My six-year-old just asked if he could come down from his room and meditate with me because it helps him calm down for bed. cc: @jayrinsenweik @danbharris #ParentWin #SecularBuddhist
Side Project: Mega-Mushroom
Last year, before I really got interested in sewing, my son asked me to make him a mega-mushroom stuffie. I explained to him that I really wasn’t that skilled yet, and that I didn’t have that much fabric to work with — all I really had was some leftovers from my first (and only) cosplay, plus some attempts at cute fleece anime hats and other randomness.
Instead of a giant mega-mushroom, I convinced him to let me hand-sew him a little blue mushroom — the kind that makes Mario into a little flea in New Super Mario Bros.
Connor loved his new fleece-and-felt mushroom, and named him Blue-White.
That was a year and a half ago. Now that I’ve gotten back into sewing, Connor asked me if I could finally make him that mega-mushroom he asked for so long ago. Luckily, he was OK with Mega being only a little bigger than Blue-White, so I was able to use some more fabric scraps — this time, the back half of an old yellow t-shirt and some red remnants I bought off of eBay, along with an old peach-colored woven fabric scrap — instead of taking my son on a Joann’s trip.
Of course, everything for a six-year-old has to be done NOW, so this project got done in a morning and part of an afternoon.
Twitter Update: July 04, 2018 at 10:23AM
My six-year-old stayed up way too late last night (and didn’t even get to see fireworks). This morning, he’s sleeping in like a teenager and I’m totally not getting him up until he’s got a solid 12 hours.
Visitors to the Front Garden
This evening, after my daily 15 minutes of weeding, I sat down in my front garden to enjoy the flowers and flying things.
I saw a female hummingbird last week, so I was only moderately surprised (but still super thrilled) to see a male ruby-throated hummingbird stopping to enjoy nearly every single milkweed bloom, sharing space with the giant fuzzy bumblebee that was also enjoying the buffet.
What DID surprise me was the monarch butterfly flitting overhead. It didn’t stop to taste any of the flowers — it just fluttered in loops and figure-eights above the garden.
When it finally lit on a tree branch, I stood and slowly crept up to it with my cameraphone snapping away.
It let me get within a couple inches of it, and didn’t fly away until my phone and I had backed off.
Enjoy the milkweed, Your Majesty.
Post-Pincushion Project #1
After my successful pincushion project, my next venture was a pillowcase for my son’s travel-sized pillow I’d gotten some cartoon fabric remnants at a good price on eBay, so I used one that I knew Connor would like, but that wouldn’t kill me if I ruined it: Mickey Mouse.
Luckily, The Seasoned Homemaker’s tutorial on making an envelope pillow with French seams was well-worded with helpful photos, so I only messed up a couple of times (and those were minor and easily hidden).
