My summer book tour schedule is up and I can’t wait to meet you if you live in or near these cities. I will be speaking in some wonderful book stores, quilting stores and maker spaces across the country. Save the date and check the events page for updates to the schedule as there may be additions.
The twelve of you who actually read my blog definitely know that I LOVE COLOR. I am excited to be teaching two classes at the first-ever all-day online sewing conference on November 8th called The Sewing Party! See the event here and be one of thousands to sign up for lots of classes. A whole day of learning costs just $40 (and you have access to the classes for quite a while afterwards). One of my classes is about understanding color and the other is a walk through my upcoming book, The Little Spark–30 Ways to Ignite Your Creativity (which you can preorder now and there is even a LOOK INSIDE peek over on Amazon here). Read about both of my classes here and sign up
Leave a comment below to win a copy of your very own!
We made the felt guitar on the cover. No matter how young, there is something in this book for your children…I let my wee one do the cutting of the frets. She designed the colors. She stuffed it. And now she plays it!
Ooooooh, I just love this season! Our whole tree is filled with homemade ornaments and this year we are making salt dough ornaments. It is so easy and satifying to make this dough (especially if you have a stand mixer). I googled it and found this recipe here.
Kids are so cool. They just know how to make their own fun. Lately, several of my mama friends have been emailing me pictures of creations made by their cooped-up Arizona summertime kids. I was surprised to hear what they used as inspiration—my Giggle & Squeak quilt pattern templates! I am totally inspired to make a coloring/art book when I see these kids using my templates in such creative ways. I particularly like the framed creations by Lily. Kids don’t need any help from me to celebrate their inner artists. Rather, I need help from them to remember to think creatively and find inspiration from the things that are right in front of me. Give your sewing templates to your kids and see what summer fun you can make!
| Pillows from the first day |
Have Bernina…will travel! That’s my motto. This week, my son’s kindergarten teachers were kind enough to let me bring my sewing machine to school as a choice time activity. He often comes home from school with hand sewn felt stuffies and I just love that they teach the kids to sew by hand at his school. What an important life skill to learn at a young age. I thought it would extend the curriculum if they used a power tool! In two days the kids made 28 pillows. They each picked their own fabrics from my scrap bin, traced the templates, cut, and then brought their creation to me at the machine where I let them push the pedal! We had a lot to sew so I encouraged them to go a bit faster than I normally would. I think they had lots of fun. And I just love that they all went home with a creation they had designed and made. One mom told me her son brought his to the dinner table last night because he was so excited about it.
Today my two aspiring sewist pupils finished their A-line, elastic waist skirts at our tiny sewing school (earlier post here). We used the My Very Own Skirt pattern in the awesome Sewing School book. The work took two sessions—about four hours total—but it was worth the wait. Seriously? Homemade clothing? Major coolness and inner-pride. Dude.
When my little ladybird told me she fell down at school today and hurt her knee, I told her we’d go home and put ice-rice on it. To my great alarm and surprise, I realized that we didn’t actually have any ice-rice in our freezer (just frozen peas). Ice-rice is the normal stuff of preschool: cold rice in a little ziploc baggie used to soothe booboos. It does wonders for owies of all sorts.
| The Stand. |
Spring seems to have come a bit early this year, which would be nice if we lived in Minnesota. In the desert, warm and sunny days are so relentless that you hate to see one in early March. But when global warming gives you lemons…well, you know. Anyway, it feels like yesterday that I posted about our last lemonade stand—click here—but I fear it was probably a year ago. It always happens quite unexpectedly and fully without warning. Thankfully, we had six lemons on hand and some sugar. The signage is usually the first order of business. Check out the totally kick-ass spelling of quarter in the illustration below. Big difference this year: big boy can write…and the ladybird joined us in every bit of the fun. She even colored her own KRODR. 🙂
When two of my mama friends asked if I would teach their eight year old daughters to sew, I jumped at the chance. I distinctly remember learning to knit in an after-school class taught by my 4th grade English teacher, Mrs. Broughton. I remember how weirdly special it felt to be at school after hours— to be learning something other than English from my teacher. It felt… mystical—as if we were somehow conspiring. As if she was teaching me what I really needed to know in life.
