SouleMama

Sweet Dreams...

Thank you, thank you to everyone who emailed and commented yesterday to my post about Calvin. It meant so much to me, and was so reassuring about my decision to share something so personal. The amazing connections and "real" care and concern that this web community has for each other astounds me once again. So thank you. We're all relieved over here, and ready to move onto the next thing: a baby!! (When? When?!)

Pillows were the weekend crafting theme around here. And have I mentioned how crafting is totally and completely my therapy? So yeah, I was busy crafting this weekend! As a result, here's Ezra's new "Dream Pillow". Chenille was 50% off at JoAnn's, so I couldn't resist buying some for baby projects. I used plant dyed wool felt for the face, and embroidered the details. There might be more of these in my future--besides the one that big brother has requested, I was thinking they'd make great baby gifts.

And here's Ez, happily "'nugglin'" with his new pillow.

Surprising Gifts

I didn't think I was going to share this news--that line of what's "too personal" for me is hard to distinguish since I feel so close to many of the people I know read this. But I'm opting for being "real" here, so bear with me as I share what is now very happy news for my family.
Exactly a week ago today, Calvin complained of a neckache, which was followed by the sudden appearance of a large, hard mass on the side of his neck. With no other symptoms, and the size, shape and way in which it appeared, our doctor seemed as alarmed as we were. The concerns ran from mono (presented as our best case scenario--it was so odd to be wishing for mono!) to Leukemia. I will never, ever forget the feeling in my body as I heard that word in the doctors office, and how it stayed in my body as the days progressed and we waited, and waited, and waited some more for the testing and then the results. My first reaction was to research and research, which of course, was only terrifying, really, and leading me into a week of worrying and lots of anxiety. But something amazing happened for me this weekend, as I remembered some recent readings I'd done from Thich Nhat Hanh's Our Appointment With Life: Discourse on Living Happily in the Present Moment. In this book, he talks about the need to let go of both the past and the future in order to be fully present and open to the moment of now. As my thinking started to shift, I held on to the idea that "the future has not yet come"....and once I was able to do that to a degree, the present moments became so clear, vivid and beautiful to me. And with that, I was able to fully experience so many beautiful moments with Calvin this past week. Amazing, lovely, sweet and heartwarming moments.
I can't tell you the relief and joy we felt when the results came back clearing him of everything (all he has is an acute virus, and a bump on his neck ;)). But I'm also feeling joy and gratefulness at the whole experience for what we've gained from it.

Oh, so the artwork above. It's one of Calvin's recent drawings--he and Ezra on a wagon ride. This weekend, I was drawn to this picture of his, and turning it into an embroidery project occupied much of my time. The repetitive, meditative process of the needle and thread going in and out of the fabric was so soothing and comforting to me, and helped me in my attempts at mindfulness.  So, this new pillow happily resides on the center of our living room couch now where I can look at it often and hopefully be reminded of the beauty of each "present moment" I have with these little ones.

Self Portrait Tuesday

A cast of my belly, and Calvin's hand done just a few days ago (some tips here for anyone interested. we did it ourselves using plaster of paris strips from our local art store). My breasts aren't that big in real life--they can't be, can they? They're definitely not that lopsided. ;) So yeah, I'm still pregnant...and Steve just informed me that I've been pregnant for exactly 37.5% of the time that we've known each other. I don't really know what that means, but it seems like a lot, doesn't it?

Self Portrait bloggers here (so many!), and Flickr gallery here.

My faith has been restored

So after griping last week about the lack of cool stuff in the local thrift stores, my faith was restored by the weekend yard sale hunt. A few of the treasures:

First, some fabulous vintage costume jewelry for dress up play. And a brooch for mama.

A way cool old lamp for my sewing table (so hard to photograph!).

Sweet, sweet vintage cotton baby blanket.

Glasses to match the set I already havem and an old soap dish.

Vintage fabrics.

And the jackpot. A tin full of old, old buttons.

Ah, that feels much better.

