chalkboard paint and the frame…so nothing much about this is mine, except the execution.

One day, when we have finally settled into our own place, I vow to paint a wall in the kitchen with communication/creative-friendly chalkboard paint:

Until then, framing some boards to tote about with us will have to suffice.  So I got the helpful guy at Home Depot to cut some particle board to size, sprayed it with chalkboard paint, painted the old frame Denise had left with semi-gloss black paint and tacked the particle board to the frame with tiny 1/2in nails.  I fixed a couple of grips to the back of the frame, put two picture hangers on the wall and hey presto:

I think that rollon/brushed on chalkboard paint may have provided a more robust surface.  So I am keen to repeat the process again sometime soon and perfect the outcome.  It’s in the dining room, so we will use it  for menus…welcoming gestures for friends…other hospitable activities I am sure.  But for now, it is great for entertaining Kaz with images of his favourite animals – for now a Meeya will do!

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July 1, 2010

A Teensy Bit Crafty

By fionaeason

Summer doesn’t really make me feel like battening down and spending time being crafty.  But there is some impetus right now to (a) finish up projects before we move so that they are ready for the autumn/winter when we arrive (b) use up some crafting supplies so I won’t have to ship them or dispose of them (shudder) (c) make stuff rather than buy stuff to conserve our meagre resources in the face of impending great expenditure (d) make good use of the little bits of nap time I have each day. So lately I have finished a couple of little projects:

A duvet cover for Kazuo, hardly necessary now, but hopefully useful on the new bed in the new house, he was excited to see the Elephant (‘eeeeeeee’ – that is what they say you know!)

A button-brooch for a gift, inspired by this great gift

A pair of recycled t-shirt  shorts for the wee guy who is currently persistently grazing his right knee and needs things that go down over that precious skin

So that is where I am up to this past week.  I discovered again how much I LOVE my sewing machine’s ability to churn out wonderfully automatic and uniform button holes.  I got re-inspired and cut out about six new projects for upcoming babies and some things I want to make for Kaz before we depart.  AND I finally cast on the jersey I want to knit him for the winter (because we all know it will take me six months or more to come near to completion) to go with this hat.  So plenty to keep me busy.  Better get off here and get cracking!

2 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Baby, Craft/Design, Sewing

April 7, 2010

Hats

By fionaeason

Way back in November I cast on a hat for Kazuo for the winter.  I am such a slowpoke knitter, esp when I only do a row or two once or twice a week.  But some lovely peaceful girl-alone nights in the past couple of weeks finally led to the end of the hat.  Just in time for winter to give way to spring with a burst of uncharacteristically HOT days – no need for a woolly hat now Mama!

Since I will not be able to persuade the pop to wear this little creation, here it is being modeled by the living room lamp instead:

It is a version of the flower hat from Susan B Anderson’s Itty Bitty Nursery book that I got at Knitty Couture when I was pregnant.  I knitted it in the 6-12 mths size as the newborn size was really generous and still fitted Kaz’s two-year old sized head this past winter.  But that was in cotton, so this lovely woolly one might not be still in use next winter…we shall see I guess, his head is not growing that much now – we imagine his little body has a bit of catching up to do!  It was knitted on circular needles to begin with and then transferred to bamboo double-pointed needles to finish off – the decreasing is my favourite part and goes really quickly.  Why did it take me all winter though??

Anyway, now it is too too hot, and in good Kiwi-Mama style, I want to shade my wee guy’s face from the terrible effects of the sun.  Once again, debate ensues in the Eason-O’Connor household as Dada insists I am being over-protective and Kaz will survive.  But I persist and make him a hat anyway.

I found this freebie pattern on Make Baby Stuff.  Super easy and quick to run up.  I experimented with my theory that relocating the sewing machine to the kitchen and turning on the noisy extractor fan would mask the sound of my quiet little machine, and hey presto, I can sew when the baby is sleeping!  Yayy.

