Wow. We're moving.

Sometimes, no matter how long you plan for something, it still takes you by surprise. Don't you think?

From Scandinavian Retreat

In my case it's that we're moving. Ack! I've known it was coming for ever and ever, but now it's really here and boy does it seem like a lot of work. A lot.

From The Boo and the Boy

We're only moving across town, and we're very excited, but wow, did I mention that it's a lot of work?

Found on Pinterest

The shop will stay open while we migrate, which is great, but the new site is going to be a little delayed, which is a bummer. 

From Design is mine

And with all this packing and such that needs to be done, you know what I'm thinking about, right? Oh, the new quilts, pillows, and curtains we'll need.

From IndieRocket

Because that's the best part. Of course.

Happy crafting!

A Little Luxe

My mom lives in Houston, where I hear it's hot and humid most of the year. But that doesn't stop her from knitting—a lot. True, my kids are the lucky recipients of a good number of her handmade sweaters, but she does knit for herself too.

For a while after she moved to Texas (from the Midwest) she seemed to adjust her knitting style to the climate, focusing mostly on lightweight fibers and straying towards wool jackets only occasionally.

But I think sometimes she just can't resist a pattern—even if it means that she'll only be able to wear the finished sweater when she's visiting me or one of my brothers.

Which is pretty much how she came to make this Chambord Truffle by Army of Knitters. And let me tell you, it's seriously gorgeous.

She says it's a really easy knit, and even though the yarn used by the designer (and suggested in the pattern) costs a mint, my mom swears it's worth every penny (some yarn is like that, isn't it?).

I think it's so great that she made such a lovely sweater for herself—something we should all do more often I imagine.

Happy knitting!

Feeling Inspired!

Alright. So this week, it's all about pretending I have enough time to make something as adorable as this. {As usual} there is a ton of activity around here, and I feel almost super human just getting dinner on the table these days.

However, if things were different, I would sit quietly and make a little community of these pixies (the pdf pattern can be found here, just in case your days are different):

I understand the pattern comes with two different methods for making the hair — the yarn version you see here and needle felting, which may look something like this (I'm not certain, just guessing):

Jeanne from Moulin Roty

Which would be awfully stinkin' cute too.

And oh my, have you seen these little things?

Unfortunately they aren't patterns, but you can buy them completely finished (with a wardrobe!) from Manomine in the UK. 

Isn't a little whimsy just the thing to balance all that work we do all the time?

Happy sewing!

A Simple Quilt

My younger brother welcomed his first baby into the world just last week. I haven't gotten to meet Miss Hartley yet, but I hear she's simply gorgeous, brilliant, and a good sleeper to boot!

I always try to make gifts for the new babies in our lives, and in this case I had the chance to collaborate with my mom, which made the project even more fun.

My sister-in-law asked for a quilt to match the nursery decór, which of course we were happy to provide. And because of the style of the fabric she chose, simple seemed the way to go.

Still, we wanted it to be special. So we decided to hand quilt it. That's special, right?

At first we thought we'd quilt around each animal, but that proved to be a bit overly ambitious so we settled on all of the bears. (This fabric is called Brown Bear, Brown Bear, from the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Eric Carle.) Which turned out super cute, if I do say so myself.

Then with a simple rainbow confetti on the back and a bright red binding we were all set.

Sometimes a simple project is just the thing, don't you think?

Happy sewing!

Sewing for Boys

So guess what arrived on my doorstep the other day. A copy of Sewing for Boys: 24 Projects to Create a Handmade Wardrobe from Patterns by Figgy's.

I love Patterns by Figgy's, and not just because they let my son model for the Dapper Dillingers pattern last spring. And not just because the patterns are well written and easy to follow. I also love them because the ladies behind the company are so, so nice. 

And then of course there's that totally cool style of theirs. Just look at these adorable patterns:

As anyone with boys knows, it's not always easy to find patterns that are cool enough to pass their high level of scrutiny. Heck, it's been hard to find patterns for boys at all until recently. 

This book delivers 24 awesome patterns in one fell swoop.

I don't have this fabulous book in the shop yet since I'm only adding new items to the new site (which is poking right along) but you can pick it up here until I have the new site up (hopefully in the next couple weeks).

Happy sewing!

Trying Something New

Do any of you homeschool?

We had to take my older daughter out of her beloved school (on 20 rural, wooded acres, with goats even!) for a variety of reasons, none of which was dissatisfaction of any kind (except perhaps the daily commute). And we've decided to homeschool until we've worked out what to do next.

She's taking it brilliantly. I'm a little more, um, shaky.

Around here we have a sort of relaxed way of moving through the day. For example, a fair number of days this summer the kids stayed in their swimsuits from dawn (ok, 8:30-ish) to dusk (remember, during summer that's around 9:00 pm). And that's cool with me. So I was a little concerned that school would suddenly become, well, a lot of that.

And who knows, maybe it will eventually be a fly-the-seat-of-our-pants sort of thing, but for now, I've devised a schedule. Oh, and let me tell you, that's the kind of thing my daughter really, really likes.

Included in this yet-to-be-tested schedule is...(dum da da dum...) craft hour. Daily. Yep, an hour of crafts, art, projects, what have you every single day.

I figured it would be a good way to keep my sanity.

Here's the best part: what do you suppose my sweet, amazing, brilliant, and fabulous-in-every-way seven-year-old wanted to try first?

Knitting!

Gah! (happy, happy!)

So did I hesitate? Nope. And here she is, concentrating very hard on a scarf for her baby sister. (How cute is that?)

Next she plans to make a sweater for her brother.

Oh how I love this child.
Happy knitting!