A Clown for a Smile

Inspired by this:

Calvin's been a little under the weather lately, so I made this bag this weekend to bring him a smile. He was on a big clown-drawing kick a few months back, and I saved this drawing to do something with. I embroidered his clown (with minor editorial adjustments, which I don't usually do), added some buttons for balloons, and turned it into a tote. So here's his new clown bag, for holding his favorite treasures. Right now it's holding his toilet paper roll collection (oh yes, it's a collection!).

I can't seem to stop embroidering these past few weeks (more finished stuff coming to the blog later this week)--there's something so soothing about it to me, and I'm falling in love with the sound of the needle and thread coming through the fabric--it's so satisfying. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? ;)

"Someone's going to lose an eye!"

We have this nightly pillow fight ritual around here (yes, right before bed, and amazingly it WORKS in the opposite of the traditional advice of "don't get too wound up before bed"--instead it totally wears them out). But once in a while, it gets a bit rough and ends with someone getting hurt. One night this week, it was Papa. The self-proclaimed "Monster Ezra" bit him on the nose. Once the blood stopped gushing (seriously), he needed a bandaid. And then so did everyone else, of course. So here's the wounded, the culprit, and the sympathizer--all bandaged up. Look at Ezra's face!

Thrifting

Sorry...this might be the most boring post ever. I guess that's a good indication of how I'm feeling about the Portland thrift stores these days--I'm so bummed that I can't find anything anymore at Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. I'm sure it's Ebay--I know both companies have full time Ebay sellers on the staff now, so I'm sure lots is getting pulled for that. Really, yard sales are the best bet for finding goodies now, but our (short) yard sale season is just about over. Sigh. Anyway...somehow this week I found myself with an afternoon alone, and just a day shy of being released from my "bedrest", I thought I could handle an outing. To the thrift stores it was...and I did find a few treats:

I love this set of 6 vintage napkins I found....with farms!

I can't really explain this purchase. It's a set of "vintage" towels. Towels? Who buys used, old towels? What's wrong with me? BUT...Look at those COLORS! Amazing. AND, it's a SET for crying out loud. I mean, come on, help me out and tell me you'd do the same.

And there was NO way I could leave this dress there, with $1 on the tag. I SO remember wearing dresses like this when I was very young. I thought it would be perfect for the dress up costume rack.

And mostly this one's exciting because it was only .99 cents. It's a very large wool blanket, with sage stripes. Yummy sage stripes. I cannot pass by stripes.

Other than that, I bought some vintage white pillowcases for embroidering, a few books, and some clothes for the kiddos. Man, the springtime rush of church rummage sales is looking like a LONG ways away right now!

The Love

This is the lovely, sweet surprise that arrived in the mail for me (oops, I mean the baby) last week from Amy. I knew she had knit the booties from her posting them recently, but it was still a total surprise when they arrived--so beautifully packaged as is always the case with Amy--and surrounded by other fabulous goodies. Most special is the Wizard Of Oz illustrated by Lizbeth Zwerger. Amy posted about her wonderful illustrations long ago and I've been wanting to add something to our collection since. Amy was so right on--the illustrations are AMAZING. I don't think the wee one will mind that we're reading it to big brother right now, who's loving it as much as Mama is. 

And just in case you didn't see them when she posted them, here are the sweet things up close. SOOO unbelievably soft and cozy--I can't wait to put them on baby toes this winter. Thank you, Amy!! Such sweetness. I continue to be amazed and blown away by the connections and relationships that this whole blogging community has created. My exchanges with Amy have been one of those rare, "real" relationships that I feel so blessed to have, despite being physically divided by a continent. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

And then the love continues....yesterday, this wonderful package arrived in the mail for me from Amanda. Just from the mere mention of my regret for not joining the fabric swap, she ever-so-sweetly sent me a package of just that! A huge loot of amazing fabric--so much fun stuff in here!! And some cool buttons and beads, and a fabulous card from her shop Homebaked. Thank you, Amanda!! And a Happy Belated Birthday to you, too!

And then one more very cool bloggy thing I must mention. Two weeks ago, I took the boys to our local train museum for a ride. Through some twist of fate, I'm sure, I entered through the "back" door and walked through the office. A woman working there followed us out and approached me asking if I had a blog! Ah! She totally recognized my boys, and we had had an email exchange or two in the past. It was so cool to meet Brandie face to face--she was so sweet and kind, just as I had imagined her from her blog. And so bizarre to have the blog world and real world collide like that. I'm hoping for a similar meeting on the street some day with Maria...

