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What do you for a 4 1/2 year old going through a rough patch who needs lots of extra hugs?
You make him something to hug.
Meet "Finny"-
There is absolutely nothing vintage or otherwise notable about Finny. He was made from a pattern in this craft book out of really soft but otherwise nothing special polar fleece on sale at JoAnns. I took Ian to school on Monday and came home and whipped this guy out in time for pick up. He's already had his share of hugs.
Someone is happy...
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In lieu of an actual label, I created some printed twill tape over the weekend to tag things I'm making. A very low-tech solution that works for now.
For anyone wondering, the name "wise.." has no real hidden meaning. It was thought up by Peter...that's what he does...he names things... I suppose he was thinking wise.. could mean anything really, wise.. home, wise.. bag, wise.. wife??????
Oh, and I do like owls, a-l-o-t.
I finished up two bags for Emma's school auction over the weekend. These bags
will be auctioned together as one item. A bag for the Mom with the winning bid (my favorite
patchwork bag yet- more details and a better view here) and a small version for her daughter (or two for mom!)-
For the girl's bag, I jumped right in and bravely cut the lovely fabrics that Jen (my sister-in-law-best-friend) brought me from Japan. I love the way they look together, they all have a slightly cream background. I found the alphabet ribbon at Paper Zone of all places.
There's a little bit of cute hanging off each one, to help them display nicely at the auction. A strawberry on mom's bag, a little nesting doll applique on the girl's bag.
Thanks to everyone who commented about our parenting troubles, misery does love company. Peter and I had call to action over the weekend, plus having a night out with just the two of us helped tremendously. We were able to recharge, have an uninterrupted conversation, and laugh a little. Where did we go on our date night you ask? To Barnes and Noble, straight to the parenting section-
We are so armed and dangerous, we're practically experts (hee hee).
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Nothing like a little French from Japan-
This book is about French designers of children's fabrics, accessories, etc. and their children's environments. Not much pattern info, there are some very abstract softies, but its full of great inspiration. Just what I needed to inspire me to redo Emma's room. The photos are very charming, I've been studying this book like I'm going to be tested on it.
From 1 yr old Simeon's room done by his mother Delphine Ledoux (these make me want to run out and restock my stash of solid fabric)-
I can't tell how this butterfly is made, but it looks like they used those colored feathers my kids have used at school and sequins, or maybe the "holes" punched from colored paper? This is in a 9 yr old's room named Angela. How do they pink look so....livable???
I love the simplicity of this room, the patched curtain with the plain white unadorned rod. By designer Elisabeth Relin who does a French childrenswear line called wowo (my google search did not turn up an actual website).
The quilt in the below picture is so beautiful, reminds me a lot of this.
Its been a little slower creatively here this week. We are in the middle of a tough parenting stage with our youngest. Apparently 4 1/2 is the teenage years of the preschool development for some kids, and I believe we have a rebellious one on our hands. So I'm going to excuse myself and get two kids ready for an early bedtime so Peter and I can have a relaxing dinner alone. The negotiations are closing for the evening.
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I have a clogged brain...creatively speaking. I'm sure most of us experience this. At any given time, I have so many ideas that are in there, all fighting for a little of the time and concentration that I never seem to have enough of. It can be an incredibly frustrating process for me to suddenly find myself with the time, yet realizing I've forgotten most of the crucial details of what I considered a really great idea. I have no real process or system to sort through so many random creative thoughts. As a result, my reality is usually all kinds of projects at various stages all over my house. Which further clutters my thoughts. Seems to take up enormous amounts of space up there.
I tend to look at my craft room inspiration board...and this blog...as a mental dumping out of all those ideas. As I post, I am sorting out my thoughts, putting them down to share with myself as well as you, including links to things I would like to keep a record of. As I do this, I see patterns develop for where I want to go creatively. Its been such a nice feeling to free up all that mental space.
I love tear sheets and things on walls. I have no problem tearing out sheets from any magazine except Martha Stewart and Martha Stewart Kids (I have every issue ever made of these filed by year down in my craft room- there...I said it). But tearing out sheets of inspiring things do me no good unless I can see them. So, I collect them, then they get sorted and pinned up to this board. As seasons change or my interest change, tear sheets change too.
When I worked as a fabric designer, I had to come up with several different color palettes a season (men's, women's, and children's). I would tack up a long piece of white interfacing on my wall and put up zillions of Pantone colors, manipulating them, taking away and adding, until they started to make sense. I realize I still love working that way, looking up, verses looking down at a desk. I'm realizing I spend enough time looking down at my sewing machine.
So, until my newest tear sheets find their way on to my board, they can be filed in my new folders, a Christmas gift from Peter.
I share more of my inspiration board with you here.
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Molly, my dear blogging friend at Mollycoddle, has come up with a brilliant way to include our kids in our crafting/blogging adventures, the MiniSwap. If your kids enjoy sending and getting mail as much as mine do (and love seeing things they've made on your blog), you'll want to check this out. This is for US and overseas, so don't let that stop you. Think of all the fun possibilities! Go sign up now so you don't miss the fun.
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The postal service has been good to me lately. Look what I got from Laura at loloko-
A Decole house sewing box and an owl card clip for my craft room (which definitely needs a more official name in my house, anybody have any suggestions?) Look at the tiny little pin cushion! I also bought some great clips for kid's artwork. I have Hillary to thank/blame for my order, she posted about the link on a rainy day and well, let's just say I clicked myself a little sunshine. And shipping was so fast, I could practically hear the truck skidding up the street towards my house. Thank you Laura. I had to stop myself from opening the box too fast, I worried I'd get overwhelmed by the amount of cute tucked inside.
