Sunday, August 31, 2008

for fun: yearbook yourself


Amy: 1978, 1974; Lucy 1962; Edward


Edward, Lucy and I just spent the last 40 minutes or so playing at yearbook yourself. Hilarious!

sewing: lounge pants for mama

I've been wanting to make a pair of lounge pants from Amy's Butler's In Stitches book for so long now.... finally did. Had some cotton flannel and some great floral for the trim. Very very comfy!
I might add a pocket so that i can tote my cellphone around the house....

Will definitely be making more of these - maybe some dressier ones for wearing out and about. I love straight-leg pants.

happy sewing!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

oh machine, how i missed you!


With the book proposal off to the UK and the BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival site launched (phase 1, anyway) - I finally got to sit at the machine for a while tonight and sew! Nothing extravagant, but a couple of cutesy twirly skirts for the girls.
Couldn't find my elastic, so the finishing will have to be done tomorrow. Lucy and Mabel are pretty excited. Will share pics when done. night! a

wrap: books for a young girl

© amy reed

I've been working with a publisher in London on a possible book project. I thought it would be fun to share a sampling of what will be inside...

This is one of my favorite ways to wrap gifts - a sewn pouch. This particular one contains a book for a reader young or old.

I has some victorianish digital clip art from Dover and some old paper sample books that had some cool textured flysheets in it. I ripped out the sheets and trimmed to 8.5" x 11" and printed the girl... the cat was printed on some backing from another sample book. (re-purpose, re-use!)

First, I sewed (yup - sewed) the girl print to another sheet of similar paper on three sides. Then i carefully stuffed it with the tissue-wrapped book. Taking care not to sew over tissue or book, i stitched the remaining side shut.

Kitty tag was attached with a couple of eyelets and a punch.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

First Day

I don't think I was prepared for how quiet it would be here today. For weeks I've honestly been looking forward to the girls getting back to school - aching to get through a workday here without interruptions and drama.

Now I'm alone at my desk and I don't hear anything... and I really miss them.

Cranking up some music and plowing through my to-do list...

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

14 years with smoochie-boy

H A P P Y A N N I V E R S A R Y !

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

naturally inspired

Want to share these photos and this website (resurrection fern) with you. I've been lurking on it for several months. Margaret's appreciation and respect for nature and its creatures are beautifully displayed in her craft.

Thanks for the inspiration, ma'am!

Monday, August 18, 2008

in the groove

I really LOVE working at home. I just finished up a couple projects for the Food + Wine Festival and am sitting at my desk eating Chinese dumplings in my pajamas. There is a load of laundry in the washing machine and the girls are in their rooms reading and playing dress-up.

Don't get me wrong - days like this are not the norm. There have been many times when I wish I was away from the home-craziness and in a studio away from home... free from the home telephone, immune from the frequent interruptions from the kids, and hanging in a space with other grown-ups. But for the most part - it doesn't get much better than this.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

animal adventure

Edward and I tried to get the girls to the Animal Planet expo at the fairgrounds today. After fighting traffic for nearly an hour (normally it takes us 5 minutes), we were barely to the fairgrounds.

(Insert change of plan here)

New destination: The Charleston Animal Society. If you haven't been over to this new SPCA facility you're missing out!








I know, I know - we've got a zoo here already, cats, birds, rabbit (kids). But we know we will be ready to add a dog to the family soon. To start, we've all been considering the care, time, money and love that goes into it. A visit to the shelter to pet and experience the variety of dogs and cats was a great step. Lucy and I gathered some educational materials to help prep us as well.

We didn't have the camera with us, so pics here are from the shelter's site.

After a rare lunch out, we headed to the library for books and movies.

Was a great day! a

Friday, August 15, 2008

surprise project

When we got home from the lake, I sat down to read thru the TONS of email in my inbox. Lots of junk and Helium items - all expected. Then something random - from a publisher in London.

The short of it: I'll be working with them on a book proposal that they'll present at the bookfair in Frankfurt in October. If all goes well, it's manuscript time! Pretty fun and so so random.

What about? I'll leave you with a few images and spill the official beans after we find out if the book gets picked up or not.

cheers! a

Lake Huron and Tikis!

3 generations of Stewarts!

We've been stopping at this Pinconning Cheese Shop since I was a tot...

... the perfect place to load up on penny candy (and Michigan wine)!

Beach beauties!

Happy paddling with my man.

Nightly campfire...

Lucy in the firelight.

My nephew dressed up and ready for a show!
Paper Mache masks and bowls in progress.


What a needed getaway! A full week at the Mai Tiki Resort (not really resortish!) on Michigan's Lake Huron. The Mai Tiki was so cute... a bunch of little multi-colored cabins, a giant Tiki sculpture on the beach next to a Tiki hut and bonfire, playground and a great stretch of beach on the lake.

Each of my siblings and my parents got a cabin and we hung together for a week. Swimming, kayaking (we brought our sea kayaks with us), cooking and eating, crafting, making s'mores... we even did karaoke by the bonfire!

Hubby was so amazing. He knew how much I love to kayak and was looking forward to paddling the lake. I was so discouraged by my slow knee recovery I didn't think I'd be able to get in the boats. He made sure that i got into the kayaks (with help cuz my bum knee) several times and we paddled up and down the shore. Thanks, babes.

oh - did I mention that Lake Huron is COLD! :-)

Auntie Erin took Lucy out rock hunting nearly every day and she came home with lots of souvenir stones.

The best part - all of my siblings and my parents were in the same place for the first time in several years. It was GREAT to see my brother. He and his family met Mabel for the first time.

My mom's brother and sisters even surprised us with a visit.

definitely good times... the best.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

I'm back. What a July...

July started with knee surgery on the 3rd. I had torn some cartilage in June had needed to have it removed. The actual surgery was very interesting. I had them do a nerve/knee block so I could stay awake and watch the orthoscopic video feed. There were some cysts in there from earlier injuries, too - and they needed to take about an 1/8" from the back surface of my knee cap.
Recovery was very slow and after 2 weeks, I was barely getting around and unable to completely straighten and hardly able to bend the knee.
Not great since we were heading to Michigan for 2 weeks.

The day before we left for our trip, I overdid it for sure. So much to pack and prep for a 2-day drive and 2-week trip with munchkins. My foot swelled up to at least twice its size. I couldn't even get a shoe on.

Finally got the swelling down, enjoyed the trip (will post more on it shortly) and am not using a cane anymore.

The knee still won't completely straighten and the bending is pretty limited. My last doc appt showed that the muscles needed some more work, so I'll be starting physical therapy next week.

I expect to get it nearly back to normal...
more soon!

Wednesday, August 13, 2008