just popping in to post a few pictures from our afternoon... adella and her wee friend, the inchworm.
it's been another lazy/busy, fun-filled/boring, slow/long week around here. maybe next week i'll be back to posting regularly - or maybe not - we're on our un-scheduled schedule, you know?
happy friday!
in between work and play and craft shows (just as a shopper this time around) and other busy weekend goings-on, i managed to sew up these sweet shorts for adella.
another pattern from girly style wardrobe. this one was super quick and easy (except for the part where i sewed the back pieces on upside down and had to rip out a few overlocked seams - blah),
and i love the kind-of bloomers/knickers style we've got going...
and pair those sweet white cotton ruffles with the skinned knees and bare feet? perfect. that's my girl.
today we celebrated adella's half birthday. nothing fancy - just some dinner, some new boots (and a sweet little folding chair to match), and half a birthday cake.
she is now *officially* four-and-a-half...
and, as you surely have noticed - she got an awesome new dress too.
so, the dress: it's 'm' from the wonderfully sweet 'girly style wardrobe', for anyone interested. after i finally dove in and started tracing the pattern lines, i began to get a pretty clear image of how it all fit together. and once i started sewing, breaking it down in my mind, and flipping back through the book to study diagrams, it came together pretty quickly. and after just an hour or so, i was a little stunned and very satisfied to see that, not only was it done, but it looked pretty darn cute!
so i'm in love with this little dress now, and happily, adella is too. i love it so much that i'm not going to point out any of the (very minor, mind you) wonky parts.
and, in conclusion: it's done, i love it, and there will be more japanese sewing cuteness!
so nice to have my beloved sewing machine back, at long last! she's tuned, tightened, oiled, and back in tip-top shape again.
and just in time. i've got a growing list of sewing to do: crowns, balls, flag banners, some new softie designs to try, and some clothes to make for myself and the kiddos. the most anticipated is to make some projects from my new japanese sewing books. i've spent some long hours deciphering the pattern pages (which are so crazy. they look like some kind of insane topo-map, or maybe a street map of tokyo?)
but i think i'm off to a promising start. and my first mission? this sweet, simple dress for adella:
wish me luck! me and my machine will be burning the midnight oil, trying to finish up this beauty tonight.
to be continued...
goodness - july already? well, before i get too far behind, i wanted to post a few pictures from the 4th...
as you can see, the day ended with a bang. but first, we started with a nice liesurely day around the house. then, a new soccer ball for adella and a trip to the park to break it in:
and then home for a nap (griff), splashy pool (adella), grocery store (stig), and puttering (me).
later, mom came over and we fixed some dinner:
and dessert (peach cobbler!)
with the excitement of the 'big fireworks' in mind, adella drew some pictures:
can you see? adella called it " a little girl wearing headphones on her ears because the fireworks are so loud," but that's not adella, apparently, because, "that kid doesn't have any hair!"
later, we trekked around downtown for a while, found a nice spot to throw our blanket, and waited for the show. adella did wear her headphones for a while, but eventually she started feeling braver and took them off.... lots of oohs and aaahs, and even a few monkey hoots from our brave girl. griffin liked the 'works too - and then he promptly fell asleep before we even made it back to the car.
a very long, fun day. yippee! happy july!
adella is having her *very first ever* sleepover tonight at mom's house! here she is, all packed and ready to go:
despite the expression on her face here, she was very excited. she was packed, ready, and waiting here on the front porch about 45 minutes ahead of time. and after a super-fun dinner and sleepover tonight, tomorrow they are going to "the big movie" as adella calls it (the movie theater). exciting stuff!
it sure is quiet around here....
i made these onesies for griffin last week (well, you know - i sewed the patches on), from some suuuuper-cute fabric that i had lying around, the animals are (i think) robert kaufman, and the little tow truck is from some wonderful vintage fabric that i stumbeld upon at a rummage sale several weeks ago.
i also made a couple of applique shirts for adella but have not taken pictures of those yet. i did take pictures of the new skirt i made her:
i have been hoarding this owl fabric or some time now, i just love it. the second i saw it, two yards jumped right into my shopping cart, without a moment of hesitation. i love it. another robert kaufman (seeing a trend here?) print, and the pattern is simplicity 4206, which also has some cute tops and pants that i will be making soon...
