SouleMama

a shop update!

The Shop is stocked! Phew (and my apologies again for yesterday's miss)! This will be my last update until a holiday one in late November. But today, you'll find corduroy smocks in two sizes - Small (18 mos to 3 yrs) and Large (3 to 6 yrs). Each is embroidered with a bit of autumn on linen - no two are alike, of course. 

And you'll also find a new project for me - linen quilts! One in a child's take-along size, and one bigger - 'grownup' if you will - version. I can't tell you the fun I've had putting these together - the embroidery and quilting on each was really a delight. And I must say it was fun to work on a project to sell that spanned many days of work, during which time I let my imagination run wild dreaming up where they would be and where they would go on their adventure once made. Seaside picnics, mountain hikes, cozy winter couch snuggles, and so very much more. Me? I think a good fall morning cup of coffee and read with one would be just heavenly. Well, it was. Quite heavenly.

while the quilt is being made...

Adelaide did not get her new quilt in time for her birthday as I had planned all summer. Though it does sit in my studio in a pile - pieced, backing cut, batting sized and binding made. (And we're not going to talk more about that except for two things: 1. Let's change the Summer of Quilts to the Year of Quilts, shall we? Yes. and 2. I quite literally dream of a long-arm quilting machine magically appearing in my studio, though it hasn't happened yet. Enough about that.)

So no quilt, but a beautiful bed. A beautiful old, $8 church rummage sale find. And she adores her very own bed to pieces. Adores it - it's a lovely place to play. And sleep? Well, sometimes. But we're in no rush for that. So far, she's made no mention of the fact that it's missing a Mama-made quilt. Phew. The gorgeous vintage pink chenille spread - a gift to me on my own birthday from a dear friend - was perfectly timed and is perfectly placed on Adelaide's bed until her quilt arrives.

So that there would be something handmade on her bed while her quilt is in progress, I made her this little quilted log cabin pillow with fabrics from her soon-to-come quilt. I used the log cabin pillow tutorial from Dacia Ray (thank you!) as a guide.

After finishing hers, I dug around the monstrous pile of unfinished projects to unearth this bit of log cabin pillow - started this spring as a precursor to Ezra's quilt. So I quickly finished this one up for him too (which will be a lot less awkwardly squished when I get the proper size pillow form in there).

And now...to the quilt...

the birthday dress

I fear being redundant, and therefore sounding insincere in saying this. BUT...I have been so completely touched and moved by the emails and words of kindness I've received in days' past, particularly from those of you who were moved to write after hearing the CraftSanity podcast. What I've received from you is nothing short of beautiful and lovely and amazing, and I thank you -rather inadequately, I know - but I do so thank you. I wish for a way to respond in kind to your energy sent my way, but I do fear that time will not allow for that to happen. Email is a bit of a struggle I have at the moment, and so I just hope for understanding about that. Thanks, friends.

Having our birthdays so close together means that the celebration rolls into a four-day-long party. So much fun. I still cannot believe that my little baby girl is two. Really, now, two?! But she is - and she is so very clear about that fact. My sweet, strong babe. I'm going to stop myself from going on (and on) about her fabulousness here, but I did write it all down in a birthday love letter to her. The baby books' may not be up to date (did I even start one for her?), but I'm hardcore about my birthday love letters.

This is Adelaide's birthday party dress, which thankfully, she loved and actually wanted to wear - even if only for a few minutes of the day. The dress is from Ottobre Autumn 2006, with Joel Dewberry and Heather Ross fabrics. It was my first Ottobre pattern try - and it went okay. The pattern-tracing was easier than I feared (find your color, find your number, stay focused), but the pattern-instructions were a bit more sparse than I thought. Around about the fourth time I ripped out the zipper and neckline, I remembered the Ottobre Yahoo Group. I did see that the group has some helpful tips for individual patterns. I also think it might be a pattern 'language' you sort of get used to - making the next one even easier. I hope, anyway, because I really do think the pattern is quite cute. (I wish I had a picture of the back - with the sweet ties at the waist, and zipper up the back. But I don't, and now the dress is covered in cream cheese frosting and in a heap of laundry. Sorry.)

When I finished I was disappointed to think I had made yet-another dress too big for her. And then her birthday morning arrived, she tried it on and oh my - she really is that big. Two years old, afterall. Oh my, oh my.

pants to skirts

The air is getting cooler, and I find myself digging deeper in the closet for the warmer, heavier clothes. I reached in last week for these pants - my favorite short pants of last fall - only to find they had succumbed to the terribly contagious and vicious shrinking disease that has taken over my entire closet now. You might remember - the favorite vintage dress? Anyway, I have no room for sassy pants in my closet, and so - snip, snip went the legs.

