Oh, the cuteness

Just a quick post to say finally (FINALLY) my Etsy shop is stocked again. I'm still sewing away and making more cuteness daily, but I wanted to let you know the drought is over! Stop by and have a look. And please, if you like what you see, mark my shop as one of your “Favorites” on Etsy. It will help send more eyeballs my way.

Only 55 days 'til Christmas! Just sayin'.

What’s Hot + What’s Not

Once again following the lead of Claire at Loobylu. Join the fun by adding your own and linking back to her site.

What’s Hot
The adorable new, reversible skirt I made for Anna. I had the privilege of taking a class at Bolt from Shelly of Figgys. She designed the pattern and has an awesome Etsy shop. Go buy things from her — she rocks!


The new skirt.



Close-up of skirt (with added piping).


Detail showing reverse side.

Tokyo Free Guide. This service pairs travelers with locals who want to practice their English. I am so excited that Noriko, a grandmother and Tokyo resident, is going to spend some time with us, showing us around Harajuku and, perhaps, a tea ceremony.

Slings & Arrows. We're loving this quirky, Canadian series starring the adorable Paul Gross.

Getting ready to host a trunk show for a friend. This means lots of new recipes to try and report back on, plus a fun weekend of socializing and shopping! If you're a PDX local, send me a note if you'd like to be on the eVite list.

What’s Not
The attitude that accompanies the need for individuation at age 4 1/2. I understand it, I probably even deserve it, but I'm sure not enjoying it!

Southwest Airlines kicking a mom and her 2-year-old off the plane because the kid was fussing.

Being cold. It's that time of year where I never actually get warm (and it's not even that cold out yet!)

Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross. I realize that it may be considered impolitic to write this, but I am so fed-up with this book. In addition to the many errors and omissions covered in the errata page, there are so many other mistakes that I've given up. Having just ruined my favorite piece of fabric on a pattern that doesn't work with the measurements given, I'm done. I want my money back on this one!

Farmer’s Market bags

At the photoshoot. Photo by David Wheeler

Finally! Just in time for all those fabulous farmer's markets around town, the big bags are in the shop! Actually, these bags are great for so many things — travel, trips to the beach, carryalls for the kids from diaper age to entertainment stash in the car! Check them out here, at my Etsy shop.

Thanks!

Etsy sale!

photo by David Wheeler

I'm getting ready to bring in some new merchandise (Farmer's Market bags — finally!) so I'm clearing some space by offering all sweet skirts at 25% off now through July 15. These skirts are perfect for summer and make great gifts! And, as you can see from the photo above, they're very versatile!

More skirts will be in the shop soon. Let me know if there's a particular size/fabric you'd like to have.

Tuesday miscellany

Our model is wearing a Strongrrl-made poncho and skirt. Accessories are model's own.

There is a bunch of this and that to share, so I thought I'd just do it all in one place today.

I've added a bunch of new bags and skirts to my etsy shop. Please go take a look. I probably won't be adding more for a little while, but am always happy to talk about custom orders. So if you love a certain skirt, but need it in a different size, just let me know! And special thanks, once again, to David and Duncan for the lovely photos!

I'm currently reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Micheal Pollan. Have you read it? I think that this book, combined with Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver (which I've recently finished) is going to have a major influence on how I look at food going forward. These are important, accessible books and I'll definitely be writing more about them going forward. If you'd like to join me in some some of informal reading/discussion group, let me know and we'll figure it out.

On a somewhat related note, I've been experimenting with homemade granola bars of late. Haven't found true love yet, but I'll keep you posted. Have you ever made them? Any favorite recipes to share?

Lastly, I'll leave you with two new songs I've been loving:
Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Zero
Cage the Elephant, A'int No Rest for the Wicked

Enjoy! (oh, and play Zero as loud as you can!)

Down the rabbit hole

It's gotten to the point where I could spend my entire life on the web. Between blogs and Etsy, there is now this spiral where one thing takes me to the next and so on until I am so deep in other peoples amazing talent that I just have to come up for air.

The latest example of this began at The Black Apple. Actually, that's not even true. I can't even remember which blog led me there, but they were featuring little collections of things and I clicked on a painting of Emily's at The Black Apple. Turns out not only is she yet another Portlander, but I had marked her as a favorite on Etsy when I first discovered it over a year ago.

Perusing her amazing work, I landed on these paper dolls, which I instantly loved. At first I thought I'd get them for Anna and save them until she's older. But then I read Emily's suggestion of framing the sheets just as they are. I love that idea because, really? They're for me. They will be hanging in my office just as soon as they arrive. And maybe, when she's older, I'll share them with Anna!

Anyway, The Black Apple's Etsy shop led me to wonder if Emily has a blog, which of course she does. Actually, she has not one, but two blogs. The main blog, Inside a Black Apple, shows her work, as well as other designy/inspirationy things. Her second blog, Some Girls Wander, is her fashion blog, which is to say it's mostly photos of her in the cutest outfits you ever saw. She has the kind of style I'm sometimes tempted to imitate, but which can only be pulled off if it's genuine.

From her fashion site, I was led to HEL-looks, a site featuring photos of street and club fashion from Helsinki, Finland! Who knew?!

Writing it down here, it doesn't sound like the time-sink that it was, but now all of these new discoveries are on my NetNewsWire feed (I have finally got the subscription-thing down!). I think in the future I'll be changing up my list of blog addictions on the right a bit more frequently to share the love.

If you've discovered some blog/Etsy site that you'd like to share, please let me know in the comments. You've all been so quiet lately I'm starting to wonder if you're still out there. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Etsy!

After what seems like ages of sewing, photographing, and site prep, I am so pleased to finally announce the opening of my Etsy shop!

So far, I've got some sweet skirts for little girls and some fun handbags for bigger girls listed there. But stay tuned! I've got beautiful shopping bags, kid ponchos, funky dolls, and more coming as time allows.