the DIY ring sling

After bringing you a post like the last one, it seems I should try to offer the world something of beauty too, and not just the crazy and the chaos and the mess.

Something of beauty being, of course, my kids.

And the ring sling I sewed to carry them around!

I made it with Ree in mind, for as much as I love my fabric wrap and my Ergo {and Nell always loved them both, too}, Ree wants to see the world, and is not as content to sit pressed up against my chest unless she is really tired and ready for some serious sleeping.  Awake and alert, she wants to face out.

It seemed like everywhere I looked on the blogosphere, mamas were carrying their babes in those gorgeous Sakura Bloom ring slings.  I did not, however, think I would be able to sell my husband on the idea of spending $100+ on yet another way to carry the babe around.  The solution, of course, was to make my own.

A lengthy cut of pretty grey linen, sturdy rings from slingrings.com, a tutorial from Jan at sleeping baby productions and a little extra info on doing a gathered shoulder, and I was in business.  Easy-peasy.  And I saved myself a lot of money.

Following the one-size-fits-all approach from the tutorial yielded a sling that is definitely longer than I need it to be, so I'm planning to trim and re-stitch the hem on the tail soon, but aside from that I'm quite pleased with it.

Ree is so snug and cozy in it, and can look around when she wants to or snuggle in close and doze when she gets sleepy.  And as it turns out, Nell loves it too!  She has a way of asking for "Mommy hugs!" just when I'm trying to slice oranges and scramble eggs for breakfast or put the finishing touches on dinner, and being able to pop her in the sling is the perfect solution: Nell feels hugged and close to me and is happy as a clam, and I still have my hands free to do what needs to be done.

Oh, and since the sling kind of disguised the all-important fact that the girls wore matching corduroy dresses to church on Sunday:

{A consignment find I'm pretty pleased with.  Every mother gets to inflict this kind of matchy-matchy scenario on her daughters at least once, right?}

Ree was kind of unimpressed by the whole phenomenon, but don't try to tell me your day hasn't been made.

a quilt for the big sister

I posted before about my first attempt at a quilt -- a crib / toddler bed-sized quilt for the new baby girl.

Well, while the project had its share of difficulties, I enjoyed the process and decided to make a second quilt, this one for the big-sister-to-be!  I think it'll be nice to give Nell something new of her own when the baby arrives.  She is so great about sleeping in her own bed now (I should write about how we transitioned from a co-sleeping situation into her crib... it went weirdly, unexpectedly well overall) and is at an age where she loves her blankets and stuffed animals and baby doll.  I think she will really appreciate and enjoy having a new quilt of her own.

Not surprisingly, Nell's quilt came together more quickly and easily than the baby quilt, since it was my second time following the same tutorial and essentially sewing the same quilt.  The only thing I did differently with Nell's quilt was to use just one main fabric, rather than two different ones, along with the four more neutral print coordinating fabrics.

The fabrics I picked for Nell's quilt are a little less vibrant than the baby quilt fabrics, but I still find them cheery and sweet, and I really fell in love with the bird print fabric when I saw it at Jo-Ann's.

I can definitely imagine myself wanting to take on more quilting projects in the future... but I guess you'll have to ask me if I still think that in a couple of weeks when I have a newborn in my arms.

Two quilts completed and ready for two little girls... now we just need the second little girl to decide to make her appearance!

{phfr}

I'm joining Like Mother, Like Daughter for another {pretty happy funny real} post today.

{pretty}

After my violin studio recital this past weekend, one of my students gave me possibly the sweetest, most charming little bouquets I've ever received.  

I also have tulips on the dining room table, daffodils on my kitchen windowsill, and roses on my bedroom dresser, all thanks to my students.  I love having flowers in the house -- and right now, it helps to slightly offset the general feeling of despair at the fact that it snowed again earlier this week.  This has truly felt like 'The Long Winter' here in Massachusetts!

{happy}

Another recital perk: a lovely gift bag from my students, with a card signed collectively and filled with sweet sentiments.  A mother of a student of mine was behind planning this, and filled a bag with such thoughtful and enjoyable gifts, from cookies and caramels to candles and linens and a scarf and more.  I felt thoroughly spoiled as I went through it the next day {after recovering from recital exhaustion}.  It's so very nice to have treats like this every once in a while!

