busy with this

Jasper wrote this word in the shower this morning. (Excuse the mould.) He wasn't actually referring to his younger brother but he could have been. Clem has been a bit monstrous lately.
It seems we've spoilt our littlest one, and we're paying the price for it now.
We have a combination of the four-year-old testosterone rush, a crazy nurtured sense of entitlement and a (probably genetic) pig-headed stubbornness (ahem).

Really? This one?
We honestly felt we should have a handle on this child-rearing thing by now, but here is further evidence that each child is a brand new challenge in himself.
Pushing boundaries. Defying requests. Asking questions then telling me why my answers are wrong. Negotiating every single thing. He is so verbal and will try to talk his way out of or into or around anything.

It's been quite depressing because I've been worrying about making the most of my time with him before he starts school, but in recent weeks our times together have deteriorated into massive battles of one sort or another.
I tell you he's nearly broken me but the four year old is not going to win!
Well actually, the plan is we all win by helping him become a more agreeable person.

I borrowed a book from kindy. Sounded like just the ticket:

It's great. I may have to buy my own copy.
Some of the important ideas I have found in here:

• Choose consequences carefully, make sure you're comfortable in following through on them and then do so, unflinchingly. (Therefore I won't threaten to take his Miffy toy away for a week again because, simply, I can't bear his constant pain and begging that long.)
• 'Assisted compliance' can work as well or better than a stand-off over requests, e.g. ask him to get dressed once, then if he won't, say "I see you need my help" and start dressing him.
• 'Positive reinforcement' of desirable actions... this is complex and full of traps so requires careful reading and thought.

Anyhow, I've had the book less than a week and I can see some of the ideas working already. He's (admirably? hideously?) persistent though so I realise there will be no overnight transformation.

Oh, I've also found that giving him 'constructive' jobs is helping, and I probably should have picked up on this earlier.

I'd be interested to know if anyone reading has any great strategies for stubborn little boys.

I have been doing a little sewing and I adopted another old sewing machine (thanks for the tip Harriet!), and have my good camera back now, so will be back soon with reports on those happier things!

- Jane x

the stripes do not love me

What is wrong with this picture?

(You know, if that's a little bit of underwear show-through, photo left, let's pretend it's not, okay?)

I am standing ever so slightly skewiff. But those stripes? It's not just the way I'm standing.

Somehow I managed to match one stripe with the one below it when folding the fabric to cut out the front of this top. A fact I was unaware of until I had the thing almost finished. Poop.

The twin needle and I have had a bit of a tiff, too. Oh yes it was my new BFF just a little while back but now we're discovering our differences. Like how completely fussy it is about tension, and thread type, and how that relates to different fabrics, and different again when you've used fusible tape to hold something in place before stitching. And how it doesn't like to turn corners. Twin needle, you take me back to the days of learning to sew with my Mum looking critically over my shoulder. When I was onto some world record attempt of broken needles from ordinary straight line sewing. Twin needle, much more crap from you and you're off my Facebook friends list, okay?

I guess I'll just finish this thing off and wear it a bit, under things, you know.

I do have enough of the fabric for another try. Yawn. Spring is in the air and stripes may find other callings....

- Jane x

if it's worth doing, it's worth doing half-arsed and learning from the process

In Sydney, I was super-excited to go to the awesome bookshop Kinokuniya. I would have spent hours there poring over their selection of Japanese pattern books and crafty booky goodness, only I had the three kids with me and they had chosen their books and were not at all interested in mine.

I did however manage to hastily select this beautiful book, and get all excited about dyeing my own fabrics using plants.

When I have a new crafty notion, I want to jump straight in. Make do. Make it up. Whatever.
Dyeing with coffee sounded like an excellent place to start. We make heaps of coffee grounds at home, and apparently because coffee contains tannins, these act as a natural 'mordant' i.e. binder of colour to fibre. I had an old white top that would do for an experiment.
I didn't soak the fabric for an hour or more like you're supposed to. Too impatient.

Just plunged it into a saucepan with cold water and a heap of old coffee grounds, and gradually heated to a simmer. Simmered for 20 minutes then left to steep for about an hour. Wrung it out and rinsed it well.

The mordants that I speak of? One recommended is alum, or aluminium sulphate.
Deodorant? Full of aluminium.
Old white top? Full of deodorant.

eww! I post this, you understand, in the interests of better crafting

In fact I grabbed it out of my drawer, where (gulp) it might have gone back after a light wear and not even been freshly washed.

yep, that's probably even deodorant that got onto the bottom when I pulled it over my head

Poor old white top. On the upside, it certainly demonstrates the effectiveness of using a mordant.
Live and learn.
(Am excited about possibilities of dyeing with red cabbage though, and looking forward to trying with some untainted, fresh, soaked fabric!)

- Jane x

Mid-level fails. What do you do?

When do you tend to make sewing stuff-ups?
When sewing from a brand new pattern?
Or when repeating something you've made before?
Here I present fine examples of both.

First up, we have over-confidence with a tried'n'true pattern and fabric.

Making the smallest size of this Ottobre pattern as a gift for a friend with a new baby boy. The top is probably around 18 months - 2 years size... I figure you get so much newborn stuff, this might be more useful. Besides, by the time I am happy with it, the wee one might be leaving home.

This is the neck band. Quite apart from the fact that I accidentally began sewing it to the armhole, I did a less than perfect job of lining up the join at the shoulder seam. Then mangled it further when sewing down the seam for a clean finish. Missed the seam, unpicked, damaged the fabric. Tried to hand-sew it into shape. Blah.
If it was for my kid I'd shrug and be happy enough.
But this is a gift, and it's not good enough.
I tried to figure out some small embellishment that might cover it, but I might just make it worse.
I'm thinking of perhaps making another entire one and sending both - the imperfect and (I hope) perfect.

What would you do? Do you have different standards for yourself and things you give?

Speaking of standards for self... here's a sow's-ear-from-silk-purse that I will nevertheless probably use to death.

Recipe: take some delightful fabric scraps from other projects, a lovely piece of wool, a fabulous vintage glass button and a great pattern.
Mix haphazardly. Turn gorgeous ingredients into something pretty much ugly.

Pattern is Makeup Roll from Stitched in Colour (pdf download). It's a great pattern, really well put together. There are a number of pocket options for your own various bits & pieces. It came together smoothly. The result is very useful.
Nice, if I'd put any thought whatsoever into fabric coordination.
What sort of face do you think I'm going to put on after looking at that mash-up?

Anyhoo.
Onwards and upwards.

- Jane x

Seemed like such a good idea

Wanted: noticeboard listing THINGS TO DO to get ready for school each morning. I'm all about self-help for my kids at the moment.

Bright chalkboard paint, meet the wall opposite my big boys' bedroom door.
Cue fun with chalk, cute photo opportunity and a self-satisfied feeling.

Fast forward to midnight, when my husband wakes up in an uncontrollable fit of sneezing.
Next few days, my skin feels dry as a desert.
Chalk dust indoors? Apparently not such a good idea. (Cough, splutter, vacuum, apply more moisturiser.)
I'm hoping it's just the super-cheap big chalk sticks we had on hand. Will try to find some dustless chalk. How did teachers cope, back in the day? Does anyone have any experience with different chalks?

- Jane x