the unwritten summer

Summer is gone. Jack starts school on Monday.

Summer is gone.

I had lofty plans for the blog this summer. And now, here we are at the end. I’m realizing that my many, many goals went unrealized. For instance…

I had plans to: post about several pieces of pink Depression glass I inherited when my wonderfully sassy Aunt Dawnaline passed away earlier this year. Her home had pink dishes on the walls, pink dishes on the counters, pink dishes in the bathrooms, pink dishes in the cabinets. Did you know that during the Depression, cereal companies put these dishes inside cereal boxes as an incentive to buy? I think they’re beautiful.

I had plans to: put up this little tutorial for a denim doormat that I thought might turn out kind of fun.

Still in progress.

I had plans to: share a bit about our trip to St. George and Zion, where we had a wonderful week with my brother and his family:

I had plans to: show off this incredible shawl that was given to me as a gift by a friend I hadn’t seen in a very long time—about seven years. She’s this wonderful quilt-book author. Her name is Ursula, and she has a heart of gold. Obviously, she has hands of gold as well.

I lost my breath when I saw this shawl, and fought off tears to save you and I the embarrassment… thank you, Ursula. (And for the gorgeous cupcakes too.) Cold weather can't get here fast enough.

I had plans to: keep up with Jackspeaks and Charlietalks, like this one (rated PG):

Me: “Charlie, I heard that you said, ‘What the hell?’ in front of your cousin.”

Charlie: “Yeah.”

“Well, remember, we talked about that. Those are the kinds of words that aren’t for little boys.”

“I know.”

“Okay then.”

“Can I say ‘What the poop?’”

“No.”

“Can I say “What the pee?’”

“Nope.”

“Can I say, ‘What the penis?’”

“No!”

“Can I say, ‘What the nipples?’”

“Dude, I don’t even know what you mean when you say that. How about you can say, ‘What the heck.’”

Charlie is silent.

Me: “Go on, try it. What the heck?”

Charlie: “Um… what the heck.”

“C’mon, really say it. Say it loud. What the HECK?!?”

“WHAT THE HECK!?!??”

“Yeah!”

“Hmm. Well, I guess. I guess I can say that.”

“Thank you.”

I had plans to: announce that ReSew is now an eBook. You can have all 144 pages on your desktop in less than five minutes. Isn’t that cool? Yay for instant gratification!

I had plans to: write a post attesting to the fact that sewing connects us globally. Case in point: someone in China linked to a recent tutorial of mine. I used Google Translate to find out what they wrote, hoping it was positive. According to Google, the post says:

The skirt to dress? Have this possible? In the end how to modify it?
We take a look at the WildCards. This site provides good ideas.
Please link to practice page. Another trick is to cut the original T-shirt dress with the upper half.
After reading this demonstration for change clothes. Is not so that we have another new enlightenment?

Google Translate needs some work. (But I was thrilled to see that the post was, indeed, positive. I think.)

But now, at the end of our summer, none of those posts have come to be.

Instead, we’re doing this:

We’re moving.

Brett and I have been talking a lot about our family. Brett just noted yesterday that it’s been a full year since we started talking. It’s turned into a pivotal, enlightening discussion about who we’ve been, who we’ve become, and who we want to be. And through so many talks, we decided what is important to us right now:

• To find a place where our boys can run. And run. And run.


• To grow a little closer to the earth. All of us.


• To hear quiet.


• To see billions of stars at night--instead of scant millions, you know.


• To smell fresh-cut hay. (Brett’s favorite. It makes him happy.)


• To produce a freaking HUGE vegetable garden.

So, we imagined a place. We didn’t know where this imaginary place was until just this week. (In fact, when I started this post a while back, I titled it “On a Road to Nowhere.”)

The imaginary place isn’t imaginary anymore. It’s real. And we’re moving there.

I think we may have just turned our year-long talk—our dream, really—into reality.

I am elated. I am scared.

I was recently lamenting at the dinner table about possibly moving Jack from one school to another in the middle of the year. I was afraid for him. I was going on and on and on and on about it.

Suddenly, Jack interrupted me. He said, “Mom, we’re moving. Get over it.”

Oh. Well. That does seem like the easier route. Thanks, my sweet Jacky. Thanks for letting me know you’re game for this adventure, too.

And although we're now moving to a new home, what I’ve learned through this year-long process is that home isn’t where your house is. It’s where the people you love are. For me, it’s where Bretty and Jacky and Charlie-Barley are. Everything else will fall into place. I believe it.

I recently came across this quote (introduced to me via Soulemama). For me, it was the kind of thing that stopped me cold. I read it several times, and then felt a need to print it out and hang it on my design wall. It says:

Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
With your one wild and precious life?
--Mary Oliver

Wild and precious. Yes. And one. Only one.

What is it you plan to do?

Celebrate the BOY with a giveaway (and a special project for your little guy!)

Hi! If you are visiting the wildcards for the first time, you are probably “Celebrating the BOY” this month! I’m so happy to be a part of Rae and Dana’s ingenious creation. Apart, these two women are creative, spunky, inspiring, honest, and funny. Together? Invincible. Thank you both for letting me participate in this year’s festivities!

Since we’re all here because of boys, I thought I would introduce you to mine. Jack is six, and Charlie is two.

 

 They sure do love each other. And I love the stuffing out of both of them.

I like big butts and I cannot lie.

I’ve always loved sewing—for my boys and for myself—and I’ve always been a thrift-store junkie. I merged my two passions together and came up with a book about it called ReSew: Turn Thrift-Store Finds into Fabulous Designs. And this weekend, in honor of “Celebrate the BOY” month, I’ve got two ReSew giveaways here at the wildcards. And one’s a sure thing!
 
FIRST—because we’re all looking to find fun ways to sew for our special guys, I’ve put together a project for you to download directly from ReSew. It’s called the “Happy Hat, Mitten, and Scarf Set.” Got an old sweater in colors your little boy loves? Transform it into a hat, and a scarf, and mittens just his size.

Here’s the before…
and here’s the after.

Yep. That’s my sweet boy. So worth celebrating.

(Hmm. Been awhile since I took this picture. Some of those teeth are gone now.)

Simply click here for the project instructions, wait for the file to open up (takes a minute or so), and save it to your desktop.

There’s your sure thing.

THEN—take a crack at winning your own copy of ReSew, and stitch up something special for yourself! Tops, bottoms, dresses, purses, scarves, and more—20 step-by-step projects include simply-sewn clothing, accessories, and home accents, all refashioned from thrift-store salvaged items.

With ReSew, you can do things like:

* turn a common sweatshirt into a sexy, sleeveless V-neck tank
* transform men’s dress pants into an elegant “cuffed” skirt
* create a cozy, colorful scarf out of a shrunken wool sweater
* turn a brightly colored cotton sweater into a child’s elephant cuddle cushion
 
Just leave a comment about this post for your chance to win. Please make sure to leave your email address along with your comment. My boys and I will find a weird way to choose a random winner. Just one entry per person, please. The giveaway will close at 8 p.m. (MST) on Sunday, February 20th. Thanks in advance for entering, and good luck!

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED. Jack and Charlie chose TWO winners at random in a weird way, as promised. I will post about the winners and the weird way on Monday afternoon!

And, If you want to learn more about ReSew, here's a little two-minute video about it. Or you can see it here on YouTube.  

 

Thanks so much for stopping by. As a mom to two rowdy, noisy, creative, hilarious, opinionated, and downright untidy boys, there’s one thing I try to remember to do every day, without fail. And that is to slow down, take a moment, and celebrate my boys.

They are so very worth the mess.