water – kelly hogaboom

pebbles and periwinkles

July 1, 2014

by kellyhogaboom dailies

“Did you see that rock? It was propped up – suspiciously,” my son tells me, in a conspiratorial tone. He reaches down to secure the recalcitrant stone – it’s about an inch oval, a quarter-inch thick. I am not sure what was so suspicious about it. But he is moving on. Then – a winged, red-eyed insect struggling in the water. The kids quickly come to its aid, fishing it out using a leaf and laying it on a sun-warmed rock.

“We need to make a sign,” Nels says, “‘Do Not Disturb This Butterfly’.” Phoenix and I share a quick glance. “Nels, no one is going to come along any time soon. The butterfly will dry off and fly away soon,” I tell my son. Still tenderhearted!

Goodbye, winged insect! And – good luck.

It got a little over ninety in town, so getting out to the river was just right. Somebody was scared of wading in the current, but that somebody got over it. Very proud, I am!

We borrowed my mother’s truck; my car is still not running.

“Patience, persistance, & prayer”, as I always say in my boring-ass way.

Below: a river panorama; quite lovely viewed large:

keeping cool in the heat

May 10, 2013

by kellyhogaboom dailies

A friend once told me, “The kind of peace that passes human understanding… and that may be your children.” She meant my children too, what she knew of them. I was touched at the time and I also knew there was a possibility of truth to this prophecy. This concept was with me today while I watched these little ones cope with a lot of time in the car, with a few car mishaps and money mishaps, with a lengthy shopping trip to a large fabric store, with more time in the car, more delays and mishaps. At one point in the boiling heat we finally made it to an outdoor pool after first getting lost – only to discover it was closed. Phoenix collected herself in the car and said, “OK – let’s try another.” Nels knelt down quietly in the grass and picked a small bunch of shaggy daisy and brought it to me, then we were back on the road.

Facing the I-5 freeway below us my daughter says, “Look at all that gleaming metal.” I am aghast. Then Nels says, “At least we had an easy time getting down here.” I am immensely cheered.

Their helpfulness and good spirits are all the more humbling as I am having a rough day with heat, traffic anxiety, and the kind of odd tension I get when I’m the only grownup on a roadtrip. I am oddly tearful and touched by their optimism and helpfulness, my son puffing up his thin chest to run and find me an iced coffee, my daughter serving as the navigator on the phone and putting her little hand on mine.

Cooling off before dinner. We are three of only a handful bathers at the soaking pool. Another family enjoys their company and their conversation – and a little later, I hear this mother whispering to her son, “Isn’t it obvious they are brother and sister?”

They are really lovely in a way I am so grateful to experience.

the sun, & the freckles, are emerging

May 9, 2013

by kellyhogaboom dailies

splish splash

January 29, 2013

by kellyhogaboom sewing journal

Swimming, today. Below: Nels is a “shark”, scooting along his bum with a (hand-) fin out the water, to get me. I waited until he got close enough I could kiss him.

A new suit. I started it yesterday and finished it up this morning; I am featuring a few tips on sewing swimsuits in my next zine (February 2013). So I won’t chat much about methodology here.

I am pretty pleased with how this garment turned out. I got to make length alterations for my daughter’s very tall, weasel-belly body. As you can see here, making length alterations is not super-straightforward with all those curves in there.

But far better than my relative success at a challenging project – my daughter loved the suit and praised it vociferously. She put it on immediately and I grabbed a photo. She wore it around the house all morning.

When we went swimming she showed it to the lifeguard, telling the woman her mother made it.

EAGLE-EYED VIEWERS WILL NOTE I lined those stripes up LIKE A SIR

The suit is fully-lined. I sewed via a narrow zig-zag and finished on my serger:

After this garment with its fussy little pieces, typical – and simpler – suit designs will be easy! I’m offering custom builds of the suit on Etsy, tailored especially for those who need a performance suit and don’t want off-the-rack sameness. At any rate I’ll offer them there until my mind feels bored at the thought of sewing another one. However at this point? I’m wanting to make another one right away!

This was the second project I finished on my Pfaff. I found this machine in a new sewing shop in Mason County this summer. I purchased it via layaway for about half the going price and it feels like forever I’ve waited to bring it home! There were a few hiccups in the aquisition of the machine, once because I couldn’t make a payment, around Christmastime, and then due to tech problems in the shop – the shopkeep is new to selling older equipment. However, I am grateful to be able to use a layaway program as, let’s face it, otherwise I wouldn’t be bringing home anything at all. And so far, I am very pleased with the machine’s performance and all its cool bells and whistles!

A bit about my equipment while I am on the subject. This Pfaff is the first sewing machine I’ve purchased that wasn’t under $20 from a thrift store (I have had my go-arounds with thrift store machines and, now, I am quite wary). It is an early-80s machine. My other two working machines were gifted to me; one, the Singer 15-91, was built in 1950 and originally belonged to my grandmother. The second, a Juki, came to me as a birthday present from my mother five years ago. So if you’ve lost count, I can tell you I am doing my work on three sewing machines and one serger (a White 534 superlock I purchased on eBay for $100); I also have two machines I don’t work with, both 1950s Singers, one a treadle. They each need a tune-up so they’re waiting until I can afford one. I am actually willing to give up the treadle, but haven’t put any time and effort into finding it a good home.

My long-winded point is: if you’re a new crafter or want to learn to sew, you do not need a $2K (or more!) machine nor a bunch of fancy shit to sew amazing stuff. But the truth is, time and experience provide the right equipment; so does community and family support. Many years’ at this craft has yielded friends and family who provide encouragement, equipment, and materials –

And for those parties, I am so grateful.