"I must be part Husky..."

Revamped Denim Skirt

Hello, all.

This is what I've been up to the last couple of days, selfishly making something for myself, instead of working on the countless projects I have partially completed for others. It is not an original idea of mine, though, as usual, it has morphed somewhat from the original. My inspiration came from denim-skirt-makeover-tutorial.

I started with a thrift store skirt for $2.99. No, wait. I think it was a 50% day, so, $1.50. 

  Next, I measured where I wanted the finished bottom hem to be, and cut. Gulp.

 Wow. That looks short.







From the cut-off part, I made the ruffle and sewed to to the bottom.

Cute, but needs the flower detail.

 


 Found a purple (I know the colors in the pics are bad) denim shirt in my fabric stash. Sewed a 2"x36" strip into a tube and gathered it.

 

Sewed it in a circle, and voila! A flower! 

 

 

  And, because I can't leave well enough alone, two more.

And, here's the finished skirt!

Changing Seasons

I love watching the seasons change. Especially in these early days of transition. With high temps above freezing during the day, there has been significant melting of the record snow this winter brought. All that moisture in the air, and below-freezing temps at night means re-freezing. This is bad on my sidewalk in the morning, but it also meant that I saw trees coated with frosty whiteness as I was driving at 8:00 this morning. They were beautiful! I tried to get a few pics, but the camera on my phone isn't the greatest. Anyway, you'll have to take my word for it...it was beautiful!

I know there are a lot more signs of spring coming. And, coming soon! On March 19th of last year, I got a picture of the crocus in our yard. They were just about to bloom, and there wasn't a speck of snow in sight. In that same spot, right now, there is still a pile of snow that is 4' high. I think the crocus will have to come up through the snow this year (but, that's normal...last year wasn't).

I love winter, but if we didn't get any more snow this year, at this point, I'd be ok with that. I'm ready for a transition into spring, a new beginning.

March 5, 2011

“What a difference it makes to come home to a child!”
― Margaret Fuller

I mentioned yesterday that everything seems cold and dark and dead in winter in Minnesota, but that's not entirely true. You just have to look harder to see the life...Usually. There are always birds around, and every time a new coating of snow appears, so do the tracks of squirrels, rabbits and other critters.

But, there are other signs of life that make themselves known, very loudly and very clearly! The life of a newborn baby fills this house with sights, sounds, and wonder. (Between the car seat, bouncy-chair, diapers, crib, cradle, bins of clothing, changing table, dresser, blankets, etc., etc., Scarlett Rose Cayetano has also filled this house with STUFF! I had forgotten how much a baby “needs.” )

In Scarlett's short life I have already had a couple of those moments when a completely monotonous situation suddenly seems monumental to me. Seeing MY daughter walking through the grocery store with HER daughter the other day was one of those moments.

We had gone our separate ways to tackle our lists. When I went to find her again, I saw her across the store, and she looked like any other mom making her way through the produce department. For a moment, she wasn't just the person my daughter had become, she was a fellow MOM. She had a little BABY with her. If I hadn't know her, I might have wondered how old the baby was, if it was a boy or girl, if the baby was crabby or a "good" baby, if the mom could appreciate the journey she was just beginning. It's hard to put all the feelings that went through my head in that instant into words, but it was kind of amazing.

I am blessed to be able to witness and participate in this new chapter in Erica and Shane's life!

Hiatus No More!

Hello, all! (If there is anyone still reading, that is!)

I know it has been a long time, and frankly, the lack of pressure to post frequently (or at all!!) has been kind of nice. There were times at the farm that I thought to myself, "Oh, geez. I haven't blogged in DAYS! I'd better post SOMETHING." Sometimes it seemed like a chore or burden, but for the most part, knowing that people were actually reading it was a great motivator. The good-posting days were when I'd start writing something, and by the time I was done, even if the post was nothing like I would have imagined, I'd be really happy with it. It felt good to share a story, or a moment, or a feeling. On the not-so-good-posting days, the really long, hot, tiring days, sometimes the good feeling came from knowing I'd done it today, so I didn't HAVE to do it tomorrow.

