Sled Parking

Mackinac Island Public School sled parking.

Notice how several are tied to the rack?

It gets windy down by the school...

Snowy Day

We woke up this morning to find everything covered in a blanket of snow. It was so beautiful, I couldn't resist going out to explore.

Spending s bit of time outdoors by myself was just the ticket for a quiet Sunday morning.

Delightful

It is a delightful thing to come home from a long day at work and find your husband up to his elbows in dinner preparations. He's a keeper...

Kids Do the Darnedest Things

While walking down the hallway after school today, I stopped in my tracks as I watched a third grade boy attempt to take a drink from the drinking fountain. Nothing too unusual about that you say. Well, the amusing part was, the boy tried to take the drink while still wearing his snowmobile helmet. A helmet virtually identical to this one: 

Photo via

I couldn't help but quietly giggle inside my own helmet as I watched the water pour out the bottom of his as he lifted his head and walked away - undoubtedly still thirsty and now quite damp from the nose down. 

The Long Walk Home

It was 38 degrees (about 3 C) this afternoon and my daughter walked all the way home without her coat, hat or mittens. She insisted "It's way too hot for my coat!" 

Sure, the walk home is a mile (about 1.5 km), and yes it's up hill pretty much the entire way, but it made me chilly just watching her...

If you're wondering about the sleds, lots of island kids take sleds to school to use at recess. Our kids go outside for lunch recess virtually every day.

Photo by Clark Bloswick

(Taken in the last day or two.)

Cheese Please

Allen bought me a cheese making kit. And who knew - homemade cheese actually tastes delicious! Though, I won't be making it on a regular basis. You see, to make cheese you need milk that hasn't been pasteurized at high temperatures. I tried three batches using three different brands of milk (Wal-Mart, Meijer and Prairie Farms) but not one of them worked. 

Luckily, the mother of one of my students only drinks raw milk, and she was able to pick up an extra gallon the last time she stopped by to pick up her milk share. (In Michigan the sale of raw milk is illegal, so people who drink it typically purchase a share of a cow from a farmer, who then provides them with milk from their own cow. Thereby avoiding the illegality of selling unpasteurized milk.) 

The raw milk worked beautifully. On my fourth try I finally got to see some beautiful cheesy curds in my pot.

I had no idea how much milk it takes to make cheese; one gallon made a ball of cheese about the size of my two fists. (No wonder it's expensive!) We ate some while it was still warm and it had the most amazing buttery flavor. Allen, especially, loved it, but  I don't see myself purchasing a cow share just to be able to make cheese regularly...

New Jammies for a New Year

Up until a few days ago we hadn't pulled out the warm jammies, but normally they are a must in Northern Michigan. Both kids love footed PJs, but I've never attempted to make them before. Which is weird given how many Christmas PJs I've made. This year I was running a bit behind so the kids got New Year's Pajamas.

Now that my children have a number of homemade garments, they are becoming clothing connoisseurs; I'm starting to hear design comments and critiques:

"I want my next pair to have built in gloves, too." (Not gonna happen.)

"Mom, mine look good, but the tops and bottoms don't match." (But they "go.")

"Next time can you make the head hole bigger?" (Oops.)

Now I know, when I decide to make my skinny son the size eight PJs with the size 12 length thinking  I'll get a perfect fit that way,  I need to use the size 12 neck opening, too. Thankfully he loves them anyway. How could he not - they're footed Dr. Who pajamas, which according to my son makes them awesome. 

The pattern is Happy Feet Footed Pajamas by Peekaboo Patterns, available here. (Go buy it now!) I love this pattern and have now made four pair ranging from newborn  to size 12. They were super easy; the raglan sleeves make the top quick and simple with no armscye to ease or sew and each leg is just three pieces. I sewed both pair in one evening. If the pattern came in my size - I'd have a pair!

I did receive this pattern for free, but the opinions expressed in this post are my own. 

