a sewing lesson for my little “bug”

i am fortunate to be able to care for one of my great nieces each wednesday.  while her name is brooklynn, the family usually calls her b…and i have always called her “bug”.  don’t ask me why…i really don’t know, except that she’s cute as a bug!  we’ve been spending wednesdays together for 2 1/2 years now and we do lots of crafts together….lots of gifts made with love.

a few weeks ago she said to me “aunt kim, can we go into your room (studio) and sew something”?  oh, be still my heart!!  could it be the birth of another sewist?  i know her attention span (not big), and it was late in the day.  i didn’t have a plan….a project in mind, but i’ve been thinking about it since then.  i knew it had to be something that appealed to her 4 1/2 year old tastes….something that was quick…think immediate gratification here.  so today, while strolling through the local joann store i think i may have found the answer.

the girl loves her “hello kitty”.  this is one of those panels that is elasticized at the top….could be a skirt, could be a sundress.  i think it will be a dress….one seam and some pink ribbons attached as straps….easy, peasy, lemon squeezie!!  her first time at the sewing machine and she’ll create an entire dress!!  and while she’s not exactly a “dress” sort of girl (think running, climbing, tumbling)….stick a pair of knit shorts under this little cutie and she’ll be adorable.

so, what was your first sewing project?  and how have you taught the love of sewing to young ones in your life?  i’d love to hear from you….we’ll be needing a second project!

kim

On the iPod

I really like Christmas music.  I start listening to it after Thanksgiving (I do at least have the restraint for that), and I turn it off after Christmas (ok, ok, after New Year’s Eve), but I listen to it A LOT in between times.

Sometimes, though, I get a little burned out on music after the holidays.  January and February seem like good times for quiet in the house, times for keeping lights dim (the better to not see the cobwebs that form in the cold winter months) and for curling up with a book under a quilt.  The books for this January and February were Dr. Seuss and The Little Engine that Could: somewhat different from my fare for past years, but even so.

Springtime, though, is time to break out the iPod again and start opening windows, cleaning house and rocking out to some good tunes, so in that vein I thought I’d share what I’ve been enjoying lately.  (Also, I’ll freely admit that these are all old groups/ albums.  When I was in college I relied on my friends for new music recommendations and since I graduated seven years ago a few years back I’ve been hopelessly behind.  But nonetheless, this is what I like listening to these days.)

So in that vein, here’s what’s on my iPod these days:

The Decemberists, The King is Dead  – a few years old now, but Just So Good.  After I’ve listened to The King is Dead about a million times in a row I go back to their older stuff (Picaresque and Castaways and Cutouts are longtime favorites, but The Hazards of Love satisfies my childhood obsession with rock operas that began with The Phantom of the Opera.)  I started listening to the Decemberists my sophomore year of college when a group of brand-new friends invited me to go to a Decemberists concert and ever since the group has reminded me of best friends and pre-real life college days.

Evan Watson, South – also a few years old (he does have a new album out called Midnight Oil, but I haven’t heard that one yet).  Evan has great, gravelly, bluegrassy voice and a good sound, plus he’s a fellow Wooster grad, so you know he must be good people.

Roger Hoover and the Hurt, Lay My Rituals Down – this album at least is relatively recent.   When Paul came to visit me in Wooster for the first time we went on a date to the much-missed Seattle’s Coffee where, unbeknownst to us, Roger Hoover was playing with his band, the Whiskeyhounds.  It was a great date (one highlight was Paul responding “two sets of twins and a single” to a guy who asked how many kids we had.  Apparently we were already acting like an old married couple despite not having seen each other for eight months and having only spent one day together before that?).  We bought one of each other albums Roger Hoover had for sale that night and have kept an eye out for his new work since.  Lay My Rituals Down is a kinder, gentler Roger Hoover than the one we first heard in Wooster back in aught-six, but it’s spot on.

 

So basically I’m super nostalgic for easy college life (despite the fact that most of the time I really like being a grown-up), but somehow these seem just right to me for sunny days with the windows open.  I hope spring has sprung where you are, too!  What’s on your iPod these days?

 

 

Fortune-telling

Every once in a while I get the urge to go all Winnie-the-Pooh and start capitalizing things other than proper nouns.  So in that vein, let me tell you about a Weird Thing that happened to me last week.

 

For the DIY Not? group at the library that I help coordinate, I do a quick book review of a creative business book (it *is* a library, after all), and the book I chose to review for this meeting was I Just Like to Make Things by Lilla Rogers.  (Not an affiliate link, just FYI).  There are a lot of things that I like about this book, not the least of which is Rogers’ upbeat and encouraging writing about the process of becoming a Real, Paid Artist (told you I’m on a Winnie-the-Pooh kick).  One of the fun activities she includes is a page of “tarot cards” that you can copy, cut out and use to predict the future of your creative endeavors.

 

Now I’m totally not a tarot card person.  I’m not a fortune-telling person, either.  Or a horoscope reader, or a mystic of any type.  I tell you this so that you’ll know that I approached this totally as a joke.

But you guys.  Check this out.

The instructions that Rogers gave for using the cards were these: turn them upside-down and shuffle them up, meditate for a minute or so on your creative endeavors and then randomly choose five cards, stacking them with the first on the bottom, the second on top of that and so on.  Then turn them over: the first one will be your immediate priority, the second your next priority etc. etc.

The first one I turned over was “Go to school for teaching.”  I’m in school for teaching right now.

The second one was “Open an Etsy shop.”  We’re doing that this week.

The third was “Sell handmade products to shops.”  That’s the plan with our patterns.

 

The fourth was “Start your own company including manufacturing.”  That’s so what we’re doing right now.

