Remains of the summer

What better way to spend a warm late-September day than in a lovely West Village garden, topped off with a stop at the Cupcake Cafe? That cupcake didn't even sit still long enough to have its portrait taken!

Carry on, carry on

Well thank you all for your enthusiasm and kind encouragement regarding the new venture! It's an enormous weight off my shoulders just to tell you about it, I'm not sure why. But it's certainly been a whirlwind, and caring for a toddler while simultaneously launching the company and writing the patterns/instructions has been a challenge, to say the least. The next month will be especially stressful as we get ready for the launch, so bear with me! I'll tell you more about the company and my plans as we go, too.


Coddled egg for breakfast today. My first time making and eating one. It's one of those funny things really; I've been walking past the egg coddler for, oh, about two years now, ever since my aunt gave it to me. Been meaning to give it a try for all this time but kept putting it off for another day. Turns out that it's very easy and takes only 8 or 9 minutes for two eggs, but the way I've been stalling you'd think it took all morning!

Anyway, I'll need to give it a few more tries since by the time I got the top of the egg cooked, the bottom was all hard and crumbly. I guess you need to leave the top a bit liquid and clear so the bottom isn't over-cooked, but then I sort of wonder about the risks of salmonella and such. Hey, I never claimed to be much of anything in the kitchen, and Todd will vouch for me there. Anyway, maybe we'll switch out the usual cold cereal for coddled eggs and bread with apple butter while I fiddle a bit with the methodology. Something else to obsess about so I don't stress about the really important things, right?

Oh, and it turns out that the external flash for my camera simply isn't working! Off to the camera shop it goes for an exchange. Maybe I'll find more success with a replacement. Whew! I thought maybe there was something wrong with me (well, not that there isn't but, you know...). In the meantime, my grand plans for expanding my photographic horizons are on hold and we're using natural light exclusively once again.

Did you catch our friend Martha on Monday? I wasn't able to get tickets, but I certainly tuned in to catch her very first sewing episode! And did you see this on the wall in her craft room? I've gathered all my hoops and just haven't found the right place to put them yet. Very late to the table on this trend, I am.

Also, you know how much I love the Garnet Hill catalog covers. The lastest one arrived today: mmmm, orange, teal, and brown! Gorgeous. Hmm, I can't find the cover on their website. Maybe I'll scan it tomorrow when I have more energy so you can see. And I'll be using that advent mitten garland idea this year with my mitten ornament pattern. They'll look great in lots of different colors of wool felt.

Ok, back to the tasks at hand. That's one of the most difficult things about a venture like this: forcing myself to focus on the patterns without getting sidetracked by various projects.

The big reveal, part two

You can almost always tell when a blogger is up to something behind the scenes, can't you? Her posting frequency drops a bit, she doesn't show many recent projects, and then eventually she announces that she's in the process of writing a book or creating some other project, right? Oh, I'm teasing. But it does seem to ring true to a large extent.

I'm not very good at keeping secrets, but for some strange reason I've managed to keep relatively quiet about this one (or at least I've kept quiet on the blog about it; real life is a completely different story). Granted, I have dropped an occasional hint here. But if there is one tell-tale sign that something is in the works, it's certainly the recent state of this blog. It's been in shambles lately. But I hope you'll forgive me for that when I tell you why.

You see, mostly I haven't told you my big secret because it's been such a long time in coming and there have been so many times when I've thought that either I'd have to be crazy to do this or it just hasn't looked like it would actually work. But it's finally time. I guess.

You may or may not know that, pre-Tsia, I designed clothing for a living. Mostly I designed men's clothing like complicated technical performance outerwear, and I developed a lot of textiles as well. Once I started staying home with the kiddo, I started looking for something to keep me occupied. A dear friend suggested that I start publishing patterns for children's clothing. I was already designing and sewing clothes for Miss S because I couldn't find any published patterns I liked. So I started researching and planning and researching some more, and then writing and revising a business plan, and this is what eventually fell out: a small sewing pattern company for children's clothing!

Oliver and S will be launching at the International Quilt Market in Houston this October with an initial collection (Spring 2008) of four outfit patterns in two size ranges, from birth to size 5. Both the sizes and the number of patterns available will expand over time. You'll be able to purchase patterns from your local quilt boutique as well as from our website, and I'm so excited about the patterns themselves. I can't wait to show them to you!

I sort of lied to you about our summer away; we really were away, but I was holed up for most of the time writing instructions, testing patterns, making decisions, and generally being stressed out about the many, many details of starting a small business. Fortunately, many wonderful people have been helping me, including Mr. Disdressed himself, as well as my parents-in-law, who toddler-watched for many, many hours this summer. And of course, Brooke, who has invested a tremendous amount of time and creative energy in the launch as well.

So now you know the real reason that you haven't been hearing or seeing much from me in the craft area lately. I may be a bit infrequent for the near future, but I'll still be around. And I hope you'll agree that all the hard work (and craft and blog silence) has been worth it when you see what we've done. Stay tuned!

The big reveal, part one

Is this the best time of year, or what? Seventy degrees and sunny during the day, with cool, clear evenings: what more could you want? Tonight was the first of three consecutive outdoor movie nights at our apartment complex, and the three of us snuggled under a blanket to watch Hitchcocks's Rear Window. Tsia was excited to wear her fuzzy winter p.j.s again. I can hardly wait to dig out the sweaters, tights and wool skirts again. A little apple picking would make it all perfect.


