hotness

actually, lets start with the cuteness. i finally trotted out the simplicity 4206, i wont tell you how long i have had this in my pile of patterns that i buy and never use. i'm not going to lie. it is a pretty big pile, i'm trying to work on it, but i digress. so, amy digs on this pattern quite a bit, and my friend kristen even rose to the challenge. i knew from these fine ladies that the top needed to be lengthened, so i added three inches to the bottom. it really is a pretty easy shirt to make, sew the front and back together, put on the sleeves and then hem the crap out of everything. tons of casing. tons. i am not a very patient (or even) hemmer. i also tend to singe my fingers with the iron. does anyone else do this? probably not. is there some hemming tool? i would pay good money for that. of course yesterday melissa posted all of these tricks from sewing with nancy. in the vein of not lying, i used to watch sewing with nancy when i was little with my grandma and her mouth freaked me out. going to hell for that one. anyway, i have fabric to sew this for arlo as well. i think this time around i will also try to lengthen the sleeves a bit as well. by the time all that casing is made for the elastic, there was probably only a half inch or so of sleeve length from the pit. is that normal? i dont know. i envision these with long sleeves underneath and skirts and tights. actually that is all that i envision for myself for the next few months as well. did you see sally's shirt? it is the built by wendy pattern that is pretty much this pattern for adults. sweet. more casing in my future. i have a bunch of fine wale corduroy burning a hole in my stash too, i was thinking twirly skirt. think that would work erin?

so the hotness. sometimes i dream about going back to school for graphic design. i think i could realize that one day. for now i just content myself with playing around for myself and my friends. but take a look at this. ( i did not make this, i wish i did)

this is hot on so many levels. first of all the design. smoking. the colors? oh my. i want these colors in my life right now. and here is the best part. you can join in on this sale online, today only. coupon code. Party07. i know i talk about habitat quite a bit here. john & kristen are really good friends of ours, and i have never before been as clued into the rigors of owning a small business. my gosh people. if you only knew. being your own boss is great. this will always be true. but what is also true is that it is a lot of really hard work. and you cant call in sick or not feel like working because there is no one else to pick up the slack. oof. i am surrounded by quite a few people that are working hard on their dreams right now. lots of sweat. lots of tears. lots of stress. and there are those days. you know those days. but there are good days too. ok, i am digressing again. and getting a bit teary. what i want to say is treat yourself to a little something, because it will make you happy and it will make two very good people happy. the end.

something new

i did something new this weekend. something i was really excited about and kind of obsessing over for a while now. a few weeks ago jenny asked me if i might like to take pictures of some of the pieces of her new fall line. i said yes immediately. and then freaked out. what?? i have no idea what i am doing. but regardless yesterday we spent most of the afternoon together. i lugged around four cameras, a tripod (which i didnt use beth!) and a bag of props, and let me just tell you it was great. i had so much fun roaming around the city, looking at space in a new way. i thought i might share a sneak peek or two. i hope that's ok jenny! waiting for some film to develop, have a stack of polaroids needing to be scanned, how great is that? anyway, over dinner after the days work, we were discussing the value of handmade, and the willingness to pay a bit more for owning a unique, quality piece. i dont doubt that this is a sentiment that has been around for ages. i think we just forgot about it for a while. i mean, with jenny's line you will literally be ordering something that hasnt been made yet. she will sit down at her sewing machine, and make a garment, just for you and a few weeks later, you will own something that probably only five other people have. doesnt that sound wonderful? and believe me there is not a question of workmanship. i have seen her in action, i know how much attention to detail is involved. i know people in blog world, especially in the "crafty" arena, talk about how much their appreciation of things has changed. enjoying the beauty of everyday life, the value of a handmade garment, or the work involved in owning a small business. it is all true. and it is good.

on stress and life

stress. it has been on the forefront of my mind for the last few weeks. sitting there, all mean and heavy. poking me and pinching me. making me mean and heavy. i dont like it. not one bit. i cant get rid of it. i know this. i accept this. things are too difficult for stress to go away. but i can mitigate you stress. i will apply definitions 1-4 to you. with relish. i am fighting back. in the good way. in the happy way.

because today while looking through some pictures (oh photography. i love you. you are light and happy) i realized that i am smarter than you stress. i am already beating you. because we can have a lazy saturday with coffee and juice and transformers and markers and scrap paper and little people and smiles and stories. and we win. pure and simple. so there. smile. right now. take that stress. listen to a good song. a song that makes you close your eyes. whatever. just be happy, ok? good.

thirty for david

here it is. the third decade. happy birthday david. you have so much ahead of you it makes me giddy just thinking about it. no love bombardment here, i promise. for those of you present for the love bombardment on saturday, i apologize as well. as penance, i offer the cool crest set. it really is a fine establishment. really. ok, enough. look at baby david!! try to look at those pictures without a smile, just try it. it cant be done. impossible.