One of My Favorite Combinations

A lovely little combination of pale sugar pink, sage green and cream

The front shoulder view

The button detail in coordinating fabric

                                                Side view and moms hand knit cupcakes

A reverse combination from the Holiday Boutique

The packaging I finally like for birthday parties--thank you Pattie

 Mo's hand knit cupcakes for my craft table

Back in December, I stumbled on these nice fabric combinations. I love the pink in this apron because it is almost a vintage like pink and it has a lovely, soft print. I sold this combo a lot at Christmas in the xtra small size. It reminds me of an old fasion pinefore. The other apron is a picture from the my table at the holiday boutique. The vintage signs are not mine, but I just love them. This is another cool fabric pairing and it is also one of my favorites. Although, I sew a lot of stuff in bright, modern fabrics--my first love will always be soft, pale colors.

The little hand knit cupcakes were a gift from my mom. I asked my mom--who is an amazing knitter, to make me some cupcakes and....she did. I use them for my craft fair tables and lots of people have offered to buy them--but they are a labor of love from my mom and just for display--thanks mom!

Storytime was Even More Special Thanks to Julie Graham

My little Beech was born 6 years ago cleft affected with a bilateral cleft lip and soft palate. Until now, his little scar and speech problems have been a non issue. But, recently he came home from school with a broken heart. For the first time, he was teased by another child at school. They came up to him, laughed and said, "what is wrong with your lip...you are different not like the rest of us" and then they ran off. I am sure that they were not being maliciouse..hopefully just curiouse. Either way, I saw a great sense of sadness in my little boy as he cried and said "I don't want this scar anymore" and as a parent all I could do was listen and be there for him. Then god bless my darling husband and best friend, he researched all of the books out there on clefting and he found, "A Special Smile" by julie graham.

So tonight, Beech and I snuggled up for story time and read this lovely book about what cleft affected children can go through at school. At first, he did not want to read about "kids with clefts"! But... as we read the story, we chatted briefly about his scar and my scar and he got to look at my palate too. Slowly, a new and preciouse door of communication opened up between us.  This charming little book covers several important topics on clefting such as; question kids ask cleft affected children on the playground, birth, feeding issues and all of the medicalization a cleft affected child must go through.

This is a valuable little book for any family raising a cleft affected child. Since I am also ceft affected, I can attest to the fact that there were no resources like this one available to me when I was a child. Sadly, I spent most of my youth answering the painful question..."what's wrong with your lip?" Thankfully , a writer and mom like Julie Graham cares enough to put this answer down in print--I know that this will be an increadible resource for our family and for Beech's school.

A special thank you to Mrs. Graham for writing this increadibly insightful tool--as a mother of a cleft affected child and my own history of a cleft---I am filled with gratitude over her dedication to help families raising cleft affected children.

A Hunting We Will Go...A Hunting We Will Go.....

So I have been on the hunt for new materials to play around with for my aprons. In the last week, Annie and I have jetted off in the car and "gone a hunting....". We have been to the south bay, east bay and San Francisco. I have been looking for fun, pretty and practical fabrics. I started in the utility fabrics areas—such as nylon and ripstop nylon. The bummer is that this particular fabric does not come in very many pretty colors. I also found vinyl coated fabrics in the East Bay at Stone Mountain and Daughters http://www.stonemountainfabric.com/

Then, a few days later I found more of these coated fabrics at the Bobbins Nest http://www.bobbinsnest.com/ (a darling sewing and knitting shop with a wonderfully eclectic selection of fabrics, including vintage prints) in Santa Clara and I purchased a few yards to play with from there.

 The draw back to this particular fabric is that it is not machine washable—only wipe able! So anything I sew out of it, will only be wipe able with a soft cloth. Last, I found some pleather at Joanne Fabrics and Discount Fabrics. This is machine washable, but I can only get it in solid colors, so it is not as fun as the printed vinyl, but it is more practical. So, now I am playing around with my apron patterns and these new fabric samples to see what I can make from it all. I love this part the most—it is a wonderful challenge to try to make something new, fun and practical.

It's Shower Time for the Mommies of Room 15

Jens Blanket cute coordinating vintage car flannel

a printed fabric label welcoming the little guy

all wrapped and ready to party tomorrow!

This little is a little standard blankie I make for baby shower gifts. It is soft and usually fits nicely over the stroller. It is really simple to make and yet it is unique--especially if you hunt for some ecclectic flannel, I love anything with muted colors, vintage themes or unusual prints like bikes or umbrellas and I stay away from novelty prints. This blanket is one yard of minkey, 1 yard of flannel, pinned right sides together and trimmed to 1/2 around the sides. I sew around the perimeter of wrong sides together, leaving a 2" opening for turning. Then, the magic begins and I turn it right side out and use my point turner at the corners. I also like to print fabric printer paper and sew on a personalized label. This one I have to go back and fix one of the sides, as it is clear I started to fal asleep on the job! 

Anyway, the mommies of room 15 at Beech's school are coming over tomorrow in the morning for a baby shower for Jen and I am looking forward to a lovely morning with the ladies.

