Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Remember this?

Ready.

Set.

Go!

Free at last!

Unfortunately the post-cast X-ray showed a small crack remaining in one of his bones. Not really a big deal unless he falls on it. Which makes it a big deal because asking my son not to fall is like asking him not to breathe - completely and utterly impossible. So, he's sporting a molded plastic splint for the next three weeks just to be safe. This one is removable so he can take it off to bathe and sleep. Plus, it doesn't restrict the use of his elbow or hand so it doesn't bother him nearly as much as the cast did.

Yes, the pack rat, I mean sentimental mother in me saved the cast. I just couldn't part with it - it looked so small once it was off. So now it resides in his "special stuff to be saved" box in his closet.

Weekend Sewing Project #4

The Flower Girl Dress

I must admit that I am very happy I didn't try to make this dress right after Weekend Sewing first came out. Then I wouldn't have had the benefit of the experiences of all the people who made this dress before me, got really frustrated, and then blogged about it (or discussed their experiences here.) Gosh all their comments were helpful!

I knew the dress ran quite small and that I would need to measure my daughter and not trust the sizing and I knew it would be really hard to get on and off so I added a side zipper. I however didn't know it was going to be almost floor length!

I took up six inches in the hem and it still almost hits the tops of my daughter's feet. When I have some time I'm going to shorten it, but then again, some grow tucks might look cute, too.

I also knew that making the straps adjustable might be a good thing. (Anything to extend the length of time a garment is wearable.) Unfortunately I'm really frustrated about something today (we're all fine and healthy, so don't worry) and decided to take my aggression out on the poor little pearl snaps as I installed them. Oops.

Despite the cracked snaps, I think it is pretty cute. The fabric was from my stash; leftover from an exchange student who gave up on the quilt she was making her dad after she discovered boys. I suggested she take it home with her. She didn't want it, so it has been sitting in my cupboard for a little over three years. The zipper was in my stash too. I think I cut it out of a sweater I felted...

The butterfly fabric was going to be her backing fabric so I have lots of it. If you've got any cute ideas for me on other ways to use it, I'm all ears!

First Snow

It snowed on Mackinac Island today - twice. Once this afternoon at about 1:30 and again at about 5:00. The early snow was sloppy and mixed with rain, but walking home this afternoon we relished trying to catch flakes on our tongues. Well, until it started coming down so hard that it stung our faces! The best part was, once we looked closely, we found lots of little hexagonal flakes. According to this site, that kind of snowflake is a "rimed stellar plate."

If you didn't get any snow today, you can pop on over here to make and save your very own snowflakes. I think the kids and I may make a few tomorrow and decorate the dining room...

I Heart Science

(My son playing with a musical instrument at the Mini
Maker Faire in Ann Arbor, MI. The instrument plays a
different note when different beams of light are broken.)

Yeah, I know, I'm a geek. But that's OK because it is my inherently geeky nature made this little quiz catch my eye. It is a 12 question quiz that asks questions about general science topics as well as recent scientific findings that have been in the news. The best part is at the end, you get to see how you scored compared to other average people. Pop on over and test your knowledge - c'mon, you know you want to...

It got me thinking about why some kids like science and others don't. Sure some of it is inherent personality, but I think it is also whether or not kids see science as fun and part of their daily lives. My husband and I sure do; it's part of the reason we went to the Maker Faire. (A Maker Faire is an event started by Make Magazine to "celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, science projects and the Do-It-Yourself mindset.") We try to find events and activities to get them interested in science.


My daughter loved this musical instrument she discovered at the Faire. It involves a spinning disk, magnets, a camera, and a computer. The computer recognizes the positions of the black points and depending on their locations, plays a different note. She loved it so much, and my husband is always looking for new and interesting projects, that he got in touch with the designer and now has the code to build his own. (How fun is that going to be!)

The kids also loved this little gizmo an eight year-old girl and her dad build out of an old CD player motor.

Pretty cool.

What do you do to get / keep your kids interested in science?

Happy Halloween

Anyone that knows me knows I am a huge Barenaked Ladies fan. (I'll pause for a moment as my old roommates shudder at the memory of If I had a Million Dollars played over, and over.) Hence, Ed Robertson's face carved into a pumpkin. This is by far my most complicated portrait pumpkin to date. I must admit - they look a lot harder to carve then they really are. All you need is a good photo, carbon paper, and linoleum carving tools (similar to these.) If I remember, I'll do a tutorial next year...

Happy Halloween!