color story #7

There's nothing I like more than finishing a longtime work in progress. This color story comes from a quilt I have been working on for my son C who is 4 1/2 years old and the sweetest boy you've ever met. (I know I'm biased because I am his mother, but man, he is a sweet one.)

A few years ago my husband cleaned out his closet and ended up with a stack of old dress shirts. Nice shirts that had gotten old and worn out, and he was ready to toss them in the trash. Instead I threw the pile into my fabric stash, and a little later decided a very simple quilt would be the perfect way to use them.

I don't think I will ever throw out another one of JR's shirts. Men's shirting fabric has such a lovely feel and I love the small grids and tiny ginghams and all the shades of blue. I love the idea of a quilt made out of a father's shirts for his son. And I've tried to perserve little bits of the shirts in the quilt, a few pieces of pockets and plackets here and there. It's a very simple little quilt, and I'm a little embarrassed it has taken me so long... why do I always stall when it comes to the binding?

My sweet boy has been waiting so patiently.

sweet dreams

This is the quilt we sleep with every night. It was made for my husband's father, by his grandmother, and it's over 60 years old. Marked in pen in one of the corners it says 1948.. so my father-in-law received it when he was 10 or 11. John remembers his parents having it on their bed when he was a little boy.

I love so many things about it. The randomness of the pattern, using whatever fabric was around the house. Certain corners are pieced together using every scrap available. There is no binding, she just turned the edge and sewed it by hand, and I love each imperfect little stitch. The batting itself is actually an old blanket, held in place by yarn ties at the edges of each piece (probably why we like sleeping under it so much).

I'm a fan of white in quilts, and lots of it. This quilt has a mainly white ground, but then random squares of blue, and pink, even black. It reminds me of some of the Gee's Bend quilts, which seem to use whatever fabric was handy (shirts, jeans, sheets, etc). I wish I could incorporate some of that random beauty into my own quilts.

My husband used to keep this quilt in a chest for safekeeping, it's understandable that he wanted to take good care of it. But when we moved into this house, we rescued it from its hiding place and placed it on our bed. It's now the place where I read bedtime stories to the kids, where we snuggle in the mornings when our kids come jump in bed. I like to think that great grandmother would have wanted it that way.

little pajamas

As many of you know, I design all the visuals and graphics for Oliver + S, a company my good friend Liesl Gibson started that sells sewing patterns for children's clothing. Last year when we were thinking about the new fall line, I suggested we do a pajama pattern. Growing up in my family, we always opened new pajamas each Christmas Eve. I've continued the tradition, but the pajamas in the stores were just ho-hum and I was hoping that with a new pattern from Liesl, I could make something the kids would really love...  Enter the Bedtime Story Pajamas pattern.

I'm fairly new to sewing, but the Oliver + S patterns have eased me into garment making. I'm not as fast as Liesl (who once made these pajamas for her daughter in one evening between dinner and bedtime) but I'm so pleased that I can follow the step by step instructions and without too many mishaps, end up with something close to the illustration (not always the case with children's patterns!). I finished Bee's set before Christmas, but at about midnight on Christmas Eve I threw in the towel on C's top..  he did get to wear his pants to open gifts Christmas morning, and the top finally got finished a few weeks ago.

I am a bit of a skimmer when it comes to directions. Though I'm new to sewing, I always kind of peruse the illustrations and then start sewing without reading any of the actual instructions. (Probably why I don't mind using Japanese craft books..) After sewing a few things with Oliver + S patterns, I've learned to trust Liesl and to actually read them step by step. She'll often give you a hint or make things easier for you if you just listen and do things in the order she has specified.

The fabric I used comes from Purlsoho. I didn't want them to match perfectly, or to make them from the same fabric, I just wanted them to be in the same color family so they would look cute together. Bee's is mini garden from Kobayashi in the blue color and C's is neighborhood, also from Kobayshi in the blue color. The trim fabric is just a solid color, I think these were from the Kona cotton line.

I tend to spend more time sewing for my daughter than I do for my son. It just happens that way, it's not intentional.. skirts and dresses don't scare me, pants and shirts do. He really gets excited when I am working on something for him. He tells me he sleeps better in these pajamas because "they're made with love."  And he's right.. they were made with love. And somehow I think they can feel that when they wear them.

Just to clarify: When I say I do the visuals for Oliver + S, I don't mean the actual illustrations on the Oliver + S patterns, those are done by the very talented Dan Andreasen. I design the packaging, logos, website, tradeshow booths and that sort of thing.. just wanted to make that clear.

this week's library book

It's been a lovely warm winter here in southern California, so I've been trying to find a few books that remind the kids what snow looks like. (They seem to have forgotten our many winters in Brooklyn.) This sweet book You Can Do It, Sam by Amy Hest almost makes me miss waking up to a fresh layer of snow on the brownstones.

