New Baby Sling Patterns listed on Etsy

I was able to find time to list the new slings today on etsy.
Oh, and some more of those great swaddle blankies, too.

Scrap box project review

Remember my Earth Day giveaway? Where more than 25 of you got a +5lb box of scraps from me when you paid the postage? Today I found a post that my friend Christy did about what she made with the scraps. Can you just die at how cute these are?
Way to go Christy!

V & Vi baby sling models

Remember when I posted that photo of my sister and her baby, Violet, in the baby sling about a year ago? Here's an update of the amazing amount of use that sling still gets. My sis sent me this image of them using it in Boston this week... Vi is a year old now and still delighted to be snuggled close to Mama. V, besides being a rockin hot mama of three girls, is super capable as a mom and is using the sling in a way I never did- with the baby facing out.
I think this is why I like the "ring" style sling that I sell best of all... It's just so flexible- with so many uses and so much room for creativity. When Mimi was 2 1/2 and we went to Mexico for a family vacation, her little feet were so small that she couldn't walk on the cobblestone streets very easily. I pulled out my trusty camo sling and strapped her onto my back for the day.

Collecting Numbers

When J and I were in Italy this summer, we got the idea to collect images of numbers that were sentimental to us for various reasons. Each of these house numbers has a specific significance to us as a family and we plan to make a fun presentation of them as a work of art for our home.

Italian sketches

I treasure the sketches that I did while I was in Italy. They are a far cry from perfect - or even frame-worthy, but they are moments captured - and they are lovely to me. (I've grown a lot... being able to look at drawings for their joy rather than their mistakes.)

I went to scan in this drawing and as I read the opposite page - the journal entry that went with it, I decided to include it - so you could see in my own handwriting how much I enjoyed making this. Just the fact that I am willing to post this less than great sketch makes me feel free... and happy to know that I really do just love making art, not just the outcomes.

My summer reading list.

I haven't really read for pleasure in years. With two munchkins, three moves, a business, 2 blogs, learning how to sew, getting certified for fost/adopt, and various part-time jobs and volunteer stuff... I just haven't read for fun since I was pregnant the first time 5 years ago. (other than the requisite parenting books - Healthy Sleep Habits, Girlfriends' Guide to pregnancy, and lots of other books that seem to have blended together so I can't even remember them)... Though I still remember with great fondness the last book I read before Mimi's birth, a beautiful autobiography of Nelson Mandela.
But this summer has been different. We've travelled. Without the kids. Which means time on airplanes, quiet moments and exposure to bestsellers while walking through the airports - without chasing anyone.
My initial reading began at the end of our Italy trip. During the trip, we spent most of our time doing things... and I actually spent time sketching, when we had down time - that was marvelous.

Anyhow- where was I? Oh yes. Well, I originally brought "Under the Tuscan Sun" to read on the trip, but I left it and my journal, - oh yes, my journal - and my favorite tiny Bible, on the first airplane on the way over... ...never to be heard from again. I'd sewn the cutest little envelope pouch for them all to travel safely in with some of my favorite pens. ARGH. ( I will shed no more tears about this!) ... so that book did not get read. I still haven't replaced any of them. part of me is still grieving them. sigh.
So I picked up "Eat Pray Love" in the airport. Which was compelling, but I didn't agree with any of the author's philosophy. Though her journey was interesting and well documented - I found it was not what I was looking for. I did , however, love that 1/3 of the book was set in Italy... and that made me decide that I needed to prolong my vacation by reading books about Italy and set in Italy.
So I picked up these two gems.... ...both of which were great fun to read and offered mini history lessons about Renaissance Italy. Signora da Vinci and The Glassblower of Murano... Then I got turned onto the Twilight Series. (I know, I've already said too much about them) Suffice it to say, my postings have been sparse, partly because everything other than Twilight has been sparse. I'm in between books 3 & 4 right now, and loving every minute. (Please see this post here, for a perfect representation of my situation, by another blogger) - oh, and there was a brief section in New Moon that also satisfied my Italian urges...

And though summer is almost over... we're looking at a whole new season of life in the fall which might allow for sewing, blogging and reading to co-exist.... Mimi starts kindergarten and Z will be in preschool for 4 days a week. That means time for me! (Though with the fost/adopt possibility, there's not really anything set in stone right now - we could be growing the family in the fall... you'll know for sure if that happens.) Until then, here's my current book list... of things I have either on my nightstand, in my book bag, or in my cart at Amazon.

1. Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
2. Under the Tuscan Sun
3. The Time Travelers Wife
4. Common Sense Parenting (required reading for our classes)
5. The Agony and the Ecstasy

phew... I better get on it!... oh... and do YOU have any recommendations for me?

Last post from the wedding.

Amy lives in Thailand and works with several local hilltribes. It was hard for her to have to get married in the States, knowing that many of her friends would not be able to attend the wedding. So she decided that for the reception, it was important that she wore something that was made from their traditional fabrics... When she was at my house a few weeks ago, she pulled out a long piece of this woven fabric and asked me to make a "dancing skirt" out of it.
I totally thought it couldn't be done. I told her so. Amy didn't believe me and let me know it was REALLY important to her. So we came up with this!
We used EVERY single piece of that fabric and based the design on the Mama version of my spinny skirt, but added the drop waist in (to conserve fabric and give more length).
I think it came out really well!

Amy's Wedding highlights

I promised highlights from Amy's wedding when I got the chance and I am in between Twilight books tonight. (it's seriously a sickness right now)... so I'm taking advantage of the time to post photos by J and also by another friend of Amy & Johnny's... (Paul Grdina) that highlight the beautiful couple, the amazing setting, and some of the fun projects that I worked on for the wedding.This, below, was my first EVER attempt at anything floral. I was freaked out to do it. I don't even really arrange flowers in vases, opting more for trees and living things. But Amy's sister, Rachel, and I spent the day before the wedding collecting various weeds, wildflowers and sticks together which we put with some store-bought roses into these bouquets for the bride and all 8 of us attendants. And the bouquets LASTED! I couldn't believe it. I came prepared with an insane amount of raffia and 150 yards of satin ribbon, some floral tape and sticky craft dots, and this is what we ended up with. It was so fun to do these... but no, I am NOT foraying into flora anytime soon.
Amy and I had spent an evening a few weeks earlier perusing through some bridal magazines and we saw a wedding that had a funny fabric banner suspended like a photo booth out in the woods. That really sparked us and we made this for her own (Libby Dibby) version of the concept. What a fun thing this was. They asked everyone to take photos here instead of signing a guest book.J and I just before we laid down on our backs and crashed for a reception nap. as seen here.Oh. And here is a personal highlight. Who is that hot guy behind the huge lens?

the bride and me. we've been BFF for 13 years now!

New sling patterns

Here are two (upper left/bottom right) new sling patterns... Celtic
green and black polka dots... That are now in stock...

Easy birthday gift

Here's an easy birthday gift to have on hand if you (like us) go to lots of birthday parties... I keep a few brand new white towels in stock for this purpose. A little heat'n'bond, some zig zag stitching, and voilà!... Personalized towels. (my kids love theirs, and I'm secretly working on some beach towels with the same lettering as their bath towels)
I also like putting a little loop of fabric or ribbon in the middle to make the towels hang easily from hooks.