Here are the pieces cut out and ready to stitch up:

So by lunchtime yesterday there was a new hat to try on when eating the summer lunchtime sandwhich:

And of course it was unceremoniously ripped off (even with elastic to anchor it) as soon as we got to the park in the afternoon…but since he spent most of the time in the water fountain anyway, it would have not been too much protection:

Ah hats…Mama likes to make them…Kazuo is not too keen on wearing them…sigh.

1 comment   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Baby, Craft/Design, Sewing

April 2, 2010

This Moment

By fionaeason

{this moment} – A Friday ritual. A single photo – no words – capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you’re inspired to do the same, leave a link to your ‘moment’ in the comments for all to find and see.

Check out SouleMama for the inspiration.

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Craft/Design, Film, Homemaking, This Moment

March 18, 2010

Winter Sewing/Crafting Pt II

By fionaeason

Finally my poor sewing machine has made the journey to and from the Brother Repair centre in Tennessee and is home safe, sound and in great working order again.  But the wonderful generosity of Tarah meant that I managed to get a few crafty projects off the ground over the winter – especially given how ill we have been.  In my previous sewing post I mentioned that I had made some cushions for the sofa.  I finished their felt companions recently.  They do look a little duller than I expected, but they help to make the futon a little more curl-uppable.

After receiving my lovely button brooch from friends in the UK last month, I remembered that I had picked up a jar of old buttons while rummaging on the 61 Mile Yard Sale a couple of years ago.  So I ferreted them out and had a sort through.  It was pretty much dross, but I found enough to have a go soon at making a pretty hodgepodge of a brooch like the one I was sent, and the leftovers I glued together this week into some funny  little button/felt pins to brighten up my summer cardies:

I also managed to finally complete the bunting I have been making for Kazuo’s room.  I was in the middle of making his birthday bunting when I received Handmade Home for Christmas.  I hadn’t considered making a bunting a permanent fixture in the home until then, but I loved the idea of the single-word banners in this book.  So much so that I barely made any changes to the original idea on the cover – except to pluralise, use my own font and change the end images.  I’m not too good at dreaming up my own crafty ideas, though I usually use published ideas to fuel my crafts, but then I stumbled across the delightful toadstools that Janelle at Heartfelt was using to embellish her crafts.  They are so lovely and I am totally in her debt for the inspiration – I urge you to check out her Etsy site – her upcycled kids clothes are simply delightful!  Kaz seems quite taken with his bunting (a ‘baba’ – just like everything else beginning with/containing a ‘b’ – there are surprisingly many of those!) and it will hopefully create good dreaming karma in his little space:

We made a trip to Hobby Lobby last week (still so profoundly disappointed with fabric selections in this town…) so there are now a range of spring sewing projects in the pipeline.  Yayy for the return of the machine!  There may be more to come…

3 comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Craft/Design, Homemaking

February 17, 2010

Winter Sewing – Part I

By fionaeason

Cushions are my latest obsession.  I do go through phases.  They are nice and easy to sew, and I can construct a couple while Kazuo is sitting at the table watching me sew if they are cut out the night before.  Before Christmas, the only handmade Christmas presents I managed to construct were the two cream felt cushions I made for my mother-in-law.  I based the covers on a design I had admired at the 2008 Rock n Roll Craft Show at Third Degree Glass Factory.  I took them with me to London and got some inners from IKEA that fit beautifully and did NOT break the bank.  They looked substantial.

Acquiring similarly priced inners in St Louis is nigh-on impossible.  The cheapest I have found are twice the price of the IKEA inners, and much less robust.  So, with tarting up our plain old living room sofas in mind, I made a foray to my fav local Goodwill and got me a bundle of cheap old cushions that I can recover.  Not something I would do for a gift, but perfect for us as they are made of much better stuff.

Round one I managed to construct this week.  I was fortunate to receive some of the lovely paua-style fabric from Cushla’s that I had coveted in my Christmas Wish List (thanks Mum!) and so I used a little to make panels in the centre of some black cotton.  The cushions all have 12″ zips in the back so that they can come off and be washed.

