cousin pajamas

One of my favorite things we did for our reunion last year was make matching pajama bottoms for all the cousins. I always love seeing the cousins all together, but it's especially cute when they all match. We had each kid bring a white t-shirt they already had, just to keep things easy.

I decided to stick with a variety of red and white prints, with lots of dots and subtle stripes. Whatever we had leftover from one fabric became the contrasting trim on the next pair. I got all the fabric from Purl Soho, Joelle is a big fan of dots and stripes so I always know they will have a good assortment. I am lucky enough to live within driving distance of their warehouse in Southern California, which is open to the public several days a week. (You can call 1-800-597-PURL for hours.) They also have a great website, where you can search for things like dots and stripes.

I love the old ironing board we have up at the Midway house, why don't they make things like this anymore? My mom and I cut and sewed all ten pairs of pajamas the two days before the reunion, so I can make these pants in my sleep now. The pattern we used was the Bedtime Story pajamas from Oliver + S, which is now out of print (though you can still find copies if you hunt around online). Not to worry, Liesl just announced a new pajama pattern with a similar pant which is going to be released in early September (you can see it in these photos of their recent booth at Quilt Market).

Family reunions are great. Spending time with our extended family reminds my kids that there is a larger group of people that love them (aunts, uncles, cousins) beyond just their immediate family. I want them to know that we're going through life together, as a group. I think they really feel that at the reunions (and matching pajamas seem to help!).

Top photo by Francesco Lagnese, for Martha Stewart Living

ballet bag

When we showed up for Bees first ballet class last year, each little girl proudly carried in her tap shoes and ballet shoes in little bags. Most of these bags were pink satin (no surprise) and most involved bright pink sparkles and fur trim. I am still easing my way into the world of little girls and their love for pink and sparkly, so I told Bee we would make a bag.. and though it wouldn't be bedazzled in hot pink glitter, it would still be cool.

We used the Drawstring Travel Bag pattern from Heather Ross' book Weekend Sewing, which has cute boxed corners. For the R, I followed the applique techniques Heather uses on another project in the book, the Patchwork Trimmed Baby Blanket. (Be warned that some letters are trickier than others, you're in luck if you named your child Lily!)

Since Bee goes to ballet class with her cousin, we made one for her as well. I love seeing these two cute girls march into class each week with their matching bags.

The ballet bag works really well for us. The shoes go right back inside after class and the bag lives in Bee's bottom drawer, alongside her tights and leotard, so when it's time for class everything is in one place.

I love watching these girls dance in their black leotards. Their class is getting more serious now, with lots of barre work. (Bee sometimes asks her dad to write an R on one hand and an L on the other so she can remember her right and left.) Ballet is so beautiful, even performed by 5 year olds... And don't get me started on the tap dancing.. ridiculously cute!

a quilt for baby M

My mother deserves all the credit for this beautiful little quilt. She let me help pick out the fabrics, but she cut and stitched and pinned and quilted it all on her own. And I LOVE it. When I look at this quilt I see my mother in it, her perfect corners and her neat rows. It's as if she stitched a bit of herself into each little triangle. My little girl is so very lucky.

The pattern we chose is the Flock of Triangles quilt from Denyse Schmidt's beautiful book, and I've been wanting to make it for years. I have a weakness for bold quilts with simple, geometric patterns, especially when they are on a white ground.

I've been taking weekly and monthly photos of Baby M on this blanket, and I love seeing how big she's growing. When I started she was only about five triangles tall, and now she's almost eight!

The photo above was from Week 2, back when Baby M was still on a breathing monitor due to her early delivery. I'm happy to share that the monitor is long gone and that her legs have now probably tripled in size. She is a chubby happy three month old, and we about die each and every time she smiles.

wee wonderfuls: the book

Wee Wonderfuls was one of the first crafty blogs I discovered, so I have long been a fan of Hillary Lang and her handsewn toys. The folks over at STC Craft, also the publisher of many of the books I design, asked me to be part of the blog tour for Hillary's new book, Wee Wonderfuls: 24 Dolls to Sew and Love (you can see the entire schedule here).

