laeroport

November wrap up

Did you see these?  I love stamps.

 

Wednesday was our final feast at our beloved Montessori school.  The kids spent the entire month of November cooking and it was a joyous occasion to witness their hard work and pride in a job well done.

 

We also had a fantastic Thanksgiving at home this year with 21? people - both our families - sharing the day.  And after so many years of hosting, I think we've finally got it figured out.  Most things came together on time or ahead of time, and I was certainly less frazzled.  My mom came up Wednesday afternoon and baked pies with me - that was fun.  And my camera stayed tucked away for the entire time.  Yay for living in the moment!

 
 
We had two parties on Saturday, so now I've seen a good portion of the cousins on both sides of the family.

On the downside, my grandma* fell while out in her yard on Friday.  It was a beautiful day and she was tired of doing housework so she thought she'd pick up sticks in the yard.  The result was an arm/shoulder break in four places.  She had shoulder replacement surgery yesterday and seems to be doing just fine.  She's a tough old broad, but keep her in your thoughts, won't you, please?

I'll catch you up on advent tomorrow.  Til then, enjoy.

* She's 94, but you didn't hear that from me. ;)

Busy busy. Oh, my. The start of the month is always like that. And it is DECEMBER already. Whoa!



I have lots to share, but first I want to share this: http://kalman.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/back-to-the-land/



Happy December.

Owly

 

O was once a little owl,
Owly, Prowly, Howly, Owly,

Browny fowly, Little owl!

~Edward Lear

Whenever I see an owl, I think of that poem.  I had an inkling that Martha liked owls, so to accompany their wedding gift, I embroidered an owl on linen for them to use as a tea towel.  I had another more Ben-centric tea towel idea in mind to go along with it, but it didn't get finished.  Christmas?

 

 
*free embroidery pattern found here on flickr.

 

wedding embroidery

Despite the fact that it was twelve years and two kids ago, I keenly remember all the last minute details that went into our wedding and how thankful I was to have a house full of bridesmaids and groomsmen to tackle some of those jobs, like painting direction signs and wrapping up favors.

So I told Ben, a couple of times, that if they needed help with anything, to holler.  Well, that holler came in the form of a text message on Wednesday evening asking if I had any experience with bookbinding and could I whip up a guest book for them?  I am sure I *could* do bookbinding, but as I haven't in the past (aside from sewing little notebooks on the machine), I didn't want their wedding to be my guinea pig project.  So I volunteered embroidery instead.

I had never embroidered on cardstock, either, but a quick google search and I was on my way.  I xeroxed the flowers Ben had drawn for the invitation, got out some foam core and a push pin and set to work.  In one evening I had it done.

 
My canvas was a larger Moleskine notebook.  It was pretty easy to punch through.

 
The flowers were a snap.  I planned out my backstitches prior to punching.  The initials were a bit trickier.  I should have used a larger point size on the typeface, but I didn't want to have the initials out of scale with the design.

And since I still had plenty of perle cotton on my needle, I gussied up the binding.

It was one of the best weddings I'd been to in a long time.  It started with a sing-along and centered on the blessings in their lives.  We felt blessed to be included.  

for lost things

The wee boy at my house lost his first tooth, necessitating a tooth fairy pillow.

 
He chose a green pocket with an embroidered tooth.  I handled the rest.

Next thing to handle, finding something to wear to Ben & Martha's wedding tomorrow.  I offered my help with the preparations and am pretty excited about what they asked me to create.  I'll share that and the gift on Monday. 

Have a splendid weekend!  ~Lori xoxoxoxo

Dotty

My niece, Clare, turned 14 last month.  We kept putting off her birthday, and finally she and I celebrated together.

Clare likes to cook.  Several years ago I made her and her sisters aprons for Christmas, and last year my mom made her a chef's jacket.  We gave her a wavy chopper and cookbook for her birthday, but I felt the need to make something as well.  And you can't have too many aprons, can you?  The matching hot pad was completely wonky, but oh, well.

I asked if there was a color she was favoring and her response was a light green.  So I went with this Denyse Schmidt fabric that I've been holding on to and some green broadcloth, trimmed with bias tape. (Chris, the bias tape is from that bag I snagged for what? a quarter? fifty cents? at JKV.)

 
I couldn't resist adding some hand-drawn embroidery to the pocket....

 
and who doesn't love ric rac?

