little birds

i've moved

these archives are now open. new posts can be found here. thanks!

decisions, decisions

I was able to my kids to commit to a theme for their Halloween costumes yesterday, and I made some sketches under their directives. They have both always been extremely opinionated about their costumes. I can't remember a time when they didn't have a strong say as to how they would dress up, even as babies and toddlers. As we sat there sketching out every last detail, reference books at hand, Jack commented that they were like little future art-directors. This is what happens when you have designers as parents, I guess (and we couldn't be more proud).

I asked them to commit to a design as last year there was a great deal of indecision, and I had to make the costumes at the last minute. Mia ended up deciding on a flower last year. The idea came from Martha Stewart Kids (see here), and she insisted that I make it exactly like the picture. I think she said, "Mom, I don't want you to use any of your ideas." Yeah.

Miles wanted to be a ghost, not a fancy new-age gauzy ghost, an old-school ghost. He drew me a picture, and I fashioned it out of white felt and black tulle. This is my most favorite costume ever. Miles is an extremely shy child, and he loved the anonymity of his costume. It was awesome.

This year it's Alice in Wonderland and a Viking. Mia had been planning on being a "little Dutch girl" for a while, but her current obsession with Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass won out (she has read these books over and over and can quote entire passages). I think Miles just wanted a costume that involved a sword and a belt; Viking it is. Boo!

flapping around

I just updated my shop. I was having some email/mailing list problems, so if you're on my list and received some subjectless email or none at all, I'm sorry. As usual, I'm just flapping around like a crazy bird with no clue how these things work.

Have a great weekend!

a chick, a plate, a correction

A fluffy chick in a party hat. That great vintage lion fabric came from my sister who, as I've said, spoils me. She also sent me this rad vintage Melmac plate. It might have been meant for my kids, but it's staying in my studio.

Did I say that I'd have a shop update tomorrow at 9:00 am? That's not going to work as I'll barely be back from taking my kids to school. let's make it 10:00 am pst. If you're on my email list, I'll send out a reminder. Thanks!

fall things

Roasted squash (for butternut squash soup with ginger).

A tweed elephant.

seeing pink elephants

I'm having a really busy week, but I wanted to pop in and say hello. This little pink elephant will be in the shop on Friday with a few more friends (I hope). She's made of the softest 100% wool with vintage peach fabric sent to me by my sister (she spoils me rotten, I tell ya).

One of the things I'm dealing with is a sudden influx of comment spam, so I've turned on the word verification feature. Sorry, I know that's a pain. I've also discovered that my email program has been routing all kinds of mail to my junk folder that was, in fact, not junk, so I'm trying to weed through those messages as well.

Okay, back to work. Sometimes I want to call up my eight-year-old self and be like, "Hey, guess what I do! I make stuffed animals. People pay me to do it. For real. Cool, hunh?"

work in progress friday

A little peek of one of my projects from this week. Something on paper.

Last week's WIP was acceptance, and I'm still carrying that with me, but this week I've had to muster up some assertiveness. I avoid confrontation. I have never even honked my car horn at someone in my life. However, I've had to call upon my Mama Bear instinct this week. It's not easy. So, I'll add assertiveness to this week's WIPs.

Many of you have asked when I'll be back in business with my etsy shop. Good news, I'll be stocking the shop next Friday (October 6th) at about 9:00 am and will try to make Friday morning updates weekly  from then on. Some of the updates will be larger than others, but I'll try to put a few new things up every week. I will not be updating the first week of November as I'll be getting ready for Studio Craft. I'm so excited to get together with friends and be able to sell things face-to-face. Thank you Sally and Melissa for giving me the opportunity! Do come out and say hi if you live nearby.

Have a great weekend! We're going to see M. Ward on Saturday and I can't wait!

ps: Thank you so much for all the anniversary well wishes! We went on a beautiful hike (at an adult pace); it was a wonderful day.

wings

My guy has a way of making me feel so secure, yet so free. Like having wings. Today is our ninth wedding anniversary. We're going to play hooky from work and go for a hike. You should too.

ciao professore

I spiffied up the front entry last week in preparation for fall's drippy coats and orphan mittens, but now it's sunny and 80 degrees and all that stuff has become temporarily unnecessary. A wool cardigan also feels unnecessary, but not for long, so I picked this one up at the thrift for Miles anyway. It needed elbow patches, of course. I used good, strong 100% wool felt with red stitches for contrast. I don't know if he's that excited about the little professor look, but it makes me happy. Chilly fall, come back!

For those of you asking about the bag: it's one I made last year.

hello fall...

::weekend highlights::

A solo walk to the video store on a perfect fall night. We watched this. I also highly recommend this album.

Sunshine.

Apple cider pressing with friends. Cutting the wormy bits out. Eating donuts. Drinking cider.

The Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival with Mia and my mom. I love wool. And goats.

Wine and watching the swifts with good friends. A cute baby. A funny toddler. A handsome camera.

Filling holes around the house (literal and figurative ones).

Jack bringing me aqua Melmac and Japanese plates from a yard sale and a stack of Martha Stewart Kids (my kids have thrashed all my copies) from the Goodwill.

Finishing some things that I started.

Making apple crisp and bringing it to my parent's house for Sunday dinner.

Looking forward to the week ahead...