One thing I want to know…how do crafty Mamas manage to sew with toddlers around?  I know my mother used to set up the sewing machine inside the playpen and have me outside pottering about, but I don’t think that Kaz would have a bar of that, and besides, we don’t have a playpen.  This week, I succumbed to food-bribery (to which I usually have a deep aversion), since I could not stop the pop from trying to use the foot control – kinda unnerving when the machine races away while your fingers are fiddling about by the presser foot!  So I trussed him up in his clip-on high chair, and gave him a couple of these tasty crackers, and one of the tiny gingerbread men we got in the UK.  Not a big treat, and nothing too filling, but diverting enough for me to sew up two cushion covers and keep Kazuo in a friendly state of mind.  We even played hide and seek behind the sewing machine.    But if anyone has any other bright ideas, then I am all ears.  I can’t sew when he is asleep, it is too noisy in our wee apartment.  And he is past being diverted by toys in the high chair, just throws them instantly to the ground.

Well, the cushions made it through production.  Here they are cheering up our rather muted living room:

4 comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Baby, Craft/Design, Homemaking, Sewing

February 11, 2010

Crafty Amazingness

By fionaeason

Last year when I had a rare crafternoon with Julia (and my sewing machine jammed irretrievably), she was working on the most incredible paper cutting delights with some old Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedias.  Imagine my joy when she presented us with our very own masterpiece for Christmas:

Here is a side view, including the lovely old book binding – I’m pretty sure my father sold Funk and Wagnalls in the 60′s, so it was a doubly poignant gift:

Today I finally made it a wall in our dining room of arty little companions that I had been collecting up for sometime:

Here they are looking very much at home. I am so grateful for Julia’s crafty contribution to our decor!

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February 4, 2010

New Year

By fionaeason

It seems a little silly to be recording my New Year’s Resolutions now, in February… But so far 2010 has kinda caught me by surprise and for a number of reasons, I have gotten off to a very slow start.  So here I am, bearing in mind that it is also the start of a decade, resolving afresh to do all the usual things (be better with money, eat well, exercise more blah blah blah) and also hoping to take a longer view of my aspirations.

I’ve also been reflecting on my thoughts at the start of last year, when I was heavily pregnant and everything seemed to be on ‘pause’ while we waited to see who would arrive and how he/she would impact on our lives.

This year we are in limbo again as we look ahead to the end of our time in the US and try and imagine where we will end up next.  Once again this is totally determined by Akira’s career choices, which is fair since that is why we made the big move to come here.  But I am hoping that this year might bring some clarity for me in terms of potential career-changing new directions.

So what am I resolving to be purposeful about as we enter 2010?

