Mod Podge and the Mommy Mafia

The bubbs and I have a local park.  It is quite possibly our second home.  Since he is still teeny, his favorite activities while there are attempting to eat wood chips and playing with the outside of his stroller.  We spend HOURS doing these two things.  In all of this time I have come to recognize that I do not present like the other moms at this park.

For those readers who know me, I verge on anti-social.  I like to stay on the fringe.  I'm not the type to go to the park, prepared to make friends with the other moms there.  I am the type to go to the park in yoga pants that have yesterdays prune cereal spit up, a sloppy pony tail and mod podge crusted on my t shirt.  I know. I sound lovely, but I have my baby and typically a giant cup of coffee, so what else do I need?  I view the park as an opportunity to allow the bubbs to have some social interaction, increase his fiber intake via grass and dirt, and get out of our tiny apartment.  I think that other moms might view it as an opportunity to have their own social interaction, and actually get dressed.  Like legitimately dressed.  With their hair done, and make up.  I am serious when I say that on occasion a few of them have actually had on skirts.  Real skirts.   During these times I have been transported back to that angsty high school feeling where I believe that I am just not made to fit in.  Now refer to the beginning of the paragraph, I don't always want to fit in.  I do however want to believe that if I had the desire, I would be accepted.  This is not the case with what I have termed the "Mommy Mafia".  During these hours of observation I have noticed that these women just seem to have it together.  The fruit that they bring for their children is cut up, like they were prepared.  They clearly did not stop and purchase an apple on the way to the park and then let their tiny, toothless baby gnaw on it as if he was going to gain some sort of sustenance when he is not actually ingesting anything.

I realized that I have been comparing my parenting to that of glammed up mothers who I don't know, and I decided that I am a bit disappointed with myself in the things that I awarded them superiority in.  Having had a couple of rainy days prevent us from park time, I have been able to step back from my awe of them. Their improved ability to put on make up and actually brush their hair does not make them better at raising a child.  It definitely doesn't make them worse either, just in case people are concerned that I am being judgy of the Mommy Mafia.  I decided that if the members knew that my pony tail is sloppy because the bubbs and I had an absurdly intense dance party before heading out, they would probably be ok with it.  And if they were aware that the yoga pants are the same as yesterday's and yes, vomited on, but it is because during nap time I decided to sew instead of haul bags of laundry down to the machines, they would forgive it.  They might have questions about the mod podge.  And then if I was actually a social person, I would show them this.

And then, just for a minute or so, they might decide to be in awe too.  I might not be able to get myself looking together before I walk 10 minutes to the park but I can make some awfully fun things and I think that is probably good enough for me and the bubbs.  And most likely the Mommy Mafia.

September Sale!

Hello All!

Fall has always been my favorite time of year.  The weather is amazing, football is on, cozy sweaters and crunchy leaves.  I know that I am fast forwarding a bit.  It is still technically summer, but to celebrate the impending awesomeness of fall I have decided to have a little sale.  Here's how it will work.  All items in stock, ready to be shipped will be 15% off.  All custom items will be made for 10% off.  Also, share this post to receive an extra 5% off.

Here's some examples of items currently in stock.

And below is an example of a custom listing that was created to match the client's current bedding.

The sale will be running today through September 10, 2013.  Hope you have a chance to stop by the store!

I have a sewing space!

And it is not set up on a tv tray anymore!  I found this desk on kijiji and promptly sent the husband to go pick it up.

It is perfect for our little space.  The drawers are amazing and I finally feel like my fabric is organized.

Except there is clearly not enough space in the desk for enough fabric so I also have this.

My only complaint about the desk is that it is pretty scratched and ugly.  I am planning to paint it and maybe do fabric fronts on the drawer, like so.


But different, because it is a desk, not a dresser.

Any input on colors?  Maybe navy and crazy prints?  Paint the shelves to coordinate?  How about the chair I am currently using with a casually draped quilt top?

Thanks for taking a look at all the pics!  As always please feel free to check out my site on etsy here.

And check back within the next week or so for some news about an upcoming sale :)

And it feels amazing!

This post is going to be a bit picture heavy.  I feel like a proud parent, but not of my child this time.  I mean, I'm still proud of him, however, right now the pride is directed at 54 square inches of patched together fabric.

It is just so pretty!  I love how all of the contrast worked out together.  I did pretty minimal quilting on it staying in the seams between all of the individual blocks and again around the yellow squares in the middle.  The thin cotton batting is going to continue to wash up to get more crinkled and delicious.

I think that my favorite part might be the binding.

I love striped fabric and how it becomes little dashes when used for binding.  This fabric is from Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls line and is just lovely.  I attached the binding from the front of the quilt by machine and hand stitched the back to ensure a seamless look.

And here is the whole of the quilt, you know, casually draped over our balcony.

I've posted this to Etsy and the listing can be viewed here.

Thanks for stopping by!

I Finished Something!

So I had signed up for another class with Needlework, even though the dreaded log cabin is still in progress.  I have been wanting to begin sewing off of commercial patterns for awhile and this cute little wallet fit the bill....haha, get it?  The bill...Listen this is as funny as I get when the Bubbs was up every hour and a half just to make sure everyone still exists.

Anyways, the wallet.  The class was surprisingly tricky.  All the little details were definitely time consuming but I do love how it turned out.  I am keeping this bad boy as I'm too in love with the fabric to part with it but how about some thoughts on whether or not some more should be sewn up to hit the Etsy shelves?

It has space for at least eight cards, a zippered pouch and two larger pockets for cash or check book.  I think that when I make more I will be using a sewn in button which wouldn't be visible from the exterior and I won't have to use a giant mallet.  We can all agree that I should not be given access to large objects used to hit things.  It's best if I stick with needle and thread.

Too Many Projects in Progress

I am in the midst of feeling that I have definitely bitten off more than I can chew.  My jaw hurts.  I am going to blame it mostly on the never ending hand sewing that a binding involves.  The log cabin quilt will be the end of me.  So, logically, I have been working on three other quilts as well.  Why wouldn't I do that?  I have a quilt that was my mom's Christmas present for 2012 and it is almost ready to be pieced.  Merry Christmas Mom.  You might get it December 2013.

I have been obsessed with the idea of making an I Spy quilt for the bubbs.  I love the idea of lots of print and making a quilt into a game.  Here's a couple of pics of the progress so far.  I have several more fabrics to cut up but I am loving how fun it is already.

I can't wait to see how it comes together!

Recovering from Vacation

We did a 5 night whirlwind Michigan visit last week.  So much fun hanging out with friends and family that we get to see far too little of.  The bubs also seems to have made some big strides in hating his car seat less.  There was only one major melt down, and I like to believe that it was because of construction.  He hates it those orange barrels just as much as everyone else.  As great as it was to spend time with everyone the adjustment back home has been rocky.  The first couple of nights back in the crib he decided he could sleep for more than 2 hours at a time.  Not ideal.  It has settled down a bit and I have gotten back to working on all things crafty.

Before we left I finished up some standard pillow cases for a friend.  They were a custom request because she loved one of the fabrics I used in the log cabin quilt.  These were super fun to sew up and I love that they go so well with her bedding and decor.

I also starting working on a couple of I Spy quilts.  There was a pile of fabric waiting for me at my mom's because I am too cheap to pay for shipping to Canada.  I washed it up as soon as we got home and am in the process of cutting it up.  I put a a design wall on my giant closet door and have been having some fun playing around with the arrangement of the blocks.  More pictures of those to come!