If you got an itch...

...scratch it.

These past few days have been about some soccer mama drama and draconian classroom "policies" and out-of-touch educators: Itches right there in the middle of the back or just under the first layers of skin, places where you can't really effectively reach them. Tiny things, really, but these things crawl and bite and keep you awake at night.

I'm a grown-up. I know that I need to do a little bending over backwards to come to new solutions...

...some sort of peace Pilates.

But sometimes when I stretch, I pull something and then I can't move. After having kids, I've lost some of my flexibility. I don't think I can scratch my eyebrows with my toes.

Scratch my back and I'll scratch yours! Got any irks lately?

One of those weekends...

Seriously? Seriously?

Saturday evening, we are all just about to settle down and watch Avatar (2-D), when...

...my boy is curled up screaming--SCREAMING--and there are drops of blood here and there!

What--?

My girl poked a glow-stick--a glow-stick!--into the boy's ear. Seriously, child? Seriously? What in the world prompted you? Wha-? What? Why?

This could mean a perforated ear drum! No, no, no, no, no, please, please, please, please: No. It's almost summer break! Junior Lifeguards, the pool, the beach, surfing... All that could be off the list. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, please, please, please: No.

Very, very, very, very fortunately, a preliminary look by the ER doctor tells us that most likely no: No perforated eardrum. *exhale* The ear drum looks to be just scratched. An ear-nose-throat specialist will have to see the kid on Monday, but--thank you, thank you, thank you--from the look of things, he'll only need to stay clear of water for a couple of weeks. (When told he'd have to even be careful in the shower, he said, "Okay, I just won't shower." Think again, buster).

Anyway, the kid was back to his mentos, Diet Coke and his usual self today.

Let's hear it!

*crickets*crickets*

It's a bit quiet here in Fledgeland. I'm working on a new dress and I can't just get it right! I've challenged myself with this one and, well, it's a challenge.

But, I did want to take a minute to tell you that there is a new blog on the block. Crafts For Boys.

Cara has a beautiful blog--handwritten, no less--about her vie en rose en la belle France. One day, it seems, being the crafty sort she is, she was given a certain book about sewing for kids, which seemed to offer a bit less than expected on the whole boy side of the kid's clothing spectrum. I can't imagine which book she means.

At any rate, being a mother to a wonderful member of that other gender, this book, if not to sew clothes, might have just inspired her to dedicate a blog to crafts with a more snips/snails/puppy dog tails vibe. But she still has this book! But she'll give it away. Leave a comment and maybe she'll send it your way! And who doesn't want mail from France? Getting mail from France is awesome.

Well, at any rate, go have a lookie-see at Cara's blogs. And girls like robots and spaceships, too, so, yeah, there.

And FYI: Around the end of March, Sabine went a bit boy-crazy on her blog. And so did about another 140 moms. So check that out for boy inspiration.

Let's hear it for the boys!

Love to you all!

Make it! Take it! Unique L.A.

So, yep, I was at Unique L.A. yesterday. Very, very fun. It's like Etsy in 3D!

I did a little Make It! Take It! (See previous post). Oh, lordy, I learned a lot. A lot of what not to do at a Make It! Take It! Next time, K.I.S.S. ...

But fun and so much fun to be with my fellow authors and such a fun crowd. (I said "fellow authors"... kinda stuck up, eh? I'll say, "fellow other gals who also happen to have a book with their name on it...")

Craft fairs, it should be learned, need not be relegated to the realm of ancient school gymnasiums and fluorescent-lighted and acoustic-tiled community centers. Baby, a craft fair belongs in the penthouse. The venue for Unique L.A. is just that, the 13th floor of the California Market Center, exactly where the grooviest creations west of the Mississippi belong. Grogeous views, lots of natural light...

A little "I love L.A." Lunada skirty pants revival, just for the show. I could have sold these silly pants 20 times over. But my girl likes 'em, so they are priceless, ya' hear? I'll get her to show off for my camera later for the complete 411.

I'm throwing down: West Coast crafters are the cutest! Oh, yeah, I said that! Big windows all around the venue with views across sunny L.A.--how's them apples?

This is the face of enthusiasm. Really, it is.

Stefanie Girard of "Sweater Surgery" fame. She also hosts Craftside and is a joie de vivre force to be reckoned with. I highly recommend her book: You will never look at those sweaters relegated to the very bottom of the dresser drawer the same again. That *cough* lovely *cough* cardi your mother-in-law gave you three years ago for Christmas? Girl, enough time has passed: Tell Mother that your favorite sweater got a hole in the sleeve from just so. much. wear. *fingers-crossed-behind-back* and slice up that sucker to make a purse, a shrug, a hat, a better sweater, a vase...in Stephanie's capable hands, I'm sure she could turn an old sweater into a bicycle or a...a time machine!

