Eckenrode Family

Freshening Up the Bathroom

When I saw the curtain pattern in Seams to Me I knew from it I wanted to make a new shower curtain. Then when I saw the fabric pack that Amanda Soule put together for Sew Mama Sew I knew those would be the fabrics I would use to make it. So, pairing those patchwork pieces with a cream colored Kona cotton and I think a pretty sweet shower curtain was made.


I can’t think of a better way to start my day then looking at these wonderful fabrics. The pattern was well written and easy to follow. The only thing I found tricky was manipulating such a large piece of fabric. I did alter the pattern a bit by making my strips of fabric and the space been them a little larger because my curtain was almost twice the size as the one in the pattern.

Stop Yelling

Saw this on a blog today and I've been thinking about it all day. Something we've been working on around here is finding nicer ways to say what we need to say. I make the boys stop and think of an alternative way to say things when they sound nasty. I've also asked them to stop me if they hear me yelling, and to ask me to think of another way to say it. It feels good for this learning to go both ways.

Today when their energy started to rise to a crescendo I rolled out some butcher paper and we layed out on the kitchen floor and drew.

Soap, Some Bunnies and the Broken Down Car

The car broke down last night and in a weird way it’s the best thing that’s happened to me in awhile. I am a very schedule oriented person and having the car break down has forced us to break our schedule and get a taste of what it feels like to slow down and not go and do. Four mornings a week the kids and I usually go to the YMCA where I work out. Without a car this morning we just hung around the house and enjoyed a slow morning. This has gotten me thinking about not being so religious about working out and abandoning our schedule. Never again will my kids be at this age where we have the luxury of lazy mornings and open days and I’ve made the decision that we’re going to take advantage of this freedom and soak in these days together without rushing around. This decision feels good and right and I have a broken down car to thank for this revelation.

In crafty news I finally got around to photographing the way we packaged our gifts of soap for Christmas. I truly believe that giving a gift of handmade soap is made so much more special by the presentation.


In the past I’ve done this various ways: raffia and tags & cut fabric tied into bows. This year I used tissue paper with the labels made from cardstock printed in landscape. I think so far this has been my favorite packaging because it’s fast and easy and looks great.

Lastly, I sewed up some rabbits from the Hop Skip Jump pattern. 
Ben set this photo up and insisted that this bunny be photographed next to the bunny I knitted him this summer.

I found this pattern very well written. There is a little too much hand sewing for my taste but overall it was easy and fun to do. I see more of these bunnies being made for special gifts.

Two of these bunnies have been claimed by my boys and the third will go to my nephew on his upcoming 1^st birthday.

Earth Science

I know spring is still two months away but I felt it in the air this morning. It put me in a light mood. Then, in the afternoon a bitter coldness whipped in and with it some snowflakes. We went out in it despite the bitterness. The boys don’t seem to notice the coldness and so I try to brave it with them. I force them to wear hats and mittens and out they go in it. They play way past the point where I’m longing to be fireside.


Miles loves his new preschool and comes home full of facts that he can’t wait to share with us. On the car ride home he spills out all that he’s learned about animals and the world around him. This is new for us as he never wanted to share the details of his hours at school with me before. He can’t wait to teach me something I don’t know.
His enthusiasm for learning is palpable and is infectious. I can’t believe how much fun it is to rediscover how the world works through his eyes. The endless questions that come from him during a trip in the car can be exhausting. I remind myself that he is learning about the world around him and it’s a good thing that he is so curious. Now that I have to 2 boys that are beginning to explore and discover the world around them I can’t even keep track of the number of times I’ve found myself wishing that I’d paid more attention in Earth Science.

Winter Morning

The Blue Hat

The boy likes blue and he’s been very vocal about that fact since right after he began using words. One day at the yarn shop he picked up this yarn and insisted that from it, he would like for me to make him a hat. Uh, ok. He really didn’t have to twist my arm at all. He picked Mountain Colors hand-painted yarns and although this yarn isn’t cheap, the colors are beautiful.




I used the Kim’s Hats pattern from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. This is a great pattern and I’m using it again to make Miles a hat. You didn’t think I’d get away with making just one did you? Next one up must be red.

Who Needs Sun When You've Got Sugar?

On these days when the snow is melting and the sky is mostly gray we’ve found ways to brighten up our inside space and enjoy ourselves. Although we are dreaming of all of the possibilities of our new outdoor space we are taking time to savor this season which allows us to focus on the smaller blessings in our every day lives. People who live where the sun shines everyday don’t know what they're missing. When the sun shines here we savor it and notice the small but significant ways in which it changes our space and our moods. But, here, right now, in the gloomy weather that we’ve had, we're noticing beauty and creating beauty in the following ways:

::  Making Valentine decorations to brighten up our house.




::  Enjoying the new tea cup and tea bought at a newly discovered tea shop down the street;

::  Soaking in the bright colors of the cut flowers I can’t seem to pass up at our local market;

::  Making monkey bread from this recipe.

I mean, seriously, who needs sunshine when you have sugary, goey bread? I hardly miss it at all.

I Have a Feeling

I know that slowly some of the things I love about this 3 year old are going to pass and I’d like to document them so that I never ever forget.

Two of the beautiful things he’s said recently are:

1.       “I’m a good boy” when he means “I’m a big boy.” He’ll say, “I’m going to sleep in my good boy bed” instead of “big boy.”

2.       “Are you mean at me?” when he means to say, “Are you mad at me?” Seriously, how cute is that? It almost makes more sense the way he says it.

Recently he stopped calling his brother “Moes.” I overheard Miles helping him to pronounce it correctly and I had to hold myself back from stopping him. Oh, and his favorite song at the moment is “I Have a Feeling” by The Black Eyed Peas. He’s asked for this song repeatedly the last few days, wanting to watch it on YouTube.

"I'm going to fly in the sky mommy and I'm going to take you with me."

For Super Ben having gloves, a coat, snow pants and a hat are not enough. He must have his cape. For he is not only going sledding down the hill but he’s going to fly in the sky and the clouds and he said he’s going to take his mommy with him. I suited up in my snow gear and went out expecting to sled and fly. When you’re 3 and you believe in something, you never know what can happen. It’s a beautiful thing.

Scrapbusting Projects

Some completed projects have finally come out of the new craft room and it feels so good. After sitting in the new space and working in it I have come to appreciate having a room on the first floor where I can still be a part of what is going on and still sneak away for brief moments to work on projects. Tim set the kids computer up in there so I can listen to music or as I did for these projects podcasts of This American Life.

The rug was a project I started before the move and so it’s been a long time in process. It’s another rug from Patchwork Style worked using scraps left over from this blanket. It’s the second time I’ve done a rug from this pattern and I’ll probably do more. They are fun to do and are a great way to use up some of those ever mounting fabric scraps.
These curtains were born of a compromise between me and Tim. Originally I brought home a bold fabric from Amy Butler’s new line but he immediately vetoed it and after reconsidering it I realized he was right, the fabric I’d chosen was too modern for our kitchen. So, we both like the idea of linen curtains with a patchwork border.


Again, this was a great project to use up some of those scraps. It’s fun to look at the curtains and remember what other projects were made using those fabrics. Also, these curtains were a great lesson that the best things can sometimes be born out of a compromise.