Buy this bread book, already.

I've been making so much bread lately. I love the 5 minutes a day bread book more and more every day.  Most of the time I use the basic dough, use half wheat/half white, and just bake simple loaves.
We eat it with honey, hummus, or roasted garlic.  Or plain, or sandwiches.  It's so convenient and so yummy.  The olive oil dough is our next favorite/most frequent, but I'm launching out into brioche now, so I'll have to get back to you on that soon...

Spring Pajamas!

I have to preface this post with the disclaimer that I don't usually make clothing patterns - and the main reason is that I really don't know how to convert something from one size to another.  Still I like to sew clothes when I can, and I can't help but love the simplicity of this style of shirt.  So anyway, don't think of this as a pattern so much as a how-I-did-it-maybe-you-can-too.

These pjs were made during a few stolen hours one  Saturday, when I was supposed to be sewing for the book.  I saw this very pink flowery fabric and it suddenly dawned on me - this would be perfect for light spring pajamas! - because, I don't know why, but they love to be extra girly at pajama time. 

I realized (while taking the picture of my unwilling models) that these clothes are a whole lot like the doll clothes patterns I've posted before.  And because that's true, I haven't bothered to draft the pants here.  If you need help, check out my doll clothes pattern, or have a look at Soulemama or Rookiemoms. I always trace a pair of pants I already have.

The shirt is basically a raglan shirt with a really wide neck. You add elastic to make it a normal size with a ruffly kind of look.

The size I drafted below is what I'm calling a 3T. I enlarged it for the older kid, and it seemed a little too big, so then I had to take it up.  So it seems like if you're enlarging you need to add less width than height?  Does that sound right?  Anybody know?

Well, anyway.  The dimensions I used are below, with instructions for the shirt in the photo.  It's super easy (just the way I like it), I made both sets of pjs in only a couple of hours.

And coming soon,  I turned this same pattern into a spring dress set...

Self-Portraits

In college I started a habit of taking a snapshot of myself at significant milestones.  These were the days before digital cameras that do all the work for you, so most of these pictures turned out blurry, dark or cropped funny.  

I continued doing this after John and I started our family. Thankfully, digital cameras came along, so most of them are at least in focus.  But another important difference is the change in my sense of "self." Today, I get the camera ready, but before I snap the picture, we all smoosh our faces as close together as possible and say, "cheeeeeeese." 

I was thinking of this today, as I pored over our silly photos. I am so grateful to be bigger than just me, to be a part of a family. Its far too easy to take this for granted, and makes me all the more aware of all my various close friends and that bond, too.

Family Portrait on the day we closed on our house!

We still have busy-ness in abundance - but I'm tentatively back to blogging.  Watch for a few patterns and tutorials this spring/summer, and plenty of house building updates!

worth working for

I'm just popping in to say hello!  I'm busy busy, but looking forward to the satisfaction of finishing several big projects. L begged me to make a kangaroo a few months ago, so I drafted one, but have yet to make it. Any takers?  Perhaps we'll see one this spring.

periwinkles and failed biscuits

I tried making my grandfather's biscuits once again.  They turned out so pretty! I was sure I got it right this time, and so I snapped this picture... but then they tasted really bad.  I just can't seem to crack his "pinch of this", "handful of that" recipe.

I'll keep trying though.  Somethings are worth working for, right?

What are you working on?

Happy (4th day of the) New Year!

I used to dream of big New Year's eve parties with confetti and gowns - very Harry Met Sally.  I'm slowly beginning to understand that just isn't where my life is now.  Now, we tuck the kids into bed, and quietly eat our party foods and talk about what we hope to do better next year.  I realized today that's such a good thing.  I'm not really in need of a big romantic finish - but I am in need of new beginnings.

I had hoped to start a new family tradition this year, but unfortunately New Year's Eve was spent driving and driving, and New Year's day was left to unpacking and succumbing to the virus that always stows away on a roadtrip.  Blech.

Whatever.  January 4th is as good a day for a fresh start as any, right?

The girls and I baked a New Year's Cake yesterday, and we hid a coin inside (okay, two). Our recipe was pretty simple, sort of like a pound cake. I saw a couple other recipes I'd like to give a shot.  Whoever gets the slice with the coin is supposed to have a very blessed year.  The cake turned out super pretty, although stuck in my bundt pan.  And yummy, although none of us felt much like eating since we're all still a little stuffy.  We ate more of the cake after breakfast today, and we still haven't found the slices with the money!  I even poked around and cheated a bit.

But that's okay.  Now I know for sure there are blessings ahead this year.

Last night, John and I snuck out to watch the meteor shower, with baby monitor in hand. It was beautiful and surreal to think of how big the world is. I feel full of hope and expectation.  I hope you do too. Happy New Year!


I'll be taking a little time off here, to finish up my book and hang with my family. I'm still available by email if you have any blog/pattern questions {wilsonlauralynn [at] gmail [dot] com} I'll see you in the spring!

Tiny Dogs #nightsewing

 L has been asking if she's going to get a tiny red dog like Clifford (when he was a puppy) for Christmas.  So of course, I had to make another dog for her, and one more for J.

