Top of the Muffin to Ya!

Her: Oh my gosh, you look great!

Me: (blushing) Wow, thanks!

Her: No, seriously, I can't believe you just had your third baby.

Me: Well, I mean, he's four months old, so...

Her: But you're like, back to your pre-pregnancy size!

Me: Wow, um, NO. I mean, I'm wearing my pre-pregnancy jeans, but there's plenty of muffin for allllll of us, knowwhatI'msayin'??

Her:

Me: Sorry.

Sweatshirt Refashion

Last trip to the thrift store, I picked up this for 60 cents:

I brought it home and told my husband I planned to refashion it.  He asked, "What's wrong with it now?"  Well, nothing, really.  But it could be so much BETTER, right?  You know I'm right.

So I set about picking out the applique, one stitch at a time.  Nice idea, except that the central stitches go through ALL the layers, and are TIGHT.  So, I gave up.

And snipped off what I had been able to free, feeling an awful lot like that awful kid in grade school who ripped the wings off bugs just to see what would happen.

I dug through the stash to discover some quilting scraps to coordinate, and cut out a delicious bird shape:

Finished product, which is WAYYYY better than before, if I do say so myself:

And finished product being enjoyed almost as much as her first taste of Chef Boyardee (don't shoot me for the canned pasta--it was Monday!)

Goal Setting

I have one major goal for Pretty Jane in 2009:

It comes with a bit of a story behind it. In 2008, I hired some sewing ladies to work for me, in order to increase supply to meet demand, and hopefully grow my business. They were amazing, and one especially taught me a lot about what I want and don't want in the products that I create and put out for sale. They weren't cheap, though. Yes, I increased my supply. Yes, I was able to meet greater demand. I was also more anxious about meeting deadlines and spending a great deal to have these women stitch items that I still had to design, cut out, ship, market, and sell. I was saving time sewing, for sure, but that's part of the fun of doing what I do! My profit margin was shrinking alarmingly and the hours I was investing were actually GROWING.

I started my company because I love my family, and I want to make them my very top priority. I want to have time to be with my husband, in our home and on vacations; I want to be the one caring for all our children, day-to-day; I want to cook our meals and clean and clothe; I want Family Movie Night every Friday and Lazy Day on Sundays; I want all of ussitting down to supper cooked from scratch each night and able to have real conversations with one another. I liked the idea of growing my business, having success and making a little more money for us, but the cost was higher than I anticipated, and the anxiety it was producing was taking away from what I most want: my home and family as #1.

Fortunately, I have no business debt, and paid these women cash. Through Beehive's Warehouse Sale I was able to clear out my unsold inventory and am able to look at 2009 as a new year to determine how I want to structure my business operations. And the decision was easy: in 2009, I won't be using any sewers. I'm going back to my original business model, in which I stitch every individual garment by hand myself. Yes, there will be fewer items. Yes, it means more sewing for me. But the results will be exactly what I expect, there will be substantially less anxiety since I'll be only my boss again (and not anyone else's), and I can stay focused on what matters most. Besides, with things going well at my fabric shop, and teaching two or three classes a week at Beehive while the kids are asleep, scaling back a little will allow me to continue to design while balancing all the other things I have in my life--personal AND professional.

So, the Three. My major goal for Pretty Jane this year is to maintain my production rate at three garments per day, on average. Some days will necessarily be devoted to design, others to R & D, others to cutting, and only some exclusively to stitching. But on the whole, I hope to average 3 garments per day over the course of each week. I'm aiming for now through April as the major test of the system, since the Inman Park Festival is in late April and I'm hoping to display solo there for the first year.

I'm keeping it right above my workspace to keep me focused--so I won't spend all my time checking email and drafting blog posts!

Happy New Year, everyone!

**The sign is made from an Ikea cork board, a fat quarter of Robert Kaufman's Iota's Garden vegetable print, two scraps of quilting fabric, and some WonderUnder. Took maybe 25 minutes total to put together, and will be repurposed at M's #3 birthday next summer. Not bad for a spur-of-the-moment creation!

Balance

I tend to assume that sickness is an indication of a lack of something, rather than the presence of something.  This is why I didn't go to medical school: I see not the presence of a virus, but a lack of sleep or nutrients.