Well, I told you a while ago that we're reprinting the backpack pattern, right? As it turns out, the pattern will be carried by Moda/United Notions, who distribute patterns by many other designers to quilt shops all over the place.

Additionally, the backpack will be featured as part of the Moda booth at International Quilt Market in Houston this October. I'm rather excited, to say the least, and have been busily selecting fabrics and making a few samples for the booth and the showrooms at Moda. And I'll get to see the display for myself, since I'm going to attend the show as well!

But more about that later. See part two, to come.

These are officially amazing

Sorry if you've seen this before, but it's new to me. My sister just send this link. Don't the knitted marzipan look real? Gorgeous work, Lolo.

"I don't know how long it was down there, officer,"

stated detective McGillicutty, "but when we dredged the East River, we found this t-shirt covered in barnacles."


Chief Smitty snorted. "What sort of fool would cover a t-shirt in multiple-printed barnacles?"

"I don't know, sir, but I do know that they never wore it. The yarn samples we sent to the lab for testing came back negative for DNA of any sort."

"Well that's a relief, at least. It would have been a crime for anyone to wear such a terrifying specimen."


"I agree. And I hope the culprits learned a lesson from it. Next time they'll be a little smarter and use just one or two fabrics."

"Or at least they'll apply the barnacles in a more orderly fashion. A single row around the neckline may have kept the shirt within legal limits."


"If we catch the perps, let's be sure to teach them a lesson. Barnacles should never be used on clothing."

"Yep. Article 4, Section 38. It's a federal crime."

[cue music: ba-bummmmmmmm]

Couldn't get much better

Really. I had the opportunity to look through an early copy of Last-Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts on Saturday before teaching my class.

I knew it would be a great book, but it's even better than I expected! Absolutely beautiful design and photography, with fantastic projects as well. I'm going crazy waiting for it to arrive so I can spend more time reading it and studying all those tantalizing instructions!

And, ah, Hillary and Kathy, how did you manage to keep this a secret for so long? Love the elephant and the pencil roll you contributed to the book! Wow, there are so many talented people in blogland!

So as if that wasn't enough excitement for one early Saturday morning, then I had a few minutes to look around the shop. I haven't been in for more than two months because we were away, and I was blown away by all the new fabrics that have arrived. The entire bottom shelf of the shop is filled with unusual Japanese fabrics. Unbelievable selection! I gave my credit card a good workout before leaving.




Next I'll give the washing machine a little business, and then we'll be sewing away. It's about time for some craft posting around here, isn't it?

Didn't know I had it in me

Trying out my new external flash for the Nikon now that daylight is getting so much shorter again. Clearly I need more practice.

Tsia and I made our first mayonnaise tonight. We needed 2 T for fish tacos, and I don't keep it in the house because I never use mayo on anything. Just don't care for it. So we busted out our friend Julia and went for it; it turned out quite well if I do say so myself. An extravagantly thick, creamy-textured, yellow concoction completely unlike the so-called "miracle" stuff. For a little visual interest in our photo, I added the cilantro leaf and Tsia needed to put in her bit with the mint leaf.

The tacos were quite tasty as well. I recommend that you add half the Chipotle in Adobo Sauce that the recipe suggests, however: it's hot!

Tomorrow we start swimming lessons (for her that is), so I guess the whole back to school thing is starting at our house, too. Next year we'll be on the pre-school track, but for now we'll enjoy one last year of staying home.

If I'm not careful, this blog could become a Blueprint obsession

Ok, they've really got me. I'm ready to move into these three rooms from the current issue. I keep thinking about them, trying to figure out just what it is that I love so much. Here's what I've got:

I love living with neutrals. In my dream world, everything is made from naked wood, undyed linen and wool, or it's painted white. I've certainly tried to go that direction in our apartment, but for quite a while now I've been feeling like it's missing something.



I think those folks at Blueprint have it all figured out. Like that bedroom; it's nearly all neutrals, but the shot of color comes in unexpected ways, like the bed. Rather than painting the room itself yellow, they incorporated just enough yellow to elevate the entire environment. And that fabulous pale grey wall, combined with the pure white, just looks so fresh to me! Plus, the subtle addition of dark tones adds just the right amount of depth to the palette.


Lotta Jansdotter's living room (top photo) is comprised of both neutrals as well as a spectrum of colors. The muted shades of the colors are dispursed throughout the room, and the balance of lights and darks works nicely. The rug pulls the palette together, I think. None of the colors feel forced, yet there's plenty of color.

And that office? Well, it helps that Blueprint is located in the amazing Starrett-LeHigh Building (My former empoyer moved there while I was out on maternity leave, and those windows alone were almost enough to convince me come back), but how great are all those little pops of yellow, in several different shades? And I thought I wasn't really a yellow person. I was fingering the yellow tape at the art store the other day just because of this shot (they used yellow tape to add color to many of the items in the photo).

I'm still trying to decide what inspiration to take from all this. PI'm mostly feeling this odd relief at the realization that I don't have to force color into our apartment where it may not feel right to me, which is why I've been trying to do lately. But I'm also feeling like maybe I can try a few new approaches to color in ways I might not have attempted it before. And maybe some new colors as well. It's still brewing, I guess. I'll give it more time, and maybe a few more issues of Blueprint, before I take action. Although I'm secretly wishing I could paint our bed yellow.