some improvisation for the mama

So, I made this over a month ago but have been really debating whether or not to post it because 1. my children are much cuter than me and 2. this top was a total jimmy-rig creation. Literally, I put some white cotton fabric on the floor and LAID DOWN ON IT! to get the rough measure of myself. Is that horrible to admit? But I actually wear this top quite a bit... it's nice and comfy, and I do like to two crisp pleats down the front. So there you have it.

Also wanted to give you guys an update - Melissa and I are working pretty hard to get some things finished up for our new website, which will hopefully be up and running in the next couple of months. We have been slaving over some patterns and other odds and ends and are excited. We are both - like everyone - so busy with life that it's hard to see that this will ever be a reality! But we are getting closer and closer every day. Um, also want to apologize for the sometimes strange ads which have been popping up (anyone want a hot mexican bride?) We decided to try adding some ads to earn a little capital for the business but it's been kind of not so much of a success! If anyone out there has a nice little business they'd like to advertise just send us an email. Fun, fun, fun. :)

the gps dress

This dress could change the world. The idea came from all those gps-obsessed husbands and fathers. How many of you have one? My niece, the brilliant seamstress, recently drove to my house from Philadelphia. Her husband had insisted that she bring the gps. And as she anticipated, the gps only brought confusion and disorder as it led her across the most obtrusive roads.

Ever since my husband bought a gps, he carries it in his pocket. I'm glad that I can rely on him at any given moment to tell me his coordinates on this big round earth. I was thinking that this could be really useful for children. So I designed this little dress with a special gps microchip imbedded in the back pocket. Now I can know where my daughter is at any given moment. She takes a step to the right, and I know where she is. She takes a step to the left, and I know where she is.

I think life would have been different for all those little wandering forest girls--Gretel, Goldy Locks, the babes in the woods--who were perpetually lost, if only their mothers had dressed them in a gps dress....

lots of pleats

If you are ever wondering randomly about making pleats, the nice ladies at Sew Mama Sew asked us to write a little tutorial for their Women's Sewing Month theme. You can read it here. I haven't been so intimidated to write something since my freshman year of college!

Man, Melissa, I really want to tear the yucky carpet off our stairs try your project... It is unbelievably gorgeous and creative and warm.

elevating the mundane

My sister once gave me a decorating book entitled Creating a Beautiful Home by Alexandra Stoddard. It's perhaps a bit outdated now, but at the time, one of the principles of the book that I retained, was to take the least attractive corner of your home, and make it into your favorite spot. In other words, elevate the mundane.

This reminded my of one of Lynne's old homes. It was on the second story of a little old house in Connecticut. The house was plain and modest. It did not have granite countertops or ecological bamboo cupboards, or eleven-foot-high ceilings. It was very simple. But to this day, that home remains one of my favorite places. It changed my perception of what is beautiful in a home and of what I desired to have. Small can by cozy, not suffocating. Handmade curtains, hand-drawn sketches and anything that imbues a space with the charm and personality of its owners is best.

Lynne's kitchen was my favorite corner. It was a bit of a closet, measuring about 6' by 4', making a "u" shape with the kitchen sink set in the center of the "u" and a little window framed above, overlooking a pretty flowering tree in the backyard. The walls on each side of the galley were lined with open shelves on top, and cupboards on bottom. It seems that one was missing a door, over which Lynne had simply mounted a cheerful curtain on a rod. She had dishes, spices, cooking utensils seated on the shelves, along with a few tiny framed photos of her and her beau, their son, and other family and friends. As the kitchen was tiny, you could easily reach anything on nearly any shelf or cupboard without moving your feet from your spot in front of the sink. I loved to stand in front of that sink and look out the window and wash the dishes by hand. I felt so cozy and comfortable and old-fashioned.

So here's my attempt to elevate a simple little corner of my house. I scanned a pretty fabric into the computer and doctored it on Photoshop. I then printed the pattern on regular sized paper and glued the sheets together. After this, I laminated them and glued them on the stairs with Modgepodge. If you look closely when walking up these stairs, you might see a few familiar faces hidden amidst the damask. A simple way to bring a smile, as I walk up and down these stairs, one hundred times a day.

vive velib!

I have a secret wish to live in a town where cars are prohibited and only bikes allowed.  Perhaps not an imminent reality, though Paris has moved a step in this direction.  My husband and I just returned from a week-long trip and spent a blissful (though sometimes dangerous) time navigating through the winding streets on these two-wheeled marvels.  The French make it easy with bike racks and bike rentals readily available.  Velib is one such brilliant endeavor.  It costs about 28 euros a year for unlimited access to bikes scattered throughout the city. (Though each ride must be under 30 minutes).  To use the bikes for a week or less, an American Express credit card will suffice.   Now I have big plans of abandoning my car (maybe just to the garage!) and getting a bike with a child seat mounted on the front and one on the back.  I just hope I'll be able to make it up the steep, steep hill leading to our house!

Poor Man's Smocking

This cutie is my cousin Allyson's little girl, and she is sporting Allyson's awesome handiwork. So great, isn't it?! Allyson calls this kind of shirring "poor man's smocking" and it is the perfect project for summer, and especially a great thing to attempt if you are intimidated by sewing as this top is simple and quick to make.

