dress to apron, part 2

One of the best things about homeschooling one's children is rediscovering how exhilarating learning can be. And when the prime homeschooling years are over, it's hard for a parent to shake the habit of going after that little joy fix—at least, that seems to be a trend among my friends whose children are grown. They begin to take classes in writing and mosaic, in nutrition and environmental studies; they travel, join wine clubs, start new businesses and take up serious cycling.

My own learning ambitions are more modest: in August, I enrolled in Alisa Burke's online class in fabric design, Beneath the Surface. It was a bit of an impulse move for me after a summer of poor health and stalled movement, but I can't recommend it enough. The class was inspiring, accessible to a non-artist, and truly a lot of fun.

It also coincided nicely with the apron project, which I'd always intended to color. I had painted fabric with the kids before, but this class introduced new techniques and more importantly, new ways of combining techniques for a more complex and colorful look.

There was some glue resist and painting with Setacolor:

Regular fabric paint spattered on with a brush tip:

Some stamping:

Some inking. I'm not entirely happy with the final look, but I can think of it as something new I'm learning—and that does make me happy.

Alisa's upcoming class is called Free Motion Graffiti. It looks to be every bit as unique and enjoyable as Beneath the Surface and yes, I'll be taking it. I can't wait.

sugru giveaway wrap-up

As noted previously, sugru makes a great replacement for lost or broken feet. It helped my laptop, and it helped Arnon's drawing board.

It also recently helped an ironing board with a missing foot cap. A couple minutes molding sugru—

—and the ironing board is good as new again:

And though I'd love for more people to have been interested in trying sugru, isn't it convenient that exactly three people left comments when there were three packs to give away? Sugru samples on their way!

(Juglans, would you please email me a mailing address?)

brothers

The boys are 5-1/2 years apart in age, and they haven't always been close. There were a couple of years, in fact, where arguments were a daily occurance.

But as with so many things related to children, it pays to wait.  Now 12 and 18, they interact constantly; and I love seeing how their interactions feed each other.

For example, S found the above book one afternoon and began browsing. At first, he was disappointed. "Why is it called Backyard Ballistics if nothing in here explodes?"

C explained the difference between ballistics and explosives. Overnight, it seems, C has become both mentor and teacher to S. He shares with his brother vocabulary, music and computer knowledge, and his interests in politics and history. S has so far not had C's inclination toward devouring news and non-fiction reading, so this is a natural way for him to be exposed to what he might not otherwise take in.

What S leans toward naturally is making things. When he decided he wanted to make one of the projects in the book, I asked him to give me an estimate of what it would cost. This isn't contrived mathematics on my part—he wanted to have it funded. So with his brother's help, he made a materials list, along with estimated costs; I gave the boys a little money, and together they went shopping.

I'm not entirely certain that this project wasn't chosen due to its requirement of empty Pringles cans.

Once the potato chips were eaten, C lost interest; S assembled the unit with help from DH.

You can barely see it, but the photo below shows the tennis ball popping out of the mortar. First try, and it worked! S was thrilled.

He shot the ball out over and over all afternoon, and C came back out and admired his work. These immeasurable moments are why a lot of us homeschool. Trajectory angles come and go, but family is something we hope will always be there.

Right now we still have very much an older and a younger brother, but their age gap will narrow soon enough. If they are lucky, this relationship they are building will give them a place from which to teach, learn from, and encourage each other over the years. That would be enough for me.