~colormaking~

Spring just keeps springing. We've had wet. And sun. And now humid. Like totally on summer or back to 40 degrees and raining.

Babies seem to be the new "in" thing to produce for my friends and relations . So I am making these adorable booties, a Norwegian pattern rewritten into a more workable style by me and now on Ravelry.

Someone turned 18 and for his surprise party, we were asked to wear sunglasses and bring a poem. Sylvan and I penned one in the style of the immortally wonderful John Burningham's Would You Rather? Here's a sample: 

Would you rather...

Swallow a tomato horn worm whole,

or chew it up first?

Kick your principal as hard as you can

or run naked through your school?

Still ever watchful of little feet.

Turns out the Beastie Boys make great music to sew by. I had a Pandora channel going and it was like a tour of 90s hiphop fun. In honor of the late MCA of course.

This was the fabric I couldn't leave the store without, at a spring visit to Alewives. I purchased 2 yards of this lovely Japanese cotton-linen fabric and will get TWO skirts out of the deal, shorter versions of Amy Butler's Barcelona A-line. Two skirts because one half of the vertical length of the fabric is the pretty birdies and the other side is a lovely garden with viney flowers.

Two yards of fabric, two adorable skirts. I always feel so awkward when people compliment me on my skirts, like "I'm just the person who knew an awesome fabric when I saw it and shelled out the money."

Well, OK, I made it too. But that's just following directions and Amy writes them well.

Thanks, Japanese fabric designers for making fabrics that inspire and delight me!

(Another post coming soon to cover the other parts of life like baseball games, friends being silly, and those red skates.)

Greening Your Laundry

new A-line skirt

with gorgeous linen Japanese fabric from Alewives

Seems like the word is getting round to bloggers in Maine about the goodness of homemade laundry soap. You may have read it here first, but look who else is on the homemade kick! And some laundry sweetness, as well as a CraftingMama shout-out, is here also on the blog of Little Bits and Bobbin (if you need to know how much I love this gal, check this post out. swoon.)

cleaning products:

homemade scouring powder and toilet-cleaning supplies

I am also pleased to tell you that on June 23rd, Wednesday @ 11 a.m., I will be giving a demo/talk about greening your laundry at the Birchwood Motel in Camden, ME. Read this post about how Jenny and Eric are making green choices for their local business: making their own laundry soap and installing a gorgeous new laundry line is just a start. Think about how awesome it would be to sleep on sun-dried sheets, laundered without chemicals, the next time you stay in a motel! The workshop is free and participants will go home with a sample (and laundry soap recipe), as well as resources about alternatives to chemicals in our homes.

To register, Friend/Like the Birchwood Motel on Facebook and leave your RSVP there!
New PJ pants around here. In the photo above, Sylvan models his new pair in a fabric called Hedgehog Love (also from Alewives). What is not to love about THAT? The sad news is that I underbought fabric for these, which means that I am not readily embracing the true size of this boy who was/is my baby.

For the extra long-leggedy one, Jonas, I knew that I needed quantity. I used a pattern from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, Pajamas for Everyone, and I made the ADULT size Small. I thought, Oh Ho, I can just whack off a bunch of length and they'll fit him fine. Well, I am here to tell you that I did not do any chopping of any length. My 11 year-old boy who was/is my baby is also really the size of a small adult (in height, anyway). Wow.

Blogger without...

A camera for a week, while it went galavanting off to Costa Rica with my husband and his 12 8th graders. It saw leaf-cutting ants, large spiders, and two-toed sloths, not to mention amazing foliage and gorgeous young people having fun and doing good things in the world.

Then, I was a Blogger Without Any Decent Light to Shoot By. The camera was home, but the light was crappy for several days. Rain and more rain. Dull, dull, dull light.

hmm, which sweetie could this be for?

little smocked dress goodness

(a matching doll dress is forthcoming)

The good news about rain is that there was plenty of sewing time around here. New reversible apron, similar to the one I made here, the Amy Butler Overlay Apron. (Which was not cheap to make, btw, because you are pretty much making two skirts, but is lovely anyway!) I decided to choose one fabric that was more subdued:

And one fabric that was in-your-face Happy:

Thanks to Sylvan for being my photographer and dealing with the very low light and my mood with equanimity.

Mothers Blessing

Some of us thought we had been transported to the south of France: the beautiful and delicious food, the picnic tables underneath the apple trees, a nicely sunny/shady yard, and the company of wise, beautiful women in abundance.

It was potluck Mothers Blessing for a dear friend, due to bring a new sweet girl into our midst any moment. The organizers of this event sent out a muslin square (hemmed!), so that we might embellish them with our wishes or prayers or inspiration. We each had a moment to introduce ourselves and show our squares, sharing wisdom or a funny story or a hope for the new baby and family.

There were a few babies to celebrate the occasion (we did remember not to eat them):

the dimpled hands?!

