fix-it friday #4

 Welcome to the fourth editon of celebrating our repairs on Friday! I loved all of your stories from last week. Clothes mending is something so many of us enjoy. Today's project isn't quite a repair, but I was sick for most of the week so I'm cutting myself some slack. We have an old house with very few closets. Storage is always on my mind. At the top of our stairs is a tiny alcove where we used to keep a dresser with linens. The dresser took up more space than it gave, and it eventually moved to my son's bedroom while he awaited his broken drawer to be fixed. Linens lived in limbo in several laundry baskets. You can imagine how neatly folded our towels remained. NOT! The fix: alcoves lend themselves beautifully to built in shelves. F.I.F. (fix-it Friday) gave me the nudge to finally get it done. I took measurements of how deep and long the shelves could be. Then I determined how many would fit nicely: 5. We didn't have enough scrap wood in the garage, so we all went on an expedition to Lowe's. With the help of a very enthusiastic employee, we got our supplies and had them cut to my specifications.The plan was to rest each shelf  on top of  thick wooden shims.

So easy. I'm not a carpenter, but I'm fairly comfortable with a drill. When we got home, the reality of our slanty, tilty old farmhouse taught me that I should have measured each spot, because nothing is even in our house. While I got frustrated with our four out of five boards that were too big, my husband volunteered to cut them to size and finish it up.

Just a little credit for my sweet, silent (and so handsome)partner... he did an amazing job!


I will finish it off with my specialty: stenciled curtains.

A suspension rod also is quite happy in an alcove. Don't worry, I'll straighten it out when I hang them. And yes, that is original wallpaper, with a little peeling that will be hidden by towels and said curtain.

Not sure how old it is, but this part of our house dates to 1850. I can't bare to take it down.

Can't wait to hear what little mends and handy repairs you've been up to!

p.s. there have been quite a few requests for a(n) F.I.F button... you know, to put up in your own sidebar. I 've never done a button before, but gave it a try...let me know if it works and please link back to maya*made, thanks friends! 
 

one more thing!

Have I told you (recently) how excited I am to be teaching at Squam Art Workshops again!? I'm thrilled that all of my classes have filled, and am now in the count-down phase. The goal for May is to make a few new printing projects to share as examples of what can be done with stenciling.

My classes always begin with simple silhouettes before we increase in complexity. I thought I'd embellish one of my favorite tunics (brought back from India by my mother).  I look a little silly/self-conscious with my hands on my hips, but I don't know if I will ever get comfortable taking pictures with a timer! And yes, there's that new bag again... this was a photo for the shop listing.


 I'll be sharing new one of a kind prints through-out next month. The theme will be botanical and if you have any favorite leaves/flowers,  I'd love your input.

shop update today

 I started cutting and sewing quite passionately last week, but my high hopes for lots of buckets will have to wait. Today, I bring you my new larger peg bag (just like the give-away one)... to bring ease to wash day. Each one is as unique as the coffee sack that it was repurposed from.


New root sacks. Thanks for all who requested more and then patiently waited...


And finally, a new coffee sack handbag. I'm working on a bunch of new burlap designs. This is one of the first that made it past the prototype phase... and I love it!


They'll all be in the shop at 1pm EST today. Now, go get outside if it's as beautiful where you are as it is out my window. I'll be joining you shortly:)

helloooo!

A little bird told me that it was time to check in! I wasn't sure if I would be up for having a shop update as planned tomorrow, but I started to feel better this afternoon. After days of being wiped, I wrapped up in a warm coat and stepped out into the golden light that appears right before dusk. It's my favorite time of day to take photographs, and who should appear on the honey locust tree? This fine fellow.


I thanked him profusely for sitting still and thought I heard him chirp that it was time to come back... time to get in gear. So please stop in tomorrow for a some pictures of what I'll be putting on the shelves in my shop.

asparagus and goat cheese tart

 I love savory pies, tarts, galettes, turnovers, quiches... anything with a little crust wrapped around a lot of flavor. This is a recipe to play with and adjust to what's in your garden/market and pantry. Please be brave and experiment. The most important part is an easy crust that you don't have to roll out. Patting a crust into a tart pan just make this feel less fussy, and I'm more apt to make it spontaneously. There were two variations the other night: one with goat cheese and a light custard, the other minus the custard and featuring gruyere. Both were delicious!

No Roll Crust

1 1/2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 a stick of cold butter cut into small pieces
3 tablespoons of cold water
-Throw it all into a food processor and blend until it starts to stick together.
-Take small handfuls and pat it into a tart pan until you've evenly dispersed a thin layer.

