angry chicken

second child gets own dress.

Delia's birthday is next week and up until yesterday we had no gifts and no special homemade birthday
dress. I think this is the first clothing piece I have ever sewn for just her. Her colors are really more brown and light blue, but I had fabric left from this dress for Sadie, and now they conveniently match, so there you go.

It's finally cold here. Like, you need more than just a thick sweater, cold. It's nice.

Today, not too much to report. We will probably have a discussion about the merits of actually going to trampoline class versus skipping it. It's a toss up most weeks. Then maybe a walk and hot coco to drink. Coco is just a vechial for mini-marshmallows around here. There is a lot more white marsh than brown liquid. And my wonderful husband bookmarked this for me so I will watch it about 10 more times today. This is a SNL skit which I saw once and thought was so funny that I wasn't sure if I made it up (I was pretty sleepy). I didn't, and apparently it was on YouTube for awhile before NBC pulled it. I think this is so funny that I sometimes wonder if I'm a 14 year old boy.

can't wait to get sick. (candy)

It's foggy here and all spooky, perfect for dressing up. We are going to go to a party this weekend, without the kids, which is so very exciting and needs to happen more often. I am going as a Spanish folk dancer and Pete as Magnum PI. Obviously they are unrelated (unless this comes up in a fantastic episode I don't know about, it could happen!) I really don't need to see my husband in shorts that are as short as Magnum's are, nor am I huge fan of fake mustaches, but what can I do. I think all I need is a flower for my hair and big earrings, the rest I have covered.

And don't forget to make a Halloween apron for Tie One On this weekend, the perfect costume accessory! And speaking of aprons, I got a nice mention and link in the Washington Post yesterday about the resurgence of aprons, very cool and thank you!

Okay, biscuits. They have been on my mind lately (and in my tummy) and along with Halloween candy,I feel a bit sick. The biscuits I am speaking of are in the new Everyday Food #37. You make 16 and freeze them, then bake them as needed, yum. That's just plain yummy in my mouth is what that is. I recommend skipping the herbs so you can eat them with butter and jam.

This crazy pumpkin man who is yelling about who knows what is from this great vintage postcard book. Perfect old-timey weird! They have some really cool books on their site.

not much, just some stuff.

These furry fellows are from the pumpkin patch at Krugers. Not too much going on around here, which is really nice, actually. The weather is clear and beautiful and I need to get out and take some photos of tress-then I can add them to this cool group on flickr, there goes ya neighborhood.

-This apple cake I posted about a bit back turned out amazing-try it!

-Next up, I want to try this monkey bread recipe. The whole monkey bread thing I think is sort of gross, which somehow makes it more appealing to me. I can't do the quick method of this recipe. You know, where you cut up store bought dinner roll dough and dump pudding mix on it or whatever. That's too much. So, I think I will try this one over at Martha and see how it goes.

-Not to bring up Christmas again, but these are making me crazy!

mini cuckoo and fabric

I was all ready to post this lovely mini cuckoo this morning (we got this over the summer at the sweetest little toy shop in Canon beach) when I saw a similar find over at little birds handmade today! I need to thrift with Mia more, I assure you mine did not cost $5, but it makes makes me happy as a clam nonetheless. . .it's for the girls (um, yeah, right)  but I still have it tucked away. Maybe it will come out next month.

Also making me happy as a clam is this amazing holiday fabric from Cia's that will be pillows for the sofa very soon. I can't make them before Halloween however, that just seems wrong, right?

I can't believe it's 9 weeks away!

I usually don't start Christmas stuff until after Halloween, but the bug got in me early this year. Mostly because I need to get holiday ornaments, cards, and framed small quilts to Art Star in early November, so that has forced me to face the jingle bell music early. These are little mini framed art ornaments under glass. They are 2" x 2" and the 3 are $32 (includes shipping and a lovely gift box)  I love these fellows, but I know I will freak out if I have to make too many, so maybe just 10 sets? I am wishy-washy today.

And small quilt fold-over note cards. These aren't really specific to the holiday season, but the red and white make them seem appropriate if you were so inclined. . .I will be making notecards of the other two quilts in this series as well, but that requires some organization I am lacking at the moment, so they will come later.

