JCasa *handmade

highlights

sunshine + big chess + knitting + white linen way way after labor day + best friends

improving vision + sewing + saturday NPR + re-opening the shop + superfun holiday fabrics + special goodies to share very soon

sorting through all the piles + twirling with my girlys to the brandenburg concertos + going for a quiet pedicure + meal planning for the entire week + grocery shopping coming in $7 under budget + baking a last minute tart with mascarpone, apples and blackberries + talking music and basslines with the hub by a crackling fire

and the best part is taking a few moments to think back fondly on all of it once again.  i hope your weekend was filled with highlights, as well - do tell!  xoxo

thrifted booty

due to a rescheduled field trip that had the kiddos at preschool this morning, i found myself with 2 hours to myself.  2 HOURS, PEOPLE!  before children, i never could have comprehended the value of a few spare moments of free time - and the get those hours in daylight, well that is brilliant.  so this morning after dropping the littles off for their fun, i had a bit of fun as well.  instead of mopping the hardwood floors (i swear i'll get right on that after i finish this post), and instead of paying the bills (right after mopping, i promise), i went thrifting - yay!

i am in search of a few wooden chairs for our sunroom to accompany a fabulous vintage cardtable the hub has had since we were dating.  the girls have been using it as lego central up top and their clubhouse underneath.  i think a few chairs will create a lovely little morning spot for coffee and brainstorming for our summer days ahead.  but i'm in no hurry and just enjoy the rush of possibly finding something special like fabric, vintage handsewn bibs, and a summer blouse for a certain purple loving daughter of a certain gingham loving mama.

i did, however, come across something at one of the shops that i feel crosses the line :: a "personal massager" (ahem).  really?  REALLY??? ok, let's think this through...  someone was putting together a bag of stuff to donate and thought this was appropriate?  that would be the first faulty checkpoint.  and someone - an employee of the store - decided it would be appropriate to put it out with the small appliances?  we have a breach here, people.  i can only hope they didn't know what it was.  and that they washed their hands after they touched it.
i mean, seriously.

*deep breaths*  on a lighter note ::

because i couldn't bring myself to end a post with such a grossout.  xoxo

a few good things

a good day is when a garbage truck attempts to take off the front end of the car, nearly dragging me + the wondertwins along with it, but the whole mess is averted thanks to my ninjalike reflexes slamming us into reverse and a very alert driver behind me who synchronized moves with me.  boo-ya!  yes indeed, defensive sitting-quietly-at-the-stoplight is good.  a few other good things ::

ahh... mail karma.  just as i sent off all that quilted baby love i've been babbling about, i found vintage feedsacks in the PO box. okay, so maybe they weren't exactly showered from heaven - i bought them on ebay.  (that place can be a little slice of amazing, am i right?) nevertheless, it's always fun to leave the post office with a treat in your arms.  and arrive home in one piece.  xoxo

chewbacca :: just a few observations

"chewbacca is a good guy - he is a friend."
it took a bit of convincing at first, but we are finally to the point of wookiee play in our home.  the hub had the best toys when he was a kid, as evidenced by the 70's a treasuretrove we uncovered recently in his folks' basement, cleaned off and welcomed into our home.

"that's not poop, it's just chewbacca."
if you catch a glimpse of something like this out of the corner of your eye when you're exercising and the kiddos are happily playing in the next room, be careful when dismounting the treadmill in preparation for a likely unnecessary supergross freakout - no need to call in a hazmat crew, it's just chewie.

"mama, everybody is going to the chewbacca dance party. you're not invited."
need i say more? ok, all right.  i guess i'll just sit over here and knit. ahem.

and now for a crafting-question ::

to me, this is not garbage.  would any of you be interested in joining in on a challenge where i'd supply a mystery scrap and you'd have a set time period to complete a project of your own?  if so, let me know because i have an idea i'm thinking of putting together and would love to see where it takes us.  xoxo

*crush*

dear letterpress,

i think i love you.  will you be my valentine?  and holiday card?  and invitation to everything that might ever require an invitation?

xoxo
~me

treasure hunting

while running a few errands friday afternoon, the girls and i came across a rummage sale at a small local church.  they were most excited when i suggested we go for a treasure hunt.  almost as excited as mama.

we headed straight for the children's room, which was a treasure trove, let me tell you.  not only did i find the prettiest little vintage polly flinders hand smocked dress which will fit the girls in a few years, but there was also a pair (as in two!) of handmade, hand-smocked gingham dresses.  (let me add, being twins is supercool, but i just never felt the need or desire to dress the girls alike.)  but these dresses, well how could i pass up two of these?  i mean, one even came with a special hanger.

and the books, oh the books - some very special titles have now been added to our bookshelves.  so so good.  i tried to exercise some self-control as i scoured the bins, but there were so many gems.

