Tiered (skirt) pants

I have pair of tiered pants that I wear that get a ton of compliments every time I wear them - I bought them from an importer of Indian clothing... they're the most comfy things ever and I love how the bottom is swishy like a big skirt....
so I finally got around to making another pair last night... J says they remind him of ABBA, which is not a good thing in my book, so I am hoping that I can style them so they look more modern than retro... we'll see.

I'm thinking maybe the next pair will be solid.... still, I like them.

Jumping Jack pants

The Design Director has been begging me to make her some wide leg pants from the scraps of the ones I made recently for myself. I finally finished them last night...
She put them on and immediately began to jump. "These are jumping jacks pants!"
I tried to get her to sit still so I could take a photo... these are the best I got.
(as I type this, she's chanting in the background, "bouncy bouncy bounce!")

Favorites from yesterday at the beach

Ever since I've been with J, I've put my interest in photography on the back burner. He's an excellent photographer, with a very unique eye and I've kind of left it up to him.
I took his camera out yesterday, though, just have fun and get inspired.... here are some of what I came away with...

Journal, favorite bag, open beach, winter afternoon

There we go. This is what I needed.

Winter sunlight

On my way to the beach, alone.

While we are at it... Another spinny

I love this pattern... It's in the etsy shop now.

Hold the door

I'm so happy to announce that I've got the beanbag doorstops back in my product line. I took them out of my etsy shop as they were a modified version of another designer's pattern... But in all reality, they were too close for comfort to make me feel okay about selling them.
So I have been thinking up my own original design for a while and was able to make it tonight.
Here it is! (you like?)

BDJ Designs

Oh... do I love my two new sweaters that I bought from Barbara De Jounge at the Pasadena Bead and Design Show! I've already worn each of them twice this week. But do they really count as sweaters when they are more like flexible use accessories that you play with when putting them on? The wool is fabulously bright and sumptuous - the shapes are totally outrageous... they each come with an initialed pin (BDJ) that you can use to shape the sweater to the day's liking. The tomato red one that I have pictured can be worn so many ways - even upside down for a totally different look.
(I love clothes that DO things. i.e. reversible skirts!)
Barbara struck me as a true "artiste" - she is pleasant, warm, and elegant - but there is something distinctly otherworldly about her. She makes outrageously fun necklaces out of rubber bands and other office supplies (I'm not kidding, they're cool) - and I have to admit, her color sensibility even made ME feel like a color wimp. I went for two pretty subdued colors from her line - tomato red (shown) and a minky mocha brown color. My new friend, Christina, chose a HOT lime green coat that had all of us around oohing and ahhing.
The thing that was so much fun about the BDJdesign line -was appreciating each detail - an extra hole here, a dart there... somehow each piece looks like someone had a LOT of fun making it. and that's what it's all about, right?
take a peek at her site - and take notice that most of the retailers that carry this fabulous line are actually museums.

(ps - a huge thanks to J's mom for the early birthday money to buy these with!)

Here's a petition to sign for CPSIA

Reform CPSIA HR4040

I found this site to be really helpful for explaining the politics of trying to get the CPSIA overturned and they have a petition that you can sign (it definitely needs more signatures!) that doesn't require you to sign up for any additional info.

Please sign. This is really important...

Indigo Crane

One of my very favorite things about doing any type of show is meeting the artists around me. It's often hard to resist spending all my money on their wares! This past show that I did wasn't outrageously successful, (it wasn't horrible), but I just adore the artists that I met. I think that this was the most talented group of women artists on the whole that I have met in one place. Pretty much every single artist that I took the time to talk to and learn about was so unbelievably fabulous... I was seriously stunned.... Though I will do my best to blog later about Semilla Designs, Leluxe Clothing, GRAU, and LoriMarsha - here are their links now so you can at least get a sneak peek...

I wanted to write about AnnaKatherine and Indigo Crane.

AnnaKatherine was trained as a graphic designer at RISD and worked with Dale Chihuly for 10 years before leaving her job with him recently to take her business and her mothering (she has 3 kids) to new levels.  She has the most amazing techniques of felting wool and silk together to make remarkably sumptuous scarves.  I was mesmerized by her color and texture and the infinite amount of ways she has at looking at a scarf as a blank canvas.

Her etsy shop and flickr pages show off her remarkable versatility.

and besides all that talent - she's really sweet. All the more reason to check out her great stuff!

(oh, and in doing this blog... I saw that she makes purses and really cute felted soaps that I didn't even know about... )

LAST CHANCE for LIBBY BABY baby slings....

This is also the last chance for our baby slings as well.

I've placed them on sale in our etsy shop...

LAST CHANCE for LIBBY DIBBY SPINNY skirts....

sadly... our Libby Dibby spinny skirts are part of the CPSIA's range of children's items that can no longer be sold after Feb 9th.

