Positive signs

We're in the midst of The Great Toddler Revolt at our house, and I was fairly sure the Dictator would express extreme displeasure at my absence earlier this week. But no. Instead, she was a perfect angel--until approximately three minutes after I walked in the door.

And you know fun was had when you return home to this:


Aren't they great? The pictures were taken at a party they attended one evening, where Tsia wasn't sure she wanted to sit in the photo booth until she saw the results. Then Todd couldn't keep her away. I'll be framing the photos; I think they're priceless.

So she was just fine without me. In fact, while they were waiting in line to get ice cream at the party she gave Todd a big hug and said, "Tsia happy!"

Which makes me happy.

Good Day, Bad Day

Whew, what a week! I'm reminded of the new Kevin Henkes book we've been reading (thanks, Mom and Dad!), because every day seems to waver from one extreme to the other. For example, I lost my keys while running errands (too many packages and too much of a hurry: my usual problem) but then found them two days later (without the Tiffany keyring, of course). And a certain two-year-old drew all over the sofa with red ink, but then we bought some hairspray and were able to remove the stains completely.


Of course there were a few unmitigated bad items in our week: a certain someone tore a page from my library book (small problem) and has decided she no longer takes naps (BIG problem). But those two negatives were happily counteracted by the arrival of a new laptop (now I can work from wherever, whenever) and our first big step toward potty training (whoo-hoo!).

And the best item of the week? Well there were actually several, and one was certainly your fantastic response to the backpack pattern. Another one, which has me especially cheerful right now, is that I'm travelling to see my sewing, knitting, otherwise-needle-art-talented Grandma this weekend. We have some projects to work on together. And I'm travelling alone.

Got that? Alone. No potty training, tantrums, red ink, book tearing, no-napping, or early waking.

Poor Todd. I hope he survives.

In the meantime, here are a few favorite items to keep you busy:

Pretty, modern take on the cake stand

Our favorite method of brewing coffee


Adorable little sketchbook

Dr. Bronner's organic peppermint liquid soap. I've seen this product in the natural food stores for years now, but I'd never tried it until Bluelines mentioned it and then I found it at Trader Joe's the following day. Oh, love! It's all tingly and delicious-smelling.


One of my favorite books from childhood, the Betsy series from Maude Hart Lovelace.

The backpack patterns are nearly ready to go but, unfortunately, haven't quite made it into the mail yet. My apologies for the delay; there are so many to be printed and assembled, and although the envelopes are all prepared, the patterns themselves must await stuffing until my return next week.

Have a great holiday!

Thank you!

I've told you before about my annual birthday card "editions." We're a big family; I'm a somewhat disorganized person (but really, really trying to be organized): if we're going to have any chance of mailing out birthday cards on time, those cards had better be made in advance. And we need to have a lot of cards on hand!

Every year I make everyone the same card (more or less) with a cupcake theme. Since most of the family has at least seen the 2007 cards now, it's probably safe to show them publicly without ruining too many surprises. Here are this year's cards in a few of their iterations. As you can see, they're made from fabric and paper scraps that are glued and stitched together to create mini collages.

If I keep track of the calendar, I should be able to get a card into the mail in time for everyone's birthdays, right? Theoretically, yes. In practice? Ask my family how often their cards arrive on time. I don't have a great record, I'm afraid.

I wish I could send a card, birthday or other, to everyone who reads this blog. There are times when maintaining blog can feel a bit like one more responsibility in my life. But I get so much pleasure out of reading comments, exchanging email, and reading other blogs: the extra effort is always worthwhile!

And now the response to the backpack pattern has been waaaaay more than I expected, and I'm really grateful to you. Once again, all my hard work has been rewarded more than I imagined, just in the terrific number of you who have responded by ordering a copy.

And although it may not be your birthday today, these cards are for you. If I could, I'd take you out for a celebratory ice cream as well. (After all, I still need some myself!)

Instead, I'd better get busy putting together more hardware kits, buying more envelopes, and preparing to ship a lot of patterns. Which is rewarding in itself.

So thank you. I appreciate your enthusiasm; it makes all the hard work worthwhile.

At last!

