Knot Sew Crafty

DIY Why???

We have a set of dining room chairs that we really like.  They're not fancy, but they're ours.  We also have a set of children that we really love.  They're also not fancy, but they're ours.  Unfortunately, the children and the chairs have a contentious relationship, which results in terrible chair abuse.  

These days, with the economy being what it is, we don't have the money to replace the chairs or to have them professionally mended.

That's ok, though, because we do have Knot Sew Crafty Mama!

It really does look better in person.  Just don't turn over the seat cushion!

Oilcloth, duck tape, a staple gun.  Is there nothing that can't be accomplished with such amazing tools and materials?

I know it doesn't look great, but it was more or less free, and I do think it looks better than shredded chair hanging all over the place.  I'm hoping that it'll hold up until the children stop shredding everything in our house, or until I win the lottery and can buy new chairs--you know, to go with our new dream home on the French Riviera...

Summertime and the Living is...Boring?

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon;
to me those have always been
the two most beautiful words in the English language.
~Henry James

Then followed that beautiful season... Summer....
Filled was the air with a dreamy and magical light; and the landscape
Lay as if new created in all the freshness of childhood.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Be like the flower, turn your face to the sun.
-- Kahlil Gibran

Ah, summer, what power you have to make us suffer and like it.
-- Russel Baker

What dreadful hot weather we have! It keeps me in a continual state of inelegance.
-- Jane Austen

Do what we can, summer will have its flies. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ah yes, Ralph Waldo, you are so right. And those flies for me are the heat, bored children and, of course, flies. It would be safe to say that I am not my best in the heat. When it gets above 85, I tend to wilt a bit. I am also not a big fan of flying bugs, but then, who is?

As for bored kids, I can't wait until our backyard is done, so I can just release the children every morning and they can play on their own in dirt and grass and air and sunshine. That and afternoons at the town pool should keep everyone happy, and if not, then Berlin's Whimsy has a fantastic post on Summer Activities.

We are definitely going to do this.
But probably a little more like this.

Pipes and Detritus

The day got off to a less-than-promising start as we woke up to the smell of raw sewage leaking into the basement from one of the only pipes that was not replaced during the renovation. When the plumbers got here, they discovered a blockage, so we had to get a snake guy, and when all the various guys were gone, we were out $1000. This is a picture of the hole that they had to dig in our driveway to get to the septic tank. Yes, the septic tank is under the driveway.

As a responsible adult, I know that we have to take care of the house, and that that takes money, but I'd so much rather spend that money on a trip to Paris. I bet we couldn't even smell our sewage from there...

We also have to have our backyard landscaped because right now it looks like this

and is basically of no use to us. The picture doesn't even do justice to how useless the yard is right now--you can't really see the steep slope leading down to the mud pit by the back doors, and you can't see all the nails, old soda cans, miscellaneous bits of metal, chunks of concrete and other construction detritus that is strewn about in the dirt area.

My next post will be full of happy things like bunnies and flowers and sunshine, I promise.

Did I Say No-Spend April? I Meant No-Spend May.

No-Spend April is not going so well. CMR was away and (close your eyes, CMR!) the recommendations in the back of The Creative Family looked so good that I had to get as many of them on Paperback Swap or used on Amazon as possible. I also ordered wooden musical instruments from Willow Tree Toys because I am determined that we are going to be the kind of family that has impromptu hootenannies, as described by Soulemama.

So cool!

I have also been eating take-out Thai food.

No-Spend Rules

Allowables:
Gas
Food--not including takeout, except for pizza when absolutely necessary.
School things--i.e. payment for India's school photos, Willa's school trip fee.
Ongoing activities--Bea's piano lessons, the gym
Shipping for Paperback Swap requested items
Not allowed:
New clothing or shoes
Books, DVDs, CDs or other media
No Etsy purchases :(

You wouldn't think that would be so hard, but I bet it will be, especially since a really amazing Thai restaurant just opened in the next town over and also because I am drawn to Target like a moth to a flame!

SouleMama!

I am almost giddy with excitement at the arrival of The Creative Family by Amanda Blake Soule!

I hope I find a quiet moment or two to read it today. And I don't have to count it as shopping today, because, technically, I ordered it months ago!

Visit the SouleMama at SouleMama.

No-Spend April

With all my declarations of wanting to make things, what I've actually been doing is buying things. Books like Crocheting in Plain English by Maggie Righetti, The Crafter's Companion, Amy Butler's In Stitches, The New Gocco Guide, and far too many others to mention. I've also subscribed to magazines like Craft, ReadyMade, and my beloved, most beautiful Country Living UK.

I also bought yarn, needles, yards of fabric, fat quarters, japanese craft books, rubber stamps, ink, brayers, a gocco kit, blank card stock, embroidery floss, plain dishtowels to embroider, and I'm afraid the list goes on a bit more...

I hereby vow that April shall be "No-Spend Month" in the Knot Sew Crafty household. I'll lay out the rules tomorrow, but basically I'm not going to buy anything that is not vital for daily living.

If I should find this challenge to be too depressing, I will console myself with the beginning of baseball season...