Tie Three On: Mini Me

Yay! Last week, I finished my aprons for this month's Tie One On: Mini-Me theme. Here are the results - for the boys and Papa.  It started with the vintage ribbon on the bottom of the aprons, and some heavyweight grey cotton for the apron. Calvin picked out the coordinating black and white dotted fabric for the pockets and ties.

I'm bummed at the photos--somehow my camera setting got moved to the lowest resolution, so they're all grainy. But the chances of getting them all in these aprons again and smiling are slim, so I've got to go with these for now!

This was such a fun theme (I have a not-so-secret obsession with "matching" clothes for my kids--evil, I know). I can't wait to hear what Amy comes up with next!

Self Portrait Tuesday

This is my self-lesson for the day in letting go of perfection. I had a clear idea of a shot I wanted with all three of my babes in it, and the pictures all came out kind of like this one--most of them even more unclear. But rather than try again to recreate a "moment", I'm sticking with this one and learning to like it. Next to toes and bums, my other favorite baby body part is the top of their heads. So here are my two sweet baby heads, and probably right about where they're kissing is a baby bum hiding behind the belly.

Wow, might this be my last "belly" Self Portrait Tuesday? As we're nearing the end, I'm having so many mixed feelings of excitement at meeting this new little one, combined with a little sadness about no longer being pregnant, particularly knowing that this will be the last one. As cliche as it is to say this--it really is just an amazing process to experience--each and every little kick feels like a miracle for the first time. And I love the way Calvin and Ezra interact with the belly babe-- Calvin telling the baby all about our family and patting my belly as he walks by me; and Ezra singing into my belly button and saying, "hello baby, baby" all the time, then laying his ear next to my belly button hoping for a response. Lately, he's taken to calling my belly a "watermelon" (which  is fitting since my nightly obsession for banana splits has morphed into an insatiable desire for MORE and more watermelon). Anyway, I'm just feeling a little bittersweet about the transition from pregnancy to baby--wanting to hold on to and remember as much as I can about this part of it before the new life begins.

Many more Self Portrait bloggers found here, with the Flickr gallery here.

I've Started Something...

...I just don't know what it is yet. It started with these from Calvin:

And turned into these:

I embroidered the animals onto some old linen, and added some fabric scraps (Recognize one, Amy?). Trying to match his writing was trickier than I thought, but so fun nonetheless. I had intended to turn these squares into pillows, but just as they were about to become that I had the idea that with a few more animals, it would make a really fun blanket/throw thingy (the squares are large--21" square each, so I don't think I'd need a lot more). But then I'd have to figure out how best to quilt it, bind it, and all those other decisions to be made with a quilt. Hmnn...any thoughts? Or other ideas of what to do with them? I'm feeling quite indecisive about where to go with these.

Getting Ready...

Look what arrived yesterday! Our rental birth tub. All set up and ready to go. Yesterday was our official "good to go for a homebirth" day.  I swear our babe must have heard this too, because sure enough, we spent 4 hours last night with our midwife here trying to slow my constant contractions via every herbal, homeopathic and superstitious method we knew. Blessedly, something worked (I think it was the crampbark) and they went away. I'm only 35 weeks (full term pregnancy being 40), and it's oh-so-early for little lungs to be out in the world. I'd love to make it another week or so (Cal and Ez were both born at exactly 36 weeks), to get this babe a bit bigger and stronger, and me a bit more ready of course. This weekend will be full of more baby and homebirth preparations - getting piles of sheets and towels sterilized and piled up, baby clothes and diapers ready to go, and the house as near clean as I can manage, or rather--as clean as Steve can manage. Gotta love the "doctor's orders" of rest, rest rest.

And since I'm a sentimental fool, I begged the rental company to find us the exact tub that Ezra was born in. All the birthed babies names are written on the inside--so sweet. And so fabulous to look at now that it's filled up with names in the two and a half years since Ez was born. Nothing like a bunch of homebirthin' freaks (a term of endearment, of course!) to come up with some cool ass names. ;) Perhaps we'll be inspired to finally come up with a boys name for THIS baby.....

