it's a new dawn, it's a new day...

After having a sick household for the middle half of December, and then scrambling to finish preparations for Christmas, this in between week has been welcome respite. We had a very lovely time with friends and family, and the boys were spoiled by everyone. The best part of it all for them was seeing and playing with their cousins, Aunts & Ankles, and friends. They jumped up and down with excitement for each gathering. Thank you all!

2009 wasn't so hot in many ways, but we are all well and happily watching our little boys grow. We're better off in some some ways than this day last year, and not so much in others. We said goodbye to our beautiful, sweet, greyhound Joey. We said hello to some new friends, and many new experiences with a pair of 2 year olds. This space came alive. I am grateful, and only want to make it better going forward. No wasting time with what didn't get finished, or what the clock left behind - I'm moving on.

I thank each and every one of you who came to visit, I hope you enjoyed your stay. Lots of ideas on tap, so much new to lay out this year - so stay tuned!

photo courtesy banyantreebiketours.com

for sale by maker

These are the first 3 of a series of limited edition bags that I've been working on for sale, and I'm so excited about how they're turning out! I really enjoy working on them. Each bag has a common element which sparked this whole project - the velvet leaf appliquéd on front.

About 7 years ago my sister gave me a curtain panel with these leaves attached at the top. I didn't really have a use for it as is (was), but liked the parts - removed the leaves, and the panel became a tablecloth we still use today. The leaves surfaced recently in a materials search, and the idea came together for the bag series. It is very fun, and a challenge, to design & gather the parts for these. As with all my projects, they are made with leftover and repurposed materials. Each will be completely one-of-a-kind, can't be reproduced. There are only a certain number of leaves, each a different shape/color combo, and all the fabrics are in limited supply. I really like that aspect. If you've ever tried to mass produce a handmade item, you know what I mean. They'll be siblings, each with it's own personality - but not twins.

Perfect for a commuter, going shopping, yarn & knitting, just shlepping all the stuff we seem to carry here & there. Carry your cookies to the cookie swap & give it as a hostess gift. Great for the office yankee swap, too. Replace those plastic bags your Mom carries all the time! There are still more in the works, and a little time to work on requests, so contact me if you need something special, have questions, etc. (at upper left or see below)

Each is fully lined with an interior cell/keys, etc. pocket. Front side has velvet leaf and fabric detail, back is solid unless noted. Fabrics include canvas, heavy upholstery fabric, cotton twill, cotton & cotton/linen linings. Sturdy and reinforced; machine washable (inside out) in cold, reshape & hang dry.

#1 (top picture) Green Leaf East is 16"wide x 15"tall x 4"deep - in greens, tans and naturals. Natural color twill handles. Natural color lining. Detail below. $35.

#2 (second picture) Deep Green North is 18"w x 14"t x 5"d - in caramel, greens, brown and brick. The back of this bag is half solid, half patterned fabric from the front & handles. Natural color lining. Detail below. $35.

update  #2 SOLD Thank You!

#3 (third picture) Cranberry Leaf West is 19"w x 15"t x 5"d - in cranberry, tan and multi. Tan canvas handles. Striped lining. Detail below. $35.

Thanks for checking them out, & pass it on! Happy shopping...

gathering treasures

I've mentioned before that Mason always comes home from our walks with something in his hand. Be it a leaf (the last of the 35 he's picked up & discarded) or twig, pine cone or pebble, always something. Not to be outdone, of course, Nate has followed suit. It's funny to note the differences - Mason always picks the 'Charlie Brown' leaves, etc. and Nate goes for the big size or impact.

All these treasures need to be carried, and my hands are full with the hands of two boys, so... the Gathering Treasures Bag was born. The idea was kind of an old newspaper-boy's bag/messenger. It goes across the body with an adjustable strap for hands free use, and closes with vintage button & elastic loop. Simple construction, there are no pockets to get in the way of small hands filling & emptying. It's lined with fused grocery bags, which give it perfect structure & support. The fused material was a dream to sew & use. I've posted about this before here and here.

