what could be better...

...than spending a morning 'flying' around the living room in your cardboard airplane? There was some disappointment that it never got off the ground and when I explained that I do not have access to actual airplane parts Adam suggested that we just cut out all the airplane parts we would need out if cardboard and put those together. Yes, I suppose that is another option. Due to time constrictions and lack of any mechanical knowledge we decided to stick with the box for now.

*sigh* That's my Adam. At age 5 1/2 he is so sweet, curious, persistent and energetic. He has become a bit of an attention vortex lately and admittedly I am a big part of that - the clock is ticking  and as the end of the school year quickly approaches my days with him are winding down. We have been lucky, I have had him all to myself for most school days for the past 4 years. Next year he will start school and, oh my gosh, so much will be changing. Lately I have had an intense awareness of the changes ahead and have been trying to hang on tightly to the time I have left with him before he starts his school adventure. So, as a result I have been tucking embroidery away more often and playing even more games of Memory (I'm terrible at that one!), hunting for more bugs, baking more cookies and holding onto those hugs a few seconds longer than I used to.

The shop and the blog are a little more quiet but my house is a little more loud for now. It will change again in time and I look forward to that as well. And I will do my best to not bore you too much with all my introspection, reflection on my past ten years as a stay at home mom, or all my excitement and anxiety about what lies ahead. Know that all of that is completely dominating my brain these days though, so it may creep out now and then over the next few months. Advice from anyone who has gone through this transition is welcome!!

springtime babies are born

I've made my way back to So September finally and am happy to share a brand new embroidery pattern collection: Animal Babies. I had a list of "musts" for this set as I was putting it together and those guided my creative decisions throughout. First it had to be cute but not "cutesy," you know? There are five mother and baby combinations here including a fox, dog, cat, elephant and bear. 

Narrowing down the animals was tough. There certainly is no shortage of cute animals in the animal kingdom so I tried to stop before this became an epic year-long process. Some contenders were left behind in the sketchbook but they may be birthed again one day in some way shape or form.

Second, this set had to be simple. Clean lines, limited stitches, limited colors. I really wanted to create a pattern set that was friendly to beginners. A lot of people ask me what patterns would be best for someone just starting out and I remember as I started out myself, I needed designs that would allow me to practice the basic stitches but also give me an end product that would be satisfying and useful.

That leads me to the next "must". I wanted to design something that could be used for handmade baby gifts and nursery decor. New babies have probably prompted more embroidery and sewing projects for me than any other event. Something about the sweetness and magnitude of that celebration makes me want to put a little bit of myself into a gift.

You know what part of this project I struggled with the most? What to call this set! I seriously lay awake some nights trying to come up with a clever name. In the end I just threw up my hands and called it "Animal Babies" (yawn- I know!) It (literally) is what it is though. Next time I'll come up with a name first and build the pattern set around that.