Nesting

I've done it.  Last weekend, I moved into my studio.  I spent a whole evening arranging, organizing and nesting.  A whole room!  To myself!  I was reminded of what it felt like when I moved into my first apartment.  Tiny. Wonderful.  Mine.

 Believe it or not, I put off the move for about a week.  I was hesitant to move out; our living room is warm and cozy -- familiar.  My husband and sleeping children are nearby.  What if I was lonely all the way out there?  Change is scary!

Well, I'll tell you what.  As a child with sisters far older than me, I played by myself a lot .  I grew pretty fond of my own company.  How could I forget the pleasure of a little solitude?   Nope, not lonely.  Not one little bit.

The move has already reaped great rewards and benefits.  I can leave my supplies out, including sharp blades, messy inks, and drying prints.  I can listen to whatever type of music I please without worrying about waking anyone.  I can put things that inspire me up on my walls .  Best of all, I feel like I've delineated a space that is just for working, not for checking email, not for playing with the kids, not for socializing or making meals.

One of the major challenges I've faced as I've begun to run a small business from home is focusing on one thing at a time.  I tend to let all things bleed into each other  -- family time, playtime, work time, and time to dedicate to managing the household.  I don't actually multi-task particularly well, nor do really I want to.  I'm one of those people that literally can't hear my name spoken if I'm trying to write an email or read an article.  My children, unsurprisingly, have very little tolerance for my fractured attention.   While it's important to me that they grow up with an awareness of mama doing work that doesn't revolve around them, it's also important to me that they receive a lot of grade-A attention.  Nobody wins when my focus is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.  Having my studio outdoors forces the issue.  The constant "I should be getting work done" feeling is put off, because really, I can't.  I have to wait.  And in the meantime I can sit down and give my full attention to reading a stack of library books or doing a project with the kids.  I'm still working on the email thing....I've experimented with having computer-free mornings or days, and I can only say good things about it.  No mountains will crumble if I don't respond to something this.very.instant.    It's okay to switch off my availability to the world, and switch on my availability to my family.  And then of course there are times when the reverse is also okay.

Even though I've had less time to spend on work, separated as it is from the rest of our lives, I seem to be more productive.   I've been able to turn around my last order of 12 kimono all-in-ones and 5 bibs for My Baby and Me in about a week, which is record time.  Also, I'm liking my designs and output more -- perhaps the physical creative space has translated into better internal creative space as well.   Some nights, when it's especially chilly out and I'm feeling tired, it can be a bit of a mental hurdle to get myself out there.  But I've found that it's just like going for a run -- the hardest part is getting my shoes on and going out the door.  Once I'm out, I'm awake, happy and inspired.  Then it's a matter of convincing myself to come back inside in time to get to bed at a reasonable hour.

At any rate, hooray!  I'm happy to be in, happy with the way the words "my studio" roll of my tongue, and happy with my space inside and out.  The studio is a success.

P.s.  I'll give you a little peek inside over the weekend -- just waiting to put some shelves up.  In the meantime, here's the exterior with slanting winter sun and newly painted red door.

Book Bliss

I recently celebrated one of those big birthdays ending in "0."  It was a quiet affair -- I'm not at a point in my life where I'm likely to throw a raging party, nursing babies and all.  So, instead my husband took the day off of work -- we went out for coffee and Chelsea buns.  We went for a walk on the beach.  He made me a lovely dinner after the babes were asleep.....

And then a few weeks later I received a very exciting package from one of my sisters. (Belated gifts are the best!  Why not extend the celebration for as long as possible?)  Inside were two wonderful, perfect books:

Whoo-hoo!  Who needs raging parties?  Books are the bomb.  Since I'm just getting off the ground with Seedling Clothing, The Handmade Marketplace, by Kari Chapin, and beautifully illustrated by Emily Martin and Jen Skelley, is already answering so many of my burning questions.  How to take better photos...the importance of setting goals....building a crafting community.... And that's only the first few chapters.  I am so grateful for this book.  I couldn't have come at a better time.