Even though I think there weren't supposed to be actual gifts, I always assume this doesn't apply to handmade items. So I shared some homemade laundry soap (new babies make lots of laundry and so do five other people!). And I made the Amy Butler Apron Overlay for her also.

Because I remember how you give birth and then that one pair of maternity pants (your favorite) is still the only thing that fits or feels comfortable and pretty soon you are. hating. those. pants! And the baby will throw up on them right as you are leaving the house, and what are you supposed to wear then?! So how perfect to have an apron that is REVERSIBLE, with small prints to disguise stains, something fun and feminine and pretty to spice up your postpartum wardrobe. It could be a whole new thing in women's fashion.

~Oh wait. Did I mention this was a party at which TWO types of quinoa salad AND beets were also served? My kind of party indeed. The kind of food women will prepare for each other and themselves when no one is around to complain.~

Voila la Skirt

It's done: the Amy Butler Barcelona Tiered Skirt. Yup, even the boring hemming part and snipping of stray threads.

I love it! And thanks to my friend Kim, (who let me try on her size M), the size is perfect. I even shaved off another half inch while sewing up the sides, so it's really perfect.

I feel pleasantly summery and girly trying it on, though I haven't worn it out yet. (I'm saving it for a date with the Mr. for its debut.) I feel proud of doing my first zipper! And proud of making a skirt with a liner! Hooray! I am already thinking of making the A-line skirt, and soon, before the summer of boundless sewing time is over... and I am reading textbooks again.

Anyone know what this unusual-smelling flower is that is suddenly rocketing out from my clump of Solomon's Seal? It's so pretty and delicate, though I am not sure I could take it inside my house.

Miss E. received her PJ pants with aplomb. I am afraid the colors are a bit washed out here, in life, they are more intense and groovy. I am eager for her next sleepover so I can do a true photo shoot!

the loud birds are still awake

...and it's 8:45! That's a sign that we must be close to summer. You know, I have more pictures of my Alewives Fabrics visit the other day. Of course. How can I NOT go there with camera in hand? 

The Amy Butler Birdie Sling Bag

Yummy, plush flannel birdies

It was a pleasant Sunday, I was with Joanie (go ahead, leave her a comment, it'll knock her socks off!), and there was beauty all around the store. 

Rhea (aka Alewives Girl) encouraged me to cut my border fabric for my quilt (so handy that I toted it along), right there in the store with all the nifty gizmos. But really even better was her standing there lending me moral support and watching my patented technique of holding my breath while cutting fabric.

Rhea at work on a duvet cover

You see? Gorgeous.

More later about that sparrow fabric...

I kept coming back to this pattern.

I am not sure I am ready for it.

Good to know such cuteness exists.

I am excited to tell you that Ravenhill is having a giveaway: two prizes for the craftily and sewing-minded. Check it out---although by telling you, I am lowering my own chances to win. But I guess that's how much I like the people who are reading this blog.

Finally, a question or two. Sometimes, does getting out the door in the morning feel like a creative endeavor to you, finding the right shoes, having the teeth brushed, not being a broken record about socks on the floor, etc.? Or the elaborate way that we juggle the schedules of four family members? (And believe me, I would not consider us over-scheduled, just...well, four people). So do you have any tips for morning smoothness and/or peace? What's your favorite type of morning?

Swap Love

two hankies for that Sew Groovy one,

with a Scrabble tile that happened to be on the floor

in her first initial!

Maybe you've stopped by A Sew Groovy Chick's place and seen her amazing creations for yourself, like these ones here and here and here. I have been an admirer of this woman's eye for color, bravery with bold fabrics, and attention for the technical details. It was with some shyness that I proposed a swap with her: a Buttercup bag (with a couple of hankies thrown in), made with love by me (a non-expert beginner bag-maker) for whatever she wanted to make me, because I was sure I would love it. I did and do!

Her package arrived first. But since mine wasn't done yet, I let it sit quietly on my kitchen window seat until mine was in the mail. Here's the card she sent, using selvedge edges and little strips to make a mini-quilt:

tiny, neat handwriting and kind words!

And inside the package, was THIS riot of color. Check Sew Groovy's post with her photos, as I was not able to capture the true colors of the bag's goodness.

my own cafe apron, an Amy Butler Swing Bag, and two fat quarters

she added a layer of cotton between the exterior and interior, 

so it's sturdy and can hold a book or two

(she must know me!)

love those interior sunbursts and spirals

goth cafe apron---reversible

and so cool

So. Here's what I sent to her (read her post here). This Buttercup bag, with buttons found in the store by Sylvan that were a perfect complement:

Matryoshka fabric lining---

Must remember to ask her about her Russian connections,

she alluded to being in Moscow and St. Petersburg at one time

So, thanks ever so much for playing, Ana! Thank you for saying yes, and for the wonderful gifts of love that you sent me. They are treasures! Wear your Buttercup with pride!