fledge capable of flying, from Middle English flegge, from Old English -flycge; akin to Old High German flucki capable of flying,
Old English flEogan to fly -- more at FLY
intransitive verb, of a young bird : to acquire the feathers necessary for flight or independent activity

Monday, June 30, 2008

Make Monday the New Saturday...


...with Mankind Mag!

Mankind Mag is sort of a doppio demitasse of inspiration to jolt you into action. There is a free PDF download. But also a flesh-and-bones atomic version for sale, as well.

Her field (I think) skews a little more home design and art-art rather than clothing design (it's art, too! Well, sorta...maybe...). But I don't care. I like all kinds of pretty, cool and ironic stuff. Plus, Erin is so amazingly positive, I would read her stuff if it was about tying fishing lures.

Atta girl! Go, Erin! Go!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

How?



I'm seeing that quite a few sewists in the United States are placing orders for FELIZ in Germany. For this dress, the sequence of steps is sort of important. I've translated the photo tutorial into English. Click here to download.

Give the PDF file a while to download. For some reason, the file wouldn't compress more than it did. Please bear with me.

It shouldn't be too much longer before I have the sheet instructions translated. I'm a bit amazed at the positive response to this design. I thought it might be a bit too plain compared to what you are used to from me. Thank you!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Where?





I'm not sure where inspiration comes from. It is all around, I suppose. It can fall like these acacia blossoms falling all around, while Jack and I eat raisin rolls in front of the bakery.

I'm also not quite sure where random goodwill comes from. I have found that it also is all around. I recognize it especially when considering these sewing patterns. You know me: I am embarrassed by my lack of any marketing effort. I've had a Web site only for a few months and not a very good one at that. I haven't purchased a single advertisement. I don't even write much about sewing on this blog. I've never been to "market" and only recently understood what "market" was. And yet, by word of mouth, forum and blog, these patterns have sold across Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand. I have an inquiry here from Korea. Korea? Any success these patterns have had have been because of you. You have posted photos of studioTANTRUM/fledge and Farbenmix designs on forums, told people where to buy the patterns and shared the pattern names in your auctions. Some of you invest your time and skills to help others make these patterns. Melissa has made a wonderful Paula sew-along and is in the midst of a Marieke sew-along. These sew-alongs are not only very detailed, but sewn by someone unfamiliar with the patterns. Just like you, she is sewing the design for the first time. And she wants to help you sew your own for your little one. I did not know Melissa when she started this. I just googled "Farbenmix" as I must every so often and there was this Paula sew-along! It blows me away. Just blown away. I really am humbled by this kind of enthusiasm and support. Thank you, Melissa, for all your time and effort.

The acacia tree is about the only tree that will survive in the African desert. It has deep roots and stretches up to the heavens, offering shelter, habitat and nutrition for many. For those reason, perhaps, the acacia tree is a sacred symbol in several cultures. Its yellow blossoms can be interpreted as a symbol of friendship. Thank you, also, for your friendship.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Fabric, friends, fledge. And not necessarily in that order.











I figured out that SiteMeter thing. And it freaked me out a little. You're out there. More than I realized.

Whoa.

Made me feel like I should be on my best behavior. Like I should check if there was anything stuck in my teeth. Like I should have something really, really important or good or profound to say. That sort of thing.

I'm over it now. So what? You're there. I've got this blog. My teeth are freshly brushed. It's all good.

It's been a good weekend. Can't complain too much when the coffee cup is bottomless and the fabric is $3 a yard and the kids are so very well-behaved and I've got good friends to share this all with. And we found the shorter guy at the trim store. (The guys there price by height. The taller the guy, the higher the price he makes. Look for that shorter guy. Much better deal).

Look there in the mirror. My boy is giving you the Vulcan hand sign for Live Long and Prosper. So, yeah. What he said.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Feliz = Happy





"Feliz" means "happy" in Spanish. I've named this happy design for the district of Los Feliz. Feliz Party Dress. Available June 20th from Farbenmix. May be sewn as a dress, tunic or skirt.

I hope this sewing pattern makes you happy!


"Feliz" bedeutet auf Spanisch "glücklich". Dieses Kleid wurde sowohl deswegen als auch für den Stadtbezirk Los Feliz genannt. Feliz ist ein Partykleid, das auch als Rock genäht werden kann. D.h. auch, dass das Kleid von diesem Jahr kann mit sehr wenig Aufwand nächstes Jahr als Rock getragen werden. Ab 20. Juni bei Farbenmix erhältlich.

Ich hoffe damit euch eine Freude gemacht zu haben.

Hab' nen Luftballon gefunden






Hast Du etwas Zeit für mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Auf ihrem Weg zum Horizont
Denkst Du vielleicht grad' an mich
Dann singe ich ein Lied fuer Dich
Von 99 Luftballons
Und dass sowas von sowas kommt
....

Hab' nen Luftballon gefunden
Denk' an Dich und lass' ihn fliegen


Everybody:

Na-na-na-nah-na-na-na-naaah-nah-na etc.

Have a happy, happy day!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Big wonders. Little boy.



Okay, so there was no attack of a 500' boy. Just maybe an attack of a year-end school project, which is bad enough. We have done little else this weekend except fight our way through a checklist of rather obtuse instructions and leave a path of notecards, plaster splotches and construction paper in our wake. I have used the Big Three in the parenting tool box to get this beast killed: 1. Bribery, 2. Stern voice-sterner voice-sternest voice, 3. Threats ("Why is the sea lion important? Well, be the sea lion, Jack, be the sea lion. I'll feed you whole raw fish so you can be the sea lion."). And repeat: bribe, stern voice, sterner voice, sternest voice, threaten, bribe, stern voice...



To lend this a bit of perspective, please guess which backpack belongs to my son. Just take a guess. A hint: I love my son, but he is a bit too much like me. If you guessed the backpack on the ground in the middle of the path when there are plenty of empty hooks available, you will have guessed correctly.

Oh, now, for as much as I am required by the ancient laws of motherhood to nag the child, I am extremely proud of him. The kid made this plaster diorama almost entirely on his own. My part was just to bake some Fimo sea lions and, of course, to nag, "Wait until it dries. No. Wait. Wait until it dries. Wait!"



I think this scene looks pretty darn realistic. The "rock" of the cliff is the color of our coast. The sea lions do lay around like that in big mammalian clumps ("Rookeries, mom. Rookeries."). He's got itty-bitty cola cans made from bits of drinking straw and aluminum foil floating in the water and candy wrappers littered in the bushes. The kid's nine. Maybe all nine-year-olds can do this. I didn't know my nine-year-old could do this until this weekend.



Too much mommy-boasting? It's my blog. I roll like that. Nag/boast/nag/boast/blog. It could be a parenting strategy. Sort of. I'll let you know how it turns out. This is what I have to work with. Seal boy. ("Sea lion boy, mom. Sea lion.").

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