Newborn Nels

happy birthday, Nels

dailies

Nels David Hogaboom

a birth story

Born at home to mom Kelly, dad Ralph, and sibling Phoenix
1:20 AM Wednesday April 7, 2004
8 pounds 7 ounces
21 inches long

April 6th, 9 AM – is it or isn’t it?

A couple hours after I wake up on Tuesday I’m having mild contractions that are only a tiny bit more intense than the Braxton Hicks contractions I’d had throughout the last half of my pregnancy. They are only slightly painful and certainly not too intense. Nevertheless, they are somewhat distracting and never truly subside, coming anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes apart. Ralph senses things are going to go into motion and comes home at noon, starting his two weeks off of work. He calls my mom at about 3 PM and tells her to head up to see us (she leaves about 5 PM). At this point I am hopeful of labor but also feeling somewhat silly at the thought I might be treating everyone to a false alarm. My mom arrives at about 9 PM and she and Ralph start writing down my contractions, calling midwives, and cleaning the house up a bit.

Kelly Hogaboom, Pyjamas Livestream

“seams legit” sewing lesson: pyjama pants!

sew-a-longsewing journal

It’s April, and spring is well underway here in the Pacific Northwest! We had a lovely time sewing a bralette in March; and this month we are stepping into woven fabrics (literally) by creating a simple pair of pyjama pants with pockets!

Let’s talk about this month’s project!

Whether or not we know it at the time, most of us first start our sewing exploits with woven fabrics. They are stable, they are more generally available (many of us small-town stitchers get our start by using the quilting cottons from local shops) and for a variety of reasons they are used in more beginner projects and classes.

This has been changing of late, though. With the advent of more independent sewing pattern designers we are seeing far more patterns designed for knit fabrics. This has led to a larger baseline knowledge of knit-sewing in the DIY community, as well as many knit custom fabric suppliers – a wonderful change indeed!

MY LATEST TUTORIAL

vegan tailor, clean finish inseam pocket

tutorial: clean finish inseam pockets

sewing journal

I can't be the only person irritated by the fairly untidy nature of inseam pocket finishes. Often we are lining garments, and in that case there is no need for pocket finishes to be perfect. But for other articles of clothing - like hoodies or simple pants - these pocket finishes will be visible when the garment is inside-out. I fiddled around and finally came up with a very q ...

WRITINGS

one-legged balance

writings

Any engaged, active parent will tell you that children and teens go through stages we aren't ready for. I'm not talking about childhood milestones - losing their baby teeth, learning to walk, mastering the ability to read - landmarks which are fairly universal and usually bring much delight in those whirlwind years of early parenting. I am talking about those changes that ...

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