And then Lotta Jansdotter's gorgeous Simple Sewing for Baby.   Chock full of inspiring projects, clearly explained and beautifully photographed.  Plus, it includes patterns!  I may actually attempt to follow one.  Ms. Jansdotter's designs, textiles, and photos fill me with a sense of well-being.  Truly, could you ask for anything more from a book?

I think we may be a bit past some of these with baby A (the Snuggler, for instance); fortunately, we're still planning to add a few more ankle biters to the family.  Give it a few years -- I might even be pattern-savvy by then.

At any rate, I feel wonderfully prepared to embark on this next decade with these fantastic books on my bedside table.  Thank you lovely sister!

Yo No.

Well, I must have angered the yogurt gods with my over-confidence and blase attitude toward measurements, temperatures and times.  A few nights ago, I made my second batch of attempted yogurt, and was even foggier than before about following directions.   I'll tell you what -- when I opened my oven door in the morning, I was greeted by two warm bowls of milk.  Oh no!  

I was determined not to let all that milk go to waste.  Perhaps, if I boiled it again, I could start over?  I put the milk in an extra-big soup pot, turned it on high and covered it.  And then the phone rang; my milk and good intentions were completely forgotten.  About ten or 15 minutes later I returned to find a pot of very hot milky water and what looked like giant cottage-cheese curds.  Again, oh no!  But perhaps all was not lost -- cheese is made from milk too, right?  Maybe I've accidentally made cheese?  I scoured the internet to try to discern what happens to milk when it is boiled and separates, but came up empty-handed.  Certainly, cheese is made from milk, and you can make it at home, but the information I found about that made it seem like a far more complicated process.

 

At any rate, I strained my cheese-like concoction through a colander and refrigerated it.  At lunch time I made a cold pasta salad with whole-wheat penne, black beans, sunflower seeds, balsamic, olive oil, avocado and my curds.  Absolutely, completely delicious. 

 

I have no idea what this is -- cottage cheese?  Ricotta?  Whey?  A completely stumbled-upon creation.  Yogurt gods, I promise to amend my non-measuring ways.  Cheese gods, thank you for stepping in and opening the door to a whole new realm of experimentation.

Seedling Giveaway (And the Winner Is.....)

After 7 looong days of rain, the sun is finally shining again here in Nelson.  We're celebrating by hanging out, oh, five loads of laundry, and of course by drawing the winner of the Seedling Clothing giveaway!  I've been really excited about this giveaway.  It's been wonderful to interact with all of you and to hear your feedback and suggestions.    I've loved reading your ideas and can't wait to get to work on some new designs.  Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts with me!

This morning, I decided that the fairest way to pick a winner was to draw names out of a hat (or basket, as it were) rather than by random number selection, seeing as I had left a few of my own comments as well.  If you left a suggestion, I wrote your name down twice, regardless of whether the suggestion was in a separate comment box.

The winner of the giveaway is Cami, of Palma De Mallorca, Spain!  She is pregnant with her first girl, due in August.  It's so exciting to think of one of my organic kimonos going across the world be be worn by a soon-to-be baby in Spain.  Congratulations, Cami!  If you could send your details to me at seedlingclothing@gmail.com, I would be much obliged.  In the meantime, I'll get your parcel all ready to go.

And thank you again to the rest of you!  I'm sure to hold more giveaways in the future -- it's been a wonderful experience.  I hope you all are having lovely weekends and that the sun is shining where you are, too.

~ Jen

Last Day of Giveaway....

Hello!  Just want pop in quickly to say that today is the last day to leave a comment for the Seedling Clothing Felt shop giveaway.  If you haven't yet entered and want to, all you need to do is visit this post and leave a comment about which piece in my shop you'd like to win and why.  I'll draw the winner at noon on Sunday, May 30th.  Thank you to all of you that have entered and good luck!