I've got one more little thing to show you tomorrow, and then we'll be ready for a fantastic weekend.

See you then.....

I know. More bags.

Aidin's friend Payton is a generous thing.  Every year she has a fabulous birthday party and donates her gifts to a charity.  Two years ago it was the Humane Society, last year it was Prairie Park Nature Center, and this year it was helping two girls through America's Promise.  They had requested winter clothes and art supplies for these girls, who had lost everything.  My daughter, of course, latched onto the idea of art supplies, which we divvied up and loaded into handmade bags.

You have seen this fabric before.  I also have it in red and yellow.  I think I have now used up all but a 10 x 10 in. scrap of the pink.  I put a pink pocket in the blue bag and a blue pocket in the pink bag.

I cannot tell you how difficult it was for me to make two bags and not personalize them.  I didn't know anything about these girls except their ages.  So I kept it simple and hope they will find some use in something made just for them.

We also wanted to make something for Payton, so, following on from her 7 shirt last year, an 8.

Next up.... an apron.

Cheers!
 

Baby shower gifts

Our friends, Joe & Melissa are getting ready to welcome a little girl to the world in a month's time.  Aidin and I went to her baby shower on Saturday with a few handmade gifts.

 

A pentagon baby ball (the smallest one I've ever made), a bib and two embellished onesies.  I had grand intentions of a burp cloth and a blanket to go with it, but time was limited, and so was my supply of white flannel.  Maybe I'll manage those when the wee one arrives.  The floral fabric was part of a sheet that I bought from Angela YEARS ago and have been hoarding for just the right project.  I think I found it.

Tomorrow, more birthday bags....

Maker's marathon

It was a weekend of making and giving.  You would have thought it was the end of December instead of the beginning of November at my house this weekend.  So this week, a recap of what  I made.

For Friday night's birthday party, Eliot requested I make a robot for his friend Lyric.  Done and done.

I really cannot say enough good things about Hillary Lang's patterns.  They practically make themselves at this point.  I think this is the 5th Robot I've made, and I've churned out nearly a dozen kitties, bunnies and bears.   If you're looking for a soft toy for starters, check them out.  And if you're an experienced seamstress, they are still fun.  There are countless ways to personalize them.  You'd better believe I'll have her forthcoming book on pre-order.

Okay!  Tomorrow, baby shower!
 

42 and feelin' fine

Wow!  What a great birthday!  Thank you all for the messages here and on facebook and texted to my phone.  I have some great friends.

And my family!  Let's not forget them!  My husband bought me a tiny laptop!  Woot! My children created and performed a puppet show for me!  I wish I had videoed it.  They treated me sweetly all day.  My mom made my favorite cake, the one she has made for me every birthday (except those years I spent in India) since I was 18.  She quietly delivered it from Topeka to my kitchen table.  (That cake is the BEST breakfast ever.)

And more cake! My dear friend and co-worker, Suzanne baked me a chocolate/raspberry cake to follow lunch at the office.  She also brought cini-minis from Munchers for breakfast.  Oy.  It is a good thing she is the person I walk 9 miles a week with, because I'll need to walk off all those calories. :)

And then there is the handmade gift that made my toes curl.  My very talented friend, Keela Patterson Lam created some wonderful jewelry for me, using Molly's buttons as a centerpiece.   I told her it is exactly what I would want without even knowing I wanted it.  She knows me well.  And I am blown away.

 
  
Also blowing me away - the new Norah Jones CD.  It isn't out until the 17th, but thanks to my friend Dan (of the Vertigo tea towel) I have been listening to it via NPR.  As if I needed another reason to love NPR. *

And this weather.  It is 2:00 and 74 degrees.  Yesterday was equally glorious, so thanks, Mother Nature.

Life doesn't slow down, birthday or no.  Eliot has a birthday party to attend tonight, Aidin and I have a baby shower tomorrow, she has a slumber party on Saturday night and Sunday I'm celebrating with my family - my birthday and my niece Clare's.  And next weekend we have a dear friend gettin' hitched.

Yep, busy.  But I wouldn't have it any other way!  Have a great weekend!  I'm off to the pool with the Brownies......

________________

* Best NPR moment this week: after doing a story on Sarah Palin's Going Rogue and the sarcastic Going Rouge that will come out the same day, NPR's musical segue: Barracuda.  I love it.