i live here now.

i finally, finally organized and tidied my studio and can actually work in there. but the thing is it is not work at all. it is pure bliss. i am spending as much time as possible in this room. harper and i color and make paper airplanes at my sewing desk. esme and i sorted and folded fabric together and made project plans for each print. i nurse luca in my comfy gold chair.

would you care to take a tour?

my sewing desk next to the glow-y, ruffle covered window.

oh look, even my neglected spinning wheel has her own spot. i have simply been choosing fabric over fiber pretty consistantly these days. but that may change with the seasons, we will see.

buttons, buttons, buttons.

ribbon and thread rainbows.

our creative book shelf.

a basket of scraps just waiting to become something lovely. since the basket is full i had better get busy stitching them up...

it is still a work in progress. the walls are pretty bare for my liking but i intend to change that soon. but my goodness, i am in love with this space. it is a wonderful thing to cut fabric then go prepare breakfast. sew a few seams then fold a load of laundry. i am currently working on a sweet summer project for myself with butter soft denim and vintage floral ribbon. fabric ribbon so pretty i can't help but smile big as i stitch it to my hemline.

so dear friends, this is where you can find me now days. i see a whole lot of project related posts coming to inspired mama musings. and i really hope you enjoy my show and tells.

happiest saturday all!

small style :: when sweet small style grows up

i miss having a tiny girl to dress up. she was so girly too, in a uber-fun punky brewster kind of way. she loved skirts, she loved dresses, she loved shoes, and i thought she always would. these days jeans and a hoody are her standard uniform. stuff she can run and play and hang from the monkey bars in. she will be 8 (eight!!) next month so i suppose i shouldn't be surprised that she has such a strong opinion about what she wears. it just happened so fast, came so soon.

here are a few favorite girly frocks she (we) used to adore ::

esme 2008.

she wore this old navy skirt until it was so short that i finally snatched it from the dryer on laundry day and donated it. it was cute over bare legs in the summer and leggings in the winter.

esme in her handknit cupcake top 2008
she picked out the pattern and the yarn and mama put her needles to work and cranked out this little top for her. the fit was good for just a short time then it was passed on to another little girl. i knit her a new one in a larger size but she only wore the new top once or twice. she was totally over it *sigh*

super cute mendocino kindergarten graduation dress
i cut into my beloved heather ross mendocino mermaid fabric to make her this special dress for her kindergarten graduation. although she was head over heels in love with it she only wore it a few times for "dressy" outings. i have it tucked away in my sewing studio so i can repurpose it into something else - that is a discontinued print after all!

adorable knit circle skirt for family photos - 2010
i sewed her this circle skirt with a yoga waitband the evening before our family photo shoot last summer. the fabric is one of the michael miller knits that had just come out. it is very full and twirly - a feature that would have thrilled her just a couple years ago. it still fits her this year and she tells me she will wear it if i buy her little shorts to go underneath.

sweet skirt with ruffled side panels that i sewed last summer.
this photo was taken last weekend, the day we went to the opening of our saturday market. i about fell over when she emerged from her bedroom wearing a skirt (a ruffled mama-made skirt!!) i decided it was probably best to not make a big production over it but i did insist on taking several photos of her that afternoon.

so there you have it. we have traded small style for her style and i am little by little becoming okay with that.
growing big-but still little girl style - it's the jam friends!


i am linking up with mama loves papa today!

a whole lot of things i love.

today was the opening day of the capital city public market. that means it really {really} is spring. we were spoiled with perfect market weather. my family spent the entire morning walking and browsing and sampling and seeing lovely friends hard at work in their booths.

there were a lot of street musicians out and about. i was especially drawn to this couple because if you look real close you can see that she had a happy little person hanging out on her back while she entertained.

saturday market-washboard playing-sweet song singing-baby wearing-adorableness. local coffee! YES please, YUM thank you! luca enjoyed napping in the sun next to the big fountain.

harper and esme had their little mouths stuffed full of local flavors, and enjoyed freshly handcrafted mint-limeade to wash it all down.

a mama and daddy self portrait. too bad we aren't nearly as cute as our kids.

we stepped in to a favorite bookstore while we were downtown and found this gem ::

roots, shoots, buckets, and boots.