The patterns are completely sold out! Thank you, everyone, for your tremendous response to them!

Update: Due to popular request, I'll be happy to ship outside the United States! Rather than set up shipping rates for each country, just go ahead and order via PayPal, where you will be required to pay the U.S. shipping charge. Then I'll email you information regarding additional shipping charges to your country and how to pay them.

So. Enough talk about this already, let's get it going so we can move on to other things.

Here are the links for purchasing the backpack pattern. Take your pick, and when you click you'll be taken to PayPal to complete your purchase. I hope to have the pattern printed on Thursday and all pre-orders in the mail by Friday or Saturday. After that, I'll be out of town until next Wednesday (the 30th), but I'll try to fill all remaining orders as quickly as possible upon my return.

Please note that there are three options for purchasing the pattern: pattern only, pattern plus silver-toned hardware,and pattern plus antique gold-toned hardware.

(click to enlarge the text)

Enjoy!

(Didn't Brooke do a beautiful job with the design? Just wait until you see the package and the pattern itself! Oh, and I have Todd to thank for setting up the PayPal system. Couldn't have done this without either of them. Seriously.)

Here come the details

Well, I didn't eat any ice cream the other day, but I really enjoyed reading all your comments. You had me laughing out loud in several instances. I'll be sure to eat some ice cream sometime soon, just because of you.


We did manage to do a little relaxing on over the weekend, with a trip to the carousel at Bryant Park and a stop at a friend's gallery opening. Tsia wore this skirt I made for her many months ago. I just haven't had time to make a matching top, but I swear it will happen before the summer is over. I sewed little pleats between the tiers instead of gathering, just for something different.

So, are you ready to go fabric shopping? Here's the supply list for the backpack:

• 3/4 yard of medium-weight (home dec) fabric for the exterior (body) of the bag (Allow extra fabric for matching or for centering a pattern.)


• 1/2 yard of medium-weight fabric for the straps and inside patch pocket


• 3/4 yard light- or medium-weight fabric for the lining


• 1/2 yard cotton canvas (60" wide)


• 1/2 yard heavy sew-in interfacing (or 1 1/2 yards if using light-weight fabric for the exterior of the bag)


• Coordinating thread (you may need more than one color to match your various fabric selections)


• Two 1 1/4”-1 1/2” o-rings


• One magnetic snap


• Four small rivets


• One 7” zipper


• One 1”—1 1/2” button


• Small scrap of lightweight fusible interfacing (approximately 2” x 9”)

Since, even in New York, I had difficulty locating decent o-rings, magnetic snaps, and rivets, I did some shopping the other day and have put together kits of hardware for purchase. The kits will come in your choice of silver or antique gold, and I'll put them up for sale at the same time as the backpack patterns. (Very soon, hold your horses! Maybe even tonight!)

Anyone who orders the pattern (with or without the hardware) before they're actually printed will be guaranteed a copy, and I'll be sure to make a few extras as well. Cost will be $15 for the pattern or $25 for the pattern with the hardware. I'll post information and a link for ordering either tonight or tomorrow, and you'll have a couple of days (at least) to place orders.

Ok? Oh, and Brooke corrected me; she didn't design Joelle's first book. But she did the new book, and you're going to love what she's done with the pattern. I wish I could show it to you, but it's not quite ready...

Crash course

I'm still hard at work, proofreading the backpack pattern instructions while my dear friend Brooke is busy making it all look pretty. Brooke has designed many of Martha Stewart's books as well as both of Joelle's (Joelle's new book is publishing next fall--I can't wait!), and she has fantastic taste. I feel very fortunate to know her and work with her on this.


I'll try to post all the information about the pattern, the materials list, the price, and hopefully even start taking orders sometime tomorrow. Sorry it's taking so long. But if you ever need a crash course in Adobe Illustrator, I highly recommend the Liesl method: a completely unaccredited, trial-by-error, by-the-seat-of-your-pants-style course requiring the completion of 45 technical sketches and one complete sewing pattern.