Okay, now I actually need to make/pack/assemble the stuff. I am shooting for end of October/early November sale for these and will send out an e-mail to the maillist when I can get my act together. I have to wallow in Halloween first. Twix, I hear you calling. . .

tea for two (now four)

These mini-place mats were made for a special friend of ours that has just turned 3. They will accompany a little fiestaware tea set. The place mats are only being given away now that 2 more have been made exactly the same for our house. (Thank you very much, so says Miss Sadie.) So, we got that taken care of. I am 99% sure this fabric is from reprodepot, but I don't see it there now. I am now officially collecting little red riding hood stuff. (Like I wasn't before?) but now it's for reals.

I am overly excited that this year's Willamette Week Food Guide for Portland is out. I keep these guides and read them all year. I never really go to these restaurants, I try to get to a few, but really I just love reading about the food scene and pretending I am a part of it. Then I nod knowingly when I talk to people about where they ate. But I will be headed over to the Sahagún Chocolate Shop which they touted. I need to point out Markio was hip to this place and told me about it long ago. That eggplant knows everything about this town!

Local folks: Gina at Bolt is putting up the aprons soon for the Alberta Art walk next Thursday, so if your homemade aprons want to meet some fame and friends, take them into to Gina soon!

tie one on-halloween

I got done with Delia's witch costume. I used the same style pinafore apron as Sadie's last month. I know this was sort cheating, but I needed to multitask. She is quite proud, as you can see. I made the caplet, the hat, and the treat bag, which you can barely see. I didn't not gather sticks for the broom however, I came to my senses (sort of.) I was cursing a bit at the amount details I put into Sadie's, because although it was fun, I felt I had to do the same for Delia's. . .it was making me a little nutty and I'm really glad they are finished. They are a little too big, but hey, I know these kids are gonna grow, right?

In keeping with a spooky post--my husband sent me this brilliantly stupid thing yesterday which I love. A great time waster.

book review-craftivity

 

I knew Craftivity: 40 Projects for the DIY Lifestyle, by Tsia Carson, was coming out soon and was so excited to see it in person. Tsia is behind the mighty SuperNaturale, a mammoth site of group contributors, a forum, tutorials, and a whole lot more on crafting. You can spend a lot of time over at this site getting inspired, it's almost too much. Craftivity is a condensed version of this type of craft think-tank in book form. The book has 40 projects by different contributors.

In the intro, Tsia actually writes about not making stuff. About supporting friends who craft and really thinking about what you need to create before you buy supplies. She actually gives tips on shopping for craft supplies without over spending. Brilliant! Especially if you are creating to save money - why spend so much on the materials?

Tsia is also very down to earth and forthcoming about not being an expert crafter. Which is wonderful to read. It's more about process than product for her. She teaches design professionally and you can tell; these projects are more heady and conceptually interesting than always practicable, but that's great by me. For instance one project is about making moss graffiti. Seriously. This is so cool I can't believe it. You actually write on a rock (the photo is of one in a forest, perfect for that site-specific art project) and then the directions explain how to make moss grow over the lines you just drew.I can't get enough of this type of stuff. Jenny Hart embroiders on a screen door for her project. That is just plain rad. Here's some other projects: A Knit Hammock, A Crochet Skull, Lace Shawl, Bling Bling Teapot, Wheelbarrow Fireplace, Soft Octopus and many more. . .

Here's a paper mobile project-

And a re-use of vintage stuff project. The book has categories; yarn, fabric, paper, wood and thrift/found objects. I might not make all of them, but the book gets you thinking, and the inspiration it provides is powerful. The projects are by mighty talented people, and the directions are good. Clear and easy to read, they really cover everything for each project (including how-to-knit/crochet directions for the yarn projects, silk-screen directions, etc.)

I am a sucker for book design and this one is a real beauty. It's minimal without being chilly, uses my favorite color of green on the cover, and the full bleed photos are modern without being too design-y. The book also has a few one-page features on different artists throughout and this one artist, Obadiah Eelcut, draws his own money for bartering and has it in circulation. In my mind, this alone is worth the price of the book. I have a thing about fake money or barter currency, that type of thing, and although I know others don't necessarily share this obsession of mine, I found the discovery of this artist completely thrilling.

new japanese book-pottery

I went over to Kinokuniya at Uwajimaya last weekend, I hadn't been there in a long time, and found this amazing book. It's a visual catalog of some famous mid-century modern Swedish, Finnish, Danish, and Norwegian pottery. It's just a look book, with the company names and patterns, but it is amazing and the photos are stellar, of course. Grammie worked at Finlandia House here in Portland (the owners were close friends of the fanily) when she was little and remembers seeing all these patterns in the shop-it was so cool to look at it with her. Finlandia House is not there anymore, it was Portland's first Finnish home interiors/import store. It opened in the 1950s and mom worked there when she was 12! I guess if you are going to have child labor, at least do it in style!

