Great Bellies, Shady Math

So, I am thirty + It is springtime. This seems to = a lot of babies in bellies.

I'm pretty clear on how this happens, though of late, I have been given several colorful crash courses in sex ed from my favorite 5 & 7 year old boys.  These days the preconditions of pregnancy involve 1) being a teacher and 2) having a husband. So I'm not in the running. Nor is our loyal dog, Casey, who had some sort of procedure involving tubes and , it was noted, does not have a husband (though several dog friends have been suggested).

What this new phenomenon really equals is a lot of baby sewing projects. I'm stuck on the Elephants. Here we are on the way into Burlington on our way to Kathy's babyshower. Sewing was, of course, finished in the car.

Elephant got off at Exit 14.

Super Heroic Interruptions

In the middle of sewing the little houses I was interrupted by an urgent request:
Bunny needed a mask and cape.
I was promptly instructed on fabric selection and placement.
I was also told not to sew my finger, "again."

I was asked why I wanted to work on my projects when Bunnies needed super hero costumes.

Valid question.
I was offered four, no, wait, two imaginary dollars for my trouble.
And with that, Lucas and Bunny flew off:
Only to be replaced by Bunny #2, with Owen in tow, needing the same outfit.
We're a well oiled operation here and cape #2 was designed and crafted quickly:
Yes, those are racing stripes, calico racing stripes...

And they were off.
I was told, to put out a fire in Florida.
Here's to hoping Bunnies don't join the Olympics.
I don't sew spandex.

Little Houses

My mom got me a great sewing book ("Liberating Quiltmaking") for my birthday. The cover is pretty cheesy, but inside there are some great ideas for altering the rules of traditional quilts - old designs with a free-form approach - much more appealing to me. I got the idea for little house villages from it.

Yesterday I bought some spring fabric and started making some little houses. After lining the pieces up, as I started sewing, I couldn't get that song out of my head...

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes made of ticky tacky

Little boxes on the hillside,

Little boxes all the same.

There's a green one and a pink one

And a blue one and a yellow one,

And they're all made out of ticky tacky

And they all look just the same.
***

They take a while, but I'll post the finished quilt when it's finished!

Good Elephant, Sunshine

Happy Sunny Day! The Green Elephant and I are doing some work in the sweet little cafe in Richmond, VT before heading off to meet Jen for lunch. Then I will go to work and the Elephant will begin his trip to CT to meet his new baby friend.

Kid Animals

I finally got the knack of how to design stuffed animals: outline plus belly and head. So Owen and I sat down to make some. He chose the animal he wanted to make, we looked up pictures on the internet, he drew the outline:(as the Elephant looks on)

I created a belly and head piece to make the full pattern and sewed and stuffed under his guidance. (Giraffe stands next to his former self)

I love the kooky personality these kid-designed animals have.
At the end of the day we had made a giraffe, monkey, bunny & octopus. I am often reminded that we haven't yet done the toucan or koala. Someday soon...

Elephant

Here's that first elephant. I will find the pattern and post it. The blue batik fabric came from a table runner that I found at an antique store. Plus pearly blue button eyes and peach silk ears. I love his silky inner ears.

Ask and you shall receive

I like those airline maps with hub cities that explode like fireworks with curved lines to destination cities. Having shown you the production hub of valentine-land (aka our kitchen table), I was destined to love seeing your snapshots of where they ended up. There's nothing better than love that boomerangs and multiplies. Keep sending them...I'll keep posting them and remain inspired to set up the departure production hub again next year. x.o.x.o.x.o

From Sophie & Guapo the Cat ~ Brooklyn, NY


From Jennifer ~ S. Burlington, Vermont:

From Kent & Luis ~ Providence, RI:

From Jen ~ Burlington VT:

From Colleen ~ Oakland, CA:

From Allison ~ Burlington, VT, Hicks Foundation office! (ps we LOVE your Cervix. Keep it healthy! www.freepap.org)