So Pink!

I was totally drawn to this PINK fabric when I saw it at a shop last week, and decided to turn it into a baby blanket, using the Minkee Dot fabric I've been holding onto (which is annoyingly stretchy, by the way). I love how it came out! With some piping on the edges, I just made a simple blanket--but it's so cozy! (And SO pink!)

But then, of course, the blanket was screaming for a matching "diaper bag". I made this quite large, sturdy, and loaded with pockets on the inside. Not sure it will hold all the "stuff" needed for an outing with three kids, but I don't plan on many of those anyway. ;)

I loved finding a spot to use some of these favorite vintage buttons. So fun!

And thanks for hanging in with another post like this....I'm starting to feel like a ridiculous child screaming, "look what I did today!" on this blog. Really, that's not how it is--I just know I'm stocking up before the inevitable crafting drought that is soon to come when I'm getting spit up on, woke at all hours of the night, and staring at a new beautiful baby.....

Feelin' Thrifty

Anyone who knows me would never use the word "thrifty" to describe me, unfortunately (Steve, stop laughing!). BUT...I swear it's in me somewhere deep, because there's this crazy thrill I get out of crafting things in a thrifty way. So today I present to you some examples of my recent thriftiness. Hee hee.

Super Thrifty Example A: Cloth diapers. I have plenty of fitted diapers left from both boys, but my wee little babes (both around 6lbs) seem to swim in them at birth, so I wanted to make some super tiny newborn prefold dipes for those first few days and weeks. I made these completely out of discarded T-Shirts of Steve's, and old flannel sheets. It's basically 4 layers of tee shirt (with one folded in the middle for extra thickness) sandwiched between two flannel pieces, serged around the edges, and top stitched in the middle. There's an abundance of "sew your own" cloth diaper resources out there on the web, but a few of my favorites are:
Diaper Sewing
Born To Love
The Diaper Hyena
and for supplies:
One Stop Diaper Shop

Super Thrify Example B: Burp Cloths. Yes, I know...very exciting...burp clothes. But seriously, who wants boring white diapers? I made these clothes with scrap pieces of fabric--a layer of flannel on one side, and cotton on the other, serged together. Atleast my baby will have something beautiful to spit up on.

Super Thrifty Example C: Cloth Menstrual Pads. Okay, so this may be a bit over the top for some of you, but I am *way* into these. I started using cloth in college and haven't turned back--love 'em. So comfy and it makes me feel so damned environmentally correct, and hey--they're even healthier for ya. These were made with old towels as the inserts and flannel as the outer fabric, serged together, and with snaps on the wings (the snap press! I did it!). There are loads of different patterns online for these if you just do a search for "sew cloth menstrual pads", so I'll just link you to a good pattern and some reading about the benefits of cloth if the concept is new to you and you're interested in knowing more:
Craftster Tutorial
Eco Friendly Menstrual Products

See, I'm thrifty!

It's here!

...Ha ha! No, not the baby. ;) My industrial snap press!

Now, can anyone explain to me WHY I bought this industrial size snap press? Because for the life of me, I can't recall why I would "need" this, nor what the hell I'm going to do with it.

I've been trying to shift my energy to more practical things this week like cleaning cupboards and drawers, decluttering a bit, and otherwise getting ready for babe. But some else has taken over with the crafting energy around here. Here's one of the puppets I was greeted with during a cleaning spree the other day. There's a whole slew of animals that appeared, just tempting to me to turn them into an embroidery project....

Self Portrait Tuesday

A different take on Self Portrait Tuesday this week, inspired a bit by Amy's awesome gymnastics photo. Here I am at dance class--maybe 7 or 8 years old? Check out that perm though--crazy, huh? I had one every four months from the time I was 6 months old until I flat out refused at age 15. Gotta love the 80's, and having a hairdresser as a grandmother. Yikes. It's no wonder that in college I shaved my head for so long!

Fast forward about 20 years, and here's my costume-loving son wearing the same outfit this past winter.