We've had a LOT of sick at our house lately.  First, M was icky.  Then my Sweet Husband got it and gleefully passed it on to me.  Lots of hacking coughs, way more mucous than you want to hear about, just gross.  We worked so hard to keep baby O from getting it, but in the end, he did.  He's so tiny, and it hit him hard.  By day 3 we were at the pediatrician for our third visit in a week, and he needed breathing therapy and prescriptions and I was wringing my hands and convinced we'd broken our brand-new baby.

He's on the mend, thankfully, although the cough still lingers.  And all the good work we'd done getting him to ease himself to sleep--no more crying!  dozed off after a few grunts!--was in the toilet.  So after waking up gagging on nastiness for a week, and me being exhausted from caring for him, he spent this past week struggling to go to sleep.

Today was the day, the day I was sure we were going to turn the corner, and all would be well again.  Right up until M projectile puked on the basement stairs as we came up from the garage.  And her temp was 101.4, and her eyes went all glassy.  Mommy wants spring to come soon.  SOON.

(Sigh.)

My analysis?  There's been a lack of balance at our house.  I've spent a LOT of my time focused on my work, and I love that.  These past two weeks have for sure been more about a focus on my kids.  And I NEEDED that.  In some ways I missed posting, preparing photos to share with y'all, working on little projects and big plans.  But at the same time, I recognized how much I wanted and needed to have these days to just care for my kids.  It reminded me to care for ME, and gave me time (at 4 a.m. usually) to look at the lights on our tree with no interference and be thankful and quiet and still.

Here's hoping this last round is just a 24-hour thingy, and that the peaceful moments of the last weeks stay with me.  It's time to get back to work, but only as long as it stays in its place.

Bronchiolitis

It's what's at our house.

Ick.

Let the Holiday Craziness Commence

December? WHAT?? How did THAT happen?

Now that Thanksgiving is officially behind us, there is no denying it: the Holidays are HERE. Our tree went up yesterday. And down today, when gravity toppled our vintage spruce right to the floor. It's in recovery status at the moment; photos when we're out of the ICU**. 

I was out of the house Saturday morning and Sweet Husband, E and M did all the unpacking of decorations and arranging and general holiday-ing up. I got to come home to lights and ribbons and wreaths. It was awesome. I love that the lights are draped in coils on the front porch rather than wrapped around the handrails.
I love that the tchochkes are all mish-mashed on the bookshelves and tables, running into one another like a Christmas boxcar derby.
Mostly, I love that my family did all that for me as a surprise.  See?  I'm not the only one who gets all squishy around here--I was having a tough morning Saturday, too, so this was an awesome way to come home.

And I spent some of my day making for them, too. I had a chunk of this silly Sesame Street print in the stash, and am embarking on more Brother/Sister outfits. Clearly, I am a woman obsessed.
M's got done first, as it took the least thought:

She insisted on wearing it right away.

Next is E's, but we'll need a new tee for her--that last one was an XS, since she is in fact extra small. But their idea of XS is a little, well, trampier than E's idea of XS, so we're getting her an S as she goes into Beta on this whole matching outfits thing. O's will be last, since the Thanksgiving outfit juuuuust fit, and once we sent it through the hot dryer didn't fit at all. He'll need a whole new pattern, so I'm putting that off a bit.

Am also thinking of gifts to give, and who'd like what. My family have largely declared they'll not be exchanging gifts with the adults this year--my sister, my parents, even some of our friends have cut back and are focusing on the kids only this giving season. I, on the other hand, wisely neglected to mail gifts to my sister and mother for the past two Christmases, always thinking, "I really should send those..." And so we have plenty to share this holiday season. See how procrastination can often be in one's favor?? Clever me.

Still, all the little ones would love to have something handmade under the tree this year, so my dance card is filling up with ideas for them. Stay tuned this week as I work my way through sewing projects to give and get.

**I suppose I'll know I've become a true blogger when rather than shriek in horror when I get out of the shower and see our Christmas tree lying sprawled on the living room floor I rush not to rectify the tragedy, but to my camera to document it, instead. Sorry to cheat all of you--us, really, and posterity--out of that image. Will do better next time.

Thanksgiving Recap

Our parade

Our weather

Our kids

Our baking

Our newest tradition

Our favorite tradition: A Christmas Story begins its non-stop screenings on Thanksgiving Day.

A Week of Gratitude, Day 2: Babies!

Taking the WHOLE week off to spend time with my amazing family. Am auto-posting a series titled "A Week of Gratitude" while we're off doing cool stuff like baking, digging out the Christmas decorations, jumping in piles of leaves, making final visits to the playground before the weather gets too cold, visiting with the relatives, taking looooong drives all in one vehicle, singing songs loudly, and anything else we can think of. Be back in a few days! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. This year, let's be glad of all we have...