And the fifth was “Design patterns for a bolt fabric line”, something that several fellow indie pattern designers have done recently and something that is definitely on Kim’s and my bucket list.  (Speaking of fabric lines, have you seen Caroline’s and April’s and Sara’s  upcoming limited edition designs for Art Gallery Fabrics?  So good.  We can’t wait to get our hands on some this summer.)

 

So while I’m totally not a tarot-reading, fortune-telling mystic whatsoever… it’s kinda fun to think that we’re on the right track.  🙂  Onward!

Good Things

You know how Martha Stewart has her “good things” series?  Good things for the kitchen, good things for the garden…?  The thing I like about the good things is that some of them are products that you can buy, yes, (and I could write a whole different post about my love-hate relationship with consumerism) but many of them are ideas for little things you can do to make life easier or more enjoyable.  Beyond everything else, though, the good things are a call to notice and appreciate the mundane details of life.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it here before, but this spring has been pretty ridiculous for me.  I’m finishing up teaching a college course, working part-time at my local library, and getting the pattern company up and running with Kim, not to mention wearing all of my “normal” hats of wife, mom, pet owner, church member, homeowner, reasonably responsible citizen… it’s been busy.

But in all of the craziness, I keep coming back to Martha’s good things (can I call her that?  I’ve been a fan for so long I feel like we could be on a first name basis).  Here are some of the good things in my life these days.

(Please note that none of these are sponsored links – they’re just little things that I’ve been enjoying lately).

For the past three or so summers I’ve been selling bread for a baker friend of mine at some of the local farmers’ markets.  It’s always fun to get out in the sunshine (or occasionally out in gale force winds and driving rains, but hey…), meet some new people and sell some awesome bread, but what has really been neat is to have a chance to meet some other growers, makers and bakers and learn about their products, too.  A couple years ago I was selling bread at the Upper Arlington farmers’ market and the booth next to mine was Jennifer’s of J2Organics.  We got hooked on her lavender and oatmeal soap, which is seriously the most luxurious, best smelling soap I’ve ever used.  All of the ingredients she uses are organic, sustainable, and fair-traded, which I like, and the lavender soap smells like Provence, which Paul likes.  We order it from her in bulk now because it’s a sad, sad day in our household when we forget to reorder in time and run out.  Seriously – there are many heavy sighs from the shower when Paul has to use something different.

 

At my friend Kate’s wedding a couple months ago she gave air plants as favors.  I stuck mine in this hanging vase that I think I got from CB2 a long time ago.  It hangs in the window by my bed and makes me smile every morning.  So spikey!

 

I finally repainted my toenails a lovely sort of chocolate-y rose color from Sally Hansen – it’s called “calming cocoa”  and no, I didn’t just buy it for the name even though chocolate and calm both sound awesome to me right now – because it dawned on me that this month is about the last time I’ll be able to easily reach them until August.  (I also realized that I have to lean out over my belly to see my toes.  It’s that time already.)  After looking at chipped grey nail polish for the past few months it’s been a pleasant change.

 

I keep coming back to this picture I snapped a couple weeks ago because it amuses me how well it sums up my life these days.  The fabric is for samples for our upcoming photo shoot (Robert Kaufman linen/ rayon blend and Amy Butler Lark, both from Sew to Speak in Columbus) and diapers, always diapers, drying on the line.  We have used Bum Genius all-in-ones for Jack for his whole life and have been very happy with them.  Aren’t they cute all lined up to dry?

 

And speaking of little nubbin’ butts, it’s time for our morning squirrel watch, so I’ll sign off for now.  Don’t forget to notice the good things that make you happy today!

coffee and sunshine

i feel like having coffee….and i really want to have coffee with a friend on this “almost springlike” afternoon, but it’s mid week and i’ve already set aside the day to work on patterns. so instead of running out to the local coffee shop, i’ve brewed a pot, poured my cup and i’ll sit here and chat with all of you for just a few minutes. grab yourself a cup too!

the whirlwind of beginning a business had me reading, both online and library finds, searching for all the “right” answers for most of the winter. don’t get me wrong…i also spent many hours in my studio designing and hopefully perfecting a couple of great garments, but the research was thrilling. with each book i’d say to myself “we can do that!”, or at times “did that…and did it well”. now we’re into the nitty-gritty of deadlines….self imposed deadlines, which can be (and have been!) changed. but the deadlines loom. i feel like we’re getting closer, but there’s so much more to do, and being who and what i am, i’m not willing to settle for less than what we originally set out to do. am i being too firm, or am i being true to myself? hard to tell, so we’ll just keep moving forward.

i think the promise of spring has given me just the small lift i needed….inspiration comes in the way of sunshine? does it do that for you too? everything seems possible when the sun is shining!! i can finish these patterns, redecorate the house, paint the playhouse and plan a garden….all in an afternoon of sunshine….or so it seems. i’m so anxious to share our projects with you and the world….and it will all happen according to plan, thanks to some sunshine!!

and if we were having coffee today i’d want to ask you what you’d like to see on this blog. we have a few tutorials up our sleeves (still wearing long sleeves….sleeveless takes me a while!), and i’d love to give you a grand tour of my little studio. and while i do plant what i refer to as my “salad garden”, Elizabeth is the true gardener and we want to share the fruits of her labors as well as some recipes that we love. and of course….the grand reveal of our pattern line!! is there something that you’ve always had questions about….bias trim? setting a sleeve? we want to fill these pages with helpful tips, tutorials and anything else that will bring you joy while you sew.

speaking of sewing….i should finish this cup and head to the studio….those deadlines are calling and i plan to turn on some music and “make skirts while the sun shines”!!

thanks for stopping by for a few….enjoy the rays!

kim