Lovely

The nasty storm may have delayed our trip home by a couple of days, but it was delightful to come home to a lovely blanket of fluffy white snow.

Happy Feet

Mackinac is having a little baby boom. One baby was born a couple of weeks ago, and two more (twins) are due soon. So, of course, I've been making jammies - specifically Peek-a-Boo Pattern's Happy Feet Pajamas. 

They are so stinkin' cute. In the newborn size they are adorably tiny. (I haven't had little ones that small for such a long time. Sigh...) And they were so easy to make; each leg / foot is only three pieces, so they sewed up really fast. The top has raglan sleeves, so there were no armscye (arm holes) to ease and sew. The hardest part of the whole thing was sewing on those little cuffs, but once I got the hang of it, they went quickly. I think each set took less than an hour and a half.  

I made deer set because the little guy's dad is a hunter. I remembered my husband's frustration when our kids were born. He was kind of forgotten in the whirlwind of showers and presents, so I wanted to make sure this dad to felt remembered. As for the sock monkey fleece, it was just too adorable not to buy!

I love that this pattern includes all the sizes from newborn up to size 12. Now that the baby jammies are done, I can get to work on bigger PJs for my kiddos. After making those little newborn feet, my daughter's feet seem gigantic! 

I did receive this pattern for free, but the opinions expressed above are my own.

Learning to Sew

Merry Christmas! 

My students worked so hard this December to make these cute decorations for their parents, but I couldn't post about it or it would've spoiled the surprise. 

I was very impressed at their effort and attention to detail. For most of them, it was one of the first times they've ever picked up a needle, but now all 18 of them know how to tell the difference between the right and wrong side of fabric; sew a running stitch, back stitch and a slip stitch; turn something right side out and press; and how to sew on a button. Not to mention that they all know the difference between thread and string. Now, whether or not they remember it all is another story, but if nothing else, they've all had a good introduction to sewing by hand. 

If you'd like the pattern to make a little snowman for yourself, you can purchase the pattern here. (Although the original pattern is designed to hang on the wall and is 12 snowballs tall.)

Thank You

Recently the teachers, staff  and families of the Island

school were invited to dinner at Fire Hall.

The catered dinner was delicious, and 

it  was great to get to know some of the new guys.

Of course, the kids were thrilled to

"explore" the Fire Hall.

Thanks MIFD - for dinner and everything you do!

Everything Tote

Sometimes I just need to make something for myself...

So I pulled my copy of this book from the shelf and got started. (I bought it a few years ago when my friend Maggie and I did a Sew Along.) I did however, make one change - I added in the zip top.

I travel back and forth from the Island to the mainland often, and a bag that closes is much more useful to me than one with an open top. If I make another one though, I'll make the top a couple of inches wider. It's a bit on the narrow side... 

Ask and You Shall Receive

Recently I happened to casually mention to my husband that I wanted a dress form. Two days later he surprised me with this  beauty. OK, maybe she's not a beauty yet, but when I look at her I see oodles of possibilities.

He was shutting off the water in one of the buildings on the island and there she was in the back of a storage room filled with junk. The building had recently sold, and after after making inquiries my husband was told, "It's yours if you want it." 

She was made by the Grand Rapids Dress Form Company, but we're not sure when she was made or whether she was for displaying clothing in a store or for sewing. True, she's going to need a little TLC to bring her back up to snuff, but it looks like she's complete - minus a wing nut or two.

She's currently stashed in the corner of my sewing room, patiently waiting for summer when I'll  have the time to give her the attention she deserves.  With some cleaning, new fabric covers and padding in a few places, I should have a usable dress form.

I think I'm going to call her Madge...

Funny for the Day

Today I started a sewing project with my 4th, 5th & 6th grade class of 14 boys and five girls. As we were hand sewing a Christmas ornament one of the boys complained that he keep poking himself. I explained to him, "Pokes are a part of sewing. When you hand sew often,  you can actually build up calluses on your fingers from repeatedly sticking them with the needle."