Goat Cheese and Asparagus Tart

goat cheese/chevre (a couple of ounces, a little goes a long way)
scallions (caramelized onions is also delish)
sliced and slightly parboiled potatoes
1 cup of milk
2 eggs
bunch of asparagus with ends sliced off

-preheat oven to 375 degrees
-pat your crust evenly into tart pan
-cover bottom with potato slices
-dot on goat cheese to taste
-artfully lay out asparagus
-sprinkle on chives
-combine milk and eggs with some salt and pepper to taste.
-Set tart pan on cookie sheet
-pour milk mixture over the tart
-bake until golden and firm in the center

Another option for non goat cheese eaters is to add a few more potatoes,  leave out the custard and substitute the chevre with gruyere. Either variety makes a delicious little supper! We ate them along side sauteed dandelion greens that we had just gathered. A little pre-dinner foraging always adds a bit of magic to the meal.

announcements

 Good morning friends! I tiptoed down the stairs this wet Sunday morning to sip my coffee and spend a few moments with you.Even with the dark skies, it looks lush and verdant out my window. Tempted me out  in my boots to share the drenched lilacs.

 I absolutely loved all of you comments on our last give-away. So many of you already are making a wonderful effort to live more lightly, and lots of inspired folks about to make some changes.Woot!

Congratulations to : Adrienne Brown-David!
" That clothespin bag is just begging to be on my line awaiting cloth diapers fresh from the wash!"
 
Please e-mail me with your mailing info, Adrienne so we can get it on the line this week!

 Your response to that peg bag was enthusiastic enough to get me sewing up some more bags for my shop. I will have an update on Thursday, April 29th with lots of  wonderful recycled burlap items: bucket, peg bags, root sacks, and a couple of fresh designs I'm excited about.

Also in the news: I have been asked to speak at our library in mid May. It's very exciting to be recognized locally, and I'm hoping to meet a few readers that live near by. Here's the little blurb the library director put together for their newsletter.
 
Meaningful Merchandizing: Bringing your Art and Ideas to the Online Marketplace.
Maya Donenfeld discusses how to promote, maintain and develop an online business with homemade projects.  For more information on Maya, see her website www.mayamade.com. Sponsored by the Ulysses Philomathic Library and the Trumansburg Area Chamber of Commerce. May 13th 7pm.

Should be fun! Hope to see some of you there!

fix-it friday #3

 This week seemed to have an inordinate amount of BIG fixes. The kinds where you have to bring in the experts... electricians, contractors, etc. I had moments of feeling overwhelmed by the "when it rains, it pours" syndrome.  To keep my wits about me, I turned to my mending basket. Ripped seams, missing buttons, torn pockets?  These are fixes I'm familiar and comfortable with. Finding a sunny spot, I curled up with my neglected basket and felt like I was doing something worthwhile... as small as it might be.

Do you have a mending basket that sits around gathering dust, too? It felt so good to resurrect some favorite clothing items for everyone in my family. A fixed seam on my daughter's favorite pajamas says "I love you" without words. My son's ripped backpack strap that finally got repositioned spoke of caring for him and his books... quietly.  My husband's newly attached buttons were like little kisses on his sleeve. You may think I'm a silly romantic... and you're right. I believe that mending clothing  holds an emotional component that is very different than unclogging drains.

 I gathered some helpful links:
-how to sew by hand video: clear and useful
-10 clothing fixes that everyone should know
-how to mend it.com potentially interesting for all kinds of repairs. Check out the clothing section for basic instructions.

And here are some of my favorite mended items in the world: Boro- patched and repaired textiles of old Japan found at SRI Threads in Brooklyn.

 I'd love to hear about your fixes: big or little... What have you given a new life to recently?

Have a great weekend and do check out the comments in yesterday's Earth Day give-away. You all provided fantastic ideas for greening up your life!

Earth Day Give-Away!

 There are many shades of green along the spectrum of eco-awareness. Every day we have many opportunities to choose a path of lessening our impact on the planet. Each choice we make to take care of our HOME  is valuable  and  significant. Even within our comfort zone, I bet there are more things we can each do to make a smaller footprint. I encourage you to name those things  (quietly to yourself is just fine) and even stretch beyond that comfortable place, and look for new ways to go green beyond Earth Day...

I am offering a give-away to honor those choices small and big that we already make... and to celebrate the new earth conscious choices we hope to embrace in the near future. I'd be delighted to hear about them, but it's not mandatory... all comments will be entered into the drawing.

-a clothespin bag to bring joy and intention to the lovely act of clothesline drying... 