{funny}

After finishing the quilt for the baby (arriving any day now, and I must admit, I hope for sooner rather than later), I got to work on a similar quilt for Nell.  It seemed like a big sister deserved something to commemorate the occasion, and since she now sleeps in her own crib and loves to have blankets, stuffed animals, and her baby doll surrounding her, I think she's actually at an age to really enjoy the comfort of a special quilt.

In any case, I'll have to post some better pictures of the finished quilt soon, but the 'funny' part is that every time over the past few weeks I would say to Nell, "I'm sewing!" she would reply, "Brrrrrr!!!"

Sewing... snowing...

Words can be a little confusing when you're not yet two years old.

{real}

Three bags sit beside my dresser now, one packed for myself, one 'overnight' bag for Nell, and one with things for the new baby.

Yes, seeing them there certainly makes her impending arrival feel very real!

a quilt for baby

About a month ago, I came across a Basic Baby Quilt Tutorial from the blog Thirty Handmade Days.  I had never made a quilt before, but I was suddenly quite attached to the idea of making a quilt for this baby girl we're expecting.  So, off to Jo-Ann's I went, list in hand, to get the things I needed.

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when it came to choosing fabrics!  I probably spent almost two hours there, plying Nell with snacks while deliberating over the fabric choices.

I love what I ended up with, though!  And this basic striped quilt is definitely manageable for a beginner to make.  I'm glad I didn't start with anything more difficult, because even this had plenty of stress-inducing moments. 

I'm envisioning baby girl using it as a play mat to lie on and roll around on as she grows, and then as a quilt for her crib and eventually her toddler bed.  (The quilt is about 40" by 54", a good sized quilt for a little one's bed.)

Every time I look at this cheery quilt, it brings a smile to my face.  Sure, if you look closely you'll see a few places where I didn't feed the weight of the quilt evenly, and my stitch length got a bit uneven as a result.  But all those spots I was agonizing over as I sewed really don't matter that much when I look at the big picture now that it's finished.  So, it's imperfect -- hey, it's my first attempt at a quilt!  I think our baby girl will enjoy lots of play time on and snuggles in this quilt, regardless of the evenness of the stitching.

And she will know her mama loved making it for her, ironing and cutting and piecing and quilting all while daydreaming about the little baby who would call this quilt her own.



Now that baby's quilt is finished, I'm working on a second quilt - for Nell, the soon-to-be big sister!  I decided it would be nice to present her with something new of her own when the baby arrives.  I'm following the same tutorial / pattern, but using different fabrics for Nell's quilt.  Hopefully I'll have photos of that quilt to share soon!

{phfr}

Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter for another {phfr} post today!  Auntie Leila's {phfr} post today was somewhat themed around the importance of recording the little things one accomplishes in a dreary month like January, and I love that idea.  As a fellow New Englander, I can attest that these below-freezing temps that have been dragging on and on are getting me down, and the bone-weariness of late January has certainly set in.  Each morning seems harder than the one before to get myself out of bed, and some days I'm just counting the hours until the next time I can go to sleep.

It doesn't help, no doubt, that to save on the absurdly expensive costs of our oil heat, Nathan wants to keep the heat no higher than 60 degrees, SIXTY DEGREES!  We negotiate on this matter, the sort of negotiation that involves me turning it up to 62 and him turning it back down, and so on and so forth.  And there may be some complaining involved, but only in my weaker moments.  For the most part, we press on.  Eagerly awaiting the coming of warmer days.

Have I been getting anything done lately?  Oh, but I have!  A few little things here and there.  See...?

{pretty}

Food can be pretty, right?  And is there anything prettier than fresh, juicy cranberries oozing out of baked goods?  I baked up a batch of these fresh cranberry chocolate chunk brown butter cookies over the weekend, and even though Christmas is past us now and you might be thinking that the time for using cranberries is over, you should make these; you won't regret it.  They were just slightly too sweet for my taste, but the soft texture is just wonderful, and the fresh cranberries are the perfect bursts of flavor in each bite.