Arabia-Kartano

Arabia-Kilta (I think Grammie said this was her favorite at Finlandia House.)

Arabia-Krokus (I guess I really like Arabia.)

I don't have any of these patterns. I have a really small ceramics collection just a few pieces, mostly American, but I am slowly rebuilding my parents wedding pattern (Denby) which was lost, and fantasize about owning some of these pieces. I am sure pie would taste even better off of a plate like this. But maybe not pie, now that I think about it, I'd have to make a special Finnish dessert, to go with the Arabia. I must research this. This book in one in a series of two; one showcases cups and saucers, and this one features other pieces in the same patterns. Amazing.

baking crazy-even though it's hot here.

Yesterday it was 78 degrees or something crazy like that. but the apples are so amazing right now (the honeycrisp and the ambrosia at New Seasons) that I turned on the oven. It's almost criminal to even cook these apples, but I rationalize it by buying 12 at a time, so I don't get hoardy. This is a simple pie with little miss d. reaching in. She loved it. Sadie did not.

I am going to try this recipe here in the next day or so, and I saw this article over at NPR about a woman who makes a cakes every Monday to bring to the office. Not about apples, but baking, anyway. Makes me glad I don't have to deal with that temptation every week.

new on the wanty list. . .

 

I have been spending some time looking at these cuckoos (they are all from this site) and I love them. Some are so stern and intense. I can see why they used to scare me when I was little. My aunt had one and I loved it-and it freaked me out a ton. I would wait for the birdy to come out and then when it did, I just wanted it to go away.

Here's a chalet style. I told Pete we needed one. He said they were too creepy. But I love them and he agrees they are way cool (yet creepy.) I don't think I could wind it. Our house is so quiet. We are quiet, the girls are quiet--the cuckoo bird would give us all a heart-attack. But how can we get one and not use it? I am so into the hard core folk art mixed with the modern furniture . . .this is one of those things we will talk about and not get. At least for a long time. Too much $$$. And for cuckoo clock? But the ridiculousness of this makes it even more pleasing to me.

Oh!! I just had an idea! I should make one! Out of flat paper and then just put it on the wall! HA! Like if I could find a really good photo, then blow it up,  and color copy it, even paste on pieces for a shallow layered effect. . .then cut it out so it looks real. . . . Oh, I need to get working on this. . .maybe even frame it, so it becomes a not-clock. Like a clock piece of art, not a clock at all. . .hmmm

 

And I am also diggin' these with the scenes. . ..

And I do think we need to get a candle pyramid at some point. We had one growing up (mom, where is this?) These are from a great site, the Wooden Wagon, which has toys and all kind of German folk art. I love them.

Pete says this one looks too oak-y, I am on the fence. I really like the votive candles on this as opposed to the tapers. Oh, the details. . .

 

new dress for autumn

I realized the other day that I seem to be dressing more and more like Hester Prynne (minus the "A".) The buttoned-up blouses, dark colors, weird modest lines (which are really frumpy, actually) and of course, the bonnets contribute to this all quite a bit. I didn't mention this when I made the bonnet pattern, but did anyone see I Heart Huckabees? Um, wow. It gave bonnets such a bad rap, I was horrified. But it was funny, and no, I am not wearing overalls.

This dress is from this pattern, which is I also made again here, so this is number 3. I love it and it is perfect with tights and shirts underneath. (Layers are in, don't you know.) The mini-corduroy is really soft (same kind I used here only different color) but the drape is stiffer, hence a bit more frump-action going on.

I added the bib with the buttons (the stellar bird fabric is from superbuzzy and the buttons are non-functional, which I have mixed feelings about this)

Okay, I am feeling even today better and we are off to trampoline class-I am not planning to jump, don't worry.

feeling better, really.

I am doing better. I swear. Thank you all so much for the support and suggestions. I'll never stop being creative, but I know I need to balance it all a bit more (um-this means less computer surfing time really, and definitely walking more and yoga, yes, more yoga for sure.)

We all made pumpkin spice cake cupcakes yesterday (from the mailorder recipe) and they are super tasty. I definitely like them better cold. They have a lot of sprinkles. a whole lot. I chilled out last night and watched Lost (a few episodes from season 1) and read. . .and stretched and stretched.