-a thick and absorbent dish towel that will inspire you to put those paper towels aside...

-a hand printed notebook to write down your thoughts and dreams on 100% recycled paper

Please leave a comment between now and Saturday at 5pm EST. I'll happily ship any where on the planet, so international friends are quite welcome!  The winner will be announced on Sunday Morning. 

Happy Earth Day... today and every day!

more spring thoughts

Beautiful weather means I get to cut burlap outside. Dissecting multiple coffee sacks is messy business for floors, but perfect for outdoors. Stray beans hide in the grass, strands of jute blow away in the breeze and hopefully find their way into little spring nests.

Pandora's great to listen to, but nothing beats birdsong for a soundtrack.  My family and I are spending every moment we can outside. Even inside projects and jobs  are getting retrofitted so that they can travel out back. There is nothing quite like spring in the country, and I'm reveling in the newness of it all.

 It's as if I truly forget how magnificent spring is each year.  I'm just as surprised and awestruck, as if I'm seeing the blossoms unfold or witnessing the birth of leaves all for the first time... I find myself asking "are there always so many robins? does it usually smell this sweet? have you ever seen such gorgeous flowers?". There is a sense of deja vu... I know I've asked these questions in prior Aprils and Mays. The seasons are marvelous. Our earth is miraculous. Hope you're enjoying... wherever you are on the planet!

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p.s.  Alyssa, of Keep it Real  and Aurora Shoe Co., is holding a phenomenal Earth Day give-away of a pair of beautiful shoes from our lovely sponsor, the one and only Aurora Shoe Company. Leave her a comment with a sustainable change you plan to make and get a chance to walk away in a pair of your choosing.

diy: the hanger hook

 I love giving everyday objects new purpose. I get especially excited if those said objects are being overlooked... or worse, headed for the garbage! Wire hangers seem to multiply in closets.I think they're a bit ugly compared to vintage wooden ones, but I'm totally enamored with their utility and ability to be manipulated. I made some into hooks for my work space last year and have found them to be invaluable. It seemed so obvious that I didn't even think about sharing them. Recently a friend came over and reminded me how we all love the obvious being pointed out. So, here's a little trick for creating some handy hooks, some stupendous storage, and dandy dispensers out of the obvious!

The Hanger Hook

 Start with a common wire hanger... bet it's sitting in your closet right now. Go grab a couple, this is fun...

 Follow the steps pictured. Use your hands to manipulate the wire. I know how strong you are! You can do it. Work gloves might make it more comfortable, but aren't necessary.

The final step, below, requires turning the top hanging  hook in the opposite direction. Use pliers if you are struggling.

 Now you have a great new way to hang stuff. I've hung baskets, string, oversized spools, large bags filled with buckets: these hooks are tough and useful. They work beautifully on peg board, as seen in the first photo... just the perfect size for the little holes! They hang over shelves and dowels... here they are in action:

 They work really well with my ikea shelving that has adjustable mounting holes... and play double duty to keep the curtains closed (to hide those stacks of sacks) and keep some twill tape on hand:

So there you have it. I'm sure you can come up with a dozen other places to hang these. Do let me know, I love your ideas!

sunday sewing

 Yesterday, I found myself having an impromptu sewing session with my daughter. The stars must have been in alignment because both of our projects turned out beautifully... or maybe it was all of the good thoughts and kind words (we've had in our home) creating positive outcomes everywhere.

 Needless to say, may I introduce our new friend Lucie! Always in love with Erika Harbert's projects, I purchased the new screen printed doll kit from her shop (mikodesign). Lucie was super easy to cut and sew... and very fun to stuff! I'm as in love with her as my daughter is... maybe more because I can appreciate her sweet sophistication. Can't get enough of that charcoal polka dot shirt. Included are patterns for some clothing: skirt, coat, unders, and more... I'm so excited to make a little red woolen coat, but I'll wait for colder months. Erika had slipped in a little piece of  her Parisian motif fabric. It became a lace trimmed A-line skirt. Be still my heart! I think I'm (I mean we) are going to have too much fun dressing her.

We took her for a walk in the tulips...

 She even helped us get ready for lunch!

Then Lucie (who's name has already changed several times!) assisted my daughter in directing me how to make a new pair of pants that were just so.

 Without a pattern, just their guidance and my daughter's steady foot on the sewing machine pedal, we made a new pair of legging/pants for my orange/pink lover... who's growing too quickly out of all of her clothes.

