ahoy!

It's not exactly my desired trans-Atlantic ocean liner, but we did have the opportunity to travel via boat for this vacation. Yesterday Tsia and I took the ferry across Lake Michigan, and it was a surprisingly pleasant voyage; just two and a half hours (it's called the "fast ferry" or Lake Express) and plenty of space to walk around during the trip. The seats are a bit nicer than those on an airplane, with more leg room. And we were accompanied by a pleasantly sophisticated group of fellow travelers; I was thrilled to see almost everyone reading a book or working a Sudoku puzzle en route.


The night before we left, Mom was showing us some old photos from her family, and included in the treats she pulled out was a scrap book of a trip around Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Apparently Grandma and Grandpa and another couple took a little vacation back in 1941 or 1942, when such vacations were still somewhat rare due to a lack of interstate highways and the like. Anyway, the scrapbook is crammed full of minutiae (like the precise amount of petrol purchased at each stop) as well as some terrific photographs and postcards. Like this one of lovely Cadillac, where we'll be for the next two weeks.


No internet service at the cottage at present, so I'll be checking in via the public library for a while. Hurray! Now I have a terrific excuse to really relax for a few days. And finish those Little House books.

what we're reading

We're a book family. When we get together the TV doesn't go on; the books get opened. And if you walk through the house you're almost certain to find someone, somewhere, curled up with something to read.


Today I went through the house and gathered all the books that are in current rotation, one for each person. Here's what we're reading (with aliases in place of some names):

"Sally," age 3: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. In a few words: Has been read at least four times in the past four days, so it must be good. Plot: "Food gets really big, and it gets worse and worse and worse."

"Huckle," age 6: Mr. Popper's Penguins. In a few words: Required reading for school, being read for the second time. Plot: "Mr. Popper brings his penguins all over the place and people get mad at him."

Dad: The People's Act of Love. In a few words: Not crazy about it but has only read 100 pages so far. Seems a little disjointed. (The book, that is, not my Dad.)

Mom: A Dark Oval Stone. In a few words: This is the first novel of a friend of our family. A young woman who is left widowed and pregnant is helped by a stranger who cares for her and gives her hope.

Alayna: Expecting Adam. In a few words: Very successful, academic couple has a baby with Downs Syndrome; how their child completely changes their world view and priorities.

"Dawn," age 11: Moonrise. In a few words: The second book in the second section of The Warriors series. Plot: "About a bunch of cats that live in the forest, and their adventures."

AD: The Shipping News. In a few words: A man's returns to his family home in Newfoundland to start a new life and discover family secrets. Fabulous writing. (A family favorite!)

"Starry": Little Town on the Prairie. In a few words: Laura is 15 now and (obviously) lives in town; Mary leaves for college. Much more light-hearted than The Long Winter, which precedes it. How did I forget so much about this series?? Exceeding expectations (but I also just re-read Caddie Woodlawn and liked it best).

Christy: I Sailed with Magellan. In a few words: A series of short stories that make up a novel. I like it because it takes place in Chicago.

Me: By the Shores of Silver Lake. In a few words: I'm reading my way through the Little House series during this time away, after not having read them since childhood. It's been interesting to research a little of Laura's life on-line and to learn more about the history of the pioneers via the books. And she just tells a good story, doesn't she?

"Tsia," age 3: Richard Scarry's Busy Busy World. In a few words: "I like the pictures. And the stories are funny."

So there you have it. Our family book report.

Popsicle dress

My fabric stash is quite small, due mostly to space constraints, but I'm a big believer in buying what you love when you see it, even if you don't have a project in mind.


This fabric inspired me as soon as I saw it at Purl a while ago, but it took some time to decide what it should be. It's a double-faced gauze very similar to the Nani Iro quality Mari has been stitching with.


Because it's a very light-weight, drapey fabric, I thought it needed a simple line and not much in the way of seaming. A yellow polka dot cotton from the stash made up the perfect bias tape, and away we go! A-line sheath dress, good for really hot, humid summer weather. Tsia baptised it with a popsicle today, so we'll call it the Popsicle Dress. I think it's the perfect dress for chasing down an ice cream truck in the middle of a hot city.



Fortunately there will be plenty of time for such activities later, after a little more cool weather at the lake. I'm excited to see it with her yellow sandals, too.

old and new

The patterns are at the printer, and we're in Wisconsin for a family get-together and a little relaxation. Whew!

