When people ask me how I do it all...

I should probably just show them this picture. Obviously, some things (many things, if we're being honest) fall by the wayside. Sweeping up my scraps after sewing-- well, it's just not that high on the priority list, you know? (Do you see what he's doing? He's CRAWLING! Six months, one week and 2 days... just one day later than his big bro!)
This is what I was sewing: a Daddy-shirt re-fashion. It didn't go all that well. I a) did not use a pattern, even one I traced out onto newspaper beforehand and b) didn't measure the baby or the pieces before I cut them out. So it took hours and hours and was much, much too small. I'm still working on this one, though. I love all the cute re-fashions of menswear for girls, but as a mama to boys, I'm sadly aware of how few cute things are out there for boys. I'm here to remedy that.
Do you care if I plug Hoot Baby one more time? Oh, what the heck. Check us out here!

Can you see my smile from where you are?

Looks like it's time to add a "Press" link to the website...

I believe she even Tweeted about me. Or is it Twittered? Hmmm.

Of Avecados and Liederhosen...

Confession #11 from the Honest Swap/Scrap (that I really do need to tag some people for. Any volunteers?): I totally cannot spell. I've actually cultivated really awful handwriting to disguise this fact. I'm pretty sure none of the words in the title are spelled correctly, but you get the drift, right? So, without further ado, introducing:
A Boy and his Solids
Do not be deceived by the empty bowl, or by his big grin. He's really not a fan. At this age, his big brother was eating CUPS of mush every day. This was about 1 teaspoon of mashed avecado mixed with water, and I think about an 1/8 of a tsp. was swallowed. We tried some sweet potatoes a little later on-- still no dice.
This is what happened when we tried a whole tablespoon of food. Avecado boogers.
Grady was SUCH a demanding nurser-- like 20 times in 24 hours was not at all unusual. John Harper's much more laid back about it-- he probably only nurses 6 times a day, for 5 minutes at a time, and he's a wonderful sleeper. The only real reason I had for trying to make the G eat real food was to give my poor bosom a break, so I'm not all that fussed about this one not liking his food. I can take 6 times a day for five minutes at a time for a long, long time.
Noticed those little bumps on his fat armies, did ya? We've got chicken pox here, of all things. I toe the line of crunchy/non-crunchy mama, but that vaccine is actually one we don't give. But the big boy who I WANT to get it-- nothing. The baby who will most likely not get antibodies from this very mild case but still means that we are basically confined to the house for the next two weeks-- yup. I think he caught it from a cart at the co-op, or as my son affectionately calls it, the Hippie Grocery. Which is usually followed by "that place where you peed on the floor." And he did. All over the local organic veggies.
So here is a non-poxy but very proud of himself boy. My dad gifted him with these insane liederhosen when he was just a baby-- it's quite an interesting ensemble. He thinks that this is what cowboys wear, and accessorizes with a black cowboy hat. It's like Johnny Cash meets the Sound of Music around here.

Another Scrap (the reverse applique kind this time)

So I realized that I was supposed to scrap with Joy-- not swap. I'm a very scrappy person-- I'm surprised I didn't jump at that opportunity. But since I did not scrap (nor did I tag 5 friends-- I stink at chains...) I'm making her another kind of scrap here. I saw this amazing book a while ago, and I've been fascinated with the idea of reverse applique ever since. I really wanted to do something with these nice (and well-priced!) organic cottons I found, and the idea of this kind of applique just lent itself to working with organics. It's all cool and hippie chick (like you know I want to be.)
Natalie Chanin works with jersey knits, which I'm interested in, as well. I am starting to yen for a serger. Just a tiny bit. But I'm still mildly to moderately terrified by all that thread. We'll see. So I'm using cottons, and I expect it to fray artfully as it gets washed.

This was supposed to look like a peony. It does not. I've got an idea to do a smaller-scale applique that is more recognizable next time. But then I get all funny about the fact that sewing for summer really should be finished, and this weight of fabric really lends itself to summer. So I'm kind of torn. I think I'll put it up in the Etsy and see if anybody responds. Maybe. But anyway, about the technique. It was utterly soothing and relaxing to sit and stitch with my hands, rather than the machine. I love the visable hand of the construction here, and I love the loose, slightly untidy feel of the design. I've been meaning to make up this skirt for myself in this fabric-- I can totally see some of these stencil-like flowers being cut away and backed with these amazing chocolate and ruby colored upholstery-grade linen scraps I have squirreled away. I've never sewed for myself, though.... what'cha think? Should I go for it?

