One pair of jeans: Two projects

I know I've posted refashioned jeans into denim skirts before, so I won't bang on about this one, other than to say its substantially, er, wider, than ones I might have mentioned before. Inevitably I put on rather a lot of weight while pregnant, and whilst I'm not beating myself up about it, I do need something to wear in the interim whilst losing weight period. I don't know where the jeans came from in the first place, but they were in a bag of post-preggo clothing that hadn't seen light of day for a while. As jeans they didn't work too well (too long, too baggy, too high waisted) but the colour was good so they got the skirt treatment.



The bag is from Stitch Savvy , my new favourite book (other online book retailers are available).

It's the first thing I've made from it. There's more to come for sure, although for a small and allegedly 'beginner' item, it was curiously time consuming. I'm hoping that was as much to do with me not being used to the format as opposed to being broadly delusional about my own abilities.

And finally, a group shot of bag, skirt and photographer's assistant. 9 months in the making, and still a work in progress. Cute though!

Well I think I managed one post last year...

This year I'm going to do more. Really.

Things have changed somewhat round here. We now live in DC. Well, near DC. In the 'burbs. I'm a total soccer mom. Except the boys don't play soccer. But I drive everywhere. And I listen to country music radio in the car. It started off as an affectation, a bit of a joke, an alternative view on the election. It's turned into a way of life.

Oh, and I had another baby. More specifically, another boy. 2 weeks ago.

So this is my motivation: there are no independent shops near here, and we seemed to have put a whole load of boys clothes into storage. Also, I have no independent income. In short, there's going to be more making, more refashioning, more recycling. Partly so I can wear individual clothes and not have to go to the mall all the time. Partly so I can make lovely things for 2 little boys, knowing that one can wear and then hand down to the other (the big 2 are general handmade refuseniks). Partly because if I don't do something I'm likely to forget how to write.

And it's not like I haven't made anything in the last year or so, but I'm not going to go through trying to catch up, because that way madness lies. And I'm not going to get all het up on linking to this, that and the next thing, and having photos for everything. And endlessly commenting on other people's blogs - other than to say that I've been totally inspired by Mason Dixon Knitting's 15 minute lightening posts. I just don't have 4 hours to sit uploading a gazillion photos and doing tutorials and linking to every other sodding craft blog. I do have 15 minutes here and there though, so that's what you're getting.

Breaking news

When something exciting happens, it’s natural to want to tell people. But it’s also natural to want to manage the flow of information in some way, thinking about the order in which people are told, whether you drip feed information, perhaps with a hint a month or two in advance of the announcement, or whether it all comes out in one go. Not everyone likes surprises.

Pregnancy is a bit like that. You have an amount of time when just you and your partner know, when you get to hug your delicious secret close to yourself and daydream away about how things are going to be. My first pregnancy was a bit like that, but as it happened so soon after we were married, there was an amount of speculations around how long it would take. A (male) friend of my mum’s even asked her if I was pregnant yet, only weeks after the wedding and, I think, before they knew. The cheek!

My third pregnancy, announced when Mr Kinkatink was at death’s door in hospital came as a bit more of a surprise announcement, and accordingly was met with a variety of (slightly curious) responses, not all of them positive. That’s what comes from surprising people: they surprise you right back.

This is all a bit off the point though. I’m not pregnant. I’m emigrating. Surprise! If you didn’t already know, we’re going to DC, in the summer, for 3 years. It’s a work thing. His work, not mine.

We have managed our information flow a bit this time: mentioning it as a possibility over Christmas to see how people felt, and then telling people in a specific order, so that we got to break the news in person, rather than have people hear second hand. This hasn’t worked in every case (apologies), but has spared a few blushes.