it is full of whimsical and wonderful outdoor projects and is just the inspiration i have been craving. we have already marked the pages with projects that we are anxious to dive into.

oh, and one more bit of happy, my tulips out front have started to bloom. they are sadly planted in a not-so-good spot and get full, hot afternoon sun so they usually wilt and wither after only a couple short weeks. every year i declare my intertions to dig up the bulbs and move them to a more suitable spot, but every year the time to do so passes me by. so i will just enjoy their beauty while it lasts, and also make a public announcement that i plan to move these lovelies to a more suitable spot this year. for sure this time.

happy days, friends!

friday.

daddy had the day off today so he got up and fed and entertained the kids while i slept in a bit. i was sick with a mild case of mastitis last night and was relieved to be feeling better when i finally got up.

today was luca's day at flying pie pizzaria so we took him out to try his very first pizza.

lots of yummy veggies with fresh tomato slices on the side. big yum! he is hooked.

daddy just went to the store to pick up the distilled water he needs to start his next batch of homebrew - a german altbier this time. can't wait! and he is going to stop by the redbox so the littles and i can snuggle and watch a movie while he is brewing.

and i have a lovely slice of lemon cake in the fridge that he brought home from work for me yesterday. i think i will wait until the kids are in bed before i indulge in cake. oh, and tea. and perhaps a homebrew with my sweetie.

happy friday, friends!

small style :: mama knit

it turns out my dear husband has a strong adversion to sweater vests. i suppose this is perfectly reasonable for a fellow his age but come on, is there anything cuter than a sweet baby boy in a hand knit sweater vest?

so it became quite an ordeal when i cast on this little sleeveless hoodie for luca. first daddy begged me not to put our little guy in a dorky sweater vest. then he teased me every time he saw me working on it. finally he just gave up and kept his opinions to himself. and this morning when i carefully buttoned it onto the baby for the first time he admitted that it really is pretty adorable. ha, i win.

here are the project details ::

pattern - kira's hooded vest

neddles - addi turbos in sizes 6 and 7

yarn - wool of the andes from knit picks

the green is "avocado" and the contrasting color started out a pale blue ("rain" i think) but it was a little blah so i kettle dyed it in these amazing dark blues, purples and brown.

those buttons were in my stash, i think they came off of a tattered vintage shirt before it was tossed.

i love every delicious little thing about this vest. and i think inspired daddy is sweater vest smitten too...

today i am linking up with mama loves papa.

sunny * sunday * backyard * hoopfest

entire days spent outside, warm sun, glittery hoops, short sleeves, picnic lunches.

spring really does suit us well.

small style :: mama made trousers

does anyone remember the adorable little pocket pants i sewed for harper a couple years ago? we loved those pants so much. he rarely wore anything else.

you might assume that since we have a new baby boy in our house that those mama made trousers have been tucked away for him to grow into. but would you believe that harper is still wearing {and loving} them every chance he gets. it's true!

{harper modeling his new retro rockets pocket pants circa 2009} {harper wearing the same retro rockets pockets pants just this afternoon} flood pants with muddy chuck t's on a still-three-but-very-close-to-four-year-old are actually pretty darned cute.

so no hand-me-downs just yet, but i have already started stitching up a new trouser stash for the new boy. and i checked, i have just enough retro rockets fabric left to make luca his very own pocket pants, just like his big brother's pair. and who knows, maybe i will be blogging down the road about how he loves them and wears them and doesn't want to let them go. mama hopes.

this post has been linked up at mama loves papa for the small style series. go check it out!

five and a quarter :: a bit of randomness

post number 525, folks. here goes ::

i am learning to make balloon animals because he loves them so, so much. balloons make me crazy, in a bad way, but i love him so, so much, so...

luca, oh my sweet luca. let's see, he tells stories, sings, plays a mean game of peek-a-boo and has thebest sense of humor.

and he is up and cruising *sigh* already. spring break came and went. we got out of the city for a couple days and spent a lovely weekend on the salmon river.

no agenda - just playing, knitting, sun soaking, coffee sipping and enjoying each other's company. the rest of spring break was more of the same.

and this is my favorite capture from our river trip. the sun was a shinin' down on us. it turns out it is hard to be crabby in the presence of sunbeams. magic medicine for the soul.

spring, i am so happy you are here!