So, I shrunk the pattern.  Really I just opened the image on my computer and zoomed out then I traced it until the whole pattern fit on half a sheet of paper.  It's like having a light box.  They sewed up really quickly, although the head gusset was tricky because the fleece is so thick and the corners are so tiny.  Still, I'm really growing to appreciate how forgiving fleece is.  Why didn't I see this before?

These little ones have stuffing in the heads, but the rest of the body is all poly-beads which I'm also totally into now.  Sorry for the yellow-y pictures - had to take them while the kids were sleeping, you know. (Also, the hairy arm below is not mine, just so you know.)

So, I'm totally loving these, and I think that I probably should have been making all of my patterns tiny like this.  And not just because of the storage space.  So, yes.  It's possible that I will be making tiny giraffes, turtles, and dinosaurs next year

(the year of sewing what I want).

Paper Stars

  

I think this is the beginning of what will surely be a trend of books and crafts. Last week we were reading Patricia Polacco's Uncle Vova's Tree, in which the children make paper stars to decorate the tree.  L immediately said, I want to make those!  And so we did. 

 

We hadn't actually put up our tree yet, so they stayed in a vase for a few days - which I think looked quite lovely. But L carried one to our local Christmas parade to wave at the floats as they passed. 

Two Patterns: Dog and Stegosaurus

You were warned about the Dog, but the Stegosaurus is here too!

My girls love dogs.  And dinosaurs.  Did you know there are 13 Land Before Time movies?

13!

And yes, we've seen them all. Although, I may have slept through a couple.

I fully expect J to open this Stegosaurus at Christmas and immediately say, "Now I need a Long Neck, a Cera, a Ducky, and a Flier!" And L will ask for several more dogs in a variety of shapes and colors. Yes, I'm prepared.

But for now, one pattern at a time.  Or, ahem, two.  

I don't expect these to replace Pink Dog, but I'm hoping they'll join the pack.  


A few notes about these patterns:
My goal was to make the cuddly, so you may notice a few differences.  They're made of fleece and furry blankets, and they're half filled with poly beads to make them more flexible - so they don't stand up perfectly for photos.  I made the dogs in two sizes, just enlarge the pattern a bit more because - of course - we need a mommy dog and a baby dog.  Also the dogs have a million variations - button/embroidery eyes, various ears, tail up or down, spots - ooh, and an easy, no sew collar.

 

Here's a qick giveaway: Today until the 16th - click the links below to grab these patterns and make some last minute Christmas gifts!  I've changed file hosts, so I'm hoping not to have bandwidth issues. (fingers crossed) (Updated: Dec. 17th - the giveaway has now ended. Thanks for all your enthusiasm!) After the 16th, you can still find the patterns in shop.

Happy St. Nicholas Day!

This is the first year we've celebrated St. Nicholas Day, so we're having fun learning and making new traditions. In a little bit, the girls will wake up and find their shoes filled with a few small treats, including St. Nicholas staff (candy cane) and gold coins (chocolate) to remind them of how he gave to the three girls in the story.

Yesterday, we made cookies, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite pre-Christmas traditions.  This was the first time I made shaped cookies with the kids, and they thought it was so cool (just like play dough!).

And later, we'll spend the day making gifts for family and friends (Martha has a great list of gifts kids can make). We decided to make gift making on St. Nicholas day part of our family tradition partly because we want our children to be people who see the needs of others, like St. Nicholas did. It is all too easy to be self-involved (believe me, I know), but compassion begins with looking at the people around you, instead of yourself.  And I want to be compassionate. Our gifts won't be world changing for anyone this year, but hopefully they will help my girls and I look outward. Perhaps it will grow into something more significant.

Ultimately, I want this day to become a day of compassion for our family. Which is hard sometimes during the holidays as you recount your life, your goals, your wish lists.  I want to teach my kids compassion, but I think I'm hungering for it, too.

How do you teach your kids about giving at Christmas?

St. Nicholas and the Dowries

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And be sure to check out the St. Nicholas Center!  You could easily lose an afternoon there. Which I did. So here are a few of my favorite links to help you out:

• the story of St. Nicholas and the Dowries - explains the custom of the shoes
• How St. Nicholas became Santa Claus 
• ideas on How to Celebrate.
• several online picture books for kids
• traditional recipes from various countries
• and, of course, St. Nicholas craft projects 

Pink Dog: revisited

Recently, L had taken Pink Dog out in public and was introducing her to some lucky passerby.

I mentioned before my slight embarrassment and jealousy of the cheesy store bought dog that my daughter prizes*, and how I was learning to love it because she does.

But then, I heard L say, "This is Pink Dog.  Mommy made it for my birthday."

This dog was given to her on a regular day by one of John's sweet co-workers - so it had nothing to do with me or her birthday. But, perhaps in the same way I love her dog because I love her, she thinks I made it because she loves me. Maybe it's silly, but man, that made me happy.

Anyway - I explained that Ms. Sherry gave that to her, and that it was from a store, which she seemed to take in stride.  But the game is on now - I'm embracing the totally excessive number of dogs we have to make a few more for Christmas.  Look for the pattern later this week...

*To be totally fair, there is some talk that Gray Dog is edging out Pink Dog these days. Only time will tell.