A Week of Gratitude, Day 2: Babies!

So, since I took the risk of taking a load of flak for saying my husband has had a greater influence over who I am and who I've become than my children, I must must must mention how thankful I am for my little ones.

There are three of them, each so different, so themselves, and so much like me in their own ways.  I am reminded of all my shortcomings on a daily basis, and taught humility in ways I never imagined possible.  Some days I am burdened by how huge the task is before us, and others I am brought to tears by how grateful I am to have been chosen as their mother.

Our eldest, just like me in good ways and in bad.

Our middle, so lively and exhausting, so able to bring me to my limits--both of joy and frustration.

Our little bitty one, who by asking for such simple things--food, rest, comfort--reminds me that none of us ever get our fill of being held and nurtured.  These are my teachers and mentors, more so than even the adults in our lives.  

They are the honest mirror to my actions, to whom I cannot lie and about whom I must be truthful with myself.

I am so deeply, profoundly grateful for how they've each changed me, but even more than that, for how they will keep on changing me, every day, for all our days.

It rocks to be Mommy, where even the bad days are good.

Switching to Cloth

(Sigh.)

Today's the day--I can put it off no longer.  Today, we switch to CLOTH DIAPERS.

OK, maybe I'm being melodramatic.  I mean, both the girls were in cloth, and it was easy.  Well, maybe not easy, but not as hard as you'd think.  We kick it old school around here, too: unfolded bird's-eye weave and vinyl pants, none of these modern Velcro thingies.

Part of the motivation is thrift--at $10 a pack, a pack a week, the kid is peeing us out of house and home, not to mention blowing my grocery budget.  Also, I hate filling up my garbage can with human waste and then putting it out on the curb to be deposited who-knows-where.

But really, as with all my other decisions that seem altruistic but are really self-preservation, it's that they have yet to make the disposable diaper that can hold O.  He is the baby that diapers cannot conquer.  He gets a change at 10 when he nurses, and again at 5.30 when it's decent to awake--he eats once, maybe twice in between but I have a hard and VERY fast rule that we do not disturb slumber under ANY circumstances, certainly no to change a diaper.  It is a matter of survival, people.  Unlike the girls, though, O pees--and pees, and pees...  He's always just slightly damp by the time I change him, as if the dam burst at 5.20 and THEN he awoke for his morning feed.

So, in hopes that the old double-nighttime-diaper trick will work, we are switching to cloth in an attempt to stem his itty bitty tide.

That is, AFTER we get home from our Thanksgiving travels.  I am, if nothing else, practical.

Stroller Bag

I saw the greatest stroller bag on Rae's blog back in September, and commented on how I didn't know I NEEDED one of those, but as soon as I saw hers I NEEDED it. And not just in the lustful, breaking-the-tenth commandment kind of way, like, I really saw that I could get a ton of use out of it.

Then a few weeks ago, I saw this link over on Wardrobe Refashion and checked out the details on Julie's blog. Great pattern, seems pretty easy, and just the shape I was going for (with some minor alterations).

So here we have Baby O's new stroller bag,

from some Japanese canvas I've been hoarding for over a year.

I switched it up with a button closure at the top of the handles,

and did some contrast topstitching on the side seams and at the handles.

It's pretty roomy, and has an interior pocket plus a cell phone pocket out of the lining fabric. I love this one, but admit it has gone through some iterations before getting here, right the way I like it--including three duds. This final product, though, is just what I had in mind, despite the frustration of all those false starts. Am inspired to make even more!

Am thinking of reusable grocery bags in this shape...

Happy shopping, everyone!

Ten Things I Love Right Now

Leaves changing

Tiny baby hands

Fresh bread coming out of the oven

Playgrounds and parks, one last time

Learning who my daughter is becoming, bit by bit

Hearing music through the house--played live, and with verve

A clean kitchen

Catching up with faraway friends and learning only geography keeps us distant

Family movie night on Fridays, all of us together on the sofa with fresh hot popcorn and a PG rating

Waving goodbye in the crisp mornings, looking forward to some peace and quiet.

Sort of.

Hope this is the start of a great week for all of us!

Brother and Sisters

Last post: the Corn Fabric.

This post: Some background.

