in which i misbehave

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on the way home from a long day of homeschooling adventures, i announced that i would be sewing whilst the menfolk (all three) indulged in a nap. we arrived home, snacks were had, a diaper was changed, & off they went. 

i walked into my sewing nook & faced the basket of long-overdue mending. 

& the overflowing back-up basket of mending.

i stood for quite some time, if truth be told.

then i thought screw this, & made myself a new pouch instead.

the damask came from a textile swatch book, the lining from a torn skirt, & the bow from my box of saved ribbons. i love creating new things from old. 

the pouch i use for a wallet had seen better days, so it's not as though i didn't need to make a new one. i just didn't need it today. ah well. the mending will just have to wait for another day. perhaps a day in which i feel more like behaving ;)

~peace.

pencil pouch metamorphose

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enter to win the blog-a-thon give-away here!

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last year i noticed that a lot of thehobbit's things had broken zippers. he's always been easy on his toys & clothes, so i wondered how long zippered items last with more rambunctious kids. this led me to start doodling new pencil pouches, sans zippers. i must be more persnickety than i thought, because it's taken me nearly a year to come up with a design i like. & no it isn't the one pictured here.



this is basically the idea; a large pouch that folds nearly in half; but with a few changes. i want it shorter by nearly 2 inches, the opening needs a bit of tweaking, & i've ordered wooden buttons. i love reusing buttons, but it's getting hard to find bigger buttons on things.

i tried a few different loops; ribbon, fabric, yarn, twine; but in the end i went with elastic. it's not as pretty, but i can create a smaller loop (to ensure the pouch will stay closed), & still have it be easy for little fingers to work.

as this pouch wasn't destined for theshop, i switched to a button from my 'for me' stash. i'll be using it in my diaper bag, in lieu of a purse.

the upside to the nearly year-long pouch make-over? it led me to finally coming up with a design for my inhaler pouch!!! stay tuned for those.

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today's fabulous blogs for the natural kids blog-a-thon: tribal times & polarbear creations & fair trade family. you really have to visit these blogs, & not merely because i said so. ;)

~peace.

shop update!!!!

hurry! get to my shop & buy my wares before someone else does! here are a few new items:

mini market bag

corduroy market bag

chocolate brown pouch of colored pencils

mini mushroom set

there's much more newly listed, & more on the way! had the temperature not dropped to the 50s well below freezing, thehobbit & i would still be outside, snapping photos & humming xmas ditties. well not literally right now, i mean it's dark now. you know what i mean.

free shipping (to the usa only. sorry) until the end of the year. happy shopping!

~peace.

day :: 19

dear hobbit,

you are an amazing little boy, & i love you more than i could ever explain. you are sweet, & sensitive, & loving, & so very interesting. you are also; & i say this with all the love in my heart; some days a royal pain in the arse. today is one of those days. you woke with such a gentle sweetness - how is it that only a few hours later you are stomping out of the room, on the brink of tears, for what has to be the umpteenth time?

did you not get enough sleep? are 10yo hormones driving you mad? are you hiding an evil twin in your playroom? is that why you hung the do not enter sign? please let me know soon. ok?

love mama.

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yesterday i didn't get as much sewing done as i'd planned. i was having issues with the thread; do not let me get that brand again; & finally gave up in frustration.

here are 2 little pouches i'm trying out. they have flat bottoms, & each has a button attached to the zipper to aid in pulling. what the photo doesn't show is the texture on the grey one, & its red zipper. i'm not into bright colors personally, but it came with a packet of zippers i bought, & thehobbit assured me the red was really really pretty.

the pouches are the perfect size for tossing into a purse or tote: makeup, a small camera, etc. i even made a smaller version for thehobbit's inhaler. ok that was accidental - i measured incorrectly, so decided to find a use for it rather than toss it. but still!

***

these are my newest obsession. i've been wanting to paint these dinky mushrooms since spring, & only just got around to it. i had so much fun that i went & ordered a zillion more (in 3 sizes.) it's hard to tell from the photo; because again i forgot to include something to show size; but each mushroom is only 3/16ths of an inch across. i did say dinky. at first it was difficult to manage, but once i dug out tiny pliers everything went smoothly. kind of zen.

my chatting time has come to an end. a certain hobbity person is in need of a swift ki- snuggle. i hope you have a lovely day - see you tomorrow. will nablopomo ever end?
~peace.