This week is Spanish Spirit Week at school.  The students are encouraged to dress in the flag colors of various Spanish speaking countries.  There is a different color scheme for each day.  Yes, we had to take inventory of the wardrobes to make sure the boys were set for the week.  There is a wonderful friendly rivalry between the various world language classes.  The boys are a bit torn because they take both Spanish and Latin.  Tomorrow is the annual World Language Soccer Match.  The classes play against each other, no one really keeps score, no one really knows who won, but they have a lot of fun. 

The boys asked me to customize their shirts for tomorrow’s big game.  It was not as hard as I thought, but it was more labor intensive than I thought.  I could have just programmed it all into my embroidery machine, but the boys liked the more “artsy” feel of the appliquéd letters.  I drew the letters by hand, then traced over them with a Sharpie.  I pinned the applique fabric to the front of the shirt and pinned the paper to the inside of the shirt.  Since I traced the letters with a Sharpie, I could easily see the reverse side. I stitched the outline of the letters from the inside.  It took some time and patience to stitch around each letter, lots of lifting the pressure foot and turning.  Once it was all stitched, I trimmed the applique fabric from the front about an eighth inch from the stitching lines.  Yeah, cutting out the inside of those little e’s and o’s was lots of fun.  Pulling the paper off the inside was just as bad.  I used regular computer paper.  If I had been smart, I would have used a thin tear away stabilizer.  Nonetheless, the boys are pleased and it gave me something to do while we watched television. 

It is day three of the soft sculpture project with the 8th graders.  They are doing a fabulous job.  Ms V worked with them on sketches and designs for a few days.  On Tuesday, I came in to start sewing lessons.  46 minutes of hand stitching on a practice piece is rather dull when one has a design that is itching to become reality.  Nonetheless, they were troupers, patiently practiced their stitches and listened to lots of directions.   Some last minutes adjustments had to be made to some designs.  It is far easier to draw details on paper than it is to recreate them in fleece.  It was hard to tell them, “That just isn’t going to work in fleece.  Let’s figure out another way.”  Eventually everyone came up a with design they liked which could actually be produced with the materials at hand.

Yesterday, the students selected their fabrics and began cutting.  They were so focused.  There were some more design consultations.  I worried about a few because they seemed less than enthused by the whole process.  A couple were clinging desperately to entirely too completed designs.  However, when the bell rang, no one wanted to leave.

Today, it was exciting to see their creations taking shape.  I was impressed with how quickly some of took to sewing.  Ms V and I are so pleased with the work they are producing.  Some of the boys seemed a little put off because I used the word “cute” a few times too many.  Tomorrow, I might borrow a phrase from Project Runway’s Christian and the students their projects are “Fierce!”

Ding, ding, ding…..Gaylen got it right.  The photos are of the Biltmore House in Asheville, NC.  It was just the kind of low key getaway that we all needed.  The Biltmore was truly amazing.  The indoor pool and bowling alley were dwarfed by the rest of the basement if that gives you any clue as to how incredibly huge this place was.  It is incomprehensible that this was built as a single family dwelling.  We were there on Easter Sunday, hence the large number of children and small plastic eggs on the front lawn.  Over the next few days, I will upload more photos to my Flickr account.  (If you click on one of these, it will take you to my Flickr photostream.)  Indoor photos were prohibited.  :(  The gardens were just starting to bloom, but it was still impressive.  I bet it will be stunning in a couple of weeks. 

It is rather ironic that Gaylen figured out the mystery location because I also received this lovely from her in today’s mail:

She sent it as her “Pay It Forward” gift.  Isn’t it gorgeous?!?!  More irony here…When Gaylen posted the shawl on her blog, I thought, “Wow, that would be perfect for summer when you wear a little sundress, but it gets chilly when the sun goes down.  Where would I ever find one that doesn’t cost a bazillion dollars?”  Won’t I look chic and stylish this summer?  I wish you could feel it….so soft and cozy.  The workmanship is amazing.  She has certainly set the bar pretty high for the gifts I still need to send out.  Again, more irony…just this weekend I finally decided what I would make for my gifts to send out.  No, I am not telling.  :)  A million “thank yous” to Gaylen! 

The word “organized” is past tense, suggesting a job completed. For me, it is more of on going process - organizing. Our lives are constantly changing and evolving. The way we manage our lives (and stuff) needs to change and evolve. I am always on the look out for ideas and products that might help my day go a little smoother.

This week, I made several trips to Lowe’s to buy paint. (Photos will be forthcoming.) While standing in line, I flipped through an issue of their Creative Ideas magazine. When I got home, I checked out the online version. This little set up caught my eye.

In the past, I have seen ribbon stored on dowel rods that were suspended from the wall or beneath a shelf. It looks awfully pretty to have the beautiful ribbons on display. However, I am a freak about dust and light exposure. Perhaps I don’t use my ribbon fast enough, but I would not want my pretty ribbons getting dusty and faded.

The directions for this box are available on the Lowe’s site, which you can get to by clicking on the photo. It looks simple enough that one could probably figure it out just by looking at the photo. I would guess that the holes on sides are made with a drill. Another option is to use the heat of a hot glue gun to melt a hole through the plastic. My glue gun is always handy. The drill, I would have dig out of the garage.

