busy as a bea

oops. i mean bee : )

i wanted to share with you a little of what i have been doing and what i will continue to be doing.



this is the summer of sewing. i've all but abandoned the yarn. who am i kidding? i have completely abandoned yarn for the summer. my knitting bag has been sitting in the same spot for over a month now. it has been all about shorts and pants and now dresses for the little ones (okay the dresses are just for bea). i'm a total novice, but i am getting better the more i sew. more dresses are on the to do list for bea, pillowcases for henry have been started, and a shirt for me is on the horizon, and i am dreaming of sewing up some simple curtains for the girl. my sewing supplies have over taken the kitchen where i sew at our dining table and the ironing board is blocking the front door (so it's out of the way of the kids playing.). the satisfaction i feel when henry chooses to wear what i have made him over his other clothes is indescribable (it doesn't hurt that he refuses to wear pants or shorts that have a zipper). it just makes me smile. and when i sew him something with a fabric of his choice, his excitement on seeing the completed piece makes my heart skip! i think i am a woman obsessed. for the time being.

dress pattern can be found at habitual. and i used blue yonders bandana pants tutorial for the shorts and pants.
thank you, ladies for sharing these great patterns!

the dress was so new to me. i definitely have room for improvement, but the pattern is really simple. i have a hard time with store bought patterns for some reason. they can really frustrate me. but this dress pattern tutorial was so easy and i had no frustration with it all. it took me maybe an hour and half to make. that sounds like a long time, but i had the sewing machine in one room and the iron in another. and i'm slow on measuring. that's what took me the longest. and i wanted to go slow so i got it right. i'm happy to say that i think i did, too! so, this is what i will be doing. especially on those blistering hot afternoons that are right around the corner (hello, 90 degrees tomorrow)!

SOOC

enjoying blue skies and sewing today. hope you're having some sun and breezes wherever you are!

summertime vice

i don't mean to call such an enabler (to many mama's, i'm sure) a vice, but it's true in my case. i couldn't do without it, even though i probably should. and my problem is i love it even more in the summer. cold. really really cold. so now i'm brewing the next pot to turn into cubes and the rest will go into the pitcher and sit getting good and cold in the fridge. oh, yum.



just passing on this public service announcement. i know you're getting up to go make your coffee cubes right now, if you haven't already ; ) thank you, amy, for the reminder!

sculpture show: the first

so that last post? the one about going coastal and heading to charleston, sc. that one where i said check back to hear about how the actual purpose of that visit went. well, this is that post. finally.


matt took part in his first sculpture show in summerville, sc. it is an annual show called sculpture in the south that i am sure we will continue to attend each year. my saying regarding the show (because i am a huge dork) is that it wasn't a total bust.
matt had no sales, which was the case for most of the artists. he did however make some great contacts, got his name out there, had lots of interest in his work, and got to meet a lot of talented artists who share his passion for sculpture. it was a good test run for the big show out in loveland, co. this summer, and we got to meet a few artists that will also be attending that show too.



of course, it rained most of the weekend so matt had to set up and take down his booth while getting soaked and muddy. i was there for the set up part, but i had the little ones with me so i really only got wet when henry was having to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes. other than that we sat in the van watching a movie for the majority of it. it was a long afternoon and we all had stinky sandals by the end of the day.


as soon as the set up was done we raced back to the hotel to get ready for the black tie optional event. my mom had come up that day from georgia (yes. really!) because she was going to watch the little ones while we went to this affair. she stayed for the weekend and i would not have made it through the weekend without her. mom, thank you thank you thank you!
and off we went to the part-ay. it was swanky and it was intended for patrons to meet the artists, but we ended up talking only to other artists. i spilled wine on my dress. a given. and i still have not taken it to the cleaners. another given.


the next day was the first day of the show and it was steamy and overcast. matt had a lot of interest shown in his work and some people kept coming back to his booth repeatedly throughout the day. but no one bought : (
the second day was much of the same. he did get to meet one of the founding patrons of the show and was introduced to some gallery buyers, so fingers crossed - his name at least gets around.

all in all, it was a successful weekend even though no dollars were made. matt met artists from oregon all the way to maryland, he got the invaluable experience of talking to interested buyers and getting a feel for what people thought of his work, and he had a good time. so did i, but i may have to take my mom up on her offer to watch the kids here and let matt and i go alone next year!

it also made me get a website going for matt since i had a website printed on his business cards even though no site yet existed. well, now one does, though it is still in progress. i just had to get something up before the show. take a peek.