Happiness is....

....the house smelling of baking bread....

....a fresh blade on my x-acto knife....

....talking to my family on skype....

....naps and time-to-work coordinating perfectly....

....a new print coming out in a way I didn't expect....

Of course, there are so many other things that make me happy, but these particular things are the ones I've been lucky enough to experience today. 

Last night, I had a heap of work to get done to prepare for my next My Baby and Me collection.  I dutifully cut a few designs and did some sketches.  But then, I just didn't feel like working any longer.  I felt like messing about, trying out new designs without worrying too much about whether they were actually usable.  I tried to resist self-editing and allowed myself the indulgence of an hour of "wasted" time if it came to that.  I found that I was cutting a lot of symbols that represented the beauty of the natural world and I came to imagine that they were a "welcome to the world" message for a very new baby.  All the things a new person has to look forward to seeing and experiencing....

I'll be honest, the cutting and individual painting for this piece took me ages.   Definitely a few solid hours.  But I'm happy with the result and I love to think that a special new baby will wear this one-of-a-kind design during his or her first months on the outside.  Perhaps I'll continue to do these in some sort of customizable way?    I can see a whole range of colors and imagery working.  It's exciting to what comes out if I just relax my expectations a bit!  I'll update my Felt shop over the weekend and include this new "Welcome to the World, Little One" sleeping gown.

(Doesn't it look cool this way?  Just experimenting with my camera, trying to figure out what all of the different settings do and how to take better photos.   Still have so much to learn.)

** By the way.... Just two days left to submit a comment for the Seedling Clothing giveaway.  I'll draw a winner Sunday, May 30th around noon.  Good luck everyone!

Yo.

Despite New Zealand's thriving dairy industry, purchasing quality yogurt can feel like a bit of a luxury, and the cost of organic yogurt here is nearly prohibitive.  Nonetheless, I'm a huge fan of the taste, nutritional value, and health benefits of natural yogurt, so I was game to try out this incredibly straightforward recipe I found in one of my most beloved magazine subscriptions.   (Um, actually my only magazine subscription.  Only and most beloved.)

The above (plus an oven, a saucepan, a towel, and a few extra bowls) is all that this recipe requires.

Preheat oven to about 100 degrees C (200 F)

Heat 1 liter (1 quart) of milk (non-fat or full-fat, depending on your preference) in a saucepan until it reaches the boil.  Keep a close eye on your milk -- it's liable to boil over quickly (as mine did.)  Once it boils, reduce the heat and allow to simmer for about 2 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand until the temperature cools to 43-46 degrees C (110-115 F) -- if you don't have a thermometer, just wait until the milk feels warm, but touchable.  If a skin has formed, try to skim off most of it.

Stir about 1/4 cup of natural yogurt into a bowl with about 1/2 cup of the heated milk, then transfer back into the saucepan and blend.

Turn off oven.

Divide milk/yogurt mixture into two bowls, cover with plastic wrap (or I used re-usable, shower-cap type covers) and then a towel.  Put into oven and allow to sit overnight (6-15 hours - - I erred on the lengthier side.)

I was a bit surprised at how well this worked.  I even fudged all of the particulars (amounts, temperatures, times....) and it still set.  Amazing!  I mean, of course -- yogurt has been around for about 4,500 years.   Long before grocery stores, yogurt makers, or mixes.   

 This yogurt was a bit runnier and milder than store-bought, but apparently, the longer it stays in the fridge, the tangier it gets.  S ate his for morning snack with cinnamon, I put some in the black bean soup I made for lunch, and baby A had hers straight -- the milder taste suited her just fine.

At a fraction of the cost of  ready-made yogurt, we're definitely signing up to be card-carrying members of the culture club.  (Yes, Groan.  Sorry, couldn't help myself.  Yogurt jokes abound!)