Craftiness at 83 Durant

During Lucy's naps lately, I've been working on some crafty projects. This is a bird mobile I made for her room:


I got the pattern from this blog:http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/2008/05/16/bird-mobile/,
which I found through one of my favorite sites, whip-up. The pattern is available via a free PDF. It's a nice project to help use up all sorts of fabric scraps. I used a bunch of bits I'd been saving from a variety of salvaged items. There's some nice black velvet from an old dress of mine, some awesome bright green brocade from a 1960's gown, and some funny maroon cotton with copyright signs all over it from an old shirt of Jake's. I used two different fabrics for each one, except the brocade. For that bird, I used the "right" side for the top and the "wrong" side (which was equally pretty) for the belly. I think it looks like a parrot. I'm not sure the other bird species are readily identifiable.

The birds are really easy to make, but the construction of the mobile was a bit more difficult. The birds kept doing nose-dives off the branches; I finally ended up using thin wire to keep them on. Then the twig kept twisting as I tried to tie them together for hanging. The eye-screws were the right solution. I also cheated a bit -- instead of finding the exact right single balance point for each branch, I put in two screws, so there's a bit more stability.

Next up, I did some more "upcycling" by taking the material off my favorite, but sadly, broken umbrella. I had found a neat article in Craft magazine about making various things out of umbrella fabric (why put that nice waterproof stuff to waste?). The article is in Volume 7 of Craft and there's a link here: http://craftzine.com/07/recycle/ (you need a subscription to see it). [On a side note, I think Craft is a great magazine, and the web site & blog both have a ton of great projects to oogle and inspire.] The article suggested making a cover for your backpack or laptop bag, but I didn't really want to make such things. What we here at 83 Durant could really use in the way of waterproof stuff was some bike seat covers. Jake has all these nice leather saddles, and when we go travelling with the bikes on the back or roof of the car, we need to protect them from the weather. A quick search led me to an instructable on making a bike seat cover: http://www.instructables.com/id/quick-and-easy-bicycle-seat-cover/
But this one seemed overly complicated. Thus far, we've used showercaps to protect our bike seats, so why mess with the simplicity? I cut a rough shape that looked like it would fit the seat, sewed a casing around the edge, threaded some elastic through, and ta da! Bike seat cover!

Since the casing and stitching are all gathered up underneath the seat and bunched together by the elastic, I didn't worry about the fact that it was a kind of uneven and messy job, as I had cut a rather asymmetric shape. Also, another bonus, the umbrella fabric doesn't fray, so no need to turn down a hem within the casing.

It was so easy, I made two. Now I need to find more umbrellas. If you have a busted umbrella, and have time to cut the fabric off, send it my way! We have a lot of bike seats to cover here!

I also made a couple of plastic bag holders to contain the frightening number of plastic bags we accumulate. We use reusable bags (like the one I made) for our big grocery shopping, but somehow, we still seem to have a lot of bags. I like to have some to use for trash can liners and the like, so now we have a handy place to store the ones we have for future use:

I got the fabric at IKEA. It's awfully cute, and I think I'll have to make something for Lucy with it.

I also recently finished my second pillowcase bag. I found the really great pattern and instructions here: www.kootoyoo.com.au/page10.htm


I got the pillowcase at our local St. Vincent DePaul here in Lowell (it's a really great shop!). I bought a small lot of 15 or so random packets of bias binding on ebay, so as you can see in the photo, I used two different colors. I'm using this one as a laundry bag for Lucy's clothes in the downstairs bathroom. I love making these bags. I had previously made a pillowcase bag back in April:

It was my first attempt at bias binding. It's an easy project with a big payoff -- it makes a HUGE bag! I'm on the lookout for old pillowcases.

That's about all for now. Happy 7 month Birthday to Lucy!

Brewery to Brewery Ride next Saturday

This is a stupid idea.

Garden Edition 2008

Garden 2008
Originally uploaded by Jake & Bridget & Lucy & Carter.

