How Big is the World, by Britta Teckentrup (our review)

We picked this one up from the library simply because it looked sweet. In the end, I think it is one of my new favorite kids' books.

Here is what Calvin has to say about it:

"The book is about a world, and a mole, and a seagull. The mole asks everyone 'how big is the world'; He asks a spider, a mouse, and a horse, and a seagull, and a whale. The whale takes him and travels through colors and all kinds of stuff, and then Little Mole says 'I miss my family', 'then it's time to take you home' says Whale. Then Mole went home and told his papa that 'the world is as big as you want it to be', and then he fell asleep."

He says he likes the book because "it has the whale and [mole] thanks the whale", and that the whale is his favorite part. I like this book because the pictures are sweet and the story is simple, yet it carries a big message, most obviously told in the first exchange when, after Little Mole asks her "how big is the world", the spider answers "the world is as big as my web. My web is the world." How many humans suffer from exactly this same misconception?

Simple and sweet, yet powerful in its own way, albeit mostly for the parents doing the reading at this age, this book gets an A+ from us.

A Valentine and an apron

"Look what I made Monday" was not only too long a title, it wasn't all inclusive, since we have two people who could claim to be "I" here, so we've changed the title.

Valentine

I showed Calvin how to fold paper in half, draw half a heart, and cut it out to make a heart shaped Valentine. We completed one actual Valentine today, the one pictured here, before he spent the rest of the morning practicing the folding, drawing, and cutting talent. I have a feeling we'll be seeing more of that in the future. On the other hand, if I want to get any more Valentines finished I may have to break out the Cricut to get the hearts cut.

The finished Valentine is, of course, for Mouse. He wrote it all by himself, sounding out all the words, with only a little spelling help (the "ou" in mouse, and the surprise e at the end of both "mouse" and "mine"—the surprise h at the end of "Be" was his on concoction after that).

An apron

We've been going for a 40s or 50s sort of look in our house as of late (more on the re-decorating later maybe) and in perusing some fun idea driven websites I came across these aprons. I have yet to do any pattern sewing, and that's a good thing, because I had no pattern for these aprons, either. Thankfully, I did have my Godmother, an accomplished seamstress, visiting for a weekend to give me a lot of tips and tutuorials. She takes credit for the pattern we eventually worked out using a little bit of math and a lot of Calvin's scrap art paper, while I did most of the pinning and sewing.

I love the fabric and I love the look. The final product was going to have pockets, but I've decided that there are a few other changes I need to make, toom, so I Plan on making a second apron from the same general pattern that will be a little broader across the chest, a little shorter on the neck piece, and a little less wide around the middle. Minimal tweaks, really, seeing as that we started out with no pattern. Thankfully I have enough fabric for a second try. I'll add pockets next time.

Snowmen and Valentine's Wreath

I'm looking for structure in life. I don't know if I'll ever find it, but I'm starting here. Calvin and I do a lot of crafts, many of which are just crafts, like drawing, painting, or pasting, not tutorial worthy work, but just fun crafts. This will be our day to share them.

Snowmen!

This, by the way, was Calvin's first shape creating project with scissors (as opposed, that is, to shape destroying).

Valentine's Wreath

I got the original idea here, on Skip to My Lou, and then I adapted it to fit my own vision. This was the first project I made with my new sewing machine! That means it's easy, easy, easy. And this one actually has a how-to.

Supplies: 16 inches of 52" burlap fabric, matching thread, wire hanger.

1. Cut burlap down the length into four 4" strips (so you have four 4"x52" pieces).

2. Pair the pieces, laying one piece directly on top of another, front to back (not facing), so that you now have two pairs of pieces. Pin the first pair carefully and sew together down the entire length just slightly out from center, then again down the entire length slightly out from center, leaving a place in the very center to insert the hanger. Repeat with the other pair.

3. Use plyers to completely straighten hanger, then bend in a small hook at the one end. Insert the hanger through the first pair of strips and push it on, gathering it as you go, until half of the hanger is covered and half uncovered. Fold hanger into a 90 degree angle at the half way point, then slide the other burlap strips onto the other half; once it is all the way on, bend the other end to hold in place.

4. Bend hanger into the shape of a heart and wind the ends together. I had to add a few stitches to get the burlap to lay properly, then I added a white ribbon for hanging purposes. Tada!

Sew many projects, sew little time

Over a year ago I received a stand mixer for Christmas, and though I barely touched it for the first two months,  the pledge we made last March to go a full year without buying any pre-made bread products radically changed our lives, and for the better. We followed through on that pledge and plan on extending the experiment into, well, forever.