All the materials were of course gathered from around the house. The fabric is left over from my friend's curtains that I just hemmed, the straps are twill tape that came tied around a rug I ordered years ago & the colored stripe is seam binding from my Nana. (the green will be for Mason, and a blue striped one is in the works for Nate) The hardware I've kept from something taken apart who-knows-when, and the buttons are from my dad's circa 1950s hunting jacket. I cut that up when I was a kid, and the buttons remained. The elastic loop came from something I unwrapped a week or so ago - and can't remember what the heck it was. I know where things came from that have been around 20 years, but last week? No clue. I blame it on my kids.

I've been using all my spare time for work projects lately, but so many ideas have been flooding in, too.  I'm planning on a limited edition project for sale, post to come soon...

are these too girly?

That's the first thing that came out of my husband's mouth. "Aren't those a bit... girly? I mean, they're knit." O. K. 

I was excited to even have gotten a slipper shape, having just grabbed some of my Nana's yarn & a crochet hook and just went with it. No pattern, no nothing. And each slipper came out the same size as it's mate - another feat. Any knitter or crocheter knows what I mean. The blue pair - Nate's, came first, but I figured the shape out a bit better when doing Mason's. I was happy with them given that these just came out of my hands and brain with no other starting point than the fact that my boys need slippers. I think Nana would like them.

But, my bubble has been effectively burst. Can anyone tell me that a pair of nearly 3 year old boys can wear them (even in front of company) without being embarrassed? Oh - they do get embarrassed, they yell at their dad to stop dancing all the time. It's true.

So, let me know - comment your vote. I can take it, and I'm sure my husband can, too.

apples, fire trucks, pumpkin pie

It's not fall in New England without a day spent apple picking, pumpkin gathering, and checking out a farm stand. Nate actually ate his apple, Mason just held one tight. He did pick out his own pumpkin, very carefully.

We spent a beautiful day doing all that, and got a special exclusive Lieutenant-guided tour of a Firehouse & Fire Trucks this Sunday. The boys are nutty over fire trucks, and our friends Jackie & Barry were kind enough to invite us for a tour of a firehouse. Barry's a volunteer fireman & Lieutenant in Brookline, NH. Although the trucks were awfully large compared to a two & a half year old, they did rather well. And haven't stopped mentioning them since.

I filled up my basket with our fresh-from-the-tree apples, and filled our home with the smell of apple crisp last night. Yum. I love fall.

the first 3 photos are thanks to Cayce...  Thank You!

bench found incognito

This little piece doesn't look like much. A client of mine used it for years as a side table - with a tray on top. She didn't know what it was, or where it came from - but before tossing it out, asked me if I wanted it. Thank You!

I knew right away that it was a bench, from either an expensive cabinet sewing machine (it's all mahogany) or possibly an upright piano. I think 50s. Guesses without lots of research, but I'm relatively sure. So it got a good cleaning - the finish was still very nice, thankfully. A bit of oil, and it looks great.

The seat needed to be re-created, so I went to my plywood scraps & cut one to fit. I had fabric of course, left over from... something. Any black fabric will do for the dust/underside cover, and to the stash for one inch foam & 2 layers of batting... ah. Comfy, easy to tuck away & just right when you need it. Works for me.

Last week was a little unexpected hiatus, with my hands full of boys, design work, usual chores and such. Hopefully I'll get a good rhythm going soon. I enjoy this space and all the projects it documents. Hopefully you do, too.

the finished basket

But it's much more than that. It's a completed project (those of you with a half dozen, half complete projects understand this) and a discovery & successful implementation of a new to me technique (fusing plastic bags). It's a physical manifestation of one reason why I wanted to create this online dialog - to bring creativity back to my life on a continual basis and have accountability for it. And it's also a spark... now that I've found a new material to work with, there are endless possibilities for it's use. My niece Ali would enjoy creating with this. It would be the perfect lining for the puppy-treats bag she wants to make.

The fabric liner was very quick & easy. If you haven't done it before & need info, comment here & I'll do a tutorial. My list is growing :). The fusing was so simple - I think I'm hooked. It took under 10 minutes from getting out the iron to the completed piece. I can deal with that! For this I used 4 bags, yielding an 8-layer piece. Cut it to size/shape with scissors, and there you have it. My last post has the link to the how-to, if you didn't already go. I highly recommend giving it a try, & seeing what you can do. This project start to finish, was completed while my boys were napping - under an hour. 

Now to go apple picking...