Quarterly pre-orders

Tap, tap, tap, we're working hard finishing the final minutiae of the quarterly. So far we've got 38 pages of sofa-reading bliss--sans advertisements!--and full of crafty projects, pretty color photos, sketches, essays and more. The price will be $12 plus a small shipping fee. Each quarterly will be printed on nice quality paper, hand assembled and bound with pretty linen book cloth. So we can anticipate how many prints to make, please leave your name and the number of quarterlies you would like. Then we'll get to work printing, assembling, shipping and sending you a little pleasure in the mail...

Quarterly Preview #2

...includes a pattern for Sugar Loom no.3, The Six Swans.

Sugar City Quarterly preview!

Slowly, slowly between all our motherly cares Lynne and I have been finishing the details for the first Sugar City Quarterly, she in California, and I in New Jersey. Along with interesting articles and stories, there will be several patterns and crafty projects. Here's a little preview of what's to come in the first issue: a Little Red embroidery pattern (and Wolfie pattern too!), perfect for imbuing a dress or library bag or skirt with all your good karma and loving stitches.

What kid wouldn't want a frock with her mum's love and karma sewn into it? This Quarterly is chock full of such pleasurable slow-living activities.

slow living

Emma Bovary are you out there? Do you remember her from your college reading days? (Does Madame Bovary ring a bell?) This poor woman was obsessed with reading romance novels and had a certain "romantic" vision of what her life would be like. When she married and had a child, she was immediately disappointed with her mundane wifely duties. Her disappointment thrust her life into a downward, destructive spiral and eventually death. Zola said: "Madame Bovary, c'est moi!" [she] is me!" Perhaps we've all felt like her--disappointed with our seemingly banal lives.

To me "slow living" by its very nature is anti-Emma Bovary. It's finding joy in simple, seemingly banal activities and moments: feeling satisfaction with cleaning a stack of food-crusted dishes; patiently listening to and actually enjoying a five-year old recount her fantasy wish-list for the tooth fairy; laughing at the sight of the three-year old sitting in the bathroom sink with a whole bottle of shampoo mixed into a mountain of frothy suds. (I had to work hard to smile and not scream at that scene!) Seeing this sweet baby peacefully sleep in her quiet sun-filled crib was one of those simple, magic moments that I will always remember. I had to share it with you too.

So be off with you Emma Bovary. You're not invited into my house!

spring wardrobe ideas

teacher portraits, 2009

Masterpiece on top by Modigliani; masterpieces below by some of the kids in my son's second grade class. We just did portraits of his teacher, like we did last year, so now I need to make them into a book for her end of the year present. It's so neat to compare last year's drawings with this year's...