Thanks to all you Portland peeps who offered drive-by food and help, you all rock, I will take you up on it if I need to, I swear. . .and speaking of local love, Gina, the lovely proprietress over at out favorite local fabric shop, Bolt, is organizing a homemade apron show for the last Thursday of October for the Alberta Artwalk. So, if any of you local people would like to bring your lovely homemade aprons in there for a bit of fame, she will hang them up, and you can be in the artwalk, and a good time will be had by all.

I am rounding up some of my aprons to bring by there. I don't know how long the show will hang, but I'm sure Gina can fill us in. We need to give her enough time to hang the show, so maybe bringing them by well before Thursday the 26th would be good. . .and she wants to showcase handmade aprons that we have sewn, as opposed to vintage. . .and just a warning if you haven't been to Bolt before. It's a very dangerous place to your pocketbook. The fabric selections are just perfect. Perfect! She has some Liberty cottons there now, so I am headed over there as soon as my back feels better in the car.

slowly returning to a kind of normal

My relationship with my back is really spotty. I always take it for granted and I always am shocked when it goes haywire. But no one in my family and none of my friends are ever shocked. My first back episode was my senior year in high school (there is a long line of back issues with almost everyone in my mom's family) and I was so scared. It was exhaustion and stress applying for colleges + a dash of bad lifting form, or a sneeze, or whatever, and it went out.

Same thing in college. During the end of each term it would go out and I was always so surprised--like, really shocked. I think it's because I never wanted to be someone with back issues. I was a jock my whole life, always running around doing sports and injuries were normal. I have a horrible left ankle and a chipped kneecap and have been on crutches more times than I can count, but back pain, that is so scary. Like lifelong and horrible, so I just don't think about it.

My back and I went around again when I had the girls. My 9th month with Sadie I could barely move my back was so bad and then, not surprisingly, had a horrendous back labor. It took 9 months after that to get it back to a sort of normal and to learn what I can and can't do-like nursing in bed on my side- and wearing the sling in a bad way. Then I had Delia, and had back labor again (the midwife had warned my of this) I made it through okay and I didn't know any different. The recovery was faster and I was more careful, but I know, and can feel, that my back will never be the same after the births.

Then I started this blog and the stretching/pilates/yoga got less and less frequent. Sometimes I only have an hour a day to craft (often, actually) and I don't want to spend that time in a stretch, you know? Then add lack of sleep, a b-day party, work deadlines, and life, and I guess a hot shower and a bad sneeze? (Apparently a hot shower/bath is the worst for acute back pain, it should be ice-ice, baby.)

So, I need to work on this. I am on day 7 now of pretty bad pain. I am on the mend, and I am seeing specialists, making appointments, and doing what I can. Pete used up some vacation days to stay at home and help and that kills me. Kills. Family time is so precious, to have to use it this way makes me crazy. I need to balance this out. Maybe a little less art and craft time and a little more body awareness? And breath. And walks. And trying to figure out how to stretch with the girls not jumping on me. It can be done, I just need to try it. I hate having my creative time bitten into, but I know I am a body and a brain and need to take care of both. And thank God everyday I am in a little less pain. . .

And, we (Pete) decorated for Halloween. . .

sadie is 4 and we are beat tired.

The weather was amazing for Miss 4 year-old's little party. The ice cream sundae bar was a big hit, specially with the grown-ups. Much thought was given to the combos, like if you start with mint ice cream, it really limits your topping options. Kinda like "choose you own adventure" in dessert form. I loved those books.

Sadie started opening gifts on her own and then later hid with both the Woodkins and the paper doll book. I was able to coax her out with the cake lit up, but just barely. This great photo was taken by her grandmother. . .my brother got some loot this weekend too, it being his b-day as well, and he had his share of ice cream, I think he had the brownie on his.

Okay, we are all petty exhausted around here. The girls woke up with full on colds today. Lots of tears in the last 24 hours, toy sharing issues, my back going out (actually, it went out last Thursday, and has been slow to heal), icky diapers (worse than normal, anyway) emergency Kleenex run to the store and a missed trampoline class this morning because of it all. I hope to rest-rest-rest and hopefully that will rub off on the girls, that's the plan anyway.

I did get The Tie One On gallery up, along with the new theme posted. We have some pressing issues now. Like making Sadie's new dolly (the BIG gift) Kirsten, a nightgown. And maybe some soup tonight and an early bedtime for everyone.