blackberries

In the garden right now - blackberries.
I picked most of the ripe ones but, more are on the way.
What's your favorite way to eat blackberries. Any favorite recipes you want to share?

she's crafty wrap cardigan + a new trick

A sweater planned for while baby was still in womb.
Yarn bought at Purl on a weekend day trip alone.
I miss my little trips into the city. The escape into a gallery or a little shopping expedition.

A simple cardigan that wraps and ties in a bow. Size 6-12 months for the coming season.
It looks much bigger to me though she is still 5 months.

I spent about 6 weeks give or take on this working a little here and there. The 'making up' at the end was tedious and long and I really looked forward to it's completion. The seaming is not quite right to me but, satisfactory.

I knit the flower but, have yet to attach it. I'm not sure if I want to.

Pattern: She's Crafty.

Trick: Sitting. She's quite good at it.

wednesday with mom

My Mom usually comes to visit with me and the kids on Wednesday's. Often, I escape for an hour. That hour is the only hour I truly have alone outside the home all week although I do try to escape alone during the weekend as well and often succeed.

She always brings little treats with her. Often lunch, a bar of chocolate, some flowers from her garden, a sweet potato for Little M... The past two weeks I got hydrangea and daisies in old jelly jars and they are so pretty. There is usually something else, something old. Last week it was some fabric from the thrift shop. This week some finds from the attic. A lovely doll she says is mine that I have no recollection of and a book of fairy tales called Green Fairy Book.



Our lunch was this beautiful lentil salad.

Thanks Mom for making sure to make my Wednesday's special and for helping with the kids and letting me escape for a tiny bit.

heidi headbands

I made the Heidi Headbands from Bend-The-Rules Sewing this week. I love how they turned out. These can be done in so many ways depending what materials you use for top and bottom bands. You could use ribbon or fabric. You can embellish with buttons which I did here or jewelry findings or felt/fabric flowers. Embroidering them would be fun as well. So many possibilites.

Afterwards, I realized I already made velvet headbands but those were strictly with ribbon and elastic while these were made with muslin and velvet and twill tape. I love my printed ribbons but, they are too wide for this project. The only one I had that would have worked I used on my Heidi apron.

These make a great gift for little girls and I do love giving handmade as much as I can. Perhaps an outfit to go with it. I am in love with the clothes in the book pictured here

shoppe and advice

I've been updating the Etsy shop a little here and there as I get a chance to take photos and write up the descriptions. There are 3 new smocks and 2 new garlands up there presently from the craft fair and I've got a lot more to do. It's easier for me to do it this way then one big update. Perhaps this will prove better for me as I'm not sure how long I'm going to stick with Etsy. Perhaps I should move it to my own site. Thoughts? I wish I had some design skills. I'm not even sure how to do a blog header. Mick helped me with that. Pathetic, I know.

I mostly have the Etsy shop as a way for people to see what I make and look at it when I tell them about it. I'd rather not spend the $ to even list things for the .20 fee. Anyone out there interested in helping me design on a budget? Like design on a dime...okay a little more than a dime.

saturday's thrift finds

I hit the jackpot on Saturday at our local kids thrift/second hand shop. Mostly I got items for Scarlet but I did find one cute western style button down for Little M which is not pictured but, trust me it's cute.

Here is what I got for my girl. Everything is too big for her now but, someday....

First up, this dress. I almost fell over when I saw the manufacturer's tag, Plum Pudding, because this is Scarlet's nickname. FYI- I call Little M, Blueberry Pie. I had to get it because I just love a dot and a red dress with dots and daisies..be still my beating heart!



Secondly, I saw this brown dress with multicolored dots and what can I say, it is so sweet.




Thirdly, I got this adorable raincoat, oh my!



But wait, all three of these items came in pairs because they were from twins that were dressed identically. So there is another one of all of the above just waiting.

Then, oh my god, I can't believe these rain boots were still there. I wanted them last time I was in but, somehow resisted their charm. I don't know how or why but, thank goodness they were still there weeks later.



These white t-strap shoes are just the best and they are from France and it looks like they were barely worn.




Pricetag for all items $22
I feel like such a lucky girl!

