helpers

Since having children, I've often wondered how mamas who sewed finished any projects. Until very recently, the last time I sewed anything was when I was expecting the younger lad (more than five years ago). I made a few baby blankets--two girly ones, because I was *sure* he was a girl (I'm so glad I was wrong and that he is who he is) and one just in case the "wee babe" (as I referred to the bambino in utero, though he was the least "wee" of the four, weighing more than nine and a half pounds at birth) was a boy.  That blue waffle-weave blanket with chocolate brown trim got a lot of use. The two floral, ruffle-edged blankets would have to wait -- not really all that long, as it turned out -- for the lasses to come along.  They still use those blankets.

In the past couple of months I've gotten the sewing machine out for some "quick" projects. It's been a lot of fun. I set up my work space near the bambini's play space, which gives me a chance to work on projects little bits at a time (which is, by the way, how I get pretty much anything done) while keeping tabs on the bambini (and receiving trays of play food tea party treats and other pretend play fun).  I've been able to carve out some longer stretches of time to work solo on these projects as well, which is a recent and still novel-to-me phenomenon.

Working at the sewing machine in the midst of the bambini does attract their interest, so I've tried to explain what the various parts of the machine and let them help me as they can. The elder lad helped his grandmother sew baby blankets when the younger lass was on the way (when we referred to her as "Quattro", since we didn't know her gender either). He's manned the foot pedal of my machine (while reading the sewing machine manual and probably imagining he's driving a Mack truck) a few times recently in the construction of some nap mat covers for his younger siblings who nap (do they?) at school. The younger lad is fascinated by the machine, especially the needle-threading mechanism and bobbin winder. He'd love to take the whole thing apart and reassemble it (into a robot, I'm sure). For now, he's happy pushing the "u-turn" button that sends the fabric back under the needle for a little back stitching to secure the stitches.

Of course, little hands in front of where I'm trying to work are not always easy to see around (or safe, for that matter, but I keep close tabs on that). Why do I let them help me? For one thing, it's something constructive to do together (and you know how I feel about that).  For another, it shows them a side of me they don't know very well.  For yet another, I'm hoping one day the elder lad will be able to sew the patches on his Scout uniform himself.  Maybe someday my machine will jam or otherwise break down.  By then the younger lad might be my go-to guy to get it up and running again. 

Yes: plenty of times I'd like to be able to just sew it myself without little hands reaching in to "help."  By taking the time to teach them certain age-appropriate aspects of the job I'm doing, I'm hoping to honor their desire to be helpful as well as a part of what I'm doing so as to help them learn an array of life skills (including patience with and a respect for their mother and her creative inclinations) with which to serve the people around them now and in the days and years to come. 

flushed

Going through some video clips I took on my camera, I found one of the elder lad giving his Cub Scout popcorn spiel -- albeit rather reluctantly.  It reminded me of a funny story concerning his Cub Scout uniform, the sewing of patches thereon, and an unfortunate turn of events that transpired after I had (just barely) finished affixing the basic patches on the lad's uniform before his pack meeting...

Since I had left the patchin' until the last minute (10pm two nights before the evening meeting, so not exactly last minute I guess), I was looking for a speedy way to get the job done.  I hand-sewed the first patch, which took too long.  I then wasted a bunch of time reading about something called "Badge Magic", a no-iron adhesive specifically for Scout patches available at the Scout Store (a retail establishment heretofore unknown to me).  After considering a trip to the local Scout Store after school with four littles and the likelihood of getting the patches on with the adhesive that had mixed reviews, I decided to try instead two different iron-on fusible webs I had in my sewing stash.  Neither worked, so I had to resort to hand-sewing after all.

The elder lad didn't even end up wearing his uniform shirt to the meeting that night because it was covered in peanut butter from the dinner he inhaled before he had to go.  He and my beloved left for the meeting, and here is where things went downhill.

Let me just say this: four kids in this house and who flushes something inappropriate down the toilet?  Me.

The contraband?  Someone's soiled skivvies that I was trying to rinse out before washing as I had done many times before after accidents.  Sadly, I was distracted (imagine) by a screaming toddler confined to her high chair and still ruminating over the uniform fiasco, so I neglected to hold on to the undies while I flushed away the  mess.  Down they went.  Suddenly they were the wearer's favorites, and there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth.

My beloved is one handy fellow, fixing lots of things around the house that would otherwise cost us a pretty penny in labor fees and service calls (we know how those go: see my humdinger post 1.21 gigawatts). Although he was able to get the commode operational again, he could not retrieve the unmentionables with his plumber's snake.

I have yet to find a way around the hand-sewing of Scout patches that yields a better result.  I'm sure my beloved's grandmother has some pointers for me, though, she with several Eagle Scout sons ...