The Glass House

Posted in Boston, Brooklyn, Things to see by

This past weekend, we visited the glass house–as in Philip Johnson’s 1949 little gem, not Billy Joel’s album circa sixth grade. Johnson lived to be nearly 100 (he died in 2005) and the house and its grounds have just been opened to tours this year by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Located in New Canaan, CT, it’s a great architectural field trip from New York, or if you happen to be heading that way.

Johnson’s other building experiments on the property aren’t as impressive–but he was a friend of Frank Stella, and so am I (figuratively, in my case).

Although the McMansions of the super rich have mostly devoured the town, there are still about 90 modern houses sprinkled about. Visit the Irwin Pool House (designed in 1960 by Landis Gores) in lovely Irwin Park for a complete survey of the modern homes in the area.

The Harvard Five in New Canaan: Midcentury Modern Houses by Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes, and Others

Pink and green quilt

Posted in Stuff to make by

I’ve been working away at decorating my daughter’s new bedroom. It’s slow going, but so far we’ve managed to paint her walls green (Limonata!) and I made her this pink and green quilt.

I was inspired by these APC quilts, which are based on traditional Amish patterns.  I liked how the APC quilts used delicate patterns within the bold geometric shapes. I ordered the fabric online, and I missed testing the fabrics against one another other person. I was a little worried that the brown wasn’t quite right, but I think it works. Check out the gorgeous green (Kona Apple Green) on the back. I just love that green!

Quilt show at the Dudley Farm

Posted in Gainesville, Sewing, Stuff to make, Things to see by

The Dudley Farm, a historic Florida homestead and working farm, hosted a quilt show this weekend. Ladies in period costume–prairie bonnets!–showed off some antique quilts. There were some quilts for sale and “quilted apparel”–questionable at best. Still, these quilts looked so pretty hanging on the line, and we had a good time visiting the animals, pumping water, and playing catch with horse chestnuts.

LEGO Birthday Party!

Posted in Free Tutorials, Holiday, Kids, Stuff to make by

If you’re wondering (in a few years), why I can’t afford to send my kids to college, the answer is simple.

We’ve drained the college fund to buy LEGOs.

But as they say, carpe diem. Seize the LEGOs. This is Zeke’s 6th birthday–but it’s his second LEGO-themed birthday party. And for the occasion, my mom baked LEGO cake!

For the record, it took her 7 hours. But she’s sharing her secrets on how to make a LEGO Birthday Cake here–so it won’t take you nearly as long. She also found help from Betty Crocker.

Other party highlights:

1. Pin the Button on the LEGO. By “button,” I mean those little knobby connectors on a LEGO brick. (Over the years I’ve learned that variations on Pin the Tail are always a party favorite. I’m not sure why!)

2. Wacky, Crazy LEGO contest. All contestants get a bowl of mixed-up LEGO pieces and they have to build something strange, weird and wonderful with them. We gave out minifigure surprise packs for prizes.

(Zeke is working diligently. Notice other revelers behind him are more intent on throwing balloons around.)

3. Goody bags. Candy LEGOs, free LEGO magazines (you can pick up a bunch at a LEGO store), and some grab-bag LEGOs (At the LEGO store near us, you can buy a big ziploc bag with an assortment of pieces for $7–a great deal.) Throw in some granola bars and sugarless gum for good measure.

Lovely camper art!

Posted in Paper, Stuff to make by

Meg, this one’s for you! I read about The Handmade Home’s free illustrations on How About Orange (how about that I love everything on this blog…). These campers reminded me of your ambition to freezer stencil a camper.

Some of the other freebies are very appealing, too.

(Total aside, while perusing the recommended tags for this post, including “treehugger”–nice–I see “campervan.” And remember that once upon a time I loved Camper Van Beethoven.)