JC handmade

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.

time-worn

someone asked me about the whole repurposing quilts thing.  i really don't know how and where and when it all began, suffice it to say it's been brewing all the while. 

last spring, when i finally decided to take scissors to that first tattered quilt top, it was wild.  embarking on a very new adventure, but using materials and techniques so very old and with so much history.  you see, what i consider time-worn in terms of quilts, it's that a quilt basically cannot be used as it was originally intended without major grafting.  they each have bits i can salvage, but others even the most talented seamstress could not ::

i love those threadbare bits as much as the yummiest little feedsack pieces in mint condition - all of it.  i love extending its life, creating many new pieces from a whole which would otherwise go sadly unused.  the stitchery inspires me and the fabrics-oh-the-fabrics.  i love how the fabrics take center stage in new formats ::

and so the mending continues as i make a few wreaths for the girls' room, by request.  time-worn, hand-stitched, full of love and spirit - mine, those of people who created the original quilts, and those of my girls who look at their "O"s and say "mama, they are magic."

they are magic little ones.  as are you.  xoxo

altes Haus*

way back when - in the Fall of 1986 to be precise - i bought my birkenstocks ::

as a freshman at college i didn't have much money to spare, and the $100+ pricetag seemed more than exhorbitant.   but my love for these shoes motivated me to pinch my pennies and save up.  i remember scouring the yellow pages, calling shoe shop upon shoe shop just to see who had the right sandy suede pair in my size.  this was over 20 years ago, so no online shopping - 25 cents per phonecall using the payphone in the dorm lobby.  i even remember taking the metro for over 1/2 hour from DC out into Virginia somewhere and walking another 1/2 hour or so until i found the very shop where they were.

they go at least half the year unworn, but every Fall - usually when i come down with a bear of a cold (like this week) - they resurface along with layer upon layer of feel-better clothes.  when i bought them, i knew they would last a long time.  but i had no idea they would still be around 20+ years later, still cozy and making me happy, with all the little fuzzy scuffs and memories of how they got there.  and think about it... $100 over 20+ years = less than $5 per year for the very best feel-better shoes ever which have outlasted all the trendy chunky heels, ballet flats, platform flipflops, pointy-toe heels, stretchy boots, etc.

i'm wondering - do you have a special something that has stood the test of time, surviving all clothing donations and the like.  and when you wear it, it just makes you happy?  do tell, i'd love the hear!

*the German phrase altes Haus could best be translated as old buddy, old pal.

making :: halloween black cat cookies

yep.  my sous chefs and i were looking for a cookie recipe to bake (on halloween, of course) and happened upon a very yellowed index card given to me by a former student.  i love the sweet teenage handwriting, creative spelling and scribbly-blobs ::

in your mixer you combine the eggs, water and peanut butter.  then add in the cake mix and chocolate chips.  roll into balls ::

press with a flat-bottomed object which you dip in sugar to prevent sticking ::

add 2 m+m eyes and 1 peanut butter chip nose to each, all the while sampling said eyes and noses to ensure their yummy-ness ::

press in whiskers with a fork ::

nibble on pretzels and save the rounded parts for ears.  bake 8-10 minutes @ 375 and then devour ::

especially delicious when prepared by sous chefs with wings ::

happy halloween!  xoxo

countdown :: 10 days

10 days until my craft show... i feel like my head is spinning there is so much to do.  i'm not a craft show regular, this is actually only the second i've ever done and it just so happens that it's the same one as last year.  so much has happened in my crafting life this past year.  i feel as though i've found my voice in patchwork, and that my style has developed into something somewhat unique, dare i say recognizable.

i've been spending many late nights at my cutting table lately, but i just haven't been able to get my footing as it were.  i want to make pieces i love LOVE love, not simply pieces to sell.  (last year i was of a different mindset and learned a valuable lesson.)  i want my table to be unique and interesting and more than anything, i want my appreciation of handmade goods to show.  a few lightbulbs went off today - thank goodness :: 

and just lookie what i found on sunday when the girls humored me by each nibbling on an apple as we sped through what they now call "the quilt store" before heading to the playground ::

i deliberately do not buy any quilt that can be used in its current form - i like the idea of rescuing the tattered and really worn ones, reworking their usable bits into new creations.  oh, the possibilities!

what i am so loving today

:: spending another gorgeous day at the playground and enjoying the bumpy slide with friends;

:: cashing in a good-sized bag of coins at the market for an amazon gift certificate to order four books for me (!). and since the coins were just sitting there for ages, it all seems free;

:: accepting the fact that naptime is quickly becoming a thing of the past, but learning that they can indeed play with each other in their room for a bit while i take a step back;

:: a big box in the mail (goodies for kate and winterizing for me + dh);

:: wool in my hands during said non-naptime;

:: laughing along with jon & kate + 8 on TLC with new episodes, putting things into perspective;

:: kris carr of crazy sexy cancer (so so loving her);

:: adding a few new crafty blogs to my regular reads;

:: wrapping my head around ideas for my show next weekend;

:: and allrecipes - i don't care if i just fell off the turnip truck... they are new to my world and i am smitten.

i'd love to hear a good + inspiring + funny + yummy link you'd recommend.  have a lovely tuesday!