Honest Swap (without the swap part)

I am oh, oh, so tired tonight, but I had to rise to the challenge Joy set for me: 10 Honest Things about me. Since we're laying it all on the table, I'll go ahead and tell you that I ripped this image off from the very first thing Google found when I looked for images of "honesty." Told you I was tired-- it's from here, to keep everything above board.

Before we dive in, I'll tell you why I'm so tired. Partially because I've been filling orders like crazy and trying to figure out which direction lil' ol' Hoot Baby is going to go-- and feeling a little sad that I don't have time to "create." I spent an hour last night (or four, if we're counting. Poor Adam-- he should know by now that I have a, shall we say, fluid relationship with time-keeping. 7:30, 12 am... who's counting) with a wonderful group from our neighborhood. I'm serious when I say that 90% of the people in this neighborhood create-- with paints, fibers, metal, wood, flowers, music, words... everything. The energy can be amazing-- and we are planning a super-fun and amazing (and totally catering to voyers like me who are desparate to see the inside of people's houses) studio walking tour and happening afterparty. Coming to a street near me Oct. 3-- come on over. I love the name we chose-- "Westerwood Art and Sole..Art You Can Walk To." So anyway, I'll probably be talking about that a lot. I have also had lots on my mind this week I've wanted to post about, but I've had trouble with the whole camera thing. Even though I know you log on to hear me run my virtual mouth, it's way more fun with pictures. But I am going to be talking about it next week. My feet is one topic. And my tomatoes. And hand-embroidery. Fun stuff.

So.... here we go. 10 Honest Things About Me. I'm not sure I know who to tag in this-- I'll have to think about that.
1.) I'm an unabashed carnivore. I ate approximately 1 million hamburgers while pregnant, all from here. Yes, I know it's gross. I make up for it by being basically vegetarian all summer, when I eat tomatoes 19 times a day.
2.) I'm a horribly judgemental person. I'm working on that. Almost every single one of my closest friends is someone I initialy judged (erroniously) and now adore.
3.) I'm very good at growing things. I guess it's ok to say that because I'm being honest. I really think I do have a genetically green thumb, because I never even kept houseplants until we bought our first house and I dug up a half-acre of land and turned it into garden after garden after garden.
4.) I secretly wish I was a cool hippie chick. In reality, I look more like I came from J. Crew. Except I never, ever wear headbands.
5.) I have the ugliest, grossest feet you will ever see. And I'm gonna blog about them. Lucky you.
6.) Some folks say I'm witty. I dunno, but I like to talk, and sometimes funny things come out.
7.) My proudest accomplishment in my life is helping John Harper learn how to breastfeed. I hear August is National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and so I'll wait a few weeks to tell that story. It's a good one. Get that hankey out again.
8.) I would much, much rather watch children play than play with them. This is problematic as my main job these days is to stay home with kids.
9.) I eat so, so, so many desserts. The only reason I make it to the gym so many times a week is so I can eat my more of those.
10.) I often don't start things for fear of failing. Like, really often.

So, there we go. Now you know all about it me-- tell me all about you. Only I just realized I'm not on the computer with all the bookmarks, and my eyes are clooossssinnggg. I'll getcha tomorrow!

But PS: Thank you to Rachel at One Pretty Thing for bringing Wo-Bot to the masses. He looks kinda sad in his chair. I have REALLY got to read that photography manual....

