Slow Boat

It is that time of year on Mackinac again - time for the slow boat. Mind you, I'm not complaining. Despite the fact that the slow boat take 45 minutes to get to the island (compared to the 20 minute ride we've enjoyed all summer), it's still a boat and a connection to the mainland that I appreciate. I can't imagine what it would be like living on an island without a ferry boat. I mean how would I get my Christmas tree? OK, we use an artificial tree (my husband's idea) but everything we use, wear, eat, play with etc. has to make the five mile trip across the straits to the island.

That's my friend Stephanie, she just moved to the island a few months ago and is still learning "the ropes" of island life. Today's lesson: buying your Christmas tree. The island school sells them as a fundraiser, so all you have to do is get the tree from town to your house (perhaps a mile or two.) If you bought the tree on the mainland you would have to: buy the tree, pack it into the car, unpack it from the car, load it onto a cart to go onto the boat, unload it from the cart once it's on the island, and then load it into your bike cart to haul home. Phew - just thinking about it makes me tired. You might think the trees are considerably more expensive on the island, but they really aren't. Lots of things are more expensive here since the shop owner has the extra expense of the boat line and the dray line. Milk, for instance, is $2.39 at Wal-mart and $4.99 at the island store. But, when you factor in the cost of the boat, and the driving time to get to the store, $4.99 isn't really so bad.

Stephanie's next lesson: using the dray line...

Gearing Up

A friend and I saw a really cute pair of mismatched mittens earlier this fall. Given their $50.00 dollar price tag, there was no way I could afford them, but I thought, "I can make those!" So I found this book in the library, and tested the pattern this weekend. I thought I would start out simple and make a matching pair first, before I went and got all wild and crazy. Plus I thought, if these worked out, they would make a perfect Christmas present for my husband. (Though after he politely informed me that he isn't a mitten person - I went back and added the buttons. Purple really isn't his color - he's really more of an autumn.)

Once I tweaked the pattern they were really easy and quick to make. Perhaps two hours from start to finish. They are done mostly by machine, but I did stitch on the cuffs by hand. Another reason they took so long is they are lined in fleece so it took extra time to make the lining. But it was worth it because I love how soft they are inside. They're going to be warm too, with a layer both felted wool and fleece they're going to be perfect for our chilly Mackinac Island winters.

A bunch of us island gals plan to get together after school during the first week of December and have a Mitten Making Party. We figured if everyone brought a felted sweater or two we would have enough different colors and patterns to choose from to make some really funky mittens. I'll be sure to get pictures and post them after the party. I can't wait to see what we all come up with!

Mackinac Sun Dog

My husband and I were walking home earlier this week and were treated to a sun dog. (Can you see it? It's the little rainbow above the tree line.) I just love how my husband always seems to notice these. It's been a long time while since we've seen one - the last time being in February of 2008. The most spectacular one we've ever seen occurred just a few days earlier out over the ice. I was surprised to see one since it has been so warm here - I think our high yesterday was 55 (about 12 C.)

How about you - have you seen anything interesting lately?

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!

Introducing

my new best friend...

Presumed H1N1 has hit Mackinac Island with a vengeance. 24% of our kids were sick on Tuesday and 30% of the kids were out of school on Wednesday. So the principal sent us home yesterday with orders not to return until Monday.

According to our doctor, people born before 1958 are at extremely low risk for getting sick with H1N1. She said a very similar flu went around sometime in the 60s or early 70s and most older folks are immune. So the kids and I hopped on the 9:00 am boat this morning and have had a wonderful day visiting with Great Grandma Mary and Grandpa Jack. (Both born well before '58.)

And don't worry - we aren't infecting the folks down here - their schools have been closed longer than the island's has...

Fruity Fun

I picked up this fruit fabric a while back when I had a Jo-Ann's coupon. I didn't really have a plan for it, it just looked fun. I mean who can resist brightly colored fruit?

I have a pile of 3T jeans that still fit my daughter in the waist, but they are a few inches too short so she really couldn't wear them. I couldn't bear to waste them so I've started turning them into skirts. Well, actually, this is my first one. I cut off the legs, evened up the cut and then stitched on a tube of gathered fabric. (I used probably 40 inch (about 1 meter) long strip to make the tube.)

The shirt is my favorite part of the whole outfit. I picked up the T-shirt on sale at Wal-Mart for $2.00 and just raw edge appliqued the apples onto it. I just love how it turned out. I think the skirt and the shirt together probably took less than two hours from start to finish.

The apple shirt still needs another washing or two to fray nicely, but I couldn't resist sharing. Partially because Amanda Jean posted about using the same fabric just the other day, and because I'm just so pleased with how it all turned out. Now I just have to get my daughter to wear the darn thing...