This weekend we did some more work on the garden. We picked up a small selection of veggies and herbs at Mahoney's Garden center. We realized that last year's garden was more ambitious than we were, especially since we're away for most of July. We returned to a crazy weed patch, as I noted in a post here: http://83durant.blogspot.com/2007/08/home-sweet-home.html



There were quite a few things that came back on their own this year, which was a nice bonus. We're adding a few things, but this photo has notes that shows what came back from last year (Click through the photo to flickr to see the details.)

the garden
Originally uploaded by Jake & Bridget & Lucy & Carter.

So we have some new tomatoes and herbs, but nothing too huge. I refused to get a cart while I was at the garden shop, so that I could only buy what I could carry in my arms. Without the big cart to fill, I was much more discriminating in my selection. I'm afraid we just don't have the time or energy to take on a full scale garden this year. You can compare this year's garden to last year's garden by looking at the flickr map of last year's garden on this previous post: http://83durant.blogspot.com/2007/05/83-durant-garden.html



Also, Carter has been wreaking havoc in the garden. I've put up some completely ineffective wire fence around it in an attempt to keep him out, but he just doesn't seem to get it. We fight about this daily. He likes to eat dirt, and he seems to think that the garden dirt is especially tasty. Infuriating dog!

That's all for now. Happy Memorial Day.

In which Lucy adopts a book!

We here at 83 Durant Street love books. So I was very excited when I heard about the American Antiquarian Society's first Adopt a Book Program. 

The AAS collections are really great.  I've used them just a little bit in my research, and I hope to use them more again soon.  So it seemed appropriate to support their conservation and collection efforts.  We talked it over with Lucy and she decided she would like to adopt this book called Girls' Stories.  It's from around 1874, which is a lot older than Lucy is.  Here is a hilarious description of the book from the website:

Six short stories; each of them exposes the sweetness and foibles of six different girls; includes the timeless tales of Rosa, the girl who "helped" her mother by jamming up her sewing machine; and of "Fanny the Fidget" who would not stand still for the photographer (quite the lengthy process in the 1870s!). 

It seems a perfect fit, since Lucy also has difficulty sitting still for photos.  Although she has not yet "helped" with my sewing, there's plenty of time for her to fulfill her destiny.  

Spring at 83 Durant

Spring is in full effect here at 83 Durant! Check out our daffodils! Unfortunately, our dog can be rather rude, and has taken to sitting in the middle of the flower bed. Argh. What to do?

We had a busy and productive weekend here at 83 Durant. We took care of boring stuff like draining and re-filling the boiler today. We also had the pleasure of our excellent gardening friend, Jess, coming out to help us get our garden plot in order. We did a ton of raking (oh the leaves! You'd think we were busy with something last fall!) and general spiffying up of the yard. We didn't plant anything, but we did get all the "moo doo" into the garden plot, and made plans for where things should go. The strawberry plants are already running around their area, and some herbs (chives, some others) are already popping up! Nice! Thanks so much for your help, Jess! This year's garden will probably be less ambitious. We're hoping to start a rhubarb patch (any suggestions on where to get good plants welcome!) and probably some tomatoes. Maybe some pumpkins, but probably a lot of flowers, since we don't have as much time for gardening this year.


I put mulch around the rose bushes; it's amazing how much better those beds look with just the addition of mulch!


We also set up the bird bath, this time in the front garden plot rather than in the yard, where it got in the way of grilling. Plus, we will be able to see any visiting birds from the front windows. Nice!


The little apple tree is starting to bud! I wonder if we'll get any fruit this year. Carter surveys the work we've done -- not bad!



Jake has also been making final fixes to the kitchen storm door, adding the thingy that closes it, and painting around the edge of the trim.

Of course, after getting all that work done, we needed a place to relax -- good thing Jake set up the hammock!

The beautiful weather continues, so maybe we'll get more done this week! Happy Spring!

Sesame Street was way cooler when we were kids

Stevie beats Elmo in my book.

I read about it here

Of dead varmints and crying babies

Last night was quite the varmint-filled night. No flying squirrels, but we discovered a dead mouse in the basement, and a dead skunk in the street in front of our house. A banner night for 83 Durant.

