Medical case study: Big Blue Ted

Thirty-five year-old patient (Big Blue Ted of the Vaughn-Salmon household) exhibited unusual flatness and lack of fullness.

Diagnosis: a complete stuffing transplant was necessary.

Dr. Gibson was assisted in surgery by Drs. S and Bear.

Bear is well-known for his excellent bedside manner. He held the hand of the patient while the stuffing I.V. was administered and the anaesthetic prepared.

Dr. S laid out the medical instruments.

Removal of the old stuffing was a delicate, time-consuming process.

It was also quite messy and not for the faint-of-heart.

Because a total transplant was necessary, the patient was left quite deflated at mid-surgery.

Preparing the replacement stuffing: 100% cotton. Whew!

The surgeon takes a call, mid-surgery. No, it wasn't about the yacht; it was about the website. (By the way, the surgeon was unable to locate a lab coat for this operation: thus, the chef's coat.)

Dr. S gives an injection in preparation of the second stage of surgery.

Disintegrated stuffing to be sent for post-surgery lab tests.

The patient's family planted a foreign object inside the patient. Whoops!

Suturing the incision.

Post-op medication: a crucial element of good surgical procedure.

No wonder Dr. Bear's patients like him so much! What a nice guy!

Ready for the ambulance ride home, with the patient properly bandaged and prepped for at-home care.

The patient at home again with his loving family. Best wishes for good health, Ted, and don't forget your follow-up visit!

Well, thanks!

An astounding number of your have completed the Oliver + S survey, so thank you! Your information and suggestions have helped me to start planning the fall line, and I loved your comments! Very helpful and insightful. I really appreciate your help.


And you really loved the quilt trees! Since you asked, here's the back of the one I made. Amazingly, the back of Grandma Gabrielson's tree is identical to the front, and I'm still trying to figure that out. There must be a trick, and one of these days I'll sit down and determine just how it works.


Did you see this piece in the New York Times over the weekend? Sort of the antithesis of my own aesthetic and that of my two favorite kids stores, but an interesting concept.

Quilt forest

Todd's grandma passed away a year and a half ago. She dearly loved all of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and I really wanted Tsia to have something that her great-grandma made as a way to remember her. She was a quilter, and this tree was included in the box of her ornaments we received this Christmas. As soon as I saw it I knew it needed to hang in Tsia's room; it just fits with her doll quilts, somehow.


But I thought it needed a tree friend to make it seem less Christmas-y, so I made a little deciduous friend for it.


Yeah, I know; I can't seem to stop, can I? I whined the first time, turned aroudn and did it again, and here we are a third time. As it turns out, I really love the process of hand piecing and hand quilting, and this tree was stitched entirely by hand. There's something so relaxing about the process, isn't there?


I'm afraid my photos don't really do the pair justice--something about that unusual shade of yellow in the bedroom that doesn't photograph very well--but it's a pleasure to see Grandma Gabrielson's handiwork hanging in Tsia's room every day. I'm glad we'll all be able to look at it every day.

You, me and a digital latte

I came across some old sketchbooks yesterday and had fun flipping through them. Even found a little inspiration for the Fall 2008 Oliver + S pattern collection, which I'm starting to assemble (at least mentally), and which will debut at Quilt Market in Portland, OR, this May.


Most of these two sketchbooks were dedicated to jewelry design, but there's an odd smattering of things inside them. You can see more here if you're interested. Not much to say; they're just my gatherings of ideas and inspiration from all over. I think I left my current book at the studio (it's not like me to stray far from it, so I'm feeling a bit naked the past few days while I'm stuck home with sick Tsia), which means I can't even show you anything that's happening at present. I'll save that for another day, I guess.


In the meantime, how would you like to participate in designing the fall line?

One of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of launching the line at Quilt Market in Houston last October was the opportunity to talk to so many crafters. I loved hearing ideas and suggestions from the people who stopped by our booth. I'd love it if you'd join them, digitally at least, and tell me a bit about what yourself and your ideas.

Here's a link to the Oliver + S Fall 2008 Line Survey. I'd love to know what you're wanting and wishing for, and for whom you are sewing.

It will be almost like chatting at the booth, only our feet won't be as tired. And next time we'll sit down over a cappucino, ok?

links

Not a whole lot of work is getting done at our house this week. Tsia, along with most of her class, has the flu. So I'm home cleaning closets and catching up on bloglines when I can. Here's a random list of stuff I've come across and love:


Joelle's fabric line will be arriving in March! I want to make so many things from these prints, especially in the green colorway.