Lucky for me I had an eager four year old who happily flipped through the book with me, and declared about eight projects her "very favorite". It's tough to pick just one. Tiny little mermaids, topsy-turvy dolls, sweet little bears and giraffes, there is a ridiculous amount of cute. Bee finally settled on one project, the Tag-a-Long doll, which fits in a little apron you can wear. We'll be starting it immediately.

One of my favorite parts of Hillary's blog has always been her stash of vintage children's books, so I asked her to share a bit about her thrifting habits and share a few of her favorite books.

Where do you find so many beautiful books?

We spend a lot of time at used book sales. We try to hit more remote, less "hip" communities and then go on the last day when the books are dirt cheap, like a dollar a bag, and there are always lots of great vintage books to scoop up.

How did you start collecting?

One of the things my husband and I discovered we had in common when we first met was our love of the second hand. We spent a lot of time at flea markets, book sales, thrift stores before the kids arrived on the scene. And we're both book lovers and suckers for great illustration so we had quite a book collection ready to read to our kids. Funny though, they're not all great reads. I definitely pick a book by its cover, and endpapers and font and illustration, etc. When we started actually reading the stories out loud we discovered we have some real stinkers. Especially some of the crazy bad holiday books. They're hilarious!

Here are some favorites from Hillary's latest haul:

Love the sleeping animals on the endpapers of this copy of Sleeping Beauty (illustrated by Vivienne Blake). How cute would it be to make a series of sleeping stuffed animals, bedtime pals.

I love books that are done in just a few colors. (Ten Big Garms, written and illustrated by Dahlov Ipcar)

And books with every color are good too. Love the technicolor of this one! (Foolish and Wise, editors Nila Banton Smith, Hazel C. Hart, and Clara Belle Baker)

Eloise Wilkin melts my heart every time. Those little faces are burned in my memory from my childhood books. (The Make-Believe Parade, story by Jan Margo pictures by Eloise Wilkin)

I just love these colors. And that poor sad little Betsy, how cute is she. (Betsy's Adventure, story and pictures by Gwyneth Mamlok)

To see more of Hillary's finds, check out her Vintage Books flickr group.

And to enter to win a copy of Wee Wonderfuls, visit STC Craft's website and tell them about your favorite childhood toy.

tooth fairy bunnies

I intended to give these little guys to the kids for Easter, but time has had a way of getting away from me this month, and C recently lost his first tooth.. so the tooth fairy bunnies were born. (I'm hoping this might make it easier for the tooth fairy to make the proper tooth exchange, I heard she had a hard time finding the tooth under C's pillow last time.)

Bee has named hers "Toothy" and she now can't wait to lose a tooth so she can put it in the little pocket and hope for the tooth fairy to bring her something in exchange.

And tonight I caught my 5 year old wiggling his bottom tooth a bit (it's already pretty loose so it shouldn't be more than a few days before this bunny gets something in his pocket).

I used the stuffed bunny template from Kata Golda's book "Hand-Stitched Felt". You can also make a mouse, or a dog, but I thought the bunny ears were too cute to pass up. I added a little pocket on the front, not too big so a tooth would fit snugly, but big enough so the tooth fairy could leave a little something. I also stitched the kids names on the top flap of the pocket (I've retouched them out of these photos since I never use their real names) and added a little white stitched tooth.

I've never stuffed anything before, so if you were intimidated like me, it's really no big deal! You just poke your stuffing in and keep working it into the arms and legs, trying to get it so it feels even all over. I might have overstuffed C's bunny a bit. I was struggling to fit his little shirt on, so I went a little less fluffy with Bee's.