A Popular Request (this post is dedicated to SM--hope it makes you smile!)

Adult bib made out of flannel backed vinyl

A pocket to hold tissue, a napkin or other treasures

All wrapped up and ready to go!

In the last year, I have had a few requests for adult bibs and usually I say I do not make anything like that because I only like to make kids things. However, a dear dear friend of mine has a darling grandmother who is turning 95 years old next week and really needs a bib. Currently, they are using a towel to go over her lap. So, off I went in search of a fitting fabric for an adult bib. I settled on two different types; a white eyelet vinyl and a rustic, fruit printed flannel backed vinyl. I cut the bib to go over the neck and binded the neck in a soft fabric. I also decided that a little pocket would be nice for tissue or a napkin. Then I wrapped it up in some pretty packaging and delivered it to my girlfriend and she was delighted. I was happy to hear that this bib may make life a bit easier for my friend's dear mom who helps to take care of her mom (my friends grandmother). These types of challenges are always my favorite type of thing to sew.

A Crazy Valentines Week

So our Valentines celebrating started on Tuesday of last week when we passed out little sweet treats to our playgroup buddies and then the gift giving kept going and going....to Beech's school friends, Annies preschool pals and so on. After all of the valentine exchanges and parties all week--we were exhausted. And what do pooped out parents do to celebrate...they split a heart shaped cake from Safeway , rent Couples Retreat and fall fast asleep half way through. Then...at last Valentines morning arrived and J made breakfast, the kiddies opened their little handmade treats--new robes, pretties and some yummy chocolates and Julian suprised me with a new little lap top (which I am typing on now--I love it) so I can blog anywhere I go. This was our 19th Valentines day together and Julian you are still the love of my life.  Anyway, thanks to my little valentine elves, it was a sweet and crazy week!

A Quick Check-in

I just wanted to do a quick check in. I have lots of pictures to post from all of our Valentine partying, but I will have to do that tomorrow. I also wanted to share that Miss Annie Pants and I went on quite and adventure this afternoon. We packed up our car and drove off to Berkeley. We went to Stone Mountain and Daughters Fabrics. It is an amazing fabric store that carries everything from trims, supplies and fabrics to sewing classes.

As Annie munched on her blueberries and gold fish, ,we milled around the store together. I was on the hunt for supplies--oak tag, pattern paper and vinyl. As I collected my supplies, we played eye spy--searching for "red" "blue" and "purple"..I was willing to play any game to keep her happy. As she was starting to get fussy.

After our supply run, we walked several blocks together in the warm sunshine to Starbucks. She admired passers by with dogs or kids. She saw several small dogs with their owners as we made our way down Shattuck. Then we wrapped up our walk with a chocolate milk box and two mini dognuts.

It was a lovely little adventure, going to one of my favorite stores, on a goreouse day with one of my absolute favorite people!!!!

The Perfect Date

On Thursday evening I went on the perfect date with my little guy, Beech. It was wonderful! First, we went to Panda Express (Beech’s favorite restaurant) then we walked a few doors down to Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Parlor where we both had scoops of chocolate ice cream on candy dipped cones. As we sat, we  had a chance to catch up. Being that he is only 6 years old he shared with me that he does not have to do centers at school right now and that is “really great”. It can be so funny to hear about the trials and tribulations within the kindergarten world.

After dinner and desert, we drove to Burlingame where Beech had his first official sewing class at http://marinassewingschool.com/ Beech has been spending time with me in my studio learning to sew. I originally purchased a singer toy battery operated machine for him. Despite the many warnings that these machines are really junk or toys—I fell for one anyway. And true to form….as the reviews promised—IT WAS JUNK! So, I have been teaching him on my Viking. It has a few kid friendly features; needle drop down and speed control. The speed control has been especially significant and helpful. Now I am just trying to order a finger guard and we will be all set.

Anyway, Marinas Sewing School is a darling little home sewing—just for kids. There were four other girls in his class who were nine, ten and twelve years old. Quietly, I went to sit in the other room while he had his first lesson. The girls were all curious that a boy was there, but they eventually got used to it. In the span of one hour Beech learned to cut out fabric, pin it, wind a bobbin, thread the machine and sew the perimeter of the bag. He was so happy with his little bag. Marina had to put a few phone books on a stool under his feet so he could reach the pedal and... that little boy—determined as ever, put the pedal to the metal. Over all, I was really impressed with her gentle, yet direct approach to teaching the kids. They were all at different levels, so she had to bounce around helping them learn different techniques. Anyway, it was a perfect date with one of my favorite people in the whole universe and I can’t wait to do it all over again next Thursday!

Just Love this Darn Ruffler

 I had forgotten why I originally wanted my ruffler in the first place...it was supposed to be for my little apron business. But, like any crafter, I was so excited with my new toy that I ran in a million other directions with it to see what it could do. Now, getting back to business, I cut out a few aprons and tested out my ruffler on the bodice to make it gathered. Normally, I run a large basting stitch and then spend some time gathering it up to pin it into the yolk piece.

