Design

Wow – thank you for all of the feedback! (I’m working on the baby shoe pattern and I’m hoping to have it up for you by the end of next week)

Ok, so I was thinking of making a tomato-esque pincushion pattern for myself.  I picked out this rich mustard wool/rayon felt and the plaid/floral cotton, then started sketching out a pattern.  As I was working out the dimensions, my mind wandered… I could make a ball… I could make a ball for Charlotte… Why are there no girly balls?…(indignant)Girls like to play with balls too… This fabric over here would make a fabulous ball… What if I made Charlotte a girly ball instead?  So, I moved to a new sheet of paper and designed this:

I stuffed each ball lightly, then added in a little beanbag filled with poly-pellets. Then I added more Polyfil until the ball was rather firm (so the beanbag ends up in the center of the ball, with padding all around it). The beanbag gives them the perfect weight for tossing and somehow, magically, they actually bounce a bit!

Elijah wanted some too and these ones go with his room so well — It’s important for children’s toys to enhance the décor of their room, right?  Ha!  Just a bonus ☺

Isaac even got in on the action this time and snapped this beautiful still-life. Now, back to that pincushion.

Elijah’s summer started a week ago. I still can’t believe school gets out in May — that’s nutty. At the beginning of the summer I always conjure these fantasies of a regular craft day with my son – like –  every Thursday we’ll make a Christmas present for someone, or every Tuesday we’ll make a paper project. One year we even got so far as to list out a dozen ideas. I’ve got to find that list.

So, once again, the cogs are turning (I love when he’s home, it just feels right). What would Elijah like to learn? How do you find that interface between all the girly crafts out there and the interests of a nine-year-old boy? He wants to learn to sew and to knit and to quilt. I’ve explained to him the potential social ramifications and he’s cool with it. He likes the things I do. When I started an art journal, he started one too.  When I made pincushions, he made one too. When I tried out Hillary’s shrinky-dink pins (Wee Wonderfuls blog, 2006), he made some too! I think it’s fantastic – and great fun for me. Moreover, I want him to have every opportunity to find what he likes best.

Now, I’ve given it some thought and here’s the plan: sign him up for a couple of sports, invite his friends over like crazy, do the macho boy stuff: computer games, sword fights, remote control cars, etc. Then, in a quiet moment, sit him on my lap and teach him about the things I love to do. Make things, make memories. He’s growing up so quickly and I’ve just got to go with it now, this summer, before he’s off to college… What? Next year?

Here’s my adorable family of pins: Heather (me), Isaac, Elijah and Charlotte.

Note:  Try doing shrinky-dinks with a heat gun (like what you use for embossing), instead of the oven — INSTANT gratification and no bent pins.