i was planning for a second round of photos, but by mid-afternoon the skirt, shirt, and girl were all drenched with mushy-cereal milk, which wasn't exactly the look i was hoping to capture. so, here you go. ...so so cute!
has somehow slipped completely away from me. i downloaded the pictures from my camera today, and was shocked to see over a week's worth of un-blog-recorded photos! tsk, tsk...
so here's a little photo recap for ya:
:: a dinner picnic at the playground ::
:: strawberry freezer jam! ::
with some help from my little kitchen fairies, we made some scrumptious strawberry jam. (as a side note, i realized that this season, i've spent over $50 on strawberries at various 'pyo' farms and farmers' markets --- and they've been worth every penny. nothing quite like a perfect sweet bucket of strawberries. i think i froze enough to make another batch of freezer jam, since we seem to have somehow eaten almost all 5 jars already!)
:: bookends ::
:: prince-ss, and movie star ::
:: the nature center ::
i'm really happy with this project - it's one that has been on my mind for a while, and it was a lot of fun!
adella got really into helping me with it. first, we surfed the internet for some instructional videos (can't find the links now, sorry)
then, we collected the supplies over a few days - gravel, activated charcoal, potting soil, a few plants (we chose an ivy, a vinca, and the pinky-stripes one), and then found some things from our own collections as little extras to put in (shells from the beach last year, and plastic horses, of course).
putting them together was pretty quick and easy, and they turned out great! we kept one and gave one to mom as a house-warming gift for her new place. now i think i'd like to make another one or two - i want to make a succulent one, maybe a flowering plant one too. but how many terrariums are too many?
also - they are very hard to photo, but hopefully you can see the awesomeness through that glass glare...
i made this pillow last week, and it is already my favorite one in the house.
this has been a loooong 'work in progress' project (but with no good reason why). adella made this drawing several months ago, and around christmas i started embroidering, finished it up shortly after, and then here it sat. on my work shelf, folded neatly in a corner, waiting... it was always going to be a pillow, i just never got around to doing it for some reason. but finally, last week, i picked it up, went to the scrap box, sewed on a simple log-cabin-ish border, and pulled it all together in a matter of minutes. so fast, so easy, and i just love it. and now i'm hooked - i've got another in progress already:
and i promise this one won't take months to finish!
...or maybe that should be stripey pants love...
either way, i know you can feel the rainbow stripe love in this picture.
this was one of those projects i've been meaning to try forever - making a quick pair of wee pants from an old t-shirt of mine. it's one of those projects i've seen over and over in blog-land but for some reason, never got around to it. newly inspired by the creative famiy, i whipped up this pair of pants for griffin using one of my old tank tops. a couple of cuts, a seam or three, and some elastic - and we've got a new pair of super-cute-and-comfy pants for g to lounge around in.
i'll be making more of these for sure! (though next time, i'll use the proper sewing machine needle)
and don't you love those squishy chub toes, and the soft little wrist roll?
now he's really on the move. last night he crawled up a step - and not just any step - he actually crawled up onto the brick fireplace!
now excuse me, while i get back to baby-proofing....
adella's new favorite accessory - swim goggles. she's got a green pair and a blue pair, and she's very excited about them. she's actually been putting her face in the water - holding her breath and everything.
she also just likes to wear the goggles around - at home, to the store, in the car - you know, just as an accessory. apparently it's the latest thing. still, she definitely passes the cute test.
**swim lessons start monday!**
i'm on a bit of a break from the shop while my sewing machine is being repaired, and i've been taking full advantage of these lazy (insanely hot) summer days by being... well, lazy.
i did make a super-cute batch of patchwaork balls for a custom order:
and while i do have lots of ideas i want to work on, i'm giving myself permission to take it easy on updating the shop for now. i have no doubt that the crafting/creating bug will come and bite me very hard, and very soon, and when it does i'll be ready.
in other news, our asheville etsy team is starting to really come together. it's taken a while to get things rolling, and we do have some organizing still in progress, but exciting things are happening! we've got some amazing crafty peeps involved, and lots of fun opportunities are popping up. and if you are interested, you can pop on over to the team blog to read a little interview with yours truly...
eta: this post was actually written (well, started anyway) a few days ago... happily, that crafting bug has already come back, and i have a few fun projects to show off soon!
