small magazine

I adore Small Magazine - and this month even more because it was so cool to see Melissa's portrait dress in the "Small Fall" article. Jen Gotch did the photography, which is so dreamy. That dress is making me feel fall-ish. Which is a nice feeling since it is like 99 right now in my little town.

Thank you to CARISSA!! for being the winning bid on the Nie Nie dress from yesterday! Carissa happens to be a good friend of mine from real life and is truly one of the most generous, thoughtful gals I know (can't wait to see you tonight, in fact). And thank you, so much, to all who bid. I hope we were all able to find something great to buy yesterday in behalf of the Nie Nie fund.

Have you heard? Design Mom has declared August 28 Nie Nie Day... which means that we are thrilled to hold an auction in her behalf.

Bidding starts at $10 and will be done through the comments, ending tonight, 10 pm pacific time. Winner, pay here.

All money that goes into this fund benefits sweet Nie Nie, her beloved Mr. Nielson, and their children as they work through this horrible ordeal. (Have you been as touched as I have, reading her sister's blog, describing their family's experience?)

{servant tunic in a Nie Nie-esque 100% cotton fabric, size 4 - hits about the hips and would look very cute with shorts and boots}

more village frock patterns next week!

Thank you for all your orders. We're currently all sold out, but we'll beckon the printers for more patterns for next week. Sorry to all the international friends who weren't able to order. We'll fix that glitch too. xoxo lynne and melissa

the village frock pattern is ready!

The pattern is finally ready for sale in our shop! It is available in sizes 2-6. There are also directions for making a village frock shirt...very cool! Check out our shop!

village frock in red

My husband's cousin told me that she recently made a dress for her daughter. To her chagrin, her daughter refused to wear it. I suggested she sew some picture of an animal or princess or the likes on the inside of the dress. I think kids can be tricked into liking what we make for them. To make this red dress more likable for cousin Elizabeth, I sewed on a simple little picture of herself. I hope it works!

P.S. If all goes well at the printers, the village frock pattern will be for sale in our shop next week!

miniature amounts of fun

As a child I loved nothing more than playing with miniature things. Instead of a dollhouse, my mom had a shelf on an old armoire set aside for tiny furniture and small rugs that my sisters and I painstakingly sewed together, and I spent hours standing on a chair setting up rooms for the family of dolls who lived there. After I was married and living on the other side of the country far away from my family, I received a mysterious parcel in the mail. I was so delighted when I opened it up and found the miniatures, each wrapped carefully in tissue and newspaper by my mother. Every item was an old friend, and I had so much fun setting up yet another scene for the dolls on our particle-board-graduate-student-shelves, crammed between books and syllabi on human anatomy and infectious disease. In every little home we've set up since my miniatures have a special spot somewhere on our shelves and I fully plan on sending my own daughters mysterious parcels when they are all grown. Hopefully the gesture will be as meaningful and memory-laden for them as my package was for me. So, thanks, mom!

To follow up with the sad previous post - I'm putting a link button below in case you are able to donate a little (or more) to Stephanie Nielson's fund. Her family anticipates that the cost of paying for their medical bills will be well into the millions - not to mention trying to cover the household expenses for their four little children while their parents are recovering from this tragedy. This button takes you straight to an account that has been set up for them, through pay pal.

prayers for Nie Nie

I was so heart-broken to hear today about Stephanie and her husband Christian Nielsen's plane crash in Arizona this past weekend. Her blog, Nie Nie Dialogues, has been a favorite stop of mine since I discovered it and even though I have never met her or spoken with her I feel like I know her and her beautiful family. I will be praying for her and Mr. Nielsen and their children. If anyone hears of anything we in blog-land can do, pass it along...

a little peek into Freiberg, Germany

We've happily connected with a mother and daughter in Germany, who are doing amazing things. Theresa, the daughter, studies print and media technology, and designed/did the incredible embroidery pictured. She and her mother, Eva-Maria, work together to create the most beautiful projects. Go and check out their blog - I hope you are as charmed as I was!

Lynne's house on Cookie

It's even more charming in real life, Lynne's house. She's a master of arranging pretty little scenes dotted throughout the house. I think she inherited the skill from her mom, plus a dose of panache that is all her own. Have a look at the Cookie tour and be inspired.