First, you'll need to know that I'm a lot of different people. I taught school for a long time, theatre and English. Most recently, I was an archaeologist. Really. I have a graduate degree and everything. Wrote a thesis and was offered big fellowships to fancy schools. I studied acorns, mostly--I'm not making this up. My focus was paleoethnobotany, which is just a swanky way of saying that I like food, and I like learning about how food was used in prehistory. And there is simply no way to study prehistoric food in the Americas without studying CORN.

I have some pretty strong feelings about corn. Even as I type that, I am well aware of how crazy cakes it makes me sound, but there it is all the same. I feel powerfully strongly about CORN. So when I saw this fabric with my friend Erin four or five years ago at Jo-Ann, I had to had to had to grab two yards of it. I guess I intended to make a blouse for myself? But this is a much better use of this particular print.

Brother-Sister Outfits.

I used to be one of those moms who sort of "Ewwww"ed when I saw or heard of brother/sister outfits, but maybe that's because I never had a brother, or because sister/sister outfits are so easy and obvious, or because I didn't have any boys. It might be because most of the time when you find a brother/sister outfit set, they're insanely traditional and usually involve smocking and insipid embroidery and probably lace and ruffles (for the brother AND the sister). Not really my style, and not something I aspired to put on my children.

But CORN brother/sister outfits?? Well, now. That's a WHOLE different story.

A quick overview:

For O, a teeny tiny little button-up shirt. No cuffs, since he's still too itzy bitzy; the sleeves are open at the ends. But it does have a shirttail hem and a structured collar, lots of menswear detailing.

And it looks so great under these babywale chocolate overalls. They have a sweet button closure at the crotch for quick diaper changes--this kid can make some poop, it's like Chernobyl in his pants half the time.  I think the red flannel lining and the teeny pockets really make the whole outfit.  And I should point out that this shirt represents the first (and maybe only) time I've made a garment without a pattern of any kind--I totally eyeballed the whole thing.  So, if he tries it on and it doesn't work, E gets new clothes for her dolls, I guess!

For M, a pretty jumper with gathers and a contrast band on the CORN skirt.

Buttons here and on O's whole outfit are coconut ones Sweet Husband and I brought back from our honeymoon in Hawaii.  I even put in pockets on the side seams for all her fall treasures she's sure to collect on our nature walks in the cool weather.

For our big girl, E, an athletic-styled tee with a CORN applique

All this needs is a little freezer paper stencil for humor--I want it to read, "Howdy, Pilgrim," but I loaned out my brown fabric paint at an inopportune time of year. If only I were good enough to do a teeny John Wayne on the sleeve...

We'll need to get a lot of use out of these this next week to make them worth the trouble I went to, but I am crazy insane in love with this silly print, and can' wait to get shots of all of them in their little matching outfits.  Hoping your holidays are cooling off and that the gifts of America's bounty are soon to be on your table!!

**Just for the record, corn is NOT a theme here.  It is a "unifying element."

Competitive Parenting

Last week, I dropped M off at preschool. When I picked her up, there was a new poster hung on the wall next to the classroom door--a progress chart. It had listed, along the left side, names of each of the children in her Younger Twos class. Along the top of the chart were the names of various two-year-old skills: "ABCs", "Shapes", "Numbers", that sort of thing. Many of the children had multiple stars. M had only one.

I stood, waiting for the mother ahead of me to collect her daughter so I could enter the classroom and get M--and then hurry on home for naptime, which I think we all know is Sacred. The Other Mother was having an animated conversation with the teacher. She--the Mother--seemed very concerned about WHICH gold stars Darling Daughter had received, since she was certain that her girl knew her ABCs and 123s, and proceeded to remind the teacher of that at length. AT LENGTH.

Seriously? M had one star. I was deeply unconcerned, since I don't need gold stars to tell me my kid is awesome. I also know she knows her ABCs and shapes, and that she DOESN'T know her numbers, and a gold star one way or another isn't going to define either her intelligence or her abilities. It made me laugh at how overly concerned so many parents get, how competitive they can be about the silliest things. It's Big vs Small, people, not the SATs. I felt so smug, so certain that I was above All That in a way the Other Mother wasn't.

Yesterday, when I picked M up, she had all but two columns filled with starts, and for one column, she had TWO stars. I came home feeling smug, confident that my child was clearly Better and Smarter. Then I alternated that smugness with berating myself for being a hypocrite. Notice I wasn't able to shake the smugness altogether. Did I mention she had TWO stars in one column??