And Ezra (and doggie Luka!) getting in on the action, too! My mother saved ALL of my many, many dance costumes (Calvin's wearing another one in this pic), and my kids couldn't be happier with the bright colors and frilly suits from the 80's.

Self Portrait Tuesday bloggers here, and Flickr Gallery here.

Banana Blueberry Bread - Yum!

It's full-on blueberry season here in Maine, or atleast at the bushes in our backyard. We're thankfully having a wonderful crop of blueberries this year--I can't believe how much we've frozen already, plus all the pies and other treats we're eating each day. YUM!!!

Banana Blueberry Bread

1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

3 tbsp canola oil
2 large eggs, beaten
1 c. blueberries
3 mashed, very ripe bananas

Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix second list of ingredients in a seperate bowl. Add wet to dry, stirring just until moist. Using a 8x4in loaf pan (coated with cooking spray), cook for one hour at 350 degrees, or until pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool completely on wire rack. Eat up.

I Can't Sit Still

That's not true--I'm doing plenty of sitting, I swear (is my midwife reading this?). Really, it's only my hands that can't keep still. I don't know if all this energy is coming from being pregnant, or being near the end, or just plain fear--that once I have this third child my crafting days are over. I'm thinking there's a damn good chance I'll be sewing well into labor--hell, maybe I should set up the birthing tub next to my sewing machine.

Whatever the reason for the energy, I'm getting lots of "little" projects completed lately. Like belts! Apparently, I'm thinking I'll have a waist to put these on sometime in the near future. Such a fun  project--some D-rings, fabric, and a bit of interfacing. I was on a total mass production line roll with these till I ran out of D-rings (need to search online for even bigger and more fun rings, JoAnn's had only small, boring ones).

And, is there much more fun than crafting for little ones? This mini drawstring backpack is for Calvin's friend who just turned six. I know these backpacks are so simple, but gosh, it took me a while to wrap my head around how it needed to be constructed.  I filled it with "art on the go" supplies--markers, notebook, stickers, and a felt marker case. Now I want a bigger version for me. Hee hee.

And this bag is a gift for my acupuncturist, who I'm in love with for making this pregnancy such a breeze. This vintage fabric matches the skirt I made awhile ago (and wear every day!). Thankfully, I still have a bit of the fabric left for a Mama bag. Gosh..we really need to paint our porch, don't we? Maybe I'll get to that next....

Meet Lucille

Meet Lucille....our new feline friend. She worked her way into our home last night, based on The Many Faces of Steve pattern in the Denyse Schmidt Quilts book. I used embroidery on the belly panel, and her body is wool.

We're trying to loosen her up a bit--she's got a bit of attitude--which just isn't going to fly around here. Or perhaps she's just a little timid--we haven't quite figured her out yet. ;)

Back Tack II

Yikes! What am I doing? I'm about to have a baby and who knows what comes after (three children!), and here I go signing up for Back Tack II! I really like the changes to this version--it provides much more control for freaks like me who need that sort of thing. Ha! Sign ups are opened a bit earlier than planned, and the list is filling up fast, so head on over and sign up!!

(Love the new button, Alison!).

Pet to Blog Day

I've so enjoyed seeing some sweet animal friends on Pet to Blog Day, which I think was started over on Port2Port-- I just had to participate this week. This pictures is from Solstice a few years ago. It was our obligatory dog and baby holiday card photo, and I just love it. I can't stop laughing when I look at it, thinking of the crazy antics and juggling I was doing to get the shot--I took a whole roll of film (yes, film!), and the whole series of the "outtakes" together is hysterical. So that's Luka on the left (my first baby), and Calvin as a wee one, and Mow on the right (Steve's first baby). I know, Mow looks slightly humiliated, but really, he would never do anything he didn't really want to (particularly when it comes to listening to me, a.k.a. "the evil woman who ruined his travelling, free range bachelor life"), so no worries. And Luka will do anything for food, so she was psyched at the opportunity. ;)

This is so addictive

I'm totally obsessed with making these fabric cards, after the first one I made based on the pattern in the Denyse Schmidt Quilts book. It's such a simple process--really, just sewing scraps of fabric onto card stock, and then "quilting" the card with additional stitching. A rotary cutter is helpful for trimming the fabric and threads on the sides after sewing.

