ode to Chile

Here's a bilingual book celebrating one little boy's Chilean roots:

spelling with animals

Here's a custom book I made recently featuring a child's name spelled out in animals and bright colors:

like a snowglobe

You know, turned upside down and shaken all up only to settle again into calmness. That's been our life for the past two weeks (has it been two weeks? Yikes!). Now, at long last, we're starting to feel some stability again. We're finally in our new place after more than a year of working toward it and it's so great, though there was so much drama in the journey that it's feeling a bit surreal right now. Still, we all feel a great lift in our spirits with the move.

Though, sadly, our spirits have also dropped this week with the loss of my dear, wonderful Grandmother who taught me so much. She will be so missed but I am comforted when I remember her and the full life she led. Her legacy of handwork, sewing and craft are carried on by my mother, me, and my children and I'm so proud to continue in the work that filled so much of her life.

My Grandmother, Vincenza

I have much more to share from the past two weeks but for now it will have to be a story in pictures. I will try to post each day this coming week with some of the many custom pieces I have completed lately.

The end of the school year!

two of the littlest students, Lyric and his friend Trixie, decorating the gifts I helped make for the teachers this yearhouseplants with cozies!airdrums during graduation

Summer is here, you never know when you might need a pair of goggles.

Five Rivers never gets old.Last Little League game of the season (right in the middle of our move and of course I couldn't find her uniform).

Tigerlily and Carol in the dugout

An afternoon out with two little boys.

Lyric and Bodhi

at the NYS Museum, right around the corner from our house

Hangin' with the girls (and feeding them lots of mulberries from around the neighborhood!).The first bath in our shiny new green bathroom!

what my girl's been rockin' this week

YouTube + ABBA = TL4E



(Lyric's response to the Waterloo video: "Superman!!!")

a lovely market day

buThe whole family came to the market with me today and despite the heat it was a blast!
(...I'm totally convinced that we should get a hairless cat! Tigerlily loved this one and my no pet hair argument doesn't apply.)

this foot is made for walkin'

While I was trying to wade through and organize my sewing room in a futile attempt to get ready for Saturday's market (for which I'm nowhere near ready...) I miraculously unearthed a walking foot from one of the many, many boxes of sewing stuff that have been handed down to me. I feel as if I was not alive before this foot was attached to my machine! Those of you who know what I'm talking about and who have seen my books will wonder at how I managed without one all this time--I wonder this myself! I finished up a couple of books this evening and they flew through my machine, and with no puckers and such even, lovely stitches! Ah, I am in love.

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The latest:

to market

my table at Renegade Brooklyn last year, the start of it all!

Though I've learned this lesson time and time again, I'm always amazed at how quickly time flies. I was reminded today that Renegade is this coming weekend in Brooklyn and I am so glad I decided not to participate this year. It was fun and lucrative last year but, man, I could definitely not manage it with the impending move (next week? keep your fingers crossed!) not to mention the relative lack of stock in the shop.

I did, however, sign up for a new regular local market that I'm so, so excited about. It's called Tight Knit (righteous name) and will be held in conjunction with our largest regional farmer's market in Troy every Saturday this summer. It begins this Saturday, June 6, though I won't be there that day. Here are the dates you can find me there, at Monument Square in Troy, from 10am to 2pm:

Saturday, June 13

Saturday, June 20 (during Riverfest, Troy's summer festival)

Saturday, June 27

Saturday, July 11

Saturday, July 25

Saturday, August 29

:It does seem like a lot, eh? Especially with less stock than I would like. But I think it will be pretty chill and just really great to get some more local exposure. I'm excited!

Of course, there's a lot of work to be done in just a little more than a week. Mainly I need to find/buy a canopy tent. Anybody have any recommendations for a good craft fair tent?

Lyric at Renegade

the product of many spare moments

Plugging away amidst the craziness of life these days, I've completed another custom book:

switching gears

With the upcoming craft fair season and--gasp!--maybe even a family vacation in the works I've decided to take a hiatus from custom orders for a little while this summer. I'm still taking a few orders to be ready by July and will resume custom work most likely in early September. So, fair warning--if you'd like an incredibly awesome custom book this summer now is the time to order!

I'm sure I'll be working hard through it all, hopefully making some more alphabet quilts and a few of the awesome readymade book ideas I have. I have to make something for my table at Tight Knit! I'll have the specifics on that in a day or two.

and the winner is...

#158, Stacey of Elle Belle!!

Thanks to everyone (over 300 of you!!) for stopping by, this has been so much fun. Looking through all the other awesome crafty blogs out there makes me realize that I should put some tutorials on my blog, so that's something that I'm going to try to do in the next couple of months. So keep on the lookout for those!