"Really?" He asked. I assured him that it was true; when I was hand quilting every day I did indeed have a sewing callous on one of my fingers.  

My 5th grader looked over at his friend and said, "Dude! Get to work. We need these calluses so we can grip the football better!" 

They were two of my hardest workers for the rest of the morning...

Photo via

The Bicycle Dress

When it comes to sewing for my daughter, she's kind of a tough nut. She's a little on the finicky side when it comes to clothes. No, that's not quite accurate either. To be truthful  she's so  incredibly picky when it comes to what she will and will not wear, that some days it drives me crazy. And, she has an opinion about every article of clothing she comes into contact with. She likes knits. She likes leggings. She likes loose. (She prefers to be naked, but we've drawn that line at her bedroom door on that one.) Give her a fitted shirt or a pair of denim pants and you'll be lucky if all you get is the stink eye. Really.

That said, I was a little nervous about making this dress. It wasn't a knit or even remotely stretchy, but I loved the fabric so much. When I saw it at Joann's it called to me, "Wouldn't I make the prefect dress for a little Mackinac Island girl?" So, of course, it had to come home with me - along with McCall's M7111. 

I loved it and I had to make it. I am so glad it did, because she actually likes it. (Though she'll never wear that blue jean jacket again; "It's too stiff!") And the dress is so stinkin' cute that I can't help but smile when I see her in it. In fact, I think she needs another one. Perhaps the next one should have horses on it. Or Pokemon. She'd love that...

Reading

I've been rereading this series because it's all kinds of wonderful - especially if you like stories that are on the usual side.

The author, Ransom Riggs, took odd antique photographs  and used them to inspire his interesting tale about Jacob,

a 16 year-old boy, who sums up his life like this, "I use to dream about escaping my ordinary life, but my life was never ordinary. I had simply failed to notice how extraordinary it was."

I just finished the third, and last book, and I must say I am pleased with how the story wrapped up. If you're looking for an interesting read, I highly recommend Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children.

My Daughter's New Go To Dresses

I've been doing a lot of sewing for my daughter lately. All using this pattern and I love it!

And when I say love, I mean love. It's from the same pattern shop where I got the pattern to make these pants and this blazer. 

One of my favorite things about Go To Patterns is being able to print the pattern out at home. Thirty minutes at the dining room table with the scissors and tape and I had a full sized pattern. I actually prefer these print-at-home pdf patterns to commercial sewing patterns; Simplicity, Butterick and McCall's print their patterns on tissue paper and, sometimes  they can be a pain to use.

The Go To Signature Dress has got a ton of mix and match options, so I can make a bazillion different things from it. So far K has gotten a maxi dress with inseam pockets and a flutter sleeve, and a short sleeve tunic with a kangaroo pouch. (OK, maybe I can't get a bazillion different options, but the math teacher in me is quite confident that 3 length options X 4 sleeve options X 4 pocket options X 3 waistband options = 144 combinations. And that doesn't even take into account that you can do things like put a cap sleeve over a long sleeve.

Plus, this dress is so easy to sew  up. At first I was a bit nervous because I'd never done a sewn-in neckband before, but it was surprisingly easy; Andrea's directions were quite clear and really easy to follow. After sewing in two of them, I feel like I've got it down. (Believe it or not, I actually like doing that step with my sewing machine better than using my serger.)

If making so many items from one pattern sounds odd to you, then you don't have a finicky child. My daughter is all about how clothes feel. If something is just quite so, she won't wear it. So rather than risk purchasing things she might like, it's just easier to make things I know, or at least can be fairly sure, she'll love. And the Go To Signature Dress fits that bill perfectly. 

The tunic length is perfect for leggings, (In fact, I may just have to buy this pattern next.) Actually, the next I need to do is to order some really cute fabric for another maxi dress. K is getting frustrated with me since I'm only letting her wear this one once a week.

I was given this pattern at no cost, but the opinions presented in this post are my own.