My first "Give Away"

Attention local friends and family:

I feel guilty leaving without sharing some of my starts - who wants some?  

The joy of garage saling and frivolous purchases

Our move date will hit us in less than two weeks yet I still went garage saling yesterday.  

The hope was to find a few warm clothes for the boys since it's cold and we are still living out of the suitcases packed for summer.  Instead I returned home with some maternity clothes for myself, a Coach purse, baby boy clothes (yes - it's a boy! with all the uncertainty of point B I could not wait to find out), Little House on the Prairie books, Bionicles, a brand new diaper bag, boy scout shirt for William, and a purple wool sweater to refashion for Clara - all under $25.

This morning I dressed quickly for church then spun into Paul with a smile announcing the total for my whole outfit, $5.  $3 skirt, $2 sweater, $1 blouse and the necklace, gold and onyx with a cloisonne pendant was found in the pocket of an old suitcase I picked up at an estate sale (I would have returned it but it was months after the purchase that this treasure was discovered).  My boasting continued with all the kids clothes, books and toys picked up at garage sales over the past couple of years.

Paul smiled kindly then asked, "what about your shoes? how much did you spend on them"?  Unable to lie I fumbled, "oh, um, yeah.... I think they were around $90" then desperately added "but that was when I was over due with Henry and feeling really sorry for myself".  Paul chuckled as he quoted Jim Bob Duggar "buy used and save the difference", then with amusement added "I don't think that is the same as 'buy used and spend the difference on something frivolous' ".

It's true, I admit shoes and fabric are amongst my weaknesses as a home economist.  Perhaps our transition to farm living will finally cure me of it, unless of course I just transfer the weakness to something like heirloom chickens, pretty work wear for women, or fancy canning equipment. 

Family biking and the Madsen Cycle

Now we can all ride together!  

Well everyone except me, my stomach is already too big but I can't wait to take the new Madsen Cycle on family bike rides and even to the grocery store.   The cargo bucket has seats and belt buckles for 4 passengers or enough space for a weeks worth of food.

For now we've decided to rent a home in Ann Arbor but we are hoping to be settled on a nearby farm by Spring/Summer.  When we do finally settle this bike will serve as our farm utility vehicle (it actually does great off road) but until then it will get much use on all the bike paths in and around Ann Arbor.  Paul is even selling his car - we'll see how long we can last as a one car family.

Here the kids are enjoying the flat path around Liberty Park. Peter just barely took off his training wheels and stated: "Mom, I think my heart is smarter than my brain because when l listen to my brain I get scared and fall but when I listen to my heart I just keep pedaling".  I told him I'd remember that the next time I try something new.  

Refashioned sweater to baby vest

My good friend Karen sent me a box of wool sweaters her dad was getting rid of - here is my first experiment.

The first step to refashioning wool is to shrink it or felt it.  It took two hot wash cycles to get this one to tighten up (if it is not tight enough then the knit will run and it is harder to re-shape).

This vest was very quick and simple because I left the neckline in tack.  To finish the armholes and bottom I cut off the original bottom ribbing, folded it in half and then serged it on.

I suppose I could have made it a bit roomier but this will still look nice over a button down with some toddler khakis - a great winter church outfit.     

Two more living things to care for

Last week I picked up both a kefir and sourdough start, it feels like I've adopted two pets because they came with 10 pages of instructions.  This is my second try at both and I'm determined to keep them thriving.

After a good week of regular feeding, stirring and fermenting we enjoyed a kefir smoothie and batch of sourdough pancakes, there are still some kinks to work out but again I'm determined.  I've named one "bubbles" and the other "critters" and like to cheer them in their growing and fermenting.

There are great health benefits to fermenting - check out this kefir site where I spent hours skimming.  I'm still looking for some good sourdough sources though - specifically gluten free sourdough.  Several individuals in our family have developed food intolerances and the hope is that these two "starts" will aid in digestion and give us more food options.  They may be stinky and not look very pretty on the counter but they are good for you and we like the way they taste.       

thrifted and refashioned

We are still living out of the suitcases that were packed for summer.  The big switch did not happen this fall because most of it is packed far away in our storage unit.  Instead, I've been sewing and filling the need for warmer clothes at yard sales and thrift stores.

I hit a great Value Village in Spokane, WA where I picked up this pink skirt for $3 and coordinating T for $2.  The T was actually just a basic long sleeve T (size 12) so there was definite need for re-sizing and refashioning.

Refashioning is both fun and quick. First you need a pattern for a T-shirt that fits well, that can be copied off ready to wear or a purchased pattern. In this case I used the same pattern used for their fall turtle necks. The rest is just a matter of making something new out of something old. It isn't always easy to get a little girl to wear brown so it helped to add a bit of a ruffle and shiny buttons. This is basically just a fake placket top stitched on top of a ruffle.  The sleeves were cropped at the elbow with an addition of a split cuff.

Unfortunately she got into some markers just 10 minutes into the first wear, but that's what happens with kids clothes. A toothbrush and a few minutes of scrubbing with zout should fix that - and if it doesn't, at least it was only $2 and offered a bit of creative entertainment.  

deconstructed maternity skirt

This skirt used to be  jeans.  I picked them up at a yard sale for $2 from a Japanese woman who said they were too big for her because she wore them during her pregnancy (these were never maternity jeans, just a standard US size).  At 14 weeks I couldn't pull them up beyond my hips.  I liked the jeans but to be honest skirts are just more comfortable during any stage of pregnancy, so the deconstruction began with an addition of a panel.  

Clara (almost 3) was at my side as I stretched the cotton Lycra panel across my round belly.  She said, "oh mommy you're getting so fat", then continued "are you going to blow up like a balloon just like Aunt Marge (from Harry Potter II)"? I answered, "no I'm just growing a baby" and she replied "oh, that is going to be a fat baby".  So then I added a bit more ease into the panel because there's still 4 months to go and I'm sure to keep growing.