Sick

The girls have been a bit sick this week. Today they are curled up under a down comforter watching Diego and Tinkerbell.

I just discovered how the CPSIA effects small businesses, and for some reason never considered myself part of the effected group. Well, I couldn't be more wrong, and I need to get my stuff under code. I also need to have tags on all of my stuff to be under FTC code. Joy. I feel pretty dumb for not paying attention and not being aware of these laws.

Teal Longies

I don't know when my obsession with teal and magenta started, but I'm pretty sure it was around the 4th grade. It is still going strong. This teal is amazing. I want some adult size wool pants in this color! For now, baby pants will have to do.

Recycled Suede Knee Patch Merino Wool Longies

Phew, that is a mouth full! These pants grew out of a request from a loyal customer of mine. She requested knee patches because her little one is at the crawling-everywhere-and-getting-pants-filthy-and-hole-y stage. The suede I have on hand is from an old jacket of my mom's. She used it to reupholster a chair, and now I have used it for multiple projects. I thought it would be a durable, soft, natural fiber, in a nice natural color, perfect for some longies!
These longies are one of my newer designs, featuring a gusset in the rear for extra diaper space. I know that sometimes Fern's cloth diaper is bigger if we are going out for a chunk of time, or if she is taking a nap.
Merino wool is pretty awesome, I am learning that it is so soft and stretchy and not itchy at all. Yay!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Fern!

 
Today we celebrate the day Fern entered the outside world and graced us with her adorable smile, her sweet nature, her cute little voice, and her sensitive personality. What a wonderful day, what a peaceful and awesome birth. We love you, Fern! You are our special little one.

Poverty Jane

Today I am thinking about my friend, Poverty Jane. She is an Adirondack Woman, living with her husband and brood of young kids and animals, largely living off the land. She is a craftswoman and a resourceful, intelligent, beautiful person!
Beyond her obvious sewing talents, she works with the most natural, domestic fibers she can get her hands on. Everything from hemp to bamboo to cotton. She is meticulous in her creating, always striving for the least amount of synthetics, additives, and anything else that is detrimental to our earth, our babies, and our common livelihood.

I hope you can check out her blog here, and her Etsy shop here. Keep on doin your thing, P.J.! You rock!

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Here is Sage playing with her cousin, Kitty LJ (I think!). Isn't he adorable?

Custom Orders

I just finished a custom pair of longies for a returning customer on Etsy. She wanted a pair of longies for her little boy, and we picked out the wool and she gave me his dimensions.
I had to alter my longies pattern a little bit to accommodate the babe's size. His mom wanted these longies to grow with him, so I sewed the neck of the sweater onto the bottom of the pants to act as cuffs that she can roll up.

I also added an extra layer of felted wool into the butt of the longies. The striped wool is a little bit thin, and I know with my daughter Fern that some wool just needs a little reinforcement so that it doesn't leak as soon as the baby is a little wet.
I really love using wool and cotton for cloth diapering, and I am always happy to help another mama do the same.
N, I hope you love the longies!

Dance Class

Wow, I can't believe I am the mother of a girl old enough to take a dance class!

Isn't this babe's smile crazy!?

Check out this little wristlet in my shop/on flickr:

Recycled Bike Tube Wallets

I semi-copied the design of my hubby's wallet and created this wallet design. I have already sold one on Etsy, and just listed two more! They are very practical and almost 100% recycled! I am so happy to have a sewing machine that can handle all the layers of funny material!
School starts back on Tuesday. I am not totally ready for it, but I'm sure it'll be cool.
The girls and I hung out at LoverMother's house this morning. She made me homemade whole wheat pasta!!! What a lady.

Parent Trip

Ahh, what a nice treat to be able to take off for 24 hours with Tray. My dad watched the girls and we hopped on a Bolt Bus up to NYC. We visited Emily, an old camp friend, and then walked around the Garment District for a bit. After that, we headed to our hotel. After relaxing, we went out to eat at an adorable little Organic French Caribbean Cafe. Yum! Out for a cocktail, and then home to the hotel!

Yesterday, we went to Billy's Bakery in Chelsea. It was delicious and adorable! Tray's friend co-owns it, so we were excited to finally visit. We brought home some cupcakes for the girls.
This was a very reasonable vacation: our hotel was $55, the bus was a total of $52, and we took the subway 3 times each (two of which our doorman had given us free Metro passes for!). Of course food was a bit expensive.
Here are a couple photos:

My Big Girl

Sage is 3 1/2 now. Some moments I feel like she is a pre-teen already, and other times she is such a baby. I love talking with her, and hearing her stories, and listening to her logic. It's a hoot!

Nap time has been tough. She still needs a nap most days, but isn't always ready for one when Fern goes down. That makes it tough for me to have any time to sew or study, and it also makes our schedule difficult! Usually I compromise by letting her stay with me, but she has to play quietly by herself. That works 40% of the time! 

Wool Cycling Cap

Gosh, I am really obsessed with wool. I will admit it. Some day, I will fully experience the life of wool, from sheep to product. That is definitely a life goal.
Until then, I will buy premade thrift store items and make them in to awesome new products, like this sweet plaid cycling cap:

And I will list said items for sale in my SHOP!!!!!! And then, I will think up more items, design them, and stitch them!

Speaking of stitching, tonight I made a pretty sweet fold up wallet out of flat mountain biking tubes, pics to come tomorrow when there's natural light.

Wool Wool Wool!

More handmade wool baby pants to be in my SHOP soon!! Look at these gorgeous colors!!

Swimming

Last night, as we waited for the news that Fern was discharged from the hospital, Sage and I went swimming. Being in water makes me feel like I am 4 years old again, it is such a freeing activity for me.

My mom taught my brothers and I how to swim when we were babies. I swam before I walked! She would take us swimming all the time when we were growing up, and she was always an active participant in our fun. I remember a game we used to play that we called 'Washing Machine'. My mom would vigorously swish one of us around as the 'clothes', we would sing the song, and the other kid had to hold onto the wall and kick their legs as if they were the bubbles!

I love taking Sage and Fern swimming. I feel I am honoring my mom, and I feel her spirit with us.

This was taken on the cruise boat on the Yangtze River.

Winter

Yes, Winter is here. I am trying to be here, in the cold and dark.
But I am also looking to Spring, to rebirth, to seeing the growth that will come from all that seems to be dead now. On that note, I have these pants for sale in my Etsy Shop. I loved putting Fern in wool pants in the winter: I knew she was cozy in the cold, but not over-warm while we were indoors.

I am going to try to make some Spring-inspired items this week in my new studio. I will take some pictures of the room too, even though I have so much fabric on the floor still.