There's so much freedom in putting the fabrics together.

The only problem is that it's further encouraged me to save every itty bitty piece of scrap fabric. Oy. And I'm now regretting not joining in on Mecozy's fabric swap. Will there be another? So much fun. ;)

And since this post is a bit paper-y focused, have you all seen that Leslie has reopened The Paper Princess? It's all gorgeous, but I'm totally loving all her stationary right now.  (I'm so inspired by this woman who has three children--she gives me hope that somehow, I too, will survive!)

And paper-y in name only--if you haven't already, go check out Laurie's new shop - Mod Dots Shop. I love her pins--so adorable!

Self Portrait Tuesday

The artist at work.

Yup, squeezing my belly into every last Tuesday that I can (Who knows what I'll do when I have to think of myself as the subject matter, and not "the belly"...oy..scary). I know, it's getting obnoxiously baby focused around here. But I swear--the next three days there will be no mention of babies. I promise.

Self Portrait bloggers found here, with the Flickr group here (which I have yet to join, because I'm a Flickr Slackr). 

Vintage Sweetness

So, I suppose the flip side of getting no crafting time, is that I've gotten a lot of other necessary things done. This weekend, I hauled up from the basement and cleaned and sorted all the baby clothes. I'm so ridiculously nostalgic about my babes' clothes--it was like a flood of memories putting them all away--remembering when each of them wore them. And I found a few forgotten surprises, too...like these amazing vintage shirts that I found at a thrift store for 5cents a piece a few years back. They are so beautifully detailed --and so wee!! I think the seasons might be just right that this babe will actually get to wear them. Can't you just picture these on an itty bitty babe with just a cloth diaper underneath? Ah...

Need to Craft

After lots of steam in the beginning of the week with crafting, the end of the week has been the complete opposite--full of birthday celebrations, guests from out of town (and more coming!), summer festivals, and general life stuff. While all of this is lovely, of course, I do find myself itching, craving and even dreaming about getting back into a project. I know some of this is end-of-pregancy nesting, but the truth is, even without being pregnant, I NEED to "craft". Seriously People sometimes ask me how I find the time, and my honest answer is that I have no choice but to find the time--that crafting (creating)--in whatever form that may be (I'll avoid going into the whole long internal battle I have about whether my "craft" is art, and why should it really matter, yada yada) -- crafting IS my sanity. It's what keeps me going, brings peace and groundedness into my (not always peaceful) life. It's become my therapy (cheaper? hmnn, not so sure). Without the time to create almost every day, I feel like something essential is missing--you know, like "me" gets lost in the shuffle of daily life at home with young children, and all of the many, many things that job encompasses--phsically, spiritually, emotionally and intellectually.

Okay, now I think I'm making no sense, and starting to feel a bit vulnerable (man, blogging can be so weird!)...so how about if I stop rambling and just show you what I *have* been doing the past few days?

Here's the blueberry pie we made for Papa's birthday this week, after some serious drooling looking at both Amy and Stephanie's creations. I love Ezra's face in this picture! He could barely keep his hands off it (and only did because it was piping hot).

Papa and Calvin at the Festival of Cultural Exchange.

And this is Calvin, seriously thinking about pushing his little brother off the edge of the landing they were on (He's in another phase in their relationship where he's asking to sell Ezra on Ebay. Seriously).

Updated to add: I'm digging Amy's words today. It has something to do with what I was trying to say, I think...gosh, sometimes I wish we were all in the same room together *talking* about all of this! How lovely would that be?

So Domestic

Apparently, I'm deep in nesting mode, because even when I'm not crafting for baby, it's still pretty darn domestic in theme. Hence, potholders. On Wednesday, Steve took the boys to the beach and I had a whole day to myself to sleep (mostly) and craft (a little). I've been anxious to try out something from the new Denise Schmidt Quilts book, and the Too Hot to Handle Mitts seemed like a good, mellow start. I've been itching to use this vintage black and white fabric for a while, and this was the perfect project, I'm thinkin'. Of course, when I was done, I needed to make a few square potholders to match, because really, you need a *set* of something to make it really cool, right?