A Birthday and a Beco

Happy Birthday to me! Thirty-two whole years on the planet today-- not too bad. I like getting older. To celebrate, Adam and I took to boys to our favorite MFA days watering hole. We sat outside (because it's really a college bar) and ate cheese fries and drank a cheap beer apiece and Grady watched the excavators next door. That's one of the beautiful things about where we live-- both physically and in proximity to the people we once were. We slowly fell in love Thursday evenings after workshop in that old bar (don't worry, it's a pretty tame place as bars go. Don't call child welfare or anything) and it was fun to spend an hour in that life again.
I bought myself a wee something from Etsy (from this shop.) I love how Etsy items come in pretty little packages with lots of cute extra touches.And the other beautiful thing about this day-- Adam's lack of planning in not ordering a cake meant that I got to request a sample platter from my favorite bakery.) There is a lee-tle left. And I had him hide the chocolate covered salted almond's from Trader Joe's (via my friend Nina, who also gave me that wine. I'm hoping she'll give me a new baby to hold today, too... do you think he got the memo that this is his due date?) before I ate the entire box.
And my gift from my sweet honey-- a Beco. I'm already in love-- and so, so tired of Mr. Grabby Hands riding on the front in my beloved Moby Wrap. And the Joel Dewberry Orchid Ginsing... well, we know I love that.
I'm a little shy showing you my picture.... but this is me. I don't think the wedding picture counts, since I don't really wear an up-do and nine pounds of makeup every day. I'm so looking forward to getting this little guy all adjusted and settled into this thing. It sure will be nice to get the baby off my belly and not feel pregnant for the first time in about 4 years... Now off to watch a movie of my choice (and maybe have a bite more cake...)
PS-- my other gift to myself is a website for Hoot Baby. If anybody knows anybody at Bludomain would you please tell them to FIGURE OUT WHAT'S UP so that they can lauch me? I've been waiting a week, already...

As Promised...(and a Tutorial!)

Introducing Wo-Bot. I'm tryng really hard to keep my promises these days; my poor family has had to put up with more than their share of "I'll get to that..."'s this past few weeks, and they have been so good about it. So rather than be all dasterdly and break my promise to Grady that he would get that robot he wanted, I decided to put some other work aside and get busy on this fellow.

I had high hopes of making a really pretty little tutorial for you so you could easily make one of these guys, too. Grady went to his first day of camp at the Montessori that will hopefully be our school home for many years to come. John Harper, the camera and I readied ourselves in the living room. Things started off well. But apparently Mr. Smiley wasn't so keen on making a surprise for his brother, and it quickly deteiorated into this. So the pictures I planned-- well, let's just say you'll need to put on your Imagination Cap before you begin:)

Upcycled Wool Robot with a Heart Tutorial
You will need:
1 machine felted wool sweater, plus scraps of fabric for the face (I used wool scraps for this. If you want to, you could needle felt a face on, as well.) To machine felt (really this is called fulling) you just wash your 100% wool sweater in the washer with hot water and a wee (wee!) bit of dishwashing liquid (such as Dawn.) I like to throw it in with jeans to kind of nubbly it up, but the hot water and soap is the important step. I then throw mine in the dryer. Basically, you're just shrinking it :)
Heavy-Duty Interfacing-- because I am a bad crafter and throw away those little plastic sheets that come with the interfacing, I don't know what number to tell you to buy. But mine is the stiffness of cardboard. It does not need to be iron-in.
Yarn, and a needle with a large enough eye to thread the yarn through.
Something to stuff with. I used Polyfill.
Cutting out your Robot
1. Cut one sleeve off of the sweater. Keeping the sleeve folded, cut the sleeve from cuff to shoulder into two long strips. You will need to cut some of the excess off of one side of sleeve to keep the strips the same width. Cut each long strip into two pieces, making four strips. Two of these will be one piece of wool, and two will be two pieces of wool.
2. Cutting through both layers of sweater, cut out a rectangle from one side of the sweater. Mine measured 12x10. Cut another rectangle from the other half. Mine measured 8X 6.
3. Carefully cut a small opening in the front of ONE SIDE of your larger rectangle. Cut on three sides only, leaving it attached on the far left side to create a flap. My opening measured 2x2x2.
4. Cut out 5 squares of felt that are 3x3. Then cut 5 squares of interfacing that are very slightly smaller than that. If you want to be precise, say 2 3/4 inches x2 3/4 inches. I was not all precise this time, and things turned out just fine.