{happy}

A local consignment store has had not one but two 25 cent sales in the past two weeks, with bins and racks full of children's clothing marked down to just a quarter apiece.  I went twice, and in total got 36 pieces of clothing for a mere $9.00 altogether!  A few things that fit Nell now (including a lovely navy blue baby Gap coat and some fleece-lined pants!), a few things she'll grow into, and a few things for the new little lady when she arrives.  I had just finished sorting our bins of baby clothes in the basement, too, so I could actually remember what we could use more of in each baby size and what we really didn't need.  I got a few items for friends' babies, too!

The picture is just a few of the items fresh out of the wash.  Most of them are already stored away in their respective size bins for future use.

{funny}

I just finished my biggest knitting project yet.  Don't be too impressed: it's only a scarf.  But considerably larger than the washcloths I've heretofore knitted, and unlike the baby blanket I started but haven't yet finished, this project has now actually been completed!  Small accomplishment perhaps, but an accomplishment nonetheless.

I was feeling rather pleased as I donned it this morning, expecting heaven to burst open and a messenger of God to deliver knitting accolades -- or at least that my husband, who had sat beside me sometimes as I knitted in the evenings, might say something nice -- but instead what I got was a snarky comment about how he really, truly, things the term 'infinity scarf' is the most ridiculous thing in the world.  Humph.

{real}

I may as well poke some fun at myself and admit that I only just got around to putting the final hem on the curtains in Nell's room.  The curtains I made with fabric I bought while she was still snugly inside of me, almost two years ago.  The curtains I began sewing before she was born.  The curtains I almost finished and then hung when she was a newborn, stitching away at my machine while she slept in the moby wrap.  Yes, those curtains.  Those curtains that pooled on the floor for the past year and then some.  I measured, marked, took them down, and hemmed them to be floor length at last!  Much better now, I think.  And as always happens with these sorts of projects, once I got started it took me all of one day's nap time to finish them, so of course, I should have done it ages ago.

Now I'd really like to get going on fixing up the second bedroom upstairs, even though it's unlikely that we'll need two separate kid bedrooms anytime soon.  We'll work on transitioning Nell to sleep upstairs by herself soon, but then I think the new baby will sleep in our room for a good while, unless she's a magical sleeping baby quite unlike her sister.  Still, there's no motivator like a baby coming, is there?  If a room is to be fixed up, perhaps now is the time to do it, necessary or not!

The One Thing

Last week I wrote about my new resolution to accomplish one thing, one out-of-the-ordinary thing, a day.

I'm so glad I made that resolution and wrote about it.  Just this morning I woke up thinking, "I need to buy new shirts for Nathan, there's laundry piling up, the kitchen floor needs to be mopped, there are dishes from the weekend lying around, I wanted to buy clips to hang Nell's curtains, the front yard landscaping work is barely half done..."

I have a way of overwhelming myself with to-do lists.  And then I get sort of paralyzed just thinking about it all, and somehow, I don't know where or how to start.

I'm keeping life manageable by reminding myself that - aside from keeping up with the necessaries like laundry and dishes - even if I do just one thing a day, in a week I will have done seven things.  In a month, thirty things.  And think of what I can do in a year!  The small things will keep adding up.

So here is the first in a new series of Monday blog posts here at being sarah marie, the One Thing series.  I might share one thing I accomplished in the previous week, or I might share each day's thing.  I might show you how one day I dug a hole, the next I bought a shrub, and the third day I planted it; or perhaps I will have done all of that in a day and considered it the One Thing.  That's the beauty of the One Thing.  The rules are flexible.

(I have my improv teacher from Boston Conservatory to thank for sharing this quote.  I think it summarizes what the One Thing resolution is all about.)

Last week, Tuesday's One Thing was sewing the third of four curtain panels for Nell's room, and Wednesday's One Thing was sewing the final panel.  Then, I just had to buy the curtain clips and hang them.  So, here are the results of several of last week's One Things: yellow damask curtains for my girl, hung in place and lending a sunny cheer to the room.

And because I love it, here's a view of the beautiful sailboat mobile my parents made for Nell while I was pregnant with her.  She loves gazing at the colorful, shiny hulls while I blow on the sails to send the boats bobbing in circles.

Oh, and here's the cute reason for the little yellow and grey room:

Are you inspired by Mark Twain?  Do you want to participate in The One Thing?

Let me know -- maybe I'll make the event into a weekly link-up for bloggers!