The Liesl method is entirely self-taught during naptimes and in the evenings. A most educational process; I'm far more proficient with it now than I was two weeks ago. It's not exactly relaxing, however. When you throw in several workmen doing apartment repairs, a tantrum-prone toddler, and a couple of sewing classes already in progress, it all adds up to what I like to think of as a character-building experience.


I came across this tote the other day and started using it again. I made it at least three years ago, got tired of it, and now I like it again although it's starting to look a bit worn. (Aren't we all?) My own design, a bit tricky to sew, but the first draft of any new design is often a puzzle to assemble: if I sew this part first, how will I attach that element? ... whoops, I should have sewn that seam earlier, etc.

Ok, must attend to some of the other neglected areas of life, but I really will try to be back tomorrow. And maybe a bit more frequently again now that the crash course has been completed.

I really should make myself a certificate of completion. Or at least reward myself with some ice cream or something.

Hmmm

Ok, Alicia pointed this out to me the other day. Read carefully:

"All tapes, photographs, creative suggestions, ideas, notes or concepts or other materials (collectively, "Material") submitted to Blueprint magazine whether through a solicitation by Blueprint or Bluelines or unsolicited, become the property of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. ("MSLO") and will not be returned. Submission of Materials shall constitute an assignment to MSLO of all worldwide rights, titles, and interests in all copyrights and other intellectual property rights in such Materials. MSLO is and shall be under no obligation to (1) maintain any of your Material in confidence; (2)pay to you any compensation for any Material; or (3) respond to any of your Material. Due to the volume of submissions, all tapes and photographs submitted cannot be returned. By submitting a tape or photo, you agree to let Blueprint magazine use such tape or photo in any media, including on-air and online, and all submitted tapes and photos become the property of MSLO."

--Blueprint magazine, May/June 2007, page 142 (the teeny tiny text off in the margin of the page).

I understand the nature of a legal statement like this, but does this particular one seem a little scarey to you? Comments?

Slowly, slowly

The backpack tote pattern will be coming soon! I'm working on it furiously (or should that be "furiously working on it"?) and hope to be ready to print it within a week. I think I'll take pre-orders so we'll have enough copies for everyone. Bear with me; writing instructions and making technical sketches is no small task, especially when you're as rusty with Illustrator as I am.


In the meantime, this doll quilt came together during a few evenings of movie watching. Recommendations? Oh, yes. Let's see: Volver, Weeds: season 1, and Soylent Green. How can it be that Todd and I had never heard of Soylent Green before? What a strange, thought-provoking film, especially for environmentally-concerned New Yorkers.
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I tried to follow this quilt as closely as I could, using scraps from my stash that resembled the fabrics in the original. You can probably see that I tied it with baker's string, just for the fun of it. The embroidered S and O are counted cross stitch; I stitched the S on linen and nearly went blind trying to count the threads, so I switched to waste canvas for the O. I had never tried waste canvas before but totally loved it; you can embroider on virtually anything with it!



The scissors and the emboidered letters have a significance I'll explain sometime later. And that little sunbonnet girl? I embroidered her free hand back in grade school or junior high, and Mom recently found her and sent her to me. It made more sense to use her than store her, although she looks rather cramped in her little hexagon. The finished quilt measures about 10" x 12".


Ok, back to work on that bag pattern.

Cross one off the list

Ok, I've listed a few bags on Etsy. I've started another backpack for my demonstrations in class, and I'll list that one when it's finished as well. It's cute: hand-embroidered (by me) linen with a bright floral lining. Very fun.

Lots of other projects in the works as well, but who can stay indoors with weather like this? Today we're on a hunt for the perfect toddler scooter, but it seems to be sold out everywhere. Last year when Tsia could still ride in the Bjorn, we scooted together on my "adult"-sized scooter (although you really don't feel like an adult when you're riding ANY scooter, let's face it). I'd strap her in facing forward, and off we'd go down the East River bike path or around our complex. She loved it, and it was great exercise for me. This year she's simply too big. We'll have to scoot side-by-side (at a slightly slower pace) instead.

And one last thing before we go. Lovely, isn't it?

Have a great weekend.

Added: Well, they're all sold! I can't believe it! Thanks, everyone! I guess I'd better go look for some shipping boxes.