  1. I may need to change the title of the blog as this is the year for returning to the paid workforce in some manner.  Ideally I would like this to be ‘part-time’ so that I can still be primarily focused on caring for Kazuo.  But the increased costs of being resident aliens (we are now ‘substantially present’ here!) and childcare may impact on that decision.  With this in mind, I have applied for a work permit this week, so it will be a few months yet before I can seek out employment, but we are making progress on childcare options for Kazuo…so Not Working may take a change of direction…
  2. I did what I could to stay somewhat politically engaged over the past year and hope to at least maintain my regular attendance at Amnesty International meetings.  Whether I can sustain any more active involvement really hinges on the outcome of point 1.
  3. We need to totally trim down our food outgoings…at the same time that Kazuo is ramping up his solid food intake – sheesh!  So, more creative ideas need to kick in really soon (have been rather meticulous about this lately… doing OK so far) for healthy food that we all love, that is nutritious and appetising and that keeps down the costs.  Being a working mama may erode this resolution… and it seems like a tall order – but imperative nonetheless.
  4. The weather is really cramping my exercising style – last year it took until September to lose the baby weight, but it DID go…now I need to lose my winter layer!  I am keen to get Kazuo and I back on my bike in some fashion in the Spring.  Perhaps Akira and I both need to join a gym…
  5. I still wanna get crafty for cash…I have a few ideas but they do require capital and time, both of which are still a little scarce.  But after the Fall craft shows in STL last year, I felt newly energised.  So need to make this a priority I think.
  6. I would like to become a slightly more chilled out individual this year – I know that seems unlikely, but it might be good for all concerned.  So I guess I need to look out some me-time things that make me feel connected to others, and to myself…yoga? date nights? getting arty/crafty? more weekend girly time? naps?…ideas anyone?
  7. Time for doing the things I love…reading, watching films, listening to music, going to theatre…hmmmm I need to make these things somehow fit into family life.
  8. Kazuo is my number one priority these days…so it is only fair to say I am pretty much resolved to help him grow into a happy little guy.  Guess that goes without saying though…
  9. Become a little more other-centred again.  Life became very insular when adjusting to the newness of parenting, but we are getting a little into the swing of that now, and should have a bit of a hiatus before we consider whether we will go down that route again, so I think that in considering paid employment and any ‘spare’ time I may have, I am keen to think about how I might make my time count for those in less abundant circumstances.
  10. Cultivating wonder was a priority last year, and as I had imagined, Kazuo gave plenty of opportunity for that to happen. Getting outside into the natural world and continuing to foster that wonderment is also important for me right now.   I wish to combine that with an increased sense of gratitude this coming year…

So, that is enough I think.  The year ahead will be galvanising for me personally, for our family life and for Kazuo’s development.  I look forward to seeing how it will all pan out, and hope that having at least some sense of purpose will help when things seem a little murky.

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November 29, 2009

Knitting Progress

By fionaeason

A few weeks ago I met a lovely woman at my new favourite mother-meeting spot – Winslow’s Home, which seems to be a great place to bump into other people who like homely little stores and coffee with their babies.  It was a lovely sunny day, so we were all sitting outside, I was entertaining Kazuo and attempting to make a little more progress on the only thing I have managed to knit him this year.  She had an inquisitive two-year old who wanted to see the baby… and so we got chatting about our fledgling knitting skills.

I started really knitting last year after several not terribly successful forays earlier in my life, including the time Dianna helped me rather disastrously adapt a cardy pattern for myself, and the sleeves ended up with big bulbous bat-like underarms… NOT a good look.  And when I say I started really knitting… well, I do just mean dabbling in baby clothes.  Knitting for a newborn is encouraging as even a total slowpoke like me can pull something together in a few weeks if they really try.

It was lovely to have Kazuo in a few things I had made myself last winter – and he has been really lucky that my mother, her friends, my aunt and my sister have all click-clacked away on his behalf too… so no chance of him getting cold!  This winter I even had stashed away a cardy that grew as I knitted it (though think it will have to wait for next winter actually) and he even still fits a couple of the 3 – 6 mth jerseys and hats I made.

But I was determined to eek out a few rows here and there so that he would have something new this winter from me.  And here it is, finally!  I sewed it together today as he napped and he wore it out when we went to the Schlafly Bottleworks for a tasty lunch.  It’s a roomy pattern, so I am hoping for some winter wear next year too and the wool is 100% natural NZ wool… sourced by my Mother, from a charity shop in her town.  Yayy for freegan knitting!

My knitting at night causes a bit of concern for Akira, a film buff who (understandably, but don’t tell him I said that) finds my noisy hobby a little distracting.  But tonight I was so exhilarated by FINALLY completing this project that I just had to skein up some glorious blue wool our friend Dave’s fiancee Julia sent me in October… and start knitting a hat for the wee guy.  I don’t know when I will get it done, but it is actually kinda fun to have something ongoing on the needles, and I seem to have found my (somewhat slow) knitting mojo again now it is cold.  So I was grateful that Akira found us something to watch (This is England – grim… but compelling) that meant I could make a start.  Something to do on quiet moments (???) on the plane.

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