I picked up the August issue of Real Simple yesterday and was smitten by the photos of this beautiful, lived-in home in New York. I love how real this house looks - full of kids and stories and interesting colors and old books and objects. Just lovely. Well done, Hilary Fox-Mills! You seem like a really cool person.

I am also interested in taking a poll, inspired by these pictures and my long-held love of white couches: do you think it's crazy to get a white slip-covered couch when you have small children and a big black dog? Or, can you actually keep white couches looking nice with bleach? Do any of you have experience with this? Or with Ikea couches in general, quality-wise? I'd love to hear what you have to say as the latest Ikea catalog is tempting me once again into thoughts of selling furniture and trying something new.

Birthday Run-Down

So, when it all came down to it, the four-year-old, who is now five, had a very fun time at her loosely-themed imaginary animal birthday party. Here are some pictures of the merriment.Our simple party favors - swedish fish in a tea cup, with a bookmark
cupcakes (what child doesn't like funfetti?)
our burro pinata (when we broke it up, the children started spontaneously chanting "kill the horse, kill the horse." it was a little Lord of the Flies-ish)
we did a treasure hunt to find all of the things to make a little farm/fairy/whatever-you-think-it-is hut out of small peat pots and other little objects
a child attempting to glue a live snail into her scene (we found out that glue doesn't stick to snails, and that they make strange clear bubbles when they feel threatened. Apparently getting glued to cardboard is threatening.)
and a little thank you note that we made together. all done.

the village frock: earthy

I'm feeling a bit earthy these days. A nubby linen, wooden buttons and some undulations in the neckline and sleeves; all transport me into another realm. This place is quiet--except for the chirping of the frogs-- and green, with gently nodding ferns and tall oaks. There is no plastic, no concrete, no Walmart television screaming in my ear. I think we shall go for a walk in the woods and gather something. Maybe some berries or acorns. To make sure my girl doesn't lose her way, I've conveniently embroidered her initial on the front of her dress. Any of the villagers will know who she is and direct her towards home.

Alas, I can hear the baby shreiking from fear of the older brother who is wielding a large stick. I'd better run.

This pattern will be in the shop soon--all ready for your genius creation. Maybe it will be something earthy, maybe a bit more city-like. Whatever it is, I'm sure your girl will love it!

Home Tour on Cookie's Nesting Blog

estate sale chair, originally uploaded by sugar city.

Hey, if you need some home inspiration, go check out Melissa's adorable house on the Cookie Website today. She is the master of creating harmony between old and new. When I visited her in New Jersey I felt instantly at home. It's that kind of place. Enjoy!

what's lurking in your bag?

My brilliant friend Marcia drew this sketch a while back. I love it; it's hilarious. She found her inspiration in her church bag. I peeked in it today. It was gaping with a half-drunk bottle of milk, lots of kids books, and some cookies to help keep her four kids happy. Though I must say, mine is messier and full of stranger things. There's usually a rotten milk sippy cup forgotten weeks earlier. And some diapers that my daughter outgrew as a newborn. And some half colored princess coloring books, bits of paper, and lots of loose crayons, random family photos, cheerioes and other oddities.

It's kind of an old-fashioned thing to have a church bag, I suppose. Even to dress in one's best and sit all together as a family in a pew. I must say, it's one of those vintage activites that I think is worth keeping. Yesterday we were all a bit snappy with each other. After all, who was it that made a hole in the dry wall in the basement? And how in the world did my credit card bill get so big? And who spilled red dye all over the bathroom?

Somehow, today, after going to church, everyone seems a little kinder, a little less irritated with each other, a little better...despite the stinky sippy cup found lurking in my bag.

Happy, happy Friday. Here's a simple dress in a pretty Lecien print, because four year olds like wearing clothes that have squirrels on them.

(And, thank you, Melissa and everyone, for that nice post on Wednesday. That made my day! I was having a rotten one! And it goes without saying, Melissa, that you are so wonderful, and truly kind. My favorite thing about Sugar City is peeking into your life every day, even from across the country. xo)