P.S. - You can see the Nordicware pan and Betty Crocker cookbook I picked up at a garage sale on Friday over there on the right.

pears

I've been wanting to try this tutorial of Dacia's ever since she made them last Fall. It seemed like the perfect sewing project for me this week as I've been trying to lay low on the craft front for a few days which is no easy task for a woman obsessed. The smell of lavender and the feel of rice was just wonderful and so relaxing. The lavender is from my garden which has been drying up nicely outside so I just cut it and froze overnight in one of those freezer bags. The rice is basmati and I have a huge burlap bag of it that my Father brought me after we moved a few months ago. I love the look of those big bags of rice and they have such nice graphics.



Choosing the fabrics (which you really only need a small amount for so perfect for using up small scraps) is always so fun for me and these work up fast and multiply easily.

oh well

That is about the most positive title I could think of for this post. Wow, that was quite an exhausting and long day. Unfortunately, I didn't really do well. I did cover the cost of the table + a tiny bit. It turned out that it was mostly a music festival (not the good kind) and the vendors (not that I really saw any) were not all of the crafty kind.
I'm pretty tired because I spent 9 days working 2 full time jobs (SAHM + maniac seamstress/knitter/crafter. At least I've got a lot of inventory.
To give you an idea of the scope of what I made it goes something like this:

7 pairs of handknit baby booties
10 smock dresses
16 + or - garlands
45 + or - bobbies
16 appliques onesies
30 clothespin dolls
5 tiny house pillows/pincushions
3 pinboards

This week I need to rest.
And, maybe clean up, straighten and tackle some gardening. The garden misses me a bit. The raspberries are coming soon. I never told you about the gooseberries and currants, did I?

my first craft fair

On Saturday, I will be participating in Maplewoodstock. It's my very first craft fair and I've wanted to do this for a long time and so now I finally am doing it. It's a big deal for me.
I've been sewing, knitting and crafting like crazy because I only decided to do this one week ago.
I've got a tent and table now thanks to my very supportive parents and I've got the goods and I'm still working on making some more and finishing up some stuff in progress.
I wish I had time to make a banner for the tent but I don't think it's going to happen before the show.
I'll take some photos and show you what it looked like.
Wish me luck and if you are in the area stop by and say hi.

perch home

As of today, my handmade garlands and children's smocks are available at Perch Home in Maplewood, NJ. I couldn't be more thrilled.

I've got to run but, I'll be back tomorrow with more excitement.

freezer jam + scones

Did everyone have a nice 4th of July weekend? We were busy bee's but managed to squeeze in some fun. I can't take credit for either of these concoctions. Both freezer jam and scones were made by Mick. The reason being... I have been up to A LOT of sewing and knitting and crafting but, that is for another post.

The scones are from How To Be a Domestic Goddess and they are good and they have not a lick of sugar in them. Don't get me wrong, I do like my sugar.

Some highlights from this weekend:

!) Seeing an aerial ballerina at the circus! Here I thought I was superwoman because I could knit & nurse and shop at IKEA & nurse but oh, no I can not perform tricks swinging around on my ankle or by one arm high up in the air. I am good but, not that good.

2) Watching Little M and his cousins hit a piñata at his cousin Javier's birthday party.

3) Lots of time in the craft room.

4) A trip to a fabric store called Fabric Land (yes, that's what it was called) and buying up some cute polkas, florals and a bunch of Kona cotton.

5) Going to the farmer's market in town and finding lots of goodness there. The vendors had a lot of variety and it was a lot better then the one where I previously lived.

6) Picking red and white currants in my front yard at twilight. (Okay, the mosquitoes were the unhappy result of that).

6) Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I also received a box of fabric from Mick's sister Jane with little bits of goodness inside.

what's old is new again

A little sewing I forgot to show you from the past few weeks:



A tiny skirt made from a vintage tablecloth. You can see another photo of it here but, you did want to see another photo of Scarlet, no? I love this tablecloth so much but, it had some stains I just couldn't get out so it went into the fabric pile recently and I knew I would have to use it soon. It's no surprise I made something for Scarlet as I'm pretty obsessed with making things for her right now.
(Note: Must make something for self).



This clothespin hanger was made from a vintage bubble that was given to me by a friend. It had holes I could not mend and again I waited for the right project. When Claire posted her clothespin hanger I was so jealous as I've been enjoying line drying. Lynne's Mom wrote about her feelings about a clothesline so well here. I'm happy to share this sentiment with like-minded souls.