going coastal

this past weekend we had the pleasure of mixing business with pleasure and headed to the coast.
matt had a sculpture show (his first!) in summerville, sc. a town that appeared to be full of beautiful, restored, hundred + year old homes. the night before the set up we drove a little ways past summerville and stopped in charleston to visit with one of matt's old college buddies, jon. we actually lived with jon way back in 1995 when we moved to savannah and had no place to live yet. we had jobs, but no place to rent, so we drove back and forth over the state lines for a couple of weeks.
anyway, jon lives on a great piece of property right on a river that heads into the deep water. his house was a little ramshackle when he first moved in. i didn't see it then, but from what matt was telling me before we got there i was a bit nervous.

and then we get there. late. really late. midnight, maybe. and it is dark. very dark. the house sits at the end of a dirt road, no street lights, nothing. we know we are in the right place because jon told matt he bought an old city bus to revamp into an rv and it is the first thing we see. next we see the sweetest little greenhouse (made from found windows) all lit up. then jon comes strolling up. we tour the green house first. full of lemon tree seedlings, herbs, and tomatoes. it smelled so good in there!


we move on to the house and enter in through the kitchen. the first thing that greets us is the plants. they are everywhere. that and the orange walls.  

then you meet the most amazing found-in-the-woods sink (almost everything in jon's house was found/thrifted/salvaged). i actually miss the sink. it was a beauty.

   

up a few steps and you are in the living room. perfectly worn walls, more plants, found artifacts, a beautiful old piano, guitar after guitar, and just the most cozy room i've been in in a long time.

 

this room was the original room to the house. everything else was added on later. (not by jon, except for the 2 decks). in all there are 4 rooms, not counting the bathroom. this house exuded charm, coziness, and calm. mixed with the rest of the property, which included the greenhouse, a chicken coop, garden, outdoor sleeping tent, exercise area, hammock, and a fire pit, i felt like i was on vacation, it was so relaxing and peaceful. i was not surprised when jon's girlfriend amy said they rarely left their home. i don't think i would either.




come back later, and i'll give you more details about the trip and matt's show.

monday monday

so good to me.

thank you bench monday for bringing me smiles and getting me excited about the beginning of the week.

my favorites from yesterday.

happy mama's day!!!


to all of you inspiring & encouraging mama's out there. i hope your day is filled with love and laughter!

hmmm. . .

a few of you have let me know that my posts are not being updated in your blog readers.
(and i may not have some of this technical lingo correct, because well - i'm just not that hip).
so, i am here asking you for a favor. or two.
if you subscribe to this feed, would you leave a comment or email me and just let me know if the feed is current or not and what reader you use? i'm trying to fix this problem and i'm not sure if it's my fault or the reader's fault.
or if you know how i can correct this, by all means, spell it out for me!!

i know on google reader it is only showing my posts from january. of 2008!

any help is much appreciated.

have a great weekend friends!

hard to believe

but i actually MADE something today! while my kids were awake!!!

henry and i had a little outing about a week or so ago. he loves a certain craft store and i wanted some girly fabric to make bea some summer pants (inspired by these) so off we went. i let henry help choose the fabric and then he found some fabric he wanted. i couldn't say no. even though i wanted to choose something else for him. i also picked up a few pairs of bandanas to make the perfect summer shorts/jammies. mrs. blue yonder has the easiest tutorial for these here. i attempted these last year but they never quite fit henry right. (that was my doing not the patterns).



so i dug out the sewing machine from the mess of a room that will not be mentioned and brought to the kitchen table. bea sat in her high chair with some cold water and some toys and the boy buzzed around me in pirate mode. i made a test pair that will be used for jammies, then made a pair of bandana shorts (and for bandana pants, no hemming! henry is just the right height for bandana pants!). since henry is smaller than the sizes recommended in the tutorial, i used a pair of his pajama pants as a guide. i can honestly say that i whipped these out so fast! i have never been able to say that in regards to sewing anything. i amazed myself! seriously, i may have some kind of crafty/sewy buzz.


so while the boy is napping i make him his pants with the fabric of his choice. this time i do take my time and make sure i get everything just so. i have a feeling these will be worn often. can't wait to surprise him when he wakes up : )

**best part of the day, while i was sitting at the sewing machine working on the test run, henry came up to me and told me i was doing a good job.**

i wish i could buy a case of film

it's that time.
polaroid week.
i could lament over the cost of joining in the fun. but i won't.
instead i am going to enjoy this week. savor every insta-pic i take (and i hope i don't screw any up).
i don't splurge on film too often.
this is a treat to pamper myself.
if you are need of some pampering this week you should come play.

now i'm just crossing my fingers that i get the scanner working today : )