If you're interested in buying a Libby Dibby spinny skirt for your little girl or little friend, though they are (obviously) not tainted with lead - the new law makes it impossible for me to sell them (without an extremely expensive testing process) without risking jail time and a $100,000 fine.

so these happy little skirts will make a sad "so long"

if you want them, please let us know... we can sell for a few more days - and then after that ... well, they're gone.

I'll put them on sale in the etsy shop... 

Ain't that a motto?

I don't live by it, but it does describe a byproduct of a life full
with little joys.
I don't have time to be unhappy...

Knit me a log cabin...

Though it doesn't feel like winter here (freak heat wave!), most of you are probably reading this from cooler climes and will still appreciate the cozy-ness of this Anthropologie display... Some of
their displays are more standardized these days and perhaps your local store has something similar... But I figured this was worth sharing, regardless...)

What sweetness is this display? I couldn't fit the whole scene in my view, but you get the point. My whole heart warms looking at this scene.

Esmeralda designs

I've met the sweetest designers at the show these past few days. It may be a bead show, but there are so many fabulous designers and vendors... That I think the show name is a misnomer.

See here, a jewelry designer that I've met... Esmeralda Designs and her etsy shop...

She describes her artwork as "raw ethereal avant garde Eco metal works" - and yes, that is how I'd describe it. Looking at her rings, I was reminded of some of the things I would see in my summer of archeology in Israel. These rings are magnificent... They have words and meanings, ancient qualities and something new and fresh... Though modern is not the word. Ancient. Lovely.

I feel as if I put one of these rings on that it would make me feel transcendent to time. One can dream...

(oh, and her materials are recycled...)
Wow.

Flickr

hey friends.
I uploaded a ton to Flickr tonight. I've been signed up, but not really ever used it before...
are you all on it? do you use it?

Have I told you lately? (Dohippy)

Talking to people about my Dohippy bags always reminds me why I love them. I haven't yet been able to find a good way to demo online (I know, I need a video!)... how they work, but it's great to see people's eyes light up with surprise at how many ways one bag works. I always hear, "these are SO clever!" (at which point, I explain how I inherited the inventing gene from my dad...)
So here is my attempt at showing one bag, MANY ways. I really need to photograph these for etsy... I have a fabulous batch of about 30 right now...

I really love skirts...

Wearing this with my Out & About skirt today. I've been wanting to
make something like this for a while...

"The beauty nature creates"

I bought this ring from a lovely lovely man who sold it to me along with a free lecture on how God created a good world, filled with beauty that we were made to enjoy.
The ring is made of the tiniest slices of cross sections of shells, placed together with meticulous care and "love". I'm loving it's beauty, nature and RED!
And now every time I look at it, I am going to think of the sweet artist who points to the Greatest Artist.
(ps... He does not have a website, or I would post it...)

Good morning, Pasadena!

Here we go!
See HER (maybe, annabella?) new shirt?
I've got one, too...
I love skirts!

Pasadena Bead and Design Show

Well... at the last minute, I accepted an offer for a booth at the Pasadena Bead and Design show.
I have no idea what to expect - except that it's 4 days for me in a hotel ballroom with C-r-a-z-y carpet - WHO DESIGNS STUFF LIKE THAT? (oh, yeah. me a few years ago)

So, J and I cranked tonight- making cute backdrops, signs, and I even made some super cute t-shirts for me and my friend, the mannequin to wear... I'll send images of them tomorrow...
you'll love them.

which makes me think... I wonder what the mannequin's name should be? We call her "HER" around here, but after all these adventures together, I think she needs a name. Perhaps something like Penelope, or ... oh dear... it's really late, and I need to NOT be blogging about my mannequin's name at 1.20am.
goodnight..... see you tomorrow, with some fun photos to share.

more on that.... CPSIA information and petitions

--- here is a petition to sign if you are interested...

"CPSIA Impacts on Children's Apparel Industry"
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/economicimpactsofCPSIA?e

and http://www.handmadetoyalliance.com

Have a latte. a really soft one.

I was fishing around on Facebook the other night and saw that one of my friends makes knitted food as toys. Seriously, the cutest stuff.  The sad part is that I found out because she is as concerned about the CSPCIA as I am. (Read the link to find out why I won't be able to sell baby slings, blankets, or baby skirts in less than a month unless something happens)

When I have more time, I can try to post about that...

but for now - I had to share the pieces that I commissioned from her. They are literally melting my heart... The mug is for me. The other is for a friend of mine who is a Starbucks RED CUP junkie. She has a stack of them at home that she uses for her own personal Starbucks-at-home lattes.  I felt she needed one of these and almost burst with excitement when I gave it to her. 

I think I might have overwhelmed her with my excitement - but I thought this was the funniest thing ever.  My kids are begging for lattes of their own.  Aren't you? 

