Pigs and Turtles

I made another pig and turtle for my shop. I just can't get enough of these pigs right now - I'm working on some more for next week. I love the way wool stuffing feels - all soft and squishy. And these are some of my favorite vintage scraps. I have a big piece of that pink that I'm saving for something - just don't know what yet...

When Pigs Fly softie pattern

I've been working on a new pattern for a long time now - I've finally got the assembly all figured out, but I just can't get it to work right. So I set it aside and decided to make this little pig who's been flying around in my head for awhile. I'll get back to the other one eventually, but it's nice to finish something and feel good about it - even if it means staying up until two in the morning so I can sew! (whew, I don't think I'll do that anymore.)

The pig is just a regular pig - but then you can button on his wings and he becomes a flying pig. He's a nice little reminder that anything's possible.

I'll be adding the pattern to my shop soon, but first I'm going to share it with 200 of you. You can download the pdf here until it's gone. The pdf has instructions and a pattern that measures 8x10 so it can be easily printed. This pattern would be great for a beginner or intermediate sewer. It's a sweet project for all those little scraps, and it comes together pretty quickly.

*UPDATE* 7/29/09, 7:40
Thanks for all of your interest in the pattern! It has been moved to the shop now: wilsons.etsy.com

I appreciate feedback on the pattern. Hope you enjoy! Share your pigs in the flickr group.

Flip Doll as Self Portrait

If I was wise enough to know I needed a break from blogging, I should have known better than to try to complete an art project before J is a month old.

But, you know, I did. And it's probably in part because I want to assure those people who ask if I'm still painting (and look disappointed when I say no) that I'm still an artist and designer even though I stay home with my children. I guess I want to assure myself, too.

This flip doll is the result of several ideas coalescing. With the birth of my second daughter, I was already thinking about motherhood and identity. Also, I was working on a new flip doll pattern (I'll share it when it's done!) when I read my sister's blog about the stories of The Goose Girl and The Seal Wife. Then, I saw the deadline for the Renaissance exhibit approaching, and I knew that if I didn't enter something in this show, I probably wouldn't do anything professional for the rest of the year. I guess it's nicely ironic that my insecurities about being an artist/mother motivated me to make this project about women's identity.

Still, now that I've finished this flip doll, photographed it, and mailed off my entry; I'm really glad to have a little "down" time to be a less distracted mom again. That's a good thing to be, too.

announcements...

Popping in from babyland for a couple bits of business:

First, my dust mitt tutorial was nominated for Top Tutorials Week at Luvinthemommyhood. She's sharing her top picks, so you can find lots of great tutorials over there all next week. Mine will be in the diy/repurposing category, so click on the button above to check it out, and vote for your favorites!

Also, remember Teah, from Aunt Lolo who won the wewilsons giveaway? She posted about her win here, and I'm keeping an eye on her blog to see what she does with the fabric. And enjoying her other sweet projects and shop, too.
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Babymooning

I'll be taking a little break for awhile. I guess I've been easing into that. I'm sure we'll be back in a few months with some patterns and recipes, but right now we're enjoying some quiet time adjusting to life as four.

Meet J. 8 lbs 12 oz, 21" long, and beautiful.

We've Landed

Wow, that giveaway day was something, wasn't it? I had no idea how many blogs were involved. Pretty neat, not enough hours in the day to visit them all though. Thanks for everyone who participated here. I enjoyed reading about all your favorite windows, but the randomizer especially liked number 2 (no kidding!) which is Aunt Lolo. Congratulations! I'll be sending an email and two fat quarters shortly!

We spent this week celebrating for a couple of reasons. It was L's birthday (although NOT, unfortunately, J's - we're still waiting on that), and... we closed on our land! The pictures are us celebrating at Besso's after the closing with some gelato.

What land, you ask? John and I have been looking for land (not "looking to land" as our local paper misprinted our ad once) for about 3 years. We've changed our minds several times about what we actual want, and where we want it. But we finally found a lovely piece of land, in a good location, with great friends for neighbors. And now we're finally ready to pursue the next phase of life - building our home, planting trees, raising animals, and enjoying all those other aspects of country life. I'm sure you'll hear lots more about it.

May Giveaway Day

It's giveaway day all over blogland - hosted by Sew Mama Sew (click the button below to find a link to all the giveaways going on!)

To join in on the fun, I'm offering up two fat quarters of your choice from my Jade in My Window line (check out the fabric in my shop here). Just leave a comment below telling me about your favorite window. I'll choose randomly on May 31st, and ship two fat quarters to one lucky winner by June 3rd. This is open to anyone, anywhere - be sure your email address is in your profile so I can contact you!

Rainbow

We were driving home this evening after a good visit with the midwife and saw the most beautiful rainbow. L couldn't see it in the car, which was a bummer. But as we got closer to home, it just got bigger and prettier. It was a double rainbow - and it stretched all the way to the horizon on both sides. It was just one of those perfect days, I guess. L was equally impressed with the "big doggie."

Birthday

We celebrated L's birthday this weekend, and I wanted to share one little gift I made for her: doll clothes. She already had this old plastic doll, so I made two new dresses and two diapers to fit. I also made a little baby sling, but it was way too small, so it was quickly turned into a little sleeping bag/pouch for the baby and clothes. I threw in a little diaper cloth as a blanket to complete the set. The diapers were a last minute idea - I am now a reluctant pro at sewing diapers since I spent months making L's. These were much simpler, of course.



The kangaroo pouch I made for L wasn't so successful, so I've been tickled to see [help] L give the baby a clean diaper and wrap her up and change her dresses over and over again.


Also, I finally got to give her the broom from Palumba. What a hit! She's been running around with her "special broom" ever since.

Air Fresheners

Our little house doesn't have air conditioning, so we have some areas of the house that get stuffy easily - especially in the summer. So, I bought a bunch of baking soda last week to place around the house.

I thought I would pour some in my vases and other pretties sitting around, but then I had the idea to put it in canning jars. I used a little square of fabric with the metal band and left the lid off so that it is breathable. An occasional shake will stir up fresh soda, so you don't need to stir. Makes a fun way to use pretty jars and fabric.

I'm sure people have been doing this forever, but I felt pretty clever for thinking of it.