quilt is done!

well, I have finished my first attempt at a quilt wall hanging. I had both boys down for a nap, and thankfully had time to quickly finish it up and still have some moments to wolf down some chocolate I have hidden from the boys......(the pleasures that I now deem vital to getting through the day!) I am planning on making some prints out of this quilt, and if anyone has some great tips I am all ears :)

my first quilt attempt....

I have spent the last couple of days documenting bits of my family life through this first quilt attempt. It's meant to act as a wall hanging, and I hope to post it in the shop soon. I also plan on making prints from it as well. I'm afraid I am a bit of a a novice in that area, and if anyone has some tips or suggestions on making prints I would love to hear them!
well, I best be off....I am trying to sound somewhat intelligent as I finish up wine glass number two, so I better go before the rambling begins!

we're back from the farm......

We are back after a wonderful week excursion to my sister's lovely farm in Virgina. Ramey Hill Farm gave the boys a place to collect warm eggs in the morning, wash and feed the pigs, squeeze honey into there own custom made jars, and many other non-suburban splendors. (If you count picking ticks off as one of them, well then we just about covered it all!.....not that I need to revisit that particular experience)
Our days have never been so full, and Auntie Becks was just an absolute star at trying to convert them to the farm side. Now that we are back, we have already cracked open the honey jar and happily give thanks to such a memorable experience.

I leave with this......

I am taking some much needed time this coming week with grandma and the boys....I want to leave you with a little something I was tinkering with today. I am planning on turning this boy into a pillow, and then using this image as part of a larger multiple square quilt....I may be too pre-occupied with showing grandma around to post, so my apologies if posting doesn't occur this week. see you soon!

revisiting my past.....

I managed to sneak into my studio downstairs (thanks to a lovely grandma who will be visiting for three weeks!) and pick up some paints that have been left alone for so long. I really enjoyed bringing some of the sewing into the painting, and was thrilled to see how well the embroidery touches looked. It brought back instant memories of my days pre-kids, where painting was my full-time career. I am thinking of working on some more paintings while my mum is here, in hopes of getting some prints made for the shop.
We are off now to take grandma for some coffee, and then return to a day of chasing poor tired grandma around the house :)
Please let me know if you would like to see some prints in the shop, as I always love to hear your opinions!

it's been a late night....

whew! It is almost 12:30a.m., and I have just finished getting all the images ready for the post tomorrow. (what's hard is knowing two little guys will be ready to go in about 5 hours....) anyway, I managed to get 17 plush items photographed, and am really anxious to see what everyone thinks. I have been showered with great e-mails, and want to thank everyone for being so patient until the update. See you tomorrow (Sat..well, I guess that's today now...) at noon!

some wall hangings for the shop update....

I worked on some wall hanging pieces last night(I stayed up until midnight....big mistake considering the little guy woke up at 5am with a "stuffy" nose....) Anyway, I was working on a series of alphabet paintings a couple of years ago, and when I stumbled accross them I thought they might translate well into embroidery. I am planning on putting these in Saturday's shop update, and I would love to get any feedback as whether I should make some more for the update!

a fire station for the shop....

This is one of the fire stations I have sewn since seeing an old one in the city...he will be included in Saturday's shop update. I would love to hear what you all think!

hot summer....

oh, how hot it has been the last few days here in New York. Today will hopefully give us a bit of a break as we return to the outdoors for some more summer fun. (you can't go wrong with 30 buckets of water tinted with food coloring. I had no idea you could spend almost an hour just seeing the color of your feet change.....mental note for next year.....) My eldest son has just finished his last day of pre-school, and we are getting ready to dive into a summer of fun exploring. (although I am really going to miss those two mornings a week....it can be a nice little break depending on the type of week we are having...being four can be tough for both child and mum!)
anyway, I can hopefully steel a bit of time today for some sewing. I am really excited about the upcoming shop update this Saturday. I have got about 13 pieces ready, with the hopes of about 5 more. It should hopefully be a good one!

in the town.....

here are some townhouses I have been busily working on for Saturday's shop update....I can't stop creating these little buildings after our quick drive out of NYC this past weekend. I need to see an entire street lined up with houses, shops, cafes, etc.....it's almost getting to be a bit of an obsession with me!

shop update saturday!!!!!!

There will be a shop update Saturday starting at 12pm New York time....hope to see you there! (sorry no pictures, I have a precious second to type this while the boys are quietly preoccupied)

today on Etsy finds.....

I was so thrilled to be informed that "beep beep" will be featured today as a top ten pick on Etsy Finds, Etsy's daily shopping email. If you get a chance to see it, let me know what you think! (if you are not a subscriber, you can find it under community, then under storque)

p.s.. I am just finishing up a shop order, and am hoping to update my Etsy shop this coming Wednesday. We just returned from a complete flop of a trip to NYC (the travel agency booked our hotel wrong, and when we arrived with two screaming kids ready to break free from car seats, we were informed that we no longer had a room. So, we missed the wedding AND failed at trying to enjoy NYC since we were already there due to the absolutely miserable humidity and temperature of almost 100 degrees!) Oh well, at least the quick drive past some brownstones inspired me to make some more buildings as soon as we got home. Considering that my four year old is currently cuddling one on the couch as I write this note, I think I have come up with some winners :)

This is for you, Julie.....

I have been busy the last couple of days getting some mummysam softies ready for a shop owned by a friend of my mum's. Aside from my family (mum, you know you are the ultimate supporter in all of this! I am lucky to have received a fraction of the talent you have in creating beautiful things) Julie has been so enthusiastic about my work, that it was time to create a bunch of goodies to fill her shop. "Auntie Julie", as the boys like to call her( her name truly justified by her kindness alone...of course the treats she continuously showers them with from her shop helps a bit :), I hope you like what's coming your way!
You can look for a line of mummysam softies mid June at Julie's shop, Allison Wonderland in Lake Geneva, WI.

there's just something about her.....

I am currently uploading these images as my four year old plays "quietly" on the couch. (he woke up bright and early at 4:45am and still managed to fight off a nap.......the afternoon is going to be a rough one!) Anyway, there are those few pieces you make that you just become so attached to...and Milly is one of them. Is it the stripes on her hat, the colors I chose, or the way she looks at you when you hold her? I wish I knew what is was, because I can't explain the feeling. I just hope Milly finds the perfect home!

the things he used to say.....

I was working in my sewing room the other night when I came accross a pen and ink drawing I had done when Aidan was 18 months old. The page was filled with images of objects that he could identify, and it immediately brought me back to that time when I would rush to write down every new word he would pick up. I decided to explore things a bit further and started sewing up these words, thus building up a very tactile documentation of this time in his life...it became very addicting! (to the point where I found myself still sewing at midnight, and then realizing that the little guys are going to be up and ready at 6am... not so good for a mummy who's head usually hits the pillow by 9pm...) anyway, I was thinking of developing this further into an idea for the shop. I'll keep you posted!

a new pillow......

This is what I worked on last night after the kiddies went to bed. It's based on an alphabet series I was working on a few years back, "S is for Sally who always wears her swim cap when eating supper". I couldn't resist turning her into a pillow!