A new little project

The madness begins.

Niece "A" turns ten on Saturday. She'll be out of town but I'd really like to be done with this doll before then because we'll be seeing her mom that day, and I'd love to send this home with her.

This is the metal skeleton/armiture. Notice the feet...they are plastic wine corks carved into a foot shape. This is why I never throw anything away.

Covering and padding. I like her little hip bones.

More padding with a head. A little more feminine shape.

More padding and head with eyes. I let S.J. choose the eye color...she chose brown. Yes, she realizes that this doll is NOT for her. I may make another one for her later....

Close-up of the face.

The well padded backside. NOT a barbie. My dolls have hips and bulges just like I do...;-)

Obviously, I have more work to do on this girl. She's still pretty ugly, but I am confident she'll look pretty good when I am done. The work has gone much faster than it did with Penelope. Mostly, I just realy enjoy the whole process of creating. I have drawings of her dress that I'll be making. It will be purple, Niece's favorite color.

Enjoy!

Have a great day!

mere

Penelope revisited

Do you remember Penelope from last year?

Well, she needed some new clothes. She now has a new under dress which will go with a lot, and a new over dress that is fit for a princess.

I can't wait to see what Sarah Jane does which she sees her"sister" in her new duds.

I love how it turned out.

Love it.

My niece A. has told me that she would love a doll like Penelope, so I may make another one for her. If so, I will be sure to take pics and document the process.

Have a great day!

mere

Lately...

I've been doting on this little guy. Catching first smiles. Watching Sarah Jane being a big sister. Making fairy wings. And just generally trying to savor all of this. These moments are all too fleeting.
I've also been cleaning up my house which has been neglected for waaaaaay too long, and enjoying schooling with the older two boys. This last week we were more diligent than we have been in a long time, and we were able to get so much done. I am so proud of the way both Jake and Sam stuck with their schedules and got ALL of their work completed everyday. I am so proud of me too, for keeping them on task and helping them when they needed help. It was just a good, good, week.

I have plans for a couple more sewing projects as well as some very cool Christmas gift ideas. Penelope, the doll I made last year for S.J. will be getting some new outfits. I am surprised at how well she has held up through the last year. She's just a little dirty, but I think that's to be expected. I'd love to try making another doll like her, but it was really time intensive. We'll see.

Have a great day!

mere

Legos

My two older boys love Legos. I like them just fine until it's time to vacuum.

I also don't like stepping on them in a dark room with bare feet. Or pulling them out of babies mouths.

But I really do like the creative fire they spark in my boys.

My son Sam makes some really cool things. He's able to look at something and then translate it into "Lego".

Hence the Lego Slug. Please admire the detail of this creation.


I especially like the yellow mantle. The tenticles are pretty cool, too. They move.
I am surprised that he didn't find a way to make the slime...maybe that's what all those random Legos are that are all over the house!

Have a great day!

mere

Bitten

I have been bitten by the creative bug again.
I opened the ugly trunk the other day and found a large piece of denim that I found as a remnant somewhere. I paid under ten dollars for it, knowing that it would probably be useful some day. I'm so glad I did.

S.J. has been needing some new duds for the cooler weather, and I really wanted her to have something that will be versatile, durable and long wearing.

I confess that I love jumpers...especially uniform style jumpers, and I have been known to peruse French Toast catalogs, coveting the darling uniforms for little girls.

So, I found this fabric in my stash and thought it would be a great jumper. With S.J. standing very still I took some measurements and made a pattern out of old brown grocery bags for the bodice. Then I cut the fabric, got Joe situated and sewed it together. The bodice took about and hour, and then the skirt was done later after the kids went to bed. Then the next morning S.J. tried the dress on, and I marked the hem, allowing for some growing room.
Here it is, all finished:
Joe sat in his little seat in our kitchen and made friends with Whoozit. This is where he is when I'm cooking, or doing the dishes or sewing.
"I wonder if I can touch it?"
"Hmmmm. It rattled when I did that. Does it happen everytime?"
"YES!!! It does!!!! So, I have several more projects all lined up in my head now. I am so happy with the way the jumper turned out, and I have also rediscovered several other pieces of fabric that will be turned into something soon. Stay tuned for photos of all these projects!

Have a great day!

mere

Gratuitous Baby Pictures

Having a chat with Big Sis' after a diaper change. Oh how she loves him!

At six and and half weeks old he now weighs over twelve pounds. Did I mention he likes to eat and does so at every opportunity?

Look at those cheeks! Don't they just beg for a big smooch!

Joe is such a little love these days. He's really becoming a lot more aware of people and has started smiling at everyone. Theses smiles are often accompanied by little happy noises and coos. Here's another I just took:

He was busy watching me and I got a "full body wiggle with smile" when I looked down. Makes it all worth it!

Have a great day!

mere

Fox Path Academy school pictures and info

Jacob, 5th year student.

Samuel, 3rd year student.

Benjamin, intermittant kindergartner.

Sarah Jane, preschooler.

Fox Path Academy is our very exclusive private school, which meets every day in the living room and at the dining table of our home. We also go outside often for play and nature study. Subjects include Bible, reading, writing, math, penmanship, history, geography, literature, picture study, poetry, composer study, nature study, Shakespeare, and Plutarch. Our curriculum is here. For P.E. we use the crossfit kids model. We plan to incorporate Latin in the future. The older students receive outside math instruction through a local, once a week school. We do enjoy field trips when we can.

Benjamin is an intermittant student at FPA, because he also receives schooling and special services at the local public school.

Here's our fifth student, but I'm not sure what grade to put him in;-)

Where did I get the name? From a line in that Wendall Berry poem : "Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction." We definitely make a lot of tracks!

Our school motto comes from Aesop: "Where the skin of the lion doesn't fit, one must wear the fox's habit."

Our mascot is, obviously, Reynard the red fox.

School is currently in session and going well.

Have a great day!

mere