Lately, inspiration is a bit lacking. It seems as though there is no life around. Everything is cold and dark and dead.

Now, finally, signs of spring are starting to appear. Longer days, stronger sunshine, more and more days that register ABOVE the magical 32º. Although there is still snow and cold temps, spring feels inevitable.

I am going to get back into the routine of blogging. The subject matter may vary considerably more than before, but hopefully there will be things of interest.

Welcome back!

What exactly is Heidi Creating these days?

This time I thought I'd share some of my latest creations.

The scarf is only partially my creation. It was knitted for me by my fabulous step-mother. (Knitted? Is that really a word?) Saw some trim for sale at the fabric store once with little pastel buttons dangling from bits of rick-rack. I thought it was so cute...till I saw the $12/yard price tag. The scarf is so wide, I would have needed almost 2 yards! Then, I heard the little voice in my head: “I could make that myself!” I have a love/hate relationship with that voice. It's always telling me I can do that myself, but never gives me the time to do it. It took me a while, but I did actually create the trim for the scarf. I love it!





I have also recently been on a purse kick. The purse with the dots was the first one. It turned out great, and even made one for a friend just like it. But, for me, its a bit small. So, I thought I'd try again, making it bigger. I increased the size of each of the stripes, but once they were sewn together, I realized it was going to be too big. My choices were to rip the seams between the stripes and trim each one proportionately to keep the look of the first bag (not), or just take some off the top and some off the bottom. That's what I did, but when it was finished, I no longer liked the look of the stripes. The green one was just too big.

I figured, since I'm not real keen on it, I'd post it on my Etsy site (www.HeidiCreates.etsy.com). And I was back to the smaller purse, and back to the drawing board, so to speak.

I actually go in phases with purse sizes. I'll carry around everything but the kitchen sink, until I get tired of it. Then, I'll see a cute small purse and buy it (or, now, make it!). After a while, I get frustrated because I always seem to not have what I want/need because it doesn't fit in my purse. Eventually, I go back to a bigger one, that I either already have and return to service, or I find a new one to buy. (Bad, bad Heidi.) I'll carry around everything but the kitchen sink, until I get tired of it. Then I'll see a cute small purse...

After my near-successes with making purses, I was back perusing the all-mighty Internet for more ideas. Lo and behold, there were ideas-a-plenty. I found a picture of one that I really liked, but wasn't willing to cough up to buy the pattern for it. So I had to make it up. It's the floral one. It turned out kind of like the original picture, but that's all just part of the creative process. (At least, MY creative process!) Even if I'm trying to copy something, it never turns out quite the same. 99 times out of 100, I'm ok with that. I really like the purse, and I've gotten compliments on it, which is always nice.

There always seems to be room for tweaking, though...

Is Farm-Livin' the Life for Me?

Last week, I went to visit a farm in Wisconsin. The purpose of my visit was to meet the owner, see the farm itself and talk about the possibility of an internship this summer.

I was very impressed with the whole operation, what she has done with her land thus far, and what her plans for the future are.

Over our adult lives (using the term "adult" loosely, of course!), my husband and I have evolved from kids, really, growing and learning about each other and ourselves, to parents, growing and learning about what is REALLY important in our own little corner of the world, to "empty-nesters" still growing and learning, and asking ourselves, "What's next?"

Like many people, we've grown tired of the Rat Race. What better time to look at a career/lifestyle change than now, when the kids are grown and on their own? For years, we have talked about owning and running a B&B. When we've traveled, we've poured over travel guides and real estate brochures. We gone as far as New Mexico to see a B&B for sale.

As we've grown and evolved, so has our dream. Now we find ourselves also seeing the potential in a farmstay. This new kind of vacation option gives guests the ambiance of a B&B with opportunities not found in a more tourist-centered setting. These learning opportunities could include taking care of farm animals, learning about organic gardening, becoming more aware of the connection between people and the land, where our food comes from, how to make more ecologically sound choices in our lives, etc., etc. The possibilities, I think, are endless.

A summer internship on a farm seems like an ideal way to really learn what it could be like. When I found out about this particular farm in Wisconsin, it seemed like it could be a good match for me.

There are others that are applying for this position, so we'll see!!!