When I start cutting fabric and thread my sewing machine, I’m exploring ideas while imagining the end result and hoping that it will turn out well enough. It is satisfying to create something for my home that is useful and pleasant to look at, but enjoying the process and feeling the momentum to keep making is the real excitement that I find in the work. Fabric is approachable, versatile, and an easy way for me to think about how I can find a solution and what I want to say.

Amos and I do a project after rest time almost every day. It might last 5 minutes, it might last 30. We sew, we paint, we draw or play with dough or bake something. He is most drawn to physical work and exploration — when he can touch and move things and be engaged through movement. I wanted to make our art supplies more accessible but keep them out of Eowyn’s reach since she’s not quite ready for free access to scissors and markers. I envisioned a shelf above the kid sized project table  but I didn’t know what or where to find it so, once again, fabric was my answer.

I am enjoying the flexibility that having a not perfectly finished home allows. The list of projects to do someday keeps getting longer but in the mean time we can try things, like chalkboard paint in the kitchen and an orange front door without investing too much or worrying that it won’t be just right. It is fun to experiment. That is my goal with our project time — to have fun, practice making, and not worry too much. It doesn’t always go smoothly but I keep trying. I also hope that Amos will feel free to take out the art supplies and use them when he wants. He most often grabs scissors (for trimming grass and bushes), tape (for paper but also repairing broken sticks), or the hole punch (for the joy of punching holes). Eowyn is growing into toddlerhood and often takes the play dough and crayons out of the closet because why do one at a time when you can do both? Then she climbs on the table proving that the art supplies are not really out of reach.