And this is Barbe St. John of "Steampunk Style Jewelry". What is "Steampunk," you ask? I'm not certain, but I think it has its origins in a highly technological parallel universe, which, however, does not have the benefit of semiconductors. Occasionally, some of their fascinating technology lands within our realm and because we are not sure how to use it, often, we wear it as jewelry. Lovely jewelry at that. (I have my suspicions, that Barbe is able to travel between to the other side of the wormhole, and shows trendsetters there how to make cool earmuffs out of calculators...).

These snickerdoodles are magic: They contain the magic element of patience. I fed one to each of my children and they behaved marvelously the whole day. Not to self: Must get the recipe.

Amoeba Music spun the tunes. At my age, I really shouldn't be dancing outside of my own living room with the curtains tightly drawn, but dang it, the dude was spinning my kinda music.

Um, like, YEAH, we need these socks, Mom! (Pronounced: "MAH-ah-AH-ah-AH-MMMmmmm! Whining works). A pair of "evil" socks and a pair of "nerd" socks and a pair of "genius" socks to mix and match in different combinations. (He also got his "I'M A NINJA t-shirt", to make "Evil Ninja Nerd" a possibility. Make that "probability").


Unique L.A. is still going strong today, so get on down there! I won't be there today...snickerdoodle magic doesn't last for two days...

Be Unique, L.A.! Fabric Flower Hair Clip Tutorial

This Saturday, April 24th from 1-3 pm, I will be appearing *poof!* at Unique L.A. Yea, I hope that I will appear in a pink cloud of smoke--just like that. Wouldn't that be cool? I hope that's how appearances work, I really do. *poof!*

Magical pink cloud or no, I will be leading a little make-'n-take, wherein you make something and then take that something home. I'm bringing all the supplies: You just need to bring a bit of patience and a friendly face, because I'm nervous and afraid of grown ups. Although, it looks like this Unique L.A. bunch is younger than me. I'm also afraid of people younger than me. And hipper. And skinnier...

So, what if you can't come to L.A. and witness my petrifying self-doubt in person? No fear, I've got the tutorial for this great little fabric-scrap-eating fabric flower uploaded here. It's a super-duper quick, super-duper easy little project. Since this is all hand-stitched, I recommend having the supplies in a bag in the car or in your purse for those times you need to wait for ballet class or soccer practice to end. It's something for the crochet-impaired among us to do.

*Click!* for the tutorial!

*Klick!* für die deutsche Anleitung!

Klick hier für die deutsche Anleitung für dieses Blümchens. Etwas für die Fahrt nach Wilhelmshaven zum Farbenmix-Lagerverkauf, nicht wahr? Aber kein Nähen beim Fahren, gelle? Das ist gleich Punkte abgezogen, nö?

Liber-T! Egalité! Couturé!

"Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand...A mighty woman with a torch"


Lady Liberty, of course, as interpreted by Anja Brinkmann of My Maki.

About time, right? That's what you are thinking: Farbenmix needs to make fabrics. If I've learned anything from my time working with the gals at Farbenmix, they never do anything half-baked. Only the best quality with the most reliable sources is good enough. This fabric is that 200 thread count European cotton percale that you love. So, New Yorkers and any lovers of liberty, this is your fabric!

Here, Miss Liber-T in Recycle Style:

So... Give me your thread, your patterns, your huddled fabrics, yearning to be sewn!

Miss Liber-T woven ribbon will be available this Thursday through the Farbenmix.de site. Fabric at a later date.

And it has been a while (grade school, I think) since I read the whole poem by Emma Lazarus, so here it is:

The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

And while I'm on topic, don't miss Nic of Luzia Pimpinella's new fabric. Oh. Em. Gee. Right?

FYI: Shirt- "Antonia" by Farbenmix. Skirt- Just winging it. Fabrics, other than Miss Liberty, a mash-up of recycled fabrics from old clothes, Michael Miller's globetrotting gnomes and some vintage 70s stuff. Except that awesome purple elephant knit (thanks, Chris!).

I have a lot of this fabric, so...

So...

This is a dress I just had to get out of my system. I wanted to try a full circle skirt with a bubble hem. Empire waist. And a big Audrey-Hepburn-might-have-worn-a-big-bow-like-that bow. Nothing that makes the clouds part and angels sing, but, hey, the girl likes it, so we're happy!

And it don't mean a thing, if it ain't got that swing! Right? So how's that for swing?

I will be at Unique L.A. April 24th. And I'll show you how to make a fabric flower hair clip just like this. I'm bringing all the supplies, so come on down and say howdy!