Tsia loves hanging out at her grandparents' house. They have a loft in their bedroom where all the toys are kept, so it's a bit like climbing up into a treehouse when she and her cousins go up to play. I've been rediscovering some old toys and dolls while we've been playing with the "new" toys, and it's interesting to see them from an adult's perspective: I can find lots of design inspiration in them (and a little nostalgia, too).

For example, this doll quilt. No one seems to know where it came from. It's a bit on the large side: approximately 2 1/2 feet by 3 or 3 1/2 feet. And it's in terrific condition. I've always associated it with my Mom's doll, with which we never played because it was one of the only toys my Grandma kept for my Mom and was special as a result. I'll show you her doll clothes sometime soon.

Anyway, these are mostly feedsack fabrics, right? I love the colors and patterns. Some of them are so contemporary-seeming, and others have a retro feel. I wonder if one of my Mom's aunts made this for her? Grandma grew up on a farm, one of twelve children. They probably went through a lot of feedsacks, and I'm sure no scrap was wasted. A doll quilt might have been the perfect use for smaller pieces, but I'm speculating.

going.. going...

I've always travelled with two small-ish duffel bags that I can cram with all sorts of stuff Tsia and me. It's just the system that works best for me. But now, with the new airline policies regarding checked luggage, I'm schlepping one giant, ugly bag that's really, really heavy, just because it's a lot cheaper to check the "Mother of All Bags" (as we call it--MOAB for short?) than my two beloved duffels.


Truthfully, I'm drooling over these gorgeous suitcases. They're regulation size carry-on cases with wheels, and I can't get over the gorgeous styling. In particular, those rattan cases with leather straps. Wow, hmm? I exchanged email with customer service, and they are, indeed, built for legitimate travel, not just looking like a traveller. Load them up, check them at your departure point, and they're durable enough for actual use. But still, with all the business crap I carry along with me I don't think they're practical for my purposes.

We're headed to my parents' house for some combo work/vacation time. The fall patterns are on their way out the door to the printers, and so are we. But since more than two-thirds of my luggage for this trip is work stuff (I have just 4 or 5 outfits along for our entire trip, but loads of fabric and papers, computer, camera, etc.), the giant duffel served its duty, once again.

Someday I'll travel in style. Rattan with leather straps sort of style, that is. Maybe I'll take an oceanliner to Europe for that trip. Not a cruise ship, mind you. An honest-to-God oceanliner for which you dress for dinner and use the correct fork with each course.

You won't hear me complaining about airlines and luggage then. Nosirree. Me in my silk gown with my tuxedo'd husband dining seated at the captain's table, drinking a dry vodka martini...

Independence crafting

Tsia is done with preschool for the summer (Does school finish this late everywhere? Growing up, we were always terrorizing the neighborhood by Memorial Day, as I recall), so I'm experiencing life as a full-time stay-at-home mom and simultaneous corporate mogul (yeah, right) this week. The stay-at-home part has given me an excuse to do normal things like grocery shopping, going to the playground, playing games, and doing little crafts: the sorts of activities I haven't had much time for during the past year while launching a small company. And I'm loving it, never mind the stress levels as we're preparing to go to press with the fall line. That stuff waits until after bedtime for a week or two.

Today we made pinwheels. Remember these? We made loads of them as kids. You could, of course, use fancy scrapbooking papers and the like, but we went a bit more organic here, decorating our own papers with markers and crayons.

Tsia likes to do her own cutting, of course (she's three!), and she's quite good at it. So I drew the lines and she cut many of them. Independence, indeed.

We used map pins because they're shorter than regular sewing pins so the points don't stick out the other end of the pencil eraser. But I have to say that our pinwheels don't spin very well. We tried gluing the corners to the center to see if that might help, but no matter how much we blew they didn't make much movement. Maybe we should have used a heavier cardstock?

No matter. The pencils themselves are much more fun to draw with when they have a decoration on top. And now I know how to use our extra chopsticks, too! They would make terrific "magic wands" for the pinwheels, and I wouldn't lose all my trusty old Mirado Black Warrior pencils to the craft bin either.

I think I know how we're spending our Independence Day weekend, now that Miss Independence has caught the pinwheel bug. I'll report back if we make any breakthroughs on the spinning front.