Here's how you do it: you need ELASTICIZED THREAD (I picked some up at JoAnn's for 90 cents), FABRIC, and NORMAL THREAD.

1. Figuring out size: I am a jimmy-rigger. Here is my very unprofessional technique - hold the fabric up to your little one and see about how long you want your top (or you can make a dress). Plan on the shirring shrinking it up to half its size in both the length and width, so err on the side of BIGGER!

2. Sew the sides together to make a tube (think pillowcase). Hem the top and bottom.

3. Thread the elastic: take an empty bobbin and wind it with your elastic thread. Stick in machine in bobbin spot. For top thread, pick something that looks good with your fabric.

4. Starting at the top of your tube, sew all around it, spiraling down however far you want to (in Allyson's top, she went about six inches). The elasticized thread will scrunch it all up magically. And - very important - Allyson says NOT to panic if it doesn't seem like it's gathering at first. You have to do at least three or four rows before it starts to work. (A variation: you can also, instead of spiraling down, sew a big wavy zig-zag across, keeping the zigs close to each other, if that makes sense. Like the zig-zag pattern on Charlie Brown's shirt).

5. Sew little straps on. And voila!

6. Put on child and feel happy that you just saved yourself some money by making a fab little shirt or dress.

a little van gogh inspiration

When Melissa made that gorgeous Cecilia Beaux-inspired dress earlier this spring, I could not stop thinking about the dress and the concept. Melissa and I talked on the phone for a long time about all of the amazing paintings that would be so fun and challenging to try and translate into small clothes - the colors, the textures of the brush strokes, the lines. The possibilities and inspiration are endless. Here is my first attempt with a little gem of a painting by Vincent Van Gogh that I find myself coming back to again and again. It's called "Sprig of Flowering Almond in a Glass,", painted in 1888 while Van Gogh was living in Arles. It was a gift for his brother Theo and sister-in-law Johanna and they hung it above their bed. When I was working on this dress I was trying to catch some of the freshness of a little cup with a flower in it, and also the vertical brush strokes. (Incidentally there is a great book about Van Gogh for children that is part of a series called Smart About Art, available on Amazon for $5.99 each. My kids LOVE it. They are really fascinated about why he would ever cut off his ear. Me too.)

On that note, I hope you had a great mother's day! I feel so blessed to have been raised by a wonderful, loving, creative mother whom I reference every day, all day in my own mothering. And now I am blessed with the best husband, who makes my every day great, and hilarious sweet sometimes very strange children. I am so lucky...

we love star wars

Did any of you happen upon the hilarious article in Wondertime this month about fathers, sons, and Star Wars? Here are a couple of the pictures they published with the story... so funny and yet oh so familiar. So here's a little shout-out to all of you moms who have at least 2 plastic light-saber duels a day. Hopefully you occasionally win!

the goose girl

Thanks for the out-pouring of kind words. The lucky winner of the beautiful yellow dress that Lynne made is Joslyn from www.simplelovely.blogspot.com. I hope you get lots of summer wear from this pretty creation of Lynne's.

Here's a dress of another sorts. A little more subdued in colors, a little more coverage on the shoulders and pockets in the front for holding our newest friends: this is the goose girl frock. Perfect for carrying baby geese (or ducks in this case!), or any other treasure that a little girl might find.

Have you ever read the story of the goose girl? I recounted it to my kids recently, and they listened, mesmerized. The four-year old especially loved the part about the long silvery locks of hair that revealed the true identity of the goose girl. This was an interesting detail from the story: silvery locks of hair. Usually the heroine of the fairy tales has golden locks of hair. What color of hair has silver highlights in it? I'm at a loss on this one (unless it be grey hair!) Though we know our princess was young and fair and good at tending her fowl. Can't you just picture her long strands of hair blowing in the wind, the geese feverishly pecking at the ground around her feet, the sky grey and forlorn? The princess has been tricked and lost her royal status (at least for the moment). Her favorite talking horse has been killed, his head thrown upon a stake at the gates of the city. The whole scene casts a greyish monochromatic color scheme. It's not bright red and green and gold like many of the other fairy tales.

In honor of the goose girl, I made a greyish dress and over-dress, that my girl was all too happy to wear, especially with the little ducklings tucked in the pockets (the ducks were not too happy about this!) Her collection of ducks (from www.mcmurrayhatchery.com) started at twelve, but has dwindled to four, and soon to be two. There are happy families with newspaper lined boxes full of peeping ducklings scattered throughout our neighborhood. Maybe when the ducks get big, we'll reunite them and reenact the goose girl scene. Though at this point, I don't think they'll fit in the pockets!

it's been a year...time for a giveaway!

It's been a year since Melissa and I started our little blog. It has been, and continues to be, an awesome part of our lives. Who knew turning on the computer each morning could be filled with so much happy anticipation? We've met so many amazing people and have been inspired in countless ways by this creative, nurturing blog community. So thank you for stopping by. And thank you, again and again, for your generous and encouraging comments, each of which we savor and really, really appreciate!

We'd like to mark our small anniversary by giving away this simple yellow linen shift dress, made to size for the short person in your life (between 18 mo. and 5T). Would you like us to send it to you, packaged up adorably in brown paper? If so, leave a comment, and we'll chose the winner (randomly, of course) on Tuesday.

So again, thank you.
xo
Melissa and Lynne