And, the mitt in pink. This is a really fun, simple pattern. Though, a word of advice if anyone is thinking about doing it--I'd recommend doubling the batting, and I swear there's a typo on the pattern page (email me if you want more info).

And here's the fabric birthday card I made for Steve, inspired by the Dis-carded "pattern" in the same book. This was just WAY too much fun to do, so quick, and such fun to use little scraps (these are mostly vintage feedsack scraps). I can't wait to have a few moments to do some more.

Happy Birthday, Baby!

Happy 36th Birthday, Steve!! (Yes, I will take every opportunity I have to repeat your age--what is it again, 36? Hee hee). I love this picture of him as a little boy with his grampie--look at those shorts! look at that fish! Look at that hair! So, so adorable, just like you are today. I wish you a birthday full of joy and love from your boys, and if all the babysitting stars are aligned tonight (oh, please!)...perhaps even a date with wifey!

Four Months Later...

I know, four months from start to finish for a quilt isn't that long, but for this instant gratification crafting gal, it seems like ages ago that I started this one. Here it is! My first real quilt, made just in time for babe. I'm fairly happy with the end result--mostly with the fabrics that I adore (lots of Munki Munki), and the embroidery (patterns from Sublime Stitching).

I backed it with the Munki Munki flannel, so it's super soft, and I used a cotton batting. Thanks to Amy's wonderful advice, I used the stitch in the ditch method of quilting it together, which worked well with this design, I think. All of that seemed to get pulled off without much of a hitch.

The binding is my biggest dissapointment with this quilt. My Denise Schmidt Quilts book arrived a few days ago, and perfectly timed (I thought), I followed her (quite thorough) tips for binding. I should have known to avoid any "directions"--I always do so much better when I just wing it! Damn! Somehow when I sandwiched it all together, the backing got a little wonky at one end, leaving too big of a gap where the binding needed to go, so I needed to do some creative stitching. It definitely shows, but I'm trying to just be okay with it, since there's little I can do to repair it at this point. And, it is my first attempt, after all.

Now I just need the babe to wrap in it! ;)

Self Portrait Tuesday

I was trying to capture one of my favorite moments with this photo. It's the hour before dinner in the summertime; when I can hear Papa and the boys outside laughing and playing, and when I have a few moments alone to clear my head after a day of parenting. It always involves putting on a favorite old apron, enjoying a yummy glass of wine (a teeny glass of organic pinot) and some music (it was Madeline Peyroux's Careless Love last night) while I prepare dinner fresh from our garden or our CSA, set the table and if the timing is right, perhaps even sneaking in a moment of crafting while waiting for the food to cook. It certainly doesn't work out this way every night, but when it does, I'm in a little bit of heaven...

Self Portrait Tuesday bloggers found here. And a new Flickr Gallery, too, thanks to Joy.

Mei Tai for Baby

I decided to tackle the most challenging thing on the "baby crafting list" last night. This Mei Tai (a traditional Asian style) carrier was surely it, given that I had no pattern to go by and did a lot of guessing. I'm very pleased with the result though! I know it looks like a simple piece of fabric with ties on the end, but wow, it felt a lot more complicated than that. The whole body piece is padded (cotton quilt batting), and the straps are padded as well. It was a bit tricky to figure out how to get the straps sturdy and strong enough to actually hold a baby (or child, as you'll see in a second!). I'm not sure I could ever remember how to do it again (nor want to!), which is a bummer, 'cause wouldn't it be cool to have this in a bunch of fun fabrics?
Here it is in trial action this morning (forgive the quality--it's a dreary day here with little batteries left in the camera!). It seems like with each babe, I've had a carrier that I was really attached to--with Calvin it was the New Native Carrier, and with Ez, it was the Maya Wrap. Perhaps this is the one for baby #3!

Yes, I'm wearing that over my belly--he's kind of on the side like a hip carry. In the last picture you can see Calvin who insisted on trying it out too (and look at sad Ez in the background that his turn is over!). I wasn't exactly thinking 45 pound child when I sewed my seams, so let's hope they're strong!