- Dressing Busy Board
- Hardware Busy Board
So, if I were you, here's what I'd probably be thinking right about now: "That is the dressing busy board she's been talking about (more like complaining about) needing to finish? That's what she needed more than a month to complete? Really?!?" And I don't blame you if you are indeed thinking something along those lines. I mean, it's a cute little busy board and all, but it's a little pathetic that it took me one-tenth of a year to create. In my defense, I refer you to my previous post about my desperate need for more hours in each day. In my further defense, there's the post preceding that one, in which I detailed the horrid illness from which I've only recently recovered. OK, so busy life and sickness aside, it's still pretty silly that I couldn't knock out the dressing busy board in a few days. Here's the cold, hard truth: the busy board took me so long to make because I am the exact opposite of a sewing phenom. It's a good thing I wasn't born in the 19th century because no one would have wanted to marry a sewing dunce like me. I would have been hard-pressed to make myself a shift to wear, let alone put together a workable wardrobe for my family. And embroidery? Forget about it. Now, my mom and my aunt are needlework fanatics. (I think a passion for needlework might be the only thing they--sisters, three years apart in age--have in common.) My aunt volunteers in a needlework shop several days a week, and my mom cannot go anywhere (and I mean anywhere--even just to the local sports bar to grab a beer and some fries) without taking along one needlepoint project or another. My mom is such a needlepoint enthusiast that she's actually convinced several of her male business colleagues (you know the type: guys you'd find sitting a few stools away from George Clooney's Up in the Air character in a random hotel bar) to pick up the hobby themselves. And not only are my mother and aunt fabulous sewers (needleworkers?), but my husband's mother and sisters are also absolutely awesome with needle and thread. By all accounts, I should be able to sew with my eyes shut. Well, not so much. I know the stitches on the dressing busy board look like I sewed them with my eyes shut, but sadly my eyes were open and even so those stitches are the best of repeated (and I mean repeated) attempts. In any case, it's done, and I'm inordinately proud of it. Making things is so much more satisfying than buying things.
Parker had been asking about his yellow board, and when it would be ready, for several weeks, so he and I were both excited when I unveiled it this morning. (OK, I didn't really unveil it. Forgive me for sometimes succumbing to dramatics.) I showed him how each component worked and also talked about why we call it a dressing busy board; I pointed out the buttons on his shirt, and the snap and zipper on his shorts. I thought the zippers and buttons on the board would be the main attraction for him--and he did at first go right for the big zipper--but he ended up mostly concentrating on the buckle and the bow. It took him at least a dozen tries, but he eventually got the hang of the buckle. Most kindergarteners still struggle with tying their shoes so I would have been shocked if he'd figured out the bow in one school session. He enjoyed struggling with it, though, regardless of the final outcome. (He started asking me about tying, and how it's done, a few months ago; he loves playing with string and ribbons and shoelaces, "tying up" his toys or stuffed animals or parents.) Unlike the hardware busy board, this one will take a while for Parker to master, which will help teach him perseverance and patience. The process of making the busy board offered me ample opportunities to practice those traits; I'm happy to pass along the fun.
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