As much as like this idea, it doesn’t quite fit my ribbon storage needs. Most of my ribbon stash is not on bolts. I seldom buy a whole bolt of ribbon because my ribbons needs are rather limited. I trolled the internet looking for a great solution. I found lots of nifty and fun things scrapbookers do to store their ribbons. However, they buy ribbon in smaller quantities than I do. Yes, I am being a Goldilocks. I want it “just right.”

For now, I have my ribbons in tubs sort of like the one in the photo. They are in little rolls. Some of the longer pieces are in snack size zipper baggies. Most of it is just tossed into the tub. It is sort of fun to paw through the tub find something in the right color and length. With only two small tubs or ribbon, it doesn’t take much digging to go through the whole stash. Since I don’t use ribbon very often, finding the “just right” storage solution is not a huge priority, but I thought this idea might work for someone else.

As part of her soft sculpture class, Ms V, the art teacher, wants to teach the class about "soft sculpture."  Ms V asked if I would share my sewing knowledge.  It has been great fun spending wasting spending countless hours looking at websites and books about making "softies" and "plushies."  There are some incredibly cute things being made.  I have about a zillion more projects on my "to do" list.

Since we will have only two adults for almost 30 students, careful planning is essential.  We have talked about how to prepare materials and present techniques so the students can spend as much time as possible creating.  My boys volunteered to be test subjects.  Working through the project with them was very illuminating.  They asked questions and encountered issues that Ms V and I had not considered. 

It was a fun afternoon.  I always find it fascinating to watch students go through the creative process.  Here are the boys’ final products.  Everything was sewn by hand because we won’t have access to sewing machines at school.  We did not spend a great deal of time on designing or executing.  The goal was to quickly move the process to figure out what steps were missing from the lesson plan.  Ms V did not finish hers (yet) because she was too busy taking notes.  I cannot wait to see what the class produces in the Spring.

The green one was inspired by a foot with lint between the toes.  Ewww, I know.  The red one was inspired by J’s affection for cephalopods. 

Gaylen at G Marie Sews inspired this post. The idea is based on the movie “Pay it Forward” with Helen Hunt and Kevin Spacey. Since this a philosophy I have tried to instill in our family, I was immediately on board with the idea. (Ok, it took me a while to get around to posting on my blog, but, mentally, I was there in a heart beat.) The concept is instead of “repaying” someone for a favor, you “pay it forward” by doing a favor for three other people. The number of people doing nice things for others will increase exponentially, thus, increasing goodness in the world. I’m all about increasing goodness in the world.

Here are the “rules” from Gaylen’s blog. I hope she doesn’t mind that I just did a cut-n-paste.

Pay It Forward meme

I will send a handmade gift* to the first three people who leave a comment requesting to join this Pay It Forward exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet, but you will receive it within 365 days. The only thing you have to do in return is “pay it forward” by making a similar agreement on your journal.

My handmade specialty is sewing, maybe a little crochet, thinking about getting into hand embroidery again.

*The “gift” you send doesn’t have to be handmade–choose your specs when you post it on your blog.If you want to join, leave a comment with your email addy (so I can reply — spell out the email if you don’t want it harvested), and we’ll hash out details.

It is a good thing this wallpaper is so incredibly expensive because, despite my strong attraction, it is probably only pretty in my head. I love this wallpaper for two reasons. First, if you look carefully, the design is actually hammerhead sharks. Aquatic motifs always rate high in my book. Second, you can actually color this wallpaper yourself. Yes, I know….it would take forever and one can purchase wallpaper that is already colored in, but I *love* to color. What child has not looked upon a wall as a giant blank canvas? Well, I never quite got over that. In our old house, I did a huge “under the sea” mural in the boys bathroom. The original intention was to distract the eye from the ugly, old avocado green tile. It definitely was distracting. There were sea creatures everywhere….even a mermaid. In other areas, I did geometric and abstracts. Thus far, I have restrained myself in the new house. I am not sure how much longer I can hold out.

During the dreaded Michigan trip, I needed something to keep my hands busy. If my hands were busy, perhaps I wouldn’t strangle anyone, right? A few balls of furry yarn, a crochet hook, and several hours resulted in this furry scarf. I have never been one for scarves, but this is quite warm and fun to pet. I will have to check out those yarn bins a little more carefully. This could be addictive.

The Latin teacher at our middle school is truly gifted. Somehow, she manages to get adolescent children excited about Latin. C wrote the grocery list in Latin this weekend. She manages to bring a dead language to life. In addition to learning the language, the students learn a great deal about ancient Roman culture. Ms M often uses a pair of stuffed owls to illustrate the life cycle rituals like marriage, death, the naming ceremony, etc. C felt there should also be a baby owl. This little guy was made with two pom poms sewn together. The pom poms were made with a furry yarn…. that sheds if you just think about it. My sewing room is covered in grey fuzz. He is an awfully cute little guy… sorta wish he could hang around a bit longer. By the way, “bubo” is latin for “owl.”

C made these for some friends at school. The first one is a tennis player, the second one is wearing sunglasses and a tiara, and the third is a bunny. Each one was designed according to the recipients interests. They are made from pom poms and construction paper. Photographing something so tiny was quite difficult, hence the really bad photo. He has made quite a few more like a football player, a golfer, the Mario Brothers, and even a wiener dog. I think they are quite cute, but more importantly, he is having fun making them.