New Rhythms

In the swing of things again, and it is bittersweet. Those wide-open days of summer vacation seem so long ago already. New rhythms keep the beat while we get ready for school, do homework, go to soccer, bake lots of bread for sandwiches, and have productive sessions in the workshop.

This year, in an effort to cut down on the waste in the girls' lunchboxes, I made a bunch of snack sacks. They were so simple and quick—I made 9 of them in one sitting. I didn't have a pattern, so I decided to wing it and take my cues from a basic envelope. Once they were constructed, I added a few pieces of Velcro to keep the contents from spilling out.

They have been so great, and the girls have gotten lots of comments about them from teachers and classmates. (Maybe this will help spread the no-trash lunch idea?) Plans are in the works for sandwich wrappers next, as these are a bit small for a pb&j.

That Stack of Fabric

Remember that gorgeous stack of fabric I was making plans for? Well, I made it into, uh, a gorgeous stack of fabric...

I got one of Anna Maria Horner's "palette piles," excited for a project worthy of such stunning material. I thought of making napkins, but quickly shelved the idea, thinking napkins we not a good enough end product for these pretty prints. They would just get stained and otherwise defaced. Then it dawned on me—what better thing to make with the fabric? They are out on our table, in plain sight all day, every day. They get used at three meals a day, plus whenever snacking requires them. And, as an added bonus, they are an attractive addition to the the kaleidoscope of colors hanging on the clothesline.