and for the first time, the girls each were able to pick a treasure by themselves.  one treasure.  they spent upwards of 15 minutes picking and choosing, changing their minds, carefully considering which one item they'd each like to bring home.  there were a few cringeworthy moments with cruddy dollbabies and the like, but mama bit her tongue because this was to be their choice and their choice alone.  my children really took the concept of "one special treasure" to heart and appreciated what i was trying to convey without saying as much.  and we stayed under budget, with the entire lot including two full-length vintage skirts (bought for the fabric amazingness) coming in at a whopping $8.55.

more than ever, i am looking forward to rummage sale season this year as well as the coming months of garage saleing.  what a joy to have two eager little treasure hunters in my company.  xoxo

a funny thing happened on the way to ravelry :: part 2

so where were we?  spring cleaning, right.  well, when i finally reached what i thought was the bottom of one of the yarn piles, i found something interesting.  quite interesting indeed.

protected from the elements and nestled neatly underneath two bundles of BSA cotton *yum* (which i apparently have earmarked for something), hibernating there i found not one, but two completed knitted pieces and their corresponding indecipherable patterns.  it seems a year ago (!) i worked on these little numbers with the dream of publishing the patterns.  how'd that work out for you, jennifer?  um, yeah.

no bother.  there is a bright side.  they still fit!  do you know what that means?  do you?  it means my pattern - my concept - WORKED!  my idea was to make a summer dress for a toddler that would transition to a top for a preschooler.  with the proper fit for both ages.

that something i made a year ago, subsequently forgot about, and accidentally stumbled upon in a mad decluttering frenzy... that something i was working on a year ago could excite me now... well, maybe it's time to refine this one after all.  i do so love that organic cotton.  maybe just maybe i'll work on it a bit.  i think we have time - it's snowing again.

wishing you and yours a delightful weekend!  xoxo

bounce

ever since i took my nikon class in october, i have been looking forward to getting a bounce flash ::

i love natural light and try my very best to take advantage of it whenever i can.  but life doesn't always happen in natural light.  and i was tired of making the choice between blurred yellowed images vs. washed-out images flooded with white light swimming in a sea of darkness.  i knew i wanted to get it before the girls' birthday and am once again completely thrilled with our camera shop, which it turns out has been in business for over 140 years, i think because they know what they are doing and they want you to love your pictures, no matter what skill level of photography you aspire to.  i went in with the full intention of getting a more advanced model, but after considerable discussion with the friendly folks and many practice shots, i ended up bring home this baby ::

i love it! the flash rotates up to 90 degrees and is effective up to 50 feet away from the subject, suiting my needs perfectly.  and i love that it's so compact while still packing a punch - now i can actually photograph the tutorial i'm working on and shed some natural light on the situation.

now to find the time...  where can i get some of that?  xoxo

dear honey,

i know this is your busiest time of year at work and we really appreciate all you do for us. and although i know your big squishy heart is in the right place when you do that Christmas Eve shopping runaround thing, we'd rather just hang out and eat popcorn together. so i decided to help you out ::

it's perfect - how did you know?  and as sweet serendipity would have it, she makes all her amazing pieces in the very same coal mining town where my parents grew up and you know i'm a sucker for those kind of coincidences.  nice job, babe.

love,
me

p.s.  oh, and don't worry... i'll wrap it for you.  but probably not until Christmas Eve.

let me explain...

i've never done the ebay thing.  ever.  maybe because of the enormity of the machine that is ebay, or that i find the concept of auctioning a bit unappealing, or perhaps i have been concerned that i might develop an addiciton.  (cough cough etsy cough cough) but i can honestly say that church made me join ebay ::

on the first sunday of advent, i saw the girls' eyes light up as they entered their sunday school class to find the most amazing toddler-friendly nativity set.  and coincidentally, i had been searching for one such special piece for our very home but was unable to find something that was child-friendly without being childish.  this one spoke to me. and more importantly, it spoke to the girls ::

and so, later that day, i found the exact set brand new on ebay, so of course i joined and put in my bid.  and of course i checked in every few hours to find out the exciting news that my bid was winning (love the terminology).  and i even did a little dance when the auction was over and i found out it was ours.  and i did an even better dance with the girls this afternoon when it arrived, as we shared in the excitement of opening it, and as i stepped back to marvel at my babes.  the holidays mean so many different things to everyone - to us, it's about family, life, hope, love, giving, and cherishing the simple and the extraordinary all the same ::

xoxo

and thank you so much for your notes during my absence - food poisoning is horrible, especially when it's from one of your favorite restaurants and one of your favorite dishes brings you to the point that you have that conversation with your maker.  i thank heavens it has passed and that this was the one dish the four of us did not share.  and hey, i'm 6 lbs. lighter, yo.