"put on your sunday clothes," or the one thing a day

When I was a kid, one of the family-friendly musicals that was in our semi-regular movie rotation was "Hello, Dolly!"  There's a song in that musical that begins with the line,

"Put on your Sunday clothes when you feel down and out..."

Isn't it true that wearing something you like can make the difference between a good day and a bad day?  Between a productive day and a day that feels wasted?

{Or maybe you reach the end of a day and haven't accomplished everything on your to-do list... but at least you felt good about the way you looked while being un-productive, right?}

Last week was really crazy for me... I had the usual teaching of lessons, plus gigs Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings that meant I didn't get home until 10:30 or later.  

This week, I'm loving having more restful days at home with Nell.  Knowing that the evenings will be restful makes the mornings more restful, too, because I'm not flying around making sure I have bottles pumped, diapers laid out in the right places, notes and lists for babysitters, and of course, the house tidied so it's not an embarrassment.  

I'm so lucky that I don't work full time, and I can enjoy laid-back mornings with Nell most of the time.  But sometimes I feel like all I really accomplish is keeping her alive, and while that is a noble thing in itself, I also want to get other things done.  So I started this week off with a new resolution to put on something I like every morning, first thing.  Not at 10:00 am before my 10:30 violin student comes, not at 1:00 pm before my 1:30 violin student comes, but first thing.  And not just presentable clothes, but an outfit that I really like wearing.

{I'm also trying to break myself of a silly habit I have of getting dressed a little bit at a time, meaning occasionally I spend half my morning in jeans and a bathrobe.  So ridiculous.}  

Once I'm dressed, with my hair done and makeup on, I'm ready to take on the day. 

And that's where my other new resolution comes in: to try to get one thing done a day.

Just one thing.  Maybe it's a sewing project or a craft project, maybe a homemaking project or a furniture-paining project, maybe it's organizing Nell's clothes or my closet, catching up on paperwork, working in the yard, doing an errand, or even blogging.  Of course I might do more than one thing, but telling myself it just needs to be one out-of-the-ordinary thing each day (i.e. doing dishes or laundry doesn't count!) makes it seem so manageable.  Anyone can do one thing!

I'm even thinking about starting a one thing blog series.  (Although, since I just said blogging counts as my one thing, that could get a little cyclical, hah.)

On Monday, I hung two framed prints in Nell's room.  

{I've had these prints for months now, finally bought frames for them a month or so ago, but still hadn't hung them up...!}

We also went for a 'leaf walk' to enjoy the beginning of Autumn and look at the changing leaves.

{leaving on our walk}

On Tuesday I finally sewed the third of four curtain panels for Nell's room.  I also spent some time trying to decide what storage bins would best fit in the Expedit shelving unit from IKEA that's in her room, but haven't reached a conclusion yet.  I might even try my hand at making these fabric storage bins from Make It and Love It.  (If I'm feeling particularly ambitious.)

And on Wednesday morning, I finished the last of the curtain panels!

I say "finished" loosely, because I still need to hang two of them (once Nathan installs the curtain rod) and then do the final hems on all four of them.

Here's what the two that have already been (temporarily) hung look like:

Once I get a little more progress made in Nell's room, I'll do a post with pictures of the whole space.  It's a very imperfect tiny room in a very imperfect old house, but I love the grey stripes I painted, and the yellow damask fabric I chose for her curtains, and the sailboat mobile her grandparents made her.

So, next time you're having an unproductive day, try it: put on your proverbial 'Sunday clothes' and see what happens.

Thrifted Skirt

A while ago I bought a plaid wool (?) skirt at a favorite consignment store on Newbury St. I thought it had potential.

This morning I cut about six inches off the length of it and hemmed it, and promptly decided to wear it for the day.


I'm wondering when it might be from. Is it 70's? (It looks a lot like the second skirt here, from the 70's...)


80's?


90's?


No-one-would-ever-have-worn-that-and-you-should-burn-it-immediately-Sarah?

What do you think?

Actually, I really like it.

But I have plans to further improve it -- it has a lot of gathers at the waistline and I'm thinking that by making the waistband slightly bigger and having it fall a bit lower on my waist (it's currently very high-waisted) I would have more material to spread the gathers over. We'll see.

[I hope it's not some legitimate vintage piece that I'm ruining with my hack-job sewing.]

I think it will be great to wear in the fall.