Jake and his friends discovered the skunk carcass in the street after their bridge game disbanded. They actually shoveled up the skunk into a trash bag, thinking it would be wise to get the thing off the street before morning when all the neighborhood kids are waiting for the bus. [note: "They" here does not include me, Jake, though I did supply the trash bag.] While this was, in way, a neighborly thing to do, the action failed to account for a key element of the dead skunk: the smell. Our trash won't be picked up again until next Monday, and in any case, it seems an awful thing to make the garbage haulers deal with. Thus, this morning, I made my call to animal control in Lowell, and the very kind officer came and took it away. To where, I do not know, but surely a better place than our garbage can.

I e-mailed Jake at work to let him know, and reflecting on his actions of last night, he wrote back this gem, which shall live on in blogdom:

"You don't put skunks in the trashcan. That's my philosophy."

Indeed. Words to live by.

[segue here from dead skunk to crying baby]

In other news, you may know that our family recently returned from a sometimes harrowing trip to Buffalo. (If you haven't already, you can read some nuggets about it on our flickr pictures featured above.) Upon our return, my kind colleague sent me a hilarious piece from The Onion. You should follow the link and read it, and then come back to read Lucy's response, below:

I Can't Imagine Why Anybody Would Want To Stop Crying

Life has so many wonderful experiences to offer. Like sleep. Or ingestion and evacuation. But I find life offers few opportunities more rewarding...

I Wholeheartedly Agree with Emmet Henson's Onion Opinion Piece

by Lucy Bridge
Almost 5-months old

I would like to take the opportunity to applaud 2-month-old Emmet Henson's amazing encomium to crying. For a baby so young to be so articulate about our most beloved pastime is impressive; we can expect great things, and great crying from young Emmet.

I would like to expand upon Mr. Henson's joyous celebration of screaming it out by suggesting a new discovery I have made: one of the very best times to cry is when you are strapped into the diabolical contraption known as the car seat. When your parents even start to get this torture device out, be sure to scream your fool head off. They may even reconsider their plans and allow you to continue screaming in the comfort of your own home. But if they rashly decide to continue with the car-seat-based plan, do not give up! Never back down! You must scream and scream with all your might for the entire duration of the car-seat-bound trip. While you may be uncomfortable yourself, don't forget that your parents, too, are extremely uncomfortable, as they are trapped in the car WITH you. Do your best screaming while someone is trying to merge into traffic.

The most important thing is to never stop. You may find yourself exhausted and in need of a nap, but you should not sleep. You must scream. If possible, try to scream so much that you throw up -- this has great results, and usually gets you out of the car seat for a while. You can do this several times on one trip to really maximize the fun.

If the final destination of the trip is a hotel room, you have a real treat ahead of you. Mom and Dad will be desperate to get you to stop screaming in the hotel room, so you can get them to bounce you for a long long long time. Aside from crying, bouncing is one of the best ways to fully enjoy your babyhood, so be sure to take advantage of the crying-to-bouncing trade off. It's totally worth it.

I hope that my almost 5-months of experience can help other babies to fully enjoy crying. Why would anyone ever stop? I'm sure I never will!



I think that's Lucy's first post to the blog!

I've also asked permission from our lovely friend Susan to post a response written by her son, Leone. Thanks for sharing! I know our readers will enjoy this!

A Response by Leone Kirtley Filipo

I also concur with the thoughtful comments of my colleagues Mr. Henson and Ms. Bridge as to the supreme benefits of crying. Yet, as an elder statesman of sorts at the ripe old age of one, I find myself compelled to enter into the dialogue and to share the lessons that come with age.

Whereas I once cried for the sheer joy of it, in my many months I have come to know true heartache. I weep for the tiny, chewy buttons on the remote, so cruelly ripped from my grasp. I keen for the indignity of the animal print bib forced upon me, ruining any chance of self-respect. I wail for the green beans, the squash, and the peas shoveled into my mouth with utter disregard for my delicate palate. I sob that I am not allowed to play in my own poo, and I whimper for the many books not chewed to bits.

I tell you this not to frighten but to warn you, and to encourage you to never give up your right to cry. When those elder, shadowy figures have disappeared into the calm darkness, give them just a few minutes to miss you, to wonder about you, and then release all that rage and hope and fear with a piercing howl and remember the delight of being young.