the big news is in!!!!!

can you guess what it is? do the endless piles of empty pens help? ........



.....or how about the flurry of typing that continues well into the night? no idea yet?.......



hmmmm...these piles of doodles spread throughout the entire house should definitely give it away...no? then.....



what about the massive amount of fabric that has been arriving at my door? ah, you are getting warmer......



let's just add a few containers of thread, and ta-da! It's a book!

Oh, can I tell you how wonderful it finally feels to be able to let you all know? The questions have been coming in, and it has been ever so hard to keep it behind these lips of mine. My cheeks were just about ready to explode when I was finally given the green light to let it all out. yay! The last couple of months has been a very intense period of drawing and writing, and I am so happy to say that things are really starting to come together. I can only give you "sneak peaks" into what has been going on behind these doors, but hopefully it now explains my
hermit-like behavior lately.

It has been an amazing (and very tiring!) process, and none of this would have come about without my amazing acquisitions editor, Susanne Woods of C&T Publishing. They are undergoing a drastic new change in their approach to design, as the next line-up of authors promises to bring a completely fresh, new, modern aesthetic to their collection of books. I am just so honoured to be a part of this process, and cannot wait to see what everyone will be bringing to the table.

well, my coffee cup is beckoning me to return to the desk. I have a new pile of pens ready to go, so it looks like this time I will be drawing into the night :)

til tueday, just enjoy the tour.....

I have finally been given the green light. On Tuesday, July 28th, I will be able to announce what has kept me in a hermit mode for the past couple of months. With Etsy being left quiet, and the blog posts occuring ever so infrequently, I am so excited that I will be able to "explain away"!
Til Tuesday comes, let me give you a tour......



....a tour of our driveway to be precise. With dad as an avid track/road cyclist, it was inevitable. The plastic car no longer drives to the library or the toy store. It's driver now follows Cavendish ready to supply a new tire, ready to fix a broken elbow....



and ready to hand out some much needed water after a tough run through the Alps.
They practice all day, and talk about Cavendish non-stop.
(I just don't have the heart to tell them that their favourite sprinter may very well be going home without the green jersey.)

firsts of summer

sculpted the perfect look ("I am six now mum....I need to look cool")


mastered the pump (licorice legs and all)


relaxed on the lake ferry (alright...I admit it. More like relaxed for five minutes until the "thrill" of the slow-paced ride was over. The remaining 50 minutes not so relaxed)

any firsts on your end?

Drumroll please......(or should I say fabric roll?)

Alright everyone....it's time to reveal my first big secret (with a second to hopefully follow soon....)
Do you remember those "day in the life" doodles I had done as a way to document my days with my boys when they were wee ones? Well, I am just so thrilled to announce that they will become one of a few designs I am working on for Robert Kaufman. Yes! My own fabric line with an amazing company due to come out in Spring of 2010, the designs will feature my crazy doodles and I just can't wait to sees the results. I am thrilled beyond words, and am relieved to finally spill the beans...........one down, and one more to go.

There is an explanation.....

Oh thank you for all your patience as my frequency of posting not only on my blog but also my shop has become so rare. Soon.....so very soon, I will be able to at least reveal one secret that will explain so much (and being someone who just cannot keep things quiet very well, I must give myself a few pats on the back for this one!) Things are happening so quickly, and at a rate that has forced me to put some things on the back burner for a bit. By the end of the summer, things should be resuming back to a more normal pace. I will post when I can, and hopefully the next post will be a big reveal!

times two.....

A family trip to visit two beautiful new nephews resulted in an intense two days of sensory overload as my head filled with many an emotional memory of when my boys were that little. Their coos and cries sounded so familiar, and I was instantly taken back to the days spent cradling their little bodies, trying to anticipate their next move. I remember questioning why I was always so tired, and looking at my sister go through it now I see why. My mind was always "on". Even through a good long nap, I was already thinking ahead to when they might wake hungry or be ready for a diaper change. Going to bed was always initiated with a, "I better go to bed now, because I know they will be up before too long". My mind tired me out more than anything, and now I take advantage of being able to go to bed knowing that night interruptions are mostly a thing of the past.
It was so wonderful to have those memories back, and even more so seeing my sister get the chance to do so as well. (although I don't quite miss the long feeds where my body would sweat under the heat of their little bodies, causing my limbs to ache in a desperate need to move again.
Oh the boredom and ansyness that would ensue sometimes! And I only did it one at a time.........impressive work there little sis.)
Welcome to the world little ones, and thank you for allowing me to go back six years and remember all those wonderful things that those new packages can bring. (although I must admit it feels pretty good to be sleeping again and no longer filling my days with washing and drying all those diapers.)