Sam and his mom spend a snowy morning baking cakes. (I must say that Mrs. Bear is the most patient, sweet little mother I have ever seen.. I should try to be more like her when I am baking with my kids...) When the cakes are ready, they wrap them up in little red bags with a sign that reads "A Tasty Surprise".

The snow continues to fall. Sam and Mrs. Bear pack up their cakes in their adorable green truck and set out to deliver them to the neighbors. Mrs. Bear waits in the truck as Sam makes his way through the snow to each door, leaving his surprise on the doorstep. "You can do it Sam!" says Mrs. Bear.

After delivering their cakes to all the neighbors, they return home. Just two cakes are left, one for Sam, and one for Mrs. Bear, which they enjoy in front of the fireplace.

Inspired by this book, we're starting to bake treats more often around here. Instead of eating them all ourselves (which is surprisingly easy for us to do), we're packing them up and dropping them on the doorsteps of our friends and neighbors. We try to make it very dramatic.. I run up to the door, drop the treats, ring the doorbell, and run as fast as I can back to the car (sometimes losing a flip flop along the way) and JR drives off as fast as he can. We have yet to be caught.

my little valentine

I'm not so into heart shaped boxes of chocolates or a dozen red roses, but I'm very much into these little guys.

Valentines day is here, and my little ones need something to drop off with their friends... preferably something cute and little and filled with candy. I was remembering some little Christmas matchboxes we did when I was at the Kids magazine, so we revamped them for Valentine's day. 

You can find little packs of matchboxes at the grocery store, I found mine near the cigarettes. They usually come in packs of 10 and shouldn't run you more than $1.50 or so. (Dump the matches out and save them for your next blackout.) Cut a piece of paper 2" high (or the height of your matchbox) and about 4" long (enough to wrap all the way around). I used a bit of tape to secure it on the back.

You can do these anyway you like. I love the portraits C drew of his friends at school (his idea).. They may all look the same at first glance, but he can tell you who each one is. I cut the paper down to the right size first, then wrapped it around the box after he was finished. For other matchboxes I used a little heart punch and glued a little bit of paper underneath. And some got a simple little band. 

Fill with candy (regular m and ms and candy corn will fit nicely), tuck in a little note, wrap with string if desired, and add a name tag or first initial. Then off to school!

art for the people

Readymade has a great article about the WPA and the creation of the Federal Art Project, launched by Franklin Roosevelt during the Great Depression. As Steven Heller writes in the introduction "The FAP served a dual purpose: It gave unemployed artists work while demonstratively branding the virtues of the nation through rousing mass communication." Most posters were silkscreened, which explains the lack of photography and the simple typography (I love them all). 

The posters promoted all kinds of topics including basic hygiene, tourism, health topics, workplace safety, theater, education, public libraries, and community events. Though I feel a bit bad for the poor fellow who had to do the poster for venereal diseases.

Readymade then asked 5 artists to create a WPA inspired poster for today. My favorite comes from Nick Dewar, an illustrator who always makes me happy with his hand drawn type. (I had the pleasure of working with him once for an article I did at MS Living). You can download a large PDF version of his poster here.

Here are a few of my favorite WPA posters:

bee's party

On Thursday we had a few of Bee's friends come over to help celebrate her birthday. My advice to those of you throwing a party for a three year old: Keep the guest list on the short side. We had 6 kids (plus my own two) and we were plenty busy!

I fell in love with the idea of a felt birthday crown after reading SouleMama's amazing book. I had high hopes of embroidering this one, but it ended up being just glued together. Bee loved it anyway. We made paper versions for each of her friends to color and sticker and wear at the party.

We blew all kinds of bubbles and played all kinds of games (the most popular being where we hid balls all over the backyard and had the kids run and find them.. endlessly entertaining for the 2 year old set).

We ate fancy peanut butter and jelly, clementines, round jello jigglers (a request from the birthday girl herself), pretzel sticks, grapes, and juice boxes (of course). 

And cupcakes. We used the leftover dots from our cake, and pressed them into freshly frosted cupcakes. Bee blew the candles out in one go.

Favors were round gumdrops and candy dots in yellows, oranges, pinks and reds. The tags are made from metal rimmed office supply tags with sticker letters (in the scrapbook section of any craft store).

All in all, one fun party.. One special little birthday girl.

(Before you make fun of me for spending time on details that no 2 or 3 year old would ever notice, please understand that I cannot control my party planning habits. After working at Martha Stewart for so many years, these things just happen.. they can't be stopped. Ask my husband, he's tried.)