These magazine-page mobiles. So simple and beautiful, and not just for kids. (via Creature Comforts)


Eames furniture stamps. Just because they're cool, although I don't know what I'd use them for. (Hillary, when are you going to do that Shaker furniture-based fabric collection? I still want to buy it!)


Crate and Barrel beaker sugar and creamer set. I'm so annoyed I missed this; it's exactly what I've been looking for.


Wiksten-made blog. I love Jenny's style.

Being home has given me a little time to gather my thoughts and a little inspiration, as well. Can't wait to show you!

DIY: laundry soap

Todd officially thinks I've gone overboard in my environmental canoe (as opposed to a non-environmental cruise ship, if we're going to keep that metaphor afloat. Ugh. Sorry) with this one. I contend that I'm not really overboard until I start keeping compost worms under the sink. Although, truthfully, that's sounding less and less weird to me all the time.

In any case, I finally got around to making laundry detergent. There are two basic recipes floating around the "internets" these days: the gooey gel-like substance you cook up and then store in a five-gallon bucket someplace in your (already cramped) one-bedroom apartment, and the much easier powdered version that requires zero cooking and only a small container in which to store it. Can you guess which one I chose?

I'm really pleased with the results and am now contemplating my labelling options, just so it will be as fun to use as, say, Mrs. Meyer's. Cause I'm a packaging sucker.

If you're interested in trying it for yourself, here's a link to ten variations you could try.

Next up: adding essential oils to the mix. I'm thinking sage and a little lemon, perhaps. Or maybe peppermint? Mmmmm.

Happy Valentines' Day!

Seen in the window of a florist on University Place:


Given to friends at school:


Tsia did the fingerprints, I did the drawings, and we both did the gluing (with LOTS of glue):


Given to teacher (do you remember doing this? You cut little squares of tissue paper, wrap them around the end of a pencil, stick the tip in a little glue, and afix it to the paper):


Stitched for grandparents (grandparents, your Valentine's are late! But at least you get to see what's on its way to you...) Tsia's very first embroidery, with almost no help from me:


Given to Tsia:


I think she was a bit disappointed there wasn't a surprise wrapped inside her quilt:


and given to Todd (or at least one like this--these are actually my little birthday cakes from the other day):





We hope your day is filled with hearts!

Oliver + S is hiring!

Joelle and Jen have had such success in hiring via the Purl Bee, we thought we'd give it a try as well. And we do need more hands at Oliver + S! If you live in the NYC area, here are some details:

The job:

Part-time work (15 to 20 hours per week to start), with flexible hours and lots of growth potential.

Responsibilities include:

Assist with answering the phone and responding to email inqueries.

Pack and ship customer orders. This task includes entering and processing orders as well as a daily trip to the post office or UPS to drop off packages.

Manage our trunk shows. This includes helping to select fabrics for shows, managing samplemakers, staying in touch with our wholesale customers to schedule trunk shows, and shipping and tracking the shows.

We've got lots of other exciting projects in development, so there will be opportunities for creative input in addition to the administrative part of the job.

Work hard and have fun. It's the East Village, and we're crafty types!

Contact us:

We'd love to hear from you. Please send your inquiries and resumes to information@oliverands.com.

my little valentine

I've needed some decompression time since the patterns went to the printer, so I grabbed the nearest fabric without any definite plans, just a distinct need to make something with lots of hand stitching. This is what came of it: one more doll quilt for the wall, very haphazard but a huge relief to make.


It will be going to it's intended recipient on Thursday.

Recent finds

Has anyone made one of these? I was just thinking the other day what a shame it is that you can't find printed fabrics like these anymore, and then this turned up on a foray to equilter. So I obviously just don't get out much. Isn't it great? Just kitchy enough to be really cute and fun. I remember my mom making Christmas ornaments or dolls or something for us with pre-printed fabrics, and she embellished them with buttons and ric-rac and stuff. A while ago one of the women at my Bible study was telling me about a company that used to make fabric for children's clothing with the pattern printed right on it. I can't remember the name of the company, but it sounds like fun.

Other things I'm enjoying:


The Human calendar (via the Uppercase blog-another recent find I'm really enjoying).

Free downloadable song by Nada Surf. Does everyone already know all this new music and I'm way behind? I'm so glad my younger sisters send me the occasional mix CD or I'd be totally unfamiliar with any new music aside from what I hear on public radio.

Ok, back soon!