a new dress

Here's Ginger, so eagerly modeling her new dress. This dress is a prototype of one I plan on making for the spring season coming upon us. It's a slightly different version of this dress. These dresses are so feminine and fun. I really like how the elastic at the neck and waist help to make this dress fit such a variety of shapes and sizes. And it's comfortable to wear.


For the main part of the dress I used an old sheet in all my favorite colors. The ruffles are made of a stripey seersucker that says "beach" to me. I really like to mix the old with the new. It breathes new life into something old, and it gives a rich history to something with no history yet. Maybe a little bit like sourdough starter.

kitty neglect

Is she trying to tell me something here? I wonder if she's getting enough attention. I wouldn't let her lounge on the fabric I was measuring, and she knew the spot I would be heading to next was my machine, she beat me to it.

and the winner is....

Congratulations to Sonya! Lucky commenter #10!

Sonya said...

I just found your blog. Love it! I would keep the hat for myself. My little ones have all the hats they need for now!

Sonya, you can contact me with your address information, and which hat from my shop you want, and I'll send it out right away!

Thanks to all my participants!

rainy days

The girls didn't delay a moment when they saw this opportunity. They rushed into their rain uniforms and out the door. The umbrella was not to prevent them from getting wet, it was to protect them from the hail stones!

We had a blast watching them bounce into the grass, like popcorn. We had rain everyday last week, what a novelty. And on Friday was the rare treat of a half an hour of hail. We even saved a bowl of it in the freezer to show daddy the evidence.

giveaway!!

In honor of my birthday yesterday (and Martin Luther King Jr.'s) I've decided to have a hat giveaway!

I sure love getting showered with gifts, don't get me wrong, of course it's one of my favorite parts of my birthday. But isn't it also equally awesome , if not even better, to shower other people with gifts!

All you have to do to enter to win one of the hats listed in my etsy shop at the end of the giveaway is to leave me a comment on this post. And if you just happen to post about this giveaway on your own blog, and let me know, I'll enter your name twice!

This giveaway will go until next Tuesday, January 26th. And don't forget that if you win you could pick a hat for yourself, or a friend, or a child, or a friend's child, or your sister, or your boss, or your librarian, or your babysitter, or your........

Me and Martin Luther King Jr.

I like to think that the reason most everyone has the day off today is because they're celebrating my birthday. I guess Martin Luther King Jr. was pretty special too.

As a mother of two girls, I am already reaping the benefits of being on the receiving end of the celebration. Before I got out of bed this morning, my oldest, age 7, had decorated a coat rack like a tree and piled up many presents that she had made and wrapped for me underneath it. She also had the table all set for breakfast, including placemats, napkins, plates, knives, forks, and spoons! I think I'll be teaching her how to make this coconut cake soon, so that I don't have to drool over this one.

"challenge of the utmost kind"

I'm doing it! I'm joining Tif, and her 'challenge of the utmost kind'. I almost feel like it's cheating though. You see, this is kind of how I roll anyways. But a whole year! You never know what could come up. After living without certain things this past year, and realizing that I still have joy and love, I bet there's a whole lot we really think we need that we don't actually need. And just think of the creativity it demands!

So, today is my official start date: January 12th, 2010. Anyone care to join me?

getting ahead

Well, I guess it's more like, "I got a head!". You may not realize how monumental this is for me. As a hat maker of sorts, I'm constantly trying to find the best way to display a hat. I've tried melons, balloons, baby dolls, and vases.

Although Mr. Head is not as cute as a live model, he sure looks better than a watermelon! Ah, the joys of the thrift shop. When you're browsing the housewares section and there sits, just looking at you, a glass head, it's enough to make you shout out with glee.

Look for Mr. Head modeling a new batch of adult size hats in my etsy shop.

blog love

Here are a couple images of my motivation lately. I was daydreaming of the above pillowcases today at the park while I crocheted on a hat and watched my girls spin themselves silly on the tire swing. They are the handiwork from the blog rose hip, who creates the most luscious products. The color combo's are killing me!


This dining room is my dream. Dottie Angle is a mastermind of style, according to me. Her post a while back displaying her newly received bounty of yarn as a decorating peice in her living room won me over. My greedy little eyes will be back, and I'm bringing a pencil to take notes!

Although these blogs are not new to me, I felt it was time to share a bit of my inspiration.