Shucked (Weekend Reads)

Have I ever told you that my five year old - The Evil Genius/Death Wish - has a thing for oysters? Raw oysters. And preferably the East Coast varieties.

She tried them once when we were out for brunch. Hubby and I were sharing a dozen so we doled a bite out to the girls. The One Bite rule, right? They were both rather meh about them so we didn't think anything of it. Another trip to the same brunch spot a month or so later and she asked for one more. We're generous folks and don't mind sharing, especially with the kids, but before I had a chance to have my second oyster she'd had 6!

From there she went straight to eating dozens, literally, at a time. Taking her out for dinner or brunch is getting expensive!

So when I saw this book on the shelf at Anthropologie, of all places, I had to grab it. Purely for parental research, you know? Shucked: Life on a New England Oyster Farm is the personal story of a food and lifestyle writer in Boston. Erin Byers Murray is feeling jaded and bored and without too much thought decides to take a year off and work on an oyster farm. She describes her brutal, cold first days  - cleaning and culling just harvested oysters on the frozen Duxbury Bay, Massachusetts. Then summer comes and the work is backbreaking but thrilling. There are the challenges to her marriage with her now an oyster farmer at the mercy of the tides and her husband the bartender. There are also the highs of food festivals and post work beers and new relationships. Behind all that is the story of an oyster from seed to table. Not to mention all the farmers who make it happen.

My five year old is too young to read this book just yet, but I'll be keeping it on the shelf for her. And I predict she'll read it round about the time she starts paying for her own oysters.

Quilting Pieces Mystery Box

Our beloved neighbours are moving this week. They welcomed us when we moved here nearly 10 years ago, treated us like their own children, and embraced our kidlets like another set of grandkids. We've shared many a bottle of wine and Sunday dinner. I've taken care of their cat, and I hate cats. But we would do anything for them. So when he showed up with this random box on the weekend I couldn't help but say yes when the last thing I need is any more stuff in my house. Besides, the less they move the better. I'm a good neighbour until the end.

This is one of those boxes that makes you excited and afraid at the same time. You can see why...

What a treat to dive into this box! Patterns, notions, fabric, and so much more. A bit of history of someone who sewed in their family. And a bit of sewing history.

Loads of fabric scraps! My guess is that the fabrics range from the 30s-60s. Not sure of the fibre content of much of it, but some pretty sweet fabric. There is a lot more than what you see here.

A few sewing patterns. This horribly offensive one too. Interestingly, I think there is a nearly finished version of this skirt in the box (just missing the waistband) and it is gorgeous. Actually, there are a few nearly finished articles of clothing. And clearly they were made by someone with the tiniest waist ever.  I doubt I would get anything over one of my thighs! But, oh, the fabric.

A quick glance at this makes me laugh because it encompasses a lot of what a produced, slick book includes these days. Only 10 cents! I'll be keeping this one for reference for sure.

Vintage zippers anyone? If only I knew how to sew in a zipper. There were these and so many more trims and notions. Fun little bits and bobs for clothing. And they are sitting on this funky yarn pillow. Sadly, it has seen better days, but still pretty cool.

Then there was this! Roughly twin sized and made quite nicely. Full of fabrics that make me drool and get excited. I plan to finish up this into a lovely quilt. Seeing as the box came from a family member - they think a great aunt - I think this should go back to the family. My neighbours' daughter and husband like it so hopefully it will make it's way back to them by Christmas. What a find, and a what a treat to explore someone else's bit of history. Quilting Pieces indeed.

Friday Favourite - The Monster

If it wasn't for the arrival of this amazing creature seven years ago I wouldn't be here at all. I mean, literally here in this space on the internet. That's because her arrival in my life forced me to see who I really was. In order to be the best mother, the best potential role model for the tiny creature placed in my arms after months of stress, I needed to be true to myself. That meant embracing my creative side and putting them out into the world. If it wasn't for her arrival I would never have started writing again, I never would have met all of you, I never would have been honestly happy with myself.

Besides all that, she has the best giggle in the entire world, she is empathetic beyond her years, her brain works in the most awesomely logical way, her contemplative nature fights with her energy daily, her fashion sense is to be admired but not necessarily copied, and she loves people in a way that has no boundaries.

Big's Quilt - Finished and Well-Loved

Big's Quilt

60'' by 54''

With very little fanfare in the house  - more like a giant smile and a tiny squeal - I finished the quilt for my Evil Genius. It came out of the washing machine, all toasty, and was immediately put to use for cuddles, then fort building, then as a veil, then baby wrapping, then sleep. Well loved right from the start.

It's such a crazy mishmash of fabrics, all picked by her. She laid it out, then helped me sew it together by sitting on my lap and guiding pieces through the machine. Well, some pieces. Then she got bored and went back to watching Coraline. I was allowed to baste it without her, late at night, so her baby brother wouldn't get in the way. Then she picked thread for quilting - 6 different ones. No amount of convincing would lessen that amount so I accepted the challenge. Including that the front and back be different! (Oh tension woes! Don't look closely at the quilting.) She even drew me a sketch of the squiggly line she wanted for the quilting. That girl knows how to draw a meander. Finally, she picked her binding fabrics, a blend of purple with a bit of pink, of course. And she even sat with me for quite a bit as I hand stitched the binding down, pulling the needle.

Even I thought I was crazy when we started this project. Here is what I learned:

 - Let it evolve. If you get stuck on things having to get done only you will get frustrated. She could focus on the task, but making a quilt is a big project to a kid so it needs to happen at their pace.

 - Move fast. It was a lot of stop/go. When it was my turn to finish a task she was on me to get it done and get it done now.

 - Be okay if she loses interest. It sat for over a month on my design wall and I was a little bit sad that she'd lost interest. But when she came back to it her excitement had grown.

 - Let it go. Like most of us, the excitement was in the fabric selection and layout. I couldn't take that away from her so I let go of my conventions and perceptions. Would I have chosen that red fabric? Nope, but she loves them.

 - Limit the selection for backing fabric. I gave her stack of fabric I have in big yardage and told her to pick just one. Phew.

 - Do not use 6 different threads from 3 different manufacturers for the quilting. Just don't do it.

 - Be prepared for a blah reaction. Perhaps I'd built up her excitement for the quilt in my head, but a smile and just a tiny squeal were not what I expected when I handed her a warm quilt. But since I finished it a few weeks ago I see that it gets dragged around like her blankies, she wants it at night, and she plays with it. The quilt is not getting ignored and she loves to show it off. So yeah, I'd say she is indeed excited.

 - When you let her direct the photo shoot take, then delete, the photos where she drapes herself over the quilt in a way that no almost 5 year old should be seen. Don't tell her.

 - Smile a lot when you notice her outfits match her quilt.