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...


Tuesday, November 29, 2011

"Some Stuff We've Made Recently"

I'm stealing that line from my brother, Abram. He sent the family an email a few weeks ago with that subject line. The email contained no text, just 3 photos: the stairs he had built, the jack-o-lanterns they had carved, and then an ultra-sound photo of the baby he and Raena are expecting! The email came at night, when I happened to be in Iowa at Mom's. When she discovered it at 11:30pm, after I'd gone to bed, it warranted a "Heather!! You have to come up here!" shout-whisper down the stairs. Oh joy, a new baby in the family!


But back to me. Here's some stuff I've made! Here's one of my best creations ever, opening gifts this morning for her 3rd birthday.


And here's one of my other best creations ever, reading the note and music lyrics she wrote for her sister's birthday.
LOVE  those girls!


Brynn celebrated her birthday at her Day Out program today, and I sent cookie treats for her to share. All the kids loved them...except Brynn. :P I even made one for her with hardly any frosting, but her teacher said she wouldn't try it.
For preschool tomorrow, I have already made a second batch of cookies to take. Maybe they will have better luck getting her to eat her special cookie!
For her birthday party on Saturday, I was going to decorate sugar cookies with m&m's, but I think we'd better just go for chocolate chip or plain sugar cookies, which I know she will eat. (I have stuck the round cookies I was going to frost for the party in the freezer. I will pull them out and decorate them Sunday morning for Rowan's piano recital!)


We had a really nice time in Wichita for Thanksgiving, and I must say, it was our easiest Brynn-visit yet! She was up for a couple hours the first night with a cough, but after that we all slept great. We were able to blockade the front living room off limits, and keep her contained to the family room/kitchen/ sun room, which meant I could actually SIT for periods of time, and not constantly hover over her to make sure she wasn't going to break something. I got WAY more knitting done than I thought I would - woo hoo!  I finished 4 more snowflake ornaments on the drive there, and 4 on the way back. (More on that later.) So while we were there, I got to work on my new green "Summer Wind" cowl. I was a couple inches into it already, and finished that puppy Saturday night!!  It is now blocking, and I can't wait for it to dry so that I can wear it.
It is a long loop (can't tell because it's blocking flat), which I can wrap around my neck twice for extra warm yumminess. Here's a closeup of the pattern (although the color is truer in the first picture):
Back to the snowflake ornaments. In my last post, I was ready to spray starch those sparkly dudes to get them stiff. Totally did not work. They are as limp as ever, even after several coats of starch and ironing. So, the next step is to concoct a mixture of Elmer's and water, dip the snowflakes in, and then pin them into shape to dry. I'll attempt that messy process one of these mornings while Brynn is at school!


And I'm having another dilemma. Remember the second Honeycomb cowl I've been working on? It's almost done, and I just don't know about it. I think I will keep the first one I made, which means I should give this one away...but I'm thinking it would look much better as a longer infinity scarf that can be doubled over. Hrrmmmm...what to do. Need to table that.


But since I need something to knit, I've planned a new project and bought the yarn for it this morning at Knit Wit. Wonderful, delicious Rowan "Lima" blend - can't wait to use it! I won't say what it's for...Christmas secrets and all. ;)
Speaking of Christmas secrets, there may be a lot of hinting and very few pictures over the next few weeks. Oh, crafting will be happening, people. Crafting will be happening!
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2 comments:

  1. KathyNovember 29, 2011 at 11:46 PM

    Cute photos of those darling girls, as always. Those cookies look delish. Brynn's 'special' ones included. Oh well. Someone will enjoy hers, I'm sure. Your green scarf looks fabulous! Love the new yarn, too. I totally know what you mean about secret stuff afoot. Same here. There just aren't going to be enough weeks left to do all I want to. I should have started on Christmas stuff in JULY, I swear. :)
    xox

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  2. The J9November 30, 2011 at 9:10 AM

    Ok - love that grey yarn!!! Hope you guys are doing well - I think about you often and really need to stop by and catch up!! Maybe coffee after the holidays? You would be so proud of me - I just finished my very first knitting project - a simple dish cloth. It was so easy and I am finding that I have the knitting "bug". Can't wait to start something else!

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