And out came some skirts. With a little trim at the hem, serged top, waistband casing made, elastic inserted, and voila - 30 minutes later - two new-ish, fall-ish little skirts.

One for my babe, and one for her cousin. I'm trying to teach them the fine art of matching. So far, so good.

mei tai, revisited

How about a little flashback today? A revisit to the Mei Tai I made - originally posted two years ago - before Adelaide was born (my boys look sooo little!). I did use the mei tai quite a bit when she was first born - it was super snuggly to hold her right to my chest in (I'm getting teary just thinking about it now - I can still smell that newborn hair. Two years, really?). Somewhere along the way, I fell back into my old comfort standby slings - the New Native Carrier, and well, the Maya Wrap, and then the Moby Wrap (did you know I'm a bit of a sling junkie? I am) - while the Mei Tai sat in waiting. This summer it's seen a bit of a resurgence as my little babe has discovered both her love for the rabbits on the fabric as much as her love for the back carry that this one is so good for.

The carrier has held up surprisingly well for the two years it's been in semi-frequent use, particularly considering there was no pattern but a lot of guesswork involved in making it.  Meg of Montessori by Hand now has a Mei Tai pattern available, which would have made making one much easier - I seem to remember some serious brain stretching in figuring out how to put it together.

She loves being in this - "Back! Sling!" she demands, and who can resist, really? It's such a convenient way to carry her - with arms free to carry all the other things I need to carry (um, a lot), I've been schlepping her to the beach in this, or going for walks with it, picking berries, or just getting things done around the house while she snuggles in, and sometimes falls asleep. Her new preference for the back-carry has led to this book being read daily once again - A Ride on Mother's Back - one I can nearly read from memory now, -it's been such a family favorite since Calvin was a little sling baby himself.

Papa carries her in this one too - and truth be told, it's her preferred napping place. On Papa's back - It's a pretty good spot right there. As she gets older, her time in the sling is less and less, so I'm grateful and try to savor all the little moments she asks for a sling snuggle. They're some of my favorite Mama moments.

something new

You've seen little peeks of this, but now I'm excited to share with you this project that is very near and dear to my crafting heart. It's a project that stemmed from my love of vintage patterns. I'm drawn to these for many reasons - the way in which it doesn't involve buying something new; the classic styles of the past that I love; and in general, I think - the connection to the past. I think a lot about the past of these little crispy-papered patterns - who might have made them before and when, who might have worn the results, and even who designed them. Which leads to all sorts of thought about clothing and gender and well, I told you I thought about them a lot. I'll spare you from going on (and on).

So from all that thinking came this series of little quilts - each inspired by a different vintage pattern, and each made entirely of vintage materials (right down to the thread). The foundation of each piece is an old quilt that was in disrepair beyond any other kind of use (seen in the photo above, on the 'back' of the quilt). Each piece - though quite different from one another-  has an embroidered dress as the central theme. I've been using the full spectrum of treasured vintage bits and bobs I have, including pieces of (unwearable) old dresses. I've worked on them slowly but steadily in the past few months - it's been one of those projects that sometimes has me bolting upright in the middle of the night with an idea. Love that.

This is the first of the quilts that I've framed. I'm not entirely convinced this is the framing solution I love, so I'm still thinking about other options (I'd love to use old and found large frames, but for all my thrifting luck, frames just don't seem to appear). These little quilts will be in a gallery show I'll be having in April of 2008, at Edith & Edna - to coincide with the release of the book. It's going to be a busy - and fun - spring!

all dressed up and...

Our family vacation in the woods was intended to be sandwiched between two (yes, two!) adult date nights. Both required clothes other than those I wear to the beach (what? huh? a bathing suit over my wrap around vintage skirt won't work for your black tie wedding? Hmph). It's a challenge I rose to with the help of (a visit to my girlfriend's closet and...) once again - Amy's Bend-the-Rules clutch. Is it possible to have a clutch for all seasons and all outfits? Perhaps that isn't necessary, but I appear to be headed that way anyway.

First up - the afternoon wedding clutch. I snuck into (can you 'sneak' on yourself? Hmn.) my to-be-saved-for-future-recovering-efforts stash of the yummy Joel Dewberry, and lined it with brown and cream polka dots, because polka dots are where it's at (says I, who knows nothing about where 'it's' really at). The clutch worked great - the wedding was lovely, reception fun, and much dancing ensued. (And the babes had a great time with Grammie and Grampie, staying up hours past bedtime, which what you're supposed to do when Mama and Papa aren't around.) Good times, on Date A.