I can't say how long these little bunnies will last, I thought they would sit on the kids shelves and not really be used outside of tooth emergencies, but minutes after I handed them over to the kids this afternoon the bunnies were being strapped into parachutes, propped up on pillows for our bedtime reading, and are currently tucked into bed with the kids. And really, what more could a mom want?

school bag

C started kindergarten last week, and his teacher informed all the parents on the first day of school that she prefers bags to backpacks, especially for kindergarteners who are still learning the art of zippers. (And they have these big manila folders the kids bring home which don't fit very well in a backpack.) Clearly a bag needed to be made.

Forgive the wrinkles, this bag is clearly already in use. I used my favorite bag pattern from Lotta's book Simple Sewing, with gray canvas on the bottom and some Heather Ross fabric on top (a heavier home dec line called Rabbits and Race Cars). C picked the fabric out himself, what five year old wouldn't want a bag with race cars on it? I love the little tow trucks and ambulances as well. (Thank you Heather for making a race car print that doesn't look like a Nascar ad, I love you for it.)

I added the letter C using the applique technique Heather teaches in Weekend Sewing, where you sew the letter to lightweight fusible interfacing and then turn it inside out. (Visit the Purl Bee for a better explanation of how this works, they used it on their Thanksgiving table runner last year.) C is not the easiest letter to turn, but I think this technique is much easier than traditional applique, though I still need a little practice.

I love seeing my son as he runs off to class, his school bag on one arm and his lunchbox in the other. So far kindergarten is a big hit. I was a little nervous sending him off to school without any friends (he didn't know anyone in his class). C is a friendly boy, but he can be a little shy around new faces. But he's doing just fine. "I made a new friend at school today Mom," he reports back to me at the end of the day. "That's great buddy.. how did you do it?" "Well I just did what you said Mom... I said Hi! My name is C. What's your name? And it worked!" I love this kid.

dress shirt quilts #5

I know that pretty much everyone is familiar with the quilts of Gee's Bend, but while we're talking about making quilts out of recycled clothing, it just seems wrong not to mention these ladies and their amazing work. There is a lovely collection online here).

by Loretta Pettway, born in 1942.

By Linda Pettway, born in 1929.

By Annie Bendolph, 1900-1981.

Also by Linda Pettway, born in 1929.

And this beauty by Missouri Pettway, 1902-1981. Missouri's daughter explains.. "It was when Daddy died. I was about seventeen, eighteen. He stayed sick about eight months and passed on. Mama say, 'I going to take his work clothes, shape them into a quilt to remember him, and cover up under it for love.' She take his old pants legs and shirttails, take all the clothes he had, just enough to make that quilt, and I helped her tore them up." (quotation from here)

I'm in awe of these quilts. I love that quote... "Cover up under it for love." I might have to sew that into my next creation. Isn't that what making a quilt is all about?

dress shirt quilts #4

I steumbled onto the site for Ocheltree Design and fell in love with this quilt by Richard Killeaney. Made from recycled shirts and organic sateen.

I can't tell you how much I love it. This one shown below is beautiful as well..

dress shirt quilts #3

This quilt is one I saw in an exhibit while we were at Quilt Market last fall in Houston. It is called "Furrowed Fields" by Rosemary Cromer. The sign explained that the quilt "brings to mind a patchwork of rows of tassled corn, wheat fields.. and silo heads heavy with grain. ...It seems appropriate that the materials for this piece are the shirts worn by men who may have worked these lands."

dress shirt quilts #2

This quilt was sent to me by Sally Carlson, and I was touched by the story behind it. It was made for two little girls, whose father had recently passed away. They had seven shirts to work with, and they tried to use every scrap of them in one way or another. The quilt pattern is "Yellow Brick Road" from Atkinson Designs. A little decorative stitching was added on a few blocks to make the quilt a bit more girly.

The back of the quilts is beautiful as well. Each girl was given a quilt and a pillow (made from a collar and the leftover scraps of the shirts). Can you think of a better reason to make a quilt? What a treasure for those little girls.