It begins...

A friend recently forwarded an email to me titled "The Invisible Mother," a short essay comparing the tireless and often thankless job of a mother to the builders of Europe's great cathedrals. Both give their whole lives for a work they will never see finished, both make sacrifices and expect no credit, and both are fueled in their passion by the faith that the eyes of God see every detail. The writer of the essay was inspired by the thought that our endless efforts in motherhood, invisible as they may seem, are worth it and can make an enriching life.


For many of us, the way we choose to hold our invisibility at bay is by creating something tangible. For me, my days often end with knitting - my love of fiber and the need to do something relaxing end up producing something I can hold and look at. Nobody will know how many times I swept under the high chair that day, or how many toys I picked up, or how many times I tried to coax a "please" or "more" or "sorry" out of my 5 year old. But a darling, handmade infant hat? That you can see.


I start new projects every day, and my 10 year old does the same. In this process of creating (and yes, often not finishing our projects!) we connect with each other and a bigger picture of ourselves in the process. My plan for this blog is to share the projects that excite me and bring some accessible proof of my existence in this invisible world of mothering!


So, this blog is dedicated to the mothers out there whose days are filled with the minutia of tasks that build our children and our families. I often tell people that I haven't decided what I want to be when I grow up. But for now, I am the builder of a great cathedral. With every shoelace tied, lunch packed, and forehead kissed, I build.


And I can hardly wait to create something new...


Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Spring Break

I may have taken a hiatus from blogging over Spring Break, but not from crafting!  So much to share, I barely know where to start.  Let's begin with the finished auction items!  I finished piecing together the 3 mice before we left for Iowa, and also managed to finish the faces and ears on the sheep booties...only to discover a few days later that I did it on the wrong side. Doh! So, had to spend an hour on Mom's couch re-doing that little boo boo.  Here they are...

So, the auction items are all done, labeled with tags, and delivered as of this morning!
As it turned out, Rowan's St. Patrick's Day pinata was not dry enough to paint before we left, so the first morning we were at Grandma's house we got to work. Rowan had a very specific color combination in mind: yellow on one half, red on the other, with shamrocks. Because red and yellow just say "St. Patricks's Day," right? She started the red side first, which of course made its way in blotches to the other side and would not be covered by yellow, so she conceded to mix the yellow with red and make orange to hide the spills! (Check out her tongue on the first picture!)


The pinata was a hit with Rowan's cousins, and our ribbon idea actually worked pretty well!

While in Iowa, my dad was trying out a crafty project of his own.  He invited us over on Saturday morning to "bend wood." He had created a steam bath for slender pieces of wood he planned to bend, with a few extra for the grandkids to experiment with. And if you ever wondered where my organizational skills come from, look no further than my dad's wood shop! Seriously, people, this man has a gift!
Also whilst in Iowa, I finished knitting the girl baby sweater and got started on a hat to match! Blocking them and putting on the buttons is top of Ye Old Craft Log for tomorrow, then I can show you pictures. Hopefully they will be loved!

Upon arriving home, we found our crocus and daffodils in full bloom! LOVE them!
I hosted Knit Night last night, and finally started the baby boy sweater-turned-hat project.  The cotton/bamboo is luscious to work with, and I should be ready to ship that off in a day or two as well...

And if the knitting hasn't kept me busy enough, I was in full Girl Scout party-planning mode this afternoon.  Got 28 party favor bags stuffed, agenda organized, packing list made, and most of the craft and game supplies gathered and sorted. Created the party Kaper Chart, printed some fun clip art, and got my meeting board ready to go. Whew!
And now, I think I will just fall asleep. Ha!  Gotta go make dinner....
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1 comment:

  1. KathyMarch 23, 2011 at 10:49 PM

    Awww, great pictures! Love the one of Dad in his woodshop and of course the pinata, scouting, and knitting pics, too. Always such a joy to see all the results of your busy, creative, wonderful days. :)

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