Last year, then, was the year of bread. Calvin and I tried making all kinds of new varieties, learning from both mistakes and successes along the way. Now this year promises to be the year of textiles. For Christmas this year I got—you'll never guess—a sewing machine. I doubt there will by any spring pledge this time around (I don't see us making all of our clothes for the next year, but maybe), but I see a lot of sewing projects in our future. I've actually wanted to learn how to sew a lot longer than I had wanted to learn to bake bread (which really was about all of never, until the stand mixer arrived in my kitchen and we made our first loaf), but there is a certain order in which to learn things, and Calvin was better with a mixing cup last year than he would have been with scissors.

This year is a different story, and while I still won't be letting him handle the pins, we've already embarked on a couple of sewing projects together, the results of which have been a fun Valentines wreath for our front door, and a fun and practical apron for Calvin. As with the baking, this has been a learning project for both of us—I haven't touched a sewing machine since middle school when I made a t-shirt and shorts with Bart Simpson on them, and Calvin obviously has no experience with the craft. We are a good pair, though; Calvin loves to help measure and sometimes to cut, and he loves just as much to point out when I've made a mistake, like when my stitches are crooked or I've sewn holes shut that were meant to stay open.

Here is our first project, a product I'm actually quite pleased with (just don't check to make sure my stitching is perfectly straight—I'm sure it is not). Calvin has wanted a kitchen apron for quite some time, so once we got the machine set up I did a search for free patterns and found this one on Sew Liberated. Her step by step instructions were easy to follow so that even though this is a really well made apron (it is even lined), it was also a really easy one to make.

I love that the apron requires no tying—the kiddo can slip it on over his head thanks to the elastic, and it Velcros around the waist (the Velcro hadn't been added yet as of these pictures because I had to buy some at the store—it's the only thing I had to buy, everything else I already had on hand!)

The pockets were actually my own personal touch. I knew I wanted him to have the functionality of pockets, so when I cut the two halves of the apron out I added four inches in length to one of them. When I pinned the sides together, I folded up the extra up inside to form the pockets, then stitched just as instructed. When I turned the apron right side out I had one big pocket! After doing all my top stitching I then added stitching to make that one big pocket into three smaller ones. It was especially easy because I used an old bed sheet for the fabric and I cut along a finished side, so I didn't have to worry about hemming the pocket edge.

That speck you see? Yah, that's blood. I put a lot into this apron.

Calvin took a lot of interest in this project—he helped choose the design and the fabric, he helped lay out the pattern, he measured, and he even did some cutting. I did the pinning, sewing, and blood letting while he was napping because those other things took three times longer than I'd imagined.

It's a tad big, but that just gives him room to grow. 

Frog and Toad at the theater

When I was little I loved the theater. Not just the shows themselves, but the dressing up for the evening out, the drive to the big city, the buzz of anticipation that floated over the audience until the dimming lights shushed it into silence. We saw several wonderful shows when I was growing up, and today just the idea of going to a show gives me an invigorating sense of excitement.

Two months ago I ordered tickets to take Calvin to Wild Swan Theater's production of Frog and Toad, and ever since I've been filled with that joyous eagerness for the day to finally be here. No, it wasn't one of the Detroit venues, yes it was a show geared toward the attention spans of little ones, but this was going to be Calvin's first play, his first chance to experience that thrill, and my first chance to enjoy it with him.

The show itself was this past Friday, and I didn't tell him about it until a couple of weeks ago. We, as a family, are big fans of Frog and Toad, and ever since I told him about the upcoming show we've been reading and rereading the books and acting out the stories in preparation for the day. We also talked about stage plays and what to expect, like dimmed lights, people in costumes, and being quiet to listen to the actors. He was very excited, most likely simply because I was, but hey, that counts for something doesn't it?

The event itself didn't disappoint. Wild Swan does a wonderful job of making theater, as they say, "accessible" to families, while maintaining a high level of quality in performance and stage presence. Even more importantly, Calvin loved it. He recognized the stories and I could see the delight on his face. Our talks beforehand had prepared him for the dimmed lights, although not for the funny folding seat, which kept swallowing him up because he wasn't heavy enough to keep it open (after the second time he climbed into my lap and refused to sit in that alien chair again, which made sense to me).

Perhaps the best evidence of his feelings about the show came in the car on the way home, when he said emphatically that as soon as he got home he was going to set up a stage and act out a Frog and Toad play of his own. He was very excited about this, and that is exactly what he did both then, and again this morning, with an encore performance for his dad while I looked online for Wild Swan's next performance.