To do this, first I cut out some scraps that were the same width as the top of the bodice on my apron piece. Then a ruffling I went. Twelve stitches was to loose, 1 stitch was too tightly gathered and six was j...u...s...t right! The ruffler made the top part of my Modern Day Pinefore gathered up with perfect pleats. Then I just went over them with a bit of steam and a hot iron. Then, I fit the top part of the bodice into the yolk and pinned it. It was so wonderful---no more guessing, undoing, re-doing or breaking my basting stitches. Just....ruffle, iron, pin and sew--I think this ruffler will definitely improve my production of these little aprons.

I want to thank Eddies Quilting Bee http://www.quiltingbee.com/ in Sunnyvale for all their wonderful help in finding the right ruffler. Their store is always more interested in selling their happy sewing clients the right thing--no matter how big or small the sale. --my ruffler was a purchase on the smaller side that made a big impact in my sewing life.

Thanks Skip to My Lou

Recently, I wanted to make some crayon rolls. I had made a few last Christmas, but I did not really have any specific directions. So, last week I sat down and reached out to my fellow bloggers to find some good directions. And… thanks to Skip to My Lou’s darling blog http://www.skiptomylou.org/2007/04/25/on-a-roll/ I found wonderful, easy to follow directions for sewing up a simple crayon roll.

For my project, I used flannel for the outside fabric—which I would not do again. The crayon rolls are really better if they are interfaced and I found it pretty difficult to interface flannel. Other than that, all went smoothly. As the directions specified, I cut 4 pieces. Next, I ironed on my interfacing, ironed my pocket piece in half lengthwise and sewed the pocket to the interfaced piece—right sides together(this creates one half of the roll. Next, I gently drew my stitching lines, starting at 1.25 “ and then 1” intervals after and I finished the last stitch line at 1.25”inches from the other edge. At this point, I stitched away on all of my lines. Last, I sandwiched together my back piece to my front piece (the one with all of the little stitch lines), along with a ribbon to tie the roll closed—wrong sides together and basted around the edge, leaving a 1”opening for turning. And..I turned it, ironed it and I was done.

A side note: I made these as gifts, so I did all of the above parts in assembly line stages. The sewing of the stitch lines (for the crayons) was the most challenging and tedious part. If I were to make them again, I would definitely leave myself more time. All in all, I think this is the sweetest little gift for any little artist in training

Rockin' Out All the Way to Stitchcraft

    Early yesturday morning with a hot cup of coffee in hand I hopped in my car and jetted off to Petaluma to spend a few hours at Stitchcraft http://www.stitchcraftonline.com/ with Nicole Vasbinder---owner and seamstress extraordinare! There I was driving across the Golden Gate bridge in the morning mist....blasting a little 107.7 the bone. I sat there singing along to one of my all time favorite songs by Guns and Roses musing about my adventures up to Petaluma. --Over the last year, I have managed to develope a little routine when I get there.

    First I stop at Arams Cafe to see Jenni and Kelli. They crack me up because it seems like they know everyone in town and they never have a bad day. I always order cocoa, Nicole's iced coffee and a cookie and no matter how much time has gone by they always remember what I am going to order.--They rock!

Next, I head off to see that crafty lady, Nicole at Stitchcraft (right next door). With yummy snack provisions and lots of projects in my bag, I head through the old historic building's double doors. I never really know what we will work on--possibly a new pattern design or more sewing techniques, we never know until we have had sometime to catch up. So, I made my way into her darling studio ready to put the pedal to the metal!

After we caught up for a while ( I shared stories about my holidays and she updated me on her recent, fabulouse cruise to Mexico). Then... she asked that famouse question she always asks..."what are we doing today?" and I...began to spill my worries and concerns about having finished my first official year in buisness fretting about what comes next. So, together we sat in her sunny little studio surrounded by beautifully printed fabrics and wonderful patterns she had sewn up as samples for her classes and just talked. We went over how to improve my book keeping skills (moving them to excel), spring craft shows coming up and my concerns about just covering my general costs. After a few hours of small buisness talk, I felt so much better. Alas, it was also time for me to head back to the bay area to be mom again--taking with me all the pearls of wisdome I had learned-- while still listening to more of my beloved classic rock.

Spring Cleaning in January

     We love to do a lot of art around here, but if we are not organized then we can not do any really fun projects--like our big valentines day card making weekend which is coming up. So, over the past few weeks we have been cleaning out the kids art supplies, reorganizing and restocking them. Anyway, thanks to other fellow bloggers and Amanda Soule's book, "The Creative Family" and her beautiful blog http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama/ I found some great ideas on how to better oganize Annie and Beech's art area and supplies.

    First we purchased a bunch of storage boxes from target and a package of white labels. We cleaned out a lot of the old, dried up art supplies and tossed them. Then we created catagories and labeled the boxes: crafting supplies, crafting tools, craft kits and so on. We also have them out of reach for the little ones benifit and --my sanity!

    We also found a nice second hand table that had been painted and cut down to "kids size" and we put it in a small area in our family room and the kids absolutely love it. Now we are ready to settle in for lots of great art projects in the next few months!

--Happy hunting for whatever inspires you, gathering with those you love and stitching to your hearts content!