(order them quickly, I think the CSPCIA gets enacted Jan 31. Which also means I may have to stop selling the spinny skirts and slings by then, as well - unless something happens)

Fabric in frames

Pottery Barn's new catalog came the other day and this page made me smile.
First of all, the room is lovely and it was the quilt that caught my eye... But at second glance, I saw the fabric in frames above the bed... The second one from the left is the fabric from my skirt which you all helped me name "sweet tea"... And the ones on the end are from Anna Maria Horner's "garden party" - my favorite print in my favorite coloration....
(guess that is another idea of something to do with the scraps)

Book bag

Libby Dibby bag makes a trip to the beach.... (It's actually a gift that I gave to a friend, who promptly filled and used it on our outing to the Santa Monica Pier...)

Get scrappy!

Ok. Tonight I put together some of the scrap bags and as I was making them, (weighing them!!!see below) I decided that $6 will get you over 1 pound of this heavy home dec weight cotton, not just a half pound as originally promised. That enables you to get enough fabric for a good range of projects. And with the money you save not buying this at some store... You can go get an awesome book (used on amazon is my trick...) with ideas for patchwork projects...
The image here of the stack is a smattering of what is in one bag.

SAS fabrics

I'm letting you in on a secret.
For a few years now, my favorite fabric shop for (read: random) sewing junk has been this store... SAS Fabrics in Hawthorne, CA. I can't remember if Tori found it first and told me about it, of if I told her, but we were both struck by the signs in the windows proclaiming,
"fabric by the pound!"
I think only crazy textile hounds would find that an exciting process. I mean, why is it thrilling to watch the lady put your yards of some random discontinued cotton onto a scale and proclaim the ridiculously cheap cost? (I have NO idea, but it is)
Add that to the miles of fabric (this isn't where you find Amy Butler or Anna Maria Horner prints, but there is much fun to be had)... The rolls of ric rac, bins of thousands of buttons, and hundreds of rolls of satin ribbon and elastic for $0.50 each send crazy thrills through
me. (you think I am kidding?)

Anyhow, I love this little weird store. It's all the fun of going downtown to the garment district, only in one place, with free parking and ... Well, you get to weigh in everything on the scale.
If you live in LA, you can find it at the corner of 135th and Hawthorne Blvd. in the city of Hawthorne...
Happy hunting.

Crazy-pants

Dear blog reader,
This is to inform you that the writer of this blog has now officially lost her mind. After months of wanting to make pants (not just skirts), and finally learning how easy they can be... -said blogger
drove herself to the edge of reason (and over) by making 6 pairs in a 24 hour period. She is claiming there is some small amount of culpability placed on her two children, The Design Director and Ze Artiste, as they required that they have Thomas the Tank Engine pants (not pictured here for obvious reasons) and Strawberry Shortcake jammie pants made for them... But as for the other 4 pairs... Well, she states that her love/hate relationship with her serger has made her lose the will to discuss the matter any further... Though there was some allusion to the fact that this was done in an attempt to right the wrong of being constantly drawn to tacky pajama pants in the past.

Please accept our apologies.

Last chance for this skirt...

This skirt sold faster than all the other spinny skirts... and it, of course, is the discontinued pattern from Fall Springs.... so I thought we were out for good, until I went sorting through my scrap bags from the other night - and I found a mini-motherload - enough at least to make 2 or 3 skirts.
So I have made a listing for it on etsy.

okay, enough about that. I just posted it, since so many of you asked.

Pants! For me!

Okay. I'm burning the midnight oil a little, but I am freaking out over how cute these turned out! They are a modification (I can't follow directions well and always want to change things) on Amy
Butler's wide leg pants pattern, from her book, In Stitches. They were so easy to make and I have never made pants before...
And I actually had 2 leftover pieces of her fabrics to piece together to make these wide leg capris. Sooooo fun.
It's a little too cold to wear these now, but this is LA, it won't be that long...
I made another (silky) pair in the full length style that I am putting on right now!
I'm going to bed now, I promise...

Bags of Scraps

I had one of my seamstresses drop of 5 ENORMOUS bags of really fabulous scraps here the other night. I'm just dying to do a million and one fun projects with them, but in all reality, I could be sewing until kingdom come before making it through all of these scraps.

So in the interest of sharing the fun and love, I am going to put up a listing on etsy for scrap bags... i.e. 1/2 lb of gloriously fun Libby Dibby patterned scraps for you to play with, sew, scrapbook, glue, etc...
If anyone is interested - let me know. I can also make it biased toward certain patterns or color palettes, like Blue Sky Girl, Hollywood, red/white...

Scrap skirt... Birthday gifts...

Still in my jammies this morning, but at least I whipped this up for the birthday party we are headed to... (don't peek, Jen!) ... Complete with a crooked pocket purse and all!

Book Bags

So now that it's January, I'll have time to post some of the fun projects that have been going on around here... this one was inspired by some of the projects from the first "craft nite" that I hosted last month. I've since made a few of these book bags and I'm getting faster and more pleased with each one... these two were made for my mom and my sister's mom-in-law for Christmas.
My mom's is the longer one (made long enough to fit a Beth Moore workbook... which are always big).

Let me see if I can get together a tutorial... they're so easy....