swallows return

jansdotter fabric.

Waiting for me at my front door today was my box of beautiful Lotta Jansdotter remnants.  Every time I've gone to her site to order these, they've always been sold out so when I saw they were in stock again last week, I ordered right away.  Both sets - small remnant bag totaling 24"x36" and 4 larger linen pieces as well.  Each set comes in a cute screenprinted muslin bag.  The perfect addition to a sunny, breezy autumn day.

topographies

In trying to escape from a particularly challenging map I am working on for the work I try to do on a day to day basis, I steal every extra moment possible to work on some new baby jackets in this creamy swiss dot and unbleached muslin - topography of a different nature.

 

standing on one's own two feet

It was two years ago that I first heard about Etsy.  A coworker of mine led me onto it.  I took a look and thought how terrific! I want to put some things up on there!  It's taken two years, I think the two most momentous years of my life but I finally found the pockets of time combined with motivation and inspiration to stand on my own two feet and start taking the steps.

I purchased quite alot of "girl fabric" when I was pregnant, just in case.  I had a pretty strong feeling that I was having a boy but there was always the chance that my intuition was completely off.  So, I have had all of this lovely fabric laying in my cupboard but only about 1/2 yard's worth of each one - not enough to make  a dress, top or skirt for myself.  So, some tiny jackets are the beginning of what I hope to be a nice way to work my way through those piles.  They are lined with muslin with a layer of cotton batting inbetween for warmth for the upcoming autumn days.  The button tab is made from wool melton cloth and I have hand stitched it to the jacket.  They are sized to fit pretty much anywhere between 12 to 24 months as there is quite a bit of room for growth with this style.  Anyways, there they are now, over at Etsy!

I'm already getting more ideas for variations on a theme - hopefully they can come to fruition. 

Speaking of variations on a theme - "someone" stood the other day on his own two feet - but my camera wasn't at arms' reach and it only lasted a few seconds but...it's a funny story.  Ok, I used to work for the tv show Stargate-SG1 doing the computer graphics for the computers onscreen.  Anyways, the Simpsons was on yesterday (really, when is it not on?) and it was the episode where Patty and Selma kidnap Richard Dean Anderson from a Stargate-SG1 convention in Springfield.  There is a scene where he is onstage and all of the fans in the audience are clapping and that is when the little duffer stood there freely, feet shoulder width apart, clapping with the cartoon audience.  I stood there in disbelief with a huge grin on my face.  I couldn't get over how ironic and hilarious it was.  Well, NEXT time I will have to take a photo.

comfy cozy

I have been meaning to sew a crib bumper and quilt for baby for MONTHS now, but it wasn't really at the top of my list until he started sleeping all night in his crib which was only about a month ago.  The comforter is tea-dyed muslin with wool batting inside - wonderfully thermal and wool does not attract the dust mites.  The bumper is unbleached cotton flannel with the wool batting inside again (I also snuck in the leftover batting underneath the fitted sheet for extra padding as he is old enough to roll over now).  I want to sleep in here!  I am drawn to the serenity of plain, unadorned muslin; it kind of reminds me of vanilla ice cream with the little dark specks in it.  No prints to distract the mind from floating off to dreamland.  I need to make a cover for the quilt before the autumn but am not sure what I will use yet - perhaps just the unbleached flannel again with some simple applique in the corner.

The crib was beside our bed for ages and we just finally moved our bed to another room so his sleeping place would remain the same.  Surprisingly, our bedroom has adapted well to the nursery decor.  The walls are a lovely plummy/grey and the sun filters through creamy floor-length muslin curtains.



The rabbit is actually a lamp that I bought in Amsterdam when I lived in the Netherlands five years ago.  It cost something like 50 Euros but I loved it and had to have it.  The room is still a work in progress but it's slowly taking shape and I am quite happy with it.

Here he is this morning, still a little sleepy-eyed.  I like the shadow his hair makes on the wall.

finito

I can't believe I finished seven diaper covers.  OK, so my original goal was to make 20 but I would need to have my own share of a table for this amount.  Still, I'm pretty proud of myself for finishing this many with a 5 month old.  Next year will hopefully be a different story.  I've already thought of a few ways to improve upon these and I will have to make a pattern in a smaller and larger size as well.  It feels good to have given myself a little push and to think of ways to divert babe's attention so I can squeeze in twenty minutes here, twenty minutes there.  He's getting bored of all of his toys already so we will have to move on to the next phase of discovery doo-dads.



I discovered the "available light" option on my camera and was able to take this photo without a flash and without it being blurry.  I'm outta practice with the photo taking - trial and error I suppose.  Looking forward to the Toque show tomorrow to see what's out there; I feel like it's been a while since I've absorbed what people are making and that cloud of creativity that floats over the city's certain individuals.