You should now have this:

To make this extra fun, we are now going to embrace imperfection and just accept that this is going to be a free-form and organic construction process. No stressing about things being all neat and tidy, because I promise, your kid won't be checking to see how straight your seams are and if you made a perfectly square opening and stuff.
Sewing your Robot
I find sewing felted wool incredibly satisfying. It just zips through the machine. I use a single straight stitch and turn the speed up to high since it just seems to feed better that way. I have a Universal 16 needle on the machine right now and it worked quite well.
Sewing the compartment for your Robot's Heart
1.) I just laid a piece of interfacing on the back of each small wool square. First sew two squares together-- they will open up to make a right angle with a piece of interfacing on each piece (your seams hold the interfacing down, so no need to iron on or pre-stitch.) Then sew another piece of wool/interfacing to the other side, making a U shape. The next pieces are a little trickier, but remember, we are not going to be perfectionists here. Sew one square to the side of one of the sides of your "U", then sort of pinch it down and sew it to the bottom part of the "U", then pinch again and sew it to the other side of the "U." You will have a three-sided box with a top and no bottom. Repeat this last process with the remaining piece of felt, and you'll have a box with all it's sides except one.
NOTE: Now, if you are a smart little cookie and really want this to be precise and beautiful, you could look here or here to find out how these ladies put together baby blocks. This is really just the same process, only smaller.
Attaching the box to the body
1.) Place the box under the opening on the larger rectangle. The flap should be open on the top. Using your yarn, whipstitch around the edges of the body/box. Your seams will be exposed on the outside of the robot. It's OK, this add character. When you reach the side where the flap is, sew a close running stitch (a straight line, to join the box to the flap side. It's going to look like this when you are finished.

Making the Face
1.) Cut out two ovals for the eyes. Cut two small rectangles that will fit in the middle of the ovals for pupils. Cut two strips, 3" x 1/2", and angle each end. Cut a rectangle for the mouth.
2.) Place the ovals on the front side of the smaller rectangle, pinning into place if you wish. Sew around the perimeter of each oval. Lay the small rectangle over the oval, and stitch around the sides. Lay each strip (the eyebrows) above the eyes. Point them down to make a "mean" robot and up to make a "sweet" robot. (I made a sweet robot.) Stitch around the strips. Lay the mouth rectangle below the eyes, stitch around the edges.
Attaching the Head
1.) Open up the smaller rectangle so that you have one long piece of felt. Sew one of the narrower edges to the front of the body of the robot (where your box is located.) Fold the head piece over and sew the other narrow edge to the back side of your body. Now start at the left edge of the body (the shoulder) and sew up to where the head meets the body. Continue sewing, turning corners as necessary, until you have sewed up one side of the head, across the top, down the other side of the head, and out to edge of the other shoulder.
NOTE: I wasn't as smart when I did this, and I sewed the head on last. Not what you want to do, but the pictures will not be the same as what I'm telling you to do.
Making the Limbs
1.)With the fabric either stacked (for the 2 piece strips) or folded (for the one piece strips) sew down the long side of one of your narrow strips, across the end, and up the other side. I then sewed a line about 2 inches up from the closed bottom of the strip to indicate a hand. Trim the seams closely all the way around. Repeat for all three strips.
2.) If you have a body like I did, there will be a side-seam from the original sweater joining one side. about 3 inches from the top corner, cut a small slit, the same width as the narrow side of your strip, and slip one of the strips into it. Sew over the top of this to enclose the strip in the seam. On the other, open side of the rectangle , place another strip between the layers the same distance from the top as you did on the other side. Sew down the entire seam from top to bottom, enclosing the strip in the seam. Trim this seam closely.3.) Place one strip at the outside edge of the bottom of the body, Sew over the strip, stopping just past the edge of the strip. Repeat on the other side. You will now stuff your robot through the opening you left between the strips. Stuff, being careful to put the polyfill around the box, above it, but not behind it, so as not to push it out or distort the shape of the box. Sew over the bottom seam to close the body up.

I gave the Robot to Grady right after his nap. He immediately opened the compartment, said "For the Bluebird, to shelter him from the cold!", declared the robot his "best bud" and promptly sat down to nurse him. I'd say it was a success!

I'm going to felt him a little bluebird to go in the compartment tomorrow. Maybe my friend Joy, who's a whiz with the felting needles, will help me (wink, wink, nudge, nudge!)