The owl is holding the set of artist trading cards I received from the very talented Claire. So lovely, so inspiring to look at. Thank you, thank you.
My new silk lettuce barrette from Alicia. Did you know that there is a sale at Posey? I jumped as soon as I read about it. I must say, Alicia wrote the book on making a small package special and pretty. Blue tissue with blue seam tape and baker's string, almost too pretty to open....almost. I can't wait to wear this in my hair with those twirly summer skirts I'm going to make myself.
Christmas surprised Emma with one of Rosa's lovely dolls. I knew it would be loved, but had no idea how much. Really!
Emma: "What kind of animal is it mom?"
Me: "I think its whatever kind you want it to be"
Emma: "Hmmmm...I think its a bear/bunny"
From then on it was love. Her name is "Mimi" and she has been almost everywhere that Emma's beloved teddy bear "Mary" has been. And that's a big deal, believe me. Rosa, your work is absolute perfection.
Sitting with "Mimi" is "Whiskers", a treat from Suzi. She suggested a trade and I jumped at goodies from Thailand. Suzi, your work is so sweet, we love this little guy. He came with lots of fun trim and buttons that I'm excited to use. Thank you Sooz!
All this cute makes me feel like I always feel after I've poured over an inspiring new craft book...like I need to go take a nap now.
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with some touches of brown...
paper snowflakes cutting with Emma from this book. These are valentines-
but Emma also made several others. These are birds-
This book is so much fun (Stephanie, Mia would love this book.)
I also had some time to work on the quilt. All of the individual squares have been made, all 36 of them (did I mention this quilt is for a king size bed?) Now I am framing each block in the cloud white fabric the pattern calls for. I was so hesitant starting this quilt. Such a big size, so many pieces, so similar in shape. Its really surprised me how forgiving this pattern is, there is such a rhythm to piecing these squares together, I love it. The blue shades I had chosen were feeling too different from each other until I started to add the white border around each square. Everything is feeling much more *right*.
I only chose 2 very subtle prints for this quilt, but I love the blue with the striated effect the best.
I felt the need to get working on this quilt, a little bird stopped by and told me that someone has checked in to see the progress on it.
Love, love, love this IPod cozy
I think Peter could definitely live with these hearts hanging around our house
Even though Thursday is still my favorite day of the week, I have a new appreciation for Friday.
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I love sailor's valentines. An obsession for me (obsession... collection, those words are interchangeable around here).
Two sailor's valentine boxes that are sitting on our mantel right now-
I love shells. We don't see many around the here, but we do manage to find some great sea glass and amazing snail shells. This is a sailor's valentine Emma made when she was 4 (the snail shells beside it we found in our garden)-
I am in love with these from Martha Stewart-
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This corner is in Ian's room. The room has a western theme, inspired by the time we've spent in Colorado. So there are lots of horseshoes, saddles, and things like that (but no guns anywhere, I made sure by painstakingly cutting around them on all the fabric I used to make this- took forever). When we found this chair at a second-hand store in town, it was one of those we must have this moments Peter and I don't normally have. This chair sees storytime every night, at times with the whole family gathered around. I don't really know how the wagon wheel arms can support the weight of my kid's little bums on them, but so far no crashes. It makes a distinctive squeak when it rocks. The stuffing is now beginning to poke out of the seat seam. We love this chair.
Ian's room has always been a sort of gathering place for us throughout the day (interesting because its the smallest room in the house), so someone is usually sitting in this chair. Emma even grabs toys from her room and brings them in this room to play side by side with Ian. There are lots of fun things to look at, like a trompe l'oeil cabin window above his loft bed. There is a train table in the middle of the room that we are all often gathered around. The room has a large western facing window which is flooded with light when its sunny. There is a little high window facing the front yard that Ian is afraid to look out of, so we made a curtain to cover it. He's relieved.
A few more details of the photo here.
I am really enjoying this group, see more here.
Thanks so much for all your gracious comments about the tea cozy. In the middle of all this rain and drip, its just what I needed.
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I finally made myself a tea cozy. I can die a happy woman, at peace that my family will not be left cozy-less.
I used blue wool felt, with felt applique for the hedgehog and mushrooms. The binding around the bottom is made from the same fabric as the pillows.
The linen napkins in the top photo I found in a second hand store last week for next to nothing, a set of 6 in perfect shape, I love their lipsticky pinkish red color. The china is our wedding china. Its the only thing we registered for back close to 12 years ago that I still like. The band around the edges is supposed to be a knitted cable pattern. Click the photo to enlarge it, it looks surprisingly sweatery.
So come on over for tea.
While we're sitting and chatting, I'll tell you I was just tagged by Alicia. I've never done one of these, but I'll give it a whirl.
4 jobs I've had:
* Assistant store manager of an Esprit shoe store.
* Knit fabric designer for Burlington Industries.
* Merchandiser for Marithe and Francois Girbaud.
* Mens designer for a division of Nautica.
4 movies I'd watch over and over:
* "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles"
* "The Sound of Music"
* "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation"
* "The Decline of the Western Civilization"
4 places I've lived:
Only 3, 2 different cities in North Carolina and now Seattle. But I'm hardly done yet...
4 TV shows I love: (I preface by saying I'm not a loyal TV watcher)
"Project Runway"
Seinfeld
"The Colbert Report"
BBC America's "Changing Rooms"
4 places I've been on vacation:
Wilmington, NC
London, England
New York City
Disneyworld (I loved it...so sue me)
4 websites I visit daily:
Too many to ever admit, my husband reads this blog.
4 favorite foods:
cheesecake
tandorii salmon
homemade macaroni and cheese
mint chip ice cream
4 places I'd rather be:
Barcelona
Japan
a beach
someplace where its not raining
More tea?
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