Katie's serenity

** Katie's paint information -- (she is a master of the paint counter! I didn't know you could do this):
Living room - Benjamin Moore eggshell medium base. The formula is OY x261/2 Bk 26 MA 10 GY 12
The guest room is eggshell pastel base OY 3/4 BK 4 BB 1 MA 1/8**

Lynne's sister (and my sister-in-law) Katie has the most beautiful, serene house. There is no visual clutter. Each room is decorated in soothing colors. All the windows are covered with simple linen curtains that allow the light to softly diffuse into the house. Every surface, every corner is soft, muted and visually calming. When I visit her house I feel so peaceful (except for my three wild children running around!) With such an overstimulating world, it's wonderful to have a peaceful, quiet refuge.

servant dress, in yellow

Good for church, school, and jumping off of chairs.

a little paint-by-numbers dress

Did you see the wood-cut states made from old paint-by-numbers paintings that http://somethingshidinginhere.typepad.com made? I caught a glimpse of these this morning just as I was in the middle of sewing this little dress. They are so cool. Check them out.

The scene I used as my inspiration for the paint-by-numbersesque pocket on this simple dress was the meadow of my in-law's Virginia home--one of the most beautiful places on the earth, in my opinion. H. likes this oversized pocket too. Especially since I put a little pack of gum in it so she would pose as my model. For my kids, there's no better bribe than some gum! I hope I don't find it stuck in the back of her hair tonight. That often seems to happen when I resort to this bribe...

have a great easter weekend!

servitude: she feels fabulous in it

Have you noticed how servants, or people being made to act as servants for a period of time, are such a big part of children's stories? Cinderella, Snow White, the mute child frantically knitting shirts from nettles... there is really no fairy tale that I can think of that doesn't have at least a tiny element of really hard work. So I was thinking about this and wanting to make the little girls in my family simple little servant-inspired dresses (because, to be frank: it would be nice to have a bit more help around here from the under-four-feet crowd!) Here's my first product. I still have some variations in mind that I might work on later this week... especially if the kids get the message and start scrubbing.

the cecilia beaux dress

Have you ever been in an artist's studio and caught a whiff of the oil paints? There is something cozy and comfortable about this smell. Maybe it reminds me of my grandma. She was an artist. The walls of her tiny living room were covered from floor to ceiling with her paintings. Her house had this oil paint smell, mingled with the smell of a wood stove.

When I look at a Cecilia Beaux painting, it's pure synesthesia: I can almost smell the intoxicating paint. Her brush strokes are wide and expressive. Layers and layers of paint tell a story about how this painting was made. I almost feel transported into her artist's studio and watch the deliberate movement of her hand brushing each stroke of paint onto the canvas. I think this is what I love most about Cecilia Beaux.

If you ever get to D.C., you must visit the Portrait Gallery where this brilliant painting "the Man with the Cat" hangs. For me, it was love at first sight. I loved it so much that I wanted to recreate it somehow. This desire evolved into a soft yellow dress, with fluid lines and swaths of gathered fabric.

oh boy!

My friend Audrey has two boys. Says Audrey: "Melissa, you've got to make some boy clothes!" My response: "I'm not in boy mode anymore." 

I used to be in boy mode.  I used to sew and sew for my son when he was little. I made him courdoroy overalls, navy blue wool sailor outfits and hand-knit sweaters. Then he started to have an opinion about what he wore and my sewing-for-kids days were over, for a while.

Boys are trickier to sew for. Most boys wear very sporty clothes: heavy jeans with lots of grommets and industrial thread crisscrossing every seam. I prefer a european look: softer fabrics, fewer pockets, patches and belt loops, a more fitted cut. Here's one such creation made from a light-weight charcoal wool. This little outfit is modeled by my niece's gorgeous son.  My niece tenderly dotes over him (isn't she a beauty!)

decorating with the force

I rarely seem to write about my son, mainly because I don't do much sewing for him (by his request :) ). But since we repainted his room from traffic-cone orange (which was his favorite color for 3 long years) to this nice gray, we've been having lots of fun getting his room together. My mother-in-law, who is an AMAZING seamstress, made this most cozy of flannel quilts for his bed. How lucky are we? I love it. It is so amazingly comfy to snuggle up in the blanket.

The second picture is the project E and I worked on this weekend. It's the Death Star, made out of a styrofoam ball, strung up along with some star wars lego creations and a Bobo Fett action figure (he wears a jet pack, in case some of you are wondering how he is able to fly without a ship). The original plan, which would have been perhaps more "artistic," was to make a bunch of Tie fighters out of black construction paper, swarming around the styrofoam death star. (Have any of you ever googled "star wars ships" and "origami"? It is shocking how many people out there are skilled at such things). We quickly discovered that Star Wars origami is harder than it looks, and went to plan B, stringing up toys we already had.

The last piece of the room that we are working on: window coverings. I've rejected the 7 year old's suggestion, star wars curtains, and am trying to figure out something without strangly cords or that's too expensive. Any brilliant ideas out there?

Babette and the bird dress

What a lucky day to receive a surprise in the mail from our dear Lynne: a Babette doll made by the ultra-talented train fantome www.letrainfantome.typepad.com. It's already become a big point of contention between the two year old, the four year old and the mom. "It's mine." "no, it's mine." "No, give me that right now!" Maybe we'll need one for every member of the family...

Well at least the four-year old has something all her own that no one will steal away from her: a little woodlands Easter dress. A little less frou than most store-bought Easter dresses, yet enough cheer and animal presence to make H. love it.

sewing for the mama

OK, you must ignore my white winter legs (my husband affectionately refers to me as "white crayon") - I have not delved into the world of sewing clothing meant for adults until I encountered this great Built by Wendy pattern (Simplicity 3835). And now I am hooked. The idea that I can make a dress that I will actually wear for under $20 is very exciting to me, thrifty mother that I am. Has anyone else made this pattern?

fly, fly little twirly skirt!

I love to watch movies with my man when the kids are in bed. We snuggle up together under our warm denim quilts and enjoy a few moments of calm together. Occasionally he'll rub my feet, sometimes even with lotion. Over time, we've accumulated a list of amazing movies: our favorites being BBC and old classic films. (Long live Netflix for delivering them to our door ever other day!)

This fall while watching Hitchcock's the Birds, inspiration came my way: a twirly skirt covered with birds. Dozens of birds flying frantically this way and that way. So immediately I got out my fabric and started snipping and sewing, and la voila!

This is a high flying twirly skirt, probably the twirliest of all. And with a stretchy elastic band, it's easy to put on, and has become the default skirt that H. would wear everyday if I let her! So don't fly away little twirly skirt. Stay with us. We like you.