Yellow and Blue: New Stock, Sneak Peak

 

Paintings by Solomon and me, together: "Long Tail" and "Bowl of Lemons (With Legs)"

 I have a real thing for this color combination right now -- I can't seem to get enough.  Marigold and Aqua.  Mustard and Indigo.  Navy and Saffron.  All.  Lucky for me, I just received a shipment of brand new stock!  Love love loving this new background to work with.  The clothing is fair trade/organic, and just beautiful.  I'm so excited to be widening my range.  Soon, I think I'll be able to offer bigger kids' sizes in addition to baby-wear.  Here's a preview:

Just getting a few more pieces ready, and then they'll go up in my shop.  More (and more colors) to come!

Happy

Ahh, finally.  After a series of mistakes last week, all is going well in the studio world.

I have a new "Welcome Swallow" sleep gown in my shop, and a few new designs in the works that I'm excited about. 

So, yay!  In other news, I'm considering the merits/disadvantages of setting up an Etsy shop in addition to my Felt one.  Thoughts?  I'd really appreciate your wisdom and opinions.

The Label Solution

Well....hopefully.  Since starting Seedling Clothing in January, I've struggled a bit with how to do labels for my hand-printed baby clothing; I want something professional and polished, yet not overly time-consuming.  Because I don't sew the clothing itself, it seemed silly to cut out the existing tags and sew in my own.  There had to be a better way, right?  I've been searching for something like a textile stamp for a while -- to no avail.  I finally found this listing on etsy for retail-grade iron-on labels.  The description sounds just perfect, so fingers crossed that they are equally good in person.  Since the specs for the labels seemed so specific, I thought it best to hire a graphic designer (about $15.00 US for the design with unlimited edits from Color Fiesta Graphics, also on Etsy) to help with the layout.  I feel happy with the results, though I will say it can be hard to convey specific ideas about spacing, etc. over email without feeling really really fussy. 

I like the simplicity, and I love the fantail.  I wonder though, if something more seedling-ish (ie the graphic from my grass design) would work better?  Ah, well.  I'm happy to have found a "for now" solution to the tag dilemma.  And just in time, too.  We'll be home in a week!  Can't wait to get back into the studio.

Gifted

Ahhhhh.....hear that?  I do -- it's the sound a quiet house.  Baby sleeping, grandparents occupied with outdoor chores and Jake and Solomon playing together.  Our wedding is over, and slowly, slowly family and loved ones have begun to trickle away.  It feels sad to see them go....all of the excitement of the past few weeks has begun to wind down.  At the same time, peace and calm are definitely what is needed most right now.  It's wonderful to finally have the chance to sit down with my computer, and I'm really looking forward to getting back to work - - both here on the blog and with Seedling Clothing.

First and foremost, I really must dedicate this post to a few very belated thank yous.  Behold the wonderful gifts I've received from fellow crafters recently!  Cadi, over at Maehe Girl hosted a Baby-Naming Giveaway over at her blog a while back, and I was fortunate enough to win this amazing, intricate and beautifully-hued shawl..... (Check out more of her amazing shawls here.)  Thank you so much Cadi - - I felt incredibly lucky to win this piece of artwork.

Next, I was surprised and delighted to receive a package from my friend and fellow crafter, Emiko with two bandana-style bibs in absolutely adorable fabrics.  One for my nephew, Clem, and the other for Aya (though Clem generously shared his bib with Aya, who is shown with both here.)  So thoughtful and generous.  We love them!  Find Emiko's awesome Etsy shop here.

Thank you both so much for the wonderful gifts.
I'm happy to say that I'll be able to check in more regularly from now on.... see you soon!

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!

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!

Tank Dress

Oh!  How I love this little girl.   As she grows and becomes more upright, it's been fun to dress her in a few, well, dresses.   Because she inherits most of her older brother's clothing, and I'm happy to have her in primarily gender-neutral blues, greens, grays, reds and browns, I realize that I may sometimes need to make a special effort to embrace her feminine side as well.  Thus was born this dress -- the first I've made for baby A.  It's the product of another storage-box upcycle -- a tank I love, but which is seldom worn.    I simply trimmed a band at the waist to make it shorter, added three pleats to the neck, and hemmed along the inner arm holes to make them child-size.  Finally, I added ribbons to bring the waist in a bit.  I'm liking the results, and I'm happy to think that this dress will fit for quite a while -- through the toddler years, becoming a tunic as my girl gets bigger.

Amazingly, our autumn days still warm up enough for this dress to be worn on it's own; but it would also be easy to pair this with leggings and a cardigan in the coming months.  Yes, it's been good to celebrate a bit of femininity!  I can see more of these to come.

P.S.... My Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway will be continuing for two more days.  To all those that have left comments and have become followers, likers, or fans -- thank you so much!  It's wonderful to connect with so many new people.   I'll be hosting a giveaway of a different sort to celebrate 100 fans on Facebook, and over 60 followers on the blog; it will begin immediately after my Sew, Mama, Sew giveaway ends.  Details to come.

Waste Not....

Even with our stringent de-cluttering policies, we are guilty (er, I am guilty) of letting a few plastic storage boxes of clothing I can't quite part with waste away in our garage.   I did a little digging this week and resurrected a once-loved top and a once-perfect, oft-repaired pair of favorite jeans.  The long sleeves of the top became these super-simple baby leggings  (forgive the grainy rainy-day exposure....)

And the jeans transformed like this....

I'll be honest, making these was a bit harrowing -- I wouldn't recommend denim or this type of stretchy cotton/lycra material to a newbie seamstress like me.  It's a miracle that both the machine and I survived!  I certainly honed my G-rated expletive range during this project.  The center photo is of S assisting with a gentle, soothing touch to appease the sewing machine.  It must have worked, since she allowed me to finish both projects with only the small casualty of a broken needle. Worth the sacrifice to breathe new life into these old favorites.....

Just quickly, a few photos from the shed/studio revamp:

The walls are up!  I think I'll be able to get in and do some painting in the next week.  Can't wait.

My Baby and Me!

 

Here a few photos from the collection I recently did for My Baby and Me.  (To view the whole album, check out their Facebook page here.)  I found working on these incredibly satisfying and fun; Paul and Ange from My Baby and Me gave me full creative freedom, which was awesome!  These are soon to be available on the MBAM website.  So exciting.

 

 

 

I concede....

Lest anyone suspect that I'm one of those do-it-all mamas, it looks as though rag-rug braiding has been shunted back down to the bottom of the list.   I didn't really put up much of a fight.....  The deep crimson, hand-woven rug I've had my eye on for weeks went on sale.   It's lovely.  What can I say?  I'm not immune to a good sale.  Or the reality of a very full life.  Perhaps a rag-bathmat will be in our future, but for now, I'm going easy on myself.

What is life full with at the moment?  I'm very happy to be working on a collaboration with the excellent New Zealand company behind the organic baby clothing I use for my prints.....In the near future, Seedling Clothing prints will be available from the My Baby and Me website as well as sold on my behalf at various craft markets in the North Island.  This is a wonderful and very exciting development.....I've been burning the midnight oil getting the first collection together -- so far so good.  I've put together a few new designs, and all in all, it's been pleasurable and satisfying work.

Updates to come when everything is completed.  Stay tuned!

Sewn: For the Baby....

 

This was a wonderfully satisfying and simple project -- new bibs for baby A, who is just beginning to enter the wide, wonderful world of solid foods.  I used corduroy and cotton, combining colors and fabrics to add interest and beauty to a functional item. 

I imagine A will have a lot of fun getting these really good and dirty in the months ahead.