the stuff trees are made of

When I saw this fabric online, I thought it would make fun curtains for Lil Dub's room. (Lil Dub is one of the many nicknames we have for our 5 week old little boy.) The print ended up being larger than I expected but I liked the bold graphics and the colors. Now for some black out shades behind them and we're in good shape.
I'd seen a similar example online of using fabric to make rattles and stuffies, so I embellished some remaining trees with a squirrel friend, birds and some apples.




The tree stuffies make great mini pillows and it makes me wonder how our little one, after seeing these, will draw his first tree.

harvest

Our Moby Grape tomatoes were nearly falling off the plant, they're so taut and red so I snatched all of them up this morning.
I'm not sure what they should become! Red sauce? Salsa? Maybe a Caprese salad?

little sun on the prairie

Tonight RD and I went for a walk in Sunfish Lake Park in Lake Elmo. The woods were already dark at 6:30 and full of mosquitoes. We chose to take the prairie path, and I'm so glad we did.

On our trip to Portland and the Oregon coast we stopped at Fort Stevens on the mouth of Columbia River. This wall was in one of the underground bunkers and it reminded me of Julia Child's kitchen, of craft rooms, workshops and studios. Imagine the young guy from WWII setting it up, tracing each tool, and painting the outline so carefully. Now if any tool was missing, you'd know which item was gone. So clever.

crochet buddies

I picked up this wee octopus from Tracy of Ball of Fire while at Johnstock 2011. He's great perched on a bookshelf.

Or perched on a crib, overlooking a sideways-mobile. These cutouts and stickers won't be there for long but they're so much easier to see than something hanging from the ceiling when little ones only have a site distance of about a foot or so.

a special project

My little dear friend Moses has turned 1! I thought it might be time that he had a special pal of his own. I've had my own Brown Bear (yes that is his name) since I was 1, and Mo needs a Brown Bear of his own.

I made up a quick pattern and set to putting together a fluffy fleece bear with wool felt ears, eyes and nose. He's all built with the rough and tumble lifestyle of a 1-year-old in mind.



His birthday party is on the 11th of June. I hope he likes his new friend.

sneak peeking

Here are just a few of the items we'll have available at Johnstock (May 21st 10am-6pm & May 22nd 11am-3pm).

Felt Flower Fancies - 100% wool felt flowers. Brooches and barrettes in charming colors.

Fuzzy Buzzys - 100% needle-felted wool and trim. A little buzzy buddy.

Posy Corsage - 100% wool needle-felted flowers. Statement brooches in stand-out colors.

Storybook Pennants - vintage book illustrations and ric-rac. Bedtime memories for room décor.

Come see what else we've got up our sleeves. Johnstock is in Nordeast Minneapolis on the 2800 block of Johnson St NE. We'll be there rain or shine. We're the ones under the yellow and white striped tent, with flowers in our hair and galoshes on our feet. Come say hello.