And then, clutch #2 for Date B, with one of my favorite vintage fabric finds ever (I know, I say that a lot). Sadly, though, this clutch did not see it's proper due. Date B - our first overnight getaway sans kids in a ridiculously long time (in other words: six and a half years!), - was canceled. What are the chances that our usually-very-healthy family would all be so sick on the morning before our much anticipated (by us and our babes) solo overnight? Hmnn...I suspect a conspiracy.

This shot has nothing to do with anything, really, except I was actually holding the clutch and attempting a shot of it. My new camera is a little heavy for my classic arms-outstretched-self-portrait - as charming as those may be (ahem) - so this is what I get most of the time now - a total miss. But that wallpaper? That's what I want to show you. Isn't it fab? It's in my mother-in-law's house and I love it so (she is so going to laugh at me when she sees this photo here, Hi Judy!). I kind of want to wrap myself up in it. No, really if you could wrap up in wallpaper, I'd pick this one. Clearly, I need to get out more. I'm trying, but as you now know - date night is jinxed. It's a very good thing I love cozying up with those little ones so much. I really do.

oh, bother

A few things we learned this weekend:

1. My little Winnie-the-Pooh book lover learned a little bit about a bees nest. Kicking said nest - or rather - "tapping it gently with my foot" is probably not such a good idea.

2. Next, and rather quickly, we learned that Ezra is highly allergic to bees, or rather "Yellow jackets!" as he has corrected all of us (and the nurses and doctors) repeatedly.

3. Mama learned - for the third time in one year - that having a separate pediatric emergency room is a brilliant idea. Ingenious, actually, and I'm eternally grateful for it and the people who work there. Really - I love it there. Well, you know what I mean.

4. A wonder to his swollen-shut eyes, Ezra learned all about flat-screen TV's (apparently the education I'm providing him is lacking in important things like this). And the remote that was handed to him by the nurse upon entering our room? Like gold to my little guy. What more does one need? (besides some benadryl and epinephrin.)

5. He also gained an new idol in the "hospital music show man," a.k.a. Lawrence Welk (to whom he's "rocking out" to in the photo above). Our friend Lawrence now ranks right up there with G. Love and Jimi Hendrix in Ezra's book. That's cool.

6. I learned that we needed a new go-everywhere-with-us-all-the-time bag to hold our latest accessory - the epi pen. And yes, that's the culprit insect embroidered on the bag. Luckily Ezra shares my twisted sense of humor - he requested the yellow jacket be put there. He still thinks they're pretty cool - "You just never can tell with bees".

Oh, and Hi Portland! Thanks, Justin - for the really lovely article in today's Portland Press Herald, and to Jack for the beautiful photographs (and for letting me ogle his camera)! And, Welcome! - to anyone who might be here for the first time!

beach bags

The beginning of August (really?)- by now I think I could pack our beach bags in my sleep. Not that they really ever get unpacked, but you know, sometimes it's nice to have a fresh towel. And lunch. All the essentials are here - everything from bandaids and calendula just in case there's a scraped knee to something to read just in case there's a quiet moment; from the ever-important rollable beach blanket to the carabeeners that keep all these bags together and help this Mama schlep all the stuff four people will need at the beach - with a babe in the sling to boot. Every square inch in that bag is accounted for. Our 10 year old gigantic LL Bean tote bag - one of many in our home - has accompanied us on many a boat, beach, and camping trip (like many Mainer's, I'd guess - I don't remember actually buying any of them. They just appear. and then they multiply). While this one may have worn handles and stained-on canvas, I know it still has many more trips to go. Especially with the new applique pick-me-up it got last night. Want to do your own? select fabric. apply ultra hold Heat N Bond. cut desired shapes. peel off backing. iron on. voila. no sewing required.

The sun is up, and so are my little ones. To the beach we go!

more birds, and by the seashore

So the bird embroidery does have a 'purpose' after all. It seemed only natural to share it with Adelaide - my little bird girl. So this is the start of her Corner of Birds, a space we are making for her to have of her very own - in addition to her forever-space in our family bed. She is very excited about her new 'bed' - even though for the past two months her 'bed' has consisted only of a frame while I decide on a mattress (I'm waiting for a magical, affordable organic mattress to somehow appear - it hasn't yet), and finish a quilt. Soon. 

I found this mourning dove drawing of Ezra's in the serious pile of bird drawings around here - it's one of my favorites. I know there are other ways to transfer drawings to embroidery, but my favorite is to tape the drawing to a window, tape the linen over it, and trace it lightly with a pencil. Easy. Calvin started a bird embroidery piece of his own that he'll add to the wall soon.

And continuing the embroidery ride that's happening here this week, I finished this piece this weekend as well. This one - inspired once again by the book (ISBN 4834724212) and the shore - now hangs on our sun porch wall amidst all the beach treasures that make their way home with us.