It seems even when you grow up, gold stars still have some hypnotic power over you that causes you to lose all reason. For reals.

Making Progress

Remember this?

Cars and boats are taking shape! Just need to push on through these last few stages and get these bumpers FINISHED. I know we'll ALL get more sleep once the little man is out of Mommy and Daddy's room and in his own (shared) nursery.

Results soon!

Holy Holidays, Batman!

I struggle with this, but I'm already well into whipping up Holiday-themed goodies for the shop.

See, I'm a die-hard Not Until The Day After Thanksgiving kinda girl. I really, really, really don't like the consumerism/commercialization/earliness of Christmas these days. It makes me tired. It makes so many of us want it OVER ALREADY by the time it finally arrives. And I don't want to feel that way about such a quiet, reflective, peaceful, family-filled time of the year. I wrap each ornament individually when I pack them away each year, convinced that they absorb somehow the love and joy and peace we feel during the holiday, and wanting them to hold onto that until we unwrap them the following year. It's special to me, and I want it to be special for my children, something for them to pass down.

And now here it is, just days past Halloween, and I'm already up to my knees in red and green and holiday lights. As a manufacturer (even at my tiny scale), I don't feel as though I can wait longer to unveil Christmas products. But as a mom, I cringe.

I beg your indulgence, then, as I show what I've been working on these past few days:


Winter and Christmas MegaBibs--they're super-sized for all those giant meals. Button closure at the back, and fully reversible!

Matching burpies, also reversible, and just the right size for dozing off. Two designs in each package.

Holiday gift sets, with one bib and a matching burpie.

Speaking of gifts, aprons and mommy-and-me apron sets, perfect for ALLLL that holiday baking.


Even my ironing board has gotten in on the action!

Forgive me, Internets. It is the market pressure what made me do it. Hope you like it enough to cut me some slack.

Have a great weekend!

Big Haul

Beautiful fall night in the Southland. Great night for tricks and treats...

We handed out goodie bags to the toddler neighbors we play with, full of fruit snacks and Play-doh.

M finally gets it. "Free candy, really??"


Baby made his debut--and promptly fell asleep. No candy for him.
It's hard to tell here, but he's wrapped in a flour "tortilla," has a tomato on his head, and there are some wisps of shredded cheese hanging out. The guacamole was tucked inside...

Daddy had at least as much fun as the kiddos. At least.
Here he is, at M's preschool Halloween Parade.

And here, crossing the street for "one more time trick or treat, Daddy."

Mommy didn't even stay home to hand out candy this year--I'm growing! I wandered the cul-de-sac with the rest of them, neighbor kids included. (I was dressed as a Burrito Stand, or "responsible mommy." Same clothes as usual, but with more baby carrying.)

Our teen ran off to a trick-or-treat sleepover at the very last minute and escaped before photo ops!! Can you imagine? Somehow her "murdered prom queen" morphed into "vampire schoolgirl." As long as there was fake blood involved, she was happy... But still. Ditching your family and "Hand out the candy, honey" duty to go watch scary movies and eat loads of candy with your friends? What's that? Oy, 13.

And a blast from the past: this is Halloween 2006, about 12 weeks after I gave birth to baby #2. I was feeling pretty good about myself. Still am.



Happy November, everyone!

Where Did Baby's Bumpers Go?*

After writing about O's applique crib bumpers, I thought I'd drop a little note about what happened to M's pink floral bumpers once they were retired so she can move to the toddler bed.

We found this fantastic toddler bed on Craig's List for a crazy reasonable price (mattress included). Better than Ikea, since it doesn't require a special size sheet, and she has plenty of pink and flowered ones that Baby O won't use. We moved her curtains to over her bed when she and O moved into the same room, and I wanted to reuse the fabric I covered her bumpers with as a comforter.

I ripped the covers off the bumpers, used a rotary cutter to trim them to size, and patchworked them together in sort of a modified log cabin design. The solid pink is the fabric I used to cover the diaper changing pad (which never quite got stitched--I just wrapped it around the pad for two years!).

It's still a little bit of a Work In Progress, but I really like the way the fabrics are coming together, and am so pleased to be able to re-use what we've already got rather than run out and try to find just the right thing at the store--I always have a picture in my head and can never get just what I want when shopping, so I might as well make it happen this way!

*The title is an homage to one of my all-time favorite Golden Books, "Where Did The Baby Go?" by Eloise Wilkin. Did you read that one when you were little? I even love the images of the clothes--soooo 1974.