Now, that's happy sewing. Have a great start to the week, friends!

unplug your tv

Just a little reminder that Monday begins the annual TV Turnoff week. I don't usually think about it because our tiny television sits inside a cabinet for an occasional movie. After reading this wonderful post by Sarah Baldwin (via SouleMama), I recalled all of our discussions around parenting without television. That was almost 12 years ago, and we've never looked back. If you find that TV plays a regular role in your life, whether you have children or not, I encourage you to read Sarah's story and follow some of her great links.

cecilia murgel: illustrator

If you read the wind post a few days ago, I'm sure this illustration by Brazilian artist, Cecilia Murgel, will be instantly recognizable. I was dumbfounded and delighted when I discovered it while looking through my flickr contacts yesterday and had to show you!  I haven't been spending as much time on flickr as I used to... and oh, do I miss the inspiration. Cecilia certainly knows how to use flickr to its fullest. I only discovered her on Friday. A little stumble here, a little turn there and I found myself  swimming in her photostream of gorgeous and evocative illustrations. They seem to be predominantly portraits created in her moleskine, and often from one of her  flickr contacts. She always mentions the source and links to the photo where she drew her inspiration. After commenting and faving some, I had no idea that the next day my windy daughter would be her subject. Isn't it wonderful!? Doesn't it capture the mood perfectly? I urge you to go check out her work... it's all amazing. I find her ability to capture expressions, as well as wonderful clothing details to be quite striking in all her drawings. I also love how many of them reach across the page. I so admire her work and wish that my Portuguese was better, so I could tell her so properly. For now: Obrigada Cecilia!

fix-it friday #2

 

It took me a while, but here I am! Good morning and hello Friday! To understand why an entire day of the week is now dedicated to posting about fixing things read this first post and follow through the FIF archives. Friday has taken on such new meaning for me. I love hearing your responses and what you've been mending and repairing! In fact, I'd really like to feature one of your fixes or highlight a repair skill you'd like to share. Please e-mail me at mayaluna(at) yahoo(dot) com with submissions.

I have two projects to highlight today. I'm finding that I'm fixing stuff all week long with a new awareness and intentionality. You, too? Some of it includes the little mending I've always done, but I'm also discovering that I have a new incentive to not let broken things sit around. My children know about our Friday plan, and I feel accountable in an all new way, as I model my "handiness" to them. In fact, my son is contributing to today's post with his revamping of an old scooter. Our fine weather brought out our spring play equipment. We have two old razor edge scooters from garage sales. One was for my son and the other an extra for a friend, which my daughter decided she was BIG enough for this year. It was rusted shut and I heard my son say "sorry it's broken, " as if that was that. Her response of a trembling lip and a plea for  a NEW one were all it took to run in for the magic oil.

 A little spray of WD40 here and there on every bolt, was all it took. My son was amazed at his own ability to fix it.  Next, he wanted to oil every stuck and/or squeaky thing around. Go to it!

There were no grips on the handlebars, so we made some ourselves with craft foam scraps and gorilla glue. My son secured them with rubber bands while it dried. A little test drive later on that day, proved to be a success and my daughter has one more reason to admire her brother... he has one more reason to feel proud. Simple, but this is the good stuff (in life).

Next FIX: Lazy Drain

 Oh , the woes of our bathtub drain saga. We have a chronic slow drain in our tub due to faulty piping installation by the previous owners. This means that we have to be vigilant about keeping soap scum and hair out of the drain. We are not the vigilant type. This has resulted in trying various drain de-cloggers over the years. Most of the common "drain busters" are highly toxic and dangerous to you, your pipes and the environment. We've tried every kind of earth friendly product and haven't been that successful, sadly. We have had luck with a snake/auger, but it's hassle and messy. I do, however, recommend having one in your repair kit, if you have frequent clogged drains. After reading through various repair forums, I decided to revisit an old trick with a new recipe. A simple vinegar and baking soda solution is recommended for weekly maintenance. Since we hadn't been doing it regularly, I came up with something a little more intense, much to my children's excitement... we basically sent a volcano down our drain... repeatedly! Here's what to do:

Shake in 1/2 a cup of soda. Get a rag ready. Pour 1/2 a cup or a little more of vinegar on top and quickly stuff a rag into the drain. Pouring in the vinegar is the fun part, so invite your children do it, if possible. Let it sit for an hour. Pour a kettle or hot water over it. I tried this once and the drainage improved only slightly. I almost gave up, but repeated it two more times and hoooray!! We ended up pouring volcanoes down every drain in the house! Happy kids! Happy Drains! Happy family!

Simple solutions. Working together. Modeling self-reliance. Feeling Good!  

What have you been fixing lately?