But really the people who cause the most concern are the boys. 3 years for us is a blip. Long enough to make the investment, to get to know a place. Too long that you can just tough it out. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s a sabbatical, not a holiday, but not a permanent move either. If you’re 7 or 5, it doesn’t seem like that though. Child C is too young to know anyway, but A and B have some quite fixed ideas, and why not – 3 years is the best part of half their life times. Child A will feel the brunt of it: although he’s leaving the lower end of primary school, he’ll come back to being at secondary school. Child B will just come back to the same school, and Child C will come back to start school. But as I say, he doesn’t have an opinion.

Telling them though has been the hardest bit so far. You can make a list to deal with the other things, but little boys’ emotions just aren’t compatible with lists. And you only get one chance to do it right.

But this is what we did: We asked questions of them, to see how they felt about abstract concepts like ‘moving’, ‘new schools’ and ‘America’. Then we started planting ideas in their heads about ‘bigger gardens’, ‘the Empire State Building’ and ‘skiing at weekends’. These ideas were all quite popular, but there was an underlying current around disliking change. But then we struck gold: they didn’t like me painting over their old bedroom’s terrible paint job, but the did like moving up to their new bedroom in the attic. So we concentrated a lot on good change, the excitement of a new school, new friends, outdoor swimming pools, camping, hiking, the American dream. The real sticking point has been the length of time we’re going for, so we just stopped talking about that.

For now, they’re taking it very well. I hope you are too.

An upcycled denim skirt

I remember a few years ago there was a trend for turning old jeans into denim skirts. But they always had raw edges, and looked just a bit like skirt versions of cut off jean shorts.

Inevitably, though, we have old jeans. I have stack of them: ones I've gone through the knees of (or the bottom of), ones that have faded too much, or been trodden down at the heel, ones that people have given me to make stuff out of. So what to do with them all? Well, denim skirts, obviously.

You cut the legs off to the length you roughly want, unpick the inside leg seam, patch them over and sew the front pieces together, and the back pieces. I put in a little triangle from the back of the thigh so it's not too short or tight.

Then, to stop it having a raw edge, sew bias tape around the bottom. I did one in navy for a colour averse friend, and ones in orange and dark red for me. All in all, less than an hours work for a new skirt. Result.

Resolutions

Oh dear, another year has been and gone. To be fair, it's been busy: finished PhD; had loft converted; recarpetted house; went camping with all 3 children lots of times; had PhD viva; Christmas...

I wasn't going to make New Years Resolutions. I never find January a very inspiring time for new starts. Too cold. Too dark. Too miserable. But, chatting with friends at a birthday party yesterday, it seemed that lots of them had made resolutions, resolutions that I could join in on: to craft more. So that's number one. Number two is to blog about it more. And whilst I'm at it, there's a number three. Number three is a topical one. This year is the bicentenary of Dickens' birth. I've read a couple of his books, but thought I would try and read a few more this year. And then one a year from now on. Hopefully that's manageable.

So, in the interest of reporting what I've done, I made a chicken. I actually made it before Christmas, for Mr Kinkatink's present. Pattern in the Guardian. One of these days I'll remember how to write links nicely. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/apr/07/chicken-doorstop-easter-present-how-to-make

Here she is:

Normal Service Will Be Resumed Shortly

I promise.

Things have been a bit busy recently. Pregnancy. Baby. Summer Holidays (god, what a shocker, I've never done one of those before). Phased school entry.

Now I have a bit of time to myself again I seem to be busier than ever. However, I need to start doing my PhD again, and I find that the more I write, the easier it gets. So, in anticipation of having to write Important, Serious things, I better start with some frivolous bloggy things.

Expect them soon. But maybe not too soon. I don't want to cause any disappointment.

Owl

I've read the blog Needled for a while now, and find its mix of hills and wool and thoughtfulness most inspiring. I was greatly saddened to hear that its author, Kate, was taken very ill last month. Kate is very keen on owls, and was the inspiration for this. Get well soon!

It was intended for Child C, but has received much critical acclaim from A and B, so might end up with one of them. Until Child C is big enough to fight back!